The Midnight Sons ~ Men as Wild and Rugged as The Last Frontier Itself
Five brothers risk their lives to rescue those caught in the death grip of the Alaska wilderness...and find their hearts in danger of falling for women as tough as the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Five brothers risk their lives to rescue those caught in the death grip of the Alaska wilderness...and find their hearts in danger of falling for women as tough as the Land of the Midnight Sun.
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When a bigwig fight promoter needs someone to search for his missing fiancée, he hires expert tracker Sam Belgarde and his search dogs. Sam is more than a little reluctant. His family's company, Search and Rescue Alaska, is in financial trouble, though, so if searching for a spoiled socialite will save it, then he's willing to break the rules--just this once.
After witnessing a murder, Nora Molina needs to get away--fast--and her best hope to escape without her passport is Alaska. A native of Argentina, Nora's accustomed to harsh winters and high elevation, so she gets more than a little irritated when some tracker thinks she needs rescuing. Even if he is get-out sexy. And even if he's the guy she stood up before leaving town. It's going to be a long few days. When an unexpected storm rolls in, Sam and Nora find themselves in each other's arms--to keep warm. Things get a little too hot when it's clear someone wants the two of them to stay lost--permanently. |
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Four-Chapter Excerpt!
Sam's Folly
Midnight
Sons – Book One
Carmen
DeSousa
A
Romantic Suspense Series
Sam’s Folly
A Midnight Sons Novel
Copyright© 2019 by Carmen DeSousa
ISBN: 9781945143557
U.S.A.
This is a fictional work. All characters and events in
this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are solely the
concepts and products of the author’s imagination or are used to create a
fictitious story and should not be construed as real. Any resemblance to real
persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by any
means, without the prior permission in writing, except in the case of brief
quotations, reviews, and articles.
Chapter 1
~ Nora ~
I should have worn a thicker coat …
Nora
Molina shivered, her teeth chattering as she tugged her hoodie farther down on
her forehead and over her ears, doing her best to shield her face from the
brisk Alaska air. Sure, she was in The Last Frontier, but it was May, for God’s
sake. According to her research, Alaska’s summer season started in two weeks, which
was the reason she needed to get on the trail quickly, ahead of the other
hikers. Maybe it was the humidity. The damp air penetrated her cotton pullover,
making her feel as if she’d hopped out of a shower and onto the tundra without
enough sense to dry off.
“Layers,”
said the backpack instructor, his critical gaze picking her out among the
class. “It may feel like summer here in Falcon Run, but on Denali, temps can
fall below zero in hours. You have to be prepared for anything.”
Feel like summer, she thought, at fifty degrees? Why was he even giving this demonstration
outside? She must have become more accustomed to the temperate weather in Los
Angeles than she’d realized over the last seven years. Her hometown of El
Chaltén, Argentina certainly hadn’t been warm. She had to get used to the
temperature here, though, the reason she’d left her blasted third layer in the rental car. She needed to
save room in her backpack so she could pack enough food to last her a month,
long enough that authorities would stop searching. She didn’t have space for
long johns. If she could just stop shivering, maybe the instructor would stop
focusing on her as if she didn’t belong among all these male backpackers.
Not
that she needed training, per se; she’d spent her childhood hiking with her
father. But she’d chosen this refresher course because the instructor, Sam
Belgarde, ran the highest-rated search-and-rescue team in Alaska. If anyone
knew what to expect in the Land of the Midnight Sun, it’d be him, and she had
to be prepared. She couldn’t risk failing.
Sam … such an all-American name, a name that conveyed trust
and confidence. If those qualities were really possible in a man. Get real, Nora! Remember the last man who promised to help you.
I’ll take you to America, Sergio had said. Get you a job. You can send lots of money back to your mother. It’ll
be great.
Yeah.
Right! If it’d been great, she
wouldn’t be freezing her ass off right now. In Alaska, of all places.
Still,
if she pushed her cynicism aside for a second, she had to admit that she’d been
taken aback by Sam’s boyish good looks, which were in stark contrast to his
solid body. His broad shoulders and muscular arms — the exact build she’d hope
a rescuer would have if she ever needed rescuing — filled out his plain black
shirt. His warm chocolate eyes and tousled brown hair softened his hard lines.
But then he’d turned those dusky eyes on her.
As
he lay out the contents of his backpack, explaining the importance of each
item, he scanned the twenty-some backpackers who had gathered around the
six-foot utility table. Each time, though, his gaze drifted to her, and his
dark brows would sink, shadowing those inquisitive eyes. Why was he staring at
her? She’d always been good at hiding her feelings, showing more courage than
she felt. Living in Buenos Aires from the time she was fourteen had taught her
that.
He can’t possibly recognize me.
She’d
worn the largest, darkest sunglasses she owned. Even if he’d seen her before
she shielded her long dark hair beneath the hoodie, he shouldn’t have
recognized her. When she was in the ring, her hair had been blond — because her
manager claimed that men preferred blondes. And her trainer had always applied
dark shadow around her eyes to make her look meaner, more intimidating. When
she viewed the playbacks, she hardly recognized herself.
Not
anymore. The previous morning, when she’d packed to leave L.A., she’d dyed her
hair to match her natural color and left behind her makeup bag. As she’d stared
at her reflection this morning, she’d seen a brief glimpse of the girl she’d
been seven years ago, before Sergio had rescued
her from the streets of Buenos Aires. Nora had wanted to help her mother, so
that she wouldn’t have to continue working as a maid in her senior years.
Following Sergio to the United States had seemed safe … smart, even.
Hindsight’s a bitch!
Her
thoughts returned to the guide; she didn’t have time to dwell on the past.
Sam
systematically returned all the items to his backpack, then reached beneath the
table, pulling up snowshoes and a bear canister. The crowd groaned, and one of
the men closest to the table whined, “Snowshoes in May? How we even supposed to
have room for extra clothes for layering if we have to make room for a bear
canister and snowshoes? Thought we’re in season, Sam.”
Sam
grinned. “You won’t be bellyachin’ when you’re post-holing up to your hips, or
when a grizzly decides he’s still hungry after finishing off your snacks.” Thankfully,
Sam now focused on someone other than her. “Just recently,” he continued, “we
saw the most snowfall since the early 1960s. The point is, you never know, so
you have to be prepared.”
With
the instructor’s attention elsewhere, she decided it was time to slip away
unnoticed. Besides, she had received all the info she needed.
The
cloud cover had cleared some over the last hour, providing a stark break
between the blue skies and white mountains. She stared off to the west, at the
vast mountainous region that rested beyond the highway. The mountain range
looked like a giant barrier blocking off an alien land that forbade outsiders.
From the moment she’d landed in Anchorage, she’d been mesmerized by the
snowcapped mountains that reminded her of her youth in El Chaltén … of her
father. Of a time when she’d felt safe and loved.
A
wave of longing and grief swept over her, as unexpected as the snow Sam had
just mentioned. Even though the tops of the mountains were white, evergreens
and birch trees lined the highways and trails. She gritted her teeth to push
back the heartache before a stupid tear slipped out. She refused to cry. Like
her mother had said, Mi’ja, you must
forge forward and keep it all inside. And she had. For the last seven
years, Nora had ignored the truth. She wouldn’t ignore the lies and deceit
anymore.
She
took a deep breath. Life was what it was. Crying about what fate had dealt her
and the poor choices she’d made wouldn’t change anything. Only she could alter
her path — literally. She shook her head and turned to leave. Over the next two
days, she’d stock up at a couple different stores, and then head out, hopefully
long before Sergio sent someone to find her.
~ Sam ~
Sam couldn’t keep his gaze from wandering to the
only woman in his class. Unlike most of the women who attended his crash course
on backpacking — typically large groups of ladies who wanted to mark off one of
the adventures on their bucket lists — she appeared to be all alone. She hadn’t
spoken with any of the men in the group. And instead of crowding around the
table, she’d stood back about twenty feet, arms folded.
Did that mean she intended to hike Denali solo? As
much as he enjoyed peace and quiet, even he didn’t climb The Great One on his
own. And showing up to this course wearing nothing but a cotton hoodie … what
was that all about? Was she trying to get attention? Well, technically, he
didn’t look dressed for Alaska either, since he’d chosen to wear just a
long-sleeve T-shirt. But that’s because he lived in Falcon Run. Fifty-five
degrees felt like heaven after four months of temperatures in the single
digits. And the sun … God, how he missed the sun during the winter months. He
wanted to soak in as much vitamin D as possible after the long winter, when he had
been lucky to see four or five hours of sunlight daily.
Most people freaked this time of the year when they
looked out their window at midnight and it was still light out. He loved it.
As he droned on about rules and requirements for
backpacking Denali, he glanced to where the woman had been standing. She had
walked away from his lesson and was staring out at the mountains. Her shoulders
lifted and fell, as if she were upset. Then she strolled toward the parking
area.
Of all the nerve. Walking out on my class. He didn’t even
charge for his refresher course. The least she could do was give him the entire
thirty minutes.
She suddenly stopped, then batted at an invisible
assailant. She launched backward, nearly falling over the split-rail fence that
marked the property line.
“DEET!” he barked, attempting to hold back a laugh.
The woman wanted to hike Denali and she was afraid of a blasted mosquito. “If
you hadn’t dropped out of my class, I was getting to that part.”
The woman turned. Ah … guilt. Good! He’d take it. Obviously, she realized he’d been
calling out to her. Maybe she didn’t really intend to hike Denali, but had just
happened upon his class. Either way, he had an uncontrollable desire to meet
her. Any woman who gazed at the majestic Alaska Range with as much longing as
she had was a woman he wanted to get to know.
Her only response was to furrow her dark brows. At
least he assumed she drew them together based on the small crease above her
blacked-out sunglasses.
He challenged her glare with one of his own. “You
plan to hike Denali, ma’am?”
The woman crossed her arms, offering him a stiff
nod.
“I was just getting to my ropes refresher course.
Knowing how to tie the correct knot can be the difference between life and
death. You know how to tie a half hitch?”
She twisted her mouth, then huffed when the other
spectators turned to acknowledge her as well.
“Yes,” she said curtly, jaw clenched.
“Come on up, then.” He flashed a wide grin,
something he hadn’t done in what seemed like forever. “Show these men how it’s
done.”
The woman forced a smile. “I’m sure you’re quite
capable of showing them.”
Her voice held just the slightest of accents. South
American, maybe? Yes, definitely. What little he could see of her face revealed
exquisitely bronzed skin. Not the bottled-orange look, as many women here ended
up with. And the few stray hairs that whipped her face were black as midnight.
Intrigued, he crooked his finger for her to come up.
“Please,” he said. “I’ve already been challenged a couple times today. It’s
time someone else steps up. Besides, I must be boring, since I have folks
walking out on me.”
The woman released an exasperated sigh but walked
forward. The men stepped back, immediately making way for the shapely and
apparently irritated woman.
As she approached the table, she removed her leather
gloves, revealing more of her beautiful skin. “Here, hold these.”
