Lonestar Angel (7 page)

Her eyes widened, and the last of the sleepiness in her eyes disappeared. “You’ve been bitten?”

He nodded. “By a rattler. It’s under the pillow on the floor. Don’t get out of bed. Just call Rick and tell him what happened. I’m a little woozy. I have to lie down.” He flopped onto his back.

She grabbed the phone on the bed stand and called the main house. He listened to her explain the situation to Rick. “He is coming over right away with some men.” Her eyes were worried. “How do you feel?”

“My lips are numb,” he said, struggling to talk.

“You might be having an allergic reaction. I think it’s too soon for venom to be doing anything. I’ll call Rick back. Maybe he has an EpiPen.” She punched in the number again.

Clay struggled to draw in a breath. His chest felt tight, and his throat seemed to be swelling. Eden was right. The venom shouldn’t be having an effect for half an hour, but allergic reactions happened sooner.

The pillow hid the snake, but he could see the reptile’s tail sticking out from under it. The tail moved, but the rattle made no sound. So that’s why he’d had no warning. He closed his eyes.

6

T
HE SNAKE
’
S HEAD EMERGED FROM UNDER THE PILLOW
,
FOLLOWED BY A LONG
,
SINUOUS BODY
.
Eden shuddered, unable to tear her gaze away as the beautiful creature slithered across the floor to curl in the back corner. She touched Clay’s damp forehead.

His lids fluttered, then opened. His pupils were enormous. He licked his lips. “Where’s Rick?”

“He’s coming.” A tourniquet wasn’t advisable at this point, but she wanted to
do something
.

She heard feet pounding up the walk outside. A few moments later Rick and Buzz burst into the room. Rick wore his boots and jeans, but his shirt was half unbuttoned. He carried a pitchfork. Buzz was behind him with a shovel in his hand.

Rick stared around the room. “Where’s the snake?”

She pointed. “There, in the corner. But what about Clay? Did you bring an EpiPen?”

He handed it to her. “You’d better give it to him while we take care of the snake.”

Taking the pen, she opened the gray tab, then jammed the tip into Clay’s thigh, holding it there for several seconds. Clay flinched but didn’t open his eyes. His lips were blue.

Eden dropped the EpiPen and took his hand. It was cold and blue too. “Clay? Stay with me, Clay!” She clutched his fingers and watched the men approach the corner.

It took only moments for them to dispatch the snake. Mumbling under his breath, Buzz carried the snake out on the shovel.

Rick came to the edge of the bed. “He’s got a little more color,” he said. “What happened?”

“I’m not really sure. I woke up when he said he’d been bitten.”

Clay coughed and opened his eyes. The scary whiteness was receding from his skin, and his pupils were looking more normal. His fingers tightened on hers, and he struggled to sit up. Something tight in her chest loosened, and she inhaled deeply, suddenly aware she’d been holding her breath.

“The snake,” Clay whispered.

“Is gone,” Rick said.

Eden stuffed some pillows behind his back. “You look like you’re going to live.”

“We still need to get that bite treated,” Rick said, withdrawing another vial from his pocket. “I keep antivenom in the fridge.”

“Where were you bitten?” Eden asked.

“My left ankle.” Clay moved his foot out from where it had been entangled in the sheet. He closed his eyes. “It hurts.”

She winced at the puncture wounds crusted over with blood. And even worse at the bruise beginning to travel up his leg. All thought left her. He couldn’t die!

“Honey, you’re crushing my hand,” he said, lifting one lid.

She loosened her grip on him. “Where’s the nearest hospital?” she asked Rick.

“Allie called the doctor. He’ll come to us.”

Eden injected the antivenom into Clay’s other thigh. “IV is the best administration, but this will help for now. And the wound needs to be cleaned. I’ll do it if you can get me some soap and water. Alcohol too.”

Rick nodded and went to fetch the items.

Wheels crunched on gravel outside. “I think the doctor’s here,” she said to Clay, nearly giddy with relief.

Footsteps hurried toward the door, and Buzz ushered in an older man with hair that stood on end as if he’d gone from the bed straight to the car. He carried an IV bag and pushed a metal stand.

“This must be the patient,” he said. Eden climbed out of the way while he got to work on Clay. She was suddenly self-conscious of her skimpy nightwear in the presence of these men, so she grabbed one of Clay’s shirts from the closet and slipped into it while the doctor examined the wound. “One side looks dry. I don’t think you got a full dose of venom, young man. You’re very fortunate.”

Rick touched her arm and motioned her back toward the door. “There’s something weird about all this,” he said.

She walked with him out of Clay’s earshot.“Weird? We’re in the desert. Snakes get inside sometimes, don’t they?”

“Not all that often. I’ve never had a rattler in the house.” He put his hand in his shirt pocket and withdrew a piece of paper. “This was on the door.”

She took it from his hand and stared at the letter. “‘You shouldn’t have brought her.’” Wrinkling her forehead, she glanced up at Rick. “What does that mean?”

“I have no idea.”

“The kids are too little to do something like this.”

He nodded. “Obviously.”

“Did any of your other employees want this position?”

“Most of the cowboys have been with me for years, but I just hired Sam a couple of months ago. And I hired an assistant for the cook two weeks ago. There weren’t any other applicants for counselor, if you want the truth. No one wants to live this far away from civilization.”

The kidnapper. Had he wanted only Clay to come? As far as the kidnapper knew, she and Clay had divorced. “We have to tell Clay about the note.”

