by Terry Spear
“What are you going to say to Ryder tomorrow? You shocked the wolf to pieces when you took Don down. Ryder was looking him over for bite marks, making sure you hadn’t killed the man, but of course him hovering over Don must have terrified him even more. I’m sure Ryder thought we were both crazy.”
“I’ll play it by ear.” It looked like Lexi would have to tell Ryder who she was. Don was a royal pain in the ass. She was certain he wouldn’t give up his quest to get pictures of her while she stayed here.
He just couldn’t catch her looking for the message from her father.
Chapter 6
Before dawn the next morning, Lexi and Kate took off through the woods, determined to locate the message at the other waterfall, hoping this wouldn’t be a bust like the other two times. Lexi planned to get back in plenty of time for breakfast. She just hoped they didn’t run into Don out here.
“I’m glad you told Ryder we’d have breakfast at nine because we still haven’t reached the other waterfall and we need time to dig,” Kate said. Lexi was really pushing to get there as quickly as she could, Kate following close behind.
The whole time they were headed for the waterfall, they were watching for signs of Don. They didn’t see him, and they hoped he wasn’t still hanging around the redwoods.
Lexi sighed. “And hike back. Right. I should have gotten Ryder’s phone number in case we were delayed. I can imagine him worrying about us and then tracking us here.”
“Let’s hope not. Is he listed in a directory? Do you want me to call Aidan and get Ryder’s cell number?” Kate skipped over a rock.
“Yeah, sure.” Lexi would rather Kate ask for it, making it sound more…businesslike.
“Hey, Aidan, this is Kate. Do you have Ryder’s cell number handy? We’re supposed to have breakfast with him and we’re on a hike, so if we’re late returning, we need to let him know.” Kate smiled. “Okay, putting it in my contacts. Thanks! Bye.”
They finally reached the next waterfall, and it was as beautiful as the first. Ferns embraced the rocks on either side of the falls, the water crystal clear, the sound of the rushing stream relaxing and refreshing. Despite wanting to start moving rocks, Lexi pulled out her camera to take some pictures. She was getting to be just like her mom.
Kate began moving rocks. Then Lexi tucked her camera away and started to help. When they reached the soil, they dug, didn’t find anything, and moved everything back. And moved on to a new place. They did the same routine three more times.
“Is there another waterfall in this vicinity?” Kate asked.
“Let me look at the map, but it’s getting too late to trek to a new location and start digging again.”
“We could continue this later, after breakfast,” Kate said.
Lexi stopped to look at the map and discovered a location above the falls where a second set of falls were located and pointed to it. “Yeah, that’s a great idea.”
“What if Ryder wants to come along?”
“He’s out of luck. I can’t get anyone else involved in this. You shouldn’t be involved.”
Kate sighed. “All right.”
“Okay, let’s head back. I thought we’d have more time at this, but this was a lot farther from our cabin than the other location.” They packed up their gear and headed back. They didn’t see any indication that Don was anywhere around, though they’d been smelling for his scent and watching and listening. Lexi hadn’t smelled any sign of her father up here either.
They’d also been watching for bears, but they didn’t see any. They finally reached the cabin, washed up, and changed clothes. “Are you ready to go?” Lexi asked.
Kate smiled. “Yeah. I couldn’t believe you asked him for strawberry crepes.”
“That’s because he said he made gourmet food.”
“And you wanted him to prove it.”
“Naturally. And for the grief I know he’s going to give me over stealing the paparazzo’s camera and equipment.”
“True. But you’re a she-wolf, and Ryder is damned interested in you.”
“He wants to interrogate me, and he’s trying to offer a fancy carrot to get me to talk.” Lexi opened the front door.
“Well, I for one am glad you ordered the strawberry crepes. If he does them right, this will be a real treat.”
Except that when Lexi told him who she was, the dynamics between them would no doubt change, and not in a good way.