Sam accepted the gloves with one hand, handing her a
550 line with the other.
She dropped her head a notch, staring above the
frame of her sunglasses. Dark green eyes, the color of jade, held his. Without
shifting her intense gaze from him, her long fingers had already started
working the knot.
The woman handed him the half hitch, then held out
her hand. “Give me another line.” He obeyed, and with her eyes still holding
his, she proceeded to tie a bowline knot with one hand. She dropped the
paracord then raised a brow, as if challenging him to another test. Her full
pink lips quirked up. “Give me something hard next time.” She’d spoken so low
that he doubted anyone else had heard her. She turned and strolled off as he
stared, dumbfounded.
What a woman! He gulped, licking his
suddenly dry lips.
Sam stared out at the stupid grinning faces of the
men who had parted once again, making a way for her to escape. Just as quickly
as they’d separated, the men gravitated back, filling the empty space the woman
had left.
“All right,” he muttered hastily. “Make sure you
grab a safety manual before you leave. The booklet contains great emergency
info if you find yourself in a bind.” He skirted the table, nearly hopping it
as he tried to intercept the woman before the others inundated him with
questions.
“Sam?” said the man who’d challenged him about
snowshoes.
Sam held up a finger. “Just a sec.” The woman was
already hustling toward the parking lot. Nearly all of the people who attended
his refresher course on backpacking had additional questions. Why was she
running off? Because she’d shown him up?
“Sir?” The eldest gentleman in today’s class stepped
in front of him. “You said that your company leads a trip. Is there a sign-up
form? I think you’re right. I’m not sure I want to challenge Mount McKinley on
my own.”
Sam forced a smile. “Good idea. There’s a clipboard
on the table. My brother’s leading a group in a couple weeks.”
Another man held out his hand. “I heard you were the
youngest boy to climb Denali.”
Sam craned his head around the additional men
closing in on him. “I heard that rumor too.” He chuckled. “I was twelve the
first time my father took me up, but we didn’t care about telling folks. Climbing
was just part of our daily life. An eleven-year-old boy recently summited
Denali, though, so either way, I’m out.”
The man laughed. “Ah … so maybe it’s not as hard as
you make it out to be.”
“Maybe not.” Sam forced a laugh, irritated. “I’m
getting old, I guess. Excuse me just a second, gentlemen; there’s someone I
need to speak with.”
The line of men finally shuffled out of the way, the
synthetic material of their insulated jackets swishing as they moved. Seemed
everyone was dressed for Alaska except him and the mysterious woman.
Finally free of the group, Sam stared forlornly at
the retreating bumper of a Ford Taurus with Anchorage plates. More than likely
a rental. If a new woman had moved to town, he would have already heard. News
traveled fast in Falcon Run, but no news traveled faster than word of a new
resident, especially a female resident when you were one of five single
brothers. If his mother didn’t inform him that a prospective wife just moved to
town — or back, which was more common — one of the older women who’d known him
since he’d been in diapers definitely would.
Oh well, such was life in Falcon Run. He turned back
to the men, ready to answer their questions, and pushed away thoughts of the
beautiful woman who’d stared out at the mountains as if she were lost.
As he walked, he looked down at his hands. She’d
forgotten her gloves.
Chapter 2
~ Sam ~
Sam allowed the fusion of country-rock music to fade into the background
as he soaked in the sights and sounds of the local tavern and its patrons.
He hadn’t wanted to come to Grizzly’s. The
bar, though familiar, was a dive, and he was apt to get into trouble. He’d
wanted to hit up one of the civilized
bars in Talkeetna. One of the establishments that roughnecks — and his family —
usually steered away from. He certainly wouldn’t find his mysterious woman
here. But the youngest member in his family wanted to have his 21st
birthday at Grizz’s, where all the Midnight Sons had celebrated coming of age.
As long as it’d been since Sam had come here,
nothing had changed. He’d swear that even the regulars screaming every time
their team scored were the same folks who’d caterwauled Happy Birthday to him seventeen years ago, on his twenty-first
birthday.
Everything in the bar was either stained or
painted a deep rustic brown. Soot-colored pine timbers made up the walls. Boot-scuffed
planks served as the floor. And the heavy door, as slick and black as Alaska
oil, kept out the bright sunlight and frigid winds. With twenty hours of
sunlight daily, the dive bar was the only place in Falcon Run to experience a
real nightlife.
Soccer fans drummed their feet and fists,
screaming, “Goooooool!” Many launched themselves from barstools. Most of the
year, hockey or football dominated the screens, but this was May. Even Alaskans
cheered their favorite teams, excited to see which ones would advance to the
World Cup. The establishment was broadcasting the game on nearly every TV, but
the real devotees were huddled at the bar.
One of the Pipeline workers — Sam had seen
the roughneck around town — staggered backward, causing the waitress to swerve
and splash Sam.
Her front teeth biting her lower lip, she
dabbed at Sam’s black shirt with a cocktail napkin. “Sorry, Sam.”
Sam winked at her as he nudged the man back
toward the bar. “No worries, Gina. It was only a few drops.” He’d gone out with
Gina a few times. Years ago … maybe ten; he wasn’t sure exactly. He’d been in a
bad place then, he remembered. Of course, seeing someone he hadn’t dated was unusual. With less than
two thousand year-round residents, single people tended to make the rounds. At
thirty-eight, he’d dated more than his share of locals, though, and he wasn’t
one to repeat past mistakes. Dating visitors wasn’t smart either, but he
couldn’t help thinking about the woman who’d taken off earlier. He’d hung her
gloves over his rearview mirror, hoping he’d see her again. At least he’d have
an excuse to approach her if he did.
Gina handed out the drinks. Only two of the
five mugs held drafts, one for his mother and one for the birthday boy. The
other three were just water. One of the downsides to running a
search-and-rescue team was that, other than a sick day or vacation, he was
on-call 24/7, 365 days a year. For him and his team, that meant no drinking.
Not even one light beer. And since it’d been forever since Sam had taken a sick
day, even longer since he’d actually gone on vacation, he’d been dry for
several years. Not all rescue workers felt the same way, especially in Alaska
where drinking was pretty much a required pastime.
Alex, the next eldest and Sam’s only full
brother, accepted his mug of water from Gina and wrapped his arm around the
birthday boy’s neck. “So, your first drink,
Daire —” A few coughs and a loud
guffaw had Alex scanning the faces around the bar. Even their mother was doing
her best not to spew out the sip she’d just taken. “Okay, your first legal drink,” he said. “What should we
drink to?”
“Hmmmm …”
Daire stared up at the exposed rafters as though he was contemplating an
answer. “Got it! I’m gonna drink to the fact that now that I’m twenty-one, Sam
will stop treating me like a kid and start treating me like the expert
whitewater rescue guide I’m gonna be.”
Erik, their adopted brother from the time he
was five, smacked Daire’s back. “Gotta earn that one, baby brother. I’m older
than you, and I’m still fightin’ that battle.”
“You’re only six years older —” Daire set
down his mug without taking a sip, shifting his beleaguered look to their mother.
“Baby brother. See how they treat me,
Mom?”
Claire Belgarde tipped back her mug. “It’s
okay, honey. You know you’ll always be my favorite.” Although their mother
still worked in the family business, she no longer worked search and rescue, so
she tended to indulge in a drink or two. Made the nights shorter and kept the
nightmares at bay, she’d confessed once. Claire had been an expert climber, one
of the few team members who could spider any rock face. But she’d retired her
climbing gear and boots after his father died. Now, Erik led the mountaineering
expeditions and rescues. With his trim but amazingly
strong frame, there wasn’t a crag he couldn’t scale.
Claire had brushed off Daire’s words, but Sam
couldn’t. Sam didn’t know if he could ever stop treating Daire like a kid — his
kid. Although his parents had raised Daire as their child, and he’d tried to
treat Daire the same as he did his other brothers — blood and adopted — he
couldn’t. He also couldn’t figure out how to tell Daire that he was his father and that the woman Daire had called Mom from the time he uttered his first
word was actually his grandmother.
“Well,” Daire continued, “that’s what I’m
drinking to. Oh, and that Vince makes it
home tonight. It’s been way too long since I’ve seen his goofy grin.”
“When he gets off the boat,” Alex grumbled
under his breath, “he might go away permanently for murdering his wife after he
finds out what she did.”
Sam started to admonish Alex for his snide
comment, especially when Vince wasn’t even there to defend himself, but a
stirring of the crowd caught his attention.
“Make way,” a resonant, raspy voice sliced
through the throng of chattering drinkers, parting them like the Red Sea. “I
got a party to attend.”
The entire family lowered their mugs and
scanned the bar. That familiar booming voice belonged to their brother Vince.
Not really a brother. Not even adopted. As if he’d been a lost pup, Vince had
followed Erik home in grade school and had been a family member ever since.
“Vince!” Daire set down his untouched mug and
rushed to the man who was as much of a brother as any man could want. The two
men, although separated by more than seven years, embraced each other like
long-lost twins reuniting. “I didn’t think you were gonna make it.”
“Miss my baby brother’s most important
birthday? Never!” Vince leaned back, appraising the younger man’s enhanced
physique. Daire had been pounding protein and working out like an Olympiad. In
the last few months, he’d gone from a scrawny adolescent to a strapping man.
Vince, a hulk of a man himself, squared off with Daire, squeezing both of his
shoulders. “I see you’ve been getting ready.”
“Hell, yeah! Been waiting years for this day.”
Daire tossed a grimace over his shoulder. “Ridiculous that I had to wait until
I turned twenty-one to join the team when I’ve been paddling white water and climbing mountains nearly ten
years.”
Sam cast his gaze upward. “Rules are rules,
Daire.” He circled the table, and Vince stepped back so the family could take
turns hugging the brother they hadn’t seen in several months. As Sam backed
away, he searched for any indication that Vince knew about his wife.
Vince narrowed his eyes as he took in everyone’s
serious gazes. The family had always been able to read one another’s thoughts
with little more than an eyebrow raise, an invaluable skill when you didn’t
have time to talk on a rescue.
He obviously saw their sympathy because anger
mottled his face. “You knew!”
Sam offered Vince a solemn nod. “At first,
Karen was discreet. We only suspected something might be going on. But in the
last few weeks, she’s gone public. Word on the street is that she and her new
beau are heading south.”
Vince straddled a barstool. “Yeah … with my
money! Why didn’t someone tell me?”
Sam’s shoulders lifted and dropped. “Would
you really have wanted us to radio the boat when there was nothing you could
do? We tried talking to her, but honestly, I don’t know what happened. Karen has
become —”
“A
royal bitch,” Vince finished.
The family gathered closer, encircling Vince.
Everyone had known. Everyone but Vince, since he’d been offshore all season.
“I could handle her leaving. But my boat …”
Vince sighed as Daire sat down beside him. “Apparently she hasn’t been making
the payments. When I got home, I found a letter stating that as soon as I
docked, the bank would repossess it. ’Course, that was the only thing she left:
past-due letters. She took everything, didn’t leave as much as a roll of toilet
paper. Hell, she even took my underwear.
