White Mountain (12 page)

Vasili Rostov pushed his way inside the large metal shed and then stood in the doorway, watching the dust motes shifting in the morning sun.
 
He shut the door behind him as he moved to the back of the building, in search of the place where, for the next few days, he would lay his weary head.

The door squeaked as he opened it.
 
Inside was a bed just big enough for one, as well as a bureau and a small table and lamp.
 
Except for the lack of a television, it reminded him of his apartment in Leningrad.
 
The comfort was small but welcome, and beat a bedroll and hard ground all to hell.

He tossed his bag on the bed, ignoring the dust he sent airborne, and headed back outside to the hotel kitchen.
 
He hadn’t had a hot meal since he’d gotten off the plane in Montana.
 
At least now he was on the premises where Vaclav Waller had hidden himself for the last thirty years.
 
There was plenty of time to figure out what his next move would be while he was mowing grass and clipping bushes.

Isabella was coming out of the bank when she heard someone calling her name.
 
She stopped and turned, unaware of what a picture she made with the sun on her hair and a smile on her face.

Bobby Joe Cage knew a good thing when he saw it, and Isabella Abbott was definitely it.
 
He, along with a good half dozen of Braden’s finest young men, had been trying to make time with her for several years, but with little luck.
 
However, with the passing of her father and then on of the old men she called uncle, he figured his chances had just increased.
 
He came across the street at a lope, counting on his good looks to make up for his lack of a job and money.

He took off his Stetson, aware that the sunshine made his blond hair turn gold, and flashed what he hoped was a sympathetic smile.

“Isabella…I’m so glad I saw you.
 
I’ve been meaning to come out to Abbott House and pay my respects, but I didn’t want to intrude on your mourning.”

“Why, thank you,” she said.
 
“I haven’t seen you in months.
 
Have you been out of town?”

He’d been shacked up with a showgirl from Las Vegas, which hadn’t worked out, but he had no intention of telling her that.

“Yes, and I only just heard about your losses after I got home yesterday.
 
I can’t tell you how sorry I am.
 
Your father was a real good doctor.
 
If it hadn’t been for him, my sister, Lucy, and her husband wouldn’t have been able to have a baby.”

It wasn’t anything she didn’t already know, but hearing praise for her father’s dedication to his work made her feel good.

“Thank you for saying that,” she said.
 
“Right now, it means a lot to hear anything positive.
 
It’s been a very rough two weeks.”

Bobby Joe frowned.
 
“Yeah, I heard about old man Walton getting murdered in New York.
 
That’s a bad place.
 
I sure wouldn’t want to be there.”

Ignoring the less than respectful manner in which Bobby Joe had referred to Uncle Frank, she nodded, then shifted her purse to her other shoulder.

“I have one more errand to run before I get back to the hotel, so I’d better be going,” she said.
 
“It was good to see you.
 
Tell your parents I said hello.”

Bobby Joe grabbed her arm.
 
“Wait!”

She winced from the pressure of his fingers and then slid out of his grasp.

“Sorry,” Bobby Joe said.
 
“I just…well, I thought we might—“

Suddenly aware of where the conversation was heading, Isabella interrupted.

“Bobby Joe, right now I’m not up to anything social, but thank you for asking.”

Resisting the urge to run, she turned and headed for the post office.
 
Her skin was still crawling, even after she was inside and standing in line.
 
Something about Bobby Joe’s behavior had made her very uncomfortable, which made no sense.
 
She’d known him all her life.

While she was waiting to purchase her stamps, Bobby Joe was still working his angle.
 
He watched until she went into the post office, then ducked between her car and the pickup truck parked beside it. J After one quick look to make sure no one was watching, he pulled out his knife and squatted beside the back of her car.
 
Without hesitation, he plunged the knife into the rear tire, then stood abruptly, pretending that he’d just picked up something that he’d dropped.
 
After one quick look around to make sure he hadn’t been seen, he stepped up onto the sidewalk and walked up the street.
 
The tire would go flat before she got home, giving him the opportunity for one more go at her.
 
Maybe she would be more sympathetic to his request for a date after he’d come to her rescue.

Jack Dolan was standing in the barber shop and looking out the window when he saw Isabella exit the bank.
 
He thought about stepping outside to say hello when a man hailed her from across the street.
 
Curious, he watched as the man ran to meet her, wondering how she would greet him.
 
The thought that he was setting himself up to watch her be hugged, maybe even kissed, was oddly disconcerting.
 
That bothered him more than a little.
 
He shouldn’t give a damn about her personal life.

However, when the man pulled off his hat and flashed her a smile, Jack took an instant dislike to him.

Their conversation was brief, which was somewhat reassuring, but when Isabella turned to walk away and the man yanked at her arm, he had an urge to intervene.
 
Before he could react, though, Isabella had made her excuses and disappeared.

Jack’s eyes narrowed as the man’s face took on a surly expression.
 
Jack was smiling to himself, thinking that Isabella had obviously turned him down, and then realized the scenario wasn’t over.
 
He saw the big cowboy move toward Isabella’s car, recognized the furtiveness with which he was moving, and wondered what he was going to do next.
 
But when he saw him pull something out of his pocket and then drop down, he suspected the man was up to no good.

“Hey, mister.
 
You still want that haircut?” the barber asked.

Jack hesitate, then shook his head.
 
“I just remembered something I need to do,” he said.
 
“I’ll catch you tomorrow, okay?”

