by T. J. Kline
“You’re right. This is exactly why we set up the ground rules, isn’t it?”
She took a step backward, unsure how to react to the new man she saw in front of her, a man she didn’t know. A man who sounded harder, more self-assured. A man who seemed more like his stubborn brother than the gentle man she’d met only a few weeks ago in this very same spot.
“I can follow them and go back.” His mouth formed a thin line as he set his jaw stubbornly. “Are you saying I can do something that you can’t?”
She’d never been one to turn down a challenge and she could hear it in his tone.
“If you can, I can. Let’s go get Winger. You think you can keep from dropping her this time, wimp? No woman likes to be let down.”
“Bring it.”
It had been a joke. She’d been teasing. But instead of being funny, it sounded more like a dare. And she wasn’t so sure he was talking about holding the bird.
The group was already waiting for them as Ben slid the gauntlet onto his arm. The hawk flew from her perch as soon as he stepped into her enclosure and he held her tether between his fingers, sliding her hood on the way Emma had shown him. He knew he should be concentrating on the bird on his arm but he couldn’t help but watch Emma instead.
He was waiting for the right moment. Somehow he’d managed to lie to her face, telling her he could be just a friend. But, like Angie said, their relationship didn’t have to look a certain way. It had started burning hot and, in spite of the trouble dogging her, it hadn’t cooled the way others had, or the way she’d suggested it would. If anything, he was burning even hotter for her, yearning for her. Not just physically. Ben wanted to be with Emma, to be a part of her life, for her to be part of his. Even if it meant watching her put herself in danger on a daily basis. She was trying, exciting, challenging and sexy as hell. A life with her would be a never-ending game of tug-of-war, but it would also never be boring or predictable. He’d thought that was what he’d wanted. Maybe it was, until he’d met Emma.
If that meant telling her he’d be nothing more than a friend, for now, then that’s what he’d be. He had no doubt that, somehow, they’d work their way full circle. He’d make sure of it and this was merely the first step. Any other answer would have ended with her pushing him away permanently.
Ben stood where Emma directed, waiting for her to indicate he should take the bird’s hood off.
“This is Winger, a red-tailed Hawk. As you can see, she’s a beautiful bird with a very wide wingspan and very sharp talons.”
As if understanding Emma’s spiel, the hawk shifted, digging her talons into the thick leather of the glove, climbing higher on his wrist. Ben lifted his arm slightly and she shifted back toward his hand.
“Red-tailed hawks are very intelligent and have been trained to hunt for falconers since medieval times. However, they are wild animals and they can become frightened so when Ben here removes her hood, I need everyone to stay quiet and still, okay?”
A hand from the crowd raised and Emma pointed at a woman standing close to what appeared to be her husband. “Can we pet her?”
“Because most of the animals here are not tame pets, only trained personnel can handle them. The volunteers have been instructed on how to hold her and even we don’t pet her. Here at Sierra Tracks, we try to keep the animals’ environment as close to natural as possible, even for those like Winger, who are unable to be released back into the wild.”
The woman raised her brows at Ben, as if still questioning. “That’s a no,” he clarified. The last thing he wanted was to have his eyes clawed out by a spooked hawk just because some woman decided to rush in.
Emma shot him a warning glance. Okay, so maybe he could have been a bit less blunt. “Go ahead and take her hood off, Ben.”
He cupped his hand over the hood, lifting it up and sliding it down the bird’s beak quickly. Winger immediately looked around, curious at her surroundings and the people circling them. It wasn’t hard for him to imagine the bird spreading her wings and beating at him with them as she shifted nervously. Ben raised his arm slightly and Winger spread her wings wide for a moment, eliciting an awed gasp from the group as she beat the air slightly before ruffling her feathers and settling on his arm again. Ben saw a man in front drag a massive camera to his face and take some quick pictures.
“You can see that, while she’s calm right now, those wings can pack a lot of power. The red-tailed hawk uses them to rise above the air currents.”
