

Moving Target

Michelle Scott

Distributed by Smashwords

Copyright 2020 Michelle Scott

Moving Target Copyright © 2020 by Michelle Scott

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

First Edition • June 2020

# One

Ashlyn Shay surveyed the dark house from the safety of her car. Did she dare knock on the door? What would Robert say when he saw her? It was late, after all, and she hadn't told him that she was coming. Her visit would be a complete surprise.

Ashlyn hadn't seen her cousin in over twenty years. Still, she'd sensed his mischievous twelve-year-old self in the e-mails he'd sent her when she'd been in Tanzania helping to build a school. His messages had been a much-needed relief from the harsh realities of her life among the poor. His reminders of home had buoyed her spirits, and made her a little homesick. They had also encouraged her when the project faced setbacks and obstacles. Now that the school was finally a reality and she was back in the states, Ashlyn wanted to thank the man who had given her the strength to face those challenges.

It was just past ten o'clock, almost too late for a visit. Then again, she was giddy with excitement. She couldn't wait to see Robert's expression when he opened the door to find her on his porch. She'd imagined this moment so often that now it seemed surreal.

Before Ashlyn left the car, she gave her hair a pat, hoping she didn't look like someone who'd spent the past seven hours driving. Then she grabbed her gift from the passenger's seat and went to meet her cousin.

Unfortunately, she wasn't entirely sure if she had the right house. Robert had never told her where he lived. Ashlyn had used the address he'd written on the box of gifts he'd sent to the children in Tanzania. Now, thanks to Google Earth, she'd located it. The place lay five miles outside of the sleepy, little town of Eagle River on a ten-acre plot of land that was swallowed up by the dense woods surrounding it.

To her surprise, the front steps to the house were wobbly, and paint flaked from the handrail. The porch sagged, and a number of rolled-up flyers were stuck in the handle of the screen door. This wasn't the neat and cozy house she'd been expecting. Maybe Google had let her down.

The house was dark and silent. From far away, a dog barked, making the night seem even lonelier. A faint smell of wood smoke hung in the air. Had Robert gone to bed early? Ashlyn licked her lips, wondering if she dared disturb him. Yes, she did dare. She simply couldn't wait another day.

As Ashlyn raised her hand to knock, something crunched underfoot. Glass. One of the door's sidelights had been smashed. Using her cellphone like a flashlight, Ashlyn played the light over the broken window and peered into the living room. The empty living room. There was no couch, no TV set, or chairs. There was, however, plenty of trash. Beer bottles and pizza boxes littered the floor. There was even graffiti on the walls.

Had she gotten the wrong house? But no, the numbers above the door matched the ones she'd taken from the box of gifts. She also recognized the porch swing and small evergreen from pictures on Robert's Facebook page. She knocked on the door, tentatively at first, but then harder. Nothing beyond the door stirred.

Suddenly, the back of her neck prickled. Was someone – or something – watching her? She turned her cellphone flashlight towards the woods, but the beam wasn't bright enough to penetrate the darkness. A twig snapped, and her heart leapt into her throat.

Ashlyn stood as still as a stone waiting for the sound to repeat. When it didn't, she forced herself to calm down. She was being paranoid. Nothing in the woods was going to hurt her.

With a sigh, she left the front door and headed back towards her car. Clearly, Robert wasn't around. There was nothing to do now but check into a motel and call it a night. She'd try to find him in the morning.

A bright, red dot appeared on the small pine tree beside her. A loud crack rang out. Wood splintered. The red dot appeared again, and a second gunshot had Ashlyn sprinting towards her car. Her heart pounding, she dove inside and fumbled with her keys.

Another shot, and this time her rear window exploded, showering her with tiny pebbles of glass. She twisted the key in the ignition so hard it nearly snapped in half, threw the car into reverse, and raced backwards up the drive. Her headlights swept the yard, revealing nothing but the house and a clearing in the woods. When she reached the road, she slammed the car into drive and punched the gas. Only then did she noticed the pair headlights bearing down on her.

Once he had left the city limits and began driving through the woods, Nick Harris finally allowed himself to relax. There were times when even the little town of Eagle River seemed too big. Too busy. Every time he left the Detroit city limits and took a vacation from his work as a private investigator, Nick craved solitude. The only reason he bothered to come into town in the first place was to appease his friend, Eddie Tanner, who said that Nick was becoming a hermit. It was because of Eddie that the two of them met weekly at the Sportsman bar to watch baseball and play a little pool. That was all the social interaction Nick wanted.

Although, Nick had to admit that he did enjoy the weekly visits. Eddie was a good friend who didn't pressure Nick to talk. Between them, silence was comfortable and not awkward. Nick liked Eddie's wife Joanne, but she tended to mother him, and Eddie's three, small children made his little house claustrophobic. No, the Sportsman was a better place to hang.

Nick turned on the radio and settled in for the drive. His cabin was fifteen miles out of town which, because of the rough condition of the roads, usually turned into a twenty-five minute trip.

After the pool and the steak sandwich he'd eaten, he was feeling pretty good, despite the fact that his anniversary loomed on the horizon. If Sarah were still alive, they would have been married four years this coming Wednesday. The memory of her was bittersweet. He had loved her deeply and without reservation, yet he suspected that, towards the end, she'd been unfaithful to him. Now, his memories were tainted with a sense of betrayal.

As if on cue, the song Landslide by the Dixie Chicks came on the radio. It had been Sarah's favorite, and hearing it made Nick's good feelings take a nosedive. Who was he kidding? Unfaithful or not, Nick missed his wife so much! It had been two years since she'd been murdered, but sometimes the pain was as fresh as if he was hearing of her death for the very first time.

Up ahead, a car shot backwards out of a hidden driveway, made an abrupt turn, and began barreling down the road straight at him. Nick honked and swerved to the right seconds before impact. The other car also swerved, but the driver pulled too hard on the wheel and the vehicle crossed the shoulder and, with a crunch of metal, rammed into a tree.

Nick pulled off to the side, threw his car into park, and raced across the road just as the other driver opened her door and staggered out of her vehicle. Kids. It had to be. Eddie was always complaining that the abandoned house drew in under-aged drinkers.

But the woman standing in front of him was no high school kid. She had to be in her late-twenties, closely matching Nick's thirty years.

"You okay?" Nick asked, looking her over. Luckily, the airbag had done its job and the woman appeared dazed but otherwise uninjured.

She put a hand to her forehead and blinked. "I'm fine. I think."

"You came out of there like a bat out of hell," Nick said. "You're lucky. You could have been seriously injured." Unfortunately, the car was totaled. The hood was an accordion of rumpled steel. One headlight was broken, and the other pointed skyward like a spotlight.

The woman blinked again, then seemed to give herself a mental shake. "I was being shot at!"

"Someone pulled a gun on you?" Nick asked, shocked. In a town the size of Eagle River, crime like that was unheard of.

"I was standing on the porch of that house when someone shot at me." She pointed at the shattered rear window of her car. "They nearly got me, too."

"Did the shots come from inside the house?"

"No. They came from the woods."

Nick took her elbow and steered her back across the road towards his Jeep. He grabbed his cell phone, dialed Eddie's number, and then handed her his phone. "Get in my car and talk to the sheriff. I'm going to check this out." For a moment, she hesitated then she nodded.

Once she was safely in his Jeep, Nick cautiously made his way to the driveway, making sure to stick to the cover of the trees. Unfortunately, he didn't have his weapon, a trusty Glock 9 mm. He hadn't thought he would need it on a trip into Eagle River for a sandwich.

The wind blew through the branches above him, and from far away, a dog barked. Otherwise, all was still. Probably whoever had taken the shot was long gone.

Finding nothing in the woods, he went to the dark house and banged on the door. Getting no response, he glanced through the shattered sidelight. Just as he'd expected, the place was vacant. Moonlight revealed a front room that was devoid of furniture. Dead leaves and trash scattered across the floor. The place not only looked empty, it felt empty, too. As if someone hadn't been around for a long time. Nick returned to the Jeep.

"Did you find anything?" the woman asked anxiously.

"Could have been some teenagers taking shots at an abandoned house," he said.

"You think the house is abandoned?" she asked.

"I've never seen anyone around it, and I pass by the place a few times every week. My friend is the local sheriff. He's always complaining that the house is an open invitation for the high school population to come inside and party."

"Really? But I thought –" She hesitated.

"What?"

"That my cousin lived – never mind." She passed her hand over her eyes and sighed. "It's been a long day."

Eddie's black SUV pulled in behind Nick's Jeep. "What did you get yourself into?" Eddie asked, walking up. His jaws worked at the piece of gum in his mouth. He'd stopped smoking several years before, but the gum habit was one he couldn't break.

"There's been some trouble at the party house," Nick said.

"Someone was shooting at me," the woman said.

Eddie pulled on his mustache. "And what happened to your car?" He pointed to the wreck across the road.

"I got so scared that I drove away faster than I should have."

"We nearly collided," Nick explained.

"Did you hear any shots?" Eddie asked him.

"No. I patrolled the area and didn't see anything, either." Still, he couldn't argue with the damage done to the woman's car. Only a bullet could have blown out her rear window like that. "I think she's right, though. Someone was around causing mischief."

Eddie grabbed a large flashlight from his car. "Stay here," he told the woman and walked down the driveway towards the old house. Nick joined him.

"It's kids," Eddie said as they approached the house. "Got to be." He shined the flashlight into the woods, revealing nothing but trees. "Either that, or our witness has an active imagination."

"She couldn't imagine that broken back window," Nick said.

"True," Eddie admitted.

As Eddie's flashlight played over the trees, Nick caught sight of the smoking remains of a campfire. Next to that was an old sleeping bag. "Nice night to be camping under the stars," he said, walking over. Nick kicked dirt over the glowing embers to put them out. "But whoever was here is long gone now."

Eddie switched off the flashlight. "I'll send a patrol by later on to see if anyone turns up to grab the sleeping bag, but I doubt that they'll be back tonight."

Nick agreed.

When they returned to the road, the wrecker had arrived, and the driver was hoisting up the front end of the car. The woman had gathered her things from the trunk of her car and set them on the side of the road. "Did you find anything?" she asked.

"Nothing worth reporting," Eddie said. He stepped closer to her, putting his face closer to hers. Nick knew he was smelling her breath for alcohol. "Have you been drinking tonight?"

The woman drew back, offended. "What? No!"

"Would you mind taking a Breathalyzer test for me?"

"Is that really necessary?" she demanded.

"The insurance company will want to know," Nick said.

The woman angrily complied. When Eddie told her she'd passed, she put her hands on her hips. "I told you I hadn't been drinking!"

"Just making sure," Eddie said.

When the wrecker pulled away towing the demolished car, Nick surprised himself by asking the woman if she needed a ride into town. Although the accident hadn't been his fault, he felt responsible for her. She looked so lost standing alongside the road with her suitcase.

"I can take you back," Eddie offered.

The woman didn't hesitate. "I'll go with your friend," she told the sheriff. Apparently, she held a grudge for the Breathalyzer.

Eddie shrugged. "Have it your way." He said goodbye to Nick and went back to his car.

"Where do you live?" Nick asked after Eddie drove off.

"In Chicago, actually," the woman said. "I came to visit my cousin, but he doesn't seem to be around. I guess now I'll need a motel. Is the Three Pines Inn still around?"

"It is. Although, it's not a fancy place."

"Tonight, all I need is a bed and a bath. Tomorrow, I'm going to need a mechanic."

He smiled at her. "I think I can help with that if you'd like."

"I would like." She held out her hand. "Ashlyn Shay."

He took her slender hand in his. "Nick Harris. Nice to meet you."

"Thank you so much for everything you've done for me."

He hadn't done much, but he appreciated her gratitude. He loaded her suitcase into his car and within minutes they were heading back towards town.

# Two

Nick hadn't realized what a beauty Ashlyn was until they were standing in the motel office. She was tall and curvy, dressed in jeans that a blue t-shirt that accented her perfect figure. A beauty mark set off the lower curve of her lips. Her light-brown hair was fastened into a sloppy French twist, and he instinctively wanted to loosen the clip and let her tresses fall around her shoulders. He imagined that her hair would feel like silk beneath his fingers.

He blinked, surprised at himself. What was he thinking? He'd only just met the woman. But another look in her direction brought the same reaction. He hadn't been this attracted to another woman since he'd first met his wife six years before.

He gave himself a mental shake, feeling a jolt of shame. Whatever his base desires, he couldn't go there. Right now, Ashlyn needed a friend and not a lust-stricken cad.

After Ashlyn filled out the registration and paid for the room, she and Nick followed the sleepy-eyed clerk to one of the vacant units. Nick brought her luggage from his Jeep and placed the suitcase by the door. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No. I'm good." However, when she picked up her suitcase, she hesitated before going into the room. "You do believe me, right? About the shooting I mean." She glanced down at her hands. "The sheriff didn't seem to."

"Eddie can be hardheaded sometimes," Nick admitted. "But, yes, I definitely believe that shots were fired. I don't know if someone was shooting at you, though," he added, hoping to put her worries to rest. "I think it was probably a drunk kid who was taking potshots at an abandoned house."

"Thanks," she said. "That makes me feel better. After talking to the sheriff I started to wonder if I was losing my mind. And thanks for the ride, too. I really appreciate it." She gave him a final smile before going into her room.

Good-bye, Nick thought, and wondered if he'd ever get to see her again. Reluctantly, he returned to the Jeep. But when he sat down, he saw that she'd left a soccer ball behind. Scribbled on its white surface were dozens of names written in childlike scrawls. He returned to her door, the soccer ball tucked under his arm.

"I think you forgot something," he said when she answered his knock.

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, thank you again! I would have been devastated if I'd lost this." She dipped her head shyly and widened the door a little more. "Can I offer you a cup of coffee? There's a coffee maker in the room." She bit her lower lip. "I wouldn't mind a little company. The day's been so topsy-turvy."

Nick gladly accepted. While she fussed over the coffee maker, he took a seat at the desk in the corner of the room. "Tell me about the soccer ball."

Once again, her face lit up. He was beginning to love that smile. "It was signed by the children of the local village where I was helping a team of volunteers to build a school. I wanted to give it as a thank you to my cousin who shipped two dozen soccer balls for the kids." She brought Nick his coffee in a Styrofoam cup.

"Where was the school?"

"In Africa. Tanzania."

"That's amazing," he said, impressed.

Her cheeks reddened, and she gave a modest shrug. "Maybe not amazing, but It was interesting. It was sad to see such poverty, but I was happy to help out those kids. It was an experience that changed my life."

Nick took a sip of coffee and immediately regretted it. He struggled to not to make a face as he forced himself to swallow it down. The wicked brew was far too strong and bitter for his liking. In fact, it tasted burned. "What made you go all the way to Africa?"

"I teach in a private school in Chicago. The kids there are wealthy and very privileged. They think the world owes them everything. I had to leave that for a while. You know, to connect with something real and get away from people who want nothing more than status and money. One of the other teachers mentioned that she'd gone on a similar trip, and I was so fascinated by her story that I had to try it myself." She sipped her own coffee and made a face. "Is your coffee as bad as mine?"

"It is pretty awful," he admitted. He laughed and she joined in.

"The coffee maker isn't up to par, but at least the room is nice and clean," she said. Suddenly, she yawned. "I guess I'm more tired than I thought."

Nick stood. "I should leave. It's getting late." He wanted to give her his number, but wasn't sure how to do it. Then inspiration struck. "I know you're without a car, so if you need a ride tomorrow give me a call."

"You've already done so much," she protested.

"It's not a problem." He took a business card from his wallet. "It stinks to be stranded." His heart lifted at the thought of seeing her again, but for a minute, he felt a wave of guilt, as if he was betraying his wife's memory. He brushed the thought aside. Ashlyn needed help, and he was there to provide it. As much as she attracted him, he fully intended to ignore the feelings of animal magnetism and stay on his best behavior.

She read the card. "You're a private investigator? Now that sounds exciting."

"It's not nearly as thrilling as you might think," he said. "Sometimes I work as a bodyguard, but mostly, I chase down insurance scammers. You know, people who claim to have injured their backs in a car accident but end up dancing at the club over the weekend."

She laughed again. It was a sweet, infectious sound that made him smile. "You make it sound so ordinary."

"That's because it is."

She tucked the card into her back pocket. "Thank you," she said. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Then she blushed. "Sorry. I don't know why I did that."

He smiled, delighting in the tingle her kiss had left on his skin. "No problem," he said. No problem at all.

After Nick left, Ashlyn's cheeks burned from the memory of her kiss. She'd never been that forward with a stranger before! But she owed him so much. Unlike the sheriff, he'd immediately believed her story about being shot at and had come to her rescue. And, lord, the man was handsome! Rugged features with just the right amount of stubble on his strong jaw. Eyes as blue as a perfect, summer afternoon. Thick, brown hair with enough curl to make it unruly. She would have loved to run her fingers through it.

While overseas, she'd lived like a nun, focusing all of her energy into the kids and building the school. Now, when she thought of Nick, there was pleasant tension in her chest. To be honest, she'd wanted more from him than that simple peck on the cheek. She looked over the card he had given her and smiled, knowing that she would be calling him the next day.

Then she remembered seeing the ring on his left hand, and her pleasant fantasy screeched to a halt. He belonged to some other woman, and Ashlyn had no business thinking of him in that way.

Besides, there were other things to worry about than her handsome knight in shining armor. Her car was totaled, and she had no idea how she was going to get another one. And then there was Robert. She could have sworn that the small bungalow was the one featured in his online pictures. How could she have gotten things so mixed up?

Thinking of Robert, she set up her laptop computer and checked her e-mail. Robert hadn't sent one in several days, and she was beginning to wonder where he was. While in Africa, she used to love going into the Internet café to read his messages that were waiting for her. It made the bus ride into town tolerable. Usually, he sent her a quick message every morning. Something sweet, but encouraging. For the past week, however, she'd gotten nothing.

She re-read his last message to her. It was the one that had prompted her uncharacteristic surprise trip up north. Normally, she'd plan everything out to the smallest detail, but she thought Robert had sounded depressed lately. His last message hinted at trouble: I'm having regrets over the things I've done in the past. I know that I should try to change my life, but the mistakes I've made are too big to erase.

Ashlyn figured he was referring to his tour of duties in Afghanistan, and it pained her that he had to live with such remorse. When the two of them had spent their summers with Great Aunt Maude, Robert had been a friendly, happy-go-lucky kid, but being in the war must have changed that. In his e-mails, he confessed that he was a loner, and that the only way he connected with the world was through his Facebook page. In fact, Ashlyn suspected that she was one of the few friends Robert had. She had hoped that her visit would cheer him up and bring him out of his shell.

Ashlyn's fingers hovered over the keyboard then she bit her lip, thinking. A text message might be better than an e-mail. Hopefully, he'd respond to that. She picked up her phone and sent a quick message. I'm in Eagle River for a few days. Need to see you. Are you okay? I'm worried. There. That should make him want to get in touch. And once he did, she could ask a few 'innocent' questions to find out where he actually lived.

Ashlyn was exhausted, but she didn't think a good night's sleep was in her future. Not in a strange motel room, and not after what she'd been through. She drew herself a hot bath and settled in for a long soak. Maybe tonight's events would be something she could laugh about with Robert later on, but for right now, she was still keyed up.

She put a towel behind her head, leaned back, and closed her eyes. Almost immediately, her mind turned to the sexy private investigator with the to-die-for hair. She couldn't help but wonder how those strong hands would feel holding her tight. A shiver of pleasure ran through her chest as she considered it.

Once again, she ordered herself to stop it. He was taken. Off limits. Not available. She gave a little sigh. It was too bad, but it wasn't to be helped.

She finished her bath and dressed in a pair of flannel pajama pants and an old t-shirt. She took out the new mystery novel she'd started, but before she dug into the book, she decided to get a drink from the vending machine next to the office. That night's adrenaline rush had left her mouth bone dry.

Before Ashlyn left the room, she grabbed a canister of pepper spray from her purse. Maybe it was silly – after all, Eagle River was a small town – but she felt better taking it with her. Besides, it was long past midnight now, and most of the other units had their lights turned off. Even the office was dark. She worried that if she cried for help, no one would hear her.

Determined to at least look like she wasn't afraid, Ashlyn marched down to the pop machine. The only sound was the quiet murmur of television that came from a few of the rooms. The scuff of Ashlyn's flip flops seemed especially loud.

The pop machine was next to a payphone that, quite surprisingly, looked operable. Ashlyn couldn't remember the last time she'd seen a working payphone in the states.

She fed a dollar into the pop machine which dispensed a can with a loud ca-chunk. As she grabbed the pop, the payphone rang, startling her. There was no one around to answer, so she picked it up on the second ring. She didn't say hello, but simply pressed the receiver to her ear.

"Well? Did you find her?" a gravelly voice asked.

Ashlyn's blood turned to ice. She swallowed. "Who is this?"

The phone went dead.

Once again, the back of Ashlyn's neck prickled as if she was being watched. She suddenly realized how exposed she was, standing alone by the office. Terrified, she turned and ran back to her room, setting the deadbolt behind her.

Nick sat at a desk in the spare bedroom of his cabin pouring over a well-worn notebook and several newspaper clippings that had gone soft around the edges from so much handling. Pinned up on the wall behind him was a large map of the area. Red X's marked the spots where Sarah had last been seen alive, where she'd been taking photographs along the river, and where her body had been found.

Nick's eyes ached from reading so late into the night, and despite the cup of coffee at his elbow, he couldn't stop yawning. Still, he knew that going to bed was out of the question. His body might be tired, but his mind wasn't. If he laid down, he'd only stare into the dark while his thoughts raced. He hadn't gotten a full night's sleep since he'd gotten the phone call that Sarah was dead.

After his strong, physical reaction to meeting Ashlyn, he had thought that – maybe – he would be able to get through one night without being haunted by the ghost of his dead wife. But when he'd walked into the cabin and taken a look at the map on the wall, all of that changed. Three years ago, he'd promised himself that he wouldn't rest until Sarah's murder was solved, and he couldn't back away from that promise. No matter that he suspected her infidelity, she deserved to have her killer locked away. It was the least he could do for her.

After all, it was his fault that she'd died. He was the one who had started the argument that sent her packing for some time alone up north. He never should have let her go off on her own. After so many years of being hired to protect people, in the end, he hadn't been able to save his own wife.

Nick stood and stretched then went to the kitchen to pour himself more coffee. On the wall next to the coffeemaker was a framed photograph of a soaring bald eagle with a fish in its talons. It was one of the first nature shots he'd ever taken. When he'd presented it to Sarah, she'd been thrilled and had immediately gotten the photo matted and framed. He smiled at the memory. Their marriage had been ragged towards the end, but it certainly had started out strong.

Nick took his coffee back to the desk. Most of the time he lived in Detroit, but he'd always considered the rustic cabin his real home. Several times a year he came back to enjoy the solitude of the woods and to search for more clues that might unlock the secret of his wife's death. So far, he'd turned up nothing.

An hour later, Nick tossed aside the forensics report he'd been reading. He wasn't sure why he'd bothered with it. He knew every detail by heart. The conclusion of the report always angered him. The coroner had ruled the death as an accidental drowning. Possibly a suicide. Only Nick thought that Sarah's death had been a murder.

He'd argued with Eddie a number of times over this. Yes, Sarah's body was found in the river and, yes, there was water in her lungs, but that didn't explain why she'd gone canoeing in the first place. Sarah couldn't swim, and she never went out on the river alone. Instead, she was a hiker who spent time on the trails that wound their way through the Ottawa National Forest. And if she had wanted to go out onto the river, why had she taken the two-person canoe instead of the single person kayak that Nick always used when he went off on his own? And what about the cigarette butt he'd found by the back door? Finally, there had been dirty dishes and towels in the cabin which suggested someone had been with her the night before she died. All of these little clues added up to foul play in Nick's mind. Unfortunately, no one else agreed, and without concrete evidence that someone had been with Sarah on the day she'd been murdered, there was no way to prove anything.

Nick's eyes finally grew too heavy to keep open. He rinsed out the coffee mug and turned off the lights. In bed, he laced his hands behind his head and stared up into the dark. He tried to bring up the image of his wife's face, but it was difficult. As hard as it was to admit, he felt her presence less and less every time he came up to the cabin. The place had once felt so full of her, but now it was as if her ghost was becoming fainter and fainter with every passing year. He was losing his hold on her.

As he finally drifted off towards sleep, Ashlyn's face sprang to his mind. That glossy hair, those soft curves, the slightly pouty lips. He wondered what she was doing so far away from home. She didn't strike him as a sportsman or a nature fanatic, generally the two types of people who came all the way to Eagle River for a visit. And why had she thought that her cousin lived in that ramshackle house?

Tomorrow when he saw her again – and he would see her, of that he was certain – he'd ask her these questions. He wanted to know more about her. Heck, he wanted to know everything about her.

Slowly, the world faded back into existence. First came the pain. His left leg was on fire. Every time Robert jostled it, stars danced before his eyes. After the pain he became aware of the night sounds – the blowing wind, and katydids calling back and forth to each other from the trees. Finally, there was the bonfire and the shadowy figure of the man sitting by it. And the shape of the gun that lay across his knees.

Robert knew exactly where he was. He was lying on his cot in the tent that he'd helped pitch by the clearing in the woods. He tried to lift his hand to feel his aching head, and realized his wrists had been tied together in front of him. He carefully moved his ankles and found them similarly bound. Curse them! Robert had been caught completely unaware. He knew that Seth and Karl were angry, but he'd never thought they would gang up on him. He should have been more careful.

Exercising extreme care, Robert pushed himself upright and sat on the edge of the cot. Seth must have been keeping an on eye him because the moment he was sitting, the big man came over. "You're awake."

"Water," Robert croaked. His throat was parched.

Seth grabbed a bottle from the cooler and gave it to him. Robert drank the cold water in large, greedy gulps. How long had he been out? The last he remembered, it had been midday. Now, he had no idea what time it was.

"Are you done being stupid?" Seth asked. He took a seat on the cot across from Robert's and laid the rifle across his knees. "Because if you're done being stupid, I'll think about untying your hands."

"I'm not done thinking about what went on this afternoon," Robert growled. He could still hear the hiker's desperate voice. "Don't hurt me," he'd said. "I won't tell!"

Seth hadn't wanted to take any chances. Before the guy could plead any more, Seth had put him down. That's when Robert knew he was way in over his head. What had started out as a lark – albeit an illegal lark – had turned into murder. Something Robert had not expected and was not prepared to be a part of.

"What did you do with the body?" he asked.

"It's probably best if you don't know." Robert couldn't see his old army buddy clearly in the flickering light of the campfire, but he had no problem imagining the hard eyes and the scowl. He'd seen them often enough in Afghanistan.

Now that Robert was awake and had slaked his thirst, things were coming back to him. Random details stuck out. The color of the hiker's hair. The fact that he hadn't shaved in several days. The yellow, happy face keychain that bobbled on from the frame of the guy's backpack.

After the gunshot, both Karl and Robert had been furious. Not that Karl cared about the murder per se. He just didn't want it traced back to him. But Robert's outrage came from a deeper place. When the hiker crumpled to the ground, Robert had roared and gone for Seth. Seth had shot at him, getting him in the calf.

Robert had been so intent on Seth that he hadn't realized Karl was sneaking up behind him, ready to knock him over the head with a chunk of firewood. Not until it had been too late. Now he was here on the cot trussed up like a turkey at Thanksgiving, at the mercy of his ex-buddy.

"Where's Karl?" Robert asked. No one else sat by the fire.

"I'm afraid it's just you and me here, kid. Karl's up at the house tonight. Thought it might be a good idea to camp out there."

Robert couldn't picture Karl camping anywhere let alone at the tumbledown shack of a house, but he kept his mouth shut. With Karl out of the picture, Robert had a better chance of taking out Seth. His head ached and he was dizzy, but he'd find a way out of this mess.

Seth's cell phone rang, and Seth answered it. "What do you mean there was someone at the house?" He paused. "Do you want me to handle it because I can. No, no one else has been around here. Yes, I'm sure." He shoved the phone into his pocket. "We've got company."

Robert's heart sped up. Company might mean a rescue or it might mean trouble. "Who is it?"

"He's not sure. Some woman came to the house and knocked on the door. Karl sent her a message that sent her packing. He's going to follow her to make sure that she doesn't come back.

"What did she look like?"

"Tall, young. Probably late twenties. It was too dark to see much more. You have any girlfriends?"

"No." In fact, Robert hardly had any friends, period. He couldn't imagine who had come out to the house at this time of night.

Seth stood up and loomed over Robert. "Well, you lie down now and let Karl take care of things. Until then, you hang tight. If you try to make any trouble – any trouble at all – you're going end up like that hiker. Understand?"

Robert did. Perfectly.

# Three

The sun was peeking over the horizon when Nick reached the public launch on the Eagle River. He'd always been an early riser. He enjoyed getting up before everyone else and being the first person to explore the new day. He untied his kayak from the top of the Jeep and slid it into the water. Then he shouldered his camera strap and climbed in.

This stretch of the river was as broad and as lazy as an overfed cat. He drifted with the current, using his paddle only to steer. Birds sang their morning songs, and he smiled at their greeting. Spotting a pair of loons up ahead, he put the camera to his eye, adjusted the lens, and snapped several pictures before the birds spooked and flew off.

His morning treks to the river gave him inner peace. Here among the birds, with the calming sounds of the water ripping over the shoals, he didn't have to think about his clients back in Detroit or remember what had happened to Sarah. He could be completely absorbed by the moment. Some people started their days with morning yoga. His began with a solitary trip down the river.

But it was lonely.

Eddie was right. Ever since Sarah had died, Nick had lived like a hermit. When he was up north, his only contact with other people was the weekly pool game, and then it was only because Eddie dragged him out of the cabin. Even when Nick was back in Detroit, he never pursued anyone's company outside of work.

A kingfisher gave a rattling cry, alerting Nick who held his camera ready. The bird dove into the water and retrieved a fish. With a whir of the shutter button, Nick captured its descent and subsequent climb. It was a spectacular moment. Unfortunately, there was no one to share it with.

He wondered if Ashlyn would be interested in such things as birding and nature photography. He also wondered if she would call him this morning. He certainly hoped so. Last night he'd been certain that she would contact him, but now he worried that she might not. He wanted another glimpse at her beautiful face. He wanted to look into her eyes to see if she felt any of the sparks he'd felt the night before. He wanted to know if his own feelings had been real or just the result of adrenaline.

As the river narrowed, it also grew deeper and swifter, and he paddled hard to avoid obstacles. The river was higher than normal this summer, and the tops of the rocks were covered by water, making them difficult to spot. Nick searched for telltale ripples and veered around them by using his paddle as a rudder. Trees grew thickly along the banks, and it was necessary to avoid low-hanging branches as well. This part of the river was tricky.

Then all at once, the river widened again and the current slowed. The water became so shallow that Nick could see darting minnows. The kayak nearly scraped the rocky bottom. It was time to portage.

Two hikers appeared at the river's edge. From their ages and the way they shared the same, long face, Nick guessed them to be a father and son. The older man was thin and sinewy and wore a blue bandana tied around his head. The younger was shorter than his father, but had more hair. Seeing the water, they both unshouldered their packs, stripped off their shoes and socks, and waded into the water.

The younger man waved at Nick who waved back. "Nice day for a hike," Nick called to him.

"We've been on the trails for four days now," the older man said, approaching Nick. The two men shook hands. "I'm Stuart and that's my son, Dawson. "

"Nick Harris. Have you two been up to the falls yet?"

Stuart shook his head. "We're planning on going there, but right now, we're looking for my other son. We were supposed to meet up with him yesterday, but he hasn't shown up yet. We think he might have gotten lost."

Dawson laughed. "Or he might have gotten sidetracked by something interesting. He's been known to spend days hunting for orange-gilled waxy caps."

