Daring to Fall

by T. J. Kline

  “She knows what she’s doing.” Andrew’s brows shot up in interest at Ben’s adamant proclamation. “I met her yesterday when I dropped off the kitten,” he clarified as he shoved the paper away. “She seemed legit. Said she’s a vet. I didn’t question it since she knew exactly what to do with that kitten.”

  “A vet? She told me she used to be a trainer at some big animal park.” Andrew frowned slightly and Ben wondered why Emma had lied about her experience.

  Ben’s father frowned into his mug. “Doesn’t matter, either way. What I want to know is how that bobcat got out in the first place.”

  “She said he wasn’t one of hers.” Ben glanced at his brother. “And that he was too young to have been away from its mother, let alone climb a tree at all. She thinks someone put him there.”

  “Why?”

  Ben shook his head. “No clue. But she’s not happy about these.” He tapped the paper. His father rubbed at his chin thoughtfully and glanced down at the newspaper again. “Besides, you know as well as I do that the Daily isn’t exactly printing hard news these days. The articles they printed about Grant were total crap. They don’t give two shits about the truth or whose reputation they damage in the process anymore. I’m beginning to wonder if they aren’t just saying anything to try to sell some papers. ”

  He stood up, trying to ignore the odd looks his brother and father were shooting his direction.

  “Hmm, you’re awfully worked up about this,” Andrew teased. “You going to complain to the editor? Write a letter of protest?”

  “Shut up.” Ben shoved at his brother’s shoulder as he walked past.

  “It wouldn’t hurt for someone to take another look at the place,” their father suggested. “If everything is fine, then you could contact the paper to set the record straight and set some minds at ease in the town, Andrew. People are getting really worried about this.”

  “Hey!” Andrew exclaimed. “I know how to do my job, Dad.”

  Their father rolled his eyes and held up a hand when Andrew started to say more. “I know that, but it’s not hard to make everything look like it’s on the up and up when she knows you’re coming to make an inspection. Maybe Ben here could swing by and take a look, see if he sees anything out of the ordinary. Just tell her you’re checking up on the kitten.”

  Ben glowered at his father. “Like I have time for that. I have to get to work. Besides, it’s not my job.”

  His father shrugged nonchalantly. “Whatever you say, son. It’s not like keeping this town safe is your duty or anything.”

  Ben ignored his father’s pathetic attempt at a guilt trip as he tugged his jacket from the back of the chair and reached for his keys on the counter before heading outside to his truck. As much as he might like to visit Emma Jordan, he got the distinct feeling that Fireball didn’t appreciate unannounced visitors.

  Then again, his dad did have a point. Looking out for the people in this town was his job and he didn’t want any more close calls with bobcats. Maybe an unannounced visit wouldn’t be a bad idea. If she’d been expecting the inspection, she’d have put her best foot forward. Things had seemed on the up and up yesterday but she’d also made sure he stuck close to her. Being suspicious by nature, now he was curious as to why.

  Ben glanced at his watch. It wasn’t like they were actually expecting him at the station for another few hours, he’d just said that to avoid his dad pinning him down for one of the never-ending chores around the ranch. “Hey, son?” His father poked his head out the screen door. “Don’t you go letting her convince you she’s the victim here. You keep your mind on what’s best for this town as a whole, not just one woman, okay?”

  “Got it.” What was that supposed to mean?

  Ben didn’t even want to even think about how his father seemed to read his mind and know where he was planning on going. The last thing he needed right now was to find himself swayed by some sob story that might not be true. He didn’t buy the article in the paper but he didn’t know Emma Jordan either. This should be a simple solution. If there was no truth to the article, he’d be able to nip what he worried would turn into a witch hunt in the bud before people started taking sides. Hidden Falls didn’t need that kind of trouble. Neither did he.

  But Ben couldn’t shake the feeling that Emma Jordan was going to be trouble with a capital T.

