by Kate James
“Oh, I don’t know.” She continued to swirl the wine in her glass. “As much as I want to be here, the reality is I need to make a living. The question will be how long I can afford to stay. I’ve been fortunate that a small company has been giving me steady freelance work. My concern is that, although they need me to deal with their current workload, as they continue to grow, they’ll hire someone full-time for their office. And I don’t think there’s much demand for my skills in Sanctuary Cove, particularly since I left my last job in disgrace.”
“Based on what you said, I doubt that’s true. You did what was right.” He felt the tension build in her again and regretted probing further.
“I thought so. At least at the time, I did. The way the client and Richard portrayed it, either through intent or incompetence, I had harmed the client’s reputation. Rather than managing the media in a manner that made the whole so-called ‘inconsequential’ matter go away, I exacerbated the situation by resigning the contract. Because of it, the senator was judged guilty...and so was I. The senator and Richard claimed that I caused the senator public embarrassment and reputational harm.”
“I’m sure anyone with common sense would realize that wasn’t true.” It didn’t make sense to Josh, but they’d spent enough time discussing weighty matters. “If all you need is a job to keep you here, Sherri’s always pointing out that we could use some help at the clinic. How are you at cleaning out animal cages?”
She laughed—a genuine, natural sound this time. “It might well come to that, so don’t offer something you aren’t prepared to follow through on. But before I resort to that, I’ll keep at my contract assignments. If I don’t live extravagantly, it’s enough to mostly pay the bills.”
After dessert and coffee, Josh settled the bill.
At Emma’s cottage, with the silvery glow of the moon to guide them, they took Max and Theo for a walk together. Josh reached for Emma’s hand. As they strolled along the edge of the lake, their presence silenced the chorus of the frogs. They cut across the field and took the driveway back.
On her front porch, Josh placed his hands loosely at Emma’s waist. She didn’t tense, as he’d feared she might. He nudged her a little closer and lowered his head slowly, giving her the opportunity—should she wish to take it—to back away. When her eyelids drifted closed, he brushed his lips across hers. The kiss was light, undemanding. After one more gentle kiss, he drew back. Although it tested his willpower not to take more, he now had some awareness of all that she’d been through and he didn’t want to rush her.
His own head was swimming, an unexpected but pleasant sensation. When he loosened his hold on Emma, she wavered a little, making him think she wasn’t unaffected by the kisses, either. He smiled. “Thank you for having dinner with me. I hope we can do it again...soon.”
“I’d like that. I’m sorry to have gotten into all that—” She fluttered a hand.
“You don’t have to apologize. You do too much of that. I think you’re a remarkable woman with great integrity.” When he framed her face with his hands and leaned in, her eyes closed again, but not before he saw the sheen of tears. He gently kissed both her eyelids, eliciting a surprised moan from her, then he gave her a final, lingering kiss. “Good night, Emma,” he said as he turned to go.
He strode to his truck and climbed in, but he couldn’t resist looking back at her. She stood on the porch, leaning on the rail, the dogs by her side. Bathed in moonshine, her blond hair appearing silver-white, she looked ethereal. In the light breeze, her dress molded against her slim frame. The urge to get out of his truck and run back to her was powerful. He was a strong man, he thought, to be able to resist the urge.
With a final wave, he drove off.
Back home, Josh let Winston out before going to his office and booting up his computer. Although he hadn’t pressed Emma for the particulars, he was curious about the circumstances that had brought her to Sanctuary Cove. It was more than idle curiosity. He cared about her. Even his experience with Crystal couldn’t dull the shine of the early stages of attraction he was experiencing with Emma.
After doing a couple of quick searches on the internet, he found what he was looking for.
Senator Alan Morgan’s pale blue eyes stared back at him from the screen. Morgan’s alleged connection to an arms scandal was summarized succinctly below the picture. Scrolling through the web pages, he got a good sense of what had occurred, before a more recent article caught his interest.
It was written by Daniel Leighton from the New York Advocate and had run less than a week earlier. The other articles alleged government corruption and kickbacks, serious but certainly not unheard of. This article suggested a connection between the death of a soldier and Morgan’s involvement in the arms scandal. It raised the stakes and took the claims to an entirely different level. This wasn’t just about money. If the story proved true, a soldier had lost his life.
Glancing at the date again, Josh wondered if Emma was aware of this twist in the story. And if she wasn’t, how would she take it...?
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE EARLY MORNING wind skimming across the lake carried with it the crisp bite of autumn despite the bright sunshine. Emma let the dogs out while she brewed a pot of coffee. Standing at the kitchen window with a steaming mug in her hand, she watched the dogs play outside.
Her lips curved as she thought of Josh, and how sweet and patient he’d been with her the evening before. He’d listened and simply accepted the matter of her failed engagement and the circumstances that had led up to it. He’d even jumped to her defense a couple of times. Had she ever known anyone so accepting, so nonjudgmental? she wondered.
And those kisses...
They’d left Emma a little dizzy and wanting more. He was interested in her as more than a friend. The last thing she probably needed right now was a relationship, but there was something appealing about Josh. And it ran deeper than the very attractive package he presented. She had to consider what it was—exactly—that she wanted from him or, perhaps more accurately, was prepared and able to offer him. Although she’d have to think about it, she couldn’t deny her feelings.
