Brink of Danger

by Christy Barritt

  He knew his best approach would be to get some rest, and then come back to look at things fresh the next morning. But first he wanted a bite to eat.

  He thought about calling Luke or one of his old high school buddies to join him, but he decided he would eat alone instead. It would be nice to clear his head and continue to get a feel for the town.

  Fog Lake . . . he never thought he’d come back here. But it had become abundantly clear that it was time. His parents were beginning to need him more and more. They were down in Florida until April, and he was staying at their place while they were away. Still, it felt surreal.

  The town had changed since Ryan lived here seven years ago. There were more businesses. More things to do. More tourists. Not only was the zipline new, but there were whitewater rafting companies, parasailing outfitters, paddleboard and kayaking rentals. And that wasn’t to mention the sky lift that just opened leading up to Dead Man’s Bluff.

  The town was growing, and that could only be a good thing for the local economy here.

  But one thing had remained the same: that same eerie fog still hung over the lake at the center of town. The wispy gray clouds mostly appeared in the morning and at night, but they made the whole place feel atmospheric and almost eerie.

  There were people who came to visit just because of the legends that were a part of this place’s DNA—legends of massacres and blood and a sordid history wrapped in grief.

  Ryan stepped into Hanky’s and scanned the place. An old friend from high school owned the joint, and Ryan had heard they had great wings.

  The patrons inside seemed to murmur amongst themselves, probably talking about today’s events. The lighting in the place was dim, making it hard to distinguish faces. It was just as well. Ryan liked to observe before jumping in—at least in social situations.

  He sat at a corner table where he could keep an eye on everyone. The scent of grilled steak and fried potatoes floated around him, and a George Strait song played overhead.

  He picked up a menu, but, before he could order, a familiar face caught his eye.

  Ansley Wilder.

  She stood near the bar area talking to a large man with tattoos running down his arms. He had a bushy beard, and his arrogant demeanor couldn’t be mistaken.

  Was that Danny Axon?

  The man had certainly bulked up since high school, but he seemed to have kept his bullish attitude.

  He and Ansley were in a heated argument right now, and neither appeared to be backing down. Danny pointed his finger at Ansley, and Ansley stepped closer, unafraid to get in his face. Around them, the crowds watched as if their favorite movie was on TV.

  Ryan’s muscles bristled. He didn’t know what this was about, but he didn’t like it. Nor could he believe Ansley was here. The woman should be at home resting.

  What was she thinking?

  As their argument rose to a heated, uncomfortable level, Ryan stood. He’d tried not to interject himself into this, but now he needed to see what was going on.

  He cut through the crowd just in time to see Ansley shove Danny. Danny only grinned, as if he enjoyed pushing the woman’s buttons. There was absolutely no enjoyment on Ansley’s face, though. Her eyes were bulging, her cheeks red, and the lines on her face tight.

  This wasn’t good.

  “Did you ever think that maybe this town would be better off if that zipline had just finished you off?” Danny growled. “Too bad the rest of your family wasn’t on that zipline too.”

  At his words, Ansley lunged at him.

  Ryan sucked in a breath. Before Ansley did something she’d regret, Ryan’s arms went around her waist. He lifted her off her feet, pulling her back and away from Danny.

  “You don’t want to do that, Ansley,” he murmured in her ear.

  “Oh, yes, I do,” she seethed, still glaring at Danny. “I want to wipe that nauseating smirk off his face.”

  “Hitting him won’t help matters.” Ryan continued to hold her as she squirmed to get away, to give Danny a piece of her mind.

  “Let me find out for myself.”

  The woman was small but still scrappy. She tried to remove Ryan’s hands from her waist, but she had no luck. Through it all, she wasn’t out of control. No, she seemed perfectly aware of her every motion.

  The crowd around them was a little too engaged as they egged Ansley on.

  “You show him, Ansley.”

  “Don’t let him talk to you like that.”

  “He deserves what’s coming for him.”

  Ryan pulled her back another step or two, afraid she might start kicking. “I should get you home,” Ryan murmured.

  “I don’t want to go home.”

  “You need to rest.” Ryan loosened his grip, afraid of hurting her. She had to be sore from everything that had happened today.

  She continued to throw daggers at Danny with her eyes. “I need to set this smart mouth straight.”

  “Ansley,” Ryan said quietly.

  Something about changing his tone seemed to soften her. She released her arms, which had been postured as if ready to throw a punch, and lowered them to her side.

  After Ansley took a few breaths, Ryan let her go. She straightened her clothes and gave Danny one more death glare. Then she turned to Ryan. Her eyes lit with surprise when she saw him.

  Had she not known it was him? Had her adrenaline kicked in with such force that Danny Axon was the only person she could see?

  That was Ryan’s guess. Adrenaline surges could do strange things to people. So could narcotic-strength prescriptions, which was what he’d bet Ansley was on right now.

  “Stay away from my family, Danny Axon—you and your father too,” Ansley muttered.

  With a quick glance at Ryan, she began walking toward the exit. Ryan followed after her, unsure what the upcoming conversation would hold. But she was a loose cannon right now, and Ryan knew he couldn’t leave her alone.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I could have handled myself back there.” Ansley felt the steam coming off her as Ryan deposited her in his truck.

