RESCUE AT CARDWELL RANCH (6 page)

“So it’s like that,” Laramie said.

“It’s...complicated.”

“Be careful, Hayes,” his brother warned. “You know what Jackson went through with his marriage.”

He did. His wife had left him right after their son was born, only to come back three years later and try to take Ford away from Jackson. “Could you fly up now instead of before the wedding?”

“Not going to happen. Let’s remember that I’m the brother who keeps Texas Boys Barbecue Corporation going.”

“We never forget that,” Hayes said. Laramie was the business major, the brother who’d gladly taken the reins when the business had begun to take off. True, it had grown more than any of them had anticipated since then, but Laramie was still the best brother to be in charge. And there was that added benefit that none of them forgot. Laramie allowed the rest of them to do whatever they wanted, never having to worry about money.

“You know how thankful we all are that you took it on,” he said, not that Laramie needed reassurance. His brother loved what he did and continued to make the corporation more than profitable.

“What about Austin?” Hayes had to ask.

Silence, then Laramie said in a worried tone, “He’s on a case down by the border. I haven’t been able to reach him for several weeks now.”

Hayes let out a curse. When Austin got on a case, it was all-consuming. They often went for weeks, even months, with no word from him. He only seemed to take on the most dangerous cases. They’d almost lost him more than once.

“I thought he was working fewer hours for the sheriff’s department.”

“You know him better than that,” Laramie said. “I’m sure he will do everything possible to make the wedding, though.”

Hayes sure hoped so, but of the five of them, Austin was the loner of the family and possibly the most stubborn. “When are Jackson and Ford flying in?” He knew Jackson and his five-year-old son wouldn’t miss the wedding, even though weddings were the last thing Jackson was interested in attending after his marriage had gone so awry.

“A few days before the wedding. Ford is excited about riding horses at the ranch. Apparently, cousin Dana promised him his own horse while he’s up there.”

“So what do you want me to do about Tag and the restaurant site?” Hayes asked.

“If you’ve already weakened, I’d say it was a done deal.”

As Hayes disconnected, he thought about walking back to McKenzie’s cabin and telling her to get the paperwork for the restaurant site ready. It was pretty much a done deal if Laramie was getting behind it.

But he stayed on his cabin porch. He could tell her tomorrow or maybe even the next day. It would give him an excuse to see her again. Not that he needed one. What was that old Chinese proverb?
He who saves a life is responsible for it.

The woman brought out his protective instincts. He knew it was because she was so strong, so determined, so capable of taking care of herself under normal circumstances. But the man who’d attacked her had shaken her world and left her afraid and vulnerable.

Hayes told himself that whoever had tried to abduct her in the grocery-store parking lot was probably long gone.

But what if he wasn’t? What if it was this man she’d fired?

He swore softly under his breath. It seemed that tomorrow he was going to a huge real-estate conference where a predator could be anyone in the crowd. And to think he’d actually considered leaving his gun in Texas, asking himself,
what were the chances he would need it in Montana?

Chapter Seven

The moment they reached what McKenzie called the “field house,” a huge, circular, dome-shaped building on the Montana State University campus, Hayes saw the parking lot and knew this was going to be a security nightmare.

As they entered the building, they were surrounded by people, many of them coming up to McKenzie. There were pats on the back, handshakes, people brushing her arm in welcome as she made her way down to the exhibits.

“Are you all right?” McKenzie asked when they finally got to M.K. Realty’s booth.

“It’s not me I’m worried about.”

“You’ve been scowling since we got here,” she said. “Haven’t you ever heard of safety in numbers?”

She seemed to be at ease, as if she’d forgotten the attack, but Hayes wasn’t fooled. He could see past the bravado. She was putting on a show, determined that her attacker wasn’t going to change anything about her life.

But he already had. She either was pretending otherwise or the reality of it hadn’t hit home yet.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’ll try to lighten up. Or at least look as if I have.”

She gave him a grateful smile and squeezed his arm. “I really do appreciate that you’re here.”

Let’s see if you do when this day is over,
he thought, wondering how he was going to keep her safe in a place this packed with people.

As she had a word with her employees at their booth, he watched the crowd. He had some idea of who he was looking for. A large man, over six feet, strongly built.

He’d had a few cases involving these types of men. While he knew the general type, there were always exceptions. He wasn’t going to make the mistake of trying to pigeonhole this one.

The place was filled with men, most of them alone. Any one of these men could be here to hurt McKenzie. The thought rattled him so much that he didn’t hear her saying his name. When she touched his arm, he jumped.

She gave him a pleading look. She was trying so hard to hold it together. She didn’t need him wigging out on her.

“He could be miles from here,” she whispered as she stepped close. He felt her breath on his ear and shivered inwardly. Just the light scent of her perfume had his pulse thrumming.

