Heartstealer (Women of Character3 Read online

  "It just sounds incredible. I’ve always been kind of accident prone, but I’ve been lucky enough to pull out each time." Except for last year. She shivered. She had just about died that time.

  Perhaps he saw her fear because he muttered a curse. "When we get back I’m calling the sheriff. For your safety and the reputation of Timber Falls I need this investigated."

  She didn’t say anything. In all honesty, she didn’t know what to say.

  Sloan spurred his horse to the front of the ride. "Okay, everyone ride through the stone pillars and into the clearing. Donny should be waiting with the horse trailer."

  The group moved into a wide, grassy expanse and found Donny was there with their transportation.

  "We'll load the horses and drive back to camp," he said.

  Jacie’s legs ached. She wasn’t’ accustomed to spending hours in the saddle. She looked around the field and some of the tension eased from her. The area abounded with colorful wildflowers. "This is incredible."

  "You're incredible," Sloan murmured. "That ride you took. I'll tell you what―I got this God-awful feeling when I saw the reins trailing and you flying by."

  "I was scared, but I didn't have time to think about it. It turned out all right, though. I've been in worse scrapes." It was over with and she felt a feverish need to move on.

  "The outcome could have been different, especially with a horse like Dandy. We won’t know anything until the vet sees him."

  Once the horses were loaded into the trailer, the group moved toward a wide-open area where the Catskill Mountain House had stood.

  Jacie pulled out her camera again. "The view is spectacular!" she exclaimed. "The lower Hudson Valley is at our feet."

  "The Mountain House stood on the edge of this ledge," Sloan said. "Boats traveling up the Hudson River could see the hotel standing here like a beacon."

  "How did people get here?" Emma asked, her voice full of awe.

  "In the early days they brought horse drawn carriages up the front of the mountain. Later on, they built a railway called the Otis Incline. It worked on the principal of weights and it was quite an ingenious idea. When you look over the edge here, you can see the straight-as-an-arrow scar down the mountain to the valley where the rail line ran."

  Jacie snapped Sloan’s picture. When he looked up and stared at her, she zoomed her lens and snapped another picture. He lifted a brow tolerantly.

  "See, I’m just like any other tourist," Jacie said. She moved away with a grin and shot the remainder of the roll on the group.

  Sloan followed her. "I can see you appreciate our mountains the way I do, Jacie. They’re beautiful, aren’t they?" he asked.

  "I envy you," she said softly. "With all the traveling I've done, I've never felt like I belonged anywhere the way you seem to fit here."

  "People rush through life. I’ve chosen to stop and look."

  "I know what you mean. I have a tendency to rush ahead."

  "Look." He pointed toward the sky. "There’s a red-tailed hawk."

  The bird flew gracefully over their heads then zoomed down toward the grass a fair distance away. She captured the bird with her camera as it landed and then almost immediately took off again, a snake clutched in its talons.

  They walked back toward the waiting truck and everyone climbed wearily into the extended cab for the ride back to camp.

  The return trip to camp only took ten minutes. It was over paved road, winding through heavy woods. At the camp, Jacie carefully climbed down from the cab on her sore legs.

  "Everybody okay?" James asked as they unloaded the horses from the trailer. "Any saddle sores?"

  She managed a laugh. "It's been a while since I spent this much time on a horse. Some of my muscles have tightened up."

  "Need help?" he asked, closing the corral gate behind the last horse.

  She waved him on. "Go ahead, I'll be fine."

  An arm encircled her shoulders, sending a jolt of heat through her. She turned her head and came eye-to-eye with Sloan. "Mmm, I believe I’ll lean on you."

  "Come on, old girl." His mouth crooked in amusement as he tightened his arm around her. "We'll never eat if we have to wait for you to amble into camp."

  "Very funny." A wry smile touched her lips.

  "My brother has a weird sense of humor," James said as they joined the others beside a small bonfire. He handed each of them a plate. "The food is behind you on the small table. Drinks are in the coolers and there’s coffee set up next to the grill."

