Beth fixed her eyes on Garrett, who hid a forlorn plea behind a forced smile. In terms of good business decisions, a marriage between Garrett and Victoria would prove to be invaluable. If he didn’t love her, then in matters of the heart, Garrett’s was doomed. And so was Elizabeth.
* * * *
Garrett guided the small group down the path from Mother Goose’s Cottage. The sound of Beth’s laugh rang in his ears like a church bell paying respects to the deceased. He chanced a look behind him at the couple walking with heads together. Although Wall was a trusted friend, Garrett couldn’t stand to see the two acting so familiar with one another.
Even the moment he’d seen Beth on the back of the horse with Wall, jealousy had smacked him in the gut like a schoolyard bully’s fist. And later when his friend mentioned a desire to court Beth, he wanted to be that schoolyard bully.
Now he wanted to throw Beth over his shoulder and ride down the mountain until he reached his home. Last night he’d ached to kiss her once more. Her voice had been so sweet, so concerned when she asked about his well-being. He’d never before had anyone who truly cared about how he fared. He wanted that. Forever.
He should leave Victoria to Wall, and keep Beth all for himself. Duty would never allow it, and duty was a deep-seated principle he took very seriously. Duty and his father’s threat to disown him. Despair turned his heart to stone. Why had he made that deal with his father? Beth had been nothing but a dream at the time so it hadn’t mattered. All he’d cared about was getting back up the mountain. Now she was a reality. He wanted to throw duty down the river, go back on his word, and make Beth his.
He started down the trail, leaving the rest to follow. Like she’d done all afternoon, Victoria sidled up to him and slid her hand on his arm as they traversed the mountainside. The slick, flimsy boots she wore caused her to trip again, and he grabbed her waist to lift her upright.
His heart skipped a beat when he realized this was the same spot Beth had twisted her ankle the first time they visited the meadow. He’d lifted her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way down, all the while forcing his mind off the luscious curve of her lips so close to his. All he wanted to do since that day was taste their sweetness again. He needed to feel her lips against his for the rest of his life. Instead, he’d taste the thin lips of the woman now on his arm.
Victoria limped next to him so he tightened his hold on her arm. “Take care. This is where Beth twisted her ankle the last time we were here, and she had spikes on.”
“You twisted your ankle in spikes?” Wall laughed, followed by Beth’s humored chuckle. Garrett held back the growl threatening to vibrate his chest.
“It’s easier than you think,” she answered.
“I’ve been a logger for nigh on twelve years, and not once have I twisted my ankle with spikes. Hell, I’ve never twisted my ankle in my cowboy boots.”
“You’re a cowboy?” Beth’s voice showed her surprise.
Garrett scowled again when her face lit. Why did she care what profession Wall had when not employed at the camp? He turned back the path.
“Us Devil May Cares are only here for the spring season. We do have lives elsewhere.”
“And where is that?” Garrett heard Beth ask, but he didn’t dare look behind. The woman on his arm tugged and drew his attention back to her, but all he wanted to do was toss her aside and grab Beth up into his arms to disappear into the woods. Alone with the woman he loved.
“Where do you plan to settle once this is all over?” Victoria asked him, oblivious to the chatter behind them.
Garrett kept his ear on Beth’s conversation as he answered, “My place near the University.”
“Father told me you had a big house up there. I can’t wait until I…” Her words were lost on him once they rounded a corner and turned out of sight from Wall and Beth.
Garrett strained to hear the muffled conversation, ignoring Victoria’s mumble. After a few breaths, they turned and he could once again hear Wall. “You should come out sometime. I’d love to show you the cherry trees, and I know Mother would love to have some female company around.”
“That sounds delightful,” Beth replied. Garrett squeezed his fists tight. He had no right to stop her from falling for Wall, but he couldn’t stand to watch them laughing together as if they were lovers.
“Ouch!” Victoria squealed, and turned an icy stare to him. “What was that for?”
