Mountain Rescue, page 15
“Negative. Unfortunately, they don’t have cameras. I’ve got a vague description and that he drove a black Escalade, and that’s it.”
“Shit.”
“My sentiments, exactly. But we got Rachel’s grandmother out of there before Hargrove’s men found her, and that’s what counts.”
“Thank you for that. I don’t think she could get over losing June. What about the FBI? I’m surprised Rachel hasn’t heard from them again.”
“Their focus at the moment is on diving into Hargrove’s involvement in his illegal activities. Most especially, they want to know who he’s selling arms to. They’ve decided that Rachel can’t help them with any of that for now, nor can she help them find him, so she’s not on their radar. She will be after they find him, and he goes to trial. She’ll be their star witness on the murder charge.”
“How the hell do you find all this stuff out?” He snorted. “Never mind. It’s one of those if you told me, you’d have to kill me things.”
“Affirmative, and I really don’t fancy taking you out. I know you’re being vigilant, but it’s time to start being extra cautious.”
“Copy that. Speaking of being cautious, I need you to do me a favor. Rachel and I went to a grocery store the first day I was here. Can you hack into their security and erase the footage they have of us?”
“I thought you were going to give me something hard to do. What store?”
He gave TG the store’s name and the date they were there. “I’m expecting Hargrove or his men to show up any day now.”
“Just keep our girl safe.”
As usual in conversations with TG, he disconnected before Dallas could respond. TG was right. It was time to raise the threat level.
Chapter Fifteen
“I think you could use a hug,” Dallas said, coming back inside.
Rachel attempted a smile. It hadn’t been any easier hearing what Robert had done to Henri the second time around. “Hugs are always welcome.” Especially from him.
He wrapped his arms around her and put his hand on the back of her head, pulling her face against his chest. “He’ll pay for what he did to your friend. He’s got every cop and federal agent on the lookout for him.”
She squeezed her eyes shut against the burning tears. Hopefully they’d find him soon. She’d never thought this about anyone, not even someone she didn’t like, but she hoped he burned in hell.
“Go take a nice bath.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’ll get the kitchen cleaned up and take Bella out.”
“I can help.”
“Nope.” He leaned back and looked at her. “By the way, you’re sleeping in the big bed with me from now on.”
“I am?” She wasn’t ready for that yet.
“Yes, ma’am. But all we’re doing tonight is sleeping. From now on, when we’re at the cabin, I want you close. Hopefully Hargrove won’t find out about this place, but we can’t take a chance. If you can’t handle being in the same bed with me, I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“No, I can handle it.” No way would she make him sleep on the floor, and he was right. Sleeping in a separate room wasn’t safe any longer.
“Good.” He stepped away, then patted her butt. “Go take your bath.”
She saluted him. “Yes, sir.” She stopped in her room. What should she sleep in? Not that she had much of a choice since she’d only bought the necessities when she’d shopped for clothes before leaving LA. Since she hadn’t unpacked, she gathered up her Kindle, phone charger, and grabbed her suitcase, taking everything to the bigger room.
After deciding on a T-shirt and her running shorts, she headed for the bathroom, opting for a quick shower instead of a bath. Dallas wasn’t in the room when she came out, but he’d moved Bella’s bed in, and she was busy giving her baby a bath. Rachel kneeled on the floor. “Aren’t you just the best mommy?”
Bella nosed her hand, then returned to caring for her kitten. The dog had come a long way in the short time she’d been with Dallas. He really was great with Bella, and she was sure that carried over to other animals. It was sad that what he’d most like to do on his family’s ranch wasn’t an option for him.
“Sweet dreams, Bella Boo and Blue.” She chuckled. “Sounds like a nursery rhyme. Bella Boo had a kitten named Blue...” She tried to think of words that rhymed with blue.
“...and off they went to the zoo where a cow taught them how to say moo.”
Laughing, she glanced over her shoulder. “Now there’s a surprise talent I never would have guessed you had.”
He was leaning against the doorframe, and he’d obviously showered in the other bathroom since his hair was damp. Even though he was covered from neck to ankles in a light gray long-sleeve T and plaid pajama bottoms, he still took her breath away. “I have all kinds of hidden talents, sugar.”
She just bet he did. He sauntered toward her, and her gaze fell on his bare feet. Who knew men’s feet could be sexy? She gave Bella one last head scratch, then stood. “So, um...ready for bed?” She’d never gone to bed with a man just to sleep, and she was a little weirded out. It wasn’t like they both didn’t know that something would happen between them, but she wasn’t ready...not tonight.
“Oh, I’m definitely ready for....” He grinned. “Sleeping.”
And just like that, he’d un-weirded her. She rolled her eyes, then walked to the bed. “Which side do you sleep on?”
“Doesn’t matter. Take your pick.”
Since she was standing next to the right side, she’d take that one. When they were both in bed, him facing her, he got a funny look on his face. “What?”
“Just trying to imprint on my brain not to dream about you, thinking I’m making love to you, and try to do it for real.”
“You dream about me?”
“Since the night you tried to brain-bash me.”
“Oh,” she whispered.
“Yeah, not sure why you trying to kill me is such a turn-on.”
