Heartstealer (Women of Character3 (20 page)

"Yes. Life may have been
hectic, but it called to something in me." Myra shook her head ruefully.
"It's different now. We've adapted to our new life in Maryland."

"I suppose it's easier to
adapt if you're born here. Sometimes it seems so isolated."

Myra laughed like a young girl, her
face lit with amusement. "I was a city girl, Jacie, just like you. I'd
never lived in the middle of such isolation as it was then. When I found myself
in between jobs, I came to visit a friend, Miriam Wright, Sloan's mother."
She sighed. "Miriam was so much fun to be around, the life of the party,
almost desperately seeking out adventures. Miriam always said the worst thing
she could do with her life was be boring." Myra shook her head sadly.
"Miriam never really grew up."

Troubled, Jacie said, "But she
had Sloan and a husband, surely―"

"I loved and envied her, most people
did. She was easy to love, but she didn't stick around. After Sloan was born,
she went back to her partying ways. Everett loved her desperately, and in her
way, she loved him also." Myra’s face changed and grew sad. "I
believe everyone is capable of one truly grand love in their life. Everett is
mine. Miriam was his. We both knew it...I knew it going into marriage with
Everett, but I loved him regardless. We have a good life. We married a year
after Miriam died. Sloan was almost nine, he needed the stability."

She could sense Myra loved Sloan
dearly. Sympathy created a lump in her throat, sudden understanding hitting
her. Did Sloan think she jeopardized her life by jumping out of planes just for
the risk of doing it? She grew up in a skydiving family, she went into it
naturally, but she wouldn’t deny she had always liked the thrill,
catching that first updraft of air.

"Sloan doesn't take risks. He
regards my jumping out of planes as a foolish gamble."

Carefully, Myra pulled her car into
a parking place by the lodge and turned to her. "You have to understand he
was a small child. He loved his mother dearly. When she was around, she devoted
all of her time to him. Nevertheless, as young as he was, I'm sure Sloan saw
how Miriam's lifestyle hurt his father.

"One day Miriam was out early
moving those big hay bales. She helped Everett on the farm from time to time.
In her brash style, she had often declared she could operate the farm equipment
as well as any man. She lifted the loader bucket too high and the bale rolled
back. Somehow, she escaped being pinned in the seat and she walked away with
only a few scratches. It was terrible justice that she died from what started
as a simple infection."

"It must have been awful for
them to lose her like that, someone so full of life."

"Sloan and his father were
close, at least they had each other. Families are very important in times of
crisis. Do you have family, Jacie?"

She looked down. "Yes, and I'm
not proud to say I've kind of pushed my family away lately."

Myra gently touched her arm.
"Family is very important, my dear, as I'm sure you know."

"Yes I do."

As they exited the car in the lodge
parking lot Myra commented, "Skydiving must be an exciting
occupation."

"It's an exacting type of work
and it can be totally consuming."

"You've been in this business
a long time?"

"Yes. My brothers run the
business. I love my family, but sometimes it's too much. They think they have
to keep an eye on me."

"Haven't you ever been
scared?"

Chewing at her lip, she looked
toward the deepening orange of the horizon. "Not until I got hurt this
last time." She shrugged, pushing her door closed. "I came face to
face with my own mortality. It sobers you up pretty quickly."

"That's difficult for anyone,
I would say," a voice behind her said.

She turned quickly to find Sloan
walking around the front of the car. His dark jeans were covered in dust, his
dull red shirt unbuttoned and hanging open. Her eyes flicked the dark furring
of hair running down his chest and across a hard, flat stomach to the waistband
of his jeans. She imagined running her hands up that sculpted chest. Licking
her lips, she lifted her eyes to his and felt the tell tale color surge into
her cheeks.

Jacie hadn’t seen him in two
days. She had wondered why, but now all she could think about was how dark and
sexy he looked.

"I see you found Myra."
He opened the back of the car and retrieved the canvas. Carefully, he held it
upright.

