Catamount Ridge (4 page)

With a sad smile, Cade left to meet his lady love.

Jessie hardly noticed her father’s limp anymore, but the reference he made about her little brother brought it all back. He still felt guilty. It didn’t help that her mom called every year on the anniversary of Nathan’s death to accuse him of murder. Jessie wished he would stop answering the phone or change his number, but Cade would never do that. He saw it as his cross to bear, and he bore it gladly.

After that horrid day, her mother grew to hate the house her dad built. She wanted to sell it and all the property.

Cade was generally a quiet man who bowed down to his wife, but this time he stood fast. He intended to get up every morning and remember.

The death of his son had altered his life forever. He gave up the white-collar career as an engineer, and a working class job of ridding properties of unwanted pests became his only source of income. Rattlesnakes were nothing more than a nuisance now. Vowing never to be prey again, Cade learned to hunt. A bit of a survivalist, he was always prepared. He was proficient with a bow and arrow, a marksman with a rifle, and a sharp-bladed knife never left his side.

When Bonnie left for good, Cade took Jessie along on his journey. If not for him, she wouldn’t have a job with the Forest Service. As she grew, so did her skills. She never matched her father’s level of expertise, but she held her own against the majority of the other members of the Service. Their job wasn’t to kill the animals, but rather to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the national forests and grasslands.

Why Nathan had to die and why their family had to implode were questions that would never be answered, so she twisted around to take another look through the binoculars. The limb where her predator lounged was empty. Jessie listened intently to the night creatures rustling in the underbrush, but she couldn’t hone in on the cat. The sun had dropped below the horizon and it was getting dark. Once she was convinced the cat had moved on, she sank deeper into the tub. Her bandaged arm had to be kept out of the chemical laced water, but the rest of her luxuriated in the warmth and the massaging action of the jets against her tight muscles.

Her eyes closed and her mind automatically drifted back to the night, or day, of ecstasy with—whoever.

Real or not, it still made her body tingle and her breath quicken. As the water swirled around, she traced a finger along her inner leg. A moment of pure unadulterated pleasure released when she brushed against her highly sensitive nub.

The sliding glass door whooshed open. The porch light flicked on and disturbed the still night. A Herculean figure towered between her and the house. The security light blinded her and Jessie raised a protective hand to shield against the glare.

The figure moved closer and spoke. “I saw your father out front. He said you were back here. I hope you don’t mind the interruption.”

Of course she minded. Jessie had no idea who this man was or why he wanted to see her. To make the situation even more uncomfortable, his amused tone hinted he knew exactly what she had been about to do to herself. Never one to shy away from the obvious, it took all of Jessie’s will power not to spat out that she was about to masturbate and that hell yes, he had indeed interrupted.

Jessie blinked, trying to see through the brightness. “And…you are?”

“Derek Foster. I was in town, and I thought I’d come by and catch up with my boss.”

If so many people hadn’t confirmed that this was the man who brought her down from Catamount Ridge, she would have kicked him out on his ass.

Even blinded, it was easy to tell that Sally was right. Derek looked nothing like his cousin, but damn, the man smelled good. The scent reminded her of the pine trees in the canyon below. “That light is annoying. Can you turn it off? I can’t see.”

He stepped back and flipped the switch. “Mind if I join you?”

She was finally meeting the mystery man who had saved her life. Jessie figured she might as well get to know him. “There’s a pair of trunks right inside the door.”

Jessie’s breath caught when Derek unbuttoned his shirt and piece by piece, his clothing dropped away. Her eyes hadn’t fully adjusted, but she had no problem making out Derek’s superb build and well-defined calves as he entered the tub. A few lingering spots shielded his other attributes, but it wasn’t much of a loss. Jessie’s imagination filled in the gaps quite nicely.

Cougars had been on her mind, and Derek’s bold attitude and languid movements resembled that of the strong, stealthy animals.

The water level rose about an inch when he settled himself on the molded bench. The expanse of his shoulders and chiseled chest covered half of the small hot tub, but she still couldn’t get a clear visual of his face. Derek spread his arms across the back edge of the tub and came to rest within inches of Jessie’s exposed arm.

“So, how are you getting along?” he asked.

The whole situation was highly inappropriate. Derek was a subordinate. By sheer mass alone, the man was overwhelming. He intimidated her, but Jessie forced herself to sit tall and not give in to her vulnerability. “On what planet is it okay to strip down in front of your boss?” she challenged.

