by Elle James
“I should be going,” he said finally. “I believe this is the last day they’ll be searching for Mr. McKinnon.”
Good. He was leaving. Bree was relieved.
He started to put on his helmet but paused halfway there. “I don’t suppose you would show me where those caves are, would you? Mr. McKinnon could be in one of them. The sooner we find him, the sooner we can get him to a hospital.”
Alone on the ranch, out in the open, with a strange man was bad enough. Going with him into the hills…? No. Already, she was uncomfortable and ready to leave him, gate or no gate. “Sorry, I really can’t imagine he’d have made it that far down from the hills if he was injured. And if he wasn’t injured, his ranch is closer to the canyon than Wolf Creek. But you’ll need to get permission from his sons to search the Iron Horse Ranch. Most folks around here like to know who’s traipsing around their property. You wouldn’t want to be shot for trespassing.”
Kurtz’s eyes narrowed for a second.
If Bree hadn’t been watching him so closely, she might have missed it.
Then he smiled and shoved his helmet down onto his head. “Seriously, I’d love for you to show me where those caves are.”
She shook her head and walked around to the four-wheeler without actually turning her back on the man.
He didn’t mount his dirt bike right away. He stuck his hand inside his jacket as if reaching for something.
Bree stiffened. Was he reaching for a gun? Her heart raced, and she froze with her hands holding her helmet in front of her, waiting for him to remove his hand and expose what he had inside the jacket.
The sound of a horse’s hooves brought her head around, and she nearly fainted with relief.
Angus galloped toward her on a bay gelding, riding in like the cavalry to the rescue.
Kurtz pulled his hand from inside his jacket and turned to face the man on the horse.
Angus reined in a few feet away and dropped to the ground. His glance shot from Bree to Kurtz and back. “Are you all right?” he asked Bree.
She nodded. “I’m fine. Mr. Kurtz was just leaving Wolf Creek Ranch.”
The man held out his hand to Angus. “Jeff Kurtz, outfitter and temporarily part of the search and rescue team.”
“Angus McKinnon.” Angus shook the man’s hand, his attention going back to Bree. “The search is being conducted in the canyon. They haven’t found any reason to come this far east.”
Kurtz shrugged. “I thought it might be reasonable he could have wandered farther away in the past few days. And the path of least resistance leads out of the canyon and onto Wolf Creek and Iron Horse Ranches.” He raised his brows. “Ms. Lansing said there are caves in the hills belonging to Wolf Creek. I think it’s possible Mr. McKinnon found his way into one of them for protection from the harsh weather.”
“Ms. Lansing and I will check them for my father. In the meantime, you should head back to the canyon and check in with the others,” Angus said. “They might be looking for you, and you don’t want them sending out a search party for one of the searchers, do you?”
Kurtz nodded. “No, I don’t.” He touched two fingers to his helmet. “Good luck finding your father.” He mounted his bike and roared away from Bree and Angus, heading for the canyon.
Angus frowned as he watched Kurtz disappear over the top of the ridge. “What was that all about?”
Bree shook her head. “I’m not sure.” She rubbed her hands over her arms. “You might ask the sheriff to keep an eye on him. I think he might be carrying a gun.”
Angus laughed. “Sweetheart, you know as well as I that every man and most of the women in Montana carry guns.”
Bree frowned. That might be true, but she had the feeling Kurtz had been about to pull his gun out and show her the business end. She could be wrong, but her gut was telling her that was what she’d almost witnessed.
Why Kurtz was so adamant—to the point of being fanatical—about looking in the caves for James McKinnon was a mystery to Bree.
She met Angus’s gaze. “I take it you didn’t find any trace of your father.”
He shook his head. “No. But they did find someone else’s remains.”
Bree’s eyes widened. “Someone else? Are you sure it’s not your father?”
“Positive. They were bones that have been there for a long time.”
“Where did they find them?”
“In the bottom of the canyon, not too far in. I stopped close to the site. It wasn’t far from the border of Wolf Creek Ranch.”
Bree frowned. “Could it have been a hiker, lost in the hills?”
“They don’t know. All they have to go on are bones, and possibly dental records. The state police will take them back to the lab and run a check through their missing persons database and see what they find.”
“That’s sad. Whoever it was has been there a while. His family would want to know.”
“The sheriff said the bones weren’t big enough to be a man. They suspect it was a woman.”
She climbed onto the ATV and fit her helmet over her head. “Can you and your horse keep up with me?”
Angus nodded. “Where are we going?”
“To look in those caves Kurtz was interested in.” She gunned the throttle, sending the four-wheeler leaping forward. She hadn’t wanted to go with Kurtz. But if there were any chance James McKinnon was holed up in one of those caves, she had to look.
Angus’s horse kept up with her ATV as she slowed to take the rocky trail up into the hills.
She hadn’t been to the caves for over thirteen years. To say she was rusty on the directions was an understatement. Many of the trees and scrubby bushes had grown bigger or disappeared altogether. Just when she thought she’d missed a turn along the way, they came to an outcropping of boulders she remembered. Her sense of direction had been better than she’d thought.
She pulled the ATV to a halt, switched off the engine and pulled off her helmet. “We walk from here.”