"Lucky for me," Myra
said. "Jacie helped me load the car. I thought this painting might go
nicely over the fireplace in the lodge's game room," she added.

"I'd rather have it over my
fireplace," he said, turning it this way and that for a better look.

"Feel free." Myra waved a
hand. "There's plenty more. Just be careful, it’ll take a few days
to dry." She rose up on her toes and kissed Sloan's cheek. "I'm going
to have a quick nap before dinner." Without saying anything further, Myra
left them and walked into the lodge.

Placing the painting on the hood of
the car, he tucked the tails of his shirt into his jeans and began to button
his shirt. "Thank you for helping my mother." He studied her
intently.

"I happened to come on her
while I was hiking to the swimming hole."

"Did you make it to the
swimming hole?" His regard was warm as he did a slow perusal of her. She
met those light eyes head on. She wasn't sure what it was, but something seemed
different about him. He seemed less tense.

"No," she said lightly.
"But of course there's always tomorrow."

"Great idea," he
surprised her by saying. "What’s your schedule like?"

"I'm taking tomorrow
off."

"Since you missed out today, I
can show you a place not many people know about."

Her interest peaked.

"It's also my way of
apologizing," he added softly. "I was out of line the other night. I
had no right to question the way you make a living. It has certainly benefited
our business and you're very good at what you do."

"I am," she agreed.

Removing his hat, he brushed his
hair back with his palm. The movement made his half buttoned shirt billow out,
exposing hard-muscled ribs. Quietly, he said, "So what do you say, would
you like to go?"

"Sure."

"We'll take the horses, it's a
good day's hike otherwise. I'll be your guide."

She thought she would like to have
Sloan as a guide again. Her fingers twitched, longing to touch him, but she
curled her fingers behind her back. "Okay."

"Good," he said huskily.
"I've got someone coming to look at some hay, then I'll meet you at the
stables in the morning...say nine?"

"Okay." With a brief
flick of her fingers, she turned on her heel, releasing her breath slowly as
she put distance between herself and Sloan.

She conceded her father was right.
When she had been younger he had claimed trouble would find her. If not, she
would go looking for it. Every instinct warned her to steer clear of Sloan, but
she intended to move full speed ahead, regardless. She could not ignore the
excitement between them. It called to her. She had to find out where it would
take her.

Early the next morning Jacie paced
the floor, trying to calm an escalating anger as she listened to Bonnie on the
phone. "Bonnie, I left you a message that I needed Brad’s number for
the police, not that I wanted him to come here."

"I know," Bonnie said
quickly, "but I’m really concerned with everything that’s been
happening out there so I decided to ride out early. When I told Brad, he
volunteered to speak with them personally. I know this is a surprise, but I'm en
route now." Bonnie paused.

"What!" Stunned, Jacie
could imagine Bonnie taking a deep draw on her cigarette.

The other woman rushed on.
"Brad feels terrible, he wants to resolve issues so both of you can get on
with your lives. He thought this was a good opportunity."

"There are no issues!"
She wanted to scream in frustration. "However well meaning your
intentions, I resent your interference. You can turn right around. Brad knows I
don't want to see him. I don't know why you're getting involved, Bonnie, but I
don't want you calling me again and I certainly don't want you bringing him
here." Abruptly, she hung up the phone. Her hands shook and she felt
incredibly panicked. The last person she wanted to see right now was Brad.

Pacing the cabin, she fumed,
rubbing her forehead as a headache threatened. Why was Bonnie trying to bring
her and Brad together? It was history she didn’t want to repeat. Her
glance fell on the kitchen clock and she groaned.

She was supposed to have met Sloan
fifteen minutes ago. She wondered if she should just tell him to forget it. She
wouldn’t be very good company today.

Fiddling with the camera strap
around her neck, she walked from the house and stood on her front porch. She
suddenly heard the sound of horse's feet. Sloan came into view, riding his
horse and leading one behind him. He halted on the drive in front of her cabin.

"Morning, Jacie." Her
heart dropped to her feet at the gravelly warmth of his voice.

"Hi. Sorry I'm late, but I had
a phone call."

