Heart Of Gold (17 page)

Nick
stepped out of the room and closed the door but couldn't let go of the damn knob.

When he
heard the water go on, he imagined her stepping beneath the jets, her back
arching as she wet her hair. That was when he turned and went downstairs. He
knew if he didn't get the hell away from the door, he was liable to try and get
in the shower with her.

Heading
to the kitchen, he went in search of Ivan and found the man taking his four
o'clock tea with his wife.

“You
get her settled?” Gertie inquired as she put a plate of shortbreads on the
table in front of her husband.

“You
knew she was here?” Nick took a seat and smiled as a cup of Earl Grey was
slid in front of him.

“I
figured that empty sherry glass on the porch wasn't yours.”

“Something
scared her off the mountain?” Ivan asked while picking up his teacup. His
workman's hands gripped the dainty handle with care, the scars on his skin and
his calluses seeming out of place on the fine Limoges. When he put it back
down, it was without a sound, precisely in the center of its saucer.

Nick
nodded. “She had a run-in with a bear.”

“You
want me to track it?”

“That'd
be great. If you think there's going to be trouble, I'm going to yank them off
the site, at least after dark. The last thing we need is to have a bunch of
archaeologists served up as a midnight snack. During the day, at least they can
see what's coming at them.”

“I
don't like having people up there,” Ivan said, looking down into his tea.

Nick
smiled. It was the closest the man would ever come to expressing disfavor with
him.

“Then
you'll be happy to know, they've already started digging. They may be gone in
under a month.”

He
frowned, finding his own words disturbing. He thought of the woman upstairs,
who had probably dried off and slid between the sheets by now. He didn't relish
the idea of her leaving anytime soon.

Finishing
his tea, Nick got to his feet.

“Like
I said before, make sure she's safe up there,” he told Ivan
before nodding thanks to Gertie. “I don't want anything happening to
her.”

“Don't
you mean them?” the woodsman asked.

“Yeah,
right. Of course. Them.”

Nick was
aware that the McNutts were looking at him strangely, but he wasn't in the mood
to answer questions. As he walked through the house, he thought it was probably
better to keep to himself, at least until the hunger for the woman in his
guestroom passed.

Although
on that logic, he though grimly, he probably should lock himself up in his
study until she left.

Carter
woke up in a dark, unfamiliar room and panicked. Her body was wrapped in a
towel and she had no immediate recollection as to where in the hell her clothes
were. It wasn't until she sat up and her head started to pound that she
remembered where she was. And why.

Moving
hair gingerly out of her face, she put both feet on the floor and stood up with
a groan. The worst hangover she'd ever had was sitting on her skull like a
piece of heavy machinery. A steamroller. Or maybe a dump truck.

How could
something as highbrow as sherry, sipped from a little crystal glass, do so much
damage? She'd have expected it from rotgut wine or a fleet of wretched, fruity
cocktails drunk in some seedy bar. But sherry? On a porch?

Carter
fumbled around until she found a lamp beside the bed and turned it on. The soft
glow made her headache howl in protest. She switched the thing off and then
realized she'd managed to blind herself completely.

Not a
good call.

Moving in
the direction she thought the bathroom was in, she knocked her shin on the leg
of an armchair and almost went back to bed.

Of
course, that would mean she might sleep through the night and have to see Nick
in the morning. This wasn't a prospect she felt up to handling, especially if
she was still hung over. She'd propositioned him for a date, for all intents
and purposes, and followed that little ditty up by demanding that he get rid of
his girlfriend.

As she
remembered his response, though, excitement swirled in her stomach. It was a
heady feeling that lasted until it occurred to her that she'd taken another
step closer toward a man she'd resolved to stay away from. If she knew what was
good for her, she'd stick to digging holes at the site and not go creating them
in her own life.

Cursing
and hobbling through the darkness, Carter eventually felt cool marble under her
feet. The pile of clothes was where she'd left it on the counter, but before
she attempted that obstacle course, she splashed her face and had two glasses
of water. Both improved the headache some and she got dressed quickly.

