Barely Breathing (Colorado High Country #1)

by Pamela Clare

  “I apologize, sir. It won’t happen again. Is there something you need me to sign?”

  “What? No! The county attorney can shove it. I’m not giving you a reprimand. This is as far as it goes. But next time, Taylor, trust me.”

  Austin smiled. “You got it.”

  Lexi spent Saturday riding in the backseat of her dad’s Outback, her leg propped up on the seat next to her, while Britta drove her and Vic to see the sights. They took her on a tour of the mining museum, then drove to Estes Park and into Rocky Mountain National Park, where Lexi watched her friend stare wide-eyed at the sea of jagged mountain tops from Rainbow Curve, high on Trail Ridge Road.

  “How can this be real?” she whispered.

  On Sunday, Lexi went to the trauma center for her third rabies shot. And then it was time for Britta to leave for the airport. She’d booked a shuttle ride to Denver, so they said their farewells at the inn.

  It was a measure of how much things had changed that Lexi and Britta were in tears when she said goodbye. “I’ll be back for Christmas, Dad, I promise.”

  “Thanks for coming, baby girl. It’s been good to see you.”

  Lexi hugged her sister tight. “Thanks for being here for me.”

  Brit hugged her right back. “Are you kidding? Some asshole almost gets my sister killed? Where else would I be?” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Just between us, I have a feeling you won’t be leaving Colorado anytime soon.”

  It wasn’t just between them, however. Vic knew.

  Lexi hadn’t said anything to her, but she knew just the same.

  She didn’t bring it up right away. She waited until she and Lexi were upstairs in her guestroom, Lexi on the chaise longue where she could prop up her leg and Vic in the chair near the window. “You know, I can give your Adele ticket to someone else.”

  Lexi felt relief that Vic had brought it up. “That’s probably a good idea. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable traveling with my leg and—”

  “It’s just the two of us here, Lexi. You’re feeling torn up trying to decide whether to stay here or come back to Chicago. From where I sit, it’s a no-brainer. Stay.”

  And just like that—tears again. What was wrong with her lately?

  “I thought you’d be upset. You had an ulterior motive for coming here, remember? You’re supposed to make sure I don’t stay.”

  Vic handed her a box of tissues. “You’ve got an incredibly hot man who loves you enough to go down a mine shaft after you. You’ve got your friends on the rescue team and at the wildlife sanctuary. You’ve got an entire town that cares what happens to you. You know that’s not how it is in Chicago.”

  “You stood by me.”

  “That’s what true friends do.” Vic smiled. “Besides, who says I’m not upset? I’m sad that my best friend is going to be living in this amazing place, while I sit at a desk in Chicago waiting for the weekend so I can sit in my condo alone and binge Netflix.”

  Lexi laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes. “You could always move here. You may have noticed the men.”

  Or one particular man.

  “Oh, yes, I did. It is tempting.” Vic looked out the window, then turned her gaze back to Lexi. There were tears in her eyes now. “The truth is I’d be the worst friend ever if I tried to take you away from all of this so that I didn’t have to miss you.”

  “Thanks, Vic.”

  They both sniffed.

  “So, when are you going to tell Austin?”

  Lexi had given this a lot of thought. “When the time is right.”

  “So … what are we going to do this afternoon?” Vic dabbed her eyes. “I am not going to spend my last day in Colorado sitting in this room, no matter how comfortable or quaint or cute it is.”

  Lexi had an idea. “Want a tour of our historic firehouse?”

  Vic gaped at her in open-mouthed outrage. “Oh, you are evil!”

  She’d always had a weakness for firefighters.

  “Now it’s my turn to be a good friend.” She pulled out her phone and called Eric.

  “Harrison Conrad. Sasha Dillon. Dave Hatfield. Eric Hawke. Creed Herrera …”

  Austin sat with Lexi in the ops room waiting while Megs took roll, his hair still wet from his shower. Everyone was here tonight, including Gabe Rossiter, his four-year-old daughter asleep on his lap. They had all come to hear Lexi’s official report—and to give her a little surprise in gratitude for her work.