What on God’s great earth is she gonna do with my tighty-whities?” He mimed
holding them up. “‘Here, babe, I even took his briefs. They’re only slightly
used.’ That’s nasty.”
Sam covered his mouth. It wasn’t funny, but
it was hard to hold back a laugh when Vince told stories. Even sad ones.
Vince tried to maintain his somber
expression, but burst out laughing. “Go ahead and laugh, my brothers. I deserve
it. Every single one of you warned me.”
Daire slid his draft in front of Vince.
“Here, you need this more than I do.”
“Damn straight!” Vince tipped back the mug,
draining it. “’Nuff about my sorry ass. Let’s get this party started.” He
ruffled Daire’s thick dark hair, the same color and defiant curls as Sam’s,
except Sam kept his hair cropped short. “When you gonna cut this mop, kid?”
Daire laughed off Vince’s comment, causing
another kick to Sam’s gut. How come everyone else could call Daire kid and baby brother, and Daire didn’t get upset? Maybe Sam did treat Daire
like a kid. Maybe he did need to let him
grow up without always worrying that he’d die … like Sam’s father had.
With that thought, Sam stared at Alex. He
hated that he blamed Alex for their father’s death. It had happened, and that
was that. He couldn’t change the past. No one could cheat death forever, especially when you navigated churning white
water, razor-edge cliffs, and wildlife nearly every day. If only he knew the
truth, he could probably move on, but it always felt as though Alex was hiding
something.
Alex lifted his eyebrows when he caught Sam
staring, but then nodded toward Vince. Sam cocked his head, immediately
reminded how his search dogs would do the same thing when he gave them an order
they didn’t understand.
Alex deliberately mouthed the words a job.
Oh … yeah, Sam
mouthed back. The business wasn’t doing well. He wasn’t sure he could add
another salary. But the company rescue boat was just sitting in dry dock, which
wasn’t cheap. With an expert captain manning the boat again, they could pick up
more search-and-rescue jobs, which would bring in more donations. Especially
this time of the year, when novice fishermen flocked to Alaska. Too often,
storms would pop up out of nowhere, and boats would capsize, leaving
unsuspecting vacationers holding on for dear life. “You know, Vince,” Sam
started, “we haven’t replaced a boat captain since Chris left, but with summer
coming up fast —”
“I’d
love to captain it,” Vince said before Sam could finish his sentence. “I’ll
take it. Thanks!” Vince flagged down Gina, and the waitress smiled at the only
fair-haired brother in the family. Even though Vince came off as raucous and
was built like his Russian father, with massive hands that would make a polar
bear envious, he had a bigger heart. “Let’s get this young man good and drunk, so he’ll never want to drink again. Drinking’ll kill ya, Daire! Better to stick to
women and song — ah … scratch that. Women’ll kill you, too. Or at least they’ll
take your last penny and clean pair of undershorts and run.”
Erik tapped the back of Vince’s head. “Cut
your whining. You’ll have another woman faster than the ink dries on your
divorce papers. Just like high school. One woman the entire four years. Face
it, Vince, you don’t like being alone. Not like ol’ Sam here.” Erik raised his
chin as if challenging Sam to refute his statement.
“What?” Sam scowled. “Why’re you dragging me into this conversation?”
“I’m just sayin’. Unlike Vince, you haven’t
had a real relationship in … what … twenty years?”
Twenty-one
years obviously, Sam thought, but who’s counting? “I date.”
“Since when?” Daire cut in. “When’s the last
time you’ve gone out?” Sam started to answer, but Daire interrupted his reply.
“You can’t lie, bro. We live in the same house, remember?”
“There was … uh … you know. That, ummm … firefighter
…” He snapped his fingers. “Evie!”
“Oh, yeah. The woman you went out with twice
and then said it was too difficult to work a relationship around your
schedule.”
Sam blew out a breath. “I’m going to start
dating again. I was waiting —” The entire family gawked at him. “It’s not like
there are a lot of choices in Falcon Run. I know practically everyone, and the
women I don’t know are usually only here long enough to visit Denali. That’s
not really conducive to establishing a relationship.”
Daire raised the new mug to his lips but paused. “No one said you had to sign a
marriage license. I just think you might
not be so grouchy if you got laid once in a —”
“Daire Belgarde!” his mother screeched.
“Sorry, Mom.” Not looking contrite in the
least, Daire peered over Sam’s shoulder, then pointed to something — rather, someone, Sam assumed — behind him.
All his brothers — and their mother too — surveyed
the area behind Sam, their eyebrows rising in unison. A few mouths even fell
open.
“I don’t know what you’ve been waiting for,
Sam,” Alex crooned. “But I challenge you to start now.”
“You better move fast,” Erik chuckled. “Vince
is already trying to push by me.”
“Am not!” Vince snorted. “For her, I’ll crawl
under the table.”
Perfunctorily, Sam turned to see what all the
fuss was about. After seeing no one of interest nearby, he checked out the
three ancient videogames at the opposite end of the bar. Okay, maybe not ancient, but twenty years old if they were a
day.
Fate,
you old fool … What are you thinking? Chills ran down his arms.
He didn’t have to see her eyes; he’d recognize those curves from a mile away.
The woman from the backpacking class was playing the boxing game, the one where
the player punches until the virtual opponent drops. She was his kind of sexy.
Not too short, not too tall, curvy in all the right places, and obviously
athletic based on her mad air-boxing skills.
He didn’t need his brothers to challenge him;
he’d been thinking all day about what he’d say if he saw her again. His legs
were already transporting him across the worn wood floor. Once within a few
yards of the woman, he paused and watched
as she knocked out one simulated challenger after another. Note to self: don’t come on too strong. The chick’s got a wicked right
hook.
He glanced back at his family, irritated at
their concern for his love life … and the way they were hanging on his every
move. Just out of spite he thought about heading back. But hell, isn’t that called cutting off your nose to spite your face?
Or cutting off another part, he
thought with a snort. Besides, a new woman in the local dive bar was unusual.
Attractive and new was nearly unheard of. Was it possible that
since she was here, and not on the touristy
side of the river, that she was a new
resident? Didn’t matter. He wasn’t stupid enough to pass up a second
opportunity to meet her. Sure, they’d kind of met earlier, but maybe he
shouldn’t be thinking that way. Maybe he should act as if she hadn’t showed him
up in front of twenty men.
All of the lines he’d rehearsed sounded
stupid now that he was within feet of her. It’d been too long since he’d
approached a woman. He wasn’t sure how to start. Play it cool? Clumsy? Funny?
Common interest?
The woman dropped the handles and stepped
back, smiling at her high score.
He didn’t have time to come up with a game
plan. If he waited for her to notice him,
some horny local might swoop in. Abe, the resident meth-head, was already
eyeing her as if she were a big juicy steak.
Ignoring his palpitating heart and sweaty
palms, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “You up for taking on
a real opponent?”
The woman turned, and she was even more
striking than he’d remembered, especially now that she’d discarded the
sunglasses and hoodie. Dark brows and lashes, matching her espresso-colored hair, framed those brilliant
green eyes.
“You want to fight me for real?” Her narrowed
eyes sized him up from his cap to his boots.
Sam blinked. Had she just checked him out? Or
… wait. She thought he was seriously challenging her to a physical fight? Apparently
so, from her rigid stance and very fit bod that seemed ready for an
altercation.
He held up his hands, the ancient sign that
he held no weapons, and added a chuckle for good measure. “Oh, God no. You
misunderstood. I may be the eldest of my brothers, but if I ever lifted a hand
to a woman, they’d kick my ass from here to the North Pole. Not that that’s far
from here, but it’s a cold and bitter place. I was thinking of something a
little tamer.” He indicated the pool table behind her. “Are you as good at
shooting pool as you are at air-boxing and tying knots?”
The woman raised one of her perfectly
sculpted dark brows. “Not sure. I’ve never played.”
“Wanna learn?”
“Depends.” She cocked her head. “Are you
better at shooting pool than keeping people’s interest?” Obviously toying with
him, the woman’s lips turned up slightly. But then she peered around him,
scanning the bar.
“I’m okay.”
“You’d teach me, then? Without that
I-know-everything swagger?” she added playfully.
“Sure.” He’d love to teach her a few moves.
Based on her one-handed knot tying and boxing skills, though, she might be able
to teach him a few.
The cheeky expression disappeared as she peered
past him again, her gaze darting around the bar.
He instinctively peeked over his shoulder to
see what she was looking at. No one stood out. Mostly just his family gawking
in his direction — and Abe’s sorry ass, as if he stood a chance with this physically
fit woman. All parties quickly stopped their rubbernecking and started talking
amongst themselves as though they hadn’t been spying.
Great. Not only would his family be
shamelessly watching him, so would every single man in the establishment who
had wanted to approach the green-eyed beauty.
Sam tested the weight of several pool sticks,
then handed her one.
Her fingers grazed his as she wrapped both
hands around the stick. “Now what?”
He reached for a square of chalk, his gaze
locked on hers. Holding it out to her, he realized that he heard nothing but
his own breathing. It was as if the entire tavern had gone silent.
She accepted the chalk. “Like this?” She
twisted her wrist back and forth, applying chalk to the tip.
Dear
God. He gulped, then busied himself by gathering
up the balls, hoping she couldn’t see his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down, as
if he were a hormone-filled teenager. “What’s your name?” The words came out
rougher than he’d intended. But that’s how women roped him in. Funny and sexy …
and then BAM! He’d anted up his heart once, and the girl took off, leaving
him and his newborn son. Better to guard his heart from the start. Wow! Where had that come from? He hadn’t
been mad at Daire’s mom in years.
Green eyes stared at him. “Does it matter
what my name is?”
“Guess not,” he matched her casual tone as he
racked the balls. “I could just say hey you when it’s your shot or call
you Cat.” He motioned to the cue ball. “Ladies first.”
“You can go first.” She leaned back against
the wall, crossing her legs at her ankles. The familiar wheat-colored
Timberland boots had never looked sexier. Adding to her casual look, her bronze
knee poked out from the shredded threads
of her painted-on jeans. “Why Cat?” she asked.
Sam held back his answer while he lined up
the cue ball. Not wanting the game to end too quickly, he performed a token
break that didn’t drop any balls.
He looked up at the sexy woman as he stood
upright. “Your eyes …” He inhaled a deep breath as she held his gaze. Most
people got uncomfortable maintaining eye contact for more than a second or two,
but she just waited for him to continue. “Your eyes are stunning. They look
like cat’s eyes.”
Appearing momentarily disarmed, she smiled.
“Is it my turn?”
“Yes.” He pointed to a solid. “Tap the cue
ball here.” He lined up the shot, mock shooting, showing her exactly where to
hit the cue ball. “Let’s see what you got.” He directed her body exactly to the
spot, his hand resting on her back.
