Holiday Hideout. Lynette Eason

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СКАЧАТЬ Reese was watching this very minute. If somehow he’d managed to follow her out to this ranch.

      The thought made her sick. His words rang in her ears. “This is your fault. You’ll pay for this. I’m going to make sure you suffer every day for the rest of your life.”

      It looked like he was well on his way to keeping his promise.

      THREE

      Saturday morning, Cal jammed the pitchfork into the pile of hay and tossed it into the nearest stall. In spite of the cold, sweat dripped from his forehead and he lifted an arm to swipe the liquid onto his sleeve.

      Dropping the pitchfork to the floor of the barn, Cal slammed a fist into his palm, then turned to the punching bag hanging off to the side. He often worked out in the barn, letting off steam and trying to forget things that had a way of haunting him occasionally.

      Like domestic violence victims.

      Just the thought of someone trying to hurt Abby made his blood boil. He pounded the bag until the sweat started to drip into his eyes. Peeling off the heavy sheepskin coat, he draped it over the nearest stall and went back to pummeling until his hands throbbed.

      “Boy, you better slow down or you’re going to pull something.”

      Cal whirled to find Jesse Walker, the ranch’s resident horse expert, standing in the door, hands holding the reins to Teddy Bear.

      Panting, Cal wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. “Hey, Jesse, sorry. I just needed a good workout this morning.”

      “No problem.” He paused and looked behind him. “You got company coming. I’m going to go give Teddy Bear here his own workout.”

      Cal nodded and Jesse left.

      Something nudged his shoulder and he turned to find Snickers begging for a treat. Cal felt his blood pressure ease off at the horse’s affection. Reaching up, he rubbed the stallion’s silky nose. “I couldn’t help Brianne, Snickers, but I can help this woman.”

      The horse nosed his hand and tried to nibble. Cal reached into his pocket for the apple he always brought with him. Snickers made short work of it.

      “Hi.”

      Cal turned to see Abby standing in the door of the barn.

      The company Jesse had mentioned.

      She had her red curls pulled up in a ponytail. Dressed in a pair of black jeans, a black turtleneck and a cream-colored wool sweater under a heavy black coat she’d left unbuttoned, he thought she looked a hundred-percent better than she did yesterday. “Hey, what are you doing up?”

      She shrugged. “I’ve been lying in that bed so long, I needed to get up. Fiona said you were in the barn.” She smiled as she took in the horses lining the stalls. “Wow, you have a nice operation here.”

      “Thanks. It’s a family thing. We board horses. We also breed and sell them.”

      Cal watched Abby wander over to Snickers and rub the horse’s left ear. Snickers threw his head up, then brought it back down like he approved. Cal let his eyes take in the sight of Abby again, thinking the horse had good taste.

      Planting his fists on his hips, he watched her run her hands over Snickers, admiring the strength of the animal. “You’re comfortable with horses.”

      She looked at him over her shoulder and nodded. “I grew up riding. Our neighbors had horses and they let me and my sister come over and ride anytime we wanted.”

      Cal wondered at the flicker of grief he’d seen flash in her eyes. Then it was gone, and he decided he’d imagined it.

      “Well, there are plenty of places to ride out here.” He pointed to his left. “In that direction, there’re trees that back up to the main road. The river on this property runs right under it.” He pointed right. “That way is land for about as far as you can see, but at the end of it, you can see the highway.” Pride filled him as he let his gaze wander the land he called home. He loved it and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. “The three houses make a triangle. The main house, where mom lives, sits up on the hill overlooking the rest of the land. You can see the other two houses from it. My house is that way and you know where Fiona’s is. We all live within a mile of each other. When you feel up to it, I’ll take you for a ride over the land, show you the rest of the layout and tell you all about it.”

      Life filled her green eyes for the first time since he’d met her. “That would be lovely.”

      “We’ll plan on it, then.”

      She smiled and he felt his heart thud an extra beat in anticipation of spending time with her. She nodded to the wall. “You collect weapons?”

      He nodded. “Well, my dad did. He died from a massive heart attack last year.” Grief still filled him when he thought about the man. “He was a big collector.” Cal jabbed the pitchfork once more, then leaned it against the wall as he stared at the weapons. “I’m sure you noticed the wall in the little apartment.”

      At her nod, he said, “Those were Dad’s, too. I guess one day, I’ll take them down and store them, but for now …” He shrugged.

      Her sympathetic look said she understood. For a moment he just stood there, staring at her, taking in her beauty, unable to look away.

      “Hi, Uncle Cal.” The little girl’s voice grabbed his attention and he swung around to see his mother standing in the door of the barn holding Tiffany’s mittened hand.

      He smiled. “Well, hey there, kitten.”

      “I’m not a kitty,” Tiffany protested with a giggle. “Who’s her?” She pointed to Abby.

      Abby smiled and stepped forward. “I’m Abby.”

      “I’m Tiffany,” the little girl said. Cal shook his head. That kid would talk to anyone. It was kind of scary in this day and age. Tiffany let go of his mother’s hand and walked to Snickers. “I wanna ride him.”

      His mother laughed. “Not today. And not him. He’s too big for you.”

      Tiffany planted tiny fists on her hips. “I’m big, too.”

      Cal squatted to look her in the eye. “Give me some time and I’ll take you on a ride soon, I promise. If you can do that, I’ll let you feed Snickers another apple.”

      She screwed up her nose and squinted at him. Then shrugged. “Okay.” She held out her hand.

      Cal gave her the apple and helped her feed the delighted horse.

      He heard his mother ask Abby, “How are you feeling, dear?”

      “I’m better. A little weak, but that’s to be expected. I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me.” Then she grimaced. “Speaking of feeling a little weak, I think I’d better go lie back down.”

      Immediately, Cal went to her and grasped her hands. “What’s wrong? What hurts?”

      He saw the СКАЧАТЬ