Authors: Jayne Ann Krentz
She felt Jake come to a halt. Her own body was sent crashing into
his as he braced himself in what was still waist-high water. His hands were suddenly under her arms, lifting her up toward the boulders that promised safety.
Desperately Heather grasped, pulling herself up along the wet slippery surface. Her scrabbling shoes found purchase for a moment and then she was almost free of the pull of the water.
The leather belt that she had been hanging on to for dear life started to slip through her fingers.
„Jake,“ she cried, realizing what was happening. She grabbed for the end of the belt with both hands and, lying flat on the surface of the rock, held tight.
„Let go, Heather. You’ll only get pulled back into the water,“ he yelled.
She knew what was going to happen. She had made it up out of the waters and onto the relative safety of the rocks because she’d had someone to lift her up and out. There was no one behind Jake to provide that impetus. If she couldn’t pull him out, he would never make it. The force of the water was simply too powerful.
„I’m going to pull you out, Jake!“ she shouted.
„You can’t. You’re not strong enough. Let go of the
belt, damn it!“ It was an order, delivered with all the force of a man who meant to be obeyed.
Heather ignored it, wriggling backward along the rock until she was over a small ridge in the boulder. Angling the leather strap over the ridge, she looped it around her wrist and tugged with every ounce of her being.
„Heather! Let go!“
She didn’t bother to answer. It was a totally ridiculous suggestion; anyhow, there was literally no way she could release the belt unless it tore off her hand. Releasing it would be to give Jake over to the hurtling waters. Impossible.
Arms stretched overhead, feeling as though they were about to be torn from their sockets, Heather used the ridge of the rock as a fulcrum for the leather. It provided a hard edge that would not give way. As long as she could hold on to the end of the belt and as long as the loops of Jake’s jeans did not give way she could hold on to the man she loved.
With an intense grimness she began inching down the far side of the rock. The trip was made in increments of centimeters but it was slowly, painfully being accomplished. Apparently Jake had stopped trying to fight her and was assisting in his own rescue effort.
Time became meaningless. All that mattered to Heather was gaining one more fraction of an inch. The leather strap bit into her wrist, the pain intense, but she ignored it. The weight of her body along with the pivot edge provided by the rock combined to give her the vital margin she needed.
The rock curved sharply beneath her and Heather tried to throw herself down the far side, utilizing the full weight of her body to drag the leather a full three inches.
Abruptly the bite of the leather around her wrist slackened. Heather jerked her head up, aware that
something had given way. Either Jake had found a way to free himself and was being carried helplessly downstream or….
„Lady, one of these days I’m going to teach you how to obey simple straightforward orders, if it’s the last thing I do on earth.“
Heather looked up, stunned, to find him staring down at her from the top of the rock.
„But not today,“ he concluded as he scrambled over the rise of the boulder and dropped down beside her. „Not today.“ He reached for her with a husky sound.
And then she was in his arms, clinging madly. The rain continued to drench them but they were clear of the raging waters of the stream and out of reach of the two men who were hunting them.
„There’s no way anyone else is going to get across that flood tonight,“ Jake said into her streaming wet hair, echoing her thoughts. „We’re safe for now. My God, woman, you’ve scared the living daylights out of me one too many times today. It’s going to take me weeks to recover.“
Her face buried in his soaking-wet shirt, Heather shook her head in a fierce little negative movement. „Something tells me you handle days like this quite well. Jake Cavender, you’re a fraud. How did you manage to deceive my sweet unsuspecting parents into thinking you were a nice guy who also happened to be a financial wizard when it came to hotels?“
His arms tightened around her. „There was no deception involved,“ he assured her thickly. „I am a nice guy. And I am good at accounting and business planning. It’s just that when I’m around you, I find myself acting out of character.“ He pulled back a bit, framing her face in his hands. „Heather, you saved my life a few minutes ago.“
She looked up at him, smiling mistily through the rain that was pelting her face. „You saved me back there at
the cabin. As everyone keeps saying, I guess we make a good team.“
In the wet darkness she could barely distinguish the gleaming depths of his eyes as he gazed down at her intently.
