by Cora Seton
Eve felt a momentary pang of guilt and prayed this gambit wouldn’t cause trouble for the members of Base Camp. Hansen Oil might try to retaliate when the show aired the images she’d brought. On the other hand, Base Camp was backed by Martin Fulsom, a billionaire in his own right. He’d be hard for Johannes Hansen to push around.
“Start with something simpler,” Anders said to Curtis. Behind him stood Greg Devon and Angus McBride. It was uncanny seeing all these people in real life after watching them on TV for months. “Miss, can you tell us your name?”
Anders Olsen was talking to her, just like she’d daydreamed about—
She stifled an urge to laugh. This wasn’t a daydream, and she couldn’t blow her cover.
Not yet.
“Evelyn. Eve,” she managed. She didn’t give them her last name. Instead she got into the act, looking around wildly. She and Melissa had worked on her story the whole way here. “Where am I?” She surged up again.
“Woah, woah!” Anders held her shoulders and gently lowered her down. His touch made her breath catch and her stomach do a funny little flutter. “It’s all right. Whatever happened out there, you’re safe here. Understand?”
She read true concern in his eyes. A fierce protectiveness in the lines of his muscular body. For a moment she was disconcerted. Her heart squeezed like it used to when she’d watched him on the television.
It was as if he actually cared.
He was a Navy SEAL, she told herself firmly. All the men here were. They were programmed to help people; it went no deeper than that.
She was nothing to Anders.
“We should get you to a hospital,” Curtis said.
“No!” This time she refused to stay lying down. “No, I can’t go to the hospital.” If they handed her over to the authorities, she’d have no reason to come back.
Anders searched her face. “Why not? What happened out there?”
“I—” Eve broke off, finding it hard to hold her train of thought when he was so close. Suddenly her mission to fight Hansen Oil didn’t seem so important. She wanted to spend time with this man. To get to know him—
“We should call the sheriff,” a woman said.
Eve turned. Avery Lightfoot. The last of the women from the beginning of the show who was still single. Where was Walker, the man she so obviously loved? The one who somehow never drew the short straw?
There. In the corner of the room, sitting on the edge of a large wooden desk watching them.
Boone’s desk.
Eve swallowed, fighting vertigo. Everything was just like it was on television. All the single members of Base Camp must have been getting ready to bed down in the bunkhouse for the night, just like they did on the episodes. All the married couples must already be in their tiny houses—except Curtis and Hope. At least there weren’t any camera crews present.
Then Avery’s words penetrated her brain. Call the sheriff.
No. Absolutely not.
Her fingers flexed involuntarily, her nails trying to dig into the wooden floor. Eve found her voice again.
“No sheriff! Please—” She’d practiced this part with Melissa over and over again. “I had a fight with my boyfriend. I jumped out of the car and ran.” She let her head fall forward, as if feeling faint. Anders caught her, his arm strong around her shoulders.
“We won’t call anyone,” he said. “Not until you ask us to. Take a deep breath. One thing at a time.”
“Did he hurt you?” Greg asked.
She shook her head. If she pretended to be abused, these people would want to get the police involved. Her story wouldn’t stand up to that kind of scrutiny.
Her boss had been suspicious enough at her sudden request for time off so close to Christmas. “If you’re unhappy here, you’d say so, right?” Kevin had asked yesterday morning when he’d summoned her into his office. “Usually people give more than a day’s notice when they want a vacation. I don’t have to say yes, you know.”
“I know. I hoped you’d understand. I haven’t taken any time while I’ve been at AltaVista, and a good friend asked me to visit last minute,” she’d lied.
“If this is about Hansen Oil—”
“It’s not.” She’d kept her gaze steady, but inside butterflies had played havoc with her nerves.
“I don’t want to hear you’re taking a job with one of our competitors,” he’d said, and she’d relaxed a little. If that was all he was worried about, she was okay.
“I won’t take another job,” she’d assured him. “I just want to see my friend. Get out of town for a bit.”
“Guess I can’t blame you. The weather has been dismal this past month.”
