White Water Passion

by Dawn Luedecke

  She made out Garrett’s wide shouldered silhouette in the night. He turned when she neared. “You stayed in camp?”

  “I said I would.”

  “We’re headed to the bunk,” Blue said, along with the mumbled agreement of others.

  “Have Clint relieve me in four hours,” Garrett directed, and once the men agreed and then disappeared, he turned back to her. “How’s Simon?”

  “Awake, and in good spirits.”

  “So he’s going to make a full recovery?”

  “Other than some scarring, Aunt June says he will be good as new in a few weeks. How did moving the raft go? You weren’t hurt, were you? Swimming a raft at night is dangerous.”

  “I’m fine, thanks. The current wasn’t that strong. We got across the lake without incident. The raft is all tied up, and now we wait to see if anyone tries to mess with it. I’m headed to keep an eye on The Deck and Grove.”

  “Do you want company? I was about to go wake Carrie to stay with Simon.”

  He shuffled as if uncomfortable. “You should get some rest.”

  “Oh,” she tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. She didn’t want rest, not after everything that had transpired that day. “Yes. I suppose I should.”

  She turned toward the railcar.

  “Beth.” He gently grabbed her arm. She faced him once more. “I’m going to Mother Goose’s Cottage tomorrow to clear my head so I can figure out what to do about this whole mess. Come with me?”

  The breath she took seemed to fill her lungs completely and ease the tension in her shoulders. “I’d love to.”

  “I have something to do in the morning and then I’ll head up. Meet me on the marked trail past The Deck after breakfast? No veering off the path. Not for anything.”

  “What should I tell Aunt June? She wanted me to help clean up the camp tomorrow.”

  “Tell her I need you. She’ll let you come.”

  “Okay.”

  “See you in the morning.” He released her arm and let his drop to his sides.

  Beth couldn’t stop the smile that spread across her face. It wasn’t proper to be alone with a man, especially in a setting as romantic as Mother Goose’s Cottage, but up here propriety barely existed. Up here, with Garrett, she could be free. If only life could be so liberating.

  Chapter 16

  “Oh no you don’t, young lady,” Aunt June scolded when Beth told her where she was headed the next day. Carrie and a few of the rivermen sat around the chow table talking, and looked over at her when Aunt June continued. “You’ve gotten yourself in enough trouble. There will be no lone outings for you anymore.”

  Beth slid a nervous eye in the direction of her growing party of eavesdroppers. She shifted so her back was toward the table. “Garrett and I need to come up with a plan to flush the saboteur out.”

  “What about your brother? Shouldn’t you be spending time with him if you’re not helping me?”

  “I’ve spent all morning with him, and he’s asleep now and told me not to bother him until lunch.”

  “Then you’ll take an escort.” Aunt June perused the crowd.

  “I’ll take her,” Wall offered, lurching out of his seat and hastening to stand next to Beth.

  “No, please, Aunt June,” Beth pleaded. “I’ll be fine by myself.”

  “Let the girl go, June,” Garrett’s Uncle Marcus said from his seat at the table. “Garrett’s probably got something planned for the two of them, if you know what I mean.” The greasy old man winked at Beth.

  “Let me get my hat.” Wall ran back to the table.

  “You hush up you foul-mouthed horse’s behind,” Aunt June scolded Marcus. “You come in every day late, and hang around until I shoo you away. Don’t you have some work to do?”

  “Na. Today’s my day off.”

  Aunt June slammed her hands on her sides. “When were your days on?”

  The tins that remained on the table rattled as Marcus slammed his fist down on top. “I’ve been doin’ what I can around here, but Garrett hasn’t given me a real job yet, and the man he sent me to see is all laid up.”

  “Garrett’s busy keeping the whole operation from going down in flames,” Aunt June defended.

  “You’d think he could spare a minute for family. I swear the boy walks around acting like he owns the mill.”

  “He will once Papa retires,” Victoria said with a smile, then placed the cup she was drying on the shelf below the serving table.

