The Target

by Gerri Hill

  “Terrified? She doesn’t want to be first lady?”

  “She thinks he’d be an awful president. I have to agree.”

  “But if he did get elected, wouldn’t you be required to participate?”

  “Participate in what?”

  “Hell, I don’t know. Like I said, I’m not really into politics. It just always seems the daughters get air time.”

  “What I’d be required to participate in would be a Secret Service escort. Can you imagine having someone around every single hour of the day?”

  “What about your clinic? Your sessions?”

  “Yes. We’d have an agent here with us right now.”

  “Well, maybe you’ll get lucky and they’ll assign a female agent,” Jaime teased.

  Chapter Twelve

  It was a cloudy, cold morning and Sara looked up, wondering if the forecast of no snow was wrong. Everyone had donned sweatshirts and some had even slipped on gloves. But within an hour, the skies began clearing and the sun warmed them. At the first stop, Sara pulled off her sweatshirt and shoved it into her pack. Most of the others did the same. She noticed that Jaime replaced her sweatshirt with a flannel shirt that she left open over her T-shirt. Their eyes met and Sara smiled slightly before looking away.

  She hadn’t intended to reveal quite so much to the other woman last night but it had felt good to just talk with someone. She spent most of her time listening to others talk and she rarely took the time for casual dinners with friends where she could share some of her thoughts and feelings. There just wasn’t enough time. In truth, there really weren’t that many friends. And that was her fault. She had a hard time trusting people. She’d been burned too many times when she’d found they were more interested in her father’s name than in her.

  Maybe that’s why she was starting to take a liking to Jaime. Jaime didn’t care who her father was.

  “Wow. Look at that,” Sandra said, pointing overhead. “What is it?”

  They all looked up, watching the large bird as it circled over them.

  “It’s a golden eagle,” Jaime said. “Isn’t he beautiful?”

  “He’s huge.”

  “I guess so. Six-foot wing span.”

  Sandra stared at her. “You know a lot, don’t you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Out here. You know what the trees are, what the mountains are, the birds. Like that little bird we saw this morning, the one with the black cap. What was it again?”

  “Mountain chickadee,” Jaime supplied. “And I don’t know all that much. You just learn as you go. Next time you’re out here, you’ll know a bird and impress someone, huh?”

  Sandra laughed. “It’s beautiful out here but I can’t imagine doing another hike like this one.”

  “Why not?” Jaime asked as they fell into step again.

  “Oh, you look right at home out here. So does Sara. But I’m an old city girl. Never been camping a day in my life.”

  “So this is a crash course, huh?”

  “But I’m having fun. Yesterday in the hot springs was wonderful. I hope we can do that again.”

  “I’m sure we can.” She pulled out the trail map that was folded in her back pocket. “Look here,” she pointed. “I’d guess we’re about right here,” she said, moving her finger across the map. “See all these blue dots? They’re springs. See where the trail goes? Once we cross over the Mt. Harvard trail, we’ll be crossing all sorts of streams and most of them have hot springs.”

  “Where did you camp before?” Celia asked as she looked at the map.

  Jaime unfolded the map one more time. “Over here. We’ve probably got about two more days hiking before we get there. But it’s beautiful. The springs are about as big as a swimming pool. It would be a great area to spend two nights.”

  Sandra poked her elbow against Jaime’s ribs. “Why don’t you mention that to the Sarge?”

  “Well, she’s probably got an agenda. Might not be enough time to stop for two days.”

  “Yeah, but ask anyway, would you?”

  Jaime nodded. “Sure. I’ll give it a try.”

  “By the way,” Celia said quietly. “I heard you two up talking last night.”

  “Yeah, we visited a bit.”

  “Making any progress?”

  “With what?”

  Celia smiled. “You know. With your date?”

  Jaime burst out laughing, causing the others to stop and turn.

  “What’s going on back there?” Abby demanded. “If you’re going to do jokes, you have to share with everyone.”