Derek didn’t reply. The silence droned on, making Jessie feel more and more uncomfortable. Finally, he combed a wet hand through his shaggy hair and said, “From what I understand, you won’t be my superior much longer. You were up on the mountain to fire me, correct?”

Jessie cringed at the mocking way he called her his superior. She didn’t like blindsiding a loyal employee, but Derek seemed to have the inside track. “I’m sorry, it’s nothing personal. I don’t have any control over budget cuts. Your reports are thorough and concise, but the State can no longer afford to track the patterns of the local wildlife. The Service is back to being reactive to problems as they arise, instead of being proactive and heading them off before something becomes an issue.”

Derek shrugged. “It was an experimental program. I knew it could end at any time. Will I be allowed to stay in the cabin for a while? I’d be willing to rent it.”

Unused, the structure would fall into disrepair in the harsh Sierra elements, so Jessie returned his shrug. “I don’t have an issue with that. How does a dollar a month sound?”

“Shouldn’t you clear that with someone?”

“As a temporary arrangement, there’s no problem. If you’re interested, I’ll propose letting you stay on there for free in exchange for keeping the place up.”

Her offer drew a sly smile from his lips. Derek slid around the bench and examined her maimed arm. His body drew close and Jessie was able to study his face unhindered. The Greek sculpture of David came to mind. The cold marble had never made her blood rush, but the man sitting next to her did.

“Too close for comfort, dude,” she scolded. “Whether you’re an employee or not, it’s time you moved back to the other side of the pool.”

Instead of complying with her request, Derek leaned in and stroked her cheek with his knuckles. His amber eyes held her spellbound. Jessie felt like a frozen rabbit. Part of her desperately wanted to break away, the other part wanted nothing more than to melt into his arms and be swept away. She needed to know if her fractured memories were based on reality. “What happened the other day? Did we—”

His lips crushed down on hers, and she had the answer to her question. There wasn’t any way this man could be confused with his frozen cousin. Derek was heat and passion. She ran her hands through his hair. It was wiry, like the cat’s. With his dark golden hair and eyes with specks of gold, she understood how, in her drugged state, she could have mistaken him for a mountain lion. His powerful body pressed against her. Derek pulled her into his lap. With a firm hand wrapped around her ear and one tenderly massaging her breast, the kiss deepened.

Jessie tasted his tongue, tugged on his lip, and twisted about to straddle his hips.

Their lips broke apart, and his kisses trailed down her neck. The warm water lapped around her waist and Jessie’s body opened up to him. A low growl rumbled deep in Derek’s throat. The tip of his nose pressed against her chest and he inhaled her scent. Then Derek lifted her high in the water and drew her arms up over the side of the tub.

“Hold on tight,” he growled. “This is going to be one hell of a ride.”

Jessie grabbed the edge and let her body float up to the surface. With her bikini cast aside, Derek’s mouth came down on her breast and his fingers slipped down to finish the job she started earlier. Inside, outside and all around, his thumb, and fingers danced through her tender folds. He happened on the G spot and an orgasm erupted in waves of glorious pleasure.

Without giving her time to recover, Derek mounted her. Strong hands grabbed her hips and thrust after thrust, he pounded into her. Jessie’s arm slipped off the ledge. Her head bashed into the side of the hot tub and knocked her back to reality. It might not be in the official report, but Jessie knew snippets of what happened up on the mountain. If this man had taken her to his cabin, then he had done it without her consent.

With her pink painted toenails and wet feet planted firmly on his chest, Jessie shoved his body away.

“You drugged me!” she shouted.

Eyes dark with passion bore into her.

Hairs pricked at the base of her skull and Jessie readied herself for the attack. If Derek didn’t respect her wishes, her knee knew exactly the right place to bring his mass of muscles to a painful halt.

A ragged breath rushed out and his aggressive posture stood down.

“Talk about a buzz kill,” he quipped lightly. “My bubble was just about to burst.”

Without another word, he climbed out of the tub and picked up his clothes. Derek opened the sliding glass door and cut her a look that invited her to follow him inside her own house.

She might not show good judgment where men and sex were concerned, but she wasn’t going to let a total stranger wander through her home unaccompanied. A beast rode just under the surface of his incredibly handsome exterior. She had been taken advantage of before being brought down the mountain. Jessie didn’t plan on forgetting that fact again. She couldn’t be sure who handed her the pills. When she saw Ice on the street, she thought it was him. Derek’s face was only vaguely familiar, but his sizzling touch was unmistakable.

