Son of Texas (Count on a Cop) Page 12

  “Dennis has a family to support and he’ll do anything to keep his job.”

  “Oh, yeah. He kowtows to Boone, but I always felt he was an honest man.”

  “That’s good…”

  A boom sounded and the car swerved. “Hold on,” Caleb shouted. Then another boom and the car spun round and round and ran through a fence, mesquite and a ravine. The car bounced and jerked and had them holding on for dear life. The last thing she heard was Caleb scream, “Josie!” Then everything went black.

  WHEN JOSIE WOKE UP she felt disoriented and didn’t know where she was. Then she saw the shattered glass of the windshield and a mesquite limb poking through. They had an accident or something. Caleb! She turned to see him slumped over the steering wheel. She smelled gas. Oh, God! She quickly unbuckled her seat belt and her head throbbed from the movement.

  They had to get out of the car.

  “Caleb!” she shouted. He didn’t move. She reached over and shook him, but still he didn’t budge. A wave of dizziness assailed her. She had to stay conscious. Focus. Focus. She threw herself against her door and it opened. Stepping out, the dizziness became worse. She held on to the car, sidestepping cactus, to get to Caleb. All the while she prayed his door would open and that he was okay.

  She gave it one hard yank and when it swung wide, tears stung her eyes. “Caleb!” she shouted again, but still he gave no response. Unclipping his seat belt, she slid her hands under his armpits and tugged, careful to balance his head against her chest. Tugging and pulling she managed to get him out onto the ground. Then she dug her heels in and dragged him as far away as she could. When her breath burned in her chest and her arms gave way, she collapsed backward, sucking air into her lungs.

  After a second she scrambled to her knees, bending over Caleb. He had a bruise on his forehead. Her heart stilled. Was he breathing? Unbuttoning his shirt, she placed her hand over his heart. She picked up a strong pulse immediately. Thank God. She kissed his forehead with her trembling lips.

  “Caleb! Caleb! Wake up!”

  A coyote howled in the distance and Josie glanced up. It would be dark soon and this was no place to be. Animals, unfriendly and dangerous, would be foraging for food. They had to get back to the ranch. But how? The dizziness became intense and she sank back on her heels.

  Darkness slowly began to blanket the land and Josie knew she had to do something. The ranch was about five miles away. In daylight they could walk it, but not at night in their conditions. They had to wait it out.

  The car hadn’t exploded and she needed to get what she could out of it to survive the night. She struggled to her feet and made her way to the vehicle. The smell of gas was still strong. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to be quick and ignore the pounding in her head. A flashlight was in the glove compartment and she grabbed it along with her purse. She snatched two jackets from the back, then moved away as fast as she could.

  Rolling up a jacket, she tucked it under Caleb’s head. He moaned and her pulse tripled in speed.

  “Caleb?”

  He came to in a rush. Josie Belle was in danger! He had to do something, but his body wouldn’t move and he felt pain shoot through his head. “Josie…”

  “Shh.” He felt her touch and he relaxed. She was alive.

  It took a moment then he opened his eyes and stared into the darkness of the night. “Oh, oh.”

  “Try not to move,” Josie said. “We had an accident.”

  “What happened?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He took a couple gulps of air and rose to a sitting position. His head throbbed for a second then stopped. “Are you okay?” he asked quickly.

  “We both hit our heads, but otherwise, I think we’re fine. The car smells of gas and I’m not sure it’s drivable. We’re stuck here for the night.”

  He looked at her and saw she was calm and in control. “You’re remarkable.”

  “I’m shaking and scared out of my mind.”

  He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, the feel of her was all he needed.

  “I got a flashlight and the jackets out of the car. Our biggest worry are the animals foraging for food—wild boar, bobcats, deer, coyotes, not to mention snakes, ants and lizards. The light will keep most of them away, but with the ants, lizards and snakes, we’ll have to take our chances.”

  He reached for his cell phone on his waist and winced. “Try to see if you can get a signal.”

