“You sound like an investigator at a crime scene.” Jared said, looking her up and down, then adding “And you kind of look like one.”
Nicole was wearing her favorite vest, bright orange with pockets all over the front, it allowed her to carry all the supplies she needed to take samples in the field without lugging around a heavy bag. She knew it looked slightly ridiculous, but it was functional, and she wasn’t the least bit embarrassed about the way it looked, even if everyone made fun of it.
Looking around her, she saw an opportunity to give Jared a little bit of an education. “Funny you should say that because what you’re seeing is a crime scene, just not the kind you’re thinking of.”
Jared looked around him, seeing only the forest, the same forest he’d been looking at for days now. “It just looks like a forest to me.”
Nicole snorted, “It would.”
When it was clear that she wasn’t going to say more, he said, “Okay you’ve got my attention. How is this like a crime scene?”
Nicole sighed, “If you look carefully that way.” She said, pointing to a white spot on the side of a nearby mountain, “You’ll see the location of your family’s first mine.”
“So?”
“The tailings from that mine have polluted the watershed in this area and the land is slowly dying. Look around you again and you’ll see that the trees are stunted and there isn’t any undergrowth. It’s a crime that your family was allowed to destroy this beautiful country.”
Jared looked around him again and saw what she was talking about, but he still couldn’t admit that his family had done any of this. “It’s natural for the forest to go through changes.” He said, although even to his ears the argument sounded false.
“Believe what you want, but the proof is in the science if you’d just take the time to look at the facts.” Nicole knew Jared’s type all too well. He was so determined to believe what he wanted to that nothing she could say would change his mind, and knowing a lost cause when she saw one, she decided it was time to move Jared on his way.
“Look, I’ve got a lot of work to do and I don’t need you in the middle of it. Go back to camp and find something to do. Sam said that there’s a waterfall a few miles from camp, maybe you can find it.” Then she turned back to what she was doing, clearly dismissing him.
“How exactly am I supposed to do that? The trails aren’t exactly marked around here.” Jared said, back on the defensive.
“You could use your GPS.” Nicole shot back.
“My what?”
Nicole had come to the end of her patience. We’re all supposed to have a GPS unit in case we get lost. It should have been on your list of supplies.”
Jared began to dig around in his backpack finally producing a GPS unit still in its box. “I guess this is it.”
Nicole couldn’t believe that Jared had come out here so unprepared, but she should have known, he was the kind of man who never had to think about the realities of life. “I don’t suppose you know how to use it?”
Jared looked at the box, then back at Nicole feeling very stupid. “I’m sure I can figure it out.” He said, stuffing it back in his backpack. “I’ll leave you to your poop now.”
Nicole watched Jared walk away thinking that as infuriating as he was, he was a good-looking man, then pushed that thought from her mind and went back to work. Over the last few days she’d spent more time than she liked thinking about Jared, had even been dreaming about him, and it had to stop. If she was lucky, he’d go looking for the waterfall and get lost, then she could enjoy her summer without him hanging around confusing her.
Jared was thinking about Nicole as well as he stomped back to camp, again he’d let her get to him, let her make him feel like an idiot and he was tired of it. It was time that he took control of the situation, gave himself a crash course on surviving in the back country, then the next time she asked him one of those sarcastic questions, he could put her in her place. The first thing on his list was the GPS. It really couldn’t be that hard to figure out; after all he used a smart phone, so it couldn’t be that much harder.
As it turned out it was much harder than he thought, but by mid-afternoon, he’d gotten the hang of it. He flopped down in his chair by the now cold fire and wished that someone was there to start a new one, but the camp was deserted, Sam, Julie, and Nicole probably miles away. That was when he realized that it was the perfect time to do a little snooping, it would be hours before anyone returned, and he might just find something he could use to hurt Seth and the renewable energy project.
When Nicole got back to camp late that afternoon Jared was nowhere in sight, and for a moment she hoped that he’d gotten lost. But then she saw his backpack leaning against his tent and heard him coming out of the trees. His arms were full of firewood and he had leaves in his hair. He smiled at her, the first genuine smile she’d seen, then dropped the wood by the fire pit. A wave of desire stronger than any she’d felt before washed over her and she had to step back from him, afraid that he’d read her body language.
“I thought I’d get us some firewood, it’s something I can actually do.” Jared said, the smile still on his face.
Nicole wished he’d stop smiling, it did something strange to her insides. “Do you need help starting the fire?” She asked, then wondered why she’d offered.
“Well, I could use a few tips. This isn’t exactly something I do every day.” Jared admitted, not caring that he looked weak. He’d had a good afternoon, was sure that he’d found something that would help him bring Seth to his knees.
Nicole wasn’t sure what to think about the sudden change in Jared, when he’d left her that morning, he’d been the usual self-centered jerk. Now he was intently listening to her explain how to start and maintain the fire, even humming as he broke branches into smaller pieces to use for kindling. The change should have been a relief, but instead it made her even more suspicious of him, he’d clearly done something that made him happy this afternoon, but what she couldn’t imagine.
