He returned a minute later with water for all three of them. They ate, and Levi couldn’t help noticing that while she responded to Amaya’s chatter, Zoey didn’t say much to him. The animation that had always made her appear so vibrant had dulled.
“I have to pee.” Amaya gave Zoey an expectant look.
“Do you need me to go with you?”
Emma demonstrated super-sharp mom hearing because she rose from her spot farther down the table to take her daughter by the hand. “She’s pretty good but we don’t want to risk an accident. Come on, angel.”
With the little girl gone, Zoey fiddled with her fork. She hadn’t eaten much.
“Hey, you okay?”
She glanced at him, then away, and Levi could have sworn there was a gleam of tears in her eyes. Then she pushed up from the table, gathered up her plate and cup, and rushed into the house. Levi was about to go after her when Brad also got up from the table and gave a head jerk to his brother.
Levi glanced into the house, then followed Brad off the deck and down the slope that ended at the lakeshore. Levi turned to his brother. “What’s going on?”
“Owner of the self-storage in Bishop came through with the list of people they’re leasing units to.”
“Let me guess, Paul Clauson is on that list.”
“You’d be guessing right. I’m working on a warrant, but the judge doesn’t like to be bothered on the weekend. I’ll call to give him a push, but he’s got an ego I’ll have to dance around.”
Levi shook his head. “Helping to put a bad guy behind bars isn’t enough of an incentive to get him off his ass?”
“Hasn’t been in all the years I’ve known him, and I’ve known him for a few. He’ll use a power play at every opportunity. Regardless, we’ll have it by Monday at the latest.”
Levi nodded. “I’ve got another angle. You know Charissa Winslow?”
“Yeah. She’s a clerk over in the city services office.”
“How would you describe her?”
Brad raised an eyebrow but went along with Levi’s questioning. “A strange woman. Way too thin. I’ve wondered if she’s anorexic. Doesn’t look healthy. She was at the game today.”
“Did you notice the jersey she was wearing?” When Brad shook his head, Levi continued. “It was the Guns jersey, but she’d printed ‘Gallagher’ on the back. And she made a big deal whenever I made a play or got a hit.”
“Think she has a thing for you?”
“If she does, it’s an unhealthy thing. I ran into her once at a gym I belonged to in Oakland. It seemed odd at the time that she’d be there. And she always seems to be wherever we are. It could have been her last week watching us at Mom’s from the other side of the arroyo. Could be she’s targeting Zoey because she’s jealous of our relationship.”
He told Brad about the word scrawled in lipstick on Zoey’s car. “We saw her before the game. She looked off, maybe on something. She made a comment about Zoey and me arriving together and was wearing lipstick about that color. Add the use of the word ‘slut’ on the car and the LookBook post, and there’s a pattern.”
Brad bent his head in thought, then met Levi’s gaze. “I’m not saying you’re wrong, but it’s all circumstantial. Get me more so we have a basis for a search warrant.”
***
Levi arrived home to find Zoey’s cottage dark. They’d driven to Brad’s separately at Zoey’s request. She’d told him she needed more time to put together her pasta salad. Now he thought that was a bullshit ploy to keep them apart.
Levi and Brad had made a quick trip to the police station to do a background check on Charissa Winslow. They hadn’t found much other than that her mother had died two years previous and that she lived in the house her mother had owned.
Zoey had left the party before he’d returned, and now he didn’t know where she was. He could text her, but that would make him look like he was checking up on her, and since he didn’t know what was going on in her head, he didn’t want her to get the wrong idea.
He prowled around the cabin, feeling out of sorts. He hated brooding. He decided that since he hadn’t done it yet, he’d hang his big-ass TV and hook it up to the cable and Internet. He killed a half hour doing that. Once done, he turned on ESPN, got a beer from the fridge, and went to the window for the millionth time since he’d gotten home. He still wasn’t used to how dark it got at night, how it made him feel like he was alone in the universe. Which sounded pathetic.
