Nora tried to get her fear under control as they drove away from the sheriff’s office. If Seth hadn’t stopped her from opening that letter... She glanced at his profile. He’d risked his own life for hers. Again. She would not have thought such a lion heart was concealed behind an easygoing, self-deprecating demeanor. Stop staring, she told herself.
“Are you okay, Nora?”
She rallied a brave tone over the clamoring in her stomach. “Well, I didn’t open a letter bomb, thanks to you, so I guess that’s a win.”
He covered her hand with his own. The gesture startled her.
“That was terrible...and the conversation with your brother wasn’t fun either.”
His touch was as warm as his tone, but she didn’t dare discuss the matter that was clawing at her heart. “Past baggage between us,” she said with a shrug that enabled her to move her hand from his. “It’s what I expected.”
“Expected, but it still hurt, right?”
She shrugged and looked out the window. Why did she feel like sharing with Seth? Not like he could do anything about it. Instead she blew out a breath. “Thank you again. If you hadn’t stopped me from opening that...” She couldn’t bear to say the words. She’d be dead.
He nodded. “Happy I was there.”
She couldn’t imagine why he would be pleased to be in the line of fire for someone he didn’t even really know. Just being nice, she thought as they took the turn to the date farm.
“You know, if you don’t feel up to this, I can—”
“I’m fine,” she said, a little too sternly. “I mean, I’m ready to capture this donkey.” And get out of Furnace Falls.
Felicia and Zane met them at the bridge where the truck and trailer were still parked. Nora got out. The morning chill lingered and for some reason she felt it more deeply today than usual. Uneasily, she scoured the brushy areas on the perimeter of the farm.
She didn’t miss the rifle slung over Zane’s shoulder as he joined them. Seth filled them in quickly on the letter bomb.
Felicia’s paled. “Oh no. I cannot believe it.”
“Nothing’s gonna happen this time,” Zane said. “Not on my property.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed.
Felicia offered a brave smile. “Zane and I figured out a plan. He’ll put out the feed as soon as we give the go-ahead. Nora, you drive the truck to the corral. When the jenny’s in, there are boards we can use to guide her to the trailer. Hopefully, she won’t freak out.”
“Too bad Levi was busy,” Seth said. “He can calm down anything with hooves.”
Zane nodded but his eyes roved the tree line.
“Expecting trouble?” Seth said.
Nora’s heart lurched.
“Nah, not really. Just weird to me, the whole ATV thing. Can’t figure out why anyone would target two women rescuing a donkey.”
“Me neither,” Felicia said with a shiver. “And then the letter bomb.”
Zane took her hand, tentatively. “No problems today. I promise.”
“Promises, promises,” she teased. “You promised to take me to see the Eiffel Tower someday. I still have the little drawing you made.”
He blushed to the roots of his dark blond hair and Nora laughed. “Felicia has a memory like an elephant,” she said.
Zane quirked a grin. “Dunno if that’s good or bad. I’ll go lay out the food. A half a flake of hay and a couple of bananas, just to be sure. Doc told me when he was here last that he’d never met an equine that could resist a banana.”
Seth sent up the drone. Within five minutes, he had a visual. “Feed is delivered,” he said, “and donkey girl is on her way.” He and Nora parked the truck and trailer near the corral. They got out, crouching low and moving quietly to the fence where Zane and Felicia joined them. When they came into view of the animal, Nora caught her breath. “Something’s wrong with her.”
Indeed, the donkey was painfully thin except for a bulging tummy.
“She’s pregnant,” Nora said after a gasp. “I don’t know how we didn’t see that in the video footage.” Pregnant, but sick. Her coat was dull, thin in spots. Tawny gray on top and white on her swollen belly and legs.
Nora grabbed a pair of binoculars from her pack and zeroed in. “She’s got nasal discharge and she’s massively underweight. Maybe a respiratory infection.” Worry laced her tone.
“We’ll get Doc in as soon as we clear the property,” Seth said.
They tiptoed closer. While Nora and Felicia crept into the corral, he quietly swung the gates partially closed, resting them against both sides of the open trailer, trapping the jenny. She turned her silvery muzzle to look at them but didn’t appear inclined to move. The banana she’d taken between her teeth dropped to the ground and she didn’t try to retrieve it.
“That’s not a good sign.” Nora readied a rope and they all grabbed the boards. Donkeys were adept at kicking both to the rear and sides, and it was far easier to encourage them to move than to drag them where they didn’t want to go. The donkey stood still until Seth and Nora closed in from behind, urging her toward the trailer utilizing the cover from their boards. The donkey remained motionless until the board gently touched her hindquarters. Without so much as a kick, the jenny allowed herself to be ushered through the corral and up the ramp Felicia had laid out to the trailer. Nora’s frown deepened as she secured the rear doors. She turned to Seth. “Can you—”
“Already messaged the doc,” he said. “We can stop by his office on our way to the ranch and maybe he can do an initial exam right away.”
