She loved Ryan. The sudden conclusion rocked her, seized her thoughts in their tracks. The way she’d decided made it sound like a fact. She backtracked, uncovered the source in darker emotions. She’d thought of him going to Denver just for his truck. More memories had overpowered, tackled, and swarmed her mental field of view, sent images of him stretched out in the truck while he read a magazine, standing in her kitchen half-naked, pine fresh with damp hair. He’d been bound by Germ, locked in place by deadly force, but, in his eyes, brown roiled with green fighting an inner struggle. She’d read his need for her to be safe first. He treasured her. How could she do any less of him?
No. She shot up in her seat. This couldn’t be, wouldn’t be. He had enough on his plate. How could she expect any room for herself?
At her sudden movement, he glanced her way. She met his eyes, offered a weak smile. His mouth curved with the sexy half-quirk. Her heart jumped from her body’s quick response.
Deny how he feels all you want, replace it with reason, if you can.
But the awareness was done and she couldn’t deny the feelings on her side. Should she tell him? She had school. He had Bayfield and . . . enough other obligations at the moment. She never received the time to decide, much less act, as a sign for the place Amanda had mentioned came into view.
~ ~ ~
Rebecca had stayed quiet since the end of Jay’s phone call. Ryan didn’t like it. But what could he do? He was a little off his game with reassurance especially for the woman he loved.
He gazed at the anxious expression on her face and he hated Amanda. He’d had enough of this passive, avoidance crap. Amanda would stop doing this to those who loved her, to those Ryan loved.
He slowed the Jeep for a curve. The South Platte River flowed along the right of the highway, white foam sloshed over rocks at the base of a slope spiked with an evergreen blanket. Bushes comfortable with desert conditions accompanied the loose dirt clods on the hill to his left. The pull-off known as Grant came into view, nestled in the mountain at the base of the forest. They were photo opportunities, each one of them.
Ryan pictured Rebecca in all of them. Her fingers would brush along the bark as she strolled along a path.
But then he signaled and turned into the sandwich shop’s parking lot, and chose a spot a few cars down from the Land Rover.
He sat behind the steering wheel and watched as Rebecca greeted Amanda with a warm embrace, feet bare as Rebecca had left her heels in the Jeep. The action seemed careless for potential glass, but Rebecca seemed to be thinking only about her cousin’s comfort.
Ready to sweep Rebecca into his arms if he spotted a single shard, he stepped out and locked the Jeep. Amanda was immediately by his side, palm upturned. “Did you change the oil and balance the wheels while you were at it?” She grinned like the last day hadn’t happened.
Ryan had no desire to hand over the keys while his own truck remained disabled by Amanda’s hand in Denver. He spotted Jay through the window at a booth seat and Amanda took his distracted moment as opportunity and swiped her keys.
“You’ll be getting a bill,” he replied. “It should cover the cost of parts for my truck.”
“Swell.” She whipped around and bounced back into the shop.
He sighed, decided she deserved as much time with normalcy as possible, and imagined positive topics weren’t going to be found once inside. He was right.
Chapter 21
Amanda felt more in control than she had in a while. She settled in a chair at the end of the booth table, her cousin and Ryan on one bench seat and her uncle on the other. She shuffled the papers in front of her.
“Now that everyone’s here, we can begin.” Sandwich wrappers littered the rest of the table’s surface as well as a few used napkins and brightly colored fountain drinks. “Ryan, Uncle Jay, you thought I had forgotten what happened. Rebbie, I’m sorry you got put through this, but I think you’re as up to speed as everyone about events five years ago. We all, however, have discovered new information since then.
“Ryan, you found a pump you think proved Danielle’s car broke by no fault of mine. Well, it had needed a pump as confirmed by our accomplice, Germ, whom I understand has now been apprehended?”
As Amanda enjoyed the euphoric feeling leading her brain through vocabulary acrobats, Ryan nodded.