Today she’d worn a business suit with a white blouse under the jacket that accentuated her olive skin and the thin silver necklace around her neck. At the end of the chain, a small diamond rested between the swell of her breasts. She’d put makeup on the bruises at her neck, hiding them enough that no one would notice. Diamond studs glittered on each of her earlobes with her hair pulled up off her long, slim neck.

She’d chosen a shade of lipstick that called attention to her full mouth. No way could this woman possibly blend into this crowd.

“Are you listening to me?” she asked.

He nodded, although his thoughts had been on the way the suit skirt hugged her shapely behind, dropping below her knees to her long legs and the matching high heels on her feet. McKenzie was the whole package. Any man in his right mind would want this woman.

As it was, somewhere in this building could be a man completely out of his mind who, if he got the chance, would hurt her and bury her in a shallow grave somewhere.

“Why don’t you stay here? You’ll be able to see me from here.” She pointed to a raised area where she would be giving her speech.

Before he could object, she took off through the crowd. He went after her, fighting his way through the throng of people. He caught a glimpse of her head as she neared the platform and knew he wouldn’t be able to catch up to her before she was on stage.

* * *

M
C
K
ENZIE
COULDN
’
T
HELP
being irritated with Hayes. She needed his strength right now. Seeing the worry in his eyes only made her more aware of what had happened to her two nights ago.

But she’d put it behind her, convinced the man had been traveling through town and was now miles from here.

She cut through the crowd, not stopping even to say hello to people she knew. She was in the people business. It really did matter who you knew when you sold real estate, she was thinking as she neared the side of the raised platform and the podium and microphone waiting for her.

Rows of chairs had been placed in front and were already full. She’d been honored when asked to speak. Some of the older Realtors resented her because she’d climbed so fast.

She thought of Gus Thompson’s mother. She’d been McKenzie’s mentor and had taught her the ropes.

“Of course they don’t like it,” she’d said once when McKenzie had mentioned that some of the Realtors had given her the cold shoulder. “Just keep your chin up and don’t lose sight of where it is you want to go.”

It had been good advice. She hadn’t made enemies along the way and was glad of that. Instead, she’d kept her nose to the grindstone, working hard and now knew she had the respect of her peers. Several of the older Realtors gave her a nod as she passed.

She made her way to the stairs at the back of the platform near the wall and had started up the stairs when her hair was grabbed from behind. Her head jerked back. She heard the sound of something sharp cutting through her hair an instant before the pressure on it was released.

Fighting to keep from falling back down the couple of stairs she’d climbed, she swung around, thinking she must have caught her hair on something.

There were people everywhere but none were paying any attention to her. Nor could she see anything that might have caught in her hair.

Her hand went to her long, blond mane. In the middle of the back of her head she felt a place where a huge chunk of her hair had been chopped off only inches from her scalp.

She looked down to see a few long strands on the stairs along with the clip she’d used to put her hair up this morning.

Her body began to shake. Someone had grabbed her from behind and chopped off a huge chunk of her hair? It was inconceivable. But then so was what had happened to her the night in the grocery-store parking lot.

On the stage, one of the Realtors was checking the microphone as she got ready to announce the guest speaker.

McKenzie looked again at the people milling past. No one seemed to pay her any mind. No one had a hank of her hair in his hand. But she knew it could have been any one of them.

She quickly stepped back down the stairs to retrieve her clip. Her fingers trembled as she pulled her hair up as best she could and anchored it with the clip.

She could do this. She would do this. She wouldn’t be scared off. She wouldn’t let whoever had done this win.

* * *

S
OMETHING
WAS
WRONG
.
Hayes watched McKenzie walk onto the stage smiling. But he knew her smile and that wasn’t it.

His heart began to pound. He shouldn’t have let her out of his sight. The darn woman. She was so stubborn, so sure she could handle this on her own. She hadn’t been out of his sight for more than a few moments—not until she’d gone behind the raised platform.

Whatever had happened must have occurred there. But with so many people around...

He watched her walk up to the microphone. He could see her trying to pull herself together. She looked down at her notes. Even from a distance he thought he saw her hands trembling.

She laid her notes down on the podium and leaned toward the microphone. Her voice was clear and true as she looked up at the crowd gathered to hear her speak.

Hayes had admired her, but right now he was in awe of her courage and fortitude. He could practically see the determination in her shoulders, in her voice, in those amazing eyes of hers. She stood there and gave her speech with probably more spirit than she would have if something hadn’t happened before she’d stepped up to that microphone.

She was beautiful, a woman to be reckoned with, and Hayes knew he wasn’t the only man in the audience who thought so.

When she finished, she was met with applause and even a standing ovation.

She beamed, raising her chin into the air, her eyes bright. The look on her face filling him with fear.

If the man who’d attacked her was somewhere in that crowd watching her, McKenzie was letting him know she wasn’t scared of him and that she was far from defeated.

It was the kind of challenge that would only antagonize her attacker—and get her killed.

