CHAPTER THIRTY

A FTER THE LONG EVENING AND SEVERAL SATISFYING ROUNDS OF SEX , they slept late the next day. Cain awakened to the feel of silky curls and soft kisses trailing over his chest. With a groan, he gave in to the heat building between them.

They made love, dozed again, then finally roused themselves enough to realize both of them were starving. With the hotel fully booked, room service was going to take a while, so Cain made coffee in the pot he kept behind the bar, and they relaxed in front of the windows overlooking the valley while they waited for their food to arrive.

"You're off today," Cain said. "I thought we'd ride up to the ranch, spend the night, and come back in the morning."

Jenny took a sip of the rich, dark French roast. "I probably shouldn't."

Cain smiled. "I'll take that as a yes."

One of Jenny's eyebrows went up. "Do we get to go riding?"

Cain laughed. "I don't see why not."

"Okay, then."

* * *

By afternoon, they were unpacked and settled in his bedroom at the ranch. With the hands off on Sundays, it was Denver's weekend on duty.

"How's Sun King doing?" Cain asked him.

"We're making progress," Denver said. "But it's slow. Sanchez and I are both working with him, trying to regain his trust, but we've had to start completely over. Rotten sonsabitches ought to be castrated themselves."

Cain's jaw hardened. Every time he thought of what had happened to his stallion, he felt a nearly uncontrollable rage. He wasn't sure what he'd do if he ever got his hands on the men responsible.

It didn't take long to saddle the horses. He hadn't told Jenny, but he'd been carrying a little .380 semiautomatic since the day Sun King had been returned, and he had accepted the fact that someone had a personal vendetta against him.

Cain went inside the house and took a .30-30 Winchester lever-action out of the gun safe, then went back to the barn. They'd be out in the open today. It never hurt to be careful.

Cain shoved the rifle into the saddle scabbard and swung up onto Gladiator, while Jenny mounted Rosebud. Leaving the barn behind, they rode up the trail, into the rolling desert hills, disappearing over the rise behind the ranch house and out of sight.

At the bottom of the hill, Cain pulled the big red roan to a halt beneath a cottonwood tree next to a shallow stream that crossed the property.

"We'll ride a little more after we eat." Reaching up, he lifted Jenny down. It was Maria's day off, so Jenny had poked around in the kitchen and found cheese and crackers, apples, salami, and a bottle of good Chablis. He handed her the bundle that he'd packed in his saddlebag, then walked over and hobbled the roan near the stream.

He was grabbing a second pair of hobbles out of the saddlebag for Jenny's palomino just as the crack of a rifle echoed across the desert landscape. Rosebud shrieked and bolted, and Cain felt the impact of a bullet slamming into his chest.

"Get down!" He stayed on his feet long enough to pull Jenny behind the cottonwood, where both of them crouched on the ground.

He could feel the blood dripping down his arm, soaking into the sleeve of the shirt beneath his jacket, running over the tattoo on his arm, down the back of his hand.

"Oh, my God, you're shot!" Horrified, Jenny reached for him. "Where . . . where are you hit?"

"Bullet's in my upper-left shoulder."

Another shot rang out, the lead ball slamming into the trunk of the tree a foot above their heads. Jenny dragged off the wool scarf she had tied around her neck for warmth while Cain dug out his cell phone. "No service."

"Press this against the wound," Jenny said, handing him the scarf. "Maybe we can slow the bleeding."

Cain stuffed the scarf into the bullet hole, then zipped up his jacket to help hold it in place.

He pulled the little handgun out of the pocket of his jeans. "Can you shoot?"

"My dad taught me, but—"

He shoved the gun into Jenny's hand. "This won't reach far enough to do much good, but we can use it as a diversion. I need to get to the rifle."

"Yes, but—"

"I'll count to three, and you start firing."

Jenny shoved the pistol back into his hand. "You fire. I'll get the gun. The less you move, the less you bleed."

He didn't like it. Not one bit. But he was already feeling lightheaded. Jenny was right. If he passed out, their attacker could kill them both.

Cain nodded. "Don't run in a straight line." Damn, he hated putting her in even more danger. But they had no other choice. "You ready?"

"I'm ready."

"On three. One, two, three." He started firing in the direction the shots had come from, while Jenny raced in quick-turning movements toward the roan. Wild-eyed, the big horse reared and nickered, but didn't try to run. More gunfire erupted as Jenny slid the rifle out of the scabbard and ran a zigzag pattern back to where they crouched behind the trunk of the tree.

Blood still pumped from the wound. Cain could feel the wetness oozing down his chest and arm. He was lightheaded and dizzy, losing too much blood. He took the rifle and gave Jenny the handgun. He moved a little, lay flat on his belly, and propped the rifle on a chunk of rock next to the tree.

