Brick lay awake long into the night chewing on the little bombshell that Liliana had dropped outside of the Bear Cave. At the time, he’d reacted to the defensive light in her eyes and the pugnacious tilt of her chin and the way she obviously braced for a blow.
And he’d known. Somebody had let her down.
Who? Somebody she respected? Somebody she trusted? Somebody she loved? All of the above?
Judging by her reaction, he’d played it just right. Teasing her, then leaving it alone. Of course, he had no intention of actually leaving it alone, which was why he remained awake and thinking the situation through.
No matter what his instincts told him, he’d be remiss not to consider the fact that he didn’t really know the adult Liliana. People change. People make poor choices and bad decisions, sometimes based on desperate circumstances. He’d known her when she was a child. All he really knew of her life now was a rare mention by her brother in response to an ordinary “How’s your family?” query by Brick from time to time. He’d seen her what … twice … three times … in the past ten years? For all he knew, she could have developed a larcenous streak or let herself be taken in by a con man. Maybe she didn’t embezzle two hundred thousand dollars. Maybe she’d stolen 2 million.
Yeah. Right. And maybe he’d catch a great white shark when he went fly-fishing on a Rocky Mountain stream tomorrow.
He knew the Howe family. They were good, solid people. Maybe a little more book smart than street-smart, but good folk. Honest folk.
So who had put the wounded-doe look in her eyes? He wanted the story—the whole story—told without interruption, which meant changing his plans for his day off. Before extending his invitation to Liliana, he had planned to hike the Devil’s Ridge trail, which was a strenuous six-hour effort. After careful consideration, he decided to take her up to the waterfall on Branch’s new acreage.
Over the past few months, it had become one of Brick’s favorite places. They would fish a little, have a picnic lunch. She could tell him her story without interruption.
It was a perfect place to do it. Not only was it private property, but that part of the mountain had no cell phone service. Maybe afterward, we can neck a little bit.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Put the brakes on there, boyo. She’s Derek’s little sister.
The same little sister whose kiss packs a punch.
Okay, no necking. A little bedtime fantasizing wouldn’t hurt anything, would it?
He recalled the flash of long, shapely thigh when her skirt swished when he spun her on the dance floor. Those mermaid eyes. The faint pattern of freckles across her nose.
And her mouth. That mouth of hers could make a man howl at the moon. Her nervous habit of nibbling at that full lower lip made Brick want to do some biting of his own.
His thoughts pleasantly drifting toward the carnal, he had drifted off to sleep. To dream.
He awakened with an itch that needed scratching—and the knowledge that he had no business having sex dreams about his best friend’s little sister.
Because no matter how much Brick would enjoy hooking up with her, it was never going to happen. He respected his friendship with Derek more than to go down that road.
Even if Brick and Liliana started out on the same page, the chances of staying there were slight. In his experience, casual relationships with women never stayed casual. No matter how clear he made himself in the beginning, invariably the s word eventually came up.
Brick didn’t do serious. Not anymore. Never again. That’s why he’d drawn his three-date line. More than that, and females got to thinking. He didn’t need that.
He got along just fine as a single man. He had more family than he knew what to do with as it was. Whenever he got a hankering for kids, he spent time with Nic and Gabe’s hoodlums or took a quick trip to Texas to hang with Dad and Annabelle’s brood. In the summertime, Brick couldn’t walk down a street in Eternity Springs without running into a Callahan. In fact, the first of the family was due to arrive next week. By the Fourth of July, the entire clan would be here.
The last thing he’d need would be for his busybody kin to take an interest in his sex life, which was one of the reasons he didn’t sleep with any of the women he’d dated in Eternity Springs. When he wanted to get laid, he took a road trip.
It was bad enough that Aunt Nic kept a close watch on who he dated and when. If she got wind that he was interested in Liliana? Trouble. Nothing but trouble. Add Aunt Maddie, Aunt Torie, and Annabelle into the mix and he’d have one miserable summer.
Hell, he might just end up married.
Brick shuddered at the thought.
He could admit that the bitterness he harbored toward love and romance had grown stronger since Tiffany contacted him a year or so ago. He didn’t appreciate being used in the divorce war she’d had going on with her banker-husband. But Brick had dealt with the situation. Dealt with her. And reminded himself he had plenty of reasons not to get involved.
