We'll Never Tell (Secrets of Ravenswood) (10 page)

She closed her eyes and
let the hot water soak away a chill of doubt. She cared about Ethan. Probably
more than was safe, but opening her heart was a risk she was willing to take.
She twisted the handles to turn off the water and stepped out of the shower.
Not that it mattered if she was willing or not because she was past the point
of having a choice. Her heart was fully engaged, and she prayed he wouldn’t break
it.

When Ethan arrived an
hour later, she was ready and waiting with her backpack filled with a picnic
lunch. The cargo area of his pickup held two German shepherds and a black lab.
The dogs set up a clamor at her approach. Reaching out a tentative hand, she
let the trio sniff their fill before patting their heads.

Ethan smiled at her when
she climbed inside and dumped the pack at her feet. Leaning across the center
console, he dropped a kiss on her upturned lips before starting the engine and
making a quick three point turn in the driveway.

“You look beautiful.”

Sam glanced down at her
black shorts, windbreaker, and favorite red tank top, faded from so many
washings. “You gotta love a man who’s easy to please. Where’re we hiking?”

“I thought we’d park at
the cross country ski area and head out from the lodge. There may be a few
tourists using the hiking trails, and these three need practice engaging with
bystanders.” He hitched his head toward the back of the truck. “You can be the
victim.”

“Sweet. I’ve had plenty
of experience in that role lately.”

He glanced away from the
road and frowned. “Bad choice of words.”

“I’m joking, Ethan.” She
patted the hard muscle of his thigh, covered by faded jeans, and her fingers
lingered. “Before I forget, Ken invited us both to dinner tonight. I hope
you’re free.”

“My social calendar
isn’t exactly bursting with activity. I’d love to go.”

“Good.” Sam relaxed
against the seatback. She’d wondered if morning after jitters would get the
best of her once she was face to face with Ethan, but the silence that settled
between them was natural. Warmth wrapped around her heart.

He turned into the lot
at the cross country area and shut off the engine. Two cars, a shiny red
pickup, and a Fish and Game truck were the only other vehicles in the parking
area. “Not too crowded today.”

Her gaze scanned the
grass covered slope leading up from the rustic day lodge. A few patches of late
blooming wildflowers brightened the terrain. “I haven’t been up here since last
winter. It looks strange without snow.”

“Do you Nordic ski?” he
asked as they climbed out of the cab.

“Every chance I get when
I’m around in the winter.”

He dropped the tailgate
to let the dogs out. Noses to the ground, they ambled around the lot. “We’ll
have to ski together after the first big snowfall.”

Hefting her pack, she
slipped the straps over her shoulders. She’d never been one to make plans more
than a week or two in advance, certainly not for the next season. Ethan spoke
as if their relationship was solid and enduring. She hoped he was right.

“I wouldn’t be able to
keep up. You were state champion your senior year in high school. Everyone in
town thought we’d see you in the Winter Olympics.”

“I was never
that
good.” He flashed a smile. “I don’t train for competition anymore. I just ski
for fun. Anyway, I have a feeling you set a pretty stiff pace. I know you’re in
shape.”

His look heated her
cheeks. He whistled to the dogs, and they headed up the sloping hillside.
Walking quickly, they left the open cross country trails for a single track
through thick forest. The dogs ran ahead, and Ethan called them back, keeping
them close to his side. When a squirrel crossed the trail, the trio erupted in
a frenzy of barking.

Sam grinned and adjusted
the ball cap on her head. “They certainly don’t have Sadie’s focus.”

At a sharp command, the
lab rejoined the two shepherds, brown eyes filled with remorse.

“No, they’re young and
untrained, but we’re working on it.” He eyed the lab. “I’m not sure if Ebony is
going to make the cut.”

“Oh, but she’s so sweet.
Look at that face.”

“Adorable doesn’t help
much in an emergency. Still, I haven’t given up on her completely.”

