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back here so soon, not after today."
"Think I'll take a look," he said, crossing to the door.
The thought of him facing Chance churned her stomach. "Now you understand why I panicked that first night
you were here."
Reed nodded. For a moment, he looked ready to smile, but another unfamiliar sound wrinkled his brow.
"Stay here," he said.
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Deli grimaced at him. Was he serious? Why, she'd been dealing with the likes of Chance years longer than
Reed could imagine.
"I'm serious, Deli, I want you to stay here."
Full of disbelief, she scowled at him.
"Deli," he warned her.
"Oh, all right, Reed, I'm staying right here," she sighed.
Just because they were married didn't mean he had to act like her husband.
"Stay here," he repeated.
Deli crossed her fingers in her lap. "I will."
Who could tell what the future would hold? She certainly wasn't about to make a promise on something she
couldn't predict.
A dull cry snatched Reed's attention to the door.
"It's probably just a coyote, Reed. That's what it sounds like."
Shaking his head, he placed his flattened hand on the door and shifted his gaze toward her. "I don't want you
to get hurt, Deli."
"All right." Growing impatient, she waved him away. "Go see what it is."
To her relief he cracked the door open and peered out. "I'll be right back," he said, slipping outside and
closing the door behind himself.
Immediately, Deli leapt for the sofa. She landed hard on her knees and threw the drape open. Familiar
darkness greeted her. Deli smiled at Reed's shadowy form crossing the farm. Now he knew what it felt like to
get the begeezus scared outta him, even when it was nothing.
Peering at the barn, she froze. A dim light emanated from the wide doorway.
Holy shitfire!
Taking a deep breath, she pressed her forehead against the window. Why hadn't her gut warned her? She'd
sincerely thought that Licorice was just misbehaving. Reed had been right. There was someone out there.
Scampering off the couch, Deli quietly opened the front door.
Thank goodness for crossed fingers...
She paused in the doorway and searched the elusive darkness that had swallowed Reed up. If Chance was in
there, he'd show no mercy.
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Swallowing, Deli spun on her heel and searched the parlor for some kind of weapon. Due to their first
meeting, Reed had unfortunately cleared the front lot of wood and branches she might use. Deli silently
cursed him, and crossed to rifle above the mantle. Just looking at it gave her a chill of memories she didn't
want.
"Oh, hell, Deli," she muttered, "you're shooting it, not the other way around."
Standing on her toes, she lifted the rifle off of Travis's hand-carved shelf. It weighed heavily in her arms.
Solid and smooth. Cool and intimidating.
Quickly, Deli cocked the weapon and made sure it was empty. Then wrapping her hands around the long steel
barrel, she swung in over her shoulder. It was no tree branch, but it would work.
Rushing out the door, she ran across the farm on her tip-toes. She steadied her rampant breathing. Trying to
calm herself, she closed her eyes. The sounds within the barn, mixed with solid tones and chilling laughter,
rang in her ears. She tried to decipher the voices, but the indistinct words eluded her.
Pressing her back against the side of the barn door, she steadied the rifle over her shoulder. More than likely,
Chance would send Reed out first.
Be patient, Deli told herself. Don't swing until you know it's him.
"Move out that way," someone said.
"Keep it down," another answered.
Deli bit her lip to keep from crying out. He had Reed!
Their voices drifted closer.
A large shadow emerged first.
Deli gasped when she saw Reed's profile.
Accounting for Chance's height, she lifted the rifle slightly higher. A breath behind Reed, Chance emerged.
Deli swung.
Reed ducked and swore.
The rifle smacked hard against Chance's forehead. He slumped to the ground.
A woman screamed.
A baby cried.
"I got him," Deli hollered.
She glanced excitedly up at Reed...then froze. The man, who certainly wasn't her husband, stared at her with
his jaw dropped. A woman cradling a bundle in her arms leapt over the body on the ground and stood behind
the first stranger.
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Deli blinked lamely at the man. She'd been sure he was Reed. He looked so much like him.
"Oh, no," she groaned.
The man reached forward and yanked the rifle out of her hands. "What're you doing?"
"I...I thought you were Reed."
"I guess that's lucky for me," he said, leveling her with a glare.
Slowly, reluctantly, Deli lowered her gaze to the man on the ground, the man she thought had been Chance.
She cringed at Reed's face, his eyes closed, his head lolled to the side, an ugly, noticeably large lump on his
forehead.
Deli covered her mouth and dropped to her knees beside him. "Oh, not again..."
"Again?" the woman above her repeated.
Ignoring them, Deli touched Reed's warm cheeks.
"Who the hell are you?" the man asked.
Deli tipped her head back. "Who the hell are you?"
Dumbstruck, the man and woman stared at her.
"Luke Becker," the man said. "Reed's brother."
Deli cringed. She'd done it this time!
"And you are...?" the woman asked softly.
"Deli Gold-Becker. I'm his..." She gestured lamely at Reed. "I'm his wife."
Luke blinked as if he'd misheard. "The hell you say..." Lowering to his haunches, he gave his brother's head a
sweeping inspection. "I'd hate to see what you do when he's been out all night."
Caught off guard, Deli flinched at the teasing grin on his face. "He's gonna kill me for this..."
"Naw," Luke said, "he's been through worse."
"You don't understand. The first time--"
"The first time?" he stopped her. "You mean this isn't the first time?"
Embarrassed, Deli shook her head. Hoping he'd wake up, she patted Reed's cheek.
"Oh, this should be real interesting," Luke said, sitting his brother's limp body upright. "Let's get him inside,
and you can tell us all about it."
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Deli couldn't miss the teasing in his tone. He might think this was funny, but Deli knew Reed wouldn't be
laughing.
Chapter Fourteen
At the kitchen table, Reed held the cool cloth against his forehead and glared at Deli. She kneeled before him,
her hands balanced on his knees, her eyes peering tenderly into his.
"I'm so sorry," she said again.
"Do you always try to catch men this way?" Luke chuckled behind her.
"I don't need to catch him," Deli said, glaring over her shoulder. "I've already caught him."
Reed lifted his brows at her. She appeared just as surprised by the remark.
"You know what I mean," she whispered. "What are they doing here?"
"Reed sent for us," Luke said.
For Reed's sake, Deli withheld a frown. Couldn't he let Reed speak for himself?
"And it's a good thing we came, too," Luke added. "It looks like you're in pretty deep this time."
Reed pulled the cloth away from his head, examined it, then put it back. "I've got it under control."
"And what happened to your nose?" Luke asked.
"My nose?"
"It's off. Not by much, but enough for me to notice."
"I noticed too," the woman said, laying the sleeping baby into a small, wooden cradle on the floor. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]