Something touched his leg and he found himself reaching for the weapon that was no longer in a holster at his shoulder. He cursed the instinctive response as Lucy stared at him, her head level with his belt. She wore a sturdy-looking orange and gray pack secured to her back with a harness around her chest. Large pouches bulged at her sides, and he guessed the hand strap in the middle was designed so you could grab the dog if there was a problem. But if that dog wanted to go, she’d be a one-hundred-pound bulldozer and he didn’t think anything, including Zoey, would stop her. He wondered who weighed more, the dog or her owner.
He reached out a hand. “Hey, Luce. You being put to work?”
Lucy planted her nose on his leg again as he stroked her head, leaving a wet spot on his jeans. She had long, fine fur that had to be a bitch to keep brushed. He stopped petting, and she nudged his hand with her nose. “Got it, don’t stop, right?” He gave her a vigorous rub on her side, and she let out a throaty groan.
He kept stroking, and in seconds, despite her doggie backpack, she was on her back, paws in the air, swishing her tail in the pine needles. He went down on a knee to scratch her belly. “We’re not going to get in trouble with the short one if you get dirty, are we?”
“The short one?”
Shit. “Did I say short one? I meant mighty one.” He glanced up. The hot earth chick now looked more like nature girl and, like the dog, carried a backpack over her shoulders. She had switched up her hippie-dippie clothing to shorts that showed toned legs perfectly proportioned to her small stature, and a sleeveless top, which hugged her small breasts. The mass of dark curls was pulled back in a ponytail, and sunglasses covered her eyes, hiding their color. If he remembered right, they were dark.
“Nice recovery. The national average height for women in the US is five foot four, so at five three, I’m almost average.”
“I stand corrected.” He rose to his feet and towered over her.
She took off her glasses to give him an exaggerated once-over. Her eyes were brown, a rich golden brown. “Not all of us can be all long legs and long body. What are you, six three?”
“About that.” The dog scrambled up beside them, giving herself a shake that had fur flying and the side pouches of her pack snapping back and forth. “You guys heading out?”
“We’re hiking up to Ruby Lake. It’s only about three miles round-trip to the overlook. We’ll get back before it’s all the way dark.”
“I know where it is. The trailhead is about a hundred yards up the road. Want company?” The question was out of his mouth before he could think it through. A short hike with her might be an opportunity to find out what was up with her lack of cooperation over the hit-and-run. Then there was that hot earth-chick vibe.
Still, she hadn’t been exactly friendly. He almost hoped she’d turn him down.
“Ah, sure. If you like.”
Chapter Three
Why had she accepted his offer of company? Levi Gallagher was the last person Zoey should be going on sunset hikes with, yet here he was, walking with her on the trail, all tall, dark, and irritatingly sexy in a scruffy, easygoing kind of way.
There were many guys who’d been plenty cute in high school who had grown out of their looks. But not Levi. The Gallagher family DNA came in a variety of color combinations, and Levi’s worked exceptionally well together. He shared his brother’s rich, dark brown hair, and his sister Maddy’s bold blue eyes that contrasted strikingly with his tanned complexion. Kind of like the super hottie Bradley Cooper, who was Zoey’s one and only celebrity crush.
But her high school infatuation with the youngest Gallagher sibling was long over and done with. Back then she’d been a defiant misfit. The one with the little brother with autism, the one who dyed her hair weird colors, and the one and only girl to play drums in the marching band. When the cute girls were straightening their hair, she embraced her curls. If crop tops were in fashion, she was all about the long and loose fitting. Back then, she hadn’t stood a prayer of gaining the attention of star first baseman and popular cool kid Levi Gallagher.
Yet here they were, hiking along like they were buddies. Lucy tugged on her harness and Zoey let her go. The dog took the trail at a run, charging up the switchbacks like the mountain dog she was.
“What breed is she?”
“Bernese Mountain dog. They’re from Switzerland.”
“Cool. She won’t run off?”
“No, she stops every now and then to let me catch up, but then she’s off again. She’s got a lot of pent-up energy and I let her burn it out. She’s friendly and won’t bother other hikers.”
“What about you, should you be doing this?”
“Doing what?”
“Hiking. You have a limp from the accident.”
“I’m fine. Make sure you pass that along to your brother.” Or she would be fine.
The steady upslope grade made her bruised thigh muscle ache, but not so much that she couldn’t do it. She hated people worrying about her. No way was she telling Levi this hike was a test. Her job depended on being able to go a lot farther than three miles and over much more difficult terrain than this.
The trail gained in elevation and they didn’t talk much. Zoey could admit to herself that it wasn’t so bad going on a hike with another person. She didn’t need a companion and her job often meant trekking on her own, but still, it was kind of nice to share the evening.
The trail leveled out, cutting around the mountain. They followed the curve and reached the view that made the hike worth it.
The jagged peaks of the Minarets gleamed in the distance, the setting sun casting purple light that gave everything a monochromatic gleam, the little gem of a lake reflecting back the twilight sky. A meadow dotted with yellow and purple flowers spread before them, and in the shade of a grouping of trees, Lucy found the snowy remnant of a spring storm.
