The Cowbear's Christmas Bride (Curvy Bear Ranch 4) Read online

  “Well I know that’s a lie,” another grandmotherly woman said.

  “Actually, we’re looking for Victoria Fuller,” Carol said as she stepped forward.

  “Why?” Gertrude asked.

  “We just wanted to visit her,” Hank said. If he told her even a hint of the full story, she’d run her mouth all over town.

  “Last I heard, the bank kicked her out of that shack. I don’t know what the bank wants with that dump anyway,” Gertrude said.

  “They should burn it to the ground,” another woman added.

  “Do you happen to know where she’s living?” Hank asked.

  “Peggy Johnson called me this morning and told me she saw Trevor Sawyer packing up Vicki’s things. She probably moved in with him,” Gertrude said.

  “Where’s he living these days?” Hank asked as casually as possible.

  “Up in a cabin at the end of Old Hunter Road. You aren’t going up there, are you?” she asked.

  “Not sure yet.”

  “Well if you do, watch out. He’s one of those government-conspiracy types. Lloyd over at Hunter’s Gun Shop said Trevor’s got enough ammo up there to take down a small army. If Armageddon ever kicks in, I’m heading up to his place. He’ll either let me in or kill me. I’ll either be safe or saved by the Lord.” Gertrude chuckled.

  “Thanks,” Hank said.

  “How’s your crazy brother Logan doing? He still married?” she asked.

  “It’s only been a few days,” he said. “They wouldn’t already be divorced.”

  “You never know with those spur-of-the-moment weddings.”

  “I guarantee they’re going to stay married for the rest of their lives. I’ve never seen my brother so happy,” he said.

  “Good to hear it. So, who’s your lady friend? She’s been standing over there as mute as a donkey,” Gertrude said.

  “Just a friend. You ladies have a good day.”

  He grabbed Carol’s hand and hustled her back into the kitchen before Gertrude could launch into one of her infamous interrogations. After giving June a quick kiss on the cheek, he led Carol outside. Once they’d made it into the truck, he locked the doors.

  “I’m not sure we should go up to Trevor’s right now,” he said.

  “Why not? My mom’s probably up there.”

  “I know. I’m worried about how much firepower he might have at the cabin. We might want to get my brothers to come as backup,” he said.

  “Gertrude was probably exaggerating. Did you see what she was wearing? I think she stole Joseph’s Technicolor Dream Coat.”

  “Maybe.” He smiled. “I guess we can head up there and take a look around. The second we see any sign of danger, we’ll leave and get my brothers… and probably give the sheriff a call too. How does that sound?”

  “Okay. I just hate to leave my mom up with that guy knowing his background. You said he’s been in prison, right?” she asked.

  “Yep. One of Pinewood Correctional’s frequent flyers.”

  “In that case, we don’t have any time to waste.”

  He nodded in agreement, but the churning in his gut made him question the safety of their plan. A man like Trevor was nothing but trouble. He should probably go round up his brothers, but he didn’t want to waste the hour or more it would take to drive back to his place, gather up the cavalry, and return. His bear insisted that they head directly to the cabin to check on Vicki. After all, if Carol truly was his mate, he’d do whatever it took to protect her mom.

  Chapter 8

  Carol scanned each side of the narrow logging road, looking for any sign of a cabin. They hadn’t been able to get an exact location out of Gertrude, but apparently no one else lived in this part of the forest either.

  “When we get there,” she said. “I want you to come in with me.”

  “Of course. I wasn’t going to let you walk in there alone,” Hank said.

  “I’m scared.”

  When he reached over and laced their fingers together, she felt safe. He wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her or her mom. She knew it in her soul. Or maybe it was her bear who knew it.

  She continued searching the increasingly dense forest. Sunlight fought through the thick canopy of trees to slice across the gloominess. She’d rolled down the window to get a better look, only to be stunned by the completely still air. It was as if the old pines knew who lived in their midst and chose to stay as lifeless as possible.

