Rancher's Refuge

“Hopefully.” At first light, he’d be out searching. He’d be on the lookout for other things, too.

“Were you hunting for the calf this afternoon,” Annalisa asked, “when you...found me instead?”

Her worried expression made Austin want to reassure her. He didn’t know why. Nothing about this day made sense. “Calves get out all the time.”

She hadn’t said much other than a thousand thank-yous that were starting to set his teeth on edge. He didn’t want thanks. He wanted her to go away so he could stop worrying about her.

But if she did, he’d worry more. What if she was in trouble? What if she was like Blair...

He put the brakes on that runaway train. Annalisa Keller was a stranger who would be gone as soon she finished that jumbo, everything-piled-inside burger. He didn’t know where she’d go, but she was going. End of subject.

In a dainty motion that enthralled him, the woman on his mind folded the carryout paper napkin in tidy thirds and patted her mouth. The action inadvertently drew Austin’s attention to the shape and curve of bowed lips and to the pale strain pulling the corners down. Her upper lip was still puffy but nothing like before. The red streaks on her throat had faded, as well. Whatever had happened was fresh when he’d found her at the waterfall.

She’d had a tough day. The protective male in him wanted to do something to make things better, but how could he when she wouldn’t tell the truth? He gnawed the edge of his burger, amazed at his line of thinking. Something about this woman got to him, and that was dangerous.

Her hair, wet from the waterfall, had dried and apparently Cassie had loaned her a brush because the golden blond waves curved neatly to her shoulders. Two thick, lazy curls framed her forehead and bracketed her cheekbones and eyes. Again, he noted the strain and the beginnings of bruises on her cheek and temple.

“You look pretty rough,” he said. “Exhausted, too.”

“Austin!” Cassie scolded. “No girl wants to hear that.”

“Well, look at her.”

Annalisa’s gaze moved back and forth between the brother and sister. “I am a little tired. If I could impose on you for a ride to a shelter or a hostel...”

“What are you talking about, girl?” Cassie laid aside her burger and reached out to pat Annalisa’s arm. “Tomorrow is soon enough to worry about that. You’ve been through too much for one day. You’re staying right here tonight, isn’t she, Austin?”

Austin choked on a French fry. He’d been thinking more like renting her a hotel room. “I—uh—”

“Of course she is.” Cassie threw down her napkin and rose. “Annalisa, if you’re finished eating, come with me, and I’ll show you the guest room. Once you get some rest, everything will look much better.”

As if she had no argument left in her, Annalisa took the white pharmacy bag from the table and followed Cassie.

Still sputtering, Austin watched in sheer dread as his sister ushered a total stranger down the hall and out of sight. A stereotypical hairdresser, Cassie was a people person with a real knack for listening and counseling. She probably knew more about the citizens of Whisper Falls than anyone. And if she’d decided to pry into Annalisa’s personal life, she would.

Cows and horses and hay meadows Austin could control. Like women in general, his sister was out of his league.

He could hear Cassie’s chatter, like a tour guide, talking about towels and extra blankets and one of his T-shirts. His brain skittered to a stop. Cassie was loaning Annalisa one of his T-shirts?

He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. That was not an image he wanted to entertain.

Stuffing the rest of the burger in his mouth, he got up to clean the kitchen. Cassie managed to get out of cooking and cleaning most nights. She might be a good listener, but she despised housework.

By the time Cassie returned, humming as if she’d done her good deed for the day, Austin was elbow-deep in soap suds.

“You should buy us a dishwasher,” she said blithely. It was an ongoing discussion between them.

“I don’t mind washing dishes. Grab a towel.”

“You are so weird.” She opened a drawer and pulled out a towel. “Guys don’t like doing dishes.”

Austin lifted a handful of suds and let them slide through his fingers. “Suds therapy. Keeps me from throttling my sister.”

She sniffed and tossed her head. “You need some kind of therapy.”

He flipped suds at her. “Is this your night to insult your big brother? Don’t forget, I brought the burgers. You’re supposed to be nice to me.”

“True.” Cassie swirled the towel around a red plate. “I like her.”

“Who?”

She rolled her eyes. “Annalisa. She seems nice.”

“She’s hiding something.”

Glass clattered as Cassie opened the cabinet and slid dishes inside. “You like her, too. I saw you watching her.”

