Don’t Fall for a Fugitive: Strong Family Romances

by Checketts, Cami

  She sighed and spread out food on a plate. She was asking far too much of Heath and his family already. She didn’t want to become the demanding girlfriend right up front by asking him to focus on her twenty-four hours a day. Girlfriend. Just the thought of that word and Heath had her grinning again.

  She ate slowly, savoring the delicious food, and then put the extras in the fridge. Pulling out cream cheese and butter, she finally found the powdered sugar in the pantry and the vanilla that the ladies must have put away. She softened the cream cheese and butter and started whipping them, then slowly added the powdered sugar and finally the vanilla.

  As she turned the beaters off, she heard movement on the stairs. Heath walked down, dressed in a fitted long-sleeved shirt and joggers. She loved the way he’d looked in his suit, but this was every bit as good. Could this incredible specimen of a man truly be interested in her?

  He smiled. “I wondered if you’d done the cake.”

  “I was going to hide it up in our room—” She blushed at calling it their room. “—and share it with you later, but then the cleaning ladies came and I hid in there.” She pointed at the pantry. “For far too long.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. That must’ve been miserable.”

  “Yeah, it was.” She grabbed the rubber spatula and started spreading the frosting on the cake. “Do you think they’ll turn me in?”

  Heath’s brow furrowed. “They didn’t even admit to us that they’d seen you. It was almost like they were protective of you, so I don’t see why they would. Also, your face has only been on the news that one night. They’d have to go look on social media to find you, right?”

  She nodded, smoothing the frosting out. He might be lying to reassure her, but she didn’t want to think about it right now. She wanted to escape, with Heath. Finishing with the frosting, she asked, “Snowshoeing and picture time?”

  “Definitely.”

  * * *

  Hazel loved snowshoeing through the winter paradise. She couldn’t believe how easy it was to pick up the skill and to move at a decent pace. It was much easier than learning to ski, but not quite as thrilling since Heath’s arms weren’t around her.

  The trees were thick and covered with snow as they made their way up the trail. When they reached the lake, the clearing was absolutely gorgeous. Framed by trees and the background of the mountain peaks, the icy surface of the lake was the perfect focus for some pictures. She took a bunch of Heath too. He laughed and pretended to model, but she could tell she was making him uncomfortable shooting all kinds of pictures of him. She didn’t care. If she had to go to prison, she’d request to take the camera with her and at least have these amazing pictures. If somehow Brigham didn’t plug her and she went home and never saw Heath again, she could look back on these shots and remember.

  Ever since they’d kissed with Austin right there, and Heath had said he wanted to be her boyfriend, he’d acted a little off. He was still cute with her and gave her lots of meaningful looks and smiles, but he hadn’t kissed her or pulled her in close. Had she been too aggressive with him? Had something happened with Brigham that he was afraid to tell her about?

  They hiked around the lake and stopped to admire the view. Hazel took some more pictures. She was loath to go back inside; it was a beautiful house, but she didn’t fancy being stuck in the room again. At least it wouldn’t the pantry. She smiled to herself.

  “What are you grinning about over there?” Heath said.

  “How you can look so unreal handsome all the time, except when I pull a camera out. Then you look like an uncomfortable ankle-biter.”

  Heath’s mouth fell open. “I look like an awkward child?” he demanded, holding out his hand. “Let me see.”

  Hazel bit at her lip and eased in close to him. She didn’t release the camera but turned it so he could see the screen. Scrolling back through pictures, she showed him dozens she’d taken of him. She’d lied. He looked amazing in every shot.

  Heath leaned in closer as they looked through them. His delicious scent tickled her nose. They’d left their poles on the other side of the lake, so he had his hands free. When she felt his arm wrap around her waist, she almost squealed with happiness. Was he coming back to her?

  He turned her toward him, looking very serious. Hazel’s heart beat faster. Was he going to tell her he couldn’t be with her, or tell her he could be her boyfriend? It could go either way. Heath released her waist, took off both of his gloves, and set them on a nearby stump. Then he took her camera from her hands and set it on top of his gloves.