  A shiver snaked up her spine. Maybe Hank was right. Maybe they should have gone back to the ranch to get his brothers and the sheriff.

  The dirt road gave way to muddy potholes. The occasional snowflake braved the eerie stillness before being smashed against the windshield.

  “A storm’s coming,” Hank said.

  She rolled up the window and wrapped her arms around her torso. She’d almost given up hope on ever finding the cabin when a gate loomed up ahead. A barbed wire fence stretched out from the gate into the forest before disappearing from sight. Clearly Trevor intended to either keep someone out, or keep someone in.

  “I’ll check the lock.” Hank left the truck idling as he hopped out. To her surprise, he was able to unlatch the gate and swing it open.

  “It wasn’t locked?” she asked when he returned.

  “No.”

  “That’s strange. Why have a lock if you’re not going to use it?”

  “Maybe no one’s home,” he said.

  As they rounded a corner, a small log cabin, similar in size to her mom’s house, sat back against an outcropping of boulders. A wisp of smoke coiled up from the chimney. Someone was home.

  “I’ll do the talking,” Hank said. “We’re just here to check on her. If he won’t let us see her, then we’ll come back with the sheriff.”

  “We should make her come with us.”

  “We’ll see. It depends on the situation. Just stay behind me. If he starts shooting, run back to the truck and leave. Don’t wait for me, okay?” When she didn’t answer right away he said, “Promise me you’ll leave. I can’t risk your life.”

  “I promise.”

  She turned and wrapped her arms around him. He lowered his mouth to hers and gave her a kiss born of fear. She returned it with equal desperation.

  “If he shoots at us, shouldn’t we just turn into bears?” she asked.

  “No. It will make us bigger targets. It will be harder to hit us if we’re still in our human form.”

  “Okay.”

  After he pulled up to the cabin, he jumped out. She joined him in front of the truck. After a beat, she followed him up the steps to the front door.

  Hank knocked on the door. The sound of shuffling came from inside, as if someone had walked to the door. A peephole had been cut into the sturdy wood. The tiny hint of light emanating from inside went dark. Someone was looking at them, watching them. Waiting.

  Carol trembled and stayed close behind him.

  “Hello?” Hank called.

  “Go away,” a female voice said. Carol wasn’t sure if it was her mother’s voice or not. She hadn’t spent enough time with her to be able to recognize it.

  “Mom, is that you?” Carol called.

  “Go away before he comes back.” The door opened a crack but didn’t reveal anything.

  “Who? Trevor?” Carol asked.

  “He’s in a bad mood. You don’t want to be here when he gets back,” her mom said.

  “Where’d he go?” Hank asked.

  “Liquor store.”

  “Can you at least come out for a second so we know that you’re all right?” Carol asked.

  As the door inched open, Carol’s stomach dropped through her feet. A huge black bruise covered most of her mom’s right cheek. Her eye was swollen half-closed.

  “Oh my God, Mom!” Carol pushed past Hank.

  “It’s nothing,” her mom said.

  “Did he do this to you?” Carol asked.

  “I should have known better than to get in his way. I should have kno
wn…”

  “You’re coming with us,” Hank said. The tone in his voice left no room for debate.

  “I can’t,” her mom said.

  “Why the hell not?” Carol asked.

  “A woman’s place is with her man,” her mom said. “I know my place. Known it my whole life. Learned it the first time my daddy hit me with his belt.”

  “Jesus,” Hank whispered.

  “Now go on. Get lost before he finds you here. He’s got enough shotguns in here to kill you ten times over.”

  “I’m not leaving without you,” Carol insisted.

  “Suit yourself. If he kills you, it’ll be your own damn fault.” With that, her mom stepped inside and slammed the door in their face.

  Carol jerked back, stunned by her mother’s desire to stay. What in the hell was wrong with her? The man was abusing her and she needed help.

  As she moved to knock on the door again, Hank grabbed her hand. “Honey, wait. She doesn’t want our help. We need to get the sheriff up here. Maybe he can talk some sense into her.”

