The instructors and students always parked at the side of the rutted, narrow access road leading to the river, and she’d been the last one to pull in. There’d been the usual half-hour discussion before everyone traipsed down the path to the river for several hours of hands-on demonstration and practice on a stretch of white water. All the while, the vehicles were out of sight, and the noisy river would’ve masked the sound of anyone driving up the lane.
At the sign for Wolf River Rafting she breathed a sigh of relief, flipped on her turn signal and turned in. Had she been targeted…or simply a random victim?
Either way, the sense of being violated made her shiver. What if she’d run out of gas somewhere between here and town? With just intermittent cell phone service thanks to the mountains, it might have been a very long and lonely walk.
A pair of headlights flashed in her rearview mirror, swung around and blinded her for a split second, then a motor gunned and the vehicle took off down the highway with a squeal of tires. Her heart lodged in her throat at the obvious implication.
A coincidence? Not likely. She’d been followed.
By someone who’d expected to find her stranded on the highway and vulnerable—though fortunately he’d misjudged the amount of fuel it would take for that to happen.
Her fear faded and her anger grew. She was tired of this. Tired of being followed, of being threatened, of not knowing for sure who was behind it all.
It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t fair that some unknown stranger was threatening her future and possibly even her life, when all she wanted was a chance to start over and finally be happy.
And if it turned out to be Billy, she wouldn’t give in to her old feelings and back away from pressing charges. Not this time. Not ever again. Whatever her intentions for the future were, however brave she felt at this moment with the threat now gone, it was still terrifying to be confronted with danger in the dark and all alone.
Thank You, God, for watching out for me, she murmured as she stepped on the accelerator and tried to calm her shaking nerves.
In minutes, she pulled in close to the rafting office, grateful for the security light that lit her stairway and the lamp glowing in the boathouse window.
She hesitated. Scanning the vicinity for any movement, she felt her tension ease when the boathouse door swung open and Logan appeared.
“Glad to see you,” she called out as she stepped from her SUV and hit Lock on her key ring.
He strode over to her, frowning as he pulled to a stop and searched her face. “You look so pale. Everything all right?”
“I think I may have been followed here…possibly by someone who also drained most of the fuel from my gas tank.” She gave him a quick summary. “If this was Billy, he ought to know better. And if it’s someone else—the big question is why?”
“I think you should call the sheriff.”
“I thought about it—but what proof do I have of anything? They probably already think I’ve cried wolf one too many times as it is.”
His expression troubled, Logan slowly shook his head. “Maybe I should start taking you to those classes.”
A warm feeling unfurled in her heart at the deep concern in his eyes. “And to school, back and forth on all of these trips? It’s sweet of you to offer, but it’s also impractical. I’ll—I’ll just be more careful.”
“And how will you do that? It’s impossible to protect yourself every minute.” He rested his large, strong hands on her shoulders. “Maybe you need a bodyguard.”
“Very funny.” She gave a short laugh. “Me. A part-time teacher, without fame or fortune. Or any real enemies, for that matter.”
“I’m serious.”
His intent gaze locked on to hers and she could no more look away than she could have stopped the moon’s orbit. His eyes were so beautiful, filled with such compassion and concern, that she felt safer than she had in a long, long time. “Thanks. But just having you here makes me feel better.”
His hands slid slowly down her arms and captured her hands. “I do know it’s impractical to have someone watching over you day and night. But at least give Penny or me a call whenever you go somewhere so we’ll know where you’ve gone and when you plan to be back.”
“I can’t expect you to—”
“Yes, you can.” With a low growl tinged with frustration, he pulled her gently into a warm, comforting hug.
Well—maybe that was the intent.
Instead, warm tingles of awareness rushed through her at the wonderful sensation of being held in his strong arms, and when she breathed in his unique, masculine scent of pine, fresh air and a faint hint of woodsy aftershave she felt as though she’d come home. She stilled, wanting the moment to last. Knowing she should step away. Wondering what it would be like if he dropped his mouth to hers for a kiss.
When he abruptly released her and stepped back, his breathing ragged and his expression dazed, she knew he’d been affected, as well.
“I…I’d better go,” she faltered, thankful that the darkness hid the warm blush climbing up her cheeks. “I…have assignments to grade and…um…it’s late.”
“Keep your cell phone by your bedside,” he warned. “Call me if anything seems suspicious.”
He waited until she went inside, then slowly turned away after she waved to him from a window.
She’d brushed aside his concern, not wanting him to feel obligated. Not wanting to be a burden. Knowing, after a lifetime of experience, that the one person she needed to rely on was herself. But his concern had echoed her own, and now, in her empty apartment—save for one sleeping cat—she glanced around and felt the walls closing in on her.
God—I know You’re here with me. Help me feel Your strength and Your presence, and to remember that I’m really never alone.
Long after she’d settled into her apartment for the night and finished grading the papers, Carrie roamed her rooms, unable to settle down. Unable to let go of a premonition that had been tying her stomach into knots.
