Redemption FinalWPF6 7

by L. E. Harner

  “I know what you’re thinking Uriah,” Diane said. She brushed the hair from his face. He moved his head back from her hand with a little whistle breath of pain.

  “I need to follow him,” he said. He kept his voice calm, knowing it was the best way to get her to see things his way. “We don’t really know anything about him. He shows up on the trail, manages to make friends with you, the next thing you know, he’s got us jumping through hoops. Just exactly how do we know that he’s who he says he is? Pete was involved with somebody here at the canyon. Somebody who was going to help him steal some money. What’s to say it wasn’t Gabe?”

  Diane’s face crumpled in on itself. She squeezed her eyes closed and pressed her lips tight together as if to keep from crying. Then she took a deep, shuddering breath, blinked rapidly and met his gaze. Her mouth still quivered, but her spine straightened. For a long moment, she said nothing. Then with a quick nod of her head, she acknowledged his remarks.

  “I don’t want to think it’s him. My gut says it isn’t. He is a doctor, Uriah. He wasn’t lying about that. We know it from the rangers. I know it from the way he just took care of you.” She brushed her fingers against his lips.

  “Now, hush. You’re not going to go after him. It doesn’t make any difference at the moment if he was the one Pete was working with here or not. You have to stay still and make sure you’re recovered enough to move later. We’ve hiked twenty miles, you’ve been shot at, and we have your brother’s ashes to spread. I think that’s enough to worry about for one day.”

  He knew she was right, he wouldn’t have made it very far. His head felt like it had been cleaved in two, and only the little white butterfly bandage was holding him together. But he also knew he had to tell her the worst of what he suspected.

  “Dee?” he said, then realized he’d used Gabe’s pet name for her. “Diane…he had a gun.”

  “I know, Uriah. But if he runs into the person who tried to shoot at you…” she trailed off. Her eyes narrowed and he knew she’d figured it out. “You think he might be working with the gunman? That this is just for show?”

  “It’s a pretty good way to get us to trust him, don’t you think?” Uriah answered.

  Chapter Six

  So many miles from all civilization, the Milky Way dominated the night sky and starlight blanketed the bottom of the canyon. From where Gabe lay on his back, he had a perfect view of the stoic profile of Uriah Wadsworth. In the dim glow of light, Uriah looked like an ancient warrior. His long black hair was pulled back, his angular features chiseled by shadows, his profile strong and proud. The man stared into the darkness, as if searching for answers to questions no one dared ask.

  Last night had proved to be uncomfortable, and not just because he was sleeping on the ground. Gabe wondered if their too intimate encounter in the cabin was solely responsible for the shift in attitude of the other two. All three of them had been in pain, bordering on dehydration, with myriad injuries that had needed tending. Although they’d let him clean their wounds and apply salve and bandages, the rest of their abbreviated evening had been spent in silence. When the last streaks of purple and pink faded to deep slate, Diane had said good night. Gabe’s plans to keep watch over their site and wake Uriah every hour in order to check on his possible concussion were thwarted by the should-be patient. From the stubborn look on the other man’s face, there had been no sense in arguing, so Gabe had drifted into a light, restless sleep.

  This awkwardness was exactly the reason he didn’t do threesomes with established couples. Even though he now knew they weren’t exactly a couple, the former in-laws certainly had a lot of history behind and between them. And the tension that had been evident on the trail the first day he’d met them seemed to have shifted into something more comfortable. Ah, well. If he wasn’t going to get the girl…or the guy, at least maybe he’d played a small part in bringing them together.

  Unable to stay still on his sleeping bag any longer, Gabe sighed and shifted, giving Uriah notice that he was now awake. Then he moved to the front of their small cave. “How’s the head?”

  Without waiting for an answer, Gabe moved directly in front of the bigger man and cupped his face so he could examine the head injury. Uriah jerked his head back, then went still as Gabe tightened his grip.

  “Be still. I’m just looking.” He gently felt around wound, then lifted the edge of the bandage to make sure there wasn’t any sign of further bleeding or infection. If you didn’t count the lack of an x-ray and sterile surroundings, he’d been able to give Uriah the same quality of care he would have received at the Park’s clinic.