Without a word, she bent over the table. Her
faded gray sweatshirt rode up, revealing a tattoo on her hip that he couldn’t quite make out. She gave the stick
a quick, smooth jerk, sinking the ball, then shimmied out of his teaching
embrace with a coy smile. “Like that, Mr. Instructor? Or should I call you el gato?” She smiled. “Perhaps, Tomcat?”
Gato, the
Spanish word for cat, if he remembered correctly. “I definitely wouldn’t refer
to myself as a tomcat. But with that sexy accent, you can call me anything you
want.” He grinned. “Especially if you say it in Spanish.”
As though she approved of his comment, a
broad smile lifted her heart-shaped face. “My name is Nora.”
He dipped his head. “Nice to officially meet
you, Nora. I’m Sam, but you already knew that. And I think you’re ready to
play. Now the only question is … how good are you?”
She arched an eyebrow. “Guess you’ll just
have to find out.”
Let
the games begin, he thought.
Over the next hour, they continued with their
playful banter and swapped a few heated looks and a lot of flirtatious hints.
But every once in a while, he’d catch Nora scanning the room. Each time her
eyes darted to and fro, the action was sudden, as if she’d forgotten something.
When she caught him watching her, she’d mask her apparent distress with a
smile.
In the last minutes of their third game, Sam
realized he needed to get back to the family. It was, after all, Daire’s
birthday.
As she’d done for nearly every shot, Nora
circled the table like a green-eyed panther stalking its prey.
“Wait,” Sam said, “You’re missing the kill
shot.” When she didn’t seem to see it, he approached her. As much as he didn’t
want their game to end, he liked the idea
of showing her the shot. Moving behind her, he placed his hands on
either side of her sensually curvy hips and edged her to the side. He applied
gentle pressure to her left shoulder, nudging her forward so she could see the
shot. He wrapped his other arm around her, pointing. “See it? The cue ball will
bounce back, lining you up to drop your last ball. Then you’ll easily sink the
eight ball.”
“Oh, I see …” She leaned farther over the
table. “Like this?”
God help him, as she bent over, her backside
pressed up against him. He was certain she hadn’t planned to grind her ass
against his crotch, but without warning, his relaxed-fit Levi’s suddenly felt
like skinny jeans.
Abruptly remembering where he was, he
straightened up. One look at his mother and Daire eyeing him, and his size thirty-four jeans were no
longer fitting like a cheap hotel.
Seemingly not noticing how her move had
affected him, Nora took her next shot and dropped the eight ball. At once, she
performed a sexy hip-shaking victory dance. “Two wins for me, cariño! Want to play again, Sam?”
The only thing sexier than her Spanish was
his name on her lips. The way she said it sent his blood rushing through his
body. He needed to say goodnight before
he did something irrational like sweep her up into his arms and carry her to
his truck.
“I should probably get back to …” A slow song
started, disrupting his thoughts. Couples made their way to the seldom-used
dance floor. Without a thought, he wrapped his hand around Nora’s and led her
to the dance floor. Thankfully, she didn’t question his bold move. Then again,
with the moves she had just pulled on
him, maybe she wouldn’t be opposed to slipping out the back door.
“So … you’re from Argentina,” he said,
determined to get his mind off the crazy thought of taking home a complete stranger.
That wasn’t his style — not anymore. Not since he’d had to take over the family
business. Funny how, when he stopped getting drunk, a lot of his other bad
habits had gone away too.
Nora tilted her head up and fluttered her
long lashes. “Yes … I’m from Argentina. That fact has not changed since you
asked me an hour ago. Small talk doesn’t suit you, Sam.”
She was one tough cookie, this one. But he
rallied. “It wasn’t lame small talk. Think of it as an anchor in the rock above
you, helping you to reach the next level. I want to know more about where
you’re from.”
“Oh. Sorry, I guess I’ve been a little hard
on you.”
“A lot hard.” He lifted a shoulder. “But I
can take it.”
Her appraising look actually made his body
tingle. With a nod, she said, “I imagine you can.”
Several verses of the song passed, and he
realized she wasn’t going to offer any information on her birth country. As
nice as she felt in his arms, with his hands lightly resting on her lower back,
he found that he really wanted to know more about her. “So … Argentina, huh?”
They both laughed.
“I was born in El
Chaltén, but then moved to Buenos Aires when I was fourteen.”
Sam smiled. He knew it was probably ninety
percent physical at this point, but he liked this woman. He liked that she spoke her mind. A rare thing, especially
when you first met someone. Usually it seemed like there was a breaking–in period, a time when both parties were on their
best behavior. Then, after a few dates, the real you — or them — would come out. Well, Nora was already
cocky and challenging. He wondered what secrets she harbored, though. Most
people didn’t end up in Alaska alone … unless they were hiding from someone.
“Let me clarify where I was going with that
question,” Sam said. “Why have you come all the way from Argentina to Alaska?”
“Actually, I’ve lived in L.A. for the last
seven years. But … why would that be unusual? Americans travel to the Andes.
Even a clothing line bears the name Patagonia. So why would it be unusual for
someone from Argentina to come here?”
“True …” He sighed, pulling her closer. She
was about five inches shorter than his six-foot height, so her head rested
perfectly on his shoulder. He wished he could drop his interrogation, but he
was well aware why many people came to Alaska. Not those on cruise liners;
those tourists were happy seeing the sights from the balcony of a cruise ship.
But a woman on her own? There had to be more to her story. “Why are you in
Denali, Nora?” he whispered into her ear.
She peered up at him again, her emerald eyes
holding him hostage as if an electric
current connected them. “To hike. Why else?” Her words sounded flippant, but
there was a hint of conflict in her eyes. As though she wanted to tell him the
truth but couldn’t.
“People come to Alaska for many reasons,” Sam
said. “For some, hiking is just a good excuse.”
Her muscles tensed beneath his hands. “I’ve
come to hike, Sam. That’s all.”
“Okay.” He tightened his arms around her.
She’d waved off his question, but the way she’d said his name told him she
wasn’t upset. Maybe he was overreacting. Perhaps he wasn’t as good at reading
people as he thought. He shrugged off his concern. Just having her in his arms
felt good. Familiar, somehow, as if she’d been a missing part of him.
Her breath against his neck caused a surge of
warmth to rush through him, something he hadn’t felt in what seemed like a
lifetime. It had been a lifetime
actually. Daire’s lifetime. He looked over her shoulder to see his family
smiling. Were they right? Had he been grouchy lately? Well, he certainly didn’t
feel grouchy right now. How could he,
when he was dancing with a woman who played videogames,
shot pool, and liked to hike? Maybe she’d
fall in love with Denali and not want to leave. He could see himself with Nora,
getting to know each other while hiking.
Maybe she’d fall in love with him and not want to leave …
Before he could suggest accompanying her on
her hike, the song ended, and his mother waved him over. Time to sing Happy Birthday and cut the cake, she
pantomimed. “Hey … I have to do family stuff. I’ll be back in a few minutes,
okay? Unless … would you like to come with me?”
She stepped back, breaking their intimate
contact. “No … no … thank you, though. I understand family time. You should go
alone,” she said with her lips, but her eyes looked sad. She blinked and
smiled, shaking it off. “I’ll go beat up the bald man in the machine again.
Meet me there when you’re finished.”
He stepped toward her, closing the distance
between them. Her slight accent was so cute that he felt an overwhelming urge
to kiss her. But no. They’d just met. He couldn’t — shouldn’t — kiss a woman
he’d known for a little more than an hour. He shook his head to remove the ridiculous
thoughts creeping into his mind. “Sounds like a plan.”
As he approached his family’s table, Gina
carried out the cake his mother had brought to the bar earlier. Vince, the only
smoker in the family, pulled out his lighter. Twenty-one candles. It was nearly
impossible to believe that it had been twenty-one years, but it was. His son
was a man. A man who wanted to risk his life
saving others, just like the rest of the family. Just like the father
Sam had lost.
The family and practically the entire bar
joined in singing Happy Birthday.
With one long breath, Daire blew out the candles.
Then the phones went off in unison.
Instinctively, Sam, Alex, and Erik reached
for their phones at the same time.
“Water rescue,” Alex spoke first.
Daire darted his gaze from Alex to Sam.
“Cool! My first rescue is on my birthday.”
Sam shook his head. “Not tonight, Daire.
You’ve been drinking.”
Daire lifted his glass with a smug grin. “Not
a sip. You thought you were gonna hold me back again by getting me drunk. Not
this time, Sam!”
Erik smacked Sam on the back. “Gotta let
Daire grow up some time, you know.”
Sam looked to his mother for backup, but she just shrugged. “This is my fifth time
through this, Sam. What can I say? Your dad and I raised a brood of
superheroes.”
Defeated, Sam ran his hands over his head.
“All right, everyone pack up.” Hey, if
his son was grown up, that meant he was free to carry on with his life. And
right now — well, after he stopped everything he was doing to save someone’s
life — he knew exactly the path he wanted to pursue. He turned to find Nora,
explain why he had to leave, and hopefully
to get her number … but she was gone.
~ Nora ~
Nora had just dropped four quarters into the
boxing game when her phone buzzed.
No one ever called her but him.
She glanced toward Sam’s table. His back was
to her as he stood with his arms around two men. All of the people at the
table, along with most of the people around the bar, were singing to the young
man who had to be Sam’s relation. The boy had the same chestnut-colored hair
and eyes. And even though the younger man didn’t have the distinguished laugh lines around his eyes and
mouth that Sam had, his face held the same hard angles. Determined, she decided. Even when Sam had smiled at her, his face maintained an intent expression, as though he
was attempting to solve a problem — her problem. Although she hadn’t said
anything that should have given him the impression she was in trouble, he’d
implored her to tell him why she’d come to the top of the world.
And damn, she’d wanted to.
She shivered as she thought about the way Sam
had wrapped his arms around her at the pool table. He’d made her think of things she had no business thinking.
Not now, anyway. Definitely not now. Not
when her life — and possibly any person’s around her — could be in danger. He’d
also made her forget to check her environment. A risky distraction.
Nora pulled out her phone as she rushed
toward the exit. She glanced down at the caller ID at the same time she pushed
through the heavy door. She had to get
outside before the fourth ring. If she didn’t answer, he’d get suspicious.
As soon as the solid door closed behind her, drowning out the laughter and music
from the tavern, she clicked Accept.
“Hola, amor! Lo siento.
Me atrapaste en un mal momento. Estaba en la ducha.” She tapped Mute,
knowing Sergio would berate her for her use of Spanish, which would give her a
chance to reach the car and catch her breath.
“English, Nora! I’ve asked you a thousand
times to only speak to me in English. Why do I always have to remind you?”