“Don’t even go there. I was watching her because she’s a liar, and I’m a suspicious man.”

Cassie ignored him, something she did on a regular basis. “I invited her to stay with us for a few days until she gets things figured out.”

Austin’s hands clenched around a fork. Tines poked him. “You did what?”

“You heard me. And don’t act all surprised. You’re the one who brought her here. Twice.”

“I didn’t know what else to do.”

In a quiet tone, Cassie nailed him. “Neither does she.”

Austin wrestled with his conscience. He was as sympathetic as the next person, but having Annalisa under his roof more than one day bothered him. A lot.

“Something’s way off base with this woman, Cassie. Why won’t she explain herself?”

“Maybe she has a good reason. Maybe she’s scared. Maybe she’s not sure who she can trust.”

He’d wondered about that. “Did you notice that she’s never asked to call anyone? She has no personal effects, nowhere to go. What if she’s a criminal or worse?”

“What could be worse?”

“There’s worse, and you know it.” He shot her a meaningful look.

“Austin,” she said gently.

“Don’t want your sympathy, Cassie. I want your cooperation. For once, agree with me on something.” Taking in a troubled woman was setting himself up for a fall he couldn’t take. Not again. Irritation edging toward fear, Austin rinsed a plate and shoved it toward his nosy sister. “Something is way out of line, and I don’t want to be involved.”

He’d bought this ranch out in the middle of nowhere for a reason. He wanted peace, quiet and solitude. He’d wanted to be as far away from speculation and suspicion as humanly possible.

Adding a lying stranger with a broken arm to the mix wouldn’t work.

“You can’t hide from people forever, Austin. Life goes on.”

He jerked the plug from the drain. Water gurgled. “Don’t go there.” There were some things he didn’t talk about, even to Cassie. “This is my house and I said no. Tomorrow she goes.”

“Where?”

“That’s her business. Not yours. Not mine.”

His sister slapped a hand on the counter. “She’s staying. She’s broke and injured—a soul in need. God sent her to us.”

He scoffed in the back of his throat. “I don’t believe that garbage.”

“Your unbelief doesn’t change the truth.” Cassie stood perfectly still, an unusual phenomenon, and asked in her sweetest voice, “Come on, Austin, please. Annalisa needs a place to stay for a few days while her arm mends and she figures out...something. We have room. We can help her. It’s not a big deal.”

“It’s the something she needs to figure out that bothers me. She should be straight up with us, tell us what’s going on.”

“Maybe she will when she feels more comfortable.”

Her words chafed at him. He didn’t like when his sister was right.

He yanked the towel from the rack to dry his hands. “I don’t like it.”

“You like her. I think that’s the problem. It’s been so long since you’ve noticed a woman—”

Austin spun, pointing a finger. “Three days tops. And then she’s out of here. Got it?”

Cassie shot him a wounded look, lips tight and resentful. “As you said, it’s your house.”

She flounced out of the room as fast as her ladybug slippers could flap against hardwood. Austin watched her go, feeling both victory and defeat.

* * *

He didn’t want her here.

Annalisa leaned against the crack of the bedroom door, listening to the brother and sister conversation. Austin Blackwell wanted her gone. Truth be told, she wanted the same thing.

Whirling, she went to the extension telephone on the cherry dresser and lifted the receiver. Just as quickly she put the instrument down.

Who would she call? Olivia wouldn’t answer. And Annalisa had burned her bridges with Reverend Beaker. Her boss? She laughed a soft, bitter laugh. Her boss was James, the last man she’d ever call. James held the keys to her life. She’d handed him everything and received nothing but sorrow in return. As of today, she was alone, broke and unemployed.

Tormented with regret, she sagged on the side of the bed. Thank God the cowboy and his sister had taken her in. Otherwise, she’d be sleeping under a tree, cold and hurt and alone.

Her body ached all over, even her scalp where James had held her hair while he’d broken her arm.

She resisted the image. No use reliving the nightmare. He was gone. Hopefully, he’d never look back. He was like that. He’d blow hot and then cold, and if he decided she was too much trouble, he wouldn’t give her a second thought. He’d find another woman by tomorrow.

The painful truth shamed her further. How had she let herself get involved with a man like James Winchell? How could she have loved a man who showed so little care and respect for her?