Good God. In his eavesdropping, he hadn’t realized he’d squeezed Victoria’s arm so tight. “My apologies, I thought you were slipping.”
“I wasn’t,” she replied.
“I promise to be more careful.”
“You can help me off that ledge down there on the path.” She picked up the pace. They came to a mangled tree root entangled in an eroded ledge on the path and Garrett jumped down and turned. Victoria waited patiently with her hands outstretched to brace against his shoulders. He placed his hands on her hips, and glanced behind her to lock eyes with Beth.
She gave him a smile as she neared and her breath grew shallow like it did every time he bent down to kiss her, and he knew she felt the same as he did. Dear God. She wasn’t falling for Wall. The sparkle in her eye as she stared down at Garrett’s face proved it. But did she love him?
He set Victoria down, and she stepped past him.
“Let me help you, Miz Elizabeth.” Wall jumped down next to Garrett.
“I’ve got it,” Garrett said, as Beth stepped assuredly toward the drop off.
“Shouldn’t you be escorting Miz Victoria?” Wall gave him a strange look, aimed to insist on his departure.
“I can jump myself.” Beth leapt from the top, only to topple when she landed. Garrett caught her as she fell backward.
“Thanks,” she breathed. He held her for a second longer than he should, and then with his help, she stood upright.
He answered with a slow nod, and turned to a glaring Victoria.
After all he and Beth had been through already, he was reduced to stolen moments and looks of shared desire. He wasn’t certain just how long he could keep up the charade. Could he take another month of the torture of her presence? He needed to get the damn logs down the river so Beth could find her culprit—if he was indeed attached to the river crew, and then return to her life, and he to his now lonely existence without her.
First, he needed to find the traitor.
Chapter 17
“Aunt June sent me to give you this.” Beth offered the basket of food to Garrett. Her heart fluttered at the sight of him leaning nonchalantly against a large boulder near the lake. She wished Aunt June hadn’t insisted Carrie accompany her to bring the food. She wanted to be alone with him again. “She said we have to hurry back.”
“Thank God. I’m starving.” He grabbed the basket and flipped the red-checkered cloth off the top of the food, and then nodded at Carrie in greeting. “Ms. Carrie.”
“I can’t go anywhere alone,” Beth said. “Aunt June says I cause too much trouble.”
Garrett chuckled and took a bite of the beef chunk from the basket. “How is Simon? I’ve tried to visit him every morning, but I haven’t been able to catch a moment today.”
“He’s doing a lot better. Aunt June said she may let him try to get up in the next day or two.”
Garrett seemed to relax even more as he lounged against a tree and watched the raft.
“We’re going to The Grove next.”
The smile disappeared from Garrett’s face. “Take care. It’s been a few days since the fire, and nothing else has happened, but that doesn’t mean it won’t.”
“Is the train on its way?”
“It should be here later today. I’ve got the rivermen working the logs on the other side of the tracks, and the timber beasts are back at The Grove.”
“Do you think it will work?” she asked.
“It has to. If we work it right, and we can find out who’s behind the attacks, then we should be able to get enough wood.” Garrett took out a biscuit and began to eat.
“Has anyone seen anything suspicious?” Carrie asked. “We’re keeping our ears and eyes open at the camp, but so far we’ve only heard the usual chatter about the fire—uneducated speculation. Simon thinks we aren’t considering everyone. He says there’s got to be someone in camp that we haven’t looked at.”
“But who?” Beth asked the obvious question.
“Are we confident it wasn’t the guy who attacked you?” Carrie extended her hand toward Beth.
Beth shook her head. “No. It wasn’t Luther’s voice I heard.”
“Speak of the devil,” Garrett said. “Has anyone seen him yet? He seems to have disappeared off my radar. I’ve been busy. I haven’t had time to fire him yet. I figured I’d do it the first time I ran across him, but I haven’t, and no one I’ve asked knows where he is.”
