Chapter Five – Avery

Avery had spent her whole life in towns. Growing up, college, work, she’d been surrounded by concrete. Here it was so open, so fresh. She breathed in the mountain air, feeling it rejuvenating her. The last few days had been rough, her whole world turned upside down after one phone call from Lonnie. The job she loved had somehow been tainted by the corruption Lonnie had uncovered. Being here in the mountains, and meeting Jacob and Brad, who seemed honest and genuine, helped restore her faith. They were what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of guys.

“I think we’re ready.” Jacob came out of the house and pulled the door closed behind him. He locked it and put the key in his pocket.

“Don’t trust your neighbors?” Avery asked as she turned to walk back toward him, a smile on her face. “I thought all you folks left your doors unlocked?”

“It’s not my neighbors I worry about. They all know I keep a spare key under a rock next to the door.” Jacob returned her smile, and her heart gave a small flutter. Must be the mountain air, it had nothing to do with the warmth his smile contained, which she found infectious.

He walked over to his truck. It was new, and well maintained. Exactly what she would expect from a man who might be called on at any moment to drive into the mountains in adverse weather conditions to rescue a hiker. Avery wondered if he cared for everything he possessed in the same way.

She cleared her throat, the thought of being one of those possessions making her throat constrict in longing. It had been a long time since she’d allowed herself to become physically attracted to a man. Her career had come first; her need to see pride in her dad’s smile had driven her to work hard to get a promotion.

“Coming?” Jacob asked as he opened the driver’s door and threw his backpack in. Avery hid her face from him, not wanting him to see her flushed cheeks.

“Where are we going?” Avery strode to the passenger side and opened the door. She put her pack inside next to his and then climbed in. “Can’t we walk from here?”

“We could, but there’s a main trail that leads into the mountains that’s nearer to town. I suspect that’s the path Manny Maxwell and Joe Hislop would have followed. It also leads close by to a cabin where an old friend lives. He is the eyes and ears of the mountain. If there’s anything to know, he’ll know.”

“Informants. That’s a good place to start.”

“You sound surprised. Do you think us hillbillies lack the ability to communicate?” he teased, and gave her a wider smile, which was cute: he had dimples, something she hadn’t noticed before. But now that she had, she would never forget them.

“Not at all. But I didn’t know a mountain ranger would have informants, unless you count the birds and the bees.” He wasn’t the only one who could poke fun when the need arose. Jacob chuckled, and Avery leaned back in her seat, enjoying the ride. “It sure is pretty here.”

“You like it?” Jacob asked hopefully, as if it mattered to him that she did.

“I do. I’ve never been a country girl. But I sure could be persuaded.” She switched her gaze away from the view and looked at him. “You’ve lived here all your life.”

“I have, Officer.” He steered the truck along the narrow road, heading back toward town, but before he reached the outskirts, he took a right and drove around the edge of the mountain. Then he took another right, and they climbed again, the road steep as it meandered through the forest. Tall trees towered above them, and the light dimmed as the branches formed a green, leafy tunnel above their heads. The bright sun was muted, casting a green shade over the interior of the truck. It was incredible, otherworldly, and she glimpsed what was so special about this place. She could see the appeal of clean air and forests, of mountainsides and wide-open skies.

“It’s so empty.” She leaned her head on the glass and looked up at the trees, trying to see their tops, the place where they met the sky, but the canopy was too thick.

“Of people, yes, but it’s full of life. The trees, the animals.” He chuckled again. Whatever had bothered him back in town when they first met appeared to have subsided. Jacob was relaxed, a man in his natural habitat. “I’ll make an outdoor girl out of you. Although it’s going to be a baptism of fire.” He pointed to his pack, which was a lot larger than hers. “You get to put the tent up tonight.”

“How hard can it be?” Avery asked.

“I’m sure an officer of the law can figure it out.” Jacob slowed the truck as the road got steeper, and the twists tighter. A crease formed on his forehead as he concentrated on keeping the truck from stalling. “This is always the worst part of the road. When it rains hard in the mountains, this section becomes a riverbed.”

“These mountains are your backyard, aren’t they? It must be wonderful to see the mountain change through the seasons.” A wave of something akin to homesickness swept over her. How incredible it must be to belong to a place like this. To be part of the very fabric of nature. Not human nature, but the real kind, that lived by its instincts and the rhythm of the seasons.

“It is. I’ve never wanted to live anywhere else.” The truck slowed, and Jacob pulled over to the side of the road. “This is about as far as we can go in the truck. We’re going to have to walk from here.”

“OK.” She jumped out of the truck; her energy and sense of adventure were overflowing. Hell, she was technically on vacation, so she might as well enjoy the experience. Catching her bad guys and clearing Lonnie’s name would be the peak of the mountain. She grinned to herself, that didn’t work as well as icing on the cake, but it would do. She inhaled deeply. “The air is different up here.”

“We’re a lot higher up. Less pollution and the wind currents are different up here.” He came around to the passenger side of the truck and grabbed his backpack, lifting it easily. “Are you good to go?”

“I am.” She looked down at her feet. “At least I have the boots for it.”

“Worn in, too. I’m impressed. I brought extra medical supplies because I expected you to get blisters from new boots bought at Mike’s place.”

“Sorry to disappoint.” Avery gave him a lopsided grin. They were flirting, and she liked it. She liked it a whole lot more than she should. Vacation or no vacation, she had to do her job. But oh, the thought of his hands on her feet, and then on her ankles, and her calves, moving higher…

“I thought you said you were a townie?” Jacob slammed the truck door shut and she jumped guiltily.

