WindSwept Narrows: #23 Molly & Natasha

by Diroll-Nichols, Karen

  Her gaze had never left the cluster of thick trees to the back of the cleared area. It was probably just some stray cats, she thought, walking between a large red and green barn. Sounds of cows and horses drifted through the air, the smell obviously animal and straw.

  Her nose wrinkled a little but she kept moving toward the woods. Her gaze swept the expanse ahead of her, brow furrowed curiously. She tried thinking of the things that might be in the woods. Stray cats, raccoons…did Washington have wolves? She was pretty sure coyotes might be out there on the mountain. Probably…

  Her feet slowed a little when chittering sounds made her look up and around the low branches of the trees. She caught sight of reds and browns, small chipmunks scampering across the ground and into trees as she walked. She was pretty sure they didn’t eat chickens and wouldn’t make them nervous. And they probably wouldn’t be around if there was something out there that did make chickens nervous. And ate wandering girls…

  Taking a slow breath, she backed up, deciding it wasn’t one of her best ideas.

  The scream that echoed through the midmorning sent every little animal within a mile running for cover.

  “Tasha!” Dell was laughing, his hands leaving the waist he had gripped and quickly grabbed onto her wrists. Her hands had flown into the air, fingers arched and nails ready for a battle as she spun and stumbled back.

  She stared, sucking in air in thick panting gulps.

  “It’s alright, honey…it’s just me…”

  “Oh, god! Dell!” She pulled her hands free and threw them around his neck. “I was…I thought I heard something…”

  His head went up even as his arms wrapped her close to him. He scanned the area and turned them toward the buildings.

  “Let’s go back into the office,” cautiously watching the thick stands of trees, he guided her back along the path to the barn. “You should have come looking for me. I’m sorry, I was caught up in some issues that came up while I was gone. Let’s get you some water and a quiet place to sit for a few minutes. Then I’ll take you to my house.”

  “I’m okay,” Natasha bobbed her head. “I am. I collected eggs. I like that part. The chickens are funny and pretty and don’t take me into the woods, please.”

  “Honey, I won’t let anything out here hurt you,” he promised with a soft laugh. “The girls will process the eggs Monday. They’ll stay cold in the unit where you put the baskets until then. Into the SUV…I’m taking you to the house.”

  “You snuck up on me,” she accused now that she was breathing normally and feeling a little embarrassed. She pulled her shoulders to the side and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “I’m fine. I should have stayed in there with the chickens. They’re locked in ‘cause of things out there that eat them, aren’t they?” She demanded in a rush of words that were breathless.

  “Yes, they are,” he answered seriously, carefully keeping himself from collecting her back into his arms. She kept looking over her shoulder. “Coyotes, some wolves, bears occasionally and raccoons and foxes will take the chickens first chance they get. Free range eggs are a hundred percent better tasting than store eggs. I’ll make you some in the morning,” he promised, keeping his voice soft and calm. “We’re safe here, Tasha.”

  “Thank you…for not lying to me…about the animals,” she took one last look over her shoulder, the tree line no longer in sight because of the large buildings. “But the chickens are safe, right?”

  “Yeah…they’re safe…and happy. They come into the coops when the sun starts to set and the doors close,” Dell pulled the door open and lifted her to the seat, parting her knees and stepping between them. “I have a well-stocked kitchen and movies…or…”

  “Or?” Tasha smiled slowly, letting her head fall forward until she rested her cheek against his forehead. “I’m sorry…for screaming like a girl…”

  “You are a girl,” he reminded her, circling her and pulling her closer. “I couldn’t figure out what made you go out that way.”

  “Me and the chickens heard something,” she answered with a stubborn little frown. “I know I did…but all I saw was chipmunks…”

  “We get the occasional fox and raccoon try and break in, but the compound is reinforced underground to keep them from digging their way inside. The larger animals don’t usually wander this low off the mountain. There are elk and deer there for them to feed on,” Dell kissed her and stepped back, sliding her knees inside before he closed the door.

