Wolf river, p.23
Wolf River, page 23
“Jase, LeeAnn’s here. She wants to come help you search.”
There was a brief silence, then Jase spoke again, his voice calm and level. “Put her on.”
Erinn expected LeeAnn to fall apart at the news, but the woman surprised her. She looked shaken, but kept her composure as she asked where the rig was found and told Jase she was on her way.
As LeeAnn started outside, Erinn ran out after her.
“Wait a minute, LeeAnn. I’m going to follow you. I just need a second,” she added, sprinting toward the barn to tell Devon and Rawley she was leaving.
“Why do you care about searching for my brother? You don’t even know the area—you’ll get lost and we’ll have to waste time searching for you,” LeeAnn called scornfully.
“That’s not going to happen.” Erinn disappeared inside the barn and emerged a moment later, running to her Jeep.
“Suit yourself.” LeeAnn shrugged. Her tires squealed as she turned the Silverado and spun out onto the drive even as Erinn put the Jeep in gear. Erinn had to practically floor her car to catch up, but she managed to keep the pickup in sight.
She knew she was acting impulsively, but she couldn’t help it. She kept remembering the friendliness in Culp’s brown eyes the day she met him, the pride with which he’d shown off the boots he’d bought after winning the poker tournament, even his offer to help her move into the cabin.
It seemed that many of Wolf River’s citizens were banding together to search for him. She needed to help too.
If Culp wasn’t found, wasn’t with them, healthy and unharmed, by the time she and the Fortunes returned to the ranch later, she had a feeling most of those sandwiches she’d fixed would probably go to waste. No one on the ranch, including her, would feel much like eating a thing.
Chapter Thirty
It wasn’t until darkness began to descend over Wolf River that the search for Culp was finally called off.
By then everyone involved was exhausted, discouraged, and worried. But no one, not even LeeAnn, objected when the decision was made to halt until daylight.
It would be useless to continue now that inky darkness was beginning to steal over the mountains. The searchers had spent more than nine hours scouring every trail, every clearing and rocky crevice within a four-mile radius of Culp’s truck.
There was no trace of him.
Jase was headed for home when he spotted Erinn on a trail near the top of Eagle Mountain, working her way down.
“What the hell!” He couldn’t believe his eyes. He couldn’t see anyone around, and here she was, in the open, alone and vulnerable. “I thought you were staying at the ranch with Devon,” he called, striding toward her.
Startled, Erinn turned to see him scowling at her. His expression wasn’t the least bit loverly. In fact, he looked mad as hell.
“Good to see you, too, Jase.”
“Look, I get it that you want to help, but this isn’t the way. You’re all alone out here, damn it—”
He bit back the next words as Kevin Samson emerged on a ledge only a few yards below, and spotting Jase, grinned and clambered upward.
“One of the deputies paired me and Erinn up to search,” the vet explained, wiping sweat from his eyes. “We’ve been at it all afternoon. Not that we’ve had any luck.”
Erinn crossed her arms as Jase shot her a rueful glance. “You know, you could’ve at least told me that Kevin was with you before I made an ass out of myself,” he grunted.
“You didn’t give me a chance. Besides, I kind of like it when you make an ass out of yourself.”
A reluctant grin broke across his face. He knew he deserved that. Still, it was all he could do to keep from blurting out what he really wanted to say to her.
That she wasn’t helping him at all by being out here. That he didn’t want her anywhere near the danger encircling everyone at Fortune’s Way and that the sight of her out here alone had scared the hell out of him.
He needed to get a grip. To stop thinking about her so much, worrying about her so much. Unfortunately, knowing he ought to do that wasn’t the same as doing it.
He’d even been thinking of suggesting that she and Devon return immediately to New York. It would be safer, for both of them. And a helluva lot less distracting for him.
It scared him how much Erinn filled his mind now, even when he wasn’t with her. It had been bad enough before they made love, before he knew how deep passion flowed beneath that cool, sophisticated demeanor. But now he kept picturing the glow that lit her face and sheened her body when they made love. He kept remembering the lushness of her breasts in his hands, the heat of her lips against his when he kissed her.
