Snowbound Targets (HQR Romantic Suspense)

by Karen Whiddon

  “No idea. If you feel better with it locked up, I can do that. It’s a simple thing to get it out of the safe. I’ll give you the combination.”

  “Okay. I sort of feel better with it safely under lock and key. Looking at it all the time will just make me feel as if I’m in constant danger.”

  Since he understood that, he put up both pistols and ammo and locked the gun safe. He’d just jotted down the combination and handed it to her when his phone rang. Answering, he waited for the usual static to subside. “Hello? Hello?” he said.

  “It’s Sheriff Jeffords. How secure are you up there at your place?”

  “‘Secure?’” Odd question, but he felt certain Jeffords had a reason for asking it. “Well, now that you ask, someone broke in to my cabin and went through my things. It’s kind of weird since the road still hasn’t been plowed. We—I was out and about on snowshoes, and I heard some gunshots.”

  “Gunshots?” Clearly appalled, the sheriff cursed. “Damn fool could have started an avalanche.”

  “I know. But there wasn’t one, at least not near me. I’m unclear as to what he or she was shooting at. I hightailed it back to my place, and that’s when I saw the other set of tracks. Whoever it was came inside. Went through everything. The place was a disaster.”

  “I’m guessing your door wasn’t locked?”

  “Of course not.” Jason didn’t bother to hide his frustration. “We’ve never needed to lock our doors around here. Until now. You’d better believe that’s going to change. I’ll be locking it now.”

  “Did they take anything?”

  Jason shook his head, even though the other man couldn’t see. “Not that I can tell.”

  “Do you want to file a report?”

  “Not at this time,” Jason replied. “There doesn’t seem to be a point.” He suddenly remembered the sheriff had initiated this call. “Did you know about this?”

  “No. How could I?”

  “True. But you called me. Is there a reason?”

  “Yeah, there is.” Sheriff Jeffords cleared his throat. “A couple of guys showed up here this morning, despite the town being absolutely dead with everyone staying home due to the snow. They came in from Denver, they said. They were asking a lot of questions about you.”

  “Were they military?” He couldn’t help but wonder if this had something to do with Rick’s disappearance.

  “Not that I could tell. One of them claimed to be law enforcement, but not only did he not say what branch, he never showed me his badge or any ID. When I asked to see something, he growled some nonsense about top secret and left.” The sheriff paused. “Jason, what exactly is going on with you?”

  Glancing at Lucy, who listened to his end of the conversation with interest, he considered his words carefully. “Nothing, at least that I know of. I got a call the other day from some military type to let me know Rick is missing. But I don’t know why they’d send anyone here to talk to me about that.”

  “Rick Engles?” The sheriff sounded stunned. “What happened to him?”

  “I don’t know. We were supposed to meet up when I was in Kabul on assignment, but it fell through. I had no idea he was missing until I got that phone call.” He thought for a moment. “There’s no reason they would have sent anybody to talk to me personally. And if they had, they would have been in uniform or had no problem showing their credentials.”

  “True.” Jeffords paused. “Maybe it’s about something else. It must have been pretty damn important for them to head this way from Denver right after we got hit with a huge blizzard.” He paused. “And, despite Rick being a local, they never once asked about him. Just about you.”

  “Did they leave you a card or any contact information? Maybe I can give them a call and straighten all this out.”

  “Nope. Like I said, the moment I asked to see credentials, they left. You don’t have to be a police officer to figure out they had something to hide.”

  “But what?” Jason couldn’t figure it out. He lived his life in the public eye, readily available, with nothing to hide. Nothing, that is, until Lucy had come into his life.

  “That’s the question,” the sheriff agreed. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know. If I find out anything more, I’ll give you a shout.”

  “Thank you.” Ending the call, Jason relayed to Lucy all the information the sheriff had given him.

  “Wow.” She fiddled with a strand of her hair. “Do you think it’s possible those men were looking for me?”

  He gave her the blunt truth. “Could be. I’d guess that’s definitely a possibility. Until you get your memory back, we don’t have any idea.”

  She met his gaze, her expression serious. “I don’t want to be putting you in danger.”

  “I’m not worried.”

  “I am,” she said doggedly. “I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you because of me.”

  “You won’t have to.” Though he wanted to pull her into his arms and comfort her, he managed to restrain himself. “Believe me, I’ve been handling myself in dangerous situations for a long time. I’m not worried.”

  His confident tone coaxed a hesitant smile from her. “I guess I don’t have a choice but to take your word for it.”

  “I guess you don’t,” he replied, crossing to the window and eying the never-ending blanket of snow. He’d never been good with confinement and always managed to find activities to delay cabin fever as long as possible. Add to that the temptation Lucy continually presented and he knew he’d be in deep trouble if they weren’t able to get out and about soon.

  A workout would definitely help. When he didn’t work out at all, like he hadn’t the last few days, he could tell a difference, both mentally and physically. Due to the size of his cabin, he had room for only a set of adjustable dumbbells, but that would be enough.

  He went back into his bedroom to change, then he dragged his weights out from under his bed and carried them into the living room. The spot between the couch and his desk was where he usually did his workouts.

