The quick burst of pleasure he felt when she appeared in his doorway dissipated like morning fog under a summer sun. Mitch leaned back in his chair. “Nice to see you too, Linda. I must say, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Slamming the door behind her, Linda came further into the room. She placed her hands on his desk and leaned forward. “Austin was in your class Friday afternoon and I haven’t heard from him since.”
Serious doubts about Linda’s sanity swirled in Mitch’s brain. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a sleeveless print top, she might have appeared more relaxed if not for the grimace stretching across her face. He wondered if admin had done a background check before hiring her because cute as she was, and clever as she was, he had a feeling she was about to lose control. Unfortunately, she chose his office to have her meltdown. He held up both hands. “Linda, I can assure you, I have no Lafferty in my class.”
“His name’s not Lafferty.”
She leaned in so close he could’ve cast a glance down her blouse if he’d had the nerve…he didn’t.
“His name is Rockwell.” She followed his sudden glance at the papers in his Outbox and grabbed the top paper. “There, I told you.” With a snap, she threw the paper in front of him. “Austin Rockwell is my son. His friends said you gave the class a recreational activity assignment. They think he went to the Sierras. What were you thinking? There are bears in the foothills, all kinds of danger…” She jerked upright and turned away.
He heard a sniffle and immediately felt remorse for his thoughts of a minute earlier. She wasn’t a lunatic, she was an Overprotective Mother. He hazarded a guess. “Do you have any other children, Linda?”
She pulled a tissue from her pocket, wiped her nose, and turned to face him. “No. Austin is my only child.”
Picking up his red pen, he bounced the end against the test papers as he stared at a picture on the wall, his brain searching for answers. “Did you look for a note? Did he leave a message on voicemail?”
Linda shrugged. “I searched everywhere…nothing. Even the soda in the fridge wasn’t touched, a sure sign he hasn’t been home since Friday morning.”
Mitch stared out his window at the gardens below. Even though late on a Saturday, students strolled through the campus, on their way to a movie at the student center, or drinks at the coffee shop. So where was Austin Rockwell? He turned to face Linda as an idea occurred. “Did he know you went to San Jose this weekend?”
Linda sank into a scarred wooden chair across from Mitch. “I left a voicemail for him Friday morning and a note on the counter.”
Mitch snapped his fingers. “That’s it. He thinks you’re still in San Jose. Didn’t you say you were staying until Sunday?”
Linda pursed her lips. “Yes, I did, but I didn’t see the point in staying since the only thing I missed was a lot of drinking Saturday night and a breakfast speaker Sunday morning.”
“Well, there you go.” Mitch leaned back in his chair and draped his hands over the armrests. “He went camping for the weekend. No big deal.” He drummed his fingers as he waited for her response. Instead of replying, she stared at a picture of a girl standing next to Minnie Mouse on the wall. He leaned forward and tapped a finger on his desk. “Right?”
Linda dragged her gaze from the wall to his face, but her eyes remained unfocussed. “He’s a city boy, Mitch. He doesn’t know anything about camping…and he would’ve told me if he was away for the weekend. We had a deal.”
“Well, probably the guys he’s with have camped before. He’s fine, Linda. Probably with a gang of buddies right now drinking b—” Uh oh. He noticed her blue eyes widen and amended his comment. “—soda.”
Linda straightened. “I talked to his friends…Abbott, I think, and Brown. They’re at Lake McClure. They said he might be with somebody named Sydney. I don’t know anybody by that name.”
Mitch leafed through a pile of papers on his desk. He ran a finger down a list. “Sydney, Sydney…here it is.” He froze and flashed back to the handsome young man in the third row sitting next to the long-haired beauty. Overprotective Mother wouldn’t like this. “Sydney’s a female.”
Linda’s eyebrows disappeared into her bangs. “What?”
Mitch perused the class roster, not because he needed to confirm it, but because he didn’t want to see the fear in Linda’s eyes. Yep. Overprotective Mother was back.
“Do you mean to tell me my son, who has never camped a day in his life, is camping in the Sierra Mountains with a girl?”
