Thunder Mountain

by Smith, Dean Wesley

  Dawn was sure she would feel intimidated by him, but she could get past that. He only had one more book than she did. And they both had their areas of expertise. More than likely he would be focused on the mining in the Thunder Mountain area while her interest lay in the people who lived in that remote valley.

  And the ones who died there.

  “Fantastic,” Bonnie said, standing. “Can you leave tomorrow? We’ll only be gone a few days.”

  “Of course I can,” Dawn said. “I can’t begin to thank you. This is so exciting.”

  “We’ll pick you up in the parking lot here tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. That work?”

  “Perfectly,” Dawn said, even though she hated the idea of getting up that early.

  She hugged Bonnie.

  “Thank you,” Dawn said. “I so wanted to see Roosevelt one more time this summer.”

  “Oh, you can see it more than that if you want,” Bonnie said, laughing.

  With that she turned and left, leaving Dawn bouncing with excitement.

  She quickly shut down her office and locked it. The lesson plan could wait until she got back. Tonight, she had packing to do.

  She felt like a little girl at Christmas as she half-walked, half-skipped down the hallway toward the stairs.

  CHAPTER THREE

  MADISON ROGERS DOZED SLIGHTLY in the front seat of Duster Kendal’s big Cadillac Escalade. Groggy didn’t begin to describe how he felt. Barely awake was an understatement.

  Behind him, Duster’s wife, Bonnie sat also in silence. Too damn early for any of them to talk much.

  The big car rode smooth as glass as Duster wound it through the empty, early-morning streets of Boise from Madison’s home down toward the campus of Boise State University. It seemed that Professor Dawn Edwards was joining them on their adventure into the mining areas of central Idaho.

  Madison had always wanted to see the Yellow Pine, Stibnite, Edwardsburg, and Roosevelt areas. It was the last big mining run in the lower 48 states and it actually didn’t end until around 1910. It seemed that Professor Edwards was an expert on the area, not the mining, but the people and history. He couldn’t imagine how the mining and the history could be pulled apart much.

  Bonnie and Duster had agreed to take him and Professor Edwards into the area, and since he had time before his classes started in September, he couldn’t say no to Duster.

  Bonnie and Duster had been friends for two years now, and one of the major supporters in his work. They seemed to know an uncanny amount about things in the Old West, and they had funded two of his trips so far. And they were completely funding this one. And they asked for nothing in return for their help.

  Duster was a tall man, more than six feet. He tended to always wear cowboy boots, a cowboy hat, and a long duster-like brown coat, even in the summer. More than likely that was where he got his name.

  Bonnie was a tall woman with long brown hair and a smile that seemed to light up rooms. Together, the two of them just sort of controlled a power and confidence that Madison had never experienced before. And he was very glad they were his friends.

  He would do anything for them. But he had to admit, this getting up at 4 a.m. was not his thing. He rarely, even with classes, crawled out any earlier than ten or eleven in the morning. And only taught afternoon and evening classes.

  Even though he taught up at the University of Idaho in Moscow all winter, Madison still had a home here in Boise where he spent the summers. It had been his parents’ home and they had just given it to him when they retired to Arizona. They seldom came back. In fact, they hadn’t been back to Boise now in three years.

  He liked the place and had remodeled it for his own, with huge rooms full of research books and desks covered with paper. His parents kept asking him if he was ever going to have a woman join him in the house, but he was in his early thirties now and pretty set in his ways. He’d had relationships in the past, none now.

  He was a night person. It was silent at night. People left him alone to research and write and he liked that.

  He hated getting up this morning, which was the middle of his night. And perky morning people drove him crazy. In fact, he often wore a t-shirt that said, “If you laugh before noon, I’ll have to kill you.”

  Bonnie was in the back seat and thankfully not talking much. Duster just drove and smiled, as if he were enjoying every minute of this early hour and how he was torturing Madison.

  The Cadillac bumped into the parking lot, forcing Madison to open his eyes. He must have dozed for a few blocks because he didn’t remember turning off of Capitol Boulevard into the University area.

  The sun was barely lighting the sky and it was still just slightly before five in the morning. The last time Madison saw this hour of the day, it was from the night side.

  Duster swung through the empty faculty parking lot and pulled up beside a woman standing in a dark jacket next to a dark minivan of some sort. There was a backpack at her feet.

  She looked like she was fairly experienced in backwoods just at a glance at how she was dressed. She was about his height and clearly in shape. She bent down and swung the pack up onto her shoulder as Duster got out to help her load the pack into the back.

  And as she swung the pack up, Madison caught a look at her face and his heart leaped and he was instantly awake.

  Instantly.

  Better than ten cups of coffee awake.

  She was about his age and maybe the most attractive woman he had seen in a long, long time. She had brown eyes that seemed to stare at him in surprise for a moment, then look away. Her hair was long and brown and pulled back off her face.

  Holy crap, Professor Edwards was a stunner.

  The breakfast bar he had managed to choke down before Duster and Bonnie picked him up felt like lead in his stomach. Never in all his life had he had a reaction to a woman like this. He prided himself on being alone most of the time because a social life got in the way of his passion, which was his work.

