Sheltered by the Soldier Read online

  “I will. Thank you.”

  “I was serious about coming out to the ranch for a few days,” Liam said. “I can make sure you’re safe, and it will give us time to figure out who hit you.”

  “Your family’s already done so much. I couldn’t impose. I could get a hotel tonight—”

  “That’s out of the question. Besides, we have plenty of room. Right, Mom?”

  “He is right. You’d be more than welcome to stay with us.”

  Will had told her about the O’Callaghan family and their ranch that sat nestled beneath impressive views of Pikes Peak and surrounding mountains. From everything she’d heard, she knew the place would be stunning. But as much as she wanted someone like Liam to take care of her, if he didn’t have the answers, she’d have to figure things out on her own.

  “Besides, I’ll bet you could use some time away,” Liam said. “It’s a beautiful place. And if you’re up for it, I could take you riding tomorrow. The fresh air of the mountains always makes me feel better.”

  “That would be nice.”

  There was nothing she’d rather do than spend the day in the mountains, away from all of this, but that wasn’t why she was here.

  Liam caught her gaze. “We’ll talk more later. Just come for now.”

  She glanced toward the door, hoping she’d made the right decision. Hoping whoever had hit her wouldn’t be able to find her.

  “I’m going to keep you safe, Gabby. I promise. Whoever’s after you won’t find you at the ranch.”

  “You can’t promise that.”

  “Maybe not, but I can do everything in my power to make sure you’re safe. Griffin’s trying to find the person who hit you, but in the meantime, I think we should head out to the ranch.”

  “If you’re sure.”

  “I am.” He reached out and squeezed her hand. “We’re going to figure out what’s going on. But first you need to get a good night’s sleep. You look exhausted.”

  She let out a low chuckle. “Thanks.”

  “I didn’t mean it that way.”

  “I know.”

  His smile managed to break through some of the pain in her heart. She could trust him. She had to. What other choice did she have?

  * * *

  The next morning, Liam sat out on the wraparound porch of his parents’ ranch house, nursing a cup of coffee and watching the sun rise over the mountains. As beautiful as the scenery was, he couldn’t shed the worry that had settled in his gut. He still needed to read Will’s letters, but even if his friend had discovered corruption within one of the contracted firms, that didn’t mean he’d been murdered. But then how did that explain the threatening text, the break-in and car wreck?

  Had Will’s death really been the perfect cover-up?

  He shifted his thoughts back to the view. The O’Callaghan ranch had been his home his entire life and in his family’s possession since the early 1920s. The thousands of acres included irrigated meadows, pastures, ponds for fishing and livestock. On top of that, there was some of the best elk hunting in the country. When he’d been deployed overseas, what he’d missed most had been Sunday dinners, hunting with his father and three brothers, and white Christmases. Three things that he might be getting more regularly if the army didn’t sign off on his going back to active duty.

  He pushed away the reminder as Gabby stepped out onto the porch wearing her long red coat, a scarf and boots, and holding a mug of coffee.

  “Good morning,” he said, jumping up to straighten a cushion on the chair next to him. “I see you found the coffee?”

  “Your mother found it for me, actually.” She sat down next to him, then took a sip of her drink. “This is just what I needed this morning. And she insisted she’d listen for Mia while I enjoy the sunrise.”

  “How did you sleep?” he asked.

  She shot him a smile before sitting down next to him. “Like a rock. Mia managed to only wake up once, and she’s still sound asleep. I don’t think I realized just how tired I was.”

  “I’m glad you slept. Both of you. Everything always seems better when you have a good night’s rest behind you.”

  He wasn’t going to tell her how little he’d slept last night. He’d tossed and turned while going over every conversation with Will he could remember, trying to figure out what he’d missed. If Will had stumbled on something that had gotten him killed, he should have at least been aware that there was a problem. Why hadn’t his friend come to him?

  He pulled her phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Griffin dropped by earlier this morning and asked me to give it back to you.”

  “Did they find something on it?”

  He hesitated. “There was spy software installed.”

  “Spy software?” Gabby let out a sharp puff of air. “How could they do that without physical access to my phone?”

  “It’s clean now, but apparently it is possible to install it remotely through a cellular or Bluetooth connection. Griffin’s guy installed a security app to protect it from now on.”

  “Thank you. I just... I’m having a hard time processing all of this.”

  “I don’t blame you. I am, too.”

  Gabby slipped the phone into her coat pocket then stared at the tree line in the distance. “Will told me how much you loved this place and wanted us to come for a visit after the two of you were finished with your deployments. I knew it was beautiful, but all of this...the colors of the sunrise...the fall leaves...the mountains... This truly is stunning.”

  The house was surrounded by aspens that turned golden every fall, as well as blue spruce and Douglas firs. With the sun slipping above the horizon, he couldn’t imagine a more peaceful setting. But even with the pull of family and home, a part of him had begun to feel antsy and ready to go back to active duty.