“I’d say she just has an
adventurous spirit, kind of like me.” She gave a little skip to keep up with
his pace. “When we were young, I was always the one who led Juliette and Darby
astray. We would never have been in the woods the night that woman was killed
if I hadn’t wanted to camp out in the old graveyard below Prophet Point.”

His smile sent flutters
through her as he reached out to swat a mosquito buzzing above her arm. She
couldn’t help remembering the way that hand had stroked her bare skin the night
before. The flutters morphed into a wave of heat. Pulling her scattered wits
together, she focused on what he was saying.

“So you were the free
spirit of the group?”

She nodded. “Darby was
the brains. The woman is too smart for her own good. And Juliette was—is—sweet.
There’s no other way to describe her.”

With a sharp command, he
reeled his dogs back when they strayed from the path, then glanced in her
direction. “You’re smart and sweet.”

She snorted. “The
standard warning was always, ‘Don’t let Sam get you into trouble.’”

With a laugh, he swung an
arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “Speaking of trouble, would you like to
go hide so I can work on the find command with these three?”

“Sure. What do I need to
do?”

“Just find someplace out
of sight and stay there. I hope you have on mosquito repellent.” At her nod, he
lifted the Giants cap from her head and continued, “I’ll take this to help the
dogs with your scent. We’ll be about fifteen minutes behind you.”

“You hope.”

He laughed. “Good
point.”

Sam headed up the trail.
After a short distance, she left the path, cut through the undergrowth, and
waded through a thick patch of thimbleberry bushes. Finding a fallen tree, she
climbed over it and sat down on a bed of pine needles. After dropping the pack
beside her, she leaned back and closed her eyes.

She’d always thought
Ethan was great looking. Even when they were teenagers, she’d been drawn to his
quick smile and lean, muscular body. But now she
liked
him, too. She
enjoyed his easy company, the firmness in his voice when he spoke to his dogs,
the caring in his eyes when they rested on her.

It scared her, how
quickly she’d grown to rely on him, how much she missed him when they were
apart. Skirting around any need to voice their feelings, neither had mentioned
the word love. Sam was afraid to even think it. In her experience, love led to
heartache, and she’d had more than her share. Inflicted more often by family
members than the few serious boyfriends she’d had over the years.

A rustle in the bushes
alerted her. Apparently the young dogs were better trackers than Ethan thought.
Opening her eyes, she blinked in the bright sunlight and shaded her eyes. A man
stepped forward, looming over her, blocking the glare. His hand jerked toward a
weapon holstered at his hip.

Sam screamed.

“She startled me. It was
an instinctive reaction.”

Ethan gritted his teeth
and told himself for the fifteenth time he would
not
wrap his hands
around his neighbor’s neck. “Jesus, Arnie, a man licensed to carry a firearm
shouldn’t be that jumpy.”

Arnie Peters ran his
hand through his thinning hair and gave Sam a nervous smile. “I’m sorry. I
apologize. I’ll give you my first born if Ethan will ease up, though I’d advise
against taking the kid. He’s fourteen and comes with attitude.”

Sam grinned, and Ethan’s
chest tightened. She was taking the encounter with the Fish and Game warden a
hell of a lot better than he was.

He stared at Arnie
through narrowed eyes. “You don’t usually carry a weapon.”

“I told you, there’s a
poacher out here. I’ve no intention of meeting up with this a-hole without
being armed.”

Sam touched Ethan’s
forearm, and the muscle flexed. Humor lurked in her green eyes. “Mr. Peters
didn’t actually point the gun at me, just sort of reached for it. Screaming may
have been an overreaction on my part.”

She moved her hand off
his arm in favor of scratching Ebony’s ears. The lab moaned, a look of ecstasy
transforming her face. Ethan could relate.

Some of the tension
drained out of him. When he heard Sam scream, he’d raced through the forest like
a champion sprinter with the dogs leading the way. His adrenalin was still
pumping. The two shepherds sat on either side of Sam, eyes never leaving the
Fish and Game warden’s face. Apparently their protective urges matched his.