  “Just a little swelling. That’s to be expected. I’ll help you wash it later and reapply the antibiotic cream.”

  “I told you I’m all right.”

  Ignoring the tightness in the other man’s voice, Gabe tilted Uriah’s chin up so that they were nearly nose-to-nose. Big dark eyes stared back, then went wide and unfocused. The moment seemed to freeze. They were close enough that their breath mingled. The tense set of Uriah’s mouth relaxed, then the pink tip of his tongue darted out to moisten his sculpted lips.

  Shit. This isn’t at all what I planned to do, Gabe thought, even as he closed the distance and gently rubbed his mouth against Uriah’s. The other man leaned into the touch, lips parted, the moment ripe and sweet. Gabe forced himself to ease back and placed a gentle kiss on Uriah’s forehead before he was lost in the taste and feel of the other man. Exhaling, as if it were possible to blow out his raging desire, Gabe sat back against the cave wall and resumed his questions as if nothing happened.

  “Headache?”

  “No. I told you, I’m fine.” The tension was back in the voice.

  “Good thing you have a hard damn head.”

  “Yeah. Or the bastard’s a lousy shot,” Uriah said. “Why are you up? You have another hour before you take over the watch.”

  Gabe was silent a long time. He thought about not answering, then gave an abbreviated version of the truth. “Nightmare. I don’t remember what it was about. As long as we’re both up, why don’t you tell me about your brother?”

  ****

  Uriah thought he might as well talk about Pete. Anything to keep from thinking about how he’d nearly come undone at Gabe’s firm hands cupping his face. And the kiss that wasn’t a real kiss. Just a press of lips, nothing more. He licked his lips once again, the taste of Gabe still lingered, left him wanting more. He risked a sidelong glance to where Gabe leaned against the wall. Naked and tanned from the waist up, the light covering of fur invited petting. With his arms draped over his knees, Gabe’s hands hung loose, his long, elegant fingers made Uriah think of a pianist. Gabe was someone who used his hands for a living, but not in the rough way of his own carpenter’s paws. There was something casually confident about the way the older man moved, something incredibly sexy about his commanding presence. Deliberately, Uriah pushed his thoughts away from the dangerous path his hormones wanted to take. He was here for a reason…best to remember what would come with the morning light.

  Pete. His only brother. Either Gabe already knew all about his brother or he was being politely curious. Maybe by talking, Uriah could figure out if the good doctor was hiding his real involvement or really was as innocent in all this as he appeared. He thought for a moment about where to start.

  “To understand Pete, you have to understand my family. My father. Back in the seventies, when the word spread that the tribes were going to put casinos on their lands, all kinds of people wanted to find some trace of Native American blood, figuring they’d get rich. Dad wasn’t able to show the right pedigree as he put it, so he found a young girl at a group home for mixed-bloods. She was barely over eighteen. He married her so she could give him kids with Navajo blood and some legitimacy within the tribal council. Nine months after the wedding she had Pete. She had a couple of miscarriages before she had me. She conveniently died during my birth, so he didn’t have to worry about having extra baggage left a
bout. He got the two boys he wanted, and got rid of the wife he didn't.”

  Uriah realized he was rubbing his stomach, trying to loosen the knots that formed when he thought of his father. He let his hand drop to the sand. “From my earliest memories I always knew I was the extra, the spare in case my brother didn’t work out. Dad didn't have to worry. Pete gave him what he needed. Tops in school, a three-sport athlete, popular, and was more than willing to follow in Dad’s footsteps and become a lawyer so they could work together.

  “Dad was one of the earliest to specialize in Native American civil rights. Better than an ambulance chaser, Dad makes his money,” he made air quotes, “representing the interests of the disenfranchised.” He lowered his hands, aware he sounded bitter, but not ready to back off. This was what his brother bought into, the path he’d chosen to follow. “My father's firm makes a lot of money, but it’s never enough. Currently, he targets Federal agencies working with the various tribes because they have the deepest pockets.”