The dog bounded through the drift, then began digging furiously, snow flying behind her.
“This is why I came back home.” Levi spread his arms and tipped back his head with his eyes closed, the utter peace on his face making Zoey feel like he was sharing a private moment with her.
He made her remember how she’d felt when she’d finally made her way back to the little mountain town of Hangman’s Loss, which had been her home for three short years when she’d been a teenager.
“It’s not your family that brought you back to Hangman’s Loss?”
He dropped his arms and opened his eyes to look at her. “They were a huge part of it, but I got to see them occasionally when I lived in Oakland. I visited them here. They visited me at my condo. But I was never happy there. In the past six months shit happened and I wanted to break away from my life there. The need to come home to this perfect corner of the world became huge.”
He shook his head as if clearing it, then gestured to the scene before them. “You know the John Muir quote, ‘The mountains are calling and I must go’? That pretty much sums it up for me. I think I lost myself when I was living in the city.”
She swallowed an uncomfortable lump in her throat. She felt strange they had something so elemental in common.
“It’s the same for you, isn’t it?”
His gaze snagged hers, but she shrugged before turning away. She wanted to say yes, it was the same for her. She wanted to ask him what “shit” had happened in Oakland, but couldn’t bring herself to pry.
Taking a step back was safer. She didn’t do vulnerability.
Lucy, done with her digging, launched herself into the snow, bellying down, then flipped onto her back. Zoey let the dog play until finally giving a shrill whistle that brought her bounding up to them, shaking, which sent snow flying. Her new pack was snow encrusted but was supposed to be watertight. Guess they’d see about that.
Zoey turned her head to Levi. “We better head back before the light is totally gone.”
They set out, Lucy again charging ahead.
Levi asked, “What have you been doing sinc
e high school?”
“Really? We’re sharing our history like we were besties back then?” She stifled an inner groan. That was rude. He was making an effort to be friendly, and she should do the same. It took her a while to warm up to people, which was why she had a few good friends rather than a wide circle. She knew herself well enough to understand her reserve was often a protective shield.
The clear, deep timbre of his voice brought back memories of high school when she’d been so aware of him. He had presented a project in their bio class and she’d been surprised when he’d fumbled nervously. He’d always seemed so confident, but his obvious nerves had made him even more likeable. She’d been able to really look at him, instead of pretending not to see him in the halls, by his locker, in the parking lot. His voice had sounded wonderfully deep and grown-up. That he was now walking with her as the blush of the sky deepened with the setting sun was unexpected and maybe even a little exciting. But she didn’t want to like him that way again.
“What, we’re on a hike together but can’t have a conversation? If you didn’t want to talk with me, why did you agree to me coming?”
The trail widened enough for them to walk side by side. She glanced up at him. Blue eyes gleamed from under the bill of his ball cap.
“It was a crazy impulse.”
“Which you’re now regretting.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Good. So let’s hear it. You were two years behind me at Loss High. What did you do after graduation? Work, college, travel through Europe with a backpack?”
“Europe? I wish. But I didn’t graduate from Loss High.”
“You didn’t graduate from high school?”
“I did, but not from Loss High. I transferred midway through my senior year to a high school in Fresno.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“To stay clothed and fed. Mom was moving to Fresno. She realized it was a crappy time for me, but she did what she had to do.”
“You couldn’t have stayed here with friends so you could graduate from Loss High?”
She shook her head. “There was stuff going on. Plus, my brother needed me, and I didn’t want to be separated from him and my mom. So I went with them.”
“Why did your mom want to leave the Loss?”
Talking about herself made Zoey itchy, but his point that she’d invited him on this trek was valid. She’d answer his questions but hold back on crucial details. He didn’t need to know everything.
“Mom broke up with the guy who’d been living with us. Kicked him out. She had a job lined up in Fresno. Having me when she was eighteen had crushed any chance of college, and by the time I was in high school she was still young. In her early thirties. I’m almost that age now. That’s weird to think about.”
Zoey went on, wanting to finish it. “Mom wanted to do more with her life than wait tables, and she wanted to set a good example for Charlie and me. Her new job was at the community college in Fresno where she was planning to take classes, and there was a program at the university that would help Charlie. Really, it was no big deal.”
“Hangman’s Loss must have felt like home for you too since you eventually made it back here.”
“I’m not sentimental. Hangman’s Loss is only another town. The scenery is pretty, but other towns have pretty scenery, too.”
“It’s not sentimental to want home.”
“Well, not all of us had an idyllic childhood with a big, loving family they can come back to.”
“Ouch.”
Would she ever shut it with the snide comments? Once again she’d been rude, but she checked the impulse to apologize. Distance was better where Levi Gallagher was concerned. He made her feel too emotionally exposed. She’d have to be dead not to have noticed that flare of interest in his eyes when she’d been chewing him out about giving Lucy potato chips. Better to pull that weed up by the root than to let it grow and blossom.
“So if it wasn’t the people or pretty scenery of Hangman’s Loss that brought you back, what was it?”