Nick had thought he knew the woods as well as anyone, but he'd never heard of orange-gilled waxy caps. "What are those?"

"Mushrooms," said the older man. "My son's a mycologist, a person who studies fungi. Teaches at Michigan State University. Jerrod is a good kid, but he's easily distracted."

Dawson knelt down in the river and began pumping water into a small purifier. "He probably doesn't even know what day it is."

"I'm heading back towards town," Nick said. "I can report him missing. Or I can give you a ride, and you can talk to the sheriff."

Stuart scratched the gray stubble on his chin. "Dawson's right. His brother might not realize how much time has passed. But just to play it safe, would you mind stopping at the park headquarters and alerting them? Maybe someone's seen him somewhere or knows something about him. Tell them we're looking for a guy in his late twenties with blond hair and a blue backpack."

"And his yellow, Mr. Smiley keychain," Dawson added. "He never takes a hike without it."

"Blond hair, late twenties, smiley keychain. Got it."

"I'm sure he's fine," Stuart said, speaking to himself. "He's been hiking since he was a kid."

"Not too good with directions, though," Dawson said, standing. For the first time, a shadow of worry passed over his features. "I hope he brought his compass, or he might be halfway to Canada by now."

"Just report him to the ranger station. We'll stay here and wait," Stuart said. "I'm sure he'll turn up any time now."

Nick nodded and decided to cut his trip short. He'd report the missing hiker now. With a final wave at the two men, Nick turned his kayak around and began heading back upstream.

Ashlyn woke with a start, unable to remember where she was. Then she caught sight of the boxy motel room and things fell into place. She was in Eagle River. In Eagle River and without a car because she'd driven hers into a tree. She sat up and groaned. She was truly in a mess.

Thank goodness for Nick. Her stomach fluttered pleasantly as she thought of his broad shoulders, but then dipped when she remembered the wedding band. Someone was a very lucky woman. Ashlyn glanced at the business card that still sat on the bedside table. She wondered if she should take him up on his offer of a ride since she was without transportation. Or had he only been offering because he pitied her?

She went to the window and checked the front of the motel. All was quiet. There was no one waiting by her door, nor were there any suspicious cars hanging at the edge of the parking lot. The mysterious phone call from the night before had scared her, but it must have been either a mistake or a colossal coincidence. No one was out to get her. She'd been silly to think so.

Maybe a late morning jog would help clear her mind. Since returning home from Tanzania, she'd gotten back into her old routine of going for a run every day. She threw on a pair of sweats, did some stretching, and then headed out the door.

It was a perfect morning for a run. Warm enough to go outside in shirtsleeves, but with a hint of coolness in the breeze. The motel sat next to the two-lane highway that ran through Eagle River's downtown. Ashlyn headed away from town and towards the heart of the Ottawa National Forest.

As always, it took her a few minutes to gain her stride, but once she had it, she jogged briskly, delighting in the fresh air she sucked into her lungs and the rhythmic slap of her feet. A few cars passed her, and a logging truck forced her far off the shoulder, but otherwise she was alone with her thoughts.

Unfortunately, her thoughts took her in directions she didn't want to go. First and foremost, she was worried about Robert. Why hadn't he e-mailed her back? Or called or texted for that matter. And what was the trouble he'd been having?

Then there was the matter of her car. Given the damage it had sustained, there was no telling if it would ever be drivable again. She might be stuck in Eagle River until she could buy a new car. Not that her salary as a high school teacher would allow for such a luxury.

As Ashlyn rounded a bend, she was so deep in thought that she didn't notice the deer until she was almost on top of it. When she did see it, she stopped running to watch. It was a doe, with a tawny coat and liquid brown eyes. Ashlyn tried to keep her panting in check as the deer paused midway across the highway. For a moment, the two of them looked at each other. Then, with a flick of its tail, the deer ran to the other side of the road and into the woods.

Seeing the deer seemed like an omen. That maybe things would work out after all. With a smile, Ashlyn turned around to head back into town.

A car streaked towards her. It swerved in her direction, bearing down on her like she had a bull's eye painted on her stomach. Through the windshield, she caught a glimpse of a thick, bull-like face and tiny, hard eyes. Terrified, she leaped into a patch of thimbleberry bushes alongside the road. She landed hard, twisting an ankle. Pain spiked up her leg and into her gut. The screech of tires told her that the car had slammed on its brakes and was turning around for another pass.

Ashlyn wobbled to her feet and tried to scramble up the embankment and into the woods, but her lame ankle buckled and she fell to the ground. The car roared up again, crossing lanes as it headed straight towards her. She screamed and covered her face with her arms.

From around the bend came a bellow of an air horn as a logging truck came grill-to-grill with the car that was heading straight for Ashlyn. The smaller car jerked back to its side of the road as the truck, brakes hissing, threw up gravel as it swerved onto the shoulder.

Ashlyn finally pulled herself to her feet and watched the car drive off. Though she was dizzy from adrenaline, she managed to get the last three digits of the license plate. X2G she muttered to herself. X2G.

The truck driver ran around the front of his vehicle. "You okay lady? That car nearly drove right into you! The idiot was probably texting and driving."

Ashlyn knew that wasn't the case. The car had been coming straight at her. Twice. There was no way that was an accident.

She had a sick feeling that whoever had been on the phone the night before really was out to get her.

Nick found Ashlyn waiting for him in the back, corner booth at Gilbert's diner. Her face was pale and pinched, and her hands were wrapped tightly around the coffee mug in front of her. He did a quick sweep of the place, searching for anyone who looked dangerous or out of place. There was nothing to fear but a retired couple reading newspapers, a young mother and father with their little girl, and a pair of teenagers sitting on two of the red, vinyl stools by the counter.

Nick slid into the booth across from Ashlyn, and her face relaxed. "I'm sorry I dragged you away from home on a Saturday morning."

"Don't worry about it. I was up at the crack of dawn. Besides, I gave you my number for a reason." Luckily, he'd just been returning at the cabin when she'd called. He'd left the instant he'd hung up and stomped the gas all the way into town. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I twisted my ankle, but otherwise I'm all right." She lowered her voice and leaned across the table. "If it hadn't been for that logging truck, I would have been run over! It all seems so unreal. I mean, someone actually tried to hit me with their car! And after what happened last night...I don't think that shooting was an accident."

Neither did Nick, and he cursed himself for not taking the whole thing more seriously. He should have stayed with her instead of letting her go off on her own. Still, who would have thought that a beautiful woman from out of town would be the target of a hit? It didn't make any sense.

"You were smart to come here." He doubted that someone would make an attempt on her life in such a public place.

"I didn't dare go back to my motel room. Especially not after what happened after you left last night."

His heart jumped. "What happened after I left?"

When she sipped her coffee, her hands trembled. "I thought it was a joke or maybe a misunderstanding. But the payphone by the pop machine rang, and when I picked it up, someone said, 'Did you find her?' When I asked who it was, he hung up."

"You should have called me right away!"

"Like I said, I thought it was a joke. I mean, who would want to kill me?" Her worried eyes met his. Last night, he hadn't been able to see the color, but now he noticed they were gray, like Lake Michigan during a storm.

The waitress stopped by to refill Ashlyn's empty mug, and see if Nick wanted anything. He ordered coffee.

"This is such a nice, little town," Ashlyn said with a sigh. "The crime rate has got to be close to zero." Her eyes followed the waitress. "I can't imagine anyone local doing this to me. It's got to be someone from out of town."

The waitress returned with Nick's coffee, and he poured several packs of sugar into it. "Do you have a jealous boyfriend?" he wondered. "Someone who didn't want you to come up north?"

Ashlyn shook her head.

Nick sipped at the hot coffee, thinking. "Maybe you were followed from Chicago," he suggested. "Or you saw or heard something in Tanzania that you shouldn't have?"

Ashlyn frowned. "Why would anyone follow me from Chicago to kill me? Why not just do it back home? And as far as Tanzania goes – it's a safe country."

Nick pressed on. "Did anyone ask you to hold a bag for them at the airport? Or did you sit next to someone on the plane who might have been suspicious?"

"I didn't take anyone's bag, and my seat partner was a little, old lady from Ohio." She pushed her coffee away. "Nothing was out of the ordinary."

She was right. It didn't make sense. Other than her trip to Tanzania, her life was as conventional as his. Still, there had to be a reason. He knew that she wasn't making this up.

"I want to go back to my hotel room, but I'm worried," she said. "Do you think someone could be waiting for me there?"

"Hard to say. Right now, we'll go to the sheriff's office to file a report. Then we need to get you somewhere safe." He laid a five-dollar bill on the table and started to stand, but Ashlyn gripped his hand to keep him in place.

"I'm hiring you as my bodyguard, but I also want you to find my cousin, Robert. I think he may be in trouble, too." She reached into her purse and took out a wallet. "How much is your retainer?"

Nick shook his head at her offer to pay him. He couldn't take her money. Somehow, he had a deep need to protect this woman which was strange because he'd only just met her. Why did he feel so attached already? But as much as he wanted to, he couldn't argue with the messages his body was sending him. Her beauty called to a part of him, a deep part that had been asleep for a very long time. He wanted to hold her in his arms and assure her that everything was going to be okay.

"What makes you think your cousin is in trouble?" Nick asked.

She stared at her coffee mug. "He hasn't sent me an e-mail in nearly a week. And that house I was at last night was supposed to have been his – "

" – but it was abandoned," he finished for her.

She nodded. "I know that I got the address right. I even recognized the place from his Facebook page! I don't understand it."

Nick frowned, thinking. "When's the last time you heard from him?"

"Today is Saturday, so it must have been on Monday. I emailed to tell him that I was back in the states, and that I had a surprise coming for him. He e-mailed back and said he was eager to see it." She gave a little shrug. "I was the surprise. My visit I mean. He didn't know I was coming."

"So he might just be away," Nick pointed out. "He might have taken off to go camping or fishing. Somewhere where there's no Internet access."

She shook her head. "Before I left, I made sure he was going to be around when I arrived. I didn't want to make the trip all the way up here for nothing. He told me he was going to spend the week re-roofing his house because the weather looked like it was going to stay nice."

"We'll find him, don't worry," Nick said. Their eyes met. "And I'll keep you safe. Don't worry about that, either."

She finally smiled. "I believe you."

Her faith in him made his chest swell. He'd do everything he could to make sure that trust wasn't misplaced.

# Four

Eddie Tanner looked a whole lot more intimidating in his tan sheriff's uniform than he had in his jeans and cowboy boots the night before, but Ashlyn didn't let that scare her. He might not have believed her last night, but she was going to make him believe her now.

To her relief, the sheriff didn't interrupt her while she told him her story, but he did look skeptical. His bushy eyebrows drew down in a frown. "And you're sure that car was purposely trying to run over you?" he asked when she finished. "It wasn't a kid behind the wheel texting his friends?"

"They made a second pass, for crying out loud," Nick said. "If it hadn't been for that logging truck, she'd be road kill by now."

Ashlyn shot him a grateful look. At least Nick was on her side! "I know how strange it sounds. I don't have any dangerous friends, and I'm not involved with the Mafia or anything." She shrugged. "I can't explain it, but I know someone is trying to kill me."

Eddie thoughtfully chewed his gum. "I hope you'll excuse me for being a little dubious," he said, "but it sounds more like a plot off of CSI Miami than something that would happen here in Eagle River."

And there was the problem. It did sound farfetched. But that didn't matter. Someone had tried to run her down that morning. She crossed her arms over chest. "I don't care how it sounds. It's true."

She considered telling him about the phone call at the motel the night before, but she doubted it would make any difference. He already had his mind made up about her. She could see in his eyes that he thought she was a crackpot.

"Well, I'll look into it," Eddie said.

Ashlyn's shoulders drooped. Clearly, she was getting the brushoff.

The sheriff glanced at Nick. "But for right now, as long as you stay with this guy, you're in good hands."

Ashlyn didn't doubt that for a moment. Nick seemed more than able to keep her safe. It wasn't just his height or his broad shoulders, but the way he held himself. There was a quietness about him, but that didn't draw away from the fact that he was capable. In fact, his reserved attitude only made him appear more in control. Even the sheriff respected him.

The sheriff filled out a complaint form as Ashlyn concluded her story. "I'd know the man if I saw him again."

Almost reluctantly, the sheriff took a pad of paper from his desk. "Description?"

"He was white and had very short, brown hair. His eyes were squinty."

Eddie nodded as he jotted this down. "Anything else you remember?" She gave him the three digits of the license plate of the car that had tried to run her down.

"That's quick thinking," Nick said. "Not everyone would have kept their wits enough to remember the license plate of the car that had tried to run them over."

She gave him an appreciative smile before turning back to the sheriff. "I'm also looking for my cousin Robert Vanderkirk," she said. "I haven't heard from him in a week."

The sheriff laced his hands together on the top of his blotter. He seemed to be losing patience. "Is that unusual behavior for Mr. Vanderkirk?"

"He always e-mails me every day."

"You checked his house?" Eddie asked.

"Yes, and he wasn't there. In fact, no one had been there for a while," Ashlyn confessed.

"It was the same house where she was shot at last night," Nick offered. "You know the one where the kids hang out?"

"No one lives there," Eddie said. "The place has been abandoned for nearly a year. Are you sure that's where your cousin lives?"

"Why do you keep doubting her?" Nick asked tensely.

The sheriff sighed and pulled on his mustache. "I'm not trying to be difficult Ms. Shay, but you have to see things from my perspective. The stories you're giving me sound pretty outrageous." He lifted his hand to prevent Nick's protest. "They sound outrageous. But I'll run that license plate and I'll check into your friend's whereabouts. I'm sure he just went off fishing or something. Try not to worry."

"Thank you," Ashlyn said, stiffly.

"I don't think he believed me," Ashlyn said when she and Nick were back outside.

"He's stubborn, but not usually this stubborn," Nick said. "If he trusts anyone's word about what happened to you, it should be mine." He rubbed his hand over his chin. "I'll try to talk some sense into him later. Maybe he'll be less hardheaded when he's at home."

They climbed into Nick's Jeep. "I suppose I should go back to the motel," Ashlyn said, "but I really want to check out that house again."

"We can do that," he agreed.

She bit her lip, considering. "What if the shooter is still there?"

He gave her a dazzling smile. "I'll keep you safe. Don't worry."

Her heart clenched. That smile of his was pure gold. "I'm not worried anymore. And you can't imagine how happy it makes me that you're on my side."

"That makes two of us," Nick said.

Ashlyn's heart gave a flutter when Nick pulled the Jeep into the rutted driveway of the old house. The place was so familiar! She'd seen it in a dozen different photos. She knew this was where Robert's pictures had been taken. Yet, why wasn't he around? And why had she been shot at?

"Stop for a minute," Ashlyn said, and Nick obliged. From the end of the driveway, the house didn't look abandoned. The paint job was still in good shape, and the broken sidelight wasn't noticeable. In the pictures she'd seen, the house was just a prop in the background. It was possible that she'd simply overlooked the neglect. But why would Robert send her a picture of an old house that he didn't live in?

"Maybe Robert bought the place and is fixing it up," Ashlyn said. "He works a lot with his hands."

"What does he do?" Nick asked.

"He's a general contractor, but he's been doing a lot of work on my great aunt's cottage."

"Maybe your great aunt know where he lives."

Ashlyn looked at her hands. "She died while I was overseas last year."

"I'm sorry to hear it," Nick said. His brown eyes looked as if he was familiar with the pain of loss. Those sad eyes must have melted the hearts of every woman within twenty miles. They were certainly doing a number on Ashlyn's. "How did it happen?"

Tears rose in Ashlyn's eyes. "She fell down the front steps to her cottage."

"That's terrible!"

"My great aunt had been like a grandmother to me," Ashlyn said. "It was horrible to be overseas and not be able to come home for the funeral." And she would have if her project hadn't been going through a critical time. The school she'd been helping to build for nearly a year was just getting on its feet, but there had been a few obstacles that demanded her attention. While she grieved for her great aunt, Ashlyn comforted herself with the knowledge that her aunt had been her strongest supporter and would have understood her putting the school before the funeral.

Nick put the Jeep back into gear and drove down the long driveway, passing several No Trespassing signs. Ashlyn scanned the area, looking for anyone who might be waiting to put a bullet into the Jeep. Everything was still. Maybe it really had been kids fooling around the night before.

When they reached the house, Nick told her to stay in the Jeep. "No, I'm coming with you," she argued. She had to find out what was going on.

"What about your ankle?"

She flexed and pivoted her foot to show him she was okay. "It was sore after I rolled it, but it's better now."

"Okay, but stick close to me," he said. When they were standing on the porch, Nick drew his weapon. He banged on the front door with the heel of his hand. When no one answered, he banged harder. "I'd say the place is empty." He tried the knob. "And locked up tight."

"I'd like to get inside and look around, but I guess that's out of the question." Unfortunately, the broken sidelight was too narrow to crawl through. They'd have to smash the entire front window to get inside, and she wasn't willing to do that.

Nick gave her a wicked grin. "I think I can help." He pulled a little, black case from inside his leather jacket. "Tools of the trade," he said with a wink. "Just don't let Eddie know. He wouldn't approve."

She laughed. "My lips are sealed."

Nick used his tools to unlock the front door. "Wait here," he told her before disappearing inside. Ashlyn held her breath and didn't let it out again until he joined her back on the porch.

"I'm afraid there's not much to see," he said, leading her into the house. "The kids pretty much trashed the whole thing."

The outside of the house hadn't looked too bad, but the inside was wrecked. Broken bottles and other trash littered the wooden floor. The stones surrounding the fireplace were scorched black as if someone had been building bonfires inside it.

There was more graffiti in the rest of the rooms along with more trash. Upstairs, an old mattress lay under the windows. Several wine bottles with candles stuck in them sat on an apple crate.

"Someone's love nest?" Nick mused.

Ashlyn stuck out her tongue. "Yuck." She couldn't imagine a less romantic place. She toed a dog-eared copy of an old Stephen King novel that lay next to the bed. "Do you think someone was living here?"

"Could be they're still are," Nick said. "Look at this." He pointed to another apple crate. This one was full of canned food. A mess kit sat on top of the crate next to a can opener.

"Maybe that's who was shooting at me." She bit her lip, thinking. "Although, if they could afford a gun with a laser sight and a night scope, why would they be living here?"

"Good question. Do you think it could be your cousin?"

Ashlyn shook her head. "My cousin isn't the kind of guy who'd live in squalor. At least he wasn't when he was a kid."

Nick quirked an eyebrow. "It sounds like you haven't seen him in a while."

Embarrassed, she turned her face away. "It's been twenty years since we met in person," she admitted. "My mother died when I was a kid, and every summer, my father would send me up here to stay with my great aunt Maude. That's when Robert and I used to hang out. Although, I called him Bobby back then." She smiled. "But then I stopped coming up here during the summers, and we lost touch. He's the one who called to tell me about my great aunt's death, and after that, we started e-mailing each other."

Hearing all of this said out loud had made her doubt herself. How could she have put so much faith in a man she hadn't seen in two decades? "We started communicating over mundane things like how to go about paying my great aunt's property taxes and what to do about the accumulation of mail, but after a few months, it was like we were old friends," she explained. "Once Robert found out what I was doing in Tanzania, he was so supportive! Like I told you last night, he sent two dozen soccer balls to the kids at the school, and when the school was struggling, he gave me all kinds of pep talks."

During her story, she hadn't dared to look at Nick. "You must think I'm completely nuts to trust someone that I haven't talked to in twenty years, but I was an only child, and since then, my mother has died." She shrugged. "Robert's the only family I have left."

"I think he sounds trustworthy," Nick said gently. "You can't blame yourself for having faith in someone who was so supportive of you. Besides, like you said, he's family."

She gave him a grateful smile.

They picked their way through the trash and went back outside. Nick examined the splintered doorframe. Taking a Swiss army knife from his pocket, he dug into the wood with the tip of a blade and soon had a slug in his palm. "Here's one of the bullets they fired at you last night." He handed it to Ashlyn.

Holding it sent a shiver through her. A few inches to the left and that bullet would have been buried in her. "I don't know how they could have missed me," she said. "There was a laser sight on that gun."

"It was a warning," Nick said. "They didn't want you poking around this house, so they scared you off."

Ashlyn put the slug into her pocket. "They certainly did a good job of scaring me, but why?" She tilted her head to look up at the windows on the second story. "You're right. There's nothing here to see.

Nick nodded to where a rutted two-track led into the woods. "Maybe there's more to the property than just this house. Let's see what's in back, shall we?"

They returned to the Jeep and followed the trail. What once had been mud was now sunbaked clay which had preserved the deep imprints of tires. "Looks like they drove some heavy machinery back here." Nick pointed to the deep grooves of the tire tracks.

"Logging equipment?" Ashlyn wondered. "Maybe someone's poaching lumber." But other than an old stump near the two-track, there was no evidence that anyone had been cutting down trees.

The trail ended in a clearing surrounded by a chain link fence. Just beyond the fence stood a windowless pole barn large enough to park a dozen pickup trucks side-by-side. Its aluminum sides had been painted with browns and greens, camouflage style. "I'd say this is where the big secret is hidden," Nick said.

"Any idea what it is?"

He shook his head. "Could be there's a still inside. Or maybe a meth lab."

Meth lab? Could her cousin be mixed up in something as bad as cooking meth? It gave her a chill to think so.

"I'm surprised Eddie doesn't know about this," Nick said. "It's practically in Eagle River's backyard."

Looking at the locked gate, Ashlyn's conservative side said that the two of them should turn around and let the sheriff deal with all of this. But her impulsive side wanted to know what was in that shed. She was certain there would be clues to help her make sense of the mystery. Besides, the sheriff hadn't seemed too eager to help her before. She doubted that he would do much now.

"Want to peek inside?" Nick asked as if reading her mind. Ashlyn nodded.

Unfortunately, the gate's lock consisted of a number pad. "I don't suppose you can pick that lock, can you?" she asked.

Nick knelt down next to it. "It's easier than you might think." He felt around underneath the box. "Aha! It has a key cylinder after all." He took his tools from their hiding place beneath his jacket. "And I have the perfect bump key to get us in." In less time than it would have taken to punch in the security code, Nick had the gate open. "I would say ladies first, but I'm not taking any chances. Stay in the Jeep until I come get you."

"But – "

He shook his head. "Not until I know it's safe."

Ashlyn wanted to disagree, but she knew he was right. Grumbling to herself, she headed back towards the Jeep.

Nick pulled his weapon and held it to his chest as he made his way across the yard. When he was halfway to the building, the deep rumble of a barking dog stopped him in his tracks. "Nick!" she cried.

"Get in the car!" Nick shouted as a pair of Rottweilers raced around the corner of the barn.

No way was she staying put. Not when she had a weapon of her own. She grabbed the small canister of pepper spray from her purse and ran towards Nick. Halfway there, the dogs cut her off. Barking and snarling, they launched themselves like furry missiles.

Before Ashlyn could aim and fire her pepper spray, Nick shoved her to the side, putting himself in-between her and the Rottweilers. He pointed the gun at one of the dogs. The other dog lunged, teeth snapping, and knocked Nick to the ground. His gun skittered to the side.

"Cover your eyes!" Ashlyn shouted and squeezed the button on the pepper spray. Both dogs yelped sharply and fell back. Another burst of the spray sent the dogs running through the gate and into the woods.

"You okay?" Nick asked.

Ashlyn started to answer that she was fine, but then noticed a tear in the leg of Nick's jeans. "You got bit!"

He lifted his pant leg. "It didn't draw blood, but I'll probably have a heck of a bruise. Not to worry." He nodded at the pepper spray in her hand. "Maybe I should hire you to protect me."

She sheepishly tucked the spray into her pocket. "It's not much good against guns, but I feel better having it around."

"Smart move," he said with a nod. "I really didn't want to have to shoot those dogs."

To Ashlyn's surprise, the door to the shed was unlocked. Apparently, the owners had felt that the lock on the gate and the pair of vicious dogs were enough to keep people away. Nick entered first then motioned Ashlyn to follow him. The place was as dark as a tomb. She groped for a light switch, and when she found it, flipped it on.

The shabby house had been a mess, but the enormous shed was immaculate. Even the concrete floor looked spit polished. Rows of clotheslines hung along the walls. The air smelled of fresh hay, making Ashlyn sneeze.

Three two-person ATVs were parked in a neat row alongside a couple of ATV trailers. In addition to the vehicles, there was a large tool cabinet, a well-worn generator, and a pair of machines about the size of riding lawn mowers. The frame of each machine sat on four wheels. There was a funnel sticking out of one end, and a chute coming out of the other.

"Any idea what they are?" Ashlyn asked.

Nick ran his hand over one of them. "I've never seen anything like them before."

Ashlyn felt a huge wave of disappointment. She'd been expecting answers to her questions, and not more questions. "I guess this is just another dead end."

"Don't worry," Nick said. "We'll figure this all out."

"Hopefully that happens before someone kills me," she said.

"I'll keep you safe, don't worry," Nick said. He spoke with such seriousness that Ashlyn couldn't help but believe him. She wouldn't forget how he'd put himself between her and the vicious dog. He clearly meant to protect her, no matter what it cost him. She felt her heart melt a little more.

"What do you think we should do next, Mr. Private Investigator?" Ashlyn asked.

"You said your cousin has a Facebook page?" Nick asked. "Let's start there. Do you have your computer with you?"

"It's back at the motel," she said.

"Then let's go," he said.

# Five

Nick and Ashlyn sat side-by-side on the double bed in her motel room. Ashlyn opened her laptop and brought up the Internet. "This is Robert's Facebook page."

Nick made a noise of assent, but with Ashlyn sitting so close to him, it was impossible to remain focused. He was deeply aware that they were shoulder to shoulder.

"See the house in the background?" Ashlyn said. "It's the same one we were just at."

With an inward sigh, Nick forced himself back to the matter at hand. He was with Ashlyn because of a job. A job he intended to finish to the best of his ability. Distractions notwithstanding.

He focused on the picture in front of him. A trim man with a military-style haircut and a Detroit Tigers T-shirt leaned against the open tailgate of a pickup truck. It was a very casual picture. An offhand photo that a friend might take for no reason. Just as Ashlyn had said, the house was in the background.

"May I?" Nick asked, reaching for the mouse pad.

"Be my guest," Ashlyn said.

With a click of the mouse, he enlarged the picture. The photo must have been taken in late fall or early winter since the trees were devoid leaves and there was a dusting of snow on the house's roof.

With a few more clicks, Nick navigated deeper into Robert's profile. At first glance, everything about the seemed normal. He had one-hundred-fifty friends listed, and there had been posts on his timeline. Including several from Ashlyn.

When Nick enlarged a picture that Ashlyn had shared with her cousin, she gave an embarrassed laugh. "That's a pretty bad picture of me."

Nick didn't think so. It showed Ashlyn on a dusty field kicking a soccer ball to a group of dark-skinned children, all with enormous grins on their faces. Ashlyn's face was sunburned and her hair wild, but the light in her eyes made her look like the happiest person on the planet. She seemed so alive. So ready to take on any obstacle she might face.

"Do you miss Tanzania?" he asked.

"The hard labor and the outdoor plumbing not so much. But the kids! They were amazing." The memories made her eyes light up with the same joy they showed in the picture. "The school was such a blessing to them. Kids would walk for miles every day just to go there." She touched the photo on the screen. "But it was a lot of hard work and there were times when I asked myself what I was doing there. That's why Robert meant so much to me. He kept me grounded."

"Did you get homesick?"

"I did. I have a group of college friends I really missed. And I missed my great aunt. I didn't really miss my school, though. Or my students. I guess that says something about how much I like my job."

Nick swallowed. "What about a boyfriend?"

She shook her head. "No boyfriend. Not since I left for Tanzania."

So she wasn't attached. Nick's chest loosened, and he let out breath he hadn't realized that he was holding. His fingers strayed to twist the wedding band around his finger. He'd mourned Sarah for three years. Did the fact that he was so attracted to Ashlyn mean he was over his wife? He thought of her every day, but lately, he'd found more things to smile about – spotting an indigo bunting at the bird feeder, a cold beer after a long, hot day, hearing live music at the Sportsman. Maybe he was healing. Maybe it was time to rejoin the land of the living.

A loud bang came from outside the window. Nick pressed his hand against the back of Ashlyn's neck to force her down and drew his weapon. "Get on the floor," he ordered. She immediately complied.

Nick pressed himself against the wall and nudged aside the curtains. Another bang came, but this time Nick saw it was nothing but a backfiring old pickup truck that was leaving the parking lot. He sighed. "The coast is clear."

"I don't feel safe here," Ashlyn said, getting to her feet and setting the computer on the bed. "I keep thinking that they know I'm staying here. Whoever 'they' are that is."

"I agree. We need to take you someplace else." He hesitated. "I have a cabin if you're interested in staying with me. It's not big, but there are two bedrooms. It's a little ways out of town. I can make sure we aren't followed."

Ashlyn mulled this over, biting her lip as she thought. Finally, she asked, "You wouldn't mind?"

Was she kidding? He'd be thrilled. "I wouldn't mind," he assured her.

"Then maybe it's for the best." She glanced at her purse. "Is there an extra charge on your per diem for overnight guests?"

He laughed. "It's a free service that I offer to my premium customers. And in case you're wondering, anyone who helps to build schools overseas qualifies as a premium customer."

"I just have to grab my toothbrush and I'm all set," Ashlyn said. She disappeared into the bathroom and gave a loud shout. "Nick!"

He was by her side in an instant. Written on the mirror in red lipstick was: Get out of town. We're watching you.

Ashlyn's face was pale. Her hands fisted at her sides. "I don't know who's doing this, but I'm not leaving. I refuse to let them get to me." She met Nick's eyes in the mirror, her eyes dark. "Are you in?"

He put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm in."

Nick took no chances on being followed. He drove fast, his eyes constantly on the rearview mirror. Every turn he took brought them deeper into the woods. Ashlyn was completely lost. If it was up to her, she'd never find her way back to civilization.

She glanced out the window at the passing trees. What had her cousin gotten himself mixed up in? If only her great aunt was still alive! When Ashlyn had received the newspaper obituary, her heart had shattered. Aunt Maude had meant everything to her. Then when she received the messages from Robert, it had been so good to have someone to mourn with. From the e-mails, Ashlyn had formed an image in her mind of a sympathetic listener. Someone who had known and cared about her aunt as much as she had. Now, she wasn't sure if Robert had been a sympathetic listener or something else.

"I want to drive out to my aunt's cottage," Ashlyn said. "I haven't been there in years. Robert said he was taking care of the property for her, but I want to see for myself what it looks like."

"I'll be happy to take you there," Nick said, "but I want to show you something first."

Nick took another turn and crossed a bridge over a wide creek. Ashlyn thought it looked familiar, but she wasn't sure. "Do you live out here year round?" she asked.

"No. I actually live in Detroit. I'm here on an extended vacation. I have some things I needed to take care of." His jaw tensed, and Ashlyn wondered what was bothering him. He certainly didn't appear like someone who was having a relaxing trip up north. Those dark eyes of his held a mystery.

Nick turned down a rutted two-track that wound its way through the trees. "I think it's safe to say we weren't followed," he said. Ashlyn was relieved that his quick smile was back, and the misery in his eyes far away.

At the end of the drive stood a log cabin with a peaked roof and a long porch running along the front. With the evergreens acting as a backdrop, the cabin was as pretty as a picture on a postcard.

"Is this your cottage?" Ashlyn asked. When Nick nodded, she said, "It's amazing!"

She climbed out of the vehicle and deeply inhaled the scent of fresh pine. The woods was quiet but scattered among the silence were small sounds. The knocking of a woodpecker, the chattering of a squirrel, and the gentle sound of the wind in the upper branches of the trees.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Ashlyn asked as they climbed the steps to the porch. "Your wife won't mind?"

Again the tightness in Nick's jaw. "My wife passed away three years ago."

