Rolling her eyes to the heavens, she tossed her hands in the air in a gesture of frustration and headed for the bathroom. Reaching into the small shower, she turned on the water and let it run, waiting for it to heat. She thought about the image that had flashed in her mind, the image of water flowing over his hard, wet body.
Sometimes when he looked at her, sometimes when they were talking, she thought…it was almost as if…
"Oh, don't be ridiculous," she told herself.
Tossing off her T-shirt and sweats, she stepped into the hot spray. She had no idea what Vega Flats would be like, but she was grateful to be going. She needed to get away. A week cooped up in this tiny apartment was getting to her. She was beginning to see things that simply weren't there. Thoughts were creeping into her head that had no business being there.
What was she doing thinking about Jake in the shower? What was she doing thinking about him at all? Hadn't she inconvenienced the man enough? He hardly needed her to make his life any more complicated by letting her imagination run away with her.
"It will be better now," she reminded herself aloud. "Dear Jane is back. That will keep you busy."
Only, just at that moment another one of those thoughts crept into her brain. Jake had been so helpful working with Dale to get the equipment for the broadcast set up and helping her out last night while she was on the air. But while it may have appeared that he had been enjoying himself—listening to the callers, keeping a line of communication going with Dale on the two-way radio, talking with her during the breaks—she had to remind herself not to make any assumptions.
She knew all too well how appearances could be deceiving. It may have looked as though Jake had been enjoying himself, but he simply had been making the most out of the situation, been following through on the promise he had made to a friend.
The water stung her skin, but she welcomed the sensation. It helped clear her mind, helped her to remember the only reason she was here was that Jake had made a commitment to Ted. Maybe she was being suspicious and unreasonable and just plain cynical, but she didn't care. She couldn't afford to think there had been something in the way he watched her last night, because just like Blake, he hadn't been watching her, he'd been watching Jane Streeter. He'd made no bones about the fact that he was a fan of Dear Jane's—he liked her. She wasn't so sure the same could be said of Kristin.
She let the water flow over her head, plastering her long blond hair against her back. She had thought Blake had been interested in her only to discover it was Jane he'd really been interested in. And she wasn't about to make that same mistake again.
Chapter 8
"Oh," she said, coming up short as she started across the driveway. She had expected to find him waiting in the SUV he'd driven before. Instead, he sat behind the wheel of an olive-green pickup truck that sat high off the ground and had the emblem of the United States Forestry Service emblazoned on the door. "Were did this come from?"
"You've been living on top of it for the past week," he said, leaning across the seat to push open the door for her.
"The garage?"
"That's right," he said. "Hop in."
She tossed her jacket up into the cab, but when she raised her leg to climb in, she stopped suddenly, wincing.
"You all right?" he asked, reaching a hand out across the seat to help her.
"Fine," she mumbled, but her acrobatics earlier had left a few reminders in her tender muscles. Taking his hand, she let him pull her up.
"How come we're using this?" she asked, looking over the utilitarian interior of the cab. The seat wasn't nearly as soft as the one in the Jeep he had driven before, and her bottom could use all the cushioning it could get.
"On business trips I always take the company car," he joked, handing her the end of the seat belt. "Pleasure trips I use my own."
"The Jeep belongs to you?"
"Yup."
"And this?
"Compliments of the United States Forestry Service."
"So this is a business trip," she concluded. Looking at him, she suddenly realized he had changed clothes too. "Oh my gosh, you're wearing a uniform? I haven't seen you wear one before."
"I don't usually," he said, glancing down at the olive jacket he wore over a khaki shirt and pants. "At least not this time of the year when I'm around the tower most of the time. It's rare anyone ever gets up this far. But on patrol things can come up. I may be checking fishing licenses, hunting licenses, Adventure Passes, may have to cite campers or hunters for violations, that sort of thing. It's a good idea to look official for that."
"Forest cop?" she joked, hoping the humor would help her not notice how handsome he happened to look.
"Smokey the Bear with a badge," he smiled. "That's me." He glanced down at the leather running shoes she was wearing and his gaze narrowed. "Those look new. It may be a little muddy where we're going. You didn't happen to bring a pair of boots, did you?"
"I didn't," she said, glancing down at her feet. "I'm afraid it's either these or a pair of sandals."
"Then definitely those," he said, shifting the truck into gear. "But we'll check with Mac. See if he has any boots in stock."
"We're going shopping?" she said, her eyes lighting up. "I love it."
He laughed. "I'm not sure picking something up at Mac's would exactly qualify as shopping."
"Hey, any port in a storm."
He laughed again and she couldn't help thinking what a nice sound that was. It was real and genuine, but there wasn't much about him that she'd found that wasn't. How different he was from Blake, who could charm the scales off a fish. But his practiced lines and polished routines had grown old fast. Jake didn't stand on ceremony, didn't try to say or do what he thought you wanted. He was upfront and spoke his mind and you could pretty much tell where you stood with him.
