Her Desert Treasure (Entangled Ignite)

by Larie Brannick

  The Pointe was a booming shopping area about forty miles west of Big Rock. There were also limited stakes gambling casinos and some good restaurants. “Mom can gamble and, Kristen, you can shop if you want. After lunch we can come back here so Mom and Dad can relax.”

  Linda’s head perked up at Jake’s words. “Oh, I love that place.”

  “Just find Mom a place with nickel slots, and she’s good for the day.”

  Meg finally pushed herself free of Jake’s arms and stood up. “It sounds like you have a fun day planned. I’ll let you get to it.”

  Jake stood with her. “I’ll walk you out.”

  Meg grabbed her purse, and they started for the door.

  Linda called after them. “I hope you have a nice day, too, Meg. We’ll see you tonight?”

  Jake placed his hand on her waist and pulled her close to his side. “Yes, we’ll see her tonight.”

  Meg nodded and waved as Jake guided her out. They walked hand in hand to her car where he backed up against the door, lowered his head, and touched his lips to hers.

  “Are you sure I can’t talk you into waiting until I get back? I really don’t like you going out there by yourself.” He nuzzled her ear and kissed her neck. What else could he do to dissuade her from hiking the hills alone? His gut clenched with the thought of her finding herself in a dangerous situation. He also wanted to ask about the scar on her hip. Maybe there’d been an accident and he was blowing it out of proportion, but his instincts told him he wasn’t.

  “We talked about this. I have a lot to do, plans to make. I promise I’ll be careful.”

  Jake bent and touched his forehead to hers. He had to trust her judgment, even as he hated ignoring his gut. “Okay.” He straightened, took his cell phone out of his pocket, and held out his hand. “But give me your cell. I want us to have each other’s numbers.”

  Meg reached in her purse for her phone and handed it to him. They traded back and Jake opened her door. He took her hand and pulled her against him.

  “This will have to last us ’til tonight.” He’d meant for the kiss to be gentle, teasing, a promise of things to come. But when Meg opened for him, all teasing stopped. His fingers threaded through her hair, pulling her up to get closer. The feel of her against him, the combination of her scent, taste, drove him to the edge. Jake pulled away from her, breaking their kiss. “Today is going to be torture until I get back to you.

  He gave her a pat on the behind as she climbed into her car, squeezing her thigh when she was settled. “I’ll call you in a while to check in, okay?”

  Eyes still sparkling with heat, she nodded. “Okay.”

  “Be careful. I mean it.”

  Meg rolled her eyes at him and laughed. “I will be. You be careful, too. Something tells me your day will be more dangerous than mine.”

  Jake shook his head as she put the car in gear and pulled out of the drive. He watched her until she reached the road and then muttered as he turned toward the house. “Might as well get this over with. Shit.”

  …

  More tourists than ever crowded the streets of Big Rock for the start of the Summer Festival.

  Wending her way through them, Meg stopped at the small grocery store to pick up the items on her list before driving back to the cabin. After stowing her groceries, she quickly changed her clothes and tucked a power bar and two bottles of water into a daypack. She also took a pair of gloves and her grandfather’s old rock hammer, along with the small magnifying glass he’d always used to inspect his finds. As an afterthought, she grabbed the Maglight from a kitchen drawer as well. Her cargo shorts had plenty of pockets for her minimal gear and her sturdy hiking shoes were perfect for the terrain. She locked up and headed off toward the mountains she and her grandfather had hiked hundreds of times before.

  Nostalgia warmed her as she walked the trails they had made when she was a little girl. Various rock formations reminded her of lessons Grandpa had taught her about different geological anomalies that were all over this land. She recognized the faint trail that led up the side of one hill covered by huge boulders and hiked up about twenty yards until she found her favorite spot—the cave she had discovered when she was eight years old. The place she and Skip went to pretend she was a famous explorer, searching for a lost treasure of gold.