Safely locked inside her rental car, she
unmuted the phone. “Sorry, my love. I was apologizing that I didn’t hear your
ring at first. I was in the shower.” Grrrr
… Only in North America would a man with the name Sergio not speak Italian or Spanish. Sam hadn’t minded her use of
Spanish. Actually, he’d liked it. She’d seen the faint blush that had risen on
his cheeks when he was trying to be smooth. He’d carried himself as though he
felt assured and confident, but there was something lurking there. A hurt that
he’d buried deep down … just like she did.
“It’s okay, my darling.” Sergio’s words
interrupted her thoughts about Sam. Thoughts, she reminded herself, that she
couldn’t act upon. “I was starting to worry about you,” he continued in his
sickeningly honeyed voice. At one time, she’d believed his words. Now she knew
otherwise. “Thought maybe you found an Eskimo to keep you warm when you didn’t
answer your phone.”
“Never, my darling.” She cringed on the
endearment, but knew he’d expect it. Just for a little bit longer she’d have to
keep up the charade. What she wanted to say was how ridiculous he sounded,
assuming that all Alaskans were Eskimos, especially
since most of the Alaska Natives he was referring to probably didn’t even use
the term Eskimo. But Sergio wasn’t
one to be teased. Or corrected. Maybe that’s why she’d had so much fun
bantering back and forth with Sam. It’d been years since she’d felt as though
she could be herself. Well, kind of herself. She’d had to lie about why she was
in Alaska. But the rest of her actions — playing games and taunting, speaking
in Spanish if she wanted — had felt like a part of her that had been lost in
the last seven years. She’d never imagined running for her life would actually make
her feel so … alive.
Instead of slipping up and giving Sergio a
reason to question her, she went on offense, asking him a question that would
keep him talking. “So, how was your day? Any new clients?” Sergio was the most
narcissistic man she’d ever known; he could talk about himself — or his
business — longer than anyone she’d ever met.
“No one as good as you, babe, but yeah … I
found a few hopefuls.” Sergio went on and on about the street fighters he’d
discovered in Tijuana. Just as he’d found her in Buenos Aires seven years ago.
She’d been working with her mother during the day cleaning fancy hotel rooms.
At night, she’d been cage fighting. Sergio had recognized her when she entered
his hotel room, but she had begged him with her eyes not to say anything in
front of her mother. Her mother had no idea what she had to do to earn the
money they needed to fix the roof and buy their old car. Nora had even bought a
skateboard to explain her cuts and bruises. Too
many falls, Mama, she’d had to lie. But
someday I’ll be really good at it. It makes it easier to get to work.
He hadn’t given away her secret. All he’d
asked for was to share a coffee with her. He’d been charming and sweet, wooing
her with fancy dinners and, more meaningfully, hope. He’d promised to take her
away to a life of leisure and luxury. She could find a job and send money back
to her mother, who refused to leave her grandmother. At twenty-four, Nora
thought her days of fighting — and struggling — were over. But instead it was her
dreams that had ended. Sergio insisted that she hand over her passport for “safekeeping,”
as he’d put it. And the job? He’d actually brought her to Los Angeles to fight
in women’s MMA. While tamer than the street fighting she’d been doing for
years, it was still fighting. Thankfully,
she’d been good, and few women could
touch her.
And those women kept coming. Every six months
he’d go on a talent search, probably using the same lines on women — and men — to
lure them to the United States. She hoped he hadn’t found any new women. She
hated to think about the woman — girl — who’d take her place once she was gone.
What some innocent teenager would go through to achieve the American Dream — Sergio’s
version anyway.
How
can you let him keep doing this? some crazy part of her
conscience asked.
Of course, she wanted to stop him. But how
could she, just one woman from another country? A woman who belonged nowhere. A
woman who not only feared for her life if she spoke up, but worse, her mother’s
and grandmother’s lives.
As Sergio rambled on, Nora stared out the
windshield. It was nearly ten p.m. and the sun was still shining. The door to
the tavern flew open, and Nora jumped.
She sank low in her seat as five men sprinted from the bar, her heart pounding
until she saw that it was only Sam and his family. Sam and another man hopped
into a huge Ford pickup, one of those
off-road trucks that sat up high with rugged tires and a light bar on the roof.
The other three men jumped into a similar vehicle. With barely enough time for
the occupants to buckle up, both trucks peeled out, heading north. Some
emergency must have come up.
“Nora? Did you hear me?”
She clicked off the Mute button. “Sorry … I’m just so tired,” she said loudly to cover
up any sounds of the trucks speeding off. “I haven’t been sleeping well. My
mind must have slipped away for a second. Did you know there’s still daylight
at midnight here? Of course, you did. Sorry, I didn’t mean to ramble. I know
how you hate that. What did you say?”
“I asked if you were sure about going ahead
with this hike. You know, there are plenty of mountains within driving distance
of L.A. I don’t like that you are so far from me.”
Ahh,
but that’s one of Alaska’s best features, she wanted to say. But
she couldn’t. Even on Mute, she was
afraid he might hear her. Knowing Sergio, he might have sent someone to watch
her. She probably shouldn’t have carried on the way she had inside the bar.
Just being near her could put Sam’s life in danger. But after scanning the
clientele, she’d felt confident all the
people were locals. That was why she’d chosen a dive bar and not the more popular
bar listed on Yelp.
Outside though, one command from Sergio might
send some thug out of the shadows. Not that Sergio would ever take
responsibility for hurting her; he had never hit her with his own hands. No, he
preferred to make his fighters suffer at
the hands of others so the authorities
couldn’t prove it. Like setting her up with a heavyweight butch, and then
paying the woman to cheat. When he’d first brought Nora to the U.S., he’d shown
her how he could make life hard or easy for her. And she’d seen him do the same
to others. If his fighters didn’t do what he said —
She shook off what she’d witnessed for fear
that her voice would shake. She had to keep up their farce love affair for a
few more days. It was the one thing that had given her some freedom.
She checked her tone before answering him,
remembering to let her English words drip with her Argentina inflection, the
way he liked her to speak. Soft and sweet, as though she was helpless without
him. “I miss you too, my darling, but I’ve wanted to hike Mount McKinley my
entire life. Thank you so much for allowing me to do this on my own.” Actually,
she wanted to be in the country of her birth. To hike her own beloved Andes
Mountains. But without her passport, Alaska was the farthest she could go to
get away from him.
“It’s the least I could do as a wedding gift
for my future bride. But I won’t rest until you’re home with me, safe in my
arms. Call me with your itinerary before you leave on your hike.”
Safe? She’d
never be safe with him. One wrong move and he’d do the same to her as he’d done
to one of his other fighters. But she kept a smile on her face so her words
would ring with sincerity. “Of course, my darling. I can’t leave until next
week, though. A storm is coming, so I have to wait for it to pass before
heading out.”
He could easily
check out her story with a click of a button on the weather app, but he
wouldn’t. Sergio was too confident of his control over her — over all of the
fighters that he’d so-called rescued.
Too confident that she knew nothing of
his illegal activities. By the time he figured out she was lying, she’d be lost in the Alaska wilderness, never to be
seen again. She had grown up in the mountains of Argentina, and then she’d
survived the streets of Buenos Aires for ten years; she could certainly survive in Alaska.
Sergio would mourn her passing for a minute.
Then he’d move on to someone else.
Chapter 3
~ Sam ~
Sam inspected the horizon as his team made their way down the long dirt
road to the river. They still had about three hours of light, one of the few
pluses of long Alaska days. Extra daylight hours meant more time to safely plan
and execute a rescue.
The river, which stretched from the Alaska
Range past Anchorage, froze over by November each year. Then the ice would
break up between April and May for the summer. Since it was one of Alaska’s
premier sport-fishing streams, many people didn’t wait for all the ice to melt,
and even fewer had any idea how fast the water moved beneath the ice or how
quickly the water could rise … until they were fighting for their lives. In the
past, he’d seen the water rise five feet in less than two hours. On one rescue,
the river had been raging so fiercely in spots that it had actually been
running backward.
Inevitably, on days like today, though, when
the sky was clear and the temperature
reached into the fifties, Sam could count on a rescue call. According to the
Alaska State Trooper SAR coordinator, a boat had capsized, and the two would-be fishermen were stranded in
the middle of the swift-moving water. Lucky for the men, there were enough
residents on the river that someone had seen the boat capsize and had called it
in.
Sam and Alex parked their trucks as close to
the river as was safe. Erik and Daire had ridden to the bar with Alex, so they
only had two emergency vehicles with them, Sam’s and Alex’s. Each vehicle was stocked with gear for four
rescuers, though, as they often traveled together to calls.
Even though Vince knew he couldn’t be
involved with the actual rescue, he’d hopped into Sam’s truck. Now the two of
them worked together to set up the equipment. Vince plugged in the air
compressor and connected the line to the life raft while Sam pulled on his
cold-water gear and life vest.
Outfitted, Sam grabbed a safety line and picked up the back of the inflatable
raft. “Daire, you’re with me!”
Already clad in a cold-water suit and life
vest, Daire charged over, not asking any questions as he picked up the front.
Together, the two lifted the raft and
headed to the river.
Alex and Erik headed downstream, below the
marooned fishermen. They worked together to secure a line across the river as
Sam and Daire entered above the beached — or rather, rocked — men.
One of the men was lying spread-eagle on a
massive boulder in the middle of the river as arctic
water and chunks of ice rushed by him. At least he’d been smart enough not to
try to swim to the side. The other man was in the river, hanging onto a
grouping of rocks as the surging water sloshed his face. He was holding himself
up, but just barely. One wrong move and he could get his foot stuck under a
rock, and then the weight of the water would pin him beneath the surface. There
simply wasn’t any way to fight it.
The closer Sam and Daire got, the more
panic-stricken the man in the water became. “I can’t hold on much longer!” he
spluttered, coughing as he took in a mouthful of water.
“Get my friend first!” bellowed the man on
the rock.
Sam had planned to rescue the man who was
practically drowning first, of course, but he nodded to the man who was
stretched out on the rock to let him know they intended to save his friend.
Sam used the jet outboard to position the
rescue sled in front of the immersed man. The last thing he wanted was some
frantic rescuee pulling Daire into the water. Although Alex and Erik were set
up downstream, with the safety line strung across the wide river, there were too many large chunks of ice. Too great a chance of being carried beneath
one.
The nearly drowned man was wearing a
cold-weather suit but not a life vest. Idiot!
When would people ever learn? Nowadays, they made thin, barely-there vests that opened the moment you hit the water. Why anyone would go out on water like
this without a life jacket was beyond him.
“It’s okay. We got you, man,” Daire said in a
calm voice. “Let go of the rock with one hand and climb onto the sled.” The kid
was a natural. Sam had always known that; he’d just wanted more for him.
“I … can’t! I’ll … slip.” The man took in
another mouthful of the rushing water, choking as he talked about what he
couldn’t do, instead of doing something to help himself. “If I let go … I’ll … drown.”
“If you don’t climb,” Sam barked, “you will drown. We ain’t jumping in after
you.” While his brothers had teased Sam about being grouchy, that wasn’t why he
was shouting at the fisherman. He’d discovered water rescues could be the most
dangerous. People freaked, then pulled you in. When a calm request didn’t work, he’d learned that being forceful was
the only way. He didn’t have time to screw around.