  Emma twisted her hair back into a messy bun as the kitten swiped at the tendrils hanging around her face. She had no desire to have scratches on her cheeks so she tucked the strands behind her ear as she fed Kit, as she’d nicknamed him, the last of his bottle and settled him in front of the food she’d put in a bowl. It was going to take quite a while for him to be weaned, several more weeks of feeding him every four to five hours at least, but she needed to start him on solids right away so he didn’t become too imprinted on her. She latched the door of the small playpen and removed the gloves she wore for feedings before slouching into one of the nearby chairs, letting him play and letting herself relax for just a few moments.

  She was exhausted. Trying to keep the sanctuary running with only two employees and two part-time volunteers was killing her, especially now that she was up during the night to feed Kit. But she didn’t have the money to hire someone else full-time. At least, not yet. If only she could get a few more donors . . . But to get donors, she needed to open the sanctuary to the public again. Reinstating the educational programs would earn her government grants but, in order to do that, she needed more full-time staff.

  Her father’s thick Scottish brogue practically echoed through the room. If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.

  She missed him. So much. After her parents’ divorce, he’d been her one constant. While her mother was gallivanting around the globe, too busy for more than an occasional phone call to check in with her ten-year-old daughter, Emma’s father had been teaching her animal psychology. When she’d begged him to homeschool her, insisting he could teach her everything she needed to know about animals, he’d given in because he’d known she planned to run the sanctuary with him eventually.

  They’d been planning it for years, imagining it and discussing what it would look like. He’d encouraged her, even if her ideas had been wildly childish at the time.

  They may have butted heads at every turn, often disagreeing on one another’s methods when it came to working with animals, but he’d always been there to support her, regardless of who ended up being right. It had been his idea for her to work at the animal park, to gain more experience working with a wide variety of creatures. The plan had always been for her father to head up the rehabilitation efforts while she led the educational programs. But then he’d begun changing things over the past year, after his first stroke. At Jake’s suggestion, in spite of her offer to return, her father ended the classroom visits and closed the facility to the weekend tours, which created a lapse in their government funding.

  He’d begun leaning heavily on Jake and Brandon for assistance, only accepting animals for rehabilitation and fewer of those than ever before. In the process, he kept the people of Hidden Falls, and her, in the dark about what plans he had for Sierra Tracks. Although Emma had her suspicions that her father had wanted to make the brothers a permanent part of Sierra Tracks’ future, he’d never made anything official, to her relief.

  However, now she was here, trying to pick up the pieces alone, her home owned by the non-profit with her merely left in charge. She was the one left with the repercussions of decisions she’d never agreed with and wondering how to get the sanctuary back on track.

  Tears burned at the back of her eyes and she took a deep breath, blinking them back. The truth was, she missed her father. Not to mention that being the town pariah was lonely.

  Her two-way radio crackled, jerking her out of her thoughts of her father, and she heard Brandon, Jake’s brother, call to her. “We have someone at the front gate. Want me to send them away?”

  Again?

  She’d been running th
e sanctuary for almost two months and, in spite of the recent influx of interview requests from the local paper, she knew the sanctuary hadn’t seen this many visitors in the past year. Unless Kit’s siblings had been found, two different visitors in the last twenty-four hours was pretty unlikely.

  Unless they’re shutting you down.

  Emma refused to even acknowledge the nagging doubts and radioed Brandon back. “Is it a big gray truck?”

  “Yeah, how’d you know?”

  What in the hell is he doing back here? Her stomach fluttered quickly. Emma would rather believe it was out of concern for the other kittens, than anticipation at seeing the sexy fireman again.

  “Go ahead and let him in. Tell him to just head to the house. Can you ask Sadie to come up here?” Kit shouldn’t lose his playtime just because that pain in the butt fireman was back.

  “Sure, boss. I’ll send her your way.”

  Sadie, one of the sanctuary’s long-time volunteers, hurried through the door a few minutes later. “What’s up, boss?”