Ashlyn pressed her hand to her lips. "I'm so sorry!"

He nodded. "But life goes on. Isn't that what they say?"

"They don't know what they're talking about." Ashlyn's voice was bitterer than she intended it to be. "When you lose someone you love, it's like your entire world screeches to a halt."

He looked over his shoulder at her. "You must have felt that way when you lost your aunt."

She nodded. "I still do. I miss her terribly."

Nick unlocked the door. Inside, the cabin was just as charming as it was outside. The place was small, but tidy. A fieldstone fireplace dominated one wall. The others were taken up with bookshelves and an entertainment system. A small kitchen and dining area lay off to the side. Hanging everywhere were photographs of birds and deer and close-ups of colorful mushrooms and flowers.

Ashlyn walked over to a photograph of a small bird with dark wings and a triangular patch of red on its chest. "This is beautiful."

Nick joined her. "That's a rose breasted grosbeak. I see them a lot at the feeder."

"Did you take that picture?"

He gave an endearingly shy smile. "It's a hobby of mine. My job involves a lot of photography work, but I'd much rather spend my time shooting wildlife than cheating spouses."

Ashlyn laughed. "That makes sense." She wandered to another photo of a black bear. "You should enter these in an art show. They're really good."

"There's a gallery in town where I sell some of the prints. The tourists seem to love them."

"I can see why."

Ashlyn's stomach made an embarrassingly loud growl, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since the day before. With everything that had gone on, eating had been the last thing on her mind.

Nick laughed when her stomach growled again. "I'm hungry, too. How about I fix us some lunch?"

"That would be terrific," she said gratefully.

Nick washed his hands, took some hamburger from the fridge, and molded two patties. "So tell me about this school you were building."

Ashlyn sat at the table. "It was in Tanzania, Africa, a beautiful place. You would love it there since it's near the Arusha national park. There's plenty of wildlife to photograph. Giraffes, zebras, you name it."

"It sounds amazing."

"It was. The school was built on a plain, but you could see Mount Kilimanjaro from the camp." She gave a wistful sigh. "I did get homesick, but I still miss it sometimes."

Nick turned on burner and soon the mouth-watering aroma of hamburgers filled the kitchen. "Ever think of going back?"

"Maybe someday. Or I might change jobs. I want to stop working with the overly privileged kids and start working with the inner-city poor."

"You're an amazing person," Nick said, bringing over the hamburgers.

Ashlyn flushed. She hadn't meant to brag. But once she started talking about Tanzania, she found it hard to quit. The kids had meant so much to her. Plus, Nick was so easy to talk to. When he asked her about her life, she felt that he was genuinely interested and wasn't just being polite. It was rare for her to feel this relaxed around strangers, but he put her at ease.

"This is delicious," she said, biting into a burger.

"It's all in the seasoning," Nick said. "I had to bribe the owner of the Sportsman to tell me his secret, but it was worth it, don't you think?" He smiled as he took a bite.

"Definitely."

As Ashlyn ate, she looked around the kitchen space. Everything was tidy and put into its place. More of photos hung on the walls. "Did you take all of these pictures?"

His smile dimmed, and he set down his burger. "My wife was a photographer, too. Although, she mostly photographed plants and insects." He frowned as he studied a picture of some fiddlehead ferns. "She took that one on the last day she was alive."

Ashlyn reached across the table for his hand. "I'm so sorry! How did she die?"

He looked away. Pain clouded his expression. "She was murdered." At Ashlyn's gasp, he continued. "She went canoeing on the river and drowned." He shoved the rest of his food aside. "The police ruled it as an accidental death."

"But that's not what you think."

"No." He kept his eyes on his hands. "Sarah came up here on her own because we'd been fighting. It had been happening a lot," he admitted. "She was a lawyer, and was working almost nonstop to become a partner. I was trying to establish my business as well. We were spending less and less time with each other. In fact, I think she was seeing someone behind my back. And I think that whoever she was seeing was the one who killed her."

Ashlyn's eyes widened. "That's terrible!"

He nodded. "I've been trying to figure out who she was with, but so far, no luck."

"Have you had any leads?"

"I've ruled out a lot of possible suspects. I know that she wasn't meeting with anyone from her law firm, and I've ruled out her clients as well. I think that on the night before she went missing she had someone over at our cottage, but she was very good at covering her tracks. There were no credit card receipts, and no suspicious calls or texts. She'd erased all the evidence except for two empty wine glasses, two dirty plates, and two used towels in the bathroom. I think that she was killed before she could come back to the cottage and clean up after herself."

Ashlyn laid her hand on his. "I can't imagine how awful this must be for you."

"It gets a little less awful with each year that passes, but it's the mystery that haunts me. I feel that if I could figure out what happened, I'd be able to lay it to rest. But after two years, I still don't know." He gave a mirthless laugh. "That doesn't make me a very good private investigator, does it?"

She squeezed his hand and let go. "You're too hard on yourself. Your wife went to a lot of work to keep the affair under wraps. It sounds like living with a private investigator taught her a thing or two."

His lips curved up in an almost smile. "Let's hope we can solve your mystery in under two years."

"So what did you want to show me?" Ashlyn asked after they'd cleaned up the kitchen.

"Have a seat and I'll go get it."

Ashlyn took a seat on the couch by the fireplace, and in a minute, Nick was beside her. In his hands was a Glock 9 mm in an ankle holster. "I'd feel a lot better if you had a way to protect yourself," he said. "Can you shoot?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," she said, taking the gun from him. "My dad taught me, but it's been a few years." She took the gun from him, checked the safety, and released the clip. It was fully loaded. "Are you sure that you trust me with this?"

"I can tell that you know your way around a gun." He handed over the holster, and Ashlyn attached it to her leg. "I want you to be able to defend yourself."

"Thanks," she said gratefully. She, too, felt better now.

Nick's serious eyes met hers. "Even though you're armed, I still want you to promise that you'll do whatever I say. I don't want to take any chances on your safety." They sat so close that their knees touched. That simple contact lit a torch deep in Ashlyn's core. She'd only just met this man, but already she trusted him with her life. She wondered if she could trust him with her heart as well.

Robert sat on the edge of the camp cot and through the open door of the tent watched his captors argue. Both were angry. Seth gesticulated wildly with his free hand and punctuated his end of the conversation with curses. Karl, on the other hand, remained calm, but his eyes flashed and his jaw was set. The two of them hadn't been this angry since Robert told him he was backing out of the deal.

"You said you were taking care of her this morning!" Karl said. "Now you're telling me that the woman is still around?" Though his voice was quiet, it could have melted steel.

"I tried!" Seth's nasal voice echoed through the woods. "I just didn't have any luck. You should have let me take care of things the easy way." He shouldered his rifle.

Karl cut him off with a swipe of his manicured hand. "No! Thanks to your impulsivity, we already have one messy body to worry about. Our fourth friend is furious over that." Although Karl wore jeans and a t-shirt, he looked out of place in the woods. His clothes were too neatly pressed, and his shoes too new for him to pass as a local. Robert could almost smell Karl's aftershave from where he sat. "No, this needs to be handled with finesse."

The two men were so deep into their conversation that they weren't paying Robert a bit of attention. Good. Robert inched his way towards the bowie knife he knew was lying under the cot next to his. If he could get ahold of it, he had a chance of cutting the ropes on his wrists and ankles and overpowering Seth after Karl left. His injured leg would make running impossible, but he could manage the ATV which sat on the other edge of the camp.

When Seth turned towards him, Robert got a good look at his angry face. He was a small man, but built like an ox. When he and Robert had been in the army together, Seth's brute strength had surpassed every other recruit's. But Robert knew Seth's weaknesses, and forgetfulness was his biggest flaw. It probably came from playing high school football and getting too many concussions. If Robert took the knife and hid it beneath his pillow, Seth wouldn't notice.

While Seth continued to yell, Robert slid to the ground and fished around under Seth's cot for the knife. His hands were nearly on it when Seth shouted, "If you don't take care of her, I will!" He turned his head to look in the tent just as Robert slipped back onto his own cot.

Seth frowned as if he'd noticed the sudden movement and came into the tent. He jabbed a meaty finger into Robert's face. "I want to know who you've been talking to."

Robert blinked, confused. "No one."

Seth waved his arm at the clearing that lay just beyond their camp. "You haven't been running your mouth about our operation?"

Robert hadn't done that yet. Not because he was afraid of Seth – although, in his current situation Seth could do him a lot of harm. No, it was because he was ashamed of what he'd been doing. Of what he'd become. But once he made it into town, he was heading straight for the sheriff's office. He didn't care that his confession landed him in jail. He deserved the time. Still, to pacify Seth and Karl, he replied, "I haven't said a thing."

Karl joined them, folding his arms over his thin chest. "Then tell me why that woman is still causing trouble."

"I have no idea," Robert protested.

"Why was she at the house?"

Robert shrugged. "There's no one who would visit me."

"Are you sure? She had an out-of-state license plate on her car."

Robert sat up straighter. "Where was she from?"

"Illinois."

It was his cousin Ashlyn. It had to be! Yet, why had she come all the way up to Eagle River? And how had she found him? With lightning speed, his mind raced over the many e-mails he'd sent her. He didn't remember giving her his address, and she'd never mentioned coming for a visit. He nearly groaned aloud. Of all the times for her to show up!

A crafty smile played over Karl's lips. "You know who she is, don't you?"

"It's my cousin," Robert said. "The one who was working in Africa."

"What's she doing here?" Seth demanded.

"I have no idea. Paying me a visit I guess." Oh, Ashlyn, he thought. You need to go back home!

Seth hefted his rifle. "It's a good thing for both of us that Karl was camping out at the house yesterday. If he hadn't spotted her, she might have gone looking beyond the front door. He needs to chase her away. Permanently."

"You didn't hurt her, did you?" Robert growled. If Karl or Seth dared to touch her, Robert would find the strength to muscle his way out of his bonds and throttle them. In some ways, Robert thought that Ashlyn was the last good person on earth. His great aunt had been an amazing woman, but she was gone now. And he'd seen so many horrors in his time overseas and committed a few of his own that he'd lost his faith in humanity. Then Ashlyn had come along and gave him something to believe in again.

"As long as she stays out of our way, she'll be fine," Karl said.

"And if she doesn't?" Robert thought of the hiker in the shallow grave. "I won't have you hurting her."

Seth took a seat on his cot, laying the rifle casually on his knees. "You should be worried about yourself right now. You've got plenty on your plate at the moment."

He didn't have to tell Robert that. What had started out as a simple business proposal had blossomed into a nightmare. Robert had not only tainted himself with the illegal activity, he had tainted his great aunt's property as well. Like Ashlyn, his great aunt had been a kind and generous person. If she had ever found out what Robert had done with the property she'd left him, she would have been heartbroken.

Still, he was more worried about Ashlyn than about himself. Then inspiration struck. "Let me send her an e-mail. I can convince her that I'm not around, and that she should go home."

Karl's eyes narrowed as if he was expecting a trick. "I'm not letting you near a computer."

"Then you do it. She'll think it's from me."

Karl reached into his back pocket and withdrew Robert's phone. "Looks like she sent you a text." He read it and frowned. "It sounds like she's not leaving until she sees you. We definitely need to take care of her. This is getting out of control."

"What do you mean take care of her?" Robert demanded. He got to his feet, but Seth shoved him back onto the bunk and pointed the rifle at his chest.

"Settle down, or I'm going to forget how you saved my ass in Afghanistan," Seth growled.

Karl regarded the phone. "Sending a text to her might make her back off in the short run, but we want her permanently out of the picture."

Robert's stomach clenched when he considered what that permanent solution might be. "What are you going to do?"

Karl put the phone away. "The fewer bodies we leave behind, the better. I think we may be able to solve this without bloodshed."

Seth frowned. "How?"

"We'll make her an offer on the property. Once she signs it away, we're in the clear."

Seth jumped to his feet. "We don't have that kind of money right now."

"I know that," Karl snapped, "but she doesn't. If I work it right, I'll be able to stall her until we've finished our project here. Then we can get away before she knows what happened."

If Seth was the brawn of the operation, then Karl was the brains. He and their mysterious fourth partner, the one Robert had heard about but had never met. The two of them handled all of the logistics. They were no less bloodthirsty than Seth, but they were less rash and understood the need for caution. Robert could only hope that they found a way to get rid of Ashlyn without doing her any harm.

"What if she doesn't want to sell?" Seth asked.

"Then we do our best to persuade her. And if that doesn't work – " Karl arched an eyebrow and looked at Robert who was silently fuming. " – we'll deal with her then." He took his car keys from his pocket. "I'm going back into town to settle this. You boys stick tight here and keep an eye out for any more hikers." He got into his 4x4 and drove off down the rough, unmapped road that led that wound its way through the forest.

"You hungry?" Seth asked when the truck was out of sight.

Robert wasn't, but he needed to keep up his strength. "Yes."

Seth handed him a stick of beef jerky and a bottle of water. Then he lay down on his cot with his hands laced behind his head. "It's a shame you're taking the hard road on this. We could have had ourselves a nice, little camping trip. It's so peaceful out here."

It had started out as a pleasant camping trip. Three weeks ago, Robert had seen the whole thing as an adventure. Never mind that what they were doing was illegal, it was all petty stuff compared to what he'd witnessed in Afghanistan. But that was before the hiker had stumbled onto their camp. Robert had nightmares about the horror in that kid's eyes as he realized what was going to happen to him.

"I have hope for you," Seth said sleepily. "You'll come around on this. I know you. You start out squawking, but then your better sense takes over." He yawned. "It's only a matter of time."

The words stung because Robert knew they were true. He'd protested some in Afghanistan, but eventually, he'd given in and did what he was told. But not this time. He'd had enough.

He lay back in his cot waiting for Seth to fall asleep. Robert would get that knife.

# Six

There was so much Ashlyn wanted to tell Nick. How grateful she was for his protection. How much it meant that he believed her story. Most of all, how she felt that she knew him even though they'd only just met. Already, she wanted to take things to a deeper level. His smile tugged on heartstrings, making her feel like she was a love-struck teenager all over again. She longed to let him know what was in her heart. Unfortunately, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't get the words out. Her confessions could make things awkward between them, especially if he didn't feel the same way about her.

She glanced at him as he locked the cabin door. He looked so calm. So confident! It would be easy to turn all of her problems over to him. But as tempting as that was, she couldn't let it happen. This was her drama, not his. In fact, it might be better if she let him off the hook. He'd done so much for her already. It wasn't fair to ask him to do more.

As they walked to the Jeep, she hesitated. "Maybe I should go to the cottage on my own. You can drop me off in town, and I'll rent a car."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" he joked.

"No! It's just that you've already broken the law for me, and gotten attacked by a vicious dog." She looked at her hands. "I don't think those are things you signed on for."

"Those aren't things you signed on for, either," he said. His expression grew serious. "I agreed to stay with you and keep you safe. I don't plan on backing out of that promise."

A knot formed in her throat. She should turn down his generous offer, but once again, the words wouldn't come. After everything she'd been through, it was wonderful to have someone she could trust. She put her hand on his arm. "Thank you."

He took her hand, sending a thrill along her spine. Suddenly, she was very aware of how close they were standing to each other. She tilted her head to look into his soulful eyes. They pulled at her like she was a compass and he was true north. Without meaning to, she closed her eyes and parted her lips, desperate to feel his mouth on hers. Nick moved in closer and put his other hand on her back, drawing her to himself. When her breasts brushed against his strong chest, her heartbeat quickened.

Ashlyn's cell phone rang, and the two of them jerked away from each other. "I didn't think I could get reception way out here," she said, suddenly embarrassed.

Nick looked at the ground and cleared his throat. "The cabin's by a tower. We've got the best reception in the county."

When Ashlyn saw the number, she nearly dropped her phone. It was Robert. At her eager 'hello', a cheerful, male voice said, "Is this Ashlyn Shay? You don't know me, but I'm a good friend of your cousin Bobby's. My name's Karl Rich."

"What are you doing with Roberts' phone?" she demanded.

"He loaned it to me. I dropped mine in the river a few days ago and haven't gotten a new one yet. I'm in real estate, and I need to keep in touch with my clients. Bobby graciously allowed me to use his. I got your text and decided to give you a call."

Ashlyn bit her lip, wondering if she could believe the story or not. "I've been trying to get a hold of him for days! Where is he?"

"He's up in Canada on a fly-in fishing trip and won't be back for a couple of weeks."

"He told me he was going to roof his house this weekend," she protested.

"It was a very last minute thing. When he heard that a spot had opened up on the trip, he jumped on it." Karl laughed. "You know how much he loves to fish."

She did. He'd had the passion since he had been a kid. Ice fishing, fly fishing, lake fishing... it didn't matter to him as long as there were fish to be caught. A fly-in fishing trip would have been a prime vacation for him. Still, there was something about this man that she didn't trust. His joviality was strained, and his answers to her questions sounded a little too rehearsed.

Ashlyn covered the phone with her hand. "This guy says he's a friend of my cousin's," she told Nick who had been closely monitoring the conversation. "He says that Robert is out of the country."

"Ask him about the house," Nick prompted.

She nodded. "I visited Robert's house," she told the caller, "but it doesn't look like anyone lives there."

"Are you talking about the house on route 27? Oh, he lives there all right," Karl assured her. "He just bought the place. Thought it would make a good investment once it was fixed up. That was the roof he was planning on redoing. He says it's been leaking on him whenever it rains."

"He lives there?" Ashlyn asked, appalled.

"For now. It's a dump, isn't it?"

"It should be condemned!"

"It's not as bad as it looks. The plumbing works fine, and the foundation is solid. I wouldn't have sold him anything that wasn't worth the price to fix it up."

Ashlyn cupped the receiver again. "He says that Robert lives in that old house," she told Nick. "He said that he was fixing it up."

"So I'm sorry that your cousin isn't around," Karl said. "I know he would have liked to see you. I'll be sure to tell him that you were looking for him. Maybe he can visit you sometime."

Ashlyn knew she was getting the brushoff. "I'm not leaving yet," she said firmly.

Karl's voice tightened. "That's up to you, of course, but I'm telling you that Bobby won't be back for a couple of weeks."

"It doesn't matter. I have other business to take care of."

There was a distinct pause. "Such as?"

Such as none of your business, Ashlyn thought. "Just tell Robert I was looking for him."

Nick waved to get her attention. "Why don't you ask to meet him in person," he said. "I'd like to get a read on this guy."

The thought of meeting Karl made Ashlyn's stomach flip, but Nick was right. If Karl was involved in what had happened to her over the past twenty-four hours, she wanted to know about it.

"Are you free for dinner tonight?" she asked. "I haven't seen my cousin in over twenty years, and I'm really eager to reconnect. Even if it's through a friend."

The silence on the other end of the line went on for so long that Ashlyn thought the connection had been broken. Then Karl said, "Sure. I'd be happy to. What do you think about the Sportsman Bar and Grill? Say around six o'clock?"

Her stomach made another flip, but then she glanced at Nick. His steady gaze bolstered her courage. With Nick at her side, she'd be perfectly safe. And she might finally find out what the mystery was all about. "Six it is," she said.

"There's a lot about that man's story that doesn't add up," Ashlyn said when she hung up, "but at the same time, it's rational enough to make me think it might be true."

"The most dangerous lies are the ones that are mixed in with the truth," Nick said. "They're harder to detect."

Ashlyn bit her lip, thinking. "Maybe my cousin is out of town on a spur-of-the-moment fishing trip, but I don't care what that Karl person says. I don't think Robert would live in that crappy, little house when he could stay at my aunt's cottage."

"Before we go to that cottage, I want to look up Karl Rich and see what comes up," Nick said. He unlocked the cabin's door and went over to his computer.

"You have Internet access out here," Ashlyn asked, surprised.

"I have a 4-G modem," he said, booting up the machine. "It's one luxury I can't live without." He navigated to his web browser. "If Karl Rich it out there, I'll be able to find him. And if there's anything even remotely suspicious, I'm calling Eddie."

Unfortunately, finding Karl Rich wasn't that easy. There were dozens of Karl Riches all across the United States and Canada. Michigan alone had seven of them; although, none lived near Eagle River. Without a social security number or some other personal ID, it would be impossible to figure out which one was Ashlyn was meeting for dinner.

Most of the entries on the website had pictures next to them, but since Nick and Ashlyn had never seen the guy, they wasn't much help. "I wish we knew what he looked like," Ashlyn said.

"Were any of these guys the one driving that car this morning?" he asked.

She leaned closer to the screen and studied the pictures. "No. None of them were."

Nick shrugged and closed the laptop. "In that case, I guess we'll have to wait until we see him at dinner tonight."

Ashlyn sighed in frustration, but had to agree. As much as she hated to, she'd have to keep waiting.

As they drove towards the cottage, Ashlyn sighed. "I never thought that things would be this complicated. I figured that I'd reconnect with my cousin and everything would be grand." She glanced shyly at Nick. "Of course, if things had happened that way, we would have never met."

Nick smiled. The almost kiss outside the cabin replayed in his mind. He glanced at her, drinking in her sexy curves and the lips he'd been dying to taste. It was a good thing that they'd been interrupted by that phone call. He was starting to lose his good sense, and if he wanted to keep her safe, he couldn't afford to do that.

Although a rational part of him thought he was being ridiculous, he still blamed himself for Sarah's death. If only he hadn't started that argument! If only he'd followed her to Eagle River. But he'd been too wrapped up in his work and had let her go. This time, however, he wouldn't fail. He'd keep Ashlyn safe no matter what the cost to him. For that reason, he couldn't allow himself to become distracted. He needed to keep his full attention on the matter at hand, not on the beautiful woman sitting next to him.

When Nick turned off the main road, Ashlyn gave him directions to her great aunt's cottage. Because Crystal Lake didn't allow for speedboats or jet skis, it wasn't as popular with the tourists as some of the other local lakes. The cottages on it were few and far between. Nick had been to the Crystal Lake public launch a couple of times to kayak and take pictures. He always appreciated the lake's seclusion.

"Your great aunt lived up here all by herself?" he asked Ashlyn.

Ashlyn nodded. "I used to worry about her all the time. Especially in the winter. But she was a feisty woman, and trying to convince her to get a place in town was impossible."

The feistiness had certainly been passed down to another generation. Despite everything that had happened to her, Ashlyn remained determined to discover the mystery behind her situation. She had grit, something that Nick admired.

Ashlyn looked at her hands. "If I'd been able to convince her to move, she'd probably still be alive. It was those icy steps that made her fall!"

"You can't blame yourself for that," Nick said gently. "It was an accident."

Ashlyn offered a sad smile. "I know. And, honestly, she would have hated being cooped up in an apartment in town. This was where her life was."

Great Aunt Maude's cottage turned out to be a storybook, stone building with a sharply slanted roof. The rock garden in the front yard was a tangle of wildflowers that nodded in the breeze – pink milkweed, white Queen Anne's lace, yellow yarrow. Butterflies danced among the blooms. A stone garden fairy with a secret smile on her lips perched on the porch, watching over everything.

"My aunt believed in sprites and fairies," Ashlyn said as they pulled up. "It was part of the reason she never wanted to move into town. She felt it would separate her from the spirits of the forest and lake."

Nick admired the garden and wished he'd had a chance to meet the eccentric, old woman. He had a feeling that the two of them would have gotten along.

Nick took his gun from its holster. "Wait here until I make sure that the area is secure."

"I'm armed, too, remember?" She pulled out the Glock. "I'm not waiting here."

Nick frowned. "What happened to agreeing to do what I say?"

"I was crossing my fingers at the time. Besides, if someone was out to get us, wouldn't they have shot already?"

"At least let me check the backyard." He was out of the Jeep before Ashlyn could argue.

The back of the house wasn't as well tended as the front. The grass looked as though it hadn't been mowed in weeks, and weeds were springing up. One of the shutters on the house had come loose and hung by a corner. Several shingles had blown off the roof. Everything was quiet. The only sound came from the lake lapping at the shore.

Nick returned to the Jeep and escorted Ashlyn to the back of the house. She frowned at the neglected yard. "It doesn't look like Robert has been taking care of things."

She picked up a ceramic toadstool by the back door. "My aunt always kept a spare key under here." Sure enough, the key was there, and in a minute she and Nick stood in the kitchen looking up at a brown stain that spread across the ceiling.

"The roof's leaking because of the missing shingles," Nick said. He poked the ceiling with his finger. The sheetrock was damp and mushy. "We've gotten a lot of rain this summer. That hole has probably been there for a few weeks."

"There's water on the floor, too," Ashlyn said in dismay. "Robert should be re-roofing this house, not the other one! I really thought that he was handling all of this. In his e-mails, he was constantly mentioning how he was up here keeping the place up."

After Ashlyn wiped up the puddle on the floor, they toured the rest of the cottage. "Stick close," Nick said, keeping his gun at the ready.

In the living room, a pile of mail lay by the slot in the front door. Mostly, it was circulars and catalogs. The only thing of any importance was an electric bill.

"This place doesn't look like it's been occupied in months," Ashlyn said. She swiped a bookcase and looked at the smudge of dust on her finger.

"It seems that your cousin has been away for longer than a few days," Nick agreed. He didn't want to worry Ashlyn, but he wondered if something had happened to Robert. He certainly didn't trust Karl Rich, or whatever his name really was, to tell the truth.

"I hate seeing the cottage looking so bad." Ashlyn wiped her finger on her jeans. "This place brings back so many memories. I used to love coming up here every summer. It was quiet, but it was magical too, you know? I guess I kind of believed in fairies and wood sprites as well." She picked up a figurine of a glass mouse, and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I miss my aunt so much."

Nick put his arms around her before he knew what he was doing. She laid her head against his chest, her shoulders shaking as she cried. "I can't believe she's really gone."

He tightened his hold on her, wishing he could ease her pain. Laying his cheek against her hair, he murmured soft assurances to her until she stopped trembling. When she pulled away from him, her eyes were bright with tears. "I'm sorry I broke down." She rubbed the heels of her hands against her face.

"No need to apologize," he said, surprised. "You're still grieving her."

Ashlyn's eyes rested on another figurine, this one a ceramic chicken. Her eyes lit up. "I gave this to Aunt Maude on her birthday one year. I was about five or six. I'm not sure why, but the chicken reminded me of her."

Nick laughed. "Who knows what thoughts go through a kid's head?"

Ashlyn smiled back. "I've been teaching for five years, and I still don't know the answer to that one."

They ended the tour back in the kitchen. This time, Ashlyn noticed the blinking light on the answering machine. There were three messages: two from telemarketers, and one from a man with a gravelly voice. "No sign of the snapping turtles today. The minnows have arrived. It's time to go fishing."

Hearing the message, something tugged at Nick's memory, but he couldn't think of what it was.

Ashlyn's eyes widened. "That's the same voice of the man who called at the motel last night!"

"But it wasn't the man whom you talked with today?"

She shook her head. "Not Karl, no."

At the mention of Karl Rich, Nick remembered where he'd heard the line about the snapping turtles before. It had been a post on Robert's Facebook page. And it was Karl who had made the post. "I think you're right. Those words are code for something. It makes me think that your cousin may be mixed up in something that he shouldn't be."

Ashlyn sank down in a kitchen chair. "I can't believe it! What do you think is going on?"

Nick took a seat across from her. "So far, we know that there's three men involved: your cousin, the guy who calls himself Karl Rich, and the man with the gravelly voice. It's almost like they're partners who are hiding a very big secret."

"Maybe that's why I've been attacked!" Ashlyn jumped out of her chair. "Maybe they think I'll expose what they're doing! But no. That doesn't make any sense." She sat back down. "Robert would never hurt me. I'm a hundred percent sure of that."

Once again, Nick's suspicious side came to the forefront. He had no trouble imagining a man turning against a cousin he hardly knew. Or it was possible that the other two men were hunting Ashlyn without Robert's knowledge. Either way, Nick needed to be extra cautious if he wanted to keep Ashlyn alive.

"I don't know what's going on, but I can't believe that Robert would get involved in anything bad." Ashlyn ran her fingers through her hair. "I keep thinking of my cousin as this red-haired, freckle-faced boy!"

"Twenty years is a long time," Nick said gently. "A lot can change in a person's life."

"The war," Ashlyn said. "That's what changed him. He used to be so outgoing, but now he keeps to himself. Maybe it's caused him to make some bad choices, too." She shook her head. "I hope that we'll get some answers when we see Karl tonight."

"If we see him tonight," Nick said. He wasn't sure that Rich was going to show up. If the man did show, Nick planned to pin him to the ground and threaten him until he gave up some answers.

"What's that?" Ashlyn pointed to something behind Nick. Turning, he saw a black-and-white areal shot hanging on the refrigerator. It showed part of a river and a patch of woods. A winding, red line transversed the photo, ending in a clearing among the trees.

"Looks like a map," Nick said. He studied the picture, rubbing the back of his neck as he tried to place it. He was pretty sure that it was the Eagle River he was looking at, but he had no idea where on the river it had been taken. The river was 143 miles long, and that picture could have been taken anywhere. "Do you know where this place is?"

Ashlyn shook her head. "No."

"Mind if I take this with us?" Nick asked.

Ashlyn opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by a banging on the door. "I know you're in there," a man shouted. "Either come on out or I'm coming in. Be warned, I've got a gun!"

# Seven

Nick drew his own weapon and thrust himself between Ashlyn and the door. "Stay behind me," he growled. Ashlyn reached down and pulled her gun from its ankle holster. She didn't intend to shoot anyone, but she didn't intend to be a target, either.

"I'm opening the door," Nick called. "Don't do anything stupid." Keeping off to the side, Nick slowly turned the knob and pulled the door open. Beyond the screen door stood a beefy-faced man in a T-shirt and jogging shorts. He held a shotgun level with Nick's heart. From the way the man's hands shook, it was clear that he was as afraid of them as Ashlyn was of him.

Nick holstered his gun and pushed the barrel of the shotgun off to the side. "Let's not shoot anyone, okay?"

The man swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing. He was trying to glare at them, but there was fear in his eyes. "Who are you?" he demanded.

Ashlyn stepped from behind Nick. "I'm Ashlyn Shay. Maude Shay's grandniece. Who are you?"

The man blinked and lowered his rifle. "Your great aunt talked about you quite a bit. You're the one who was in Africa, right?"

When Ashlyn nodded, he lowered the gun and held out his hand. "I'm Tom Johnson. My wife and I have got a cottage of our own up the road a bit."

Ashlyn drew in a relieved breath and returned the Glock to its holster. She shook Tom's hand. "I just got back to the states."

"Sorry for the not-so-warm welcome. I was on my way home when I saw the Jeep in the driveway," Tom explained. "There was a break in here a few days ago, and I worried that it was happening again."

"A break in?" Ashlyn said.

"As far as I can tell nothing major was stolen," Tom said. "Just a few tools from the garage. I wouldn't have noticed the robbery if the garage door hadn't been hanging open." He mopped his sweating face with a handkerchief. "Could I trouble you for a glass of water?"

Ashlyn had Tom sit at the kitchen table while she fetched the water. She let the tap run until it was cold then filled a glass. Tom drank half then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Damn shame about your great aunt," he said. "She was a fine woman. Eighty-two and still as sharp as a tack. My wife and I miss her."

"I miss her, too," Ashlyn said. Being back in the cottage was harder than she had thought it would be. There were simply too many memories.

Nick leaned against the countertop, his arms akimbo. "You said that you're the one who noticed the robbery. Wasn't Ashlyn's cousin looking after the place?"

"You mean Robert? Well, he was," Tom said. "I haven't seen him around in weeks. I was getting ready to mow the lawn myself. And that roof needs patching. You can't expect buyers to be interested in this place if you don't keep it up!"

Ashlyn frowned. "Buyers? What buyers?" She and Robert hadn't discussed selling the cottage. She glanced around the cozy kitchen. Now that she was back here, she hated the idea of giving the place up. It would be like letting go of a part of her childhood.

