Vanished in the Mountains

by Tanya Stowe

  Dulcie’s harsh whisper echoed beneath the bluff. “We’re stopping here?”

  “It’s our best chance. Come on.”

  Without another moment’s thought, she climbed over, evidence of her trust in him. Too bad she trusted him so much. So far, he hadn’t done a very good job of staying ahead of the gang’s plans. But wasn’t that the story of his life?

  He shook off his negative thoughts and led the way to the ruins. “Be careful. Step where I step and don’t lean on any walls or supports.” He kept his voice low so it didn’t echo in the empty chambers. Dulcie didn’t speak and he didn’t look back to see if she acknowledged his order. Finding his footing took all of his concentration.

  There was no way to enter the ruins proper from the left side. They had to cross in front...in plain view from above. Austin could only hope the men following them were focused on the trail. Ducking, he pulled Dulcie across the open space and around the remains of a large kiva—a deep, circular pit. Austin headed between two walls and led her all the way to the back, where a narrow door with a T-shaped frame fed into the dark interior. On the opposite wall, another door led into a warren of rooms that once served the small but bustling community. Other doors led farther and farther back until the ruins dipped beneath the massive cliff wall. Austin didn’t want to enter the deeper parts of the ruins if he didn’t have to. But if he did, the small doors and rooms were hard to traverse and would slow their pursuers down. Hopefully that would give Dulcie and him time to escape from the other side. At least that was his plan.

  Please, God, let this work. Let me do this part right.

  At the back of the narrow passage, two wooden beams supported the wall to their right. It was a good place to hide since the shadows there were deep, but he could still see down the narrow opening and across the riverbed.

  “Sit down and lean against the supports...but only the supports, not the walls. Rest while you can.” Dulcie nodded in response to his whispered words and eased down on ground worn hard and smooth by years and use. Unfortunately, both their raspy breaths echoed in the empty passage.

  Austin crouched down beside her. “Take some deep breaths. Let’s slow it down.”

  She nodded. With silent gestures, he motioned for her to follow his deep breaths. She obeyed and several inhalations slowed and silenced their heavy breathing...and just in time.

  They heard the low voices of the men standing outside the fence around the ruins.

  “I’m telling you. That’s the only place they could have gone.”

  “Nah. They could be hiding behind any of those trees down the wash. We need to keep going.”

  Austin’s worst fear was realized when he recognized the raspy voice of Walter Benally. Bob Carson’s mother told Austin her son was running with Benally. Was Carson the other man?

  Whoever he was, he was insistent. “I’m telling you, man. They’re hiding in those old rooms. Let’s go look.”

  Austin tensed.

  “I’m not gonna waste time searching all those rooms when they’ve probably gone down the trail,” came the raspy reply. “Besides. I don’t go near the houses of the ancient ones.”

  Ancient ones. The people of the Navajo Nation often referred to the Ancestral Puebloans as the ancient ones...and they had tremendous respect for their ruins. The man’s use of the term confirmed his conviction that Benally was one of the men.

  “How far is the next house on the wash?” the other man asked.

  Benally sounded irritated. “I don’t know. I don’t spend no time here if I can help it. The place gives me the creeps. Besides, we don’t want anyone to see us. You already caused enough noise with that shot, Carson.”

  Austin clenched his fist with conviction. He should have paid more attention to Carson’s mother when she told him about the connection. He wished he’d followed through and done more. If he had, they wouldn’t be here now.

  “Sorry. I thought it might scare him into stopping. So what are we gonna do?”

  “Let’s go down the trail a ways. See if we can’t get to a high spot where we can look down on the floor. We can see most everything from there.”