  Dell slid behind the steering wheel but didn’t start the SUV.

  “I haven’t spent a lot of time in the wilds,” she said quietly.

  “Honey, this is a ranch. Not the wilds and it’s not more dangerous than trying to cross the street outside the casino,” Dell pulled on her hand until she looked at him. “Just a different kind of wariness.”

  “You don’t think I’m a wuss?”

  “I don’t think you’re a wuss,” he said, struggling not to laugh. “Although, I have a feeling getting you naked under the full moon under the stars might not be in our immediate future.”

  “That is not funny.”

  Dell maneuvered the SUV in a large circle, guiding it down the gravel to the cut-off where he turned and headed over the small hill and then turned to the left.

  “I’m hoping I can redeem myself,” Dell said with a little grin when she looked over at him dubiously. “So camping is definitely off the agenda for a while.”

  “Camping? In a tent?” Tasha looked toward the grove of trees and then back at him incredulously. “I’m really not a camping girl. I’m…I’m a wi-fi kind of girl in a café enjoying a coffee and working on things.”

  “A tech girl,” he volunteered with another smile at her hurried nod. “No problem. I’m adaptable.”

  Tasha slumped against the seat, frowning at him. “That makes me sound unadaptable.”

  “Natasha, I invited you here because I wanted to spend time with you. I work outdoors, for the most part, but I’m not a survivalist. I don’t spend my life out in caves and tents,” he pulled beneath the wide arched covered carport and turned the SUV off. He left the keys in place, released his seat belt and stepped onto the gravel. She looked like she was still considering his comment as she stepped out to join him, her backpack in her fingers and jacket over her arm. “Are we okay?”

  “I think I worry we’re not compatible,” she said after taking a slow breath in. “Real world stuff…it’s so much different than…than sneaking a few days off in Utah with a sexy cowboy with really good hands and great kisses.”

  “Inside, Tasha, while I can still walk,” he told her with a laugh, his case in one hand and her fingers twined with his other one. “I’m pretty sure we can work on the compatibility. I’d be just as lost in a cyber café as you are in the woods. But here, I think we can find middle ground.”

  “It’s a gorgeous house,” she stopped before the three wide steps leading to a redwood porch that seemed to skirt the whole front and sides of the house. “I love the stones instead of boring siding. Is there a fireplace?”

  “Two…one at each end. I have an office at the back of the house,” he told her, opening the door and letting her go inside.

  “Hmm…you have an office here? Are there emergencies on a ranch?” Tasha stayed by the door, her gaze sweeping the large vaulted ceiling, the panel of windows at the far end opening to a backyard. She could see a hot tub and smiled. “It really is nice, Dell.”

  “Thank you. And occasionally things need handled that take more time than I want to spend in the main building. So I finish working here,” he stopped when she tugged on his hand and he raised a brow patiently.

  “The good thing about working at home…” she looked around, made an assessment and looked down the left front hallway. “Bedroom?” She met his grin and led him along the hall. “Is that you get to take breaks…”

  “Breaks…like…coffee breaks…” Dell suggested glibly, still grinning down at her. He reached into
the pocket of his jacket and pulled out half a dozen foil packets. When they entered the bedroom, he watched her dig into her pack, her hand pulling free with a matching half dozen. The faintest tint of pink brushed her cheeks when he tossed them to the nightstand next to a popular spy novel.

  “Only without the coffee,” Tasha suggested. She set her pack on the chair and laid her jacket over it. Her hands went to the buttons down the front of his shirt. “Unless, of course, there is a serious emergency and you have to get involved…”

  “I’m on a break and there are strict rules about an employee not missing his break,” Dell told her gruffly, deciding it wasn’t such a bad thing to rediscover the libido he had when he was twenty. “You get the most studious expression when you’re undressing me.”

  “Trying to focus so I don’t look too silly and a lot less sophisticated,” she told him, eyes rolling back just a tad. When he laughed, she relaxed a little.