  Marcus stood and grumbled, “I’m going for a ride. Where’s my mule?”

  “No one cares what you do, Marcus. You’re a deadbeat.” Aunt June made a face at Marcus as he meandered out of the camp, grumbling, and then turned toward Beth. “You’ll take Wall, or you won’t go, missy.”

  “Aunt June,” Beth pleaded for her to understand.

  The older woman glared at her. “I’ll follow you myself and collect every spare worker that I see if you don’t take Wall.”

  “Ready, Miz Elizabeth?” Wall asked as he plopped the hat onto his head.

  “I’m coming too.” Victoria grabbed her shawl from a peg on the side of Aunt June’s cabin.

  “You too?” Beth sent a questioning glare to Carrie, who gave a humored smile and shook her head in denial.

  Beth didn’t care to hide her scowl as they climbed the trail leading to The Deck. At the top, she noticed a scene different from days before. Instead of Teddy and other horse teams working hard to bring the logs to the chute, The Deck sat empty save for Garrett and The Bull as they stood in the center of the clearing and talked.

  She heard the familiar shout and tree squealing in protest as it fell somewhere deep in The Grove.

  Garrett drew his eyes to her as she walked closer. He gave a fleeting look at the people trailing behind her, and quickly turned back to The Bull.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” he said to The Bull when she neared, and headed in her direction. His eyes stormed for a moment when he took another look behind her, but he quickly masked the expression.

  “Aunt June insisted.” Beth motioned to Wall and Victoria.

  “Mother Goose’s Cottage, huh?” Wall asked. “Who gave it that name?”

  “Beth did.” Garrett puffed his chest out slightly.

  “It’s a good name.” Wall mimicked Garrett’s pose. “And way up there in the trees where a man, or woman, could stay for weeks without visitors. Get lost alone, or with another person, if one was so inclined.”

  “Yep.” Garrett held a stare with his friend that Beth didn’t quite understand.

  “Who’s standing watch?” Beth interrupted the silent fight for dominance.

  Garrett broke the stare and turned to her. “Clint is over there with The Bull, and Blue is at the raft.”

  “When do you take over?” she asked.

  Victoria cleared her throat to garner the attention of the men. “What are you taking over?”

  “May as well tell her,” Beth suggested. “She is the boss’s daughter. She has as much interest in this mess as we do.”

  The look Garrett shot Beth proved he hadn’t expected her to fully understand the role Victoria played in his life. He turned back to Victoria and explained the plan they’d concocted the night before.

  “Do what you need, Garrett. I know you’ll make the right decisions.” Victoria batted her eyelashes at him and gave a smile meant to charm.

  “We should get going.” Beth started for the marked trail.

  “Garrett.” Victoria cleared her throat like a lady quietly chiding a forgetful beau.

  Beth glanced back to see Victoria with hand extended, waiting for Garrett to tuck her arm into his. Beth faced forward once more and stomped her spiked feet up the path. She needed to remember that Garrett belonged to Victoria. Throughout all the time they spent together, she had a te
ndency to forget the deal he was bound to.

  Wall caught up to her and kept pace. “Why’d you come all the way up here, Miz Elizabeth?”

  “Like I told Aunt June, to discuss how to flush out the saboteur.”

  “No, not here on this hill.” He motioned toward the vast display of overgrown forest that stretched for miles in all directions. “Why did you come here, to the Big Mountain Lumber Mill camp?”

  “Oh.” She studied him again. He seemed to genuinely want to converse, and his tone didn’t accuse her of anything, like lying and cheating. Maybe he should since that’s exactly what she did to get here. He seemed to be nothing more than curious. “It’s a long story, but the simple version is I overheard something about what is going on, and came to help.”

  “So why become a Devil May Care? Why not work for Aunt June?”

  “Why do people keep asking me that? Have you ever searched for something you lost before?”

  “Of course.”

  “Did it do you any good to stay in the kitchen to look for it, or did you search the rest of the house, maybe even outside?”

  Wall chuckled. “I suppose not.”