  They moved away from the fence and down the trail. Austin listened until he could no longer hear their movement. It was long enough for Dulcie to settle herself from their strenuous run down the trail. She had begun to shiver. Austin pulled the water bottle out of his pocket and cracked the lid. Even that small sound echoed in the cavernous passage. They both tensed. When nothing happened, he handed the bottle to her and she drank. Austin opened the other bottle and took his own sip before carefully and silently creeping toward the opening so he could look down the wash. The men walked along the white edges of the sandy riverbed. Suddenly, they paused and stood for a long while. It appeared they were arguing again. Then one of them spun and stalked back their way. Austin hurried to where Dulcie sat, knees drawn up, head resting on her folded arms. Her whole body shivered.

  Lifting the snap on his firearm holster caused her to raise her gaze. Austin knelt low and whispered, “They’re coming back our way. If one of them crosses the fence, I will shoot. If I fire, I want you to run to the back. There’s a deep crevice in the rock wall. Go as far as you can and hide. I’ll try to lead them away.”

  She started to shake her head, but he held his finger to his lips. The men’s muffled voices reached them and Dulcie held whatever protests she’d been about to make. The two men stopped at the same place along the trail and once again, their voices carried over the wash. Austin pressed back as close to the fragile wall as he dared.

  He wished he could lean out far enough to get a glimpse of their faces. He wanted visual proof that they were who he thought. If he and Dulcie got out of this canyon safely, he’d be on the radio to McGuire to have them arrested. But if Carson convinced Benally to climb the fence and cross to the ruins, they wouldn’t get out of here unscathed. Austin gripped his pistol.

  “I still think they’re hiding in those ruins.” Carson’s voice caused Austin to tense and hold his breath. He dared not even remove the safety on his gun in case it clicked loudly in the narrow passage.

  “I told you. I’m not going in there!” Benally was adamant. Austin released his breath.

  Benally continued, his tone marking his irritation with Carson. “For all we know, they could have hidden in the trees along the trail. We could have easily missed them in the dark.”

  “Too bad the moon’s not out. You really think they got behind us and doubled back to the parking lot?”

  After a long silence, Benally said, “I don’t know. Let’s go back. If his Jeep is still there, we’ll wait for them. They have to come up sometime.”

  “What if they climb out someplace else?”

  “We have a better view of the whole canyon from the lookout. We’ll see them if they move up or down the wash. Besides, it’s miles to the closest help.”

  Austin heaved a sigh of relief and closed his eyes as the men walked away. He couldn’t believe how fortunate they’d been. Only Benally’s deep respect for the ancient Puebloans had saved them. Relief swept through him making him sag. He waited a long while before he crept to the opening of the passageway and peeked out. He watched the trail leading up the side of the cliff. Two dark shadows moved across the opening below Bea Yazzie’s hogan. The small house was dark and showed no signs of life. He hoped Benally and Carson believed it was empty, but Austin didn’t move until he saw them crossing the next clearing above the path to her place. Releasing his breath in a long sigh, he holstered his gun and walked back to Dulcie.

  She sat huddled on the ground, shaking from head to toe. She looked so cold and tired and miserable. All he wanted was to pull her in his arms and hold her. But he wasn’t sure how that gesture would be received. One minute she appreciated his help. The next she shied away.

  He eased down beside her, his back against the suppo
rt. After a minute of watching her abject misery, he couldn’t stand it. Opening the folds of his coat, he pulled her close and tucked the sides around her to warm her. To his amazement, she fell into his arms and nuzzled her face beneath the fold of his coat. Her wild curls tickled his chin. Her flowery scent drifted up to him, wrapping him in feelings of warm spring and new things and he couldn’t resist. He dipped his head and buried his face in the soft caress of those wild curls.

  * * *

  Was that a kiss? Austin’s breath warmed the top of Dulcie’s head and she felt certain that his lips were buried in her hair. Wild pleasure surged through her and she sighed with relief as his warmth enveloped her. She wanted nothing more than to snuggle deeper into his arms. She’d cooled off too quickly and now she couldn’t stop her body’s natural reaction. She trembled and shook for a long while before she could finally take a deep breath. Austin smelled crisp and clean, like leather and soap. Burying her nose deeper beneath his jacket she held on tighter. His arms held her close. Secure.