“Work. I was transferred to this area about a year and a half ago.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a wildlife biologist.”
“No shit? You must have really liked that AP biology class we had together. What do you do? Count the number of fish eggs in the creek, or how many flies land on a lily pad in an hour?”
“Ha. My project is studying the impact of climate change on the pika in the higher elevations of the Sierra Nevada range.”
The grin he flashed gave her a jolt she felt all the way to her toes.
“You sounded all kinds of professional.” He paused as if in deep thought. “I’m trying to recall what I know about pika and all I’ve got is they’re a small mammal. They like a rat?”
“No. They’re related to rabbits and are crazy cute. They’re not good temperature regulators and live exclusively in talus slopes where they burrow under the rocks to keep cool.”
“Okay. What’s a talus slope?”
Zoey pointed to a spot across the valley. “You see the broken rock piled at the base of the granite face? That’s talus.”
“So there are pika living in there?”
“Possibly. They like a little higher elevation than that, but it’s possible.”
They hiked down a long slope, Zoey answering Levi’s questions, more than a little surprised at how easy it was to talk to him. The trail took them to the road that went in front of their homes. She snapped on Lucy’s leash. A car went by too fast, headlights blazing in the dusk, and Zoey made an instinctive movement away from the road, jerking Lucy after her.
“Hey, it’s okay.”
“You can’t assume someone sees you, especially when it’s getting dark like this.” She couldn’t control her sharp tone.
“You were hit at this time of day.” His move to stand between her and the street didn’t go unnoticed.
“Yes.” They rounded the bend in the road, and she was relieved to see the glow in the window of her cottage.
Trying for a return to normal after her overreaction, she asked, “What do you do, Levi Gallagher? Do you have a job here in Hangman’s Loss?”
He cast her a sidelong look. “I start my new job tomorrow.”
“Which is?”
“Hangman’s Loss PD. I’m a cop.”
He walked a few steps before turning back to see she’d stopped in her tracks. “Cop? You’re a cop?”
“Yeah. That surprise you?”
“Yes, it surprises me. You’re all charming and affable, not cop-like at all.”
“Are we going for stereotypes? I’m supposed to be surly and have a shaved head? Sport a flabby gut from too many donuts?”
“There are commonalities among police officers that aren’t necessarily stereotypes. Like profiling, or closing ranks to protect their own, even if they’ve done something wrong.”
“You’re making overgeneralizations. The press hasn’t necessarily been even-handed when dealing with police issues.”
“There’s a reason for the bad press and mistrust. Too many police abuse their authority and have gotten away with it.”
“Interesting, because the cops I know believe in justice and fair play.” The snap of temper was there, barely beneath the surface.
“I hope so.”
“Believe it.” They turned up the driveway to their homes, stopping where it forked. The little globe lights she’d strung across her front porch shone warmly in the gathering darkness. Lucy parked her butt and did her leaning thing against Zoey, a hundred pounds of weight that had her bracing herself. Levi faced her, hands on hips.
“I’ve been assigned your case.”
“What?” The easygoing bro was gone, and in his place was this new Levi, all cop and all business.
“Your case, it’s mine now. Word is you haven’t been particularly helpful with the investigation.”
“Oh geez. I haven’t been unhelpful.”
&n
bsp; “You know that isn’t the same as helpful, right? Someone hit you, caused bodily injury, and left the scene without identifying him- or herself or rendering aid. That behavior would most likely be charged as a felony.”
“I told the police what I remembered. I’m not sure how I could be more helpful.”
“Did you lose consciousness?”
“Briefly.”
“See? That wasn’t in the report. Captain Morgan asked for a copy of your medical report, which you didn’t give him. Why is that?”
“I forgot. Look,” she blew out a breath, “it was an accident. The person must not have seen me. They might not have even noticed they hit someone. Or they could have been under the influence, or in the country illegally, so they didn’t stop, and being charged could really mess up their life. I’m willing to let it go.”
His voice snapped with sharp incredulity. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Whoever it was hurt you, badly, and you don’t want to mess up their life? You know that sounds crazy, right?”
“It’s not crazy. I’ve seen what getting caught up in the justice system can do to people. They can lose their jobs, marriages fall apart, and some become homeless. I don’t want that to happen to anyone because of a moment of distraction. I was hurt, but I’ll be fine.”
“What if it wasn’t an accident? Ever think of that?”
“Don’t be absurd. Of course it was an accident.”
“You don’t know that. That’s why we do investigations, Zoey, to get information. Not to ruin lives.”
She nudged Lucy off her leg. “Investigate all you want, but don’t expect me to help you.” She walked Lucy toward her cottage, all but burned by the irritation radiating from Levi.
She was pretty sure whatever flicker of interest he’d felt for her was now cold.
Chapter Four
Zoey pulled the toasted baguette slices from the oven, arranged them on a platter, and began putting together the crostini with various toppings—tomato and basil, goat cheese with caramelized walnuts, warm Brie and cranberries. A knock sounded at the front door, followed by Lucy’s loud bark.
Break Away Page 3