* * *
Eager to see if Lexi and Kate liked the meal he had prepared, and just as eager to learn more about them, Ryder opened the door to Lexi’s knock and smiled. “Come in. The meal is ready.”
Lexi and Kate smiled when they saw they crepes filled with cream cheese and whipped cream, with strawberries and more whipped cream on top.
“I have sliced ham and hash browns, too, if you’d like something more to eat with your crepes.” Ryder started putting the ham and potatoes in two separate dishes so the ladies could help themselves.
“Sure. Glad you made extra, and it looks just as delicious,” Lexi said.
Pleased they would like some of the other food he had fixed, Ryder made everyone cups of coffee. They sat at the table and began eating.
Lexi shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re not a gourmet chef working for a five-star restaurant.” She took a bite of the crunchy hash browns, potatoes freshly cut, and practically purred.
“Yeah, this is so good. The Denalis are sure lucky to have you.” Kate slipped another slice of ham onto her plate.
“Aidan was so busy with his research that Mike and I had to fix meals for ourselves—and for him. We started creating gourmet meals when we didn’t have guard duty to do. We enjoy a little friendly competition.”
“Well, this is great,” Lexi said, motioning to all of the meal.
“I’m glad you like it.” He wanted to ask about last night, but he was trying to enjoy breakfast with them and not start with the questions right away.
Thankfully, Lexi let him off the hook. “Just for your information, I’ve had run-ins with Don Morgan before.”
Frowning, Ryder again wondered if Lexi was someone famous. She had to be for Don to be interested in making up a story about her for the tabloids. “Over?”
“He thrives on celebrity news.”
“Celebrity.” Ryder didn’t know what to think.
Lexi smiled. “You didn’t know you were in the company of a celebrity, did you?”
“Uh, no.” He didn’t believe she was a movie star. Wouldn’t that be something if she was! Still, life would be a lot less complicated if she was just a regular she-wolf, not someone who was famous.
“Are you going to be guarding the Denalis at the tea party and dinner next week?” Lexi asked Ryder.
Looking relieved that Lexi was going to tell Ryder who she was, Kate let out her breath.
Ryder raised a brow, surprised to hear Lexi knew about it. “Uh, yes, I am.” Then he snapped his fingers, the light dawning. “Lexi Summerfield and Kate Hanover, your personal assistant. Cosmetics. Hell, when you first mentioned you sold cosmetics, I thought you were Mary Kay ladies. You have the successful Clair de Lune Cosmetics company.”
Lexi smiled.
“I’m a personal assistant and bodyguard,” Kate corrected him. “I can do more than one job at a time.”
“Like me and cooking.”
“You certainly can do that well,” Lexi said.
“What kind of a story did Don do that prompted you to relieve him of his camera and gear?” Ryder asked.
“He’s trouble for me, all right? Yes, he has concocted annoying stories about me, telling the tabloids that I have this lover or that lover, whatever will sell news. Every time he sees me with a wolf on a date, he speculates—in print—if this is Mr. Right. But that’s not the problem.”
“Hell, I’ll make
sure he stays clear of you.” Ryder was damn determined to make it so.
Lexi smiled. She appeared ready to take him up on it. Unless she was just amused that he’d offer.
Ryder served them more coffee. “I’m serious. That’s what I do for a living. While you’re here, I’m on the job.”
“You can’t question me about what I’m doing.” Lexi took a sip of her coffee and set the mug on the table.
Surprised at Lexi’s comment, Ryder didn’t say anything for a moment. “Okay.” He didn’t think she’d be doing anything illegal, but why was she being so secretive about something? Unless it had to do with her cosmetics research, as it often was with Aidan and Holly’s research. But in the redwoods?
“After lunch, we’re taking a long hike to the upper falls, northwest of the cabins. You make sure we’re not on Don’s radar. He might have to pick up more camera equipment, so it might take him a little time to return. On the other hand, he could be located nearby and have more stashed there. No matter what, I can’t chance that he’ll be following us.” Lexi sounded dead serious. “I can’t have him reporting on what I’m doing. Our lives depend on it.”