But this was a woman who’d carved out a life for herself clear away on another coast. She no more belonged in Wolf River than an orchid belonged in a desert.
What the hell was he getting himself into?
“Jase, did you hear what I said?” Kevin was staring at him curiously. So was Erinn. Jase hauled his attention back to the search.
“Sorry, I was thinking about Culp,” he lied. “Tell me again.”
“I searched Eagle’s Cave earlier before Erinn arrived,” Kevin repeated, rubbing the back of his neck. “No luck. There was nothing there. The two of us also checked that ridge over there, every inch of it. So tomorrow, I guess we’ll pick up right here.”
The vet turned to Erinn. “The sheriff said the search resumes at 7 a.m.”
“I’ll be here.”
Kevin nodded. “Good deal. Want an escort back to your Jeep?”
“I’ll see her back,” Jase said before she could reply.
As Kevin glanced at her for confirmation, Erinn nodded, but her mind felt a million miles away. She barely registered what either of them were saying.
Something strange was happening to her. She felt odd, light-headed. Almost like another vision was coming on. But instead of being separate from what was going on around her, she sensed the odd feeling floating through her was somehow related.
But related to what?
Kevin’s words. They were rolling through her mind, spinning over and over again. Eagle’s Cave…I searched Eagle’s Cave…nothing…Eagle’s Cave…cave…cave…
Her head ached. The image of a gaping cave, dark as the bowels of hell, filled her mind, throbbing like a strobe light. Eagle’s Cave…
She forced herself to focus on where she was. Kevin tipping his hat. “See you tomorrow,” he said.
He was leaving. And Jase was staring at her as if she had two heads.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, concern threading his words. Yet even his voice was distant, far distant from the strobe light and the image flashing, pulsing in her head.
“I don’t know…I think I just…hate to give up,” she muttered. Of its own volition, her body turned toward Eagle’s Cave.
“We have to search it again. Eagle’s Cave,” she repeated, and started down the path.
The strobe was still flashing with brilliant violence in her head—then Jase was by her side, his arm snagging hers.
“Hold on, Erinn. You’re a million miles away. What’s happening? Tell me, is it another vision?” he demanded.
She ignored him, shaking loose, scrambling down the trail, her gaze, her entire attention fixed on something she couldn’t quite see.
He caught up to her, silent now, watching her as his own heartbeat raced. As she rushed down the path, it was Jase who guided her toward the cave tucked deep in the mountain wall.
“Let me go in first—” he began, but she was already brushing past him, and some instinct kept him from stopping her, from interrupting whatever—or whoever—was calling to her.
She paused ten feet into the yawning darkness and peered ahead, a cold mist seeming to obscure her vision.
Who am I looking for? Culp? Or someone else…a woman?…A coffin?…Who’s there…who’s calling me?
The mist shifted before her, drifting closer.
Let me see, she begged. Let me see…
With a blast, the tunnel sucked her in. She rocketed down it, her breath frozen in her throat. The tunnel was narrower, colder than ever before. It was like being sucked down a vertical pit of ice, at roller-coaster speed, wild, careening, out of control…and then she saw it…on the wall of the cave. The mist cleared for an instant…
A drawing. A drawing on that dark rock wall. A drawing sketched in blood.
Dark red, a horse running…screaming. Tail flying, hooves in midair…running…free…red…blood…
Screams. Filling the air. Inhuman screaming…stop, make it…stop…
She opened her eyes to find herself lying in Jase’s arms. They were just outside the cave and he was staring down at her, his face grim beneath the brim of his hat.
“Did I…say anything?” she asked weakly, closing her eyes against the dizziness.
“Yeah, but that can wait. Are you all right? Can you sit up?”