If the guy had worn a damn vest, Daire could
have dredged him out of the water by the straps. Thankfully Daire knew better
than to offer a drowning person a hand.
“Come on, man,” Daire coaxed. “The raft is
right beside you. Just grab it with one hand. I won’t let you fall!”
Sam was proud of Daire; he was doing precisely what he should. Once the man latched
onto the sled, Daire would pull him up the rest of the way if need be. Even
though he was young, Daire had upper-body strength from all the whitewater
kayaking and rock climbing he did.
The man shook his head, gulping in more water.
“I … can’t … hold on … anymore.” His hand slipped from the rock. Instead of
grabbing the sled, he tried to reach for the rock
again. He couldn’t gain purchase as the water rushed around him. Then there was
no rock left to grab.
Sam backed away from the rock garden, ready
to move downstream. The guys had the line across the river so the fisherman could grab it. Sam noticed Daire had moved
to a crouch, ready to jump. “Daire! Don’t you even think about —” Too late. The
damn boy launched himself from the boat.
Within a few strokes, Daire grabbed the man
from behind, wrapping his left arm around the guy’s neck. Daire hooked a
carabiner to the line across the river, and Erik immediately dropped his end of
the rope so the water would push Daire to the shoreline. Alex held onto the line as Daire pulled the idiot without a life
vest into shallow water. Scratch that. Two idiots were now crawling up on
shore.
Sam motored downstream. “What the hell is
wrong with you?” he growled, wanting to propel the raft up on land so he could
smack the living daylights out of Daire. But he had to help the man stranded on
the boulder. Fuming, Sam motored back upstream. “No crap from you, man. You got
less than ten seconds to make your way off that rock and onto the sled. You
hear me?”
The man nodded and edged his way off the
boulder and onto the raft. The moment he was aboard, Sam powered across the
river, back to the shore.
The moment Sam was on land, he pulled the
raft to the truck, allowing his brothers to tend to the fishermen. He needed to
get out of there before he said something he’d regret.
“Sam …” Daire said behind him, his inflection
clear that he was going to apologize.
Sam whirled on him, ready to explode, then
nearly bit off his tongue as he curbed a string of obscenities. “Not here!”
“I had to go after him, Sam,” Daire shouted
above the rushing water. “The man wouldn’t have been able to hold onto the
line. He would have slipped under the ice.”
Sam’s face burned. He charged forward,
grabbing Daire by the shoulders. “You could have died. You want me to treat you
like a man, but that was an immature move.”
Daire lifted his chin. “I saved him.”
“I’m not discussing this any further here.
We’ll talk about it at home.”
“I won’t be home tonight. It’s my birthday,
remember?” Daire threw up his hands then headed back to Alex’s truck.
Vince patted Sam on the shoulder. “Sam —”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Sam ran his hands
through his hair. “Sorry, Vince. I just need to get out of here before I do
something I’ll regret. Hell, I need to get away from everything.”
***
Sam slammed into the house and charged up the
stairs to the room he’d had his entire life. Yeah, he sometimes felt like a
loser because he still lived in the family home, which was the other reason he hadn’t had sex in longer than he could
remember. But it wouldn’t have been right to leave his mother to raise his son on her own. Not after his father’s
death.
Before that, Sam had carried on with his
high-octane, no-worries lifestyle, as though Daire was the baby brother his
parents had always claimed he was. After his father’s death, Daire had started
acting out. Truly, Daire hadn’t done much
more than the rest of his brothers — or Sam for that matter. But it was too
much for his widowed mother. Sam hadn’t just taken over the business; he’d also
taken over as head of household.
“Sam …” His mother tapped on the door. “You
okay?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. No, he
wasn’t okay. But he didn’t feel like talking about it. She’d say the same thing: Tell
him. But he knew Daire wasn’t ready to hear the truth. Not yet. “I’m fine.”
“Samuel Thomas Belgarde, I happen to know
everything about you.”
Since she couldn’t see him, he rolled his
eyes. “Go ask your favorite son what’s wrong. Maybe you can talk some sense
into that boy. God knows I can’t.”
“I’m asking
my favorite son.”
Sam opened the door and leaned against the
frame. He sighed, feeling like he might collapse at any second. “I don’t know
what I’m going to do with that boy.”
“He’s no longer a boy, Sam.” His mother
brushed by him and sat down on the edge
of the bed. She motioned her hand toward his chair.
Even though he had the same room he’d had his
entire life, he didn’t have the same furniture. He had an office downstairs,
but more often than not, he preferred to do most of his work — and brooding — up
here where no one would bother him. He liked being on the second floor, where
he had a fantastic view of Mount McKinley, or Denali as it was now called.
The mountains were the one place where he
felt alive. As close as he lived to them, it was amazing how rarely he got to
hike for fun. To get away from the phone and his brothers — even Daire. Somehow,
he believed that if Daire had gone off to college — as he’d hoped — he wouldn’t
worry about him as much.
Exhausted, Sam collapsed into the black
leather chair. “How did he get to twenty-one so quickly?”
“I asked myself that same question with each
of you boys.” She offered him a soft smile. “You can’t keep him in the nest
forever, Sam. You have to let Daire fly … make his own mistakes. It’s the only
way he’ll learn. It’s how you learned. We had to let you boys make your own
choices — right and wrong. If you’re there to catch him every time he gets a boo-boo, he won’t know what to do when you’re
not there.”
Sam rubbed his hand over his face. “Yeah … Look
at how well that worked for me. If I hadn’t screwed up —”
“We wouldn’t have Daire,” his mother finished.
“Sometimes our mistakes are our greatest accomplishments. I know I wouldn’t
trade that boy for all the correct decisions in the world.”
“Me neither.” Sam shook his head as he
thought about all the things Daire had put him through. Most fathers would be
honored to have their sons follow in their footsteps. But when that path put
Daire in life-and-death situations daily, Sam found it hard to be pleased with
his son’s career choice. “Why does he have to be so brave? So stupidly brave?”
His mother just stared at him. “Hmm … I
wonder.”
“I can’t lose him, Mom. Especially not before
I tell him the truth. I’m just not sure how to tell him. What if he asks about
his mother?” He lowered his head into his hands.
“I know, honey, but you can’t make his
decisions for him. He’s a man.” She stood and crossed the room, reaching to lift
his chin. “You know how I feel about telling him … that you should do it sooner
rather than later, but … that’s between you and him. You’ll know when it’s the
right time.”
“I’m glad you can be so sure and calm. How
can you do that after raising five boys? I’m a basket case over one, and I
haven’t really even raised him. You and Dad did all the hard work.”
“Well, when you get to my age, you start to
realize how silly you were to worry about the things you worried about when you
were younger. The things you couldn’t change. And if you’re smart, you just
start living for every day. Not wasting chances. You know, like dancing with
that woman …”
Sam peered up at his mother, wondering where
this conversation had come from. He was accustomed to his brothers pushing him,
not his mother.
A wide smile caused her eyes to crinkle at
the edges. “You looked happy, Sam. I haven’t seen you just kick back for a long
time. It was nice. You work too hard. Worry too much. You should find that girl
… ask her out. Maybe even take some time off, show her our beautiful state.”
She kissed his forehead, the same way she’d done when he was a child, and then
turned and left him to his thoughts.
Instead of his mind going right to thoughts
about Daire, his mother had planted the seed for a ridiculously crazy idea to
take root in his head: finding Nora. Tomorrow, he’d drop by the bar around the
same time. Maybe he’d take a personal day
and have Vince respond to his calls.
A few drinks. A few more rounds of pool.
Maybe he’d even convince her to go hiking with him instead of on her own. By
the end of the evening, perhaps he
wouldn’t be feeling grouchy anymore.
~ Nora ~
Nora contemplated following Sam, but with only
one main road, he’d see her.
You don’t need to worry about Sam, she
reminded herself. His search-and-rescue team is the best. That’s why you
attended his refresher course.
Truly, she should be happy that he’d been
called off on some emergency. Otherwise, she would have been tempted to go back
into the bar, and he might have pressed her for answers again. Answers she
couldn’t give him.
Instead, the moment she hung up with Sergio,
she rushed to her cheap motel. She’d only been able to withdraw so much money
from an ATM daily, so she’d made a deal with the motel manager to charge her
four times the amount of the room if he’d give her half of the extra money.
My
husband expects me to stay at a fancy resort, she’d explained to the
man with a wink, but I’d rather spend my
money gambling. The manager had been more than happy to oblige her. She
needed to stockpile as much money as possible,
because she intended to leave every credit card she had inside her rental
vehicle. Next, she planned to toss her phone into the deepest crevasse she
happened upon her first day, then backtrack
and take a different trail. After the first few miles into Denali, Sergio
wouldn’t be able to figure out her circuitous route.
With her hiking skills, she was confident she
could stay alive long enough to disappear from the public eye. Four to five
months this time of the year in the Alaska wilderness would be easy. By
October, she’d buy a sea kayak and make her way to Seattle. While researching
online at the library, she’d read that one man had kayaked from Seattle to
Juneau in sixty-six days. Not to be beaten by any man, she vowed to do the
reverse route in sixty days. Not that she’d be able to brag to anyone. But she
didn’t need to. Just knowing she was accomplishing a record, and tricking
Sergio in the process, would be rewarding enough for her.
From Seattle, she would make her way out of
North America via the Pacific Crest Trail, which ended at the U.S. / Mexico
border, just south of Campo, California. Getting out of the United States was
easy; it was entering the States that required papers. If she’d thought for a
minute that Sergio wouldn’t have tracked her down, she would have just driven
to Mexico. But she knew he would. Her only chance of escaping him was if he
thought she was dead. Once she was out of the country, she’d never worry about
Sergio and his murderous activities
again.
Chapter 4
~ Nora ~
“Do it,” Sergio ordered,
his voice cold and empty of any inflection.
“Please,
Sergio. I beg of you. I have a wife and children. Please. I’ll never —”
A
hollow POP cut off the man’s
beseeching.
Nora bolted upright. Feeling as if she were
on fire, she yanked at the sheet and blanket twisted around her legs, trying to
escape the heat — the past. Every night she relived the man’s pleading, and
every morning she knew she would have ended up in some landfill if she had
interfered.
Although she hadn’t turned on the heat in the
hotel room, she was damp with sweat.
Because of the dream — nightmare. The nightmare that, sadly, her subconscious
hadn’t made up. It’d been real, and she’d
had to pretend for the last six months that she hadn’t heard Sergio give an
order to kill a man. She had run to the stairwell
and climbed the thirty floors back to their suite, too afraid to go into the
lobby or back to the elevator. Definitely too scared
to go to the police. After all, she didn’t have any real friends in the States.
Her friends were Sergio’s friends. But she’d known the real reason: control.
Sergio had controlled every part of her life.
