Heart Of Gold (12 page)

Lost on
his own mountain, he struggled to find the trail back down.

The days
before Buddy and Ellie Swift's arrival were a blur for Carter, and she spent a
lot of time with Cort, who came up every morning. When he seemed to stop
staring at her with hopeful eyes, she began to think he'd gotten over his crush
and relaxed in his company. Together, they pored over Farnsworth's journal,
speculated on the route used by the Winship party, and talked about Indian
lore.

The only
difficult part of it all was enduring the updates on how things were going down
at the mansion.

According
to the news bulletins, Candace had turned up with enough luggage to stay for
the whole summer. In contrast to other visits, Nick seemed to be spending a lot
of time with her, a sacrifice for which the rest of the household was paying
dearly. Evidently, extended proximity to the woman put him in an awful mood and
yet he still seemed determined to be with her.

The turn
of events made everyone uneasy. Everyone, that was, except for Candace. She was
cheerful and bubbly, according to Cort, apparently thanks to seeing marriage in
her future. And, as a result, she was growing more bold with her demands. The
woman had even gone so far as to inform Gertie that she needed to start coming
to work in a uniform, as all housekeepers should.

That had
just about done it. Needless to say, Gertie was still wearing her own clothes.
Nick had flown off the handle when he'd heard what had happened and had been
driven further into his dark temper. But Candace had stayed on.

Carter
tried not to show how much she cared. She laughed off the comments or gave
noncommittal responses, but inside she felt a burning curiosity over what Nick
was up to with his woman. She hung on Cort's every word and at night she tossed
and turned, wondering what she'd done to deserve getting sucked into Nick
Farrell's world. She just couldn't get him out of her mind.

Though
she soon had another problem to mull over.

At the
end of a long work day, she and Cort were sitting against two boulders, looking
at the lake view and talking about colonial munitions, when the boy cleared his
throat and blurted, “I was thinking maybe you and I could go to a movie
tonight. If you want.”

Carter
glanced up in surprise. He wasn't looking at her. Instead, he was drawing on
the ground with a long stick.

“The
theater in town has two screens,” he mumbled. “There's an action
movie in one. And I think the other is a love story. It would take about a half
hour to drive there. Each way. But I have my learner's permit. It could be like
a date. Sort of.”

Carter
had no idea how to respond. She'd clearly read him wrong and was stuck
scrambling to find the right words to let him down.

“So
what do you think?” He prompted. His body was strung tight and his awkward
expression had begun to fade into a worried look.

Carter
ached for the courage it had taken for him to ask. And because there was no way
she wasn't about to hurt his feelings.

“Well,
thank you. But I don't think that would be a good idea,” she said gently.

“No?”
he croaked.

“No.
I—”

“Don't
you like me?”

“Of
course I do. But—”

Ivan
McNutt appeared in the clearing. He looked grim.

“What
is it?” she asked anxiously. Going by his expression, she'd have thought
someone lost a limb.

“Your
team's here.”

“Oh.
Thanks for letting me know.”

He
grunted and disappeared back down the trail.

Getting
to her feet, Carter brushed pine needles off the seat of her pants while
offering Cort an apologetic smile.

“I
think we better get going before Ivan decides to drag out his 12-gauge welcome
wagon. Buddy faints easily.”

The
teenager got up, his eyes drifting over the trees and the camp carelessly.

“Cort,
I—”

“Hey,
just think about it, okay? Don't give me an answer right now.”

“But—
”

He cut
off the discussion by starting down the trail. With a heavy heart, Carter
followed him. She felt as though she hadn't handled the situation all that well
and struggled for a way to bring up the subject again. Cort, however, was
walking ahead of her with a stiff back and didn't seem to be in the mood for
talking. She let him have some space.

When they
cleared the woods, they saw a Range Rover had pulled up to the mansion. A group
of people were gathered around it, staring intently at the front grille.