This man. She could easily fall in love with him if she let herself. She wouldn’t, though. There was only heartbreak if she went down that road. “Hot cowboy aside, you’re strange, you know that, right?”
A grin stretched across his face. “Damn, girl, you’re funny. I really like you.” He brushed away the lock of hair that had fallen over his forehead.
She grabbed his hand and traced her finger over his two bent ones. “Did this happen when you were a prisoner?”
“Yeah.” He curled his hand around hers. “So, tell me about a day in the life of Rachel Denning.”
He didn’t want to talk about that time. Had he talked to anyone about it? His family. Jack or Noah? A therapist? She wasn’t an expert on what he’d gone through, but it seemed to her that it wasn’t something he should hold inside.
“A day in the life of Rachel Denning is pretty boring. Making movies involves a lot of sitting around in makeup and costume waiting to be called on the set when it’s time to film a stunt. I read a lot.”
“I guess you don’t have lines to learn?”
“Nope. They can make me look like the actress I’m stunting for, but they can’t change my voice.” She really did lead a boring life, but she wanted to know more about his. “How old were you when you had your first kiss?”
“Seven.”
“For real?”
“Uh-huh. Leah Ann Sorenson. She dared me to kiss her.” He shrugged. “What was a boy to do but follow through when challenged? So, I kissed her, and she slapped me.” He grinned. “That was before I was an enlightened male.”
She laughed. “Doesn’t seem fair that she dared you to do it and then slapped you. Okay, what about your first real kiss? How old?”
“Thirteen. Leah Ann Sorenson. At least that time I didn’t get slapped.”
“That’s hilarious.”
“What about you? Who and how old?”
“Fifteen. Steve Cochran. I had the biggest crush on him, then he kissed me, and it was yucky. It was a very slobbery kiss.”
“Gross. Okay, who gave you the best kiss you’ve ever had?”
“You.” She wasn’t sure she should have admitted that, but it was the truth. And oh, his smile made her glad she did.
“Yeah?”
“Mmm-hmm. But I haven’t kissed a lot of guys, so check back with me in a year or two.”
“Hell no. I’m always going to be your best kisser.” He brought her hand up to his lips and pressed his lips to her palm.
No man had ever kissed her palm, had ever made her feel so special. They talked late into the night, telling each other their favorite colors, favorite foods, and sharing stories from their childhood.
When she yawned, he said, “Turn around and scoot back, sleepyhead.”
She fell asleep with him spooned around her, and her last thought was how much she was going to miss him when she returned home.
* * *
Rachel hadn’t known what to expect Operation K-9 Brothers to be like. Maybe some cages with dogs in them, but it was nothing of the sort. The dogs were housed in large kennels with plenty of room to move around. All the dogs looked happy and healthy. Her favorite part was the building housing the puppies. She’d played with them for a while, then had come outside to watch Jack work with Dallas and Bella.
“Someone trained her very well,” Jack said as he stood in front of Dallas and Bella. “I’m having trouble believing that same person was the one who abused her.”
Rachel had come to the same conclusion. How could someone take so much care in a dog’s training only to hurt the dog? “Maybe someone stole her from her owner?” She sat in a lawn chair Jack had set out for her while he worked with Dallas and Bella. They hadn’t found a command that Bella didn’t know.
Jack nodded. “Possibly. We had her checked for a chip, but she doesn’t have one. Surprising for a purebred.” He studied Bella for a moment. “She’s scared to death. I think before we work with her anymore, she needs more time to start believing we’re not going to hurt her.”
Although she performed on command, she kept her still too skinny body pressed against Dallas’s leg whenever possible. Rachel had the impression that as long as Bella was touching him, she felt safe. Rachel knew the feeling.
They’d found a vet near the cabin and had dropped Blue off on the way over. Bella hadn’t liked the kitten taken from her and had refused to leave the vet’s office. Dallas had had to pick her up and carry her out to the Jeep.
“Let’s walk her over to the kennels for a minute,” Jack said.
When they were out of earshot, they stopped and seemed to be having a serious conversation. Rachel wished she could hear what they were talking about. Dallas glanced at her and winked. Silly how those winks of his sent warmth streaming through her, made her heart skip a beat, and put a goofy smile on her face.
Dallas noticed Rachel watching them, and by the frown on her face, he was sure she thought they were talking about her, which they were. He winked, and her frown morphed into a smile. He liked making her smile.
“She’s doing okay,” Dallas said in answer to Jack’s question. “Better than most people would be if someone was out to kill them.”
“I’m not liking the way you look at her. You’re not messing around with her, are you?”
“Say one more word, brother, and I’ll put you on your ass.” Whatever happened between Rachel and him was their business.
“You can try.” He sighed. “Look, I wouldn’t blame you if you were interested in her. She’s pretty and smart, but you’re not in a good place for a relationship. You’ll end up hurting her, then I’ll have to hurt you.”
Dallas threw Jack’s words back at him. “You can try.” He wouldn’t know how to explain the peace he felt in his mind when he was with her, that she spoke to his heart. The touching thing didn’t make sense either, and he didn’t even try to explain that. For one thing, he hadn’t told Jack that he had a problem with touching.
