Jenny scrambled to her feet, laughing at Kyle's efforts now, at Shasta's prancing and barking. It was all a game to the dog.
'Come on, big, brave drug agent, see what I found.'
Kyle rose swiftly to his feet, coming up to take her in his arms. Pulling her roughly against him, he leaned down to kiss her once more.
'We could continue upstairs, with the door shut on your friend,' he murmured after a long minute.
Jenny leaned against his hard, warm body, imprinting the feel of him on her mind. She wanted to hold on to this moment, for a few seconds pretend that nothing stopped them from doing just that. But the picture in his room stopped her.
She drew back slowly, shook her head reluctantly. She gave a tentative smile.
'No, come on and see what I found. You'll be surprised.'
And he was. Once he recognized it, he was all business–questioning Jenny as to where she had found it, how, and if any signs of who the field belonged to were in evidence.
'I can show you where it is. We can explore it if you like. But I got out of there right away. I didn’t see anybody, or anything except the plants.'
'Tell me. I'll do the exploring.'
'I want to go,' she said stubbornly.
'No. Tell me where it is.'
'If you don't let me go, you can look for it yourself.' She waved her arm around her. 'You have the whole Sierra Nevada to look, so get to it.' She stormed out of the kitchen.
'Jenny!' Kyle went right after her, stopping her in the hall, swinging her around to face him, his hands gripping her upper arms tightly. 'This is no game. The men involved in this are dangerous. They could be killers. I don't want you involved.'
'I am involved. I'm providing cover for you. What do you think will happen if you go traipsing off by yourself? If we go together, we can... can picnic. Be having an innocent outing, if anyone should ask. I think it's safer that way.'
Besides, I don't want you to go alone, she thought, but refused to say. She knew it was dangerous and she didn't want Kyle at risk, not now. Not until he was fit and could cope. She knew he had a job to do, and was probably used to going into danger. But it was different when he was fit. He was still convalescing, whether or not he'd admit it.
He looked down into her face, indecision in his eyes. Jenny felt it was a new experience for him. Finally his fingers slackened a little.
'All right, just today. We'll go on a picnic. You pack a lunch.'
Jenny led the way, backpack on her shoulders. Kyle had argued to carry it, but she had insisted, it was hers and her size. In reality she was sparing his shoulder, but knew he was too much of a man to let her have it for that reason. He’d showered and changed before they started out, his jeans covered by a loose-fitting shirt. Jenny eyed his outfit for a moment.
'Carrying a gun?' she asked softly.
'Yes,' was the bit out reply.
Kyle was not in the best of moods. He hadn’t expected Jenny to be so stubborn. The last thing he wanted was to expose her to any danger. What a stroke of luck, her finding a field so soon after he arrived. Had she not, who knew how long it would take to locate it. But that did not mean he wanted her involved in any way, shape or form.
Yet he needed her to locate the field. He hoped there’d be satellite reception there. He had a hand-held GPS, which would pinpoint the location. Once that was done, he’d contact Stuart and plan the next phase.
For now, he wanted to get in and out without anyone knowing.
***
Jenny recognized the landmarks she had so carefully committed to memory. The going was still hard in spots and it seemed to take longer today. Anticipation having an effect no doubt.
'You hike a lot, don't you?' Kyle said, moving to walk beside her with the trail widened.
'I love to be out in the open, to see all the empty land, see the beauties of the mountains.'
'It reminds me a little of picnics my family went on when I was a kid,' he murmured. 'We didn't live in the mountains, though. San Diego was home, but the long endless beaches and vast ocean give one the same sort of peace.'
'Are you an only child?' Jenny could scarcely believe he was opening up. She knew this was not part of a cover story. Kyle was sharing a portion of his life with her.
'I had a sister. She and my folks and I used to go to the beach a lot when I was young. It all changed, once I went to college.'
'Where did you go?'
'Berkeley. How about you? I know you grew up here, but have you ever gone anywhere else?'