  Her grandfather had let her do some exploring on her own one day, though he never let her get more than twenty yards away. She’d been so excited when she’d found the cave opening and hadn’t even been scared to crawl inside. She’d gasped in delight when she flicked on her mini-flashlight and inspected the walls of the large cave. The rock glittered back at her in the weak light, and she’d believed she’d found a gold mine. When she called out to her grandfather, he’d crawled inside with her and explained that the minerals in the rock made it sparkle. She hadn’t cared that it wasn’t gold because it was just so beautiful.

  Curious now, she turned on the flashlight and peeked inside. It wasn’t as large as she remembered, but then she wasn’t as small as she’d been back then. She had to crouch to get through the opening, but was able to stand when she got inside.

  The main chamber was about fifteen by twenty feet with a couple of smaller ‘rooms’ to one side. She shined the light around and smiled. The rock walls still sparkled, and she was still awed by its beauty. Walking further back, she found the large crack in the rock, the one she’d never been brave enough to go into for fear the mountain would swallow her up, so she’d always stayed in the main cave. Maybe she could talk Jake into going in with her one of these days.

  She crawled back out and walked down the hill to the main trail. Since she’d already walked to the canyon, she veered off in the opposite direction to another favorite trail.

  A few rocks caught her eye along the way and she stopped to pick them up, but mostly she simply enjoyed being out, soaking up the beauty of the place. One of her family’s favorite picnic spots was over the next hill, and her steps quickened. When she cleared the rise, she noticed an area in a low spot about fifty yards away that had been cleared of rock and brush. To her surprise, a white pickup was parked in the clearing, and two men were setting up what appeared to be surveying equipment. She could see that the pickup had come in on one of the old jeep trails her grandfather used to use. Trespassers? Again? The feeling of déjà vu hit her as she hurried toward the men.

  “Hey! Hello?”

  One of the men stopped what he was doing and walked over to meet her. “Can I help you, miss?”

  Meg came to a halt in front of him. Trying to keep her cool, she forced calm into her voice. “I hope so.” She watched both men cautiously. “What’re you doing?”

  “You really shouldn’t be out here, miss. This is no place for a girl to be wandering around.”

  Patience was slipping fast. If one more person treated her like a helpless flower, she’d scream. But her grandmother always said you catch more flies with sugar… She’d stick with the ditzy girl tack. “Oh, I’m not wandering. I grew up around here. Who are you? What is all this stuff?”

  “My name’s Tom.” He threw a thumb over his shoulder toward the other man. We’re surveyors.”

  “Hi, Tom. Did you know this is private property?”

  He gave her a tolerant look. “We were hired by the owner to survey this section. You sure you’re in the right place, miss?”

  Meg’s head spun. The owner? Was it possible her grandfather had hired these men? She’d jumped to conclusions when she found Jake at the canyon and had been completely wrong. But something about this situation didn’t feel right. Grandpa had told her about the wild horses and Jake, though he didn’t mention him by name. He had never said anything about surveying the property. “I’m sure. Is it possible you’re on the wrong land? Maybe you crossed a fence you shouldn’t have?”

  The older man shook his head. “No. The owner brought us out here himself a couple weeks ago. He said this was a rush job, and we had to finish today.”

  The mor
e Meg heard, the angrier she got. Her grandfather had definitely not been the man who’d brought them here. Sugar, she reminded herself. “Who is it, exactly, that hired you?”

  Tom shrugged. “Monty Anderson. We’ve done several jobs for him.”

  Monty Anderson? She didn’t know anyone by that name, and she was certain Grandpa hadn’t said anything about him. “I’m afraid you’ve been misled, Tom. This property belongs to me, and I’m going to have to ask you to stop what you’re doing and leave now. Do you have a contact number where I can reach Mr. Anderson?”

  By this time, the other man had made his way over to where they were standing. He was younger than Tom and obviously the assistant on the job. “What’s that? We can’t leave until we finish this job. Anderson’s gonna pay us extra if we get it done today.”

