Page 25 of Falling For Her Cowboy (Silver Creek Ranch #9)

Chapter Fifteen

M elah glanced out of her bedroom window and chuckled.

It had been a few days since the break-in.

She reached for her boots and tugged them on.

She shook her head and made her way out of her bedroom.

It was early in the morning, and daylight was just breaking.

She opened the door to the house and stepped outside.

She walked around the building and went into the small wooded area nearby.

“You don’t have to sleep out here. We are fine.” She paused a few feet away from his little camp he’d been making.

Ridge Harvey was one stubborn man. He pushed off the ground from where he’d been sitting. He raked his fingers through his hair and ambled over to her. The butterflies in her stomach were in overdrive. It was crazy how this man affected her. She held her ground as he arrived in front of her.

“Good morning to you, too.” He reached for her and brought her flush to him. He dropped a soft kiss to her lips. “You won’t stay at my house, so that means I camp outside yours.”

“Trent and the guys have been coming by to make sure all is good. You can sleep in your bed at night.”

“Without you there?”

She sighed and leaned into him. He couldn’t keep saying stuff like this. He was determined to get what he wanted, and that was her at his place twenty-four seven.

“Ridge, I can’t move in with you,” she said.

“It’s not moving in. It’s spending the night, every night.” He grinned at her.

She slapped him on the chest and moved away.

“Thats the same damn thing.” She glanced at her watch and grimaced. It was almost time for her to report to work. She was sure he was going into the office today, and to think that he’d slept on this hard ground all night had her feeling bad for him.

“Is not.” The man had the nerve to laugh. He went over to the sleeping bag and rolled it up .

He began collecting his few items, and it was then she noticed the gun sheathed on a holster on his belt.

It made her feel some kind of way that this man was trying to protect her.

Maybe she should have invited him in. She’d known when he’d arrived last night.

He’d caused enough noise to alert her of his presence, then all had gone silent.

She’d slept all night—again.

Something about having this man near her seemed to keep the nightmares away.

She watched him come toward her again.

“Want to head up to the big house and grab breakfast? I’m sure Bee has food ready,” he suggested.

“I can’t. I have to clock in soon.” She’d love nothing more than to grab some of Bee’s cooking. She made a mental note to head over there for lunch today. Bee always had a hot meal ready for the hands on the ranch. “But you go ahead. I’m sure you have a long day today.”

“I do. I have some things to do here, so I’m going to start here, then I have other farm calls to do.” He tossed his bag onto his shoulder and brought her close to him again. This next kiss was slow and thorough.

Melah gripped his shirt and had to hold on due to her legs becoming weak. He released her and stared down into her eyes. It was almost as if the man could see into her soul. She exhaled and smiled softly.

“Have a great day today.” As much as she wanted to drag this man somewhere to have her way with him, she couldn’t.

Work was waiting for her. The past few days on the ranch had been smooth.

There hadn’t been any signs of anyone coming onto the property who didn’t belong there.

Work had been long and hard, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Then after work, she spent the evenings with Ridge.

“I will. I’m already missing you.” He pressed a quick, hard kiss to her lips and took her hand in his.

Her heart skipped a beat at his words. They walked around to the front of the house, and it was then she realized she didn’t see his truck.

“How’d you get here?” she asked. Only her and Aimee’s vehicles were in parked out front.

“I left my truck by the barn and walked over. I’ll text you later when I’m on my way back.” He gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it. He strode away down the path that led to the barn.

She stood in place and watched him for a few moments, then turned for the bunkhouse. Aimee chose that moment to come out the front door.

“Lover boy left?” she asked.

Melah chuckled and shook her head. “Yeah. He’s too damn stubborn. I told him we are fine here.”

“Nothing wrong with a man wanting to be overly cautious about the safety of his woman.” Aimee tossed her a wink.

Melah rolled her eyes and walked past her so she could run in the house to grab a few things before going to work. “I’ll see you later.”

