“Doesn’t Brooke fly out to Cold Creek next week?” Annie looked at Kade.
“Monday. They’ll review the findings from her visits before the honeymoon, plot out what needs to be done. It’s good timing, as Jace has me traveling next week.”
They’d just finished when Brooke came racing in. “Sorry I’m late.” She looked at her husband. “We have a slight problem.”
“Which is?” Kade asked.
“I forgot we committed to a ride with Lainey and Cam this afternoon. They’re outside saddling the horses.” She shrugged, giving him an apologetic look.
“Guess we’ll pick up again tomorrow, if that works for you?” Kade asked Amber.
“It’s no problem.”
“Why don’t you go with us? We won’t be out long, maybe a couple of hours and you’ll be able to get back on a horse.” Brooke looked to Kade for confirmation.
“Well…I—” Amber started.
“Great idea. I’ll go get another horse ready.” Kade got up and headed out the door, not waiting for the women to hash it out.
“Why don’t you come too, Eric? It’s a beautiful day and who knows when the weather will change.” Brooke shot an expectant look at her brother, hoping he’d agree.
“Can’t today.” He stood and carried his empty plate to the counter, then glanced at his watch. “In fact, I’d better get going. I’ve got a hot date.” He leaned down and kissed his mom’s cheek then headed toward his bike without another word, leaving the women to stare after him.
Amber watched him leave, feeling an emptiness she hadn’t expected. Of course he’d have a date, and a hot one. She doubted he ever spent a night alone—him with just the television for company. He’d never been one to pass up a good time, and she doubted he had any concept of being lonely.
She thought of her parents and how they’d struggled since their accident a few years before. Amber doubted Eric had any idea of what had happened. He and her dad used to have the best times playing tennis, golfing, and trying to outdo each other on the BBQ. They’d been as upset with her as Eric when she left for New York. Of course, they’d forgiven her. He never would.
“Hey, Amber.” Brooke waved her hand in front of Amber’s face. “You with us?”
“Oh…yes. Let’s go.” She took the hat and gloves Annie held out and followed Brooke to the barn. A few hours of riding would do her good, and as the horses came into view, she began to feel the same excitement as always when she had the opportunity to ride. Perhaps she’d get a motorcycle and a horse as soon as she saved enough money.
******
He’d worn a heavy sweater, leather jacket, gloves, and face guard. Still the cold wind bit into his skin and chilled his body. Eric needed it. The brisk air, fast bike, and miles of road. He’d lied about having a date, needing to put some distance between him and Amber. She seemed to have accepted his presence with such ease, feeling none of the affects he did when they were together.
The fact being near him didn’t seem to bother her at all ate at Eric. It had been the same when she’d left him standing in the driveway the day they’d packed her car for the drive to New York. She’d never once looked back.
What the hell was wrong with him that he couldn’t accept she’d never loved him—at least not enough to stick around? There’d be no reason for her to have issues dealing with him now when he meant so little to her years ago. The truth about their relationship had never been easy for him to accept. As much as he’d hoped she’d come back, try to regain what had been thrown away, she never did. A couple emails a year and nothing more. She’d been sentenced to a spot reserved for those he’d purged from his life. It was a spot she shared with no others.
It hadn’t been a deliberate lie when he told Cam and Kade he no longer loved her. He’d been telling himself the falsehood for so long, he’d come to believe it himself.
Eric turned into a shopping center flanked by a gas station on one end and a convenience store on the other. In between stood a liquor store, nail salon, Mexican restaurant, and a bar whose main clientele consisted of locals—people who had nowhere to go on a Saturday afternoon. Perfect.
Almost all spots were taken. He slipped in between a couple of trucks and turned off the engine. Inside, all tables were full, leaving one seat at the bar. He grabbed it, ordered a beer, and looked up at the three TV screens mounted above the bar. One basketball game and two replays of older football games. Not much, but better than heading to his place and watching TV solo.
He sat back and nursed his beer, thinking of Amber and how best to deal with his conflicting emotions. There had to be a way to sever reality—knowing they’d never be a couple—and his body’s instantaneous reaction to her.
Eric tilted the beer to his lips, hearing the various conversations around him. From behind him and to his right, he heard someone mention the name Taylor. He swiveled in the direction of the conversation, this time hearing another male voice say MacLaren. In a corner sat three men, a fourth standing in front of them. None were familiar.
Eric twisted toward the bar while pulling his phone from his jacket and disabling the flash. Using his jacket to partially hide it, he pointed the phone toward the corner and took three shots, thankful the noise level in the bar drowned out the clicking sound. He slipped it back in his jacket as strong fingers gripped his shoulder and spun him to his left. Attached to the hand he saw a medium height man with a protruding belly and dark beard sprinkled with gray.
“What you got there?” The menace in his voice accompanied a stoney stare.
“Something bothering you, friend?” Eric asked, noting another man walking up behind the first. He saw nothing to indicate biker affiliations and recognized neither.
“Yeah. I want to know what you have there in your pocket.”
“No offense, but that would be none of your business.” Eric moved to turn back when strong hands slammed him into the bar.