"Fire off a couple of rounds," he said.

Jenny aimed the pistol and fired. Once, twice. A rifle shot cracked in return. Cain adjusted the barrel of the rifle, sighted, and fired toward the sound.

Return fire told him he was close. He shifted and fired, got more return fire, shifted again, caught a flash of movement and fired.

Silence followed. He was pretty sure he had hit the bastard. He had no idea if the guy was wounded or dead, but he couldn't take the chance the man was still out there, waiting for them to move. He kept the rifle aimed toward the spot where he had last seen the attacker, blinking to keep his eyes open and focused.

"Someone's coming," Jenny said.

"Where?"

"Down the trail." Her eyes brightened. "It's Denver!" She rose a little and waved.

Cowboy hat pulled low, Denver rode full tilt in their direction, rifle in hand, sliding Jenny's palomino to a halt in front of the tree, dismounting and hurrying to join them.

"Rosebud came back with an empty saddle," Denver explained. "I figured you might be in trouble. Didn't have time to saddle another horse, just took off as fast as I could. I heard gunshots as I neared the rise. When I started down the hill, I spotted a guy on a dirt bike hauling ass across the desert toward the road."

"You think he's gone?" Cain asked.

"I didn't see anyone else." Denver looked down at Cain and saw his shirt and sleeve soaked in blood, more running over his hand.

"Jesus, you've been hit."

"We need an ambulance," Jenny said in a shaky voice. "But there's no cell service out here."

"I'll ride back up the hill and call 911. Tell them to send a medevac chopper." He looked at Cain. "You gonna be okay till it gets here?"

"I'm too stubborn to let that bastard kill me." But his vision was beginning to darken around the edges. He took a last look at Jenny, then his eyes drifted closed, and he slipped into blackness.

"Put pressure on the wound," Denver said. "I'll be right back." Denver grabbed the saddle horn and swung up on Rosebud, then urged the palomino into a run.

Jenny rolled Cain onto his back. Forcing down her panic and fear, she unzipped his jacket and swallowed against the sight of the blood on his chest. Leaning over him, she pressed her hands hard on the scarf covering the bullet hole. Silently, she began to pray, asking God to help Cain. She looked up to see Denver riding hell-for-leather back toward them.

He pulled the palomino to a halt. "Medics are on the way. Hospital's only thirty miles from here. Shouldn't take a chopper long to get here." He looked down to where Jenny was keeping pressure on Cain's bloody wound. "How's he doing?"

Jenny fought back tears. "He's lost a lot of blood. I hope they get here soon."

"I'll ride back up on the ridge and watch for them, make sure they know where we are. Ground's flat all along the bottom of the hill. They shouldn't have a problem landing."

"Be careful, Denver. We don't know for sure whoever it was isn't still out there."

Denver nodded. He spun and gigged the horse, took off at a gallop for the ridge.

"You're going to be okay," Jenny said. Tears returned to her eyes and began to roll down her cheeks. "Just hold on." She wished she could rest his head in her lap, let him know she was there, but she didn't want to move him, and she had to keep the pressure on.

It seemed like hours until she heard the whop whop whop of a helicopter overhead. The chopper began to descend, blowing up dust and debris; then the skids settled on the ground, and the engine went silent. As the doors slid open, two EMTs in black uniforms, one young and brawny, the other older, tall, and slender, jumped out carrying a stretcher.

Ducking the blades, they hurried over to where Cain lay next to the tree.

"Thank God, you're here," Jenny said. "It looks really bad, and he's lost a lot of blood."

"He's in good hands now," the older man said.

While she and Denver looked on, the men worked over Cain's body, checking his vitals, cleaning and packing the wound, administering an antibiotic, preparing him for the short ride back to the hospital.

All the while, Jenny watched, feeling useless and sick inside.

"You want to come along?" the younger of the techs asked as they made final adjustments, securing Cain to the stretcher.

"Yes. Absolutely. Thank you."

"I'll call the hands and Maria," Denver said. "Let them know what's going on."

"I'll let Cain know what's happening as soon as he wakes up." She refused to consider the possibility that he wouldn't.

Following the two men, she waited while they loaded Cain into the chopper, then climbed aboard and settled herself beside him. Then the pilot was lifting the chopper away, swooping into the air, veering off toward the hospital in Prescott.

Jenny bent over Cain and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. She didn't want to believe she was in love with him. But the tears in her eyes, the way her heart was aching, the way her insides trembled with fear for him, she couldn't fool herself any longer.

She prayed that he would be all right and clung to his hand as the chopper flew toward town.