Getting
closer, Carter picked out Nick and Candace, and she had to groan as she took in
the other woman's clothes and hair. With a hand lying possessively on her man's
forearm, Candace was dressed in a pale yellow sundress that played around her
ankles in the summer breeze. Her hair was loosely curled, falling onto her
shoulders in pretty blond waves, and her face, which was tilted toward Nick,
was discreetly made up. She looked like a golden statue.

Carter
felt like a grunge ball in comparison. She figured her hair was probably
stringy and wished she knew whether she had any dirt on her face. Glancing down
at her shorts and her hiking boots, she noted they all needed a good cleaning.
She wished like hell she'd taken a moment to dress herself up a bit.

Or at
least hit the stream with a washcloth.

Nick
looked over in her direction. His expression was remote, but what was behind
his eyes was so shocking, she almost faltered. Passion, hot and hungry, seemed
to be reaching out to her. Abruptly, she was taken back to what it felt like to
be in his arms, his lips moving against hers, his tongue sliding into her,
mouth—

Carter
caught the tip of her boot in a chuck hole and almost fell on her face. Cort's
swift reflexes were the only thing that kept her from hitting the ground, and
she flushed, feeling even more sweaty and disheveled.

As she
pulled herself together, Candace flashed a condescending look her way. Watching
as the woman nestled even closer to Nick, Carter thought morosely that the two
belonged together. But to her surprise, his penetrating gaze never wavered from
her. As she walked up to the group, his eyes watched her every movement. Even
when Candace frowned and gave him a nudge of protest with her arm  he
wasn't diverted.

Flustered,
Carter looked past the pair, to her friend who was standing by his car. It was
such a relief to see him.

“I
never saw it coming,” he was saying while shaking his head.

“What
happened?” Carter asked.

Buddy
Swift broke into his trademark grin. Wide and friendly, it showed the small
space between his front teeth and one gold cap that covered a back molar.
Although he was tall and wore conservative, wire-rimmed glasses, when he smiled
he looked more like a student than a professor.

“It's
my favorite partner in crime!” He wrapped his long arms around her.

“I'm
your only partner,” she said into his shoulder. “You refuse to work
with anyone else.”

“That's
because they're all stiffs.”

Carter
risked a glance in Nick's direction and was struck by the disapproving way he
was regarding Buddy.

She
pulled back and focused on the front of the car. “Good Lord, Swift, what
did you do? And where's Ellie?”

“I
had an unexpected communion with an oak tree. She's having the expected
communion with some indoor plumbing.”

The hood
of the Range Rover was mangled and the front bumper was hanging by a prayer.
Inside, the airbags had deployed and were lying deflated over the seats. She
reached out and pulled a tree branch from the grille.

“Are
you all okay?”

“Yup.
Just an unforeseen trip into the bushes that ended a little too
emphatically.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “But your concern
touches my heart.”

“Hey,
I've got a lot vested in your health and safety. Not everyone makes coffee like
you do.”

As Carter
playfully elbowed him in the ribs, she noticed that Nick and Cort wore matching
expressions of displeasure. Candace, on the other hand, was looking a little
more relaxed.

“C.C.!”
Ellie exclaimed. As she shot out of the mansion's front door, strawberry blond
hair streamed behind her. She was wearing a cornflower blue sundress and had a
pair of coordinated Sketchers on her feet.

Carter
laughed and embraced the girl. “So I see your father's driving hasn't
improved.”

“It's
his second accident since he bought the car. Two months ago.”

“That
other one was just a fender bender,” Buddy said pointedly.

“Dad,
you hit a police car.”

“It
was in the middle of the road.”

“It
was parked on the shoulder. With the lights going.” The girl turned back
to Carter. “But this time he had a good reason. He swerved to avoid
killing a deer and fawn who had wandered into the road.”

Buddy
laughed. “I thought for a minute we were going to end up as the Swift
Family Robinson in the Adirondacks. I was prepared to build Ellie a house in
the trees and live off boiled bark until we were rescued.”

His
daughter rolled her eyes.

Nick
stepped forward, breaking the contact with Candace.