  “I think I like you as you are…a sweet mix of both,” Dell scooped her up and dropped her to the center of the large bed, his hands quickly working her shoes off and tossing them lightly to the floor. While she was still laughing, his hands made short work of her jeans, four hands wrestling with the fabric.

  Tasha giggled and grabbed at her jeans, only managing to scoot backward on her butt to the other side. One of his big hands closed around her ankle while the other pulled the jeans free and dropped them to join her shoes.

  “Somehow that is not how I pictured this going…” she said, lashes blinking wildly when he took her glasses and laid them on the nightstand with his book.

  “You just have this look in your eyes that make me want to see you spread out and worn out…begging for me to stop…”

  Tasha felt her panties dampen, the dark look in his eyes holding her immobile when she had been struggling against him.

  “Begging?” One brow arched defiantly. She wasn’t sure what the response was going to be because the pounding began toward the front of the house, both of them jumping guiltily. Or at least, she tried, considering he was still holding her ankle.

  “Dell!” The pounding repeated itself, the voice disturbed. “Damn it, I know you’re there! I saw the strange SUV come to the office!”

  Tasha scrambled to her knees when she was released, her hand on his arm when the soft curse broke free.

  “Dell, it’s okay,” she scooted to the edge and quickly got her clothing back in place as he did the same.

  “What do you want, Randy?” Dell had gone back through the house, pulling the door wide. Bare feet were braced slightly apart as he faced the man who took charge of the office when he was out of town.

  “We have a problem out on the flank against the north fence. Some kids or…idiots…were out there joy riding, busted things out. I’ve got a couple guys out there now, keeping watch on the stock and we filed a report with the sheriff, but I need your contractor list,” the man stopped speaking, one hand up and on the door jamb and his head tilted slightly to peer around Dell’s shoulder. “Sorry. I didn’t know…I…ahh…thought it was a rental.”

  “There’s only a few that’ll come out on a weekend.” Dell turned his head, coming almost eye-to-eye with a pair of understand honey colored eyes sparkling behind her lenses.

  “It’s okay, Dell. You know I have stuff I can do while you’re gone,” Tasha lifted her computer to show him and offered a little wave at the man staring at her. “Hi.”

  “Oh…hi…Randy Trainor…” he straightened up, dusted his palm down his thigh and extended it for the hand she offered.

  “Nice to meet you, Randy. Tasha,” she smiled up at Dell. “I’ll set up over here while you work out the problem.”

  “Yeah…okay…I’ll go collect my phone and stuff and be right out,” Dell told him before reaching up and biffing the man on his temple. “Quit gawking. I’ll be out in a few,” he repeated, closing the door in the man’s face.

  Dell returned from the bedroom, fastening his belt and looked over at the woman sitting cross-legged on the floor, using the coffee table as her desk and wearing one of his shirts. She’d rolled the sleeves up and was scowling at the screen, her fingers moving with a speed he’d never seen in his office.

  He thought about her concern about their compatibility. She had a naturally curious nature that made him believe that eventually, she’d wander around the ranch as comfortably as she would a research library. But for now…

  He dropped to his heels at her side and waited. The little puckered frown cleared when she faced him, her hands settling in her lap.

  “There’s food in the kitchen. I have my phone, if you need anything, call me, alright?”

  “I’ll be here, Dell,” she promised with a laugh, leaning up and kissing him soundly. “Go fix your fence. And set a trap to puncture tires should they try it again.”

  Surprise filled his features even as he laughed. “Not a bad idea at all. I’ll try and hurry.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Tasha stared at the collection of information she had spread on the table. She’d grabbed a handful of inkjet paper from Dell’s printer in his home office and her layout had spread just a little further than the table. She winced at the mess and began collecting the pages with her personal scribble over them.

  Her finger tapped on the page from Utah and the stick figure she’d met at the ruins of the academy. She pulled her phone from the bag that held her laptop and considered the time. Barely four.