A few hang-up phone calls and unfounded worries about her ex-husband were hardly proof of trouble, she reminded herself as she settled back down at her desk and turned on her laptop. Billy was probably somewhere in New Mexico, and her foolish imagination was simply working overtime.
Since she couldn’t sleep, she might as well email Trace and Kris, and ask about how their wedding plans were coming along. Catch up with some old school friends on her social-networking websites…or even work on her lesson plans for next week. After an hour or two, she ought to be able to fall asleep without any problem at all.
She opened her email program, slid the cursor over to New Messages. Clicked. And felt her heart lodge in her throat.
A long list of incoming messages filled the page.
And every last one of them was from Billy.
EIGHT
Internet service at Wolf River was painstakingly slow. Halfway through trying to get something done online, she often found herself disconnected and needing to start all over again. The only people she’d likely hear from outside of Granite Falls were Trace and Kris at any rate, and they’d call her cell phone before bothering to type out a message.
But now, given the emails she’d received from Billy last night, the antiquated internet connection was more frustrating than ever, and it was past time to leave for school. Carrie drummed her fingernails on her kitchen table as she glanced through the first few messages, forwarding each one to Sam before she deleted them.
We need to talk…
Things have been tough. About that bank loan I had…
You’ll be seeing me soon. You owe me…
You’re in real trouble…
The internet disconnected. Again. Exasperated, she hit the off button on her laptop and slammed the cover shut. The emails were just more of the same, and her lawyer could deal with him. She’d send the rest later.
There’d been few assets to divide during the divorce. No real estate. No investments to speak of. Bi
lly had actually tried to go after her for support, since she was the only one of them who had a regular paycheck. He’d hammered home the fact that she had a brother who owned a “fancy ranch,” as if it meant she had access to money that Billy deserved.
Her fear faded, and renewed anger took its place. No harassment, subtle or otherwise, was going to help him win anything from her. He was welcome to try.
Though still, a small voice of warning niggled at her, chipping away at her flash of bravado and reminding her of what it had been like to live with his volatile temper…
And of the fact that she was out here very much alone.
When her rafting certification classes were cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday, Carrie reported to the raft company office. Penny, Tina and Logan were booked solid into the evening, so Carrie’s own afternoon flew while she handled the customers, collected liability release forms and outfitted each set of passengers with the appropriate gear.
While waiting for the final float trip to return, she set up her laptop in the office and finished forwarding Billy’s emails to Sam without bothering to read them. She hadn’t heard back from Sam about the first set, but still felt a flash of relief when the task was done. “So there, Billy Danvers,” she muttered under her breath. “Take that.”
“You don’t sound happy.” A low laugh rumbled from the door of the office, and Logan walked in. “You always talk to your computer in that voice?”
“It isn’t the computer. It…was just some business I had to take care of.”
Lifting an eyebrow, he sauntered up to her desk and settled into a chair. “The only time I’ve heard that edge in your voice has been over that ex-husband of yours. Is he causing you any trouble?”
“Long distance. Which is enough. So how did your raft trip go?” She glanced at the open schedule book on the desk. “Since you had the white-water group this time, it had to be more fun.”
“Yep. Good set of folks, too. They loved it, and not one of ’em did anything crazy. Half said they were coming back again next week.” Bracing his elbows on the arms of the chair, he studied her. “So what’s this about Billy? Are you expecting trouble?”
“He’d like me to think that.”
“Did he call?”
“Emailed. Quite a few times, and he ought to know better.”
“It has to be tough, dealing with this.”
“It isn’t exactly how I expected my marriage to end, believe me.” She sighed. “I really meant the ‘till death do us part’ passage of my marriage vows. I made them in church, before God and my family. It was supposed to be a lifetime bond. And now here I am, divorced and worrying about my ex-husband showing up.”
Logan nodded. “Sometimes life just throws us a curve.” He looked as if he wanted to say more, but held back.
“It’s strange. My marriage was a mistake, I know that now. I fell for charm and a devilish smile, not substance. But I’m not angry anymore…it’s more like deep sorrow. Guilt, too. Could I have done something better? Tried harder? If I’d given it more time, could I have changed him? Maybe I failed him as well as myself, you know?”
“If he didn’t change just being married to you and wanting to make you happy, then you couldn’t have made it happen.”
She considered his words. “I did learn that if I ever follow my heart, it will only happen with someone who is a good, solid man who shares my faith.”
“No more wild and crazy cowboys, then.”
“Exactly. It won’t be the excitement of some bad boy who lives on the edge of danger, and risks his life every day. And it won’t matter if he’s not tall, dark and handsome, either. It will be all about what he’s like inside.”
“Sounds like a good plan.” Logan’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “So what did Billy say in those emails?”
“Nothing new.” She shrugged. “I didn’t even read the last few. I just forwarded everything to my lawyer and deleted the messages. If he has anything to say he can say it to Sam.”
