by Unknown
Frowning, Luke’s fingers gently closed around her wrists to stop her frantic search. “It’s all right, I’ll pay the bill. Don’t get upset over it.”
She looked at her things scattered on the desk, then back up to him. “But I had it. I know I did. I know it was there.”
Her gaze was almost wild. Everything was finally catching up with her, he thought. “The way you were running around getting everything, it could have fallen out and you never would have noticed.”
“I want to go back to the cabin,” she said, her voice panicky, her hand trembling as she repacked her bag.
“We’ll go now,” Luke said and helped put her everything back into her purse. “Thanks again, Richard. We better be going.”
His attention on Catherine, Dr. Youngblood frowned. “You’ll find your wallet, and don’t worry about the hybrid.”
Nodding again, she bit her lower lip.
His hand on her elbow, Luke led her outside, his concern growing when he felt her trembling. He wouldn’t have thought the woman who confronted him with a gun and befriended a half-wild hybrid wolf would react so strongly to misplacing her wallet. “Don’t worry. It’s at the cabin.”
She didn’t answer him or say another word on the way back to the cabin. Her stillness made Luke uncomfortable. He had known her for less than twenty-four hours, but he had learned in that short time that she was a woman who was seldom motionless or shy about expressing her opinion.
As soon as he pulled up in front of the cabin, she opened her door and ran inside. Puzzled, his worry increasing, he followed.
He found her standing by the bed clutching a red leather wallet. The tension in him eased. He remembered how frantic Sierra had been when she had lost hers while they were on vacation. The loss of the money hadn’t been as frightening as the thought of someone getting their hands on her credit cards. Sierra, as she was fond of saying, was “born to shop” and she had the credit cards to prove it. “See, I told you it probably fell out of your purse.”
She turned to him, her eyes no less wild. Tension whipped back through him. “Catherine, what is it?”
“N-nothing. I guess everything is finally catching up with me.” She bit her lower lip before continuing, “If you don’t mind, I-I think I’ll rest for a while before I leave.”
He walked farther into the room. “You don’t have to leave at all.”
Her head downcast, she sat on the bed. “Thank you, but it’s best that I find someplace else to stay.”
Her voice sounded thin, stretched to its endurance. The sight of her troubled bothered him in ways he hadn’t expected. He wanted to go to her, make everything right for her again. At that moment, he would have given anything to have her arguing with him again. “Daniel wanted you to stay here.”
Her head lifted, her eyes troubled. “That was before he knew you were coming.”
“We’ll talk about it once you’ve rested.” He studied her drawn features. “Can I get you anything?”
Clutching the wallet in her hand she shook her head and turned away.
“If you need anything, anything at all, just call. I’ll be outside.” Closing the door, he knew without a shadow of doubt that she wouldn’t call, but that she needed something and it tore at his gut that he didn’t know what it was or how to give it to her.
CHAPTER FOUR
SHE WASN’T GOING CRAZY! SHE WASN’T!
Catherine repeated the words over and over in her mind, but somehow the more she repeated them, the less sure of herself she became. Because the undeniable proof that she just might be was becoming increasingly difficult to dismiss. Until now she had been able to find a reasonable explanation to her periods of “forgetfulness.” No longer did she have that luxury.
She was sitting on a bed that she had no memory of making, a bed she could have sworn was rumpled from a restless night when she had left it that morning to go for a walk in the woods, that she could have sworn was in the same rumpled state when she had hurriedly returned to get her purse and drive Luke to the veterinary clinic with Hero. Just as she would have sworn that in the days she had been at the cabin, there had been no reason to remove her wallet from her purse. Yet, she had returned and found her bed made, the wallet lying on top of the cream-colored down comforter.
Inanimate objects couldn’t move on their own. She had learned that irrefutable fact as a small child faced with the responsibility of putting her menagerie of dolls and stuffed animals back in their proper places once she finished playing with them. That was one lesson her third-grade teacher hadn’t had to teach her.
Catherine’s gaze went from the red wallet in her hand to the bed. “So are you reaching a breaking point or is your brain trying to tell you something?”
As a psychologist she knew the immense capabilities of the brain, including shutting itself down before reaching overload when the person refused to do so. Her lapses, if that’s what they were, could be no more than her brain telling her to slow down. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure she had that option. Her career was both her happiness and her pain, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Lying back on the bed, she stared up at the beamed ceiling. The worst thing about her “lapses” was that she was unable to confide in anyone. Her family had worried and seen her through enough, they didn’t need another crisis. Her agent, Helena, would care, but hover, and the last thing she needed was hovering over.
Her department chair might not be so willing to recommend her for the head of developmental psychology if he thought she was having emotional problems. Lee Perkins would win hands down. Although he was a noted psychologist, in her opinion he saw the position as a stepping stone to being chair of the department, and not for the good it could do.
The university was very proud of her research projects, her fame as an author, her growing reputation as a child advocate. But that would quickly change if word leaked out about her forgetfulness. An absent-minded professor was cute only in the movies. She had friends and associates, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to discuss her situation with them. So who?