Melah jogged in the house and went to her room. She collected a baseball cap and her gun. Everything may have appeared to be back to normal on the ranch, but something in her gut still didn’t sit well.

And she always trusted her gut.

“Son of a bitch,” Melah muttered. She set the wire cutters down on the ground and glared at the fence she had to mend.

Some heifers had broken out of their enclosure and had been found a mile away.

She had volunteered to fix the area while the others had rounded up the cattle and moved them.

She glanced over her shoulder and found Daisy grazing off in the distance near a wooded area.

They were far on the eastern side of the ranch, located near the mountains.

The views were one of the perks of working this ranch.

It went on for miles in one direction while the other led to the great mountain range.

South Dakota was such a breathtaking state.

Melah let out a sigh. There was no point in getting frustrated.

She was going to need a few other things to get this fence back right.

She’d run and pick up what she needed and come back.

It wouldn’t take her long. She pushed off the ground and took her hat off to wipe the sweat off her forehead.

It was another scorcher. Apparently, Mother Nature was showing off.

They’d been experiencing a heat wave for the past couple of weeks.

Melah couldn’t wait for the winter—almost.

She’d heard the winters here were no joke.

This would be her first one to experience, and she didn’t mind the snow.

It was the coldness she was worried about.

She’d heard there’d been days last year where the wind chill factor had hit negative thirty or lower.

Looking up at the bright sun beaming down on her, she may take her chances with the cold.

She could always bundle up. With this heat, there was only so much she could take off.

“Come on, Daisy.” She brushed her hands on the back of her jeans.

She’d leave her tools here. No point in packing up if she was just going to come right back.

She ambled over to her faithful horse who didn’t have a care in the world.

Melah smiled at Daisy. Maybe later they’d go out for a nice long run.

Her hoof seemed to be back to normal. She arrived at Daisy’s side and gave her a firm pet on the shoulder.

“You ready, girl? I promise we’ll be a few minutes and then we will come right back. ”

Daisy lifted her head and shook it. Her eyes were wide as she stepped away from Melah.

What the devil?

“What’s wrong, girl?” Melah tried to reach for her reins, but Daisy took another step away from her.

Melah blew out a frustrated breath. She didn’t have time for games today. Daisy released a high-pitched neigh and continued to avoid Melah. This was strange. Daisy had never acted this way before. Even when she was in pain she’d come to Melah.

“Stop playing, Daisy. We still have work to do, and after this last fence to mend, we will be done and I promise I will get you a sweet treat.”

Melah was starting to feel the fatigue set in from a long day’s work. She had a few peppermints back at the barn she could give Daisy. At this point she was not above begging her horse to not play around .

Melah looked at Daisy.

Something was off. This wasn’t playful Daisy. She was picking up something. The hairs on the back of Melah’s neck rose. She froze in place. Was her horse warning her of something? Melah swallowed hard and tried to act as if nothing was wrong.

“Okay, girl. If you just want to graze a little more, you could have just said so.” Melah gave a shaky laugh.

It was then she felt eyes on her on. A calmness washed over her.

She was not going to let her fear of the unknown take over her.

She had learned that from the military. Being in hot zones meant someone was always watching.

Someone was always plotting to take them out, and she and her troops had to stay one step ahead of the enemy.

She felt the comfort of her weapon in her thigh sheath.

“A few more minutes, Daisy. Then we have to go.” It helped for her to hear her own voice.

If there was truly someone watching her, she didn’t want to let on that she’d picked up on them.

She casually turned around and rested her hands on her waist. She glanced at the sky as if to enjoy the warm sunrays.

She smiled slightly and gazed at the scenery to take it in.

At least she wanted to give off the sense she was admiring the beauty of nature around her, but in reality, she quickly catalogued everything. Her training was ingrained in her.

Her gut was screaming that she and Daisy were not alone and whoever it was, was not friendly.

“Fuck this.” Melah reached down and withdrew her weapon from its holster. Her radio was on Daisy. She’d have been able to radio for someone to come to her, but with the way Daisy was spooked, she didn’t want to increase her horse’s anxiety and risk getting hurt in the process.