„Remember that.“ Then he turned, catching her wrist one more time. „Come on, honey. We can’t stay here. This rain is going to go on forever. We need to find some kind of shelter.“
„Ouch! Jake, my wrist. Let go of my wrist!“
„What the…?“ He released her instantly. „What happened?“
„Nothing,“ she said quickly, gently touching the raw burn that circled the base of her hand. „It’s just that I had the belt looped around my wrist.“
„And it hurts like hell where the leather cut into your skin,“ he acknowledged grimly. Gently he took her other hand instead, and together they forged an awkward path through the rain-soaked night.
„There used to be a couple of old deserted cabins on this side of the stream,“ Heather said hesitantly, trying to pick out familiar landmarks in the shadows. „One I remember was about a mile downstream from ours.“
„A mile in this country is going to take some doing. But I guess it’s our best bet.“
„I’m not really sure it’s going to be safe to stay there. It was fairly close to the stream, as I recall, and the way that water is rising it will inundate everything in its path. I wouldn’t be surprised if dad’s old cabin is gone by morning. This torrent is going to do some real damage before the night’s over.“
„Then we’d better keep moving until we can get well out of the path of that water.“
He was right, Heather knew, but she wasn’t at all sure she was going to have the strength to hike any great distance. Fording the flooding stream and pulling Jake out of the water had sapped an incredible amount of energy.
But she decided not to bring up the subject of her own weariness. There was no point because they had no choice but to keep going.
„I wonder what Rick and his friend are doing,“ she remarked a few minutes later.
„They’ve probably given up the search by now. I can still see a light way over there on the far shore so I suppose they’re still at the cabin. Don’t worry, though, there’s no way they can get to us,“ Jake said reassuringly.
„That water’s going to be over the road if it isn’t already. They’ll be stranded at that cabin. And if it goes – “
„No loss,“ Jake cut in callously. „I have a hunch no one would miss those two. What was all that about a drug deal?“
„I think that’s what it was supposed to be. Rick arrived at the cabin shortly after I got there this afternoon. When he climbed out of the jeep he was holding a gun.“
Jake growled something violent. „Then what happened?“
„He kept saying how rich he was and how much richer he was going to be before tonight was over. Said he’d been using the cabin for ‘business’ meetings for the past couple of years. He knew about it from the days when he and I used to ride the motorcycle up to the place. He knew then that dad hardly ever used it and probably guessed it had been used even less during recent years. He was fairly startled to find me there.“
„I’ll bet,“ Jake muttered laconically.
„He wasn’t exactly delighted to find me at the cabin,“ Heather went on doggedly, her breath coming in quick gasps as she struggled through the darkened terrain. „But I think he saw, uh, possibilities in the situation.“
„I can guess.“
Heather ignored the savage tone of voice. „But when you showed up he really had no use for you at all. He… he threatened to kill you if I didn’t get rid of you, Jake.“
„So you acted out the big rejection scene? Watch out for that soft sand. I just put a foot in it and it felt almost like quicksand. Keep a little more to the right.“
„I didn’t have much choice – about the rejection scene,“ Heather said pleadingly. „It was the only thing I could think of on the spur of the moment.“
„You do have a flair for drama.“
„That’s what Rick said,“ she admitted miserably. Actually, she was feeling more and more miserable by the moment. Although the desert night was not really cold, she was beginning to feel chilled in her wet clothing. The rain seemed never ending and the dull roar of the stream made her uncomfortably aware of how close it still was. The only source of comfort was Jake’s firm grip on her hand.
„Did you think I’d just meekly walk out the door the way I did?“ Jake sounded almost curious.