  Sara turned around too, her eyes finding Jaime’s at the back of the line. She raised her eyebrows, waiting.

  “Nothing,” Jaime murmured. “It’s private,” she added.

  “Uh-huh.” Sara noticed the amusement on both Sandra’s and Celia’s faces and wondered what they were up to. “How about a break?”

  “Don’t have to ask me twice,” Abby said, already tossing her pack on the ground.

  “Sorry about that, honey,” Celia whispered as both she and Sandra leaned against the same tree as Jaime.

  “No problem.”

  “You know, I don’t recall Sara ever mentioning a special someone,” Celia said. She nudged Jaime with her shoulder. “You might have a chance.”

  “Well, you’ll certainly be the first to know.” Jaime slid her eyes to where Sara was sitting, alone. The mountain breeze was blowing the blond hair onto her face and she watched as slim fingers reached out to try and tame it. Jaime stared, wondering when the last time was she’d found someone this attractive. Actually, she realized it had been months since she’d even gone out on a date and that was someone her friend Carol had set her up with. It had turned out to be a nice dinner but there wasn’t even a tiny spark between them and she had never called the woman again.

  But Sara? Well, she would have given just about anything to have had Sara strip off her swimsuit yesterday. She closed her eyes and smiled. Of course, then she’d probably have just made a fool out of herself.

  They hiked until nearly four o’clock, through stands of golden aspens and along ridges dotted with spruce trees. The views were incredible and most of the women pulled out small digital cameras to capture the scenes. Once, Sandra handed her camera to Celia and wrapped her arm around Jaime’s shoulder, smiling big as Celia snapped their picture.

  There would be no hot springs this evening as they weren’t even near a stream but they would at least have a campfire. And they would need it. As soon as the sun dipped below the mountains, the cold returned. Jaime traded her flannel shirt for the sweatshirt again, then helped to gather downed wood for their fire. Sara made a fire ring out of rocks and piled pine needles and cones inside before adding smaller twigs. She handed Abby a book of matches.

  “Want to do the honors?”

  “Absolutely.”

  All the women watched as Abby knelt down and struck the match, cupping it to keep it from blowing out. Soon, the flame licked at the pine needles and they had their first big campfire going. Cheers and claps resounded and Jaime looked up, right into the smiling eyes of Sara Michaels.

  After they ate their dinners and cleaned up the pots, all twelve of them crowded around the fire, trying to keep warm. But one by one, the cold chased them off and the women retreated into the tents and sleeping bags, until only Sara and Jaime remained.

  “It’s barely eight,” Jaime said from across the fire.

  “They’re not used to this much activity. But I thought having a fire might keep them up longer.”

  Jaime nodded although she hadn’t missed the wink Celia had given her when she’d left them alone. The older woman was apparently playing matchmaker.

  “You seem to be in pretty good shape for a CPA,” Sara said.

  Jaime laughed. “I hate that stereotype. I’m a gym rat, actually.”

  They were both quiet, staring into the fire. Then Sara leaned forward, watching Jaime.

  “Can I ask you some
thing?”

  “Of course.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  Smiling, Jaime raised her eyebrows. “Are we back to that again? Still think I’m a serial killer?”

  “I haven’t made up my mind. But surely, this can’t be your idea of a quiet backpacking trip. Why are you still traveling with us?”

  Jaime stirred the fire, watching embers dance as they rose from the flames. “You want me to make up something witty or just tell you the truth?”

  “I’m a big advocate of the truth.”

  “Okay.” Jaime leaned forward too. She met the blue-green eyes across from her and held them captive. “The truth is, I think you’re cute as hell and I find myself extremely attracted to you.”

  Sara’s breath caught. “Excuse me?”

  “Besides, I have a great view from the back of the line. I think you have a very sexy walk.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You said you wanted the truth.”

