9781631053566SpringsDelightBallNC (10 page)

Exhaustion filled her, and she
couldn’t take much more. Caleb’s death was still a lance of pain in her mind
and now this threat of Billy knowing where she was. The weight of the world
fell upon her, and she prayed she wouldn’t be crushed. Tears filled her eyes,
and she swiped at them with the back of her hand to no avail; there were too
many. Reaching into the box, she took the ring and fisted it in her hand. It
was her only possession from her mother, and even though the woman had done
nothing to help her in her entire life, she still treasured it. It turned her
finger green but the value to her was priceless. It gave her a sense of
connection.

It wasn’t worth getting back,
however Billy did it. Spring hiccupped. Teresa was never seen again, and it
wouldn’t be a big stretch of her imagination to believe Billy had something to
do with her disappearance.

The door opened and closed
behind her. What to tell Colt? He needed to know, and she hoped he wouldn’t
think less of her for being mixed up with a man like Billy.

Colt stared at her for a
moment and then sat down next to her. He seemed to be at a loss for words. He
took her hand and sat quietly next to her as though he understood her need to
gather her thoughts.

“I opened the package.” Her
voice was barely audible.

Colt glanced at the empty box.
“Anything you want to talk about?”

Spring nodded, got up grabbed
a tissue and mopped up her face. She sat back down and put the ring on the
table. “This was inside.”

“I see.” He frowned as he took
the ring, examined it and put it back down. “It’s from—”

“Billy, it’s from Billy. It
belongs to me, but a girl at the last home I was at stole it, and I never
thought I’d see it again.” Colt’s chocolate eyes held too much compassion, and
she had to turn her head and look at the wall.

“The girl who took it from me,
her name was Teresa and soon after she stole my ring she went missing. I never
gave it much thought because everyone said she ran away. Now I’m not so sure
that’s what happened. If Billy had gotten it back from her, why not just give
it to me? I’m afraid I’ve brought Billy to your door, and I thought I knew what
he was capable of, but this puts a completely added dimension to his monstrous
behavior. He may have killed her, at least that’s my fear and it’s a message to
me. I think he plans to hurt me.”

Colt took her hand in both of
his large warm ones, then he reached out and wiped away a tear from her cheek
with his thumb. “Nobody messes with me and mine. Don’t worry, darlin, we’ll get
it figured out. I know he abused you, but do you think he’s capable of murder?
It’s a big jump from hurting to killing.”

“I just don’t know. He always
protected me at the foster home but once we started living together, he became
mean. He wanted to know where I was at all times, and he made me feel as though
I couldn’t do anything right. He wanted the house kept a certain way, his
clothes folded just right and meals cooked to his specifications. I tried so
hard to make him happy, convinced that it would get better if I just did things
right.”

Sighing, he let go of her hand
and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Why didn’t you just leave?”

“And go where?” The bitterness
in her voice echoed through the kitchen. Her frustration grew, and she wanted
to run and hide. It wasn’t her fault, was it? She’d tried so hard to placate
Billy but to no avail.

“I’m glad Caleb sent you here.
I have a few errands to run, but Bibbs and Shady are working close to the house
today. I’ll give them a heads up about this creep.”

“Thank you.” She leaned over,
kissed his cheek and pulled away.

Colt gave her a crooked smile.
“What does this jerk look like?”

“Blond hair, brown eyes, he’s
a big guy but not muscular.”

“I’ll let the others know.” He
nodded, grabbed his hat and coat and gave her a long look before he went out
the door.

She hadn’t realized how tense
she was until her body began to relax. There was no way she could fight Billy
on her own but she didn’t want Colt to get hurt. Maybe he was right; it was a
big jump from smacking a woman around to killing. Billy must have wrestled the
ring from Teresa before she left. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t a threat. What
if a gift was just a gift? Spring shook her head nothing was simple with Billy.

* * * *

Colt went to town, talked to
the sheriff, and was surprised the old man acted as if he wanted to help. He
actually said he’d keep an eye out.

The turn off to
Summer
and Holden’s place lay just ahead. Colt gunned the
engine and headed to their house. Today there was a meeting with Holden, Jonas
and Stone. It was good to have friends even if he hadn’t wanted to talk to them
recently. He’d still be in his own world of bitterness if it wasn’t for
Spring’s
intervention.

The familiar two-story house
came into view, and Holden stepped out onto the massive porch to meet him. Colt
got out of the truck and greeted Holden with a handshake. “Thanks for having
the meeting here. I don’t want
Spring
to worry.”

“No problem, come on in. Stone
and Jonas are inside.”

Colt followed his friend into
the house and was immediately greeted by Holden’s wife,
Summer
.
Her honey blonde hair was as bright as her smile, and her blue eyes were filled
with worry. She reached out and hugged him.
“You okay,
cowboy?”

Colt nodded.
“Doing okay.”

Summer nodded and let go.

Colt glanced over toward the
kitchen. “Good Lord, what have you been feeding them? They are growing like
weeds.”

Holden’s brothers, Matt, Mark,
Luke and John all nodded to him. “
Summer’s
a good
cook,” Luke stated as he popped another cookie in his mouth. They all resembled
each other, dark hair and eyes. Holden had been raising them since their mother
died.

However, it didn’t matter how
many cookies they ate, they’d never be as big as his friend Jonas. That man
stood well over six feet and had shoulders that filled a doorway. Colt nodded
at him too. “Thanks for coming.”

“Glad to help.”

Stone stood up from the couch,
a bit wary of approaching Colt.
“We good?”