Unconsciously her gaze went to the door. Luke. She dismissed the idea almost before it formed completely. He’d undoubtedly tell Daniel, and Daniel wouldn’t stop until he had called her brother, Alex. She’d just have to work it out on her own.
She had healed others. Why couldn’t she heal herself?
She drew her knees up to her chest. She was trying. Lord knew, she was trying.
IN THE IMMENSE OPEN AREA OF THE CABIN, LUKE HAD kept watch on Catherine’s closed door as morning gave way to the afternoon. He had taken a shower and changed clothes since he returned, but he was reasonably sure Catherine hadn’t come out during that time. Nor had he heard her make a sound. Something more than a missing wallet was going on, an idiot could see that. He just couldn’t figure out what.
Obviously Daniel didn’t have the entire story either. Thinking back on their brief conversation of the night before, he had initially been concerned, then amused. Did his concern have a deeper reason than the obvious?
Luke picked up the phone and dialed. He had to go through the maid, then the nanny, who had to have the easiest job in the world since there weren’t more than a couple of hours out of a day that Daniel Jr. wasn’t in his parents’ sight and in their care, and finally Higgins before he spoke to Daniel.
“You have more security than the president,” Luke said, a hint of frustration in his voice.
Amused laughter came through the line. “Be glad you got through. Since Madelyn has gone back to work, Saturday is our day to spend with just the three of us.”
Shaking his head, Luke sat on the edge of the tufted corner of the circular sofa. It was difficult at times to believe that a man who was once so immersed in business as Daniel had been, had made a complete turnabout for his family. “So what’s on the agenda today?”
“I finally talked Madelyn into letting me teach little Daniel how to swim.”
Luke chuckled as a pi
cture of the five-month-old cherubic Daniel Jr., who kept a toothless smile on his happy face, flashed into his mind. “Daniel, you never cease to amaze me.”
“Sometimes I surprise myself. Fatherhood is as scary as hell, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” His voice took on a serious note. “How are things coming with the case you’re handling for me?”
“We’ve narrowed it down to three prospects. My agents are in the three cities now. We should have things finalized within two weeks, three at the latest.”
“Good. I don’t have to tell you how much this means to me and to them.”
“No. That’s why my best people are working on this.”
“I’ve always known I could count on you. By the way, how are things at the cabin with you and Catherine?”
Luke debated how to answer the question. He wanted answers, but he didn’t want to invade her privacy. “Fine, but we had some problems. Someone decided to go hunting and shot a wolf hybrid Catherine had befriended. Although Richard said the animal will be fine, she’s pretty upset.”
“Damn,” Daniel hissed, then hurriedly said, “Sorry, Madelyn. I didn’t mean to say that. It just slipped out. Little Daniel is too smart and too well-mannered to repeat what I said. Aren’t you, son? You wouldn’t get your father in trouble by saying such a bad word, would you? See, he’s grinning. That means no.”
Luke chuckled. “You better hope and pray he doesn’t.”
“Amen,” Daniel said, then asked, “I don’t suppose you caught whoever did it?”
“No. Johnny Wesley was here when it happened and tracked them to where a four-wheeler was parked on the road.”
“Why was he there?”
“I answered the phone and Catherine’s agent became worried about her. The sergeant sent Johnny out in less than three minutes,” Luke told him. “I still haven’t decided if it was because of your clout or her agent’s that got things moving so fast.”
“Don’t cut yourself short. The officials at the state police department respect you a great deal since you’ve helped them track down criminals who thought that they would get lost in the mountains,” Daniel reminded him.
“I guess. I just hate that Catherine was there when we found the animal.”
“That must have been tough. She’s always had a soft spot for animals and children,” Daniel commented. “I never thought anything like this would happen when I sent her up to the cabin to take a break. She certainly didn’t need this after all the things she has had to go through.”
“What things?” Luke asked, knowing his voice was sharp and unable to do anything about it.
“I don’t guess she’d mind me telling you. Some woman she had given testimony against in a case of neglect blamed Catherine instead of her own behavior for the judge removing her children from the home. She’s an alcoholic. She got drunk again and attacked Catherine with her kid’s baseball bat as she was coming home one night.”
An expletive sizzled from his lips as Luke surged to his feet. “What happened?”
“Fortunately, Catherine can take care of herself. It helped that her next-door neighbor was out walking his dog and helped subdue the woman.”
“Where is the woman now?”
“In a rehab center. Beside the night of her arrest, she never spent another day in jail.”
Luke’s grip on the phone tightened. “How the hell did that happen?”
“The woman came from a background of money and hired herself a high-priced lawyer who was able to get the charges reduced by saying that taking her children had made her act irrationally; she had joined AA and was under treatment and wasn’t a threat to anyone since she was now under care.”
“That’s one of the reasons I left the FBI. Too many loopholes once you bring the criminals in. Innocent people have to lock themselves behind bars while the criminals run free.”
