Against the Wind (20 page)

Once he had it all together, he set the pack saddle in place on one of the mules he'd had Wheel Dillon bring in from the lower pasture, put the panniers in place and carefully distributed the weight of the gear.

They could have gone without the mule, old Salty, taken less stuff and made do, but the trip would be more fun, more like the old days when the mountain men packed into the high country to hunt and trap, and he was sure the girls would enjoy it.

Jimmy showed up about the time he was ready to saddle the horses, Galahad for himself and Daisy for Sarah. Until she was a little older, Holly would ride with him.

He found himself liking the thought of the little girl getting old enough to have a horse of her own, then shook his head, not certain he was ready to think along those lines just yet.

“Need some help?” Jimmy walked up as he set the second saddle in place and adjusted it on Daisy's back.

“Just some company. Aside from that, I'm pretty well ready.”

“Should be good weather for it,” Jimmy said. “No rain in the forecast.”

“I damned well wished there was. I'd be willing to put up with the wet if it helped get rid of this dry.”

“I know what you mean.”

Jackson tightened the cinch on Daisy's saddle, looked over at Jimmy and wondered what it was he seemed to want to say.

“You and Nan have a good time on the Fourth?” he asked, just to see if that might lead his friend in the right direction.

“Yeah, we did. We had a real good time. The boys sure like her.”

He tugged on the latigo, checking to see if the cinch was tight. “What about you? You like her, too?”

“More than I should, I guess.”

“Why is that? Nan seems like a nice enough gal.”

“We haven't…well, you know, but I sure like having her around. I've even been thinking it might be the kind of thing that could wind up permanent.”

One of Jackson's eyebrows went up. Jimmy had never talked this way about a woman. “That sounds good.”

“Could be. The only problem is…”

“The only problem is…?” he prompted.

“I don't know if I can trust her.”

Jackson thought back several years to the time Jimmy had mentioned his interest in dating Nan Hargrove. “You mean because of the guys she took home from the Canyon Club.”

He nodded.

“She was single, Jim. She had a right to do what she wanted.”

“I know. It's just…”

“It's just that Annie chased everything in pants and you don't want to go through that again.”

Jimmy looked away. His ex-wife had been a real peach. Everyone in town knew she was wilder than a jackrabbit, but Jimmy had fallen for her anyway. Fallen for her hard. When he'd found out she was making the rounds with half the guys in Wind Canyon, it'd torn him apart.

The luckiest day of Jimmy's life had been the day Annie Baylor Threebears packed her bags and disappeared, never to be seen again. She'd signed the divorce papers, and Jimmy was free, but he'd never really gotten over Annie. Until now, it seemed.

“Give it some time, Jim. There's no rush.”

Jimmy shot him a glance that traveled past him, off toward the cottage. “Back at ya, buddy. Sarah's a beautiful woman, but she's trouble. It seems to follow her around like a bad smell.”

It was true. Too damned true. And yet he was in for the duration. In until whatever was going on was over.

He didn't have to think twice to know he wasn't going to be another man who had let Sarah Allen down.

 

Sarah hurried to catch up with Holly, who ran excitedly out of the house off toward the barn. Jackson stood waiting next to the horses, the big red gelding, Galahad, and the pretty little paint mare, Daisy. A pack mule stood at the hitching rail, his long ears twitching at the sound of Holly's small footsteps approaching.

Sarah made a last mental check of the stuff in the duffel bag she carried. Jackets, an extra pair of jeans for each of them, extra socks and sneakers in case their boots got wet. Along with a few miscellaneous personal items, she was ready—and far more excited than she had imagined she would be.

Jackson came forward before she reached him and took the canvas duffel from her hands. “This it?”

She nodded.

“Jackets in here? That high up in the hills, it still gets cold at night.”

“It's all there. Once I got started, it all sort of came back. I used to go camping with my dad.” She still avoided the bittersweet memory of those times. Her mother had been a true homemaker, Sarah a bit of a tomboy who loved spending time out of doors. “We really had fun.”

