Rewarding Redemption

by Bonnie R. Paulson

  She was his first kiss and the memory hadn’t dimmed a bit.

  Chapter 3

  Jenny

  Wiping at the fine perspiration on her brow, Jenny stopped and leaned against the rough bark of a pine tree.

  Running away at the age of ten and getting to the Salish reservation was a lot easier when she’d crossed plains and hadn’t been worried about people chasing her. Hiking trails crawled up and down the mountain ridges. But the trails didn’t lead anywhere in particular and Jenny’s route moved northwest.

  She crossed a few paths and finally went rogue, picking her way through bushes and sporadic clearings. Judging by the sun, she was going in approximately the right direction. Under the forest canopy though she couldn’t tell for sure and confusion and fatigue were setting in.

  And she had to pee again.

  Her pay-as-you-go phone didn’t have a signal.

  Stupid, cheap thing.

  She refused using anything which required credit and most of the time the quality of what she ended up buying was less than satisfactory. She only had a post office box in Missoula because she needed an address to own a car.

  If she could get to the reservation, she could work at the Redbird casino. She worked there before as a dishwasher and they assured her a job should she ever wander that way again.

  Jenny desperately needed some time to shore up her financial reserves and get a good look at the Colby area.

  And… she needed to get in touch with Mary Caracus. The girl didn’t know it, but they were sisters. If Mary knew anything more about Devlyn, or why he had become the way he had, Jenny would be willing to cut her in on the treasure. Heck, maybe Mary already knew where the Caracus treasure was hidden.

  Maybe Mary had already claimed it.

  That particular possibility made Jenny’s desperation claw its way up her back.

  Jenny didn’t live on the run her entire life to let anyone else get that money. She deserved it. She’d earned it.

  Who was she kidding? She didn’t want the money. She didn’t have a terrible life. She just wanted the treasure her father had made her leave behind. The one thing that mattered since her mother’s death. A chance at one last connection with Mom.

  The sun reached its zenith in the sky, unrelenting in its energy. Jenny hated the bright exuberance as she tried slowing her breathing.

  A snap of a twig in the distance carried over the unmoving forest air. Her breath caught and she dug her fingernails into the uneven texture of the bark. She was feet from another trail, and as soon as she caught her breath she could start climbing up the rocky terrain.

  Calm down, Jenny. No one can find you. You left the car. They don’t know where you are. You’re not even on any distinct paths. Breathe. She closed her eyes and blew hard through her lips.

  She was going crazy. She must be. Her paranoia had reached some kind of a level where it created hallucinations. She became that woman who claimed aliens impregnated her while she ate at the local diner.

  Jenny hung her head, pushing at her thick braid, tendrils clinging to her damp neck.

  The reservation couldn’t be too far away.

  If someone followed her, hopefully they would be noisy. She could slip behind a bush or something to hide.

  Pushing off from the tree, she lifted her gaze, ready to tackle the trail slowly rising up the mountain side.

  And froze.

  A man stood before her, one hand to the side and the other positioned on a gun holster at his waist. Dark, long hair hung past the dingy collar of his brown duster. A red and white band encircled his forehead around to the back. His proud brow and austere cheekbones heightened the brightness of brown eyes, narrowed with intense hatred.

  Had the gang found her?

  “Who are you?” Jenny’s only weapon was pepper spray she stole from a Wal-Mart on the other side of the state. She never had to use it and she probably wouldn’t get to then either. The stupid container was in the back pocket of her pack.

  “They call me Bear Claw.” He lifted his chin, sparse sunlight highlighting his nose, leaving his eyes in shadow.

  Jenny curled her lip and arched her eyebrow. “Okay, but what did your parents name you?” Her last stay on the Salish reservation had enlightened her as to the ways of boys –even Salish boys liked to play bigger than they were.

  Plus, ‘don’t show fear’ was her motto.

  He ignored her question. “My father told me stories of the broken child who would return one day. She would be searching for the rewards of her father’s evil deeds. He promised she would come by the borders out of memory and she would know where to find the white man’s riches.” He stepped closer, his dirty black work boots the opposite of moccasins, heavy and loud as they trod on the forest floor.

  “Why are you talking like that? You sound like a bad imitation of The Last of the Mohicans.” Jenny played stupid, but only because she couldn’t see a direct route away from him. “Start over. You want a child? ‘Cause I don’t have one. And you and I are not making one.” How was that for bravado?

  Within arms’ reach, he stretched out his hand so fast she didn’t have a chance to duck. His palm cracked into the side of her cheek, the resounding smack as startling as the intense pain shooting across her face. “No! You and your razor tongue. I want the treasure and I know you’re the broken child. You have the Caracus eyes.”

  How did he know about Devlyn’s eyes? Pressing her fingers to her stinging cheek, Jenny turned halfway from him so her shoulder would bear the brunt of any more of his assaults.

