After a dozen or more yards, she stopped, leaning against a huge boulder. Journey placed a hand over her mouth to quiet the panicked pants. She just needed a few seconds to rest – then if she had to run farther – she would run.
“Boo! There you are!”
A scream burst from her lips as a large, cruel hand snatched at her hair. “Stop! Let me go!” she screamed, tearing herself away to bolt blindly into the night. The boulder field surrounding her was a playground of light and shadow. A maze she ran through like a mouse chased by a cat. Journey thought her heart might fail her as she fled for her life. “Oh, please God. I need help. Please.”
Suddenly, she heard a noise. A new noise. Not her breathing. Not the footfalls of the men who terrorized her – no…
Hoofbeats?
In a moment of incredible chaos, a dark horse came alongside her, and a man’s deep, gentle voice spoke to her. “I’m here to save you. Give me your hand.”
As one accepts a lifeline to keep from drowning, she grasped the stranger’s hand. An incredulous gasp slipped from her lips as he lifted her up into the saddle before him. Journey trembled as a strong arm wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly. Immediate and instantaneous relief flooded her soul. She felt safer than ever she’d felt before.
Instead of carrying her away, the rider stopped, waiting for the men who chased her to catch up. “What are we doing? Those men…”
“Don’t understand who they’re up against.”
His voice flowed over her soul like warm rays of sunshine on an icy day.
The two men came dashing up wearing what looked to be hunting goggles. Journey realized at that moment how much of a disadvantage she’d been operating under. With their night vision equipment, they were truly playing with her. She’d never had a chance – until the cowboy came along.
“Where’d he come from?” one asked, surprised.
“Why can’t you leave me alone?” Journey’s voice broke with emotion.
“Why should we? We aren’t afraid of this cowpoke!” Russ declared.
Journey gasped when the greasy redhead pulled a knife. “Watch out!” she managed to say just before the cowboy swung his rifle and hit the man so hard in the head that he collapsed like a felled tree, the knife he’d been holding flying to one side. The other man, Russ, kept coming and was met with the same fate. Her cowboy wielded his rifle by the barrel and struck Russ in the head with the heavy stock. A mighty blow.
Once he was finished, neither of them moved.
“Oh, thank you. Thank you.” Journey was weak with relief. “I am so grateful.”
“Where to, my lady?” he asked in that same soft, sultry drawl.
She’d left her car at the neighbors, but that could wait. At the moment, she just wanted to be somewhere safe and familiar. “My place is not far. Right outside the park, just over the rise.”
“Very well.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Relax. Just lean back. I’ve got you.”
Journey didn’t think it was possible, but she did relax. “I can’t believe you came along when you did.” He’d appeared at just the right moment.
“A fortunate coincidence,” he spoke softly, his breath warm near her ear. “Like you, I was eluding evil men.”
“Oh?” She tried to glance over her shoulder, but she couldn’t see him clearly. “Where are they?”
He chuckled; a sound so compelling that Journey shivered. “I don’t know. I seemed to have lost them.”
After riding a few feet, he stopped. “Hmmm, my sense of direction feels off. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was retracing my path.” He looked up. “Yes. See the stars? We’re headed due north, the direction I came from earlier.”
“I’m not sure. I was so frightened; I can’t think straight.” She let out a long breath, rubbing her arms. Her muscles felt weak. “Anyway, I’m glad you eluded them and I’m very grateful you came along when you did.”
“I am thankful also.” Reno noticed what she was doing. “What’s wrong? Are you injured?” he asked, his hand following in the same path as hers. “Are you cold?”
As if on cue, Journey shivered. “A bit. I feel achy. I was tense and stiff with fright.”
“Understandable. Why were those men after you?”
“Sport, I think. I attracted their attention at the store and they just decided to harass me.”
“Hooligans,” he muttered disdainfully.
“Exactly. Why were you being pursued?”
“They were under the assumption I was carrying gold they wanted to steal.”
“Why did they think that?”
The man chuckled. “Because I wanted them to believe it. I led them away to give my friends a chance to escape.”
“You’re a hero.”
“I wouldn’t say that. No.”
As they continued on their journey, his hand kept moving on her arm. She found herself leaning into his touch. She shouldn’t feel like this. She didn’t know this man. Why, she hadn’t even gotten a good look at him yet.
“This material?” he asked. “I’ve never felt anything like it. So smooth. Is it silk?”
“Uh. No.” Journey had to look down to see what she was wearing. Just a pink top with long sleeves. “Rayon, I think.”
“Rayon.” He repeated the word like he’d never heard it before. “And you have on britches.”
“Jeans.” She said the word slowly, wondering at the man’s odd questions. “Just casual clothes.” Wanting to change the subject from her attire, she stated the obvious. “I’ll call the Fredericksburg cops when I get home. Those guys were wanted for a hit and run.”
“A what?”
“A hit and run.” She repeated, then raised her hand to point. “That’s the fence bordering our land. There
