“Okay, Mom. I’ll see what I can do.” He gently took her hand in his and unwound it from his shirt, laying it into her lap.
Brody made arrangements in record time. His mom couldn’t be calmed down until he promised she would be moved home that very day. He spoke with the doctor and then called the medical equipment company to have a hospital bed and other supplies delivered. He also made arrangements for an around-the-clock nursing staff to take up the slack, just in case something went wrong.
At three in the afternoon, the ambulance was backing up to the door of the ranch house and Mrs. Wester was being moved to her new bed. The nurse, Lola, a plump firecracker of a woman, fussed over the move and introduced herself to Mrs. Wester as they rolled her into the house. She took over with amazing efficiency. Brody stood back on the porch with Lou as Sadie and Lola barked orders at the medical technicians.
Lou turned to Brody and said with a light smile, “I feel like I’m in the way.”
“So do I,” Brody responded.
“I never thought she would come home so soon,” Lou stated, worry etched across her brow. “Is she ready to be at home?”
“Probably not but she got really upset this morning and said she had to come home today. She wouldn’t calm down unless I agreed.”
“That’s strange. Any idea what upset her?” Lou’s eyebrows drew together.
“I’m not sure, but it had something to do with you…”
Lou cut him off. “Oh my God! What time is it?” She glanced at her watch. “It’s three o’clock! Sarah should have gotten off the bus five minutes ago.” Lou shaded her eyes with her hand and looked down the long drive. He could almost see Sarah’s long, dark hair and pink dress in the distance where she was standing beside a parked car at the end of the drive.
“Who is she talking to?” Brody asked but Lou was already gone. The water bottle that had been clutched in her hand rolled across the porch.
Lou ran down the drive and Brody took off only seconds behind her. They tore down the long winding driveway, dirt flying from beneath their feet in their haste. They reached Sarah at almost the same time, just as the dark sedan pulled away. Dust flew behind the vehicle, making it impossible to get a license plate number.
Lou spun Sarah around, gripping her upper arms tightly.
“Who was that man?” she asked between broken breaths, choked by exertion.
Sarah shrugged her shoulders and looked toward the retreating car. “I don’t know, Mommy. He said he was moving to a house near here and wanted to know if I live at this house. Did I do something wrong?”
“Yes! You did something wrong! You are never, never, never, ever supposed to talk to strangers!”
Brody was much more composed than Lou. He bent down beside Sarah. “Can you tell us what he looked like? Did he say anything else to you?”
“He had on a baseball cap and he smelled like cherry smoke,” Sarah replied after some deliberate thought, tapping her finger lightly on her temple.
“Cherry smoke?”
“Yeah. Like that man who smoked the cigar when he came to see Mr. Jeb.”
“But it wasn’t the same man?” Sarah shook her head. Lou sighed and looked at Brody. “That’s probably all she noticed.”
Sarah looked toward the house and commented, “Why is an ambulance here? Is someone sick?”
Lou patted her gently on the shoulder. “The ambulance just brought Mrs. Wester home from the hospital.”
“But I have not finished my card yet!”
“You’ll have plenty of time to finish after you do your homework. She’s going to take a nap now and you can see her later if Dr. Wester says it’s okay.”
Sarah looked skeptically toward Brody. “Do you mean him?” She squinted one eye at him, as though appraising his appearance. “He’s a doctor?”
“He’s a doctor.” Lou grinned slightly, her eyes smiling as they met Brody’s.
“Cool,” Sarah stated plainly. “Can I go ahead and get my snack?”
“Yeah. Run along.”
As Sarah ran quickly down the drive, Brody looked at Lou, who looked everywhere but at him. “Now why don’t you tell me what the hell is going on?”
Chapter Seven
Lou turned to walk toward the house, throwing over her shoulder, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Brody rushed forward and grabbed her by the upper arm, stopping her mad march toward the house. “You damn sure do know what I’m talking about, and you are going to tell me what all this is about. There’s something going on here, and I want to know what it is.”
Lou jerked her arm free of his grasp. “Don’t ever grab me again,” Lou said calmly as she turned toward the house. Her pace quickened as she walked up the drive, Brody right behind her. She stomped up the steps and slammed through the back screen door.
Brody stopped long enough to run a hand through his hair in frustration. As he reached to open the screen door, he was stopped by Jeb’s voice. “Whatcha in such a hurry for, boy?” Jeb sat in a rocker on the porch whittling with his knife on a piece of wood.
“Nothing, Jeb. I just need to talk to Lou.”
“That why she’s looking like a scared rabbit and you’re looking like the hungry wolf that wants to eat her?” Jeb asked with a short snicker.
“That’s no scared rabbit, Jeb.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, boy. She’s scared of her own shadow, most days.” Jeb nodded his head slightly, indicating that Brody should take a seat. “She hides it well and you just don’t know her well enough to realize it.”