Fire and Ice. For all she knew, she had them both.

Derek stepped out of the bathroom, fully clothed in comfortable looking faded jeans and a long sleeve flannel shirt. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. “Get dressed. I need to show you something.”

His arrogance was astounding. Derek had to be out of his ever loving mind if he thought she was going anywhere with him. “Just because I let you get me off out there in the tub, doesn’t mean I trust you enough to climb into your car and drive off to who knows where.”

His face softened. The warmth of his hand brushed against hers. He was so close she could feel the moist heat of his breath. “I don’t have a car, Jessie,” he whispered. “I have a Jeep.”

She tried to ignore the sexy, smart ass remark and the tingling electrodes firing throughout her body. Hoping to give rational thought a chance to surface, she stepped back and pushed aside the urge to grab his massive arm and drag him into bed.

“Come with me, Jessie,” he pressed once more.

His supercharged fingers ran lightly across her abdomen, and she wavered.

Against everything she was taught about guarding her personal safety, Jessie changed into jeans, her favorite knit shirt, and grabbed her brown bomber jacket before climbing into the passenger side of his Jeep and driving away with him into the night.

4

THE SOUND OF a wild cat’s fierce cry jolted Jessie awake. Alone inside Derek’s Jeep, she pulled her jacket tight against the chill and the fear. The time on her watch told her she hadn’t been asleep for very long. The lack of street lights and the line of sugar pines flanking the vehicle indicated they were back up on the ridge.

The cat cried again.

Jessie couldn’t see the animal, so she flipped on the headlights. Through the mist, she spotted his ghostly figure about fifty yards out. It was the same blue-gray monster who tried to kill her. Every few feet, the cat stopped to growl and huff menacingly in her direction.

His threatening display was fascinating to watch. The beast scared her silly, but observing the animal in his natural habitat was exhilarating. The mountain lion’s slow, languid strides took him around the Jeep three times before he plunged back into the woods.

Jessie turned on the interior lights and rummaged around for a flashlight. Under the driver’s seat, along with the remnants of the meal they picked up from Sid’s Burgers, she found a light similar to those used by law enforcement. The lingering aroma of Sid’s special sauce made her stomach grumble. Jessie tried to convince herself the food had brought the mountain lion in, and she prayed it wasn’t because he knew she was there.

If the cat hadn’t killed him, then Derek was somewhere nearby and needed to be warned. Cautiously, she planted her worn hiking boots in the soft red dirt. At first, she stayed near the Jeep, ready to dive back inside at the mere hint of her stalker’s return. Inch by inch, she expanded her reach and explored the surrounding area.

It took some time, but Jessie eventually ventured too far from the vehicle for it to be of any use if the mountain lion returned. With her head down, she traveled close to the tree line in search of Derek’s footprints.

A twig snapped.

Jessie froze. While trying to find Derek, she had placed herself in mortal danger. A sturdy branch lay a body’s length away near a pile of underbrush. The moment she heard the rustle of dry leaves behind her, Jessie dove for the log. With it grasped firmly in her hands, she leaped to her feet, ready to face her attacker.

“Whoa! I come in peace.”

Standing over six feet tall with his hands raised in surrender, Ice’s amused blue eyes looked down at her.

Jessie considered smacking him for scaring the daylights out of her. Instead, she released a nervous breath and tossed the branch back into the woods. This was the face she remembered. She was certain now. Ice picked her up on the road after the mountain lion attack, not Derek. Jessie didn’t know what the cousins were playing at, but she wasn’t in the mood for games. “At least you aren’t impersonating a ranger this time.”

Ice stuck his hands inside his jacket pockets and shrugged. “I saw you in town earlier. I heard Captain Mills had been replaced. It’s about time the Forest Service brought in such a beautiful lady. My cousin must be a very happy man.”

Derek didn’t get the ending he was expecting in the hot tub earlier, so Jessie doubted that very much. “Let’s circle back to the fact that you stole your cousin’s uniform and picked me up on the ridge after I was attacked by two mountain lions.”

The tip of Ice’s finger tapped her forehead. “That’s a good sized bruise you’re sporting. I think you must be a little confused.”