Since thoughts of Tiffany managed to pour cold water on the lingering effects of his dreams, Brick rolled out of bed and readied himself to satisfy his curiosity and be a friend to his friend and said friend’s little sister.
And he wouldn’t think about skinny-dipping with a mermaid anymore.
Today, anyway.
* * *
Lili awoke the following morning in desperate need of a glass of water and a painkiller. Next time she went out barhopping, she’d limit herself to beer.
As she popped two ibuprofens and drank three glasses of water, the events of the previous night drifted through her mind. Had she really told Mark Christopher about the accusation against her?
No, I told Brick Callahan.
And he believed me. Believed in me.
A faint smile hovered on her lips until she remembered Brick’s invitation. Her gaze flew to the clock. Twenty minutes to eight. “Oh, man.”
She bolted into her RV’s tiny shower. On days when she planned to wash her hair she made use of the camp’s shower house, because she liked the extra space for all of her products and her hair dryer, but with only twenty minutes to work with she’d make do with her own little shower and a ponytail.
She wished she’d thought to ask him for a few more details. Primarily, the length and difficulty of the trail. Her first hike up the hill behind the campground had convinced her that yoga and her twice-weekly spin class hadn’t prepared her for physical exertion at this altitude. And he’d said the high country, hadn’t he?
“And me with a hangover,” she muttered as she pulled on the hiking pants she’d bought in town at Cam Murphy’s outdoors store, Refresh. She’d be huffing and puffing for sure. This could be really embarrassing.
“Ya think?” she muttered. Of course it would be embarrassing. He was going to want to hear the whole ugly story.
She opened the drawer that held her shirts. Maybe she shouldn’t go. She hadn’t actually told him she’d go, had she? She could beg off.
Except she wanted to go. Hiking some of the trails around Eternity Springs was on her Colorado bucket list. This was beautiful country, and she wanted to see more of it. Since Brick was a local, bet he knew of some great places to hike. She chose a rose-colored long-sleeved shirt, then sat on her bed to don socks and her hiking boots.
She ate a couple pieces of peanut butter toast and had just finished pulling her hair into a ponytail when she heard a knock at her door. Lili checked her watch. Eight o’clock exactly. The man was punctual.
She inhaled a deep, bracing breath, pasted on a smile, and opened the door. Oh, holy cow. He looked deliciously outdoorsman. The man hadn’t shaved. He wore a green shirt that matched his eyes, a ball cap with the Stardance Ranch logo, and had a pair of sunglasses hanging around his neck.
“Good morning,” Brick said. “How’s your head?”
It shows? Great. “It’s just a little naggy. I’m fine. I only had two and a half drinks the whole night.”
“It’s the double A—altitude and alcohol. It sneaks up on you.” He gave her a quick once-over. “Are you drinking lots of water?”
“Yes, Dad,” she drawled. “I’m wearing my sunscreen, too.”
He laughed. “Good. So, you ready to go?”
“Yes, except you didn’t say how long we’d be gone. Do I need to bring a sandwich?”
“We’re not on a time clock, but I have lunch covered. You might want to bring a change of clothes, though. It rained yesterday where we’re going and mud can be a problem.”
“Okay.” After adding shorts and a T-shirt to her backpack, she slung it over one shoulder, stepped outside, and locked her door. Turning, she spied the trailer hitched to Brick’s truck. “A four-wheeler? I thought we were going hiking.”
“We will hike. I didn’t know how much of a hike you’d be up to, so I thought we’d split it up. Besides, riding a four-wheeler is fun. Have you ever done it?”
“No.”
He walked around to the passenger door and opened it. “Then hop in, Liliana. I’ll take you for a ride.”
In my dreams, she thought, climbing into his truck as she stifled a rueful smile.
Lili braced for the expected question about embezzlement as he turned out of the RV camp and took the road toward town. Instead, he asked, “Do you have a fishing license with you?”
“Yes. I did some shopping at Refresh, and Cam Murphy convinced me I needed one. I’ve never been fishing before.”
“Seriously? I know your family went to Lake Texoma a few times.”
“Dad and Derek used to go fishing. Mom and I never went with them. She wasn’t much of an outdoors person.”
Brick glanced at her. “What does she think about your new residence?”
She doesn’t know about it. “Let’s just say she’s not a fan.”
“Well, maybe you can convince her to give Stardance River Camp a try. I’ll take you over to it sometime soon. You can snap some pictures and send them to her.”