“I just don’t want to see either one of you get hurt.”
“We’re just friends, okay?” And they were. He hoped that when all this was over and she returned home, they could stay in touch. He didn’t like the thought of not having her in his life somehow.
“Yeah, okay.” Jack pulled a small package out of his pocket. “Here’s your paracord.”
“Thanks.” Dallas slipped it into his pocket.
“You’re not going to put it on?”
“Nope.” He lifted his sleeve. “I have one. You should get yourself one. Never know when it will come in handy.” He saw the question in Jack’s eyes. “It’s for Rachel. She saw mine and said she wanted one.”
Before Jack could comment on that, he decided to divert the conversation to a different subject. “I talked to TG yesterday. Someone showed up at the Wyoming ranch, looking for Rachel’s grandmother.”
“I’m not liking that. Does Rachel know?”
“No, and there’s no reason to tell her. It will only worry her, and her grandmother’s safe. There’s nothing to lead anyone to my family’s ranch.”
“I’m thinking it’s time to step up our vigilance. If someone showed up in Wyoming, that means Hargrove got into her computer. He’ll have her contacts.”
“Agree, and TG said the same thing. Rachel decided that she’ll stay in her college girl disguise whenever we leave the cabin. College girl has been seen with me. For all appearances, we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, and to change her disguise would be suspicious.” Although, the first time they’d gone out, she’d been a flashy, big-chested girl, but TG was going to take care of that.
Jack glanced at her. “She does look like a college girl. If I didn’t know it was her, I really wouldn’t recognize her.”
“Same. I don’t think she should be left alone at the cabin anymore.”
“There’s something I want you to do for me, and she can go with you. Let’s walk back over there.”
The whole time they’d been talking, Bella had glued herself to his leg. Dallas reached down and scratched her head. “Let’s go see your second favorite person in the world.”
“You guys been talking about me?” Rachel said when they stopped in front of her.
“Yep.” Dallas grinned when she wrinkled her nose. “Jack has a job for us.” Hopefully it was something he was willing to do.
Jack told her his plans for Operation Warriors Center, listing the activities he wanted to offer their visitors.
“Wow, that sounds really ambitious and pretty awesome,” she said. “I love the idea of a rock-climbing wall. That’s one of my favorite downtime things to do.” She grinned. “Not to brag, but I’m considered an expert at it. What grade wall are you planning? I’m thinking maybe an average wall, something around a five point eight or so?”
Jack gave her a look she couldn’t interpret. “Maybe you can consult with us when we plan the wall. You like hiking?”
“Love hiking.” She looked around. “You have some great trails in the area. I’d map out some easy ones, some intermediate ones, and a few difficult ones. Some of those should have waterfalls included. People love seeing those.”
“Hmm.”
What was that hmm for? What he was planning really was awesome, and she couldn’t imagine how satisfying it would be to be involved in something like Operation Warriors Center.
“Dallas already knows this, but I want to also include equine therapy in what we’re offering. I’ve been hearing good things about it. Problem is, I need the right horses for something like that, and all I know about horses is that you can ride them.” Jack eyed Dallas. “You know horses, and I want you to find me some that will suit our needs. I have a couple of places in the area you two can check out.”
“Oh, I’d like that,” Rachel said.
“You ever ride?” Dallas would enjoy an afternoon of riding with her.
She nodded. “I had to fall off once for a stunt. In order to fall off, I had to learn how to ride a galloping horse. It was fun.”
Of course she’d think that was fun. “We’ll go tomorrow.”
Noah showed up with Lucky trotting along beside him. “Dudes and dudette, what’s happening?”
“I’m sending Dallas and Rachel out horse hunting,” Jack said. “We get the okay to start construction on the lodge?”
“Affirmative. The contractor will have his men here on Monday to start.” He bumped Dallas’s shoulder. “Sure am glad you’re here to do that. I was afraid it was going to be my job, and I don’t know a horse from a donkey.”
“Oh, hell, he’s going to sing,” Dallas said, seeing that mischievous gleam that always appeared in Noah’s eyes when he was about to come up with a song for the occasion. And sure enough, he sang a song about riding a donkey to the honky tonky.
“He’s weird,” Dallas told Rachel when Noah finished the song. “Never bet against him that he can’t come up with a song that fits whatever you’re talking about.”
She laughed. “That’s a great talent to have. I actually know that one. It’s ‘Donkey’ by Jerrod Niemann.”
“Give the lady a prize.” Noah glanced at Lucky, who had his front legs flat on the ground and butt in the air, tail wagging, trying to get Bella’s attention. Bella had her face buried against Dallas’s leg. “I know she’s pretty, buddy, but she obviously has no interest in you.” He snapped his fingers. “Leave her alone.”
Rachel had to smile at the disappointed expression on Lucky’s face as he came to Noah’s side. “Aww, it sucks to be rejected, doesn’t it, Lucky?” At hearing his name, his ears perked up, and he trotted over to her. “I think Bella’s just playing hard to get,” she stage-whispered to him. “She’s also very shy, so don’t give up.”
“You tell them about Saturday morning pancakes?” Noah asked Jack.