  “There’s a tributary from the lake called Wayward Creek that runs through the part of the property,” he said, pointing to the left. “It’s one of my favorite places. And no matter what you like to do, hunting, fishing, snowmobiling in the winter, hiking, you can do it here. We even go ice fishing when the ponds are frozen over.”

  “Ice fishing?” She pulled her mug of coffee against her. “While my parents love their Florida winters, I admit, I prefer the snow and the cold. Though I’ve never tried ice fishing. That might be a bit too cold, even for my blood.”

  “I should take you one day, though...though I’m sure you’re going to be ready to get home as soon as we figure out what’s going on.” He quickly tried to backtrack his invitation, wondering why he’d said that. Gabby wasn’t here on holiday. She was here because her life had been threatened. And that didn’t include excursions with him out on the ranch. She needed his help, which meant he needed to stay focused.

  “What’s the likelihood of falling through the ice?” she asked. “I think that would be my biggest fear.”

  He shifted his mind back to the conversation. “My father taught us the importance of both having fun and being safe. But it happens. As long as you check your safety equipment and have the necessary gear in case of an emergency, you should be fine. Though my brother Reid fell in one winter while we were playing a game of hockey with skates, sticks and pucks. Took all three of us to drag him out, and we never told my father. We’d been lectured on the dangers of playing on the ice, and we knew he’d be furious.”

  Gabby laughed. “Somehow, I have a feeling that the four O’Callaghan brothers managed to get into a lot of trouble growing up.”

  “Well, we learned our lesson that time. We dragged him back to the house, stuck him in front of the fireplace and made him drink about a gallon of hot coffee. The only real issue after that was that he didn’t sleep that night from all the caffeine, but we were just grateful he was okay.”

  He’d realized just how close they’d been to losing Reid, which was why he’d always bel
ieved God had stepped in that night. He glanced at Gabby. She’d pulled her long dark hair back in a ponytail and for the first time since she arrived, she looked relaxed. But what if he wasn’t able to keep her safe? There were no guarantees in life. Hadn’t he learned that the hard way? Reid had survived that day out on the ice. But on the battlefield, Will hadn’t. If someone was after Gabby, how was Liam supposed to stop them?

  He took a sip of his coffee, wishing he could somehow drown his worries. His training had taught him how to fight and how to survive, but it had never completely prepared him for what it was like to watch someone you cared about die. The emotional wounds he’d suffered had ended up being far worse than the physical ones he’d received.

  She reached out and brushed her hand against his arm. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

  “It’s not a problem at all. My mom’s always telling us there’s too much testosterone when we’re all home, though I know she loves every minute of it.”

  “I’m sure she does. How often do the O’Callaghan brothers get to all be home at the same time?”

  “Except for yours truly, pretty often, actually. You know Griffin. He’s the oldest and one of the deputies in town, so he’s around a lot. Next in line is Caden, who was an army ranger until he was honorably discharged three years ago. He now runs the ranch with my father and lives in a small house next to my parents’ home. Reid’s one of three full-time firemen in Timber Falls and lives there, and I’m the youngest.”

  “I don’t think I knew that.”

  “The baby of the family, as they like to constantly remind me. I’m the one who’s spent the most time away, but no matter where we are, we all always manage to find ourselves back at the ranch.”

  “I like your parents.”

  “My father considers retiring every year, though something tells me he never will. At least not officially.”

  She let out a low laugh, but her smile quickly faded.

  “You okay?”

  “For now, yes. It’s almost too easy to forget the reason why I’m here.” She pulled a handful of letters out of her pocket. “But as much as I’d love to just enjoy the sunrise, I need you to look at these.”

  “You’re sure you don’t mind?” Part of him felt uncomfortable reading through Will’s personal letters to his wife.

  “It’s fine. I’ve organized them in chronological order.”

  Liam pulled out the first letter in the stack. “I used to tease Will for sending as many handwritten letters as emails. And do you know what his answer was?”

  “That I loved handwritten mail?”

  He nodded.

  Gabby let out a sharp breath of air. “Now I can’t help but wonder if it was also a way to write out his concerns without leaving a digital trail.”

  He started through the letters in order by date, surprised at how many memories they evoked. If he closed his eyes, he was there again, catching Will writing letters to his wife by flashlight in the tent in the middle of the night.

  Why didn’t Will tell me what was going on?

  Twenty minutes later, he set down the last letter. “While my mom’s watching Mia, would you like to go for a short walk? The fresh air always clears my mind and helps me think better.”

  She nodded, and they started down the path that led east of the house toward the creek, the reality of why she was really here at the forefront of his mind. Even with the idyllic scene of the red barn in the background and several horses in the corral, he couldn’t ignore it. Someone had broken into her home, then tried to run her off the road. She needed answers and he was determined to get them for her.

  “You were right. Will clearly stumbled onto something and didn’t know what to do, but with no specifics, it’s hard to know where to start. And just because he was tracking down some corruption doesn’t mean he was killed over it.”

