Hazardous Hideaway

By Cindy A Christiansen

Can a vulnerable woman lasso a stubborn horse whisperer's heart?
     
Story-line: Riding a bucking bronco would be easier than the ride Dallas Mae Jenkins is on. While escaping an abusive relationship, she ends up in a wreck and stranded at a remote dairy in Utah. Worse yet, the presence of her horse whips up memories of an old town murder, and Dallas finds herself in serious danger.
     
The last thing Tom Allred needs is a wily female working at his dairy, especially one dragging up a murder he was accused of committing.
     
Will Tom's antacids hold out until he can get rid of Dallas, or will she lasso his heart?
     
This book is a contemporary, clean and wholesome, second-chance, cowboy, action/adventure romance! If you love romance, westerns, action and suspense, then you will enjoy this book!

     

Enjoy the ride and start reading today!

          

"Hazardous Hideaway is a great read...with twists and turns, leaving you reading until all hours of the night." - 4 out 5 Stars, K R Bailey, Author
     
"...a story riddled with suspense, mystery and emotion. A triumph for Christiansen." - Manic Reader Reviews
     
"A well crafted tale that will leave you feeling uplifted." - Foxpaw Reviews
     
"What a beautiful love story. Love the drama and suspense. Never knew who did it till the end. Beautifully written." - 4 out 5 Stars, Kim, Amazon Reviewer
     
"Right from the start, I was hooked. Christiansen really makes the reader care about the characters. She is an extremely talented writer. Lots of suspense, conflict, and plenty of romance. This is fast-paced, well written, and full of plenty of plot twists to keep the reader wondering what will happen next. This is one of those take-it-to-the-beach books that anyone would enjoy." - 5 out 5 Stars, Lynne, Amazon Reviewer
     
"Reminds me of times gone by and friends who are no longer with us. I enjoyed the small country setting in this book and the crazy insane things that happen as this romance unfolds." - 5 out of 5 Stars, Amazon Reviewer

        

Enjoy the ride and start reading today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dragonfly Spirit Books
• Release date: Sep 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781516355839

Cindy A Christiansen

Bestselling author, Cindy A Christiansen, has combined her love of dogs with her joy of writing to create an award-winning combination. Her novels always include canine characters both in the pages and on the cover, an extension of the credit she gives to her extraordinary rescue dogs for their part in helping her overcome numerous challenges. In a reciprocal gesture for their love and devotion, a portion of the proceeds from her books are donated to assist abandoned and abused dogs. She lives in Utah with her loving husband, two creative children with autism, and a pack of rambunctious dogs. Here's what her books give you: A clean read with no bedroom scenes or offensive language; a tantalizing, fast-paced plot; a story without a lot of boring description; down-to-earth heroes and heroines with everyday jobs; a rollercoaster ride of emotions you face right along with the characters; a special dog to steal your heart; a few added facts, a good message, and that important happily-ever-after ending.

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All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

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Dragonfly Spirit Books

Hazardous Hideaway

Copyright © 2015 Cindy A. Christiansen

First E-book Publication: March 2012

Cover design by Dawné Dominique

Edited by Lori Paige

Proofread by S. Sullivan

All cover art and logo copyright © 2015 by Dragonfly Spirit Books

Dedication

I’d like to dedicate this story to my wonderful husband and his brothers who helped me with so many important details. A book is never written alone. Thank you.

Also, to my brother, Randy. You were a true horse whisperer, and I miss you dearly.

And last, to Brooks and Dunn for all the pleasurable hours I spent listening to your music while writing this book.

Chapter One

DALLAS MAE JENKINS darted another frantic look into her truck’s side mirror for what seemed like the millionth time in the last fifteen hours. Each time, she expected to see her husband’s white Corvette speeding up behind her. She touched her split lip and then reached for her painfully bruised ribs. Smoke from the fire still lingered in her hair. She grimaced.

The potholed Utah highway sped beneath her truck, and she could feel her horse shifting his weight in the trailer behind her. Dallas increased her speed, hoping to find a place to stay before nightfall. She wiped the sweat from her palms onto her blue jeans. She had managed to get away, but for how long? How easy would it be for Ray to track her from Apple Valley, California, to Cokeville, Wyoming? Maybe she should’ve headed farther east. Maybe she should go back to Trimble, Colorado, where she’d grown up on a small farm. No, she definitely couldn’t go there. Ray would find her for sure. But would Cokeville be any safer?