  Gabe was a good listener, making noises at all the appropriate spots, and Uriah found himself forgetting he was supposed to be suspicious of the man. He was beginning to believe that Diane was right. Everything about Gabe rang true.

  “Thinking about your brother?” Gabe prompted, after the silence had stretched for long minutes between them.

  "My brother followed in our dad's footsteps. More than I knew. He'd become all about getting rich."

  "But you’re here to scatter his ashes. Obviously from what you said the other night you feel responsible in some way. How did he die?" Gabe asked.

  "Suicide. He shot himself." Uriah waited a beat but when Gabe didn't gasp or act shocked, he took in a deep breath and blew it out through tight lips. "It was my fault. I swear, if I could take it back I would. I never would have…" His throat tightened convulsively as tears threatened.

  Uriah was aware that Gabe was watching him, but he kept his face turned toward the river. There was comfort to be found in the fluid constancy, the juxtaposition of water over rock. A relentless pressure could cause anything to crumble. He blinked, swallowed hard, and cleared his throat. He couldn’t find the words to go on.

  Gabe touched his arm. "Uriah, your brother was an adult. He could have gotten help for whatever it was that disturbed him. Suicide is never anyone else’s fault. Why don’t you tell me what happened?"

  Nodding, finally able to speak, Uriah began again. "I refused to follow into the family business, so Dad wouldn't pay for my college. I do a little carpentry work, to help pay my tuition."

  Gabe turned to look at him, eyes wide. “Jesus, you really are a college boy?”

  “I’m older than I look.” Uriah smiled at Gabe. Again, the moment seemed to stretch between them. With a shrug, he continued. "A few months ago, Pete asked me to build a bookshelf in his office with hidden storage space behind it. I was always making secret boxes and hiding things as a kid. Pete always tried to find them. It was a game, and I usually won.

  "Anyway, this was a massive project and even though I sort of expected to do it for free, Pete said Dad would pay for a semester of college if I did it in a hurry. He and Dad planned to put in a safe. It was the biggest job I’d ever tackled and it had to be done alone, otherwise it wasn’t a secret, right?"

  Gabe nodded that he understood.

  "Because of my class schedule and Pete's clients, I did all of the work on weekends or after hours. Sometimes I would catch a couple of hours sleep right there behind the case, especially if I had an early morning class. One night about a month ago, I grabbed a quick nap before I got started because I’d been up over twenty-four hours between work and studying. I’d been asleep for maybe two hours when I heard Pete and my father talking over plans for a project at the Grand Canyon. I stayed where I was because I didn’t want to hear another lecture on how I’m throwing my life away studying horticulture.”

  Gabe blinked. “You’re studying horticulture?” he asked, his tone neutral, but Uriah saw the flash of surprise and grinned.

  “No, but it’s the first major I could think of that would piss him off enough that he’d leave me alone. So anyway, I was thinking about catching another hour of sleep, and then I heard Dad leaving. He told Pete to do whatever he needed to do to fix it. As soon as Dad left, Pete immediately got on the phone.

  “At first, I thought it might be Diane…I mean it was, you know, intimate, but from the things Pete was saying, I finally realized he was talking to another guy. That really got my attention. There was a lot more to the conversation from Pete’s side. I didn’t let on I was there, and after Pete hung up and left the office, I started searching. It took nearly two weeks before I uncovered it all. I had to keep working on the bookcase, too, so he and Dad wouldn’t know I was gathering evidence, but that’s what I was doing. I planned to turn everything over once I had proof.”

  “You lost me, Uriah. If Pete was having an affair with a guy, I agree it’s bad, but is seems like Dee would believe you without—Wait…Proof of what?” Gabe asked.

  Uriah nodded. “Do you know about the uranium mining in the canyon?” Uriah asked, finally forcing himself to the heart of the matter.

  “Sure, a little. I mean it was big news around here when the Park Service called a moratorium on mining.”