  He leaned in the door, unaffected by her anger. “You sure about that? Because it looked like you were about to sock him. Not that Danny wouldn’t deserve it.”

  “You better believe he deserves it.” Ansley crossed her arms, tension radiating from her. “You have no idea.”

  Ryan’s jaw flexed. “Seems like I have a lot of catching up to do with this town. But I clearly remember Danny from back when he was younger. I had to set him straight more than once.”

  Ansley offered a fleeting glance. “Maybe you can set him straight again.”

  Ryan gave her a questioning look before closing her door and walking around to the driver’s side. As soon as he climbed into the truck, the scent of cologne—musky and almost evergreen, like the forest after a storm—filled the air. Ansley breathed it in.

  She liked it. For a minute, the scent made her feel a little calmer. She’d take what she could get.

  “I’m going to take you home,” Ryan announced.

  “I can walk.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  Good. Ansley actually didn’t feel like walking. She hurt all over. Her head pounded. Her pain medicine was clearly wearing off.

  She was too prideful to admit it, though. But Ansley was working on it, working on becoming softer. Sometimes it just didn’t feel like her nature. Baby steps, she reminded herself. Baby steps.

  The beam from a streetlamp illuminated all the nice parts of Ryan’s face. His strong profile. His determined eyes. His firm lips.

  Firm lips? She couldn’t possibly know that. But she liked to think they might be . . .

  “Where to?” Ryan glanced at her.

  She jostled herself from her thoughts.

  “Take the next right.” Ansley pushed herself up in the seat and tried not to wince. How could her body hurt so badly?

  Then again, how could she forget?

  “You look uncomfortable.” Rya
n glanced at her again. “You sure you don’t want me to take you somewhere? Your brother’s?”

  “I have a roommate. She’ll be nearby if I need anything.”

  “It’s your call.”

  “Then to home I go.” Ansley pointed to another street. “Take a left at Stumpy Hollow.”

  “Your wish is my command.”

  Your wish is my command? Ansley nearly snorted. Ryan sounded so boyish when he said the words. Yet there was nothing boyish about him. No, he was all man. He’d practically been born that way.

  A few minutes later, they pulled up to an old fudge factory at the corner of town. He stopped and peered up at the rundown building that had at one time produced note-worthy fudge for the region. Ten years ago, the business had moved to a big facility in Knoxville.

  “Here?” Ryan asked. “For real?”

  “Yep. They’re renovating the building and filling the place up. My apartment is the first that opened. Been here for four months now.”

  “It looks like it could fall down at any time. This passed safety code?”

  Ansley shrugged. “You’ll have to ask the old fire chief about that. I have no idea. I just know I can afford it here, and that there’s a lot to be said about that when you live on my salary. Not that I’m complaining. I like the simple life and traveling light.”

  “I get that. Real estate prices around here are steep.”

  “It’s because of all the rentals. It makes it harder for those of us who want to live here full-time and work at the very attractions the tourists come for.”

  Ryan nodded to a door in the distance. “I’m going to walk you up. I hope that’s okay.”

  “It’s okay but not necessary.” Ansley slowly climbed out, her body rebelling every time she moved. Before she even shut her door, Ryan appeared and took her elbow.

  “I insist.”

  She didn’t argue. There was no need. Instead, she let Ryan help her up the steps of her stoop. She tried not to show how much it hurt just to raise her leg.

  That fall had really done a number on her.

  Ansley’s hands trembled as she unlocked the peeling black door and pushed it open. She stepped inside her humble home before turning back to Ryan. She cleared her throat, his imposing figure causing her to suck in a breath. Why, oh why, did he have to be so handsome?

  “Thanks for everything,” she finally said.

  He leaned toward her and lowered his voice. Ansley held her breath with anticipation, waiting for what he would say.

  “Did you get your prescription filled?” he finally said.

  She blinked at his words. “What?”

  “I’m assuming you need something a little stronger than the average painkiller. Did you take it to the pharmacy?”

  “No, not yet. I can just do that tomorrow.”

  “Ansley, you have to control the pain before it starts to control you.” His voice held a fatherly tone.

  She let out a sigh. Ryan was probably right, but she didn’t feel like going anywhere. Now that she was back in her apartment, she was tired. Everything was catching up with her.

  He extended his hand. “I’ll pick it up for you.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I don’t mind. Let me help.”

  Ansley stared at him another moment, wondering what his angle was. But he’d always been a pretty straight-forward guy. After another moment of contemplation, she reached into her pocket and handed him the prescription she’d been given at the hospital.

  “Thank you,” she said. The old Ansley wouldn’t have agreed to this. But the new Ansley was trying to not be as difficult. Some days it was more of a struggle than others.

  “It’s not a problem.” Ryan raised it in his hand. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Ansley watched him walk away. The man fascinated her. He always had.

  That could only mean trouble—something she needed no more of in her life.

  Ryan stepped away from the dilapidated building Ansley called home and shook his head. Ansley was a handful, just like always. But there was something different about her, something broken.