“We're going to have fun this time.” He loaded the duffel on top of the pack rack and tied it snugly in place.

“What's his name?” Holly asked, stroking the mule's soft nose.

“Salty. He can be cantankerous once in a while, but mostly, he's a good ole boy.” He stroked the mule's long neck. “Aren't you, son?”

The mule brayed as if he understood, and all of them laughed.

“You ready?” he asked Holly.

“You bet!”

Jackson chuckled as he lifted her up on the front of his saddle then swung up behind her. “You okay? Got enough room?”

The little girl grinned and nodded.

Jackson took the mule's lead rope, looped it loosely around the saddle horn, and they started off up the trail.

Holly waved goodbye to Jimmy, Sam and Gib, who came to watch them ride out, then settled in for the three-hour ride up the trail into the mountains.

“We'll camp next to the lake,” Jackson said. “I've brought a couple of poles so we can fish. We get lucky, we'll have fried fish for supper.”

Sarah smiled as she watched him settle himself in the saddle, Holly's back resting against his chest. She was only a little nervous watching Galahad carry Jackson and Holly up the steep section of the trail leading off the road, relaxed as they reached the top and settled into a steady pace.

Jackson rode with the same ease he did just about everything, his shoulders wide and straight, his long legs comfortable in the saddle, boots shoved into the stirrups, hat pulled low over his forehead.

Sarah felt a little pinch in her chest just watching him, thinking how good he looked, how tempting. It was the kind of pinch that wasn't good. The kind that said where this man was concerned, she could be in serious trouble.

Sitting on his horse, looking like every woman's
fantasy, Jackson turned and surveyed her with a long, heated glance that ran up her jean-clad legs, settled on her breasts and told her exactly the kind of ride he would rather be making.

Sarah sucked in a breath as a shot of lust hit her so fiercely the muscles in her thighs went taut. Her jeans chafed an intimate spot between her legs and every time Daisy took a step, she felt a jolt of sexual heat.

Good Lord, three hours was going to be a lifetime! And once they got to the lake, it would only get worse. She would have to watch Jackson setting up camp, those hard muscles flexing and tightening, making her stomach twist with longing. With Holly along, there was no way they could make love, no way to find relief.

Sarah watched Jackson riding steadily up the trail, not quite sure she liked this new, sexual side of herself.

Then she smiled. It felt good to desire a man. Good to be desired. Leaning back in the saddle, she relaxed for the first time in days. She had come on this trip to enjoy herself. Whatever happened, whatever the future held in store for her, that was exactly what she intended to do.

 

Unfortunately in life, nothing ever went the way it was supposed to. They were just approaching the lake when Sarah heard the whine of a chain saw.

“Sonofa—” Jackson broke off in deference to Holly, snatched off his hat and resettled it on his head.

“Loggers?” Sarah pulled Daisy to a stop beside Galahad and Salty in a wide spot on the trail.

The chain saw bit in and whined, and Salty's long ears went up. He began to back away, pulling on his halter, trying to tug the lead rope out of Jackson's hand.

“Easy, son.” Leading the mule a few feet away, he swung down from the saddle and tied the animal to a tree.

“They aren't supposed to be working in this section,” he said as he led the sorrel back to where Sarah sat on Daisy. “This lake is surrounded by national forest, but these days that doesn't mean the trees are protected.”

He lifted Holly out of the saddle and set her on the ground, and Sarah swung down off Daisy. They had stopped a number of times along the route, but still her legs were a little sore.

“You okay?”

She smiled. “I'm fine.” A little saddle soreness wasn't much of a price to pay for a trip through such spectacular scenery.

Jackson reached into his saddlebags and dug out a map, spread it open on top of a rock and studied it for several moments. “I thought so.” He rolled the map up. “I need to check this out. I won't be gone long.” Stepping into the stirrup, he swung aboard the gelding, whirled the horse and headed up the trail.

“W
here's Jackson going, Mama?”

