Chapter 4 #2
“Then we should probably get out of here before he circles back,” Brax said. “I scared him away for the moment. Doesn’t mean he won’t regroup and come at us again.”
She nodded.
“Any chance you have any gasoline on you?” Her perusal shouldn’t kick up his pulse another notch. And yet, it did.
He tucked the pistol in its holster and shook his head.
“Have a horse tied up that way.” He motioned toward the property line. “I can get you to safety and we can deal with the minibike later. Deal?”
She looked like she was contemplating her options even though she had none that he could see.
She was also covering the fact her body was trembling ever so slightly, most likely from a mix of adrenaline and fear.
Raleigh was clearly rattled by the near encounter with the ATV driver.
The very real thought they might have been up close and personal with the bomber raised Brax’s blood pressure a few notches.
“Let’s go.” She retrieved her helmet before walking over to her minibike. She tucked the helmet under the handlebars. “That should keep it safe until we can come back for it.”
“After you.” He held the fence apart so she could squeeze through before one-arming the post and hopping over. “Bullet is tied up over here.”
Brax walked Raleigh to his American Paint Horse.
She was well-versed in riding so he didn’t have to worry about showing her the ropes.
She tucked her left boot in the stirrup, grabbed the horn and saddle, and then threw her right leg up and over in one smooth transaction.
He ignored the jolt of electricity that came with contact when he hopped up and on the horse behind her.
She handed over the reins. Bullet gave them a smooth ride back to the barn.
“We can ride back in my pickup so we can bring gasoline.” There was always gasoline on hand in the equipment room, never in the barn.
“While we’re here, is there any chance I can swing by and see your mother?” Raleigh asked.
“She would like that a lot actually,” he said. “I thought you were trying to fly under the radar for as long as possible.” He stopped right there when he caught onto the implication and put two-and-two together. “You’ve been found.”
“Woke up to a throng of people outside the front gate. I skipped out on my security detail while he kept them from stampeding the house. Who I need to text before he realizes I’m gone, but I need a few minutes to catch my breath first.”
“The attention ever get to you?” The invasion of privacy would drive him crazy.
“Hard to complain when I set myself up for this, you know?” She smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes, and he wondered if she refused to let herself feel any differently.
“Still. You’re a human being. And a private one at that if memory serves.
” He remembered all the times he ran past her while she was picking on the guitar in a quiet corner.
She had a streak that had her riding minibikes and racing through his family home.
Most of the time, though, she could be found writing in a notebook or strumming the guitar.
Once she left Lone Star Pass for the Austin music scene, it all clicked and made sense.
The showman in her was getting used to the attention.
The songwriter in her sat and observed, then scribbled her thoughts.
The musician in her turned them into hits.
“Sometimes,” she said and her cheeks flushed. “I didn’t think you’d ever noticed me unless I was on Red Devil.”
“I didn’t,” he said. Then, felt the need to clarify. “Not back then anyway.”
He hadn’t meant to say the last word and her eyes gave away the fact she’d noticed. His throat felt drier than the clay soil during a drought. The current one was about to enter its third year, much to everyone’s disappointment. They needed rain.
Before she could say anything, he added, “Mom has been at the main house with Adam’s new bride and baby.”
“Adam is married? He has a baby? When did that happen?” Her eyes widened in shock. “Hold that thought. Of course, he’s married. Some of the others probably are too.” She glanced down at his wedding finger and could have sworn he saw relief wash over her when she didn’t see a gold band.
“Everyone is single now except for Adam,” he said, figuring he didn’t need to go into everyone’s complicated lives.
She seemed to catch onto the word, now, when she gave a knowing look.
“It’s strange how I half expected everyone to be exactly the same as when I left.
The same age and at the same place in life…
funny how that works because obviously time stands still for no one,” she said, her gaze unfocused like she was looking inside herself for the insight.
“And maybe it’s true that you can never go back once you leave. ”
“This is my home, so I never had my sights on living anywhere else,” he said.
“Yeah,” she said. “If I had a cattle ranch legacy, I might have stuck around too,” she said with a spark in her eye. It was the look she got when she was headed for mischief.
“Ready to head to the main house?” He wanted to circle back to speak to his mother after she’d ducked out of their questions this morning. He never thought he’d see the day when he heard himself say that his mother was hiding something. Now, he needed to find out what it was and why.