Rivers end boxset volume.., p.1
River's End Boxset Volume 3, page 1
RIVER’S END BOXSET #3
BOOKS #11-15
LEANNE DAVIS
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CONTENTS
River in Darkness
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
River in Light
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
River in the Mountains
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
River at the Ranch
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
River to the Ocean
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Epilogue
Next in Series
Excerpt
Other Books by Leanne Davis
About the Author
RIVER IN DARKNESS
RIVER’S END SERIES, BOOK ELEVEN
CHAPTER 1
~YEAR 30 FROM START OF RIVER’S END SERIES~
QUINN GRITTED HIS TEETH as he took another weary step and a drop of sweat simultaneously rolled down his torso. Annoyed as hell at the oppressive heat and dust that choked his throat and clogged every pore, he slogged down the poor excuse for a road. Who dared to call a dusty lane without any pavement a main road? He wasn’t walking down the side of a driveway, no. It was a road that bisected a steep mountain. With a sharp drop below him, the river wove its way haphazardly through the valley.
Worse than the damn unpaved road, there was no phone reception. Nothing. His cell phone was totally useless. He stared at the device for a full minute. The “no service” words confused him. He’d never been in a location that simply didn’t have phone service. At all. Sure, he’d suffered through power outages, not like this. He stopped and stared out at the valley. The river rushed and gurgled toward where he stood, hitting the mountain’s base and taking a sharp, almost perpendicular turn before continuing down the valley and meandering out of his sight. Mountains dominated the view, mostly brown now in the August sun. Pine trees were densely planted below with houses interspersed and farther up, a road that led to the barns and open pastures of horses.
The horses enjoyed expansive fields of grass, and on the high side of the river stood a large orchard. Idyllic as a postcard, the sprinklers were running and fat drops of water caught the sun before breaking up into colors like a prism in the evening sun. He spotted random people moving about below on the vast farm, or whatever this place was, looking more like dolls from his position above it all. Farther up, a gigantic spread dominated the landscape. Was it a large horse barn and an arena? Something of that sort. Decked out in timbers and river rock, it matched the exterior of the other outbuildings. Beyond that, more buildings hugged the river and more horses appeared near the large building. What the hell was this place? And why would a dirt road be the main access point? This was a goddamned county-maintained road. He stomped over the thick dirt that blanketed his black leather shoes and the cuffs of his dark pants.
Pulling at his tie, which constricted his throat, the heat became more unbearable the longer he walked.
Goddamned dirt road. Goddamned car. Breaking down in the middle of nowhere. Stupid, unreliable car. Not that his car had ever committed the ultimate indignity of breaking down before. The price tag alone forbade it from doing that. Fine. Fuck. He had no choice but to walk. He was unfamiliar with the terrain: river, mountains, pine trees, and modest houses. There was no help behind him. He hoped by going forward he would find some relief. Get some help. Run into some type of civilization. Something that didn’t feel like hillbilly hell, Jed Clampett style. With a sigh, the place below looked to be his only hope. It was probably a good mile to the turnoff that accessed it.
Pushing his sunglasses down on his face, he continued trudging through the powdery dust. Turning left when the road opened up and the mountain lost its vertical sharpness, the driveway eased into a rolling pasture beside the road and up the river. To his right, he saw a meticulously manicured yard with lush grass and mature shade trees surrounding a modest but neat house. No one seemed to be about. Fine. To the horses then.
He walked under a huge timber sign from which hung the name, Rydell River Ranch Established 1802.
Quinn rolled his eyes. Sure. The sign was made of cedar and so glossy and polished, it sure as shit was no relic or antique from the 1800s. Probably a gimmick and a tourist trap. Whatever. Hopefully, they were advanced enough in their technology to use phones, or at the very least, receive some cell reception. Walking past the horses, he was annoyed that there were lots of them, so many stinking horses. Some raised their heads to stare at him over the immaculate white fence when he passed by. Others ignored him, keeping their heads down and pulling the stubble of grass at their feet. There wasn’t much growth this time of year, mostly dirt.