She’d practically run out of his office when he’d dismissed her.
Now she faced the men and women of Base Camp. She’d have to tell a lot more lies before she was done.
“Eve, did your boyfriend hurt you?” Anders pressed.
“No.” His concern nearly undid her. Up close, she could see the laugh lines at the corners of his eyes. The stubble on his jaw. She wanted to touch him—to confirm he was real. “He just gets so angry.” She allowed her voice to break on the last syllable. “He was driving fast—to scare me. He said—” she broke off. “He said he hated it when I argued with him.” Thank goodness Melissa had helped her come up with a backstory about “James,” her fake boyfriend. Eve had dated some losers in her time but never anyone who scared her.
“What were you arguing about?” Avery asked.
“His parents. We’re supposed to be visiting them—so they can meet me,” she explained. “The whole time I’ve known James he’s told me stories about how controlling his dad is. How he’ll lose his temper and break things or punch holes in the walls. I was already pretty nervous about going, and James kept picking on me.” She took a breath. It was a lot harder to lie to these people than she’d thought it would be. Before they’d just been participants on a show. Now they were flesh and blood. “He said I should have worn a dress, but it’s so cold out! He said it’s disrespectful I wore pants. That I’m always disrespectful. I said, ‘What is this? The sixties?’ James really lost it. He said he hates it when I make fun of him. Suddenly I knew what was going to happen. He was taking me to meet his parents because he’s planning to propose. He’s been hinting about it for months, and it’s nearly Christmas. He was going to make that his present to me.”
“He must love you,” Anders ventured.
“No,” Eve told him. This was the genius part. Melissa had come up with it, basing it on a movie she’d seen. Eve made sure to hold Anders’s gaze as she spoke. “No, he doesn’t love me. He only wants to control me. He’s exactly like his father—I don’t know why I never saw that before.”
Anders winced. She wondered why. Had someone tried to control him?
“I had to get out of there,” she said.
Anders nodded. “Of course you did.”
“How did you get here?” Greg asked suddenly. A good question, Anders thought. He’d gotten so caught up in Eve’s story, he wasn’t thinking about any of the details.
“Walked. I… I made him stop the car. I got out and started walking. I thought…” She hung her head again, as if too ashamed to go on. “I thought he’d pull over and park. Follow me and apologize. It all happened so fast I didn’t have a plan. Then I heard the engine. He—took off.”
“And he didn’t come back?” Anders was outraged. You didn’t leave a person miles from anywhere alone at night—
“Where’s your coat?” Greg pressed.
“I—I’d taken it off. It was hot in the car. I put it in the back seat to make room. I didn’t think he’d just leave me there,” she added. She wouldn’t meet any of their eyes, and Anders couldn’t blame her. She’d been through a humiliating ordeal.
“We need to get you out of those wet clothes,” Avery said, making an end to the conversation. “Sounds to me like you were lucky to get away from a guy like that.”
Eve nodd
ed, but she looked unhappy. Anders hoped she wasn’t regretting what she’d done. Avery was right; any man who treated his girlfriend like that wasn’t going to treat his wife any better. If this… James was here, he’d have a few things to say to the guy.
He wondered if James was looking for Eve right now. He might have driven off to prove a point, but most men wouldn’t walk away from a woman like Eve. She was pretty. Athletically built but feminine, too. When she got to her feet with Avery’s help, her damp jeans and sweater clung to her figure in a distracting way, and Anders felt a tug of desire low in his gut.
James was an idiot to leave her behind.
“Avery’s right. You should get changed,” he said. Eve was shivering. She was lucky she hadn’t gotten hypothermia.
“Curtis, can you make Eve some tea? Eve, I’ll let you borrow some clothing of mine,” Avery said. “Can you walk?”
“I think so.” Eve limped after Avery, following her first to where Avery stored her clothes and then to the bathroom. When the door closed behind them, Anders exchanged a look with the other men in the room, struggling to tamp down his libido. It wasn’t surprising to find himself attracted to Eve. He was looking for a wife, after all, and she was the right age range—and apparently single now.