  He had had a few longer relationships through college, but they had all left telling him he was basically married to his work and history.

  He hadn’t argued with any of them, and honestly didn’t miss them. They had been right.

  He sat up straight and took a couple deep breaths. He was going to need to get a grip on himself quickly, or this was going to be a very long few days.

  Duster shut the back hatch and Professor Edwards got into the back seat beside Bonnie and behind Duster. He watched.

  How was it possible? He must be having a nightmare or a hallucination because of getting up so damned early. She just couldn’t be even more stunning in the light of the car. Her face was slightly tanned and her nose small and perfect.

  She laughed at something Bonnie said about morning. Then she said in this perfect voice, “Anyone who likes to get up at this hour should just be shot.”

  Madison managed to get himself in control and shifting around slightly against his seat belt, he extended his hand. “I agree completely, Professor Edwards.”

  She took his hand and he felt like a jolt of electricity had run through him as she looked into his eyes with those wonderful brown eyes of hers.

  “Dawn,” she said. “Call me Dawn, Professor Rogers, and no jokes about the time of day.”

  He actually laughed and it only sounded slightly forced to his ears. He loved her voice, her eyes, and the feel of her hand.

  What was wrong with him?

  “Call me Madison.”

  And with that he had to let go of her hand, even though he would have rather just held it.

  The light in the car dimmed as Duster started out of the parking lot and Madison forced himself to turn back around from staring into her eyes and face forward.

  He just hoped she hadn’t noticed he was sweating at five in the morning. The car just hadn’t been that warm a minute ago.

  Duster was still just smiling about some unknown joke as behind him the most beautiful woman on the planet sat.

/>   And she hated mornings as well.

  And she loved history, was an expert in it, wrote books on the topic.

  Was a woman like her even possible?

  This was most certainly going to be an interesting few days. Far, far more than he had expected.

  Now, if he could just quit sweating and calm down.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  DAWN SOMEHOW, after only getting a few hours sleep, had managed to make it down to the parking lot at the University ten minutes ahead of time. She hated mornings and being as excited about this trip as she was, she hadn’t slept more than a few hours last night.

  The crisp morning air smelled like wet grass from the sprinklers going on the wide lawn between the office building and the river. Nearby Capitol Boulevard, normally one of the busiest streets in the city, had no traffic on it. The streetlights just lit up the pavement in an odd orange glow.

  She was a little worried about meeting Professor Rogers. She had no idea what he looked like, but had heard through friends that he was a great teacher and very focused on his work. But honestly she was more worried at the moment about falling asleep and snoring and drooling all the way to Cascade.

  She had tried a cup of coffee and a doughnut on the way from the apartment, but neither had helped much at all. Sandpaper was grating at her eyes. She was going to have to doze a little, of that she had no doubt. She just hoped Bonnie and Duster didn’t mind.

  Thank heavens this time she wasn’t driving as she had done on the trip into Roosevelt last week.

  Duster and Bonnie drove into the parking lot just a few moments after she had got out her pack and locked up her van. They were driving a big Cadillac SUV and she had no doubt it would have the power to handle the roads into Yellow Pine and over Monumental Summit. That was good.

  Their car was huge, far big enough for the four of them to have enough room with all their supplies and gear.

  As Duster stopped the car and opened the door to come out and help her, she remembered how handsome and powerful Bonnie’s husband was. He seemed to dominate anyone around him and his smile and confident manner was fantastically attractive, even at this ugly time of the morning.

  If she could find a man like Duster, who could put up with her and her research, she would be in heaven. Bonnie didn’t know how really lucky she was.

  As Dawn swung the pack up onto her shoulder, she caught a look at Professor Rogers in the front seat, turning to look at her.

  It was like she had been shot.

  She froze, staring into his eyes.

  He was the best-looking man she had ever seen.

  Period.

  No exceptions.

  Better than even Duster, if that were possible.

  How was that possible?

  Why hadn’t Professor Rogers put his picture on his books? At least she would have been warned about how good-looking he was. Of course, she didn’t put her picture on her books either.

  He looked just as shocked to see her as she felt to see him.

  She suddenly felt a lot less tired.

  A lot less.

  The pack swung up on her back, and somehow she managed to turn to move to the rear of the SUV to toss the pack in without falling down or doing anything really, really morning stupid.

  Duster helped her and then she moved around on the driver’s side to get into the back seat behind Duster.

  Bonnie was in the other back seat, behind Professor Rogers, and Dawn managed to not look at Professor Rogers for a moment as she worked with her seat belt, a task almost impossible at this hour of the day.

  Bonnie laughed and asked her if she was awake yet.

  “Anyone who likes to get up at this hour should just be shot,” Dawn said, then suddenly got worried that Professor Rogers was a morning person. Oh, God, had her very first sentence insulted the man?

  Professor Rogers laughed and turned to her, extending his hand. “I agree completely, Professor Edwards.”