“But he could still come looking for you, and I’m not always around.” Logan studied her for a long moment. “You should move to town, where you’d have lots of people close by 24/7.”
“Billy is probably three states away. And anyway, letting him affect my decisions is no longer something I’m willing to do. Period. I really do like my apartment here.”
Logan’s eyebrows drew together. “But I don’t think it’s worth the risk to stay here. Not when I can’t guarantee your safety.”
“You sound like my brother.”
He smiled at that. “Well…maybe that’s a good thing.”
“So both of you think I’m supposed to run like a scared bunny the rest of my life?” She dredged up a rueful grin at the sharp edge in her voice. “Sorry. I know you’re just trying to help.”
“I’ll start leaving my dog here at night, then.”
She’d thought about asking him to do just that, until she’d seen Murphy’s absolute devotion to Logan. The dog seemed to doze the days away, but had a special connection where Logan was concerned. The poor animal whined and paced the shore whenever Logan left on float trips, and only settled down to doze in the shade when he saw his master return.
“I think Murphy would cry all night if you did that.”
“Not if he was in your apartment.”
“Well…”
“What, you don’t like my dog?”
“He’s a great dog. But—”
“Let’s try it tonight. Penny and I could even start taking turns at staying out here, too—there’s a sofa in the office downstairs. Or one of us could even bring a sleeping bag and stay out in the boathouse for a while.”
“No, though I do appreciate the offer.”
“Look at it this way—we won’t get any sleep wondering about what’s going on out here.” A smile kicked up one corner of his mouth. “So we might as well.”
She threw up her hands in mock surrender. “Okay—the dog. You and your sister don’t need to babysit me out here.”
“But you have our phone numbers, right?”
“Still do.” She patted the cell phone holder on her belt. “My brother has them also—I hope that’s okay. I figured it might be a good backup in case he really needs to contact me. My cell provider doesn’t have the best coverage up here.”
“That’s fine. And you have us on speed dial, right?”
She laughed at that. “I will. Promise.”
He rested a warm, strong hand on her shoulder, locking his gaze on hers. The intense expression of concern in his eyes nearly stole her breath away. “I… We’re just worried about you, Carrie. So don’t take any chances.”
Long after their talk, Logan was still out at the boathouse, lights blazing through the windows and open doorway. Now and then Carrie could hear the pounding of a hammer and the whine of a table saw. By midnight, the sounds ceased and the lights in the boathouse were out, but Logan’s truck was still parked by the door so he must have settled in for the night out there.
She’d returned to the windows a dozen times or more during the evening, warmed by Logan’s presence. Knowing that he was lingering out of concern for her, even though he’d had a long, hard day…and even when he’d left his dog in her care, which should have been enough.
Billy, for all his cowboy charm and courtly manners when they’d been dating, hadn’t been half as concerned when she’d had to drive to work on dangerous winter roads, or had been alone during the long months he was gone following one rodeo circuit or another.
Murphy started whining at two in the morning.
She must have fallen asleep, because now she jerked up, pillows falling from the sofa, feeling bleary and disoriented. Murphy was at one of the windows, his nose pushed through the side of the blinds and his paws on the windowsill, the hair raised along his backbone and his tail rigid.
She stumbled over to him, a hand at her throat. “What’s up, buddy?”
Murphy growled.
Logan’
s truck was still out there. Nothing stirred.
A beam of light bobbed inside the boathouse, then Logan appeared at the door with a flashlight. The light arced across the parking lot, then the pine-walled perimeter of the clearing as he strode into the darkness. She held her breath, realizing the danger he could be in if someone was out there lying in wait.
She’d been determined—no, stubborn and selfish—about staying out here, and thinking only of herself. What if he was hurt…or worse?
And there wasn’t just the possibility of a human intruder. There were grizzlies out there—bears that wouldn’t hesitate to attack if a human inadvertently came up on them in the dark. Moose were even more unpredictable and just as dangerous, and she’d heard there were plenty of both in the area.
“Come on, Murphy. Go find Logan.” She snapped her fingers and opened the door, and the dog shot down the stairs, his tail wagging. At least with Murphy at his side, Logan would have some warning. And until she saw both of them return to the boathouse, she wasn’t going to move away from the window.
Logan and his dog had been out patrolling the property until nearly one o’clock last night. Carrie had stayed at her window, tense and breathless, murmuring a litany of prayers for his safety, until she’d seen both of them trudge back to the boathouse. At the doorway he’d looked up at her window, given her a thumbs-up signal, then the two of them had disappeared inside.
She had no doubt that the boathouse had offered little in the way of comfort and that he was far more tired than she, but when she got in her car to head for school in the morning, he was already out on the riverbank, talking to two tourists who apparently wanted to go down the river.
When she returned after teaching school, he’d just pulled in from another raft trip. As soon as he saw her, he walked over and gave her shoulders a quick hug. “Everything okay?”
Murder at Granite Falls Page 8