Who she fought. How she dressed. Her money. And he’d planned to keep that
control over her forever. So she had to play along, agree to marry him. She’d
only had one request. That she be allowed one final fling, a hiking trip before
they settled down. Surprisingly, he’d agreed. She didn’t even attempt to ask to
hike in her home country. She knew he would have been suspicious. But Alaska … Where
could she possibly go from Alaska? Nowhere, in his opinion. His only concern
had been whether his prizefighter would
make it home safely so he could make more money.
Heart pounding, Nora ran to the second-floor
window of the motor lodge and peered through the small gap she’d left at the
edge of the window. It was already bright outside. The only vehicles in the
parking lot were the same she’d seen for the last couple of nights. No new
cars.
As tired as she was, today was the day. She
had to get a head start. Get lost in the wilderness before Sergio even knew she
was gone.
She stuffed everything she owned into the one
suitcase that would stay in the rental car. It would appear as if she’d only
gone on a short hike. Today she would pick up all the supplies she needed from
different stores. Protein bars, she’d decided, would be her staple. But if she
bought a month’s worth of protein bars at one place, someone might remember
her, and she didn’t want there to be any evidence that she set out with the
intention of disappearing.
After she took her last hot shower for what
might be a month, she piled her long hair under a cap, dressed in the shabby
sweatpants and sweatshirt she’d worked out in for years, and finished the
outfit with her dark sunglasses. All she could hope was that no one where she
shopped would recognize or remember her.
She’d purchased her backpack and hiking gear
in Anchorage, but she needed a few more items — items that Sam had insisted
backpackers carry, especially the DEET. She hated mosquitos, with good reason.
The log-cabin-like store was small but well-stocked. Nora inspected the
protein bars, looking for the ones with the most calories, protein, and fat.
While she hoped she could catch her share of fish, she had to be prepared if she didn’t. The bells
over the door jingled, and she
instinctively looked up.
With a sharp intake of breath, she cast her
eyes back on the meal bars, hoping Sam wouldn’t recognize her. She couldn’t
help but remember him. He looked even
better today than he had the previous day. As if it were seventy-something
instead of fifty-something, Sam had on a short-sleeve black T-shirt today, a
shirt that showed off those muscular arms. Sam looked … muy caliente. If she didn’t
know he was an all-American male, she might easily mistake him for a man from
Argentina with his dark hair and dark features — and the soulful way he’d moved
her around the dance floor.
Recalling how they’d been inches from a kiss
the previous evening, before he’d had to rejoin his family, her mouth actually
watered up. She dropped her head and stared at the food again, ordering herself
under her breath, “Stop it!”
A tap on her shoulder made her jump.
Instinctively, she drew her arms close to her body, preparing for a fight.
“Whoa!” Sam lifted his palms. “Remember, I
wouldn’t dare fight you. I just wanted to say hi. Nora, right?”
Nora removed her glasses. “Sorry.” His
question irritated her, making her forget that she’d wanted to remain
forgettable. “You were not sure of my name?”
Sam chuckled. “I didn’t forget your name,
Nora. Not possible. It’s just something people say, I suppose.”
Tickled by his honest response, she felt her
face warm. She flicked her gaze around the tiny store, making sure no one had
followed him inside. “How did you recognize me?”
Sam dropped his gaze to the rough wooden
floor. At least she assumed he was looking at the floor. His sun-bronzed face suddenly had a hint of pink slashing
along his chiseled cheekbones. “I … um …”
Nora couldn’t stop her lips from turning up
at his blush and stutter. “Why, Sam … What exactly did you notice about me?”
Sam smiled as his gaze freely moved from her
hips to her bust. “Not much else to do when your opponent is shooting pool or
boxing but notice their … um … form. You have great form, Nora.”
“Form?
I have … great … form?”
“Yep.”
She shoved his chest, but he was solid.
Didn’t even totter. Maybe he’d been a scrapper back in the day, too. With the
houseful of boys he said he’d grown up
with, it was no wonder.
“You know,” he said, breaking her from her
thoughts of a young curly-headed Sam playing outside with his friends. “I was
hoping to run into you at the bar again tonight, but … breakfast works for me.
Want to grab something to eat?”
As much as hanging out with Sam appealed to
her, she couldn’t put him in danger. “Umm … I’m kind of in a hurry —”
“Breakfast is only one course,” he cut in.
“Come on.” He took her by the hand, the way he’d done the previous evening.
“Hey!” She pulled free. “Can I at least pay
for my supplies first?”
“Of course.” Sam walked in front of her,
approaching the counter.
An elderly but trim Alaskan native greeted
Sam with a wide smile, showing off layers of wrinkles. “Mornin’, Sam.”
“Mornin’, Silla!” Sam waved his thumb over
his shoulder. “Nora’s one of our newest hikers. Would you please extend our
discount to her?”
The man swiped his long salt-and-pepper hair
over his shoulder. “Sure thing, Sam.”
Sam walked to the exit and leaned against the
wall, arms crossed. He looked as if he was scanning the outside, searching for
a threat. What could he possibly be concerned with? He had family and friends
in the same town. People who probably had his back no matter what. How she
longed for that. She’d had friends like that in Buenos Aires, but not in the States.
She’d only really known one person in the last seven years, and he’d proven to be a horrible friend — and a
worse person.
Nora handed the man her credit card. “Thank
you, Silla.”
“Any friend of Sam’s is a friend of mine,
young lady.”
She smiled and accepted her bag, then
strolled up to Sam. It didn’t appear he was going to take no for an answer. And
what was she worried about? If Sergio had sent someone to follow her, she would
have seen him. She hadn’t lied; she was
in a hurry. But unlike California, there were twenty hours of daylight here; she could certainly take the time to eat
breakfast. The more fat she could store, the better. “Where to?”
Sam took her by the hand again and led her
outside to the parking lot. “We’ll walk. It’s only a couple blocks.”
Nothing was far here. Only two roads
intersected, and all the shops were huddled close to the four corners.
As the previous day, one lone mosquito buzzed
near her head. To escape the flying killer, she lurched sideways, nearly knocking
Sam off the sidewalk.
Sam steadied her. “You okay?”
A shiver swept through her as she batted the
nasty creature away. “I hate those things.”
“What things?”
She flicked her hand. “Mosquitos.”
Sam laughed, but then apparently seeing her
scowl, he sealed his lips. “You do know the mosquito is called Alaska’s
unofficial state bird, don’t you?”
Nora stared up at him, her skin prickling at
the thought of one of those things
feeding on her. “What do you mean?”
“It’s a joke obviously, but yeah … come June,
mosquitos — and black flies — can be irritating. Nothing to fall in the street
over, though.”
“Those things,”
she shrilled, “carry all sorts of deadly diseases. Malaria, West Nile … If
you’d grown up in South America, you’d hate them too.”
“True, but so far, that isn’t the case here.
Chances of the virus taking hold in Alaska are slim. Just make sure you pick up
some DEET.” Sam stopped in front of a building that probably had been a house
at one point — another log cabin. Light beige log walls made up the exterior.
And the windows were trimmed with bright white paint. The white picket fence
surrounding a front porch with whitewashed rocking chairs begged passersby to
stop in and have a seat.
Distracted by the quaint, small-town
atmosphere, Nora hadn’t noticed that Sam had opened the gate. “You’ll be safe
inside from the scary mosquitos. This roadhouse is world renowned to climbers
as the place to fuel up — food and rest — before tackling North America’s
tallest peak. Or, for just an old-fashioned
downhome breakfast.”
Sam led her into the establishment. The feel
of his large warm hand wrapped around hers
snapped her back to reality. It felt good. Too good. She couldn’t allow this.
She slipped free, busying her hands in her purse while surreptitiously searching
the interior of the restaurant for anyone who might stand out. She could only
imagine what Sergio would do to Sam if he saw them together.
Inside, Sam pulled out a chair at a long
table where several people were already sitting. Had he somehow planned this?
The people didn’t look like the ones who’d been at the bar the previous
evening. Not knowing what to do other than sit, Nora sat.
“Morning!” Sam pulled out a chair beside her but directed his salutation to the other
people who were already eating. “I’m Sam, and this is Nora. Are you folks
heading to Denali today?”
The man and woman smiled. “Yep. Driving
through, then up to Fairbanks. We’re Carl and Leigh from Raleigh, North
Carolina. Y’all plannin’ to hike it?”
“Not today. But I hope to go soon,” Sam said.
He rested his hand on Nora’s forearm, then tilted his head, indicating it was
her turn to answer.
“Uh, yeah. In a few days. I was planning to
head that way next week,” she lied lightly. She couldn’t give any hint of her
actual start time.
Sam slid his arm around her, and Nora felt
instant warmth surge through her. She wanted to mentally slap herself. What was
she thinking? What was he thinking? That she’d just roll over and become his pet? He obviously
knew she was from out of town, the same way he’d known the people at the table
were. Both this city and the one where the motel and bar were located had a
combined population smaller than the school she’d dropped out of when she was
fourteen.
Deciding to get this — whatever it was they
were doing — over as soon as possible, Nora reached for a menu. “What’s good?”
she asked curtly. It was the only way. Sam seemed as interested in her as she
was in him, but neither of them could act on their feelings. Not when she knew
what was at stake.
“Nice meeting you folks,” Sam said. “My
friend is hungry, so I guess I need to order.”
In her peripherals, she saw his head tilt,
and she knew those chestnut-colored eyes were taking her in.
She cocked her head to the side, but just
enough that he could see her mouth the word, “What?”
He pulled away and reached for a cup. “I’m a
coffee drinker myself, but if you like hot chocolate, I highly recommend it.”
With his arm gone
and the fact that he’d scooted his chair away a few inches, Nora suddenly felt
cold. If she’d come off hostile, it was
for the best. Even though she was done with Sergio — six months ago, actually —
Sergio didn’t know that. And she knew that, just like he’d killed that man who
hadn’t done what he asked him to do, he would kill her too. Still, she liked Sam. And who knew, maybe once she was
safely back in Argentina, she could invite him to hike in her country.
After another quick scan of the patrons in
the tiny restaurant, she rested her hand on his arm the way he’d done to her.
“Hot chocolate sounds good. How about food? What do you recommend?”
At once, Sam’s posture changed. He leaned
toward her, pointing out suggestions on the menu she held. “Definitely the
sourdough hotcake with blueberries. And a side order of reindeer sausage —”
“Reindeer?” she said a bit too loudly. “Is
that a joke, too? You don’t really eat reindeer, do you?”
Sam pressed his lips into a straight line as though he was trying to hold back a
smile. “Afraid of mosquitos and reindeer … You do know you’re in Alaska, right?
Would it sound more appealing if I called it venison?”
“Nope! The hotcake will have to do. And I’m
not afraid of mosquitos; I don’t like them. And I just don’t care to eat
reindeer. Papá Noel — excuse me,
Santa Claus — might not bring me any gifts.”
He chuckled as his arm moved to the back of
her chair again. “You’re so cute.”