Mitch reached across the desk toward her but she recoiled. “Being with Sydney isn’t as bad as you may think, Linda.” He tapped the roster with his finger. “Sydney Johnson is a Leisure Studies Major.” The sight of Linda rising from the chair reminded him of Rambo coming out of the river holding a machine gun across his chest.
“What?”
Luckily, Mitch’s chair had wheels because he pushed himself back from his desk in case Linda got the Rambo-ish idea of coming across the desk. Although, he was the one who should be angry, because he was pretty sure she was still disrespecting his curriculum. He took in her red face and wide eyes…now probably wasn’t the best time to bring it up. Better to save the matter for another time.
Mitch stood. He didn’t like Linda towering over him in her current state. He put both hands on the desk and leaned across to stare straight into Linda’s eyes. Their faces were inches apart. “Listen to me. My point is Sydney grew up in this area. She probably knows the mountains like the back of her hand.”
All the rage suddenly went out of Linda’s face and she slumped into the chair and covered her face with her hands.
She said something but Mitch couldn’t understand her. Women. One minute she’s about to take me out and the next minute she deflates like a day-old party balloon. Jeez. He went around the desk and rested his hands on her shoulders. Thinking to calm her, he lowered his voice. “Linda, he’ll be fine.”
“If anything happens I couldn’t handle it. He’s all I’ve got.”
Mitch rubbed her shoulders, and felt a knot the size of a walnut along the curve of her neck. He debated reminding her most students were completely on their own at this age but changed his mind when he heard another sniffle.
“Tell you what.” Mitch kneeled in front of her chair and pulled her hands from her face. “Why don’t we take a drive out to the lake? See if anyone’s seen them.”
Linda’s face lit up. “You would do that?”
Mitch stood and pulled her out of the chair, holding on to her hands. “Hey, what else do I have to do? I teach Leisure Studies.” He grinned at Linda’s wry expression before his gaze dropped to her flat shoes. “Do you want to stop at your house first to change?”
“No need. Let’s go.” Linda jumped up and was out of the door before Mitch rose from his chair.
They stopped by her car to pick up her purse but when Mitch saw the low-slung convertible, he insisted they take his vehicle into the mountains. He had jumped into the driver’s seat, inserted the key, and shifted into first when he realized Linda stood on the curb, staring at his choice of transportation with pursed lips and a wrinkled brow. “Do you need help?” Mitch stretched his hand across the bucket seats.
“When you said jeep, I thought you meant a newer-model, four-wheel-drive vehicle, not this.” As Linda shook her head, her eyes narrowed and her nose wrinkled as if she smelled something bad. “Are you sure this is highway safe? It’s kind of…old.”
Glancing at the dents and scratches on the faded green hood, Mitch’s chest swelled with pride. “This old girl and I have been together a long time. She’s an original World War Two model. I got her from Army surplus.” Patting the steering wheel, he dropped his hand on the seat. “Linda, are we debating the merits of my choice of vehicle or are we finding your son?”
Linda’s gaze met his. Coming to a decision, she propped one foot on the edge of the frame, grasped the edge of the small windshield, and dropped into the seat. She tossed her
purse in the back and pulled on the seatbelt. “We’re looking for Austin.”
“So I thought.” Mitch let out the clutch and pulled away from the curb. With a roar of exhaust and a quick shift of gears, they left Almendra behind and headed west toward the Sierra foothills.
Thirty minutes into the drive, neither had said a word. Sinking into the west, the sun shone in a cloudless sky. Mitch snuck a glance at Linda, who had pulled a pair of big sunglasses from her purse and propped them on her nose. One hand gripped the top of the windshield, her gaze focused straight ahead.
“Have you ever been to this area?” Mitch attempted a conversation. When he got no response, he continued. “The Pacific Coast Trail—”
“What did you say in class to inspire the kids to come up here?” Linda locked gazes with Mitch.
He glanced away first. The road was becoming narrow and winding as they left the valley area behind and entered the foothills. “We were talking about activities people do to relax. I mentioned the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Coast Trail, since hiking is a common recreation. I think we can rule out the Appalachian Trail.” He threw a grin in Linda’s direction but his humor faded at the alarm in her eyes. She was actually considering the Appalachian Trail! Oh boy.