"Your aunt told me that she was dealing with a real estate agent. I thought maybe she was going to sell the cottage." Tom finished the rest of his water. "That was about a week before she died."

"Did you get his name?" Ashlyn asked.

"She told me, but I can't remember." Tom frowned then snapped his fingers. "Oh, wait. It was something Rich."

Ashlyn's eyes widened. "Karl Rich?"

"That's the one."

Ashlyn and Nick exchanged a look. Karl Rich was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

Nick took the aerial photograph from the refrigerator and handed it to Tom. "Do you have any idea where this was taken?"

Tom held the picture at an arm's length and squinted. "It's hard for me to see without my reading glasses," he explained. "But, no, this doesn't look familiar. Could that be the Eagle River?"

"Could be," Nick said.

"Thanks for looking after the cottage," Ashlyn told Tom. "Let me give you my number. If you see my cousin, would you have him call me?"

"Sure thing," Tom said, standing. "And I'd be happy to mow that backyard for you." He left the house.

"My cousin hasn't been around for weeks?" Ashlyn asked. "He was e-mailing me just last week that he'd come up here and gotten the mail. And he never said anything about a break in." She chewed her lower lip. "Either my cousin has been lying to me or Karl Rich has." And she was pretty sure she knew which man was the liar.

Wrapped in their own thoughts, Nick and Ashlyn were both quiet on the drive back to Nick's cabin. It was a peaceful silence, Nick thought. Not the strained silence that had laid between him and Sarah during the last few weeks of their marriage.

As he drove, Nick occasionally glanced at Ashlyn whose attention was on the passing trees. She looked so serious. He wanted to kiss away her worry lines and put his arms around her to let her know that she was safe. But when she turned away from the window and caught him looking, her face broke into a smile that melted his heart. She was so trusting of him! If only he could keep proving that her faith was merited. He hadn't been able to keep his wife safe, but he was determined to not let Ashlyn down.

"We have an hour until I'm supposed to meet Karl at the Sportsmen," she said. "Do you think I can take a shower at your place before we leave?"

"Of course." He pulled onto the rutted two-track that led from the main road to his cabin.

When they got out of the Jeep, he took her suitcase from the back. She started towards the cabin, but a movement near the woods stopped her. Nick put his hand on her arm and dropped the suitcase. "Stay still!" he ordered. He drew his gun and slowly advanced towards the trees.

The bushes that had trembled shifted again. A fat porcupine waddled out of the woods. Ashlyn smothered a giggle. "He's adorable!"

Nick grinned as he holstered his weapon. "He comes around here pretty often. I call him Prickly Pete. He's good at modeling for me. I have quite a few pictures of him."

"That's wonderful! You are so lucky to have a cabin out here."

"I get all kinds of other animals, too. Coyotes, deer, even a bobcat." He pointed to the trail camera he had mounted in a beech tree near the cabin. "It's interesting to watch what comes out at night. A few weeks ago, I saw a black bear. I've had to change how I throw out my garbage. I don't want a moocher on my hands."

"You must see a lot of birds, too." She pointed at the feeders that hung from iron shepherd's crooks planted into the ground. He had over a half a dozen in all different shapes. Suet feeders for the woodpeckers, a cylinder of thistle seed for the finches, and a three-tiered wooden pagoda full of black oilers for the rest of them.

"I do see a lot of birds. I love to sit on the back porch and watch them." He gave an embarrassed shrug. "I suppose a lot of people would find that really boring, but I enjoy it."

"I don't think it's boring," Ashlyn said. "I think it's great. And you're making me really miss those summers when I used to stay with my Aunt Maude. We'd watch birds from the porch, too. She also had a salt lick for the deer." She sighed. "I would have spent every day up here if I had my way."

"I agree. I only get up here a few weeks out of the year, but I'd love to move here permanently." In fact, the only things keeping him from doing it were the painful memories of Sarah. She haunted the cabin like a ghost, and he couldn't bear it. "You should see this place in the winter. It's beautiful then, too."

She smiled. "Do you have pictures? I'd love to see them."

She didn't have to ask him twice. He went into the cabin, set down her suitcase, and led her over to some winter photographs hanging on the wall next to the fireplace. "I took these a few years ago." He pointed to one of a fox, the red fur of its back dusted with snow. "That's my favorite."

When she leaned in for a closer look, he was painfully aware of how her shoulder brushed against his. Once again, he thought of the almost kiss on the porch. Would it have been so wrong to steal a kiss? She was his client, true, but the attraction between them was undeniable.

"The picture is beautiful," she breathed. "I swear that fox is going to turn its head and look at me. You really have an eye for photography."

"Most people don't like it this far north in the winter. Too much snow. But I enjoy it as much as I do in the summer. I like to build a huge fire in the fireplace and settle in with a good book. Again, pretty dull stuff."

"Not to me. I love a good snowstorm," she said.

With a sigh, she took a step back from the picture. "I guess I should go get ready to meet Karl Rich." Nick showed her to the bedroom she'd be using and left her alone.

He opened a Coke and tried not to think of Ashlyn naked in his shower. Instead, he sat at the computer and downloaded the pictures from the camera that he'd taken that morning. The kingfisher shots were okay, but the loon shots were the best. The pair of birds looked so peaceful as they glided through the water, their black-banded necks held high.

Thinking of the loons made him remember meeting the father and son hikers on the trail. As promised, he'd reported their missing family member at the visitor's center, but no one there remembered seeing a man that fit his description. Nick hoped that Stuart had been right about his son being distracted by waxy caps. If Jerrod was truly lost, they might not find him for weeks. The immense woods had a way of swallowing the unwary.

Out of curiosity, he went to the map on the wall, put his finger on the spot where he'd launched his kayak from the public access, and traced the river up to the point where he'd spotted the hikers. He frowned thoughtfully. It was very close to the place where Sarah had taken pictures on the day she'd drowned. It was an unsettling coincidence.

He wanted more information about the trail that Stuart and his sons been hiking. He went to his computer and brought up the US Forest Service's webpage for the Ottawa National Forest. He clicked on the maps section. After a minute of searching, he found the trail he was looking for. It bisected the northwest front sector of the forest, but towards the end veered towards a section of private lands that were still within the boundaries of the national forest.

Nick printed off the map and took it over to the map on the wall. After a moment of comparison, he realized that the point at which the hiking trail crossed the river was the point at which it came very close to the private lands.

His pulse quickened. Sarah's murder had practically been in someone's back yard. He wondered if the person who owned that private land knew anything about the murder. Or, maybe, there was a connection between the two! She might have been visiting someone who lived out there, or met someone along the way. It was a longshot, but after two years, he was willing to at least consider the idea. He needed to find out more about who owned that land. But not until the mess with Ashlyn was laid to rest and he knew for certain that she was safe. Until then, nothing else mattered.

The shower turned off, and Nick struggled to keep his mind from imagining Ashlyn toweling off in the steamy bathroom. He was supposed to be her protector, damn it! But she was wearing down his resolve. He didn't regret the almost kiss. Whatever was happening between them felt so right. He took another swallow of the cold Coke and forced himself to focus on the computer screen as he looked at more of his morning's photographs.

A few minutes later, Ashlyn reappeared. Her skin was rosy from the hot shower. She wore a pink dress whose skirt skimmed the tops of her shapely knees. She smelled as fresh as springtime flowers, and her scent made Nick feel weak. He'd love to take her dancing, so he could hold her in his arms and feel her moving against to him. He'd bury his nose in her hair, close his eyes, and never come back.

"Nick? You okay?"

"Fine," he croaked. He took a sip of Coke and cleared his throat. "Would you like something to drink? A Coke, maybe, or a glass of wine?"

She sat on the couch and adjusted the straps of her sandals. "Wine would be great. I need something to take the edge off my nerves."

Nick took a bottle of chardonnay from the fridge. "I'm hoping that Karl Rich has a good explanation for all of this."

"If he was talking to my aunt about selling her cottage, then he's right in the middle of things." She accepted the glass of wine Nick handed her and took a sip. "Do you think that he's dangerous? I mean, what if he's the one who's been trying to kill me?"

"We're going to have to play this very carefully," Nick agreed. He sat on the couch next to Ashlyn, so close that their knees nearly touched. "But even though we should be cautious, I don't think he's going to try and kill you in the middle of a crowded restaurant."

Ashlyn paled and she took another sip of wine. "Maybe he's going to try it before I get into the restaurant."

Nick hated to see her so worried. "You can still back out. I'd be happy to meet this person on my own while you wait here."

After a brief moment of thought, Ashlyn shook her head. "No. I want to be there to ask him the questions myself."

"I'm convinced that the shots that were fired at you last night were only warnings," Nick said. "If they'd really wanted to kill you, they would have done it then."

She bit her lip. "What about the hit-and-run?"

"I suspect it was meant as another warning."

"I'm worried that they're going to get sick of warning me and try to do something permanent."

"You know," Nick said, "most people would have given up by now. I admire you for not being most people."

She smiled, but it was strained. "I still have a problem believing that Robert is up in Canada fishing." Her voice softened to nearly a whisper. "Do you think something might have happened to him?"

Nick wanted to console her, but he refused to insult her by feeding her lies. "I think it's possible," he said carefully. "But you shouldn't let your imagination run away with you, either. Mostly likely, he's fine. Try to stay positive."

"Try to stay positive. Right." Ashlyn took another swallow of wine then sat the glass on the coffee table. "After all of this, I feel like the biggest fool in the world. I should have never gotten so emotionally invested in a man I haven't spoken to in over twenty years. Even if he is my cousin."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Nick answered. "I used to have a pen pal from Japan when I was a kid. We met as part of a school project, but we got to be really good friends. I believe that you can make connections with people even if you haven't met."

Color rose to her cheeks. "What about with people whom you've just met? Do you believe in instant attraction?"

Did he ever. Although Nick had only known Ashlyn less than twenty-four hours, he felt as though they'd been friends for years. He set his Coke on the coffee table. "I believe in chemistry, yes."

Those stormy, gray eyes met his, sending sparks throughout his body. "I do, too," she said softly. She moved even closer to him.

Nick wasn't sure who kissed whom first, but all at once, his lips were on hers. Her mouth was soft, softer than anything he'd felt before. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in close. He tangled his hands in her damp hair. When he parted her lips with his tongue, she pressed against him even tighter, demanding more. He teased her tongue with his own, drawing a moan from her. She caressed his neck, and his skin tingled where she touched him.

When the heat between them threatened to make him combust, he pulled away. Ashlyn kept her eyes lowered as she adjusted her dress. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"You have nothing to be sorry about!"

She motioned at his left hand. "You're wearing your wedding ring. I need to respect that."

He twisted his ring around his finger while he looked for just the right words. "I loved my wife, and I've missed her every day since she's been gone, but she is gone, and I'm still here. I need to live my life. Does that make sense?"

Ashlyn nodded. "Perfect sense."

Reluctantly, he moved away from her. If he continued sitting too close, he was liable to lose control entirely. "And I'm the one who should apologize. You hired me to keep you safe, and I'm letting my personal feelings come between me and my job. It won't happen again."

"Please don't apologize," she begged. "You didn't do anything wrong. But I understand about keeping our relationship professional. For now, that's probably the best thing."

For now. His mind mulled over those words. Did she mean that, after all of this drama was over, she would be willing to investigate their feelings more? He certainly hoped so.

# Eight

Even with Nick sitting across from her, Ashlyn flinched every time someone came through the double doors leading into the Sportsmen's Bar and Grill. Nick had assured her that no one would try to harm her in such a public place, but she couldn't help but feel that all eyes were upon her. And those eyes seemed menacing. Beyond a doubt, someone had her in their crosshairs. The thought made her shiver.

At least she had Nick. He was a solid, comforting presence who made her feel safe. He had told her not to worry, but he remained on point. While he talked to her, his eyes constantly scanned the room as he looked for possible danger.

Ashlyn looked over the room as well, but her eyes kept drifting back to him. His broad shoulders nicely filled out the casual, button-up shirt he wore, and the rolled-up sleeves showed off his muscular forearms. His five o'clock shadow softened the line of his jaw making her want to run the backs of her fingers along it. Their kiss had been short, but powerful. Thinking of it still warmed her up. What she wouldn't give to be snowed in with him in that cabin. The two of them alone with no distractions. A roaring fire in the fireplace. Wine and candlelight...

But he was right. They couldn't afford to get personal now. Not until this drama was over.

The waitress had come by twice to refill their drinks, but still there was no Karl. "I guess we were a little early," Nick said, glancing at his watch.

Ashlyn sipped her Coke nervously, her eyes on the door. If she didn't stop drinking, she'd have to run to the ladies' room. Her nerves were already doing a number on her bladder. "The waiting is killing me."

Nick took her hand. "You'll do fine. And I'll be right here the entire time. If anyone's nervous, it should be Karl. Or whatever his name is."

"What if he's the same man who tried to run me over?" She could still picture those hard eyes behind the wheel of the car as it bore down on her. The memory made her shudder.

"Then you let me know, and I'll take care of it," Nick growled. "If it is the same guy, he won't be leaving the restaurant on his own two feet."

Ashlyn wondered if Karl had already spotted them and seen her with Nick. Nick was a large man who was built like a football player. Maybe that had intimidated Karl enough to keep him away. Or maybe Karl was simply watching them, biding his time until he could get Ashlyn alone.

It was dinnertime and the place was crowded. Ashlyn's eyes roved over the chandeliers made of antlers and the moose head over the pool table. Like Nick's cabin, it was rustic looking, but she could do rustic. It beat the bland interior of her apartment in Chicago. She was sick to death of white walls and beige carpeting.

The door opened again, and Ashlyn tensed. But it was only a young couple holding hands. They walked past Nick and Ashlyn's table without a glance.

Thinking of her life in Chicago made Ashlyn wonder how long she would be in Eagle River. She'd only planned on staying a couple of days, and had packed only a few changes of clothing. Plus, with school starting soon, she'd need to get back to prepare for the new crop of students who would be coming in September whether she was ready or not.

Ashlyn toyed with her straw. "Maybe I should forget about all of this, rent a car, and leave town."

Nick nodded solemnly. "As a person who's acting in your best interests, I would say you're right. You should leave. Obviously, someone doesn't want you around and is taking strong measures to get rid of you."

"But?" She hoped there was a 'but' in that sentence.

His eyes fixed on her face, as if assessing her. "But if I was in your shoes, I wouldn't let myself be intimidated. I'd want to get to the bottom of what was going on, and I'd want to find my cousin." His eyes met hers. "And for purely selfish reasons, I want you to stay."

Her heart fluttered. He did want her around. "I want to stay, too." She felt a flush climb into her cheeks. Suddenly, the room was too warm. "I hate to think of leaving." She looked around the cozy dining room, already feeling at home. "I'd forgotten how this town gets into your blood. I don't want to let it go."

Nick smiled. She loved it when he smiled. It made those blue eyes of his dance. "Maybe you're not a city girl after all," he teased.

She smiled. "Maybe not."

She indulged in a pleasant fantasy of staying in Eagle River for good and living close to Nick. She could find a teaching job here, couldn't she? And then he could leave Detroit and stay at his cabin full time. What a life they would have up here in the tiny, little town. She sighed. But how could she ask Nick to uproot himself and move just for her? It couldn't possibly work. It was a wonderful dream, but just a dream.

The front door opened, letting yet another man into the restaurant. Ashlyn sat up straighter. "I think that might be him!" she whispered to Nick. She wiped her damp palms on the sleeves of her jean jacket and willed her heart to stop racing.

A thin, middle-aged man with gelled, brown hair stood uncertainly in the doorway. To Ashlyn's relief, it wasn't the man who had tried to run her over. This man dressed nicely, in a yellow golf shirt and khakis and wore a gold bracelet alongside his wristwatch. Ashlyn swallowed, her mouth dry. On some level, she'd never expected him to show up. Now that he had, all the blood in her body seemed to rush to her head, making her dizzy.

Ashlyn squeezed Nick's hand under the table. "What am I supposed to say to this guy?"

"You did great with him on the phone," Nick said. "I know you'll do well in person, too."

Bolstered by the vote of confidence, Ashlyn waved at the man when he looked in their direction. When Karl saw Nick sitting across from her, a shadow passed over his features. Almost immediately, however, he switched to a smile. "Ashlyn!" he said, coming over.

Ashlyn stood and shook his hand. "This is my friend, Nick Harris. He's joining us for dinner." The two men shook hands as Karl sat down.

With his gelled hair and gold necklace, Karl didn't strike her as a killer, but Ashlyn's skin crawled as he took a seat next to her. Maybe it had been the feeling of his damp palm as they shook hands or perhaps it was the smell of his overly strong cologne, but something about him struck her wrong. She didn't trust him a bit.

Karl's gaze traveled up her body an inch at a time. He gave a leering smile. "You look better now than you did on the pictures Bobby showed me. I guess they didn't have showers in Africa."

Ashlyn's smile soured. "I wasn't over there to win a beauty pageant."

"There's nothing wrong with a woman doing honest work with her hands," Nick said. To Ashlyn's relief, he shifted closer to her, sending a silent signal to Karl – back off. "And I liked those pictures of you," he added. "Especially the ones with you playing soccer with the kids. You all looked so happy."

Karl harrumphed. "I'll take groomed over sloppy any day of the week." He twisted his gold bracelet around his wrist. No doubt about it, the man put her on edge.

The waitress came over to take their orders, and Karl told her what he wanted without looking at the menu. "Steak, rare, with grilled onions and fries. And you make sure that steak is rare, or I'll send it back. I want it bloody in the middle, understand? Now, repeat that order to me so that I know you have it right." With a sigh, the waitress did as he instructed.

Ashlyn cringed at his rudeness. Nick's eyebrows drew down and a frown line appeared in his forehead.

"I'll just have the usual, Kate," Nick said, handing the waitress the menu.

"I'll have whatever he's having," Ashlyn said.

"I bet she still screws up my order," Karl muttered as the waitress walked off. "You can't trust these small-town types to get anything right."

Ashlyn frowned. Wasn't he a small-town type? She glanced at Nick who shrugged.

Ashlyn cleared her throat. "Yes, well, I have to admit that I was hoping to have dinner with Robert tonight. Are you sure that there's no way to contact him?"

If Karl was lying, he didn't show it. He remained so cool that butter wouldn't have melted in his mouth. "Nope. Sorry. Bobby's far out in Canada. They don't have electricity up there much less cell phone service. Which is why he lent me his phone in the first place." Again, the leering smile. "Which is lucky for me since now I've gotten to meet his sexy, older cousin."

If Ashlyn had been eating, the comment would have made her gag. Instead, she glared at him.

"How do you two know each other?" Nick asked.

Karl was all smiles when it came to Ashlyn, but he eyed Nick coldly. "We met when I was doing some business with his great aunt Maude." He glanced at Ashlyn. "Who was also your great aunt, too, I'm guessing."

Ashlyn nodded. "What type of business did you have with my great aunt?"

"I'm a real estate man by trade," Karl said. He plucked a business card from his wallet and handed it over. "Your great aunt hired me with the intention of selling her estate."

Ashlyn frowned at the card. "She did? I never heard about that."

Karl kept the sleazy smile on his face. "No offense, but you were overseas when this was going on. She probably didn't want to bother you with it."

Ashlyn wasn't buying a lick of what he was selling. Aunt Maude wouldn't have wanted to bother her, but selling the cottage would have meant a huge lifestyle change for her. She definitely would have mentioned something about it.

"It would make a great real estate investment," Karl said. "There's all kinds of potential for the right buyer. Look at your cousin. He's into the same kind of thing."

"Real estate investment? You mean that old house he's been fixing up?"

"That's the one." He winked at Ashlyn who rolled her eyes. Karl cleared his throat. "But I didn't come here to talk shop," he said with a wave of his hand. "I'd like to get to know more about you." He edged closer to Ashlyn. "I heard all about that hospital you were building in Africa."

"It was a school," Ashlyn said flatly.

"School, hospital. Same difference. I knew you were helping the poor kids over there. Treating them to a slice of the American apple pie, am I right?"

Ashlyn had the feeling he was deliberately distracting her to avoid talking about Robert. But while she didn't trust this man at all, that didn't mean that he had anything to do with Robert's disappearance. Robert did love fishing above all else, and Ashlyn could imagine him dropping everything to go on a fly-in to Canada. He was also into flipping properties, so the story about the real estate venture made sense as well. But while her mind counseled her to be logical, her gut told her that Karl was a criminal. Possibly even a would-be murderer. If only she could talk to Robert!

Despite the way Ashlyn was frowning at him, Karl looked confident and in the driver's seat. "How long are you planning to stay in town?" he asked.

"I don't know." However long it took to solve the mystery and find the people who had been trying to kill her. "A few days I guess."

"Well, if you're looking to settle your great aunt's estate, I can help with that. In fact, I've already talked to Robert about it." He puffed up his chest. "I have connections, and I can make it easy for you two. When you put that cottage on the market, I know some people who would be interested." He gave her an oily smile.

Ashlyn shrugged. "I'm not sure if I want to sell."

The smile slipped from Karl's face. "You'd be a fool not to. The market up here is soft, and if you have a buyer, you should jump on it right away. Not many people want property this far up north."

"It's a beautiful cottage," Nick said. "I wouldn't want to sell it, either."

Karl's expression soured, and he turned on Nick. "You want her to lose out on some money, that's your business. But I have Ashlyn's best interests at heart." He looked back at Ashlyn. "I'm telling you, I can get you a great deal. Wouldn't you like a hundred grand in your pocket?"

Ashlyn gasped. A hundred thousand dollars? She hadn't figured that her aunt's cottage would bring half that much. Still... "It's not about the money. It's about the memories." Nick smiled at her, as if understanding perfectly.

"Memories," Karl scoffed. "What good are they compared to easy money? Bobby already told me that he wanted to sell."

"I don't believe you! He loves the cottage as much as I do."

Karl's jaw tightened. "Sure. He loves it until someone offers him a hundred G's in exchange. Believe me. Everyone's got a selling point. Even Bobby."

The waitress came over with their meals. Ashlyn and Nick accepted their steak sandwiches and fries with smiles while Karl prodded his steak and muttered under his breath. "I guess it will do."

Karl sawed off a piece of his steak and chewed it. His face was tense, and his eyes traveled from Ashlyn to Nick and back again. "You don't know what you're doing by saying no to my offer. You'll save yourself a lot of grief if you walk away and leave the selling to me."

Ashlyn bristled and gripped her fork tightly. "That sounds like a threat."

Karl threw up his hands in surprise. "A threat?! Of course not! Just a warning that you might not get the same price for the property if you wait too long to sell. I'm only looking out for your best interest."

"I'm not interested," Ashlyn repeated firmly.

Karl's face tensed for a moment before breaking into a phony smile. "Well, let me give you my business card just in case you change your mind." He opened his wallet and handed Ashlyn a card. His cell phone buzzed, and he glanced at the display. "I've got to take this. Be right back." He slipped his wallet back into his pocket, pressed the phone against his ear, and left the table.

# Nine

Nick kept his eyes on Karl's back. When Karl left the restaurant, Nick grabbed Ashlyn's hand and pulled her to her feet. "Let's go."

"Go where?" she asked.

"We're following him." Nick threw three twenties on the table and pulled Ashlyn along with him towards the door.

"You don't think he's coming back?" Ashlyn asked.

"I know he's not coming back, and I want to find out where he's going."

Despite the predicted forecast for nice weather, it had begun to rain. Ashlyn and Nick hurried to the Jeep and jumped inside. Nick scanned the parking lot, wondering where Karl had gone.

"There!" Ashlyn pointed to a dark-green SUV that was pulling out of the lot. Nick waited a few seconds then put the Jeep into gear and began tailing the SUV.

"So you didn't trust that guy, either," Ashlyn said.

"Not a bit. I don't know what his game is, but I do know he wasn't being up front with us."

"At least we have his business card," she said. "Although, he seemed so slimy that I wonder if Karl Rich is even his real name," she added darkly.

"It isn't." Nick grinned. "I got a look at his driver's license when he pulled out his wallet. His last name isn't Rich. It's Vanderkirk. And the first four numbers of his license are V700."

"That's brilliant, Mr. PI," Ashlyn said. She rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek. It was something so simple, yet it threatened to burn through all of his defenses. He longed to take her into his arms and hold her. Instead, he focused on the task at hand.

It began raining harder. Streaks of lightning speared the sky, and thunder boomed in response. Under the circumstances, keeping a tail was difficult, but Nick had plenty of experience. Staying three car lengths behind Karl, he followed the SUV north out of town.

He was convinced that this thing with Ashlyn was big. Certainly bigger than Karl Vanderkirk aka Morris. He had to be working in partnership with someone, possibly more than one someone. Whatever Ashlyn had, they wanted and they wanted it bad.

Once out of town, the SUV picked up more speed. Nick pressed down on the gas pedal. He knew these roads well. He drove fast but confidently, one hand on the wheel, the other on the gear shift.

"Maybe we could talk to that neighbor of my great aunt's again," Ashlyn said. "Wasn't his name Tom? Maybe he has some idea why that property is going for so much money."

"It could be mineral rights they're after," Nick said. "Or maybe someone found oil on her property. Either one of those things could be worth quite a bit of money."

Ashlyn nodded. "It's got to be something more than a half-an-acre of lakeside property. Especially since it's so remote."

Nick was about to reply when a deer ran across the road in front of him. Before he could brake, the Jeep's rear end suddenly sagged. There was loud grinding noise as metal hit asphalt. A glance in the rearview mirror showed a tire bouncing away from the car. The Jeep was almost on top of the deer who stayed, dumbstruck, in the middle of the road. Nike fought for control as the car skidded. "Hang on," he barked over the horrible grating sound.

Ashlyn yelped and grabbed her seatbelt as the car continued to slide. Now, they were crossways on the road. The deer bounded away, unharmed, but a car was bearing down on them from the lane of oncoming traffic. Nick yanked on the wheel again. The back end of the vehicle shuddered. The Jeep was still in motion, skidding on the wet pavement. A large tree lay directly ahead. Nick swerved to the right, hitting the ditch alongside the road at an angle. The Jeep threatened to roll, but at the last minute, regained equilibrium and stayed upright.

As the Jeep came to a stop, the car they nearly hit blasted its horn as it sped past. The large tree was inches from the driver's side door. Had they stopped half a foot to the right, the car would have been totaled.

Ashlyn's face was pale and tense. "You okay?" Nick asked her.

She pressed her hands to her chest. "I think I had a heart attack, but otherwise I'm fine. What happened?"

Nick wiped his sweating forehead on the sleeve of his shirt. "A tire came off the car. We were lucky I was slowing down to avoid hitting that deer."

"A tire came off the car? It just fell off?"

"I don't think it was an accident," Nick said. He got out of the car and was instantly soaked. Turning up his collar, he chased down the tire which had ended up in a ditch. Ashlyn had gotten out as well and was using the flashing on her keychain to sweep the road. She found three of the lug nuts lying along the center line.

"Karl must have done this," she said.

Nick nodded. "It's probably why he was late showing up to dinner." Head bowed against the cold rain, he took the jack from the back of the Jeep. "He loosened the lug nuts on us. Wanted it to look like an accident." Now that the fear had left him, he was furious. He put his anger into the work at hand, jacking up the car and reattaching the wheel. He used the lug nuts that Ashlyn had given him, then borrowed others from the remaining tires. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it would hold until he could get replacements. He tightened each of them, twisting so hard that the muscles bulged on his arms. Karl! He would get that guy if it was the last thing he did. If anything had happened to Ashlyn, Karl would have been a dead man.

Nick and Ashlyn were both soaked to the skin when they arrived at Nick's cottage. Nick's eyes lingered on her, making her self-conscious of how the pink dress clung to her curves. He handed Ashlyn a fluffy bath towel and took one for himself. When she shivered, he offered her his bathrobe which she gratefully accepted. She stepped into the spare bedroom, stripped out of her sodden clothes, and snuggled into his warm robe. The thing was so large that she had to wrap the belt around her middle twice before tying it.

When she came out of the bedroom, Nick was on the phone. From his end of the conversation, Ashlyn figured he was talking to his friend, Sheriff Tanner. "I want Karl Vanderkirk brought in," Nick said. "If he didn't loosen the lug nuts on that tire, then he knows who did. We could have been killed!"

Ashlyn hadn't seen Nick so angry before. But while his face reddened and his jaw clenched, he remained in perfect control, not even raising his voice to shout into the phone. While Ashlyn waited on the couch, her heart still pounding from the near accident, Nick paced the room. All at once, his back straightened. "He is?" There were a few beats of silence. "Right now? What happened? I see. Where?"

Ashlyn grabbed one of the throw pillows from the couch and twisted in her hands. What was going on? Had the sheriff been called in on something? Right now, every thought she had focused on Karl and her situation, but she had to remind herself that the sheriff had other responsibilities. Not everything was connected to her.

Nick finally hung up the phone and shook his head. "Eddie's out of the office," he said. "There's a hiker who's been missing for a few days. Eddie's heading up the team that went to look for him." Nick sat next to her on the couch. "I'd help them look myself, but – "

"But you need to babysit me," Ashlyn finished. She felt a touch of guilt knowing that Nick was only with her because she was too weak to watch out for herself.

"Not babysit," he said. "Protect. And after what you've been through, you need protection."

It was true. In the past twenty-four hours, she'd been shot at, nearly run over, attacked by vicious dogs, and been the victim of sabotage. If not for Nick, she'd probably be dead by now. She drew up her legs and wrapped her arms around her knees. It was mid-August, but suddenly she was cold.

Seeing her distress, Nick draped a soft afghan around her shoulders. "You're safe now," he said.

She smiled gratefully at him. "I know I am."

Thunder rumbled again, this time so close that the dishes in the cupboard rattled. Another flash of lightning. The crash that followed it made Ashlyn clap her hand over her ears. The lights flickered then went out.

"Unfortunately, this happens all the time up here," Nick said. He got up and grabbed a flashlight from a kitchen drawer. "I have a generator, but I have to go outside to start it up."

"Don't go," she begged. After what had happened, she didn't want to be alone. "Candles would be just fine."

"You sure?"

"Positive. And maybe a fire in the fireplace?" Although her body was warm, her feet were freezing.

"Your wish is my command!" He lit several candles and set them on the coffee table. Then he prodded and poked at the wood already in the fireplace, lit a match, and in a few minutes, a fire blazed on the hearth. She moved closer and tucked her legs underneath her, enjoying the smell of wood smoke. It reminded her of backyard bonfires at Aunt Maude's cottage. "All we need are marshmallows and some chocolate. We could make s'mores."

Nick's eyes flashed. "I got you covered." He hurried into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a bag of marshmallows, a box of graham crackers, and two bars of chocolate. "My emergency rations," he said with a smile.

"I'd consider tonight an emergency," Ashlyn said.

He handed her a toasting stick. "I'll admit that I have a huge sweet tooth, and I can't resist making these things for myself."

Ashlyn shrugged off the blanket and speared the marshmallow with the stick. Finding a bed of coals, she toasted the puffy, white marshmallow until it was perfectly browned. Nick handed her two squares of graham crackers and some chocolate, and soon she was enjoying one of her favorite treats.

When Nick took over the toasting stick, he stuck his marshmallow squarely in the fire. "I like them burned to a crisp," he said. When he pulled out a flaming, black lump, Ashlyn laughed.

"It looks like a charcoal briquette," she joked.

"That's exactly what I was going for!" He created his own s'more and groaned in pleasure when he took a bite. "It's pure heaven."

Ashlyn thought that being here with Nick was pure heaven. They sat side-by-side on the rag rug in front of the fire. She could have stayed there all night. She moved closer to him so that their shoulders brushed. Soon, it wasn't just the fire that was heating her up. She wanted to wrap herself around this man. She longed to lay down and pull him on top of her. To undress him and have his fingers undo the sash of the bathrobe. She'd been cold before, but now her cheeks glowed with heat. She was hyper aware of his strong body next to hers and imagined how the two of them would be together.