  “When I married Will, I thought I knew what I was getting into, but the reality is that you’re never ready for long deployments and so many months apart,” she said. “It was hard, but we were determined to make it work. In the back of my mind, I always knew that losing him was a possibility. What he did was dangerous, and I accepted that, but now... I guess having Mia makes me look at things differently. And this... I have no idea how to deal with this.”

  “There are a lot of things that you simply can’t completely prepare yourself for.”

  Like losing someone you love.

  “What did you think about the letters? What am I supposed to do?”

  The phone he’d just given her back started dinging, and she pulled it out of her pocket to check her messages. A moment later, her face paled.

  “Gabby...what’s wrong?”

  “It’s a bunch of photos.” Her voice broke as she spoke. “Liam...”

  “Photos of what?”

  She handed him the phone. There were half a dozen photos of her and Mia, snapped at several different locations. And after the photos was a chilling message.

  We told you to stop asking questions. We know where you are. Don’t go to the police. You will regret it.

  THREE

  Gabby spun around and started down the path back toward the house, her heart pounding. “I can’t stay here. If they know where I am—”

  “Wait a minute.” Liam ran to catch up with her. “Look again at the photos. Where were these taken?”

  “I don’t know.” She stopped, tears welling in her eyes as she pulled open the photos again. “In front of my house...the grocery store with Mia...getting into my car...it looks like the gym parking lot.”

  “They were following you. That is clear, but there are no photos of Timber Falls or the ranch.”

  Her brow narrowed in surprise. “You’re right.”

  He took her hand and caught her gaze. “I think they’re bluffing, because they don’t know where you are. If they did, they’d show up here, not just send you photos.”

  “Maybe, but I still don’t understand any of this.” She worked to hold back the dam of tears about to break loose. “If they’ve been following me back home, why didn’t they confront me then?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe they wanted to make sure you knew something before they did anything. This all began after you started asking questions.”

  “Yes.”

  “So it makes sense that someone’s trying to find out what you know. And in the process scaring you to make sure you don’t go to the authorities.”

  “Well, I am scared.” She could hear the panic in her own voice but at this point, she didn’t care. “Will is dead, and I have a child to protect. If anything happens to Mia, I’ll never forgive myself.”

  Liam pulled her against him. “Nothing’s going to happen, Gabby. Not to Mia. Not to you. I won’t let it.”

  She nestled her head into his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. There was something calming in the warmth of his embrace. Something that made her want to stay in this moment for as long as possible. She missed feeling secure and cherished. Missed having someone to face life with. A partner for her. A father for Mia. Not that she was looking for someone to take Will’s place. She was just so tired of doing everything on her own.

  “I’m sorry.” She pulled away from him abruptly and wiped her eyes. “I didn’t mean to fall apart like that.”

  “You have nothing to be sorry about. You’ve been through a lot this past year and a half, and none of it’s been easy.”

  “No, it hasn’t, but my losing it isn’t going to help put an end to all of this.”

  She started back to the house beside him. “I called James Casada two days ago. He lives in a suburb of Denver. Will indicated he trusted him. I thought it would be a good idea to talk to him in person. Maybe he knows something.”

  Liam stopped on the path and turned to her. “Did you get ahold of him?”

  “Yes.
He was out of town but was flying back to Denver last night. He told me he’d be working at home all day if I wanted to come by. I almost forgot I’d thought about going to go see him this morning.”

  “What if he’s somehow involved in this?”

  “You read the letters. Will trusted him and believed he could help.”

  “Which is what scares me. Someone thinks you have answers, and if they intend to silence you...”

  “The problem is I don’t really know anything.”

  “Maybe not, but someone thinks you do.”

  “I’ve gone over this in my head a hundred times. But you were there with him, Liam. You had to have seen something.”

  “Will worked some with Casada. Always spoke highly of him. And as I already told you, Will seemed preoccupied, but you were pregnant, and I thought he was just ready to get home.” Liam shoved his hands into his pockets. “Is there anything else from Will in your house that might have answers about what he was working on, or maybe something they were after?”

  “Not that I know of. But he had to have discovered something. Maybe someone is simply trying to guarantee that whatever they’re involved in doesn’t get found out.”

  “Let me go talk with Casada alone,” Liam said. “See if he knows anything. You can stay here with Mia. You’ll be safe.”

  “I can’t just hide.” While a part of her wished she could let him do this for her, she knew it was something she needed to do. “I’ve come so far in my search for closure over Will’s death, but this... I need to find out what’s going on. I need to talk to him myself.”

  They walked down the path flanked by aspen trees with gold leaves shimmering in the morning breeze, and the mountains rising up beyond them. She wanted to enjoy the scenery. Wished she could see God’s hand in her own life as much as she saw it in the beauty around her. But instead, everything that had happened had left her with far more questions than answers. About loss. About fear. About God.