Love and Protect Read online

  “I can’t take your money,” Laura said, shaking her head. “Besides, it isn’t enough for rent and the deposit on any apartment. I can take money from my ATM and find a hotel to stay in nearby until I can get to the money in the greenhouse or the bank on Monday.”

  The doctor raised an eyebrow. “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

  “No,” Laura admitted, “but I don’t see any other option.”

  She felt weak and sick to her stomach at the thought of not leaving the area right away. She honestly didn’t know if she was being rational or not, but everything in her was screaming to put distance between herself and the Kensingtons right now. And, once again, she remembered the look of fear in Patrick’s eyes when he’d hidden the USB drive. A tickle of doubt scratched at the edge of her brain as she shoved the memory aside.

  She fought back another wave of tears. She would not cry again. No amount of tears would help the situation.

  “Do you have any friends you can stay with?”

  She shook her head. The friends she’d had in New Jersey before she married Patrick stopped calling when she made excuses not to talk to them or see them. The shame of having to lie to them about her marriage had made her tuck herself away from anyone who would question too much or see through her act. Of course, they’d all assumed she thought she was too good for them after marrying into the Kensington clan. Ha! The joke had been on her, hadn’t it?

  And the friends she had in Connecticut—well, they weren’t truly friends. Just country club acquaintances. None of them would take her in and hide her from Martha Kensington.

  They were quiet for a minute before the doctor cracked a wide smile. “I know a place you can go while you get on your feet.”

  Laura cringed. She had a feeling she knew what he was going to say, and the idea of going to a shelter, of answering questions and letting anyone else know what was going on made her stomach clench even more.

  “I’ve got a friend who owns a ranch in Texas. I spend a few weeks there every summer. It’s the perfect place for you to figure things out, to clear your head and start again, and I just know May would love to have you.” He drew a cell phone out of his pocket and keyed through the contacts before selecting one.

  “How do you feel about Texas?” he asked her, holding the phone in his hand without hitting send as though asking her whether to make the call or not.

  Texas? She couldn’t possibly show up on the doorstep of a stranger, even if Dr. Samuels said it was all right. There was nothing all right about doing something like that.

  Laura smiled, but it felt weak. If she didn’t go where he suggested, where would she go? Even if she took Dr. Samuel’s five hundred dollars along with hers, she couldn’t use her ATM or credit cards again unless she wanted to be tracked after she left. She wasn’t exactly swimming in options. Every penny in cash she had was buried in a flower pot, and she’d have to cross a line of reporters to get to it. Reporters who would no doubt print pictures of her arriving home, blowing the lead she had. If the Kensingtons saw that she wasn’t in the hospital, they’d be on her that much faster.

  “I promise,” he said. “May would really love the company.”

  Laura looked back over her shoulder toward the house. Even if she could push through the news reporters, the thought of going back into the house she’d shared with Patrick… She just couldn’t do that. She couldn’t go back now.

  “Texas it is,” she said more to herself than to the doctor who was now speaking with someone on the other end of the phone.

  “May? It’s Josh. I need a favor.” The doctor listened for a moment before speaking again. “I’m sending someone to you. I need you to keep her safe with you at the ranch.”

  There was another pause as he listened, and then turned to Laura and nodded with a big grin. “I’ll see if I can get her on a flight right away and then she’ll take the bus from Austin. I’m not sure exactly what day she’ll arrive,” he said, glancing at Laura.

  The doctor listened again. “Thank you. Oh, and May? Don’t contact me for a while. I’ll get in touch in a few weeks. I don’t want any contact between us that might let someone track her right now, so let’s keep it to this one call.”

  Laura looked over at the man who was helping her flee. She dug deep and found the strength she’d built up while living with Patrick over the past three years. She would not let his family take the baby, and she’d be damned if she’d let them have any part in raising her child. The woman who had raised her monster of a husband wouldn’t be coming anywhere near her baby.