  “Just need you to keep an eye on him while I deal with . . .” She wasn’t even sure how to explain Ben’s presence. “A visitor.”

  Sadie followed her to the door, catching a glimpse of Ben as he parked his truck and climbed out. “Huh. Wish I got visitors who looked like that. Take your time, boss,” Sadie said with a wink.

  Emma tried to still the way her stomach flipped and somersaulted but when he climbed down from his raised truck, she couldn’t help but admire the fine figure he cut walking toward her. He had enough height that his massive muscles looked proportional instead of hulking. Yesterday he’d looked a little too pretty boy for her usual tastes but today, with his jaw unshaven and his hair slightly mussed, he was walking, breathing male perfection in maroon cotton and denim. He’d have been absolutely perfect, if she wasn’t so worried he was here for an alternative reason.

  “Two days in a row?” Emma crossed her arms in front of her. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “I’m here professionally this time, I’m afraid.” He stopped in front of his truck.

  Her pulse pounded in her veins, making her feel light-headed. She couldn’t let this happen, but she had no idea how to stop it. Her only choice was to try to play it cool and stall for more time. A small voice of reason reminded her that he wasn’t Fish and Game, Animal Control or the police department. She latched on to that one thread of hope.

  “And what sort of business could the local fire department possibly have with me?”

  Ben pulled a folded newspaper from his back pocket and held it up. She couldn’t make out anything but one word: Bobcat.

  She’d already read the article this morning, had already tried to convince herself that there was no reason for the paper’s unwarranted attack to sting. She’d already begun planning ways to rebut the accusations made against her. But it was going to take time, and money, and she had neither.

  It didn’t take a genius to figure out that this wasn’t going to be a benevolent visit. “Did you bring a warrant with you? Because no one is coming any further into the facility without one.”

  “Yesterday I was generous.”

  “Yet, here you are again.” She didn’t look away, wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her fear, but she could feel the muscles in her back and legs quaking nervously, praying he didn’t see it.

  “Do I need to call my brother down at the police station and get one?” He mimicked her stance, crossing his arms over his massive chest. But when he did it, it made his biceps bulge and the sleeve of his shirt ride up his arm enough to reveal what appeared to be a wolf’s head as part of the sleeve tattoo circling his right arm.

  Heaven help me, she prayed as her heart bounced to her stomach and back up again before speeding up to triple time.

  “Tell me, did this town harass my father this much? It might account for his stroke.”

  “I can’t say it did.” His tipped his head to one side. “You know, maybe shutting yourself and the sanctuary off from the rest of the town hasn’t been the best idea. Perhaps if you let people see what you’re doing here, they’d be backing you instead of believing this.” He waved the paper slightly.

  “You’re saying that if I open my doors, they’ll welcome me with open arms.”

  “Maybe.”

  “Bullshit.”

  She moved down the stairs to stand in front of him, trying to give him the impression that she wasn’t intimidated by him. However, his sheer size was even more impressive this close and her idea backfired as her gaze slid up to meet his. “For your information, I wasn’t the one to close the doors to the public. That was my father’s doing. And I plan on reopening them as soon as I can, but it’s going to take some time.”

  His dark gaze slid over her slowly, as if he was trying to read her thoughts, feeling more like a caress than an appraisal. It intrigued her, actually making her heart skip a beat. Her reaction to him annoyed her. She wanted to be unaffected by him, to not feel this slow heat sliding through her veins, to not have the urge to grab his shirt and jerk him forward for what she was sure would be a kiss to make her forget any before. A slow grin tugged at the corner of his mouth, a dimple creasing his left cheek.

  Damn cocky man knows exactly what effect he has on women.

  Emma wasn’t about to be just another of the harem she was sure fawned over him. She didn’t care how good looking he was or how his muscles might ripple when he walked. Okay, she appreciated it, but that wasn’t the same thing as caring. She would keep her wits about her when this particular handsome man smiled at her, if only because she was sure most didn’t, and she was smart enough to hide any attraction she might have to him beneath her annoyance at him wielding his authority over her this way.