'Sure, lots of places. I went to college in Sacramento, to Disneyland one summer, the Grand Canyon and skiing in the Rockies. I have all I want here.' She smiled at him. 'I know it doesn't seem likely to you, but I found Sacramento a big city. I was amazed at Los Angeles and San Francisco. I prefer the mountains.'
'I can see why. I've been all over the state, back East, too, and this area is one of the prettiest I've seen.'
Shasta ran alongside them, sometimes surging ahead, sometimes lingering behind finding endless scents to explore. Jenny instinctively slowed as they approached the meadow.
'Just ahead,' she said softly.
Kyle stopped her and studied the terrain, listening for any other sounds. He nodded and they stepped to the edge of the clearing.
Kyle stood in silence for a long moment, assessing what was before them.
'Is it marijuana?' Jenny asked.
'Yes.' He shook his head slightly. 'Must have a street value of close to a million,' he said softly to himself.
'That much?' Jenny was surprised. There were lots of plants, but that much? 'It doesn't look like such a big crop.'
'Who owns this land?'
'I'm not sure, but I think it's national forest land. That stream we crossed a while back runs along the boundary on this side. We can check it on the map when we get back.'
'Step back a bit and stay here. Hold Shasta. I'm going to circle the field. Wait for me here, understand?' His eyes were hard, narrowed against the sun, as he looked at Jenny.
She nodded and moved back several yards before she sank down on the soft pine needles, holding Shasta's collar. She watched as Kyle slowly started down the hill, hugging the shelter of the trees, skirting the meadow, slowly working his way around. After a while she lost sight of him and sat idly watching through the trees at the limited view of the field. Butterflies danced across the lacy plants, the hot sun burned in the sky, the soft pattern of the pine and fir limbs throwing speckled shade where she sat. The slight breeze cooled.
Kyle came up on her left side and dropped down beside her. She glanced at him questioningly, but he shook his head.
'There's a road near the end of the field, about fifty yards off. That's probably how they plan to harvest it. They've got an elaborate irrigation set up, they must pipe water in from the river occasionally. The sun's too hot to grow the plant without some irrigation. I wonder how often they water.' He was silent for a long moment, assessing the field. 'Who’s running the show, though, is anyone's guess at this point.' He looked at her, and sensed her mood.
'What's wrong?'
'All this.' She waved her hand towards the meadow. 'I never believed it, you know. Brownley was like something out of James Bond. I would be doing a service to my country. Then you came, and sometimes I believed it, but mostly you were just like anyone else. It was like playing a game. But now I know that someone in Palmer is tied up in this. Someone I probably know. I just wish it had never happened here. That it had happened somewhere else and left my part of the world clean.'
'Everyone everywhere wishes that. Have you ever tried it?' Kyle asked.
'No. Have you?'
'Yes, once or twice in college. Experiments. I was brash, a know-it-all, then.'
Jenny glanced at him with a small, tight smile; she didn't see much change.
'I didn't like it, and quit. I don't like to feel out of control.'
'No, you like to be in control.'
'All the time,' he agreed.<
br />
Jenny nodded, she couldn't imagine him any other way.
'Continued use causes problems. You can see lots of old winos, but you never see an old drug addict.' His voice grew bitter, his face closed.
'What will you do now?'
'Set up round-the-clock surveillance. Find out who owns the land. Run background checks on those likely to be involved if we can get a lead. Find out who's behind this.'
'And Naomi?' Jenny couldn't resist asking.
Kyle slanted her a grin and rose, holding his hand to help her to her feet.
'Continue on that line, as well. That's the retail side, this is the wholesale side. Maybe the same group is running the whole damned show. Maybe she’s the link, channeling the weed to the city. Lots to discover yet.'
Jenny turned as they started up the hillside, drawing back farther into the woods, leaving the meadow behind them. When they reached a cleared, flat, rocky area, she turned to Kyle.
'Want to eat here?'
'Fine.'
They shared the sandwiches and sodas she had brought, sitting on a light blanket she had packed. Shasta gnawed on the bone Jenny had carried for him, content in the hot sun.