Her shoulders relaxed a notch. “Thank you.”
“Gotta earn my keep.”
She chuckled. “I owe you, remember? I’ll buy you lunch.”
“Excellent. I will be sure to collect on that offer.”
She felt a tingle of pleasure at the thought of spending time with Seth. She was wondering what to do about her strange feelings when Zane rejoined them.
“Donkey rescue complete,” Zane said. “But she doesn’t look good. My brother Kai was more the horseman than I ever was, but I know enough to see that.”
Felicia frowned at the mention of Kai.
“But you’ve got two horses,” Seth teased. “How do you manage them?”
“Some of the guys who work the dates for me are horse owners.” Zane’s body straightened, his focus suddenly riveted on a cluster of trees on the road above them.
Seth went still. “What is it?”
“I thought I saw something,” Zane said, shaking his head. “Maybe I imagined it.”
Felicia grabbed Nora’s forearm. “Not again. An ATV?”
“No,” Zane said. “A glint, sort of like...”
“Binocular lenses?” Seth finished.
They exchanged a look. Something as innocuous as a glint of light could mean the situation was about to explode. She was sure he knew it; he’d lived it during his time in the military. He urged both women to the truck as Zane jogged toward the bushes.
Nora finished securing the donkey, climbed into the driver’s seat, with Felicia next to her, her eyes wide with fear.
“Turn on the engine, but stay put,” Seth said. He didn’t want them driving into another ambush. “Call Jude if anything develops.”
“What are you going to do?” Nora asked.
“Back up Zane.”
Nora handed him the rifle from the back of her truck. Her mouth was drawn into a tight line of determination. She wasn’t going to let herself or her friend—or her new rescue—fall victim to an attacker the second time.
“No need,” he said with a comical wink. “I’m a lethal weapon without a gun.”
Nora watched him turn, sprint then skid to a stop when Zane reappeared on the path, shoulders slumped. His frown said it all as they returned to the women.
“Didn’t see anyone?” Nora asked.
Zane held up a pair of binoculars. “No, but I found these.”
Chill bumps rose on her arms as she recognized them. High-powered binoculars, like the kind hunters or military people used. The glint of glass had indeed been a clue that they were being tracked. Someone was still out there. Watching.
And waiting.
Zane offered to remain on the farm to wait for Jude. Felicia insisted on staying with him, over Nora’s objections.
“We’ll hole up in the farm office with the doors locked until Jude arrives,” Zane had promised. “I won’t let anything happen to Felicia.” His forehead was furrowed. Seth could imagine his feelings. Someone was sneaking around the guy’s property again, and for the second time they hadn’t come close to catching him or her.
Nora and Seth waited until the two had entered the small wood-sided office that also served as a store. The porch pillars were twined with colorful Christmas lights that seemed at odds with the frightening episode they’d just experienced. When the two were safely inside, Seth tried not to tailgate as he followed Nora’s truck and trailer off the property.
They passed under the elegant date palms, bare of fruits, over the bridge where Nora had tried to ambush the ATV driver, and away from the farm. Seth scanned the terrain as he trailed her. It felt like the clouded desert sky cast deeper shadows than normal, offering plenty of concealment for Binocular Guy. Would there be another attack out of nowhere? Normally he’d accuse himself of paranoia borne of having been shot in similar terrain, but at the moment all he could think about was that Nora was a potential target. And how close she’d come to opening a letter rigged to explode. Why, he simply couldn’t imagine, but that wasn’t the important fact. Seeing her safely off the property was his number-one mission.
His mission? Kind of presumptuous since she didn’t want him around. He straightened in the seat. She might not want a connection between them but, like it or not, she was getting his guard services until she was safely on her way back to Colorado.
When exactly had he decided that? he wondered. Probably while witnessing that painful interaction with Jude; the moment he’d gotten a glimpse of the wounded Nora, her heartbreak at a past she couldn’t undo. He knew what that felt like, and he wouldn’t wish it on anyone. When his fiancé Tanya dumped him, it had felt like a body blow. Somehow, he’d discerned Nora’s heart was soft and tender and she needed an ally whether she realized it or not.
As Seth jogged away, he tried to decipher what he’d seen on her face when the avalanche of memories had stopped him from accepting the gun. Had she believed him a coward for not taking it? Why did it matter so much what she thought of him?
As they traveled between two boulder piles, he tensed, looking upward for any signs of falling rock. There were plenty of places where Binocular Guy could shove a massive pile of granite down on them. Sweat slicked his hands as they crept by. He hadn’t realized he was holding his breath until they were clear and rolling onto the highway.
