Page 47 of The Rancher

“I’ll take over now, ma’am.”

She nodded and stood before backing out of the way.

Ray was there waiting outside on the porch with open arms.

She walked straight into them and buried her face in his chest. She’d seen a lot of things but nothing like one human nearly taking the life of another. Lyris knew from her experience with animals that humans were cruel, but to just shoot someone in cold blood had her rattled.

“Let’s go home.” Ray spoke into her hair as he held her. “I’ll tell the deputies you’ll be in tomorrow to give your statement.”

Lyris nodded into his chest and let out a single sob. She wasn’t a crier, but the cruelty of the entire situation had her close to the edge.

Ray left her for a moment to talk to one of the deputies. Then he was back and placed an arm around her waist. “Ready?”

She nodded. “More than ready.”

On the drive back to Whispering Wind Ranch, Lyris was quiet.

Ray held her hand but didn’t try to get her to talk.

She looked in her lap as she whispered. “He stood there and shot her. No provocation. Just shot her. He could have killed her…still might have, for all we know. I…I still can’t believe it happened.” She turned and stared out the window at the landscape as it whizzed by. It looked as desolate as she felt.

Ray squeezed her hand. “I don’t want you to be alone tonight. You can either stay in the house with Maddy, Amy, and me or I’ll stay with you in the guesthouse.”

Lyris shook her head. “It’s not necessary. I’m in no danger. They have Ted in custody, and I believe he was the one responsible for everything that happened. He did it at Marissa’s order, but still he was the only one who did the actual harm to the horses.”

He turned toward her, his mouth in a firm line. “Regardless, I’m not leaving you alone. So, you decide…your place or mine?”

She closed her eyes and huffed out a breath. “Mine. I’ll be more comfortable in my own place.” Lyris wouldn’t admit it, but she was glad Ray was staying with her. She didn’t want to be alone…living that moment over and over in her mind.

He lifted his hand to her face and cupped her jaw, while still keeping an eye on the road. “Done. I’ll walk you home after we both get something to eat. Amy and Maddy will be wanting a recap. Are you up to it? I can tell them they’ll have to wait until tomorrow, or later, if you want.”

Lyris loved Maddy. The child was amazing. She loved her horses and rode like a champ. She was also fun-loving and adored her father. On that account, she and Lyris had something in common.

“No, tonight is fine. Maybe it will be good for me to talk about it with people who won’t judge me.”

He furrowed his brows and tilted his head in question. “Why would you think anyone would judge you?”

“Because I basically let them take me. Ted was going to shoot Junebug or one of the colts. I…I couldn’t allow that to happen, so I went with them.” She’d started to cry and wished Ray wasn’t driving so he could hold her.

Ray had just turned onto the driveway to the house.

He pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. Then he climbed out, came around the truck to Lyris’s side.

She unbuckled her seatbelt knowing he would hold her. She needed his arms around her, needed him as much as she needed air to breathe.

He opened her door and opened his arms.

Lyris practically fell out of the truck when she leaned into him. She shook and couldn’t seem to stop.

“You’re okay. I’ve got you,” he whispered.

Lyris had thought Ted would shoot her, too, but he’d gone into shock instead. She wondered why because Ted was a stable master and a cowboy before that. He had to have shot animals before. Maybe that was the problem. He’d always shot and killed animals, never a human. Killing a human, and one that you cared for, was quite different.

She shook her head to get the image out. Then she went to rub her palms over her eyes and saw they were covered in dried blood. Eyes wide, she looked up at Ray. “Drive to the guesthouse. I need to clean up before Maddy sees me like this.” She raised her hands, palms out, so Ray could see.

“You’re right. I’ll take you to the guesthouse first and you can wash and change your clothes.” His gaze wandered her body, head to toe. “You’ve got blood all over.”

Lyris glanced down at her clothing. “She was bleeding a lot. I’m afraid he might have nicked the subclavian artery. If he did, Marissa could easily lose her arm. Or die.”