The chain saw had stopped. Jackson must have reached the logging camp. The men couldn't be working that far away.

“I'm not sure, honey. Why don't we leave Daisy here with Salty, walk up the trail a ways and see?” She led the mare over and tied her to graze, then took Holly's hand and started up the trail.

She didn't like the idea of Jackson going head-to-head with a bunch of loggers by himself. If she and Holly were there—a woman and a child—maybe it would ease the situation.

She walked up the trail holding on to Holly's hand and the minute she rounded the bend, she saw them. A group of men clustered around a bunch of heavy equipment: bulldozer, flatbed trailer, some kind of crane for loading the logs onto the truck, other miscellaneous
machinery. The words
Bannock Bros. Logging
were stenciled on the sides of the equipment.

“Take a look at the map,” Jackson was saying to what appeared to be the foreman, a big burly, barrel-chested, red-bearded man. “Pine Lake is right there.” Jackson pointed down the hill. “Black Bear Summit is off to the right, and you can see Badger Pass on your left.” He drew a finger along a line on the map. “You were supposed to stop about a half mile back, at the top of Buffalo Ridge.”

“So what's it to you? You act like those trees are your own personal property.”

“Well, they sure as hell don't belong to you. This is public land, DeSalvo. Your company managed to horn-swoggle its way into a logging contract on far too big a chunk of it, but you're clearly over the boundaries that were set.”

“So what? You think anyone gives a shit?”

“Wind it up, Red,” Jackson warned, “and haul your crew out of here. You don't, I'm going to call the Forest Service and turn you in. I doubt the Bannock brothers will appreciate the big fat fine you cost them.”

DeSalvo took a threatening step forward.

“Come on,” Jackson taunted. “Throw a punch. I'd love an excuse to whip your sorry ass.”

Sarah's stomach tightened. There were five of them and it was clear all of them were spoiling for a fight.

“Stay here,” she whispered to Holly, then pasted on a smile, raised a hand, waved and started toward the men.

“Jackson! Jackson, there you are! I've been looking all over.” She wasn't afraid the men would hurt her. They were just working men trying to do their jobs. Jackson
represented a threat to their way of life and it was clearly him they wanted to stomp into the dirt.

“Take Holly and go back to the lake,” Jackson warned, his gaze still fixed on the foreman he'd called Red DeSalvo.

Sarah just kept walking. She paused when she reached the circle of men. “Jackson, we need your help. We can't figure out how to pitch the tent.”

He sliced her a look that could have crumbled stone, then turned back to the foreman. “Pack it up or I call the authorities. Get back to the area you're supposed to be working in.”

DeSalvo looked from Jackson to Sarah, flicked a glance to where Holly stood at the edge of the clearing, then turned to his men. “Move it, boys. Let's get back up the hill.”

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. She might have smiled if she hadn't looked, just then, into Jackson's furious face.

“Let's go,” he said between clenched teeth. Grabbing her arm, he whirled her around and urged her toward the trail. She knew that look, recognized the barely leashed fury in his expression.

She stumbled and nearly fell. On legs that barely held her up, she made her way along the trail, forced herself to keep walking until they rounded the bend. Her vision blurred and she realized her eyes had filled with tears. Why hadn't she seen it sooner? What had she been thinking to trust him the way she did?

She stumbled again and this time Jackson caught her. She cringed and tried to pull away, but he didn't let go. He must have seen the tears in her eyes for the color drained from his face.

“Sarah…my God.” He stopped there in the middle of the trail and pulled her into his arms. “Honey, it's all right. Everything's okay.” He held her, felt her trembling and tightened his hold around her. “Just because I get mad, doesn't mean I'd hurt you. I'd never hurt you or Holly. Never.” He eased away enough to look at her. “Surely you know that by now.”

The tears in her eyes rolled down her cheeks. She did know. Somewhere deep inside her, she knew he was nothing like Andrew. And she was no longer the submissive, frightened young woman she had been before. Still…just for a moment…

“Mama, are you okay?”