She knew that she’d have to tell Sam about Jared’s sudden change in attitude, should probably try to find out what exactly he’d done that afternoon, but it was so nice not to be fighting with him for a change that she let it go. When the fire was going well, Jared surprised her again by offering to help her with dinner.
When Sam and Julie got back to camp a little while later, they were surprised to see the pile of firewood and the roaring fire. Sam sent Nicole a questioning look, but she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, hoping that Sam would understand that they needed to talk later. Once Jared had finally gone to bed, the three of them walked a little way from camp to talk.
“What’s the deal with Jared? He’s suddenly Mr. Personable. What was he doing when you got back this afternoon?” Sam got right to the point, feeling like Nicole, that Jared had been up to something that afternoon.
“I ran into him or he followed me this morning, I’m not sure which. But I sent him back to camp and that was the last I saw of him until I got back an hour ago. He’d been out getting firewood.” Nicole said, thinking that maybe she shouldn’t have sent him away. “Sorry, I didn’t think about what he might do left on his own.”
“It’s not your fault and other than Seth’s notebook with the master plan in it, there’s nothing he could have found that should have put him in such a good mood. I should have left the notebook back in the village I guess.”
“Do you think he snooped in out tent?” Julie asked, a frown on her face.
“I think there’s a good possibility that he did.” Sam said, then looked at Nicole. “We’re going to have to make sure that he’s not alone in camp again.”
“Oh, no. No way am I going to babysit that spoiled jerk.” She said, shaking her head.
Chapter 5
But the next morning when Sam was gathering the supplies they’d need to take soil samples, he discovered that the notebook had been disturbed and knew that Jared had indeed been searchin
g their tent. He pulled Nicole into the tent and showed her, “I left it upside down and under all these other papers, but when I pulled it out this morning it was face up. I know it was Jared.”
Nicole was resigned to her fate, spending the day with Jared would be a real trial, but she knew that now she had no choice. “I get it, I’m the official babysitter.”
“I’m sorry Nicole, I know he’s a pain, but we can’t leave him alone again.” Sam said, feeling guilty but knowing that it was their only option.
When they came out of the tent, Jared was sitting by the fire, a cup of coffee in his hand. He still looked pleased with himself, like the cat that had caught the canary, he was all puffed up and smiling. Nicole wanted to slap the smug smile off his face, but instead joined him by the fire.
“I was thinking that you might like to come with me today. I’m just going to be watching a game trail, but it might be better than sitting around here all day.” She offered, putting a false smile on her face.
Jared was surprised by the offer, when he’d gone to bed the night before Nicole had still been openly hostile to him. For a moment he worried that he might have left some clue that he’d been searching Sam and Julie’s tent that they felt the need to keep an eye on him today. But he’d been careful, so he dismissed the possibility. He was tempted to make some excuse to leave so that he could get back and print out the pictures of the book he’d taken, but that might look suspicious, and he wasn’t sure that he could find his way back on his own.
Jared thought about his options for a second, stalling for time by fussing with the fire which had begun to burn down. Now that he had some valuable information, he could relax, well relax as much as he could out here in the middle of nowhere. If he’d been home he would have celebrated his achievement with a day of the golf course, or a trip to the hot springs a few miles from Juneau. But a day with Nicole, even as attracted to her as he was, didn’t seem like a way to celebrate so he quickly thought up an excuse.
“I was thinking I might try to find that waterfall you told me about. I don’t want to be under your feet all day.”
Nicole was torn, a part of her happy that he’d turned down her offer, another part of her disappointed that he had. Some of her disappointment was because again Jared would be free to snoop through Sam and Julie’s tent, but a small part of her was looking forward to spending the day with Jared. She really had to get control of the attraction she felt for him, an attraction that had led to a very vivid dream the night before, one that had left her feeling empty and restless.
“Oh, you wouldn’t be in the way. I’m watching a game trail today, so I’ll mostly be sitting around.” Nicole said, giving Jared her best smile.
Jared’s heart did a little flip flop when Nicole smiled at him and he cursed the attraction he felt for her. He’d had a vivid dream about her last night, a dream that had left him wanting her more than he’d imagined possible when he’d woken from it in the middle of the night. The temptation to throw caution to the wind, to see where this attraction might lead was so strong that he made a rash decision.
“Well, if you’re sure I won’t be in the way, it might be interesting to see what you do today.” He said, smiling back at her, but inwardly cringing, wondering what he’d just done.
That smile had Nicole’s heart beating even faster, a ridiculous feeling of joy spreading through her, followed by a stronger wave of desire. She’d gotten what she wanted, he’d be spending the day with her, but suddenly she wasn’t so sure she’d survive the day without making a fool of herself and wished he’d turned her offer down again.
“Well, okay then.” She said, standing up, needing to get away from him. “We’ll leave in a half an hour, I need to get a few things together.”
“I’ll be ready.” Jared said, flashing her a big smile.