“Excellent,” she leapt in before anyone could speak. “So you didn’t tell me but tried to tell Jim, my father, when you called earlier in the week. He wouldn’t let you talk. When Germ abducted me, you came to Denver to see what I knew before dropping a bombshell. Touché. It didn’t work out so well as I was being intimidated to confess and photos were dumped in my lap.
“Uncle Jay,” she shifted the spotlight, hoping Ryan understood there were unspoken apologies given and accepted over all that had happened, “I asked you if you knew anything. You thought, and as strongly suggested by my father as well, that it was best to leave me in the dark. How about now?
“Very rhetorical,” she added when he opened his mouth.
She dramatically placed papers before Ryan and her cousin as she explained. “As I guessed in the junkyard and later had it verified by these documents with which I’m presenting you, Danielle’s car crash was a result of a factory defect in the driver’s door actuator. Ryan, you’re probably aware of this as the recall had been later announced nationwide, but none of us dreamt of making a connection.
“You see, Rebbie,” she swiveled in her steel chair to face her cousin who sat on Amanda’s side of Ryan. “Under just the right conditions, the door actuator could develop problems, the worst being flames would shoot out at the driver.” Immediate silence followed as she abruptly ended her tirade.
By the distant look in her companions’ eyes, she knew what was happening. It was the same thing that had occurred to her while she lay unconscious, strapped to a seat. A new scenario played out in their minds. They sat in Danielle’s seat. She’d have the radio on, loud, and/or she’d be on the phone, probably pushing the speed limit from knowing the road so well. Then heat would flare against her arm. She’d glance down and see flames licking her skin. She’d react, focus on stopping the burns. When she’d remembered she was driving, she’d look up, be too far into the curve. Too late, she’d crank the wheel, as the car flew off the road and—
“Why didn’t the news in Bayfield ever report about what the insurance found on Danielle’s car?” Ryan asked.
Uncle Jay supplied the answer after he cleared his throat. “It took some time for the insurance to uncover the cause, and by that point I imagine the media had found more sensational things to report about. The coverage in small towns might lack the resources to follow-up on old stories. I can’t even conclude this insurance company went through the trouble of notifying the police of their findings. They might have been satisfied believing wildlife in the road had startled the vehicle operator and she’d swerved to avoid hitting it.”
Needless to say, no matter the reason, it was clear Ryan and Germ, and possibly most of Bayfield, had been left out of the loop.
“Danielle’s parents left shortly after the accident, I assume, Ryan?”
Ryan nodded again, tight-lipped as ever. All he needed were his arms-crossed to complete the look Amanda had seen many times before when she’d been nothing but a young, reckless teenager, and he expected more to be revealed. But she hadn’t anymore. There really wasn’t anymore. Everyone needed time simply to digest the truth and how trying to hide complicated things, by a number of people, created a lot of havoc and pain.
Well, Amanda admitted, there was nothing left except to inform her father, by herself. She refused to have excess baggage in the way of numerous passengers when a long overdue father-daughter exchange needed to occur.
“While you all chew on that, I’d like to run off and use the little girl’s ro
om. Uncle Jay, I imagine you might want to know the details of Germ’s capture and you can fill me in later. Also, I suspect there is something going on between these two.” Her fingers waggled between Ryan and Rebecca as she stood, hoping she’d opened enough branches of topics to keep them seated.
Time for Rebbie to feel their uncle’s dangerously overprotective tendency, and Amanda couldn’t help a slight smug feeling as Uncle Jay’s eyes narrowed on the two seated across from him.
She ducked out as ninja-like as possible and silently thanked Ryan for parking a few spots down where a lifted truck now obscured any view of her Jeep.
A contented breath released from her lungs as she settled behind the driver’s seat. She picked up her cell phone where Rebecca had left it in the passenger’s door pocket. All right, Daddy, time to have that talk. One that she knew neither of them would enjoy but was very long overdue. Her father, after all, loved her very much, had protected her all these years as best he could. Could she please go have her own life now?
