The Complete Mackenzie Collection Read online

  “He’ll quiet down in a minute.” The vet gave her a sharp glance as he peeled away the blood-soaked gauze she’d been holding to the wound. “No offense, but even with the blood, the horse looks in better shape than you do. Are you all right?”

  “Concussion.”

  “Then for God’s sake stop letting him bump you around like that,” he said sharply. “Sit down somewhere before you fall down.”

  Even in the midst of everything that was going on, as the medics readied Joan for transport, Mac somehow heard the vet. All of a sudden he was there, looming behind her, reaching over her shoulder for Pleasure’s bridle. “I’ll hold him.” The words sounded as if he were spitting them out one at a time, like bullets. “Sit down.”

  “I—” She’d started to say “I think I will,” but she didn’t have a chance to finish the sentence.

  He assumed she was about to mount an argument, and barked out one word. “Sit!”

  “I wasn’t going to argue,” she snapped back. What did he think she was, a dog? Sit, indeed. She felt more like lying down.

  She decided to do just that. Pleasure was going to be all right; as soon as he quieted and let the vet do his work, the bleeding would stop. The torn muscle would have to be stitched, antibiotics administered, a bandage secured, but the horse would heal. Even though the truck and trailer were stolen, under the circumstances she couldn’t imagine that there would be any problem with using them to transport Pleasure back to Solomon Green. Until the vet was finished and Pleasure was loaded in the trailer, she intended to stretch out on the truck seat.

  Wearily she climbed into the cab. The keys were still in the ignition, so she started the engine and turned on the heater. She took off her coat, removed the Kevlar vest and placed it in the floorboards, then lay down on the seat and pulled the coat over her.

  She almost cried with relief as the pain immediately began easing now that she was still. She closed her eyes, letting the tension drain out of her, along with the terror and absolute rage. She might have killed Joan. If the woman had shot Mac, she would have done it. Enveloped in that strange vacuum of despair and rage, she had been going for a head shot. She hadn’t even thought about Pleasure, not in that awful moment when Joan turned on Mac. She was glad she hadn’t had to pull the trigger, but she knew she would have. Knowing her own fiercely protective nature was one thing, but this was the first time she had been faced with the true extent of it. The jolt of self-knowledge was searing.

  Mac had already faced this; it was in his eyes. She had seen it in her father, in her brothers, the willingness to do what was necessary to protect those they loved and those who were weaker. It wasn’t easy. It was gut-wrenching, and those who were willing to stand on the front lines paid for it in a thousand little ways she was only beginning to understand. She hadn’t had to take that final, irrevocable step, but she knew how close it had been.

  Her mother also had that willingness, and a couple of her sisters-in-law. Valiant Mary, intrepid Caroline, sweet Barrie. They had each, in different circumstances, faced death and seen the bottom line. They would understand the wrenching she felt. Well, maybe Caroline wouldn’t. Caroline was so utterly straightforward, so focused, that Joe had once compared her to a guided missile.

  The door by her head was wrenched open, and cold air poured in. “Maris! Wake up!” Mac barked, his voice right over her. His hand closed on her shoulder as if he intended to shake her.

  “I am awake,” she said, without opening her eyes. “The headache’s better, now that I’m still. How much longer will it be before I can take Pleasure back?”

  “You aren’t taking him anywhere. You’re going to a hospital to be checked out.”

  “We can’t just leave him here.”

  “I’ve arranged for him to be driven back.”

  She could hear the effort he was making to be calm; it was evident in his careful tone.

  “Are things about wrapped up here?”

  “Close enough that I can leave it with Dean and take you to a hospital.”

  He wouldn’t let it go until a doctor had told him she was all right, Maris realized, and with a sigh she opened her eyes and sat up. She understood. If their situations were reversed, she would be doing the same thing.

  “All right,” she said, slipping on her coat. She turned off the ignition and picked up the Kevlar vest. “I’m ready.”

  Her willingness scared him. She saw his eyes darken, saw his jaw clench. “I’ll be okay,” she said softly, touching his hand. “I’m going because I know you’re worried, and I don’t want you to be.”

  His expression changed, something achingly tender moving in his eyes. Gently he scooped her into his arms and lifted her from the truck.

  Dean had brought the Oldsmobile out of its hiding place. Mac carried her to it and deposited her on the front seat as carefully as if she were made of the most fragile crystal. He got in on the driver’s side and started the car; the milling crowd in front of them parted, allowing them through. She saw Pleasure, standing quietly now. The bandage was in place, and the wild look was gone from his eyes. He was watching the activity with his characteristic friendly curiosity.

  As they drove by, Dean lifted his hand to wave. “What about Dean?” Maris asked.

  “He’ll get transport. It isn’t a problem.”

  She paused. “What about you? When do you leave? Your job here is finished, isn’t it?” She didn’t intend to let him get away, but she wasn’t sure exactly how much he understood of their situation.

  “It’s finished.” The words were clipped. The look he gave her was one of restrained violence. “I’ll have to do the paperwork, tie up some loose ends. I may have to leave tonight, tomorrow at the latest, but I’ll be back, damn it!”

  “You don’t sound happy about it,” she observed.

  “Happy? You expect me to be happy?” His jaw clenched. “You didn’t obey orders. You stepped right out into the open, instead of staying hidden the way you were supposed to. That idiot woman could have killed you!”

  “I was wearing the vest.” She pointed that out rather mildly, she thought.

  “The damn vest only improves the odds, it isn’t a guarantee! The issue here is that you didn’t follow the plan. You risked your life for that damn horse! I didn’t want him hurt, either, but—”

  “It wasn’t for Pleasure,” she said, interrupting him. “It was for you.” She looked out the window at the snow-dusted pastures they were passing.

  It was quiet in the car for a moment.

  “Me?” He was using that careful tone again.

  “You. I knew he’d go straight to you, that he’d catch my scent on your clothes. At the very least he would distract you, bump you with his head. It was even possible he’d give away your position.”

  Mac was silent, absorbing the shock of the realization that she was willing to risk her own life to protect his. He did the same thing on a fairly regular basis, but it was his job to take risks and protect others. But he’d never before felt the terror he’d known when he saw Maris draw Joan’s attention, and he hoped he never felt it again.

  “I love you,” she said quietly.

  Damn. Sighing inwardly, Mac kissed his bachelorhood goodbye. Her courage stunned him, humbled him. No other woman he’d known would have put herself on the line the way Maris had done, both physically and emotionally. She didn’t play games, didn’t jockey for control. She simply knew, and accepted; he’d seen it in the soft depths of her black eyes, an instinctive inner knowledge that few people ever achieved. If he didn’t snatch her up, it would be the biggest mistake of his life.

  Mac didn’t believe in making mistakes.

  “How long does it take to get married in Kentucky?” he asked abruptly. “If we can’t get it done tomorrow, we’ll go to Las Vegas—assuming the doctor says you’re all right.”

  He hadn’t said he loved her, but she knew he did. She sat back, pleased with the situation. “I’m all right,” she said, completely con