Page 42 of Wind Valley

She laughed with him, then stopped abruptly. Over Lachlan’s shoulder, she could see part of the picture window with its view of a snow-filled valley. Had a shadow just passed by it?

Lachlan turned to see what she was looking at. There was nothing outside the window now. Just snow and forest. The wind was picking up surface snow and spinning it into sparkling drifts of ice mist. That must have been what she’d noticed.

“I should tell you what Ruth said. I was going to, last night, before I kissed you, then fell asleep.”

He looked especially interested in her mention of kissing. “Can we talk about that last part first?”

“The sleep?”

“The kiss.”

“It was a good one.”

“It was a very good one.” They smiled at each other. “Count me in for more of those, if you’re onboard,” he said.

“You could have slept in the bed with me last night. I was hoping you would.”

“Stay another night and we can do it that way.” Lachlan’s eyes shone like spring itself. “I wasn’t going to make any assumptions.”

She nodded, and now that she thought about it, she was glad he hadn’t slept next to her. Her brain might think it was fine, and even her heart, but her body might have residual fight-or-flight reactions. She hadn’t woken up with another man in her bed since the one cursed time she’d slept with SS.

“Lachlan,” she said, more seriously. “Before we go any further I want to tell you what happened back in Colorado. I think you should know. It’s only fair. But first, about Ruth…”

The scrambled eggs were ready, so she looked around for a plate. Lachlan grabbed two from the cupboard, along with two forks. She dished out the steaming eggs, her mouth watering.

“Ruth told me that the men out there—cousins and uncles and so forth—are working on something that they won’t tell her about. Whatever it is, they think it’s going to bring them a big windfall. But every time she asks anyone what’s going on, they clam up. She’s worried because the kids’ status could be jeopardized by anything illegal.”

Lachlan was listening closely, all flirtation drained from his expression. “Do they know that?”

“Yes, they know. But they don’t seem to care, or they think whatever they’re doing is worth it. She’s worried, but doesn’t know what to do about it. I asked her to tell me if she gets any more tidbits of information. I feel bad for her.” She remembered Ruth’s distressed expression as she related all this to her. “Back in the old days, she trusted them all, but then everything fell apart for the Chilkoots and she was left dealing with the mess. Since she’s the children’s legal guardian, the responsibility falls to her. She told me she won’t ever be that trusting again.”

And that was the moment she and Ruth had connected on a core level. Both of them had been betrayed by people or institutions they’d trusted. Going back to that naïveté was not an option, especially for Ruth, who had six brothers and sisters she had to think about.

“She really opened up to you,” Lachlan was saying.

“I think she needed someone to talk to. It’s a lot for anyone to deal with. I asked her about the wolf attack victim, whose name is Al Grover. She helped treat his wound until they shooed her away. They said it was because he had to take his pants off, but she doesn’t believe that’s the reason. She listened in and it sounded like they were threatening him.”

“Threatening him with what?”

“She didn’t catch it, just the sound of their voices. Oh, and whatever’s going on that they’re keeping secret, a woman might be involved.”

“A woman? Who could that possibly be?”

“I have no idea. This is all based on scraps of overheard conversation. I asked her about the cell phone corporation—TNG—but she hadn’t heard that name at all.”

Frowning, Lachlan dug into his plate of eggs right there on the kitchen counter. She got the feeling he did that kind of thing a lot—kept on task without taking an actual break for a meal.

“Did you ask her about the grenade?”

“I did. She didn’t seem at all surprised. The Chilkoots have always been big collectors of weaponry. A lot of it was confiscated, but she says they still have hidden stashes.”

“Good to know.”

“Right?” She was picking up her own fork—why sit down for breakfast anyway—when a flash of something outside the window caught her attention. “There it is again!”

He spun around. “What?”

“I don’t know. A shadow. Something flashing past the window. Now it’s gone.”

---