Angus looped the reins over the handlebars of the ATV and followed Bree up the side of a steep, gravel slope.
“Remember when we came out here to have a picnic? Just you and me?” she said as she climbed.
“I do. You made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and they got smashed when we slipped down this slope trying to race up to the caves.” He chuckled. “They tasted the same, but you were upset they were all smashed.”
She shot a smile over her shoulder. “I didn’t think you’d remember that. I kind of hoped you wouldn’t. I was pretty embarrassed. It was our first picnic together and I’d wanted everything to be perfect.”
“It was,” Angus said.
Bree’s chest warmed. Other than the smashed sandwiches, the rest of the picnic had been perfect. The cave they were headed for had been where she’d given him her virginity.
As she topped the rise, she entered a cave that was at least seven feet high and twenty feet deep, barely large enough to properly protect a person from the cold Montana wind.
It might not have been good for the cold wind, but the opening captured the sunlight, warming the dark stone ledge and overhang. It was a perfect spot for two young lovers to bask naked in the sun while making love for the first time.
Bree’s cheeks warmed at the memory. When she turned to glance at Angus, she could tell by the intense look in his eyes that he remembered, too.
Her core tightened and burned deep in her belly. If the weather wasn’t still so cold, and the sun was just a little bit warmer, they could recreate that scene from so long ago.
Angus captured her hand in his. “Do you ever wish we could go back to that day?”
More often that she cared to admit. “We can’t live in the past, nor can we recreate it. We’re different people now, and we need to find your father.”
His fingers tightened on her arm before he let go and took a step backward. “You’re right. We’re only here to find my father. But I haven’t forgotten. Not one little detail of that day,
down to the grape jelly you knew I loved. And I haven’t forgotten how beautiful you were lying next to me on that stone on top of the sleeping bag you managed to pack in the saddle bag.”
She smiled. Getting that bag past her stepfather had been quite the challenge. He’d kept a very close eye on everything Bree had said or done, determined to control every aspect of her life.
When she looked up into Angus’s eyes, the years melted away, the sun warmed her cheeks and she remembered how beautiful their first time had been. Angus had been so gentle, and she’d loved the feeling of his skin against hers.
He cupped her cheek and bent to kiss her lips, just as he had that day.
Bree melted into him, her hands resting against his chest, her heart pounding with the same desire she’d felt the first time they’d been together. For the past thirteen years, she’d dreamed of this. Being in Angus’s arms, holding him, kissing him.
He tipped her chin up and stared into her eyes.
She drank him in, memorizing every beloved feature from his close-cropped, dark hair, to his eyes, which were the pure blue of a winter sky in Montana. His was the only face she wanted to see when she fell asleep at night and when she woke in the morning.
Then he kissed her lips, gently at first, the pressure increasing the longer they were sealed. Soon their need built into a frenzy.
Bree opened to him and he swept in, claiming her with his tongue. They stood wrapped in each other’s embrace, the chill mountain air forgotten in their need.
When at last they had to breathe, Bree rested her forehead against his chest, drawing in deep lungfuls of air into her lungs, inhaling his scent with every breath.
How could she walk away from him again when this was all over? For walk away she must.
Closing her eyes, she drew in a deep, heady breath and pushed away. “We’re here to find your father,” she reminded him softly. “There are a few more caves to check.”
When she pulled away, he captured her hand and stopped her. “This isn’t over,” he said.
“Yes, it is,” she said, her voice catching on a sob she refused to release.
He shook his head. “No, Bree. For now, we’ll put us on hold. But not forever.”
She didn’t argue. He’d eventually realize she’d been right and move on.
They left the cave and walked, slid and scooted across the steep, slippery slope to the next cave along the side of the hill. This one was smaller, but deeper and had a narrow stream running through the middle. As with the first cave, this one was empty.
“There’s one more along the trail. It’s a little more difficult to get to,” Bree said.
“I don’t remember it.”
She laughed. “You never got past the first one when we were dating.”
“Ah, yes.” He grinned and followed her down to the path and around a curve in the trail.
Bree stopped and stared up at a rocky bluff.
“It’s up there?” he asked, staring up at the large boulders they’d have to climb to get to the entrance.
“I used to take a book up to this cave and read through the day, returning to the ranch house at dark.”
“By yourself?” He stared at her as if she were crazy.
Her smile faded. “I knew no one could find me up there. It was my only escape.”
He squeezed her hand. “From him.”
She nodded.
“You could have been attacked by a bear, a wolf or a mountain lion.”
She shrugged. “I wasn’t afraid of them. I figured they’d be easier to fight than the man I lived with.” She took his hand. “Come on. I’ll show you.”
As nimble as a mountain goat, she led him up the side of the bluff, one boulder at a time. When they arrived at the ledge, they had to pull themselves up onto it. She had to turn sideways to enter the narrow passageway into the cave, but once inside, it opened into cavern the size of a house. The little bit of light coming through the entrance showed them enough to know Mr. McKinnon hadn’t found his way into the cave.
“Are there any more?” Angus asked.
Bree shook her head, sad that they hadn’t even found a clue as to where Angus’s father was.