  “What are you doing?” Lucy asked, eying his dumbbells.

  Once he explained he was going to do some lifting and body-weight exercises, she lit up. “Do you mind if I do them alongside you?”

  He shrugged. “As long as you don’t hurt yourself.”

  “I won’t.” Her confident reply had him remembering the way she’d taken him down. She’d claimed to have taken self-defense classes. Maybe she lifted weights too.

  “Let me go change,” she said. “I have a pair of leggings and a long T-shirt. I’ll be right back.”

  “Okay.” He went ahead and started warming up with push-ups and sit-ups while he waited. When she emerged from the bathroom, he couldn’t help but stare. Black leggings hugged her shapely legs and her long T-shirt clung lovingly to her shape. She also put her silky hair into a jaunty ponytail.

  A jolt of desire hit him, low and hard. He swallowed, going back into his push-ups, desperately trying not to think about how badly he wanted to be doing them over her.

  “What?” she asked, hands on her hips. “This is the only clothing I have suitable for working out. Do I look weird or something?”

  “You look fine.” His curt answer might not have been reassuring, be it was the best he could do. Right now, he needed to do some heavy lifting and hopefully make him forget what he wanted to do with her body and his.

  Though he preferred to break down his workouts into sections, working legs one day, upper body the next, when short on time, he’d do a more comprehensive all-body workout. Today, since he wanted to really push himself, he planned to do it all.

  “Warm up first,” he told her.

  She frowned. “I usually do a little cardio to warm up. Since you don’t have a treadmill...”

  “Do jumping jacks or burpees,” he advised, though he wasn’t s
ure he could withstand watching her do burpees. He actually felt relieved when she chose to do jumping jacks.

  Picking up his weights, he chose twenty pounds and began with hammer curls.

  She finished her jumping jacks. Slightly winded, she came over to stand near him, watching as he lifted. Again, he felt a sizzle of wanting, which he attempted to channel into working his muscles.

  “Can I jump in when you finish your set?” she asked. “I’m just going to do the same workout as you.”

  He eyed her. “You talk as if you’ve worked out before.”

  “I have.” Her confident smile almost undid him. “And no, it’s not a memory per se. Again, it’s just something I know.”

  Sweating, he finished up his set. “What weight do you want?” he asked. “I have this set on twenty.”

  “Fifteen should be fine,” she replied. “Though since I clearly haven’t worked out in a bit, I might have to go down to twelve.”

  “Okay.” He set the weights up at fifteen and handed them to her.

  With perfect form, she easily completed three sets of twelve. Damn if he didn’t find this working out together sexy as hell. He shook his head. Thinking like that only led to trouble.

  “Did I do something wrong?” She frowned.

  “Of course not. You clearly know what you’re doing.”

  “Then why’d you shake your head?” she asked.

  “At my own foolishness, not anything you did.” No way did he plan on telling her how badly he wanted her.

  Luckily, she didn’t press. Instead, she handed the weights back to him.

  They continued on like that for thirty minutes, going through a full repertoire of body movement. They even did fifty crunches side by side. When they finally finished, her skin gleamed with a fine sheen of perspiration. Drenched in sweat, he figured he looked worse. Her next words confirmed that.

  “You can have first shower,” she told him. “I think I’m going to do some yoga moves for cooldown.”

  Damned if he didn’t want to stick around and watch that. Instead, he took himself off to the shower without another word.

  Chapter 6

  Once Jason had left the room, Lucy half-heartedly put herself through a few now-familiar yoga moves. Though parts of her body remained sore, the bruises had begun to fade as she healed. She wouldn’t have been able to comfortably do any of the stretches and moves as recently as a few days ago.

  Despite trying to clear her mind and take herself to a place of peace, all she could think about was how badly she wanted to join Jason in the shower. She could picture him naked, in mouthwatering detail, and could imagine stripping off her sweaty clothes and slipping in behind him. They could lather each other up with soap, and then...

  No. This needed to stop. Instead of yoga, she put herself through an intense cardio routine of burpees, mountain climbers and push-ups. High intensity interval training, she remembered it was called. Exactly what she needed to try and scrub the lust from her mind.

  As she was walking around the perimeter of the cabin to try and cool down, Jason emerged from the bathroom. “All yours,” he called out, before disappearing into his bedroom and closing the door.

  She grabbed some clean clothes and hurried into the bathroom. Stripping her damp workout gear off, she eyed herself critically in the mirror. Sad to say, she still didn’t fully recognize the dark-haired woman staring back.

  Hopefully, that would come soon. She really wanted to mention the possibility of her seeing Jason’s doctor friend. She’d definitely feel better if she had an idea of a memory-return timeline.

  Jason. A complete stranger had become her entire world, through no fault of theirs. She couldn’t help but wonder what place he’d occupy in her life once she had herself back.

  Stepping into the hot shower, she shivered. She felt pleasantly sore, but also aching. Working out and watching Jason had only made her crave him even more. So much so that she’d had trouble with the yoga moves. Up until today, she hadn’t even known she liked to work out and do yoga, so she considered that a win.