  Josie poked out the number for the police station. “Nothing. Damn! When Dennis leaves the Silver Spur maybe he’ll notice the break in the fence.”

  “We can hope,” Josie replied, her voice doubtful.

  “We could fire a shot into the air,” Caleb suggested, “but I’m not sure it would be heard.”

  “It would, but no one would care. Shots are fired all the time out here.”

  Caleb sighed. “Then we better find a place for the night.” He pushed to his feet, staggered a bit, then regained control.

  “Probably by that gnarled mesquite.” She stood also and followed him to the tree. Taking the light, he looked for ants and the like. She dropped the jackets and they sat down, their backs to the tree.

  “Do you think someone shot at us?” she asked quietly.

  “I don’t know. That person would have to be waiting for us, knowing we were out here.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Someone is afraid of what you’ll remember.”

  “And they’re determined that I die before that happens.”

  He wrapped an arm around her. “As I said before, none of this makes any sense. If I was going by the book, all the evidence points to Lorna and Mason. But they’re too obvious, too open.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder and Caleb clicked off the light. “We need to conserve the battery. I’ll turn it on at intervals to keep the animals away. Try to get some sleep.”

  “Are you kidding? I’ll never be able to sleep out here. A rattlesnake might wrap itself around my throat or my foot.” She shivered. “No way.”

  “With head injuries we need to stay awake anyway. We can talk.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “What?”

  “Men never want to talk.”

  “I’m different, I suppose. I had a mother who encouraged me to talk.” He rested his chin on her head.

  “That’s where you and Eli are so different. He closes up like a clam.”

  “But Caroline has a way of opening him up.”

  “Mmm.” Her hand splayed across his chest and silence mingled with the night sounds of crickets, barks and howls.

  Even though danger lurked behind the darkness, Caleb felt a peacefulness he couldn’t describe. Maybe it was the night. Or maybe it was just holding Josie Belle, which was how he was beginning to think of her.

  “My mother knew what kind of man Joe McCain was, cold and never sharing any part of himself. She was determined that her sons wouldn’t be like that. Every day after school, we had to tell her the good and bad parts of our day. Beau could go on and on—guess that’s why he’s a lawyer. Sometimes I’d wish for a switch to turn him off.”

  A chuckle left her lips. “You have a good relationship with your brothers.”

  “Yeah.” He caressed her arm. “Even Jake—and I was almost thirty when I met him. It’s good to have us all back together.”

  “Did you ever meet your father?”

  “Once.” He leaned his head against the tree. “My mom sent Beau to the feed store for birdseed and I went with him. Joe McCain was there and Beau pointed him out, and Beau, sometimes having more nerve than common sense, walked up to him and said, ‘Hi, Dad.’ Joe whirled around and replied, ‘As long as you’re with that woman, you’re no son of mine. You’re a bad son.’”

  “He called Beau a bad son?”

  “Ridiculous, isn’t it? Beau is about as good as they come, but since he chose to go with my mother Joe always referred to him as the bad son.”

  “Did he
say anything to you?”

  “No, but he looked at me with the strangest look in his eyes.”

  He stopped speaking and Josie prompted, “What happened next?”

  “Nothing, Beau pulled me away and I was as eager to get away from him as Beau was. But I was thinking about Caddo and how much he looks like Mason. Maybe Joe looked at me and saw his own image that day. Maybe he finally knew I was his son.”

  Caleb thought about all the years he agonized over the fact that Joe denied who he really was. But if Joe admitted it, he would also have to admit the truth about himself. He was a liar, a cheat and a jealous unstable man.

  “Maybe he did, but his pride wouldn’t let him admit it.”

  “He died a short while later. Beau, with his big heart, went to the funeral and Mom said I could go if I wanted. I chose not to and I’ve never regretted that decision.”

  She touched his face. “You were lucky to have Andrew in your life.”

  “Yes.” He clicked on the light. “In all the years I was growing up he never raised a hand to me or even raised his voice. And I gave him plenty of opportunity.”

