“I’ll handle it,” Sully said. “Call the sheriff.” He gave Charley a private number to the El Paso County Sheriff’s office and she called. “Tell them you’re with me. Tell them Rod Vaughn, a man who’s been stalking you, is at your cabin and you’re afraid to go home.”
“Okay,” Charley said and dialed.
As Charley made the report to the sheriff’s office, Sully knew Vaughn had recognized Charley’s Mini Cooper because the Mercedes appeared in the rearview mirror. Sully sped up, and Vaughn did as well. Damn. He’d just been discharged from the hospital after an accident on this highway. But the roads weren’t slippery today. Sully didn’t head toward his ranch. Instead, in a clear stretch of road and with no other cars in sight, Sully turned the wheel, screeching the tires and making a lightning-fast 180-degree U-turn. He stopped exactly in the middle of the highway. Vaughn came to a skidding, sloppy halt off to one side of theroad. Sully aimed his Ruger out of the window and shot both tires on the driver’s side of Vaughn’s car. Raising his chin at an astonished Vaughn, Sully pressed on the gas, and they flew back down the highway.
“That seemed fair,” Sully said. “I guarantee you he’s the one who slashed your tires.”
“I agree. But what about the bullets inhistires?” Charley asked with concern. “Will the police be able to trace them to your gun?”
“This gun can never be traced to me,” Sully replied as he placed it on the console. When Charley opened her mouth, certainly to inquire as to why the gun couldn’t be traced, he said, “Don’t ask, city slicker.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
“Itold your dad I intended to take care of you,” Charley said to the handsome man as they walked through the foyer of his house. “You need to rest.”
“That’s why I’m taking you straight to my bedroom.”
“Ha! Ha!” Charley giggled as tingles zipped through her entire body. Sully was carrying Wyatt and his dog bed since she refused to let him carry her suitcase. “What you need to do is go to the bedroom, lie down, and behave.”
“I’d ratherdoyou than behave.”
“Oh, no you don’t. Not today.” Walking behind him, Charley made her way into his bedroom and set her bag on the hardwood floor. Sully put Wyatt and the dog bed down, and she said, “Because of your concussion and stitches, I’m not taking any chances with you.”
Sully pulled her into his arms. “You’ve already taken a bunch of chances with me, baby.”
Charley grinned. “I mean with your health.” Sully’s head lowered and when his lips met hers, she gently wrapped her arms around his waist. But because of his stitches, she didn’t hold on too tightly. He began backing her toward his bed and stopped only when her legs met with the mattress. When sheopened her eyes, the love she felt for him surely showed on her face. “Sully, I’m serious about taking good care of you.”
“I want to take care of you too. Again, I’m asking you to please stay here in the country with me, Charley. Forever.” With a shrug and a coaxing grin, he said, “For as long as you like.”
And once again, she thought that wild horses couldn’t drag her away. “I will consider it if you let me make you some lunch,” she bargained.
“I am hungry,” Sully said with a chuckle and stepped back. “I’ll go to bed when you do. Let’s go to the kitchen and eat.”
“What do you think Rod Vaughn’s next move will be?” she asked.
On their way out of the bedroom, the puppy followed them, and Sully scooped him up. In the kitchen, Sully said, “If Vaughn is the guy who attacked you and shot your mom, he’s running on high alert, and anything is possible.”
Sully sat on a barstool at the island with the puppy in his lap, and Charley asked, “I told Detective Groves about the tattoo on the man who attacked me, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did.”
Looking in the fridge, Charley asked, “What do you want to eat?”
“You. C’mere.” Sully crooked his finger, and Charley walked to him. She took the puppy from him, and Sully wrapped his arms around both of them. “This feels right.”
“It does,” Charley said and cupped a hand to the back of his neck. “It did from day one.”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “From day one.”
He kissed her, then let her go long enough to fix bacon and cheese omelets. Having closed her flower shop and with Roy manning the gun shop while Randy took care of the horses and skeet shooting, they enjoyed lunch and then a restful afternoon together in the cozy den. They didn’t turn on the news. Instead,Sully sent Randy a text, and Randy answered saying only Storm and Rain were in the stables. So, they took Wyatt on a walk to introduce him to the horses. The puppy bounded around the hay, and when Sully lifted him up to Storm and Rain, the puppy rubbed his little face against those of the horses.
While they were in the stables, a sheriff’s deputy showed up to touch base with them about the report Charley had made. The deputy had gone to Triple C Ranch-South, but Rod Vaughn had not been there. The deputy reported that a fellow officer had stopped by Charley’s Old Colorado City property and there was no evidence of a break-in or anything amiss. That was a relief to both Charley and Sully. The deputy gave them his name, asked Sully to be sure and tell Owen hello, and then left.
“Let’s go to Coopers’ Lodge for dinner,” Sully suggested once they were back in the den on the leather sofa. Before Charley could answer, his cell phone rang. “It’s my dad.” He answered the call and listened. He made a half-turn, looked at Charley, and placed his hand on her knee. “So, not only is the caliber the same, the bullets are a match,” he said to Owen, as well as letting Charley know. “I’ll be damned.”
Charley sat quietly, but inside, her nerves jangled. Wyatt lay in her lap, and she hugged the little puppy remembering how Rod had kicked him. She listened as Sully asked if CSPD had Vaughn in custody. Not yet, but Detective Groves was getting ready to pick him up. Charley’s heart thudded with anxiety. Sully thanked his dad for the update and clicked off his phone.
“Dear God, Sully,” Charley whispered. “What is wrong with Rod Vaughn?”