She thought again of how he looked at her, how his gaze would hold hers. There was something very comforting in his eyes, they had a kind of confidence that made her feel safe. When he looked at her, she couldn't help feeling that she mattered to him, couldn't help feeling he cared—
Suddenly the truck lurched sharply as he turned across the driveway, scattering her thoughts and jerking her back to reality with a harsh jolt. What was the matter with her? She was doing it again, letting her imagination run away with her. She had slipped into those forbidden thoughts without realizing, and it had to stop before she made a complete fool of herself. Besides, until she figured out just who it was this guy saw when he looked at her—Kristin or Jane—it would be wise to try not to think about him at all.
Grabbing hold of the door handle, she hung on for dear life. The "company car" left a lot to be desired in the luxury department and she suspected the ride down to Vega Flats was going to be a rough one. But that was okay. At this point she needed something else to concentrate on besides Jake.
"So do you ever have to do much of that? Cite campers or hunters?"
He shrugged. "Sometimes. Most of the time it's pretty quiet up in this area. It's so far into the wilderness that usually the people who make it back here are pretty serious about the sport. But occasionally…"
She turned to him when his words drifted off. "Occasionally what?"
"You can get some crazies up here once in a while. They get drunk or doped up and then like to start shooting it up."
He turned onto the road and started down the back side of the canyon. To say it was a bumpy ride would be a gross understatement, and she braced herself against the dash and the door, forgetting about what the hard seat was doing to her sore bottom. She peered out her window and shuddered at the nearly straight drop-off.
"Kind of steep, huh?" he said.
"Are you sure we came up this way?"
He laughed. "Just keep talking, keep your mind off it. Don't look outside, just look at me."
That hardly seemed like a safe alternative, but he had a point about the conversation. She did feel better when she kept talking. "So what happens then?"
"When?"
She found a benign spot on the dashboard to concentrate on, making it possible for her to avoid looking at either the rugged terrain or him. "When you get a rowdy bunch up here. I would think it could get dangerous."
"It can, I suppose, but you can usually get them quieted down. It just takes a little convincing sometimes." He turned the steering wheel in a crazy zigzag motion, avoiding a huge pothole. "The ones you have to worry about are the urban farmers."
She looked up at him. "Urban farmers?"
"Marijuana growers. It doesn't happen very often but every once in a while we get a few enterprising individuals who find a nice little isolated spot to plant their crop."
"That sounds scary. You don't cite those guys, do you? I mean, it's not like catching someone with an expired fishing license."
"You're right, I don't cite them. I arrest them."
"Really? But you don't have a gun."
He steered around another pothole. "I don't carry a sidearm. But, just in case it comes up." With a free hand, he reached behind the seat and lifted a leather-covered rifle.
"Wow," Kristin gasped, turning in the seat. "Have you ever had to use it?"
"Sure, lots of times."
Her eyes widened. "You're kidding."
"No," he assured her, shaking his head. "Bottles and cans—I've even scared off a mountain lion or two."
She made a face. "Oh, you are so funny."
He laughed and this time she forced herself not to notice. Instead, she concentrated on the road ahead. And while the steep terrain was still daunting, she found herself growing more accustomed to the narrow, twisting route, at least enough to allow herself to enjoy it a little.
"You said you were going to patrol?" she asked after a few moments.
"Well, it's not a set patrol. I'm making my weekly trip to Vega Flats, to pick up the mail at least once a week, check on the group down there. Then I do a spin by the campgrounds. It's pretty empty this time of year but in the summer it can fill up."
"So, do I go on patrol with you?"
"Sure, if you want. But don't think that means you'll be getting a badge or anything."
The joke surprised her and she couldn't help laughing. "So I guess a sidearm is out of the question."
"Definitely." He smiled as he joked, but then his smile faded. "But seriously, you're welcome to ride along with me or you can hang out at Mac's, maybe have a little lunch or something, explore the village, even though there really isn't much there to explore. I'll introduce you to Ruby. She runs the bait shop but also raises a small herd of free-roaming horses."
"Not to mention putting up some dynamite preserves," she pointed out.
He smiled. "And that too. So whatever you decide to do is fine with me."
"Okay, thanks." She nodded. Although as far as she was concerned, it was no contest. The less time she spent with him, the better. No matter how tempting it was accompanying him on his patrol, limiting her exposure to the man really was the best idea. The less she found about him to like, the better off she would be.
She turned and looked out the window, letting him concentrate on maneuvering down the narrow pass. The road wound its way along the side of the mountain, becoming less steep and the drop-offs less dramatic as they descended into a canyon green with pines and manzanita. She saw a dozen things she would have liked to ask him about, but managed to resist the temptation. It was stupid, she knew, but it seemed the more she talked to him, the better she got to know him, and the better she got to know him, the more she thought about him, and the more the thought about him…Well, that was when fantasy started to mix with reality and she kept getting herself in trouble.
It was fortunate he had invited her to come with him when he did. While she may have talked to Nancy on the phone this morning and a number of callers during the broadcast last night, he had been the only person she had actually seen or spoken to face-to-face in the last seven days. Her fantasies and silly little daydreams about him probably shouldn't worry her too much. Given the circumstances, the seclusion and the remoteness of their location, it was only natural that he would take up a large portion of her thoughts. Once she got back to civilization, once there were other people in her life, other distractions and interests, she was confident she would gain a little perspective again and be better able to control herself. At least that was what she was depending on.