Another half mile brought Quinn to a fork in the road and another wooden, polished sign that read: Rydell River Resort, with an arrow that pointed to the right. Underneath it was Rydell River Ranch, which pointed straight behind the sign, and Rydell Rides, which pointed the same way as the ranch. Next was Rydell River Rescue and an arrow pointing left; and underneath that, in smaller font, was Rydell Private Residences, which pointed the same way as the Rescue.
Rydell. Obviously, a thing. The thing. The name. The 1802 name.
Still no one to be seen. There was no one around, just horses. Pastures. Some buildings farther off. His jaw nearly shattered from gnashing his teeth, he was so annoyed. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he found one bar of service, but couldn’t even get a text, much less, a call to go through.
Fine. From where should he seek help? Left? Toward the giant barn? He remembered seeing some people when he saw it from the road above. He glanced back to where his car was parked up on the road. He was far down the valley now and would have looked more like a small action figure standing there if he were being seen from up there.
A few steps farther, a vehicle suddenly entered his consciousness. It was coming from the main dirt road. That observation still chafed him. He turned as a ball of dust exploded and then plumed behind the truck. It was an older model and every bit as covered in the powdery stuff as his shoes. The truck came to a grinding halt when the driver slammed on the brakes.
The window lowered and he glimpsed a woman’s white face and black hair.
Thinking the driver was pissed at him for jumping in their way, he was surprised when the face asked from the few feet of distance, “You lost?”
Taking the question as permission to approach, he came closer to the truck, his gaze eating up the view. She was young, in her low or mid-twenties, with either green or blue eyes fringed in dark lashes and flat, dark eyebrows above them. The color perfectly matched her hair color, which was short and spiked up, off her head. Not a wisp or a puff to soften her face. Not a stitch of makeup either, and tattoos covered the arm that she held out the open window.
“Not lost per se. Although, I have no idea where I am.”
“Wow. I’ve never heard that complaint around here.” Her grin was slightly mocking, cocky. More like a guy might have. “Rydell River Ranch and all of its offshoots are pretty much the only known destination in this valley.”
“So I gathered by the signage. I just have no idea who the Rydel ls are.”
“Well… they’re practically royalty around here. But how did you get here? I mean, if you didn’t intend to? That’s pretty hard to do. It’s a bit off the beaten path and way off the main highway.”
“Car broke down a few miles that direction.” He pointed down the godforsaken roadway he’d just slogged through. “Looking for a phone to call a tow.”
She poked her tongue in the side of her cheek, pushing it out as her gaze narrowed. She seemed to be evaluating him. Why? Was she deciding if he were lying or not?
“Well… I can’t believe you’re a guest of the resort or the rescue, not dressed like that. Don’t get too many like you around here, not unless you’re selling or preaching something. Thought you were on your way to the resort to sell something. Had to come and tell you that would be a hard no.”
A salesman? He glanced down at his attire, which she seemed to find so odd and different, trying not to roll his eyes. White pinstriped, button-up shirt tucked into dark slacks with a leather belt and a blue tie. Oh, he just screamed wild and crazy and threatening. Dude ranches never had business people around? He glanced down the dusty road.
Then again… perhaps not.
“Get in. We’ll go take a look.”
Startled from analyzing how his business clothes could be so telling here, he glanced up sharply when her voice interrupted his eye-rolling at this place. “Take a look?” he repeated, sounding clueless.
“Your broken-down car? I’ll have to check it out. Unless you’re lying and you’re really out to sell something to the resort guests?”
“No. I’m not soliciting.” He finally lost his solemn, annoyed expression and began to break into a small smile. He just wasn’t feeling all that humorous at the moment.
“What? You’ll take me?”
Her eyebrows arched up and disdain puckered her mouth. “What? Little, old me can’t know a spark plug from a carburetor?”
He pissed her off. Shaking his head and remembering his need of a ride and more, if only to get out of the dust, he hoped she had air conditioning that he could let waft over him. He didn’t apologize or make excuses, but quickly ran around the hood and grabbed the door handle. Jumping in, he did a quick evaluation of her, like it was practiced, as if he were entering a business meeting. He knew how to size people up in less than a second, taking in every detail he could without lingering uncomfortably or making it obvious to the person how much he assumed about them simply from his initial observations.