With each mile, he relaxed a fraction. By the time they arrived at Doc’s tiny stucco-covered veterinary office, his pulse had almost returned to normal. Doc’s wife, Renee, was behind the desk with a phone to her ear. Her long rust-colored hair trailed down to her shoulders and she shoved it back, setting her jingle bell earrings tinkling as she gestured them in. Covering the receiver, she whispered, “I haven’t been able to get hold of him yet, but he should be back any minute. Have a seat, okay?”
They settled into uncomfortable plastic chairs. Doc and his wife had attempted some holiday cheer with tinsel garland along the reception desk and felt stockings taped to the wall, but the decorations couldn’t overshadow the cracked and yellowing paint and the gouged squares of linoleum. Doc’s practice wasn’t exactly thriving by the looks of things.
Renee toyed with a strand of hair with the hand that wasn’t holding the phone. The outer door opened a few minutes later and Doc strolled in. Seth and Nora stood.
Doc squinted at them. “I didn’t expect you here,” he said, looking from his wife to the visitors. From somewhere in the back, a dog started in on a mournful howl.
“I messaged you,” Renee said to her husband. “You really should learn to check your phone once in a while.”
Doc smiled tightly. “Right. I forget about that technological umbilical cord. Thing runs out of charge constantly.” He turned back to Seth. “Give me one minute, would you?” He disappeared down the hallway.
Seth offered Nora a reassuring smile. “Doc’s the best, but he’s always behind schedule since he takes way too much time with each client.”
Nora nodded, frowning. Her thoughts were clearly with the struggling donkey. Better there than considering the stalker lurking in the woods, he figured.
Doc returned five minutes later, the howling ceased. “Got an office buddy who freaks out whenever he hears my voice. Couple of moments of attention and a chew bone did the trick. Did you get the jenny this time?”
“Yes,” Nora said. “She’s in the trailer out back. She needs immediate attention.”
He grabbed his medical bag and followed them outside, where Doc started on his exam, leaning through the window openings with his stethoscope to reach her. The donkey shifted uneasily but did not kick up a fuss. He used a hypodermic to extract a blood sample, then took her temperature. “She’s got a fever, an ulceration on her eye, obvious malnutrition, and nasal and eye discharge.”
Nora blew out a breath. “Infection?”
“Undoubtedly. Where’d you catch her?”
Seth relayed the events.
“Zane helped you out, huh?” Something in the doctor’s tone caught Seth’s interest.
“Yes. He found a pair of binoculars too. Someone out there watching the proceedings.”
Doc froze, one hand holding the syringe filled with the donkey’s blood. “Yeah? Why would anyone do that?”
“I don’t know. Do you?”
Doc looked at Seth before he turned his attention to the animal. “Someone interested in Zane’s business? How do I know? Humans make way less sense to me than animals.”
“That’s for sure,” Nora said. Had she caught the vet’s momentary hesitation also? But her attention was fixed on the suffering donkey as Doc climbed down from the trailer.
“I’ll get this to the lab, but we’ll treat her right away regardless. She’s a sick one, for sure. Bacterial infection most likely, which we can address with antibiotics. The bigger problem is that she’s extremely malnourished and ready to give birth. We’ve got to get her strengthened or she won’t survive that. Might not anyway, to be clear.”
“I understand,” Nora said. “I want to give her the best chance. Tell me what to do.”
“While we treat the infection, we’ll have to start her on a refeeding program and give her a vitamin/mineral block, limited grazing time away from other animals if she’s strong enough, and some vitamin and fluid support. I’d say she’s days away from giving birth, so we don’t have much time.”
Nora looked confused. “Oh, she can’t stay in Furnace Falls. I have to take her back to the sanctuary in Colorado right away. Just give her what she needs for the journey.”
“To Colorado?” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t advise it until after she’s given birth.”
“But we’ve got experts there—” Nora started then stopped. “I didn’t mean...”
“Experts unlike a small-town vet?” Doc’s eyes narrowed then he offered a tired smile. “I’ve raised everything from dogs to donkeys since I was three years old. You’re welcome to leave with her, but I don’t think she’ll be alive when you get to Colorado. Let me know what you decide.” He gave the listless donkey a shot and a quick pat on the side. “You’ll be all right, little lady,” he murmured to the animal.
Nora turned a tortured look to Seth. Her struggle was clear. She desperately wanted to leave Furnace Falls. But would she do it at the expense of the animal?
“I could take care of her,” he said quietly. “With Levi and Doc’s help. Keep you informed, if you need to go back.”
Nora cocked her head at him before she slowly shook it. “No. She’s my responsibility, and you and Levi have other things to tend to. I’ll figure it out.” She turned to Doc. “Thank you. I’ll keep her here until after she foals. I know you’ll give her great care and I’m sorry if I offended you.”