Emma continued to talk to the group about the hawk as the man shot pictures, moving quietly around the crowd capturing several angles. Ben shot his brother a warning look and caught Andrew’s that mimicked his own concern. If this was the man they were looking for, he was gathering plenty of information, including how each and every cage was locked and the layout of the facility. While it may have given them a face to the anonymous reporter, they had also opened the door wide and knowingly escorted danger inside.
Ben watched as the group came back together at the end of the tour for lunch, catered by a local butcher shop and included in the price of the tickets. He had to admit that the outreach event had gone well and everyone seemed to be having a good time, however he couldn’t shake the doubts about the guy with the camera. In spite of Emma’s insistence that he be there as a friend and that she didn’t need rescuing, Ben wasn’t about to let a man who could be putting her life in jeopardy escape without a warning.
Looking around the group, Ben saw Emma chatting with a mother and her child. She’d already told him that there was a Make-a-Wish child on the tour and he had no doubt the cute little girl was who she’d meant. Standing on the outskirts of the crowd, Ben tried to get his brother’s attention as he made his way toward the man who’d been far more interested in taking pictures all day than what Emma or Andrew said about the animals.
The guy just seemed suspicious. Ben had no doubts he was making a snap judgment, based on nothing more than his suspicions, but when it came to Emma’s safety, he’d rather be overcautious than look back and wish he had spoken up. He slid into the chair next to the man.
“Having a good time?”
“Um,” the man mumbled around a mouthful of tri-tip sandwich. Wiping his hand on the side of his pant leg, he held it out to Ben. “Sorry. I’m Charlie Sims.”
“Ben McQuaid.” Ben hoped this guy recognized his name. He wanted him to know Emma had people at her back. He shook the man’s hand and tried to read what was going on behind Charlie’s hazel eyes. “This your first time at Sierra Tracks?”
He’d hoped Charlie’s reaction to the point-blank question would tell him something but the man’s gaze never faltered. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I wouldn’t have expected there to be so many animals here. It’s a really nice facility compared to a lot of the others I’ve seen.”
“Oh, you’ve been to a few?” A niggling doubt started to circle in his gut but Ben latched onto the statement. He glanced up in time to see Emma frowning at him from across the tables she’d had set up.
“Yeah. I’m a wildlife photographer by trade so I do a lot of work with advertisers and magazines. I’ve even had a few pictures in National Geographic.”
Ben nodded, trying to lull the guy into a false sense of camaraderie. “Newspapers, that sort of thing?”
Charlie laughed. “Newspapers don’t have the budget for my photos. I actually came today to see if Emma would be interested in working together. I wanted to volunteer my services so she’d have photos for promo, maybe something to start with on her website.”
“What’s in it for you?”
Charlie shrugged. “It’s philanthropy. This place is local and I can help. Between you and me,” Charlie said, lowering his voice and leaning toward Ben. “I’ve seen the articles the paper’s been running. I was concerned enough to want to see for myself. Now that I have, I think if other people could see what I’ve seen today, they’d realize those articles are complete B.S. She’s got one of the best facilities I’ve ev
er seen.”
“You’re here to help Emma?” Ben narrowed his eyes, trying to get a better read on this guy. As much as he wanted to distrust him, Ben had the feeling that Charlie was being completely honest. But he wasn’t going to bank Emma’s safety on his gut. He looked around for Andrew, hoping his brother could talk to Charlie and they could compare notes.
Charlie turned back toward his lunch, obviously uncomfortable under Ben’s intense scrutiny, and popped the top on a can of soda. The fizz cut through the tense lull in their conversation. “Ben, have you talked to people in town recently? Emma needs all the help she can get. There are a few who have already started a petition to get her shut down.”
“A petition?”
“Yeah. Didn’t you read the last article?”
