“And I’ll need the campsite maintenance report for Campsites A through G by tomorrow evening.”
“No problem,” Ethan says, nodding to Sandy. She gathers her things and the meeting is over.
Ethan and I sit still for a few moments, and finally I clear my throat.
“Have you got time to show me the site this morning?”
He swings his eyes toward me and my breath catches in my throat. We hold each other’s gaze for a few never-ending seconds. I could cut the air in the room with a knife. If the temperature was rising when the room was full, it’s absolutely sweltering in here now. I shift in my seat until he finally nods.
“Let’s go,” he finally replies. “Ready whenever you are.”
10
Ethan
I’m finding it hard to think of anything to say. We get in the black pickup truck without a word, and I start driving toward the old hotel grounds.
Toward the scene of the crime.
My crime.
We ride in silence for a long time. Or at least, it feels like a long time. Finally, Zoe clears her throat.
“So, this is unexpected,” she says. “Meeting you here.”
I glance over at her, running my eyes down the curve of her neck to her body and then back toward the road. I’m not quite sure how to respond.
“Yeah,” I say. “I didn’t know you were ‘Randall’. I thought it would be a guy.”
Zoe chuckles. “That’s what everyone calls me back home. I can understand the confusion.”
I turn down a narrow gravel road and we bounce along for a few minutes. It’s awkward. I glance at Zoe again and then turn toward the road. It’s just another half mile up this slope and we’ll be getting to the old, burned-down remains of the hotel.
“Why did you say you didn’t know me?” The question almost falls out of my mouth almost by accident. I can feel Zoe turn to look at me, and she sighs.
“I’m not sure. I panicked. If we said we knew each other, what would we say? I just... I didn’t want to start off like that.” I can hear the tension in her voice and a lump forms in my throat.
Before I can respond, we round the last corner and the trees clear. Zoe inhales sharply as I park the truck to the side of the road. She opens the door immediately and I watch her jump down and walk toward the burned-out husk of building. There are small saplings and plants growing all over it, with moss and grass creeping up the rubble. Slowly, the forest is reclaiming the construction site. In a few years it’ll be easy to miss.
I follow Zoe and we walk in silence. I watch her climb over old beams and rocks, inspecting burn marks and looking around at the devastation. She turns back toward me and shakes her head.
“This could have turned into a major forest fire,” she says. “You guys were lucky.”
“It was at the beginning of the summer last year, when everything was wet,” I deflect. “It wasn’t like it is now.”
“Still,” she says, picking up a charred piece of wood. “Look at the trees along the edges. You can tell the closest side of them has been damaged.”
I glance over toward where she’s pointing. She’s right. The trees that line the clearing are off-balance, like the branches on this side of them have been stunted.
“I read the police report. It said there were three points of ignition, which means there were at least three people here. Whoever did this were real scumbags,” she says, pursing her lips. She kicks a rock out of the way and puts her hands on her hips. “It could have been a disaster.”
“Could have been,” I answer, trying to keep my voice steady. Scumbag. That’s not exactly the view I have of myself. “The development would have been much more destructive than the fire,” I say. Zoe turns toward me and tilts her head to the side. My eyes dart to her lips, and for an instant I remember what they taste like.
I continue. “It would have brought so many people here that wouldn’t respect the forest like we do,” I say. She stares at me, her face blank. “If you ask me, the fire was a good thing.”
She snorts. “A good thing? Aren’t there better —you know, legal —ways of opposing these things?”
“Legal?” I say, glancing around the overgrown site of the fire. “What chance does our tiny town have against multi-million dollar investors? Against people, money, and power that don’t care about anything except profit?” The anger inside me is rising as I think of Margaret McCoy, the woman who masterminded the whole project. The woman who disappeared when it all blew up in her face.
Zoe surprises me when she agrees. “That’s true. But I can’t condone arson.”
We’re quiet for a while, and I watch her walk through the wreckage. I show her the places where the fire started, remembering how it felt to splash gasoline over the ground and strike the match to light it up. Zoe crouches down near the spot where I dropped my match.
“So what happened after the fire?” she asks. “No one’s really given me a straight answer. It sounds like it all sort of went away.” Her bright blue eyes are boring into me, and I know I have to choose my words carefully. It all went away because the Sheriff started the fire with us.
I sigh. “Lang Creek is a funny kind of town. Change isn’t really encouraged here.”
“But arson is?” she retorts. The corner of her lip is curled up into a grin. I chuckle.
“I guess it is,” I answer. “More so than razing a huge swath of virgin forest to develop it, just for tourists to come destroy the land that we’ve cherished for generations.”
“You sound like you agree with the people who burned this down.”
My chest tightens. It feels wrong to lie to her, even though I hardly know her. I thought this whole business with the hotel and the fire and the McCoys was over! I thought the town had moved on from the fire, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it.
Now there’s this woman sniffing around, and I know she won’t be as forgiving as the Sheriff’s office or the townspeople. Sure, she’s just here to consult on new safety procedures, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t get the authorities to reopen the investigation. I wonder how long it’ll take for her to hear the rumors that it was my brothers and me?