Bad joke, he told himself. It wasn’t appropriate to consider her for the part. She was scared. She’d just been left unceremoniously by a man with whom she’d been in a long-term relationship. She must have been afraid she might come to harm out there in the dark and cold.
“What do we do with her?” Greg asked quietly.
“Send her home, I guess,” Anders said reluctantly. He didn’t like the idea at all. What if this James guy came at her again?
“Send her home?” Curtis, on his way to the kitchen, came right back. “Are you kidding?” When Anders shrugged at him, he lifted his hands skyward. “The Universe—it heard you. You need a wife—there she is!”
“We know nothing about her,” Greg pointed out.
“We know she’s been dumped, she’s freezing and she needs help,” Curtis countered. “She’s the perfect candidate for a quick wedding.”
Hope, who’d watched the entire proceedings curiously but so far had said little, sent him a sideways look. “Was that what you thought when you met me?”
“Pretty much. Along with, wow—she’s hot.” Curtis leaned down and kissed her. “I was running out of time, and suddenly this gorgeous, interesting woman crashes her car at the end of my lane. Of course I thought you might be the one. Luckily, I had a good excuse to spend enough time with you to see if I was right. We need a reason for Eve to stick around long enough for Anders to find out if they’re compatible.”
“I don’t know,” Greg said. “Don’t any of you think it’s a big coincidence that Clem arrived two days ago—Mr. I Know How to Get Good Ratings—and suddenly Eve turns up on our doorstep, too? What if he’s planted her to get you to fall for her—so he can ruin everything when she doesn’t show up for your wedding in a few weeks?”
Anders exchanged a look with Curtis. He hadn’t thought of that.
“That’s… twisted,” Curtis said.
“Clem’s twisted,” Greg countered. “Don’t tell me he doesn’t want us to fail.”
“Thank God he and Byron aren’t here—for the moment,” Hope put in.
Anders had been wondering about that. “Where are they?”
“Up at the manor. He wanted to stay and see what we do at night. Then he realized we don’t have beds squirreled away somewhere for important people like him to sleep in, so he had the bright idea that he could commandeer a room at the B and B. I told them there are guests staying tonight, but he wouldn’t listen. Riley will send him packing when he gets there, and he’ll be back to torment us.”
Anders figured she had that right. “We’d better warn Eve. She might want to leave sooner rather than later.”
“Forget warning her to leave. How are you going to get her to stay?” Curtis persisted. “I don’t buy that Clem planted her,” he told Greg.
Anders was torn. She could be a plant. But Curtis was right; if he let Eve slip away without even trying to connect with her, he’d regret it. He turned to Hope. “What do you think?”
“I think you should ask her what she wants to do. If she’s got an angry boyfriend trying to track her down, she might want to lie low for a while. This would be the perfect place.”
“And if she’s working for Clem?” Greg challenged her.
“Anyone working for a sleazy guy like Clem will show their cards sooner or later. Who could keep their story straight with all of us asking questions?” Hope went up on tiptoe to kiss her husband. “Come on, let’s get that tea for Eve.”
Shortly after they had disappeared into the kitchen, the bathroom door opened, and Eve and Avery came out. Avery looked pleased with herself. Eve looked self-conscious. She was dressed like Hope and Avery in a Regency-era gown, but it didn’t fit very well. Anders couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his mouth. He’d noticed the same thing with all the women; the old-fashioned clothing softened them. Made them look younger. More naive. He’d learned the hard way, though, that no matter what they wore, the women of Base Camp were fierce, smart, modern women. Not to be underestimated.
Still, Eve looked—sweet. And delicious, too. The lacy tops of her modern bra cups peeked out over the low neckline of her gown. Avery must not have had an extra set of old-fashioned undergarments. Eve had pulled her hair into a simple braid, but tendrils had come free and spiraled into curls. His body came awake with a strength that surprised him all over again.
Maybe Curtis was right; maybe he needed to persuade her to stay.