  Hazel didn’t say anything and hardly dared move.

  He stepped in closer and gently framed her face with his warm palms. Hazel’s breath shortened. She was betting there was a ninety-eight percent chance he wanted to be with her.

  He leaned so close his warm breath brushed her lips. “Liar,” he murmured.

  Hazel gasped. “About what?”

  Heath smiled, and his lips were so close she could almost taste them. Very quietly, he said, “You claimed I looked like an awkward child, but those are some of the most incredible photos I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait to see what you can do with your good camera.”

  Hazel flushed from the praise. She wrapped her hands around his neck. “I am a liar, because you’re the most attractive person I’ve ever photographed.” She took a chance and said, “I know it’s nuts, but I’m falling for you … hard.”

  His grin covered his entire face. She wasn’t lying; he was more attractive than anyone she’d ever known. “I’ve already fallen for you,” he admitted.

  Hazel figured it was not the time for words. She kissed him. He kept her face in his palms as he returned the kiss, tilting her head to change the trajectory. Her heart soared, and her lips were on fire. She ran her hands down and clung to his biceps. His coat was a thin shell over a sweatshirt, and she could feel the glorious musculature of his biceps. He was strong and perfect. He could protect her. He could love her.

  Love? She pulled back, gasping for air. How could she be falling in love when she doubted they could ever be free of Brigham?

  Heath stared down at her. His deep brown eyes had gotten serious again. He didn’t release her face as he said, “There have been times throughout my life where I haven’t … felt like enough.”

  Her breath caught as the insecurity she’d glimpsed occasionally was laid bare. How could she reassure him that he was a million times more than any man she’d ever met?

  “But with you …” He smiled softly. “The warmth in your eyes, the way you make me feel like I’m a superhero … Thank you, Hazel. You make me enough.”

  It was so sweet and tender. She kissed him, then said, “You’re more than enough. You are like a superhero to me, Heath.” She sealed her words with another drawn-out kiss, trying to prove to him how perfect and impressive he was.

  When the kiss ended, he said quietly, “Hazel. I’m worried.”

  She hated that. “About?”

  “With Brigham and the police still after you—the fact that you live an ocean away—do you think there’s a chance for us to develop into something lasting?”

  Hazel wanted there to be. Oh, how she wanted it, but she was already asking too much of him, and she was more afraid of Brigham than Heath seemed to be. “I guess we just need to wait on us until the rest plays out?” she said, hoping he’d tell her no. He’d say, Let’s take advantage of every minute and fall so deeply in love no one can tear us apart.

  He released her face, handed her the camera, then tugged his gloves back on. Pushing out a sigh, he looked over the lake. “You’re probably right. You’re incredible, Hazel, but I don’t want to give you false hope or lead you on, until we somehow get you free of Brigham’s lies.”

  She nodded as if she understood. False hope? Lead her on? He’d said those beautiful words about her helping him feel like enough, and he’d claimed he’d fallen for her, but his last statements sure didn’t sound like that. She understood being concerned ab
out Brigham, but she hated that he was coming between them when they finally had their moment.

  Heath gestured for her to go in front. They silently made their way back to the house and put their equipment away, and then he left to go be with his family. Hazel ate half a piece of her delicious cake, alone. She was pretty sure it was amazing, but her throat was too thick to swallow very well.

  She went to bed when darkness fell. Everyone was still over at Heath’s mum’s house. She could imagine the happy party going on there and the party she was missing at her own home in England. Well, maybe that wasn’t much of a party at home if they knew Hazel was in trouble, and Heath had said her mum and dad were heading this direction, so her siblings were probably just keeping the little ones happy.

