Beau
“Do you think this is going to work?” I asked Jess and Silas, standing by the tailgate of my truck while Felicity and Sabrina climbed into the back seat.
“I think it’s the best chance she’s got,” Jess said.
“What about you, man?” Silas asked. “We’re asking a lot and your plate isn’t exactly empty.”
No shit. A headache formed between my eyes.
My desk was buried under a stack of paperwork, a search and rescue case could come up at any moment, fire season was right around the corner, and I had obligations to my family that I couldn’t shirk. Putting my life on hold for two or three weeks was going to cause a lot of problems.
Sabrina wasn’t the only one disappearing into the mountains. I’d need to spend some time there to make sure she was settled and comfortable. Once she’d agreed to go to the outpost, I’d started making a mental list of all the things that needed taken care of.
I blew out a deep breath and rubbed my beard. “I don’t know. Shit’s going to have to just wait, I guess.” Which meant I’d come home to a clusterfuck.
“What can we do?” Jess asked.
“We need to decide what to tell everyone.” The outpost had zero cell service and no way to communicate with anyone in town. People were going to wonder why I’d vanished and why I wasn’t answering my phone or email.
“What if we told people that you got called out of state for an emergency search and rescue?” Silas suggested.
I nodded. “That could work. You’ll have to keep the details vague.”
“Done. We’ll spread the word that it’s confidential. What else?” Jess asked.
“I’ll send an email to the office tonight and let them know I’ll be out for a few weeks. Maybe you could swing by next week and check in?” I asked Jess.
“You got it.”
My only saving grace would be my office manager, Rose. She knew the drill when I had to leave for emergencies. She’d step up and be the boss until I returned. “Rose should be able to keep the staff organized until I come back. My biggest worry is if a case comes up. You’ll have to lead the search and rescue team if one does.”
Jess nodded. “Will do.”
I turned to Silas. “Would you let Maisy know I’ll be gone and have her check in on my house? Tell her the truth about where we’re at, just in case, but have her give my family the story about the search and rescue case.”
“No problem. What if we need to get ahold of you?”
“One of you will have to drive up.” I frowned. “Damn it. I wish there was a phone up there.” It wasn’t the first time I’d thought that all of the outposts in my jurisdiction needed telephones. Some of the bigger outposts had phone lines but the smaller ones had never been upgraded.
“Anything else?” Jess asked.
I shook my head. “I’ll pick up the pieces when I come back.”
“Thanks for doing this. It means everything to Felicity.” Silas reached out for a handshake.
I took his hand. “You’re welcome.”
I wouldn’t admit it now, but I wasn’t just doing this for Felicity.
I admired the hell out of Sabrina. That woman had more guts than most people I knew. To infiltrate a gun smuggling operation and take them down was fucking impressive. Her loyalty to her source was a testament to her character. Her bravery and spirit called to my heart.
Unfortunately, her beauty called to an appendage a little farther south.
Even beaten to a pulp, she was stunning. Her blond hair, brilliant green eyes and supple lips were going to get me in trouble. But this was the right thing to do. I had the skills to keep her safe, and the place.
And if that meant making a mess of my own life, then I’d do it without hesitation.
Sabrina
I’d been introduced to the town of Prescott in the dark of night.
The sparse light from old-fashioned lampposts had given me hints of the town’s small downtown shops. The only signs still illuminated at that hour were those for two bars on Main Street. The narrow roads had been deserted and eerily quiet with the exception of the truck’s humming diesel engine.
Even in the dark, I could see Prescott’s appeal. It had a quaint and charming atmosphere with its Western décor and small-town flair. The community fishing pond, one-room theater and soda-fountain café seemed wholesome and family friendly. There wasn’t a single similarity to Seattle, not even a McDonald’s.
“I can see why you like it here. Why you’d want to move home,” I told Felicity. She was sitting by my side in the back of Beau’s truck while Beau and Silas were outside loading up supplies.
“There are some things I miss about Seattle,” she said. “The Thai restaurant that was below our apartment when we were in college. The little salon where we used to get pedicures on Sundays. Mostly, all the places where we went together, but I’m happy to be home. I’ve missed my family.”
Right before I had taken on the Federov story, she had moved back to Montana. Felicity had fit well into city life, but even after sixteen years, her country roots had never stopped pulling. That and the feelings she’d had for Silas since she’d been a teenager.
I grinned. “And you missed Sexy Silas.”
She tried but failed to hide a smile. “And Silas.” She turned to look out the back window where the guys were loading boxes.