  But on the other hand, the constant push-pull of her attraction to Jason had begun to take its toll on her. When her memory finally returned, she wondered if she’d learn she was free to act on it, or if she’d learn she was married to another man. That latter thought terrified her. How could she ever forget someone she loved?

  But then again, how had she managed to forget herself?

  Once she finished her shower, she got dressed in the clean clothes and blow-dried her hair. Taking a deep breath, she emerged to find Jason in the kitchen, cooking them something for lunch.

  “Feeling better?” he asked, without turning around. “I know I do. I’m fixing tomato soup and grilled cheese. Pull up a chair and it’ll be ready soon.”

  “What do you want to drink?” she asked, marveling at how domestic they sounded. Was domesticity something she was used to, in her other life? Maybe that’s why it felt so comfortable, so right. “I can get that,” she said. “While you’re cooking.”

  Milk for him and water for her. She carried both full glasses with her to the table and sat down, unable to keep from admiring his narrow waist, lean hips and nice backside as he moved from stove to counter.

  Luckily, the sound of the snowplow came just as they were sitting down to lunch. She’d just taken a bite of her grilled cheese sandwich after dipping it in her soup.

  “Listen,” Jason said. “I’m going to go look. If I stand in one particular spot on the front porch, I can usually catch a glimpse of the plow through the trees.” He jumped up and grabbed his coat, stepping outside.

  Uncertain whether she should continue eating or wait for his return, she decided she might as well enjoy her lunch while it was still hot. She’d had three spoonfuls of soup and another couple bites of her grilled cheese by the time he returned.

  “Yep, it’s the plow,” he said, hanging up his coat. “Just in the nick of time, if you ask me.” Sitting back down, he proceeded to demolish his lunch. When he’d finished, he grinned at her. “You know what that means?”

  Savoring the last bite of grilled cheese, she eyed him. “No, what?”

  “We need to get the driveway cleared. Once we can get to the road, we can go into town. Actually, we can go anywhere. I’m sure all the major highways are clear.”

  “Will we shovel?” she asked, trying not to sound as horrified as she felt. Just the thought of trying to clear that much driveway made her feel queasy.

  “Shovel?” he laughed. “That would take all day. I have a great snowblower and once I clear away the front of my garage, I have a large metal plow that I put on the front of my Jeep. Now that the big plow’s been through and won’t kick snow back onto my hard work, I’m going to get on plowing it.”

  “I’ll join you once I clean this up,” she replied.

  He actually hesitated. “Do you want my help? We can knock out the cleanup in a few minutes.”

  “Nope.” She waved him away. “You go ahead and get started. I’ve got this. Maybe if you get done today, we can go somewhere tomorrow. I would really like to get out of this cabin.”

  He arched one brow. “Don’t tell me you’ve got cabin fever too?”

  “Of course I do. Who wouldn’t? I might not know who I am, but I wouldn’t mind seeing the countryside around here.”

  Her comment made him laugh again. “We’re on the same page,” he said, suiting up. “Feel free to join me if you feel like it. No problem if you’d rather stay here in the warm cabin.”

  After he’d gone outside, she remained in her seat, her cheeks burning. She felt hollow, burning from the inside out with her absurd need for him. Pressing her hands to her cheeks, she willed herself to settle down. Then she pushed to her feet and began clearing the table, knowing the simple act of moving would help. It always did.

  She hea
rd Jason start the snowblower. The thing roared to life as if eager to tackle the job. She listened as Jason began to work, clearing a path from the front porch to the driveway, before starting on the larger task. The sound seemed oddly comforting, though she couldn’t say why.

  Once all the dishes were clean, dry and put away, she wiped down the counters and looked around the small kitchen. Already, after only a few days here, it felt like home. Dangerous for a woman who no doubt had another home somewhere, possibly with someone else. She wondered why the thought made her so sad.

  Enough of this. She grabbed her duffel, doubled up her socks, put on her boots, and then her jacket, hat and gloves.

  Outside, the sun shone brilliantly, glinting off the snow so brightly she had to squint. She stood for a moment on the porch, shading her eyes with her hand, watching as the plow kicked up plumes of snow. Jason had already cleared the area directly in front of the garage. He turned the snowblower off, pushing it to one side, before opening the garage door. Spotting her, he waved her over. He’d backed his Jeep in, and there was a good-sized metal plow attached to the front end.

  “Where’d you get something like that?” she asked, a little awed.

  “They’re pretty common up here,” he replied, grinning. “Those of us who live outside town know we have to be able to take care of ourselves in an emergency.”

  “Can I ride along?”

  “Of course.”

  Barely restraining herself from jumping up and down with glee, she crossed around the front of the Jeep and climbed into the passenger side. Buckling in, she waited impatiently for him to join her.

  Once he had the snowblower stowed inside the garage, he joined her. “This is going to be fun,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed using this plow.”

  Men and their toys. The thought came out of nowhere, making her frown.

  Of course, he picked up on that. “What’s wrong?”

  Instantly, she smoothed out her expression. “Nothing. Just trying for a memory. It’s difficult sometimes, like they’re dancing in the fog, just out of reach.”