  Climbing back out of bed, she pulled her phone out of her purse. Her finger hovered over the power button. There were probably hundreds of texts and missed call notifications. The only person she really wanted to call was her mum, for selfish reasons and unselfish ones. But what if

  she brought more trouble on Heath and his family? She couldn’t risk it, especially as her mum was probably on an airplane and wouldn’t get the call anyway. She lay down, clinging to her phone, and cried herself to sleep. She’d been in a mess for days, but right now it felt heavier than ever.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The next morning, Heath woke early to lift weights with Gavin, Stetson, and Trey, then dealt with work fires before he got ready to go shopping in Denver with his family. He hated to leave Hazel alone, but there’d been nothing new from Jed, and nothing would happen until Jed found something to prove Brigham had pushed Jamison, or Jamison woke up and hopefully cleared Hazel’s name.

  Austin had finally woken up, and they were eating a quick breakfast before they left. Heath excused himself from the counter, hurried up the steps, and softly tapped on Hazel’s door.

  “Come in,” he heard.

  He turned the knob and pushed the door open. She had her legs wrapped around her head and was balancing on her hands. He shut the door quickly and rushed toward her. “Are you okay?”

  Hazel laughed and gracefully untangled herself before rising to her feet. “I’m just doing some yoga since I can’t get outside and exercise.”

  “Wow. That looked miserable.” And crazily attractive. He’d never known a human pretzel could look that good.

  She wrinkled her nose. “Thanks. You going somewhere?”

  He nodded. “Mama wants us all to go shopping with her, into Denver.” Since he hadn’t bought any Christmas presents with his crazy work schedule, he’d been planning on this Christmas tradition to remedy that. What would Hazel want?

  “How far away is Denver?”

  “A little over an hour and a half. You’ll be okay?”

  “Sure,” she rushed to say, but she looked concerned. “I’ll go use those weights I saw in the garage, take a long bath, read Harry Potter, maybe bake another cake.”

  The thought of her in the bath made the room much too hot. “Okay. It seems like nothing is really happening with your case, and Jed hasn’t seen Brigham doing anything out of the ordinary, so I know you’ll be okay. I just worry about leaving you alone.”

  “No worrying about me. Cheers.” She dipped back into some yoga pose.

  Heath smiled and turned to go, strangely deflated. Yesterday he’d felt like he could kiss her and hold her at will, but today it felt awkward. They’d decided to wait until her case was solved before they got serious, but who knew how they’d ever get Brigham prosecuted and protect her? Unless Jamison woke up, it could be unending. That didn’t mean they couldn’t keep kissing, did it? From the way she’d dismissed him, he feared it did.

  He shut the door behind him and jogged down to meet his brothers. Usually he liked the holiday shopping spree, lunch, and ice skating with his family, but lately all he wanted was more time with Hazel.

  * * *

  Hazel felt dejected and more alone than she’d been since she’d seen Jamison looking dead on the shiny cement floor. It was Christmas Eve tomorrow, and she missed her family, missed home, and missed not feeling like a fugitive.

  She gave in to a case of the sniffles for a few minutes, then realized how lame she was being. Her family was fine. She’d committed to a Christmas in the American mountains and the snow. While it was true that she was now a wanted fugitive and missed Heath every moment he wasn’t with her, that was no reason to break down and have a good sob.

  Heath was only going shopping with his family for the day. So things were a little off between them right now. Their kisses had been brilliant, and after his police friend tracked down proof and arrested the slimeball Brigham, she and Heath could explore a relationship … on different sides of the pond. That made the sniffles start back up again.

  No, this would not do. She was going to get on with life and do something. She marched down to the garage and started lifting some weights, but then she saw the snowshoes stacked neatly beneath hanging racks of snow skis. That was it. She’d gotten the hang of those yesterday. She’d take the snowshoes and her camera and go explore that trail up to that beautiful lake again. Brilliant.

  Hurrying back up to her room, she found her camera and dressed in running tights, a long-sleeved running shirt, gloves, and a hat. This was going to be blinding. She’d spend the day in the sun and the snow, then take a warm bath and read, and maybe if the family wasn’t back by that time, she’d bake some Christmas cookies. When they returned, she’d get brave enough to attack Heath like she had in the bathroom, and then ask how he could think she was incredible yet not want to give her false hope or lead her on.