We’d been running around Prescott for nearly two hours. Our first stop had been the grocery store. The men had gone inside the store and come out one minute before closing time, each pushing a shopping cart piled high with overflowing plastic bags. From there, we’d gassed up Beau’s truck, then stopped by Felicity’s house to collect toiletries, clothing and linens.
Now we were backed into Beau’s driveway, waiting for him and Silas to finish packing.
When we’d pulled up to Beau’s house, I’d thought he’d just be picking up his own personal articles. When I saw that he was loading a chain saw and an ax, I’d asked Felicity if Jess would just let me live out of a jail cell for a few months. She’d laughed but I hadn’t been joking.
The idea of a jail cell had become even more appealing when Beau had welcomed a dog into the truck. Boone, some sort of red hound dog, was currently panting in the front seat, infecting my air with his hot breath and getting short hairs over everything. Most people would think he was adorable, with his floppy ears and wrinkled forehead, but animals were not my thing.
With the supplies loaded and our last stop complete, the men jumped back into the truck and we all rode in silence back to Silas’s ranch. Emotions were swelling and I struggled to breathe past the lump in my throat. My hand instinctively found Felicity’s, and I squeezed tight, drawing from her strength for these last few moments before she went back to her life with Silas and I was whisked away to a nowhere forest hideout with Beau.
When the truck was parked next to Silas’s wooden barn, I swallowed the urge to heave. Felicity’s door opened and Silas stood at her side. “All set. Time to head out.”
We slid out of the back and stood next to the barn, instantly locking in a tight embrace. “I love you,” she said. “Watch your back and listen to Beau.”
“Love you too, lady. Be safe.”
If I could have just one more wish come true, it would be for Silas and Felicity not to suffer any repercussions from me bringing this mess into their lives.
“Take care of her,” I said those words to Silas at the same time Felicity said them to Beau.
With one last hug, I turned and marched to my doom.
Wherever Beau was taking me, I knew for certain the creature comforts I’d taken for granted would be missing. There would be no more quick trips to the mall for new shoes. No pizza delivery on Friday nights. No more phone calls with Felicity to gossip and hear her voice.
The clock on the dash showed 12:42 a.m. Not twenty-four hours ago, I had been celebrating a job well done in my tenth-floor apartment. Now I was sitting next to a dog, about to drive into the wilderness with a modern-day mountain man.
The reclusive life I had always feared was about to become my reality. My heart ached as I mourned the loss of my freedom and independence.
My eyes stayed glued to my lap as Beau settled into the driver’s seat and pulled the truck into the black night. Every bump on the gravel road hammered down my spirits. Not even the prospect of spending time with a ruggedly handsome man could cheer me up. A charcoal cloud settled over my heart.
“It’s a long trip,” Beau said. “You should get some rest.”
That wasn’t going to happen. I was keyed up and on the verge of tears. “Tell me why we can’t just stay here tonight.” The idea of setting off into the forest after midnight seemed ludicrous. I didn’t understand why we couldn’t rest and get a fresh start in the morning. The lovely motel I’d spotted during my brief tour of Prescott had looked warm and inviting.
“I don’t want to risk the chance of you being seen in the light of day,” Beau said. “People around here talk. A lot. If someone sees you walking around with a face that looks like tenderized meat, the old gossips will be jabbering on about it for months. If the Federovs do come here, let’s not give them any chance of overhearing. Okay?”
“What if I promised to wear a paper bag over my head?”
The vibrations of his rich chuckle hummed through the cab.
I guess that means no. My shoulders fell as I looked out the side window. The control I had over my own destiny evaporated with every mile we went. Who was I kidding? I had lost control the moment Anton realized I’d been playing him.
The darkness of night settled into my bones. The moon was blanketed by clouds and the only thing lighting our way was the truck’s high beams. I’d never experienced such an empty night. There wasn’t a light to be seen, not in the distance and not in the sky.
Beau navigated through a maze of county roads through the prairie, inching us closer to the mountains in the distance. We hit the tree line like a wall. The forest didn’t slowly blend into the flatlands but instead drew a harsh line between the tamable and the wild.
As we eased into the forest depths, my anxiety reached new heights. Every muscle in my body was taught as my eyes darted between the trees, searching for signs of movement. At any moment now, the boogeyman was going to jump out from behind the wall of evergreens and attack us. We’d be completely at his mercy, unable to veer off our two-lane road due to the walls of thick, brown trunks at our sides.
