Chapter 29
Twenty-Nine
“ Y our roping skills are getting better!” Sam teased John as they took a break from moving the herd. It was a scorching summer day. Temperatures had to be climbing towards a hundred degrees. The cold water in his canteen felt like an oasis in a desert.
“I’ve been using that setup in the backyard to practice. Didn’t want to get kicked out of the Cooper family before I officially joined.”
“Nobody gets kicked out once Mom claims you. You’re stuck for life.”
John laughed, reaching into his pocket. He held up his phone, wiggling it back and forth with a shit eating grin on his face. “Looks like your sister is already missing me.”
Jealousy shot through Sam. He pulled out his phone, but there weren’t any messages from Evie.
“Hey, baby. Missing me?” John’s face paled. “Whoa. Slow down. What happened? We’ll be right there. Just sit down and wait in the office. Five minutes, Abby. Breathe and I’ll be right there.”
Sam’s heart fell into his stomach. “What’s going on? ”
“Get on Jasper. Evie’s missing.”
Sam shook his head, waiting for John to tell him it was a mistake. There was no way he heard that right. “What the FUCK did you just say?”
“Evie is missing. I didn’t get all the details, just that Hank and Daisy are at the office and we need to get back there. NOW, Sam!”
The longest minutes Sam ever lived were on the ride back to the barn. It felt like his heart had stopped beating, but somehow his body kept going. They were barely out of the field next to the barn when Sam jumped off Jasper’s back, running through the barn to the office.
“Where is she?!” he yelled as he burst through the doorway. Daisy’s hand hovered over Abby’s shoulder and his sister’s face was full of tears. Hank stood next to Evie’s desk, holding onto a piece of paper.
“Are you alright?” John ran in behind him, slipping down onto his knees in front of Abby.
“I’m fine. I went to the bathroom. I was only going to be gone thirty seconds. I’m so sorry, Sam.”
“What happened?”
“Someone barricaded the door. I had to climb out the window once I realized what had happened. By the time I got back here, she was gone. I ran up to her apartment, but it’s empty. And I went to the house to see if Mom saw her. She’s on her way down now.”
“There was a note left for you on her desk, Sam.”
“From Evie?” he asked.
“No.”
Hank handed the piece of paper to Sam, as bile forced its way into his mouth.
Taking Evie for a little stroll on my property. I have a few documents for you to sign, and then you can have her back. Be sure to come alone, Samuel. I’d hate for a crowd to scare my herd and have her get hurt.
“It’s Garrett. He has her at his ranch.”
“Remember the plan, Sam. You keep him calm and do whatever he asks so we can find Evie. Anything you sign will not hold up in court.”
Hank’s voice came over the tiny earpiece Sam had agreed to wear. Nearly half the on-duty deputies were called to Red River Ranch to help execute the plan, but Sam’s stomach still churned with uncertainty. It had taken too long to get a plan in place. Too long waiting for all the law enforcement pieces of the puzzle to come together. Garrett could have done anything to Evie in that time. Fuck. He didn’t care if Garrett ended up with the ranch. All he wanted was to have Evie and Jellybean back in his arms. Safe and sound.
Sam didn’t bother knocking at the front door. The asshole was expecting him, why bother with formalities. His footsteps echoed across the expansive foyer. He’d come to Garrett’s ranch a few times as a child, but could barely remember the layout of things. That didn’t matter in the end, because Garrett stepped out from a room to Sam’s right, a falsely bright smile painted on his face.
“Samuel. How nice of you to finally visit. Although, I am surprised that you showed up on your own. You’re making me believe in love again.”
“Those were the terms you set.” His fists clenched together by his side. “I want to know what the fuck you’ve done with Evie. Right now.”
“She’s perfectly fine. At least, she was when I stashed her away. Don’t worry. I know how brutally hot this Texas heat can be. I left her with a bottle of water. Although, that was hours ago now. You certainly did take your sweet time realizing she was gone.”