She glanced at Nick. "You have a smudge of chocolate right here," she said pointing to the corner of her mouth. Before he could reach for it, she wiped it away with her finger. Then she put her finger into her mouth to lick away the sweetness.

His eyes sharpened with desire. "You have no idea what you're doing to me," he whispered. He leaned in closer and put his arm around her, drawing her to him.

Ashlyn tilted her head back, desperate for his kiss. Desire made rational thought impossible. Maybe this was the wrong thing to do, but she didn't care. It had been a long time since she'd been with a man, and she'd never been with one with whom she'd felt this close.

Nick put his hands around her waist and lifted her onto his lap. He pushed the afghan off of her shoulders and loosened the robe. Shivers traveled down her spine. Ashlyn wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself close. Every inch of her was now on fire. Her breasts strained at the fabric of the robe, and she could feel his need pressing against her thigh. She moved against him, making him groan with longing.

"Ashlyn," he whispered. Placing his hands on either side of her face, he gently pulled her in close. He met her lips with a barely restrained kiss that sent shock waves throughout her body. Her nerves were electrified, so that every touch lit her up from the core outwards. He trailed his fingers along the sensitive skin at the back of her neck. She groaned in miserable ecstasy. How she wanted to feel his bare skin against her own.

Her fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. It took every ounce of restraint to not rip it off of him. She let her hands play over his broad chest, palming the dark hair that curled there. His upper body was as muscled as an athlete's, and those muscles tensed at her touch. She nuzzled his neck. Right now, there was only one other person in the world, and he was sitting with her. There was no one else. Nothing else.

He raised his hand to her chin to draw her back towards him when the light from the fireplace reflected off of his wedding ring.

Ashlyn froze in place. He'd already confessed that his wife's memory was fading, but the fact that he still wore that ring meant that he still felt something for Sarah, no matter how faint. Ashlyn couldn't come between them.

Then other, rational thoughts began to eclipse the animal need between her thighs. She'd only known this man for twenty-four hours. Was she really ready to give herself away so quickly? She'd trusted her own cousin for months, but that trust no longer seemed warranted. What if Nick proved to be untrustworthy as well? She felt close to him, yet there was so much about him that she didn't know. It was all happening too fast. She felt like she was a twig in the Eagle River being carried along towards who knew what fate.

She pulled away from him and climbed off his lap.

"Ashlyn? Are you okay?" He brushed her hair away from her face. "Did I do something wrong?"

Her cheeks burned again, this time from embarrassment. "No. It's not you. It's just that – "

"Talk to me," he said gently.

She looked at the fireplace, staring into the depths of the flames. "I feel like I know you so well, but in reality, we've only been together for a few hours. This isn't like me! I've never fallen for someone this this quickly."

"I feel the same way."

She licked her lips. "You're still wearing your wedding ring, and I don't want to share you with your wife. Even if it is only her memory."

Nick looked down at the ring on his finger. "You're right – this is a big step," he said softly. "I haven't been with anyone since Sarah, and I want the first time to be special. Not some one-night stand."

Ashlyn let out breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "I'm so glad you understand. I didn't want you to be angry."

"Angry at you? Of course not!" He put his arm around her, but it was a companionable action, not a romantic one. "I can wait for as long as you want me to."

She nestled her head against his shoulder. "I trusted my cousin, but now I'm not sure that was a good idea. I mean, he may be a part of this scheme with Karl. I feel that you're trustworthy, but I have to be sure. You know?"

"Of course," he assured her. "There's plenty of time for the two of us to get to know each other. That is, if you're planning on sticking around," he added shyly.

She smiled. "I think I am. I don't know how often I'll get up north, but you've convinced me that I can't sell my aunt's cottage. Not only for the memories, but for you as well."

He tightened his hold on her and kissed her hair. "I'll wait," he promised.

They sat quietly side by side until Ashlyn felt herself drifting off to sleep. After everything she'd gone through, it was heavenly to feel so safe and protected. If she stayed there in Nick's arms, she felt as if she'd never have to worry about anything ever again. Like the burdens she'd been carrying would disappear.

Finally, she dragged herself to her feet. It had been a long day, and she was exhausted. She kissed Nick on his stubbly cheek. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you for understanding."

He gave her his killer smile. The one that melted her heart every time she saw it. "No problem. Thank you for being there for me, too. You have no idea how many of my ghosts you've laid to rest today."

With a final, chaste kiss, Ashlyn forced herself to stand up and go to bed, safe in the knowledge that Nick was right next door if she needed him.

Wind lashed the trees and lightning speared the sky. Rain hammered on the roof of the tent. In the middle of the maelstrom, Robert lay perfectly still on his cot and waited for Seth to fall asleep.

Robert couldn't hear Seth's breathing above the storm, but he hadn't seen the man move in nearly twenty minutes. Very carefully, Robert sat up and took Seth's bowie knife from under his own pillow. He's stolen it that afternoon while Seth walked the perimeter of the clearing checking for intruders. Now, Robert clamped the knife between his knees, holding it steady so that he could drag the rope tying his wrist across the blade.

He worked quickly, keeping his eyes on the dark shape of Seth in the cot next to his. Sweat ran down his back and into his eyes, but he kept up steady pressure while he sawed the ropes against the blade. Finally, the fibers gave way. He was free!

He went to work on his ankles, cutting through the rope and tossing it aside. So far, so good. Part one of his plan was accomplished. Now came the tricky part. Thank goodness the storm was raging. It would cover the noise of the ATV's motor as he sped off.

Robert's injured leg was still sore as hell. Running was out of the question. Instead, he shuffled as fast as he could out of the tent and out into the rain. He was immediately soaked. Wiping water from his face, he hobbled past the sodden remains of the camp fire and over to where the ATV was parked. But where was the key? He'd expected to find it in the ignition, and for a moment, he panicked, wondering if he'd misjudged Seth's incompetence. Then his fingers located the both the ignition and the key. Yes! He was halfway home.

His shoulders tensed as he started the ATV. The roar of the engine seemed especially loud. He expected Seth to bolt from the tent, his rifle on his shoulder, but nothing stirred. Giddy with his success, he headed towards the road.

He drove carefully, trying to remember where the booby-traps were hidden. The hiker had somehow made it through the woods unscathed. Robert only hoped he would be as lucky.

Suddenly, a pair of high-beam headlights turned down a bend in the trail. It was another, larger, ATV. It came straight at him, giving Robert no chance to swerve. An instant before the collision, Robert gunned the engine and yanked the wheel to the right, leaving the narrow trail. He'd off-road if he had to. He wasn't going back to camp!

Robert's ATV bucked hard as it bounced over the ruts in the trail and headed into the woods. In the headlights, Seth glimpsed Karl's angry face, then he was past the other ATV and back on the trail heading away from camp.

Behind him came the roar of the other engine as Karl turned his vehicle around. Robert glanced over his shoulder. Karl was right behind him. Robert nudged the gas, but he didn't dare go much faster. The rain and the dark made riding treacherous. Once he hit the open road, he'd ride the ATV full out, but until then, he didn't dare.

Above the engine and the storm, Karl shouted for Robert to stop. When Robert refused, Karl fired his gun. Robert flinched, but kept on driving. The trail wasn't well used, and it twisted and turned its way through the woods. Suddenly, a tree loomed up out of the darkness. Robert swerved to avoid it and misjudged the distance between him and the obstacle. He narrowly avoided hitting it, but he scraped his injured leg as he passed. Pain exploded from his thigh, and stars danced before his eyes. Sweat greased his palms, and he nearly lost his grip. The headlights behind him grew brighter as Karl closed the gap between them. Another shot rang out.

The ATV bucked again as it hit a swale. Robert was thrown to the side, but he hung on. Unfortunately, the rain had flooded the swale, creating a muddy quagmire. Robert twisted his wrist to apply more gas, but the back tires spun uselessly. Cursing, he threw the vehicle into reverse to gain some traction, then tried it again.

Before he could try climbing out of the hole again, Karl's ATV was beside him, and Robert was looking down the barrel of a 9 mm. "Get off!" Karl bellowed. When Robert hesitated, Karl squeezed the trigger. The shot came just above Robert's shoulder.

Furious, Robert turned off the engine and climbed off the ATV. He had been so close!

Robert limped ahead of Karl's ATV which kept pace behind him. He could almost feel the gun that was pointed at his back. "You don't have to do this, you know," he called back to Karl.

"Just keep walking," Karl snapped.

"You won't be able to pull this off. They're going to be looking for that hiker."

"Shut up!"

Robert slackened his pace as he looked about for a weapon. All he needed was something to knock Karl off that four-wheeler. Then he'd grab the gun and take off.

They left the trail and started through the woods, Robert still in the lead. A few feet into the forest, Robert got the break he was looking for. A white pine with low branches stretched across his path. Robert pushed past the tree while tightening his grip on a supple, lower limb. When he sensed that Karl was in the line of fire, he let go of the branch.

Careful of his injured leg, Robert spun just as the branch smacked Karl in the face. Karl yelped and threw up his hands to protect his eyes. He still hung onto the gun, but his aim was off. Robert launched himself at Karl, going for the weapon. He shoved Karl off the ATV and onto the ground. Karl's fingers instinctively squeezed the trigger. The gun went off.

Robert pinned Karl to the ground and fought for control of the gun. When Karl wouldn't give it up, Robert squeezed his wrist as hard as he could, using the pressure point there as leverage. Karl cursed, but let go. Robert crowed in victory. But a moment later, he was thrown backwards as Karl bucked him off. Before Robert could turn the gun on him, Karl picked up a thick, fallen branch and poked it hard into the open wound on Robert's leg.

Fireworks of agony shot through Robert's body. Stars flashed in front of his eyes. His stomach twisted. He heard rather than saw Seth run up.

"What the hell's going on here?" Seth demanded. He hauled Robert to his feet and shook him. "What are you trying to do?"

Karl stood and plucked the gun from Robert's hand. "He thought he could get away."

"Just how stupid are you anyway?" Seth was so angry that spittle flew from his lips onto Robert's face. Robert groaned. His leg was on fire. "You have to know we aren't letting you go. Not until the big boss says it's okay." He poked Robert in the chest. "Then you're days are up."

# Ten

The next morning, Nick wanted to surprise Ashlyn with waffles and coffee, but there was still no power. Letting Ashlyn continue to sleep, he grabbed a jacket and the Stetson that always hung by the back door and slipped outside. The rain had lessened, but drops continued to patter on the leaves up above him, and the ground was soft.

The generator was a temperamental, old beast that lived in the shed behind the cabin. There was a trick to starting it, but Nick had done it often enough. In a few minutes, the engine caught with a roar. It was loud, but at least they'd have power.

As he walked back towards the house, he glanced at the ground and saw the distinct imprint of a man's boot. He crouched down for a better look. In the soft mud, the print was indelible. The size of the print was smaller than Nick's, and he knew that Ashlyn had been wearing sandals, not boots, the night before.

Suddenly wary, Nick slowly looked around the perimeter of his property. Everything was still.

He couldn't imagine that Karl with his neatly-pressed khakis and gold bracelet would have donned a pair of boots and come stomping around in the rain looking for Ashlyn. However, that didn't mean that the man hadn't hired someone to do that very thing.

Nick stood near the footprint, trying to decide what the man had seen. From the way the print was oriented, only the back end of the house was visible. That meant that the intruder could have looked into the kitchen. But with all the lights out the night before, it was unlikely that he'd seen anything.

Nick searched for other prints, paying special attention to the area by Ashlyn's bedroom window. Luckily, he didn't find anything. Maybe the spy had given up trying to see in the dark and had left. On the other hand, there was plenty of ground cover near the bedroom window, and it was possible that the man simply hadn't left any prints.

At the snap of a twig, Nick spun around. There stood his only neighbor, Jed Hoekstra, with a gas can in one hand and a fishing pole in the other.

"Quite a storm we had last night," Jed said, walking across the yard to meet Nick. "Power's out at my place, too." Jed was a retired trucker who spent his days sculpting bears, totem poles, and other things out of logs using only a chainsaw. He was a short man in his sixties, but he had the physique of someone much younger.

"I saw that an electrical pole was knocked down over the road about a quarter mile up," Jed continued. He scratched at his grizzled beard. "Probably going to be a few days before they get that fixed. Power's out all over the county."

"How about you? Doing okay?" Nick asked. He seldom saw Jed except for when the older man stopped by to borrow something or give him some fresh venison. Although their properties abutted, there was a good three acres between Nick's cabin and Jed's house.

"I'd be fine if I could get the damn generator up and running. I didn't realize that I was out of gas until I tried to start the thing up. I came over last night looking to see if you had some gas I could borrow, but your place was dark, so I figured you were out."

Nick glanced down at Jed's feet and saw that he was wearing an old pair of work boots. Work boots that would have fit the footprint he'd found exactly. Nick's chest loosened in relief. They hadn't been spied on after all.

"You're welcome to some gas," Nick said. "I've got plenty."

"Much appreciated," Jed said. The two men walked to the shed. "Did you hear about that hiker who got lost in the woods?" Jed asked.

Nick murmured assent as he poured gas into the can. Jed spent every morning down at Gilbert's diner and knew all of the gossip the small town had to offer.

"Old Wooly Ramsey was telling me at the diner yesterday that the fool was hiking that new trail without a map or a compass and got lost somewhere up there. Hasn't been heard from in nearly two days."

Nick handed over the red container of gas. "I've been to that new trail. It's well marked."

"It was well marked," Jed countered. "Apparently, someone took down all the orange flags. It's going to take the forest service the rest of the summer to have it back up again."

"That long?" Nick asked, surprised.

"They have to survey the whole thing all over again. They can guess at some parts of it, but it was so new it wasn't broken in very well yet. Wooly thinks the whole idea of a new trail is piss poor. There's already hundreds of miles of trails through these woods. Why would the Forest Service want to put in any more?"

Nick pictured Jed and Wooly and the rest of the codgers sitting in their customary booth at the diner, all of them jawing over what the Forest Service should and shouldn't do. The idea made him smile. Then, suddenly, he stopped. "Have you ever heard of a man by the name of Karl Vanderkirk? Sometimes goes by the name of Rich?"

Jed shook his head. "Can't say that I have."

"He supposedly is a realtor. He's a thin guy with brown hair. Wears a gold bracelet."

Jed snapped his fingers. "I do know who that is! New guy from out of town. He bought that old house out on route 27. He hasn't done a thing to fix the place up, but he's got some kind of barn in the woods."

"That's him," Nick agreed.

"I've heard that he's been looking at property. Although the stuff he's interested in isn't worth much. It's so backwoods that it makes you and me look like we're living in the middle of downtown Detroit."

"Do you know anything else about him?" Nick asked.

Jed shook his head. "There's all kinds of people living out in the sticks. A lot of them are survivalists who want to keep to themselves. Not the friendliest people in the world. If you're really interested in finding this Rich fellow, I'd check with the real estate agency in town. He's probably been in there looking to buy."

Nick nodded. It was a good idea. If he could find Karl, maybe he could wrest some answers from the man.

"Oh, before I forget, here's your fishing rod back." Jed handed him the pole he'd been holding.

Nick accepted it with a frown. "I haven't seen this is a long time. I was wondering what happened to it."

"It's been a while," Jed agreed. "I found it when I was cleaning my shed. I'd forgotten that I'd borrowed it."

Nick laughed. "How long have you had it? A year?"

Embarrassed, Jed looked away. "Two, actually. Don't you remember? I borrowed it the night before – well, before Sarah died."

"I wasn't here that night," Nick said evenly. It still pained him to remember that fact. "You must have gotten it from Sarah."

Now Jed frowned. "I know you were here. Sarah answered the door, but I heard a man's voice coming from the kitchen."

It took a moment before the news sunk in. When it did, Nick's heart kick started. He'd been right all along. Sarah had been with someone that night! Pain from his wife's betrayal vied with excitement at the big break in his investigation. "What else can you tell me about that night? Were there any strange cars in the driveway? Or did you catch a glimpse of this man?"

Jed rubbed his chin. "Nothing comes to mind. But come to think of it, Sarah was pretty jumpy that night. She practically slammed the door in my face." Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. "Cigarette smoke! That's it. I remember that someone had been smoking, and I wondered if maybe you'd picked up the habit."

Nick remembered the sole cigarette butt he'd found by the back door. At the time, he'd wondered if it had come from one of the investigators on the case, but now he realized it would have belonged to the man Sarah had been with.

Nick grinned. "Thanks for the information."

"Thank you," Jed said, walking away, gas can in his hand.

Ashlyn woke and heard Nick moving around in the kitchen. She sat up in bed and stretched. Her eyes felt gritty from lack of sleep. She had laid awake for most of the night as she considered what she should do. The attack on Nick's car had been the final straw. The man who loosened those lug nuts would not stop at anything to see her dead. She couldn't put Nick in the middle of that. All night she'd wrestled with herself. Stay in Eagle River or head back to Chicago? Be with Nick or return to the safety of her sterile, white-walled apartment?

Then there was the matter of his wife. Ashlyn sighed as she regarded the enormous map hanging on the wall next to the desk. Nick had made finding his wife's murderer his second job. Despite the evidence that Sarah had cheated on him, he continued to wear his wedding ring. His vows to her were unbreakable even in death. How could Ashlyn hope to compete with bonds like that?

She wanted him. Badly. But could he love her? Would he love her? Her heart told one thing while her head said another. In the end, she knew her head was right. There was too much at stake. It was time to count her losses and leave Eagle River.

Ashlyn dressed quickly and went into the kitchen to find Nick mixing a bowl of batter. After what had happened between them the night before, she worried there would be awkwardness, but Nick laid those worries to rest when he smiled. His blue eyes sparkled. "I have a new lead on my wife's murder. I have an eyewitness who knows she wasn't alone that night."

"That's wonderful!" Ashlyn said. Then she hesitated. "I mean, I'm sorry that she was cheating on you."

For a moment, the sparkle in Nick's eyes dimmed. "I always suspected it, but to know beyond a doubt is hard. But if I'm ever going to lay this to rest, I needed to know for certain."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I'm not sure what I'll do about that, but I do know what you and I should try next," he said. "I talked to my neighbor this morning, and he said that Karl's been trying to buy up property around here. I think we should visit the real estate agent and see what we can dig up."

Ashlyn felt a surge of despair. She wanted nothing more than to solve this mystery with him, but she couldn't be that selfish. It was wrong to play with his life. She sat down at the kitchen table. "I can't ask you to do any more for me."

He stopped mixing the batter. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Because of me, you were nearly killed last night! This is getting too risky. I can't let you put yourself in danger because of me."

"I'm doing it willingly," he argued. "I want to help you."

Her heart leapt at this, but in the end, common sense ruled. She had no business asking Nick to put his life on the line for her. Especially when the danger could be so easily avoided. She shook her head. "It's too much to ask. I'm sorry." Her eyes burned, a sure sign that she was about to cry.

He took in a deep breath and released it. "Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

"It's not what I want. It's what's right." She looked at her hands. "If you will give me a ride into town, I'll make a report at the sheriff's office and let him deal with it."

"What about your aunt's cottage?"

She swallowed back the lump that had grown in her throat. "I'm not sure. I guess if Robert really wants to sell it, I'll go along with that."

His jaw tightened and he looked away. "I thought you were thinking of moving up here."

"I was, but I have to be realistic. Things have gotten out of control. I've had a target on my back ever since I came to Eagle River, and now because of me, you have one on your back as well. If I keep on pressing forward with this, I'll get hurt. We'll get hurt."

"I think the two of us can figure this out," Nick said. "It won't be easy, but we can do it."

She wanted to believe him. Lord, did she ever! But the thought of him being shot at or lying in a bloody heap was more than she could bear. The equation was simple. If she wanted to protect Nick, then she had to go back home.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking at her hands.

He heaved a sigh. "I understand," he assured her. "And maybe you're right. If you leave, you will be safe, and that's all that matters."

Neither one of them spoke during breakfast, and neither one ate very much. The ride to the sheriff's was twenty-five, grueling minutes of polite conversation. It was like they were strangers all over again.

The sheriff's office buzzed with activity. The lobby was full of volunteers ready to help out with the search for the missing hiker. The sheriff himself was talking with two forestry rangers. They appeared to be arguing.

"...and I think we're overreacting," the sheriff said. Nick's friend looked haggard. His eyes were puffy and dull from lack of sleep, and he was in need of a shave. He was out of uniform, too, dressed instead in jeans and a blue, plaid shirt. "The hiker's been missing for less than forty-eight hours. For all we know, he went back home. We don't have the resources for a huge investigation."

The taller of the two forestry rangers frowned. "How long does it have to be before you consider it an emergency?"

The sheriff held up his hands. "Don't get me wrong. I want the guy found. It's just that we don't need a crowd of civilians running wild through the woods. I say you send a couple of your people out looking, and if you don't turn up anything, then you can let us know."

"And the helicopter?" put in the second ranger.

"Who's going to pay for that?" the sheriff demanded. "I don't want it coming out of my budget!" His jaws worked furiously at the gum in his mouth.

"It's federal land he's on," the taller ranger said. His face was red with outrage. "We don't need your permission to start searching. We were only checking with you out of courtesy." With a nod to his fellow ranger, he abruptly turned and walked across the lobby. The crowd of civilians followed them out of the door.

"Sounds like you're having a tough morning," Nick said to the sheriff.

"You don't know the half of it. We were out looking for that hiker last night but had to call it quits when it started to storm." The sheriff motioned for them to follow him back into his office. Once there, he offered them coffee which Ashlyn and Nick both declined. The sheriff settled behind his desk. "Now how can I help you two?"

"A man named Karl Vanderkirk tried to kill us last night," Nick said.

The sheriff's eyebrows drew down. "Another assassination attempt?"

"He loosened the lug nuts on one of Nick's tires," Ashlyn said. "We nearly crashed into a tree."

The sheriff gave a heavy sigh. "Fill out a report. I'll have a deputy look into it."

Ashlyn's cheeks blazed. "Look, this is the third time I've had my life threatened, and you still don't believe me! And this time, it wasn't just me that was nearly hurt, it was Nick, too!"

"I had thought you'd be more interested," Nick added tightly.

"I am interested," Sheriff Tanner said, "and I will have it investigated. But before that can happen, I'll need you to file a report." He rummaged in a lower, desk drawer and handed Ashlyn a complaint form. "Fill out as much as you can."

Ashlyn looked at the form in dismay. If the sheriff didn't believe her now, he never would. She glanced at Nick and saw her own frustration mirrored there.

"Eddie, you know I wouldn't joke around about something like this," Nick said.

"I also know that you sometimes see things that aren't there," the sheriff said.

Nick flushed. "Don't bring Sarah's murder into this."

The sheriff rubbed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. "Nick, I know you don't want to hear it, but Sarah's death was an accident. There is no one to blame."

"I have evidence."

"Dirty dishes and a cigarette butt aren't much evidence. And your map doesn't prove anything."

"I have new evidence," Nick said evenly. "There was someone with her the night before she was killed. I can prove it."

The sheriff's eyes widened, and he chewed his gum more rapidly. "How?"

"A witness saw them together on the night before she died."

The sheriff started to speak, but was interrupted by the phone ringing. He answered it with a snarl. "What?"

Ashlyn finished filling out the report and handed it over. The sheriff nodded abruptly, but stayed on the phone, dismissing them with a wave.

"I guess that's that," Ashlyn said as they left the station. "I doubt they'll ever find a connection between Karl Vanderkirk and those lug nuts."

Nick put a hand on Ashlyn's back and guided her towards the Jeep. "I'm not giving up on this. I'll keep looking into it for you."

"Don't," Ashlyn said quickly. "I don't want you getting hurt."

Nick smiled down at her. "I can take care of myself. Don't worry."

The car rental agency was all the way out Iron River which meant another twenty minutes of strained conversation. Ashlyn wished that she could have the previous night back again. The time she'd spent with Nick in front of the fire had been as comfortable as flannel sheets on a cold winter night. She'd felt as though she could tell him anything. Now, the awkwardness she'd worried about was creating a chasm between them.

When Ashlyn finally had the keys to the rental car in her hand, she said, "I guess this is good-bye."

Nick nodded. "You have my number, right? If you ever want to call me that is."

"Of course I want to. I'd love to keep in touch!" She put her hand on her purse. "Can you bill me, or would you like me to pay you now?"

His eyes grew pained. "Don't say that. I wasn't doing this for the money."

"But you put your life on the line for me!"

"And I'd do it again."

She smiled. "Thank you." She wanted him to take her into his arms and hold her, but that would only complicate things further. Instead, she stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his cheek. "Take care."

Those blue eyes of his threatened to melt her resolve. "You, too." He turned away, got into his Jeep, and drove off.

# Eleven

Nick drove faster than the posted speed limit, eager to get back to his cabin so he could work on forgetting Ashlyn. She had said that she would call him, but it wouldn't be the same as being with her. Even if she made good on her promise, Nick doubted that she'd come all the way to Detroit to meet him. And even if she did make the trip from Chicago, what good would it do? Their homes were separated by five hours of driving time, and he wasn't sure if he was the kind of person who was built for a long-distance relationship.

Until Ashlyn had walked into his life, Nick hadn't realized how alone he was. After Sarah's death, he'd isolated himself. His work became his life. Now, he realized how much he hated coming home to house filled with nothing but the sound of ticking of clocks, and crawling into an empty bed. He craved human warmth. Not just any warmth, but Ashlyn's. If he had the opportunity to redo the previous night, he would have kept her in his arms instead of letting her go so easily. He'd give anything to have that moment back.

He slammed his hands against the steering wheel. He was angry, but not at Ashlyn. He understood her need to leave, and his rational side approved. She'd be safer back home and away from the maniacs who wanted her dead. Nick had no right to be selfish and ask her to stay someplace that was so dangerous. No matter what his heart wanted, he wouldn't put Ashlyn at risk to get it.

Not that any of this helped his current mood.

He turned down the rutted driveway leading to the cabin, acutely feeling the loss of Ashlyn. She'd given the place a life it hadn't known in a long time. It already seemed too empty without her.

Being busy was the key. He had plenty of work to do. He needed to split wood for the fireplace, and he needed to re-stain the back deck. He'd been putting off these chores, but now was a perfect time to get things done. First off, he'd start with filling the bird feeders in the back yard.

He grabbed the twenty-five pound bag of black sunflower seeds he kept in the shed and headed towards the back yard. As he came around the side of the house, something ran into the woods. Not a porcupine this time, but a human. And it wasn't his neighbor. Jed was too old to sprint that fast.

Seeing that the back door of his cabin was wide open, Nick dropped the bag of seeds and chased after the intruder. He entered the woods at a full sprint, dodging trees and hurdling fallen logs as if he was back on the high school track team. He'd always been a fast runner. Even without a head start, he stood a good chance of catching up to the other man.

As fast as he ran, however, the intruder managed to stay ahead of him. The guy was quick, Nick had to give him that. Nick's heart pounded in his chest, and his lungs burned. Still, he didn't slacken his pace. Instead, he pushed himself harder, putting on speed that he hadn't tapped in years.

He knew the area well and realized that the intruder was heading towards one of the forestry roads that cut through the woods. If the man had a vehicle waiting for him, Nick would never catch up. He continued to push himself faster and faster. A flash of blue up ahead told him that he was finally gaining ground. Nick could see dark hair now as well as a bulging backpack. Before too long, the man should run out of breath and begin to slow down. Nick, too, was starting to pant, but he brought back his habits as a runner and was able to get his breathing under control.

He was nearing the clearing that marked the line of the forestry road, but the man was still ten yards ahead. Nick hurdled another log, but this time misjudged his stride. He tumbled headlong into the dead leaves carpeting the forest floor. The whine of an engine told him that the man was escaping on an ATV. Swearing, Nick got to his feet and ran to the road just in time to see the intruder's back as he roared off.

Nick cursed all the way back to the cabin. If he'd only been a little faster!

To his dismay, the back door had been jimmied open by someone who didn't know his way around locks. The old, wooden door was in splinters where the wood had been pried away from the cylinder. Nick was going to have to replace the entire door as well as install a new lock.

Nick went inside and sought out his valuables. His iPad no longer lay in its customary spot on the bedside table, and the jar of pocket change he kept on the kitchen counter was gone. His camera and equipment bag had disappeared.

Nick took his cell phone from his pocket, ready to report yet another crime to the sheriff's office. Then he hesitated. Yes, the back door had been jimmied, and yes, his belongings were missing, but was this a real break-in? Or had the thief wanted more than a camera and a jar of pocket change?

He checked the spare bedroom where Ashlyn had slept. The bed had been neatly made when they left, but now the sheets and bedspread were ripped from the mattress. Dresser drawers hung askew. The closet door had been flung open and the hangers spread across the floor. The map had been torn from the wall and shredded. The desk had been ransacked, and his laptop was nowhere to be seen.

Nick was right. This hadn't been a real robbery. The thief was looking for something in the spare bedroom, the same place where Ashlyn had been sleeping. Thank God she hadn't been here when he'd come. From the way the place was trashed, Nick knew the thief wouldn't have stopped at anything to get what he wanted.

He picked up a pillow and threw it onto the bed. Once again, Nick wondered what it was about Ashlyn Shay that someone wanted so badly.

Ashlyn turned on the radio for company, but every station seemed to be playing love songs. Disgusted, she turned it off again. Leaving Nick behind hurt enough as it was without being reminded of it.

Not that it should have hurt. She'd only just met the guy. But as her heart continually reminded her, theirs had been a special bond. More than the physical desire – something she couldn't deny – they'd shared a mental connection. Yes, his well-muscled body was something to admire, but more than that, she loved his ready smile and sparkling, blue eyes. The fact that he was so in tune with his natural surroundings made her appreciate him even more. Like her cousin, Nick understood there were far more important things in the world than money.

She'd call him the instant she got back home, she decided firmly. She'd call him and they'd make a date to meet somewhere between Detroit and Chicago. Kalamazoo, maybe. They could have a long distance relationship. A lot of couples did. However, instead of cheering her up, these thoughts only made her gloomier. Many people made long-distance relationships work, but she doubted that she was one of those people.

She sighed. It was just her luck. The relationship, as charmed as it had seemed, was doomed to fail before it even got started. Fate had dealt her a losing hand. She wiped tears from her cheek. She needed to get over him; there was no other way. And better sooner than later. Otherwise, she would wallow in remorse all the way back to Chicago. She simply had to tell herself that it wasn't meant to be.

When her phone rang, she immediately pulled off to the side of the road to answer it. Her heart skipped a beat. Maybe it was Nick telling her that he'd solved the mystery and it was safe for her to come back again. But no, the number was unfamiliar. Still, it had an Eagle River area code, so she answered it.

"Ms. Shay? This is Emily Wright, Maude Shay's attorney. Do you have a minute?"

Although they'd never spoken on the phone, Ashlyn knew who her great aunt's attorney was. Robert had mentioned her, and Ashlyn had received several e-mails from Emily's office.

"Sure. Go ahead," Ashlyn said.

"It's about your great aunt's estate. I would have talked to Robert about it, but he's not answering his phone." Emily's voice was polite, but clipped and professional. She also talked quite rapidly, as if she was aware that she charged by the hour.

"He's out of the country," Ashlyn said. "Up in Canada on a fishing trip."

"That explains it. The reason I'm calling is because I have a question concerning your aunt's property. We never discussed it before, but I wondered what your intentions were regarding her estate."

Good question. What were Ashlyn's intentions? She hated to sell it. On the other hand, if she did sell it, she'd have enough money to buy another cottage closer to Eagle River. And closer to Nick. Yet again, she wished Robert were around so they could discuss it. "I can't decide anything without talking to my cousin first."

"I understand, but I thought you might want to hear what I have to say. I know that nothing was stipulated in the will – you two are free to do whatever you wish – but your great aunt and I had many conversations about the land and what she wanted to do with it. Unfortunately, she passed on before she was able to legalize it," Emily's clipped voice informed her.