She placed her empty mug in the dishwasher and stepped outside. Standing on the back deck, with the rays of sunshine warming her skin, she called the dogs. Glancing at her watch, she wondered what time Josh got up on Sundays when the clinic was closed. She smiled, as she was about to find out.
* * *
JOSH WAS SPRAWLED FACEDOWN, diagonally across his bed when the ring of his cell phone dragged him from a pleasant dream. Opening one eye slightly, he glanced at his clock and groaned. He was tempted to pull a pillow over his head and ignore the ringing. He swore softly and dismissed the idea, knowing it could be a veterinary emergency.
Rolling onto his back, he reached for the phone. Half-asleep or not, he grinned when he saw the name on the phone’s display. “Good morning,” he answered.
“Umm... Josh?”
At the odd inflection in her voice, the vestiges of sleep faded, and he sat up abruptly. “Is there something wrong with one of the dogs?”
“No. They’re fine,” she assured him. “I’m sorry to have called so early.”
“No problem.” He was wide-awake now, so he propped a pillow behind him and leaned back against it. “It’s nice to hear your voice. What’s up?”
“Oh, I was thinking it’s too nice a day to spend indoors.”
Josh ran a hand through his sleep-tousled hair and glanced out the window. “I can’t argue with that.”
“I wondered if you’d like to go for a hike...or maybe canoeing? If you don’t have any other plans,” she added. “There might not be too many more days like this before the snow falls.”
She was asking him on a date, and it wasn’t just male pride that made him grin over it. After last evening, he appreciated why she’d
want to take it slow. He’d expected that he would have to work on getting her to go out with him again.
That she’d called him and so soon was a good sign. “Either would work for me,” he said. “Or how about both? There must be some terrific spots around your lake where we could have a picnic.”
“A picnic?” she echoed with a laugh.
“Yeah. If you’re willing to make sandwiches, I’ll bring cheese and wine. How does that sound?”
“Terrific.”
“Is it all right if I bring Winston, so he’ll have some company?”
“Of course!”
“I’ll see you in about an hour, if that works for you.”
Josh showered and dressed in jeans, a long-sleeved T-shirt, a sweater and a windbreaker. He grabbed an insulated backpack, tossed in a blanket, napkins, paper plates, plastic utensils and cups, and took what he needed from the fridge, including a very fine bottle of pinot grigio. Almost forgetting the corkscrew, he rushed back into the kitchen before he whistled for Winston and they walked out the door.
Emma was outside with her dogs when he arrived. She’d dressed in layers, too. Her pale blonde hair was pulled back in a long, thick braid. She drew his gaze like a magnet. He just couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Gathering his wits, he hopped out and released Winston. Snatching the backpack from the passenger seat, he joined Emma and the dogs.
Testing himself as much as her, he placed the backpack at his feet, cupped the back of her head and leaned in. Her eyelids closed just before he touched his lips to hers.
* * *
THE KISS WAS LIGHT. Yet Emma’s heart skipped a few beats. With her eyes still closed, she ran her tongue across her upper lip and let out a soft, involuntary “hmm.” Opening her eyes, she saw Josh’s smile.
“Shall we get ready to go?” he asked, with laughter dancing in his eyes.
They let the dogs play while they carried Emma’s canoe down to the dock and loaded it with their provisions. Well behaved or not, three dogs in one canoe with the two of them would have been a recipe for disaster, so they coaxed the dogs back in the cottage.
They put on life vests and, once on the water, they paddled leisurely around the lake. The colors of the trees edging the shoreline were a kaleidoscope of reds, ochers and oranges, reflected in mirrorlike perfection on the still surface of the water, until distorted by the ripples from the canoe.
Emma pulled out her oar and rested it across the hull. She motioned silently to Josh toward the shore. They floated without sound and watched a young white-tailed buck grazing on a sun-speckled, grassy patch by a small inlet. When he scented them, his head snapped up and his body tensed, but he remained motionless yet alert for any discernible threat. As the canoe floated closer, the buck turned abruptly, and with a flash of his snow-white tail, bounded off into the woods.
Emma was grinning as she twisted on her seat to look back at Josh. “Wasn’t he beautiful?” There was an expression on Josh’s face she couldn’t read. It made her feel breathless, wanting to gulp air.
“Yes. Very beautiful,” he murmured.
They resumed paddling and soon could hear the rush of water over rocks. The melodious sound became more distinct as they neared a curve in the shoreline. They navigated around an outcropping of rock, and caught sight of a fast-running stream plummeting over boulders into the lake. Emma signaled to a flat, grassy patch of shore close by and they paddled toward it. After beaching the canoe, they pulled it securely up on the grass and stowed their vests.
They made their way into the forest, following a trail that meandered along the edge of the stream, a crisp, colorful carpet of leaves crunching underfoot. Where the path was wide, they walked side by side. Where it narrowed, they hiked single file with Emma taking the lead. Occasionally, they heard the scurrying of a small animal in the underbrush or the cry of a bird overhead.