After
making the bed, she went over to the door. Opening it a crack, she waited for
her eyes to adjust to the hall light. There was no one around, and she was
relieved by all the silence. She stepped out and looked at the three different
branches the corridor split into. The choices were overwhelming.

Thanks to
the sherry-induced stupor she'd been in, she couldn't remember which way to go.

Picking a
direction randomly, she went some distance and, when the stairs didn't appear,
figured she was lost. She was about to double back when she heard voices.

“Why
are my clothes in this guestroom?” Candace's voice was soft and filled with
hurt.

Carter
froze. Down to the left, Candace and Nick were standing in a doorway.

“I
asked Gertie to move you here.”

“Why?”

“Because
things have changed.” Nick's tone booked no negotiation, his face a mask
of cold control.

“Changed?”
Hysteria sharpened the word. “What do you mean changed?”

“Things
are not working out between us.”

“But
you asked me up here.” Candace sounded confused and disappointed but then
stared at him in disbelief. “It's that ditch digger, isn't it?”

Nick's
silence was a powerful answer. Carter drew in a breath, unable to believe what
was happening.

“Tell
me the truth,” the woman demanded. “Come on. I've seen the way you
look at her.”

When Nick
stayed quiet, she straightened her shoulders and tossed her hair back.
“Maybe I should just leave.”

“Yes,
I think that's a good idea.”

She let
out a gasp. “How can you be so cruel?”

“Candace,
you knew from the start where things stood between us. I've always been up
front with you.”

“But
I love you. I thought we were going to get married. I thought that's why you
wanted me to come here. To ask me to marry you.”

“I
never gave you that impression.” Nick's head was moving back and forth
grimly.

“You
are breaking my heart.” This was followed by a sad, choked sob that
chilled Carter. “I knew I should have listened to my father, my friends.
They warned me about you, about how you always do this. Whenever someone gets
close, you pull away. I just never thought it would happen to me.”

Carter
wrapped her arms around herself. She had to wonder whether she was volunteering
for the same fate if she went sailing with him. He was obviously pursuing her,
but then he must have done the same thing to Candace. If she gave in to him,
she'd likely end up getting a similar brush-off, eventually.

“How
could you?” the woman murmured and then let out a sniffle. When Nick made
no move to comfort her, she grew angry and went back to glaring at him.
“So how long is this new one going to last? Are you going to play her
along like you did me?”

“You
jumped to your own conclusions. I was very clear about what I wanted. Besides,
I have every confidence you will rebound.”

“I'm
not one of your stocks!”

Nick's
tone was close to bored. “Candace, I know you're seeing someone else in
the city. You have been for almost two months now. I'm not holding the
infidelity against you but don't try and play the ruined innocent, okay?”

There was
a sharp intake of breath.

With
that, Nick turned to go only to halt when he saw Carter crouched for flight. As
their eyes met, hers widened in embarrassment. He showed no reaction.

Candace
seemed to take the hesitation as an encouraging sign.

“Darling,
let's not fight.” She reached out and touched his arm.

The sight
of the woman's red nails on his shirt was the last thing Carter saw as she
fled.

* * *

“There
was no bear,” Ivan told Nick the next day. The two men were in the garage,
leaning against the tractor.

“I
don't get it. She said she saw one.”

“Don't
know of no bear that wears sneakers and walks upright, do you?”

Nick
frowned in confusion. “Are you sure there wasn't one?”

Ivan shot
him a dry look.

“Of
course, you are,” Nick muttered. “Could the prints have been from one
of the Swifts?”

“The
new ones were man-sized and that Buddy, he wears hiking boots. Also, they came
up from the back. Whoever it was used the rear trail that hooks down onto the
road.”

“Why
the hell would she lie?”

With a
sharp noise, the front door to the mansion slammed shut as Candace appeared.
She was dressed in a dark blue linen suit, high heels, and plenty of gold
jewelry. Her face was drawn in rigid lines.

