Page 51 of The Cowboy's Ultimatum

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

When Helen and Andy returned to the ranch, he knew all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and curl up in his protective arms. Holding her tightly, he assured her Ken and his gang would be found and arrested, hoping he sounded more convinced than he felt. Even with the video from the library it would be difficult, if not impossible, to identify them. As he felt her sink against his chest, he was swept up by a yawn, and finally closing his eyes he began to drift away.

“Can we ride up Smoky Hill again soon?” she whispered. “It’s so peaceful and beautiful up there.”

“I thought you were sleepin’.”

“I am…sort of. I’m imagining I’m up there again.”

“Me too,” he murmured, almost feeling transported as he thought back to the moment they’d shared.

“The way that snow just broke off,” she mumbled. “I’ll remember that for the rest of my life.”

“Dammit,” he said sharply as a sudden realization flashed through his mind.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m such an idiot,” he replied, abruptly sitting up and reaching for his phone. “I know where Ken and his gang might be, and why those taillights disappeared. There’s a chain across the entrance to Lake View Point, but they could push their bikes through the narrow opening on either side of the posts. I need to call the sheriff and tell him.”

“But they’ll have to come out at some point and continue down the road. When they do they’ll be stopped by the roadblocks.”

“Hold on, darlin’,” he said as the sheriff answered. “Hey, it’s Andy, I’m pretty sure Ken and his gang are at Lake View Point.”

* * *

Passed out in his sleeping bag, Ken was surrendering to a dream about a long ago summer. He was a teenager, and his father had taken the family to a beachfront hotel in Florida.

He was sitting at the waters edge when a gorgeous girl in a skimpy bikini walked up and sat next to him. She was blonde, and every time he was about to kiss her the ocean breeze tossed her long hair into her face. Frustrated, he pushed her back into the damp sand and lowered his lips on hers. But as she wrapped her arms around his neck, a large wave broke close to shore and enveloped them both.

The dream was wonderfully real, but suddenly transformed into a nightmare.

The ocean was icy cold, not warm and inviting, and her arms and legs were wrapped around him making it impossible for him to move. Someone was screaming his name, but when he tried to call out his mouth was filled with the freezing water. He kept trying to spit it out it was impossible. He was gasping for air, but he was being smothered…then everything turned black.

* * *

Siren’s wailing and lights flashing, Sheriff Cooper sped through the dark night on his way to Lake View Point. George was at his side, two deputies were following in their own vehicles, and an ambulance was on its way from Fairview. Though there was no direct evidence Ken and his gang were there, the sheriff couldn’t take any chances. If they were, they were in imminent danger.

* * *

As tired as Helen was, when Andy explained why he believed the bikers were at Lake View Point, and what could happen if they were, she had insisted on going out to see the situation firsthand.

“If you don’t take me I’ll just drive out there myself,” she said vehemently as she hastily left the bed and began to dress.

“Dammit, Helen, the sheriff will call us.”

“Ken Lockhart terrorized me. I can’t sit around and wait for the phone to ring.”

“Okay, okay,” he muttered. “I’ll take you. Just please calm down. You’re scaring Molly.”

Glancing down at the little dog she could see Andy was right.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, picking her up. “Everything’s okay. We’re just going for a little drive.”

“I think we should leave her here with Ranger. It’s late and she’s tired. She’ll be fine if he’s with her.”

“You think so? Yes, you’re probably right. Okay.”

“Ranger, you take care of Molly. We won’t be long.”

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