“He hasn’t been to the supper table since the night you went looking for Beth,” Carrie answered.
“If we’re lucky, he left on his own.” Garrett finished eating, tucked the cloth back inside the basket, and handed it to Beth. “Tell Aunt June thank you.”
Beth acknowledged with a nod, and then followed Carrie back down the trail.
“I can see what you like in him.” Carrie looked back to where Garrett stood. “He’s handsome.”
“He’s betrothed to Victoria.”
“I don’t think he is.” Carrie took the lead while they walked. “A few days before I came up, I saw her at the Milner’s Ball, which by the way was dreadfully dull without you. I found a cozy spot between two gossiping spinsters. They’re convinced that Victoria will be headed east at the end of the summer to find a husband.”
Beth’s heartbeat kicked up at the news. If Victoria wasn’t intended for Garrett, then would he still be forced into marriage? “Who were the spinsters?”
“The Goodall sisters.”
As fast as her heart sped up, it slowed. “The Goodall sisters also said that Mary Ellen was going to have a bastard child last year, but look how that news turned out.”
“Mary Ellen is very happy at the mission. She’s mothering a flock.” Carrie grinned, and Beth rolled her eyes.
“The Goodall sisters like to make things up for the sake of gossip.” Beth slowed and pulled Carrie into a nearby brush when a flash of color flickered on the trail ahead of them. It wasn’t yet time to relieve Garrett, and no one else, besides them, would have any reason to come to the raft.
The only sound other than the footsteps of the intruder was Carrie’s frantic breaths, as she stood tense next to her. Beth nudged her and motioned with one finger to stay quiet. This could be the moment Beth had planned for when she decided to blackmail Simon so she could help him. The moment when she discovered who the saboteur was and exposed him.
The footsteps grew louder and, as Beth’s breath grew in time to Carrie’s, the young Bonner boy trotted past.
Beth’s shoulders sank, and she relaxed.
“What?” Carrie asked, her voice barely a whisper.
“It’s only Michael.”
At the sound, Michael stopped and turned with fear tearing his eyes.
“Who’s there?” he asked in a shaky voice.
“It’s only us,” Beth said, stepping from the brush. “We thought you were someone else.”
“So you hid in the bushes?” His voice changed to one of curiosity.
“We’re women,” Carrie said with a playful grin. “We’re scared of everything.”
Michael scrunched his nose. “My sister pees her pants every time I jump out at her from the hayloft at home.”
“You shouldn’t scare your poor sister,” Carrie chided. “She may end up socking you right in the nose one of these days.”
“Nah, she’s too small and scared.”
“What are you doing out here?” Beth asked.
Michael searched the trail nervously. “I…I came to find some dry tinder for the cook fire in my camp.”
“You shouldn’t come this far away from camp. It’s too dangerous.” Carrie’s tone matched that of a concerned mother.
“I’ve done picked all the tinder near the cabins.”
“Best hurry and get back. You don’t want to be caught this far out at night.” Beth started down the trail, and then turned back on second thought. “And you should probably return to camp. Garrett is near the raft, and if he sees you, you may get a scolding from him.”
“I’ll…I’ll find tinder somewhere else.” His eyes filled with fear, and he turned to push past them, headed toward camp. True Garrett was a man who could frighten a pelt right off a beaver, but he was a kind ruler. Why would the boy be so frightened at the thought of a scolding?
Beth and Carrie both turned and followed at a slower pace, watching as the Bonner boy ran back up the trail.
Disappointment niggled inside her. Aside from Michael, no one else had even attempted to come toward the raft. The plan they’d laid out to weed out the saboteur, while at the time had seemed like a good one, had failed miserably. Not only that, but she’d talked to virtually everyone and not one of them sounded like the man from the platform. How were they ever going to catch the traitor?