  She’d go to Texas long enough to get her bearings and come up with a plan. She’d spend a few days there to figure out her next move. Then she’d move on, as planned, and find a job somewhere. She’d only stay in one place a few weeks at a time if she could manage it, until she was certain the Kensingtons had given up their search for her.

  Laura took a deep breath and nodded at the doctor. Texas.

  Chapter Five

  Cade Bishop loved it when hours of patience paid off and he made a connection with a frightened animal. The telltale sign might be a low whinny from a horse or being allowed to check out the new kittens of a feral cat. Most often, it happened in subtle ways, with little changes in the animal happening here or there over time. But Red had offered her trust suddenly and completely this morning. For the rust-colored mixed-breed dog he’d found hurt and wandering on the highway four weeks ago, her trust came as a floodgate opening rather than a trickle.

  For weeks, Cade sat calmly and quietly near Red’s food bowl during mealtimes. He never moved or attempted to approach her while she ate. There were no strings attached. No pushing. He simply sat and let her get used to his smell, to the sight of him, to slight movements. Sometimes he talked—nonsensical ramblings about his day. Sometimes he didn’t. At times, she spooked and ran away. When that happened, Cade just waited. He knew she’d come back on her own, in her own time.

  Today, after eating, Red stood staring at Cade for a long time. She appeared calm, but those deep round-platter eyes of hers still seemed to take in everything. She looked as if she were weighing, balancing something in her mind. Maybe some risk versus some reward? Cade often wished he could read the minds of the animals he worked with.

  As he watched her, she splayed her front legs ever so slightly and dipped her head. It wasn’t truly a play bow. It was the ghost of a playful bow, but enough of an invitation that Cade caught it.

  He turned toward her and mirrored her gesture, arms outward and head dipped. He might not be a dog, but apparently his mimicry was good enough for Red. Her response was instantaneous. She flew into his arms, nearly knocking him on his butt. Twenty minutes later, she was still in Cade’s arms. She spun over and over, snuggling and whirling in the circle his arms created, as if she needed human contact more than she needed air.

  Cade laughed as she circled, in awe of the need she had for this connection and the way she let herself trust him after so much time. There really wasn’t anything on earth that compared to seeing a hurt or injured animal find love and trust again. Though the ice was now broken, he knew Red would need to learn to trust other people too. She needed to figure out that most humans were okay, even though he would lay money on the fact that at some point humans had hurt her.

  As Red settled down at the end of her spontaneous snuggle-fest, he stood slowly, talking to her quietly as he rose. “Come on, girl. Let’s take a walk out to the paddock and see Millie.”

  She took a few cautious steps back as Cade rose to his full height, as if she still weren’t completely sure, but quickly returned to his side and followed him out through the large open doors at the end of the barn. Together, they walked out to visit Millie, an old quarter horse he was nursing back to health.

  Millie and Red weren’t the usual kind of animals Cade worked with. Most of his time on the ranch was devoted to working with retired horses from various racetracks around Texas. Cade helped the horses adjust to life
off the track and found new career paths for them. Some went to homes as pets, while others went into dressage or eventing, or began second careers as hunter jumpers. But Cade was drawn to animals who had been neglected or abused and never could resist helping animals like Millie and Red.

  He suspected Red had been abused, but didn’t know for sure. She had been half starved and frightened out of her wits when he found her. It was possible she was only under socialized, but the way she shied away from any person she came in contact with, coupled with the scars that trimmed her body, made him think it had been more than simply not being socialized properly.

  In Millie’s case, he knew exactly what had happened. She had been neglected. She’d been seized from an owner who left her in a stall that likely hadn’t seen a pitchfork or fresh hay in a month. She was skin and bones when she came to the ranch, and she had horrible thrush in her hooves from standing in her own waste and filth. County animal control had seized Millie and asked Cade for help, which he’d gladly given. After winning the court case against the owner, the county signed ownership over to Cade. He would rehab her and then find her the right home when the time came.