Colt nodded. “We’re good.”

Holden gestured for them to
sit in the family room. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Colt cleared his throat. “You
probably know I have a little gal staying at my place. She is, was a friend of
Caleb’s. I got into rescuing horses because of Caleb. He was always bringing
home mistreated animals and expecting me to fix them. Well, anyway he sent
Spring
to me in the same vein. Her boyfriend was mistreating
her so Caleb gave
her a
ticket to Montana.”

“I heard you had a woman over
there,” Jonas said.

“I know I got you all into the
horse rescue cause, and I’ve admired each of you for your contribution of time
and money to help these animals. Now, I’m here to ask for help for
Spring
. I’m not sure we need help, but her old boyfriend has
been sending odd presents and frankly I can see in her eyes she’s beyond
scared.”

“What can we do to help?”
Stone asked.

“I just need some extra eyes
and ears. Carlston is a small enough town that strangers stand out. I’d like a
heads up if anyone sees him.”

“No problem. Just how
dangerous do you think he is?” Holden asked glancing at his brothers who were
listening with rapt attention.

“He beat her pretty badly
before she left. He knows she’s at my place. He sent her flowers and a ring—”

“Maybe he’s courting her,”
John, the youngest brother, yelled from the kitchen.

“The flowers were a strange
combo. There was a red rose and some calla lilies. It seemed strange and it
startled
Spring
. The ring was a ring she once owned,
and some girl who is missing took it from her. It could be nothing but—”

Jonas stood up. “If you’re
worried, we’re worried. What does this guy look like?”

“Blond
hair, brown eyes.
She said he’s a big fella but not
muscular.” Colt rubbed the back of his neck.

“So he’s a big lug,”
Summer
commented.

Colt smiled; leave it to
Summer
to break the tension. “A lug he is.”

“So, let me get this straight
he sent funeral flowers and a ring a missing girl had? How’d he end up with the
ring?” Stone leaned forward.

“It’s all speculation. Billy might
not know what the flowers meant, and he could have gotten the ring back from
the girl before she took off. The fact
Spring
is
scared is good enough for me. Like I said I’d just like a heads up if anyone
sees him.” Colt stood up, stretching his long legs.

Jonas patted him on his back.
“Don’t you worry, we have your back. So, tell us about
Spring
.
Stone here says she’s a sweet girl. Is she as pretty as he says?”

He felt his face grow hot.
“She’s like a pretty filly that shies away. She came here without a coat or
boots and when I bought her some, she practically cried. She says she grew up
in the foster home system and never had much.”

The men nodded.

“A
pretty filly?”
Summer rolled her eyes. “Must you all equate
women with horses?”

Colt laughed. “It’s the only
language I know, darlin’”

“Tell her I’ll be out to
visit. I want to make sure she has everything a woman needs. A woman, not a
horse,” she said pointedly.

Colt kissed her cheek. “You do
that. I think she’d like a visit from you.”

Holden stood and shook Colt’s
hand. “We got this. We’ll be on the lookout for the lug. You take care of that
little filly.” He grunted as
Summer
punched him in the
shoulder.

Colt winked at
Summer
. “Thank you, all of you.”

Colt walked out into the
sunshine, the warmth on his face was life affirming
. Caleb you did the right thing by sending
Spring
here.

Driving home, he felt better
than he had in days. His heart still wrenched every time he thought of Caleb,
but he knew now he had good friends.

He drove up to his ranch and
was surprised just how quiet it was.
Damn
.
He hurried from his truck to the house and opened the door. Bibbs, Shady and
Spring
all sat at the kitchen table playing cards.

His gaze fell upon hers and
locked. He could see the beginning of trust in her eyes. They were on the right
road, he was certain of it. What road, he didn’t know just yet.

“I said to stay close to the
house, not sit inside and play cards.”

Bibbs and Shady both shot him
guilty looks. “Just taking a break, Boss,” Shady mumbled.

They quickly stood up, and
Bibbs muttered another apology.

“Sit, we’ve worked hard this
week. What are we playing?”

Chapter Eight

Spring grew increasingly upset
as she watched Shady lean against the barn staring at the house. It had been
two weeks since she opened the package, and she’d been under constant
surveillance. Usually it was Shady, but the other two took turns too. When Colt
stood watch, she felt like a bug under a magnifying glass.

She protested a couple times,
but Colt was adamant. Heck with Colt, she’d had enough, but what could she do
about it? She had nowhere else to go, and she didn’t want to take a chance of
Colt getting angry. He was looking out for her but she had to have some alone,
unwatched time.

Relying on Billy got her in
this situation, if it even was really a situation. No other packages had
appeared, and there had been no sign of him. Maybe it was time to let the whole
thing go and get on with her life.

She grabbed a sweater and went
out the door. A walk would clear her head, and she wanted to see the crocuses
up close. Other flowers were sprouting up a little ways from the house; it was
spring, and the weather was finally getting warmer.

Stealthily she crept out the
backdoor, giving Shady the slip. She wouldn’t be gone long and, he probably wouldn’t
even notice.

The wind had a tinge of
coolness to it, reminding her winter hadn’t been long ago. A lot of the ranch
was muddy from the melted snow, and it was near impossible to keep the floors
in the house clean. The mud sucked at one foot, then the other as she walked
along the back trail.

The buds on the trees promised
a beautiful summer. The world looked new. That’s what she loved about spring;
it always was a chance for a new start. Maybe this year she’d actually be able
to say her life had changed for the better.