* * * *
Beth strained under the pressure of Simon’s weight as she helped him stand. His legs shook, but he took first one half step, and then another, toward the chair in the corner. She felt his muscles quiver beneath her fingers, and she knew he wasn’t as strong as he’d claimed. “Maybe you should get back in bed.”
“Nonsense. Get me to that chair, Lizbe, or I’ll go myself.” Simon shuffled forward again and leaned heavily on her arm. She shifted to put his weight on her shoulders while taking care not to touch his wounds. “How long have I been in that bed?”
“A few weeks. I honestly thought you’d be further along by now, but you barely leave the bed.”
A knock sounded, and Carrie came in and shut the door behind her. “Goodness, why is he out of bed?”
She rushed over and dipped low to take a position under his arm on the other side. Simon’s face softened, and he seemed to limp even more than he did before. Weight eased from Beth’s shoulders the slightest bit as Carrie’s hand fluttered on his chest to help brace herself for an added weight.
“You used the lavender soap again.” Simon leaned toward Carrie’s hair and took a deep inhale.
“You said you liked it and it made you feel better.” Carrie adjusted her hold on Simon’s torso.
“I do.” They got to the chair and with a slow descent, Simon sat. His eyes sparkled when he drew his gaze from Carrie’s face, to her toes.
Carrie bustled around Beth’s brother and stuffed a blanket around his legs as Simon took another sniff of her hair. What had Beth missed?
“Thank you.” He smiled up at Carrie. His bandages were long gone from his face, and in their place a red scar the length of her thumbnail paralleled his eyebrow, and another sliced first across the back part of his cheek, and then swooped down the side of his neck. Bandages wrapped around his torso, hiding the remainder of his wounds.
Simon had yet to see his beautiful features marred by the wicked wounds, and Beth didn’t know how he would take it. Tonight, though, Aunt June had planned to let him see what the vicious cougar had done.
Another knock on the door sounded, and Garrett and Aunt June slipped in.
“You look in good spirits,” Garrett said.
“I’ve had the best nurses in the world.”
“Let’s get to it, then.” Aunt June bustled up to Simon and began to unravel the gauze. Beth went to get the looking glass for her brother. Her shoulder brushed Garrett’s arm, and her breath failed. Garrett stiffened. The dim light of the candle-lit cabin fai
led to hide the desire that sparked instantly in his eyes.
Garrett’s mouth tensed to form a straight line before he tore his gaze away and stared at her brother once more.
Taking a lung full of air to control her rapid heartbeat, she grabbed up the looking glass and brought it to her brother. She handed it to him facedown and waited without breathing as her brother studied his reflection.
Simon traced the healing scars from his cheekbone to his neck. The only indication of his pain was a slight twitch of his jaw muscles. He glanced down to his torso where four long slashes marked his once flawless chest down to his stomach. He outlined them with his finger.
“There are also a few gashes on your thigh, and puncture wounds on your shoulder.” Aunt June pointed out the teeth marks where the cougar had dragged him into the brush.
“Good God, I’m lucky to be alive,” he whispered. The expression on his face grew dark, and he flashed a quick glance at Carrie, and then looked back at the mirror.
“You are,” Aunt June agreed. “If it wasn’t for Garrett’s quick thinking, and Wall showing up at the right time, I’d have had to bury that pretty face of yours.”
“It’s not pretty anymore, Aunt June.” Simon studied his reflection again.
“You’re as good looking as you ever were,” Carrie replied.
“I think you doth protest too much.” Simon tried to convey humor in his tone, but failed. The anger behind the words was unmistakable.
“Nonsense,” Aunt June chimed. “You’re as handsome as ever, only now you’re a bit more rugged is all.”
“At least you’re safe from the mayor now.” Beth tried to lighten the mood, but it must not have worked.
Everyone save Simon shot her a look of reprove. Her brother gave a small chuckle. “Does that mean you’re done blackmailing me?”
“Yes. I’ve thrown in my lot with the cook. You’re free.”
White Water Passion Page 19