Brody sat down in the rocker, his elbows on his knees. “There’s something going on here, Jeb. First, she has nightmares that are so loud they could shake the rafters on the roof. Then someone who thought they knew her stopped her at the hospital but she denied ever having met her. Then Mom insists on coming home from the hospital because someone was asking about Lou. Now, there’s a strange man stopping to ask Sarah questions at the end of the drive, but he didn’t hang around when he saw me and Lou coming. That seems a little strange to me, and I’d like to get some answers about it.”
Jeb opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Lou, who was standing inside the doorway behind the screen. She opened the door. “I’ll explain it to him, Jeb.”
She walked across the porch and scuffed her boot across the boards, her hands in the pockets of her jeans, her eyes focused on the floor. Her gaze rose and met his, a challenge in her eyes. “Care to take a ride with me, Brody? I want to go and check on the mare.”
“Are you going to give me some answers?”
“Why don’t you just come with me and we’ll talk?”
Brody looked toward Jeb who nodded his head slightly, indicating he should go.
Brody rose from the chair and walked side by side to the barn with Lou. They saddled two horses and Lou grabbed two bottles of water from the barn fridge to put in a saddlebag. Then she took two carrots and placed them in her back pocket.
They rode in silence for a few minutes and then Lou asked, “You doing okay over there? I worry a little about your riding skills, with you being such a greenhorn and all.”
Brody scoffed, “Greenhorn, my foot. I have been riding horses since before I could walk.”
“But last time you said you were afraid to ride alone.”
“Oh, I just wanted to rattle your cage and see if you would let me ride behind you,” Brody replied absently.
“You did not…” Lou tried to look offended.
“Don’t worry. I got the worse end of that deal. Trust me.”
“Serves you right,” Lou mumbled.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.” She smiled at him.
They loped along in silence until they saw the rock where they had eaten lunch on their previous ride. Lou dismounted, wrapped her reins around the saddle horn, and let the horse graze. Brody did the same. Lou looked toward the mountains and crossed her arms over her chest. “This is on
e of my favorite places,” she stated.
“Does it remind you of where you grew up?”
“God, no. Not at all.” She snorted indelicately. “I grew up in the city. We lived in trailer parks where there were dirty children, cockroaches, and traffic. I guess that’s why I like it here so much, because it’s so different from where I came from. We had just moved into a different trailer in the middle of nowhere the night Jeb and John found me.”
“Found you?”
She took a deep breath. “Yeah. We were watching TV one night when someone knocked at the door. My mother started going crazy about it and threw Sarah into a bag and put it over my shoulder. Sarah was just a couple of weeks old at the time. Then, my mother told me to go out the back window and run like hell, so that’s what I did. I heard her scream as I ran through the woods. I stopped for a second and that’s when a bullet hit me.”
“Bullet? Where?”
Lou lifted her bangs and showed Brody the shallow trench on her temple. He touched it lightly with his fingers, which were gentle, but firm.
Lou began to pace in front of him. “I ran through the woods and came out on a street. That’s when I fell down and passed out. Jeb and John just happened to be driving by. They stopped and picked me up, the bag with Sarah in it still hanging over my shoulder. I think they were a little surprised to find a baby. Not to mention me. They brought me and Sarah here for Sadie to take care of us.”
“She always did take care of all the wounded birds and children at Western Skies. She’s fixed up more than one scrape that I had.”
“They’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“What happened to your mother?” His eyes searched hers.
“She died.” Lou heaved a sigh. “After I had been here for about a year, I stopped being afraid someone was looking for us. I just started living my life and raising my daughter. I had almost begun to believe the past was just a dream when, the other night at the hospital, we ran into Mrs. Downy. She was our neighbor when I was younger. And I did know her but I didn’t want to admit it. Then that man stopped Sarah at the end of the drive.”
“A stranger asked about you at the hospital, too. That’s why Mom wanted to come home so quickly. She wants to be sure you’re safe.”
Lou’s eyes met his “I had no idea. If I ever thought your family would be in danger, I would take Sarah and leave. I promise. And if it ever comes to that, I will. I love them like they’re my own. I just wanted to bring you out here to explain it to you. I didn’t want you to think there is some big conspiracy to keep you out of the loop.”
Wringing her hands, Lou paced over to stand near the big rock and stopped. Then he heard it, the rattling sound that could only come from one source. Lou looked down at her boots and saw a rattle snake, coiled and ready to strike, about two inches from the toe of her boot. Brody saw it at the same time.
Brody bent to retrieve a large rock. “Be very still. Don’t move an inch.”
“Don’t worry,” she breathed out slowly.