  She pushed those exciting and miserable thoughts away and headed for the sunshine.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Hazel had stormed up the snow-packed trail like a woman with the boarhounds of purgatory after her. The ferocious exercise soothed her, and when she reached the lake, she only paused to take a myriad of pictures. Then she swung her camera around her neck and kept going, passing the lake and making her own trail through the trees north of the lake. She was sweaty and exhausted from plowing an unbroken trail when she finally forced herself to turn around and make her way back down to the lake.

  Once she got there, she set her poles to the side and sat to rest on a fallen log. Tilting her face up to the sun, she simply soaked it in. Her life was a mess, but at least she had this moment of peace.

  After a while, she stood and started snapping pictures again. She lingered there for a long time, not ready to go back to the beautiful, empty house. She’d fallen in love with little Austin, and she really liked Gavin too. If only she could get to know the other members of Heath’s family. If only she could truly be Heath’s girlfriend.

  She pushed out an exasperated sigh. She was still wanted by the police, and Brigham would probably put a bullet in her head if he found her. Why could she only concentrate on Heath and her barmy obsession with him? Get a grip, lassie, she commanded herself.

  She continued around the lake and down the trail. Today was going to be fine, and someday soon she’d get her name cleared and see her family again. She pushed the worries away as she strode past towering trees and thought of taking a long, warm bath and then baking. She’d have to hide her baked treats before Heath’s family got back. That made her frown. The cleaning ladies had seen her, and nothing had happened. She was about ready to declare herself to Heath’s family and give her parents a ring, so she stopped feeling so concerned and guilty about them.

  As she cleared the last of the trees and approached Gavin’s backyard, movement caught her eye. Was Heath’s family already back? It couldn’t be the cleaning ladies again, could it? She saw shadows inside the house moving around. Oh, shoot. Did she wait here and hope Heath came for her soon? Probably not. She remembered freezing in the back of that vehicle that first night when they’d arrived. She loved being outside, but becoming a popsicle wasn’t ideal. Already her sweat was cooling and making her chilled.

&nbs
p; A weird chord of fear hit her next. What if it wasn’t Heath and his family? They’d gone all the way into Denver about eight a.m., and Heath had said it was over an hour and a half drive each way. Hazel had gone on a nice, long hike, but it couldn’t be even close to lunchtime yet. Maybe eleven. Would they drive all the way there just to turn around and drive back? Something wasn’t right. Should she have locked the doors when she left? She knew the canyon was private and gated, but there weren’t foolproof keep-all-the-bad-people-out gates.

  She remembered that Heath’s dad was paralyzed and not in the best health. Would he be home? Did she dare work her way around to his parents’ house, where at least she’d have an ally and maybe a phone? She turned and crept backward toward the relative safety of the trees.

  “Hello, Hazel.” A silky voice carried to her from the back of the house, only fifty feet away.

  Hazel spun and her heart thudded painfully against her chest. Her hands were clammy and her body felt frozen. Brigham.

  A self-satisfied smile twisted his face. He walked down the patio steps, spreading his hands wide. “Ah, I finally find you again. You know, we just got word that my loser cousin woke up.”

  Hazel’s eyes widened, and though the fear pulsing through her was out of control, there was also a sense of anticipation and hope. If Jamison woke up, he’d tell the police who pushed him, Hazel’s name would be cleared, and they’d come after Brigham. Yet Brigham could kill her right now, so Jamison being awake wasn’t a whole lot of help.

  “And as everyone expected, he’s implicated you as his attacker.”

  “That’s a lie,” she said, finally finding her voice.

  “We both know that, beautiful, but the police don’t.” He smirked. “I’ve come for you. Let’s go away somewhere that Jamison’s lies can’t reach you. I told you I could thaw an Englishwoman. I think it’s time we worked on that.”