Rough Terrain, page 12
She shook her head. Talk about depressing. The man was a processed food garbage dump.
Jared had just returned to the kitchen, carrying two rolled up sleeping bags and a bigger hiking backpack, when headlights illuminated the room. They heard the sound of a truck’s engine approaching. Ducking down, Leigh thought for a moment that the arsonist had found them until she realized that the headlights had moved on. Peering through the window, she watched as Jessie’s truck drove past Jared’s house and continued toward her cabin.
A few minutes later, she heard the truck door slam shut, then Shadoe barking. Several more minutes elapsed before another door slammed. When Jessie’s truck came back down the road Leigh ducked away from the high beams, but not before she saw the silhouette of Shadoe in the passenger’s seat.
“Well, that answers the problem of the dog.” Jared said, in the shadows behind her, tying the sleeping bags onto his pack.
Leigh was relieved that Jessie had come to get her dog, yet she felt a deep sadness too. Shadoe had been her constant companion for a lot of years and she had wanted the dog with her now. Being alone with Jared was not an ideal situation.
“So where to?” she asked.
“I’ve been thinking on that. I think the best place to hold up is the old Whittier house. No one has been there for years.”
Leigh felt the blood drain from her face.
“You’re kidding, right?” Panic began to well up in her chest. “That place is infested with…with all sorts of things. No telling what’s living in there!”
Jared looked at her strangely. “We have sleeping bags and it will be a roof over our heads.” He started for the back door. “Being a ranger, I thought you’d be a lot braver about roughing it. Didn’t take you for a prima donna.”
The words were said jokingly but the unintentional criticism still hurt. How was Leigh supposed to explain that she had grown up in that house? That all her dreams had died on the same day that the house had been abandoned? That memories would whisper from every corner, reminding her of what she had lost? How was she supposed to explain that the Whittier house had been her home and now, the decaying shell would mimic the landscape of her soul until she could find the man who had murdered her family?
She couldn’t. Leigh would just have to close her mind to the memories and focus on the present. Taking a deep breath, she eased herself out the back door and followed Jared into the shadows.
• • •
They made their way through the dark to the abandoned house. It was a surprise to see light seeping through an uncovered window in the back room that had once been Mark’s office. Peering through filthy, broken windowpanes, they could see into the room.
Leigh and Jared watched in silence as Cole pried up several floorboards with a crowbar. Ripped jeans and a dirty T-shirt now replaced his usual immaculate appearance. His hair was mussed, as if he had run his fingers through it in frustration a thousand times. His pace was frantic as the light from his lantern threw shadows throughout the room, making the scene appear even more surreal.
Leigh exchanged a glance with Jared, and by silent agreement, they crept away from the house to a vantage point where they could still see Cole but they wouldn’t be overheard.
“What do you think he’s looking for?” Leigh whispered.
“I’m not sure, but it must be very important for him to find it.”
Leigh thought back to her conversation with Cole at the ranch. “He told me that this property had been in land court and that it was coming up for sale any day. He was pretty sure that he’d be able to buy it. So why tear this house apart now? Why not wait until it becomes his and just raze the place?”
She focused on Cole for a second. “This land has nothing special to add to his beside acreage. There’s no spring or water source that he would need and the old silver mine was played out years ago. So, what the hell is he looking for?”
She hadn’t realized that she had spoken out loud until she saw that Jared was looking at her with his eyes narrowed.
“What?” she asked.
“You seem to have an extraordinary knowledge of this area. I can understand you knowing the park’s secrets, but how is it that you know what’s on this property? About the mine? Just who are you?”
His gaze bore into hers. Who was she? That was the question that Leigh had been asking herself for the last decade. She had been living under an alias for so long that she sometimes forgot who she truly was. There had been lots of times when she had wanted to tell people the truth, but fear had always stopped her. She was Amanda, Mark and Tracy Whittier’s only daughter, but she couldn’t tell anyone. Afraid because she was the only witness to the murders that had changed the course of her life. She would never be the same again. The question was, who had she become?
Now looking at Jared, she met his gaze squarely. “Cole took me by the mine the other day. Said it was deserted in 1888 after a partial collapse. Apparently local legend claims there’s more silver to be found, but there was some sort of scandal that resulted in the mine’s sudden closing. Cole said that just before the collapse, the miners found another vein of silver but the owners refused to reopen it. From what I understand, no one has ever found anymore silver, or knows what the scandal was about. Cole says it’s haunted.”
How easily the lies came from her lips. She wasn’t sure that Jared believed her. He looked like he was weighing her words before he turned his attention back to the house. Cole was punching numbers into his cell phone. His voice carried through the broken windows.
“It’s not here,” he told the person on the other end, frustration evident in his clipped words. “It must have been moved with all his personal things unless there’s a safety deposit box that you don’t know about.” He listened for a moment, pacing back and forth. “I’ve torn up all the damn floorboards… I don’t care what you were told… I’ve ripped this place apart. Go back to your source and find me the goddamn map.”