She could, with his help. She leaned against him, still shivering. Twilight had deepened, the shadowy fingers of night brushed the land, and a cool wind whipped at her hair. She rested her head against Jase’s shoulder and felt her muscles relax as he held her.
Suddenly, she broke from the moment of peacefulness and pulled back, peering at him. “Tell me what I said. During the vision.”
“Something about a horse. A running horse.”
The image flooded back. “A painting on a cave wall,” she breathed. “A horse…running. It was outlined in blood…vivid red blood.” She fought to keep her voice from trembling as she sat up.
Was there something else too? she wondered, grasping at the fleeting bits of memory. What was it?
She couldn’t quite summon it…all she saw was the horse, the red outline of it on the cave wall, seared now in her mind. The tail flying as it ran…
“I guess I should call McKindrick tonight,” she said slowly. “Maybe all of these pieces will mean something to him. The horse, the cave, the coffin.” She stared beyond him at the sky, searching for answers in the first stars glittering amid the blackness. “None of my visions have ever been so disconnected before. And there’s something else different too.”
“What’s that?” Her eyes looked huge in the starlight—huge and baffled and uncertain.
“The oddest feeling came over me when Kevin mentioned Eagle’s Cave. I felt compelled to go in there—and that’s when the vision happened. Usually they just come out of the blue—but tonight, I was drawn to that cave. And then…when I entered it—that prompted the vision.”
“Like a trigger of sorts,” Jase mused.
“I guess so. But…I don’t know why it happened that way. Or what it means. Unless…” She swallowed, hesitant to even give voice to what she was thinking. But she had to tell him, in case she was right.
“Unless the vision of the cave has something to do with Culp.” She scrambled to her feet and Jase followed. “Maybe what I’m seeing isn’t happening somewhere else, like all the other times. Maybe it’s happening here. In Wolf River. But…I still need to talk to McKindrick,” she said quickly as his gaze sharpened.
“I could be wrong. I could be seeing a cave in Kentucky, or South Africa, or anywhere.” But I don’t think I am, she thought.
Jase studied her a moment. “You feel okay? You can walk?”
“Yes. Of course.” It was true. The visions’ effects always faded within a few minutes. Jase caught her hand.
“There’s a flashlight in my truck but I don’t want to leave you alone to get it,” he said. “I’m parked less than a quarter mile away. What do you say we go get it, then come back and have a look around inside? Both of us.”
“I say yes.”
“One second.” Her eyes were brilliant, luminous as stars in the darkening twilight. “Sorry,” he murmured, “but there’s something else I have to do first.”
She stared at him, puzzled. Then something cold and weary inside her dissipated as Jase drew her closer, cupped her chin, and bent his head to kiss her.
It was a soft, warm, yet oddly possessive kiss. She melted into him and suddenly didn’t want to ever move away.
“It’s been nearly twenty-four hours since I did that.” He drew in a breath and smoothed her hair with his hand, a light caressing touch that made her tingle all over. “It feels at least twenty-three hours too long.”
“Closer to twenty-four,” she murmured before she realized what she’d said.
His eyes gleamed in the cool, gusty night and a grin split his face. Then he released her and put his hand at the small of her back. “Watch your step,” he said in a careful neutral tone as he guided her back onto the dark twisting path of the mountain.
It was late when they returned to Fortune’s Way. They’d found nothing in the cave—no drawings on the walls, no coffin, no Culp.
Nothing but rock and dirt and empty blackness.
If not this cave, Erinn thought, there must be another. She’d asked Jase if there were many caves in Montana and he’d grimly explained that the state was ripe with them. Too many to count. Too many to search—unless she could somehow narrow it down.
Clay, Lily, Devon, and Ginny were all still huddled around the dining room table when they reached Fortune’s Way. Colton had gone to Crystalville to see Sue Lynn. But LeeAnn was there, sitting listlessly at one end of the table, her eyes dull, her red hair even more windblown and tousled than it had been when she’d arrived this morning.