“Cute?” Nora thought about the last woman
she’d fought, who left the ring bloodied and with fewer teeth after a knockout kick, which ended the fight.
Sam lowered his mouth to her ear. “Sexy …”
His warm breath grazed her neck, sending a shock of heat through her entire
body.
“You folks ready to order?” asked a scratchy
female voice.
Glad for the interruption, Nora turned to the
woman in a white shirt and black apron. “Oh, yes! I’ll … umm … I’ll have the … The …” Sexy guy next to me — Damn! What was wrong with her head? She ran
her finger across the menu, looking for the name of the item.
“She’ll have the sourdough hotcake with
blueberries. Hot chocolate and orange juice to drink. And I’ll have the
standard with cheese, substitute the bacon for —” He looked at Nora, then back
at the server. “On second thought, just like it comes, and add biscuits, no
gravy.”
“And to drink?”
“Coffee and juice.”
The woman strolled off, and Nora turned to
Sam. “You could have ordered the sausage. I’m not squeamish. I just don’t want
any.”
“No big deal. It’s more of a novelty item,
and it can be gamey.” He held her eyes for a few seconds without speaking, as
though he wanted to ask her something. “So … tonight … as I said, I was hoping
to bump into you. But since we already bumped into each other, maybe we could
plan a real date. Dinner?”
Nora chewed on the inside of her lip. She had
to start hiking today, so she’d be gone days before Sergio sent a search party
after her. And before the park got overrun with hikers. From what she’d read,
it was two weeks before the summer season started. That would give her time to
get lost, far away from where other backpackers hiked. And more importantly,
she couldn’t allow herself to see Sam again. But she couldn’t tell him that.
And she had a feeling he wouldn’t accept some lame excuse. Unfortunately, she’d
have to accept and then stand him up. Damn.
“Okay,” she said.
Sam blinked. “If you have other plans —”
“No … umm, I don’t have any plans.” That was
the second time he’d read her. How could he know her body language when they’d
just met? And yet Sergio didn’t know her well enough to realize she was leaving
him after seven years.
“Are you sure?” Sam asked. “Because it
sounded as though you’d rather not go out with me.”
Nora felt her face pull up into a smile, even
as a tight knot formed in her chest. “Sam, I can honestly say there’s no one
I’d rather spend an evening with.”
~ Sam ~
Sam heard the wonderful
words that came out of Nora’s beautiful mouth, but something was off. He wasn’t
sure how he knew, but he did. The same way he knew what his team members needed
him to do on a rescue before they asked.
From the time he was a child, his parents had
taught him to pay attention to his surroundings to stay alive. In the wilderness,
his senses could be the difference between life and death. He hadn’t known that
reading his parents’ expressions from the opposite end of a belay line would
forever change the way he read people,
but it had.
Instead of questioning the sincerity of Nora’s
statement, he followed through with his request. “Okay then. Should I pick you
up?”
“No. I’d like to meet you somewhere, if
that’s okay.”
His senses went off again, but since he
couldn’t push her to tell him the truth, he continued, “That’d be great. Would
you like me to text you the location, or write it down?” He knew before he
asked what her answer would be.
“Write it down, please.” She reached for a
napkin and then dug a pen out of her purse.
Sam accepted the napkin and pen. He wrote
down the address for the restaurant, along with a quick note and his phone
number, even though he knew she had no intention of showing up. He folded the
napkin and slid it and the pen into the side pocket of her purse, then changed
the subject. “So you’ve come from L.A. to Alaska to hike. What brought you from
Argentina to L.A.?”
Nora lifted her cup to her lips. Was that
because she was going to tell him another lie, so she was stalling for time?
She took a sip but held the cup close to
her mouth. “To be an actress.”
Sam did his best to hold back the guffaw that
threatened to burst out at her — was that her third? — lie. He was losing
count. “Really?” Implying she was a liar would only have her running from him
faster than she already wanted to. “Have you?”
“Have I what?”
“Acted in anything?”
“A few things.”
Hmmm … That
didn’t sound like a lie. Damn, this woman was confusing. “Anything I might’ve
seen?”
“Probably not.” She turned as the server set
her breakfast in front of her. “Oh, my!”
Sam smiled as the Nora he’d met and liked
returned, replacing the lying woman who’d slipped in to answer what seemed like
easy questions. “Nice, huh?”
“Wow! I’m glad you only ordered me one.”
The hotcake, as always, was larger than the plate they served it on.
“Here.” He used her fork and knife to fold the hotcake in half, and then in
half again. “Now you have a stack of hotcakes.”
“Thank you, cariño!” Nora stretched herself toward him, kissing his cheek.
“My pleasure.” Her back-and-forth actions
were giving him whiplash. Had she not wanted to give him a movie title because
maybe she’d acted in racy movies? They
were sitting in a crowded restaurant with other people at the same table. Maybe
that was the problem. He lowered his voice so only she could hear. “Maybe
later, when there aren’t so many people around, you’ll tell me more about
yourself? What you acted in.”
She took a huge
bite of the hotcake. She chewed with a broad smile on her face, then washed it down
with orange juice. “Yes. I will tell you more about myself later … when we are alone.”
And there was Nora’s alter-ego again. He
hoped he was wrong … wished he hadn’t heard her emphasize the word later. But as he’d told her the previous
evening, many people came to Alaska to escape. He just needed to figure out
from what — or whom — Nora was trying to get away.
***
Sam couldn’t say with all honesty that he was
upset when Nora didn’t show up for dinner. In
order to be upset, he would have had to expect her to show, and he
hadn’t. Even as he’d been steaming his best long-sleeve button-down shirt, he’d
known he was wasting his time.
He had hoped that the note he’d written on
the napkin would have persuaded her not to stand him up — or at minimum, call
him so they could make other arrangements.
Oddly enough, he wasn’t taking it personally.
He didn’t even tell the host that someone would be joining him. Sam knew, as
sure as he was breathing, that Nora standing him up wasn’t about him. Nora was
running from something. But it was clear she wasn’t going to trust him with what.
Tomorrow, he’d see if he could track down
where she was staying. Not to stalk her, of course, but to give her an
opportunity to make good on her promise. She had said she’d tell him more about
herself later, so maybe if he met her
on her own turf — in private — she’d open up to him.
“You want another beer, Sam?” Tonya asked.
“Nah, I’m good. Think I’ll call it an early
night.” He’d taken off his first personal day in forever … for nothing.
Tonya nodded, but her eyes held sadness. Sam
could tell she knew he’d been expecting someone. Just the fact that he’d shown
up at the restaurant dressed as he was, by himself, without a date, without his
mother or brothers, would have told her he was hoping someone would join him.
One of the bad
things about living in a small town. Everyone knew everyone, even though no one
really knew anyone at all.
***
As much as Sam tried, he simply couldn’t get Nora out of his head. He’d
screwed up royally. He’d known she was
hiding something, known she wouldn’t show up for dinner, and yet he’d let her
go. Nearly a week had passed, and he’d yet to find her. There weren’t that many places
to stay in Falcon Run. And he’d checked all of them. Even campsites. It was like
she was a ghost. No one had seen her come or go. How was that possible?
He couldn’t imagine, if she’d started her
hike in Denali, that she wouldn’t have told someone, so where was she? Had he
read her wrong from the start? Had she really not been interested in him? No,
there was something between them. He knew she’d felt it too. If Nora was running from the law, he’d back off, obviously, but he didn’t get that vibe. He’d
seen her scan the bar, the sporting-goods store, and then the restaurant. She’d
claimed she was in town alone, and yet she’d been wary of her surroundings, as though someone might be watching her.
With that thought, he decided on a course of
action. He’d planned to go hiking before the season started anyway, which was the
reason he’d run into her in the outdoor
store. But then, he’d spent the last few days — in between rescues — looking
for her.
Now was the time to take a vacation, before
summer. He texted Vince a quick message, asking when he’d be home. Since Karen
had emptied their house, Vince had decided to rent it out and had moved back
into the family home. Sam would go over what he needed Vince to do while he was gone, and then he’d leave.
Seven
okay? Vince texted back.
Sam sent Vince a thumbs-up, and then headed for the garage — their supply room. As
if his dogs had known what he’d decided, both of them hopped up from their
slumber and immediately circled him, tails wagging.
Sam squatted and petted Strider, then Arwen.
“You guys ready for a hike?” Strider darted out of the room and then Arwen, as
always, followed her brother.
Before he made it to the first floor, the
doorbell chimed. Strider changed his direction, bolting toward the door, Arwen
on his heels. Sam peered over the railing, through the arched glass above the
door, at the driveway. An all-black SUV sat out front.
His mother had gone to town earlier, so she obviously wasn’t expecting company. “Sitz!” Sam ordered Strider and Arwen.
One hand resting on his rifle, he opened the door. “Yeah?”
Strider growled, so Sam gave him a hand
command. He didn’t let strangers hear him give his dogs orders in German, as he
never knew when he’d need to use them.
A man just an inch or so taller than Sam,
smiled. “You Sam Belgarde?”
“Yep.”
The man flashed a too-white sideways smile as
he narrowed his too-dark brows over too-blue eyes. Everything about the man
looked counterfeit. He actually appeared shocked that Sam hadn’t invited him
into the house. “Can I come in?”
“Not until you tell me who you are and why
you’re here.” Sam didn’t like unannounced houseguests. For that matter, none of
his Alaskan friends did. Strangers didn’t knock on residential doors in Alaska.
Not if they wanted to keep their heads. Sam wasn’t the only resident who kept a gun in his foyer. A firearm by the front
door was as common as an umbrella.
Actually, more common in Alaska.
The man smiled again, but it was too wide. Too bright. Too … Hollywood. “I need
someone who can find a missing person, and from what I understand, you’re the
best.”
As usual, Sam offered his rote response, “All
missing persons need to be reported to the nearest Alaska State Trooper
Detachment.”
It wasn’t the first time Sam had been asked
to find a missing person. But he wasn’t a private detective or bounty hunter.
If a man was bypassing the authorities, the person he was looking for probably
didn’t want to be found.
Sam moved to shut the door, but the big man moved his foot in the way. “Please … My name’s
Sergio Reyna. The problem is my fiancée isn’t technically missing, but I’m
worried. I know she’s tough and thinks she can survive in the wilderness …” The
man dropped his gaze. “But I haven’t heard from her in almost a week, and I’m concerned.”
Sam closed his eyes and took in a deep breath
before he asked his question, even though he knew what the answer would be.
“What’s your fiancée’s name?”
“Nora Molina. You might know her by her
title, UFC Champion K.O. Molina.”
Damn.
I hope you enjoyed this excerpt of Sam’s Folly.
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You can grab the eBook now at all major eBook retailers!
Kindle eBook: https://amzn.to/36rCvGm
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/38FGBMG
Find links to all retailers on BookBub. Or...if you want to know when my I have new releases or deals, follow me on BookBub. Heck, sometimes, they’re faster than I am about telling readers about my new books and specials!
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