“I hear you. Do me a favor and watch out for Catherine. She’s good people.”
“Consider it done. I’ll let you get back to swimming lessons. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Luke slowly hung up the phone, his troubled gaze once again going to Catherine’s closed bedroom door. He had been right on both counts. Something more than the wallet was bothering Catherine and Daniel didn’t have a clue. The bad thing was, neither did Luke.
CATHERINE WOKE TO THE SOFT, BUT PERSISTENT sound of tapping on the door of her bedroom. By the lengthening of shadows in her room, she realized it was late afternoon. Her eyes widened. Abruptly she sat up in the bed. How could she have gone to sleep with her life in turmoil? The answer came instantly. Easy. You’ve been sleeping badly for weeks. Your brain decided it was time to rest.
“Catherine? Catherine, are you all right?”
She frowned at the concern she heard in Luke’s deep voice. She thought he would be ready to throw her out long before now. “Yes, just a moment.” Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she answered the door.
She’d forgotten how tall he was, how wide his shoulders were. She caught herself before lifting her hand to touch him, to draw strength from him. A woman could take comfort in the arms of such a powerful man and never have to be afraid again.
“You sure you’re all right?”
She turned toward her suitcase. She really had to get a grip. In the past, she had never needed a man to fight her battles and she didn’t need one now. “Yes. I must have dozed off. I’ll be out of your way in no time.” When she turned he was standing in her path. She jumped and stepped back abruptly, her fingers clutching the case.
Black eyes studied her intently. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
She moistened her lips. “You move quietly for a big man.”
“Are you afraid to stay here with me?”
Her indignant gaze lifted to meet his. “Of course not.”
“Then why are you in such a hurry to leave?” he asked reasonably.
“You didn’t expect anyone here and neither did I,” she answered.
“That’s a fact, but the cabin has over thirty-five hundred square feet, we should be able to stay out of each other’s way until tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” she repeated with a frown.
“I have to get back to Santa Fe.”
“You don’t look too happy about it,” she commented.
“I’m not.” His mother probably had number twenty-eight already lined up.
“You want to talk about it?”
“Not especially. At least not on a empty stomach. How about we go into town and get something to eat?”
It was tempting. Unbelievably so. The sooner she left Luke, the better. “No, thank you.”
His gaze narrowed. “I knew you didn’t trust me.”
“I do trust you. I just think I should leave.”
“You’re running from something, Catherine. If not from me, then what is it?”
She barely managed to stifle her gasp. “I’m not running from anything,” she blurted, but her heart was pounding, her palms were sweaty.
“Glad to hear it.” Taking her suitcase from her hand, he tossed it on the bed. “Now that that’s settled, let’s go get something to eat.”
She looked from her suitcase back to Luke. “Did anyone ever tell you, you’re pushy and overbearing?”
“Too many times to count.” He reached for her hand.
Used to his take-charge manner by now, she edged back. “The only place I’m going is to find a hotel.”
“With the beginning of tourist season upon us, you must be kidding,” he said with a note of disbelief in his voice. “Hotels are booked months in advance around here.”
“I’m sure I can find something,” she said, holding on to her plan to leave.
“What if you don’t?”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
Hands on his narrow hips, he stared down at her. “I won’t even say the word, but you know what you’re being.”
Her chin lifted. “I am not being i
diotic.”
“Could have fooled me. I wonder what Daniel would have to say about your leaving?”
“What?” She was beginning to sound like a parrot and she didn’t like it one bit.
“Since he asked me to look after you, I’d have to let him know you’d left without knowing where you were going to sleep tonight.”
Uneasiness swept through her. “When did you talk to Daniel?”
“While you were asleep.”
She swallowed. “Why would he ask you to take care of me?” she asked, fear mixed with desperation in her voice.
Without thought his hands gently settled on her shoulders. He stared down into her wide eyes. “I told him about the shooting and that you were upset that your wolf hybrid was wounded. What else was there for me to say?”
She looked away. “N-nothing.”
His hands flexed on her shoulders, then fell. He had interrogated enough people to know when one was lying. “So if you don’t want Daniel upset with me, you’ll stay in the cabin. At least have dinner with me and think about it. I may not be the best company, but it’s better than sitting alone in a hotel room . . . that is, if you’re lucky enough to find one.”
Time on her hands was exactly what she didn’t want. But Luke was too perceptive. “If hotel rooms are difficult to obtain, I should be looking for one instead of wasting time eating.”
“What do you plan to do, drive to every hotel and ask if they have a vacancy?”
“There must be a centralized booking agency,” she said.
“Not that I know of, but it still comes back to why you’re in such a hurry to leave.” He glanced around. “You don’t like your room?”
“It’s beautiful.”
“It’s too remote here?”
“That’s the reason I came here.”
“Then I ask you again, why are you leaving?”
She shoved her hand through her hair. She bet he’d passed the interrogation classes with straight A’s. “After this morning, it’s not so remote any longer.”