A Bridge Between Us

by K. K. Allen

  A thick cloud of dust floats through the air as we round the corner of the bleachers to where Josie said to meet her. I search the crowd and spot my friend just as an announcer’s voice booms through the speakers. He’s commenting on the current barrel race, his excitement fueling the fan noise all around us. I’d almost forgotten the natural high I get from being at these events. The crowd gets so into it, and the bulls are all charged up, pounding their hooves in the dirt as they grunt, snort, and drive their horns angrily into their miniprisons.

  I start to move forward again, then a bell dings loudly followed by a blare of a bullhorn, causing me to jump as my heart flies into my throat.

  Ridge grabs my waist and leans down, laughing in my ear. “You weren’t joking about getting scared of the bulls.”

  I smile. “It’s so loud. I can’t help it. C’mon.” I lead him up the bleachers to where Josie and Abner are. Not until we reach their section of risers do I notice Raven and Trip sitting above them, both sets of icy-blue eyes glued to us.

  Ridge must see them, too, because he takes hold of my hand and squeezes. He’s trying to comfort me, but I can sense the looming awkwardness that we’ve managed to avoid until now. Rumors have been circulating about our relationship, but it’s a much different thing to expose that relationship to the public eye.

  “Geez, you’d think the Capulets and the Montagues were among us.” Josie looks pointedly at the folks with their eyes trained on Ridge and me. Then she stands. “The star-crossed lovers are alive and well!” she booms, waving her hands at us.

  Laughing, I tug her back down to her seat and cover her mouth to shut her up then release it. “How much wine have you had?”

  Josie throws a look at her husband, who is now rolling his eyes in amusement. “Too much. Right, Abs?”

  Abner nods emphatically. “I cut her off just before you got here.”

  “Aww, we missed all the fun.”

  Ridge leans in. “Is that my cue to go get you wine?”

  I grin. “I would love you forever.”

  He narrows his eyes. “That’s nonnegotiable.”

  When his expression slips into a smile, my insides start to melt. He leans in and kisses me and is in no rush to pull away. When he finally does, a buzz of electricity is still on my lips, and the heat of our first public display of affection rises to my cheeks.

  “Be right back.” He winks and heads back down the steps.

  I watch him walk away, feeling the same flutters in my chest I felt back when I first met him. He’s the epitome of man now, in his tight Wranglers that hug his muscular thighs, and his plaid shirt that does nothing for the erotic hunk of a man underneath it. It will be my pleasure to tear off each one of those buttons tonight as soon as I get him alone.

  “So.” Josie turns my attention back to her. “How was the visit with Mama Selena?”

  A chill sweeps over me as I remember our conversation back at the house. Her explanation for why she didn’t tell me was acceptable, but I wish I’d been prepared for the emotional afternoon. I can’t remember ever seeing Ridge cry, and witnessing his tears just about broke me. At the same time, the conversation also felt like closure, in a sense, something Ridge may have needed without ever knowing it.

  I fill Josie in, and her mouth hangs open, just like mine did when I heard the news.

  “It’s like you two are true fated mates, destined to be together no matter what.”

  I laugh at my dramatic friend, though I don’t disagree.

  Her eyes go wide. “I mean it, Camila. Your pull to him has always been so strong and intense. In the beginning, I didn’t understand it, but then I saw you two together, and it was so obvious. And I’m not just talking about the fangirl vibes you were shooting off. I’m talking about Ridge too. I’ve never seen anything like it.” She squeezes my hand, adopting a serious expression. “I’m glad it’s working out this time. I’m not going to lie. I was a little scared to see something like this happen after last time.”

  My heart swells. “I know you were, but this time is different. No more feuding fathers, no more secrets, no more creepy mines…” The words are out before I can stop them when I remember how Josie gets about that night.

  “Don’t even bring that up. I could have lost you. For a long time, I thought I did.”

  I hug her arm. “But you didn’t. I’m right here, happier than ever. I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

  She shudders. “Please don’t mention it again.”