They talked desultorily about other times and friends. Jenny told Kyle about her life in Palmer, answering his questions when he raised them, questioning him in turn.
'And you never married?' she asked at last.
'Nope, too much going on. This life would be too much to ask of a wife. The uncertain hours, the long time away on assignments,' he said.
'Not to mention the risks, the dangers,' she murmured, wondering again who the picture was of. If not a wife, a girlfriend?
He shrugged. 'And you? I hear Johnny's been dead over a year. Will you look to remarry one day?'
Jenny gazed over the rocky hillside to the distant blue haze over the ridges of the far ranges. 'I thought at one time never again; while being married is nice, the pain of losing is too great.'
'And now?'
'Who knows?' Who knows, she repeated in her head. If things had been different, if things were different, she might have loved Kyle Martin.
As the day grew warmer, and the talk died, Jenny shrugged out of her button-up shirt. She wore a tank top on beneath it. She turned her face up to the sun, glad for its warmth, the peace in the clearing.
Kyle opened his shirt, laying back on his arms for a moment, then sitting up to rub his injured shoulder. Taking off his shirt, he used it as a pillow for his head, lying down in the sun.
Jenny looked at him. His chest was broad and muscular, his arms and shoulders showing a strength and fitness that had been hinted at beneath his shirt. The angry red gash high on his left arm showed where the bullet had penetrated. She winced, again imagining the pain and anguish it had caused. There was one other scar on his body, faded now, obviously an old one, low on his chest. The gun protruded from the waistband of his jeans.
How could he constantly put himself in danger? Didn't he want to put that behind him and find a safe profession? She frowned at the thought of another incident that would injure him. How much longer could he do it? Did government agents work until they were sixty-five and retire? Would he move on to something else? Or stay in the fieldwork of DEA, craving the excitement and satisfaction when drug traffickers were caught?
Her eyes moved up to his head, his brown hair ruffled and blown by the hike, his eyes slits, watching her look at him. She flushed in confusion, and looked away, afraid the interest she felt was reflected in her face.
'Want to make love here in the sun?' he asked softly, his hand trailing fire down her arm, his warm fingers closing over hers.
She looked around. They were alone, just the two of them on a deserted hillside.
'What, you, me and Shasta?'
'Shasta has his bone, he won't bother us.'
Jenny licked her lips, her heart tripping in excitement. She turned to look at Kyle. Shasta stopped gnawing and raised his head towards the woods, a low growl in his throat.
Kyle sat up, looking where the dog focused.
'It's only a deer,' Jenny said in disgust. 'He did that last time, too.'
Kyle turned and pushed her back on the blanket, roughly putting his hand beneath her sun-top.
'Kyle, don't.' Jenny's hands ineffectively fluttered against his.
'Someone's coming, Jenny. We need a cover.' He leaned over her, capturing her mouth with his, moving his lips against her as she felt the hard metal of the gun pushed beneath her bottom with his other hand.
'Keep on this. Sit still, if it comes to it. If you're forced to rise, try to drag the blanket over the gun. Got it? Don't let anyone know we have it,' he said against her mouth.
Jenny nodded, the gun an uncomfortable bulge beneath her. Her heart tripped rapidly now, but not in anticipation. She strained to hear what Kyle had heard. Soon footsteps climbing the rocky hillside were audible.
Shasta stood and barked, his eyes on the trail leading the clearing.
Kyle raised his head and glanced over his shoulder as if hearing the intruders for the first time. He glanced back at Jenny and winked.
'We've got company!'
He turned and sat up, drawing on his shirt, shielding her as the two men continued to climb towards them. Jenny recognized Nate Fisher and Bart Cameron, a man who worked at the lumber mill on the far side of town.
She snatched her top closed, buttoning it and sitting up, conscious all the while of the gun hidden beneath her. She called to Shasta who came promptly to her side, still barking. Jenny watched apprehensively as the men drew close and stopped.
‘That’s enough, Shasta, they are friends.’ She grabbed the dog’s collar and held on. Shasta sat and stared at the two men.
