Saved by the Rancher

chapter Three


JENNA SAT IN her car outside a diner in Hidden Springs, Colorado. The last four days a haze of highways and back roads. She exhausted herself zigzagging all over the south before heading west toward Colorado. She changed rental cars three times, finally buying a new SUV in Kentucky. Ben arranged for the vehicle using one of her many trusts.

The trusts hid her name behind company after company. At this point, she didn’t know which were real companies, or just on paper. Ben hid her name and whereabouts, using the millions from her divorce settlement. Funny how the money she used to hide came from the very man who hunted her. The irony wasn’t lost on her.

In the last four days, she’d slept about ten hours. When she had to, she slept an hour or two in the car at truck stops, having stopped at only one fleabag no-tell-motel the first night to tend her wounds as best she could with her limited first aid kit. She would buy fresh bandages in town before heading to the cabin. She longed to be at the ranch, relatively safe, able to relax and rest.

The welts on her back and legs throbbed after sitting in car after car. The cut on her thigh pulsed with heat and pain, probably infected; no amount of ibuprofen took the edge off. She’d been eating it like candy. To top it off, she had a fever.

Jenna eased out of the car, careful not to move too quickly and send her back muscles into spasm again. Stiff, she limped on her right leg because of the cut. She slid on her sunglasses to hide the dark circles and bruises. She didn’t have anything to cover the cut above her temple, or hide the dark bruise along her jaw where he slugged her. She made her way across the street to the local grocery store. For the first time, she noticed the quiet street and picturesque town. She inhaled deeply the crisp clean air, hoping to revive her tired body and mind.

Surrounded by beautiful mountains, the town had an old west quality. The buildings weren’t large, but small storefronts lining the main street. In addition to the diner, the quaint storefronts offered a jewelry store, bank, ice cream parlor, hair salon, clothing stores, and antique shops. Just what you’d expect to find on Main Street in a small town. Benches and pots of red and white flowers sat in front of some of the stores and several people window-shopped.

The grocery store was the largest, most modern building with a big parking lot on the side. She shopped for bandages, medicine, and a few essential food items for the cabin. In a few days, she would come back and stock up. For now, the most important thing on her mind was mending her leg and getting some sleep.

The teenage checkout girl stared at her face, unable to hide her curiosity. She knew the picture she made; everyone she passed gawked. After all the times she had been bloodied and bruised, she expected the stares. In a small town like this, people would talk about the battered woman who came into the store, but they wouldn’t get involved.

She just didn’t care anymore. Not today. Her nerves were shot, and she wanted to get to the cabin before she really lost it. She paid the girl with shaking hands, grabbed her bags of groceries, and headed back to her car aware that people watched her every step.



JACK WALKED DOWN Main Street with Sally to the diner and noticed the new SUV parked out front. Not many new cars in a small town like Hidden Springs. The woman sitting in the driver’s seat had her head back, eyes closed. At first, he thought maybe she fell asleep, until she shifted awkwardly and opened the car door. Moving more like an eighty-year-old woman, she eased out and limped toward the grocery store. About five-six, skinny as a beanpole and pale as a ghost. Though he missed getting a good look at her face, especially after she put on her shades, he did notice her nicely rounded curves. Her hair, knotted on top of her head, deep brown, until the sun shone on it, flashed red, like bark catching fire. He’d like to see it by firelight and watch it come to life. He shook his head to dislodge the thoughts taking root and shoved them away. He didn’t need complications in his life. Women were usually a complication—at least the ones he’d dated.

Still, he watched her walk, unable to help himself. Something about her drew him. Pale, but probably beautiful on a good day. Maybe she had the flu. It had been going around town for the last few weeks.

Jack entered the diner and took his usual back corner booth. Sally, his golden retriever, took up residence on his boots under the table and settled in for a late afternoon nap.

“Hey, Mary. How’s business today?”

“Not bad. A little slow right now, but the dinner crowd should be coming in soon. Do you want the usual?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Mary brought him his cup of coffee, saying his burger and fries would be out shortly. Jack read the paper, drank the strong brew, and waited for his lunch.

The bell over the front door rang and the young woman from the SUV came into the diner. Careful of her movements, she lowered herself onto a stool at the counter. Very pretty at a distance, up close, she made some ember spark to life inside him.

“I’d like a cup of coffee and a turkey sandwich, please.” Her hoarse voice reinforced his earlier assumption she suffered some ailment.