They’d picked at the turkey sandwiches Erinn had prepared, and at the salad Ginny had thrown together. No one had been hungry, but they’d gone through the ritual of sharing a meal, while each was lost in his or her own thoughts. Unlike the previous evening, the atmosphere in the house was dominated by a sense of gloom.
It had settled over the ranch house in the hours that the search dragged on, and only deepened after the hunt for Culp had been called off for the night.
“I hate to think of him up there now all night,” Lily muttered. Then her gaze flew to LeeAnn.
“I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I know he’ll be okay. Culp’s tough. We’ll find him in the morning and he’ll…he’ll give us hell for not tracking him down sooner. He’s going to be so hungry…”
Her voice trailed off.
“Yeah, he will,” LeeAnn said dully. “If he’s…if he’s…you know.”
Alive. They all knew what she was thinking. They were thinking the same thing.
LeeAnn suddenly pushed back her chair and left the room.
Jase and Clay both stood at the same time. “Let me,” Jase told his father and to Erinn’s surprise, the older man nodded and sank down again. Jase’s eyes met Erinn’s briefly, then he strode after LeeAnn.
“Reckon it’s a tough night for everyone—LeeAnn most of all,” Clay said in his gruff tone. “Ginny, I’ll follow you back home when you leave here. Jase will make sure the two of you get back okay.”
“There’s no need,” Erinn assured him. “I can take care of myself and my sister.” But when she glanced at Devon, the girl looked pale. And scared.
“Would you excuse us a moment? Devon, come with me, please.”
She drew the girl into the kitchen. “What’s wrong?” she asked, studying her sister’s wary face. “What’s frightening you?”
“I’m…I’m not frightened. I just want to go back to the cabin and call Hank. I need to talk to him.”
“About what?”
“Stuff. Private stuff.” Devon’s chin jerked up defiantly.
“Listen, Devon, you need to be honest with me. Do you have any reason to believe that Mick Wheeler might be behind Culp’s disappearance? Is it Mick you’re afraid of, afraid he might come after you next? If you or Hank know something that would help us find Culp, you have to tell me now!”
“I would.” Devon’s lips quivered. Misery filmed her eyes. “Don’t you think I would, Tiffany? Mick hates the Fortunes,” she burst out, “because of some run-in he had with Colton awhile ago—and then Lily. But he doesn’t really get along with anyone. And I don’t see why he’d hurt Culp. I’ve thought about it all day.”
She bit her lip and continued quickly. “He’s never said anything bad about Culp, so it wouldn’t make sense. Besides, the main thing he’s worried about right now is that I’m going to tell you about the—” She broke off in horror, her eyes widening at the words that had slipped from her mouth.
“Go on,” Erinn said quietly. “What’s he worried you’ll tell me?”
“Nothing! It’s got nothing to do with this. Or with Culp. I want to go home now.”
She flinched away and started to the door. “If you won’t take me home right now I’ll just have to walk—”
Erinn grabbed her arm. “Devon, we’re going now, but we’re going together. We can finish this conversation in the car.”
For a moment there was taut silence in the kitchen. Devon’s eyes mirrored resentment, tears, and something else—a lurking fear that made Erinn’s own sense of dread mount.
Silently she led the way back through the dining room to say their good-byes.
“Sheriff Farley called. The search starts again at dawn,” Ginny told her, gathering up the dinner dishes with her usual efficiency.
Erinn nodded. “I’ll be there.”
“I’ll be there too,” Lily said, collecting the water glasses. “But I’ll have to leave for a while and put in some time at the day-care center in the afternoon—they’re short-handed. When things calm down,” she said to Erinn with a sigh, “I hope you’ll still come and read to the kids.”
“I promise I will before I go back to New York,” Erinn said.
It occurred to her as she and Devon made their way down the hallway that she was getting too attached to this town. To the people in it. And especially to those who lived in this house.
It astonished her that she felt so close to all the Fortunes, to Ginny, even to Culp. Somehow or other, their lives had become so much a part of hers. Strange, since she had lived a long time in New York with few attachments.