The musty scent of wet moss and waterlogged wood blended with the spicy fragrance of wildflowers.
The sound of water rushing over rock crescendoed as they approached a sapphire-blue pool with a low waterfall plunging into it. The pool was edged with a profusion of tall grasses, butterfly weed and mountain phlox. The grassy area around the pond was soft as a pillow beneath their feet. Drops of water that clung to blades of grass sparkled like diamonds in the sunshine.
Delighted, Emma turned to Josh. Lowering his backpack to the ground, he gathered her into his arms for a kiss, while a whip-poor-will serenaded them.
They spread their blanket in a sunny spot near the edge of the pool. While Emma laid out the food, Josh uncorked the wine and poured some into plastic glasses.
Emma took a sip, then helped herself to a slice of cheese and a cracker, while Josh bit into a ham-and-cheese sandwich.
“This was a terrific idea. I’m glad you called,” Josh said.
Taking it all in, the clear blue sky, the glittering rocks, masses of wildflowers, shimmering water and the gorgeous man next to her, she added, “I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to spend the day.”
As she was about to take a sip, the sound of a gunshot caused the cup to slip out of her hand, spilling wine on her jeans and the blanket. When another gunshot exploded, she scrabbled to her feet, glancing around with agitation.
“You won’t see him. You might think he’s close, but sound travels. He’s likely deep in the forest.”
“But...that’s all my property. Right up to the protected land. And it isn’t hunting season. I know, because I checked when I heard shots before, and reported it to the authorities.”
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t stop the hunters.”
A third shot rang out.
“You can’t tell me that wasn’t on my property,” she said, looking questioningly at Josh.
Josh rose, too. “I’d say that was close.” he said with a somber expression. “I’ll report it, too, when we get back.”
The thought of someone hunting, especially on her property, made Emma queasy. She’d already filed a complaint with the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. For whatever good it did, she’d do it again.
They listened intently for several minutes, but there were no further gunshots.
The magic of the moment was broken and shortly after they packed up. They paddled back to her cottage in silence. It was after they’d carried the canoe up on shore and were standing outside letting the dogs get some exercise, that they heard several more shots.
In the silence that ensued, she heard another, faint sound. “Did you hear that?” she asked Josh.
“No.”
“Listen... There it is again. It’s like a screech...or a cry.”
She didn’t like the sound and the look on Josh’s face did little to comfort her. Without a word, he strode over to his truck, unlocked a large metal box in the back and pulled out a shotgun.
Horrified, Emma ran over to him.
“Emma—” His voice was soft. “Take the dogs and please go inside.”
He turned and headed for the forest. She hesitated only a moment before herding the dogs into the cottage and running after him.
He gave her a dark look when she caught up to him, but he must have realized that asking her again to go back would fall on deaf ears, so he continued into the forest and followed the trail.
Despite the crunching of leaves underfoot, Emma heard the sound again. This time it persisted. Her heart thudded heavily against her rib cage as she thought she now understood what the sound was and why Josh had the gun. Taking the next turn along the path confirmed her suspicion. She cried out and spun away as her stomach heaved and threatened to empty.
Gathering her courage, she went back to where Josh was now kneeling next to the beautiful elk that lay in a pool of his own blood. Eyes wild, the animal’s screeching intensified. When Josh stood an
d raised his gun, Emma shouted, “No! You can’t shoot him. You have to help him.”
“Emma...” he said, his voice barely audible over the distressed cries of the elk. “There’s nothing else I can do for him.” His tone was cold and distant. She’d never heard him quite like that, not even the night they’d met.
“Please don’t kill him,” she pleaded, tears coursing down her face. Listening to the cries of the animal, she was beginning to grasp that it was too late. Sobbing, she lurched back down the path, her back to Josh and the animal. Hearing the gunshot, she crumpled to her knees and covered her face with her hands.
When she felt Josh’s arms wrap around her from behind, she slapped at them. “Go away,” she choked out. “You killed him!” On some level, she knew that Josh had done the necessary and humane thing—that the poor animal was badly injured and had been suffering. But emotionally? That was an entirely different matter. Too distraught, she couldn’t think clearly.
Josh kneeled in front of her. “Emma, there wasn’t anything else I could do.”
Emma saw the pleading, and the pain, in his eyes, but she couldn’t deal with it. She couldn’t stop the tears and she couldn’t stop shaking. She longed for the comfort of Josh’s arms, but she wasn’t capable of accepting what he’d done. She knew it was irrational to blame him, but she wasn’t being rational.
“I’ll take care of him,” was the last thing she heard Josh say as she started to run blindly back toward her cottage.
CHAPTER NINE
LYING UNDER THE COVERS, staring up at the ceiling, Emma couldn’t shake the horrific thoughts and images. That cry of the elk and the single, deadly blast from Josh’s gun reverberated in her head.
A day that had started with so much potential had ended in a disastrous way. Her phone rang a couple of times. She’d ignored it, presuming it was Josh.
She’d reconciled herself with the fact that there was nothing Josh or anyone else could have done for the elk. Yes, she’d behaved badly toward him, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk to him.