  She sat beside him, her crutches propped up against the table, a folder of printed documents sitting before her. “First, I want to thank all of you for what you did to save my life. I wouldn’t be here today without you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Happy to help.”

  “That’s what we do.”

  Then she launched into her report, passing documents around, explaining how she’d conducted the audit and describing the tricks that Breece had used to hide his fraud from them. “He started out with small amounts, probably afraid he’d get caught. But when that didn’t happen, he got bolder.”

  She was confident, her explanations easy to understand, her answers clear and concise. Austin had never really seen this side of Lexi before, the professional side. Sure, he’d seen her working, but he hadn’t really known what she was doing. He certainly hadn’t understood how much an audit entailed.

  She came to the punch line. “In all, he stole seventy-two thousand six hundred dollars from this organization.”

  “What? Jesus!” Rossiter looked like he might faint. “When you said embezzlement, I was thinking maybe ten grand.”

  “This is my fault.” Megs looked around at the group. “If my resignation will help in any way—to appease donors, for example—”

  “No way are you resigning.” Austin wouldn’t have it.

  Neither would anyone else. They shouted out their support for Megs, everyone talking at once so that no one could hear anything. When they’d quieted down, Lexi spoke again.

  “It’s not your fault, and I don’t think your resignation will help anything.” Lexi drew a document out of the folder, handed it to Megs. “You’re the face of this organization and a well-respected member of the climbing community. I think the Team needs you now more than ever.”

  “What’s this?”

  “It’s an overview of a possible PR approach to managing this crisis. A friend of mine was in town this weekend. Some of you met her.” She looked pointedly at Hawke.

  Hawke frowned, shifted in his chair.

  Lexi explained. “She works for a PR firm in Chicago. I picked her brain last night. Megs, you’re at the heart of the plan.”

  Megs read through it, nodding, then handed it to Ahearn. “I suppose it can’t hurt to give it a try.”

  “Do the rest of us get to know, or is this classified?” Moretti asked.

  Lexi smiled. “The plan calls for a straight-up acknowledgment of what has happened, combined with the release of information documenting how many hours you collectively volunteer each year, how many lives you save, the expense involved in running an all-volunteer organization of this kind, and so on. Show the world the value of what you do, and my bet is that the public will rally around you.”

  “Where is that bastard?” Rossiter asked.

  “If I knew, I wouldn’t be sitting here,” Austin muttered under his breath.

  “I hear you,” Hawke agreed.

  “There’s a warrant out for his arrest, but he’s made himself scarce,” Megs answered. “I guess he doesn’t relish the idea of going to prison.”

  “They’ll find him,” Moretti said. “And when they do…”

  Lexi closed her folder. “That’s all I have for you. If you need me to explain anything in more detail, let me know. This report should make things easy for the district attorney. In the meantime, I’m happy to help you start implementing the PR plan.”

  A chorus of “Thanks, Lexi” moved through the room.

  “We’ve got something for you.”
Megs took a yellow Team T-shirt out of her backpack and passed it across the table to Lexi.

  Everyone laughed.

  Lexi pushed it back. “Thanks, but you already gave me one. I don’t want to use up Team resources when things are tight.”

  “Aren’t you a peach?” Megs smiled. “I wish the rest of you had her attitude.”

  “Way to make us look bad, Jewell,” Sasha joked.

  Megs pushed the T-shirt back over to Lexi. “Look at it.”

  Austin couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “You don’t have a T-shirt like this.”

  Lexi unfolded it, held it up.

  The front was the same, but the back…

  She turned it around. “Oh!”

  There on the back was her last name in big, black letters: JEWELL.

  She turned to Austin. “Did you know about this?”

  “Of course. Hey, I can keep a secret—even from you.”

