Colton by Blood, page 23
“Then explain to us why you were out here running in the dark,” Catherine said.
“I was checking my stash. The pot, man. I didn’t want my whole crop to go up in flames, so I was out there harvesting what I could. Check out the bag.”
“This clown didn’t kill Jenny,” Gray said.
“I’m with you on that,” Trevor said. “I’ll take him up to the house and see if anyone’s found Agnes yet. Keep me updated on your search for Agnes and Kate.”
Levi nudged Jethro. “I’ve got to keep moving to the stable, guys. I’m going crazy not knowing where Kate is.”
“I’m right behind you,” Jethro told Levi. “My body’s working a little slower than yours right now.”
“Then you need to take a break,” Levi told him.
“Hell, no. Your woman’s missing. Let’s get out there and find her.”
With a nod, Levi took off for the stable. He should have never let Kate out of his sight, not after her push down the stairs and her ransacked room. He’d been so mired in regret and anger about the past that he’d failed to protect the woman he wanted to be his future.
If she was alive, then somehow he had to get her to see that he wasn’t the same man who’d crashed into her car. He’d spent every day since the accident trying to atone for that night, as well as the temper he once had. He’d beg for her to give him a second chance. Never again would he let his past cloud his judgment.
The lights were off in the stable. Levi yanked a lantern off a nail by the door and barreled in. “Kate?”
Rather than Kate, he saw Agnes. She lay on the floor, blinking and groggy.
“Agnes, what happened?”
He rushed to her side and checked her over. She sported a hematoma on her head the size of a grapefruit. Footsteps sounded behind him. Through the door, Jethro, Gray and Catherine piled into the stable.
“It was a man,” Agnes told them. “But I couldn’t see who. Too dark. He’s got her. He’s got Kate.”
Jethro brought a handgun out of his pants pocket and flipped off the safety. “No time to lose. Let’s saddle these horses and get this rescue going. I don’t like the way the odds are stacking up against your pastry girl.”
“I’ll get Agnes up to the house,” Catherine said.
Levi, Jethro and Gray worked at lightning speed, gearing up the two horses in minutes flat.
“Jethro, you go back to the house,” Gray said. “You’re in no shape for this.”
“Not on your life,” Jethro said. “This is something I’ve got to do.”
There was no time to waste with arguing. With a nod, Gray acquiesced.
Outside, Levi and Jethro swung into the saddles. “Which way should we start?” Jethro asked.
A wall of flames was coming from the west, and to the east was absolute darkness. Levi couldn’t imagine the killer taking Kate toward the fire, but that was also the direction of the most immediate danger. It made the most logical sense to start there and sweep their way east. As he debated, a high-pitched sound drifted over the wind. A scream.
“Did you hear that?” Gray asked.
For the second time that night, Levi felt like throwing up. “Sure did. Let’s go.”
They sped off toward the valley that was engulfed in flames, in the direction of the scream that continued to drift intermittently over the wind. Levi rode in the lead. The air was almost too thick to breathe. His eyes stung and his lungs burned. How could anyone survive these conditions?
He glanced beside him at Jethro, whose shoulders slumped. Whatever was compelling Jethro to help Levi, he was grateful, even if he wasn’t sure he could ever forgive his father for what he’d done to Kate.
On the edge of his vision, barely visible in the ghastly, putrid air, Levi spied movement. A horse and rider. “Look left,” he called. “You see that?”
“Sure do.”
They spurred their mounts faster, gaining ground on the mystery rider.
“There’s a second person on the horse,” Jethro said.
Levi wiped debris and water from his eyes and took a harder look. Jethro was right. Someone had been flung sideways over the saddle, stomach down, if Levi’s eyes were seeing it right. It had to be Kate.
He was a man possessed now. Urging his horse on, he and Jethro pushed their mounts to their limit, riding straight at the fire.
The other rider seemed to finally notice them and swerved, dropping onto the dirt-road firebreak around the ranch’s perimeter, parallel to the wall of flames that was so close, Levi could’ve hit it with a rock.
“I’m going to squeeze off a warning shot,” Jethro called. “Let’s see if we can scare him into making a mistake.”
The crack of the gun was absorbed by the roar of the fire, but it did the trick. The rider vaulted from the horse, leaving Kate on. She stayed on her belly as if she was tied in place.
The man scrambled down the hill toward the flames. Jethro squeezed off a succession of shots in the man’s direction, but Levi didn’t take the time to see if he hit his target. His sole concern was Kate, still trapped on the runaway horse.
Levi stayed the course to Kate, never letting his gaze waver lest he lose sight of her horse in the dense smoke and darkness. After what seemed like an eternity, Levi’s steed bridged the distance to Kate’s horse.
“Levi!”
“I’m here, Kate. I’m going to get you off of there.” He nudged his horse’s flanks until the two mounts were galloping neck and neck.
“I’m tied on,” Kate said, squirming. “I can’t break free.”
Ahead of them, flames fanned over the dirt path, threatening to breach. As their horses careened toward the fire, Jethro’s horse appeared on the other side of Kate’s. Over his head he swung a rope. A lasso.
