Read Online Her Dearest Enemy by Elizabeth Lane - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Elizabeth Lane
Tags: Romance
Ads: Link
darkness,she slumped to the snowy road and lay still.
Chapter Six
B randon twisted beneath the overturned landau,cursing like a mule skinner as the pain rocketed uphis leg. The angle of the chassis hid his view of theroad, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out thatsomething had gone horribly wrong.
He had heard the scream of the cat and the clamorof horses stampeding up the road. But from HarrietSmith he had heard nothing at all.
“Harriet!” he shouted with all his strength.
Harriet … Harriet … The name echoed down thecanyon, mocking his efforts as he struggled to seepast the side of the landau. Where in hell’s name wasthe woman? And where was the cat? Cougars wereshy animals and generally didn’t attack humans, butif Harriet was hurt or unconscious, this one might seeher as easy prey. The loaded Colt .45 was in his hand,but he couldn’t shoot what he couldn’t see. The onlything he could do was fire into the air and hope tofrighten the beast off.
Praying that the Colt wouldn’t be too wet to shoot,he thumbed back the hammer, pointed the pistol outthe open side of the landau, aimed for the sky andsqueezed the trigger.
The report thundered down the narrows, echoingand re-echoing off the cliffs. Brandon held his breathas the sound died away, straining to hear.
Nothing.
“Harriet!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs.“Are you all right? If you’re out there, blast it, answerme!”
Still nothing. Nothing but the rushing sound of thecreek, the mournful sigh of the wind and the utter silenceof falling snow.
Lord, what had happened to the woman? Had thecougar finished her off? Was she lying in the snow,trampled by the horses? Had she slipped in the waterand drowned on her way back to the road?
Brandon felt as if a leaden weight had settled intothe pit of his stomach. True, he had never liked theprim schoolmarm, but he had to admit she’d shownadmirable pluck in freeing the horses from thewrecked buggy. For all her prickly disposition, Harrietwas a good woman, he sensed, resolute andstrong of spirit. If anything had happened to her, hispart in it would haunt him for the rest of his life.
But that didn’t mean he’d ever forgive what herbrother had done to Jenny, let alone bless their union.Will Smith’s offense was beyond forgiveness, and ifHarriet had been killed or injured because of theboy’s reckless action—
“Brandon?” The faint voice floated through thedarkness from the direction of the road. Brandon’sbody went slack with relief as he realized it was trulyHarriet and not some trick of his imagination.
“Are you all right?” His throat was so tight andraw he could barely speak.
“Yes…” She sounded shaky and uncertain, like achild just roused from sleep. “I don’t remember whathappened…must’ve been knocked out when—” Shegave a sudden gasp. “Oh, no! The horses! They’regone!”
“They’re gone, all right.” Brandon forced a wrychuckle, trying to make light of the grim situation forher sake. “Judging from the way they lit out whenthey heard that cougar, I’d say they’re probably halfwayto Johnson City by now.”
“But how are we going to get you out of the waterwithout the horses?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll manage it,” Brandon said,hoping she wouldn’t ask how. In truth, he was freshout of ideas, and his predicament was worseningwith every minute that passed. “Is that cat stillaround, or did my shot scare it off?” he asked, deliberatelychanging the subject.
“You fired a shot?” She still sounded dazed. “Idon’t remember hearing that. I was trying to rope thehorse and the cougar screamed and… Sorry, I’m stilla bit dizzy…got to sit down. How’s your leg?”
“Can’t feel a thing,” Brandon lied throughclenched teeth. Maybe it was a good thing hecouldn’t see how bad the leg really was. Growing upin Kentucky, he’d known a man who’d crushed hisankle in a bear trap. When blood poisoning had setin, a backwoods doctor had
Chapter Six
B randon twisted beneath the overturned landau,cursing like a mule skinner as the pain rocketed uphis leg. The angle of the chassis hid his view of theroad, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out thatsomething had gone horribly wrong.
He had heard the scream of the cat and the clamorof horses stampeding up the road. But from HarrietSmith he had heard nothing at all.
“Harriet!” he shouted with all his strength.
Harriet … Harriet … The name echoed down thecanyon, mocking his efforts as he struggled to seepast the side of the landau. Where in hell’s name wasthe woman? And where was the cat? Cougars wereshy animals and generally didn’t attack humans, butif Harriet was hurt or unconscious, this one might seeher as easy prey. The loaded Colt .45 was in his hand,but he couldn’t shoot what he couldn’t see. The onlything he could do was fire into the air and hope tofrighten the beast off.
Praying that the Colt wouldn’t be too wet to shoot,he thumbed back the hammer, pointed the pistol outthe open side of the landau, aimed for the sky andsqueezed the trigger.
The report thundered down the narrows, echoingand re-echoing off the cliffs. Brandon held his breathas the sound died away, straining to hear.
Nothing.
“Harriet!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs.“Are you all right? If you’re out there, blast it, answerme!”
Still nothing. Nothing but the rushing sound of thecreek, the mournful sigh of the wind and the utter silenceof falling snow.
Lord, what had happened to the woman? Had thecougar finished her off? Was she lying in the snow,trampled by the horses? Had she slipped in the waterand drowned on her way back to the road?
Brandon felt as if a leaden weight had settled intothe pit of his stomach. True, he had never liked theprim schoolmarm, but he had to admit she’d shownadmirable pluck in freeing the horses from thewrecked buggy. For all her prickly disposition, Harrietwas a good woman, he sensed, resolute andstrong of spirit. If anything had happened to her, hispart in it would haunt him for the rest of his life.
But that didn’t mean he’d ever forgive what herbrother had done to Jenny, let alone bless their union.Will Smith’s offense was beyond forgiveness, and ifHarriet had been killed or injured because of theboy’s reckless action—
“Brandon?” The faint voice floated through thedarkness from the direction of the road. Brandon’sbody went slack with relief as he realized it was trulyHarriet and not some trick of his imagination.
“Are you all right?” His throat was so tight andraw he could barely speak.
“Yes…” She sounded shaky and uncertain, like achild just roused from sleep. “I don’t remember whathappened…must’ve been knocked out when—” Shegave a sudden gasp. “Oh, no! The horses! They’regone!”
“They’re gone, all right.” Brandon forced a wrychuckle, trying to make light of the grim situation forher sake. “Judging from the way they lit out whenthey heard that cougar, I’d say they’re probably halfwayto Johnson City by now.”
“But how are we going to get you out of the waterwithout the horses?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll manage it,” Brandon said,hoping she wouldn’t ask how. In truth, he was freshout of ideas, and his predicament was worseningwith every minute that passed. “Is that cat stillaround, or did my shot scare it off?” he asked, deliberatelychanging the subject.
“You fired a shot?” She still sounded dazed. “Idon’t remember hearing that. I was trying to rope thehorse and the cougar screamed and… Sorry, I’m stilla bit dizzy…got to sit down. How’s your leg?”
“Can’t feel a thing,” Brandon lied throughclenched teeth. Maybe it was a good thing hecouldn’t see how bad the leg really was. Growing upin Kentucky, he’d known a man who’d crushed hisankle in a bear trap. When blood poisoning had setin, a backwoods doctor had
Similar Books