Ashlyn ran her fingers through her hair. "Legalize what?"

"Her donation to the Nature Conservancy. Didn't she tell you?"

Now Ashlyn was doubly confused. Her great aunt wanted to donate the cottage to the Nature Conservancy? It was such a small plot of land that Ashlyn doubted the non-profit organization would be interested in it. Plus, it was developed, and she didn't think it was the kind of property the Nature Conservancy dealt with. "This is the first I'm hearing of it."

"I'm surprised she didn't mention it to you." Ashlyn could almost see the other woman's eyebrows raise.

"I'm not," Ashlyn said. "I loved my aunt, but she was a little scatterbrained at times."

Emily laughed. "She did march to the beat of her own drummer."

"And I was also overseas," Ashlyn continued. "My aunt didn't do e-mail, so she probably just forgot to put it into a letter."

"Then I'm glad I called. Like I said, it's up to you and Robert what you do with the property, but I thought I'd at least inform you of what Maude had intended."

"I'm glad you did call me, but until I talk to my cousin, I can't make any decisions about the cottage," Ashlyn said firmly.

There was a long pause. "This isn't about the cottage. It's about the property."

Ashlyn frowned. "The property? What property? Do you mean the lot that the cottage is on?"

There was a rustle of papers from the other end of the line. "I think there's some confusion here," Emily said. "I'm not talking about the cottage or the land it's on. This is a different parcel. One that your aunt bought very recently. Two-hundred acres of woods north of the Ottawa forest."

Ashlyn blinked. Her great aunt had purchased two-hundred acres? When? "I think I need to come and talk to you in person about this," she said. Suddenly, she was seeing Karl's offer to sell the property in an entirely different light.

At the hardware store, Nick selected a sturdy deadbolt, something he would have used back in Detroit, but never thought he'd need in Eagle River. He also picked out a steel entry door to replace the old wooden one that had been damaged in the break-in. It pained him to purchase these things. It was like the peace and quiet of the small town had been permanently destroyed. He'd always considered Eager River to be idyllic, but not anymore.

The sheriff's deputy who had come to the cabin to check out the robbery had also been dismayed. "This used to be such a nice town," he'd lamented to Nick as he'd dusted for fingerprints. "Made my life easy. What happened here is a real shame."

It was more than a shame. Whatever was happening to Ashlyn was worse than that. Nick had no idea what Karl Vanderkirk and his accomplices were up to, but it was something serious. Far more serious than what the Eagle River sheriff's department normally dealt with.

As Nick was turning a corner to head down the tool aisle, he nearly ran into Joanne Tanner, Eddie's wife, who was absently pushing a shopping cart. Joanne was a petite woman. So petite, in fact, that she said she could buy her clothes in the young miss department. Whenever she stood next to her husband, she was dwarfed by his large frame.

"Hi Nick," she said when she finally saw him. Her voice had a dreamy quality, and her eyes seemed to focus in on a faraway spot that was just over Nick's shoulder. Her face was blotchy and her eyes puffy, as if she'd been crying.

"Are you alright?" Nick asked, worried.

"Fine," she said sadly.

"Did the gypsies steal your kids?" he joked, hoping to make her smile. Normally, she was carrying a baby while a toddler and preschooler pulled at her legs. Nick had always wanted children of his own, but seeing how overwhelmed Joanne always was made him pause. Kids were an awfully big responsibility. Still, when he held the baby or play wrestled with the preschooler and his little sister, he'd feel a rush of longing. Eddie was a very lucky man.

"The kids are at my mother's," she said without a hint of a smile. "Do you think you could do me a favor?"

"Sure."

She held up two tubes of caulk. "Lizzie broke one of the tiles in the floor of the entryway, and I need to replace it. Which one of these would work best to glue down a new tile?"

"You'll need adhesive for that," Nick said. He walked her over to the tile section and picked out the brand of tile adhesive that he'd used when he'd redone his bathroom. "After the glue dries, then use the caulk."

"Thanks. I probably could have figured it out myself, but it might have taken two trips to the store to do it."

"Don't feel bad," Nick said. "Whenever I'm working on a project, it always takes me an extra six trips to the hardware store to get everything I need. I'm always forgetting something."

Finally, she smiled. "That makes me feel better." Then her expression darkened again, and she ran her fingers through her bobbed hair. "I've been asking Eddie for weeks to fix it, but he never has the time." She lowered her voice. "You saw him the other night, right? At the Sportsman?"

"Sure. He beat the pants off of me at pool. It wasn't my lucky night."

"What time did you go home?" Her brown eyes were anxious.

"Around nine," Nick said, puzzled.

"Eddie didn't get home until after ten."

That was the same night that Ashlyn had driven her car into a tree. Had it only been two days ago? "I called him because a friend of mine had an accident," Nick explained. He told her about Ashlyn being shot at. "I don't think Eddie left until ten o'clock."

Relief flooded Joanne's face. "That's exactly what he said. I was so worried about him! I'd thought that – " She hesitated.

"You thought what?"

She swallowed and her eyes grew moist. "He confides in you, doesn't he? I mean, he tells you things that he might not tell me."

Now Nick was worried as well as confused. "What's going on with him?"

"He's been gone so many nights lately," she confessed. "And he's never in the office anymore. I can never seem to get ahold of him. And when he is home, he's moody. He's taken up smoking again, too. I think he may be having an affair," she said softly. She blotted her eyes with her sleeves.

Nick gaped at her. Eddie having an affair? He tried to imagine his friend in the arms of another woman. It was a stretch. Eddie had always been extremely devoted to Joanne and the kids. Nick would have never suspected him of such behavior.

"It's happened before," Joanne said. "A couple of years ago. He never copped to it, but a wife knows. He smelled like another woman's perfume, and he started changing the way he looked. He cut his hair differently and began wearing cologne. I kept my mouth shut because of the kids, but I knew there was another woman in his life."

"I'm sorry," Nick said. It was the only thing he could think of to say. "If he is having an affair, he's never mentioned it to me. Are you sure he just isn't getting swamped at work? Things in town are always crazier when the tourists are here in the summer."

"That's what I keep telling myself. But like I said, something's up with him. A wife just knows." She seemed to give herself a mental shake. "I'm sorry to burden you with all of this," she said. "Please don't mention to Eddie that I asked about it."

"I won't," Nick promised. As Joanne walked away, Nick once again tried to picture his friend cheating on his wife. But instead of thinking it was impossible, he wondered if – just maybe – Joanne was right. Eddie hadn't been himself lately. His brush-off of Ashlyn and his unwillingness to help her were not his typical behavior. Nor was his anger when Nick had pressed him earlier in the day.

For Joanne and the kids' sake, Nick hoped that she was wrong.

# Twelve

Emily Wright looked exactly how Ashlyn had pictured her. She was perfectly groomed in her tailored business suit and no-nonsense heels. Not a silver hair of her head was out of place. Her handshake was firm, and she got right down to business.

"I don't expect you to sign the property over today," Emily said. "Obviously, you'll want to think about your decision. I'm simply making the offer and asking that you consider it."

Ashlyn settled into a seat across the large, dark walnut desk from the attorney. "I think it was very generous of my great aunt to want to donate the land, but I had an offer on the property last night. A very generous offer."

Emily's silver eyebrows rose. "How generous?"

"A hundred-thousand dollars." Ashlyn could still hardly believe it.

"That is a generous sum. Are you considering it?"

Ashlyn had considered it, all the way back to Eagle River. She obviously had no intention of selling it to either Karl Vanderkirk or his buyers – whoever they were. But if someone else had been willing to buy that property, she would have been tempted. It made so much sense to sell since it would solve her financial worries. She also felt that, if she agreed, she'd be ensuring her safety. She had a suspicion that it wasn't her the criminals wanted, but the property itself.

"I didn't even know that my great aunt had any property besides the cottage," Ashlyn said. Although Emily's office had sent her paperwork regarding her great aunt's estate, Ashlyn had hardly given the assets a glance. She thought that she'd already known what her aunt owned.

Emily shuffled through some papers on her desk. She put on a pair of gold-framed reading glasses and adjusted them to sit on the tip of her nose. "It was a recent purchase. A few months before her stroke, Maude bought the property outright. There's no mortgage on it."

"Who was her realtor?" Ashlyn asked. She tensed, expecting to hear the name Karl Rich or Karl Vanderkirk.

"There wasn't one," Emily said. "It went up for public auction, and your aunt bid on it and won." She passed one of the papers over to Ashlyn.

Ashlyn tried to decipher the legalese in the document but couldn't. All she saw was that her great aunt had paid less than a quarter of the one-hundred grand that Karl had offered her. "So my aunt bought it with the intention of giving it away?"

"She did." Emily took off her reading glasses and leaned back in her chair. "Your great aunt and I knew each other for a long time. She and my mother were good friends." The attorney smiled, finally allowing some warmth to show through the cracks of her all-business exterior. "My mother always referred Maude as a free spirit. A flowerchild before such things existed."

Ashlyn smiled back. It sounded as if Emily's mother knew her great aunt all right.

"Maude was troubled by what the tourist trade was doing to her little, northern town," Emily said. "Don't get me wrong. She wasn't against progress, but she hated to see corporate America knocking on Eagle River's door. She saw how fast food chains were putting mom-and-pop diners out of business across the country. She worried that the big box retailer stores would move in and be followed by strip malls or whatever else would add to the sprawl. She didn't want the little town she grew up in to disappear altogether."

Great aunt Maude had visited Ashlyn in Chicago a few times but never had been comfortable there. The noise, the crowds, even the endless stretches of asphalt and cement depressed her. More than once, she commented on how she couldn't understand what there was about city life that drew people to it.

"Anyway," Emily continued, "when Maude found that the property was up for sale, she bought it with the intention that it wouldn't fall into corporate hands."

Ashlyn dabbed at her eyes, once again heartbroken over the death. That sounded like her great aunt, all right. Aunt Maude had been a generous contributor to the organization Ashlyn had worked under when she'd been in Tanzania, and she'd given money to countless other charities besides. "I'm sure she loved the idea of preserving that land as a natural habitat," Ashlyn said.

Emily handed her a tissue. "I believe she also commented that the fairies and wood sprites would like it as well."

Ashlyn laughed despite her tears. "Yes, that sounds about right."

Now that she knew why her great aunt had planned to donate the land to charity, Ashlyn was less willing to sell. "Where is this property? I'd like to at least see it before I make any decisions."

Emily nodded and turned to the computer on her desk. With a few clicks of her mouse, she brought up a map and printed off a copy to give to Ashlyn. "It's quite remote," she said. "It's just north of the national forest. As far as I know, there aren't any roads leading to it. You'll either need to hike in or take an ATV. There are trails that run fairly close."

"Thank you for your help," Ashlyn said, taking the map. "I'll let you know what I decide." She stood and shook Emily's hand.

"Any time. And again, I'm very sorry for your loss."

Ashlyn smiled and nodded as she headed out the door. It looked like she'd be staying in Eagle River a little longer after all.

On his way home from the hardware store, Nick came upon the abandoned house where his sudden adventure had all began. Immediately, his mind went to Ashlyn. His head told him that he'd done the right thing in encouraging her to return home. It was the only way to make sure that she was truly safe. But the ache in his heart said that he was a fool for letting her go. He'd only known her a few, short days, but already he felt as though he were missing a lifelong friend.

He promised himself that he would continue working on the mystery she'd left behind. And when he figured out what was going on and who was behind it, he would bring her back to Eagle River. They might live in separate cities, but they had the northern woods in common. For her, he would give the long distance relationship thing a try.

Nick glanced at his left hand, suddenly very conscious of his wedding ring. For the past two years, he'd worn it out of loyalty to Sarah. Despite the fact that she had cheated on him, he felt guilty over her death. The ring had been a reminder of what he'd lost as well as a promise to make things right by finding her killer. But he didn't need the ring any longer, he realized. Yes, he still planned on solving his wife's murder, but he no longer needed the reminder.

Nick pulled off the side of the road and looked at the ring on his hand. It was time to let go of the guilt. He had to move on. With a little prayer to his wife, he pulled the ring from his finger and slipped it into his shirt pocket. He was ready to let go and start afresh. The next time he saw Ashlyn, he would do it as a free man.

As he was pulling back onto the road, he saw a column of smoke in his rearview mirror. Puzzled, he looked over his shoulder and saw that the smoke was coming from the chimney in the run-down house. Maybe someone was finally home.

Nick made a U-turn and pulled into the driveway of the ramshackle house. Ahead of him sat an old van. With its rusting rocker panels and nearly bald tires, the thing appeared as dilapidated as the house. The bumper was plastered with stickers – peace signs and Wiccan symbols – and painted on the side was a coyote howling at the moon.

A young man in a tie-dyed T-shirt sat on an overturned apple crate on the front porch and strummed a guitar. He played a lazy melody that hung like pollen on the warm, summer air. Seeing Nick, he lifted his hand in greeting.

This wasn't Ashlyn's cousin. He was too young, and his hair was brown, not red. Still, he acted like he owned the place, motioning Nick to another overturned apple crate. "Come on and take a load off," he said, setting the guitar aside.

Nick ignored the offer of a seat. "I'm looking for Robert Shay. Have you seen him?"

The young man squinted into the sun that shone behind Nick. "You mean Bobby? No, I haven't seen him."

"Isn't this his house?" Nick asked.

"He lets us crash here when he's not around," the young man explained. "My girlfriend and I do a lot of couch surfing in the summer. It's a great way to see the country."

Nick glanced at the decrepit van. Traveling in that thing had to be an adventure all its own. "Do you have any idea where Robert might be?"

The young man offered him a bland smile. "Last I heard, he was camping in the north woods. He planned on spending the whole summer there."

Finally! A bit of news that Nick could use. "Where in the woods is he?"

The young man scratched his chin. "I don't know. I make it a policy not to ask too many questions." Seeing Nick's disappointment, he added, "Why don't you give me a message, and I'll pass it on if I see him."

A young woman with a crown of dreadlocks and a gypsy skirt that hung to her ankles appeared in the doorway. "Everything okay, Dylan?" she asked.

"No problem, Lilly," Dylan said, his smile widening. "This man is looking for Bobby, that's all."

Lilly frowned. "We just got into town last night. We thought Bobby would be here to meet us, but the place is empty."

Nick peered past Lilly and into the dim living room. He could just make out a jumble of sleeping bags, and a spill of clothing from an overturned duffel bag. The two appeared to be squatting. He wondered if Robert really did allow them to stay at his house, or if that was just a story.

"If you don't want to give me the message, you're welcome to hang around and wait for him," Dylan said. "Lilly's making rice and beans. You can join us for dinner if you want."

"No thanks," Nick said. There didn't seem any point in pressing them for more answers. The pair seemed as guileless as children, not capable of violence. Whoever had been shooting at Ashlyn, it wasn't these two peaceniks. "When you see Robert, tell him that Ashlyn is looking for him."

The young man offered a lazy salute. "Will do," he said and picked up the guitar again.

When Nick returned home, he realized that he'd never gotten around to refilling the bird feeders. It was summer, so there was plenty of other food for his feathered friends, but he always felt guilty when he let the feeders go empty for too long. After all, he was the one who had invited them to his home in the first place.

Nick had finished filling the sunflower seed feeders and was about to move on to the thistle seed ones when his eye caught on the trail camera mounted to the back porch. It was a motion sensitive device. Like he'd explained to Ashlyn, anything that moved was caught on film. Along with the bobcat and the bear, Nick had watched himself filling bird feeders many times in the past. Now he realized that the camera would have also picked up whoever had broken into his house.

He grabbed the camera from its perch and took it inside. He was halfway to his desk before he realized that he no longer had a computer. He'd have to review the footage on the camera itself. This proved difficult as the camera's screen was very tiny compared to his computer screen. And since it had been quite a while since he'd last looked at the images, he had to fast forward through many weeks' worth of video before he found what he was looking for.

Finally, he came to the section he wanted. He bent over the camera like a fortuneteller over her crystal ball, eager to find out the secret of who had robbed him. However, when he reviewed the video, Nick didn't recognize the blunt features of the thief.

Disappointed, he watched as the intruder crept through his back yard and up to the back door. The video cut out for a while since the door was out of range. When it picked up again, Nick was walking across the yard just as the thief was streaking away from the house.

Nick paused the video. The footage was grainy and the screen small. Without seeing it on the computer, it would be impossible to get a clearer picture of the man. All Nick knew for sure was that the thief was about five foot six, had brown hair, and carried a backpack. He watched the video several more times, but he still couldn't recognize him. Frustrated, he set the camera aside.

A knock at the door pulled him from his reverie. He seldom got visitors and wondered if it was the deputy with some good news about his computer. To his delight, however, Ashlyn stood on the porch. She gave him a shy smile. "Do you think I can stay with you for a little while longer? I have some new information that may help us solve the mystery."

Did she even have to ask? With a grin, Nick opened the door wider.

Ashlyn drank in Nick's features and wondered how she'd ever found the strength to leave him. Coming back was like returning home. She was so glad to see him that she threw her arms around his waist and hugged him close. He responded immediately, pressing his muscular chest against her. A pleasant flush spread from Ashlyn's cheeks to the rest of her body. Her breathing quickened. She held on as if she could never let go. The ache of loneliness that had settled into her heart as she'd started driving back to Chicago was completely gone. She felt whole once more.

Unfortunately, Nick – ever professional – broke off the contact by stepping away. Ashlyn wished he'd set aside his principles and let his instincts take over. But she had to admit that he was probably right. They shouldn't run wild until this whole thing was settled. After that, they could fully enjoy themselves.

"You said that you found another clue to this mystery," Nick prompted.

Ashlyn sat on the couch. "I got a phone call from my great aunt's attorney. According to her, Great Aunt Maude bought some property that I didn't know about. It's north of the big woods in a totally secluded area. Apparently, she was planning to donate it to the Nature Conservancy."

Nick gave a low whistle. "So that's what Karl is after. Not the cottage, but the property in the woods."

"Exactly." Ashlyn looked at her hands. "I have to confess that I'm thinking of selling it. Not to Karl and not for the money," she quickly explained, "but to get that target off my back."

Nick sat next to her. "Is that what you really want to do?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "But before I agree to anything, I want to take a look at that property and see what everyone is so interested in."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Nick said with a worried frown. "There's no telling what you'll find up there."

That had Ashlyn concerned as well. Whatever secret Karl had hidden up at the property, he was willing to kill to keep it safe. "That picture we found at my great aunt's cottage was an aerial shot, right? Maybe we can hire a plane to give us a look at it."

Nick mulled this over. "It would be safer than going in ourselves," he agreed. "But do you know exactly where it is?"

"I have a map." She laid the map the attorney had given her onto the coffee table and pointed to the property. "It's not far from the Eagle River."

Nick picked up the map and studied it. "Something about this seems familiar."

"Why don't you look it up on your computer," she suggested.

He nodded and got to his feet. Then he stopped. "I can't. I had a break in here earlier today, and the thief got away with my computer."

Her eyes widened. "That's terrible!"

"They took a few things from the cabin, but they were mostly interested in the room you slept in." Nick ran his fingers through his hair. "The place was trashed. They were looking for something specific."

"They wanted something from me?" She frowned. "So you think this isn't about the property?"

"I'm not sure. Is there anything you have that they might want?"

Ashlyn bit her lip, thinking. She'd packed only the essentials when coming up north as she hadn't planned on staying more than a couple of days. Other than the autographed soccer ball, she'd brought nothing but her clothes. "I can't think of anything."

He showed her the trail camera. "I have the thief on tape, but I can't make out who he is."

Ashlyn watched the grainy footage. "Could it be Karl?"

"Maybe, but the body build isn't the same."

"I don't think we'll know anything until we look at that property." She glanced out the window. The sun was lowering in the sky, and the shadows of the trees were long. "Although, we'll need to wait until tomorrow. It's already after six."

"Until then, can I interest you in some dinner?"

Ashlyn helped Nick prepare skewers of shish kabobs and then made a salad while he grilled the kabobs. During dinner, they split a bottle of wine and playfully argued over which football team was better – the Lions or the Bears.

After cleaning up the dishes, Nick said, "I suppose we should turn in if we want to get an early start." Ashlyn reluctantly agreed, but once she was in bed, she knew that she wouldn't be able to sleep. She had far too much on her mind. After half an hour of staring at the ceiling, she gave up and snuck out of the house to sit on the porch swing.

The front door creaked open and Nick, wearing only pajama pants, walked out. "You can't sleep, either?"

The way those pajama pants hung low on his hips made sleep the last thing on Ashlyn's mind. He looked so sexy standing there in the moonlight. She wanted to feel that muscular chest pressed against her breasts. She longed to have him take her into his arms and run his hands through her hair.

Hands. That's when she noticed that no longer wore his wedding ring.

She couldn't bear it any longer. If he wasn't going to approach her, then it was up to her to go to him. Heart pounding, she stood up, slid her arms around his neck and kissed him.

This time, she didn't hold anything back. She kissed him deeply, the way she'd been dying to do ever since she met him. When she let her tongue dart into his mouth, he buried his hands in her hair and crushed her lips against his. Her nipples strained against the thin fabric of her T-shirt. Through his pajama pants, she felt the length of him hardening against her thigh. She rubbed against him until he groaned. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. His voice was hoarse with lust.

"I'm sure." She'd never wanted anything more in her life.

"Then come with me," he said. He lifted her into his arms and carried her to his bed.

# Thirteen

Nick undressed Ashlyn slowly, savoring every moment. He slipped the t-shirt over her head then, with his lips, he teased her nipples through the cloth of her bra until they were hard and erect. When she moaned and wrapped her legs around his waist, he kissed her deeply, hungry for her.

He had resisted temptation for the past two days, but now he listened to his heart. The pain he'd felt when she'd left him that afternoon was something he never wanted back. These past few days had been the happiest he'd known in years, and he intended to keep her in his life. Even if it meant leaving his business and moving to Chicago. None of that mattered now that Ashlyn was in his arms. It was meant to be. He knew it.

The world around them faded as he focused completely on her. Every sense was in tune. Like the petals of a rose, Ashlyn's skin was soft and smooth and smelled of the sweet soap she'd used. Her mouth tasted of the wine they'd had at dinner. She sighed with pleasure as he unfastened the button of her shorts and slipped them over her hips.

Her hands moved over his body, her fingers lightly caressing his back then moving downward. When she stroked the length of him, he groaned and rubbed himself against her palm. Eager for more, he guided her hand to the waistband of his jeans. She unfastened the button and slipped her hand inside, teasing him with her gentle touch until he thought he'd go mad with desire.

His kisses intensified. She'd awakened a part of him that had been asleep for too long. Now, he couldn't get enough of her. Her body reacted to his urgency with an intensity of its own. He wanted to thrust deep inside of her, but he held himself back. This was all about her pleasure. Her need. Despite his impatience, Nick wanted her fulfillment more than he wanted his own.

She guided him into her, and he thrust his hips against hers, drawing moans of pleasure from her lips. As his movements became stronger and more direct, she responded with equal passion. Her fingers clutched at him, and she arched her back, eager for more. Tension built, threatening to overwhelm him entirely. When at last the sweet moment of ecstasy came, Ashlyn was right there with him, crying out his name even as he called out hers.

The fire in Ashlyn's belly grew hotter and hotter as Nick's tongue traced the outline of her nipples. He teased her with his teeth, and she arched her back, hungry for more. He softly caressed the most sensitive parts of her body – the insides of her wrists, the insides of her elbows, the backs of her knees – until she melted beneath him.

He was so beautiful! She ran her hands over his back, delighting in the way his muscles tensed at her touch. His hands were strong but gentle as they explored the secrets of her body, and she gave herself up to him fully, quivering at his touch.

She was eager to have him inside of her, but he was maddeningly patient and brought her to the edge of bliss over and over again. Each time, her body tensed more and more, begging for release, but he held back.

Wild with passion, she locked her legs around his waist and turned over so that she was now on top. He laughed deep inside his throat as she took control. She didn't waste time undressing him, but tore off his shirt so that she could run her fingers through the soft hair on his chest. She unfastened his jeans and let her fingers wander over his shaft, teasing him the way he had teased her.

When she felt that he was ready to explode, she drew him into her, gasping with pleasure as she did. Her body moved against his in a perfect, steady rhythm that built up delicious pressure inside of her. He held onto her hips as they coupled. Her name escaped his lips as he called for more. As her ecstasy increased, her focus narrowed to a single, intense point of pleasure that suddenly burst apart in a series of blissful waves. At the moment of her release, Nick cried out as well, gripping her as if he never meant to let go.

For a long time, they lay entwined. With her head on his chest, Ashlyn listened to his heart beat in a soothing, steady rhythm to her own. She touched his cheek, unable to believe the good fortune that fate had delivered to her.

Nick eased himself away and sat up to look at her. "You're so beautiful," he whispered. He ran his fingers over a lock of her hair. "I'm the luckiest man in the world."

She smiled back at him. "That's funny because I'm the luckiest woman." She held out her hands, and he entwined her fingers with his own. She pulled him in close for another kiss. With him, she felt so at ease. So safe and cared for. She'd never felt this way with another man, and marveled that she was able to feel it now. Some people went a lifetime without making such a connection, but somehow fortune had blessed her.

For the past three hours, Karl and Seth had lounged by the fire, passing a bottle of whiskey between them. Robert sat nearby, pretending to look into the flames, but keeping his full attention on the other two. They'd been drinking steadily since the sun went down, but it hadn't improved their moods. There'd been too many unpredicted bumps in the road for either of them to celebrate.

The afternoon had been tense. Seth had gotten a phone call earlier in the day and had disappeared for a few hours. He'd returned with the hiker's backpack full of stolen goods. The papers had gone directly into the fire. The computer and iPad were smashed and buried. He and Karl had argued over who would get the camera.

Now, a bottle of whiskey later, Seth was flat on his back near the fire, snoring. Karl was sitting with his back propped up against a fallen log. He was nodding off. In a few minutes, both men would be out. That's when Robert would make his move.

Robert's arms were still bound, but his legs were free. He'd convinced the other two to cut the ties an hour before when he claimed to have to use the bathroom. They'd been so deep into their bottle at that point that they hadn't thought to tie him up again.

When Karl joined Seth on the ground and flung an arm over his eyes, Robert slowly got to his feet. Both ATVs were locked up tight, and the keys were in Karl's pants pocket. Robert would have to walk out of the woods. Unfortunately, his leg was nearly out of commission. Karl's poke with the dirty stick had infected the wound, and the skin around the gunshot was now inflamed and weeping pus. Putting any pressure on it was agony. Robert was feverish, too. Chills had been chasing hot flashes all afternoon. But if Robert wanted away from his two captors, he'd have to suck up the pain and push aside the fever. Putting thoughts of Ashlyn firmly in his mind, he limped towards the trail as quietly as he could.

Once he was out of sight of the bonfire, Robert turned on the tiny flashlight he'd sneaked from the tent and used it to light his way. When he found the unmarked road that led out of the woods, he let out a sigh of relief. All he had to do was follow it for five miles to the highway.

The going was slow. He had to practically drag his injured leg behind him. However, he was determined that this time he wasn't going to get caught. When the pain became especially bad, he made himself count one hundred steps before taking a break. When he did stop, he was winded and lathered with sweat. His throat burned, and he longed for a swallow of water. After a few seconds of resting, he forced himself to count another hundred steps.

He was almost to four hundred steps when something tripped him. He fell just as a bang reverberated through the trees. Tiny fragments of white heat entered his thigh, and he grunted in pain, rolling onto his back and clutching his leg. He'd tripped one of the booby-traps. Luckily, it hadn't done him much harm. However, the noise of the explosion had probably reached camp. Maybe it was even loud enough to rouse Karl and Seth from their alcohol-induced slumber. If they realized he was gone, they'd come looking for him.

Robert pressed himself to go faster, but the new injuries threatened to undo him. His strength started to flag. He went from counting a hundred steps to counting fifty, and finally twenty. Every step was grueling. He'd overestimated his strength. He tried to keep his spirits up, but a deep part of him knew that he couldn't walk out of the woods on his own.

The sound of an engine pulled him up short. Someone was coming towards him in an ATV. Headlights swept through the forest as the vehicle bounced over the rutted track towards him. Heart pounding, Robert limped behind large rock that lay next to the trail.

The ATV came closer. Robert broke into a cold sweat. He had a sinking feeling that he'd never get out of the woods alive. No matter that Karl and Seth hadn't killed him yet, they would sooner or later. All they waited for was permission from the big boss. Once the fourth partner gave the order, Robert was headed for a shallow grave.

The headlights grew brighter. Peeking around the edge of the rock, Robert saw Karl bearing down on him. Karl's face was twisted with rage. He wore a gun on his hip. This was it. Karl was going to shoot him tonight whether the big boss ordered it or not.

With his wrists tied together and his injured leg, Robert was an easy target. But he shoved the negative thoughts away. One way or another, he was going to make it out of the woods alive.

The ATV was nearly even with him. If Karl kept on the same path, he'd pass inches from where Robert crouched. There was no way that he could miss seeing him. Robert had to act fast or risk being discovered. He tensed, ready to spring.

The moment the front tires of the ATV passed by the rock, Robert launched himself forward. Using the last of his strength, he grabbed hold of the sleeve of Karl's jacket and yanked. Karl shouted in surprise as he tumbled off the four-wheeler. His arms pinwheeled madly, but he couldn't gain his balance. His head hit the rock with a thump that was audible above the ATV's engine. Karl crumpled to the ground, motionless.

The ATV continued on its path for a few yards before crashing into a tree. Robert knelt by Karl and felt for a pulse. It was there, but faint. Without hesitating, Robert took the knife from Karl's pocket and the gun from his hip. Then he ran towards the ATV.

Robert was trying to cut through the rope around his wrists when he heard voices. Had Seth come for him? Robert limped towards the safety of a tree and crouched down, listening hard. A dog barked, and another one answered. The voices called to one another. Flashes of light came through the trees as flashlights scanned the woods. The sounds came from farther down the trail, proving that it wasn't Seth.

Robert dropped the gun and the knife and came out from behind the tree. "Over here!" he croaked. "I'm over here!" He limped as quickly as he could towards the sounds which were growing closer. His injured leg was on fire, and he stumbled twice in his hurry to reach the other men.

The dogs' barking intensified as they caught his scent. Robert fell to his knees on the trail and couldn't make himself stand up. "Over here!" he cried again as loudly as he could.

In a few minutes, he was being sniffed by a pair of dogs who continued to bray. A man holding a flashlight approached. "Who's this?"

"Not the guy we're looking for," said a second voice.

Robert cracked his eyes open, but the intensity of their flashlights blinded him. One of the men knelt down next to him. "He's been shot! And look at this – he's tied up!"

Robert wanted to pour out his story to the pair, but instead he said, "Water!" Almost immediately, a bottle was thrust into his hands. Cool water rushed down his burning throat, quenching the fire inside of him. "The man over by the rock was trying to get me," he said through swollen lips. "He had a gun."

The man who'd given him water went over to the rock and gave a low whistle. He took a radio from his belt. "Sheriff, we have two injured men here on the trail."

Static crackled on the radio. "Is either of them our man?"

"That's a negative."

More static. "Can you bring them in?"

"Can you walk, buddy?" the man asked. With a great force of will, Robert got to his feet. The man took a knife from his pocket and used it to slice through the zip tie binding Robert's wrists. When he was freed, two men aided him by putting his arms around their shoulders. Robert sagged in-between them, a dead weight.

"There's an emergency vehicle parked on the forestry road not far from here," said one of the men. "Don't worry. We'll get you someplace safe. Hal will stay with the other one until the sheriff arrives."

Sick and dizzy, Robert couldn't force a word of thanks from his lips. He had so much to tell them, but the words were bottled up inside of him, blocked by his agony. The fever that had plagued him was resurging. His body shook as chills took over. His teeth chattered.

