Page 40 of A Cowboy's Trust
Thinking back on the afternoon a couple days later made Tansy beam. The aroma of garlic and curry filled the small, cozy kitchen, mingling with the scent of fresh baked bread cooling on the counter.
The ranch hands had changed the previous day. Don and Tony had been joined by two more men, Aaron and Brett, which meant with Kevin, the five rooms under the art studio for short-term visitors were officially full. It also meant cooking meals for eleven on a daily basis.
Not a problem. Her hands moved mechanically—chopping, seasoning, stirring—but her mind was elsewhere.
Jake. She’d admit it. After their time together at the spa, she wanted more. With him just across the hall, once her period was over, she was planning on walking in her sleep.
But more than sex, she was ready to keep upping their game in terms of growing closer. Which meant at some point she would have to venture into that scary territory Kelli had referenced. The wicked, nasty past.
Sharing was the right thing, no matter how hard.
Hmmm,hard.
Damn her brain for going back to Jake in those shorts and bemoaning the fact she never got to see him fully naked. Maybe she could convince him to do a sexy striptease for her…
The spoon in her fingers slipped. She scrambled and somehow smacked it in mid-air. The spoon flew away from her and hit the floor with a moistplop.
“Poetry in motion, Tans,” she poked at herself, stepping quickly across the room to pick it up. With incredibly bad timing, she kicked the handle, sending sauce splattering farther across the tile floor as the spoon made a break for it and vanished under the couch.
"Oh, for crying out loud," she muttered. "Get it together."
Amused at her Jake-induced clumsiness, she knelt beside the couch to find the spoon. Sweeping her fingers under the edge, she brushed against something cold and metallic, but not a spoon. Confused, she put her head all the way to the floor and used her phone to peer into the dark space.
Something glittered back at her.
She pulled it out, resting on her knees as she examined the piece of jewelry in her hand. The bracelet was beautiful—delicate yet sturdy, with intricate links of silver interwoven with small, sparkling gems. The design was elegant, and far too expensive to belong to anyone in her circle of friends.
Her mind raced as she turned it over in her fingers. Who did it belong to, and how on earth had it ended up under the couch?
She thumbed her phone on to message Petra, jerking upright as the front door burst open and slammed against the wall with a loud bang.
"Tansy!" Sasha Stone stood in the doorway, panic in her voice. “Where are you? We need you.”
Tansy reacted to the tone more than anything. In all the years she had known the girl, Sasha had never sounded this scared.
The bracelet was shoved into her pocket as Tansy shot to her feet and rushed toward the door, the cold winter air biting at her skin. “Hey kiddo, what’s wrong? Is Jinx okay?”
"She’s good, but we found someone," Sasha panted, leaning forward and clutching her sides as if she’d sprinted to the house. "He’s hurt. You need to come quick."
Tansy’s pulse shot up as she grabbed her jacket from its hook on the wall. “Where?”
"Behind the old haybarn on the edge of the property near our place," Sasha informed her as they hurried out the door and into the cold of winter twilight. "Jinx stayed with him. She tried calling Aiden, but her phone is dead and I didn’t bring mine. I was just walking her back from my house after we finished our homework.”
“You lead, I’ll call for backup.” Tansy dialed Jake’s number as she rushed after Sasha.
He answered on the second ring. “What’s up, gorgeous?”
“The girls found a stranger by the old barn, and Sasha says he’s hurt. You anywhere nearby, or do I call the shots on getting him help?”
“I’m less than ten minutes out but do what you think is right.” Jake spoke without a tremour of doubt, and Tansy appreciated his calm response. “You got this, sweetheart. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Tansy and Sasha struggled forward, the howling wind biting at their faces as they hurried through the swirling snow. The sky loomed dark above them, but Sasha led the way without hesitation. Tansy followed closely, questions darting through her mind. Who was this man? Had he somehow heard High Water was a refuge, or was him showing up here simply a coincidence?
After what felt like an eternity, and just as Tansy’s thighs were ready to give out, they reached the edge of the property where the old barn stood. The silhouette of someone crouching in the snow came into view, and Tansy’s stomach clenched.
Jinx knelt beside a figure lying very still on the ground. As they approached, the man came into focus. Young, maybe early twenties, his head resting awkwardly on a hunk of fabric, his blond hair streaked with blood. He was unconscious and covered with Jinx’s winter coat.
Tansy swore inside. Jinx would be frozen through.