Jackson knelt in front of Holly. “Sometimes your mama's just too brave for her own good.” He came up beside Sarah. “You weren't afraid of five big loggers, but you were afraid of me?”

She caught his incredulous expression and her lips slightly curved. Now that she thought about it, it did seem ridiculous. “I just…I didn't want them to hurt you.”

Jackson laughed, loud and long. Then he pulled her back into his arms. “You're something, Sarah Allen. You truly are.” And then he kissed her, right there on the trail in front of Holly.

“It's getting late,” he said gruffly as he drew away. “We'd better get started making camp.” Swinging Holly up on his shoulders, leading Galahad, he headed down the trail, walking next to Sarah. When they reached the clearing, he left the trail and walked out into the meadow next to the lake.

“I think this will do,” he said, picking a spot close to the pines at the edge of the water. While Holly ran off
to gather kindling for a fire—with instructions to stay in sight—Jackson turned to Sarah.

“I'm not going to promise you I'll never get angry. You pull a stunt like that again—put yourself and your daughter in danger for any reason—I'm liable to get good and mad. I might yell. I might blow off a little steam, but I'd never hit you. I'd never do anything to hurt you. You need to believe that, Sarah, if whatever is happening between us is ever going to have a chance to work.”

The words swirled around her, filled her with yearning.
If whatever is happening between us is ever going to have a chance to work.

There was something in his eyes, something fierce and compelling, and an honesty that drew her as nothing had before. Sarah held his dark gaze for several long moments, then turned away, a new, different kind of fear settling deep inside her.

Fear of losing her independence, fear of the problems that still threatened her future.

And the fearful knowledge that she had fallen in love with Jackson Raines.

 

The trip was a grand success. Jackson taught Holly how to fish. They fried one of the fat lake trout they caught and ate it for supper, with camp potatoes and homemade Dutch-oven biscuits and some of Livvy's raspberry jam.

In the morning he fixed flapjacks and bacon and they sat in the warm sun around an early-morning campfire and ate until they were too stuffed to move.

“I can't believe how good this all tastes,” Sarah said, apparently impressed with his cooking. “I used to help
my dad cook over an open fire. I bet I could do it again with a little practice.”

“I bet you could, too,” he said, thinking there wasn't much Sarah Allen couldn't do if she put her mind to it. He would never forget the way she had come to rescue him from the loggers. Or how badly it had hurt to see the fear in her pretty blue eyes when she had looked at him on the trail.

She had nothing to fear from him and never would, and he thought that maybe, little by little, she was coming to realize that.

They were tired by the time they packed up the camp that morning and left the meadow and started back down the trail. Holly fell asleep against Jackson's chest as Galahad plodded along, and seeing the trust in her sweet little face made something tighten inside him.

Though he often worked with kids during the summer, mostly with the youth boxing team, he had never realized what he was missing in not having a family of his own.

The thought intrigued him more than it should have and he forced the notion away. He wasn't ready for that kind of thinking. At least not yet.

The small band was exhausted by the time, late in the afternoon, they arrived back at the ranch. Jackson walked the girls to their cottage, then he and Jimmy unpacked the mule, unsaddled, fed and put the livestock away.

“Everything go all right?” Jimmy asked as they turned the horses and Salty out into the pasture.

Jackson glanced back up the mountain. “Aside from a little run-in with Red DeSalvo and some of his loggers. They were half a mile or so over the boundary line.”
His jaw flexed. “They decided to move back to where they were supposed to be.”

Jimmy chuckled. “Lucky for them.”

Jackson just grunted.

“I'd better go fix supper,” Jimmy said. “The boys'll be getting hungry.”

Jackson could see Jimmy's two black-haired sons standing out in front of the house tossing a baseball back and forth. “I guess they aren't going to summer school this year.” He had noticed they were there every day, which they hadn't been last year.

“They got nearly straight A's. I figured they deserved a little time to enjoy themselves. Sam's going to start working with Wheel and a few of the hands. Gib's going to do some chores for me and Wheel. I think it'll be good for them.”