He settled onto the couch and took another pull on his beer, trying to focus on the game on the screen. Didn’t look like the Giants were playing any better than they had the year before. The newly installed security light at the front of his house came on, followed by a knock. He set down the bottle and used the remote to mute the TV. He opened the door and felt his heart land at his feet with a thud.
There she was. Spiraling locks of hair, beautiful brown eyes, and an expression on her face that made him want to grin and kiss her at the same time. He rubbed a heel over his chest to ease the ache.
“Hey.”
“I was doing fine, you know.”
Funny how he knew exactly what she was talking about. “Yeah, well, so was I.”
“I didn’t want to feel like this.
His aching heart gave a solid lurch. Finally, an acknowledgment. “I agree. It sucks. But we have to deal with it.” He paused. “Where’s Lucy?”
“See?” She pointed a finger at him, stepping forward with a little wobble to jab him in the chest. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. I don’t want to care about you any more than I already do, then wham-o, you ask me about my dog and my stupid heart gets all mushy. She’s in the house, by the way, probably sound asleep.”
He frowned when “sound asleep” came out more like “shound asheep.” He glanced past her. There was no Prius parked in front of her cottage. “You been drinking?”
“That, mister,” which sounded like “mishter,” “is none of your business. But Eva had this really amazing hard cider, and Diego says I’m a lightweight.”
“Okay.” Which told him who she’d been with. He stepped back. “You want to come in?”
She strode past him, nose in the air. She wore pink stretchy pants with a red college sweatshirt and green Chucks on her feet. The colors clashed and he figured he was a goner if he thought she looked even cuter because of it. She gestured to the silent TV where a reporter was interviewing the Giants’ pitcher. “See. There’s another reason we’re noncompatible. You like sports. Sports are stupid. A bunch of overpaid jocks getting overpaid for chasing around a stupid ball.”
“I think you mean incompatible, and you said overpaid twice.”
She blinked at him. “Did not.”
Figuring it was wise to let that go, he asked her, “How did you get home?”
“Justin brought me. He said I was in no condition to drive, which is totally untrue. I only let him drive me home because he was making such a big deal about it. Then he said you and me should talk, because talking is what grown-ups do. Pfft.” She fluttered her hand in dismissal of Justin’s advice. “I’m not drunk.”
Levi decided Justin wasn’t such a bad guy, after all. “Honey, you’re toasted.”
“A lot you know. Do you have toast?”
He stared at her. “You want toast?”
“Yes, please, with strawberry jam. I’ll sit here.” She gestured grandly to the couch.
Concluding that he’d had about the strangest conversation ever, Levi left her sitting on the couch watching the muted TV and went to the kitchen to make toast. Since she liked tea, he put water on to heat while he hunted up the bags his mom had brought over. A few minutes later he was carrying a steaming mug and a plate piled with strawberry jam-topped toast into the living room, stopping when he spotted Zoey, head on a cushion, feet curled under her, fast asleep. Well, hell.
He set the mug on the coffee table, then sat beside it. He took a bite of toast, chewing as he considered what to do wit
h her. In the end, he tugged off the Chucks and dragged a blanket off his bed to drape over her. Turning off the TV, he went to his room, stripped down to his boxers, and crawled into bed.
***
Levi came slowly to consciousness feeling warm skin pressed against his. The dark curls tickling his nose told him he wasn’t dreaming. He opened his eyes to the quiet light of early morning. Zoey was curled around him, legs entwined in his, arm circling his waist, her head nestled on his shoulder. Good fortune was certainly smiling on him. All he wanted to do was turn into her and do as nature was screaming for him to do, but consent had been drummed into his head with a metaphorical hammer. He figured an ice-cold shower was in order and shifted away. She tightened her arm and had him going still when he felt warm lips brush his chest. Lifting his hand, he finger-combed the explosion of black hair back from her face to find heavy-lidded eyes open and aware.
“Good morning.” Her voice sounded husky, and he decided right then he’d never heard a sexier sound.
“Good morning back.” He ran his fingers through her hair again, the flower scent surrounding him. “When did you decide to join me?”
