by Tracey Lyons
“I don’t know of any strangers who’ve fallen in love.” She tossed the grass into the pond where it floated lazily to the shore.
He decided it was best not to press the issue with Hannah. Chase had a surprise for her, one that he’d been keeping for her for several weeks now. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small pouch.
She looked up when he dropped the small white sack in her lap. “What’s this?”
“Open it and find out.”
The square bag had “Tyler Mining, East Street, New York, NY” neatly stenciled in the center of one side. Hannah pulled open the drawstring with both hands and peered inside. Her face lit up with delight as she dumped the almond-shaped treasure into the palm of her hand.
“Have you ever seen a gemstone this lovely before?” Chase squatted behind Hannah, peering over her shoulder.
The heat from his body flooded over her. “No,” she managed in a whisper.
“This garnet came from McCleary’s mine, right from the very ground that you and I are sitting on.”
“It’s beautiful.” For a moment she forgot what the harvesting of this gem had cost the land. Then the promise that she’d made to Sallie McCleary came back to haunt her. It wasn’t possible to condone the mining, even if it produced something so stunning.
“Here, hold the garnet up to the sunlight.”
She allowed him to touch her hand, guiding it to the sunlight.
“See how those yellow lines look like a star?”
She nodded her head. Her hand tingled from his touch.
“This particular stone is called a star garnet, and those tiny lines are rutile. What you’re holding is a very rare specimen.”
“What is this worth?” She wanted to know the value of the destruction. Hannah studied the gemstone. She couldn’t seem to put her finger on it, but it reminded her of her days at the boarding school.
“A great deal. Hundreds of dollars.” Letting go of her hand, he bent to nibble at her earlobe.
“Chase…” She breathed his name into the warm mountain air. “Oh, Chase, please don’t do this to me.” Shivers of delight ran up and down her spine.
“Why not?”
Hannah turned to around to face him. “Because you’re making it impossible for me to think straight.”
Suddenly, she remembered what bothered her about the garnet. “A friend of mine, at boarding school, she had a lovely brooch with a similar stone. Hers was a ruby.”
“The stones are quite similar.” He lifted her hair. Exposing the nape of her neck, he planted a feather-light kiss there.
“How can you tell the difference?” Hannah asked, her voice a mere whisper.
“Sometimes it’s almost impossible.” He turned her face to his and slowly kissed her parted lips.
She leaned toward him and, wrapping her arms about his sinewy neck, she kissed him back. He ran his tongue along her mouth, outlining her lips. He tasted like the cherry pie they’d just eaten, sweet and syrupy. The passion hidden deep within her bubbled to the surface. She wanted him to be the one who would unleash that passion.
A low moan escaped her as he ventured to run his hand along her rib cage. Her breathing came in rapid bursts as he continued to move his hand up her torso, stopping when he reached her breast.
Hannah broke away from the kiss first. Chase looked into the sapphire pools that were her eyes. The depth of her arousal was clear, even to him. A rosy flush had crept up the smooth skin of her neck, reaching her face.
“Hannah, I—”
She covered his hand, still lingering on her breast, with her own. “Please, don’t say a word. We have to stop this before Julia and Stephen return. It’s different for them. They’re going to be husband and wife.”
The yearning he saw in her eyes made him wish he could tell her the truth, but he was bound by duty not to. He felt the walls of his deceit close about him.
“I don’t know what we are to each other.” Hannah bowed her head to kiss the top of his hand, her warm lips barely skimming the tops of his knuckles.
Silently Chase pulled her to stand next to him on the rock. Wrapping his arms around Hannah’s waist, he pulled her close. How he longed to be able to tell her that they could be together one day! It just wasn’t time yet. There was still so much to unravel with Tyler Mining.
Hugging her against his chest, he looked over the top of her head. He saw only clear blue water and rocks and trees. So many trees. Their green leaves waved at him in the breeze, as if they were trying to tell him of some great secret. He wondered then when he would learn the secret—the one that kept Hannah bound to these mountains.