  “I can’t believe that.”

  “I was a typical teenage boy.” His thoughts went back. “One time I was playing baseball in the front yard with my friends. I guess I was about nine. I hit the ball and it sailed right across the street through Mrs. Finney’s window. All the kids were scared of Mrs. Finney. She walked with a cane and always wore a scowl and she didn’t like kids in her yard. We all ran into the house and hid out in my room.”

  The wind blew through the mesquite and he pulled her closer. “That night Dad set the ball on the table and asked, ‘How did this get into Mrs. Finney’s living room?’ I didn’t lie. I told him the truth. He said, ‘What do you think we need to do about this?’ I replied, without having to think about it, that I needed to apologize to Mrs. Finney and replace her window. He smiled and hugged me.

  “Andrew taught me about responsibility and love and he taught me that a man didn’t need to raise his voice or get angry when something went wrong.” Caleb took a breath. “When I played ball in high school, he taught me that winning was great, but it didn’t teach a man a lot. In defeat a man learned what he was made of, and there was never any shame in doing one’s best. At sixteen and seventeen that didn’t mean much to a kid who wanted to win every time. Years later I knew he was trying to teach me that I wasn’t always going to win in life.”

  “You get all your kindness from Andrew.”

  “Yeah.” And sitting under a canopy of stars he knew that he wasn’t going to win this time. He wasn’t going to walk away with the heroine.

  Josie Belle belonged to someone else.

  CHAPTER NINE

  THE GROUND WAS HARD and the May evening grew chilly as the wind whistled through the mesquite. A coyote howled in the distance and answering howls echoed around them. Bright stars glittered above, beautiful in a way Caleb had never seen before. He felt as if he could pluck one right out of the big sky and hold its warmth in his hand.

  Josie snuggled into him and he shut off the light. Suddenly all those conflicting feelings about Joe McCain seemed to dissipate. He didn’t miss a thing by not knowing his biological father. He had so much more in his true father, Andrew. Andrew’s teachings about right and wrong would give Caleb the strength to walk away from Josie when the time came.

  “Oh.” She jerked upright.

  “What?”

  “Something ran across my leg.”

  He quickly snapped on the light to see a fuzzy tail disappear into the thicket. “I think it was a raccoon or a fox.”

  She shivered. “I’m not that fond of wild animals.” She reached for her purse. “How about a candy bar?”

  He laughed out loud and something rustled in the bushes. “Do you always carry chocolate with you?”

  “Never know when a girl might need a chocolate fix.” She handed him one and they ate in silence. Then she said, “Hope Lencha’s not too worried. I’m sure she’s called Eric by now and he’s probably looking for us.”

  “I don’t know how far off the road we are. We’ll be hard to find in the dark. Our best bet will be to just leave the light on, hoping Dennis or Eric will see it.”

  “Yeah. Eat all that chocolate and don’t drop any crumbs or the ants will find us. I put the wrappers back in my purse.”

  “Very wise.”

  She was quiet for a moment and he could almost feel the wheels turning in her head. “What are you thinking?” he asked.

  “About the future. The person who shot me. My memory. And you.”

  “Me?” He lifted an eyebrow.

  “Yes.” She snuggled into him once again and his arm instinctively went around her. “And how much I’m going to miss you and your voice.”

  “My voice?”

  She told him about the warm milk and how his voice made her feel, especially when she was so afraid.

  “You can always drink a glass of warm milk with chocolate in it.” He was trying to be flippant, but inside his heart felt heavy.

  “It won’t be the same.” She looked at him and slowly kissed the corner of his mouth. “Kiss me, Caleb.”

  “I don’t think…”

  “Please.”

  He couldn’t resist her plea. He took her lips with a fiery hunger fueled by a year of glances, touches and yearnings. His hand slid under her blouse to her breasts then traveled to her back and caressed the scars. Pulling him closer, Josie’s hands ran through his hair as the kiss went on, taking them on a journey of emotions that flowed through both of them. This journey would demand its own reward—total fulfillment.