Annalisa knew the answer and she didn’t like it—a woman who didn’t respect herself.

She pushed a hand through her hair. No use dwelling on James tonight. She roamed aimlessly around the tidy room, wondering about the owners. Friendly Cassie with the red lipstick and ebony hair who’d insisted she stay against Austin’s wishes. Austin. Rugged, handsome cowboy. Gruff and aloof, he both scared and fascinated her.

Would she never learn?

A breath of frustration and fatigue stirred the air.

Nothing fancy here in the Blackwells’ guest room, but homey and pleasant. Sage walls and white woodwork. A cherry sleigh bed covered in a beige-and-brown quilt and piled high with pillows. A red throw tossed over an easy chair next to the double windows.

Annalisa went to the window and gazed out. The night was deep and black. Except for the stars and moon, only the single floodlight near the barn shed any light. Quiet. Peaceful. Yet the silence made her jittery.

Cast pressed to her side, she tried wiggling her fingers as the doctor had ordered. Her arm hurt but not as bad as she’d expected. The pain pill she’d taken had started to make her sleepy.

From the kitchen she caught the rise and fall of voices. Male and female. Austin Blackwell didn’t like her but he’d helped her. She didn’t understand him. But then, she clearly didn’t understand men in general.

Though tempted, she didn’t listen in on their conversation again. Tomorrow she’d figure out what to do. One thing for certain, she could not go back to California. At least not for a while. She couldn’t go home to Kansas, either. Not until she was strong enough, brave enough, healthy enough to face her regrets and start over alone.

A knot of longing filled her with an ache greater than the one in her arm.

Fresh from an awkward, one-handed bath, she lay down on the fluffy pillow, remembering her conversation at the doctor’s office. Dr. Ron had said people prayed beneath the falls expecting an answer. Was that true? Did God work that way?

She thought again of the thunderous waterfall and her whispered, desperate prayer for help, for change, for some intangible she knew was missing in her life.

Had God been listening?

As she fell asleep, she prayed again, hoping with all her heart that the story was true.

* * *

The next morning, inside the warm confines of the barn and surrounded by dust motes and the welcome smell of green hay, Austin unsaddled his horse. Hoss, the shepherd, and Jet, the graying black lab, flopped in the sunshine just inside the entryway, tongues wagging. The prissy poodle was probably still curled up in her blanket on Cassie’s bed.

Austin and the two real dogs, as he called them, had been up since six riding the ridge and woods, checking fence and searching for a stray calf that didn’t want to be found. He’d also been searching for Annalisa’s missing handbag. He’d found neither.

Blue-and-rust swallows fluttered against the rafters, chattering their squeaky song like a dozen annoyed chipmunks. A feather floated down from above. Cisco snorted and jostled to one side. Austin rubbed a soothing hand down the horse’s withers and welcomed the animal warmth. Even in his jacket, he was chilled this fall morning.

He was chilled in his soul, too. Having a woman of questionable circumstance under his roof made him nervous. He’d laid awake half the night wondering about her.

The morning ride, though, had been beautiful. He’d seen deer and coyotes and turkey and a sunrise that had made him stop on the high ridge and watch as a navy blue sky gave way to pink and gold and flame.

Still, it had been a wasted three hours.

Dogs circling his legs, Austin led the horse from the barn into the corralled lot and turned him loose. The other horses lifted their muzzles, winding their friend. Cisco moseyed away to stick his regal head in the feeder and have breakfast.

Austin’s belly rumbled in response. He was ready for breakfast, too, his single cup of coffee a distant memory.

He crossed the backyard and stepped on the porch. A bacon scent greeted him as he opened the door into the kitchen. He paused, confused for a second. Cassie left for work at eight and besides, she never cooked breakfast—or anything else for that matter.

Annalisa, a spatula in her good hand, stood at the cook stove frying bacon. Tootsie sat at her feet, fuzzy peach face upturned in eager anticipation. At his entrance, Annalisa glanced over one shoulder. Austin’s stomach went south.

Hunger could do that to a man, he thought, annoyed that the reaction might be anything else.

“What are you doing?” She was a guest. A hurt guest. She shouldn’t be cooking.