  Jacie smiled. "I’m so hungry I’m forgetting about how tired I feel."

  During dinner around a brightly glowing fire everyone discussed the day's events. James had an album of old postcards depicting the hotels in their heyday. The manicured lawns, carefully tended carriage drives and the immense size of the wooden structures was amazing.

  Jacie took in the chatter but remained quiet. In truth, she still felt jittery over what had occurred earlier.

  After dinner the atmosphere felt very relaxed. Jacie helped clean up the trash and pack the food away in the coolers. Skirting the camp fire, she carried the last of the trash to the truck’s garbage container. She felt a bit of an odd man out since the rest of the party was couples. Sloan, James, Michelle and Donny were all either cleaning up or attending the horses.

  Jacie washed her hands and swiped some bottled water from a cooler, then moved to the edge of the camp, admiring the sky as the sun faded from view. She heard a step behind her and looked over her shoulder at Sloan.

  "You look wiped out," he said.

  She rolled her head on her neck and lifted her shoulders. "Pleasantly so. Do you have a Jacuzzi hidden somewhere?"

  "Aches, huh? I think I can help."

  When his warm hands touched her shoulders, gently at first, then more strongly, she was lost in pure sensation. The tenseness in her shoulders and neck eased as his strong fingers massaged her. Hard, sure, smoothing, exotic. Erotic. "Is that helping?" he murmured.

  She stifled a moan of pure pleasure. "I have the strangest desire to purr like a cat. I think I’m out of shape."

  "Looks pretty good from where I'm standing," he murmured provocatively. Jacie just about jumped out of her skin when his mouth touched the back of her neck.

  His hands across her back and shoulders made her clench her stomach muscles. "How curious. I feel relaxed and tense at the same time."

  Images floated just beyond the perimeter of her vision. She and Sloan. She closed her eyes to enjoy the power of her imagination.

  "How does that feel?" he asked, his voice husky and low. Intimate, she thought.

  "Bring out that Jacuzzi."

  His hands on her shoulders tightened, then slid down her back and away.

  She twisted around and studied his face in the firelight. His cheekbones were prominent, his eyes partially hidden in shadow. "You’re magic," she said sincerely, slowly rotating her shoulders. "Don't tell me you're a masseuse, too?"

  "I used to do it for my mom," he admitted quietly, sitting back on his heels. "She was bedridden several months before she died."

  "Oh." She felt an instant welling of concern. "How frightening that must have been, since you were only a child."

  He looked away from her, searching the darkness beyond the perimeter of the camp as the horses whinnied to each other. "You learn to deal with losses. In time everything loses its sharp edges."

  "Does a child ever get over seeing his mother suffer?"

  "Not entirely, I guess."

  "Well," Jacie said quickly, not wanting him to think she was being too probing. "It was a great massage. You’ve got the touch." Her shoulders weren't the only part of her body that had responded to his touch. Did he guess that? Of course he would. He was a man who looked like he knew what women wanted. She sighed. Now all she needed to figure out was what she wanted.

  She drew him over to a fallen tree. "Here, sit down." She knelt behind him. "Now it’s your turn." She grinned slyly. "Don’t look so surprised. Fai
r is fair," she added lightly.

  She clasped the warm skin of his neck, feeling the fine hair at the base of his skull as she kneaded gently. She moved down his shoulders. The muscle beneath her fingers was hard and well defined. Her mouth went dry. He’d look fabulous without a shirt.

  She leaned into him, moving her hands down his back, working at the muscles. "Boy, are you tense." She touched his side, kneaded her fingers along his ribs and he scooted sideways and grabbed her hands with a low growl. She laughed in delight. "You’re ticklish! How very interesting. This could be fun."

  Just then someone clapped their hands. "Now that we’ve eaten, I think we should get the low-down on everybody," MaryAnn said.

  "Sure," John said. "Sounds good to me."

  Jacie looked away from the heated look in Sloan’s eyes. For a moment she wished they alone.

  "Come on." Sloan held his hand out and Jacie took it, following him back toward the campfire. She dropped into her vacated seat and Sloan pulled another camp chair over to the fire next to her. She needed time to wind down from the sensory experience of touching him.

