crowd suddenly swarmed around them.
TANNER CHISHOLM WOULD HAVE scoffed at even the idea of love at first sight—until a few moments ago. When the woman had come running out of the darkness behind the grandstand and into his arms in a shower of fireworks, noise and beautiful lights, he’d taken one look at her face and fallen.
Time froze with fireworks going off all around them. When she’d crashed into him he felt as if his whole life had been leading up to that moment. He’d known in an instant that it was no accident that this woman had run into his arms on this warm summer night.
He stared into her wide brown eyes, as her dark curly hair floated around her shoulders. He saw the terror etched in her tear-streaked face, felt her trembling and realized that come hell or high water, he’d do his damnedest to move heaven and earth for this woman.
It was crazy, wonderful and totally out of character. He wasn’t the kind of man who fell in love in a split second. But any man would have seen that this woman was running for her life.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as she fought to pull away from him and run. He saw her look behind him again. A man was headed in their direction, fighting the crowd to get to them in a way that left no doubt the man was furious—and coming after the woman in Tanner’s arms.
“Come with me.” Tanner took her hand and pulled her through the crowd. He knew these rodeo grounds like the back of his hand because he’d grown up here, played under these grandstands, ridden in junior rodeo and had later ridden bucking broncs out in the arena.
The woman resisted for only a moment before she let him lead her through the crowd and the darkness toward the shadowy fairground buildings beyond the rodeo arena. From the way she was still trembling, he suspected that the man chasing her meant to hurt her. Or at least she thought so. The fact that she was more afraid of the man than a complete stranger told him the woman was desperate.
As he drew her between two of the fair buildings, he spotted the man fighting his way through the rodeo crowd. Tanner caught the man’s expression under one of the large lights. The heightened fury he saw on the man’s face made him worry he might have made things worse for the woman by trying to protect her.
Too late now. Whatever had the man all riled up, he wasn’t going to be taking it out on this woman. Not tonight, anyway.
Tanner led her between two more buildings, weaving his way through the maze of dark structures, until he reached one he knew would be unlocked. Pulling the door open, he drew her inside, closed the door and turned the lock.
“Who is that out there?” he whispered, still holding her hand in the blackness inside the building.
Silence, then a hoarsely whispered, “My husband.”
Tanner mentally gave himself a swift kick. He really had stepped in it this time. Only a fool jumped into a domestic argument. “Why’s he so angry?”
She started to answer but he felt her freeze as she heard the same sound he did. Someone was running in this direction on the wooden boardwalk in front of the buildings. He didn’t have to tell her to be quiet. He knew she was holding her breath.
The footfalls came to a stop outside the building, the last along the row. Past it was a line of huge cottonwoods cloaked in darkness. With luck, the man would think that was where they had gone.
Tanner could hear the man’s heavy breathing and cursing, then his angry voice as he muttered, “You may have gotten away this time, Billie Rae, but this isn’t over. When I find you, I’m going to make you wish you were dead. That’s if I don’t kill you with my bare hands.”
The man stood outside the door panting hard, then his footfalls ebbed away back the way he’d come. The woman he’d called Billie Rae let go of Tanner’s hand, and he could hear her fumbling with the door lock.
“Not so fast,” Tanner said, reaching around her to turn on the light. They were both blinded for a moment by the sudden light. “I think you’d better tell me what’s going on, because you heard what he just said. That man plans to hurt you. If he hasn’t already,” Tanner added as he saw the fading bruise around her left eye.
WHAT BILLIE RAE HAD HEARD her husband say wasn’t anything new. He’d threatened her plenty of times before, and the threats, she’d learned the hard way, weren’t empty ones.
“I appreciate what you did for me, but I can’t involve you in this,” she said, finally finding her voice.
The cowboy let out a humorless laugh. “I’m already involved up to my hat. Do you have someplace you can go? Family? Friends?”
Billie Rae opened her mouth to lie. Duane had moved her away from what little family and friends she’d had right after the wedding. She’d lost contact over the past six months. Duane had made sure of that. Just as he had thrown a fit when she’d suggested going back to work.
“Your work is in this house, taking care of me. That’s your work.”
“You don’t have anyone you can call, do you?” the cowboy said. “Don’t worry. It’s going to be all right. I know a place you can stay where you will be safe.”
Billie Rae wanted desperately to take the cowboy up on his offer but realized she couldn’t. It had been bad enough when Duane had been after her alone. Now he would be looking for the cowboy he’d seen her with. “No, you don’t understand. Duane will come after you now. I’m so sorry. I should never have put you in this position.”
“You didn’t. I’m the one who dragged you in here,” he said as he pulled out his cell phone.
She tried to protest to whatever he was about to do, but he shushed her.
“I need a ride,” he said into the phone.
She heard laughter on the other end.
“I need you to bring me my pickup. That’s right, it’s parked right where we left it before the rodeo. No, I can’t come get it myself, Marshall, or I wouldn’t have called you. The keys are in it. I’m in the last fairground building. There will be two of us. Make it quick, okay?” He snapped off the phone and gave her a reassuring smile.
Billie Rae wondered if she’d just jumped from the skillet into the fire. But there was something about this man that made her feel safe. It wasn’t just the kindness she saw in his brown eyes.
There was a softness to his voice and his movements that belied his size and the strength she could see in his broad shoulders, muscled arms and callused hands.
This was a man who did manual labor—not one who either sat behind a desk or rode around all day in a car.
“I’m Tanner Chisholm,” he said and held out his hand.
“Billie Rae Johnson.” She realized she’d given him her maiden name instead of her married one.
“My brother Marshall is coming to pick us up in my truck, then we’ll go out to the ranch where my stepmother, Emma, will make you feel at home. She’ll insist you have something to eat. She does that to everyone. Humor her; it is much easier in the long run.” He smiled. “You’ll like Emma. Everyone does.”
“I couldn’t possibly impose—”
“Trust me, it is impossible to impose at the Chisholm ranch. If anything, Emma and my father, Hoyt, will want to adopt you.”
She felt tears well and quickly brushed them away. “Why are you being so nice to me? You don’t know me.”
“I know you’re in trouble and I’m a sucker for a woman who needs my help,” he joked. “Seriously, whatever is going on, you need someplace to stay tonight at least and to give your husband a chance to calm down.”
As if Duane was going to calm down, she thought with a grimace. All of this would have him foaming at the mouth with fury.
“I assume you drove to the rodeo?”
“A