Heavens. She didn’t know what to do or where to go. Her thoughts came like mixed-up jigsaw puzzle pieces, and she couldn’t seem to make any concrete decisions. Clearly, she had to keep moving. She’d never been able to keep a level head. Anxiety rose in her no matter how many deep breaths she drew.

She tried not to look into her side mirror again, but the compulsion got the better of her. Nothing but open road lay behind her. Relieved, she released her breath and looked at the highway. A wide-eyed doe stepped into her lane. Without thinking, she tromped on the brakes. The horse trailer swayed. She jerked off the brake.

Please, don’t jack-knife!

The deer thudded against the grill, came over the hood and then smashed the windshield into a thousand spider-web designs. The right front tire jolted into a succession of deep potholes and burst, jerking the steering wheel from her hand. She swerved into the oncoming lane in front of a blue Dodge pickup. The man blared his horn in warning. She swung her truck off the highway into the brush. She tried to bring her rig to a slow stop but didn’t see the fence suddenly appear before her. She crashed through the barbed-wire, which ripped at her tires like claws, and then smashed into a large juniper tree and high-centered on the broken remains.

The wind hurled from her lungs as her head crashed against the door window. Something warm trickled down her cheek. She gazed into the rearview mirror to see blood oozing from a fresh cut across her forehead. Her sunken eyes peered back at her under swollen purplish lids, her old bruises still distorting her features. Ray had really done a job on her this time. She reached up and touched a painful new bump appearing near her left temple. Her head reeled from the pain.

A man’s reflection caught her attention in the truck mirror. Panic gripped her. But, no, thankfully, he wasn’t Ray. The man looked to be in his mid-twenties, tall and lean. He had the long muscular strides of a horse and the wildness of a stallion about him as he marched toward her.

He threw open the truck door, his icy-teal eyes boring holes into her. What in tarnation were ya doing back there?

The deer...it— she began to say in a daze.

So ya swerved into my lane? he questioned, in a unique central Utah drawl.

The tire... A wave of nausea rippled through her.

Typical female driver.

Her horse, Yuletide, snorted and kicked at the confining innards of the horse trailer. Dallas gasped, realizing he might be hurt. She undid her seatbelt and sunk her cowboy boots down into the hot clay soil. Pain ripped through her, and she reached for her ribs. The ground swayed, her vision blurred. Her knees buckled like a folding chair, but the man caught her before she fell.

Whoa, wait a minute. Are ya all right? He kept a firm grasp on her arm.

My horse, she said, struggling free. I’ve got to get to my horse.

She used the truck for balance and headed back to the horse trailer, stepping over a splintered fence post and wire.

Ya look like death warmed over, he said, following her.

Thanks, she answered, sarcastically.

You’re bleeding and hurt. Let me help.

I-I-I’m fine.

She had to pull herself together and get tough. She had to see to her horse.

Despite her protests, the man took her arm, and they made their way to the trailer. He unlatched the doors and worked his way up the unused stall. Yuletide pranced and lunged, recklessly banging his head.

Calm down, Yuletide. Easy, Dallas said, feeling helpless and dazed.

Eeeeasy now, old boy. The man’s voice remained firm but turned to silk, calming the animal.

But, when he reached to untie the lead rope, the bay’s liquid eyes overflowed with panic. Yuletide flared his nostrils, and his mouth dripped a sea-foam froth. He reared, ripping the rope free, and then he stamped his huge, muscular body out of the trailer. He spooked and darted off at a full run.

Is he all right? We’ve got to get him back. Panic rose in Dallas’ voice. She took some deep breaths and reached for the side of the trailer, her vision whirling.

He’ll be fine, but you’re not. The man swept her into his arms.

She winced with pain.

He held her, studying her face, before he carried her to the back of the truck.

Her mind raced. She had to think. What should she do?

All alone...can’t trust anyone...can’t stay in one place...my truck’s wrecked...Yuletide’s hurt. Knots tightened in her stomach. She had to stop herself from blacking out.