  “Exactly. And my dad and brother were planning a big lawsuit. They knew they have no valid claim, but they are soliciting for clients on the res, stirring up trouble, telling them the government’s stealing from them. Pete came out here to sign up a few more clients and met with a guy named Joe.”

  Uriah looked over his shoulder at the apparently sleeping Diane and decided to continue. “From what I could tell, they started an affair, and Joe wanted Pete to leave everything and move out here. Claimed he knew where some treasure was hidden that would make them rich. Pete wanted that more than anything, something to break him free from Dad.”

  “When I’d gotten the proof about the mining lawsuit, some bribery, and a couple of letters from Joe, I confronted Pete. Told him I wasn’t going to let it happen. Not to the Navajo, not to this guy he had at the canyon waiting for him. Not to Diane.

  “Pete cried…fucking cried. Said he didn’t want to do this, but our father was making him. He couldn’t get out of the deal and that the marriage was the only thing saving him. He said he really did love Joe and that they had all the clues to find this treasure left in the canyon nearly a hundred years ago. Anyway…it was a long, ugly fight. I told him he had to come clean with everyone. Tell Diane the truth, come with me to the Park Service to tell them what was happening with the trumped up lawsuit. He said he was tired of the lies.”

  “Did you believe him?”

  “Yes—no. I don’t know. Not about the treasure, but I knew it was true about our father. He would never tolerate anything but straight from one of his sons. Pete had always been the golden boy, but if Dad found out he was gay?” Uriah blew out a breath, shook his head. “About the other…the being in love part and coming clean? I wanted to…but… Anyway, that was a Friday,” Uriah said quietly. “We were supposed to meet my father on Sunday, to give him a chance to drop the lawsuit before we exposed him. We never got that chance because by Sunday morning, Pete was dead.”

  Gabe turned to face him and the hazel gaze trapped him, hypnotized, paralyzed. He couldn’t breathe. Feelings he had no name for chased through him. They sat next to each other, leg against leg, and the wiry hair of Gabe’s shorts-clad thigh scritched against his own smooth skin. He burned where they touched.

  “Uriah, you can’t hold yourself responsible for your brother’s choice in this. He had a lot of pressures, your father, the lover, the lawsuit. You can’t claim responsibility for his action; you just have to learn to live with it. I think it’s probably time for you to acknowledge the real source of the guilt you feel is that you’re in love with your brother’s wife,” Gabe said.

  A statement, not a question. It was a truth Uriah had denied for years, would still deny.

>   “No.” His voice sounded funny. Strangled, as if he would choke on the lie. He cleared his throat and repeated his answer. “No.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Uriah. I can see it in the way you watch her, in the way you made love with her, in the way you say her name. You love Diane, and you don’t know what to do with those feelings. And now, you want me. Given everything with your father and brother, that leaves you in a real mess.”

  Uriah’s breath was coming fast. He wanted to look away, to move, to shout that every word was a lie. But he was frozen in place as Gabe moved closer. He licked his suddenly dry lips.

  “Yes,” Uriah whispered.

  Gabe’s gaze dropped to Uriah’s mouth, and he growled low in his chest. Before Uriah could speak, Gabe closed the distance between them.

  This kiss was nothing like the gentle press of lips earlier. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced. Firmer, rougher…scratchier. That thought almost drew a laugh, but then Gabe slipped his tongue inside Uriah’s mouth, and all ability for rational thought slipped away. Gabe’s hand slid up to cup the back of Uriah’s head, fingers threading into his hair, pulling him close.

  There was a dangerous edge of possessiveness to Gabe’s demand. Then Gabe’s other hand touched Uriah’s face. Gentle, tender, unexpected. This isn’t how men touch. Is it?

  Chapter Seven

  Diane woke with a start, shifting from sleep to awake with a jerk of tired muscles and pounding heart. Momentarily at a loss to explain her surroundings, she lay still. Memories flooded back as she heard Uriah speaking to Gabe. She rolled to her side to let them know she was awake, but the words caught in her throat when she caught sight of the two men. She had a perfect view of them as they leaned against the cave wall. She was tucked into the shadows, invisible to them. Not that they were looking at her.