Home For a Cowboy Christmas(50)

It wasn’t long before the couple drove away. But that didn’t ease the knot in Emmy’s stomach.

She wanted to rush out to talk to Dwight and discover who the couple was, but she couldn’t make her feet move. Then a man came out of the barn. The way Dwight spoke to him, it was someone Dwight knew. Most likely someone who worked on the ranch.

Emmy dropped her head into her hands and sat there trying to get herself sorted. So many emotions ran through her, including fear and alarm. She had done everything she could not to look at the calendar and see the first of the year drawing closer and closer.

Christmas was her favorite time of the year. At least, it usually was. Joe Roma and his thugs had ruined even that for her.

She raised her head and dropped her arms to her sides. That’s when she saw Sam sitting by the door. Emmy strode to him and dropped to her knees beside him. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his cool fur.

“Oh, Sam,” she murmured.

He stood still, allowing her the time she needed.

She took pity on him and straightened. He lifted his snout and gave her a little lick on her chin as if telling her that he understood. She rubbed the top of his head and got to her feet. When she looked out the windows, Dwight was still talking to the man. Emmy thought about calling Dalton. She wasn’t sure what she would tell him other than she was scared. But she had been frightened for a while.

Actually, that wasn’t true. She had resigned herself to death on the way from Denver to Montana. It wasn’t until a few weeks into her stay at the ranch that she began to relax, realizing that she should enjoy whatever time she had. Then she had fallen head over heels for Dwight. It was so easy to feel safe with him that she forgot the looming deadline that awaited her at times.

She wanted to do what was right and put Joe behind bars. She should be able to do that without fearing for her life. Thanks to the laws that made the prosecutors turn over witness names, it made it easy for people like Joe to ensure that no one stayed alive long enough to testify against him.

Though she knew the law had been put there to protect the innocent people being prosecuted, she couldn’t help but feel that it was wrong. Especially for those in her predicament. What was done was done, though. She had decided her path, and she had been fine with the consequences.

“That was when I thought the marshals would protect me,” she said to herself.

Emmy looked out the window again to see that both Dwight and the man were gone. She debated whether to go looking for Dwight. If the couple had raised a red flag, he would’ve told her. Right? She couldn’t be sure. Trying to guess Dwight’s motives and decisions only made her insane, so she stopped.

Or tried to.

She threw up her hands and let them fall to her legs. There was no way she could go back to the office and work now. She was too ramped up. Emmy paced the house, looking for something to do, anything to take her mind off things. But nothing caught her interest. All she wanted to do was talk to Dwight.

The desire to hear his voice, to know what he was thinking outweighed the danger of anyone on the ranch seeing her—as terrifying as that usually was for her. Because if she didn’t get some answers, she wouldn’t be able to calm down.

Emmy put on her jacket and boots and opened the door. Sam stayed beside her as she made her way down the stairs and across the snow-covered lawn to the barn. As she drew nearer to the barn entrance, she slowed, listening for voices. Dwight had told her that he would remain close to the house, so she knew he was around somewhere. She just wanted to make sure he wasn’t with anyone.

She quietly walked through the barn but didn’t see any sign of Dwight. When she came to the back entrance, she peeked around the corner. With no one in sight, she started to turn away when Sam trotted to the fence nearest her. That’s when Emmy saw Cloud. She waved at the horse, but the mare wasn’t interested in her. Cloud stuck her head between the fence slats so she and Sam could touch noses.

It was such a sweet gesture that Emmy found herself smiling. Sam sat and looked at her. Emmy glanced around to make sure she didn’t see anyone, then walked to the fence. The minute she was near, Cloud lifted her head and issued a soft whinny.

“It’s good to see you, too, girl,” Emmy said as she pulled her hands from the pockets of her coat and rubbed the horse’s nose.

She didn’t do it for long since her hands were freezing. She hadn’t bothered to put on gloves since she didn’t think she would be outside very long.

Emmy pressed her forehead against the mare’s neck. “Thank you. You’ve made me feel better.”

“Animals have a way of doing that. Especially horses.”

She spun around in surprise at the deep voice. Emmy found herself staring at the man who had been talking to Dwight. He was of medium build with a face that had seen many summers. It was then that she recognized his voice from the first day she had helped Dwight in the barn. This was Carlos.

He held up his hands and smiled. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

She searched the area, hoping Dwight would come out.

“We’ve not had the pleasure of meeting,” he continued. “My name is Carlos.”

Emmy glanced at him but didn’t say anything.

“Dwight had to leave for a few hours.”

Her stomach dropped to her feet with those words.

Carlos’s voice grew softer as he said, “He didn’t expect you to come out of the house. Otherwise, he would’ve introduced us.”