  “She looks better and better, don’t you think?” Cade asked Red, who perked her ears up and looked up at him, an assessing gleam in her eyes.

  Millie came to the fence and nickered. Miraculously, her trust in humans had never dwindled. She only needed time to fatten up and let her hooves heal. She was getting the dry bedding she needed, quality hay, and treatment for her hooves now that she was with Cade. When she was in better shape, Cade would ride her to see if, as he suspected, she’d make a nice horse for a child or a riding school. When he’d put a saddle on her a few days ago, she accepted it calmly and patiently. That patience could be a blessing to a child learning to ride.

  “Hey, girl.” Cade rubbed the white blaze between Millie’s eyes as she stretched out her neck and turned her head to push against his hand. When he dropped his hand, she shoved her head against his shoulder. Millie was no dummy—she knew Cade kept mints in his chest pocket, and she never let him leave without getting at least one.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Cade laughed. He pulled out a mint and fed it to the mare on the flat of his hand.

  “Hoo, boy. Is that Red?” Cade’s brother Shane spoke from a healthy ten feet away, but even so, Red’s head ducked and she skittered behind Cade.

  Cade looked at his brother who hung back, as always. Shane didn’t work the animals on the ranch like Cade, and he didn’t have the natural ability Cade had with them, but he had learned to give them space until Cade told him he could come closer. A couple of horses nipping at him and the consequent holes in his suit coats and dress shirts had taught him that, over the years.

  “Yup. She had a bit of a breakthrough this morning—apparently she needed snuggling more than she needed her safety zone,” Cade said. “What’re you doing here on a weekday? Not that we don’t love seeing your ugly face, but to what do we owe the honor?”

  Shane didn’t live and work on the ranch the way Cade did. He spent the week in town at his law firm doing everything from creating wills to representing people in court. He usually only came out to the ranch on weekends.

  It always made Cade itch when he saw Shane wearing a suit. Although he and Shane could be twins with their dark hair and emerald-green eyes and their six-two matching heights, Cade wouldn’t be caught dead in a suit. And sometimes, he was convinced Shane wouldn’t be caught dead without one. Cade’s dusty Stetson identified him as much as the neatly knotted tie identified Shane.

  “Just had to bring some papers out for Mama to sign. She’s setting up another scholarship fund,” Shane answered, still watching Red in amazement as she stood calmly behind Cade’s legs.

  “I’ll walk you up to the house,” Cade said. “I’m starving.” The brothers turned and walked up toward the main house while Red trailed behind at a safe distance.

  “Who’s the new fund for?” he asked as they walked.

  Their mother, May Bishop, created scholarships by design whenever someone needed something that she was in a position to help with. After the initial person received their scholarship through the fund, she would keep it going, looking for others who needed help, year after year. She had funds for farmers who had suffered a poor crop due to natural causes, a fund for single mothers to pay for car or home repairs, and a number of funds for students pursuing different degrees.

  “Amanda Ayers. She was short a few thousand dollars for nursing school. She has almost enough credits to graduate. Mama is making sure she can afford it.”

  Cade nodded.

  “I saw Lacey in town the other day. She looks better,” Shane said.

  Cade didn’t answer right away. It had been a year since he and Lacey had broken up, and he still wasn’t too keen to talk about her. Shane should have known that.

  “Yeah? She visiting her mom?” he finally asked, as they neared the front porch.

  Shane nodded and slipped his suit coat off, folding it over his arm. “She’s still living in Austin with her dad. She’s starting school there in the fall. Plans to study fashion design or something.”

  “Good. That’s good for her,” Cade said and nodded. He meant it. He wished Lacey well. At one time, he thought they would spend the rest of their lives together, but things began to unravel the last year they were together, and he had known they weren’t meant for each other.

  The two men wiped off their feet before walking into the ranch’s welcoming kitchen.

  May Bishop stood at the counter, talking into her cell phone. “Okay, Josh. We’ll see her when she gets here,” she said and then disconnected the phone and tucked it into her apron pocket.

