A Moment in Time (2 page)

      
Sunlight slammed into Jackie with all the finesse of a sledgehammer.
 
She flopped onto her back and covered her eyes.
 
Not much help there.

      
Groaning, she struggled to a sitting position and stretched, gradually opening her eyes.
 
With the sheet wrapped around her, she staggered to the window and pushed aside the tattered curtain.
 
The dirt road and endless sea of pine trees jarred her memory.
 

      
Oh, yeah.
 
She knew where she was.
 
Sort of.
 
A cultural oasis.
 
A log cabin in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

      
"Why'd I let you talk me into this?" she muttered, glancing back at the rumpled bed.

      
The
empty
rumpled bed.

      
Her heart dropped into her stomach, then vaulted to her throat.
 
Suspicion slithered through her as she walked to the closet and threw open the door.
 
His clothes were gone.

      
"Perfect."

      
Then another far more disturbing realization struck and she rushed back to the window.
 
The empty driveway confirmed her fears.
 
"My car.
 
He stole my
car!
"

      
Tears stung her eyes and her head pounded a rhythm that would've put Phil Collins to shame.
 
Her stomach clenched and burned, forcing bile to her throat.

      
As if she didn't have enough problems.

      
"Well, this is a high point in your life, Jackie," she said in her best imitation of Aunt Pearl's voice.
 
"After all, what did you expect from a man who calls himself Blade?
 
How could you be so stupid?"

      
Looking for love in all the wrong places again?

      
Add one more man to the not-so-long list of those Jackie Clarke had foolishly trusted in her lifetime, starting with her father.
 
"Nothing like family tradition."

      
With a sigh, she jerked on her T-shirt and jeans, then went through the only other room in the cabin and out the back door.
 
This lovers' hideaway–sans electricity, phone and indoor plumbing–had only the most modern conveniences.

      
For about a hundred years ago.

      
But the outhouse was the least of her problems.
 
Being abandoned in a cabin somewhere in the Rocky Mountains was a hell of a lot more pressing than spending quality time with an outhouse.

      
Oh, joy.

      
Picking her way barefoot through the damp grass, she gave the outhouse what she hoped was her most scathing glance.
 
Then she held her breath, ducked inside, and answered the call of nature.

      
This was all Blade's fault.

      
The cabin allegedly belonged to Blade's uncle.
 
Somehow, she had trouble believing the con artist could possibly have any family.
 
The place probably belonged to his last conquest.
 

      
Gullible woman number hundred and thirty-seven.

      
She stepped from the outhouse and gulped fresh air.

      
Why'd you fall for it, Clarke?

      
Simple.
 
Blade Smith had swept her off her feet.
 
She glanced at her bare toes and wiggled them.
 
His dark good looks, sexy voice, and artsy-fartsy way had wooed her big time.

      
Let me take you away from all this, sweetcakes,
he'd said.
 
His lack of originality should've been her first warning.
 
I must paint you.
 
You will be my masterpiece.
 
More bull.

      
And he'd said he loved her.
 
And
that
, as they say, had clinched it.

      
She swallowed the lump in her throat and drew a steadying breath.
 
She wouldn't cry.
 
This wasn't the first mistake she'd ever made, and it probably wouldn't be the last.
 
She just had to develop a tougher shell.
 

      
Blade had charmed her just when she'd needed charming most.
 
So Jackie had left her partner in charge of their beauty shop and used her savings to fund Blade's excursion through Never-Never Land.

      
"Smooth move, Tinkerbell."

      
With a sigh, she walked back inside and scrounged around the kitchen.
 
At least he'd left her some groceries and the gas grill.
 
Now if only she could figure out a way to put wheels on the thing and drive it down the mountain.
 
She sighed.
 
Right now she'd settle for a cup of strong coffee.
 
A whole pot
might
help her think straight.

      
After her third cup, she ate a cold English muffin and went back to the bedroom to inventory her belongings.
 
Just how much had Blade left her?
 

      
One thing was a safe bet–he'd taken all her money.

      
She turned her fanny pack upside down over the bed.
 
"Yep."
 
He even had her wallet and credit cards.

      
Not that they'd do him any good.
 
A smug smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
 
Every single one of them was maxed out.
 
"Thank God for small favors."

      
Her gaze shifted to the mirror on the wall and she groaned, lifting her trembling hand to her hair.
 
Why had she let him talk her into dying her hair, too?
 

      
Red.
 
Neon red.
 

      
For inspiration, he'd said.
 
About the only thing it inspired in her was nausea.
 