  “I can’t leave her. What if Trevor comes back?” she asked.

  The front door swung open.

  “What are you still doing here?” her mom asked in a terrified voice.

  “Come with us, Mom. We can help you.”

  “I don’t need your help.”

  “You clearly do, ma’am,” Hank said.

  “Go find someone else to save. I didn’t need you when I had you and I don’t need you now. You’ve caused me nothing but trouble. I wish you’d never been born. I hate you and I hope I never see you again,” she shrieked.

  As Carol swayed, Hank reached out to steady her. A rush of lightheadedness made her feel faint. She clung to his arm to keep from falling.

  “Now git,” her mom snapped. She slammed the door hard enough to rattle the windows.

  Hank held Carol up as he helped her walk back to the car. Tears flowed down her face to mingle with freshly fallen snowflakes. A searing pain cut through her heart. To hear that her mother wished she’d never been born killed her soul.

  She let Hank lift her into the truck then sat unmoving until he reached across her to put on her seat belt. She grabbed his hand. “I’m not leaving.”

  ***

  Damn stubborn woman. Hank snapped the seat belt into the buckle and raced around to the other side before she could have a chance to escape. They needed to go get the sheriff immediately.

  “Stop,” he said gruffly when Carol reached for the buckle.

  “I’m serious. I’m not leaving.”

  “Honey, if we don’t get back to town soon, we might not get to the sheriff in time.”

  “But if we leave her, Trevor might come back and hurt her again. Maybe even worse this time,” she said.

  He ran a hand through his hair. Shit. He’d like to grab Trevor by the throat and choke him to death. What right did he have to put his hands on a woman? No man had that right.

  Deep inside his chest, his bear raged. He clawed frantically at Hank’s ribcage trying to escape. He tried to reason with his bear. If he shifted now, he wouldn’t be able to protect Carol as well as he could in his human form. Sure, his bear could rip Trevor to pieces, but he couldn’t drive the truck and Hank wasn’t going to kill in cold blood.

  But, he could put the fear of God in that bastard when he came back. Then he’d get the damn sheriff. He opened the glove box and double-checked his cell phone. As expected, there wasn’t any service this far into the forest. He looked at the lines coming into the cabin but didn’t see a phone line or any satellites.

  Beside him, Carol shivered so hard he was afraid she’d pass out. As his mate, she was his top priority. If it came down to a choice between saving her mom and saving Carol, it would be an easy decision. Hopefully it would never come to that.

  Snow came down harder. He turned on the engine to get warm air flowing through the cab. Carol leaned forward and warmed her hands in front of the vent. He glanced up at the swiftly darkening sky. If they didn’t head back soon, they’d risk getting stuck in the muddy potholes that he’d narrowly avoided on the way in.

  An idea popped into his mind.

  “I’ll be right back. Do not get out of the truck under any circumstances. Okay?” He refused to move until she gave him confirmation.

  “Okay.” She blinked rapidly and brushed tears from her eyes. Her nose had turned bright red and blotches of color stained her pale cheeks. His heart clenched. His plan had better damn well work.

  He jogged up the steps and pounded on the front door. At first nothing happened, but then it whipped open to reveal Vicki holding a twelve-gauge shotgun.

  “I have the right to shoot you if you don’t get off my property. Don’t make me waste Trevor’s shells. It’ll only make him madder.” She spoke in such an even tone that he had no doubt she was prepared to shoot him.

  “We’ll leave,” he said. “But I’m sending the sheriff up here as soon as we get to town. We’re not giving up on you even though you’ve given up on yourself.”

  “What do you know about giving up? You can’t give up anything when you never had anything to begin with. Now git.” She waved the shotgun toward the truck.

  Hank backed down the steps and retreated to the car. So much for his plan of throwing her over his shoulder and forcing her into the truck.

  When he closed the driver’s side door, Vicki stepped onto the front porch. She trained the shotgun on them as he backed up and turned to get back onto the road.

  “She pointed that gun at us,” Carol murmured.