Her smile was tentative—pretty, though, in the way it lifted beneath her cheekbones and pushed up the corners of her long, mysterious eyes. She’d carefully draped her hair around the edge of her face, but he still saw the shadow of a bruise from temple to cheek. Saw it and tensed.

“I noticed the bacon on the counter and thought...” The blue eyes skittered from him to the frying pan. “I don’t know. Maybe Cassie put it there.”

“Cassie doesn’t cook.” He’d laid the meat out to thaw, expecting to fry his own breakfast.

Her gaze snapped back to his. “I figured out that much for myself. Are you hungry? This is almost done.”

Austin shifted on his boots. The situation was awkward to say the least. He wasn’t accustomed to seeing anyone all day and that’s the way he liked it. Conversation at nine in the morning was not welcome, and he was lousy at it anyway.

More than that, Annalisa made him uncomfortable, made him fight some irrational inner desire to go out on a limb. To do something stupid.

He considered denying his hunger and going back to the barn, but his belly wouldn’t let him. The smell of bacon was a siren song he never refused. Tootsie, the little beggar, agreed. He always fried an extra slice or two for her, although he’d never admit such weakness to Cassie.

“I’ll make fresh coffee.”

“Already did.” She hitched her chin toward the pot, dark with fresh brew.

Shucking his coat and hat, Austin poured a cup and sipped. “Good coffee.”

You would have thought he’d given her a ribbon at the state fair. She beamed at him over the popping bacon. “I wasn’t sure...”

She didn’t seem sure of anything much. Just like him, he thought wryly.

He set his cup aside to pull a carton from the fridge. Tootsie trotted over for a look.

“Eggs?”

She nodded. “How do you like yours?”

“Cooked. However you take yours is fine.” He popped four pieces of bread into the toaster.

They moved around the kitchen in tandem, a surprise to Austin because he was accustomed to being alone and doing everything for himself. The poodle frittered around their feet, staying out of the way but making sure they didn’t forget her.

In minutes, Annalisa set two filled plates on the table.

“Milk or juice?” she asked, sounding like a waitress. Her eagerness provoked a sympathetic response he didn’t want.

“Sit down and eat.” He dragged a lattice-backed chair away from the table and pointed. Annalisa sat. So did he. Tootsie plopped at their guest’s feet. Not his as usual, hers. Like Cassie, the dog had already turned traitor on him.

Fork in hand, he stared at Annalisa across the round table. “You look...better.”

She looked more than better. She looked good. Too good. Other than the shadowy bruise and the arm cast. The swelling was gone from her lip and only a small dark spot remained where her lip had bled. In a set of Cassie’s yellow salon scrubs, she looked like a flower in a sunny field, and her golden hair curved this way and that around her face just begging a man to touch.

“I slept pretty well all things considered.”

He certainly hadn’t. “How’s the arm?”

“Heavy, but not hurting.”

“You didn’t have to do this.” He waved his fork around the table. “Cook, I mean. I fend for myself.”

He leaned down with a piece of bacon to lure Tootsie to his side. She trotted over, plopped on her curly bottom and took the bacon with dainty teeth. Cassie had stuck a red bow next to the dog’s ear, a ridiculous thing that made Tootsie look sillier than usual.

“Breakfast was the least I could do to repay you. You and your sister... I don’t know what I would have done...” She clammed up, focused on her filled plate.

Austin plowed into his breakfast, watching her, thinking. Why didn’t she just come clean?

Finally, she lifted her fork and ate, too.

After a long silence, she put her toast aside and did the trifold napkin trick before dabbing her lips. He tried not to notice those lips, shiny with bacon grease and just the right shade of pink.

“I’ve been thinking about my dilemma,” she started.

He was thinking about the same thing. Only problem, he didn’t know exactly what her dilemma was.

“I looked for your purse.”

She blinked in surprise. “Oh.”

“I didn’t find anything. But you know that, don’t you? I didn’t find the bag because it’s not out there.”

A pink flush crested her cheeks. Her gaze dropped to her plate, but she didn’t respond.

“Look, lady, I don’t know you. I don’t know what your problem is, but lying isn’t the answer.” Tempted to demand she shoot straight or hit the road, he poked a strip of bacon in his mouth. Cassie would have his head if he kicked Annalisa out today. He’d promised three days, and even though he chafed with that knowledge, he’d stick by his word. Three days and no more.