“She’s outside? You fucking prick!” Sam charged towards Garrett, but the asshole just held up his hand and laughed before turning back into the room he’d just walked out from. Sam followed, biting the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood.
“There’s plenty of time for checking on her once I have what I want.”
“And what is that?” Sam ground his molars together so hard he thought he might break his teeth. “Why they hell did you take Evie from the ranch?”
Garrett opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a pile of papers.
“You have to understand, Sam, the Red River Ranch is mine. Whatever happens to Evie, if anything even happens at all, it is because of you and your father. I tried to get him to listen to reason. You were never supposed to inherit the land.”
“It’s been in my family for over a hundred years. Just because he asked you to come on as a silent partner doesn’t mean he meant for you to get it when he died. You’re delusional.”
“It’s what your father and I agreed upon when I invested and became a partner, son.”
“Don’t fucking call me son. Get to the fucking point so I can get to Evie.”
“I’m sure she’s having a lovely time with the herd.”
His head pounded. She was out in a fucking field? With cattle? The edges of his vision darkened. Christ, he was going to pass out.
“We heard, Sam. Keep him talking. I’ve got a deputy leading a team onto his property now.”
“Your dad went behind my back and changed his will just a few months before his death. If I had known, I never would have drugged him until I got him to reverse his asinine attempt at keeping the ranch in your family’s hands.”
“You drugged him?”
Garrett shrugged. “I didn’t mean to kill him, if that helps. Poor bastard had a bad heart. Your mother tried for months before his death to get him to take time off, see an actual doctor. But he didn’t listen. I only meant to put him on the sidelines, to get the health clause in our business agreement enacted, but… well, you know how that story ends.”
His father might have been on his way to heart failure, but the heart attack that killed him wasn’t just nature taking its course. Garrett killed him.
“He died in front of me!” he spat.
“Yeah. I know he did.” Garrett had lost his mind. That was the only explanation. What the hell was he supposed to do, stuck in a room with the man who just so casually announced he was responsible for the worst day in Sam’s life. Everything that happened, everything he’d had to sacrifice since, was Garrett’s fault. Sam hadn’t been able to prove a single thing against him, and now Evie and the baby were in danger. “Why don’t you sign these documents, Sam. There’s plenty of time to talk about what it all means after.”
“You’re not an idiot, Garrett. You know this won’t hold up in court.”
“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong, Sam. It pays to be as connected as I am. You know how easy it was to pay off a notary and a county judge to make sure this was a rock solid plan? It did involve a little extra blackmail on my part, but it was well worth it.” He slid the papers and a pen over to Sam. “It looks like it’s getting awfully hot out there, Sam. I think it’s probably in Evie’s best interest if you start signing those documents.”
He didn’t care how many people Garrett paid off, Sam trusted Hank. So he signed those papers without a single glance at the words.
“Done. Where is she?” He threw the papers back at Garrett.
“You did the right thing, son. The ranch was always meant to move into my hands. The mineral rights to the land were always meant to be mine.”
Sam’s eyes snapped back from the window he was looking out. “What mineral rights?”
“Ah, I see Evie didn’t get a chance to tell you what she found. I’m so pleased I get to be the one to tell you what you just lost. Makes this evil rich uncle act even more dramatic than it already is.”
“You’re insane.”
“Maybe. But it is really rather enjoyable to see years of hard work finally pay off. Would you be interested in hearing how I knew that little friend of yours who tried to kill the sheriff’s wife?”
His jaw dropped thinking back to how close Daisy had come to dying thanks to someone they once considered a friend. “You were working with him?”
“Working together? Hardly. That little prick was digging into some records and came here trying to blackmail me. I had to take the sniveling weasel under my wing to keep him quiet about my attempts to bankrupt the ranch, but the idiot went rogue. Have to give it to the kid. I was gone for two years, staying as far away from Clarence County as I possibly could, and by the time I got back he’d tried to kill your friend and got himself put in jail. Takes some real big balls to do something like that. I, of course, continued to stay away. Who knew what the sheriff would dig up in connection to that case.” He laughed. “The love-sick fool was just happy to have his girlfriend back. Sheriff Porter closed the case thinking all that asshole wanted the land for was farming. Who tries to kill someone over a little farm land? Now oil? Plenty of people have been killed over oil.”