The stranger yanked the latch on the tailgate and eased her to a sitting position. Here, sit down before ya fall down.

He untied the blue kerchief from around her neck, despite her pushing his hands away, and he gently dabbed at the blood trickling from her forehead. The man had a roughness yet gentleness in his manner. Her instincts told her she could trust him, but she couldn’t trust herself ever again.

How had her life become such a mess? If only that dreadful night at the ranch had been a dream. The reality of her situation kept slapping her in the face, and her mind couldn’t deal with the whirlwind of emotions exploding inside her. Acceptance eluded her.

If only she could go back and start over before everything started to go wrong. If only she could be Dallas Mae Carson again, living with her mom and dad in Trimble, Colorado on their small farm. She could smell her mom’s Rhubarb Cobbler and hear her dad whistling while he milked the cows.

Everything changed when she’d turned fifteen. Her mom had been sick for some time, but none of them had realized just how sick. By the time they had taken her to the doctor, the colon cancer had advanced too far.

Dallas and her dad had moved to California. Her life got worse after that. She met Ray at the racetrack. The thought made her wince with a different kind of pain. A year and half later, they were married. She may’ve only been nineteen, but Dallas shouldn’t have been so naive.

Being married to Ray for three years hadn’t been easy. She had no doubt in her mind now that she should’ve left him and never gone through what she had for the last year of her marriage, the year which culminated into that night at the ranch. Horrible images of the fire surfaced again in her mind, and she couldn’t stop seeing Ray’s wild, threatening eyes.

Still, she couldn’t go back and live her life over again. No one could. Life wasn’t that forgiving. Even if she divorced Ray and gave him everything, it wouldn’t stop him from coming after her. Nothing had stopped him before, and this time, he wanted her to come back and prove to the insurance company that the fire had started by accident.

She’d made some bad choices in her life, and she needed to take responsibility for them. But not the fire, and not right now.

She couldn’t focus, and she couldn’t keep her mind from swimming. She sensed someone coming toward her and tried to shake the fuzziness out of her head.

The man took her face in his hands, the sunlight bouncing off his wavy, palomino-colored hair. Hello? Are ya all right? Have ya followed anything I’ve said so far?

She shook her head that she hadn’t, and he threw his hands in the air. He stormed to the driver’s side of the truck, pulled the keys from the ignition, and then went back and unlocked the storage compartment on the horse trailer.

She had to pull her thoughts together and start thinking about her current situation and what to do. Where had Yuletide gone? She prayed he wouldn’t get hit by a car. She looked up and found the road deserted. Several hundred yards back, she spotted the doe laying still and silent, its body in a twisted mass. Warm tears swarmed to the corners of her eyes, and a sick feeling crawled through her stomach. With care, she edged herself off the tailgate, and began looking for her horse.

The man pulled out her lariat from the trailer and expertly looped it in his hands. Dallas spotted Yuletide as he whinnied and loped past, throwing his head. The man threw his loop with ease around the horse’s neck. Slow and easy, he worked the horse to him. The man knew horses.

Ray only knew how to bet on them, and he hadn’t even been good at that. She shook her head. She had to stop thinking about Ray. She stole a look down the road as she made her way over to Yuletide. She stared at the blood covering his front hooves.

Are you all right? Oh, Yuletide. I’m so sorry. Hysteria threatened itself, and Dallas took some more deep breaths.

Her father had given her Yuletide for Christmas a year ago just before he died. I can’t lose Yuletide. He’s all I have left. Yuletide sensed the upheaval of her emotions and started to prance.

Eeeeeasy boy. The man’s voice returned to fluid. Do ya have a treat for him? he asked Dallas.

His gentle movements helped to calm Yuletide, as well as her. She took a deep breath and reached for the three sugar cubes nestled in her shirt pocket.

Here, Yuletide, she coaxed and began to hum.

Yuletide nibbled at her hand and then crunched down the cubes.

Good boy. She slowly reached up and took hold of his halter.

Jagged cuts sliced across both pasterns and his near hind hock. Blood drizzled from the star on his forehead, making Dallas weak and sicker still.

The man pulled her hand from Yuletide’s halter and led him to the trailer.

Wh-wh-what on earth do you think you’re doing? she asked.

