She heard the sound of gunfire and a man’s shout. Joshua had shoved Kyle onto Conner’s horse and had ridden right into the stampeding herd, in front of Emma, firing his weapon, shifting the flow of the herd. The horses thundered past, swerving away from her. When the sound died down and the earth quit shaking, she dropped her hands and rolled over to stare up at the stormy sky, tears blurring her vision. There didn’t seem to be a place on her body that didn’t hurt.

“Don’t move, Emma,” Joshua commanded. He didn’t sound at all like the Joshua she knew, and when she looked at him, his eyes glowed, small red lights playing through them. “Drake will send the helicopter for you.”

She meant to tell him that was silly, that she was perfectly all right, but for some reason, when she opened her mouth nothing came out. She heard Andraya screaming for her and lifted her hand to beckon Conner to bring the children to her so she could reassure them, but Joshua shook his head, crouching over her like a protective bulldog. When he even waved Susan off, she tried to move.

A groan escaped and everything went black.

14

“STOP moving around so much.”

Emma let her breath out in a long hiss. “If one more person tells me that, I’m going to hit them over the head.” She glared at Jake. “You especially. Don’t you have work to do? I’m fine. I’ve been sitting in this den for two days doing nothing. You won’t even let me pick up the kids. If you growl at Andraya one more time, she’s going to think you’ve turned into a grumpy old bear.” She pressed her lips together, aware she sounded bitchy, but she couldn’t help it. She felt trapped, like the walls were closing in on her.

“Have you taken a look at yourself? You’re covered in bruises.” Jake stroked the pad of his finger gently down her left shoulder and arm, bruised from getting kicked by a horse. She’d been lucky her arm wasn’t broken. She had bruises on her leg from a horse slamming into her and bruises on her hip from landing on the ground so hard.

“Can I just say you’re overreacting?”

“I don’t overreact,” Jake denied.

“You were going to shoot every horse on the property, you maniac. I would call that overreacting, and keeping me sitting here is definitely overreacting.” When he just remained looming over her like some Neanderthal man, she sighed. “Jake. Come on. I’m going crazy.” She winced at the pathetic little whimper in her voice.

She was edgy and moody and wanted to rip and tear at something. Jake had insisted she go to the hospital to be checked out. He took the doctor’s instructions seriously—too seriously. When the doctor said he wanted her to be quiet, Jake thought that meant completely immobile. He let the children kiss her and talk to her, but only in short visits. He’d slept in her bed, his arm around her waist, but that had been all, no other touching. His kisses drove her wild, and her body ached for his, but he insisted on handling her as if she might break at any moment.

“Is your headache completely gone?”

“Absolutely. Totally.” She started to stand and he dropped a heavy hand on her shoulder, preventing movement.

“The doctor’s coming today. If he says you’re fine, then we’ll see.”

“He will say I’m fine.” Emma hesitated and plunged on to the next subject. “Jake, right before my horse spooked, I smelled something. It sounds silly, but I have a really acute sense of smell and the wind shifted and for a minute it smelled like a wildcat. Maybe a mountain lion. Could there be a large cat in the vicinity?”

Jake went very still.

Emma dropped her eyes and shrugged. “I know it sounds silly, but I can smell things others can’t. I’ve always been able to, and lately my sense of smell has been even sharper. I can tell who has come into the house before they get into the same room with me.”

He caught her chin. “Don’t do that. Don’t be afraid of saying anything to me. I’d never belittle you, Emma. You’ve been thinking about this for two days now. I knew something was on your mind. I don’t want you to keep things from me. Not your fears, not your opinions, even when they differ from mine.”

The pad of his thumb slid back and forth over her chin. “I know you think I’ve been a little crazy over this accident, but you’re black and blue. You could have been killed. And if you tell me you smelled a wildcat, then I believe you. Drake and Conner have been looking for tracks. Something had to have spooked those horses. We let that herd run free on the property but they should have been miles away. The stallion keeps them to a territory about thirty miles from the house and he always stays on the same range.”

Something in his voice caught at her. “Are you saying the horses were purposely herded or driven onto the trail we take the children riding on?”

“I don’t know, honey, but I intend to find out. I just think it’s best to keep the kids very close to the house. I’m beefing up the security when the children are outside.”

Her heart slammed hard against her chest, and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. “Do you think someone is trying to harm them? Tell me the truth, Jake. You’ve got to tell me what’s going on. I don’t like being kept in the dark like some child.”

Jake sank into a high-backed chair opposite her, a sigh slipping out. “I don’t want to scare you off.”

“Jake, if anything was going to scare me off, it would be you. You’re a very intimidating man, but do I look afraid of you?”