“Are you okay?” Mary asked.

“I’m fine.” She lowered her head and took off her glasses, laid them on the counter with her purse. Mary poured her coffee and put in her order with her customary efficiency.

Jenna put her shaking hands around the hot mug and drank deeply, hoping the coffee would breathe a little life and warmth back into her. Not many customers in the diner at this hour. The fewer people around her, the safer she felt. The other customers, including the nice-looking man in the corner, didn’t seem to notice her. Sandy blond hair, a day’s growth of beard, and the bluest eyes she had ever seen fixed on the paper he was reading. Relaxed in the room and with himself, he conveyed strength and confidence. Nothing bothered him. It was in the way he took up the space in the booth. She envied people like him. She used to be like him. Once.

Jack couldn’t stop staring at her over his paper. She turned her head his way and he stopped breathing. Dark circles under her eyes marred her sickly pale skin. A dark bruise bloomed along her jaw, and a bad cut ran up her temple to her forehead. He took a closer inspection. Bruises speckled her arms, several more on the part of her legs revealed beneath the hem of her skirt. Her green eyes and face remained blank. What the hell happened to her?

Mary asked after her. She replied with an automatic fine, but Jack saw a lot during his life in the military and knew she was far from okay. She tried to hide it, but not very well. He wondered if he shouldn’t take her to the hospital. He checked the impulse to go to her and at least try to make her smile. She looked lonelier than he’d felt the last several months.

Mary placed his order in front of him and he asked under his breath, “Is everything okay up there?”

“I don’t know, Jack. She says she’s fine, but did you see her?” Mary whispered back.

“Yeah, I see her.” He couldn’t not see her. He tried, but everything inside him had focused on her.

After leaving his order, Mary, pity and sadness set in her lips and eyes, grabbed the woman’s late lunch and set it on the counter in front of her. The woman worked up half a smile, but it took effort. She nodded her thanks and ate her sandwich in silence with her head down. Judging by the way she put away her lunch, Jack figured she hadn’t eaten a decent meal in a while.

“Excuse me, do you know how to get to Stargazer Ranch?”

Mary turned from making fresh coffee. “What do you want with Jack Turner’s place?”

“I rented a cabin on his property.”

“Mr. Turner is sitting in that booth over there. He’ll give you directions.”

She laid a twenty on the counter, stood, kept her hand on the back of the stools for balance, and walked over to him. She stopped about four feet away and cleared her throat to get his attention from the paper he pretended to read.

Not wanting to make it obvious he’d been watching her the whole time, he asked, “Can I help you, ma’am?”

“Mr. Turner?”

“Yes. What can I do for you?”

“I’m Jenna,” she said, leaving off her last name. “Ben said he rented a cabin for me at your place.”

Sally got up from under the table and sat guard at Jenna’s feet. Sally rubbed against Jenna’s leg, and unless he hadn’t been looking at her face, he would have missed the small wince of pain that crossed her eyes. She hid it quickly and bent to pet the dog on the head. Soft, loving strokes. Jack liked her for that alone.

“Ben and I go way back. I saw him a few months ago. He rented the place, paid for a full year, but never said when to expect you. He called a few days ago, said you might show up soon. I guess you’re here.” She wasn’t exactly what he expected.

“I am. Would you please tell me how to get to your place? Perhaps you have the keys, or someone at the ranch can give them to me.”

“You look like you’re about to fall over, why don’t you sit down.”

“I really just want to get to the cabin. I need some sleep.”

“Looks like you need a hospital,” he coaxed in a soft voice.

Her eyes pleaded with him. “Mr. Turner, please. Directions to the cabin, that’s all I want.” The fragility in her voice tore at his heart.

“Follow Sally and me back to the ranch. We’ll get you settled. And it’s Jack. Call me Jack.”

“I don’t want to cut your supper short, Jack.”

“No trouble. I’ll take the rest of my food to go, and we’ll get you to the ranch.” He asked Mary to box up his meal. She made quick work of the job and handed over his lunch.

Jack exited the booth and stood up tall in front of her. Just to see her reaction, he took a step toward her. She took two quick steps back. Sally stayed in front of her. Just what he thought, she was afraid of him—men. His anger flashed, and he narrowed his eyes. Some man did this to her. For reasons he didn’t want to identify, tenderness welled in his heart. She reminded him of a wounded bird. Skinny as one, too. Great legs from what he glimpsed below the flowered skirt. As wrinkled as she appeared, he guessed she’d been on the road a long time.