  No point in taking her anger out on these men, but her control was wearing thin. “I suppose that’s between you and Mr. Anderson. Unfortunately, he had no business hiring you to do anything on this land.”

  “Hey, we don’t want any trouble. We’ll go ahead and leave for now, until Mr. Anderson tells us what to do.” Tom pulled a card from his shirt pocket and scribbled a number on the back of it before handing it to Meg. Both men turned to go back to their pickup, the younger man trying to convince the older to stay and finish the job.

  She waited until the truck was out of sight then pulled her cell phone from her pack. “Great. No service.” Might as well get back.

  By the time she reached the cabin, she was fuming. She tried her cell phone again and finally, thankfully, she had enough service to make a call. A couple of missed calls showed on her screen, but she ignored them and dialed Monty Anderson’s number. When his voicemail answered, she had to take a deep breath to keep from leaving a message that would scorch his ears. Leaving her name and number with a brief message was the best she could do until he called back.

  Unable to sit still, she paced around the kitchen table. Both bottles of water were drained, so she grabbed another one from the fridge and took a long drink. She rolled the bottle over her forehead, hoping it would help to cool her temper, and nearly dropped the bottle when her phone rang. She recognized the number on the caller ID and quickly answered.

  “Mr. Anderson?”

  “Miss Reynolds? Oh my, you sounded so upset.”

  Meg was hardly able to stand the patronizing voice on the other end of the phone. “I’m confused and a little more than upset. I found a surveying crew trespassing on my property. And they tell me you hired them. That you own it. Of course I’m upset!”

  There was the slightest pause before Monty launched into an explanation meant to appease her, but Meg knew a line of B.S. when she heard it. Then it hit her. He was Goldstone. Or at least, he had something to do with Goldstone Holdings. “Mr. Anderson. Answer one question, please. Did you file the petition against my grandfather’s estate?”

  The man on the other end of the call sputtered. She pictured him executing a classic spit take. If she hadn’t been so upset, she would have laughed at the mental image—she’d caught him.

  “Miss Reynolds, I…we… Our goal is simply to maintain the integrity of the property.”

  “And who is we?”

  “Our organization seeks to preserve open range land. I don’t know if you’re aware, but we’re losing valuable natural habitats to urban growth. We were in negotiations with Mr. Clark to purchase at least a portion—”

  “Bull. I don’t believe for a moment my grandfather was considering selling. And don’t you think a simple phone call or even a formal letter of inquiry would have been more appropriate than a baseless legal assault on the estate? I assure you, Mr. Anderson, like my grandfather, I have no intention of selling any part of the property for development.” She almost said something about her plans to use the land for education, but the horse’s ass didn’t have any business knowing. “And what need would there be to have the land surveyed? Your men damaged the natural landscape by clearing brush and rocks. I should probably be suing you for trespass and vandalism.”

  “Miss Reynolds, I was only acting on the behalf of our group. We have to be certain of property borders.”

  What a crock. Nothing about this conversation made sense. He was up to something, but Meg had no idea what it could be. “Certainly, your organization knows all of that information can be found at the Assessor’s office. I’m afraid I have to insist that you stay off my property, Mr. Anderson. If by some miniscule chance your petition isn’t dismissed, you can expect a full-out fight in court.”

  She ended the call before he could respond. Her entire body trembling, she sank down onto a kitchen chair. Bernie had assured her that this would all blow over, but something about Monty Anderson gave her a bad feeling. She was fully prepared to fight for her family’s property. The problem was, she didn’t know exactly who she was fighting.

  Chapter Eleven

  Shaking with rage, Monty sucked air into his lungs. “Stupid fucking bitch!” He paced the floor of the cheap motel room. For a nickel, he’d drive out to the property and kill her the way he should have to begin with. Why hadn’t he just had Kipp take care of her when he’d had the chance? Why? He knew why.

  Because he wanted that privilege for himself.