Ending the call, Cole appeared to stare at the destruction he had caused, but Leigh didn’t think that he actually saw it. There was something maniacal in his posture. After several minutes, he grabbed the lantern and stormed out of the study. A few seconds later, they heard the front door slam and the sound of a horse trotting away.
Leigh and Jared sat in the dark, listening to the hoof beats recede into the night.
“Well, I guess we can’t stay here,” Jared broke the silence a few minutes after Cole’s departure. “He’s pulled up all the floorboards and we’d probably break our necks. Besides, he might be back.”
“Where do you suggest we go now?”
Jared looked thoughtful for a moment, “How about the mine? As you said, it’s been abandoned for years. Of course, as you also pointed out, it’s supposed to be haunted. You weren’t thrilled about bugs and creepy crawlies here, but how do you feel about ghosts?”
Leigh opened her mouth in surprise, and then quickly snapped it shut again. “Lead on McDuff,” she smiled sweetly.
• • •
It had been a long, exhausting day and by the time they reached the entrance to the mine Leigh was sore, tired and hungry. She had been up before dawn, trapped in a fire, shot at, climbed the side of a gorge and spent the better part of the night traipsing through the forest.
A steel gate blocked the opening to the mine shaft and the padlock was still solid, but Leigh ignored both. Pushing through the thick bushes that flanked the entryway, she followed an overgrown path around the side, Jared following close behind her. The beam from her flashlight lit a wooden door that had been built into the hillside, hidden from view. This door had a combination lock attached to it and without hesitation Leigh dialed a sequence of numbers. With a click, it opened.
Glancing at Jared, she opened the door and stepped inside a small room, no bigger than ten feet by ten feet. The floor was hard-packed dirt and Leigh could see some wooden boxes stacked along one wall.
Turning on his flashlight, Jared glanced up before straightening his tall frame, confirming that he wouldn’t hit his head. The ceiling was supported with large beams and the walls were framed with log posts. He gave a low whistle. “I never knew this room existed. It’s not on any of the plans of the mine.”
Leigh turned to look at him. “That’s because it was added in the twenties to hide liquor during the Prohibition. If you check at the library, you’ll find it referenced in several books on the history of the town.”
She walked over to a natural ledge and pulled down an ancient candle that had been attached to a plate. Jared produced a lighter and lit the wick, but the weak light didn’t quite reach the darkened corners.
“Does the book also reference the combination to the lock?” he asked.
Leigh had anticipated that question. It was the lock her father had put on the door, years ago. He had made her birthday the combination.
“No, Cole told me the combo the other day. I guess it never occurred to him that I might actually use it.”
Untying her sleeping bag from the pack she had set down inside the door, she glanced over at Jared, but was unable to read his expression in the flickering light. She relaxed a little when he spoke.
“There’s no place to make a fire in here so I guess we’ll have to rough it and eat our meal cold.”
She had moved to the far side of the small space and began unrolling her sleeping bag. Dipping into his backpack, Jared pulled out several cans, which he put to the side, before producing some granola bars, crackers and bottled water.
“Not much of a meal but it’s better than nothing,” he said as he rolled out his bedding. Leaning forward, Leigh chose a granola bar and bottled water, then sat cross-legged on her makeshift bed. The room felt small and intimate with Jared sitting across from her, their sleeping bags touching. How was she going to fall asleep next to him?
Opening a can of peaches, he speared one with a fork and offered it to her.
Didn’t Eve use an apple to entice Adam? Stop thinking like a teenager, she scolded herself silently as she shook her head and looked away. “Let’s just get a good night’s sleep and figure out what we need to do in the morning.”
Jared was grinning at her, which made her nervous. “What?”
“I’m beginning to figure you out. Just gave yourself a little pep talk about us sleeping side by side, didn’t you?” He leaned in closer. “Well? What did you decide? Are you going to be able to keep your hands off me tonight?”
Looking into his deep blue eyes, for a second, Leigh could think of nothing better than curling up next to him. What would it be like to lose herself in this man’s embrace; to forget the past and have someone else help her look toward to the future? He was strong, smart and sexy as hell, but unfortunately he was a player. He was just looking for a diversion while he finished his article and then he’d move on. Leigh was afraid that she was falling for him and she knew that she couldn’t give herself to him, or anyone, knowing that she would just be another proverbial notch on the bedpost. Besides, he thought she was someone else. Until he knew her as Amanda Whittier, it was best if she just kept her distance. Tears burned behind her eyes but she was able to keep his gaze. “Yea, I think I can manage it.”
With that, she slipped into her sleeping bag and turned away from him.
• • •
Leigh awoke to find that her head was on Jared’s chest and his arms were wrapped around her. He had pulled her tight against him as they slept. She could hear his heartbeat; it was strong and steady.
Funny, it doesn’t sound like the heartbeat of a heartbreaker.
She felt content in his embrace, protected even, which didn’t make any sense because she suspected that this man could hurt her more emotionally than any other man she had ever met. Her sleeping bag had slipped down her hips until it only covered her legs but she wasn’t cold against his warm body.