By the time they reached the forestry's pickup truck, Robert had nearly passed out. He was hoisted into a seat, then heard the comforting slam of the car door. He was sick, but not too sick to celebrate. He was free! He was finally free!

# Fourteen

Nick woke early, Ashlyn nestled in his arms. It was a blissful way to start the day. He wondered if he should feel any regret for what he'd done. After all, Ashlyn was still technically his client. But he couldn't work up the guilt. He hadn't been this happy in a long time, and from the way that Ashlyn had responded to him, it was clear that she was happy as well. Finally, his head was starting to agree with his heart. This was a good thing.

Now that Ashlyn broken down all of his barriers, Nick vowed that he'd never let her go. The two of them may have been separated by five hours of driving time, but Nick was willing to do whatever it took to make their relationship work. Even if that meant uprooting himself and moving to Chicago. He'd do it for her. He'd been right before – long distance relationships were not for him. But he'd also been wrong in thinking that he could give up the one woman who made him completely happy.

He kissed Ashlyn's shoulder and slipped out of bed. After a shower, he went into the kitchen and started the coffee. He was just deciding on what to make for breakfast when the phone rang. To Nick's surprise, it was Eddie.

"We picked up Karl Vanderkirk last night," Eddie said.

Nick's spirits soared. "Finally! Did he admit to loosening the lug nuts on my Jeep?"

"He's not admitting to anything. He sustained a closed-head injury while operating an OHV last night. He's in a coma."

Nick wasn't the type to cheer for another man's misfortune, even someone as criminal as Karl Vanderkirk, but he was relieved that the man was out of the way. Now Ashlyn would finally be safe! "You'll let us know what he says when he wakes up?"

"If he wakes up, I'll be there to interrogate him," Eddie agreed and hung up.

"I smell coffee." Ashlyn stood in the doorway dressed in one of Nick's old T-shirts. The garment fell mid-thigh, showing off her long, shapely legs. Nick had a flashback to the night before when those legs had been wrapped around his waist. The thought warmed him up as much as the coffee had.

"Good news. Eddie called and said that Karl is in custody." He poured her coffee while giving her the details.

"Thank God," Ashlyn said. She sank down into a seat at the kitchen table. "I can finally walk the streets of Eagle River without that target on my back. Did the sheriff say anything about finding my cousin?"

Nick shook his head. "Maybe Robert really is on the fly-in fishing trip."

Ashlyn thoughtfully sipped her coffee. "He could be, but I don't trust Karl's word on it."

"Neither do I."

"Now that Karl's out of the picture, we can go up to the property and see it for ourselves," Ashlyn said. "We don't have to fly over it."

"I was thinking the same thing. It would be good to know what big secret he's been hiding." Nick consulted Ashlyn's map. "It's going to be a rugged trip, though. We'll have to canoe up the Eagle River then hike in from there." He gave Ashlyn an appraising look, remembering the silk blouse and strappy sandals she'd worn the day before. "We should get you outfitted before we leave."

"Good idea. All my suitable clothing is back in Chicago. I wasn't planning for an outdoor adventure when I packed."

He smiled, then grew serious. "I know that Karl is out of the picture, but we still need to be careful. I want you to promise that you'll do exactly as I say. I can't keep you safe if you don't let me."

Her stormy, gray eyes met his. "I promise. I want both of us to get through this in one piece."

Nick took her hand and drew her in for a kiss. Going back to bed was a huge temptation, but the mystery called. It was time to figure out what was going on.

Robert woke up when the nurse came to take his vitals. "Feeling any better?" she asked, checking the IV.

Robert rubbed a hand over his face. His head ached and his injured leg throbbed dully. He had patchy memories of coming to the emergency clinic the night before and talking to the doctor. He'd been given intravenous fluids for his dehydration, and antibiotics for his festering leg. Then he'd fallen into a deep, exhausted sleep.

Now, as the memories caught up with him, Robert was anxious to confess what he knew about the operation in the woods. It was imperative that he talk to the sheriff. He also needed to get ahold of Ashlyn and tell her to leave Eagle River right away.

"I need to make a phone call," he told the nurse.

"I think you should rest first," she said. She was a middle-aged woman with smile lines around her mouth. She put a plump hand on his shoulder to make him lie back in bed. "You had quite a night last night."

"No. This can't wait. I have to talk to the sheriff."

"He was in here earlier," the nurse said. "I'm sure he'll be back soon."

That wasn't good enough. Robert spied a phone on a table next to his bed. "How do I get an outside line?"

The nurse shook her head in disapproval, but seemed to understand that he wasn't about to let it go. "Dial nine and then your number."

Robert did as instructed, hitting nine then zero to get the operator. "Put me through to the Eagle River sheriff's department," he said. When the call connected, he asked to speak with the sheriff.

"He's out of the office right now. This is Deputy Solomon. Can I help you?"

Robert stifled a curse. He wasn't sure he wanted to trust his information to a mere deputy. Then again, he wanted this thing put to rest as soon as possible. The quicker he brought the authorities to the campsite, the better.

Robert heard voices in the hall. A moment later, the sheriff walked into the room. Relieved, Robert hung up the phone without saying goodbye. "Sheriff! I need to report a murder."

"Easy now," the sheriff said, putting up his hand. He stood by the bed, his large frame filling up the tiny room. "Take a deep breath and start at the beginning."

Comforted by the sheriff's presence, Robert gave himself a moment to calm down. "I was camping in the north woods with two other men. A hiker came into our camp, and one of the men I was with shot him in the head." Saying the words out loud made the event more real. Robert had seen plenty of death on his tours of duty, but the stone-cold execution of an innocent civilian troubled him as deeply as anything he'd witnessed overseas. In his dreams, he could still see the shocked, terrified expression on the young man's face.

A shadow had passed over the sheriff's features. "Why would your companion shoot him?"

Now that he'd acknowledged the murder, it was easier to confess to the other crime. "The hiker saw something he shouldn't have." Robert swallowed. "There's a marijuana field up there."

The sheriff's jaws had been chewing hard at a piece of gum, but now they stopped. "A marijuana field?"

"Twenty acres' worth. It's been harvested once, and it's getting ready to be harvested again. The hiker stumbled across it because he got lost." Once again, Robert cursed himself for getting involved with the operation. Seth had promised him a quarter of the profits, well into the six figures, for only a few months of work. At the time, Robert had thought of the partnership as a victimless crime. He could use the money to buy himself the fishing boat he'd been dreaming of. Like Seth said, it would be easy. Only it hadn't turned out that way at all.

The sheriff's face was impassive, but all of his previous good humor was gone. "Who else knows about this?"

"No one but me and the two men I was with. They were holding me hostage because I wanted to report the murder." Robert looked at his chafed wrists. "I never should have gotten involved," he added miserably.

"You know that I have to arrest you."

Robert didn't argue. He deserved no less. "I know where the camp is," he said.

The sheriff nodded. "Get dressed. You're coming with me."

Ashlyn glanced at Nick as he drove into town and smiled to herself. There were still two weeks left of summer vacation before she had to return to teaching in Chicago. She should be organizing her classroom for the fall, but she could wait a little longer before returning. Instead, she would spend that time up here. She and Nick had already shared a great deal of themselves with each other, but there was so much more she wanted to know about him. Spending a few lazy days and sensuous nights at his cabin would be the perfect way for them to learn about each other.

"You look happy," he said, smiling.

"I am happy." Being with him made up for everything she'd been put through. Other than the time she'd spent overseas, the past thirty-six hours had been the most special time in her life. The previous night had been magical. Ashlyn never had a lover who paid such close attention to her needs. His urgency had ignited sparks, but the way he'd reigned in his wild passion had made the moment so much more intense.

She took his hand and squeezed it. A week ago, she never would have believed that it was possible to make so deep a connection with someone she'd just met. But now she was a believer in such things as soul mates and love at first sight. She'd been wrong before about fate dealing her a losing hand. Right now, she was holding nothing but aces.

Ottawa Outdoor Outfitters was just opening when Nick and Ashlyn pulled into the parking lot. The store was crowded with outdoor clothing, hiking gear, and fishing tackle. A wooden canoe hung from the rafters overhead.

After looking at several of the displays, Ashlyn chose a pair of cargo shorts, a yellow, cotton T-shirt, and a pair of hiking sandals then slipped into the dressing room. A moment later, she reappeared to model for Nick. "What do you think?"

He nodded his approval. "Much better. You look ready to go mountaineering."

She laughed. "Maybe not that, but I am all set to canoe and hike."

Ashlyn pulled the tags off of the clothing and brought them up to the cash register. When she spotted a small day pack, she added that to her purchases along with bottles of water and a handful of energy bars.

The cashier was an older man with a gray, handlebar mustache. The name Art was stitched onto his blue polo shirt. When he saw the name on her credit card, he said, "Ashlyn Shay. Are you by chance related to Robert Shay?"

"That's my cousin," Ashlyn said. "I've been looking for him all weekend. Do you have any idea where he is?"

"He usually comes in here all the time to buy fishing lures and other tackle, but I have hardly seen him lately," Art said. "In fact, he hasn't been in here since the beginning of the summer. He bought all kinds of camping gear – a five-man tent, camping cots, sleeping bags – the works."

"I heard he was on a fly-in fishing trip to Canada," Ashlyn said.

Art nodded. "Could be. That man does love to fish. In fact, he was talking about his plans to buy a fishing boat. A real nice fishing boat. Something I couldn't have afforded."

"A fishing boat?" Ashlyn asked.

"That's right. He showed me a picture of it. It had all of the topnotch gizmos and gadgets. I asked him if he'd won the lottery, but he said he had another plan to get the money. Told me it was a surefire investment."

Ashlyn and Nick exchanged a look. "Did he talk about selling any property?" Nick asked.

Art put the day pack, the waters, and the energy bars into a plastic bag. "He did talk about a parcel of land his great aunt had willed to him, but he didn't say he was going to sell it. Sounded more like he was going to invest in the property. I wasn't sure what he had in mind. Maybe he was going to develop it or something. I don't know. Anyway, he sounded real excited about it."

Investing in the property? Ashlyn was sure that it was some kind of scheme that Karl had hooked him into. A knot formed in her stomach. She had a sinking feeling that her cousin was mixed up in something terrible. "Did he mention a man named Karl Vanderkirk? Or maybe Karl Rich?"

Art pulled on his mustache, thinking. "That name doesn't sound familiar. But Robert did talk about an army buddy of his. Said the two of them were in Afghanistan together. I got the impression that's who Robert was going camping with."

Could Karl be the old army buddy? Karl hadn't looked like someone who had been in the army, but then again, Ashlyn probably didn't look like someone who had helped to build a school overseas.

"Were they going camping on the property?" Nick asked.

"Sounded that way. Whatever he had planned, it seemed that he was going to spend most of the summer there. He laid in enough supplies for a long stay."

So Robert was up at the property. Ashlyn hoped that he would still be there when she and Nick arrived. Just seeing her cousin would put her mind at ease.

She gathered her purchases and followed Nick back out to the Jeep. As she glanced at the canoe he had secured to the roof of the vehicle, a shiver of anticipation traveled down her spine. Whatever was in those woods was about to be discovered.

Robert sat in the back of the sheriff's unmarked SUV. Once again, his wrists were shackled, this time by the handcuffs the sheriff had slapped on him the minute he'd gotten dressed. "Either we'll need to get some ATVs, or we'll have to hike to the camp," Robert said. "There's a two-track that we were using to haul out the product, but it's not accessible by car."

The sheriff said nothing.

"I own that old bungalow out on route 27. There's a barn on my property where we were trimming and drying the weed," Robert added. Now that he'd spoken of his crimes, the confessions came easily. It was relief to get everything off his chest.

When the sheriff remained quiet, Robert settled in for the trip to the national forest, but to his surprise, the sheriff slowed when they reached the old house. A ratty van was parked in the driveway proving that the trimmers were arriving on schedule. Robert didn't see any activity around the house, but he suspected the trimmers were still sleeping off the party they'd no doubt held the night before.

The sheriff pulled to the end of the driveway. "I want to see that shed you were talking about," he said.

"Follow the tire tracks," Robert told him.

The SUV bumped down the trail, and in a moment, they were at the fence surrounding the pole barn. Robert gave the sheriff the combination to the keypad lock on the gate. "Let me go first," Robert said, anticipating the dogs. Nothing moved. Where were the guard dogs? Karl was supposed to have been taking care of them, but they were nowhere to be seen. Puzzled, Robert led the sheriff over to the pole barn.

Inside the barn, it was pitch dark. The sheriff hit the lights, letting Robert see the gun pointed at his ribs. "Sit on the floor," the sheriff growled, motioning to where one of the ATVs sat.

Numb with fear, Robert did as he was directed. Immediately, the sheriff unlocked one of the cuffs on his wrist and chained him up to the ATV.

The sheriff's face had gone cold and hard. "I'm not letting you put our operation at risk," he snarled. "I've worked too damn hard."

A cold knot of fear formed in Robert's stomach. He was looking at the fourth partner. The one who had ordered the hiker's execution.

"I won't say anything," Robert said. "Just let me and my cousin go, and I'll keep quiet."

"That's right. You will keep quiet." The sheriff raised his gun, and Robert closed his eyes.

From outside came the roar of motorcycles. Robert's eyes popped open. The sheriff swore softly and went to the door and peeked through the crack. "More trimmers up at the house," he muttered.

Robert let out his breath. Any gunshots would be heard up at the house. The sheriff wouldn't risk that. For now, Robert was safe.

Sheriff Tanner's cellphone rang. Keeping his eyes on the house, the sheriff answered. "Tanner," he said brusquely. "He's awake? Has he been talking to anyone? I see."

Robert's head jerked up. Was the sheriff talking about Karl? Robert certainly hoped so. If Karl started talking, the whole operation would fall apart and Robert would be rescued.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." The sheriff pressed the 'end call' button, and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

The sound of voices carried from the house. Robert couldn't tell how many motorcyclists had arrived, but he figured it was more than two.

"I'm leaving now, but I'll be back to deal with you," the sheriff said. "But in case you have any idea about trying to escape – " He slammed the butt of his gun down on the side of Robert's head, instantly plunging Robert into an inky darkness.

# Fifteen

The public launch was empty of cars. Ashlyn grabbed the daypack of water and energy bars from the Jeep while Nick withdrew a handgun from the glove compartment.

"Do you really think we'll need that?" she asked, suddenly nervous. "I mean, Karl's not around anymore."

Nick checked the clip. "Call me cautious, but I don't want to take any chances." He put the gun into a waterproof dry pack and shouldered it.

She supposed that he was right. She'd had so many problems since coming to Eagle River that it wouldn't hurt to be careful.

Ashlyn helped Nick slip the canoe into the water. "Have you done this before?" Nick asked, handing her a paddle.

"It's been years. I'm very out of practice," she admitted.

"Then I'll take the back and have you sit in the front. That way, I can steer." He held the canoe steady while Ashlyn took her place at the bow. The canoe rocked when Nick sat down making Ashlyn clutch the gunwales. It really had been a long time since she'd done this. Nick shoved off with his paddle, and they were heading down the Eagle River.

They traveled swiftly. Here, the river was narrow and moved at a clip that Ashlyn found alarming. Luckily, Nick was good at his job and steered them away from the hidden dangers of rocks and submerged logs. "I know this part of the river pretty well," he said. "Up ahead, though, we'll have to be more careful." Ashlyn nodded tensely.

Despite her concerns over the river, she found the trip enjoyable. There was so much to see. A turtle on an old log slipped into the water as they approached. A bald eagle soared overhead. "I wish that I could have brought my camera," Nick said.

"We'll have to come back here someday," Ashlyn said. Hopefully, that someday would be soon.

A large fish flashed beneath the water as they passed. "Did you see that?" Ashlyn asked. "I think it was a trout."

When Nick didn't reply, she turned halfway in her seat to see him. He stared at the shoreline in brooding silence, his jaw tense.

"Nick? Everything okay?"

He pointed to a fallen tree that overhung the water. "That's where they found Sarah's body," he said.

With its bare limbs dragging in the water, the tree looked ominous. They glided past it in silence. Ashlyn couldn't imagine the pain Nick must have felt when getting the news about his wife's death. And then to suspect murder, and yet have no one believe him. It must have been terrible. No wonder why he'd seemed so sad when she'd met him.

A little further down, Nick said, "The canoe was found here. They think Sarah tipped over, got caught in the branches and drowned." He shook his head. "But what they don't say is that someone must have pushed her in."

"I'm so sorry." Ashlyn wished there was something she could do other than offer her condolences. She longed to take the pain out of Nick's eyes.

"It's okay. If I could solve the murder, I'd be able to lay it all to rest." He hesitated. "I can't figure out – " His eyes widened in alarm, and he began paddling like mad. "Hold on!"

Ashlyn turned to face a roaring rapids. The canoe shot down the river at twice the speed it had been going. "Paddle on the right!" Nick shouted above the roar of the rushing water. Ashlyn obeyed, paddling so hard that her shoulder ached. The bow of the canoe swung left, narrowly missing a rock.

The spray from the rapids drenched her face, and her feet were soaked from the water slopping into the canoe. The bow tipped up then plunged down, taking Ashlyn's stomach with it. Her paddle scraped against another rock. "Hang on!" Nick called from behind her. She brought the paddle into the canoe and clutched at the gunwales as the boat rocked precariously to the right. She braced herself, certain that they'd tip over. To her relief, the canoe righted itself and continued on its perilous journey down the river.

Ashlyn sucked in her breath as the canoe made another sickening plunge. This time, it struck a rock and was thrown to the left. For a moment, it traveled down the river sideways then spun again so that they carried backwards down the river. Ashlyn turned and craned her neck, to see where they were going. Behind her, Nick's face was taut. He dug his paddle into the water and fought against the current to bring them around. Seeing his struggle, Ashlyn paddled furiously on the left until the canoe swung around again and they were once more heading the right way.

Ashlyn's fingers ached from holding her paddle so tightly. She could swim, but if she fell into the river, she'd be swept away like the branches that were even now outpacing them. The shoreline flew past them.

Something scraped underneath the canoe, throwing Ashlyn from her seat. The canoe bucked then flipped over, plunging Nick and Ashlyn into the water. For a moment, the world went quiet as her head sunk beneath the surface, then she was up and coughing up water. The river was much colder than she'd anticipated and seemed to paralyze her chest. Sucking in air was almost impossible.

The current yanked her backwards. She regained her footing and looked for Nick, panicking when she couldn't see him. Then, to her relief, Nick's head surfaced upstream from her.

Something bumped into her from behind. The paddle! It was racing past her downstream. Ashlyn bobbed after it, but it was far beyond her reach. She was so focused on the paddle that she hadn't noticed the canoe. It struck her between the shoulders, knocking her off balance. She skidded on a slick rock. She put down her feet to anchor herself, but instead of hitting firm ground, her feet found nothing at all. She'd stepped into a hole.

Her head plunged beneath the freezing water. The river gave a mighty tug that spun her around as though she'd weighed no more than a leaf. It swept her legs out from under her, dragging her downstream at a breakneck speed.

Ashlyn flailed her arms, desperate to hang onto something. The current threw her against a rock that bruised her ribs. Before she could process the pain, she was once more yanked downstream.

She saw the fallen tree an instant before she struck it. Throwing up her hands to protect her face, she hit it full on. She grabbed tightly onto it, but the river continued to drag her onwards and she wasn't sure how long she'd be able to maintain her hold. Her feet were pulled beneath the tree while her upper torso was tangled among the branches. She grit her teeth and kicked with all her might, trying to crawl on top of the log that pinned her, but the current was too strong.

She didn't dare let go. If she was sucked underneath the tree, she'd become trapped in its submerged branches and pinned beneath the water. Her heart pumped furiously, and fear made her mouth go dry. The roaring of the water rushing past her filled her ears, becoming the only thing she could hear. The freezing river numbed her hands, weakening her hold on the branch.

She kicked again, forcing her legs down, but she couldn't maintain the position. She gasped for air as she struggled. She couldn't let go! If she did, she would drown for certain. Her muscles ached from being locked for so long. She clung to the tree, terrified.

She shouted above the roar of the river. "Nick!" Her mouth filled with water and she coughed it back out. "Nick! Help me!"

When no help came, she wrestled an arm over the top of the branch and braced her chest against the limb. The current continued to suck at her feet. She grabbed with her other hand, reaching for some of the branches that stuck upwards from the half-submerged tree. Her skin was raw from holding onto the rough bark. Her palms bled. But still she clung to the tree.

She took a moment to gather every ounce of her strength then kicked as hard as she could. Her arms felt as though they would rip from her shoulders as she muscled her way out of the water inch by inch. Her hair was in her eyes, blinding her.

She was going to make it! The current crushed her against the tree trunk, squeezing her chest and forcing the air from her lungs. Her bruised ribs ached. But she was going to make it. She hoisted herself out of the river, grunting with effort. Then her hands slipped against the water-slickened trunk of the tree. She lost her grip and was at the mercy of the river which dragged her under the water and beneath the branches of the fallen tree.

Nick watched in horror as Ashlyn fought to keep her head above the water. "Ashlyn!" Nick shouted. "Hold on!" He was ten yards from her, standing near the opposite bank. Ashlyn's terrified face peeped above the water. Her hands clenched tightly on the branch. She struggled against the current and seemed to be making headway. For a moment, he thought she was going to be able to pull herself out of the water. Then, as he watched helplessly, she was dragged under. It was exactly how Sarah had died.

He plunged back into the icy river. His legs were nearly yanked out from under him. The river fought him like a beast, keeping him from shore. He grit his teeth against the current and muscled his way towards the Ashlyn. Halfway across, the river deepened, and he had to swim. He'd always been a strong swimmer, but with the current tugging at him, he was unable to swim straight across. When he was finally in reach of land, he'd been swept twenty yards down from where Ashlyn was tangled in the branches.

He surged out of the water and made his way as quickly as possible upstream to where she was trapped. It wasn't easy going. The bank was steep and the way clogged with exposed roots from the trees towering overhead.

He finally reached the fallen tree. The daypack she'd been wearing was snagged on its limbs, but there was no other sign of her.

# Sixteen

Horrified, Nick shimmied along the fallen tree until he was where Ashlyn should have been, but there was nothing to see. She wasn't pinned underneath. He scanned the river. Had she been pulled farther along?

"Nick?" Ashlyn's wavering voice called to him from the shore. She stood, soaking wet, with her arms wrapped around her sides.

Nick whooped with joy and climbed the fallen tree back to shore. He wrapped Ashlyn in his arms and buried his face in her wet hair. "I thought I'd lost you."

She was trembling. "Me, too. I was yanked under the tree, but came out the other side. I was so worried I'd be trapped below the water!"

"You're alright now." His heart pounded in his chest when he thought of how close he'd come to losing her. He brushed the hair from her face. "I wasn't expecting this much drama so early in the day."

She laughed shakily. "Me, neither."

He took her face in his hands and kissed her tenderly. Her skin was so cold, but her lips were warm and set a fire blazing inside of him. He longed to relive the previous night by feeling her soft skin against him and kissing the all the secret places of her body. He put his arms around her, wishing they were back at the cabin in front of the fireplace. Soon, he thought, holding her tight. Soon they'd get to spend another night like the one they'd had before.

They held each other until Ashlyn stopping shaking. She gently eased herself out of his arms. "We should start heading to my great aunt's property."

Nick reluctantly let go. As much as he wanted to continue to hold her, she was right. If they were ever going to figure out this mystery, then they needed to continue on.

"Are we close to the trail leading to the property?" she asked.

"The trail is just down the river," he said. The map had been swept away with the canoe and the paddles, but Nick had studied it long enough to know where they were. And he still had his compass. "We'll be there in no time." Then, seeing how Ashlyn was shivering, he asked. "Do you want me to build a fire? We can stay here until you dry off."

She considered it, but then shook her head. "Once we start walking, I'll warm up."

Before they headed towards the trail, they walked downstream to where the river widened and slowed. They found the canoe and the paddles hooked on a snag in the middle of the river. With the current so slow, it was nothing to wade into the water and collect them. Nick dragged the canoe to shore and securely tied it to a tree. Then they were ready to head into the woods.

"How far in do we need to hike?" Ashlyn asked.

"If I remember what it said on the map, we're less than a mile from the property." He looked up and down the trail, trying to get his bearings. "Right now, we're still in the national forest, but if we head east, we'll run right into it."

They pressed on, Nick staying in front and Ashlyn hanging close behind him. A half a mile down the trail, Nick consulted his compass. The trail was as close to the property as it was going to get. It was time to leave it and continue on into the woods.

Nick blazed the trail, using the foldable knife in his pocket to cut notches in the trees they passed by, so they could retrace their steps later on. He didn't want to end up lost like the missing hiker. The nearer they got to Great Aunt Maude's property, the more alert Nick grew. He moved slowly, straining his ears to catch any sound beyond the scrabble of a squirrel and the warble of birds.

When Nick looked over his shoulder to check on Ashlyn, something snagged his cheek. He pulled up short and wiped away blood. Suspended between two trees was a fishing line strung with hooks. If he hadn't been turned away, he would have blinded himself on the barbs. He put his hand up, warning Ashlyn. "Careful."

"What is it?" she asked, coming up behind him.

Nick pointed to the sharp points of the hooks. "Looks like someone doesn't want visitors." He eyed the surrounding area, wondering what other traps had been laid. "We must be getting close." To keep anyone else from getting hooked, he used his knife to cut the line and let it drop to the ground.

As they continued on, they discovered a narrow, twisting dirt road that hadn't been marked on the map. Up ahead, a trail of smoke rubbed its dirty finger against the sky. Nick pointed it out to Ashlyn. "Someone's built a campfire." He kept his voice low. "It's coming from the direction of the property. Hang close."

Soon they were near enough to see a large tent that had been erected in the woods. "That's got to be where Robert is living," Ashlyn said, keeping her voice low.

Probably. Then again, Robert might not be alone. Although Karl was in the hospital, Nick didn't want to take any chances. He took the gun from the dry pack he'd been carrying. "Stay here," he whispered to Ashlyn. From the determined look in her eyes, he worried that she wouldn't listen and would follow him anyway. To his relief, however, she nodded and let him proceed on without her.

Nick made a wide circle around the tent, not wanting to meet up with whoever was living there. Not far from the tent was a large clearing in the woods. It sat in a depression that was shaped like a shallow bowl. Staying close to the cover of an elderberry bush, Nick emerged from the woods several yards north of the tent. The clearing spread before him. What he saw made his jaw drop.

Marijuana plants. Hundreds of rows of them. Each plant was as tall as he was, and each one spread its leafy fronds up towards the sky. It looked like a bumper crop.

Nick had done some work for a woman whose brother was heavy into the pot trade. From what Nick knew about premium product, he estimated that he was looking at around a half a million dollars in illegal drugs. No wonder Karl had been willing to kill to keep this place a secret.

He ventured a ways into the field, marveling over the sight. Surrounded by the thick woods as it was, the property made a perfect hiding place. No one would venture this far off of the established trails. The entire field was hidden in plain sight.

Nick wanted to set fire to the whole thing, but he didn't. Without the field he'd have no evidence to use against Karl. And having Karl in jail was something Nick was going to see happen.

With a grunt of disgust, Nick turned his back on the clearing and headed back into the woods. After retracing his steps, however, he realized that Ashlyn wasn't where he had left her. His heart jumped into his throat. Where was she? As he searched the surrounding area for her, a terrified scream sounded from behind him.

Ashlyn wasn't about to be left behind while Nick went off alone. After what the two of them had been through, she understood his caution, but she needed to guard his back. She decided that she'd sneak closer to the camp and see who was there. If Robert was alone, she'd confront him. However, if he was with another partner, she would immediately find Nick and warn him.

Once Nick was too far away to notice that she wasn't staying put, she made her way towards the campsite. A few feet from the tent, she stopped and peered through the trees. She didn't see anyone, but it was still before noon. It was possible that someone was still inside, sleeping. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to risk taking a closer look.

She snuck nearer to the camp, breathing in the smell of wood smoke. Other than a chattering squirrel, nothing else stirred.

The back window of the tent hung open, allowing her to see inside. However, no one was there. The only things visible were a pair of camp cots and two sleeping bags. One for Karl, and one for Robert. Her heart pounding, she edged around the tent hoping to catch sight of her cousin's familiar face. But when she rounded the corner, she saw nothing but a large log that lay next to the smoldering remains of a fire. The place was deserted.

So what was the big secret that Karl didn't want her to know? Itching with curiosity, Ashlyn walked to the center of the camp. To her disappointment, however, there was nothing of importance. An empty whiskey bottle lay by a still-smoldering log, and large water jug sat next to a picnic cooler. A blue, hiker's backpack leaned against a tree. Whatever Karl had been hiding from her, it wasn't at the camp.

She peeked into the tent. Crumpled at the end of one of the cots lay a Detroit Tigers T-shirt that was identical to the one her cousin had worn in his Facebook pictures. The cots and sleeping bags were messy, but looked new. As did the tent and the picnic cooler. If the clerk at the outfitters store was right, this was where Robert had been spending the summer.

Something in the camp stirred, and she whirled around, her heart hammering. When she spotted a chipmunk with a crust of bread in its mouth, she laughed. It was hard to remember that Karl was gone, and she could stop jumping at shadows.

Ashlyn took a seat on the log near the smoldering fire. Maybe it would be best to wait and see if Robert returned. He might not even know that Karl had been taken into custody.

Something small and yellow caught her eye. Walking over to it, she found a yellow, smiley-faced keychain on the ground. Where had that come from? She couldn't imagine Karl owning such a bauble. Maybe her cousin had dropped it.

That's when she spotted the shovel and the rectangle of raw earth next to it. Her stomach clenched. It was a perfect, grave-sized mound of dirt. All along, she had thought that Karl was lying about Robert's being out of the country, but she'd never expected that he'd harmed her cousin. Now, she worried Robert was lying at the bottom of that hole.

Suddenly frantic, she grabbed the shovel and began digging. She had to know if this was Robert! Maybe this was why he'd stopped answering her texts and sending her e-mails. Tears rose to her eyes. Don't let this be Robert, she prayed. Her arms tired as she shoveled, but she didn't stop until she saw a red T-shirt. Then she used her hands to clear away the remainder of the dirt.

Immediately, she saw two things. The body wasn't Robert's, but it had been shot in the head at close range. She drew back, appalled, and screamed.

Heart racing, Nick burst into the camp, his gun out. "I'm over here," Ashlyn said weakly. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the dead man at her feet.

Nick ran over, but stopped cold when he saw the body in the hole. "When I saw the grave, I thought it was Robert buried there," Ashlyn said. "I was wrong."

"It's the hiker who was lost in the woods," Nick said.

"Karl killed him." It wasn't a question. They both knew what that man was capable of.

"He must have wandered into camp and figured out what they were doing here. Karl killed him to keep him quiet."

Ashlyn's eyebrows drew down. "What are they doing here? I don't see anything worth killing for."

"Come with me," Nick said, taking her hand. He led her out of the camp and towards the clearing. When they stepped out of the woods, she gasped.

"Marijuana!"

"It's worth quite a bit," Nick said. "Probably a half a million or more."

Ashlyn shook her head in disbelief. The field was immense, the plants enormous. Seeing them filled her with revulsion. It was as if the property her great aunt had held so dear was tainted. "What did my cousin get himself mixed up in? He must have given his permission." She put her hands to her head. "Why would he do something like that?"

"I think Karl was right," Nick said softly. "Everyone has their selling price."

"Not me!" she said angrily. "I want nothing to do with this." It didn't matter how much money the crop would bring in, she would never become involved with something so sordid. So illegal.

Nick put his arm around her shoulders and led her back to the camp. Ashlyn felt so beaten down and bedraggled that she worried she wouldn't be able to make the trip back up the river. Karl was in the hospital, and the camp was deserted. It seemed that they could take a short break before they retraced their steps into the woods. She certainly needed the rest. "Can we stay here for just a few minutes?"