Ingenious.
“Hang on, Kate. Jethro’s got an idea.”
Levi held his breath as the lasso soared through the air. If Jethro missed this toss, there was a chance he wouldn’t have time to try again before the fire was upon them.
Jethro didn’t miss. The rope settled around the horse’s neck. He pulled, putting all his weight into it. Levi turned his horse in, crowding Kate’s mount, pressuring it to slow. With the force of the lasso and Levi’s efforts, the runaway horse dropped its speed.
“Whoa, there,” Jethro hollered. “Easy, boy.”
Finally, the horse came to a halt.
Levi vaulted from his horse while Jethro continued to keep pressure on the rope from astride his mount.
Kate was crying and shaking. Levi tore the bindings from her wrists and waist, then pulled her into his arms. Relief had never felt so sweet. “I’ve got you.”
“We have to keep moving,” Jethro said in a weary voice. “This fire is itching to do some damage, and I don’t know how much longer I’m good for.”
Levi looked at Jethro. He’d caved over his saddle, looking gaunt and exhausted, as if he was barely able to stay upright.
“Are you okay to ride double with me?” Levi asked Kate.
“Yes. Let’s get out of here.”
Levi took the lasso from Jethro. “Are you going to make it home okay on that horse?”
“Midnight and I will make it just fine. You take care of the pastry girl and let me worry about myself.”
Levi helped Kate into the saddle, then swung up behind her. With his arms around her, he took hold of the reins and nudged his mount’s flank. The three horses lit off toward the sanctuary of the ranch. For the first time since Kate had stormed from his room, Levi felt a glimmer of hope that tomorrow would be a brighter day.
Chapter 19
Jenny’s memorial service had been a well-attended but quiet affair, reminiscent of Faye’s. Jenny would’ve preferred flowers and opulence, Kate imagined, but in the wake of the fires, a grand display hadn’t been possible.
The ranch chapel sat on a hill to the south of the main estate, affording views of both the fire-ravaged hillsides and vast stretches of still-pristine wilderness that had escaped the flames. Somewhere out there lay the body of the man who’d abducted her and killed Jenny. Now that the winds had died and the fire was near complete containment, police expected to send investigators and cadaver dogs looking for the body within the next few days.
As for Dead River Ranch, the firebreak that Dylan, Gray and the other ranch workers had created around the property had held, thank goodness, with only two outlying sheds destroyed. Slowly but surely life on the ranch was returning to normal.
Kate stood in the grass surrounding the chapel and closed her eyes, soaking in the sun’s warmth. The past few days had flown by in a blur. Immediately following her rescue, Levi had tended to her cuts and bumps and had told her about confronting his father about the accident and that Mr. Colton had confessed to demanding preferential treatment by the paramedics for Levi, then covering up Levi’s role in the crash.
The news hadn’t surprised her, and it hadn’t renewed her outrage at Jethro. What she’d learned since Levi had come to the ranch was that forgiveness wasn’t so much about the person she granted it to, but about herself. About letting go of what hurt her and giving herself permission to move on.
Even though what Jethro did was wretched, his help in rescuing her went a long way toward fueling her compassion, as did the sharp downturn in his health that followed on the heels of that fateful night.
Though the revelations about the accident hadn’t incited her anger, they had brought with them a fresh wave of grief. She’d asked Levi for solitude to think, and he’d granted it to her, not that he would’ve had much time to spend with her given how busy he’d been caring for his father, patching up the people around the ranch who’d sustained injuries during the fire and working with the police conducting the investigation into Jenny’s murder.
The time apart from him had been good for her. She’d needed it to process all that had happened and everything she’d learned. But today, she’d woken feeling revitalized, her strength regained. It was a new day and a new beginning, at least in her heart. Jenny’s memorial service had brought it home to her that it was time to let it all go—the burning need for justice, her fear and her anger about events that had happened six years ago.
It was time to tell Levi the truth about her feelings.
She turned her face up to the sun, took a deep breath, then opened her eyes. Levi was standing before her, as if conjured by her thoughts.
“Hi,” she ventured, adding a small smile.
His jaw was tight, his eyes nervous. “I know you asked for space, but I’m on my way to do something that’s long overdue, and I’d like you to be there.”
Her pulse sped. “Of course. I was about to go looking for you anyway.”
On their way to the house, he took her hand. She twined her fingers with his. Such a simple pleasure, holding hands, one she’d taken for granted when she was married. No more.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“Better. I haven’t slept well, but that’s okay because it’s given me time to process everything that’s happened.”
“I haven’t slept well, either, truth be told.” The shadow of a smile crossed his face. “I’m trying to get used to the bed in the guest suite—or my suite now, I suppose—and it’s too comfortable to be comfortable, if that makes any sense. And while I’m lying there tossing and turning, all I can think about is you and the time we joked about ignominious furniture. You’re the first person I’ve met with a crossword-puzzle vocabulary.”
She swung their joined hands. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Maybe you should move the sofa from the employee dining room up to the suite so you can get some rest.”
“I like the way you think, even if Mathilda and the rest of the staff would look at me like I was nuts.”