"See the smoke over there, above the trees?"
She turned and looked in the direction he pointed, her eyes growing wide and round. "A forest fire?"
He shook his head and laughed. "No. Lunch."
"What?"
"Mac's got the barbecue going. That means burgers and ribs."
She turned back. "So we're almost there?"
"Less than a mile." He pointed up ahead of them. "See? We're hitting blacktop again."
Kristin felt her heart quicken with anticipation as they made their way over a river crossing and into the small settlement of Vega Flats. The village was hardly more than a collection of cabins and shacks with a few pickups parked here and there, but with lights in the windows, smoke in the chimneys and a dog barking somewhere in the distance it showed signs of life—and life was what she needed to help her gain some perspective again.
She needed to touch base with the real world again. It would help her see the situation as it really was, see him as he really was. If there was something in the way he looked at her, if she picked up on a certain vibe or a certain feeling, was it based on fact or fantasy? Whoever or whatever he thought Jane Streeter was, she was beginning to think he liked her a whole lot better than he liked Kristin Carey.
* * *
Jake pulled out of the campgrounds and headed back toward Vega Flats. He hadn't expected there would be much going on at Big Chumash Campgrounds and he'd been right. He'd driven through the site, moved a few boulders that had dislodged in the last storm and fallen onto the roadway, did a check of the pit toilets and chatted with a handful of hunters who had set up camp. All in all it had been a pretty uneventful trip, but still he'd found himself reluctant to head back.
He'd been relieved when Kristin had elected to stay at Mac's instead of going with him to the campgrounds, even though it wasn't exactly the way he'd thought the day would go. It hadn't felt right leaving her, but Mac had promised to keep an eye on her; he wouldn't let anyone harm her.
Jake suspected the break would be good for Kristin too. They both had been a little "high" after the broadcast last night and were happy everything had ran as smoothly as it had. Being part of the action been quite an experience for him and the adrenaline pumping through his system had kept him up long after the program had ended.
Just the fact that he'd sat in that very tower and listened to that program so many times before was pretty remarkable, but watching as she came alive in front of the microphone was something he wasn't likely to forget. Whatever it was in her voice or in her on-air persona that had attracted him to the program in the first place paled when compared to actually seeing her work. She had been in her element—relaxed, capable and content.
Only, as exciting as the broadcast had been, it was the time after the program ended that he'd enjoyed the most. Maybe it was just that everything had gone off without a hitch, or maybe it was just that she was back doing what she loved, he wasn't sure. After they had gone off the air and he had begun breaking down the equipment, they had started talking.
At first their conversation had been about some of the calls that had come in, then it moved to the topics that had been discussed on the air, but then somehow it had taken a more personal turn and they'd both started talking about things that had happened in their lives. He'd learned about the death of her parents and he found himself telling her about a few of the rough times he and Ted had seen each other through. After nearly a week of having her barely look at him, having her talk and laugh and smile at him had been like the sun after a long, cold night.
He'd begun to suspect
that while Jane Streeter was a smart, classy, together woman, Kristin Carey was all that and more. She had a sensitivity and a vulnerability he wasn't sure he'd ever encountered before. Was that what she hid behind that icy wall of indifference from time to time? She joked and made light of her work on the radio, but the truth was, she really cared about the people she talked to, the people who looked to her for advice.
It was because of last night that he even had the nerve to suggest she come with him today. The trip had actually started out pleasant enough. They had chatted and made jokes and he'd actually thought when they got to town he could introduce her to a few locals, spend a little time at Mac's, maybe even end up having a little lunch together. Only, just when he'd actually started to enjoy himself, just when he'd started thinking they had turned a corner and he'd finally broken through that icy wall she kept around herself, she just stopped talking, just clammed up and acted as though he'd suddenly become invisible.
He made his way slowly along the rough blacktop, in no particular hurry. But as he drove, he felt himself growing more annoyed—only not with her. He was angry at himself. He really had no business feeling insulted, or even frustrated. After all, this wasn't exactly a pleasure trip for her. He was acting as if she wanted to be at Eagle's Eye with him, which was a mistake. She needed his protection, not his friendship, and he'd do well to remember that. He wasn't about to have a reenactment of the last time he'd been in charge of protecting someone.
Bringing the truck up to a normal speed, he concentrated on the drive, feeling better after the small lecture he'd given himself. He didn't know why he was making such a big deal about it anyway. She wasn't going to be there forever, so it really didn't matter if she liked him or not. Once Ted and his boys did their thing and brought in the creep who'd been stalking her, she'd be on her way back home and he'd never see her again.
He slowed down as he caught a glimpse of Vega Flats in the distance. The thought didn't settle well with him, never seeing her again. It probably wasn't entirely true. After all, her sister was married to his best friend. The chances were pretty good that he would meet up with her from time to time. And there was always "Lost Loves." He would always have Jane to listen to at night in the tower, just like before.
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