Doc cradled his medical bag like a football. Though his face was tired, his grin looked genuine. “Long as you pay your bills, all is forgiven.”
Nora returned the smile. Seth marveled at how the grin changed her face, like the shift from winter to springtime. “The sanctuary is paying the bills, but I’ll take care of the labor,” she said.
Seth glanced at Nora. “So you’re staying at the Rocking Horse then?”
Her smile was replaced by a wince of discomfort. “I...uh...”
He made sure his own expression stayed casual. “The trailer is yours for as long as you need it.” And she would need to be close to the ailing donkey. With Christmas a little more than a week away causing a run on the hotel rooms, the trailer was the most practical answer. But she might feel indebted to him, or the Dukes, and her pride might not allow that.
Doc went inside, leaving them alone.
“I know you don’t want to stay here in town,” Seth said. “You’ve got good reasons, a messy past and someone stalking you. I’m not pressuring. The trailer is empty if you need it, but I completely get it if you decide to go elsewhere.”
She folded her arms across her chest. “I’d rather eat nails than stay here.”
He had to chuckle. That pretty much said it all.
“I’m sorry,” she hurried to say. “I didn’t mean...”
He raised his palms and laughed. “No offense taken.” But he felt his spirit drop. Having her there on the ranch gave him energy, an excitement he hadn’t felt since long before his injury, prior even to his fiancée’s abandonment.
Her gaze wandered to the jenny. “But I’m not going to let some stranger or my own mistakes get in the way of taking care of this animal.”
He straightened. “A determined woman.”
She sighed. “My father used to say the best way out is always through. For all his faults, at least he taught me that.” She raised her chin and looked at him. “I would be grateful to use your trailer, and Big Valley will cover the costs.”
“No need. It’s unoccupied anyway.”
“They’ll pay,” she said firmly. He understood. She didn’t want charity.
“All right,” he said, extending his left hand because he never had to worry about it tremoring. “Right now we start on Mission Rescue Bubbles, headquartered at the Rocking Horse.”
Returning his smile, she made his heart trip. “Bubbles? How’d you decide on that name?”
Seth grinned. “I have a nephew who’s ecstatic for bubbles and, not to brag, but we blow gigantic ones. Our efforts to catch them are legendary. Name seems appropriate for a donkey that refuses to be caught.”
As they were climbing into the trailer, Levi’s sister Willow appeared, strawberry hair twisted into a messy ponytail and that smile she perpetually wore now that she was married.
She greeted them. “Hi, Seth. I thought that was you. I was on my way to get an ice cream.”
He feigned shock. “At ten thirty in the morning?”
“It’s got milk, and I need a break from staring at photos. My photography studio walls can start to close in on me sometimes.” She looked curiously at Nora. “Why do I feel like we know each other?”
That was Willow. Always direct. A blush stained Nora’s cheeks. “I...think we had some classes together in high school.” Then she took a breath and offered her hand. “Nora Duke, but you probably knew me as Sadie.”
“You’re Jude’s sister?” Willow said, gaping. “Wow. I haven’t seen you in years.” She pulled a frown. “Levi told me someone was staying in the trailer but, of course, he didn’t bother to explain it was Jude’s sister.” She rolled her eyes. “My brother never offers up extra syllables unless he’s required to.”
Nora offered a tight smile. “It’s confusing.”
“I remember you now.” There was a moment of silence and Seth knew Willow was probably recalling the accident details and Nora’s abrupt departure from town. She recovered quickly. “Anyhoo, since you’re staying on the ranch, just a heads-up we’re having the Duke tree trimming tonight. Our cousin Beckett’s barbecuing an absolute mountain of meat because he says no one else can do it right.” She paused. “You’re invited.”
“Oh, I...uh, I’m sure that’s a family thing. Besides, I have paperwork to do.”
Willow blew out a dismissive breath. “Your last name’s Duke, right? So you’re family. You belong here if you want to,” Willow said. Before Nora could reply, she said goodbye and hustled away.
Nora was silent as they got into the truck.
“I...” she started and then stopped. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea for me to stay on the ranch.”
On instinct, he reached out and clasped her fingers. “You don’t have to do anything family related if you don’t want to. But if you do, I promise it will be okay.”
She considered, chewing her lower lip. “The donkey will foal soon and, with some treatments, she’ll be able to be moved. This is a short-term thing.”
She seemed to be telling herself more than him. He didn’t interrupt.
As long as she would stay in the trailer, he could be sure Binocular Guy, whom he was pretty sure was ATV Guy and Letter Bomb Guy, wouldn’t get anywhere close. And he sure wouldn’t mind the excuse to get to know Nora Duke better.