  The day was coming when Megan Reynolds would pay for all he’d lost. Stopping midstride, he slowed his breathing, a tactic he’d learned in “mandatory” counseling. The therapists at juvie had bought his innocent orphan act. They’d eaten up the chance to save the poor, wounded, misunderstood teen he’d been all those years ago. He had played the part perfectly. Said all the right things, behaved appropriately, toed the line for three years until he’d reached adulthood and they couldn’t keep him any longer.

  Yes, he’d made a misstep or two after his release and even landed in prison for a two-year stretch. But even that hadn’t been so bad. After all, he’d made some valuable contacts. The same contacts who were bankrolling the work at the property now. They knew his situation and were convinced, because of his pitch, that his plans for the land would provide a healthy return on their investment. He was counting on it. Didn’t want to think about the consequences if it fell through.

  He stared out the window at the mesas in the distance. Dammit, why had she chosen today to go poking around the survey site? His men had been out there for two weeks and only needed today to finish the preliminary work. It was stupid of him to assume she’d stay with the good Dr. Doolittle, but she’d spent the night at his place, so Monty had guessed she wouldn’t return to the cabin.

  He’d guessed wrong.

  One way or another, he would get it done. All he had to do was keep her away from the property for a while. He’d love nothing more than to get rid of her permanently, but now that she’d discovered the site and put the pieces together, he wasn’t anonymous any longer. Caution would be crucial from this point on. Meg Reynolds would not stand in his way. Not again. Yes, revenge would be sweet.

  Now he just needed to get her alone.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jake felt like pounding his head against the closest adobe wall. The drive over to The Pointe had been hell on his nerves. Kristen’s voice was beginning to have the same effect on him as fingernails sliding down a chalk board. Her incessant chatter had given him a headache, and he’d actually had thoughts of driving off the road a time or two just to see if she’d stop talking. Even his mother seemed thankful when they pulled into the parking lot of the casino and was a little bit too eager to get out of the back seat with her. Thank God his father had maneuvered Kristen to sit with Linda in the backseat before they left Big Rock. He’d said it was so he and Jake could catch up on sports, but they hadn’t been able to get a word in once she started. At least he’d been given that much space between them. Now he wasn’t at all sure what he was going to do with her if his mother abandoned him when she went to the casino. He cornered her when he helped her out of the car.

  “Mom, you’re the one who invited her.
I think it’s only right that you help entertain her.” He gritted the words out so Kristen wouldn’t hear. At least his father was doing an admirable job of diverting her attention while Jake spoke to Linda.

  “I’m sorry, dear. I know this is uncomfortable, but if you had just told us about Meg before I never would have asked Kristen to come.”

  Jake ran a hand through his hair. “You do not want to get into this with me right now. What right do you have—never mind.” He blew out a frustrated breath. As much as he wanted to let his mother have it over butting into his personal life, she was still his mother and deserved his respect. Besides, he was feeling a little guilty that he had dragged Meg into this in order to deceive his parents. The time would come when they could sit down and hash it all out. “Okay. So what do we do now? If Kristen doesn’t want to do the casino thing, I think you should at least come shopping so I don’t have to do it alone. I don’t want to give her any idea that I’m interested in her.”

  His mother touched his arm. “I’m sorry, son, and you’re right. I’ll keep Kristen busy today. Maybe she’ll get bored soon and want to go back. That seems to be a pattern for her.”

  Jake felt his shoulders relax a bit in relief. “Thanks, Mom. You guys go on ahead. I need a minute to call Meg.”

  His mother’s face softened, and she patted his cheek. “She’s a very nice young woman, Jake. Say hello for me.” Then she turned to join Bob and Kristen who had already started walking toward the entrance.

  Jake pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Meg. The phone rang only once then went straight to her voice mail. He left a message, asking her to call before disconnecting. Where was she? Was she all right?

  His mood grew darker as the day went on. Not only had he not heard from Meg, but he’d listened to Kristen’s non-stop whining since they had arrived at The Pointe. Both of his parents had tried to distract her, but she was determined to hang onto Jake’s arm and drag him around so he could carry her bags like her personal bellboy.