Page 38 of Cozy Cabin for Two
That pissed off Gary. He hit me with the full weight of the butt end of the gun, smacking it into myshoulder. I screamed, and pain shot out, radiating up and down my limb and across my chest. I could hardly control the steering wheel. My mind whirled, and tears burned my eyes.
“I warned you,” the man seethed. “Next time it’s your face.”
“Please let me go. You don’t need me. Just take the truck,” I cried, my heart palpitating.
“You’re exactly the insurance I need. Now shut up and drive.”
How could I get away from him now? The ranch got smaller in the rearview mirror. My life and my loves left behind.
In the middle of all the madness in my racing mind was the image of Ro, my sweet baby girl. At least if I didn’t make it out of this, she had Ash to take care of her. He loved her like a daughter now. They’d have each other and be safe, which brought some relief, but I wouldn’t go down without a fight.
A quick side-eye glance at Gary showed his steely eyes staring at me.
“Don’t even think about trying anything foolish, missy.”
What I needed was luck and divine intervention.
Or a bear?
Suddenly, the headlights exposed a huge grizzly inthe road, roaring with its two paws up in the air ready to battle with the truck.
I shrieked, “Bear!” And slammed on the brakes.
My unsteady arms couldn’t control the truck, and we swerved. I didn’t think we had hit it until a loud thud cracked the back end of the truck.
My entire world flipped once, maybe twice. I lost count until we landed upside down in the ditch beside the road.
Save for the radiator hissing, the aftermath of the accident was quiet. It almost made me believe it was all over. But in a daze, the overpowering stench of gasoline refreshed the panic in my chest. I could hardly breathe; the fumes were too strong. I tried to move, but every muscle and bone, even my skin, ached up and down my body.
Glass shards lay everywhere. To my left, my driver’s side window had crunched in, too small of a space to get out. But in front of me, the windshield busted out, providing a possible escape route.
With a shaky breath, I forced a glance at the fugitive, scared of what I’d find. His eyes were closed, blood seeping from a head wound. If not for his groaning, I would think him dead.
With whatever strength I could muster, I forced myself to move through the pain. I needed to get outand away from him and the truck. Carefully and slowly, I squeezed through the windshield, crying at every cut and scrape along my knees, arms, and back.
It was a race against time. With each inch, I pictured Ro and Ash. For them, I kept going. I had to fight to live. My baby girl had already lost one parent. She couldn’t lose another.
Finally, with grass and dirt beneath me, I stood on shaky legs, leaning on the truck.
“Thank you, God,” I breathed at last—only to hear a low, guttural growl behind me.
My heart leapt out of my chest.
Shaking, I slowly turned my head, just enough to see the bear about ten feet away. An angry bear, too, bloodied from a gash across its face.
Just my luck. I escaped the fugitive, but now the bear…
I came all the way to Montana so Ro would know her uncle. So I could have the pleasure of Ash’s love at long last. But how cruel was fate, taking me away from both of them too soon?
This was it. The end. I shut my eyes and tried to send a message out.Please, Ash, take care of my daughter.
Only my prayers were interrupted by sudden loud noises of tree limbs crashing down and shrubsbreaking from the forest along the road. They distracted the bear too. It grunted and sniffed and eyed the tree line, waiting for whatever was lurking in the darkness to reveal itself.
I fell back against the truck, never expecting a horse to jump toward us as it broke through the last of the greenery.
“Juniper!” I screamed.Oh God, please don’t let the bear harm my horse.
TWENTY-TWO