* * *

H
AYES
WAS
WAITING
for her as she descended the stairs behind the platform. She saw his expression and had to look away to keep from breaking down. He knew. How, she had no idea.

He took her arm without a word and led her toward the closest exit. She kept a smile on her face, nodding to people she knew. Hayes didn’t slow down until he had her out the door and almost to his rental car.

“What happened?” he asked the moment he had her safely in the passenger seat with him behind the wheel.

She reached up and unclipped her hair. It fell past her shoulders except for the part that had been whacked off. She put down the car’s visor mirror and got her first look at the damage that had been done.

Hayes let out a curse.

The savagery of the act more than the loss of the hair brought tears to her eyes. “It will grow back. It’s just hair.”

He let out another oath. “He’s telling you that he’s not done with you. He’s telling you—”

“I know what he’s telling me,” she snapped as she turned to face him. “It’s just hair. He won’t get that close to me again.”

Hayes pulled off his Stetson and raked a hand through his own hair as if he was too angry to speak.

“You can’t give him another chance at you,” he said after a moment. “Today? It was too dangerous. You need to cancel your appointments until the police find this guy.”

“What I need is a haircut.”

His expression softened as he met her gaze. He must have seen how close she was to tears and how badly she was fighting not to cry. “Where do you want me to take you?”

“A friend of mine owns a salon. I’m sure under the circumstances she will be able to squeeze me in.”

“After that, we need to talk,” he said as he started the car and pulled out of the lot, wondering if her attacker was watching them drive away.

* * *

H
E
PUT
THE
fistful of McKenzie Sheldon’s hair to his nose and smelled the sweet scent. She’d probably shampooed it this morning in the shower. He let himself imagine her standing under the warm spray for a moment. He would never see her like that, arms raised as she gently worked the shampoo into her long, blond hair.

Rubbing the hair between his fingers, he studied it in the light of the men’s room. It was hard to know the exact color. Pale summer sun, he thought. Too bad he couldn’t show the hair to someone who would know what to call it.

He would keep the hair. Maybe he would tie a ribbon around it. Not even an hour ago, it had been growing on her head. That thought stirred the need within. He ached with it and wasn’t sure how much longer he could go without fulfilling it.

Someone came into the men’s room. He put the hair into the pocket of his jacket, careful not to let any of it escape. He’d lost some of the strands on the stairs as it was. He didn’t want to lose any more.

The idea of cutting her hair hadn’t even crossed his mind until he’d grabbed hold of it as she’d started up those stairs. He’d wanted her to stumble. Maybe even fall. He had needed to know if she would recognize him when she saw him. The idea of her falling into his arms was just too mouthwatering to pass up.

He’d told himself that just touching her again would be enough. But then she’d gone behind that platform out of sight of the cowboy she’d come with, the same one, he suspected, who’d saved her at the grocery-store parking lot.

Seeing his chance, he’d grabbed her hair, felt its silky smoothness... He always had his scissors with him, sharpened to a lethal edge. When he’d grabbed her hair, felt it in the fingers of his right hand, his left had gone for the scissors.

At that moment, he’d wanted a piece of her—since that was all he was going to get until he could catch her alone.

Now, feeling better than he had since the night he’d failed, he left the bathroom one hand deep in the pocket of his jacket where he kept the scissors, the other gently caressing her hair. It was enough for today, he thought, anxious to get out of the building so he could be alone.

Soon, McKenzie Sheldon. Very soon and it will be more than your hair that I have my hands on.

* * *

“A
RE
YOU
SURE
you don’t want me to take your open house today?” Jennifer Robinson asked when McKenzie called the office.

“No, I can handle it, but thanks, Jennifer.” She wasn’t looking forward to the open house. Someone had tried to scare her yesterday.

Now she looked at her short curly hair in the mirror. Hayes had complimented her hairdo when she’d come out of the salon. “It looks good on you.”

She’d always hated her natural curly hair, brushing it straight every morning after her shower. It felt odd, the loss of weight she’d become used to. She raked her hand through the curls and told herself she liked it better short—a lie, one she told herself every time she remembered the sudden feel of her head being pulled back, then the sound of something sharp cutting through her long hair before her head snapped forward again.

It had happened so fast.

And could again, Hayes had reminded her. She knew he was angry with her for taking off yesterday without him with her—and for not hiding out. He didn’t want her hosting this open house today. He didn’t understand. She couldn’t hide. She refused to let this man take away everything she’d worked so hard for.

“At least come back to the ranch tonight,” Hayes had pleaded yesterday after the conference. “I can keep you safe there.”

She’d been scared and shaken enough that she’d agreed to go back up the canyon to Cardwell Ranch rather than return to her condo. Her evening had been so relaxing and enjoyable she’d never wanted to leave. Dana’s husband, Marshal Hud Savage, had cooked steaks outside on the grill and they’d all eaten on the wide porch to enjoy the beautiful night.