Jessie’s patience was running thin. A straight answer from either one of the Foster boys seemed damned near impossible to get. With a smile plastered on her face, she stuck out a friendly hand and switched tactics on him. “I saw you too. My cousin filled me in. You are Ice. Nice to meet you.”

Ice did not reciprocate and tucked his hands back inside his pockets. “I’m sure Sally gave you an earful. Most of what she said is probably true, except my name is Isaac.”

Jessie smirked and retorted hotly, “Since I would be the only person in town calling you that, I think I’ll stick to Ice.”

She hoped to get a rise out of him by refusing to refer to him by his given name, but his blue eyes sparkled with delight. “I didn’t peg you for a sheep, Jessie Marcus, but knowing you are, makes this a lot easier.”

Ice grabbed her arm and jerked her down a narrow path. His tight grip hurt her injured arm. Ice knew it, but he didn’t care.

Jessie had no idea where he was taking her. Coming out here with Derek had been a colossal mistake. Almost on the verge of panic, she called out, “Where’s Derek?”

Ice forced her through a bramble of manzanita. “My cousin? I haven’t seen him.”

The branches scratched deep into her skin, and her fear quickly turned to anger. She wasn’t a pet to be dragged about. Jessie ripped her arm away and faced him down. “That’s a load of bull. We drove out here together. It’s time I got back. My dad is expecting me so stop messing around and tell me where Derek is.”

Ice turned his blue eyes around and chuckled. “Your dad’s busy getting a little nookie from my dear ol’ school teacher. I doubt he’s giving you a second thought.”

The man had been spying on them.

“What my father is doing is none of your business,” she shrieked. “Where the fuck is Derek? This is not where I want to be.”

“There’s no need for hysterics. We’re almost there.”

Ice pushed back a large branch, and the entrance to the Red Mine opened up.

Jessie hadn’t been in the tunnels since childhood. After a multitude of school field trips, someone died, and the mine had been barred and locked to the public. The steel bars were gone, and the vegetation had regenerated to its natural state. After so much time, the opening appeared to be nothing more than a cave.

The entire ridge was under her jurisdiction, so Jessie made a mental note to look into it further when she returned to duty.

Horror stories about miners being buried alive popped into her head. Regional folklore insisted their ghosts still haunted these woods. Around the campfire, the tale never failed to grow sinister. The miners sought to avenge their deaths, and they weren’t picky about who they chose to victimize. Several generations of Silverton’s citizenship had enjoyed scaring their children with the story. It was tradition. As soon as their little eyes went wide with fright, one of the parents would yell,
BOO!
The kids would laugh, comforting hugs would be given, and by the time they returned to civilization, the legend would be nothing more than a silly joke.

A story Gracie Langston told came to mind. It seemed fitting to remember it now since it involved mountain cats. The felines Jessie envisioned in her second grade head were small household cats, and the nightmares she suffered resulted in one of the many breakups between Ms. Langston and her father.

Jessie didn’t have the time or inclination to revisit that horrific time in her life, so she pushed the memory aside and looked up into Ice’s blue eyes.

He took her hand, gently this time, and tried to coax her inside.

Jessie backed away. “The mine should be closed off,” she stammered. “What happened to the gate?”

In the moonlight, his face was soft and convincing. “It’s still on the main entrance. This was an escape route that was never secured. You’re safe, Jessie,” he reassured. “I need your help. Come and see for yourself. If you don’t want to stay after that, then I’ll make sure you get home in one piece.”

She had no reason to trust him. At least one, if not both, of the Foster men had drugged her. Too many questions were left unanswered. Why didn’t Derek wake her when they arrived? Why did he leave her alone in his Jeep? And looming right at the top of her list was the question of why she agreed to come up here with him at all?

Jessie wasn’t some love-struck teenager. She knew the score. What happened in the spa meant nothing. Then Derek kissed her, and like an obsessed, desperate idiot, she allowed herself to be lured away from the safety of her father’s home. With her injury, Jessie had been getting more rest than she needed, but for no apparent reason, she fell asleep on the drive up here. Her behavior was completely out of whack, and Jessie was finding it difficult to comprehend.

Much like his cousin earlier in the evening, Ice cut her a look which invited her to join him before he disappeared into the depths of the mine.

Fire and ice waited for her. Jessie didn’t believe she was under the influence this time. Whatever decision she made would be all her own. A good dose of fear radiated throughout her body, but the idea of being sandwiched between two of the most destructive and seductive elements on earth was intoxicating.

