Free Captured: Hunted Love #3 by Aden Lowe Page B

insisted I be named after his dad, Jacob. He finally let her change the 'C' to a 'K' to shut her up." That memory led to others best left buried. He stood. "We ready?"
    "Oh. Yeah, we are." But instead of walking away, she stared down at the little heart. "No one ever did that for me."
    "Put your name in a heart?"
    "Yeah, it's sweet." She leaned up to give him a quick kiss. "Thank you." She caught his hand and led him toward where the horses stood waiting.
    Climbing aboard Ajax had never seemed difficult, but at that moment, Jakob felt like he was climbing Mount Everest. Finally, though, he made it, but the bowling ball in his skull had become a steel shot-put with an Olympian arm letting it fly. He wavered for a second but Kate steadied him before he could topple off.
    With Jakob in the saddle, the others mounted up and on Alan's signal, they moved out at a jog. Despite Ajax's smooth gait, the first hundred yards seemed like a hundred miles, but after that, it wasn't quite so bad. He even managed to pay enough attention to realize Brady had dropped away from their little column, heading off to the left.
    Throughout the morning, Brady made forays off to the side of the trail, returning at regular intervals. Jakob felt a little better knowing their back trail was being watched, but he still almost expected a bullet to come from behind every rock and bush. The whole thing made his head hurt worse. The sense of relief when Alan called a halt to water the horses and let them rest a moment made him feel ridiculous.
    At least he managed to dismount and climb back up again when the time came, and it was even slightly easier than before. The afternoon seemed slightly less painful, and by the time they rode into the barnyard at the ranch, his brain had returned to mere bowling ball status.
    Twilight was well underway and his belly reminded him lunch had been hours and hours ago. Ajax seemed as anxious as Jakob to get the trip over with. He arched his neck and snorted, stretching his stride a little more.
    The moment his feet his the ground again, Kate shepherded Jakob off toward the house. "Come on, we need to get the doctor to come and check your head."
    Okay, that was too much. "No doctors. I'm fine. It's just a bump."
    "Jakob, a head injury is nothing to mess around with. I'm sure you have a concussion at the very least. Possibly even a fracture or traumatic brain injury. I don't know anything about that kind of thing. You need a doctor."
    As bad as he hated to admit it, she was right, he probably should see a doctor, just in case. Damn, he hated doing that. "Okay, but a good meal and a night in that bed of yours will do more good than a doctor."
    Kate led him up onto the back porch, paused a second to pat the big dog with pups hanging off her, then opened the door. Someone had been there in their absence and tidied up. Kate checked the fridge and found it full of essentials, with a note taped to the milk. She pulled it off and read it aloud.
    "Shame on you, Kate. A man to feed and not a thing for him to eat. You have to hire a housekeeper right away. Love you, Chelsea." Kate wadded the note up and tossed it into the trash. "I can't believe her. But I'm glad she shopped. At least we have something to eat. You ready for a shower? Or want me to call the doctor first?"
    Heat flared in his groin. "Definitely the shower first." He took over and grabbed her elbow. "Come on." Why did her bathroom seem so incredibly far away?
    "Oh, wait. Wait." She drew back a little. "I need to check messages. Something might be important."
    Jakob sighed and released her arm. "Fine. Just hurry."
    "I will." She hit the button and waited, finger hovering, ready to Skip. Telemarketer. Skip. Hunter telling her he was now available. Skip. Someone responding to her Help Wanted ad. A woman who seemed unsure she'd reached the right number, with some wild story about an outlaw biker gang headed their way for trouble.
    Jakob only half-listened until the woman