Ethan let out a long, slow
breath. “Should we be on the lookout for Foster? Of the two of you, I would
have thought he’d be the trigger happy one.”

“He’s around somewhere.
We split up to cover more ground.” The tips of Arnie’s ears burned red with
either embarrassment or anger—hard to tell which. “And I’m not trigger happy,
for God’s sake.”

Sam nudged Ethan’s arm.
“Maybe we should go.”

“Yeah, good idea.” He
gave his neighbor a final, hard look. “See you.”

They walked in silence,
with only the chirping of a pair of robins high in a pine tree to disturb his
thoughts. He’d taken his fear and anger at the psycho stalking Sam out on
Arnie. He knew it, yet he’d been unable to stop. Having a tangible target for
his frustration was liberating.

“I never would have
guessed you have a temper.” She nudged him with her elbow again. “Usually
you’re the epitome of calm. Even when Ebony barked like a lunatic at that
squirrel, you didn’t raise your voice.”

He stopped walking and
turned to face her. “When I heard you scream…” He forced out a breath. “Let’s
just say it took ten years off my life and leave it at that.”

Slowly she stretched up
on her toes and kissed him, her gaze holding his as she backed up a few inches
and pressed a hand to her breasts. “Knowing you care enough to lose it a little
makes me feel warm in here.”

Reaching out, he hauled
her in tight against his chest. His heart thumped painfully. “Of course I
care.” He kissed her hard, and the emotion between them thickened.

One of the shepherds
growled low in his throat. Pulling away, Ethan glanced up the trail. Two young
boys ran into sight, laughing and pushing each other. They stopped when they
saw the dogs.

“They’re friendly,”
Ethan called out.

The mood was broken,
which was probably best. Neither of them was ready to admit to deeper feelings—not
that he didn’t have them. But he was pretty damn certain Sam didn’t need his
growing attachment heaped on her emotional plate right now.

“Cool dogs,” the taller
of the two boys said.

A man and a woman
rounded the bend, a beagle trotting alongside them. When the hound launched
forward, tail waving and ears flapping, baying to wake the dead, the woman
squealed.

“They’re friendly,”
Ethan repeated.

His three dogs sniffed
politely while the beagle quivered and barked, obviously thrilled to have found
friends.

The man, tall and lanky
with a shock of carrot colored hair that matched his younger son’s, ran up and
grabbed the dog’s collar. “Sorry, I guess I should keep him leashed.”

“Don’t worry about it.
He can’t get into much trouble out here.”

He glanced from his
beagle to the three larger dogs. “Yours are so well behaved. I should probably
enroll Roscoe in obedience training.”

“It couldn’t hurt.” The
two shepherds stood patiently while the beagle strained toward them. Pride
welled in Ethan’s chest. Even Ebony was behaving. The only signs of excitement
were her bright eyes and tail thumping the dusty ground. “Enjoy your hike.”

“Have a nice day,” the
woman called when the boys took off at a sprint. The two adults hurried after
them with the beagle bringing up the rear.

Sam smiled as they
disappeared down the trail. “I bet those two little dynamos keep them on their
toes.”

“Without a doubt.” At a
signal from him, the three dogs trotted ahead. “That went well. There may be
hope for Ebony, yet.”

Sam gazed after the
dogs. “You should offer obedience classes. With your reputation, I bet you’d
have plenty of interest.”

“I’ve thought about it,
but I don’t have time for the business side of a new venture.” He frowned down
at his feet. “I could fit the actual classes into my schedule, but there’s
marketing and paperwork…” He cringed and cast her a self-effacing smile. “I’d
kill to do nothing but work with the dogs and let someone else deal with bills
and clients. Maybe in another year or two I’ll be able to justify the expenses
of an office employee.”

“What if I set up the
obedience classes? I bet the additional income would pay for a part-time
worker.”