Melah aimed her gun true and stalked toward the woods. She didn’t know what she was going to find, but she damn sure was going to clear the area.

For all she knew it could be a predator who was stalking her horse. If so, she’d protect Daisy and put down whatever wolf or mountain lion that waited for her. There had been reports in the last weeks of small game disappearing from the local ranches and being blamed on the wild animals hunting.

She crept into the woods, thankful it was still daytime where she had good lighting. Her hand remained steady. It may have been a while since she’d gone into a hot situation, but her training hadn’t faded. Her gaze swept over the tall trees, bushes, and wildflowers of the wooded area.

Was she crazy?

No. Her gut never led her wrong, and she doubted it would start now.

“If you don’t want to get shot, you’ll show yourself,” Melah called out. She flipped off the safety and swung around at a slight snapping sound. She tightened her grip on her weapon. “Now.”

She hardened her voice. She was not here to play, she was dead serious. She’d shoot and ask questions later. She took a few more steps forward along a path and swung around again.

A force came at her and hit her arms, her gun lowering. A gasp escaped her. She automatically fell into a defensive move.

Again—training still intact.

Her eyes widened at the person standing in front of her.

“Miss me?” Theo grinned. He was dressed in fatigues which had allowed him to blend in with nature. He even had dark paint on his face. His hair was slicked back away from his face.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” she snapped. She went to raise her gun again with clear intent. It was without a doubt that he was not here just to visit. The crazed look in his eyes alluded to his intentions .

He dove forward just as she pulled the trigger. The sound of the shot echoed through the air.

Shit.

He’d caused her aim to be off and directed at the sky. His body fell against hers, and they landed on the ground. Her gun went flying and disappeared in the brush. Panic washed over Melah, but she fought to push it down. Memories of the last time he’d attacked her came to the forefront.

Not now.

She cried out and fought to shove him off her.

“You thought I would just rot in that damn prison while you get to live the high life?” he growled.

Melah tried to get him off her, but he was solid and too heavy for her.

“Get off me!” she screamed. She swung her arms toward his face. Her nails connected with his cheek and raked down it. Satisfaction filled her at the sight of angry marks appearing on his skin.

“You bitch!” he roared.

The back of his hand connected with her face. Pain seared across her cheek. She cried out but was not going to stop fighting him. Not until there was no breath left in her lungs.

“You are going to pay for that! ”

“Help!” she screamed. She didn’t know if anyone was close by to hear her or the gunshot.

Theo flipped her over, and within seconds he had her hands zip tied behind her.

She continued to struggle and fight against him.

She opened her mouth to scream again, but a dirty rag was stuffed into her mouth.

She tried to shake it out, but he used something else to wrap around her head to keep it in place.

He tore her hat off and tossed it aside.

Tears blurred her vision. She cursed internally at them. This was not the time to cry. Everything he’d put her through before, she had never let him see her cry. Not in court. Not when he was sentenced and he was cursing her out. She’d been strong.

“You are coming with me,” he growled in her ear.

He licked it and barked a laugh when she jerked away. He stood and lifted her by her restrained arms. She haphazardly got to her feet. If he thought she was going to just comply because her hands were restrained and she was gagged, he had better think again.

She ran forward but was jerked back to him. She screamed into the cloth.

“Oh, you are not going anywhere.” He barked another laugh. He pulled her back to him and wrapped an arm around her chest. His mouth came to hover next to her ear.

She screamed every curse word she could think of at him.

“Still feisty, I see. Well, I’m going to have to break that out of you this time. Let’s go, and don’t try no funny shit.”

He produced a large hunting knife for her to see. He brought the tip of the blade to her cheek, and she froze in place. Another laugh escaped him.

“That’s what I’m talking about. Be on your best behavior, and I may give you a little treat.” He released her and gripped her by her upper arm and dragged her farther into the woods. “You and I have some unfinished business.”