~ ~ ~
Conversation didn’t pick up once Amanda took her exit for the restroom as Ryan’s thoughts finished swirling and settled on a single conclusion. If Jay had said something sooner, he’d have saved Rebecca trouble and hurt. She never should’ve had to get involved in this. No, of course she had. Ryan sighed. It was her family.
Jay’s expression darkened. “Ryan, you’ve put both of my nieces in danger. None of this would’ve happened if—you started all of this. You said so yourself.” Ryan opened his mouth but then clamped it shut. Jay was right. Who made the phone call that prompted Germ’s attack? Everything was fine until he’d had to go and dial Jim’s number. He was like the lone sickly brown evergreen on the forested slope outside the diner’s window, succumbing to an insect attack. He’d collected a single clue and let it overwhelm him.
He passed it on to others, neighbors in his little pocket of the woods. They’d shared the sunlight with him, and in return, he’d taught them why it was best to keep others at a safe distance. He shifted, straightened his back, but he couldn’t argue. Jay was right.
Rebecca’s eyes were on him. Ryan could almost tangibly feel the gentle assessment in her gaze. She turned to Jay. “Amanda wasn’t all right, Uncle. I saw firsthand how her past haunted her, but I never knew the complete details. This had to come out, and Ryan knew it. We all have some blame to share in how we approached the obvious problem with Amanda. Even my cousin herself, who avoided everyone and shoved aside our offers of help.”
Jay silently nodded, finally opinion-free or at least feeling less compelled to push what he’d known from the very beginning upon them all. Yes, a lot had been cleared up, and very little was left to do. At this point, Ryan figured his place was back in Bayfield. Did Rebecca imagine him leaving? He peered over and lost his breath at the sight.
He forced his gaze to Jay, but the man’s face blurred. The image of Rebecca sharpened including the heat that had been in her gray depths for him. There was more left to discuss between the two of them.
Chapter 22
They eventually realized Amanda wouldn’t be returning from the restrooms, and everyone clambered begrudgingly into Jay’s Rover, deciding the best destination at this point was Jim’s place. Amanda had probably cleared the air with her old man. Now it was Ryan’s turn.
The hills climbed and dipped as they neared the city. A flash of blue whizzed past Ryan on the left, just another car, a Clip. His simple thought grew complicated. When had the Gaudy Clip become just another car for him? Where was the crushing guilt of teaching Amanda automotive?
Gone, answered a whisper in his mind.
And it was right. The Clip whipped around the next curve, and like the car, all questions associated with it had vanished.
There was nothing left from which he could protect Amanda. He’d regained his life. Where would he take it now that he could?
The Rover rolled out from the peaks’ collected idea of a canyon, away from rushing water far below the highway. The first indication they’d returned to a city rested in the valley to the right, a collection of HOA mansions. Chasing Amanda had brought Ryan right to Jim’s front door.
The sunlight faded by the time Jay took the exit for highway eight. It mercifully looped over and headed west, away from the crowded, expensive properties. Jay took it slow, maneuvering the tight curves.
They dove into a sloping valley where the greatest population went to the gamble oak and sagebrush. Ryan cracked his window, purged the Rover’s cab with a push of valley-grown air, accented by the occasional diesel fume. If Jim lived here, he still knew a taste of Bayfield. The variations in green vegetation contrasted the slanted red boulders jutting from the landscape.
The few buildings felt obliged to match the impression.
“Forest Avenue should be coming up on our left,” offered Jay, his eyes set only for their destination.
Ryan dragged a hand through his hair. Five years since he’d seen Jim, a man who was more role model than he ever had to be. He sighed. Ryan never wanted to lose his family tie with the man.
“There it is.” Jay clicked on the blinker then turned and climbed a slight slope.
“On the right.” If he hoped to appease the heavy loss of conversation in his luxury vehicle, his attempts were half-hearted and about as well-received. After all, the man could’ve revealed what he’d known to Ryan during the whole trip down to Bayfield. But, like Rebecca had pointed out, stepping in to fend off her uncle’s attack against Ryan, they’d all erred.