Saddling this horse. He placed the blanket over Yuletide and reached for the saddle.

Over my dead body.

That’s what you’ll be if we don’t get ya to a doctor.

But—

Look...whatever your name is, my—

It’s Dallas Mae Carson, she yelled at him.

Fine. He jerked the cinch tight. "My truck’s stuck in the ditch over there, and yours is out of commission. Richfield is twenty miles back there, and the dairy is six on ahead. You can’t walk, and I can’t leave ya. And, I’m sure not gonna carry ya. He shoved the bit into Yuletide’s mouth. Now, get on the horse."

He’s hurt and bleeding.

So are you.

Dallas didn’t want to do that to her horse, but as her vision spun again like a top, she couldn’t think of another option. She frowned and stared at the man.

He led the horse to her side. Please, Mrs. Carson, just get on the horse.

Mrs. Carson? Had she told him her maiden name? She looked at the wedding ring still on her hand. The man had made all the wrong assumptions, but she didn’t have the energy to explain. She brought her knee up to step into the stirrup. Bile rose to her throat. The man’s strong hands came around her waist and gently helped her up into the saddle. He took the reins and led Yuletide east.

Yuletide pranced like a grained-up race horse, grinding and ripping at Dallas’ insides. Her vision whirled, and she didn’t know how much longer she could ride. She tried to stay awake, but her eyes kept drooping shut. The fear of Ray should’ve kept her adrenalin up, but she just didn’t have any left.

Where are we going? she asked.

To the dairy. The man continued to walk, glancing back on occasion.

What dairy?

The San Pitch dairy. I work there.

Her vision dimmed. What’s your name?

Tom. Tom Allred.

Tom...I... Dallas slipped from the saddle.

He caught her before she hit the ground and eased her back into the saddle. Before she could object, he swung up behind her. His arms came around her, and she rested her head back on his chest.

Yuletide continued on, settling down to a walk. The sun warmed Dallas’ face as she sunk into a dull mindless lull.

Yet her mind kept telling her she had to keep running. Not safe. Not safe at all.

MAN. Tom dug his heels into the horse’s sides and squinted into the sun. This is just what he needed. Anger boiled within him. What did he do to deserve this? He needed to get back to the dairy to meet with the vet. Now he found himself late, headed to the dairy on a miserable horse and with a woman who needed to be in the hospital.

Jacob will keel over dead at the sight of this horse. A horse would bring everything up again. Tom didn’t know if the old man could take another upset. Let alone himself. Everyone would start talking again. Why could everyone in the whole valley have horses, but if someone saw one at the dairy, the whole murder thing surfaced again? Three years had gone by. Tom hated the looks and whispers. He let out a succession of curses that would’ve sizzled bacon and urged the horse on to the dairy.

He didn’t need this and neither did Jacob and Ina. What would Ina say about it? Knowing that old woman, she’d stir in it. He’d for sure have to hide the horse from Vernal while he got this woman to the hospital. He hoped Jacob could pull himself together and help. Jacob’s barn seemed the best place to hide the horse, but they hadn’t used the place since Quinn’s death. Asking them to stash the horse would be asking a lot, but what else could he do? Jacob wouldn’t want Vernal to see the horse. Tom needed to get this woman to the hospital, and he needed Jacob to deal with the horse, whether he liked it or not.

Tom gave the part-Clydesdale horse another nudge with his boots, trying to encourage him along. His frustration mounted. He only continued to stay at the dairy because of Jacob and Ina. Making the dairy number one in the state didn’t make things any better for them, and he blamed them. Every bit of profit he made, Jacob either turned over to his brother, Vernal, or Ina turned over to her worthless daughter, Venna.

The reasons didn’t make any sense, either. Jacob didn’t owe Vernal a darn thing, and Tom never understood how Ina could be so blind to Venna’s faults. He couldn’t leave them, though. His being there tipped the scales a little in their favor.

His betrayal of himself made him even angrier. He’d done everything he could possibly do over the last five years, and he had his own goals in life. His dad raised some of the best rodeo broncs in the business, and Tom loved horses. He’d always enjoyed training them, and if he did say so himself, he had a knack for it. But, you sure couldn’t mention the critters around the dairy, let