The Rancher Meets His Match by Pamela Ladner Page A

She leaned against him.  She was exhausted.  He took note of the black circles under her eyes, the scratches covering her arms and face, and the dirt that covered her entire body. 
                  He wrapped his arms around her more securely.  “You can sleep, I won’t let you fall.” He said.   He knew the moment she finally fell asleep.  Her body sagged against him. She began to mumble in her sleep and he listened.  She mentioned Lisa and Hilary.  She also said something about someone named Frankie.  The fear when she spoke his name was in the way her body tensed.  Then she relaxed and she began mumbling.  The last thing she said was Heath.  He almost stopped the horse in his tracks. 
                  The way she spoke his name, nearly knocked him for a loop.  She was still too young, but he wanted to kiss her, he wanted to hear her say his name like that again.  He wanted her but she was too young and he respected her, he cared about her.  She was more than that.  Soon she would be old enough to date and he would have to watch her go on date after date with other boys.  He didn’t know if he could do that. 
                  They rode until finally they came up on the meeting spot where they had parked the ranch truck with the cook’s wagon.  J.W. came running to them startling the h orse but Heath was an accomplished rider and he knew how to calm the horse.  Then before Heath knew it, she was taken out of his arms.  J.W. pulled his daughter down and into his arms.  He showered her face with kisses.  He hugged her to him so tight she had to tell him “Daddy, you, I can’t …. Breathe.”  J.W. loosened his hold on her, “are you ok? What happened? Where’s Hilary?” he asked. 
                  Josey tried to speak but fell into his arms exhausted.  He carried her to the truck and laid her down across the back seat of the truck.  He got a blanket and covered her. 
                  They ate while they waited for her to wake up.  They needed to find out where she had come from and where Hilary was.  He was glad to have his daughter back but there was still a piece of him missing.  Hilary had become so much to him and he needed her.  He took the picture out of his pocket and looked at the woman whose smile had reawakened something in him.  The picture was of the three of them.  Josey was on his back and Hilary had come to his rescue to get the girl off him while laughing the whole time. 
                  He ran his finger over Hilary’s face and didn’t notice the man shadowing him until he sat down beside him.  He took the picture from J.W. and studied it for a minute then handed it back.  Willy could see that there was something between his sister and J.W. and it concerned him. He didn’t want to see his sister heartbroken.  “What are your intentions for my sister?”
                  J.W  looked him in the eye and answered without hesitation.  “I’m gonna marry her, if she’ll have me.  I love her and I don’t think I can live without her.  I will find her, and when I do the people who took her and Josey will see that they have made the biggest mistake of their lives.”  J.W. stood up shoving the picture back into his pocket.  He walked over to the cook’s wagon and fixed a plate for Josey. 
                  He woke her up offering her the plate and a hot cup of coffee.  “I know you’re tired and you’re hurt but I need to know where Hilary is.” He said looking at his daughter with mixed emotions.  He brushed a stray hair behind her ear.  “She saved me you know.  I thought she was behind me but they must have caught her.  She had a small pocketknife and she cut my ropes and told me to run.  I didn’t even look behind me to see if she was following me, I just kept running.” She took a bite of food and swallowed it down with coffee.  “I honestly