No Ordinary Cowboy (Mills & Boon American Romance) (Rodeo Rebels - Book 6) by Marin Thomas

on?” The older woman washed her hands at the kitchen sink and served the pie.
    “Tony and I discovered a young girl hiding in the mine.” Before Maria asked, Lucy added, “The girl’s fine.”
    “Was she abducted from Mexico?” Maria asked.
    “Tony believes so.”
    Maria placed the dessert plates on the table. “I hope they track down the men responsible before another girl is harmed.” She motioned for Lucy to sit down. “I imagine your parents were upset to learn about the illegal activity on their property?”
    Lucy didn’t want to discuss her parents. Since she’d arrived at the trailer park she’d been ambushed by memories of the few months she and Tony had been a couple before their abrupt breakup. “It’s going to be difficult when Tony leaves.” Face flushing, Lucy quickly amended her statement. “For you.”
    “Yes, it will be.”
    “Would you consider relocating to San Diego to be closer to him?”
    “I can’t afford to live in California, and my friends are here.” Maria spread her arms wide. “This might not be much, but it’s home.”
    Taking a fortifying breath Lucy asked the question that had nagged her since she’d learned Tony planned to transfer to the border patrol office in San Diego. “Is there more to Tony’s leaving than a job promotion?” She really wanted to know if there was a woman waiting for him in San Diego.
    “I’m guessing there are too many bad memories here for Tony,” Maria said.
    No one could outrun memories. Lucy had learned that lesson after Michael had died. Not a day went by that his image didn’t pop into her mind or she didn’t hear his voice in her head.
    “He can’t forgive himself for leaving Michael at the bar that night.” Maria sniffed.
    “It wasn’t Tony’s fault—” Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat. “Michael drank too much.”
    Maria flashed a sad smile. “He understands that, but Michael was like a brother to him and Tony feels he should have protected him.”
    The apple pie Lucy had eaten congealed in her stomach, making her nauseous. Michael had phoned from the bar that fateful night and asked her to pick him up, but Lucy had refused, insisting he call their father for a ride. The impact of her actions went beyond her brother’s death and she worried that nothing she did would ever make amends for the pain and sorrow others continued to struggle with.
    “I better get going.” Ignoring Maria’s startled look, Lucy carried her plate to the sink then walked out the door and drove away as if the devil himself chased her.
    Concentrating on the road, Lucy blocked out thoughts of Michael and the past. When she neared the site of her brother’s accident her foot hit the brake and she pulled onto the shoulder. She gripped the wheel until her knuckles ached, fearing that if she let go, she’d get out of the truck.
    Forces beyond her control beat her down. She grabbed her cell phone and started walking. One step at a time, she marched through the desert, keeping her attention on the horizon. She walked. And walked.
    Then walked some more.
    The late-afternoon sun scorched the top of her head and singed the skin on her arms as the dry dusty air strangled her. She kept walking. Sweat ran down her face, dripped between her breasts and dampened her armpits. Suddenly an invisible energy grasped her arm and jerked her to a stop.
    “Michael?” she whispered in a choked voice. She’d visited this area several times after the accident, hoping her brother’s spirit would tell her that he forgave her. Where was his voice now when she needed to hear it most?
    The ringing of her cell phone jarred her out of her trance. “Hello?”
    “What the hell are you doing out there?”
    Tony? Lucy turned and spotted his truck parked behind hers on the road. From this distance the vehicles looked like toy cars. She must have walked at least a mile into the desert.
    “I’m taking a walk.”
    “It’s 104 degrees.”
    Not in the mood to spar with