  Sara was at a loss for words. Jaime Hutchinson had to be the most conceited, arrogant . . . flirt she had ever met. All she could do was stare at her.

  “No comment?” Jaime finally asked. “You’re not going to tell me the feeling is mutual?”

  Sara smiled and shook her head. “I’m not sure I even like you.”

  “You’ve got to give it time. I’m sure I’ll grow on you.”

  “I don’t think we have that much time.” Sara stood and brushed off her jeans. “Make sure the fire is out.”

  Jaime nodded and watched as Sara retreated into her tent. “Damn, but she’s cute. Sexy and cute,” she murmured as she stirred the fire again.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Three days later, they were crossing the Mt. Harvard trail at ten thousand feet. They had explored a large rock formation for nearly an hour and everyone sat on the edge of the cliff, feet dangling over the side as they enjoyed the views. Everyone except Sara, who insisted they were entirely too close to the edge.

  “Well, while you’re standing back there, Sarge, why don’t you take our picture?” Jaime suggested.

  “You’re insane.”

  “It’s not that bad, Sara,” Abby said. “It’s a gradual drop-off.”

  “This would make a great picture,” Sandra said, turning around to hand Sara her camera. “Make sure you get all of us.”

  Sara took a step closer to grab the camera, too embarrassed to tell them that she had a slight fear of heights. She walked backward, trying to fit them all into the frame. They turned their heads and leaned into each other, the same smiles on all their faces, Jaime included.

  “One, two . . . three,” she called, snapping the picture. She lowered the camera. “Happy now? Will you please come away from the edge?”

  “I think she’s worried about you,” Celia teased quietly.

  “I think she’s worried about a lawsuit,” Jaime said which caused Sandra to burst out laughing.

  Sara scowled at them. Jaime was a troublemaker, she decided.

  But Sara was as excited as the rest of them. They were within an hour of the springs Jaime had been telling them about. Springs as large as a swimming pool, she promised. Hopefully, they wouldn’t have to share it with bears.

  “And you know, Sara, if we stayed for two days, we could do laundry,” Jaime suggested, remembering Celia’s request for an extended visit.

  “Laundry? God yes,” Abby said. “I’m afraid if I take these jeans off one more time, they’re going to walk away on their own.”

  They all laughed and Sara looked down at her own dirty jeans. She’d instructed them all not to bring more than three changes of clothes. Yes, probably a laundry day in the springs would be a good idea. That and a bath.

  “Okay. I suppose we can stay two nights there,” she agreed. Her announcement was met with cheers.

  “I like her more and more every day,” Jaime said. Sandra was a few steps behind her and she turned to wait for her when something caught her eye. A reflection, perhaps, high up on the ridge behind them. As she watched, it disappeared. “You going to make another hour, Sandra?” Jaime asked, her eyes still scanning the mountainside behind them.

  “No problem. Not when I know we’ll have two days to play.”

  Jaime nodded. What could have caused the reflection? Glass? Metal? Could be anything. She turned to walk on but she had a nagging feeling that it wasn’t just anything. She stopped and scratched her head, then turned back again, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, just the scattered spruce and fir trees that had found footholds in the rocks. She had convinced herself that these threats against Sara Michaels were bogus. Hell, even the FBI suggested they were. But what if they weren’t? What if someone had been following them the whole time? Watching them? And all the while, she’d been more concerned with having a good time and teasing Sara, not protecting her.

  “Goddamn,” she murmured.

  “You coming?”

  Jaime looked back at Sandra and shook her head. “You know what? You go on ahead. I’ll catch up. I know the way. I want to do a little exploring around here, maybe chase up a bird or two.”

  “A bird?”

  Jaime grinned. “Yeah. It’ll be quieter without all you guys running your mouths.”

  Sandra waved. “Okay. Go on. But I’ll expect you in the hot springs later.”

  “It’s a date.”