He felt Hannah pull away from him and looked down at her. “What is it?”
“Stephen and Julia are coming back from their walk.”
“Um. So they are.” Taking her hand in his, Chase led her to the top of the rock to meet them.
Julia looked smugly from Hannah to Chase and back to Hannah again. “It looks to me as if the two of you had a lovely time.”
Still clutching the garnet and sack in her hand, Hannah replied, “Yes, we did.” She turned to Chase and held out the gemstone. “I can’t accept this, it belongs to you.”
He knew there would be no use in trying to get her to accept the star garnet as a gift. He took the white bag from her and placed it back in his shirt pocket.
Hannah studied Chase’s face. She wondered if he saw any of the beauty that surrounded them. Did being here in the middle of this wilderness have any effect on him? She hoped that maybe one day soon, he would begin to see how precious the Adirondack Mountains were. It would be nice to think that today had been a start.
Chapter Nine
Thoughts of Chase filled Hannah’s head. No matter what she was doing, tending to the horses or helping with chores, the image of him was clear in her mind. Even now, as she finished tightening the cinch strap under her horse’s belly, thoughts of the man floated around inside her head. She could still see the way his gray eyes had lit up with excitement when he’d handed her his prized star garnet.
Still, she struggled with what was right and what was wrong. The garnet was a beauty there was no denying that, but what it had cost the land to find the treasure—that damage could never be repaired. Even when the next century had come and gone the ragged, gaping hole left by Tyler Mining would still be there. Like an open wound, it would forever mar the landscape of the Great Northern Wilderness.
She couldn’t ever allow herself to forget that. It didn’t matter what she felt for Chase Malone. Hannah would never let him—or anyone else—take her property and rip it open. She swung her jeans-clad leg over the horse and settled comfortably into the saddle. Today she wanted to feel the cool mountain breeze on her face.
Patting the small shotgun that rested in the scabbard next to the saddle, Hannah nudged the horse on its way. Rarely did she carry the weapon with her. Today, though, the only the way her grandmother would let her go off was if she promised to bring the firearm along. She supposed that Gram was right, considering her grandfather was still off on his guided tour of the surrounding mountains.
She knew her grandmother missed him fiercely. Hannah wondered if she would ever feel that deeply about a man. Would she ever know the deep, raw ache that came just simply from not being near the one you loved? Could she ever feel that way for Chase? The questions gnawed at her soul.
She urged the horse along on the high trail, anxious to be at her favorite place. The trail became steeper as her destination drew near. The view from the hillside, as always, took her breath away. Summer had come to the Adirondacks with all its splendor. The green foliage was vivid and lush on the branches of the maples and birches that grew thickly on the hill. She thought about the day Chase had found her here. It had been a brilliant spring day and she’d come here for the very same reason then—to find some peace.
The horse wandered up the narrow path and crested the rise. Hannah froze. She wasn’t alone. Fear pricked her scalp as s
he rested her hand on the butt of the shotgun.
Slowly, she pulled the gun from the scabbard, waiting for what seemed an eternity before the man moved. She knew from his loose trousers with their black suspenders and his dirty white shirt that he was a miner. A dirty, grizzled old miner stood with his legs spread slightly apart, his hands in front of him, relieving himself on her land!
She raised the shotgun, taking aim at his lower back. “Mister, if I were you, I’d button it up and get off my property!” Hannah’s voice carried clear and cold across the space that separated them.
He took his time adjusting himself and then slowly turned around. With his shirttail still hanging down the front of his pants, he looked directly into her eyes. She recognized him immediately. Amos Smithson. The dirty no-good foreman who worked for Tyler Mining and Chase.
“Mister. You’d be wise to do as you were told and get off my land!” Hannah snarled. The humid breeze blew wisps of hair from her face. She could smell the rain in the air. A storm was brewing, in more ways than one, Hannah thought. Chase wasn’t going to get away with sending his foreman up here to survey her land.
