Page 49 of 1st Shock
JJ puts the vehicle in park. "You stay here. I'll have a look around."
Meg used to make me tromp around the woods with her when we were little. I don't exactly hate it, but I find nature to be...messy. Bugs and snakes are one thing, but hell, in these woods? There are bears and cougars. Not just messy, downright dangerous.
There's no way I'm letting JJ treat me like a diva, though. I made sure to wear hiking boots in case this sort of thing happened, and, as he bails out, I follow.
He doesn't waste his breath arguing, just shakes his head, and says, "Which way?"
From my estimate, Billy Ray's should be over the next hill. I spot a foot path a few feet away. "There. Let's follow that."
It disappears in places as we hunt for it in the overgrowth. We trudge through dead leaves and forest debris, over fallen limbs and around large rocky outcroppings. A few birds sing above us and the rustling in the detritus warns me of small creatures scurrying away from our footsteps.
Small creatures I can handle. Most of them, anyway. "I hope there aren't snakes," I say, knowing it's a stupid comment. Of course there are, and my hand lightly touches the butt of my handgun at my waist for reassurance.
"I'll protect you," JJ says, making fun of me and cupping my elbow.
A lot of help he’d be against a bear or mountain lion. "Good thing I have my gun."
He grins and something smolders in his eyes. Alpha male all the way. "You don't think I can protect you?" he asks.
"Have you ever seen a bear up close? Growing up near the woods, every once in a while a bear would pay us a visit. Come on the back porch and try to get in the screen door. Wrecked everything in sight. Trust me when I say, we don't want to run into one out here."
I'm slightly out of breath from the climb and stop for a moment, the smell of pine filling my nostrils. A light mist has begun to fall. So much rain this week. "Why the hell would anyone want to live in a place this secluded?"
"Makes a good place to bury bodies," JJ jokes.
At least, I think he is, but I realize, maybe that's one of the reasons I don't like the woods. It's not only nature and wild animals that give me the creeps, I feel like a stupid heroine in a horror flick. The sinister killer is going to pop out from behind a tree at any moment.
JJ and I make it to the top of a hill, and I swear the temperature has dropped ten degrees since we climbed out of the car. My lightweight spring jacket isn’t enough to block the chill and shivers run down my spine. Below, through another thicket of trees, there's a cabin. A barely visible fog floats around it and a small outhouse.
I spot the large wagon wheel Dixie described. On the north side of the house is a pile of stacked wood, but there is no smoke coming from the stone chimney. No lights shining through the windows. There's a drive that leads in the opposite direction we came from—probably a different way, aneasierway, to get to this place without walking through the woods.
There's no vehicle parked in the drive—if you can call the dirt road leading to the cabin that—just a four-wheeler sitting on the side, the tires caked in dried mud.
No dogs raise an alert as we make our way down the hillside. It's muddy here, and my boots slide on the wet leaves. I nearly end up on my backside, but in true alpha-male-protector form, JJ manages to grab my arm and keep me from going down. The hem of my pant legs are wet and crusted with dirt and pine needles. Definitely have to send them to the cleaners when I get home.
We slow at the edge and JJ stops me. "Let's assume Billy Ray is armed and probably doesn't like strangers showing up out of the woods at his house. I don't want to die out here from a misunderstanding."
Good thought. "Maybe we should circle around and approach from that direction."
"Maybe you should stay here and let me go talk to him."
"Fat chance. This is my lead, my idea. Besides, he's less likely to be on guard against a woman. Like you, he seems to have a protective streak toward us. All I have to do is let him know Dixie sent me."
JJ is silent a moment, stewing it over. "Yeah, no. I'm not letting you approach alone."
I start moving south toward the dirt drive. "You're just afraid to stay here and take your chances with the bears," I tease.
JJ follows. "Damn straight, I am."
I wait until we get to the drive to say what I'm thinking. "He's not here. There's no vehicle, lights, or smoke from the fireplace."
"He could be nearby, hunting or whatever guys like this do out here alone."
We're standing in plain sight, and I stare at the windows, seeing no movement of curtains. "Guess there's only one way to find out."
I keep my hands loose at my sides and call, "Billy Ray? I'm a friend of Dixie's. She sent me to talk to you."
I almost ask permission to move forward, but instead, I wait. There's no reply, still no visible movement inside. I call out again, repeating what I said, and walk slowly toward the front porch. JJ stays a few steps behind me, and I sense he is watching the woods as well as the house.