  There was nowhere to run.

  The path she wanted to follow faded behind him and curved to her right, but he moved to stand in front of her, blocking either direction. With his proximity, she didn’t have far to go.

  Over his shoulder, the movement of a large painted horse caught her eye. The animal lifted its head to slowly glance over its shoulder and then returned to grazing on grass at the base of the tree it was tied to. No help there.

  He moved close enough the odor of chewing tobacco hit her hot in the face. “That money could save this reservation, save my family’s honor. You’re going to give it to me.”

  “I don’t have it.” Jenny held her hands to her sides. “Seriously, you think I have that much money on me? Are you crazy?” Probably not what she should have said considering his eyes darkened and his mouth tightened.

  He stepped closer, if that was possible. He slowly brought up his forearm and pressed the solid line into her neck. “If you don’t give me what I want, I’m going to kill you.” He applied pressure to her airway, his eyes trained on hers.

  Holding his gaze, Jenny shook her head as much as his hold would allow – which wasn’t much more than a centimeter. “No, you won’t.”

  He pressed harder, growling. “Try me.”

  Bringing her arms up to his chest, she pushed him and gained an extra bit of space to inhale quickly and scream. No one would hear her. She wasn’t stupid, but she had to scream, to release her mounting terror so she could figure out a way to escape.

  He moved toward her, snarling. Jenny ducked, missing his swinging fist seconds before it connected with the tree. She rolled to the side, arms curled around her head for added protection, but she didn’t move fast enough.

  Bear Claw’s bodyweight slammed on top of her and he grunted as his hands sought more of a handhold on her body. “Hold still, you stupid —”

  And then he was gone. The crunching sound of brush and body as he landed a few feet away pulled her from her hiding position under her meager arms.

  The sight of a new stranger with a lighter visage had her scrambling backwards until her shoulder blades connected with the rounded surface of a sapling. She stared up at the man, familiar features of a memory etched into the chiseled lines of his face.

  A very attractive man.

  With a badge and a gun.

  Just her luck.

  Chapter 4

  Jason

  Closin
g in on Jenny wasn’t as easy as Jason first imagined. He stopped, searching left and right, spinning in a circle. All of the trees and bushes looked the same. The trail he straddled didn’t give him any indication of a previous hiker. He clenched his jaw in frustration.

  Then her scream sent him crashing through the forest, off any beaten path, and almost on top of her before he figured out exactly where she was and what was going on.

  The dirty grease bag wrestling with her didn’t weigh enough to give Jason much pause as he tossed him across the clearing.

  And suddenly, he and Jenny were studying each other. He hadn’t seen her in years. Grown into her height, Jenny’s curves rounded out the sharp angles he remembered. She’d grown into one helluva beautiful woman. Her face had lost the glow of innocence and she watched him with a suspicious narrowing of her eyes.

  Every surveillance image he’d ever seen dulled in comparison to the real Jenny Caracus.

  Looking him over, Jenny’s jaw dropped when her gaze fell upon his badge. She shut her mouth and lifted her chin, defiance strong in her straight shoulders.

  Jason reached up and slowly removed the badge and tucked the medal into his pocket. How many times had he imagined standing just like that? The moments before their first words in years? “Hi, Jenny.”

  Taken off guard, her gaze flew to his face and she jerked back. “How do you know my name?”

  Even her voice matched the soft cadence of her mother’s. “You look so much like your mom.” He stepped closer, but not too close with her skittish eye movement and shaking hands. Why wasn’t he able to rush to her side and pull her into his arms? He pulled the dreaded cowboy hat from his head, allowing cool air to brush his brow.

  “You knew my mom?” Her choked whisper gave away her internal vulnerability. Like giving in to a torrent of attacks, Jenny drew her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Sadness crippled her.

  Jason moved two steps closer and crouched. He picked a long blade of grass and twisted the green line between his fingers. “Don’t you remember me?”

  She lifted shining blue eyes and studied him. Jenny searched his face, her intensity twisted something in his stomach and the muscles in his back tightened. After a long, drawn out pause, she shrugged, looking away. “Maybe? I don’t know. My life when I was younger is a huge blur most of the time. Only specific things stand out.”

  Jason ignored the sting of her comment that he wouldn’t stand out. She was the only thing that kept him going as a child of the Caracus gang. He swallowed the pain back. “I’m sorry your mom died.”

  Jenny laughed, the sound mirthless. “Wow, that was a long time ago. If you knew her, why didn’t you know about her death before now?”

  “I was there at her funeral. I sat behind you. But… I never had a chance to tell you I was sorry. She was a good lady.” He didn’t take offense to her defensive tone.

  She lowered her head. “The best. She was the best.”

  And he couldn’t disagree with her. Ellsbeth Caracus was the best. Her sickness and death rocked the entire community and destroyed what little humanity there was in Devlyn Caracus. That man followed his hobby and ran straight down the dark road of debauchery, taking many men with him.