Until she returned to civilization and beauty supplies, she was stuck with it, and her dark roots were already showing.

      
Dismissing her appearance, she looked out the window again.
 
The cloudless blue sky mocked her with the promise of a beautiful day.
 
"Nice day for a hike."
 
She'd have to drive back later for her clothes.
 
Right now she needed to travel light.
 
It was a long walk down the mountain.
 
Still, she was healthy.
 
No reason to think she couldn't handle a little exercise.

      
Damn Blade all to hell.
 
Murderous thoughts fueled her as she stuffed a few items into her fanny pack, and realized one positive thing might come from this experience.

      
Her foolishness would provide Great-Aunt Pearl with enough material to razz Jackie for the rest of her life.
 
Both their lives.
 
And then some.
 
After the old woman died, she'd undoubtedly return to haunt her.
 
"Oh, now that's just what I need."
 

      
Jackie sat on the edge of the bed, tears building in her eyes, threatening to overflow any moment.
 
At thirty-three, she should've known better than to let a creep like Blade take advantage of her this way.
 
This wasn't at all like her.
 
The old Jackie had been a dreamer.

      
But those dreams were dead.

      
"Fool."
 
When she'd walked down the aisle so long ago, dreams had filled her young, idealistic mind.
 
For eight years since the divorce, she'd worked.
 
Period.
 
No love life–nothing.

      
Just the kind of woman a con man would choose as a target.
 
That made her a...victim.
 
A shudder of revulsion rippled through her, barely saving her from drowning in self-pity.
   

      
"Wrong scenario, kid."
 
She dried her eyes with the backs of her hands and stood.
 
"Time to hit the road."
   

      
After tying her cheap hiking boots, she opened the door and stepped outside.
 
The great outdoors.
 
Oh, goodie.
 
Shading her eyes, she looked west.
 
Dark clouds now marred the horizon beyond the next ridge.

      
She shrugged.
 
What the hell?
 
A little rain couldn't make her day any worse.
 
Armed with her comb, compact and
 
Midol, she started along the trail.
 

      
The cabin quickly vanished behind her, swallowed by the thick forest of pine and aspen.
 
"Stop looking behind you, stupid."
 
She needed to concentrate on finding her way to the highway, where she knew the nearest town was to her left.
 
At least she'd paid some attention during the drive up here.

      
When she hadn't been gazing into Blade's dark, deceitful eyes.
 

      
A fork in the road brought her to a standstill.
 
She didn't remember this.
 
Which way had they come?
 
Both roads were equally rutted by the passage of four wheel drive vehicles.
 
After a few minutes, she shook her head and chose the left fork...and prayed.
 
It
looked
right.

      
She rubbed her upper arms, wishing for something heavier than her thin jacket, but her warmer coat and gloves were in her car.
 
With Blade.
 
The temperature was definitely dropping, and clouds now shrouded the area with heavy gray.

      
One small flake drifted languidly to the ground.

      
Jackie shook her head in disbelief.
 
"No, it can't be."
 
Resolutely, she continued along the mountain road, the plunging temperature numbing her fingers and toes.
 
She buckled her fanny pack around her waist and tucked one hand under each armpit to warm.

      
Another flake.
 

      
"No, no,
no!
"

      
She walked faster.
 
The flakes were fruitful and multiplied.
 
Adam and Eve would've been proud.

      
Now there was no denying the facts.
 
Snow
.

      
"Criminy, it's June."
 
It was the very beginning of June, though, and snow still capped the highest peaks in the distance.
 
She stopped to look around.
 
The heavy clouds hung lower now, veiling the treetops.
 

      
But something else even more worrisome nagged at her.
 
The farther she walked, the less familiar her surroundings looked.
 
She paused.

      
She'd chosen the wrong fork.
 
Damn.

      
"Decision time, Clarke."
 
If she went much farther, she'd never be able to find her way back with the road covered in snow.
 
Shoot, she had enough trouble finding her way to the mall.

      
But what if she managed to find her way back to the cabin and the snow piled up so high she couldn't leave?

      
Snowed in.

      
Without her electric blanket.

      
But it was June.
 
No matter how much it snowed, it couldn't last long.
 
And the farther
down
the mountain she went, the warmer it would be.
 
Right?
 

      
As she stood in the middle of the unfamiliar road and contemplated her dilemma, the wet spring snow soaked her jacket and hair.
 

      
"Damn."

      
Even if this road wasn't the same one they'd driven up, it still had to lead to civilization.
 
Eventually.
 
Deciding not to waste precious time backtracking, she closed her eyes for a brief prayer, then reopened them and put one foot in front of the other.