  The shocked quality of her voice increased his worry. She’d been traumatized by the whole experience. He needed to get her home and into a warm bed. But he knew she’d never let him do that until he’d found the sheriff.

  He drove as fast as he dared, not bothering to chain the gate back up. Miles ticked by at a frustratingly slow pace, but he couldn’t chance getting stuck on the road.

  The more time passed, the deeper Carol slumped into the seat. He occasionally reached out to squeeze her hand, but she barely responded.

  When he spotted the soft glow of West Yellowstone a few miles up the road, he breathed a sigh of relief. He drove straight to the sheriff’s office. After parking, he jumped out to get Carol and led her into the small law enforcement department.

  “I need to talk to the sheriff,” Hank said.

  “Do you have an appointment?” The young lady at the reception desk looked up from filing her nails.

  “No, this is an emergency.”

  “He’s in the office in the back. I’ll take you there.”

  As she sauntered toward the back of the office, Hank wanted to shove her out of the way. He didn’t want to waste a second of time.

  “Hank!” Sheriff Tanner said. “How’ve you been? How’s Logan doing with his new wife?”

  “Good. I’m sorry to be abrupt, but we have a dangerous situation going on out at Trevor Sawyer’s place,” Hank said.

  “What’s he into now?”

  “Domestic violence.”

  “Shit. Who is it this time?” Tanner asked.

  “Vicki Fuller.”

  “That darn woman has the worst taste in men. What did he do?”

  “Gave her a black eye,” Carol said, perking up for the first time since they left the cabin. “You have to go save her.”

  “Vicki is Carol’s mom,” Hank said.

  “Well I’ll be dammed. I didn’t know she had a daughter,” he said. “Did you see him hit her?”

  “No,” Hank replied.

  “Does she want to file a report?”

  “No,” Carol said, dejected.

  “There’s not a whole lot I can do if she won’t report it.” The sheriff glanced at Carol, then stood. “All right, how about I head over there and check things out? If she wants to make a report, I’ll arrest him on the spot.”

  “Thank you,” Carol said as she flung her arms around the lawman.

  “No need for
that ma’am,” he said while giving Hank an awkward shrug.

  “Will you call the ranch later and give us an update?” Carol asked.

  “Normally I wouldn’t be able to do that, but since she’s your mother, I’ll make an exception. Just don’t tell anyone,” he said.

  “I won’t,” Carol said.

  “You folks head on home and I’ll give you a call.”

  “Thank you.” Hank shook his hand and then wrapped an arm around Carol and guided her toward the truck.

  The trip back to the ranch held a somber note. Carol stared out of the window most of the way before turning to gaze at him. He was afraid to ask what she was thinking. At this point, he just wanted to get her home and into a hot bath.

  When they arrived at the ranch, he had to maneuver her past Madison, Mack, Cody, and Drew while promising to give them an update later. He followed her into her room. After turning on the hot water in the bathtub, he helped her undress.

  “Do you want me to sit with you?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “Okay.” He tried to keep the disappointment out of his voice. “I’ll come back up as soon as the sheriff calls.”

  “Wait,” she said. “Can you wait for me in my room? I don’t want to be alone right now.”

  “I’ll be right here, honey.”

  As she drifted into the bathroom, he dragged a chair to her bedside and sat. As the minutes melted away, he kept glancing at the clock. Other than the occasional splash of water, she’d been silent. He wanted to check on her, but also wanted to give her the space she needed. He couldn’t bear the thought of her sending him away.

  She finally emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a fluffy white robe. She looked so little, bundled up in all that cloth. Without a word, she slid into bed. She rolled onto her side to face him and gazed into his eyes.

  “Tell me we did everything we could,” she said.

  “We did. The sheriff should be calling soon.” He wanted to tell her that everything was going to be okay, but that would have been a lie. He had no idea what was happening back at the cabin. He glared at the phone, willing it to ring.

  As if his prayer had been answered, a shrill ring pierced the silence of the room. Carol lunged for the phone.