  Jason’s daddy had been one of them.

  “Is she why you changed your name?” He shifted to sit on the hard ground. At the rate they were going, they might be there a while. He ignored the unconscious man lying by the edge of the clearing.

  Jenny glanced at him, then back at her hands. “No, but she’s why I chose Ellsbeth for my last name, obviously. I changed my name because I didn’t need to fight Devlyn every chance I got, even if he wasn’t there.” She straightened her legs, resting her head against the tree. “When Caracus came up in conversation, people found a reason to hate again. If I carried that name with me…” She shook her head, letting the rest of her sentence die.

  “Yeah, I understand. Mendez, remember?” He pointed at his chest, a wry grin curving his lips.

  After a moment of silence, Jenny’s face lit with recognition. “Oh my gosh, I knew I recognized you. The little Mendez boy. Mom sure liked you. She said you were so polite.” Her excitement softened her features and the split second she let her guard down gave Jason a glimpse at the girl he remembered.

  He couldn’t help himself. He reached out, tracing a thumb down her smooth cheek. “There she is.”

  Smile fading, Jenny watched him, transfixed. “Who is?”

  “The girl I had to find.” His murmur barely stirred the air between them. Had he really just said that? If he wasn’t careful, all his cards would show at once.

  “Why did you have to find me?” Her eyes welled with unshed tears. “What exactly are you doing here?”

  “I’ve been looking for you for a long time, Jenny. Years, in fact.” How much more did she want him to confess? That many nights he lay awake trying to envision what she looked like as an adult? Or he couldn’t stop thinking about her eyes – which hadn’t changed, by the way.

  “Why?” She whispered. A single tear rolled down her cheek. How much more pain could the woman handle?

  “You don’t know? Come on, you’re pretty smart.” Gently teasing her, he wanted her to guess, to see his feelings for her. Feelings he’d never been able to ignore.

  After a moment, her eyes hardened and she pulled from his touch. Dashing at her cheeks, she stared down, biting her words as she spoke. “You’re after a treasure, too, huh? Same as him?” She jerked her head toward the fallen man. “I don’t have it.”

  Of course, she would jump to that conclusion. Jason’s pride refused to let him confess everything to her.

  He glanced at the man, narrowing his eyes as he recognized the features of Bear Claw, the Salish contact for the Caracus gang. As Jason searched for Jenny over the years, he ran into Bear Claw more often than he cared to admit.

  Both of them were after the same woman for different reasons.

  Jason was after the treasure. But Jenny would never believe he sought the treasure so he could keep her.

  Chapter 5

  Jenny

  Everyone wanted her money, even the man she knew as a young girl.

  Jason Mendez.

  Oh man, she couldn’t place him at first, but as he spoke, his expressions changed the angles of his face enough she couldn’t help but remember the shadow she always had.

  He used to follow her everywhere.

  Everywhere.

  His dark eyes watched her, made sure she was safe. He never creeped her out or scared her.

  Shortly after her mom died and before Jenny ran away, a group of girls surrounded her, taunting her for her mother’s death and Jenny’s dirty clothes. Her dad hadn’t done laundry at the time. Jenny hadn’t yet been disillusioned with the world and she remembered the fear.

  Jason arrived as if conjured by her scared whimpers. He wrapped his sturdy arm around her and guided her from the immediacy of the cruel girls. He hadn’t said a word, just ushered her home where her dad lay in a drunken stupor. Jason even tucked her into bed later that night after feeding her dinner.

  Not much older than her, maybe a year or two, he suffered harsh beatings from his dad and didn’t talk much.

  When Jason was there, she never felt safer.

  Even with a badge, she couldn’t shake that security with him once she recognized who he was.

  Unfortunately, the Jenny she used to be and the Jenny she’d been forced to become were two different people. They weren’t young anymore. She’d had to protect herself for far too long.

  “I really don’t have any treasure.” She entangled her fingers together and shook her head slowly as she looked down. Being with him reminded her that not everyone from the Caracus past was ‘bad.’ Lying to him hurt, like he knew the real her and didn’t judge. He was the same.

  Waving toward her pack, she resigned to give him whatever he wanted. They were friends from long ago and she didn’t have anyone anymore. He was mo
re valuable to her than she could let on. “If you want to go through my things, you’re welcome to. I have a few items that might be worth a couple bucks, but that’s it.” And she wasn’t lying. She didn’t have the Caracus treasure – yet. If she did, she certainly wouldn’t be hiking through the woods to escape a gang after her for money and cops after her for theft and shoplifting.

  She was the most exciting of outlaws. If she were by herself, she’d snort at her joke.

  He nodded, dropping further into a crouch. The square shape of his fingertips lent a look of even more strength to his hands which Jenny couldn’t help glancing at a few times as they rested between his knees.