  Jaime’s smile faded as soon as Sandra walked away and she turned back toward the trail, wondering where to start. Up this high, the vegetation was thin. She decided to go down between the two ridges, trying to conceal herself as much as possible behind the boulders that dotted the area. She slipped once on a rock and landed on her ass, stopping her downward slide by grabbing a tree.

  “Nice and quiet, Jaime. You’re doing great,” she murmured sarcastically, getting to her feet again. She circled around, constantly watching the mountainside for movement. Then there it was, the reflection again. She whipped out her binoculars, scanning the trees and rocks, seeing nothing.

  “Shit.”

  She studied the area, wondering what it could be. She looked up. The sun was at her back, shining directly on the mountain, no doubt reflecting off of . . . something. Then she looked at her binoculars. Could be reflecting off of the glass of a binocular lens or spotting scope. Her eyes widened. Or off of the scope on a rifle. She shook her head. She was letting her imagination get the best of her. If they’d been followed for the past six days by someone with a rifle, surely they could have taken a shot by now.

  “I hate this job.”

  She waited another half-hour but saw neither movement nor the reflection again. Well, regardless, it was time she let Sara Michaels in on it. It was only fair. After all, she was the target of this supposed threat.

  As Sara walked, she noticed something was missing. The constant chatter at the back of the line. She stopped and turned around, looking for the laughing brown eyes that were normally there waiting for her. She found none.

  “Where’s Jaime?” she asked. Everyone turned around and looked at Sandra.

  “She went off by herself,” Sandra said as she tried to catch her breath.

  “Off where?” Sara demanded.

  Sandra shrugged. “Just off. She was looking for some bird or something.”

  “A bird?”

  “That’s what she said.”

  “Is she coming back?”

  “Yeah. She said she knew the way, Ms. Michaels. I think maybe she just wanted a little alone time.”

  “Uh-huh.” But Sara shrugged. She shouldn’t really care. It wasn’t like she invited her on this trip to begin with. She started walking again. According to the map and Jaime’s directions, they should be at the river any minute.

  And fifteen minutes later, they heard water cascading over rocks. At the water crossing, Sara turned upstream as Jaime had told her, easily finding the well-worn trail between the trees. Apparently, these hot springs were popular. A short while later, she saw the steam rising.

  �
��Oh my God,” Abby said. “It’s beautiful.”

  Yes, it was. Practically an oasis stuck high up in the Rocky Mountains. The river dropped some twenty feet onto boulders that were strewn about then flowed into a pool that was nearly bubbling as hot thermal water escaped the cracks underground and formed the springs. It was as Jaime had said, the size of a swimming pool.

  “I vote we stay three days,” Sandra said.

  Sara smiled and dropped her pack, her eyes still glued to the water. It was absolutely beautiful. One of the prettiest sights she had ever seen. Again she turned, looking around for Jaime. Damn the woman. She’d only been with them six days. How could she possibly have gotten used to her being around in that short of time?

  After the tents were set up, everyone changed and hurried into the hot springs. Sara noticed that not one woman discarded her swimsuit this time. She, too, changed into her one-piece suit and joined them. They were all enjoying the water, but not like they had the last time. Conversations were quiet and she realized that in only a few short days, Jaime’s presence, or lack thereof, was a major influence on the group. Again, she looked down the trail, hoping to catch sight of her.

  Submerging into the warm water, she let out a satisfied moan as her body was enveloped. She, too, missed the chatter of the other woman—and the unlimited stories she seemed to have at her disposal. Jaime was able to reach them on a different level, Sara realized. Instead of telling them not to leave food out, she told them of a time a bear had come looking for food. Instead of simply telling them not to drink the water, she told them of a time when someone had taken a drink. Sara knew with this group, and with all the others, she had missed connecting with them on that level. She was their counselor, teacher . . . but never friend. And she, like the others, missed Jaime’s presence now.

  Finally, after nearly thirty minutes of quiet talk, she spotted the familiar figure walking up the trail. A relieved smiled touched her face before she could stop it.