“A couple of hours ago. I used the bathroom, got a drink of water, and peeked in here. I had to decide whether I would be taking advantage if I joined you.”
“Side note, take advantage any damn time you please.”
Her smile fluttered even as her hand began to slide through the hair on his chest. “It was nice to fall asleep lying next to you.”
“I think you can tell how I feel about that.” His erection was throbbing where it rested under her thigh. Her hand drifted in its exploration of his chest, moving along his pecs and across his ribs.
He tugged off the sweatshirt she still wore, freeing him to do his own exploring. He unclipped her bra, then buried his face between her breasts, using his thumb to tease a nipple before following the movement with his mouth. He groaned when she wrapped her hand around his erection and thrust into her hold. “Hell yeah, baby, keep doing that.”
She did better than that. Shimmying down his body, she gave him a sultry look as she took him in her mouth. He couldn’t help the involuntary jerk, but she didn’t release her hold, only pulling him farther in. “Holy Jesus, you’re good at that.”
He lay back, never losing sight of her while he let her work her magic, the pleasure pulsating through him, until he was on the brink of losing control. She released him and he reached for her, tugging her pants down and off, then turning her onto her back. It was his turn to use his mouth, licking her, loving her, building the tension until she was panting his name.
She pulled on his hair. “I want you in me. Now.”
He fumbled with the drawer in the bedside table, found a condom, and rolled it on. He moved his body over hers and thrust forward, the emotions he’d been battling swelling to nearly overwhelming intensity.
She wrapped her legs around his ass, raising her hips to pull him in deeper. They moved together, perfectly synchronized, reaching higher. He held back his release, pushing into her harder and faster until she convulsed around him, crying out her climax. He followed seconds later with a hoarse shout.
He rolled until she lay sprawled on top of him. His hand drifted down her back and over her rounded ass. He’d nearly dozed off when she stirred.
“I need to let Lucy out.”
“I’ll do it.”
“No, I will.”
There was something in her tone that had alarm bells ringing. When she would have rolled off him, he caught her face between his palms. “Are we good now?”
“I don’t know.”
He expected an affirmation that they had moved past whatever had been bugging her. “What don’t you know?”
“You’re a good guy, Levi. It’s me who has commitment issues.”
“Save the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ crap.” It took a monumental effort to push the irritation aside. “Spend the day with me.”
“What?”
“Remember we were going on a date. I’d been aiming for next weekend, but I’m on duty then. Come out with me today.”
“Where to?”
“Yosemite. We can be there in less than an hour. We’ll have brunch at the lodge, and there’s a place in the village where we can rent electric bikes. I’ve been wanting to try them out, and riding around the valley might be pretty cool.”
“That sounds really nice.” She chewed her lip. “We wouldn’t be able to take Lucy. Let me call Eva. She and Diego have a fenced yard and have doggy sat for me in the past.”
“Great. While you call Eva, I’ll let Lucy out.”
***
Zoey climbed a contour line over the talus slope looking for fresh hay piles that were evidence of the pika preparing for the winter. A sound came from above her, and she glanced up to see the furry creature that looked like a small rabbit but without the ears perched on a flat rock calling out its warning. She documented the sighting, moving farther along the contour line, where she found two hay piles and recorded their contents. Climbing over the rocks wasn’t Lucy’s favorite activity, so she’d stayed in the meadow below the talus and was currently sprawled in the shade of a grouping of pine trees.
Her survey finally complete, Zoey made her way off the rocks. She joined Lucy, where she retrieved her portable dog water dish from the doggie pack and filled it with water from her thermos. They shared a PBJ, then Zoey took a swig of water before stowing their gear and rising to her feet. “Let’s go, girl. We’ll get back early. We did good work for a Monday.”
They took the path back down the mountain to where she’d left the Forest Service vehicle. There was a bathroom, well, a vault toilet to be precise, at the trailhead that she’d make use of before the drive back to the field office.