Amos didn’t make a move, only continued to stare at her. His blond, mangy hair curled in dirty swirls around his bearded face. “Now, don’t go doing anything foolish, little lady.”
Slowly Hannah moved her horse toward the man. “What are you doing on my land?” she demanded.
He took a step toward her and she put her finger on the trigger.
“If you’ll just put that there gun down, I’ll tell you.”
“I don’t think so. Try again, Mister Smithson.”
“So you know who I am.” He turned his head to the side and let go a steady stream of chewing tobacco juice.
She managed not to so much as flinch as the horrid brown liquid landed on her beautiful green earth. “Yes, I know who you are. You work for Tyler Mining. You can tell your boss, Mr. Malone, to kindly keep his employees off of my land.”
“Funny, I thought this land belonged to your grandpappy.”
Hannah sat taller in the saddle. Perhaps this land by deed alone did belong to her grandfather, but it was the only place she’d ever called home. By rights, this land was hers.
“It’s mine, and I’d like you to leave now.” Hannah leveled the gun at the man. She didn’t owe him any explanation.
She watched as his eyes turned hard and mean. For a moment he didn’t move, just stared at her as if he were memorizing every line in her face. Somehow Hannah managed to keep from shuddering as the shiver of fear crept up her spine.
“You be sure and have yourself a good day, Miss Jackson.”
Even though his words were spoken politely enough, Hannah knew she’d just made herself a very dangerous enemy. Keeping the gun leveled on him, she watched as he ambled down the path, to where he’d left his horse tethered to a low-hanging branch.
Only when she could no longer hear the sound of his horse’s hooves moving along the ground did she let out her breath and lower the gun. She shook uncontrollably. She didn’t know if it was from fear or anger. How dare that man set foot on her land! She placed the gun back in the sleeve and maneuvered Bonnie around the patch of dirt where the brown tobacco juice soaked into the ground.
Slowly she dismounted and led the horse behind her as she walked to the smooth rock ledge of the hill. Hannah could still smell the man. The stench of his unclean body and his urine hung in the air. Stopping, she wrapped her arms around herself.
How could this be happening? She’d done everything she could think of to make Chase see this land through her eyes. The McClearys’ dance, the picnic at Crane Pond—the kisses they’d shared. She’d been so certain that Chase was softening; she’d seen the tenderness in his eyes when he’d held her in his arms. At the pond, he’d seemed so content, so at peace with himself—with her. None of that could change the fact that Amos Smithson was here for a reason. She didn’t want to believe after all that had happened between them, Chase would still try to take this land from her family.
Were those damned stones worth so much to him? Even as she wondered that, Hannah could feel the anger building inside her. Anger at the way Chase Malone and Tyler Mining persisted in their endeavor. The way in which they carelessly used people for their own gains. It was all about money and greed. Greed kept that company here. It pained her to think it was the same greed which made Chase kiss her and hold her in his strong embrace.
With one last look at the dark mountains in the distance, Hannah mounted her horse and jerked the horse around, heading back down the trail. It was time to set things straight once and for all.
Halfway to town, Bonnie began to favor her right leg.
“What’s the matter, girl?” Hannah knelt on the soft dewy grass and gently lifted Bonnie’s right front hoof. Turning it over, she could see where a small rock was wedged under the shoe.
“Just a pebble,” she reassured the mare.
She’d have to go back home to take the stone out before she rode to town.
Hannah rode the mare home at a slower pace. She led her into the barn, taking her to the stall at the far end.
The barn smelled of hay and old manure. Hay dust hung in the air and played along the shaft of sunlight that streamed down through the open window of the hayloft. The anger was still with her as she reached for the curved pick and began to clean the dirt and rock from poor Bonnie’s hoof. She worked quickly, her anger fueling her movements.
She looked up only when his shadow broke through the sunlight.