“Maybe I do agree with them. I mean, look around,” I say, sweeping my arm across the landscape. “The forest is taking over again. If the hotel had been built, this whole area would be filled with people and cars and trucks and noise and garbage.”
She makes a noise and nods, looking out at the forest.
She sighs. “It is very beautiful up here. You’re lucky to have lived here all your life.”
I snort. “I’m guessing that’s a ‘grass is always greener’ situation, because I sure didn’t love living here when I was a teenager.”
She laughs. For the first time since she walked through the office door, she really laughs. She laughs like she did our first night together, like she did in the bar when we didn’t know anything about each other.
Zoe is still smiling when she takes a step and loses her footing on some loose rock. She yelps, stumbling. I jump toward her, crossing the few feet of distance between us and lunge to catch her. I just about make it, but instead I land with a thud on the rocky ground with Zoe tumbling on top of me.
“Unf,” she groans as she lands on top of me. It takes a couple confused seconds for us to disentangle ourselves from each other. She puts her hand on my chest to lift herself off me, raising her eyes up to mine. She stops and my hand drifts to her waist.
The moment only lasts a second, maybe two, but in her eyes, I see something that she hasn’t shown me at all today: desire. Her eyes flash, and her body almost trembles on top of me. She parts her lips ever so slightly as her pupils dilate.
I can feel her pulse, and when my hand lands on her waist she makes the tiniest of noises.
Then, the moment is over. She lifts herself off and extends a hand to help me up. She brushes herself off and pats her hair down before blowing the air out of her lungs.
“Wow,
I, uh,” she says, shaking her head. “Thanks.”
I grunt, feeling the spots where a rock dug into my lower back. “I think Sandy would kill me if I let you get injured on your very first trip outdoors.”
Zoe laughs. “It doesn’t look like it would take much to set her off.”
“She’s alright,” I say, grinning with her. “Tough woman, but a good boss.”
Zoe looks over once more at the forest. There’s a bird chirping nearby, and the wind rustles gently through the leaves. She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes before turning to me and smiling.
“I like it here,” she says.
I’m not sure why, but it makes me feel good to hear her say that. My heart thumps and I nod, clearing my throat and turning back toward the truck.
“That’s the site of the fire, anyway. I’ll take you back along the old logging roads and show you some of the campsites we have.”
Our boots crunch on the gravel as we head back to the car. The breeze sweeps by us and the leaves rustle some more. Another bird starts singing.
My head is spinning. I know I need to be careful with Zoe, for my sake and my brothers’. I know it would be best to keep my distance, to keep her at an arm’s length.
But when we slide back into my truck, we fall into a comfortable silence, and despite my best efforts to ignore it, I feel good having her beside me.
11
Zoe
By the time I make it back to the hotel, the tiredness has set into my bones but my mind is buzzing. I still can’t believe I’m working with Ethan.
I drop my purse on the small desk near the entrance to the room and sink down on the chair. I close my eyes and enjoy a few moments of silence.
Immediately, my brain starts replaying the day. I see Ethan as he glanced at me sideways in the truck, and the thrill it sent through my whole body. I can feel his hand on my waist and my body pressed against his when I fell. The look in his eyes was nothing short of electrifying.
Shaking my head, I get up and sigh. I stretch my arms above my head and glance around the tiny hotel room that I’m going to call home for the next two to three months. I glance at the picture of Audrey that I’ve propped on my nightstand, and take a deep breath.
I should forget about Saturday. It was one night, and it meant nothing.
We seem to have an unspoken understanding about that, which simultaneously fills me with relief and a stinging sensation in the center of my chest. It was me who walked away without giving him my number, and it was me who pretended not to know him, so I shouldn’t be upset that he’s respected my wishes.
I stand still, staring at nothing, until a knock on the door makes me jump.
“Hi,” says a young woman when I open the door. She’s wearing a hotel uniform and holding a stack of towels. She smiles hesitantly. “Mara sent me over to make sure you had everything you need and to give you these,” she says, presenting me with a stack of thick, fluffy towels. I take them from her and smile. I met Mara, the young hotel owner, when I arrived yesterday. She had kind eyes and a warm smile, and this woman seems no different.
“Thanks,” I respond, turning to put the towels down next to my purse on the desk. I turn around and see the young woman turning to leave. “Wait!”
I rummage through my purse and find a couple dollar bills. I hand them to her and she frowns.
“What’s this for?”
“It’s a tip. For the towels.”
She laughs. “You city people are so funny sometimes,” she says, grinning at me. “Don’t worry about the dollar. You’re here for, what, a couple months? You really going to give me a dollar every time I knock on your door?”
“I hadn’t really thought that far,” I admit, staring at the crumpled bills in my hand. I hope I haven’t offended her.
She shakes her head. “You had dinner yet? I was just about to head down to Harold’s. You can use that money to buy me a drink. I’m guessing you don’t know anyone in town yet.”
“No,” I say. “I don’t.” Well, except for a certain Mr. Ethan Clarke, who I know a bit better than I should.
