Page 58 of Snowed In with her Mountain Men
The scent of gunpowder lingered, as I slowly lowered the gun. It was a warning shot, nothing more. But to whoever was out there, it marked an escalation. It put a new, deadly edge on the invisible interaction between us and our unknown guest.
“O—Oakley?”
I turned; to find Camryn halfway concealed in a group of saplings behind me. She wasn’t wearing a jacket. Stuck on her feet, was what looked to be Ryder’s old boots.
She stepped out, clutching her chest. The worried look in those pretty blue eyes made my heart melt.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied. “Everything’s fine. I just got home.”
I nodded toward my sheriff’s vehicle. The rapidly-cooling engine was still ticking against the bitter cold.
“What were you shooting at?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “I mean, well… I thought I saw a bear.”
She wrapped both arms around herself and shivered, involuntarily. “A bear?”
“Yeah,” I said, feeling angry at myself for lying to her. “I think it’s gone now. Let’s get inside before—”
“Or were you shooting at the person who leftthese?”
She extended a finger downward, to the tracks. My shoulders slumped.
“This is what Jaxon was talking about, wasn’t it?” she asked quietly. “The first night I was here?”
Another blatant lie leapt to mind. I shoved it away with both hands.
“Yes.”
The wind picked up, bringing with it the soft rustle of pine needles. I pulled my jacket off; and draped it around her shoulders.
“Thanks,” she said, pulling at one sleeve. “For this, but also, for telling the truth.”
“Not a problem,” I found myself saying. “At this point, you need to be kept in the loop.”
Her blonde hair bounced as she nodded, appreciatively. “So who do you think it is?”
“No clue,” I told her. “It’s someone who’s after the diamonds, though.”
Her brows came together, adorably. “But I thought no one else knew about them?”
“There were always rumors about what he did,” I shrugged. “Stories and conjecture. Besides, who knows who else Sarge might’ve confided in?”
“Probably not too many people,” she reasoned. “You three were the sons he never had, and even then, he saved it for a deathbed confession.”
Together our eyes followed the tracks, which zig-zagged in and out of the tree line. At one point they circled the house, stopping at our most recently disturbed mounds of dirt.
“You need cameras,” Camryn declared. “Pronto.”
“It won’t accomplish much, unfortunately,” I sighed. “Even with the best resolution, it’ll probably show some guy in a parka stomping around, digging at our spoils. Nothing we don’t already know.”
“Still…”
“Ryder wants to set a trap,” I laughed. “Something nasty, too. Jaxon and I talked him off that ledge a few times already. But these days, I have to admit, the idea is growing on me.”
Casually I set the rifle across my shoulder. I caught her staring at it.