“How much longer?” My knee was bouncing up and down as my fingers drummed on my thigh. The towering buildings of the city had never made me feel as trapped as the looming trees in this dark forest.
“About two and a half hours if we don’t hit any roadblocks.”
Hours? Where was he taking me, Siberia? And what did he mean by roadblocks? “What kind of roadblocks?”
“Fallen trees mostly. There are a couple places where the road runs along a creek. It flooded this spring and I don’t know if the road was washed out.”
I crossed my fingers in my lap, praying we didn’t hit a roadblock. It was a sad fate that I actually looked forward to our arrival at the outpost just to get off this creepy road.
But since we had hours, I took in a fortifying breath, willing myself to relax as I counted down from one hundred. It was starting to help, my nerves settling with every number, but when I got to thirty-four, I saw a pair of yellow eyes peek out from behind a tree in the distance.
Was it a wolf? Or a grizzly bear? Maybe a cougar waiting to pounce on our truck as we passed? My entire body froze when the eyes disappeared. I searched frantically for signs of other animals hidden behind the veil of darkness. The swaying bushes had me jumping with every movement.
Oh my god, I hate this. Every cell in my being hated this. My heart was racing and my hands were gripping my thighs so tightly I’d have bruises tomorrow.
“That was just a deer,” Beau said, sensing that I was on the verge of a panic attack. “We’ll probably see a bunch of them as we go. They’re nocturnal, raccoons and owls too, but totally harmless.”
“What about the ones with big teeth and sharp claws? The not-so-harmless ones?”
“They aren’t going to come anywhere near this truck.”
“Are you sure?”
He chuckled. “I’m sure. You’re safe with me, Sabrina.”
That statement, coming from his soothing voice, settled some fears. “Will you talk to me as we go? I’m way out of my element here and, as you can probably tell, freaking way the fuck out.”
He laughed again, the warm tone calming my erratic heartbeat. “What do you want to talk about?”
Before I could answer, Boone shifted from Beau’s side to mine, laying his head on my lap. I stilled, unsure what to do, until he looked up at me with gentle eyes. Relaxing my frown, I hesitantly placed one hand on his neck. Okay. Not horrible. And at least he didn’t stink. Instinctively, my fingers stroked his soft coat. It was kind of nice, petting this dog, but I’d still be washing my hand at the soonest opportunity.
“How long have you lived in Prescott?” Maybe asking questions would help occupy my mind.
“My whole life,” he said. “I left for college but came right back after graduating.”
“What do you do?”
“I run the U.S. Forest Service office and the Jamison County Search and Rescue team.”
None of this was surprising. If I’d had to guess at his career, I would have picked an outdoor occupation. The rustic scent of pine filled the inside of the truck’s cab, and it wasn’t coming from those little Christmas-tree air fresheners.
It was all Beau.
Oddly enough, it was remarkably appealing. An hour ago, I would have said a salty ocean breeze was my favorite natural scent. Now it was a toss-up.
We sat quietly for a while, me gently stroking Boone while stealing glances at Beau from the corner of my eye.
His large frame fit well in his oversized green truck. I was swallowed up by the large seat but I doubted Beau would have been able to fit comfortably in anything else. His square and angular hands made the steering wheel look like a child’s toy, spanning three-quarters of its entire diameter. I tried to force my inappropriate thoughts aside but all I could imagine were those big hands on my curves.
I had always worked hard to maintain my trim figure but my preference for pizza and beer meant there was always a little extra around my hips and tummy. I thought it was damn sexy when a man’s hand roamed those areas and explored my softer places. The idea of Beau’s mammoth, calloused hands spanning and kneading my ass created a dull throb between my legs.
What was wrong with me? How could I be fantasizing about sex at a time like this? I’d been a fiend all night about Beau.
Maybe it was my mind’s way of preserving my sanity. Sex had always been my escape from reality, the one thing that I’d never taken too seriously. Tonight, I’d cut myself a break. Tomorrow, I’d eliminate sex from the mental roster.
“Did you grow up in Seattle?” Beau asked, tugging my thoughts back into the safe zone.
“No, I’m from Florida. I moved to Seattle right after graduating high school.”
“Did you and Felicity meet in college?”
I grinned. “Sort of. We both went to the same school but that’s not where we met. She and I were both on the short list for a coveted apartment near campus. The landlord was a real piece of work. I’d been trying to bribe him with baked goods and gift cards for an open studio. Turns out Felicity was doing the same and the asshole was just stringing us along. When we put all the pieces together, we found a two-bedroom apartment managed by someone who didn’t take advantage of two naive young women.”