Indecision tore through her. Plumes of red dust billowed around her ankles as she stormed back and forth across the opening of the mine. A few steps in either direction and her fate would be sealed. Her mind raced. The blue-gray mountain lion waited for her somewhere out in the forest, and something unknown lurked inside the cave. Jessie had to make a decision quickly, or it could be taken out of her hands completely.

The faces of her children appeared before her. They needed her. She would not place herself at risk to placate the whim of two men she could never trust. With her mind made up, she turned to the safety of Derek’s Jeep.

A cry from inside the mine made her stop and listen. It was the sound of a baby. A distressed infant wailed from somewhere down that dark hole. Jessie didn’t know the cousins well, but she doubted they had any business caring for a helpless human being. Derek’s cabin would have been a much safer environment for an infant, but they stupidly brought the child to a nasty, dirty mine instead. It was insane. If they had found an abandoned baby, it would have been a simple matter to drop it off at the local emergency room or fire station.

Derek was still an employee under her command. She was responsible for his actions. If misconduct was involved and she didn’t take the proper steps to rectify it, she could be charged with dereliction of duty. The child was a ploy to force her into the mine. She knew it, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. If a baby was at risk, Jessie had to investigate. It was her job.

She fingered her way down a crumbling dirt wall toward the sound of the infant’s cry. It had been a long time since those school field trips. Jessie racked her brain to come up with some helpful information. If this section was anything like the one she recalled, she imagined there would be a cavern coming up soon. Cautiously, she shuffled along the tunnel, and was careful not to trip over the rails. Halfway down, she remembered the tracks were gone, having been pulled up and salvaged by boys of her father’s generation in need of some quick cash.

She smelled smoke long before she saw any sign of a fire. Jessie rounded a corner, and a flickering light glowed through the opening of a large cavern. Slowly, she moved forward until she could peer inside. She expected to see two men and a baby, but she couldn’t have been more wrong.

Ice sat cross-legged in front of a warming fire, cuddling a spotted mountain lion cub. The small creature with large, gangly paws opened its mouth and cried. It sounded exactly like a baby crying for its mother.

Aware of her presence, Ice spoke, “The momma cat is dead. Derek killed her the day of your attack. We’ve been trying to keep these little guys alive, but we can’t do it alone. We need your help.”

The tension left Jessie’s body. “Why didn’t you say so in the first place? You and Derek had me scared shitless.”

He had said, keep these guys alive, plural. So Jessie searched the cavern for more cubs. A second ragged-looking one was pressed against Ice’s leg for warmth. By the animal’s markings, she judged him to be approximately three weeks old. Small and sickly for his age, she picked up the tattered bundle and nuzzled it against her neck. The poor little thing even smelled ill. Jessie ran her hand down the length of his ringed tail. The cub stared at her with sad, worn out, ready for death blue eyes.

“This one won’t make it,” she stated matter-of-factly. “I don’t know what you think I can do.”

The other cub was much more active and alert. It nipped and swatted playfully at Ice’s fingers. He set the feisty cub down and picked up a leather pouch that rested beside the stones encircling the fire.

Jessie thought it contained nourishment for the cubs, but instead of feeding the starving babies, Ice tossed a handful of its contents into the flames.

A rush of sparks flared high into the cavern.

Startled, Jessie shrieked, “What was that?”

Ice shrugged.

The Fosters weren’t a chatty family, handsomely mysterious, and probably dangerous, but certainly not talkative. There was no point asking about Derek again. Ice would tell her in his own sweet time.

The feisty cub crawled into her lap and scratched at her shirt.

“Hey squirt, easy on the material,” she scolded gently. “If you want my help, you’re going to have to learn to retract those claws.”

When the cub persisted, she gave him a quick flick on the nose. The infant yelped and leaped back into the security of Ice’s arms.

Ice chuckled deep and low, and the warm slippery stirrings between Jessie’s legs kicked up a notch.

Smoke filled the cave. The strange fragrance of oak and herbs stung her eyes and nostrils. It was similar to the dry Italian herb seasoning she liked to toss teasingly onto the barbeque. Her dad came running every time to make sure she wasn’t toking on some illicit drugs. Her pot days were long gone, but Cade’s memories of his daughter’s wild teen years weren’t. No matter how often she messed with him, he still had to check it out.