Lili wasn’t about to turn down the chance to see Brick’s luxury camp. “I saw flyers for it at Refresh. It looks fabulous.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “It’s getting there.”
“Tell me about it.”
“You want the long version or the short version?”
“How far is our drive?”
“Forty minutes, give or take, until we reach the trailhead where we’ll park the truck and trailer. It’s the other side of Sinner’s Prayer Pass.”
“Let’s hear the long version.”
“How much do you know about my Callahan family?”
Lili thought back to the time that Derek had come home with startling news about his best friend. “I know that there was some sort of family estrangement drama and your birth father thought you were dead. That’s about all I recall.”
“Yes, my dad’s family went through some very rough times after my grandmother died, and my dad and his three brothers ended up separated from each other and my grandfather for a number of years. By the time everyone kissed and made up, my uncle Gabe was living here in Eternity Springs. I visited and fell in love with the country. I knew I wanted to live here; I just had to figure out a way to make a living.” As he started up a winding mountain road, he darted her a look and added, “Independent of them.”
“I understand that,” Lili said.
He nodded, obviously pleased with her response. “Did you take that basic money management class in high school?”
“From Mr. Stone?” When he nodded, she shook her head. “My parents thought the curriculum was too basic.”
“It was.” Brick shrugged as he negotiated a switchback. “But Mr. Stone liked to talk stocks. I took his advice and invested half my graduation gift money in tech stocks. It gave me my stake to get started with the RV park. More important, it provided the leverage I needed to negotiate an equitable partnership deal with my grandfather when he purchased the prettiest piece of valley ranch land in Colorado.”
“Aren’t you smart.”
“Lucky. Very, very lucky.”
Lili’s ears popped as they climbed in altitude. The shoulder on the narrow two-lane road was nonexistent in places and the drop-off was straight down. “Tell me you’re a good driver.”
“I’m an excellent driver. And Liliana, I’m happy to have you lean on me, but that’s really not going to help the truck stay on the road.”
“What? Oh.” Embarrassed, she realized that she was, indeed, leaning away from every curve—and into him. Seeking a distraction from her mental vision of a blown tire and sudden plunge off the mountain to certain death, she returned to the subject at hand. “So why luxury camping?”
“It’s an underserved market segment. Urbanites, especially, are attracted to the idea of communing with Nature in a relatively isolated environment, but they do like their creature comforts. And face it, tents and tree houses are romantic.”
Lili smirked. She almost said something about seeing him take Tiffany up into his tree house, but she absolutely didn’t want to bring the Queen of Mean along on their hike. “I’ve seen pictures of the tents. They look huge.”
“They are big. Big and sturdy. They’re made of cotton duck canvas with a metal frame and erected on a six-hundred-forty-square-foot wooden platform. It’s big enough for a king-sized bed, two nightstands, a sofa, rocker, desk, and chair. We have a gas stove on a thermostat and an en suite bathroom with a six-foot soaker tub and shower. Double sinks, heated towel racks. Right now we’re using spa products that Savannah Turner created for Angel’s Rest, but eventually we’ll have our own line of custom scents.”
“Sounds fabulous. Like the opposite of ‘roughing it.’”
“That’s the plan.”
“So what about the tree houses?”
“Different fantasy. Similar setup. They’re a lot more expensive to build, so we’ll go slowly when it comes to expanding our numbers there. The bigger priority is to renovate the ghost town so we can move from a May to September calendar to something year-round.”
“Ghost town? What ghost town?”
He flashed her a smile. “That’s part of today’s surprise.”
Lili started to ask more, but she was distracted by the view as they approached the summit of Sinner’s Prayer Pass. “Oh, wow. Look at that valley view. How gorgeous. And doesn’t the town look like a cute little happy, all-American place? I stopped at one of the scenic pull-offs the day I arrived, but it was farther down, I think. And the drive had me too nervous to truly appreciate it.”
“I think the best spot to view the valley is just around the next turn,” Brick said. “Want to stop?”
“Please.”
A few moments later, he pulled off the road and onto a wide shoulder marked Scenic Viewpoint. Lili opened the passenger door and stepped cautiously toward the edge of the mountain. “I’m going to stop driving past scenic viewpoints. I need to put that on my list. Look at what we miss by not getting out to appreciate the scenery! You’re right. This is a fabulous spot.”