“Hand it over.”
“What’s going on here?”
Eric recognized the voice of Buck Towers, the Fire Mountain Police Chief. He turned toward him, noting the civilian clothes.
“Hey, Buck. Good to see you.”
“Sinclair. Anything going on here I can help you with?” Buck eyed the men. At well over six feet and over two-hundred-thirty pounds, few people messed with Towers.
“It’s none of your business, mister. I’d suggest you stay out of it.”
“Well, you see, I don’t believe I can do that.” Buck produced his badge, watching as the man’s eyes widened. “You care to tell me what’s going on?”
The man backed away, holding his hands out, palms up. “It’s nothing. Just thought I knew this man.”
“Guess you don’t,” Buck said.
“Guess not.” He turned and walked back toward his friends.
Buck took the empty stool next to Eric, still keeping watch on the three as he ordered a beer. “What was that about?”
“No idea. Guess he just took a dislike to me. Never saw him before.”
“Do you recognize the others?”
“Nope. Glad you showed up. I wasn’t looking forward to taking him and his friends on by myself.”
“I almost didn’t stop. My wife is in the valley, visiting friends, so nothing to rush home to.” He took a sip of his beer, then glanced around the bar once more. “I heard about the suspected threat against Kade. You know anything more about it?”
“Wish I did. He spoke with the agent assigned to take his place, and all he knows is Kade’s name is circulating among the biker community.”
“Which is never good.”
“Not much we can do without specifics. We’re as prepared as we can get. You haven’t noticed any outside biker activity have you?” Eric asked.
Buck shook his head. “Kade would be the first to know if we spotted anyone suspicious.”
“Any chance you recognize the men at the table to your right?”
Buck looked over at the three men seated a
t the corner table. “They’re all locals. All three work construction. Why?”
Eric glanced at the table to see the fourth man they’d been speaking with had vanished.
“Probably nothing. I thought I heard them mention Kade’s name.” Eric finished his beer and set the empty glass on the bar. “Guess I’ll head out.”
“I’ll walk out with you. I don’t like what I saw happening and want to be sure you’re not followed.”
Chapter Six
Eric pulled into the ranch as Kade and the others rode across the north pasture toward the barn. He’d forgotten how good Amber looked on a horse—fluid, as if she and the animal were one.
“Hey, Eric. You staying for supper?” Lainey asked as she slid off her horse. “Annie invited all of us after you took off.”
“I believe I will.” Eric had made the decision while nursing his beer to approach his discomfort with Amber as he would anything else—head on—forcing himself to spend time around her. After a while, she’d become just one more member of the management team and not the woman he’d once loved.
“Kade, do you have a minute?” Eric walked up beside him.
“Sure. What’s up?”
Eric nodded toward the house. “I have something you should see.” They walked into Heath’s office and closed the door behind them. Eric pulled out his phone. “Look at this.”
Kade studied the picture. “Where’d you take this?”
“At the bar near the crossing. Do you recognize any of them?”
“The one seated with his back to the wall. As I recall, I met him at the same bar a couple of times last summer. He works construction. The other two I don’t recognize and the fourth has his face turned away. Why?”
Eric explained what he heard and what happened with the other man and Buck after he took the picture. “It may be nothing.”
“Doubtful. What usually happens is three or four will go inside a bar, restaurant, wherever there are people who may have the information they need. One will split off to ask questions, leaving the others to keep watch. Were the others wearing colors?”
“Neither Buck or I saw anything to associate them with a gang, although they wore leathers. You might have been able to recognize their bikes, but I had no idea what to look for.”
“Send this to me and I’ll forward it to J.D. Montalban. He’s the agent who they brought in to replace me. I’ve known him for years and trust him implicitly. He’s also a good friend of Nesto.”
Kade and Ernesto “Nesto” Salgado had known each other since before high school, working as wranglers on a ranch in Montana until they’d both enlisted in the Army, moving into Special Ops together. Nesto had gone into the U.S. Marshal Service after the Army, while Kade had accepted a position with the DEA. Nesto and Brooke’s close friend, Paige Wallace, had become an item when they met on the ranch the previous summer.
“I’ve got to tell you I sure don’t like the idea someone’s after you. Seems to me the DEA should send men out, give you the protection you deserve. After all, you are the key witness.” He slipped out of his heavy leather coat and slung it over his shoulder. “We’d better join the others before they come looking for us.”
******
“How did you have time to fix all this between the time we left and now?” Amber’s stomach growled as she looked over a spread including chicken enchiladas, carne asada, tamales, Caesar salad, rice, black beans, various salsas, and chips.
“I’ve learned to be prepared. You have to when most of your family lives within a few miles of you.” Annie’s pride in her and Heath’s blended family never wavered.
“I don’t know where to start.” Amber grabbed a plate.
“Follow me and take what I do. You won’t go wrong.”
Eric’s warm, silky voice came from behind her, sending unwanted shivers through her body. She shook them off and glanced over her shoulder at him.
“Sounds good.” She let him walk past her, took the same items in smaller amounts, and still ended up with a plate filled to overflowing.