Jared’s arm tightened around her, warning her that he was awake. He shifted so that they were face to face, but she kept her eyes closed. Maybe if she pretended to be asleep, he would get up and act as if nothing had happened. His hand brushed back the hair that had fallen into her face and lingered under her chin.
“I know you’re awake,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you keep your eyes closed or not. I’m going to kiss you either way.”
With that warning, he rolled backwards and pulled her on top of him. His hand cradled the back of her head and pulled her down to his lips.
She was lost in an instant. All her senses became consumed by the sensations that his lips and hands were creating. Leigh had been burying her emotions for so long that they now boiled to the surface in the length of a heartbeat. For too many years, there had been nothing but anger fueling her thoughts and decisions. It was almost a celebration to let go, even for a brief time. For once, she didn’t think about the consequences of her actions, or those of someone else’s. It was enough just to be.
Jared turned her so that she was under him without breaking contact. Her breath came in small bursts as he started to kiss her neck while working the buttons of her shirt.
“God Leigh, you’re beautiful,” he rasped.
Time that had seemed to stop before came crashing back into her brain. How could she have been so stupid? He wasn’t making love to Amanda; he was making love to Leigh. She pushed him off her and rolled to the side. Gasping for air, she stumbled to her feet, fumbling with her buttons. The sense of loss was numbing. She could still feel the heat of his lips on her skin. Wrapping her arms around her middle, she put some distance between them before she turned around.
Jared was lying on his back with his arm flung over his head. She expected him to be angry. Sure, she had led him on and now the guilt made it hard for her to look at him. “I’m sorry,” she managed. “I told you before that you don’t know me. I’m not looking for an…to get involved with anyone. I’m sorry that I led you to believe otherwise.”
She waited for him to say something, anything. He turned onto his side and propped his head on his hand. He studied her for a moment and then, in one fluid motion, he jumped to his feet and crossed the distance between them. She wasn’t sure if she should be afraid, he had never given her a reason to be, until now. Walking past her, he grabbed the backpack and sat down.
“What are you in the mood for this morning? I’m starving,” he asked.
Leigh felt the heat rush to her face at the double entendre.
Of course it meant nothing to him, she told herself, mentally smacking her forehead. It was just an opportunity, another conquest. He must have women throwing themselves at him all the time. He could at least pretend to be disappointed, she thought. Clenching and grinding her teeth together, she didn’t trust herself to speak.
Jared regarded her for a moment and dammit if there wasn’t a knowing look in his gaze. “Not hungry?”
Stabbing him with her eyes, she headed for the door. His chuckle followed her as she tried to slam the old wooden door behind her. Stalking away, Leigh found an oak tree with a low thick branch that she settled herself onto. It was uphill from the mine so she could catch glimpses of Jared through the leaves. Once he had looked up from the bottom of the hill, located her and then wisely turned away to disappear from her view.
• • •
It took several hours away from Jared, and a lot of telling herself that she was a damn fool, to settle down and come up with a plan.
They had to get to someone whom they could trust. Thoughts of Jessie, Gertie and Shari came to mind, but Leigh immediately dismissed them. She wouldn’t put them in danger and all the other rangers were suspect at this time. The arsonist must have been at the meeting spot yesterday morning to know where Gus had sent them, if she and Jared had indeed been the true targets. The gunpowder and gasoline had been placed along the path effectively cutting off any escape. That couldn’t have been a coincidence. The more she thought about it, the more Leigh was sure that it had to have been the man in the green truck that had pulled out as she was walking to her jeep. She hadn’t really looked at the vehicle, but she’d bet anything that it was the same one they’d found in the parking turnout.
Her mind refused to dwell on the possibility of which ranger it could have been. They were old friends; a betrayal from one of them would cut deep. It would be like losing another part of her family. Unfortunately, she was going to have to face the facts. The arsonist had known that she was sent to tower number five and they had set things up so there should have been no escape. It had been such a close call. Too close.
Leigh jumped down from the low branch that she had been brooding on. There was only one person whom she knew she could trust and who knew who she really was. He’d helped her that fateful night, had made all the arrangements to get her to Celeste and Roy’s place. He’d made sure that her identity had been well hidden and that her inheritance had been protected. He wasn’t going to be happy to know that she was back, and was obviously looking for the poachers, but she had no one else that she could turn to right now. Besides, she had no intentions of spending another night alone with Jared.
Feeling better at having made her decision, Leigh retraced her steps to where Jared waited for her back at the makeshift camp.
• • •
Jared wasn’t sure about this plan, but he had to admit that he was intrigued. Leigh wanted to go and meet up with a man who had barely been seen in over twenty years. Also, he had to admit that no one would think of looking for them in the mountains. He just wasn’t sure why she thought hiding out with a hermit was the safest choice. For all he knew, Old Billy could have been the one taking potshots at them.
As Leigh marched up the ancient path ahead of him, Jared kept coming back to the question of how she knew so much about the area. He wasn’t buying the “I read about it at the library” or “Cole gave me the information” crap. The Cole he knew didn’t give out any information that didn’t benefit Cole.