“Sure thing,” the barber said, and motioned the next man in line.

The man was gone when Jack came out of the barber shop.
 
He stood for a moment, undecided as to what to do next.
 
He raced across the street to the photography shop and picked up the film he’d left to be developed.
 
Taking pictures of the area was part of his cover, and he wasn’t ready to blow everything yet.
 
Then he headed up the street to where he’d parked his car.
 
He didn’t know what was going to happen, but whatever it was, he wasn’t going to be far behind.

When Isabella came out of the post office with her stamps, it was close to eleven.
 
Plenty of time to get home and help set the tables for any customers who might come for an early lunch.
 
While few of the locals every stayed at the hotel, many of them came to eat.
 
Except for a couple of small cafes and one aging Dairy Queen, it was the only place in the area that served food to the public.

As she drove out of town, she couldn’t help but wish her father was by her side.
 
He had always love the Montana autumns, and although it was only the tenth of September, the nights were already quite cool and the aspens were beginning to turn.
 
Soon their leaves would be a bright splash of yellow against the dark green pines.
 
Snow would appear on the mountain tops, and sunrise would reveal the vast rolling meadows at the foothills to be bright with frost.

Overhead, she saw the great wingspan of an eagle riding the air currents in search of food, and in the distance off to her right she could see a herd of elk grazing at the edge of a clearing.
 
She took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, savoring the sense of peace she felt at knowing this was where she belonged.

She was more than halfway home when she began to realize it was becoming difficult to hold the car on the road.
 
Nervously, she braked and pulled over to the shoulder, getting out in time to see the left rear tire going flat.

“Oh great,” she muttered, and kicked at the tire in frustration.

She knew how to change it, but it wasn’t her favorite thing to do.
 
With a muffle curse, she opened the trunk and began removing the jack and the undersized spare.
 
This would mean a trip back to town just to get the tire fixed.
 
Tossing her navy blue jacket inside the car, she rolled up the sleeves of her shirt and grabbed the tire iron.
 
First she would loosen the lug nuts, then she would jack up the car.

She thought about calling Delia just to let her know what had happened and then changed her mind.
 
If she did, Delia would surely tell the uncles, and then they would all show up, taking charge and setting her off to one side, which made no sense.
 
She was definitely younger and stronger than any of them, except possibly her Uncle David, who still presented a commanding figure.

With no more than two lug nuts loose, she heard the sound of an approaching car.
 
Glad to know help was arriving, her relief shifted slightly when she saw who it was.

Bobby Joe Cage emerged from his truck with a smile and a swagger.

“Hey, honey…looks like you’ve had a bit of bad luck.

Isabella stood.
 
“Yes, I did.”

He took the tire iron from her hand.
 
“Let me have that thing.
 
You got no business trying to change a flat.
 
That’s a man’s work.”

Despite his chauvinistic attitude, she was glad for his help and handed him the tool, standing back as he squatted down beside the flat and finished what she’d set out to do.

Within the space of five minutes, he had the tire off, the temporary spare on, and was loading the flat and the jack back into the trunk.

“There you go,” he said lightly, dusting his hands on the seat of his jeans, and flashing he a wide, engaging smile.

Isabella started toward her car to get her purse.

“Thank you so much for your help, Bobby Joe.
 
I really appreciate it, and I’d be happy to pay you for your trouble.”

He sauntered up beside her, and then before she knew what was happening, he had her pinned against her own car.
 
He slid a hand up beneath the fall of her hair and tilted her head just a touch.

“The only payment I need is your sweet kiss,” he said softly, and lowered his head.

Shock couple with anger as Isabella thrust her hands between them, shoving hard against his chest.

“Don’t Bobby Joe!
 
I told you before, I’m not in the mood for—“

He grabbed both her hands and quickly pinned them behind her, still smiling, still coming closer.

“Sure you are, honey.
 
You just don’t know it yet.
 
Trust me.
 
I can make you feel better.”

Isabella’s heart skipped a beat.
 
Bobby Joe wasn’t stopping, and he wasn’t taking no for an answer.
 
She twisted within his grasp, trying to pull herself free, but was unable to push him away.

“Please, Bobby Joe…I thought you were a friend.
 
Don’t do this to—“

“honey, I haven’t done anything yet,” he whispered, then ground his pelvis against her belly and crushed his lips to hers.

Stunned by his behavior, she struggle to get free, but his grip was firm, and the weight of his body kept her practically immobile.
 
A spurt of fear, couple with the sudden taste of blood in her mouth, made her moan.

Bobby Joe took it as a sign of passion and reached for her breast.

One moment he was all over her, and the next thing she knew he was in the dirt and Jack Dolan was standing over him.

Blood spurted from between Bobby Joe’s fingers as he held them to his face.

“Ju bwoke by dose.”

“Then I’d better try that again,” Jack growled.
 
“Because I was aiming for your neck.”

Isabella rushed between them and grabbed Jack’s arm.
 
“Jack, wait!
 
It’s all right.
 
He didn’t really hurt me.”

Jack turned, unaware that the expression on his face had gone cold or the his nostrils were flared with anger.
 
All he wanted to do was hurt the man the way he’d hurt Isabella.
 
His gaze raked her face, then settled on her mouth.
 
A drop of blood was oozing from her lower lip.
 
The sight of it made him sick to his stomach.
 
If he hadn’t intentionally stayed so far behind, this could have been prevented.