Felicity had been my roommate and best friend for nearly ten years. She had only moved out once we’d become established in our careers. She’d moved into a classy downtown condo while I’d stayed in the run-down apartment we’d shared. But when I’d inherited some money from my grandmother’s estate, I’d splurged and used it to rent a place three blocks away from Felicity.
She was more family than friend.
Felicity was the one person I’d let into my life since high school. She was so strong and self-confident. She never let me push her away, even when I tried. It had taken some time, but I had learned that I didn’t have to fear her friendship would end. She was in it for a lifetime.
When Felicity had moved to Montana, I’d needed something to fill the void of her absence, a reprieve from the loneliness. It was probably one of the reasons I’d thrown myself so completely into the Federov story.
But Beau didn’t need to know any of that.
“Do you have other family in Prescott besides your sister?” It felt better to ask Beau questions than answer his. The reporter in me was always more comfortable gathering information than revealing.
“Yeah. Pretty much my whole family. I’m a fourth-generation Montanan. My parents are still in my childhood home. My younger brother, Michael, lives two blocks away from me. My mom’s parents live in the same place they have for thirty years. My other grandma is in the nursing home. Aunts, uncles and cousins are all close too.”
“That sounds a lot like how things are with my family in Florida. I’m the only MacKenzie to move out of Florida in the last twenty years. Do you like having everyone close?”
“I do. I’m tight with Michael and Maisy and I try to spend as much time with Coby as I can, since he doesn’t have a dad around. But having everyone in my business gets old at times. None of the women in my family can understand why I’m not married yet. And they hate that I won’t let them set me up.”
Unmarried. Good to know. I had assumed that was the case from his bare ring finger but now my hunch had been confirmed—not that I was ever planning on pursuing Beau. I was sure the attraction I had for him would fade in a few days. This was just hey-look-a-hot-guy flutters. Right?
Right.
Besides, what on earth would he want with me? I was a fucking train wreck.
“So why doesn’t Coby have a dad?”
“Damn, you are nosy, aren’t you?”
“Hey, now! I’m a journalist. It comes with the territory.” I glared at his profile but softened at his wide smile full of straight, white teeth.
Now that was a good look.
Beau’s resting expression was stern. His dark eyebrows and straight nose were such serious features. But smiling? Hot damn. It might take me a couple of weeks instead of a couple of days to get over my crush.
The twitterpation would eventually fade, just like it always did. No man had ever captivated me for long. The most serious relationship I’d ever had had only lasted four months—that was if you didn’t count my torturous farce with Anton, which had lasted almost six.
Don’t go there.
My brain had enough to process tonight without my self-loathing playing into the mix. Later, after I was safe and settled into hiding, I could start to process how far I’d gone to get my story. I could think about how many orgasms I’d faked with Anton. How many times I’d held back a cringe as he’d kissed me. About how I’d used my body to get my story and become famous.
About how I’d lost sight of why I’d started all of this in the first place.
Those things I’d think about later, but not right now. Tonight, I’d focus on learning more about Beau Holt.
“So, are you going to answer my question?”
He sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“Don’t we have a while until we get to the outpost?”
“All right.” He nodded. “I’ll give you the gist. Coby’s dad was a doctor at the hospital where Maisy was a nurse. They started dating; she got pregnant. He didn’t want to be a father so they broke up. Turns out he was a crazy fucker who was skimming prescription pills from the hospital and selling them to high-school kids in town. He kidnapped Jess’s wife, Gigi, and Maisy and almost killed them.”
“Wait. That was your sister?” I stared at him, my jaw flapping open.
“Yeah, that was Maze. The doc tried to kill her because she wouldn’t have an abortion. He wanted to kill Gigi because he thought she’d figured out he was dealing. In the end, they were able to escape but only because Maisy stabbed him in the throat with a scalpel.”
“Oh my god. I remember reading about that. It was so crazy it even hit the Seattle news. My paper wrote an article on it and everything.” The article had said that she’d been forced to kill him but it hadn’t gone into that much detail. “Wow.”
“Yeah. Wow,” he muttered.
And I thought I had problems. At least I hadn’t been forced to take another human’s life.
I’d only met her briefly but Maisy had been sweet and gentle. Her personality was a testament to her strength. A traumatic event like that could ruin a person, leaving them bitter and cold, but she spread warmth and happiness to those around her.