Her eyes flash and a smile appears on her lips. “Well, I can introduce you to the main troublemakers,” she says, grinning. “None of them bite, unless you want them to.”
I’m about to refuse, to say that I’ll eat in my room, but something stops me. It might be nice to spend an evening away from my thoughts. I might actually make a friend while I’m here. I nod. “Deal,” I say.
“Good. I’m Katie, by the way,” she says, extending her hand.
“Zoe,” I reply as we shake hands. I like her smile, and I can’t help but grin back.
“Heard you were in town to investigate the fire,” she says, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly. Her question feels a bit too probing, so I try to skirt it.
“Not really. I’m working with the National Parks to minimize the risk of wildfires. I developed a set of procedures back in Seattle and they sent me here. The fire at the hotel construction site was a major incident, so I’m trying to work with the Rangers to help prevent it from happening again.”
Katie laughs, and I’m not sure why. She throws her head back and lets out a full-bellied laugh, finally shaking her head. “Don’t think it’ll happen again. You can be sure about that.”
“How do you know?”
Her eyes glimmer again, and she tucks a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear. “Wouldn’t be any reason to!” I’m about to ask her more, but she nods down the hallway. “Come on, get ready and meet me in the lobby in ten minutes. I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”
She winks at me and turns down the hallway. I stare after her for a few moments before closing the door. This job doesn’t seem as straightforward as I first thought.
I get ready slowly, frowning as I mull over her words. The Rangers said the same thing in the staff meeting–that there was little chance of it happening again. How can everyone be so sure?
Unless they know who did it, and why it was done. Katie said there wouldn’t be any reason to start the fire again. Between that and Ethan saying it was started to stop the developers from digging up the forest, maybe the fire was started with somewhat noble intentions.
I step outside. The door to my hotel room closes behind me and I take a deep breath, heading down the long hallway toward the front of the building.
Katie is waiting for me, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She smiles when I appear in the lobby and nods her head toward the door.
“Come on,” she says. “Harold’s has the best burgers in town.”
“Good,” I answer with a grin. “I’m starving.”
We walk in silence as dusk falls over the town. The sun has disappeared behind the mountains, sending brilliant reds and pinks across the sky. I inhale, staring at the vast landscape.
“It’s so beautiful around here,” I breathe. Katie smiles, inhaling deeply through her nose.
“I love the smell of the air here. I spent some time in New York City when I thought I wanted to leave this town, and the smells used to make me retch. Literally! Coming back home was the best thing I ever did.”
“Don’t go to Seattle, then,” I laugh. “The smog in the city will choke you to death.”
Katie makes a noise and we walk on in silence.
“So what were you doing in New York?” I ask after a pause.
Katie inhales deeply and sighs before answering. “I was restless, I guess,” she finally says. She glances up at the peaks in front of us and shakes her head. “Then I clicked my heels together and said, ‘there’s no place like home’,” she grins. “This town has a way of getting under your skin.”
“I can see that,” I say, glancing at the sunset again. My heart flutters and I take a deep breath. Audrey would love it here. My thoughts flick back to my conversation with her this morning, and worry snakes into my heart. I hope she’s okay. I hope the kids at school aren’t bothering her.
I watch as Katie kicks a pebble o
ff the sidewalk, and I try to think of something to say. The seconds tick by in silence as we walk toward the other end of town, and after a little while it feels like I’ve waited too long to respond.
Finally, the curiosity that’s been gnawing at me becomes too much to bear. With a deep breath, I change the subject and ask the question that’s been on my mind since she dropped off those towels at my door.
“So what happened with the fire?”
Katie glances over at me and laughs. Her eyes spark again as she nudges me with her elbow. “Zoe, you have no idea what you’ve just stepped into. This is a multi-generational feud. Love, drama, cheating, crime, fraud, arson. It’s got it all. Even an arranged marriage!” She sweeps her arm as she speaks, across the vista of mountains and forest and sunset sky in front of us. “And it all starts with a family called the Clarkes, who lived up on that mountain over there.” Katie points to the tallest mountain in view, over to the left. The very top of it is flat, but it has a sheer cliff face that seems to fall for hundreds of feet, crashing into the forest below.
My heart skips a beat and I frown. The Clarkes? As in… Ethan Clarke?
I try to smile at the same time and feel my face contort into a weird expression. I just don’t know how to react right now. Katie laughs again and I can’t help but relax a little. I shake my head and smile at her.
“You’ve met Ethan Clarke already, I would guess. He’s a Park Ranger.”
I nod, trying to keep my face steady. “Yeah, we’ll be working together.”
“He has two brothers, Aiden and Dominic. Dominic is married to Mara, who you’ve met. They own the hotel.”
I nod. “Right.”
She starts firing names and families and places at me, and I try to keep up. Her laugh is easy, and as we get to Harold’s she hooks her arm into mine. I feel myself relax, and I smile at her. It’s nice to meet someone friendly.
I mean, Ethan is friendly, but it’s nice to talk to someone that I haven’t slept with.
The Clarke Brothers (Complete Series) Page 37