“We should go back to the house. I need to go into Bozeman to see my mother. Perhaps she might know who has it in for her and the Wolf Creek Ranch.”
In silence, they hiked back down to where they’d left the horse and four-wheeler.
Bree lost herself in the eventuality of saying goodbye to her one and only love. The thought of leaving him again ripped the adhesive bandage off her pain and reestablished the ache in her chest and her gut. Her pain stood as testament to her continued love for that particular McKinnon brother.
Angus followed Bree out of the hills and back to where he’d found her at the gate leading to the pasture with the contaminated creek. “I have to take the horse back to our ranch. You can follow me.”
She shook her head. “My truck is at Wolf Creek.”
“I’d rather you came with me. We can swing by later to pick up your truck.”
She thought about it and finally decided that she didn’t want to go back to her mother’s house. It wasn’t the same without her in it.
Before she left, she used a strand of wire she pilfered off the gate’s brace posts and twisted it around the gate and post. Whoever had opened the gate and hadn’t closed it behind him, would have a difficult time opening the gate again.
Bree climbed onto the four-wheeler and followed Angus back through the broken fence to Iron Horse Ranch.
“I’m going to get a shower,” Angus said. “Then we’ll go see your mother. Hopefully, she’s feeling better and can answer some questions about what happened or who might have a beef with her, her foreman or anyone living at the ranch.”
Bree pressed her lips together. “I’m back here without my things again. I should have gone to Wolf Creek first.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll make it back there before dark. You’ll have your own clothes tonight. I promise. After we go to Bozeman and see your mother.”
Bree showered and dressed in her own clothes Angus’s mother had laundered and laid out on her bed. When they returned to get her things at Wolf Creek, she’d tell him she was going to stay there, and he could go back to Iron Horse Ranch alone. He’d protest, but she’d have to stand firm. The more she was with him, the more she wanted to stay with him. And that just couldn’t happen. Not when she had a pall of murder hanging over her.
Chapter 12
After he showered and dressed in clean jeans and a nice shirt, Angus went downstairs. His mother was working in the kitchen at the sink, which overlooked the barnyard and pastures beyond.
Angus leaned in and kissed his mother’s cheek. “We’ll find him,” he said.
She nodded. “Your brothers just got back. They’re out in the barn. Molly went out to help with the horses. Dinner will be ready soon.”
If they hadn’t rushed right in to report good news, they didn’t have any to share.
“I’ll let them know,” Angus said and left the kitchen.
The sun sank toward the mountaintops as Colin, Bastian, Duncan and Parker emerged from the barn, dusty and tight-lipped. Molly followed, brushing the dust off her jeans.
Angus stepped out on the porch, the cool air reminding him that he’d need a jacket.
“Anything?” He didn’t need to explain or qualify his brief question. They were all working toward the same goal—finding their father.
All four men shook their heads.
“Nothing,” Colin said.
Duncan removed his cowboy hat and ran his hand through his hair. “The dog was all over the avalanche area and didn’t find anything.”
Angus shook his head. “I’m beginning to think we’re searching the wrong area.”
“Heard from the sheriff about the bones,” Bastian said.
“Yeah? Do they know who it was?” Angus asked.
“Shelly Kurtz,” Bastian said.
&nb
sp; “I was in high school when she went missing,” Duncan said. “I remember the talk at the feed store. They all thought her husband killed her and hid the body.”
Angus’s gut twisted. Kurtz was the man who’d been trespassing on Wolf Creek Ranch. “Wasn’t she married to Jeff Kurtz?”
Duncan nodded. “The sheriff said they couldn’t arrest Jeff because they couldn’t prove she’d been murdered, and he had an airtight alibi. Said he was with a couple of clients on a fly-fishing trip up in Canada.” He glanced up at Angus. “That, and they didn’t have a body.”
“How did they identify her?” Angus asked. “I thought all they had were the bones?”
“Sheriff Barron said they started with female missing persons reports in a fifty-mile radius, taking it back a few years,” Duncan said. “There weren’t very many. Shelly Kurtz was one of them. They had a copy of her dental records on file. The M.E. was able to match the dental records pretty quickly to confirm.”
The brothers climbed the steps and sprawled on the rocking chairs and swing.
“How were things at Wolf Creek?” Molly asked. “Any more animals we need to bring over?”
“Bree had a cow wander back to the barn. She put it in a stall.” Angus shook his head. “But guess who we ran into, trespassing on Wolf Creek?”
All their gazes locked on Angus.
“Jeff Kurtz.”
“What the hell was he doing on Wolf Creek?” Colin demanded.
“He claims he’s working with the sheriff to help find our father.”
Bastian frowned. “Then why was he on Wolf Creek?”
“He said he wanted to check the caves in the hills there in case our father had been injured and confused.”
“It’s a long way from the canyon to wander onto Wolf Creek land,” Bastian noted. “But it has been more than three days.”
“Did Kurtz say what he found?” Molly asked.
Angus’s lips twisted. “He didn’t know where the caves were. We sent him on his way. Bree and I rode out and climbed around inside three caves.” He shook his head. “We didn’t find him, or any indication that he might have been there.”