  We watch the end of the barrel racing events, then cattle roping begins, and I look toward the stairs to see if Ridge is heading back. He’s been gone awhile, and I know he doesn’t want to miss the bull riders coming out next.

  When I still don’t see him a minute later, I stand and yell over the crowd noise to Josie, “I’m going to find Ridge. Be right back.”

  I jog down the stairs and round the bleachers, then I spot him in the distance with his hands full of goodies. Laughing, I race toward him, accidentally bumping someone on the way. Popcorn flies everywhere.

  “I’m so sorry!” I gasp, turning to find an older man looking around at the mess. “I’ll buy you another one, sir. I didn’t see you there.”

  The man looks up, and my heart jolts into my throat when I realize it’s our family’s old groundskeeper. “Gus. It’s so good to see you.” I throw my arms around my old friend, who doesn’t seem to hug me back. Ignoring the strange vibes, I step back and smile. “I’m so sorry about your popcorn. I didn’t even see you, but I’m happy to buy you another one.”

  When Gus is still looking at me as if I’m a strange person, I figure he doesn’t remember me. “I’m sorry. You probably don’t remember me.” I laugh, feeling flustered. “I’m Camila Bell. You used to work at my vineyard.” I search his eyes, waiting for a response, and I get one, but it’s not the one I expect.

  Gus glares at me as he chucks what remains of his popcorn into the trash. “I remember you all right. Wish I could forget, if I’m being honest.”

  His hostility is a shock until I remember that it’s been over ten years since I’ve seen the man, and the last time I saw him was right before he got fired. Then I remember how angry Brody was toward me at High Pie when I first arrived back in Telluride. Guilt lashes at me.

  “Gus, I’m so sorry about everything that happened back then. You should never have been fired because of that fence. You weren’t the one who cut it. You weren’t the one who shot at me that night.”

  His face twitches, like he wants to say something, and my heart beats fast. I’m probably reading into things because I want him to say more. I want him to tell me that he believes my story and that Dave knew exactly what—or who—he was hunting that night.

  “You have nothing to be sorry for, Camila. You were just a young girl doing what young girls do. Me, on the other hand, I should have known better.”

  His sour expression irks me. The damaged fence that let the wildlife wander in wasn’t the problem that night. “What do you mean, you ‘should have known better’?”

  His eyes dart around before he takes a step closer and lowers his voice. “I should have told them all what I knew—the truth. I should have told them all that you weren’t the crazy one.” His expression softens from uneasy to apologetic. “I should have told them about that damn mine.”

  I blink, digesting his information at a rate much slower than I should be. “Wait. Told them what about the mine?”

  Gus cringes. “Your papa wanted to know how Dave Lachey gained access to the land. Told me to check out the mine that night after everyone went home, and I did. That mine was our secret underground to access endless miles of hunting ground when no one was the wiser. When your pops demanded it be forbidden all those years ago, he ordered me to padlock that thing shut. I’m not so proud of my hunting days, and I thought it was all dead and laid to rest until that terrible night. No one was supposed to have access to that mine. But Dave was clearly still using it.”

  “Where do
es the mine go?”

  Gus shakes his head. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

  His omissions are so frustrating, but he’s already told me more than anyone else ever has. Everything he’s saying reopens the sealed box of memories that I’ve been trying to suffocate for years. “I don’t understand why you’re telling me all this now. Why didn’t you say something then?”

  “I was scared, Camila. I had a family who needed my protection. I took the threats given very seriously.”

  “Threats? What threats? From whom?”

  “Threats to keep my mouth shut. But don’t you worry about who. That doesn’t matter. After I got fired, I would have just looked like a disgruntled employee if I had fessed up.” He waves a hand at me. “At least you were safe. Crazy Dave is dead, and to me, that was what mattered most.”

  I give Gus my best smile then hug him again, unable to help it. “I’m still thankful to you for taking care of me that night. You were always sweet to me, and I’ll never forget your kindness. Your job is waiting, if you ever want to come back to the vineyard.”