“He fucking murdered her grandparents!”
“Exactly my point.” He checked his watch. Sam’s hands clenched into fists, which clearly didn’t escape Garrett. “I thought you’d appreciate all this information, Sam, seeing as how you always wanted to be a Ranger. Too bad nothing I’ve said here today will make it into a case file.”
“I’m begging you, just fucking tell me how to get to Evie. It’s too hot for her to be out there for this long!”
“I know it. Poor thing was already sweating up a storm when I left her.”
Sam’s chest felt so fucking tight, he couldn’t breathe.
“I’ll be going now, Sam. But my lawyers will send along information about when you’ll need to be moved off of my property. I think a week should be enough time, don’t you?”
“Where is she?” The words ground out between his clenched teeth.
“West pasture. That’s the herd's favorite. Shouldn’t take you more than, oh, thirty minutes to make it out there on horseback. Of course, she can’t ride back that way, can she? Better hop in your truck. The roads on the ranch are old. Might take you more like an hour to get to her from here. Oh, and Sam?” He grabbed a water bottle from the edge of his desk and threw it at Sam. “You’ll probably want to bring this with you. I’m sure she’s feeling more than a bit parched by now.”
There were a thousand things Sam wanted to say to Garrett, but he didn’t bother. He took off running out of the main house, his feet carrying him back to the barn.
Sam had a horse saddled and out on the way to get to Evie in under five minutes.
“She’s in the West field, Hank. With his herd.”
“ I got that loud and clear, Sam. I’m heading out that way in my truck now. ”
He’d been riding for what felt like forever when a crumpled form caught his eye under a tall tree. Fuck! She wasn’t moving. He couldn’t see far enough to tell if she was still breathing.
“Evie!” Sam jumped off the horse’s back, going up over the fence as he ignored the building pain in his chest.
He didn’t know if she’d been left there, or if she knew enough to get herself close to the fence where the cattle were less likely to go, but Christ he was thankful for it.
Sam ran to her side, slamming his knees into the dirt as he worked to untie the knotted rope around her wrists.
“Evie, you have to open your eyes. Fuck, baby. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. Open those beautiful eyes for me. Come on, Evie. Come back to me.”
“Sam.” His name came out as a choked sob as her eyes opened and focused on him. There was such an intense rush of relief as her voice reached his ears that he fought the urge to lean over and spill his guts onto the ground next to her. His heart pounded in his chest, an ache warning him to get a grip.
“Are you hurt? Are you in pain?”
“Sam.” Tears welled in her eyes. “I tried… I think I fell asleep.”
He finally broke through the knot and threw the rope around down into the dirt. His hands slipped up to cup her face.
“That’s okay, baby. It’s okay.” His head nodded frantically. “Tell me you’re okay now. Tell me Jellybean is moving, making you absolutely miserable. Tell me I can haul you into my arms and never let you go. ”
“Please.”
Sam pulled the water bottle out of his back pocket and rolled so his ass hit the dirt right next to Evie before he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap. He laid his hand over her belly, waiting for the baby to move.
She buried her face into his shirt and laid still against him. Her ankles were still tied together, but he couldn’t let her go to tend to them.
“We need help over here! Get an ambulance!” Sam yelled to the deputies approaching. “Evie, I need you to try and take a drink of water for me. You feel hot, baby.”
Her face lifted and he worked the cap free from the bottle, bringing it up to her lips where she took greedy gulps. So much could have gone wrong. What if he hadn’t found her in time? What if she’d gone into labor?
Wait. How did he know she wasn’t having contractions? Dehydration could cause them… and she hadn’t answered him about being in pain. Fuck!