  She bounced to her feet, quickly cleaned up the living area and went to the bedroom. She found all her clothing and her sneakers. She had them on, tied and her jacket over her arm when she snatched up a blank piece of paper, jotting down a simple note to Dell.

  If she was really…really…lucky, she’d make it back before he was finished.

  A very unladylike snort left her lips as she closed the door and went to her SUV. Her luck had never been that good.

  What she needed was some time with Molly and a little more time in one of the offsite cafés where her footprint wouldn’t be tracked as easily as if she were attached to the office. And one of Faith’s special computers would be really helpful. Tasha sighed and hit the gas once she was on the highway headed north.

  She had ethics. And integrity. She knew that, despite the argument she had with herself and others on an almost daily basis. It was holding onto those principles when she was dealing with people who didn’t even know the words existed, that was the problem.

  Bad guys never obeyed the rules.

  First law of the world. She pushed a slow breath between her lips and pulled her phone free. She set it into the cradle on the dash and tapped buttons, smiling at the laughing photo she’d snapped of Dell in the airport in Utah when she’d discovered what he’d done with the first class upgrade. He’d been very pleased with himself. And too sweetly considerate.

  She cleared the employee parking security, one last rambling thought to thank Cassidy for sending her out to research the academy. With her computer bag hitched on one shoulder, she went inside and wound her way through to the security office. Delon was on duty…the problem was, he was…somewhere. And the resort was a big darn somewhere.

  So she’d try the easy way first and went to registration. She didn’t want to be a bother and Saturday night was nothing if not hectic. She stopped several feet away and decided hectic might be too mild a word for the evening. Several charity masquerades were in full swing, but they were also scattered through the area. One was downtown Seattle, another at the Lodge in Sammamish and a third downtown Tacoma. But a lot of people were using the resort as their hub.

  Tasha hung off to the side, letting the registration people do their jobs when she felt the hand grip her shoulder. She jumped visibly, exhaling in relief when she recognized Delon.

  “Don’t do that to me. You know I’m the nervous sort,” she poked her elbow back at him, but he effectively avoided her with a grab at her ponytail.

  “So tell me about the guy you were se
en with, missy,” Delon looped his arm through hers and dragged her off to the side.

  “Hey, hey, hey…I need to find Molly and you met him,” she scowled at him and faced him. “Can you get me the room number where she’s staying?”

  “You’re working the puzzle with the pair tracking her,” he said with a slight nod, his hand pulling the popular work pad from an inner pocket. He tapped over the screen and showed it to Tasha before clearing it. “We haven’t seen them since you were here this morning. Doesn’t mean they didn’t slip through, though. She’s got that biker guy watching out for her, as well as most of the staff.”

  “You guys get darned protective sometimes,” she looked him up and down. “I’m gonna drag you off to lunch next week and you can explain the behavior to me.”

  “Can’t…” he pressed his lips together and winked at her. “Guy secrets. I’d be drummed out of the man club if I squealed. Call me if I can help, Tasha.”

  “Thanks, Delon,” she grinned and went to the elevators, pausing at the in-house phones and lifting one. She tapped in the room number and waited. When the deep male voice answered, she almost hung up.

  “Hello?”

  “Sorry…this is Tasha Banks. I’m with security at the Narrows and I need to see and talk to Molly Fielding,” she said clearly. “Would it be alright to come up to the room? Or…maybe meet in the restaurant so we can talk.”

  “Hold on a moment, Miss Banks.”

  Tasha winced. Pleased he did not sound, she thought, biting the corner of her lip and wondering if she should have waited for Monday.

  “Please come up to the suite, Miss Banks.”

  Tasha listened to the click and sighed. She was still questioning her sanity when she stepped from the elevator and didn’t have to tap on the door to the suite. Molly’s guard dog was tall and well built, wearing a black t-shirt, jeans and a pair of black boots with silver buckles on the sides. He had dark hair that seemed almost midnight when a pair of silver-grey eyes peered at her, not a smiling twitch on his face. She gulped and was glad it had been a while since food.