Delores Fossen - Christmas Rescue at Mustang Ridge

“Yes.” Maggie said it almost idly, as if she weren’t really listening to him.

“Is there someone you need to call to let him know you’re alive and well?” Jake asked.

“No.” And she shook her head again. “No one there knows who I am. Was,” she corrected.

Good move. It was probably why she was still alive.

“But they’ll know now,” she added.

Maggie stared out the window, watching the rural landscape zip past the window. Soon he’d need to get off this road and onto another one. Then, another. It’d be all back roads to get her to Mustang Ridge.

He wondered if the marshals or the FBI would set up roadblocks. Or use helicopters to locate them. And while he was wondering, Jake thought about how his family would be taking all of this.

Royce was no doubt trying to cover his butt. Nell would be trying to keep everybody calm and make sure Sunny was okay. Chet would be pitching a fit that Jake hadn’t told him what was going on. It’d be minor compared to the fit Chet had pitched two and a half years ago when he’d walked in on Jake kissing Maggie by the barn.

A kiss to soothe his pain, Jake had tried to justify, since he was grieving his wife’s death.

Jake had pitched his own fit just a few hours later when he’d learned that Anna’s killer was none other than Bruce Tanner and not some armed robber as everyone had thought.

And the real kicker?

Tanner had done that because he’d warned Maggie to back off an investigation she was honchoing. Of course, Maggie hadn’t bothered to share that threat with the family or her sister. If she had, Jake maybe could have figured out that Tanner would go after someone Maggie loved.

He heard her phone ring, and she rifled through her purse to find it. “My boss,” she relayed to Jake, but she didn’t answer it.

“He’s worried about you,” Jake commented. “Will he try to follow us?” In other words, how much did this guy care for Maggie? Would he go to the ends of the earth to find her?

And why did that bother Jake?

He mentally cursed. He didn’t care a flying fig about Maggie’s love life.

“I’ll call him later,” she answered. “Could you stop the truck a minute? I have to throw up.”

Jake knew how she felt. That’s the reaction he’d had when he first learned Sunny was sick. Plus, she was no doubt reliving all the mess with Anna and Tanner just as he was.

He glanced behind them first. No sign of the cruiser. No sign of anyone, so he eased the truck to a stop on the gravel shoulder.

Maggie stepped out, with her back to him, and looped her purse over her shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she said.

Jake groaned. This better not turn into a conversation about Anna. A conversation meant to relieve Maggie of the guilt that he wanted her to have for the rest of her life.

She damn sure deserved the guilt.

So did he.

And Jake was about to remind her of just that when she slammed the truck door and jumped over the ditch.

Maggie started running toward the woods.

Chapter Four

Maggie ran as if Jake’s life depended on it. Because it did. He no doubt knew that he’d opened a Texas-size can of worms by coming to her, but he had no idea just how dangerous this could be for him. For Sunny.

For his entire family.

She wouldn’t be responsible for another McCall murder. No. This ended now.

The ground was frozen, slicked with a mixture of ice, fallen trees and dead leaves, and her sensible work shoes were ideal for standing on linoleum but not so good for navigating the slippery terrain. Still, Maggie ran and prayed that she’d gotten enough of a head start on Jake that she could disappear into the thick woods before he could catch up.

Of course, disappearing was just for starters. She’d have to hide, and she figured Jake would look for her as long as he could—maybe until the Coopersville sheriff or someone else drove by.

Maybe that wouldn’t take too long.

The cold had already started to clog her lungs, but she kept fighting for each step. A thick cluster of trees was just ahead. Beyond that, the actual woods. She had no idea where those woods led; that was something else she’d have to work out.

Maggie heard the footsteps behind her. Heard Jake’s profanity, too.

“Damn it, Maggie. Stop!” he called out.

She didn’t. Maggie kept running and was within a few feet of that tree cluster when Jake grasped on to her shoulder. The fierce jerk he gave her had her flying right into him. Her back collided with his chest, and he hooked his left arm around her waist to anchor her in place.

Maggie fought him. He might be bigger and stronger than she was, but she had a huge reason to get away from him. She rammed her elbow into his stomach and tried to bolt. She might as well have elbowed a brick wall, and the pain shot through her funny bone.

“Why the hell are you doing this?” he snarled. “I need you to help Sunny.”

“I am helping her,” she managed to say.

Jake clearly didn’t believe that because he cursed again and didn’t let go of her. Despite the pain, she tried to elbow him again. Jake dodged that blow, put her in a bear hug and shoved her against one of the trees. In the same motion, he whirled her around to face him.

Really face him.

As in they were plastered against each other, and his eyes, nose and mouth were only an inch or two from hers. They were both breathing hard, and she took in his breath. It was almost like tasting him.

Kissing him.

And he must have realized that because he moved back a little. Just enough so she could see the fire and confusion in his eyes.

“Why?” he demanded though teeth clenched so tight that she was surprised they didn’t chip.

Maggie considered how much she should say. The truth might work if it didn’t cause him to wring her neck. Or somehow try to get to Tanner. Since Jake was already in a blind rage, Maggie went with a partial explanation.

“I’ll go to a hospital alone and do the test. If I’m a match, I’ll donate the bone marrow immediately, but you can’t be involved in it. You can’t be involved with me,” she corrected.

Jake glared at her. “I don’t want to get involved with you,” he informed her. And he stepped back a little more. Probably because he realized their body parts were aligned in a nearly intimate way.

“But you will help Sunny,” he added.

“Of course.” Maggie had to pause, clear her throat, because it was obvious that Jake wasn’t just going to accept her offer to do this alone.

But he would after she told him everything she’d done. He’d hate her more, too, but that couldn’t be helped. It would save him.

She hoped.

“After Tanner was arrested for Anna’s murder,” she started, but had to stop and take another breath. “I went to him and cut a deal. I had evidence against his son, David, and I told Tanner I would hide it if he’d leave you and your family alone.”

Without taking his glare off her, Jake stepped back even farther. “What kind of evidence?”

“The kind that would send David to jail for at least twenty years.” Without Jake’s body heat, she started to shiver. “Yes, I know what I did was illegal, but I had to do something to stop Tanner from killing anyone else.”

“And you believed this would stop Tanner?” Jake fired back at her.

“It did stop him. Since I’ve been gone, he hasn’t paid someone to threaten you or your family, has he?” She prayed the answer to that was no.

Jake confirmed that a few seconds later by shaking his head. “Where’s the evidence?”

“Someplace safe.” In fact, several places, since she’d made duplicate copies and put them in deposit boxes at three different banks.

He glanced away, only to have his gaze slash back to her. “What does this have to do with you running from me?”