Her hair had come loose from the ribbon. The long black strands fell over her right shoulder. She straightened, tossing her hair back, and looked coolly at Chase, who stood with his arms folded across his chest. How could he stand there so calmly when he’d obviously sent his foreman to her land. Doubts about him assailed her. Was he using her to further his gain, or did Chase Malone truly feel some affection for her?
“Good morning, Hannah.”
“Don’t you `good morning, Hannah’, me!” She spoke the words through clenched teeth. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the pick in her right hand.
He took a tentative step toward her, uncertainty showing clearly in his dark eyes as he moved out of the sunlight.
“Hannah…” He looked at her, searching her face with his gaze. Was he trying to figure out why she was so upset or trying to bluff his way out.
“Guess who I found wandering around my land not more than two hours ago?” She spat the words at him.
Chase shrugged his muscular shoulders. “I don’t know. Who?”
“You can’t expect me to believe that you don’t know!”
“Just tell me.” He’d taken two more steps toward her, clearly confused by her anger. He stood within an arm’s reach.
“Amos Smithson.” His eyebrows shot up. She wondered if he was surprised his little spy had been caught, or that she had the nerve to confront him with it?
“Did you speak to him?”
“I threatened to shoot him if he didn’t leave my land.”
He grinned. “That’s my girl.”
“I’m not your girl.” She slammed the pick on top of the shelf outside Bonnie’s stall.
“We’ll have to save that debate for another time. I take it he left when you pulled the gun?”
She nodded. “Did you send him?”
“No.”
“I don’t believe you. I thought you were beginning to understand how I felt about this land.”
“Hannah, I am only just beginning to see the land through your eyes.” Chase stood toe-to-toe with her. The horse snorted close to them.
“I don’t believe that either!” Hannah took a step back from him, her foot brushing against an empty grain bucket. She wasn’t about to give in to him.
Even if the warm masculine scent of him was driving her crazy.
Chase’s whole body seemed to tense up and the look in his eyes hardened as he stared at her. “You can’t have everything your way,
Hannah. People have a right to bring businesses here.”
“Not when it ruins the land,” Hannah shouted back at him. He’d struck a nerve. She took another step backwards only to find herself up against the barn wall.
“How can you deny the fact that McCleary’s mine is bringing money into your community? It’s putting food on the tables of many who would probably go hungry without those jobs.” He stood close to her now. His palms lay flat against the wall, one on either side of her head, trapping her.
His breath was warm upon her face. She could feel his anger in every rise and fall of his muscular chest. She tore her gaze from his and focused on his blue chambray shirt. It fluttered against his chest with every breath he took.
Off in the distance, the thunder rumbled.
“So you see yourself as North Creek’s savior, is that it, Chase? Is that what your job is? To bring business like mining to the Adirondacks?” She stared at his chest.
She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, she was afraid of what she’d see in his eyes. She hated that they were fighting, and wished more than ever that he was just another homesteader.
“Look at me, Hannah,” he commanded softly.
Hannah couldn’t bring herself not to. She needed to know what he was feeling. Slowly she raised her eyes to his. It was as if for one brief moment Chase was allowing his tightly controlled emotions to come to the surface. She saw his turmoil, but didn’t know what caused it. She reached out to touch his cheek. His skin, freshly shaven, felt smooth and hot. In that one instant she knew there was more at stake here than just the prosperity of the mine. He was keeping secrets, ones that burned deep in his soul.
She thought he was going to tell her.
But all he said was, “Bringing business to North Creek is not my job.” With that he turned and left the barn in long angry strides.
Confusion roiled through her. What did he say? Not his job. Then what was his job? She ran after him. “Wait! Chase, please wait!”
He pulled his hat down to shield his eyes then turned to look at her. His dark hair curling under the felt brim and the firm set of his jaw sent a wave of desire crashing through her. She wanted to throw herself at him—to feel his strong arms around her, to feel his warm lips upon hers, to tell him how sorry she was.