  She touched his hand and somehow managed to just not sigh and melt into the car seat. He had dark brown eyes, longish brown hair, and chiseled features, including a perfect dimple on his right cheek when he smiled.

  Holy crap, she was shaking hands and staring into the wonderful eyes of a flipping Greek God. He even smelled fantastic, like faint orange peels and rich chocolate.

  How was that even possible at five in the morning?

  “Call me Dawn,” she managed to choke out, hoping that her voice didn’t sound too stupid. Control at this time of the morning was not one of her strong suits. Combine that with facing a man so handsome, she wanted to melt, and control wasn’t a word she would use.

  “Call me Madison,” he said.

  And as Duster started the car forward, she sadly had to let go of Madison’s firm hand as he turned to face forward and the interior car light went dim.

  She stared at his profile for a moment in the dim morning light, then turned to look at Bonnie.

  Bonnie was smiling, the smile reaching her eyes and every inch of her face. Then Bonnie pretended to fan herself, indicating that she thought Professor Rogers was hot as well.

  Dawn nodded and tried not to laugh. She leaned over and whispered to Bonnie. “You could have warned me.”

  Bonnie laughed softly and then said, “What would have been the fun with that? I didn’t want to miss your reaction.”

  All Dawn could do was shake her head and laugh softly.

  And then she sat back and stared at the profile of the man of her dreams in the front passenger seat.

  Holy smokes was this going to be a long drive and a very strange trip. Not at all what she had expected.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  MADISON COULD FEEL Dawn’s eyes looking at him from behind, but damned if he could think of any small talk to give him an excuse to turn around and look at her. It was far, far, too early in the morning and he felt like he was back in middle school and just meeting a girl for the first time.

  Stupid, just flat stupid. He was too old for this, yet he couldn’t seem to shake it.

  She was amazing and he didn’t even know her.

  And she smelled wonderful as well. Like a fresh bakery and a rich cup of coffee. Perfect smells for this time of day.

  So without one stupid thing to say, all he could do was sit and stare out the front window as Duster headed through the mostly empty city streets toward the freeway.

  Duster finally took him off the hook when he said, “Okay, folks, we have a little side trip to make on the way to the Thunder Mountain region.”

  “Side trip?” Madison asked, turning slightly to face Duster. Madison couldn’t figure out why Duster was smiling. It was like he and Bonnie had some fantastic joke they were pulling or something.

  Beyond the joke of asking the most beautiful woman in the world, who was also smart and loved history, to come along.

  “We want you both to see a place very special to us,” Bonnie said from the back seat and Duster nodded.

  “It’s in Silver City,” Duster said.

  “Silver City?” Dawn asked from the back seat.

  Madison glanced back and could see that she was as surprised as he was.

  Silver City was an old ghost town that sort of now functioned as a tourist stop in the summer months. It had been one of the major mining towns in the late 1800s. There were still a few mines active in the area, but the town was mostly gone except for a few buildings that had made it through the one hundred and fifty years of weather. The town was in the Owyhee Mountains on the Oregon border. About an hour of fairly rough road off any major highway if Madison remembered right.

  “It’s the secret we asked if you could keep,” Duster said, smiling as he headed the big SUV west on the freeway.

  “Can you tell us about it now?” Madison asked, not really sure if he were happy with the idea of such a long side trip. It would take them almost four hours to get up to Silver City, and a good three of those hours would be out of the way, so this would be a six-hour side trip a
t least.

  He had no doubt they were going to have to stay in McCall tonight if they got that far, even though they had started early. Duster had told him this trip was going to only take a few days, but now he wondered.

  Of course, with Professor Edwards along, a longer trip seemed like it might be better. Duster and Bonnie were paying all the costs. So why not? He had the extra time.

  He forced himself to take a deep breath and relax into the idea of spending more time with two friends and a beautiful woman he wanted to get to know.

  “You wouldn’t believe us on the secret if we told you,” Duster said.

  “I’ll second that,” Bonnie said. “You two are going to be the first two people we show this to.”

  “Besides my family,” Duster said.

  “So we are trusting you both a great deal with this secret,” Bonnie said.

  Duster nodded. “We feel that the work both of you do could really, really be helped by what we are going to show you. But you have to trust us for a few hours first.”

  “Our research?” Madison asked.

  He glanced back at Dawn who looked just as confused as he felt. She was fantastic-looking even frowning.

  Duster nodded. “More than you can imagine, actually.”

  “Are we still going into the Thunder Mountain region?” Dawn asked.

  Madison could hear it in her voice that she was worried. Clearly her passion was that area.

  “We are,” Bonnie said, then laughed. “More so than you can even dream of right now.”

  “Wow, that sounds very secret-agent-like,” Madison said, staring at his friend Duster.

  “Much, much more important than any secret agent stuff,” Duster said. “Much more.”

  Madison glanced back at Dawn again. In the dim light he could tell she was worried. As much as he was.

  He shrugged at her and she smiled at him and said, “Why not?”

  He laughed and turned to face the front again, watching the empty freeway in the early morning light flash past. “Looks like you have two adventure-lovers with you on this.”