“You
may want Ivan to take a look at it,” he interjected darkly. “No
telling what it's leaking. We can have it towed into town if we have to.”

There was
a cautious and assessing light in Buddy's eyes as he looked at the taller man.
“Thanks. I'd appreciate any help you have to offer.”

Carter
turned to introduce the Swifts to Cort. “The demolition expert is Buddy,
my partner. And this is his daughter, Ellie.”

“Hi,”
the girl said, raising her hand and offering a tentative smile.

Cort
nodded in her general direction. “There'sa lot of stuff in this car.
Should I get the four-wheeler?”

“That
would be great.”

She
watched as he stalked off, his expression no more affable than his uncle's.
With all the complicated emotions swirling in the summer air, she couldn't wait
to get back to camp.

“I
think you all should come to dinner tonight,” Nick announced abruptly.

Carter
swallowed a grimace.

“Yes,
do come down,” Candace said, stepping in close to Nick again.

“That'd
be great,” Buddy said happily. “Camp food is okay but it gets old
real quick. Might as well start out on a high note.”

When
Carter sent him a glare, he responded with a shrug.

“Darling,”
Candace crooned. “Shall we take that swim now?”

Nick
nodded with distraction. His eyes were boring into Carter.

“I'll
see you tonight,” he said to her.

As soon
as the pair were out of earshot, she hissed, “Nice move, Buddy.”

“What?”

“Don't
what me. You know exactly what you've done.” When he feigned
innocence, she grumbled, “And don't give me that look.”

“What
look?”

“That
I-didn't-just-stir-up-trouble look.”

“Who
said there was trouble to stir? I didn't.” But the smile he gave her was
lopsided. “Although while we're on the subject, what's up between you and Farrell?”

She felt
the blood drain out of her face and prayed that he didn't catch the reaction.
“Nothing is up.”

“That
man looks at you like he's half-starved—”

“He
does not! And you better enjoy this dinner because it's the only one we're
having in that house.”

“I'm
thinking I will. Even if the food sucks, I'll bet you could pull up a chair and
grab some popcorn for all the theatrics.”

Carter
hip-checked him. “You're officially being removed as the camp's social
director.”

“Does
this mean I get to be head nurse instead?”

“Yes,
and you can start by bandaging your own butt as soon as I'm finished kicking
it.”

He was
still smiling when Cort pulled up beside the car in the four-wheeler.

“Hey,
that's cool,” Ellie said, looking at the machine. “Can I drive it
sometime?”

Cort
shrugged and turned away carelessly, missing the girl's hurt look.

With four
pairs of hands, the back of the Rover was unpacked in short order, and Cort ran
a couple of loads up the mountain. While he was on his last trip, Ellie changed
into shorts and then Carter led the way to camp.

“Nice
setup,” Buddy said as he looked over the place. “Papercut Central is
back in working order, I see.”

“And
ready for business.”

“Good
thing I packed all those Band-Aids.”

When Cort
was finished moving the Swifts' things, he gave the group a stiff nod and
disappeared. Ellie watched him go and then said she was going to look for
firewood.

“That
boy takes after his father,” Buddy commented as he and Carter faced the
daunting mountain of bags. “Not exactly the warm and friendly type.”

“He's
Nick's nephew.” Carter helped him pull out two tent rolls from the bottom
of the pile. “He's a good kid but whenever the two of them are together
he's different. I hope he and Ellie can become friends.”

While
Buddy smoothed the tent out flat on the ground, she got a hammer and started
securing the corners with stakes.

“So
seriously, what's going on with Farrell?”

Carter
missed what she was aiming for and nailed her thumb a good one. The curse that
followed wasn't only because of her bad aim.

“You
okay?” Buddy asked.

She was
far from okay but nodded, raised the hammer again and this time made sure her
targeting was better. When the stake was in and she began wrapping cord around
it, Buddy repeated the question.

She shot
him a look. “Farrell owns this mountain and he's tolerating our presence.
End of story.”

“You
sure about that? When I put my arms around you, I think that man's eyes burned
a hole in my skull.”