“I will. But not until the morning, when he’s got a clear head.”

“Some kind of prank by a teenager from town, maybe?” She knew better, but maybe it would derail Rick’s line of thinking. He was eyeing her with a speculative glint in his eyes.

Rick shrugged. “Maybe. It’s a weird situation. I don’t know what to make of it. Maybe the sheriff will have an idea.”

“I hope so.” But she mostly hoped Clay could call in some help from his special ops buddy, Brendan. If she had to go to bed every night and wonder what creepy crawlies would slither out to meet her, she wouldn’t get a wink of sleep.

And if this had anything to do with Brianna’s disappearance, could the children be in danger? She rushed down the hall to check on them.

Clay felt as if he’d been hit by a truck. He blinked until his vision cleared. His leg felt encased in hot tar. When a cool hand touched his forehead, he turned his head toward Eden.

So beautiful
. How had he ever let her go? He wanted to reach up and touch her cheek. It would be as soft as Brianna’s skin had been.

“How do you feel?” she asked.

“Thirsty,” he croaked. She helped him sit up and he practically inhaled the cool water that she offered him. “Where is everyone?” A vague memory of Rick and Allie as well as an older gentleman floated through his brain.

She backed away. “Looking around outside. The doctor had another emergency and had to leave once he was sure you were out of danger.”

Her evasive manner sharpened his senses. “What aren’t you telling me?”

She bit her lip. “They’re looking for whoever put the snake in here.”

“Put the snake in here? What do you mean?”

“There was a note on the door. It said, ‘You shouldn’t have brought her here.’”

His fatigue fell away. He set down the water glass. “It was deliberate?”

She nodded. “I’d bet he was trying to scare me away. I doubt he thought we’d be bitten. How did that happen anyway? A rattlesnake gives a warning.”

“Its rattler didn’t work.” The room felt small and sinister to him now. “What does he want? There hasn’t been another demand for money.” She didn’t have the answers for him, but it helped him to ruminate out loud. “Did anyone check for more snakes?”

“Rick did. The place was clean.”

The bed moved as she sat on it. He resisted the urge to inhale deeply of the clean scent of the soap she’d used to bathe the girls. “Why would he care if you came with me? Seems odd.”

“I wondered about that too.” Her eyes glistened and she blinked rapidly. “I was thinking about what you said about revenge.”

“We have no idea what he’s planning. Whatever it is, it won’t be pleasant.”

“Maybe it’s all a prank.”

He held her gaze. “I wouldn’t have interrupted your life for a trick.”

The corners of her lips curved. “That leaves me with hope. You consider everything before you jump.”

“Except when it came to you,” he said, then winced. Had he actually said that? So much for protecting himself.

She looked away. “I always thought you examined what needed to be done and did your duty.”

“My feelings for you had nothing to do with duty.” Enough of this. He yanked the IV from his arm and swung his legs over the bed.

She grabbed at his arm. “You can’t do that! Look at you, you’re bleeding.”

“The bag is empty. The bleeding will stop. Besides, the doc didn’t think I got a full load of venom.” He pressed his fingers to his arm. “Got a Band-Aid?”

She sighed but opened the first-aid box beside the bed and withdrew one. Her fingers were warm when she pressed them against his skin. She’d been cold a few minutes ago. He wished he could believe being around him had altered her temperature even one degree.

He jerked on his boots, though every muscle still hurt and his leg throbbed. “Did you check on the girls?”

“Yes, they’re sleeping.” She followed him into the hall.

He went to the door of the big dorm room and peeked in. The light from the hallway fell on their sleeping faces. He drank in the peaceful scene. Arms curled around dolls and stuffed animals. The air was scented with little girl. He stared until he saw each small chest rise and fall. Reassured, he turned and walked right into Eden.

She grabbed his shirt, and he steadied her. This close, the scent of soap was even stronger. He resisted the impulse to rest his chin on the top of her head. What would she do if he pulled her closer? Probably hit him. His hands dropped away.

“They’re all okay.”

Her gaze wandered past his shoulder, and she stepped back. “They’re so beautiful.”

He nodded. “I’m going to go outside with Rick. You keep watch over the girls.”

“Do you think whoever tried to hurt us would hurt them?”

“Someone took Brianna once. We have no idea of his agenda.”

She clenched her fists. “He won’t touch these girls! Do you have a gun?”

“You won’t need one. I’ll be right outside.” He pocketed his hands so he wouldn’t touch her again.

Nausea roiled in his stomach. Probably a reaction to the venom. He steadied himself. This stunt wasn’t going to keep him from protecting Eden and their daughter. Or the other girls.

7

A
CHILL STILL HOVERED IN THE MORNING AIR WHEN
E
DEN WALKED ACROSS THE SPARSE YARD
to the kitchen with five little girls in tow. The scent of maple syrup and pancakes made her steps quicken, and she smiled at the girls to see if they’d noticed. They giggled and skipped along beside her. She hadn’t seen Clay the rest of the night, but she’d gotten little sleep. Coffee would wake her up.

India ran ahead of her and pushed open the screen door into the kitchen. “Rita, I’m here,” she announced. “I saw some hummingbirds. Do you know they beat their wings fifty times a second?”

An attractive young woman turned with a smile on her face. “My goodness, so fast?” Her blond hair was in braids, as if she’d stepped from the pages of
Heidi
. She wore jeans and a blue blouse that matched the color of her eyes. When she spoke, her voice had a Southern accent that didn’t match her appearance. The makeup she wore made her look like a Dresden doll.