  MaryAnn laughed. "Since you're all bashful, I'll go first."

  "She's never at a loss for words," her husband Leo agreed.

  "Leo and I own a computer business. We heard about Timber Falls through a friend. We've been trying to take a break for a while, so here we are. It’s like a second honeymoon." MaryAnn turned to Emma and John. "Your turn."

  "Emma and I hail from Vermont where we run an inn. We're on our honeymoon. It’s a second marriage for both of us."

  Jacie let the lighthearted banter wash over her. It reminded her of home and late night camp-outs in the backyard with her brothers. A dab of homesickness touched her. She hadn't talked to her family since she had come here. They were off on a job, but she missed them suddenly.

  Aware of silence, she looked up and found expectant faces staring at her. Reluctantly, she said, "I suppose it's my turn? I live about an hour and a half outside of the city and I'm not married." Her eyes slid past Sloan's speculative glance.

  "Well?" MaryAnn prompted.

  Jacie looked at her and raised her brows. "What? Oh, I love photography. If I wasn’t skydiving I’d probably be a photographer."

  The other woman wore an openly curious expression. "I'm not trying to pry, but when I first met you I kept thinking I knew you. It's not every day you meet a celebrity."

  "I'm not a celebrity," Jacie protested.

  "I saw a documentary about five years ago about skydiving and exhibition jumps. I remembered because you were the first woman to do a certain type of stunt."

  Jacie shrugged. "Yes, I remember that, it was filmed to document parachuting as a sport. But it wasn't me they highlighted, it was my mother, who is also Jacie. Back in the sixties she was a member of the US Army women's team. In sixty-four they won individual championships in parachuting and spot jumping."

  "Wow," John said.

  The entire group seemed awestruck. To break through that, she said lightly, "My father feels pretty much the same way. He’s never jumped out of a plane. I have a really unconventional family."

  "It was exciting watching you parachute into Timber Falls the first day," MaryAnn said. "Before last week I would never have imagined myself jumping out of a plane. It terrified me, but now I’m really looking forward to it."

  Jacie studied Sloan intently. He poked at the fire, his face absorbed as he watched the flames.

  "It grabs you and doesn't let you go," she agreed.

  She was disturbed by the closed look on his face, his features harsh and drawn. Had talking about her skydiving put that look on his face?

  "What’s the next job after this, Jacie?" someone asked.

  She deliberately watched Sloan's face, which was half-turned away from her. "I'm sure there will be something in the works when I get back." He jabbed at the fire with a long stick, causing sparks to fly upward.

  "Do you ever get afraid up there?" John asked.

  "You'd be crazy if you didn't have some healthy fear. The business is a risk. You know it and you live with it."

  Sloan stood up and disappeared into the shadows. She felt a momentary chill, but ignored it and continued to answer questions as best she could. People were naturally curious about her work; she didn't hold it against them.

  Jacie finally decided to call it a night about nine o’clock. Early by any standard, after riding and hiking most of the day she was beat.

  Once in her tent she reflected on the day's events. Perhaps there was no significance, yet a strange ache twisted through her as she recalled how Sloan had left the group. She knew it had something to do with her. He had returned to check the fire at a later point, but he had not joined in the conversation. He had reservations about her line of work. He regarded jumping out of planes as something foolish.

  Listening to the sizzle and crack of the dying fire, Jacie began to drift off to sleep. Suddenly, she suddenly heard a different noise. Recalling what Sloan had said about bears when she first arrived, she rolled over and looked through her tent mesh. Beyond the glowing embers, on the edge of camp, she could make out a dark silhouette by the horse pen.

  An odd, warning prickle touched her. Sloan and James had set up their tent on the opposite side of camp. Was it her imagination or was there someone over by the horse pen? She concentrated her attention on the shadow, but it seemed to melt away. Quietly, she crawled out of her tent and hurried over to where Sloan and James stood talking.