“I could have looked for a month, and I wouldn’t have found your purse, would I?”

When she just sat there, eyes down and silent like a condemned prisoner, Austin got mad. Jaw tight, he raised his voice and growled, “Would I?”

She jerked and pulled her arms in tight against her body. Oversize eyes stood out against a pale face. Tootsie abandoned Austin and rose up to rub her nose against Annalisa’s thigh.

Even a dog was better with women than he was.

In a whisper, Annalisa admitted. “No. I’m sorry.”

Her reaction made Austin angrier. She acted like a kicked dog. She was here on his ranch, eating his breakfast. The least she could do was talk to him.

“Just spit it out. Why were you hiding under Whisper Falls? Why are you alone in a strange place without a car or money or a phone number to call?”

Annalisa sucked in her bottom lip. Her chest rose and fell and Austin had the awful feeling she might tear up. He tightened his grip on the fork. Give him a bucking horse and a kicking cow any day over a crying woman. He shouldn’t have yelled. She was already scared of something.

Reining in his frustration, he lifted a hand in a plea of peace. “I had no right to yell at you. Your business is yours. You don’t have to tell me anything.”

But that awful nagging voice in his head said he couldn’t keep her safe if he didn’t know the enemy. Visions of Blair circled in his brain like vultures waiting to pick at his wounds. Enemies come in all shapes and sizes, some of them within.

A pulse of tension throbbed in the space between Austin and his houseguest. He watched a dozen emotions move over her face and didn’t understand any of them.

As if she needed the contact, Annalisa absently stroked Tootsie’s fuzzy head.

Austin’s arms itched with the need to hold her, to send her demons fleeing. The thought shocked him to the core. He’d vowed never to get that close to a woman again. In less than a day, Annalisa had him thinking insane thoughts.

Yet, the yearning did not subside.

In a voice so low, Austin had to lean in to hear her over the hum of the fridge, she said, “I’ll find another place to stay. Don’t worry about me.”

Too late.

“I said you could stay here for a day or two.”

“But you don’t want me.”

Oh, yes, he did. The notion came out of nowhere, a notion so bizarre and undesirable that Austin was tempted to run out the door, mount Cisco and ride as far and fast as he could. Right behind the idea came another. Give her money. Send her away.

Yes, that’s exactly what he’d do.

“There are a few bed-and-breakfast places in town. I’ll give you the money. You can pay me later.”

“I couldn’t.”

“Do you have a choice?”

Blue eyes flashed up to meet his. He saw defiance and defeat in the same glance. “Not at the moment.”

“All right, then. It’s settled.” He leaned back, almost sighing with relief. After breakfast she would be out of his life, out of his house. Gone.

Cassie would have a fit.

Annalisa rose and began gathering up the dirty dishes. The poodle followed her.

“Leave those.”

“I want to do them.”

She went to the sink and he followed, noticing then what he hadn’t before. She’d been up a while and she’d been busy. The vacuum cleaner sat next to the broom on one wall. How she’d managed to use either with one arm befuddled him, but she had. The clothes drier buzzed from the utility room, and he realized she’d done laundry, too. That explained the yellow scrubs.

As he put away the butter and jelly, she ran water to wash the dishes. One thing he’d say for her, she might wear sissy shoes, but she wasn’t lazy. Even with one hand, she was willing to earn her keep.

He bumped her out of the way. Dishes with one hand would take too long. He had work to do. “I wash. You dry.”

She didn’t argue but took up a dish towel and waited, leaning her cast on the counter—a splash of lime green against black-and-brown granite. “Do you know any place in town I might find a job?”

Austin frowned. “You’re planning to stay in Whisper Falls?”

“Maybe. It seems to be a nice, quiet town.”

“You have family here?”

She pressed her lips, looked away, moody. “No. No family.”

Odd, he thought, to relocate with no family, no job, no personal belongings. “I can ask around.”

“Thank you.”

He held out a cup and when she reached to take it, he didn’t let go. Her gaze fluttered up, startled, and he saw panic rising.

“What are you afraid of, Annalisa? No one here will hurt you.” He knew as sure as he knew her eyes were the purest blue he’d ever seen, someone had hurt her. “Who did this? Who hurts you? Your husband? Is that it? Are you running from your husband?”