Ben frowned. He’d been so wrapped up in protecting her physically that he hadn’t stopped to keep his finger on the pulse of activity around town, to even listen to gossip that seemed to flow like a leaky faucet. He’d forgotten one of the most important things about living in a small town—gossip could cut as deeply as any knife. If someone couldn’t scare her away, they could put pressure on her from the rest of the community until she had no other choice but to close her doors.
“Apparently some ex-employee has come forward and claims the animals are being abused.”
Ben’s jaw clenched tightly and he felt the muscle cramp. He looked up to see Emma standing beside him with a suspicious look in her eyes as she gazed down at him and Charlie. She wouldn’t be happy with him for meddling but she had no idea that they may have been horribly wrong about the reporter being behind the vandalism and loose animals. From what Charlie said, Ben was almost positive Jake was the man set on destroying her.
“Thanks, Charlie. You’ve helped Emma more than you’ll ever realize.” He leapt from his seat, leaving Emma to wonder where he was going. Ben needed to get to Andrew. The two of them needed to find Jake and when they did, Ben was going to make him pay.
Chapter Twenty-Three
What the hell is she doing now?
He watched Emma escort the crowd through the sanctuary. There was a reason her father had put an end to this tour nonsense. It stressed the animals and, while it was a ridiculously small source of income, it pandered to the idea that the sanctuary was more of a zoo or park than a legitimate rescue facility. Not to mention that it drove the insurance rates sky high, chipping away at any income it brought in.
His gaze fell on the wolf lying in the midst of the trees within the large enclosure. He was surprised she’d turned Cana out instead of hiding him inside one of the indoor kennels. But Emma had always had a soft spot for the beast, which made her weak. And stupid.
He’d have been able to snatch the animal yesterday if it hadn’t been for that son of a bitch fireman showing up unexpectedly. But he’d made sure Emma knew he was there, leaving her a little warning. A calling card, if you will.
He slid the binoculars to his eyes again, scanning the enclosure entrance. In preparation for her little party, she’d added extra locks on the cages but he knew Emma. She might have added them to the front entrances, but she hadn’t added them to the back ones. Later tonight, he’d sneak down and find out for sure. Even if she did, he doubted it was anything that would pose much of a deterrent to stealing the wolf back.
The news article had worked exactly the way he’d planned. And, now that he and his brother had been able to stir the town against Emma, forcing them to ask themselves about her ability to run Sierra Tracks, there’d been some grumbling that if Emma was forced out, that the entire facility should be shut down but both he and his brother had pointed out that Conrad had run it for years without any incidents, and that the two of them could do the same, which had been his intention all along.
Now, he just had to get his hands on that wolf again and stage another animal attack. It would be the final straw for the people in Hidden Falls. They were scared and they needed someone they could trust. Right now, that would be him and his brother.
Emma skimmed the article again. Jake’s interview made his intentions clear. He was bound and determined to undermine any allies she might have left in Hidden Falls, to turn everyone in town against her, even if most of his accusations were completely false. It hurt that both he and his brother had turned on her but she wasn’t about to let the rumors stop her from running the sanctuary. Nor did it actually prove he was the person sabotaging her. She had seen Jake with the animals, knew how much the sanctuary meant to him. He might not agree with her methods but she had a hard time believing he’d go as far as abusing any of the animals, letting them loose or trying to destroy the facility entirely.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Jake is a disgruntled employee. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that he’d talk shit but that doesn’t mean he’s the guy we’re looking for.”
“Don’t fool yourself, Emma,” Ben warned. “If Charlie Whats-his-name isn’t the guy we’re looking for, it’s Jake.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Why would it be Jake? He was working here when this mess started. He’s worked here for five years. I might not be able to work with him, but my father did and he trusted him.”
“That means absolutely nothing.” Ben looked to his brother for support in his argument. “What are you waiting for? You need to drag him in for questioning.”
“I don’t think it was Jake,” Sadie offered. “Why would he try to shut down the place he talked about running with Emma?”
