Ransom At Christmas. Barb Han

sea. Then there were tires squealing as her mother stomped on the brakes in the ER bay. The sun was out, brightening the sky, and would be for hours before plunging into the western landscape. It was an unusually hot afternoon even for August in Texas.

      People rushed toward them and then Kelly was being placed on a gurney and wheeled into the hospital. She remembered the rectangles on the ceiling and the bright fluorescent lights. The sound of doors opening and closing while a male voice shouted orders.

      She didn’t remember how long the nurse told her she’d been out when she woke from surgery. There was a recovery room and the strangeness of fading in and out. And then suddenly her mother was there.

      It didn’t strike her as odd at first that her father was nowhere to be seen. It should have, because he was the family’s rock. Her first thought was that he’d been held up in traffic. Then she’d realized it was Sunday—Sundays were for fishing.

      There shouldn’t be any traffic. But still, she reasoned that it would take time to dock the boat and load it onto the platform before driving the boat home. Would he go straight home to drop off the boat? Based on her mother’s panicked expression, Kelly thought he would rush straight to the hospital.

      There was no sign of her brother, either.

      And then it dawned on her that an eight-year-old most likely wouldn’t be allowed near the surgery area. Her dad was probably in the waiting room with Kellan, feeding a vending machine a few quarters to give him a snack. Her brother had been on a growth spurt and there wasn’t enough food to keep that child satisfied lately.

      “Hi, baby,” her mother had said and then her chin had quivered. Her voice was shaky.

      Before Kelly could respond, her mother burst into tears.

      “What’s wrong?” The words finally came. Her mouth was as dry as west Texas soil in a drought, so she choked when she tried to speak.

      Her mother shook her head. “I’m sorry.”

      Her words were strained and a knot immediately formed in Kelly’s stomach. She thought there was something terribly wrong with her, like the doctor had found an incurable disease.

      And then a few moments later, when her mom said the words that changed both of their lives forever, her father and baby brother had been killed in an accident on the way to the hospital to see her.

      Kelly wished she was the one to die.

      All Kelly remembered was rolling onto her side and crying herself to sleep. She didn’t want to wake up. Didn’t want to get out of bed. It was as if a heavy weight pressed down her limbs, her body. She was powerless. Helpless.

      It had been the worst feeling in the world.

      Another bullet pegged a tree near Kelly’s head, shocking her thoughts back to the present.

      Anger roared through her. No one got to make her feel that way again.

      She cringed and gripped the cowboy as tightly as she could. He was strong and fast, but not even he could run forever while carrying her.

      He was zigzagging through the woods, sometimes making a turn just in the nick of time to dodge a bullet.

      His fluid movements and ability to cut left or right like momentum didn’t exist reminded her of the best cutting horse she’d ever seen. Denny.

      If anything happened to him she’d be to blame.

      “Put me down and get out of here,” she squeaked out. Her heart couldn’t take another person dying because of her.

      “What?” The cowboy was barely winded.

      “No sheriff.”

      She tried to form more words but darkness silenced her.

       Chapter Three

      Will bolted through the property, carrying dead weight in his arms.

      Kelly’s body had gone limp.

      The shooter had disappeared.

      Will rounded the base of Horseshoe Trail, a popular riding trail among visitors to the ranch.

      Kelly’s last words spoken before she lost consciousness perplexed him. Why no sheriff? There was a man trying to kill her and now, by extension, him. Hell yes, he was calling the sheriff. Zach McWilliams was not only a damn fine lawman, but he was also Will’s cousin. They’d grown up close. Zach had spent a good bit of his childhood on the ranch and every summer he’d come to live with them while his parents worked. He was more like a brother than cousin and that’s exactly how Will knew he could be trusted.

      Innocent people didn’t run from the law, but there was nothing else about Kelly that made him think she was a criminal. Either way, he wanted to get to safety and find out what she was talking about before he made the call.

      Figuring it was safe to circle back to Domino now, Will took a couple of right turns and made as little noise as possible as he navigated the journey toward his horse.

      Carrying Kelly for the past hour caused his arms to burn. Domino was a good twenty-minute walk from Will’s current location. The walk would give him time to clear his head and focus on his next move.

      He wasn’t on the hike five minutes when his cell vibrated in his pocket. He balanced the woman in his arms, using a tree as a foundation, then slipped a hand in his jeans pocket and fished out his phone. He hit the green button with his thumb before cradling the phone against his shoulder.

      “Got a strange visitor today.” Will instantly recognized the voice of his older brother, Mitch.

      That didn’t sound good.

      “Oh, yeah? Who?” he asked.

      “A woman stopped by and said her friend was missing. She wanted to know if any of us had seen her and then in a blast-from-the-past move she held up a picture of Kelly Morgan.” Shock didn’t begin to describe Will’s reaction.

      “Do you remember her from school?” Mitch asked.

      “I have her right here in my arms,” Will admitted. “She’s wearing a wedding dress and a man with a gun was chasing her when I ran into her near the base of Rushing Creek.”

      “Are you okay?” Mitch’s concern came through clearly.

      “So far, so good, but the shooter could still be out here.” Rushing Creek had seen a little too much action considering his brother had found the dead heifer near the exact same spot where Will found Kelly.

      “What’s going on? Did she say?” Mitch asked before it seemed to dawn on him that Will had said she was in his arms. “Did you say you’re carrying her?”

      “That’s right. She conked out after asking me not to call Zach,” Will informed him.

      “What about the man with the gun? Did she run out on him before their wedding?” Mitch was trying to piece together the story. Heck if Will could fill in his brother.

      “He didn’t ask questions before he started shooting,” Will said.

      His brother bit out a few expletives. “You sure you’re okay?”

      “I’m fine. She has blood on her dress and the guy’s loose on the property,” he said. “I’m on my way back to Domino where I tied him off.”

      “I’ll call Zach.”

      “Before Kelly passed out she warned me about bringing in the law,” Will revealed.

      “Zach? What could she possibly be talking about? He’s honest and there’s no better investigator in the state.”

      “We both know that but I guess she hasn’t figured it out. I’m scratching my head but I imagine she has her reasons,” Will