  Just what had gone on in her life in the years since he’d been gone? He didn’t really keep up with the town gossip—he wasn’t one who wanted to know people’s business. But he was curious, and he wanted to know more.

  And what about that comment Danny had thrown out—the one about her family? What did that mean?

  Maybe he would ask Ansley—not because he wanted to invade her privacy. But because, until they knew the motive for that zipline being tampered with, all of Ansley’s enemies could be considered suspects. It would be Luke’s job to figure all that out. But Ryan would help him as much as necessary.

  He froze before climbing into his SUV and glanced around. The hairs on the back of his neck rose.

  He knew the feeling well.

  It was the feeling he got when trouble was close.

  Ryan glanced down the dark streets but saw nothing. Only the sidewalk. A mailbox on the corner. Dim streetlights.

  This wasn’t the partying side of town. This was the part that was yet to be revitalized, the part no one wanted tourists to see.

  “Hello?” he called.

  He heard a footfall.

  He reached into his SUV and grabbed a gun from under his seat. He didn’t think he’d have use for this again out here in the mountains of Tennessee. But he was apparently wrong.

  Danger lurked everywhere.

  It was close now. He continued to sense it. He could feel the unseen eyes on him.

  Ryan stepped closer to the sidewalk, still watching for any sign of movement.

  “Hello?” he called again.

  Still nothing.

  Strange. Very strange.

  Ryan had no idea what kind of job he’d accepted when he came here. Sleepy small town? Peaceful childhood home? No, Fog Lake seemed far from either of those things. At least, it did today.

  With one more glance around, he shook his head. Whoever was out here must have left.

  Now Ryan needed to get to the pharmacy before it closed and before Ansley asked too many questions.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Ansley?” a high-pitched voice said behind her.

  Ansley jumped and twirled around before releasing her breath. It was just Kit Shields. She stood in the hallway, her hair wet. She must have been in the shower.

  Ansley felt so on edge right now. Too much had happened today, stuff that affected her not only physically but emotionally and mentally as well. Her heart raced out of control.

  “Hey, you.” Ansley tried to relax and pretend she wasn’t wound so tightly. But she was. She felt like a jester about to spring from a jack-in-the-box.

  Ansley and Kit had only been rooming together for two months. Kit had just moved to the area to open up a bookstore here in town. Ansley and Kit had run into each other at the coffeehouse in town and hit it off right away.

  Kit had asked if Ansley knew of any rooms for rent. That was when Ansley had the idea that maybe she should get a roommate. It would definitely help her to pay her bills more easily. Two weeks later, Kit had moved in.

  Ansley tried to be on her best behavior so she didn’t scare the woman off. Most of the locals wouldn’t room with Ansley. She’d never been very popular with the women here in town—probably because she’d been a little too popular with the men.

  Kit paced toward her, concern wrinkling her brow. “I heard what happened. Are you okay? I almost went to the hospital to check on you, but I knew your brothers were taking care of you. I didn’t want to get in the way.”

  Ansley glanced at her bandaged wrist and then at her leg. “I’ll be fine. Just a little scraped and bruised.”

  “I was so worried. I left several messages.” Kit stood in front of Ansley, studying her.

  The woman was thin and petite, with light-brown hair and delicate features. She was soft-spoken, preferred to read over going out, and loved having a nea
t and orderly home.

  In other words, she was Ansley’s polar opposite.

  All in all, Ansley thought the two of them worked well together. Anyone who could give up a stable career in engineering to follow her lifelong dream of owning a bookstore couldn’t be a total wallflower.

  Ansley shrugged. “Honestly, I didn’t go back to the zipline course since the accident. My phone is still in my locker there, so I haven’t gotten my messages.”

  “Most people would be going crazy without their phone.”

  “It’s an electronic leash. If people want to talk, they know how to find me.” Texting and social media and all those things most people her age loved? Ansley couldn’t stand them.

  “Well, I’d give you a hug, but I’m afraid I’ll hurt you.”

  “I’ll just embrace the sentiment instead.” Ansley offered a weak smile, wishing she had more energy to put behind her words.

  “Sit down. Can I get you something? I just made some soup. It’s chicken tortilla, the kind you always like.”

  Ansley’s stomach growled. “That sounds perfect.”

  A few minutes later, Ansley was on the couch with a blanket around her and a warm mug of dinner in her hands. The creamy, savory soup did wonders for her mood. Maybe there was some truth to all those Campbell’s commercials after all.

  Kit grabbed her own mug and sat across from Ansley in one of the armchairs they’d picked up at a secondhand store. “So who was that guy who was just leaving? I heard a voice, but I didn’t want to interrupt.”

  “That guy? He’s Ryan Philips.” Ansley frowned as she said his name.

  “And who’s Ryan Philips? Besides being a Tom Hardy lookalike.”

  “You saw him?”

  “I did take a little peek. I wasn’t trying to be nosy. I promise.”

  Ansley needed more time than she was willing to give to explain their history. She sufficed with, “He’s the new fire chief in town. I’m not sure how that news didn’t get to me yet. This is a small town. News is supposed to travel fast.”

  Kit’s eyes brightened. “The new fire chief? He’s . . . can I just be blunt? He’s hot.”