An hour later they finally got on the trail, the delay partly Nicole’s fault, but mainly Jared’s since he hadn’t thought to pack anything for lunch. “Did you think we’d stop at a café or something?” She’s asked, unable to help herself when she discovered that he hadn’t packed any food.
But to her surprise Jared took her jab with good grace, “Another lesson learned.” Was all he said as he put together a sandwich and stuffed it in his bag.
Nicole wished that he would have made a smart remark back, but decided that maybe it was better if they weren’t sniping at each other all the time, even if it meant she’d have to fight her attraction to him all that much harder. Plus, as she’d been packing her tablet and field notebook, she’d decided that it was time to put Jared’s intentions to the test. He’d told Seth that he was going to have an open mind about the project, but so far, he’d done nothing that made her believe that he was telling the truth.
It was time to push him a little bit, to see if he was telling the truth. She had no doubt that Jared was a smart man, he wouldn’t be where he was today if he wasn’t, but like many rich people he was ignorant of the real world. Spoiled and pampered by their money, they often saw things only from their own narrow perspective. It was time to wake Jared Montgomery up and show him what his family had done to get to where they were today, and how it affected even him.
When they finally reached the spot that Nicole would be observing that day, it was mid-morning and the sun was becoming hot. They stripped off their outer layers of clothes and found a spot under the branches of one of the scraggly trees that covered the hillside. Nicole got out her equipment and settled down for a day of watching the stream where there was a convergence of several game trails.
They’d been sitting in silence for hours, and she was sure that Jared had fallen asleep when he said, “We haven’t seen anything for hours. Maybe we should move.”
Nicole jumped a little at the sound of his voice, goose bumps covered her arms, and she felt that familiar wave of desire. But she managed to cover her reaction by snorting and saying, “It wouldn’t make any difference, there’s not much living around here.”
“Then what good does it do to sit here and wait?” Jared was genuinely curious.
“Well, hopefully this will be a baseline we can use to gauge how quickly the population comes back after we clean up all the pollution.” Nicole explained.
Jared didn’t want to admit that he had no idea exactly what kind of pollution she was talking about, he wasn’t a scientist, had only taken enough science to get by, so he went on the defensive.
“Where exactly is this pollution? I can’t see anything. Besides what difference does it make if one little piece of land is polluted?”
Nicole looked at him shocked, “What difference does it make?” She couldn’t help but repeat his question. “Let me show you.”
Jared watched as she got a white bottle and a vial out of her backpack, then got to her feet and motioned for him to follow. He followed her down to the stream and watched as she scooped some of the water into the vial then opened the bottle and slid a test strip into it. She put the cap on and shook the vial, then set it down on a rock.
“That’s going to take a few minutes, while we’re waiting I want you to look at this stream and tell me what you see.”
Jared looked down at the stream, “I see water and rocks.” He said, thinking that it was a stupid question.
“What don’t you see?”
Jared looked at the stream again and realized that it did look strange, then he understood what Nicole was trying to show him. “There aren’t any plants.”
“Or insects, or fish. This stream is dead, which means that about a hundred species of animals, birds, insects, and so much more are gone too.”
“But this is just one stream. There have to be hundreds of other ones that are fine.” Jared protested, still not sure what the big deal was.
Nicole picked up the vial with the test strip in it, the strip had turned a deep shade of red, a red so dark it almost looked like blood. “Do you see this? This is arsenic, a very poisonous by-product of gold mining. In this case, the level in t
his water is toxic to anything living. I wouldn’t drink that water if you gave me a million dollars.”
Jared looked down at the stream again, imagining the poison hidden in its clear depths. Nicole wasn’t quite finished, “Let me ask you something? Where do you think this water is headed?”
Jared looked up at her knowing the answer but not wanting to say it. She waited patiently until he finally said, “To the ocean.”
“Do you eat salmon, Jared?” She asked, driving her point home.
“Yes, but only wild caught.” He said, sure he had the right answer.
“Well, let’s hope your salmon wasn’t caught where this water dumps into the ocean.” She said, then put the vial in her pocket and climbed back up to the tree they’d been sitting under.
Jared’s mind was spinning, somehow Nicole had gotten through to him, making him wonder just how much pollution he’d ingested in his lifetime. Suddenly feeling a little sick, he wondered about the water they’d been drinking since they’d been on the trail. They’d filtered it, but what if that wasn’t enough, what if right now he had toxins swimming around in his blood. He slowly climbed back up to where Nicole was sitting.
When he sat down, she handed him a stack of papers, “This is a summary and the first research results on the reclamation project. You might want to read it.”
Jared was more than happy to break camp and leave the next day, unable to get the pollution off his mind, he’d begun filtering his water twice but still felt contaminated. As they traveled he noticed the forest beginning to change, the trees began to look more normal, their branches stretching tall and straight up towards the sky like they were supposed to. When they stopped in a thick grove of trees for lunch, he heard birds singing and small animals rustling in the bushes.
It was so different than where they’d just been that it seemed like two different worlds. He took his lunch and sat down next to Sam, “How many places like that are there?”
Have My Twins : BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 16) Page 5