“So
she's going back to the city,” Ivan commented.

“She
is.”

Nick
wasn't looking forward to the trip to the train station. It would take less
than an hour but he had a feeling it was going to be an interminable drive.

“Is
she coming back?”

“No.”

Ivan
nodded.

Nick
glanced at the older man. “You never liked her, did you?”

“Doesn't
matter now, does it?”

Nick
shrugged and then got into the Porsche.

The
excursion to town was every bit as awkward as he'd imagined but, when he
deposited Candace at the terminal with her luggage, he wished her well. She
didn't reply, just stared off in the direction the train would be coming from.
Standing next to her monogrammed bags, she appeared to be a perfect lady, but
he had a feeling she'd have tucked a live grenade into his shorts if she'd had
the chance.

On the
way back home, he thought of how Carter had looked when he'd caught her
listening in on the breakup. Her face had been bright red as she'd wheeled
around and hightailed it down the hall. He laughed softly at the memory.

He
couldn't wait to be with her. An enthralling picture of the two of them naked
in the river came to mind. He saw himself running water over her skin with his
hands, kissing her neck and her shoulders. . .

Abruptly,
Buddy Swift's face intruded on the fantasy, ruining it.

Cursing
out loud, Nick stomped his foot on the accelerator and rocketed into a
straightaway.

Fair was
fair, he thought darkly. He'd gotten rid of his designer baggage, so Carter
could get rid of her extra backpack.

This kind
of stipulation was a new development for him. He wasn't typically one to demand
monogamy in affairs. It hardly seemed fair since he was so uninterested in
permanent ties. Besides, the women he'd been with tended to give him their
fidelity with eagerness, figuring it was their best shot at the golden ring. If
they did see other people, he didn't ask and they didn't tell, But Carter was
different. He wasn't going to share her with anyone.

* * *

“So,
how'd you like sleeping in a real bed last night?” Buddy asked while
shoving his trowel into the dirt. “That mattress feel good?”

Carter
looked up from her work. With Ellie still asleep in her tent, they were digging
at the site alone. “It was nice. The shower was the high point.”

“I
was surprised you didn't spend the whole night. Did Farrell turn into a bad
host? Not that I can't imagine him being anything other than perfectly
accommodating,” he said sarcastically.

She wiped
her brow with the back of her hand. “You don't like him, do you.”

“More
to the point, he doesn't like me.”

“Oh,
come on. He's a little brusque to everyone.”

“Brusque?
I feel like the man's ordering my tombstone every time I see him.”

“You
don't get to the top of the heap on Wall Street by being a nice guy.”

Buddy
looked up with an incredulous eye.

“Don't
tell me you think this is just about his personality?”

“I'm
sure that's what it is,” she said firmly, hoping he would take the hint
and let the subject drop.

“Listen
to me.” Her friend's voice was serious as he wagged his trowel at her.
“That man wants you, Carter. And he's not going to let anything or anyone
stand in his way.”

Rolling
her eyes, while swallowing a secret thrill, she thrust her hand shovel into the
ground. With a sharp sound, she hit something solid.

“What
was that?” Buddy asked.

“I
don't know.”

She
reached over for a more delicate tool. Moving more slowly, she brushed away the
earth until a stretch of bone was exposed to the air. Digging around it, she
found herself looking at a thigh bone and hip socket.

“This
looks human,” she announced. Buddy immediately came over just as Ellie and
Cort appeared at the site.

“What'd
you find?” Cort asked excitedly.

“Someone's
leg, I think.”

The group
clustered around Carter.

“How
do you know it's a someone instead of something?” Ellie asked as she
peered over for a look.

“Based
on its shape and size.” Carter highlighted the distinguishing features
with the tip of her brush. “Considering the length of the bone and its
angle into the joint here, I'd say this was probably a male, about eighteen years
of age. I'll need to see the full pelvic area to be sure.”