He slowed and then stopped at a T in the road. To the north was Angels Camp, to the south Mariposa.
“Which way?” Linda’s gaze swiveled from one side of the road to the other. “How do we know which way they went?” She stood, gripping the windshield, and scanned the surroundings.
Mitch reached for her arm and pulled her back into the seat. The worry on her face almost broke his heart. He would have to somehow convince her the boy was safe. “You say his buddies are at the lake?”
Linda nodded, biting her lip. “You think maybe…”
“Sure.” Mitch nodded decisively. “They probably all came out here together and then split up. They’re a pretty tight bunch. I say we turn left.” He looked at Linda and patted her knee. “How does that strike you?”
She seemed a little more convinced. “Okay.” She burst out. “Why could I reach his buddies on the cell and not him?” Her hands kept making fists. “Do you think he had a—” her voice cracked, “—an accident?”
Mitch shook his head and shifted to pull out onto the road. “No, I don’t. Reception in these hills is notoriously bad.” He winked at her. “Stick with me, baby, we’ll find that errant son of yours—” under his breath he muttered, “—whether he wants to be found or not.”
****
Linda leaned back in the seat and took a deep breath. Mitch did seem to know what he was doing and where he was going. She studied his face as he maneuvered the vehicle through the tight turns of the climb.
He had distinct laugh lines at the corners of his eyes and a crease in his jaw when he smiled. He had a nice smile. The same leather thong tied back his hair in a small, neat ponytail and his hair wasn’t as gray as she remembered from their first meeting. She noticed traces of blond among the white strands.
“I’ve been gray since I was twenty.”
Linda started at Mitch’s sudden comment, as if he had read her thoughts. “What?”
“I said, I’ve been gray since I was twenty. Runs in the family.” He gave her a heart-stopping grin and a wink and she suddenly wondered what she was doing in a World War Two era jeep in the Sierra foothills studying the profile of a Leisure Studies professor.
Austin…she was looking for Austin. She stared at the trees along the road. When she glanced at Mitch he was still grinning. “What makes you think I was thinking about you?”
“You were staring.” One corner of his mouth went down and an eyebrow jerked up as he continued, “I’m not so good looking women stare at me so you must have been eying my hair and wondering ‘why doesn’t the old guy retire?’”
Linda ducked her head and pretended to inspect her nails. Thank goodness, he couldn’t read all her thoughts because she thought he was quite good looking. “Your face doesn’t match the gray hair. You have a young face.”
“Probably from hanging out with the kids.” Mitch laughed.
“You mean the girls, don’t you?” The words came out before Linda could stop them. What he did was his own business.
Mitch glanced sideways at her, no expression on his face. “Is that what you think?”
“I—”
Mitch suddenly braked.
Her body jerked forward and Linda thrust a hand at the dash to brace herself. “What the—”
Leaning forward, Mitch peered at a sign next to the road. “The lookout tower, I told them about the lookout tower Friday afternoon and how great the hike was.” He cast a glance at Linda. “I’m sorry. Are you all right?”
Her fingers still gripping the dash, Linda gritted her teeth, wondering if she would survive this trip with Mitch Collins. “I’m fine.”
Mitch wheeled the jeep into a small parking area and jumped out. “We can hike up to the summit, shouldn’t take more than a couple hours.” He stared at the sun, descending toward the horizon. “Barring no complications, we should get there and back before dark.”
Linda stretched her toes toward the ground and eased off the seat. She grabbed her purse from the back seat. “Let’s go, Leroy.” Slinging the purse over her shoulder, she started up the path and then turned when she didn’t hear Mitch following her. “What?” She propped her hands on her hips.
“You’re taking your purse?” Ankles crossed, Mitch leaned on the hood of the jeep.
“Well, I’m not leaving my valuables in that—” she gestured toward the jeep with her fingers, “—thing.”