„Well, to tell you the truth, I was hoping you’d figure out that something was drastically wrong. I told myself you might realize that even if I was going to spend a few days with another man, Rick Monroe would hardly be the one I’d choose!“
„What did you expect me to do?“
„Go for help.“
„There wouldn’t have been time to get down out of this canyon, convince someone you needed help and get back. Not with the way this storm was breaking.“
„By the time night had fallen I figured that much out for myself. I was contemplating throwing a pan of hot soup at Rick when you came charging through the window. The only trouble was, I couldn’t see who it was coming through that window. I was afraid it might be Rick’s partner. Jake, how did you know something was really wrong?“
She thought he turned back briefly to look at her with an expression of amazement, but it was difficult to tell. The amazement was definitely in his voice, however, along with a few other emotions such as scorn, disgust
and a not-so-subtle masculine comment on her intelligence.
„I find you blithely declaring you’re going to spend a few days with another man within twenty-four hours of having been in my bed, and you wonder how I knew something was wrong?“
Despite the increasing chill of the night air on her damp body, Heather warmed. Her smile wasn’t visible in the darkness but Jake probably sensed it.
„Yeah, I thought that might tip you off,“ she murmured with sweet satisfaction. „But how did you know he had a gun and that the situation was so dangerous?“
„I didn’t. I didn’t know what the hell was going on. I only figured you wouldn’t have the nerve to pull that dramatic milady-dismissing-her-lover scene on me unless there was a lot more going on than appeared on the surface. I decided to drive the car out of sight and then hike back to get a better look at the situation. By then it was growing dark. I saw Monroe go out to get a lamp from his jeep and realized he had a gun. So I decided to wait until it was really dark before trying to take him.“
„Which you did very efficiently. Jake, where on earth did you learn to fight like that?“ Heather demanded.
„I didn’t grow up with your advantages, remember? I had to compensate,“ he told her dryly. But he gave her hand a warm squeeze. „Where did you learn to hang on in a situation where you should have had sense enough to let go?“
„I was always a little on the stubborn side. Just ask my folks.“
„Stubborn and rebellious, and much too headstrong for your own good,“ Jake agreed softly. „And I owe my life to all those rather unmanageable qualities.“
„We’re even. I owe you mine.“
„A real team, hmm?“
„Yes, Jake.“
„Well, teammate, I think I see something that looks as
if it could be that cabin you mentioned. The one that was about a mile downstream from your dad’s place. Let’s give it a try. We need shelter for the rest of the night.“
He was right. They were both exhausted and soaked. Not a good combination. To Heather’s relief the cabin proved to be on much higher ground than she had remembered. It was nestled into the hillside, well above the threat of flowing water. And when Jake pushed open the unlocked door the single room appeared relatively dry.
„Do you think this place is safe enough? You’re more familiar with the dangers of this kind of storm than I am.“ Jake glanced around assessingly.
„Yes, I think we’ll be fine. We should probably keep an eye on the level of the stream during the night. Check it a few times. But this place is higher on the hillside than I remembered. Besides, both this place and my dad’s have come through storms like this before. The people who built them must have had a certain amount of respect for the elements or the cabins would have been swept away years ago. One way or another, it doesn’t make much difference. I don’t think I could go another step.“
„You’re shaking,“ Jake muttered, pulling her close to him for a moment. Then he abruptly released her. „I’ll see if there’s anything we can use to build a fire.“
„Even a light would help. I’ll look for some candles.“
Heather found the candles in a kitchen drawer before Jake discovered the small storage shed on the back porch. But even as she was using the matches that had accompanied the candles in the drawer, he was pushing back through the door with an armload of wood.
„It’s fairly dry from what I can tell in the darkness. With any luck we can have a real fire.“
„I can’t think of anything I want more at the moment,“ Heather said fervently.
„See if you can turn up any blankets.“ Jake knelt down in front of the hearth to busy himself with the firewood and the matches. He had a small blaze going by the time Heather located a couple of dusty blankets in a narrow closet.
„They’re filthy,“ she complained.
„Better than nothing. Let’s get out of these clothes.“ He got to his feet, peeling off his wet shirt without any hesitation at all.