“Sit by me. We can talk about some ideas I have for the Austin property.” Eric indicated two places on one side of the long table.
“All right.” Amber’s brows furrowed in confusion. He’d barely tolerated her all week, been rude more than once, and now he acted like none of it had ever happened. Her senses on alert, she took her seat, pushing it a few inches away, creating whatever space she could at the crowded table.
“Sorry I’m late.” Heath walked in, tossing his hat on a nearby table and kissing Annie on the cheek. He filled his plate and sat next to Annie, at the same end of the table as Eric and Amber. “How’d your lessons with Kade go?”
“Great. I can’t believe how much I improved within just a couple of hours. He’s a great teacher.” Amber had decided to frame the last target and put it in her apartment.
“She didn’t get through as much as I’d hoped. Something came up,” Kade added from further down the table. “We’ll work on self-defense tomorrow, and if there’s time, we’ll do more target practice.”
“I may join you for that.” Eric tipped up his bottle of water and took a big gulp.
“That so?” Kade asked.
“You said I could use a refresher, so…”
“Tomorrow morning. Seven o’clock in the family room.” Kade referred to the huge room at the back of the ranch house with thick carpet.
Amber and Eric groaned at the early hour.
“How about nine?” Eric asked.
“Or even eight?” Amber added.
“Wimps. Okay, I’ll compromise. Eight, but no later.” Kade rested an arm around Brooke’s shoulders. “And wear comfortable clothes.”
******
Amber fell into bed, tired from a day of practicing with the 9mm and riding. She renewed her love of horses and vowed to ride with Brooke as often as possible. It had been one of her best days in a long time, also one of the most confusing.
Eric had progressed from being cold and aloof to joking and conversing as if they were still close friends, at one point resting a hand on her shoulder before snatching it back. It had been heartbreaking how the camaraderie had mimicked their life together years before. Her body had buzzed from the mental, emotional, and physical contact they’d shared until she had to distance herself from him, no longer able to handle the conflicting emotions.
She rested the crook of her arm over her eyes, blocking out the light from the moonlight seeping through the curtains. What was she to do now? Her heart pounded hard throughout dinner and afterwards as they’d taken seats in the family room, at Heath’s suggestion, to watch a movie. There hadn’t been a good time to excuse herself without appearing rude. If Heath wasn’t her boss, she may have felt more comfortable making her exit right after dinner.
Eric had taken a seat on the same deep, comfortable sofa where she’d settled, resting a leg against hers several times during the movie. She didn’t understand how he could be so oblivious to the electricity surging through her each time his muscled thigh brushed hers. Worse, her breath had caught when he removed his heavy sweater after dinner, revealing a tight fitting black t-shirt that accentuated his taut chest. He’d filled out since college. His shoulders had broadened and his biceps were evidence of a committed exercise routine. She’d had to turn her back to him to keep from staring. Even now, laying alone in her bed, she felt her body respond and squirmed to get into a more comfortable position.
From what Brooke told her, he hadn’t been shy about dating over the years, and she wondered what he’d learned from his various lovers. By contrast, her encounters had been few and unsatisfying. She swallowed the lump in her throat and closed her eyes tight, wanting to erase the images of Eric with other women. Her musings could do nothing except cause more confusion. He no longer saw her as a desirable woman who caused his blood to boil, and she’d learned the hard way he wasn’t the man for her. If she ever did meet the right man, he’d at least be able to talk through th
eir differences—a concept foreign to Eric.
She threw off the covers and padded to the kitchen, filling a cup with water. Perhaps tea would calm her enough to sleep.
******
Eric woke early from a restless sleep. He’d drifted off sometime around two after trying to read, then watched TV—nothing calmed the intense desire he felt for Amber. He’d been so certain his actions the night before would lead to a lessening of his attraction toward her. It had been the opposite.
It was a mistake to sit next to her at dinner and during the movie. Her unique scent, the sound of her voice, and feel of her leg against his had triggered all the same sensations he’d felt years before when they’d been a couple. He grabbed his phone, knowing Kade would already be up and working through his daily exercise routine. Forcing himself to train with her today would be foolish.
“Hey, Eric.”
“I didn’t wake you did I?”
“Not likely,” Kade snorted. “What’s up?”
“I’m not going to make the training this morning. I’ll have to do a refresher after I return from Austin.”
Kade’s silence told Eric his brother-in-law’s interrogator mind had gone on alert—not a good sign.
“I get it, bro. You need to keep your distance from Amber. No problem. We’ll set something up on a separate day and time when you return.”
“Hey, I never said it had to do with Amber.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Eric sat on his bed and took a breath. “I realized last night that it’s better to keep my distance. Too much history and no future. It makes no sense to voluntarily be around her more than what I already have to in the office.”
“I get it, man. Don’t worry. I’ll tell her something came up. If I don’t see you, have a good trip to Austin.” Kade hung up as he walked into his bedroom to see a still sleeping Brooke. His heart swelled at the sight of her. He couldn’t imagine losing her, then being forced to be around her as Eric had to do with Amber. Life could be a real beast.
Always Love You Page 5