“It is. This is the place where I fell for Eternity Springs.”
Carefully, Lili leaned forward and gazed down at the significant drop below. “Not literally, I hope.”
He laughed. “No. Though I’ll admit I started out in such a distracted funk that I could have been careless enough to accidentally miss a turn on a switchback. Luckily, Celeste was driving. It was the first time we met.”
“Ah, a Celeste story. It seems like everyone I meet in town has one.”
“You know, I’ve never really thought about that, but I do think you’re probably right. In this case, I’d spent Christmas at my grandfather’s ranch with the Callahan clan. I had some … stuff … going on in my life and, like I said, I was in a mood. So, my aunt Nic and uncle Gabe convinced me to come home with them for a visit.”
“It was your first trip to Eternity Springs?”
“Yep. We were on the other side of the pass just as the road begins to climb when we came across a woman about to change the flat tire on her Jeep.”
“Celeste.”
“Yes. By this time I’d driven fourteen hours with the twins. Don’t get me wrong. I love those girls, but I was thrilled to have an excuse to get out of my uncle’s car. I volunteered to change Celeste’s tire and she offered to drive me home. She pulled off the road at this spot and asked me what I saw.”
Lili smiled. “Knowing Celeste, I’ll bet she had a particularly insightful point to make.”
He pursed his lips and nodded. “There was snow on the ground. It was bitter cold. I told her I felt like I was looking at Bedford Falls.”
“Bedford Falls?” The name sounded familiar to Lili, but she couldn’t quite place it.
“It’s a Wonderful Life. Jimmy Stewart?”
“Oh yeah. Ringing bells and angel wings. I’ll bet that answer made her happy.”
“She did laugh, but then she said that Bedford Falls was an imaginary place, but Eternity Springs is very real. She asked me to step out of the car and give it another look. I did what she asked and…” Brick shook his head. “It was eerie, Liliana. It had been snowing on us on the way up the mountain. Bitter cold and gray and I was in a bitch of a mood.”
“Had something bad happened?”
He waited a long moment before answering. “Do you remember the girl I dated in high school?”
Who could possibly forget Tiffany? “Tiffany?”
“Yeah. We dated all the way through college, too. We’d had a rough patch … nothing I thought we wouldn’t eventually work our way past … but then she up and married another guy. It was a few weeks before Christmas.”
The words to tell Brick that she’d seen him scoping out the church on Tiffany’s wedding day hovered on the tip of her tongue, but Lili bit them back. Nor would she mention Tiffany’s new job. Now was not the time.
“Anyway, like I said, it was a gray and gloomy day that perfectly matched my mood. But when Celeste and I got out of her Jeep and stood here, I felt this sudden sense of anticipation. Sure enough, after just a minute or two, the clouds cleared, the sun came out, and starting about there.” He pointed above them toward the summit of the mountain, then moved his arm, drawing an arc toward town. “And ending about there … about where Sarah’s bakery sits … were not one, but two, rainbows.”
Lili tried to envision it. Bet it had been a gorgeous sight to make such an impression on Brick Callahan. Lightly, she said, “I wouldn’t argue against Sarah’s cinnamon rolls being the pot of gold.”
“True, that. But Celeste’s take was a bit loftier than leprechauns. What’s seriously weird about it is that the moment is burned into my memory. I remember it as if it were yesterday. She told me that the road over Sinner’s Prayer Pass is like life—full of ups and downs, potholes, rough patches, and blind spots.”
“So, the town is what? A road crew who fixes potholes?”
“According to Celeste, the town was going to be the answer to my prayers. The symbolism of the moment couldn’t have been any plainer. A double rainbow that began on Sinner’s Prayer Pass and ended in town. She said that was God slapping me up the side of the head and I darn well shouldn’t ignore it. Mind you, at the time I’d been neglectful toward prayerfulness and rainbows never had much spiritual symbolism for me, but then sunbeams hit the snow and Eternity Springs sparkled like diamonds. I decided I liked that sunshine. In that moment, I decided I’d stay here for a little while. A little while turned into a year and then another and so on.”
“You are happy here.”
“I am.” He motioned to the truck. “Ready?”
“Yes.”
They didn’t speak when they returned to the truck and continued up and over Sinner’s Prayer Pass. About one-third of the way down, he turned onto a dirt road and followed it for a few miles stopping before a gate marked Private Property.
“Do you know the owner?” she asked.