Ryan spotted a two-story log cabin. Two garages made up the first level. It shouldered into the sloping hillside of yucca and oak beneath Mt. Falcon Park.
Jay squeezed the Rover onto the gravel driveway beside Amanda’s Jeep and a GMC truck that, Ryan supposed, belonged to Jim.
He felt Rebecca’s eyes on him as she unlatched her door. When his gaze found hers, she offered a tentative smile under tired, soft gray eyes then turned and stepped out of the Rover. As she leaned forward to adjust her shoes, her chestnut hair swept her shoulders. Her tan blouse didn’t hold wrinkles, but it sat heavier on her shoulders, detailing the hard travels of the day.
Jay stormed out, headed to the short porch and front door. Rebecca followed. She was going into familiar territory. A lot of this was new for Ryan. He slid from the clingy leather seat and finally made his way to the house. His eyes devoured the natural sway of Rebecca’s hips. Her heels tackled the rocky terrain with subdued confidence. He’d be there to catch her, for as long as she allowed.
Needing a moment to collect himself, he dragged his gaze from her and over to the horse ranch opposite the lane. He absorbed the extended view, followed it along the hogback hills separating them from Denver.
Once he made it to the bottom step, Jay had arrived at the top. He clapped his younger brother on the back, polo shirt and beige slacks versus flannel-style short sleeve and blue jeans. After a quick hand shake, Jay abruptly shouldered past him. “Where is that niece of mine?”
Rebecca came next. “Hi, Uncle Jim.” She gave him a hug.
Ryan climbed the three wooden steps, met Jim’s face past Rebecca’s shoulder. Jim’s smile ebbed until he released Rebecca and peered at her again.
The lines around his eyes had cut deeper into his skin after five years. Silver gathered at the edges of his hair’s light brown color. Ryan took two steps to cross the porch and stood a little higher than he remembered in front of the man who’d filled a role in his life his biological father had left open.
“Hello, sir.” Ryan offered his hand.
Jim grasped the hand, searched Ryan’s eyes then pulled him into a strong embrace. “Hey, kid. I know you did what you could for my little girl.”
Ryan clenched his eyes shut. Jim patted him on the back and released him. Powerful emotions crushed Ryan’s heart, and it rebo
unded, stronger. Jim turned Ryan toward the house where the other two had gone.
The Jeep’s engine cranked. He flipped around and met Amanda’s eyes where she sat behind the wheel of her Wrangler. She beamed at Ryan then looked back. The Jeep reversed from the driveway. Ryan took a step forward. A firm grip landed on his shoulder.
He stopped then peered back at Jim.
“Let her go.” Jim’s sky-blue eyes met Ryan’s.
Jay returned to the front door.
“Jay,” Jim began as he stepped into his bigger brother’s view. “I think we’ve got some things to talk about.”
Jay didn’t look exactly pleased but seemed to know he needed to answer to his brother. He turned from the crowded entryway and re-entered the house. Ryan and Jim followed.
Ryan found Rebecca at the front window, watching taillights at the base of the valley as they merged onto the main road.
“She’s a grown woman,” said Jim. “She’s making her own decisions now.”
“Do you even have any idea where’s she going? Or what she’ll do when she gets there?” Jay asked as the group gathered in the living room, among a leather recliner and a corduroy love seat, both a faded brown.
“I don’t have to.”
Ryan stared at the landscape photo above the love seat. He’d taken the picture where Bayfield was a scrub of buildings, a bush in a valley, offset from the mountains and evergreens.
“Why?”
Jim sighed. “She’s my daughter, Jay. She told me everything.” Everything he’d needed to hear, Ryan read what Jim hadn’t said in the distracted look in his eyes.
“She told you enough,” said Jay.
“Danielle’s death wasn’t her fault, you knew that. She came to you, asking questions a few days ago, and you decided not to tell me.”
A Running Heart Page 21