He took another step toward her. She took one back, Sally keeping pace with her.

“Don’t worry. I won’t touch you.” He dropped his voice to a near whisper. Her eyes grew large and the deep green softened to jade. He took a good long look into those pools of green. For a second, he thought he recognized something essential in them.

“Um”—she held her hands tight together in front of her—“I don’t like people being too close.”

“It’s all right.” Voice soft, he coaxed, “You go out first, and I’ll be right behind you.”

Unable to stop looking at her, something pulled them toward each other. He thought she noticed it, too. They started for the door together, but she peeked over her shoulder twice to make sure he didn’t get too close.

“Shouldn’t you pay your bill?”

Jack gazed into her sad eyes. “I own the place.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t you want your change, miss?” Mary called after Jenna before she exited the door. She turned so abruptly she almost ran straight into his chest. She took a quick step backward and so did he. He gave her enough space so he didn’t crowd her or make her feel threatened. Sally stayed at her side.

“Keep the change.” Jenna half smiled, unable to meet Mary’s eyes. The tip wasn’t for the service, but for caring about her well-being. He liked her for that, too.

They exited the diner and Jenna headed for her SUV with Sally on her heels. Jack’s truck sat parked a few spaces past hers.

“Hop in my truck. I’ll drive you and send one of my guys to pick up your car later. You look like you’re about to fall over. It’s dangerous to drive when you’re exhausted.”

“I’m okay. I made it this far, I’ll make it the rest of the way.”

“I’d hate to see you fall asleep at the wheel and crash. I’d never get a chance to get to know you,” he added, without really thinking.

The last made her take a step back, like even the thought of getting to know him made her want to distance herself. Still, something in the way she looked at him, just for a split second, made him think she might be interested in getting to know him too.

“I’ll be okay. Shall we go?”

Standoff. No way to convince her to get into his truck with him, a man she didn’t know and feared based on some other a*shole’s unholy acts. Shit. Afraid to let her drive herself, but he relented. What could he do? If he tried to force her, she’d probably take off. “Come on, Sally, in the truck.”

Sally didn’t budge. She stood at the door of the SUV next to Jenna, who stared down at the dog.

“Go on, girl. Go to the truck.”

Sally refused. Ornery, she sat on Jenna’s feet.

“Sally, come on. Get in the truck.” Jack let his impatience tinge his voice. He wanted to get Jenna to the cabin and off her feet. She wouldn’t be standing much longer in her condition.

“Jack, if you don’t mind, she can ride with me. It’s no trouble.” Jenna opened the door and Sally jumped in.

Jenna carefully raised herself into the high driver’s seat. He wondered what her clothes were hiding. The cut and bruises on her face were probably not her only wounds. The way she moved indicated her back bothered her and the limp pointed to an injury to her leg. The skirt went down to just below her knees. Her thigh or hip must be injured.

His anger simmered and a knot fisted in his stomach. He wanted to kill whoever did this to her. He wanted to take her in his arms, kiss every inch of her, and take all the hurt away.

Nice, Jack. Real nice. She’s hurt, and you’ve got her undressed to tend a hell of a lot more than whatever wounds she’s hiding.

Alone for a long time, too long maybe, he preferred it that way these days. Didn’t he? His last relationship ended in disaster when he finally closed his wallet and asked to share something more than his credit card. He wanted what his sister had, love, a family. Instead, he got a woman who took and gave nothing back. Jenna didn’t seem that way. Shoot, she’d left Mary a fourteen-dollar tip on a six-dollar meal just because Mary was nice to her. Now, that’s saying something. Reminded him of his mother, her warmth and kindness innate. He found it rarely in the women he dated, but seeing it in Jenna . . . well, it made him want to break his dinner-for-one streak and ask her for a date. His mother once told him after a particularly bad breakup that true beauty shines through from a warm heart.

Jenna leaned over the console, wrapped her arms around Sally, and hugged the dog close. Her eyes closed when Sally nuzzled against her neck, offering the comfort Jenna so obviously needed and wanted. Funny, he wanted to give it to her.

Well, she is staying at his ranch for the next several months. Plenty of time to get to know Jenna with the sad green eyes.