  “We took a vote. In gratitude for the important work you’ve done for us, we’ve made you a supporting member,” Megs explained. “Whether you stay in Scarlet or head back to your life in Chicago, you’ll still be part of the Team.”

  “Damn it!” Lexi pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. “You’re going to make me cry.”

  Austin rested a hand against her back in silent support, laughing with the others. But there was a knot in his chest. Would she stay here with him, with the people who cared about her, or would she go back to the city?

  Lexi lifted herself into the front seat of Eric’s Chevy Silverado, then handed Austin her handbag and crutches, which he stuck behind her seat.

  Her father stepped out of the back door. “Hey, where’s your Tahoe? Isn’t that Hawke’s truck?”

  “Tonight’s the only night of the year when firefighters get to start fires and blow stuff up, so he’s busy having the time of his life. He let me borrow it while I get some engine work done.”

  Oh, Austin was smooth! But then he’d always been the better fibber.

  “Where are the two of you headed?” Her father walked toward them.

  He was going to look. She knew he was going to look.

  Austin walked around to the driver’s side. “I thought we’d drive up to Caribou ad watch the fireworks from there.”

  “That’ll give you a nice view.” Her father peered into the truck’s bed. “No air mattress.”

  He’d done it. He’d looked.

  “Dad! I’m a grownup now.”

  “I was just checking.” He chuckled to himself, then turned around and walked back toward the house. “Have a good time.”

  Lexi buckled her seatbelt. “I told you he’d look. Where did you hide it?”

  Austin grinned. “It’s in the toolbox along with the air pump.”

  They drove up the highway, sunset painting the sky above the Indian Peaks in pinks and oranges, the day’s heat giving way to a cool breeze. Lexi reached over, rested her hand on Austin’s thigh, a sense of contentment washing through her, mingling with anticipation.

  She had a surprise for him.

  They talked about a little of everything as they drove. Austin had written eight tickets to people carrying open containers of alcohol today—a record. The injured beaver Winona had been trying to save was responding to antibiotics. New donations to the Team had passed $30,000 yesterday. Sasha was leaving tomorrow to compete in an international sports climbing competition.

  It took all of ten minutes to reach the turnoff. Caribou, now a ghost town, sat right at 10,000 feet elevation—just below timberline. It had once been a thriving mining town of 3,000. Now only a few stone buildings and a cemetery were left to tell the world that people had once made their lives here, worked here, died here.

  Austin turned onto the dirt road that would take them to their secret spot—a secluded meadow overlooking Scarlet Springs. He took his right hand off the wheel, threaded his fingers through hers. “Do you realize it was twelve years ago tonight?”

  “Yes.” Lexi had thought about that all day. That’s the reason she’d waited till tonight to tell him. She liked the symmetry of it. Or maybe Rose was rubbing off on her. “Strange, isn’t it?”

  “I made the biggest mistake of my life that night.”

  She squeezed his hand. “We both made mistakes.”

  “I didn’t bring that up to pressure you, by the way.”

  She gave him a smile. “I’m not feeling pressured.”

  He parked where they had always parked, then left her in the cab while he got out the air mattress and inflated it—a process that took almost as long as the drive. “This foot pump is a lot better than that old bicycle pump I used to use.”

  Lexi had forgotten about that. “I can’t believe we used to do this all the time.”

  When the mattress was fully inflated, Austin put the pump in the toolbox and settled the mattress in the pickup’s bed. Then he hopped to the ground and opened Lexi’s door. “It’s probably easiest if I just carry you and lift you over the side.”

  “Don’t drop me.” She wrapped her arms around Austin’s neck.

  “Not a chance.” He scooped her into his arms and lifted her out of the truck, holding her for a moment and pressing a kiss to her nose. “I kind of like this.”

  “So do I.” Why had she ever thought she could live without this man?

  He carried her to the back, holding her steady while she climbed over the side and sat on the air mattress. Then he leaped up onto the tailgate and sat beside her.