  Gus bows his head. “I appreciate that, but I won’t be stepping foot on that property again with Thomas Bradshaw still working there. I always hated that man.” His eyes fall quickly to my neck then back up. “I’m happy to see your necklace was returned to you.”

  I touch the arrowhead, my eyes widening. “You knew I lost it?”

  He nods while wearing a deep frown. “I found it that night near the entrance of the mine. When I remembered it, I had Brody give it to Raven.” He takes a step back and waves. “I’m glad you’re well, Camila. Tell your mama I said hi.”

  “I will.”

  Ridge finally gets to me as I watch Gus walk away, wishing he had stayed and that I knew all the questions to ask him right then and there, but I’m still processing everything.

  He admitted to keeping the mine a secret. But why? What would be the purpose of hiding the passageway Dave Lachey used to poach on our land?

  Ridge gives me a strange look. “You okay?”

  Still stunned, I shake my head and force out a smile. “Gus was the one who found my necklace.” Then I lose some of my smile as I consider telling him more about our conversation. But I decide to let it go for now. Ridge and I are on a date. I’m not going to let more thoughts about that awful night take this night away from me too.

  Chapter 59

  Ridge

  Camila seems distracted for the rest of the rodeo. She’s in her own head with her eyes glazed over while the crowd laughs and cheers for the rodeo clowns as they escape the bulls just in the nick of time. Even Josie throws me concerned glances when she notices how off Camila is acting. She is with us physically, but mentally, she’s somewhere completely different.

  At one point, I search the crowd for Gus, who I find sitting with his wife and two adult kids. Whatever he and Camila talked about earlier seemed pretty intense. While I’m dying to ask Camila what was said, now isn’t the right time, with her peers surrounding us, and I can anticipate what she’ll unleash.

  As soon as we’re back in the truck, I start the engine and turn to her. I’ve never seen Camila so consumed by her thoughts. Even when we sat up on the hillside for hours at a time, she always felt present in the moment with me.

  “Okay,” I start gently. “You’re kind of freaking me out.”

  She turns to look at me, void of emotion, which only worries me more. “Huh?”

  “Camila,” I say, leaning in. “You’ve been on another planet ever since you talked to Gus. What happened?”

  She shakes her head, looking almost pained. “Nothing happened. He just—said some stuff about that night. I guess I’m still trying to make sense of it.”

  Camila doesn’t need to say anything more for my blood to start running hot through my veins. We don’t talk about that night. I can sense that it still troubles her deeply, and I don’t need any reminders of my guilt in what happened. If I hadn’t left that night, she would never have been out in the woods alone.

  After learning Camila’s side of the story, I had to combat my rage at the thought of Dave Lachey coming after her. The sick fuck hunted her down like she was game. Her story still haunts me, especially since I wasn’t even there.

  “That’s right. Gus was there that night.” I knit my brow. “What did he have to say about it? Why would he even bring it up?”

  “I brought it up,” she says, surprising me. “I apologized for the way my papa treated him because of what happened to me. I wanted to tell Gus that I knew it wasn’t his fault. I even offered him a job."

  “That was nice of you.”

  She lets out a small laugh. “Yeah, well, he didn’t want to take it. He said he won’t step foot on that land again while Thomas is still working there. Can’t blame him for that. He also told me he knew about the mine. Papa told Gus to go there that night to see if that was how Dave accessed the property. Apparently, their whole hunting group used the mine to access thousands of acres of hunting land.” Her eyes settle on me. “That was where Gus found my necklace.”

  “What?” My blood boils as I try to comprehend what she’s telling me. “Where does the tunnel go?”

  She takes in a slow breath and shrugs. “He wouldn’t say, but they all lied that night. They all knew Crazy Dave and knew how he got onto the property. My guess is they were trying to protect each other and what they all took part in years ago.”

  “Shit, Camila. This is starting to sound even more fucked up than before.”