  “Hi, Mama,” Shane said, bending to kiss the small woman.

  “Sit, boys,” May said. She put a basket of bread on the table.

  Cade noticed the first hints of gray in her long dark braids, and how heavily she rested the right side of her body on her cane. The car accident that had taken their father’s life had left their mother with serious injuries, but she didn’t often let them slow her down.

  May loved nothing more than to have her boys at the table where she could feed them. To her, food was love. There was no talk as the men ate, but that was typical. The Bishop Boys, as they were referred to in town, were well known for their appetites. When there was food in front of them, they ate with undivided focus. They tended to eat enormous quantities, particularly when their mother cooked meals like this. Thankfully, they were active enough to keep the food from thickening their waistlines. Cade with his work on the ranch, and Shane, running miles each day while thinking through cases and client problems.

  When there wasn’t a scrap of food left, conversation began.

  “What did Uncle Josh have to say?” Cade asked.

  Josh Samuels wasn’t really Shane and Cade’s uncle. He had grown up with May and her late husband, Jim Bishop, and Shane and Cade considered him family. He was a physician now, and May had leaned on him when her husband died ten years ago. It wasn’t uncommon for him to spend a couple of weeks at the ranch in the summer.

  “It was an odd call, actually. He’s sending someone out here to stay with us. He asked us not to contact him about her, but to keep her safe when she gets here. Says he isn’t sure exactly when she’ll arrive.”

  Shane rubbed his brow, frowning, and Cade knew what was coming. Shane was a worrier. He worried about anything and everything, even when there wasn’t a damn thing to worry about.

  “Mama, that sounds a little…off. Did he tell you anything else about who she is or why she’s coming? Why wouldn’t he know when we should expect her?” Shane asked as he and Cade ferried dirty dishes to the sink. Cade kept quiet. He didn’t see anything wrong with someone coming to the ranch if they needed help, and he knew their mother would see it that way, too. And even if he didn’t agree with her, arguing with their mother once she set her mind on something was useless.

  “I don’t know
,” May said mildly, “but I’m sure we’ll find out when our guest gets here.”

  Shane let it rest for a few minutes while they washed plates, but Cade could tell he wasn’t going to let it drop.

  “Did he say anything else about her? Does he know her well? And what does ‘keep her safe’ mean?” Shane asked. He rinsed the soap off a dish under the faucet and handed it to Cade to dry. “It sounds like this woman could be bringing a world of trouble with her.”

  May let some of her annoyance show. “I don’t know, Shane, and I don’t need to know. Josh asked for our help and we’re going to give it to him. It’s as simple as that.”

  “Mama,” Shane’s tone said he disagreed. “People try to take advantage of older people all the time. It’s well known you have money. What if she’s some kind of scam artist?”

  Cade took a big sidestep away from his brother. Shane didn’t know when to back down when facing off against their mother. He hadn’t figured out it was useless to argue with her. And, he sure hadn’t figured out that talking about someone taking advantage of the elderly was a surefire way to tick her off.

  “Don’t you ‘Mama’ me. After all that man has done for us, I’m not about to ask questions when he needs help, and neither should either of you. We can take in animals left and right, but you want to shut your doors to a human being? A human being your Uncle Josh sent our way to look after? Shame on you. And, I’m not some old fool who can be conned or scammed. What do you think she did? Found out Josh knows me and somehow figured out a way to get him to send her here? That’s just silly. Not to mention what that says about your confidence in me. Do you think I’m just going to hand her my checkbook when she walks through the door?”

  Cade stifled a laugh. Truth was, Mama would hand the woman her checkbook if she thought she needed money badly enough.

  Cade took another step away from Shane and swallowed a grin, as May gave them both one of her I’ve-spoken-and-the-subject-is-closed looks. “I expect she’ll be here in the next few days. We’ll find out all we need to know about the situation then.”