"Problems?" he murmured,
holding out the reins of her mount.

Taking the reins, she resisted the
urge to confide. If she talked about it, she’d get mad all over again.
"Nothing I can't handle." She looked askance at the pack on his
horse.

"Lunch," he said, grinning.

"I'm hungry already," she
quipped, mounting her horse, a sturdy gray with dapple marks on his
hindquarters. Sloan had not let her ride Dandy yet, not until he was certain
the horse’s system was flushed of the drug he’d been given.

"Lead on."

"Okay." His smile was a
killer, his eyes heating her through. "Let's go."

They rode through a small stand of
evergreens and up a track she hadn't explored yet.

"My place is up ahead,"
he said, twisting in the saddle to look at her.

As the trees thinned, she saw his
home. It was gorgeous, like a picture advertisement. His cabin was much larger
than her own, with a semi-circular deck on the gorge side, set in amongst the
trees.

"Wow―what a beautiful
place, Sloan."

"Thanks. James and I put it
together."

"Did you cut your own
logs?"

"No, I hired a company from
Maine. I gave them the plans and they delivered the pre-cut logs a few months
later. If you like, I'll show you around some time."

"I'd love that."

The logs were reddish-gold, and it
looked perfect in its setting. A two-tier flowerbed bordered the front of the
house, drawing the eye toward the brilliant colors. "You did these flowers
also?" She asked, impressed.

"I like to play gardener in my
spare time," he murmured, shrugging. "My mom loved flowers, maybe that’s
where I got it from. This is my home."

She looked away, ignoring the ache
in her chest. She had never wanted a place to call home, so why the sting of
pain now? "So where are we going?" she asked brightly.

"Over on the far end of our
property. It's really a well-kept secret, hardly anyone goes there since it's
off the beaten path."

She returned his smile,
anticipation warming her. Miles from anywhere with Sloan. The day was already
looking brighter.

Jacie increasingly enjoyed the warm
day and beautiful surroundings. They followed a thin trail through a heavily
wooded area and then broke out into a clearing where they rode through frothy
ferns. It seemed a shame to walk on them. At the edge of the clearing she drew
her mount to a halt as Sloan stopped where the ground dropped sharply.

He waved his arm. "Look ahead,
we’re almost there."

She urged her horse closer,
catching her breath as her eyes swept the valley below. The trail became grass
and at the base of the small hill was a large pond surrounded by orange and
yellow water lilies. A small wooden dock had been built on one side of the pond
where massive maples shaded it.

"Come on," he said.

Anticipation rippled through her.
She thought; what a romantic spot!

Following him, she drew her camera
out and began to take pictures. He looked back, one brow raised and she pointed
the camera at him.

He put up a hand playfully.

With a delighted laugh, she took
his picture. "Sorry, you’re a captive audience so you have to bear
with me."

They dismounted by the pond.

"Let your horse have a half
dozen gulps of water, then we'll put them in the fenced corral."

She looked over at the split-rail
pen, the edge of which went into the woods, providing grass and shade.

"Sloan, this is
incredible."

"When I was a kid my dad used
to let me camp out here. Later, when James was old enough, I would bring him
here. Each summer we'd clear brush until it looks the way it is today."

Removing saddles and bridles, they
turned the horses loose in the corral. He carried the lunch pack toward the
pond while she lingered a moment, watching the horses drop down and roll in the
grass.

"Coming, Jacie?" His
voice washed over her like a slow caress.

She nodded. "Be there in a
minute," she called. Drawing a deep breath, she pushed herself away from the
fence and made her way to Sloan.

"How about a swim and then
lunch?"

She was momentarily disconcerted
and then she started laughing. "Actually, I just realized something."
Her mirth spilled over. There was nothing else she could do under the
circumstances. "I...uh...kind of forgot my bathing suit." In her
distraction over the phone call she had left her suit on the dining room table.

He removed his hat, his eyes on
her. "All indecent proposals aside, you could swim in your underwear and
T-shirt. It's not like you haven't done it before."