  To the west, the sun had set, the horizon bright pink.

  “The fireworks will be starting soon.” His lips curved in a slow smile. “Then again, we didn’t really come here for that, did we?”

  He leaned over to kiss her, but she stopped him.

  “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.” She could see by the subtle shift in his expression that her words had made him instantly wary.

  “Okay.”

  She came out with it. “When I get this boot off, I’m going back to Chicago—and I’m really hoping you’ll come with me.”

  He closed his eyes, his brow furrowed. “That’s your decision?”

  She’d meant to tease him, not torment him. “I can’t very well load all my furniture into a moving van by myself. I need you to lift the heavy things.”

  His eyes snapped open. “What?”

  She reached up, cupped his jaw. “I’m moving back to Scarlet for good.”

  The hope and relief in his eyes made her heart melt. “Are you sure?”

  God, yes, she was sure.

  “You know that little house on the corner of First and Valley View?”

  “That Victorian cottage with the iron fence that we all thought was haunted?”

  “I bought it.” She was so excited finally to be able to tell him this. “I closed on it Friday. It’s going to be my office—Jewell and Associates. I’m opening my own CPA firm. Brit has already designed the logo. It needs a lot of fixing up, but when it’s restored, it will be adorable.”

  But she was going too fast for him.

  He ran a thumb down her cheek, his eyes looking intently into hers. “You’re really staying?”

  “Yes. I am.” She tried to explain. “I spent my childhood wanting to run away from this place without really knowing why. I think my mother’s death was so painful that it tore my family apart, and I just wanted to be somewhere I didn’t feel … so hurt.”

  “It’s a lot to lose your mother—and your father—when you’re only four.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. “This past month, I’ve come to see everything differently—my family, the town. When I was tied up in litigation in Chicago, all of my friends except Vic turned away from me. But when I was trapped in that mine shaft, you were all there for me—the whole town. It didn’t matter that I’d been gone for twelve years. Joe even closed the pub.”

  “Don’t forget that he also named a drink after you. How many drinks are named after you in Chicago?”


  That made her laugh. “People here love me—especially you.”

  “Especially me.” He leaned down, brushed his lips over hers.

  “I love you, Austin. I don’t want to live without you.”

  “That is the best damned news I’ve heard in twelve years.” He kissed her hard this time, slow and deep, pushing her back onto the mattress.

  And the sky above them burst into color.

  Also by Pamela Clare

  Romantic Suspense:

  I-Team Series

  Extreme Exposure (Book 1)

  Heaven Can’t Wait (Book 1.5)

  Hard Evidence (Book 2)

  Unlawful Contact (Book 3)

  Naked Edge (Book 4)

  Breaking Point (Book 5)

  Skin Deep: An I-Team After Hours Novella (Book 5.5)

  First Strike: The Prequel to Striking Distance (Book 5.9)

  Striking Distance (Book 6)

  Soul Deep: An I-Team After Hours Novella (Book 6.5)

  Seduction Game (Book 7)

  Dead by Midnight: An I-Team Christmas (Book 7.5)

  Historical Romance:

  Kenleigh-Blakewell Family Saga

  Sweet Release (Book 1)

  Carnal Gift (Book 2)

  Ride the Fire (Book 3)

  MacKinnon’s Rangers series

  Surrender (Book I)

  Untamed (Book 2)

  Defiant (Book 3)

  Upon A Winter’s Night: A MacKinnon’s Rangers Christmas Novella (Book 3.5)

  About the Author

  USA Today best-selling author Pamela Clare began her writing career as a columnist and investigative reporter and eventually became the first woman editor-in-chief of two different newspapers. Along the way, she and her team won numerous state and national honors, including the National Journalism Award for Public Service. In 2011, Clare was awarded the Keeper of the Flame Lifetime Achievement Award for her body of work. A single mother with two sons, she writes historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense at the foot of the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Visit her website at www.pamelaclare.com.