Ryder couldn’t believe the women would be in trouble. Here he’d thought he was going to have to lecture Lexi on terrorizing a human. Now he didn’t know what to think. Of course he was dying to know what it was all about, but he promised to let it go for now. All he cared about was protecting Lexi’s secret, whatever it was, from one nosy reporter.
“Oh, and on the pictures he took, he shot several of us as wolves before you warned us. He also had a couple of Kate and me hiking before we climbed the cliff after the bear cubs,” Lexi said.
“But none of us carrying the cubs across the creek?” Alarmed, Ryder had never expected paparazzi to be snapping shots of anyone in the redwoods.
“No. He must have lost us at some point when we were hiking on the trail. To have taken pictures of us near the cliff, he would have had to leave the trail. And to get pictures of us with the bears, he would have had to climb down there like we did. One of us would have seen him. Besides, who, but us, would dare get close to a mother bear like that? There were no pictures of us returning to the cabins with a wolf either,” Lexi said.
“Good.” Ryder let out his breath, not believing he’d ever say this. “It was good that you took his camera then.”
“I’m so glad you think so.” Lexi smiled at him. “So, do you have a Facebook page? Twitter? Instagram?”
Wearing a hint of a smile, Kate glanced at her.
Amused that she’d ask, Ryder finished his breakfast and sat back against his chair. “You looked for my profile, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, we had to make sure you were one of the good guys, but you’re a ghost.” Lexi finished off her last crepe.
“Being on social networks doesn’t prove you’re one of the good guys. There are lots of scam artists out there. I just don’t feel the need to be on any of the social network sites. And I did worry that someone might try to befriend me on a site to get to Aidan and his research. Now for you, I can understand the importance of being out there.”
“Okay, true,” Lexi said.
He hoped the reason she had looked wasn’t just because she wanted to see if he was one of the good guys, but to learn more about his interests, when he knew he shouldn’t be thinking along those lines. Not when her income was way above his pay grade. How could he take her out to places when she could afford to go anywhere on her own?
Then Lexi got a call and glanced at the caller ID. “Hello, this is Lexi Summerfield.” She rolled her eyes at Kate. “Um, Freddie.”
“I’ll help you clean up the dishes.” Kate jumped up to clear the empty plates from the table.
Ryder began helping her, but he was super interested in what Lexi had to say to the man. From the looks she shared with Kate, the guy was bothering her.
“It’s not going to work out between us. I’m sorry. I allow myself only three dates with a wolf, and after that, I move on. If we’re not right for each other, we’re not right for each other. You know the old saying about getting blood out of a turnip.”
Ryder caught himself before he chuckled. What if he was the one who had dated her three times and his head was on the chopping block?
“No, I’m sorry. We don’t have the kind of interest in each other that would warrant any more time together. I’ve got to go now. I shouldn’t have answered the phone. I’m on a date now.” Lexi glanced at Ryder.
“This doesn’t count,” Ryder quickly said, surprised she was calling this a date. He certainly had something more impressive in mind. If all she allowed were three dates? He’d definitely wasted this one already.
Kate patted his arm consolingly. He bet Kate didn’t have a three-date limit.
“Good luck with finding the right she-wolf,” Lexi said, then she paused, smiled, and ended the call. She did something on her phone before she placed it on the table.
“Lexi just blocked his calls. One more male wolf bites the dust.” Kate placed the cleaned plates in the cabinet. “You have Ryder worried, you know, Lexi. He thinks he ruined a perfectly good date with you, and he’s only got two more to prove he’s the right wolf for you.”
“Nonsense. He’s had two dates with me already. Remember the hike we took?”
He just chuckled. He wasn’t going to win this conversation, and if she really wanted to date him, he would have to come up with something special for the last one. He wondered how many wolves she’d dated.