"Of course." Nick stirred the embers of the fire and added some wood to get a blaze going. "Do you have your cell phone with you?"

Ashlyn reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She pressed a button, but shook her head in dismay when nothing came up. "After that plunge in the river, it's waterlogged."

"And I left my phone back in the Jeep," Nick said. "We'll have to go back there before we can call Eddie. He's going to be very interested in what we found."

Ashlyn took a seat on the log near the fire, and Nick joined her. She laid her head on his shoulder, so glad for his comfort. "I wish you had known Robert before all of this happened. He was my constant companion when I used to spend the summers up here. And when I was in Africa, he was such an anchor for me. I just can't believe that he got mixed up in all of this! It makes me sick." The Robert she'd grown up with would have never stooped to such a thing. She mourned the loss of that little boy almost as much as she did her great aunt. It was like the person he had been was dead, replaced by someone she no longer knew.

"He sounds like a good guy who lost his way," Nick said. "That can happen."

A terrible thought struck her. She'd thought she'd known her cousin, but she'd been wrong. Now, she had to ask herself just how wrong had she been? "What if it wasn't Karl who killed that hiker? What if it was really Robert?" Ashlyn's eyes shone with tears.

"Don't think that way," Nick said. He slipped his arm around her waist. "You got to know your cousin from the e-mails you sent to each other. You'd know if he was capable of coldblooded murder."

She let out her breath in a sigh. "I suppose you're right. At least my great aunt isn't alive to see this. She would have been heartbroken."

"Maybe if she had been alive, none of this would have happened," Nick offered.

"Maybe not," she said, staring into the flames.

Although the biggest question had been answered, there were still many others that pestered her like gnats. "I still don't understand why Robert stopped texting and e-mailing me, though. I mean, he'd been doing it most of the summer." He must have either used his phone from the campsite, or gone into town when he wanted to contact her. "Why would he stop now?" Her eyes went to the grave, and a chill traveled down her spine. "You don't think he's buried out here too, do you?"

"I don't think so, but I'll take a look just to be sure." Nick got up from the fire and made a tour of the camp. To Ashlyn's relief, he returned and shook his head. "I think your cousin is still safe."

"I know we finally found out his secret," Ashlyn said, "but I won't be able to put any of this behind me until I talk to Robert. I want to hear his side of the story." She had to know why he'd done it, and if he was sorry that he'd gotten mixed up with it.

"And you will," Nick assured her.

The warmth of the fire and an energy bar from the pack revived her. After a few minutes, she was ready to hike to the canoe and make her way back up the river. All she wanted was a hot bath. Strike that. A hot bath with Nick. The thought made her smile.

Nick pulled her to her feet. "We'll need to portage that canoe past the rapids," he said. "It may be a long afternoon."

"I'm ready to go back," she said.

They were nearly out of the camp when the roar of an engine stopped them. Ashlyn's eyes widened as she recognized the sound of an ATV. Maybe Robert had finally come back!

Nick put his hand to his gun and hurried her towards a large oak. "Stay by me just in case it's not your cousin." He peeked around the trunk just as the ATV came into view.

It wasn't Robert.

# Seventeen

Robert woke up slowly, gritting his teeth against the pain. His skull felt like a vase that had been shattered and glued back together with a few pieces missing. He carefully sat up, avoiding any sudden movements. Putting his hand to his head, he felt a lump behind his ear where the sheriff had struck him.

He wondered how much time had passed. It felt like hours. The sheriff could come back at any moment. If Robert wanted to live, he had to get out of that shed. But how?

There was a large tool cabinet on wheels not far from where he sat, and he knew for certain that there was a bolt cutters inside of it. If he could only reach the drawer and yank it open, he'd have a chance at freeing himself.

Licking his dry lips, Robert slid across the concrete floor as far as the handcuff would allow. Then he stretched his arm out and reached for the cabinet. When his fingertips only brushed the edge of the drawer, he swore and leaned even closer, straining against the bite of the handcuff on his wrist. This time, his fingers snagged the lower edge of the drawer and pulled it open a few inches.

Robert rested a moment to ease the strain in his shoulder then stretched forward once more to grab the drawer. This time, he was able to get a firmer hold on it and drag it open. He gave a final yank, pulling the drawer out from the toolbox and spilling the contents onto the floor. The bolt cutters sat among a scattering of screws, nuts, and several wrenches. Victory! Buoyed by the small success, he grabbed the bolt cutters.

His victory was short lived, however. Almost immediately, he realized that he wouldn't be able to use the cutters. The tool worked like a large gardening shears, and was impossible to use on the handcuffs when one wrist was secured to the ATV. Unwilling to give up, he tried bracing one of the handles of the bolt cutters underneath his armpit. But when he tried to cut through the chain on the handcuff, the handle slipped from his grasp.

Furious, he swore viciously and dropped the bolt cutters. The tool seemed to mock him. He was never going to get out of this place!

As he sat mulling over his predicament, voices drifted in from the house. The trimmers were still there! His hope resurged.

He drew in a deep breath and yelled as loudly as he could. Unfortunately, his throat was parched, and his cry for help seemed to stop at the walls of the shed. He coughed and tried again, but his voice was too hoarse to make much noise.

He grabbed the bolt cutters and banged it on the concrete floor. It was loud enough to make his aching head hurt worse, but it still didn't make as much noise as he'd hoped. Finally, he leaned forward and banged the cutters on the side of the side of the metal toolbox, creating a racket so loud that he thought his skull would splinter.

He stopped banging and wiped his sweating forehead. The voices had come closer. "In here!" Robert called.

A man wearing a stars and stripes bandanna on his head came into the shed. His bulk filled the doorway. Giddy with relief, Robert said, "I need to get out of here! Can you help me?" Then he noticed the gun in the other man's hand.

"I was told that you've been running your mouth about the operation." The giant towered over Robert. "You want to spoil it for the rest of us." He waved the gun in Robert's direction. "I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen." He kicked the bolt cutters out of Robert's reach.

Robert's mouth went dry. His head spun. The sheriff had gotten someone to do his dirty work. Nick wasn't going to leave the shed alive. He finally recognized the man. His name was Jim, but everyone had called him Dog. He'd worked as a trimmer for the first harvest. He was an ill-tempered man who drank too much and loved to pick fights. He would be the perfect choice to put a bullet in Robert's head.

Dog tossed Richard a small key. "Unlock those cuffs. You're coming with me."

Robert did as instructed, his hands shaking. His mind worked frantically as he tried to figure out an escape.

Dog crowded in closer, a scowl on his ugly mug. "Don't get any ideas."

Robert's heart thumped. He only had one chance to make an escape. He couldn't mess it up. When he was free of the handcuffs, his muscles tightened, ready to spring.

He launched himself at the overturned drawer, scooped up a handful of the nuts and bolts, and in one fluid motion, threw them into Dog's face. Dog turned his head, and Robert dove for the gun. Using a move he'd seen only in martial arts movies, he chopped Dog's wrist with the side of his hand. Dog grunted and loosened his hold on the gun.

Dog was big, but slow. Robert seized the weapon and kicked Dog's knee. There was a crunch as something in the joint popped. The bigger man crashed to the ground. "Don't move," Robert said, pointing the gun at his head.

Dog writhed in pain on the floor, groaning and clutching his injured knee. Robert hunted for the handcuffs and spotted them near the toolbox. As he reached for them, Dog threw himself at Robert's legs, knocking him to the ground. A knife flashed in Dog's hand, and it caught Robert in the shoulder.

Robert acted instinctively, pulling the trigger as Dog was preparing to stab him again. The large man crumpled into a heap as blood pooled around his head.

Without a backwards glance, Robert was up and hobbling through the door. He didn't stop until he reached the road.

Ashlyn held her breath as the ATV roared past the tree that she and Nick were hiding behind. She immediately recognized the blunt features of the man. He was the one who had tried to run her down. He was every bit as dangerous as Karl.

The man stopped the vehicle in the middle of the camp. There was a heartbeat of silence then an outraged, "Who did this?!" He must have noticed the open grave. The ATV's engine revved as he wheeled around to face the woods.

"Run!" Nick whispered urgently into Ashlyn's ear and pushed her between the shoulder blades. She took off without hesitation, hoping that she was heading in the right direction. She ran blindly, just wanting to escape the man on the ATV. Her heart pounded, and her chest ached, but still she kept running.

At the sound of a gunshot, she looked behind her, expecting to see Nick on her heels. He wasn't there. He must have stayed back at the camp. Her heart jumped even as her stomach plunged. Terrified, she reversed direction. She pushed herself harder than she'd ever had before, mindless of the cramp forming in her side. All she cared about was Nick. He had to be safe! He just had to be!

When she was in sight of the camp, she put on more speed, desperate to see if Nick was alright. To her relief, she caught sight of him. He stood opposite the man on the ATV, his gun level with the other man's chest.

Something yanked her feet out from under her. A tripwire! Ashlyn fell hard, landing squarely on her outstretched palms. The sound of rapid-fire gunshots filled the air, and Ashlyn felt bullets whiz past her head. Suddenly, her leg was on fire. She'd been hit! She cried out in pain.

Her shout drew Nick's attention, and he whipped his head towards the woods, searching for her. Seeing his opportunity, the man on the ATV launched himself at Nick. Ashlyn cried out a warning, but it was too late. The blunt-faced man knocked Nick to the ground and pinned him there by sitting on his chest. The man went for Nick's gun, but Nick hung onto the weapon.

Ashlyn's leg was wet with blood, and her injured muscles screamed. Still, she wasn't giving up. As Nick and the other man wrestled for the gun, she crawled towards them.

The blunt-faced man pulled a pistol from a holster hidden beneath his jacket. With both men now holding guns, there was a standoff. Keeping his gun pointed at Nick's head, the blunt-faced man climbed to his feet. Nick also stood. "We've called the sheriff," Nick lied. "He'll be here any minute."

The other man snorted. "That won't do you any good. You'll be dead before he gets here."

As she continued to make her way towards them, Ashlyn spotted a long stick that ended in a Y. The perfect crutch. Clenching her jaw against the pain, she used the stick to get to her feet and propped it under her armpit. The man still hadn't spotted her. If she could sneak around behind him, she could use her crutch to knock him over the head.

The man took several steps closer to Nick and clicked off the safety on his gun. "The difference between you and me is that I'm willing to kill. Are you?"

"I'll protect myself," Nick answered through clenched teeth.

Ashlyn was nearly within range. Dragging her injured leg behind her, she made her way as quietly as she could towards her target. She saw Nick's eyes brush over her, but he remained in control of his facial expression and didn't give her away.

She came up behind the blunt-faced man and raised her crutch, ready to strike. But she'd misjudged the pain in her leg. When she put the slightest pressure on the injured limb, agony blinded her. Immediately, she crumpled to the ground. The man spun around, turning his gun on her. Now, she was looking down the barrel of the pistol.

Nick dove at the man, knocking his feet out from under him. Ashlyn rolled to the side as the two of them crashed to the ground. Still holding his gun, the man wheeled around to face Nick. The two of them were chest to chest. A gun went off. Ashlyn screamed.

Panting, Nick moved away from the other man who had crumpled to the ground and was no longer moving. Ashlyn grabbed her makeshift crutch and slowly got to her feet.

Nick turned his attention away from the body at his feet and looked at her. Seeing the blood on her leg, he paled. "I'm okay," Ashlyn assured him. "The bullet just clipped me."

He took her into his arms. "It's all over now," he whispered into her ear. "Everything is okay."

Ashlyn hugged him back as tightly as she could. Finally, she was safe.

# Eighteen

Nick found a working cell phone in the tent and used it to call his friend, Sheriff Tanner and give him directions to the unmapped road. Within an hour, the sheriff's SUV was bouncing along the dirt road leading to the camp.

The sheriff said little as Nick led him to the bodies and told him their story. When Sheriff Tanner saw Ashlyn's injured leg, his jaw bunched.

"I can walk on it," Ashlyn said. The bullet had only grazed her flesh. With some help from her crutch, she stood up.

The sheriff's jaw tightened even more. Suddenly, he flung his arm around Ashlyn's neck and yanked her close to him. He drew his gun and pressed it under her lower jaw. "Drop your weapon," he snarled to Nick.

Nick's eyes popped in disbelief. "What are you doing? Are you placing us under arrest?"

Ashlyn struggled, yanking at Eddie's arm. Eddie pointed the gun at Nick's forehead. "Keep it up, and I'll shoot him."

"This wasn't our fault!" Ashlyn protested. "The hiker was already dead when we found him, and Nick shot the other man in self-defense!"

"It's not about that," the sheriff snapped. "Now drop your weapon!"

Nick dropped the gun and raised his arms, keeping his eyes on the sheriff. "Eddie, why are you doing this?"

"You know too much," Eddie said. "I can't have you blabbing to anyone about this."

"You're a part of this?" Nick asked, horrified. He couldn't believe it. How deep was Eddie into this? Was he a partner with Karl and Seth? Had he masterminded the whole plan?

Nick needed a distraction if he was going to take Eddie out. "Talk to me," he said. "You at least owe us an explanation!"

Eddie's face had gone a deep red, and sweat had broken out along his hairline. Ashlyn's eyes were wide with terror. A burst of static crackled on the radio at his hip, but he ignored it. "You should have gone back home," he said to Ashlyn. "This is all your fault! If you'd just gone home like we told you to, you never would have gotten yourself into this mess!"

Eddie hauled Ashlyn deeper into the woods. Nick kept pace, his eyes fixed on Eddie's gun. "You knew all about this?" he asked.

"Of course I knew! Do you think those three morons could keep an operation like that a secret from me? I know everything that goes on around here. I could have shut them down, but they offered me a quarter of their profits. Do you have any idea how much that is?"

Nick's heart filled with despair. He'd always thought of his friend as one of the most dependable men he knew. He didn't recognize the man standing before him at all. It was as if Eddie had become a stranger.

"Just let us go," Ashlyn begged. "We won't turn you in. No one will ever have to know!"

"It's gone beyond that," Eddie growled. "You two cost me a quarter of a million dollars."

"I can't believe you would do it for the money," Nick said.

"Why else would I? My job hardly pays enough to provide for my family. And Joanne's pregnant again. A sheriff's salary won't cover the needs of a family of six."

Eddie reached a particularly large beech tree. Panting, he stopped walking. "This will do. I wanted to make it look like an accident like I did with Sarah, but I don't have time to waste."

Nick stopped walking. He thought his heart had seized. Sarah? Did he just say he'd killed Sarah?!

A sly grin spread across Eddie's face. "That's right. Your wife and I had a little fling. You almost knew about that, too, didn't you?"

He'd never imagined that Sarah's affair had been with his best friend. Each heartbeat brought another stab of pain. How could he have been so deceived?

"She wanted me to leave Joanne, but I wouldn't. She started making demands. Then she got nosy and started digging around in a few of my other business ventures. She wouldn't back off."

"So you killed her?" Nick's mouth was bone dry. He could hardly swallow.

"I didn't want to." For a moment, Eddie sounded genuinely remorseful. "But I didn't have a choice."

"You have a choice now," Ashlyn said. "You don't have to do this."

"You're wrong," Eddie said. "There is no choice. If I don't do this, my life is over. Joanne would never forgive me if she found out." His eyes had gone cold and hard, devoid of any mercy. "It's all about the strongest surviving, and I'm the strongest."

The radio at his hip bust into static once more. This time, a voice came on. "Sheriff, you there?"

When Eddie flicked his eyes downward at the radio, Nick launched himself at the sheriff, grabbing his wrist and twisting it to the side. Ashlyn dropped to the ground and rolled away.

Nick punched Eddie in the gut, and the sheriff doubled over. Nick went for the gun, but Eddie hung on tight. When Nick tried to wrestle the weapon from his grip, it went off. Ashlyn screamed. Nick twisted harder and felt something snap in Eddie's wrist. Eddie howled, but let go of the gun. Ashlyn dove for the weapon and grabbed it.

"I got it!" she said.

Nick kept on twisting Eddie's wrist until the sheriff was on his knees, swearing and shouting in pain. "We got him," Nick said, breathing heavy. "This is finally over."

# Nineteen

Ashlyn printed off the letter she'd just written to her cousin Robert and tucked it into an envelope. She knew he depended on her letters to get him through his sentence just as she'd once depended on him.

Nick came up behind her, put his arms around her waist, and nibbled on her neck. "I think there's time to cut down our Christmas tree before dinner. What do you think?"

She glanced outside at the falling snow. It was cold for December, but a walk in the snowy woods would clear her head from all of the grading she'd been doing. She'd taken a teaching job at Eagle River High, and while she enjoyed her new school, she was responsible for more students than she had been before. The workload was challenging. "Sounds good."

He continued to nuzzle her neck. "Then afterwards we can have dinner in front of the fireplace."

And after that... Ashlyn's body tingled when she considered what they might do to make the cold, winter night hotter.

They dressed warmly and headed outside. The snow made a hushed whispery sound as it gently fell to the ground. Ashlyn had never seen the woods looking so lovely as it was dressed in white. In every season, she grew to love this country more and more. Coming to live here had been the best decision she'd ever made.

Nick grabbed a saw from the shed and together they walked into the woods. They passed several pines that would have made great Christmas trees, but Nick kept walking. "It's just a little further along," he told her.

Finally, they reached a tree that was set apart from the others. It was taller than Nick and perfectly symmetrical. There wasn't a scraggly patch on the entire thing. "It's too pretty to cut," Ashlyn said.

Then she noticed that one of the limbs had been tied with a red, satin bow. Dangling from that was a tiny, velvet box. Her heart beat faster. Was this what she thought it was?

Nick looked at her with shining eyes. "I wanted to give you your Christmas present early."

With trembling hands, Ashlyn untied the bow and took the box into her heads. She opened it to find a perfect diamond solitaire. It was simple and elegant and something she would have picked out for herself.

Nick lowered himself to one knee. "Miss Shay, would you do me the honor of being my wife?"

Tears of happiness froze in her lashes. She knelt next to him and threw her arms around his neck. "Yes," she whispered into his ear.

Ready for more romance? Try Just the Two of Us by Michelle Scott

Starla wasn't trying to steal her older sister's boyfriend. In fact, she was fighting him off when Janice caught the two of them alone in the dark. Unfortunately, love-struck Janice didn't see it that way and tried to end her life. Although she didn't succeed, her suicide attempt left her brain damaged, and it became Starla's responsibility to care for her. Four years later, the sisters' peaceful lives are interrupted when Nick, a handsome, young attorney, moves in upstairs. Seeing that Janice is attracted to him, Starla keeps herself out of the picture. After all, she hurt her sister before, and she's not about to do it again. Yet as much as Starla tries to ignore her feelings for Nick, she can't bury them entirely. Especially not when he seems to be choosing her over her sister.

Here's a small taste of Just the Two of Us

# Prologue

Three friends, six strawberry wine coolers, one pizza. I thought that would be the sum total of my eighteenth birthday celebration. But when I came back from the bathroom, the three friends had become seven, and the six wine coolers had turned into twenty-four cans of beer. Not that I was worried. I turned eighteen that day, and didn't I deserve a celebration? Even Jules, my dour best friend, looked like he was having fun.

I finished one cooler, and before I knew it, was sipping a second. I hooked up my phone to my parents' expensive sound system, and within minutes we were all dancing. Then the doorbell rang again. This time, it was most of the baseball team. They'd brought tacos for everyone along with a fifth of vodka that someone's older brother had snagged.

"Janice is going to be pissed when she comes home to this," I whispered to Jules, as we scavenged for paper plates and napkins. My older sister had driven in from Chicago, where she went to school, to take a break from her studies and watch over me while my parents were out of town. Not that I needed watching over.

"Maybe, but she has a guy over," Jules countered.

Good point. My parents would flip if they found out that Troy, Janice's boyfriend, was spending the night. Troy had driven up the minute he found out that my parents were going to be away.

Back in the living room, the fifteen had grown to more than I could keep track of. Someone must have called someone who must have called twelve of their closest friends. Word spread, people arrived, and things were growing exponentially from there.

A guy in a varsity jacket bumped up the volume on the stereo, and the house vibrated with sound. Everyone was drinking. I caught a couple I didn't know sneaking upstairs to the bedrooms and stopped them. "Not here," I insisted. The girl called me a name under her breath, but luckily, she and her boyfriend retreated.

I knew I should shoo everyone out of the house before the neighbors called the police, yet I hated being the one who spoiled the party. I still had half a cooler in my hand, and I sucked it down to give myself courage. But once that drink hit my system, the sense of urgency took a back seat. Things were nice and fuzzy around the edges. I accepted a third cooler from a girl who magically put one into my hand and swallowed most of it at one go.

The crowd continued to grow. Jules, looking worried, appeared at my elbow. "You should shut this down." He hadn't been drinking because he'd promised his boyfriend that he wouldn't. "A pair of guys was smoking pot in your backyard. I took care of it, but this is getting out of control."

"Hold my drink," I told Jules. I charged off towards the backyard to make sure the guys had actually left. Underaged drinkers was bad enough. Drugs would be a disastrous.

As I raced into the kitchen, Janice came in through the back door. Her face was a mask of outrage. "You said a small party! Starla, this is huge!"

"I had nothing to do with it," I protested.

"And you're drinking!" Janice continued.

"Sorry," I said. "I guess things are a little out of control."

"A little?"

From the living room came a cheer followed by a collective groan. Peeking in, I saw that the guy in the varsity jacket was attempting to do a handstand and failing miserably. I needed to go in there and make sure that no one broke anything. As I started in that direction, however, Janice yanked me back into the kitchen. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Janice?" Janice's boyfriend, Troy, appeared in the kitchen doorway. He was tall and thin and looked like a catalogue model. Even the way he leaned in the doorway was sexy. Seeing him, I immediately flushed and looked away. "You want to go watch a movie?"

"I want this house cleared out. Now!" Janice's fingers curled into tight fists. Not a good sign. "I came home to get a break from things, not to deal with her shit."

Guilt pinched my heart. The first semester of college was hammering my sister. Janice called home in tears almost every night. Our parents wrote it off as typical freshman stress, but I worried it went deeper. "I didn't mean for this to happen," I said. "I can get rid of everyone." Or at least I hoped I could.

"You better!" Janice's normally pale skin flushed. "I came home to get away from the stress, not to add to it."

"I know," I said, trying to soothe her.

"No, you don't. The tests and homework are killing me! You can't imagine what it's like to maintain my 4.0."

Troy slid his arm around Janice's waist. "Hey, lighten up. Let your sister have some fun. It's her birthday." He winked, and my heart did a quick flip. Why couldn't any of the boys in my class look that good?

"But there's drinking," Janice protested. "Do you know what kind of trouble we could get into if the neighbors call the police?"

"Give it until midnight," he said. "Then I promise to shoo everyone out."

"Well –" Janice leaned her head against his shoulder. For the past four months, I had heard nothing but how terrific Troy was. How funny Troy was. How smart Troy was. I'd been sick to death of it. Now that I'd met him, however, I had to agree. Troy was an amazing guy. Janice was right to be head over heels about him.

"C'mon, let's go watch that movie." Troy guided Janice back towards the den. As they left the kitchen, he looked over his shoulder at me, offering a lazy smile and a wink that melted my heart.

Three hours later, I was bent over the railing of the deck, puking into the bushes while Jules held my hair. "I am never drinking anything strawberry again," I said when I'd finally finished.

"Probably a good idea," he agreed, no doubt glad that he'd stuck to diet Coke.

From inside the house, the music was suddenly cut off and the lights turned on. "Party's over," Jules said. "Let's get you to bed."

I straightened up, but the world made a sideways spin, and I stumbled left, crashing into him. How many drinks had I had? More than three. My stomach had settled, but the booze left me woozy. The world rippled like a flag in the breeze. "Maybe I'll just lay out here under the stars."

"Drink some water and go to bed," Jules insisted. "You'll be glad you did."

Troy came out onto the deck. "How's the party girl?"

"Fine," I said. Trying to regain some dignity, I struggled to stand up straighter.

"Your first night of drinking is always the worst," Troy said. He gave me a pitying look that cracked me open at the core. No doubt, he thought of me as the kid sister. The pathetic, immature kid sister. I couldn't bear it.

"I'm really okay," I insisted. To prove it, I moved away from Jules and walked unassisted into the kitchen.

Janice, in tears, stood at the sink washing out empty pop cans and beer bottles. When she saw me, her eyes blazed. "Look at this place! Someone spilled Coke on the couch, and there's potato chip crumbs all over the carpet. I'll never get it clean!"

I blinked, seeing the kitchen for the first time. Empty chip wrappers and boxes of half-eaten pizzas littered the counter. The floor was sticky. The thought of cleaning it all made me too tired to stand. "I'll clean it all up in the morning," I promised.

Janice put her hands on her hips. "You'll do it now."

"I can't." Even if I'd wanted to, I literally couldn't have. The world was still unsteady, and my stomach was taking another plunge. "In the morning. I promise."

Troy and Jules came in from outside. "Need some help?" Jules asked.

"Go home, Jules," Janice said wearily. "I'll do it myself."

"Don't be a martyr," I snapped. I grabbed a black, plastic garbage bag from the pantry and began tossing bottles and cans into it.

Janice squeaked in alarm. "You can't throw those out! Not yet! I've got to rinse them first, and then they need to dry. Otherwise, they'll be all sticky."

"If you want my help, fine," I said, "but we do things my way."

"Either do it the right way, or don't do it at all," Janice shouted as she flung more cans into the sink.

Jules nervously adjusted the Detroit Tigers baseball cap he always wore. He'd hung around my family long enough to know about our craziness, but Troy looked as if someone had handed him a live grenade. His furrowed forehead showed part worry and part horror.

"Go ahead and go home," I told Jules, embarrassed. "I've got this."

Jules's face relaxed in relief. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

Jules hurried from the room. A moment later, I heard his car speed off. Janice, oblivious, began taking empties from the garbage bag and pitching them into the sink, all the while mumbling under her breath.

"Go to bed," Troy told me softly. "I'll help her."

I gratefully stumbled up the stairs to my room, trying to ignore the sounds of the argument as it drifted up from downstairs. As the voices rose, however, it was harder to block them out. Finally, I heard Troy shout, "Fine!" and the front door slam.

My heart sank. The argument was all my fault. Janice and Troy had been having a nice evening until I'd gone and spoiled it. Damage control was in order. Though I felt like I'd been hit by a party bus, I heaved myself off the bed. Downstairs, I paused at the kitchen door where Janice, sniffing rapidly, sat at the kitchen table with her head in her hands.

"Janice?"

"Get lost, Starla," Janice snapped without looking up. "Go throw up or something."

It was no use talking to her when she was like this. Better to try Troy.

Outside, Troy was leaning against his car and smoking, his head tilted towards the sky. He had the James Dean slouch down perfectly. When I approached him, he tossed the cigarette down and ground out the butt under the heel of his shoe. "I thought you went to bed."

"I heard you guys fighting, and I wanted to talk to Janice. But now she won't talk to me, so..."

Troy chuckled. "She's not talking to me, either."

I leaned against the car next to him. "She can get pretty crazy sometimes."

"Crazy, huh?" He moved closer, so that we were brushing shoulders, kick starting my heart. "Does that make you the sane sister?"

"I guess so." Without meaning to, I leaned against him and felt his muscles flex. Though some deep part of me was blaring alarms, the alcohol dulled the edges of the warning. I laid my head against his shoulder.

"You're certainly the beautiful sister," he said.

My eyes widened in surprise. He had it all wrong. Janice was the beautiful one. Everyone knew it. She had the flawless skin, and the long, silky black hair. The perfect body and the long legs. I was built like our mother – short and shapeless with untamable red hair that went to frizz every time the weather turned humid. Then there were my freckles. Ugh.

Suddenly, Troy was in front of me, and his arms slipped around my waist. "I had my eyes on you all night," he whispered, "and I know that you were looking at me."

I had been, but from a distance. This was too real. He pressed against me, rubbing hard against my lower belly. Now, my alarm bells were screaming. This was all wrong. The warm feelings flew away. My stomach lurched. "I think I'm going to throw up," I croaked.

Ignoring this, Troy crushed his mouth against mine. Though I resisted, his tongue forced its way inside, gagging me. I struggled to push him away, and he shoved me against the car, pinning me.

"Starla!"

At Janice's horrified voice, Troy instantly moved aside and pushed me away. I fell to my knees on the driveway. The car, the house, the night sky – all of it caromed away from me.

"She came onto me," Troy said.

"No," I protested weakly. I was aware of a flurry of activity above me. Looking up, I saw Janice pounding Troy's chest with her fists.

"Get lost," Janice cried. "I never want to see you again!"

I could still taste Troy's tongue in my mouth. I crawled onto the lawn and retched. As Troy's car sped off, I expected Janice to come to my aid, but instead, she went into the house.

When my head cleared, I moved as quickly as I could into the house and up the stairs. Janice was locked in the bathroom. I beat on the door. "Janice! I'm so sorry! He was trying to kiss me. I couldn't stop him! He wouldn't leave me alone."

Janice refused to open the door. "Why do you always ruin everything?"

"I'm sorry!" I stood outside the door, repeating my apology, but Janice stayed locked in the bathroom. I finally staggered into my bedroom and flopped onto the bed.

I awoke hours later. My head ached, and my mouth was paper dry. I made my way to the bathroom, drank a glass of water, and peed. God, the party had wrung me out! All I wanted was to sleep it off and forget it had ever happened.

On my way to bed, I passed Janice's room. My sister was a dark shape on the covers. Exhaustion must have finally taken its toll because she was snoring loudly. Not wanting to wake her, I snuck past and went into my own room where I gratefully sank down on the soft mattress.

I didn't wake up until I felt Jules shaking me. "Starla! Get it!" he demanded.

I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. "What's going on?"

Jules's eyes were wide, and his face pale. "I came over to help clean up from the party, and I found Janice passed out on the floor."

I wrestled my way out of the covers, blinking against the bright, morning sunlight. "Is she okay?"

"She took a lot of pills."

"Just tell me she's going to be alright," I begged.

Jules put his arm around me. "My mom's with her now. EMS is on its way."

As Jules hugged me, I told myself that Janice would be fine. Jules's mother was an RN, and she'd know what to do. Janice had to be fine. I wouldn't let myself consider any other possibility.

That's the end of the preview for Just the Two of Us.

About the Author

Maybe it's because of my Halloween birthday, but I've always been attracted to scary stories. On the other hand, I love romances as well. Once I discovered that these two genres existed side-by-side in urban fantasy novels, I was in heaven! Urban fantasy is like chocolate and peanut butter: a perfect, to-die-for combination that I can never get enough of.

I've been writing since childhood, but earned my bachelor's degree in psychology and my master's in English literature. When I'm not writing, I'm a straight-laced English teacher at a two-year college in Detroit. I've been married to Mr. Right for over twenty-five years. I also have three teenaged children: a boy and two girls, all of whom have threatened to never speak to me again if I turn them into characters and put them into my books.

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More supernatural suspense by Michelle Scott – Straight to Hell

The devil never forgets a deal.

I, Lilith Straight, was the woman you always wanted to be. I was married to someone better looking than your husband, we lived in that house you always wanted. Within a year, however, all of that changed. My marriage dissolved, my house burned down, and my job hardly paid the bills. So when I was hit by a car and died, I thought my life couldn't get any worse. Boy, was I wrong.

Hell was not the place I imagined. It was worse. During my brief stay, I learned some disturbing truths about my family. Most worryingly my ancestor's deal with the devil promising him every female descendent as a succubus.

So these were my options: Life on earth as a soul-sucking seductress. Or death and pass the succubus baton to my sweet little daughter. There was no choice. Welcome to hell on earth, Lilith. Mother, teacher, wanton she-demon.

Straight to Hell is published by Carina UK (the digital imprint of Harlequin), and is available wherever e-books are sold.