“What?” Sadie’s comment had Andrew’s full attention.
Emma sighed. “Apparently, my father had mentioned to Jake that he wanted the two of us to run the facility together,” she explained. “I’m not sure I believe it since Dad had always talked about the two of us running it together but—”
“Actually, Emma,” Sadie hemmed, twisting her mouth to one side. “Jake was supposed to run the place alone. Something about how Jake’s vision was closer to your father’s but Conrad never got the opportunity to change his will.” She shot Emma an apologetic glance.
“I’m assuming this is coming from Jake?” Andrew pressed.
“Maybe. Well, actually, Brandon was the one who told me about it but I think Jake told him.”
“I know Jake. I don’t like the guy and how judgmental he is but he would never do something to jeopardize the animals.”
Ben scowled and pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily. Sadie pinched her lips together, trying to not look uncomfortable with the argument.
“The man threw a rock at your truck, Emma. I think it’s safe to not make any assumptions about what he might do.”
Andrew inhaled slowly and rose to his feet. “Okay, you,” he said, pointing at his brother, “need to calm your tits. Emma’s right.”
“You don’t know that,” Ben growled.
“First off, Jake was here, working. Why would he spray-paint a wall he’d likely be the one to clean? As a matter of fact, he was working every time something happened. He was here, with witnesses when you picked up that kitten.”
“Who would have had more opportunity to get Cana and say it was your father’s request. No one would suspect him,” Ben pointed out.
“No, everyone would suspect him. Which is another reason I don’t think it was him.”
“Jake is pissed right now. He had no idea I even wanted him gone, let alone, that I’d actually fire him. If my father ever insinuated that Jake and I could run the place together, it would be even more reason for his anger. He might be disappointed, or feeling betrayed but I don’t think he’s angry enough to go against his own values, killing two calves in the process, to make me look bad.”
Emma saw the flash of worry in Ben’s eyes. She’d better be right, because if she wasn’t, she’d just left herself open for almost anything.
The next week was eerily calm, like the sky just before a lightning storm. Currents crackled through the air, lighting sparks wherever she went. Emma had tried to avoid heading into town at all,
letting Sadie take the business credit card to purchase any necessary items for the sanctuary while Ben made sure her cupboards and refrigerator were well stocked. After her refusal to return to his family’s ranch, he’d insisted on returning to her place to stay, sleeping in one of the guest rooms and maintaining their agreement to be just friends. It was driving her nuts.
She peeked into her kitchen, praying that it was clear and she could grab her coffee before heading out to the nursery for Kit.
“Morning, Emma.”
Her pulse immediately began to race, nervous excitement twisting through her veins at the rich, husky sound of Ben’s voice. He held a steaming cup of coffee out to her. This was something she could get used to.
Damn it! No, she couldn’t get used to this because she didn’t want a relationship. At least that was what she was trying to tell herself. But with Ben in the house, what should have been entertaining was turning into an exercise in avoidance. Because if she didn’t stay clear of Ben, she was going to realize she was falling for this guy, hard and fast. Even worse, he’d realize it.
“You okay?” Her gaze jumped back up to meet his, the dark pools filled with concern. “I thought I lost you for a second there.”
“No. Um, thanks.” She slid the mug from his fingers, careful not to touch him. Ben moved back to the stove where she could see half of her refrigerator contents spread over the nearby counter. “What’s with the mess?”
“I told you before I could make a mean omelet. I figured I might as well put my money where my mouth is.”
Oh, I have a far better place for you to put your mouth.
Emma tried to stem her wanton desires but not quickly enough and felt her cheeks heat with the mere thought of kissing Ben again. It felt like it had been forever, even if it had only been a few days. The first three days after the tour had been torturous enough since she’d barely seen him. But now, with him having two days off, being forced to share the intimate space of her house last night, had been even harder. He looked too comfortable, too much a part of her life, and it frightened her.