'Hi, Jenny, Kyle.' Nate spoke first, a sly smile on his face.
Jenny wondered what role was she to play. Confused embarrassment, she guessed.
'Hi, Nate, Bart.' Jenny nodded at the other man, bright color high in her cheeks.
'Out for a picnic, I see,' Nate said, then scanned the area. 'I would have tried for a nice meadow, green grass, not so much rocks.'
Kyle shrugged and looked around as well. 'We didn't see any on the way here. Know of one for another time?'
Nate looked at him for a moment, tense and poised, then shook his head. 'Nope. Some nice ones on the other side of Jenny's place, near the river. Not on this hillside.' His glance moved to Jenny, back to Kyle.
'It's a long trek back, let's get started, Kyle.' Jenny's low voice broke the tension. He looked at her and smiled.
'Sure. I'll carry the knapsack. You carried it on the way here.'
She nodded and smiled shyly at Nate and Bart. They watched as Kyle gathered the remnants of lunch and stuffed it into the backpack.
Jenny pulled on her long-sleeved shirt, trying to button it with fingers that shook. She hoped the two men wouldn't notice. Why were they here? Were they involved with the marijuana? Or just out for a hike? She was suddenly glad they'd had the picnic. Even if Nate and Bart were involved in marijuana, they wouldn’t suspect Kyle and her of spying. They'd see it as an innocent outing. What if he had come alone?
Kyle took the corner of the blanket and pulled it up.
'I need to pack the blanket, Jenny,' he said, his eyes trying to convey a message.
She nodded, wondering how to get up and not expose the gun.
'Shasta, go get your bone,' she said as she rose to her knees. The two men swiveled to see the dog, then turned back to her. It was enough time. Kyle had the blanket bunched up and was stuffing it into the backpack.
'Come on, boy. Bring the bone.' Jenny stood up and coaxed Shasta. He picked up the bone and pranced over to them.
'Enjoy your hike.' Jenny pasted a smile on her face and reached out her hand to Kyle. She was trembling, wanted to run away at full speed, but hoped it didn't show. He took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly when he felt her fingers tremble, the backpack slung over his right shoulder.
'Be seeing you,' Kyl
e said to the two silent men. They moved slowly away.
When they were out of hearing, Jenny said softly, out of the corner of her mouth, 'Are they still watching us? Do you think it's them?'
'I've no idea, but it raises interesting possibilities. And yes, I think they'll watch us off the mountain.'
He stopped and turned to her, pulling her into his arms and kissing her. With his eyes open, he glanced back to where they'd been. The two men were still watching.
'They're still there,' he said against her mouth. 'Let's go.'
The rest of the way home was silent. Jenny alternated between wishing Kyle’s kisses had meant something, and wondering if Nate and Bart were really involved in drugs. She hadn’t heard of any extravagant purchases or exotic vacations taken by either of them. And Palmer would have been rife with gossip if that happened.
When they reached the house, Kyle handed her the backpack.
'I've got some calls to make. Be careful when you take out the gun.' He went into the den, pulling the hall phone into the room and closed the door behind him.
Jenny stood staring after him. Who did he think he was? It was her house, her phone. And her discovery of the marijuana field. He had just shut the door in her face! It wasn’t likely he’d say anything she already didn’t know.
After a minute of glaring at the door, she turned and stomped down the hall to the kitchen. Gingerly she unpacked the backpack and laid the gun at his place, muzzle facing the wall.
Jenny had taken her shower and was brushing her hair in her room when she heard the shower running again. Kyle had obviously finished his phone call.
She went downstairs and sat on the front porch, gazing off into the hills while waiting for him to finish. She heard him coming down the stairs and looked over her shoulder into the house.
'I'm going out, Jenny. Can I borrow your car again?'
'Where are you going?'
'Around. I'll be back late. Don't wait up.' He turned and went back down the hall, evading the question, leaving before Jenny could catch up. She ran down the hall and through the kitchen, noting the gun was gone. He was already across the yard and into the SUV, starting the engine.
I'll Take Forever Kobo Page 11