  “Caleb, make love to me,” she whispered into his mouth. For a brief moment he ignored the warning in his head and tasted her tongue, her lips, her mouth and let himself feel everything that he shouldn’t. She belonged to someone else.

  Drawing his mouth away, he gulped in deep breaths of the night air and his hands stilled. He couldn’t do what she’d asked. He couldn’t do that to her, to himself, or Eric. Her emotions were precarious. His weren’t. Once her memory returned, she would regret this lapse.

  “Josie…”

  “Shh.” She placed a finger over his lips. “Don’t be nice.”

  “Josie Belle.” His breathing was so labored he felt as if he was having a heart attack. And in a way he was. He cupped her face, forcing the words out. “Our making love will only complicate things.”

  “I like it when you call me that.” She twisted a button on his shirt.

  He caught her hand, thinking that no man should be this nice. No man, especially him. He wanted her more than he wanted his next breath, but… “Josie…”

  “I know.” She sagged against him.

  “Once you remember more about your relationship with Eric, you’ll regret this lapse.” His voice sounded hoarse.

  “I’ll miss you.”

  That note in her voice twisted his gut that much more. “But not for long.”

  “Mmm.”

  But I’ll miss you forever.

  CALEB WOKE UP as sun threatened to burst through the horizon. An array of colors from gold, to oranges, reds and yellows lit up the eastern sky and bathed the land in a soft light.

  Somewhere toward morning he and Josie had fallen asleep. He looked down at the dark head on his shoulder and treasured this time out of time with her. It would be their last.

  A menacing growl caught his attention and he turned his head slightly to see a wild-looking dog a few feet away. The shaggy hair along his spine was raised and his lips curled back, brandishing his sharp teeth. Caleb reached for his gun on his right side, but Josie was lying against it.

  At his movement, she stirred.

  “Be still,” he whispered, fearing the dog was about to attack.

  She lifted her head, saw the dog and smiled. “Zar,” she called, but the dog didn’t budge, nor did his eyes leave Caleb.

  “You know this dog?”

  “He belong
s to Caddo, who can’t be far behind.” She sat up, brushed her hair from her face and looked around.

  Silently Caddo appeared through the thicket riding bareback and leading another horse. “Zar, abajo,” he said to the dog, then he jumped to the ground.

  Caleb and Josie scrambled to their feet. Josie staggered and gripped her head. Caleb caught her. “You okay?”

  “Just a little dizzy.”

  Caleb’s body had aches and pains he didn’t want to think about.

  As Caddo reached them, Josie asked, “How did you find us?”

  “The sky, the stars tell Caddo.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “You saw the light.”

  “Uh-hmm. Whole Silver Spur look for you.” Caddo glanced at the wrecked vehicle. “Someone no want you alive, prima.”

  “I know. Can you please help us get back to the ranch?”

  “Si. Brought horse.” The blues eyes narrowed on Caleb. “You ride, Ranger?”

  “You bet,” Caleb responded. “But first I’d like to take a look at the car.”

  Caddo and Josie followed as Caleb gave the vehicle a once-over. The left back tire was blown out, basically a rim and shreds of rubber were left. The right front tire on the opposite side was the same. At first Caleb thought that someone had shot the tire, but with both tires being the same that would mean there had to be two shooters on opposite sides of the road. He doubted that, but someone must have tampered with the vehicle. But when? And who?

  “We go,” Caddo said. “People are worried.” He handed Caleb the reins of a chestnut mare, and Caleb was glad to see it had a saddle. Caddo swung up on his paint in one fluid movement, then held out his hand to Josie.

  Caleb put his foot in the stirrup, mounted the mare and took off after Caddo. Caddo knew the trails through the thicket, and they sailed across desert as if it were firm earth. The dust from the paint’s feet stifled Caleb at times, but he kept pace with the other horse. They crossed two dry creeks, then the horses splashed across a shallow one. Caleb never paused. He kept following, knowing somehow that Caddo was testing him.