  “I know. I’m still trying to process everything, but now I can’t get that damn mine out of my head. Like it contains the missing piece of a puzzle that’s always felt unfinished.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “I don’t know. All I know is that when I was younger, I never feared a damn thing. Then that night happened. Now it’s like I’m paralyzed with fear at any recollection of it. I haven’t even tried to go back to the bridge or the hilltop.” Sadness fills her expression. “I miss it, Ridge. I miss it all.”

  “We can go back to the hilltop together. We can go back to the bridge too. But it’s natural for you to want to avoid those places. What happened that night is incomprehensible. You could have died.”

  She shudders. “I know. But every other time in my life when I’ve encountered something that should scare me, I face it head-on. Maybe I need to do the same thing with that mine. Maybe I need to go back.”

  “No!” I don’t mean to sound so forceful or even tell Camila what to do. But the last thing she should do is go back to that place. I won’t let her. “We’ll go to the hilltop, and we’ll go to the bridge, but we’re staying away from that side of the mountain. There’s no point in going back there, Camila. Don’t even try to fight me on this.”

  She sits back against her seat with a huff while I drive us to my place. But even though I slammed the door on her suggestion, I know better than to think it will remain closed for long.

  Chapter 60

  Camila

  My calves feel like lead as I try to push forward, and an arrow whizzes past my head. A sob bubbles up my throat as the weapon splinters in the tree directly in front of me. He’s gaining on me, and I can’t seem to get away from him, no matter how hard I try.

  The bridge is up ahead, and I put all my focus on it. If I can reach it, it will all be over.

  Whoosh.

  Another arrow flies by me, followed by another menacing laugh.

  The soil draws me down, sucking me in like quicksand and making it impossible to escape. Then I feel the hot graze of an arrow slicing at my waist. Mewling in pain, I fall hard to the ground. Dirt and grass cake my face, and I spit it away as I start to crawl.

  Searing pain explodes through my arms and waist as blood pools beneath me. Heavy footsteps crunch closer and closer. When I realize I can’t crawl any faster, I flip around to find myself staring back into dark, beady eyes. The man’s face is cloaked by a skull mask, and he lowers his weapon
as he takes his final steps toward me.

  I’m completely paralyzed, and I cry out in frustration when my limbs refuse to work for me. Then he stands over me, feet planted on either side of my body, raises his bow, and cranks his arm back just enough to pin me to the ground with one easy shot.

  A scream bursts from my throat, piercing my lungs, and only stops when my entire body pitches forward, making everything around me go dark.

  The hunter is gone, but so is my sense of everything else—everything but one voice.

  “Camila!” the frantic voice calls. “Camila, wake up. It’s just a dream.”

  My heart crashes against my ribcage as I reach for my side, expecting to feel blood oozing from the tear in my skin. But there’s no blood. The hunter is gone. And everything feels still.

  “You’re okay, Wild One. You’re okay.”

  I gasp, recognizing Ridge’s soothing voice, then cling to him like he’s my last breath of air. Sobs rack my chest, and tears rush from my eyes. He holds me, skin to skin, but the tears don’t stop. A decade’s worth of pain and deep-rooted terror that I’ve stuffed down deep in my chest is seeping to the surface all at once.

  He wipes my tears and kisses my cheeks, my hair, and my lips. Then he pushes me down onto the bed and hushes me with his soft, sweet, and loving words, which eventually bring me back to the here and now. I’m okay. I’m safe. Dave is dead, and I’m in Ridge’s arms. I suck in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I can finally breathe.

  The relief that rushes through me is almost as overwhelming as my dream was. I wrap my hand around the back of Ridge’s neck and pull him down to kiss me. Our mouths crash together, and I run my hand down his perfectly lined muscles until I get to that deep V that points to his shaft. I take him in my grip and stroke him until he’s as hard as a rock. He groans out his pleasure.

  I don’t know what has come over me, but I want him so desperately that my entire body aches for him. I need him, and I need him now. Quickly spreading my legs, I line him up at my entrance and let him take over. Inch by thick inch, he snakes into me, fulfilling me to the very end.