“Eve is going to spend the night,” Avery announced, as if she’d heard his thoughts. “James has got her purse and her money along with her luggage and outerwear. She needs to cancel her credit cards and get some sleep. Time enough in the morning to figure out her next move.”
“Do you have your phone?” Greg asked Eve.
Eve nodded and pulled it out. “It’s dead, though. I don’t have a charger.”
“I’ve got one.” Avery bustled off.
“Do you want to borrow my phone to get in touch with your boyfriend?” Greg asked.
“Greg,” Anders warned. He wished he could march the man outside and knock him into a snowbank. Curtis and Hope reappeared from the kitchen, Curtis gingerly carrying a cup of hot tea.
When Eve shook her head, Anders let out the breath he was holding. “Absolutely not. The way James was acting—I never want to see him again. I’m not going to spend my life with a man who belittles me. Who thinks he can tell me what to do.”
Curtis met Anders’s gaze over her head and waggled his eyebrows.
“Where do James’s parents live?” Greg asked suddenly.
She frowned. “I—uh—Bozeman.”
“Where in Bozeman?”
Eve blinked. “I don’t know the street. I’ve never been to Montana before.”
“Stop interrogating her.” Avery took the cup of tea from Curtis’s hands, gave it to Eve and ushered her back to her folding chair. “I swear they can’t help it. Once a Navy SEAL, always a Navy SEAL.”
“Won’t your in-laws be worried when you don’t show up?” Greg followed them.
Was he determined to ruin everything? Anders followed, too.
“They aren’t my in-laws. Not now. Not ever.” Eve took a sip of her tea, and Anders noticed her hands were still shaking. Was she cold? Or nervous? Finding herself here must be overwhelming.
“Don’t you think you should call them?”
“Why would she call them?” Avery turned on Greg. “Let James explain what he did when he shows up at their place without her.”
Eve stood up suddenly, tea sloshing from her cup. “I’m intruding,” she said. “You don’t need this kind of drama here. You don’t know me, and I’m taking up too much of your time. As soon as my phone is charged, I can call an Uber—”
“You’re not going anywhere tonight—and Chance Creek doesn’t have ride sharing yet.” Avery turned on Greg. “Everyone’s going to back off, let you drink your tea and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow we’ll sort out what to do next.”
Eve shook her head. “I don’t want to be any trouble.”
Greg had the sense to look shamefaced. “I didn’t mean—”
“You are definitely staying,” Anders spoke up. “Avery’s right; it’s too late for you to go anywhere tonight. Drink your tea and then come to the kitchen, and we’ll see what Kai has in the fridge. Kai is our cook.” He paused. “We haven’t really introduced ourselves, have we? I’m Anders Olsen. This is Curtis Lloyd, Greg Devon, Angus McBride, Hope Lloyd and Avery Lightfoot. That’s Walker Norton back in the corner,” he added. Walker hadn’t said a thing since Eve’s arrival. Anders wondered what the quiet man was thinking.
“I know.” Color traced through Eve’s cheeks. “I watch Base Camp every week.”
Had she blown it? Should she have pretended not to know them?
No, she decided. That would have been the stupid move. Even people who never watched the show knew the names of the men and women it featured.
“When I opened my eyes and found myself here,” she added quickly, “I thought I was dreaming—but my feet hurt so badly I knew it couldn’t be a dream.”
Did they know she was lying? They had to. She felt like her cheeks were burning, and in a minute, if she wasn’t careful, she’d start stammering. She hated pulling one over on these kind people.
It was only for a little while, she reminded herself. Just until she could find a way to get on camera and present the images she’d taken from AltaVista. First she needed to charge her phone. She’d had to let it run out, or everyone would have wondered why she didn’t simply call a cab when she found herself out on the street. Once charged, she could access the image files. Then she’d have to figure out how to present them while the show was being filmed—in a way too compelling to edit out.
Melissa would be wondering what was happening, too. As soon as her phone charged—and she had a minute alone—she’d text her to let her know she was okay.