  “Well, it wouldn’t do me any good to search only the Missoula cook camp.” Beth took a few more steps up the mountain and tried not to stare as Victoria leaned on Garrett’s elbow to climb over a rock on the trail.

  “Do you go to many social events in town?” Wall stopped next to the same rock Victoria had trouble with, and reached out his elbow for her to use. Beth eyed his arm.

  She didn’t need an arm to lean on, but etiquette dictated she let him assist. Only they weren’t in a place where etiquette mattered. Beth reached out and allowed him to help her maneuver the rough terrain. “I do the rounds.”

  “You’re doing the scene,” Victoria squealed with delight. “Why haven’t I seen you at parties before?”

  “I’ve been to a few, but Carrie and I preferred to stay in the shadows rather than parade ourselves around like cattle at auction.”

  “But you miss out on all of the fun that way,” Victoria declared. “When we get home, I must have you over for tea. We can plan the best parties for you to attend to catch a beau. I had no idea that you were one of us. I thought you came from the outskirts of Missoula. That you were… Oh dear.” She paused and placed a dainty hand over her mouth. “That must sound dreadful of me. I didn’t mean to say you weren’t one of us.”

  Beth shook her head. Truth be told, she didn’t care what Victoria thought, or said. She could call her a two-headed mule for all she cared.

  “What is your family name?” Victoria asked.

  “Sanders.”

  “Not Margaret Sanders from Russell Street.” When Beth nodded, Victoria continued, “Oh I just love Margaret. She is the dearest woman, so sweet and self-sacrificing. You must be the orphaned children she took on all those years ago.”

  Beth glanced back to see Garrett stiffen at the comment.

  “My grandmother took us in when our parents died.”

  “Oh, how tragic. That must have been awful, poor girl.” Victoria said the last like Beth was a child who lost a doll. Beth didn’t care if she’d spoken out of genuine concern, the woman could go jump in a creek.

  Beth faced the trail and stuck her chin in the air to continue to climb in silence. The only sounds that filtered through the trees were the one the forest provided, until the gentle huff of female sensibilities sounded behind her.

  “My feet,” Victoria whined. Beth looked as Victoria leaned heavily on Garrett’s arm and lifted the hem of her narrow, pleated skirt to show her kid leather boots. Buttons swooped up the side to hug the ankles and then flared out at the top. A small heel at the back gave her height, but the slick soles and pinched sides were not conducive to a romp through the forest.

  Beth tried not to let her surprise show at the demure woman’s brazen move in hiking up her skirts in front of men. She may be wild enough to come up here and face a saboteur, but she wasn’t uneducated on what was proper. That was not.

  “Why did you wear those shoes up here?” Garrett asked as he bent over to examine the dainty heels on Victoria’s feet.

  “I thought I’d be tootling around camp. I hadn’t intended to go for a walk today.”

  Garrett stood. “This isn’t a walk. It’s a hike to the cabin, and a steep one.”

  “You’ll help me, won’t you?” She snuggled closer to Garrett and slid her hand farther down his forearm.

  “I’ve no choice,” he answered.

  Wall slid his gaze to Beth and held out his arm. “Do you need some help?”

  Surprised, Beth set her arm on his again and continued up the trail. Was this the way all of the Devil May Cares planned to act toward her now that she was exposed as a woman? The last thing she wanted was to be treated like a wilting miss, but no one said she couldn’t enjoy the little considerations.

  The easy way Wall helped guide her up the steep path, with a gentle tug or solid arm to lean on, made her relax and enjoy the burn of the physical exertion. If it wasn’t for her growing feelings for Garrett, she could see herself falling for Wall.

  Beth tried not to appear irritated when Victoria picked her way up the trail. She studied the sun and guessed they’d hiked for almost three hours before the path opened up to the meadow that held Mother Goose’s Cottage. Never before had it taken them so long to hike this high up the mountain.

  “It’s quaint,” Victoria crooned when she limped toward the crude cabin.