“I am.” Her insistence was a little over the top as she tried to keep her arousal out of her voice. “But I like to walk, and hiking boots are the most comfortable thing to put on your feet.” She avoided his eyes, not wanting to see the same hunger there.

Turning her back on him, needing time to compose herself, she pulled the straps on her backpack, making sure they were comfortable. Pity she hadn’t had a chance to break the pack in. But the straps were well padded, and shouldn’t rub. If they did, maybe Jacob would massage her shoulders. She reluctantly shook off any thoughts of Jacob’s hands on her body.

Jacob pulled a map out of his pocket and opened it up. “This is where we are.” He jabbed his finger at an area shaded green on the map. “We’re going to follow this trail, to this wooded area here.”

“You need a map?” Avery asked incredulously.

“No.” He folded the map carefully, and handed it to Avery. “This is for you. So you’ll know exactly where we are. In case we get separated.”

“Thanks.” She glanced at the map and tucked it in her pocket. “Let’s get started.”

“Follow me, let me know if I’m going too fast.” He swung around, and strode off. Avery followed, glad she had made staying in shape a priority. However, Jacob sure set a fast pace. She would cope over the relatively flat terrain they were traveling over now, but the slopes that rose up in front of them…well, that was going to be tough.

Dismissing her thoughts, she concentrated on her breathing, ignoring the tightness in her muscles. That would ease once she was warmed up. Deep breaths in and out, she kept every part of her actions rhythmical and regulated. After ten minutes, she hit her stride, and things became easier. She took longer strides, which didn’t match Jacob’s, but at least she wasn’t having to jog along like a little kid by his side.

Avery recalled doing that exact same thing when she was a kid of five with her dad. Her dad, who was her inspiration, the reason she’d become a police officer. She’d joined the police force to carry on the work her father was so proud of, and to make a difference, and she had. Avery was damned if she was going to let a couple of small-time drug dealers ruin all that. Not for her, and not for Lonnie.

“How you doing?” Jacob asked, slowing the pace and taking a bottle of water out of his pack. He took a good slug and then passed it to Avery. “You need to keep hydrated.”

Avery took the bottle from Jacob. “Thanks.”

“We have to go around this ridge, and then cut up to the trees.” He pointed into the distance.

“Sooner we get going, sooner we get there.” Avery passed the bottle back to Jacob, who put the bottle back in his pack, and set off again.

“So, how long have you been a cop?”

“It’s all I’ve ever been. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to be.”

“It’s your passion.”

“Yes. I get it from my dad. When I was a kid, I used to wait up for him to come home after his shift. We’d sit down at the kitchen table while he ate his supper, and he’d tell me about the people he’d helped.”

“And that’s why you joined, to help people?” They were making good time, but the trail was beginning to climb up toward the trees, and she could feel the pull on her muscles.

“Yeah, that’s all I ever wanted to do.” Avery focused her breath and kept pushing herself.

“And you do.” He looked at her over his shoulder. “I can tell.”

“I used to think so.” She shrugged, looking up at the steep slope.

“What’s changed?” Jacob slowed his pace as his boots bit into the gravel trail.

“Internal politics. They never tell you about that at the academy.” She winced, not ready to share her life story with a stranger.

“Is that why you are here? Chasing two drug dealers on your vacation?” Too late, she’d given him something to chew on, and he wasn’t about to let it go. She sighed, this was going to be a long trek, and there was no way she was going to hold out on the not sharing, not when she’d given him a juicy tidbit.

“My dad’s old partner called me, told me he’d been suspended. He said he was certain he’d been set up because he asked the right questions in the wrong places.” Avery thought back to that phone call, and the sun seemed to dim; the light was not as bright, the air not as sweet.

“You mean these drug dealers are protected by someone in the police force?” Jacob asked, hanging back now as he asked her questions.

“Yes. I had to help him.”

“He’s important to you.” Jacob probed gently, and she knew what he was thinking, that she and Lonnie had been lovers. Normally, Avery would let the insinuation go, but she was compelled to put Jacob straight. Was it because she needed him to know she was available?

Damn it, what was happening to her? Avery had fought hard to never let her private and professional life overlap. But this trip was neither private nor professional: it bridged both, leaving her marooned in a gray area.

“Lonnie is old enough to be my dad. He has a special place in my heart, in the heart of all of my family because he saved my dad’s life.” She hadn’t realized how tense Jacob was until he relaxed, his breath slipping out as a relieved sigh. It might be crazy, but the attraction she felt for Jacob was not one-sided.

“And so here you are.”

“And so here I am,” she repeated. “On a damn mountain. Trying to find these two guys in the hope that all the pieces fall into place.”

He looked up at the path before them. “We should get to Wyatt’s place in an hour.” Then he added reassuringly, “We’ll get them, Avery. We will.”

“Yeah, I hope so.” She placed her hands on her hips and let her breathing return to normal. “You know, when I tracked them to Bear Creek, I figured I’d made progress. When I knew they’d gone on the mountain, I still thought I’d find them and break this drug ring. But I never appreciated how big this place was.”

“We’ll find them. You have the best tracker on your team.” He started to climb again, and she fell in step behind him.

“Prove it,” Avery taunted.

“Oh, I will,” Jacob promised. “I plan to make you see exactly how much you need me.”

Avery didn’t answer. His words confused her and excited her on a deep level, making her heart beat faster, and her face flush. She didn’t trust herself to answer. Because she wasn’t sure what that answer would be.