He crossed his arms. “Linda, I’m not sure if you want to carry—”
Linda turned and headed up the trail. Everything was in her purse—cell phone, credit cards, lip balm… She was not leaving her Italian leather purse in an open jeep in the middle of nowhere.
Mitch caught up quickly. “Suit yourself,” he murmured as he passed her. She glowered at his retreating back but was distracted by the broad shoulders filling out the faded denim shirt. His butt wasn’t bad, either. She grinned and shifted her purse to the other shoulder. Linda Lafferty, lusting after the hippy college professor. Who knew? She hadn’t dated in months. She thought back to the uninspiring date with the attorney in LA on New Year’s Eve. Wait a minute…last New Year’s Eve. This year, her date had been a pint of peach ice cream.
They continued on the path, which wound upward through a stand of ponderosa pines. Through a meadow of wildflowers they strode, then an area of pebbles and rocks. By the time they reached the summit, Linda pressed a hand to her breast and leaned against a boulder. She closed her eyes, concentrating on returning her heartbeat to normal.
“Are you okay?”
Linda opened her eyes to see Mitch halfway up the steps of the wooden tower. She nodded, saving her breath.
“You stay down there. I’ll go up top and see if I can spot anybody.”
Excuse me? You stay down there? Linda pushed off from the rock and limped over to the ladder. Her favorite shoes had rubbed blisters on both heels. “I’m right behind you, Leroy.”
Mitch sized her up. “Linda, I forgot you’re a desk jockey. You should rest.” He continued up the ladder and disappeared into the structure at the top.
Linda gritted her teeth. Desk jockey, eh? We’ll see who’s a desk jockey, Mister Leisure Studies. She grabbed the ladder and started up.
Mitch stood with feet spread apart, his hands braced on the railing as he surveyed the view when she stuck her head through the opening in the floor. Panting with effort, she swung her butt around and sat on the floor.
With a grin, he stretched out a hand.
For a moment, she studied the long fingers, and then took hold.
He pulled her up easily, and then dropped her hand and pointed to the east. “Look at those lakes. What a view.”
Linda rested her hands at the top of the chest-high wooden wall and wondered how sturdy the t
ower was. When she raised her gaze from the tower to the lakes Mitch pointed at, she was transfixed. In the midst of the rolling hills, pines, and rocks, two lakes glistened in the setting sun. “I had no idea…”
Mitch placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed to her left. “Look,” he whispered in her ear, “two deer.”
Instead, Linda eyed the hand in front of her, and then the arm, and then the face inches from hers. She reached out a hand and touched his face, savoring the roughness of his whiskers. The surprise in his gaze when it jerked back to hers brought her back to her senses. “A scratch.” She rubbed his cheek with a forefinger. “I thought you had a scratch below your eye.” She scanned the ground. “Where were you pointing?”
Mitch straightened and moved away. “Never mind. They’re gone.” His back to her, he stared out at the view. “We should’ve grabbed some food on the way out of town.”
Linda sat cross legged on the floor and rooted through her purse. She grabbed two granola bars, held them out, and then burst into laughter at the excited expression on Mitch’s face.
“You have food in there?” He sat opposite her and ripped into the crunchy treat.
Linda smiled and pulled off a shoe.
His cheek bulging from the huge bite he had taken, Mitch nodded toward her feet. “I forgot you were wearing those shoes. We should’ve stopped at your house so you could have worn hiking boots, or at least sneakers.”
Linda shook her head as she eased the flat shoe off her other foot. “I don’t own a pair of hiking boots and I didn’t want to waste the time either.” She rubbed her heel and grimaced at the pain.
Before she knew what was happening, Mitch had reached across the small space separating them and pulled her foot into his lap. Linda jerked back and for a minute, her strength was pitted against his.
Until she relaxed.
“That’s better.” Mitch ran his rough hands over the sole of her foot and Linda almost purred with pleasure. The last time anyone had rubbed her feet had been…eighteen years ago, when she was pregnant with Austin. Cliff—she called him Roger—had actually taken time from his auditions and classes to rub her feet. That had been the good year. She sighed.
A Silver Lining Page 5