  “It’s not meant to be lived in for long periods of time. It’s more of an escape for Simon and me.”

  Victoria tugged Garrett to get him to follow her inside the cabin, and he did. Leaving Beth and Wall alone in the field.

  “We should probably go in there after them,” Wall suggested, but didn’t move.

  Beth stood silent and stared at the door to the cabin. If rules of propriety were so important to people of Victoria’s ilk, then why would she display such blatant indecency where Garrett was concerned? “You’re right. We need to get in there to form a plan.”

  Wall rubbed the back of his neck, and then turned toward the cabin. “I thought we had a plan.” He followed as she led him toward the open door.

  “I think he wants to figure out a way to get more logs to the mill without needing the chute.”

  “I’ve got a few ideas.” Wall stood next to the door and motioned for her to proceed.

  Beth entered the dark room and looked around. She’d thought the room would be empty except for Garrett and Victoria, only instead of nothing but a dirt floor like she’d imagined, a bed sat in the corner, and someone’s personal belongings were scattered around the ground.

  “Who do you think is staying here?” Wall picked up a pair of trousers lying near the door and checked the pockets.

  “Who all knows this place is up here?” Beth asked.

  “Everyone, but all the loggers are provided lodging. There’s no reason for any of them to stay here.” Garrett walked toward the door. “Let’s go outside and leave their stuff be.”

  “Whoever it is needs a lesson in cleanliness,” Victoria said as she stepped from the cabin into the open meadow.

  Garrett led the way to the area where he’d kissed her when they’d been alone, and her heart flipped. Only weeks ago she’d thought they might have had something special, something that could lead to more, but then Victoria had shown up. Perfect Victoria. Beth needed to find a way to forget Garrett and his kisses. “Any ideas on how to get logs to the water so we can once again replenish the raft?”

  “I’ve got a couple,” Wall offered. “I say we use the train.”

  “The train?” Garrett started. “How do we do that?”

  “With a trail of flat railcars and a whole lotta chain, we might be able to get a few loads down the mountain before we even make a dri
ve. We move half of the faller team to the trees right behind the train.”

  Garrett nodded, excited, and continued with Wall’s idea. “We can drag the logs over with the horse team, and set up a pulley system using the trees right next to the track to load them onto a flat car. Once they’re set, they go down the mountain.”

  Wall shifted on his feet to display the same enthusiasm as Garrett at the plan. “The other faller and horse teams work up the hill, and we roll them down to the lake. You’ll have to make certain no one goes near the hill. It won’t get as much of a load down to the mill on the drive, but with the train running around the clock, we should get enough to meet the contract by the end of the season.”

  “That’s only a month away.”

  “We’re only a little more than half a drive short. We can make that up if we work hard. Both rivermen and timber beasts.”

  “It’s worth a shot. Double the load going down before we even go on the drive. I’ll write to my father and have him send up another engine, and as many flat cars as he can spare.” Garrett drew closer to Beth, and her breath hitched. She sucked in a deep breath to help her focus.

  What business did Garrett’s father own? By the way the loggers deferred to Garrett’s judgment—and oftentimes without question—she’d assumed he owned a stake in Big Mountain, but she’d been proven wrong when she’d met Victoria. His father was somehow connected to the company, though, but how? “Why would your father have flat cars to spare?”

  Victoria looked at her as if she were daft. “His father owns the railroad. There are only three railroad companies in Missoula, and his father owns the one that services most of the mines and logging camps in the area, not to mention being the only company with a steam engine that runs from Glendive all the way to Seattle.” Beth tried not to grow nauseated when Victoria batted her eyes, sidled up to him, and continued, “Soon Garrett and I will be the owners of both companies, once our fathers retire.”

  “The railroad,” Beth repeated.

  Victoria simply smiled. “When Garrett approached Father for a job at Big Mountain, Father knew he’d be an asset to the camp. With Garrett’s connections, we were able to bring the railroad all the way up to the top of the mountain. And now we may have discovered how to revolutionize Montana logging.”