  She narrowed her eyes, studying him. She wanted to tell him to leave, to order him off the property and insist he not come back without a warrant. She had no idea what he really wanted and she already had enough trouble with the town and its rumors. However, she got the feeling that, if causing her more trouble had been his intent, Ben would have called in the police already. She tipped her head back, trying to get a better look at him and felt her makeshift bun loosen, coming unwound. Just like her resistance.

  “Fine. I’m not sure why you’re here, but I have nothing to hide.” She jerked at the end of her hair, letting her auburn tresses fall around her shoulders, shielding her like a curtain, and headed for the golf cart. “Well? What are you waiting for? Hop in. I don’t have all day to waste.”

  Ben slid in beside her, his arm brushing against hers, the heat from his skin practically burning her. He exuded raw sexuality, making the close confines of the golf cart seem even smaller, and she edged farther from him on the small seat. Twisting the key, her gaze fell on the folded newspaper Ben set in his lap, the words of the headline coming back to taunt her.

  Damn! When was this town ever going to cut her some slack?

  Chapter Four

  Ben didn’t miss the glare Emma shot at him as they made their way through the barn and toward the animal cages. He guessed he really couldn’t blame her. He’d shown up unannounced, yet again, but this time he’d basically threatened her to take him on a tour of the animal sanctuary, whether he’d actually come out and vocalized it or not.

  And, he’d lied, at least about being here on a professional call, which really stuck in his craw. He prided himself on being a gentleman and lying didn’t really fit in the image he had of himself. But he hadn’t known what else to say, especially when he really wasn’t sure why he’d come. He could have just as easily called Animal Control. Or convinced Andrew to do this. His brother was the cop; he should be doing any inspection that was needed. Yet, here he was, seated beside her as the golf cart bumped along the gravel path.

  She put on the brakes and the golf cart slid to a stop in the circular labyrinth of cages. The scent of clean straw wasn’t enough to mask the musky odor of the variety of animals. He wrinkled his nose slightly
. It wasn’t a bad smell, but it was strong and took some acclimation. He caught the glance she shot his way, as if gauging his reaction before a smirk spread over her lips slowly, as if he’d reacted exactly the way she’d expected, although he couldn’t imagine what he’d done.

  “Emma, I’m not trying to cause any more trouble for you.”

  Emma turned toward him slowly, suspicion darkening her turquoise eyes as she glowered. “Sure you’re not. You strut onto my ranch, like a damn peacock, and demand I show you around without any cause. I’m not stupid. I know this town would rather have my father here. I know everyone doubts my abilities, my experience. People are just waiting for me to screw up. I already know . . .” She threw her hands into the air.

  “You know what?”

  Emma took a deep breath, regaining her composure, her anger shuttered behind her closed eyes. “Never mind.”

  She opened her eyes, her demeanor making a one-eighty turn, appearing under control and professional again, waving a hand his direction. “So? Where would you like to start? The big cats are to the left, the birds are ahead in the aviary and the rest are over there, on your right.”

  There was far more to her outburst but her quick shift made it clear that it hadn’t been intentional and she was finished with the conversation. He was smart enough to see what the people of Hidden Falls thought mattered to her, as much as she tried to hide it. She was trying to prove herself, and wanted to succeed.

  Ben wasn’t sure why he was still going on with this charade but if he turned away from it now, he’d have no reason to stay and he wasn’t ready to leave yet. He’d be damned if he didn’t feel that tug in his chest, that stirring of emotion he got when he wanted to do something to help. The same one that usually got him in over his head. He cleared his throat slightly, trying to clear away the heaviness building in his chest as he could see Emma fighting to hold on to her pride.

  “Why don’t we start with the cats and work our way around?”