From behind the rock, Lou felt a snort against the back of her neck. Then the strong body of the pregnant mare pushed her to the side and out of the way. Lou landed on her backside in the dirt as the mare startled. She stomped, hooves flailing wildly as she reared. On the second strike, her hoof severed the snake’s head from its body. Its length continued to slither on the ground for a moment as the horse stilled. Brody quickly moved over to Lou and extended a hand. She grabbed it and scuttled away from the heaving mare. The horse approached Lou slowly, and Brody moved to shoo her away.
“Don’t,” she said quickly as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out the two carrots. She held them out to the mare. “She certainly earned these, didn’t she?” Lou laughed lightly as she touched the side of the mare’s face. The mare snorted and moved away from her, not ready to accept human contact, before marching off into the distance, still chewing on the carrots.
“I can’t believe she did that. I think she was just coming over to get a carrot and got caught in the wrong place,” Lou stated quietly. “I could have been killed.” She reached out and touched Brody’s forearms, her hands shaking as she did so. “Oh, God, I could have been killed.” Lou’s voice caught as she looked at the snake.
Brody said quietly, “You did just great. You’re fine now.” He gently brushed the hair away from her face and wiped a smudge of dirt from her cheek.
Lou’s entire body began to shake. Her knees gave way under her and she nearly fell to the ground. She collapsed against Brody. He caught her before she hit the ground with a hand beneath her knees and one under her shoulders.
“You’re going to faint on me again, aren’t you?” he asked quietly as he lowered her to sit on a nearby boulder. He stood in front of her and held on to her shoulders. He placed a hand beneath her chin and forced her to make eye contact.
“I don’t faint,” she stated.
“Oh, yeah? Prove it.”
“I don’t know why I’m shaking so badly.” She wringed her hands together.
“It’s from the adrenaline. The body is flooded by it when there’s a traumatic situation. Then it takes a moment for your body to catch up and realize the danger has passed.”
“Really?”
“ I’m a doctor, remember?”
“I remember. Do you hold all your patients and rub their hair when they are shaking?”
He chuckled softly. “ I’m just making an exception with you.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He continued to rub her hair as the shaking eased, her face pressed against his chest and her eyes closed.
“You’re getting way too comfortable here,” he stated quietly.
She smiled against his chest. “Maybe.”
She leaned back, and her eyes met his. “We had better get back.”
He grabbed her hands and pulled her to her feet, yet his fingers stayed laced with hers.
“Sure you’re ready?”
“Yep.” She gave an exaggerated nod and lifted on tiptoe to place a kiss on his cheek. He turned his head at the last moment and her lips met his. She stilled and started to retreat, but his hand caught the back of her neck, gently holding her head still. His lips applied pressure against hers.
Brody smiled against her lips as he whispered, “I just thought I might try to scare you out of that adrenaline rush. Is it working?”
“Yep.”
“Want me to stop?” Brody asked. She hesitated briefly. “Guess not. Lou, you took too long with that answer.” He turned his head slightly to deepen the kiss. His lips pressed gently against hers, forcing them to open.
Her lips parted and his tongue slipped inside, tangling with hers in the most delectable way. Her breath caught in her throat. Brody lifted Lou’s hands onto his shoulders, where they curled around his neck of their own accord. His larger hands moved to her waist, then dipped into the back pockets of her jeans, pulling her closer to him. He was rock hard against her belly. She pulled back.
“Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to scare you that much,” he breathed against her mouth. She lowered her head and pressed her forehead against his chest, her breath coming in gasps.
“Your plan worked. I’m not shaking from fear anymore.” An unsteady hand patted his chest.
“Now, you’re shaking from something else?”
“Sure looks like it.”
“Can I help?”
“I think you already did.”
He rested his chin atop her head. “Glad to hear it. Just one more,” he tilted her chin up one more time. His lips touched hers gently and her hands rose to his shoulders again, one hand playing in the curls at the nape of his neck. Lou moaned softly as he deepened the kiss. His hands came out of her back pockets and encircled her narrow waist. His fingers slipped below the back waistband of her jeans. He tugged gently at her T-shirt, pulling it free from her pants where it was tucked so neatly. His hands touched the skin of her waist and she moaned. Her ski
n was slickened with sweat yet his warm, strong hands glided over her skin leisurely. His fingers slid around and touched the sides of her waist and then tickled her belly. Brody groaned out loud as he hands moved across her soft skin. He continued his assault on her mouth as his hands crept up her sides, sending electrical currents running through her. Her nipples tightened against the soft cotton of her bra in response.
She gasped as he cupped her full right breast and ran a thumb across her erect nipple. Her knees buckled. She leaned back against his arm, which was all that stood between her and hitting the dirt. He took advantage of her position and lifted her shirt. He kissed her stomach and traced a slow pattern with his tongue up to her breasts. He placed his lips against the thin cotton and traced a warm circle through the fabric with his tongue. Her nipple tightened even more and her hands moved to his hair. She moaned loudly.