“My grandfather. These five hundred acres came up for sale after we closed on the Stardance River Camp property. There is nothing Branch Callahan likes better than adding acreage. I’ll open the gate. Would you slide over into my seat and drive through?”
“Okay.”
Brick hopped down, opened the gate, then motioned toward where he wanted her to park. “Grab your pack. We’re on the ATV from here.”
Lili eyed the fire-engine-red machine with oversized tires and a big box strapped to the back a bit warily. “I remember how you used to jump that motorcycle you had in high school. Promise me you’ve never run this thing off the side of a cliff?”
“Only twice,” Brick said cheerily. He removed two helmets from the toolbox in the back of his truck and handed one to her. “Don’t worry. I gave up my death-defying ways ten years ago.”
Lili’s fingers shook a little bit as she fastened the chinstrap. Not from fear, but with excitement. Never in a million years would she have thought she’d be about to climb onto a four-wheeler behind her high school heartthrob.
Too bad there were handholds at the side of her seat so she didn’t have an excuse to wrap her arms around his waist. She could pretend she hadn’t noticed them, but that would cross the line she’d drawn for herself. It was one thing to score a bucket-list kiss but something else entirely to flat out chase the man. That she would not do. She had more pride than that. And since she saw little of Oklahoman Mark Christopher in Coloradan Brick Callahan, she couldn’t use bucket-list kiss number two as an excuse.
Besides, he might be acting all nice and friendly now, but she had to be realistic. Guys like him didn’t go for girls like her. And she’d had enough humiliation in her life of late, thank you very much.
But you had two good-looking guys flirting with you last night. Don’t forget that.
True. But she was also the only woman below the age of fifty who wasn’t their sister in the place, too.
“Ready?” he asked.
“As I’ll ever be.”
“Here, let me help.” He took her hand and elbow and steadied her as she climbed up and onto the ATV. He settled onto the seat in front of her and a moment later the engine roared to life. He glanced over his shoulder. “Hold on to my waist, Liliana.”
“But the handholds…”
He reached around, grabbed her wrist, and wrapped her arm around him, saying, “Hold on!”
The ATV lurched forward and Lili’s other arm naturally came around his waist. Moments later he started up a steep trail that had him sliding back against her.
Lili held on. Hard.
She bounced. She lurched. She laughed. She squealed and buried her face against his shirt. She smelled fabric softener and a spicy-scented deodorant. And, yes … Armani. Briefly, her mind returned to high school and her hunt through the men’s fragrances. When the man finds something he likes, he doesn’t let it go.
He drove through a mountain stream and splashed icy water on them both. Lili shrieked in surprise, then laughed like an idiot when he exited the trail, increased his speed, and sped across a high alpine meadow.
She didn’t anticipate the tight turn he made, and as a result when the back tires started to slide she gasped and hugged him even tighter. She heard the rumble of his laughter and snuggled up against the heat of his body. Then, almost before they came to a stop, he switched off the engine and pulled off his helmet. As Lili’s hands dropped away from him, he made a flourishing gesture and said, “Ms. Howe, welcome to paradise.”
Lili’s mouth dropped open and she let out a little, “Oh.”
Hot-pink wildflowers framed either side of the mountain stream that spilled over a rock edifice some forty feet high and fell into a pool. Rainbows painted clouds of mist that billowed into the air. Droplets of water sparkled like diamonds in the sunshine. Beside the pool sat a rustic picnic bench. It was a bucolic feast for the eyes.
A mountain chickadee’s call soared above the muted rush of the waterfall, and when Lili removed her helmet, gave her ponytail a shake, and drew a deep breath she smelled Christmas in the air—spruce trees wet with the morning dew.
“What a spectacular spot,” she breathed.
“As Celeste likes to say … a little piece of heaven in the Colorado Rockies.” Brick flipped the locks on the storage box on the back of the four-wheeler. From inside he removed a box sporting the Mocha Moose logo. “This is just about my favorite spot within a two-hour drive, so I keep a supply crate in that stand of trees. I have a couple of fly rods, tackle, waders if you want them.”
“Is the fishing good here?”
“Honestly, it’s not as good as it is other places, but other places don’t soothe my soul quite like this one.” He pulled a small red cooler and a backpack from the four-wheeler’s storage box and added, “I thought it would be a good place for you to tell me how you came to be an embezzler.”