  She felt safer in Austin’s arms than she’d ever felt in her life and it had nothing to do with the body heat they were sharing. It was all about his kindness, the way his jaw set in a determined line when he thought of the missing women. How he constantly underestimated his abilities. The clear blue honesty in his gaze when he told Bea Yazzie he’d do his best to find her granddaughter.

  Austin was authentic. Real. Not full of boastful pride or overbearing assurance. He might not believe it, but he could right wrongs and make the world safe for women who never felt that way. She rested her cheek against his chest and listened to the steady, strong beat of his heart.

  “I’m sorry.” His words rumbled deep in his chest and startled her. “I should never have brought you here. I wish I’d put two and two together and taken you back to Durango after McGuire’s call. Whitehorse has a finger in every crime in the area. If I was thinking right, I would have realized he’d send men right away.”

  She did not want to rise from the comfort of his arms so she didn’t. It felt too good. “It would have been a waste of time to take me back to Durango. Time we don’t have. Now we know Whitehorse is involved.”

  “We know more than that. I’m pretty sure those two who followed us are Walter Benally and Bob Carson.”

  This time she raised slightly to look at him. “Are you sure?”

  He nodded. “I recognized Benally’s voice. It’s distinctive. He’s Whitehorse’s muscle and does all the man’s dirty work. I just tried to serve a search warrant on Bob Carson. His mother claimed he’s running with Benally so I suspected he was Benally’s partner. I was right.”

  She eased back down onto his chest and into the comfort of his arms. “Does that mean you can identify them and arrest them for shooting at you?”

  “I’ll try...if we get out of here in one piece. They’re waiting for us up in the parking lot. I’ve been going over the trail in my mind, trying to think of a way I might climb up the rocks and get to my Jeep without a fight.”

  “Maybe they’ll give up and go home.”

  He made a humorous sound that rumbled deep in his chest. Dulcie liked it.

  “They will be sitting in their warm car all night. I think we’ll give up before they do.”

  She shook her head. “You’ll figure out something.”

  He stilled. “You sound complacent for someone about to spend a freezing fall night at the bottom of a canyon.”

  Complacent. No, not complacent. Content. She was content in the arms of a man who made her feel safe, who instilled confidence in her, who made her feel like all the world could sometimes be good. A man whose heart belonged to someone else and maybe always would. That thought should have frightened her and sent her scurrying away to the security of her own corner. But it didn’t. She had never felt like this before, never even thought she could feel this way about a man. For a little while...or maybe even just for as long as it lasted, she would enjoy this moment.

  “Not complacent,” she murmured, trying to express herself without giving away too much. “Confident. I’m confident you’ll find a way.”

  His chest rose with a deep breath. “You shouldn’t have confidence in me, Dulcie, especially not after what just happened. I slipped up, made...mistakes.”

  Something in his tone struck a nerve with her. It sounded like pain—a deep, ongoing pain. “We took a risk today, yes. But it wasn’t a mistake and it was worth it.”

  He gave a sharp shake of his head. “Risks are never worth it.”

  This time, Dulcie rose to meet his gaze. His Stetson shadowed his face and she couldn’t see his blue eyes, the ones that said so much more than his words expressed. She wished she could see them, see how deep the pain went. But she didn’t need to. She knew exactly what troubled him.

  “This isn’t about me, is it? It’s about Abey.”

  He didn’t answer. Instead, he shifted and moved so he could climb to his feet. Dulcie scooted back, gave him room. She felt the cold emptiness the minute he stood. It wasn’t fair. She’d told him her life story, confided things she’d told no one, not even her counselors. But he wouldn’t talk to her about his wife. Her disappointment went bone deep. But this wasn’t about her, about the attraction she felt for him and he obviously sensed. This was about something more.