“I’m glad that everything turned out okay for her.”
“Yeah. It took a while but she’s worked through her bad days. Now we’re all just focused on making sure Coby grows up with men in his life, that he doesn’t feel like he’s missed out because his father is gone. I mean, it isn’t his fault his biological father was deranged. He’s an amazing kid and deserves the best life we can give him.”
Coby was a lucky little boy to have such a dedicated uncle. The pride and joy in Beau’s voice was unmistakable. On top of everything he was doing for me, the love he had for his nephew endeared me to him even more. He wasn’t just absurdly handsome.
He was also a good man.
Which meant if he showed even the slightest interest in me, I was screwed. Could someone like him ever want someone like me? We were from two different worlds. But what if—
I refused to go down that “what if” road. The one I was on was bumpy enough.
“It’s wonderful that you and your family are there to support your sister. Has she dated anyone since Coby’s dad?”
He growled. Actually growled, like a jungle cat.
Who did that? I struggled to choke back my laughter. “Did you just growl at me?”
“Maisy has enough going on without a man in her life. She runs the motel and she has Coby. If she needs anything, she’s got her family and good friends. She doesn’t need a guy coming in and messing any of that up.”
“I’m not saying she needs a man. I’m a firm believer that women are fully capable of taking care of themselves. I’m just asking if she’s dated. She might not need a companion but maybe someday she’ll want one. Have you ever thought of that?”
He growled again, and this time, I couldn’t keep my laughter at bay—though I quickly learned to try harder. My ribs and bottom lip screamed in protest.
“No more growling,” I said. “It makes me laugh, which hurts. You promise to use your words from now on and I’ll promise to never bring up Maisy’s dating life.”
“Agreed,” he rumbled.
I grinned and turned my eyes back to the road. Beau’s protectiveness of Maisy was another appealing quality. He was the defensive big brother and no one would ever be good enough for his little sister. My older brothers had tried to give me that. What would my life be like had I let them in?
I’d never know. I doubted I’d ever be close with my family again.
As Beau maneuvered the truck through a series of sharp twists and bends in the road, I sat silently, staring out into the darkness. The events from the day were catching up with me. My body’s aches and pains were becoming insistent and my head was fuzzy with exhaustion.
With Boone’s warmth at my side and Beau’s comforting smell filling the air, I started to drift off. I fought it for as long as I could but the gentle swaying of the truck lulled my weary body to sleep.
“Sabrina.” Beau’s voice echoed in my dream.
His thick fingers brushed my hair back and trailed across my shoulder. I hummed as his touch sent tingles down my arm. If only I could feel those fingers against my bare skin. I willed Dream Beau to pull back the cotton of my shirt and trace my collarbone.
“Sabrina, we’re here,” Dream Beau said again.
Wait. Not a dream. I jerked awake and winced at the sudden movement.
Curses.
I hoped I hadn’t been snoring. Or, worse, moaning Beau’s name.
“Sorry, I fell asleep.” I looked toward my window and wiped away the drool at the corner of my mouth.
“No problem. I bet you’re wiped.”
“We’re here?” Ahead of us, I saw a clearing but no sign of an outpost, just a tiny shed at the end of the road.
“Yep.”
“Where’s the outpost?”
His finger pointed to the shed. “Uh, right there.”
“That little tiny building?”
“No. That’s the biffy. The outpost is right in front of us.”
My stomach dropped. I had no idea what a biffy was but it didn’t matter. Beau’s words were clear. The outpost was the shed and my new, dreaded home.
Even in the dark and from a distance, I could tell there was only one room. Did that mean one of us would be sleeping on the floor? What about a bathroom? And laundry? I wasn’t a gourmet cook by any means but would there be some place to prepare my meals?
For once in my life, I had no idea which question to ask first.
I tensed as Beau parked by the front door. I stayed in the truck, per his instruction, as he went to turn on the power.
When he was done, he came and opened my door. “Ready?”
“No.” My honest answer got me a look of irritation mixed with pity.
He held out a hand to help me down from the warm truck and into the cold night. Underneath my clothes, my skin prickled with goose bumps. I followed closely behind Beau as he walked from the truck to the outpost. Shivering on the square cement pad, I waited for him to unlock the padlock on the brown wooden door.
He pushed inside first and I braced before forcing my feet to move. The musty smell assaulted my nose before Beau flipped on a light, revealing my new home.
There was no doubt about it now. I hadn’t just messed up my life with the Federov article.
I had completely fucked it up.