They shared a smile. “I’d defend you.”
“I know you would.” He tugged her near and kissed her temple. “Jenny’s service was nice. It was the first one I’d attended since my mom’s, and it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.”
This wasn’t how or when she’d planned on having this conversation, but one of the many lessons she’d had to figure out was to not take any opportunity for granted. “Not for me, either. After all I’ve been through, I think it’s finally sunk in that sometimes, for no reason at all, bad things happen to good people. But being afraid of what might happen and all the millions of things out of our control is no way to live.
“Since William and Olive died, I thought I was doomed to a lifetime of being haunted by the memories of people I’d loved and lost. But I know now that’s not true. Their memories aren’t a burden—they’re a gift. A reminder to hold tight to the people we care about and not waste a single moment of our time with them.”
He squeezed her hand. “I know exactly what you mean.”
She had a hunch where they were headed when they entered the house, and it turned out she was right. They walked up the grand staircase to the third level in comfortable silence and through the double doors of Jethro’s suite still hand in hand.
* * *
Catherine, Amanda and Gabriella had beat Levi and Kate to Jethro’s bedside after the memorial and stood near his head, describing the service to him. They offered Kate and Levi solemn smiles when they entered, then exchanged hugs with Kate while Levi took up his medical bag and began the comforting ritual of taking Jethro’s vitals.
Jethro was stable, but it wouldn’t be long until his final day came, something he and his half sisters had discussed at length since the night of Kate’s abduction and rescue. Catherine, Amanda and Gabriella accepted the news with heavy hearts and admirable grace.
When Levi was finished with the checkup, he pulled a chair close to the bed. “I talked to Mia this morning,” he said. “She’s on her way back to the ranch. She said the fire’s ninety percent contained with full containment expected by tonight or tomorrow.”
“Thank goodness,” Jethro said. “This place has withstood one danger after another since I built it thirty years ago. It’ll take a lot more than some backwoods fire to shut it down.”
“Agreed.” Levi smoothed the edge of Jethro’s blanket, then touched his shoulder. “Your vitals are stable. How are you feeling?”
“Like all the people who’ve told me to go to hell are finally getting their way.” Jethro grinned before succumbing to a round of rattling coughs.
Levi helped him sit and braced an arm on his back. All his hatred for Jethro had evaporated, replaced by pity for the shell of the powerful force of nature Jethro Colton once was.
For the past few days, Levi had had a lot of time to contemplate his return to Wyoming and what he wanted from his life moving forward. The more he reflected on his mom and his meeting with Luella, the clearer his choice came into focus. On the surface, it didn’t seem fair that his mom had died while Luella, equally weighed down by drugs and inner demons, lived on. But the truth was that the drugs were only partially to blame for his mom’s death. The real culprits that killed her were bitterness and pining for a person who’d rejected her.
He’d been on the same path, poisoning himself with bitterness. It was time to break the cycle. After all the years and energy he’d wasted hating his father, Levi had finally figured out that breaking the curse of his Colton identity was entirely within his control. To free his heart and spirit to love Kate like she deserved, this was what he needed to do. It was time to forgive Jethro, not because he deserved it, but because Levi did.
He set a hand on Jethro’s arm. “I couldn’t have saved Kate without your help. Thank you.”
Jethro turned his weary eyes on Levi. “Let’s just say I owed it to her.”
“There’s something else, and it probably doesn’t matter for you to hear, but it matters to me to say. We may never see eye-to-eye on much, and I don’t understand most of the choices you’ve made, but for the first time in my life, I’m at peace with my past and having you as my father.” In his heart and all around him, he could feel his mom’s presence, not haunting him, but giving him courage to take this final step. “What I’m trying to say is that I forgive you. For everything.”
A hand touched Levi’s shoulder and he turned to see his three half sisters behind him, smiling and teary-eyed. Kate entwined her fingers with his and held on tight. Their support lightened him as much as the forgiveness he’d granted. It was the sensation not of a weight being lifted from his shoulders, but of a weight shifting so that the burden was shared. He knew unequivocally that he’d never again walk this world alone.
Jethro’s bloodshot eyes met Levi’s. He slipped his arm out from under Levi’s hand and patted Levi’s forearm. “I wished Eileen would’ve taken you away from this town, away from me. Being a Colton man is a curse. We’re born with a fire in our hearts and stubborn independence in our blood. Turns us into hardened men if we let it. I didn’t want that for you. I know you don’t think I did anything for you all these years, but I kept you away from me, and that’s got to count for something.”
Levi cleared his throat, fighting the lump that had settled there. “It counts for a lot.”
“My girls, they think they’re doing me a favor by going behind my back and hiring a private investigator to look for Cole, but they’re not doing anybody any favors. If Cole’s alive, he’s better off not being dragged into this. Besides, I want to spend my final days in peace, not digging up old feelings I’ve put to rest. Girls, swear to me you’ll stop looking for Cole.”
Amanda took hold of Jethro’s hand. “Okay, Daddy. We swear. The P.I. we tried to hire fell through anyway, so you don’t have to worry.”