  “I’m not the only one who trusts you. You inspire confidence in other women. Susan’s grandmother is certain you will find her granddaughter.”

  Refusing to look her way, he shook his head. “Determination doesn’t always lead to success. I’m determined to find these men. Doesn’t mean I’ll succeed.”

  “But it makes it more likely. You won’t give up easily, Austin, and people sense that in you. No matter how many times I had setbacks in my counseling, I pulled myself together and went back. I never let it stop me and look where I am now.”

  Spinning quickly, he fixed her with a hard look. “Yeah, look at you now. Frozen every time a man gets close.”

  She caught her breath. His words pierced again. Hurt washed over her so deep, she couldn’t even speak. The ache must have shown on her face because Austin shook his head again, spun and walked away to stand at the edge of the passage. Once there, he shoved his hands in his pockets and his back was stiff and straight.

  Dulcie felt the misery go through her like a wave of heat. She let it sweep through because she’d learned one thing in all her years of counseling... Once the pain washed away all the false hopes and crushed dreams, the truth would stand bright and brilliant. So she let the waves of pain clear away her ragged emotions until one thing rang true.

  She shied away from men. She had trouble trusting them... All except for one.

  “Not you,” she whispered to his rigid back. “I trust you.”

  With that admission came another. Just because she trusted him, was willing to share her life stories with him, didn’t mean he felt the same way. Just because he was special to her didn’t mean she was to him. She wished she could be special to him, wished he felt he could trust her the way she trusted him. She wanted to be the one to crack the impenetrable wall around his heart. But it was a foolish wish. He’d just proven that. She could never be the kind of woman his wife was, a strong person, a leader among her people...and now a martyr to lost hope. Dulcie wasn’t sure any woman could live up to Austin’s memories of his dead wife. And that made her even sadder.

  The cold bit into her body. She needed to get moving, get her blood circulating. Austin was right. Tonight would be miserable...especially now that she wouldn’t be in his warm arms. She paced back and forth, stretching her stiff legs and swinging her arms. It didn’t help much. The cold was piercing. It wasn’t long before she was shivering again.

  Austin came back. She barely glanced his way. She kept up her brisk pacing.

  He slid his fingertips back in his pockets. “Dulcie, I didn’t mean...”

&n
bsp; “Yes, you did.” She glanced up. Her words caught him off guard because he froze in surprise, fingertips still linked in his front pockets.

  She shook her head. “You don’t have to apologize for speaking the truth. Besides, I shouldn’t have pushed you for info you don’t want to share.”

  He released a heavy breath. “It’s not that I don’t want to share. After she died, I talked to counselors until I couldn’t talk anymore. I know how to do that. That’s not the problem. Being here on the reservation has been hard. I’ve tried to block the memories from my mind, to concentrate on our investigation, but I can’t. Meeting Bea Yazzie was especially hard.” He looked down and around. Any place but at her. “Abey’s grandmother was a weaver too, but when Abey was a teenager, she wanted nothing to do with it. After she found out she was pregnant, she decided that she’d stop all her volunteer work, slow down and make the time to learn the craft. She was spending long hours at her grandmother’s hogan. That night she stayed until after dark and that road...” He shook his head. “I should have made her stay at the hogan and not let her drive home on that lonely stretch.”

  This time Dulcie didn’t stifle her thoughts. He’d been unkind twice, so this time she thought it only fair if she spoke the truth back to him. “From what little you’ve told me,” she said in a low voice, “I don’t know if you could tell Abey what to do. It sounds like she had a mind of her own.”

  She caught him off guard again. His jerked his fingers free from his pockets and his blue eyes flashed in the shadows. He obviously didn’t like her pointing out the truth. His sharp reaction told her that. She was glad. She might not be the one to break down the barriers around his heart, but he didn’t need to live with a guilty conscience. That’s one gift she might be able to give him.

  “I should have said more, done more.”