“Besides, the dates that are unplanned can be the most fun,” Lexi continued. “Before we go on the hike, we have to return for our backpacks and change our clothes.”
He finished picking up the serving dishes off the table. “I’ll grab my backpack and then follow you over to your cabin, if that works for you. I can keep a lookout for Don if he’s sneaking around the place.”
“That will be fine,” Lexi said. “When we return, you can make us a gourmet lunch.”
Not expecting Lexi to invite herself and Kate over for lunch, he chuckled. She gave him a brilliant smile. He wasn’t sure what he’d gotten himself into. Here he was supposed to be on vacation, and now he was doing the same kind of work he did for the Denalis. Except this was different. Lexi was intriguing, secretive, and mysterious. With the Denalis, he knew what to expect most of the time. With Lexi? Never.
“Oh, yeah,” Kate said. “That would be great.”
“We’ll leave the menu up to you this time. Surprise us,” Lexi said.
Good thing, or he’d have to run to the grocery store again.
With her wealth, Lexi could have hired anyone to take care of whatever she was doing. Which made the situation even more baffling. He suspected Kate must know what was going on.
He couldn’t help but see Lexi in a different light. Instead of being a cute she-wolf who saved bear cubs and sold cosmetics, she was someone prominent. He realized that was probably why she hadn’t revealed who she was earlier—afraid he might be interested in her money. He could understand that.
Then Ryder and the ladies left his cabin, and he walked them to their place. Instead of going inside with them when they did, he circled the perimeter, checking for any signs Don was around, scoping out the place. Ryder didn’t smell him anywhere in the vicinity, which he took as a good sign.
The ladies both left the cabin after that, carrying their backpacks, ready to hike.
“Would he know where you’re going?” Ryder asked. If Don did, he could be lying in wait up ahead.
“No. Then again, he shouldn’t have known about us being here in the first place,” Lexi said. “We’re very careful to book under pseudonyms and not mention that we’re going away for any length of time.”
“That’s the same with the Denalis,” Ryder said.
“It pays to be careful. I’m not like a movie-star celebrity.
But in some circles, people know me.”
Normally, Ryder would have advised the ladies to go as quietly as they could while hiking through the redwoods, but with the possible threat of startling a black bear, he kept quiet, while they talked about creating a woodland marketing video.
Ryder did consider that if the word got out, Don might not be the only one who learned Lexi was staying here with her personal assistant.
After an hour and a half of hiking and a lot of climbing, they finally reached the upper falls. When they arrived, he checked the place over to ensure Don wasn’t around. “No one is here now.”
“Okay. You can watch for anyone who might come up that path.” Lexi waited for him to move off before she did whatever she’d come here to do.
Ryder moved away from the women to the edge of the steep incline where they’d made their climb up moss-covered, timber-braced stairs and kept an eye out for any movement below. What he hadn’t expected was to hear the sound of rocks being moved and stacked near where they had rested. Then two trowels dug into the earth.
He turned to watch the women. They were both digging away with garden tools. They were on a treasure hunt? But this was federal property. He shook his head and continued to observe the path below.
Rocks were moved again, but then Kate cried out.
Ryder whipped around, afraid something bad had happened to one of the women on his watch.
Kate was shaking her hand out and then favoring it.
“Is everything all right?” He didn’t move from his spot since he was still supposed to be watching for any sign of people.
“Uh, yeah. I just dropped a rock on my fingers, dummy me. No broken bones. Just bruised, I’m sure,” Kate said.
Lexi motioned to the two of them. “Can you two switch places? You can help me with this, and Kate can be the lookout. Just don’t ask what this is all about.”
“If you’re in some kind of trouble, Rafe has an army of ex-military wolves he served with who will drop everything to come to your aid.” Ryder switched places with Kate. He was serious about that. Rafe would call in the troops in a heartbeat if he knew Lexi was having difficulties with anyone.