Since she’d started her day early, she’d be done by three. She had chores to do around her house, and since her fridge currently lacked even the most basic food to sustain life, stopping at the grocery store to restock was a must. She could give Lucy a bath. And if she kept busy enough, maybe she’d stop thinking about Levi.
Saturday evening she’d shown up on his doorstep tipsy. Okay, a little drunk. Two days later, shame still brought a flush to her cheeks. She hadn’t been trashed. If she had, then maybe she wouldn’t remember that she’d about admitted her feelings for him.
Waking up on his couch early Sunday morning had been insult to injury. Then, instead of leaving, as any sane woman would have, she’d joined him in bed, which led to great sex. Then, before she could marshal her defenses, she agreed to spend the entire day with him. A wonderful day in gorgeous Yosemite with a guy who made her heart trip with something as simple as a smile.
Levi made her feel too much.
She was ten seconds away from falling in love with him. She needed distance, that was all.
When she was with him, all she could think about were the sparks that ignited whenever they touched. Or how much she liked his eyes, especially when the blue burned hotter when they kissed. Or how amazing sex with Levi rocked her world.
She needed the breathing space to think rationally about their relationship.
She used stepping-stones to cross a creek, and with only a hundred yards to go, she followed the trail from the shade beside a creek into the open, Lucy about ten yards ahead of her. A loud crack split the air. The rifle fire had her dropping to a crouch amidst the brush. Another shot rang out, echoing against the rock face on the far side of the valley.
Zoey grabbed the whistle she’d trained Lucy to respond to and blew to give the shrill call. When Lucy bounded to her side, she grabbed her collar and attached the leash. Mid-June was too early for hunting season, so that meant poachers who were recklessly endangering hikers and anyone else enjoying the outdoors. She wasn’t a ranger or game warden. She had no law enforcement authority and didn’t carry a gun. Going after illegal hunters wasn’t an option. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t inform the authorities.
The trailhead wa
s about fifty feet away. She edged out of the shadows, then began to run across the last thirty feet, Lucy in front of her. Another shot rang out. This time the bullet ricocheted off a boulder only a few behind her and Zoey’s heart slammed into her throat. Either the poacher had really bad eyesight and had mistaken her and Lucy for wild game, or he had a completely different kind of game in mind.
They made it to the bathroom, Zoey bringing Lucy behind the concrete block structure for protection. She crouched down, her arm around the big dog’s neck, heart beating a frantic tattoo in her chest.
Grabbing the satellite phone from her belt, she keyed in the numbers and waited for her call to be picked up. It was routed to a California Highway Patrol dispatcher and she tried to speak calmly despite feeling like she was going to hyperventilate. She recounted what had happened, her name and job title, and her location. The dispatcher told her to wait someplace safe until help arrived.
Zoey took that time to scan the parking area. Her Forest Service truck was the only vehicle in the lot. She peeked her head around the corner of the bathroom, looking in the direction the shots had come from. The brush-covered slope behind her was topped by a rocky ridge, which provided plenty of hiding places. She waited and was rewarded several minutes later when movement caught her eye. She dug out her binoculars, brought them to her eyes, and adjusted the focus.
A dark figure separated from a clump of boulders, and for a brief moment was silhouetted against the bright sky of early afternoon. She couldn’t tell if the person was male or female. But she saw a rifle held in one hand.
She watched for another minute, then, counting on there being only one shooter, rose to her feet and whispered, “C’mon, Lucy.”
Adrenaline surged as she dug in her side pocket for her keys even as she raced for the truck with Lucy. Zoey opened the driver’s door and her baby hopped in ahead of her. Fearing a bullet could rip through her at any moment, she buckled Lucy in before jamming the key into the starter. The engine roared to life and Zoey was steering out of the dirt parking area, tires churning up dust, even as she pulled on her seatbelt.
She had an idea where the shooter was heading. The trail from the ridge sloped down to another trail, about a mile back, that had forked off the one she’d been on. The trail met a creek at the bottom of the slope, and from there crossed the road to continue onto a small lake.
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