Anna J. - Colton On The Run

“Maybe. What was in the shed?”

“Garden tools. A lawn mower, shovels. That kind of thing.” Her mind raced back there. “And old woodworking tools, too. The door wouldn’t open.”

“So you broke through the window.” He reached behind himself for a pair of tweezers.

“How did you—Ow!”

He plucked a tiny shard of glass out of the side of her wrist and held it up for her to see. “Glad there weren’t any in your feet.”

“Me, too.” She watched him examine every inch of her hands and wrists and forearms. “You sure you aren’t a doctor?” She felt her face warm again, and wished she didn’t sound like a teenager with a crush.

“I did some emergency first aid up in Alaska over the years. Nothing major, but what you learn sticks. Most of the time.”

“So you aren’t a rancher? But I thought—”

“I am now.” He rubbed a soothing salve into her skin before wrapping her wrists in gauze. “This was my grandparents’ place. They passed last year, so now it’s mine.”

“The pictures in the bedroom.” Jane looked behind her toward the photographs she could see perched on the dresser. She’d glanced at them earlier. An older, laughing couple. A young woman holding a grinning baby she assumed was Leo. A man, a more intense version of Leo, standing in full military uniform. “Your family.”

“Yes. My grandmother Essie showed us off at every opportunity. One thing that isn’t lacking in this house is photographs.” Even the smallest smile lit up Leo’s face. “Every celebration, every get-together, we had to take photos.”

“What about your parents? Did they not want to take over the ranch?”

“My mother died when I was little. My father was in the army for most of my childhood, so I lived here when he was deployed.” He cleaned up the kit, threw away the garbage, washed his hands and dropped a few slices of toast into the toaster. “He served three tours in the first Gulf War. I was supposed to go live with him when he was discharged, but he came back...different. So he moved in here with us. Until he died.”

The thought that Leo Slattery was alone in the world, that he’d lost all his family, pierced something inside her. “I’m so sorry, Leo.”

“It’s life.” He didn’t shrug, didn’t try to make light of it, but what he said rang true. “Bad things happen, Jane. To all of us. It’s how we deal with it that matters.”

She resisted the urge to squirm in her chair. “It’s a bit early in our friendship for you to be sending subliminal messages. I’m not going to the police.” The very idea still made her shudder.

“It wasn’t subliminal if you got it.” The grin he tossed her eased the uncertainty that continued to course through her. “Maybe you didn’t take such a big whack on the head after all.”

“Oh, I think I did.” In fact, the headache was coming back full force. “What painkillers do you have in that magic box of yours?”

“Let’s get some food into you first. Don’t want an upset stomach on top of everything else.” He set a plate of eggs in front of her and retrieved her toast. “Wait.” He opened a cabinet near the refrigerator and pulled out a jar. “It isn’t toast without my grandmother’s blackberry jam. Trust me.” He opened it and set it on the table.

“I do.” The fact that she did still didn’t make sense. But it did bring her the only semblance of peace she could find at the moment.

“Jane.” He caught her hand as she stabbed her fork into her breakfast. “We’re going to find out who you are and who hurt you. I promise.”

“You do?”

“I do. And I don’t make promises I can’t keep.” The determined glint in his eye convinced her. Settled her. Warmed her. “I’ll get you home, Jane. You have my word.”

Since coming back to the ranch, Leo had grudgingly adjusted to the poor internet connection and cell service. One of the reasons his plans for the ranch were on hold. Difficult to run a business these days without being online. But for now, a landline was all he had.

The absence of anything other than local channel television hadn’t been a disappointment as he much preferred books or music to wind down his day, and he had his grandfather’s vinyl record collection on permanent rotation. But as he stood in the doorway to the living room, where Jane had curled up on the sofa, tucked in under his great-grandmother’s hand-stitched quilt, he realized how many problems technology could solve for his current predicament.

Predicament.

Odd choice of words for a beautiful interloper.

“You sure you’ll be okay?” He set a glass of water and new cup of java on the coasters on the coffee table. “I can postpone the repairs until—”

“Unless you plan to stand there and watch me sleep, there’s nothing more you can do for me, Leo.” She snuggled down on her side, her eyes already drooping. “I’m just going to sleep for a while.”

“Yeah. Well, since I’m not going to be here to check on you, I set the kitchen timer for an hour.”

She flicked her gaze to his.

“If you won’t go to the clinic in town to have your head checked, that’s the trade-off. When you get up to turn it off, set it again. I mean it, Jane.”

Her nose scrunched. “That’s such a silly name. And I don’t need a babysitter.”

Leo wasn’t so sure. “Hey.” He crouched so they’d be eye to eye. “It’s either the timer or I pack you into the truck and take you to the clinic.”

Shuddering, she ducked her chin and curled into herself. “They’ll call the police.”

Which was what Leo’s gut was telling him he should have already done. Someone had attacked her. Kidnapped her. Stashed her in some secluded shed so he could come back and do whatever he’d planned to do with her. “Then I think dealing with a kitchen timer should be an easy enough compromise.”

“Logical. That’s irritating.”

She might have meant it to be teasing, but he saw the flash of fear in her lovely brown eyes at the mere idea of calling the authorities. “I shouldn’t be gone more than a few hours. TV remote is by the chair over there. Some movies are on the shelf. Help yourself to whatever you need.”

“I just want to sleep,” she murmured even as her eyes drifted closed.

“Yeah. Sleep.” Leo knew he should leave. But he found himself positively transfixed by the vision of this beautiful, strong-willed, mystifying woman on his sofa. He didn’t want to leave her. But he couldn’t stay, either. Not when there were chores to be done and questions to answer.

The sooner he got to both the better. He stood up and patted his leg, quietly calling Ollie. The dog obeyed, looking up at him with expectant eyes. “You stay with her, boy. Okay?”

Ollie whined, no doubt realizing he wouldn’t be venturing outdoors much today.

“How about we go with steak for dinner,” Leo offered with a gentle, encouraging pet.

A quiet bark of approval set his mind at ease. “Then you keep an eye on Jane. I’ll be back soon.”

Leo retrieved his jacket and hat and headed outside, his boots hitting the ground with purpose as he walked to the barn. The morning breeze had obscured most of the barefoot tracks Jane had left on her arrival, but an occasional drop of dark blood gave him a good enough trail to follow, which he did, into the tree line on the far end of the property.

Admiration and anger mingled inside Leo as he realized just how far and how difficult her walk had been. She had to have been disorientated. Dizzy. Confused. And yet somehow, she’d found her way here.

Broken branches and disturbed shrubs gave him a general idea as to the direction she’d come. It was a good two, three miles in before he’d hit anything resembling a road, but that road would circle back and outline a good portion of Roaring Springs. Not that he’d had much time to explore as of yet. But maybe this was the excuse he’d been looking for.