  As she drew closer perhaps her expression must have alerted Sloan something wasn't right. He stopped mid-conversation and stepped forward, a hand going out to her arm. "Jacie, what is it?"

  "I had the strangest feeling someone was over by the horses. Something was crouched down in the brush. Then it disappeared."

  Sloan and James walked to the area she indicated.

  When Donny suddenly appeared out of the brush Jacie gave a small screech. Sloan jumped toward her and grabbed her arm.

  "Donny, it’s you" she said with relief.

  "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Just checking everything before I turn in." He shifted his feet nervously.

  "Did you see anyone out here?" Sloan asked with a frown.

  "No. What’s going on?"

  Jacie put her arms around herself. "I thought I saw someone crouched down in the brush."

  "What were you doing out there, Donny?" James asked.

  Jacie saw Donny swallow as he looked back and forth between the brothers. "N-nothing."

  Sloan and James produced flashlights and combed the immediate area. After several moments she joined them at the fenced corral.

  "Maybe I’m seeing things," she said ruefully. "It's been a long day."

  Sloan swept his flashlight over the ground one more time, then abruptly stopped. He crouched down. "Maybe not," he said grimly.

  She followed the light beam, her eyes widening as she saw a syringe and needle lying in the grass. Fear ripped through her. An indrawn breath had her turning to Donny, who stood behind her. With dismay, she noticed Donny’s frightened expression.

  "Donny, have you ever seen that before?" Sloan asked quietly.

  "No, I swear I haven’t." Donny looked beseechingly at Sloan. "I swear," he repeated, his eyes darting back and forth between them.

  "I believe him," she said quietly.

  Sloan threw her an impatient glance as he stepped closer to the teenager. "I’m not accusing you Donny. You’ve been with us two years and I’ve come to trust you. Just explain to me what’s going on that’s making you so nervous."

  Donny nodded quickly. "I know I was in a lot of trouble when you hired me on two years ago Sloan, but I’ve kept my nose clean." He clenched his fists and stared earnestly at each of them in turn. "I like working here." He looked down at his feet. "I’ve been seeing Michelle. I know I’m not good enough, what with all the trouble I caused back then, but I like her and I’d never hurt her."

  Sloan clasped Donny’s should
er. "I know you wouldn’t harm her. There’s no reason you can’t see Michelle, Donny."

  Jacie smiled, expecting nothing less of Sloan. He wouldn’t accuse anyone unjustly.

  Donny gave him a look of relief. "Michelle said that too, but I figured since she’s your cousin and all, that you might not want me hanging around with her. We were down by the creek, you know, just talking. I thought it would be better if nobody saw us coming back together so I had her go on ahead."

  "Okay, Donny, why don’t you turn in," Sloan said. "God knows it’s been a long day."

  "I’ll get a pair of pliers and a plastic bag for that syringe," James said grimly when Donny ambled off to his tent.

  Sloan kept his flashlight trained on it. "Good idea. We’ll have to have it looked at. Maybe it’s something as innocent as an insulin needle from the last set of campers."

  Jacie wished it was something as simple as that but she had a bad feeling about it.

  Using the pliers Sloan gingerly placed the syringe with the needle inside a plastic bag. "I’ll keep this in my tent," he said. No one argued.

  She didn’t want to be anywhere near it.

  "In the morning we’ll see if anyone lays claim to it."

  "Why don’t you turn in for the night?" Sloan said to her.

  Troubled, she knew he was right, but wondered if she’d be able to sleep.

  "I’ll keep watch during the night, so don’t worry about anyone coming back."

  "We’ll split the watch," James said. "I think we should break camp earlier than we planned in the morning."

  "Do you think that needle could be the cause of why Dandy acted so strange?" she asked hesitantly, finally voicing the fear which had steadily grown. "Could someone have given him something?"

  Sloan looked at her sharply. "Anything is possible, but we won’t know until it’s tested." As if he sensed her apprehension, he put his arm around her. "Come on, I’ll walk you to your tent."

  "Thanks, Sloan."

  "Try to get some rest, Jacie. One way or the other I’m going to get to the bottom of this."