The thing is, over the years, he was seldom wrong.
She was shorter than he first thought. Unusually short. And ripped. Muscles outlined her bare arms, covered in swirls of ink. She wore a white t-shirt, plain jeans and canvas shoes. Nothing about her was primped, glossed or fussed over. The hair was her only individual statement with the gelled spikes. It could have been kind of hideous, but the whole thing worked on her, the muscles, the piercings, the tats and the smirk. Not a speck of girlishness or princess or diva or femininity to her. She was tough, cool, and kind of her own statement just sitting there.
She quickly flipped the truck around in an impressively confined amount of space. He couldn’t probably have even backed it up. But then again, he didn’t drive trucks.
“You traveling on through?” she asked when she headed back down the driveway. It curved and snaked up toward the main dirt road.
“I was actually just taking a drive.”
She flipped a glance his way. “You dressed for a meeting?” She dipped her head toward his outfit. As opposite of hers as the moon is to the sun.
“No. Just dressed for a day’s work.”
“Oh. I’m sorry about that.” She slipped him a smirk.
They pulled up behind his vehicle. She hopped out before he could answer her snarky comment or even open his door. Staring after her quick, lithe steps, he noticed she didn’t waste a moment. Her movements were fast and precise, as if she were about to burst out of her own skin. “How’d it stall?”
“Started sputtering and then it just died.” He tried to describe exactly how he ended up getting stranded on the side of this nowhere dirt hole.
She nodded, listening and tilting her head towards the driver’s seat. “Try it now.”
Quinn plopped into his car, hoping this strong, athletic-looking elf really had a damn clue about what she was doing. He popped the hood and she disappeared behind it. Her hand waved at him from over the top of it. He turned the key when she motioned to and it turned over but it wouldn’t start. Her elfin face popped around the side of the hood. “Sounds like your fuel pump went out.”
“How would you know that?”
He was sure she had to restrain an eye-roll. “There was no hum when you tried to start it. You’ll need a tow truck and a good mechanic.” She closed the hood and thumped the top of it as if to punctuate her words.
“Great,” he mumbled through the open driver’s door as he pulled himself out. “Know any?”
She smirked. “Sure. Get in. You’ll be fine.”
The mile drive back towards the Rydell River Ranch was far quicker as she sped along, heedless of the dust. She ignored the turn she picked him up on and drove straight ahead towards the river, coming to a fast halt before a large, shop-like metal building. The sign overhead identified it as Rydell Rides.
Could it be? He glanced at her for confirmation. “What? These are the great mechanics?”
She nodded. “The best. But stay put.” She flipped the truck into reverse and backed it up. Her arm was extended along the seat as she stared out the back window and steered one-handed. He turned to see what she was looking at when she careened to another sharp halt. This time, she jumped out and he followed her towards the back of the truck, only to find she stopped the truck within an inch from a hitch ball of a large car trailer. “What the…?” He glanced at her as she started spinning the handle to raise the wheel holding up the trailer. With a tug, she wound the hitch down onto the hitch ball. In moments flat, she was done.
A side of her mouth lifted in a cocky smile. “A good tow truck driver and mechanic. This must be your lucky day.”
“You?” He lifted his gaze to her face. Crap! That was condescending. He was wrong not to assume she could do this, after the way she handled the diagnosis on his broken-down car. Even he heard the sexism in his tone. She did too. Her gaze narrowed and her mouth flattened.
Hastily, he shook his head. “I mean… I meant, thank you. Just thank you…”
He hoped that saved her flipping the notch on the hitch and disabling the trailer before leaving his sorry, sexist ass right there with a swift retreat. He might deserve it if she did so. “What is your name?”
“Iris.”
Not the name he pictured for a short-haired, tattooed, facially pierced and ripped body. Iris. It sounded old-fashioned for the she-mechanic he saw before him. Attitude-wise, she seemed a bit of a she-devil.