He set the bottle on the ground the second she was done and set to work unbuttoning her shirt. He needed to get the layers off of her so she could cool down. Her back was soaked through with sweat, and something about feeling that sent him into a rage.
Sam should have ended Garrett. That bastard almost took away his girls.
He’d almost lost his family.
“Sam.” Evie’s hand landed on his scruffy cheek, soft pressure urging him to look down at her.
“What?” he asked, his lungs working overtime to draw in some air. Christ, the tightness in his chest was getting worse.
“Cowboy, you’re shaking. You need to breathe. You got to us. We’re okay. Now we need you to be, too.”
“I don’t know how…”
“Remember what you told me. Slow your breathing down.” Evie pulled on the arm tucked around her back and brought his hand up to her chest. He could instantly feel her heart beating under his palm.
“My heart is right there, Sam. Beating only for you and this baby girl. Both your girls are right here. We’re okay. Now you have to make sure you’re okay for us too.”
“Christ,” Hank ran over to Sam. “The ambulance is ten minutes out. Just try to stay calm, Evie. How far are you away from your due date again?”
“Six weeks.” Sam answered before Evie. He shifted his hips so she rolled a little more onto her left side like the pregnancy book he’d read suggested for optimal blood flow to the baby.
“You’re going to need that ambulance more than me if you don’t calm down.” Evie gave him a weak smile, which he knew was meant to release him from his worry, but it didn’t. Nothing would until she was safe in the hospital and her doctor said that she and Jellybean were going to be okay.
“Let’s get you guys loaded up into the truck. We’ll meet the ambulance. It’ll be faster.” Hank reached out to take Evie from Sam. His response was instant. A growl started low in his chest and his hand tightened around her.
“Right.” Hank put his hands back at his waist. “You good to get up or you want me to spot you for a minute?”
“Sam, don’t be silly.”
“He’s right, Evie. You just relax, we’ll figure this out.” Hank nodded, shocking Sam.
“Spot me. But she’s staying in my fucking arms until we know everything is okay or the paramedics tell me I have to let go.”
Evie’s smile pulled wider across her still too-flushed-for-his-liking face.
“Have you felt the baby move?” he whispered as Hank grabbed his elbow and helped him to his feet.
“Not for a while. I think she fell asleep.” She shook her head and pressed it into his chest. “He covered my head before he brought me here. I didn’t know how to get back. I’m sorry, Sam. I tried to get my legs untied, but couldn't get through the knot. And then it was just so hot that I laid on my side and waited.”
“You did the right thing, Evie. I promise. You did the right thing and I’m so proud of you for keeping yourself safe.”
The walk to Hank’s truck felt like time was standing still. He just wanted someone to tell him everything was going to be okay. Evie grimaced as he set her into the back seat, moving over so that he could fit beside her. Once he was inside, Sam scooped her back up and cradled her on his lap.
“Can you turn up the air, Hank?”
“Yeah. It’s as cold as it can be. You let me know if it gets to be too much.”
Evie’s head lifted from his shoulder. “I don’t want anything to happen to Jellybean.”
“Nothing is going to happen to her. She’s safe inside your belly right now. It’s all going to be okay. Isn’t that right, kiddo?” Sam’s hand gently roamed across her bump. Fuck, he wished the baby would kick. His throat was painfully tight, trying to swallow down the panic bubbling up through his tight chest.
“I was so hot, Sam. He tied me and I couldn’t get the rope undone. And I just kept thinking about how hot it was, and how I was going to pass out and not be able to protect her.”
“Shh. You did great, Bluebell. Let’s try and take another drink. The paramedics will get you on an IV and they’ll be able to tell us everything’s okay.”
Before he could lift the bottle to her lips, she jolted. “Oh, God. Sam. Your sister! Is Abby okay?”
He nodded, pressing the bottle to her lips. “She’s fine, I promise. She was a mess about not being able to stop you from being taken.”
“It wasn’t her fault!”
“Shh. Try not to get worked up. Let’s just focus on getting you and Jellybean checked out.”