“So do I.” That was how Jackson had learned to love ranching, working on a ranch in the summers. He grabbed his saddlebags off the fence, turned and headed up to the house, thinking of Jimmy and Nan, wondering where the relationship was headed, trying not to think of his own uncertain relationship with Sarah.

“There's supper on the stove,” Livvy said as he walked into the warm, steamy kitchen, and he was damned glad.

“Thanks.”

“I made enough for the girls. I thought I'd take it over. They're bound to be tired after the trip.”

“I'm sure Sarah will appreciate that. Both of them were pretty beat by the time we got home.”

“Did they have a good time?”

“You'll have to ask them, but yeah, I think they did. We all did.”

Livvy gave him a warm, motherly smile and went to work, serving him up a plate, then putting the rest of the roast, carrots and potatoes, and the remainder of a loaf of crusty French bread on a tray, covering the food with foil, and heading out the door.

As soon as Jackson finished eating, he started upstairs to pack for his trip to L.A. He needed to act on the information Devlin had given him on Ace Trucking, the company that had been paying big chunks of cash to Andrew Hollister. It was likely that someone at Ace was behind the assaults on Sarah. He was going to California to find out exactly what was going on.

Once he reached his bedroom, Jackson set to work. He retrieved his shaving kit and put it in the carry-on he had opened and set on his bed. He packed a couple of pairs of slacks, a clean pair of jeans and a couple of short-sleeved shirts, then added underwear and socks. He turned at the sound of a light knock on his door.

Livvy stood in the opening. “Sarah's downstairs. She says she needs to talk to you.”

“Actually, I'm right here.” Sarah peered at him over Livvy's plump shoulder, then frowned. “Where are you going?”

He hadn't planned to tell her. He was going to call once he got there. Didn't look like she was giving him any choice.

“Out to your old stompin' grounds. Dev called a couple of nights ago. He had information on a company called Ace Trucking. They were paying Andrew big money under the table. Ace does work for Southgate Demolition.” One of Hollister's own companies. “I want to find out what they were paying Andrew for.”

“And you were going to tell me about this—when?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I didn't want you to worry.”

Sarah's chin firmed as she stepped out from behind Livvy. “This is my problem, Jackson. You're not going out there unless you take me with you.” She turned to his housekeeper. “Will you watch Holly while we're gone?”

“You know I will.”

“There's no reason for you to go,” Jackson said as Livvy slipped quietly away. “We have no idea if this has anything to do with the man who threatened you in town.”

“But it might. And even if it doesn't, maybe we can find out who the guy is and why he's after me.”

Jackson sighed. Half of him wanted to insist Sarah stay here on the ranch where she would be safe. The other half was already seeing her in a plush hotel room, curled up in his bed. Damn, sleeping next to her in that little three-man tent was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. He was hard again now, just thinking about it.

He definitely wanted her to go.

And he knew damn well he shouldn't let her.

“You don't have a choice, Jackson. If you don't take me along, I'll fly out there myself. I may not have a lot of money, but I've got some, enough I can afford to get there. I'll march right into Ace Trucking, tell them who I am and demand to know what's going on.”

She was bluffing.

Or maybe not.

“All right, dammit, you can go.”

“Fine.”

He raked a hand through his hair, shoving it back from his forehead. “I'll talk to Jimmy, let him know we'll be gone a couple of days.”

“What time are we leaving?”

“Plane's set to leave at 7:00 a.m.”

“Then I'd better go pack.” She turned and started for the door.

“So why did you want to see me?” he called after her.

Sarah turned back. “I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful trip.” She smiled. “I'll see you in the morning.” And then she was gone.

 

Sarah did her homework that night. Sitting at her desk after Holly went to bed, she opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a file that held the pages she had printed off the pen drive they had found in the storage room. One of the pages, she recalled, held notes from a meeting with the managers of Southgate Demolition. She carefully went over the notes, looking for any mention of Ace Trucking.