Page 25 of Canyon Killer
She clutched his arm. “Ian, you saved it! People need to know that.”
He covered her hand with him. “Don’t tell anyone.”
“Why not?”
“Because half of them won’t believe you and at least some of the other half will decide I’m working on my father’s behalf and using the construction of the via ferrata to test the ore or something. Then there will be people who decide mining would be a better use of the property and put pressure on me to use it for that. It’s not the kind of attention I want.”
“All right. I won’t say anything.”
His eyes met hers, searching. “You need to go home now,” he said. “I know we both thought it would be safe for you here, but clearly it isn’t.”
“I’m not the one someone fired at,” she said.
Ian put his hand on her shoulder. “I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. Even if whoever is doing this is only trying to harass me, accidents happen—like that climber who fell the other day. I can’t risk you being injured.”
She looked away, but not before he saw the hurt in her eyes. “I want to see you,” he said. “But I’ll need to come to you.”
“All right,” she said. “But you have to stay in contact and let me know you’re all right. I care about what happens to you, too.”
“You’re a caring person,” he said.
She gripped his arm, her fingers surprisingly strong. “You’re not just anybody, Ian. Not to me.”
Before he could think how to reply, she released him and hurried away. He stared after her, heart pounding. Other people had told him he was important to them at various times in his life—other women. People who depended on him. But he had never believed them the way he believed Bethany.
* * *
Bethany kept herpromise not to say anything about Ian’s father or about what had happened in Humboldt Canyon on Sunday. The sheriff’s department had apparently also managed to keep quiet about the incident because all talk at the regular search and rescue meeting Wednesday was of the rescue of the climber Mike Addison, with those who had been on the scene providing a play-by-play for those who hadn’t been able to participate.
Talk of the protests at Humboldt Canyon naturally led to debate of the pros and cons of the via ferrata. While most of the skilled climbers—those who spent much of their spare time on the cliffs around town—disliked the idea of the via ferrata, Bethany was gratified to hear a few defenders.
“I had a chance to try out the via ferrata over in Telluride,” Danny said. “It was a blast.”
“It will just bring more unqualified people onto the cliffs,” Ryan groused.
“It also might bring more people to the sport,” Sheri said. “Once they get a taste of it, they might want to pursue it more seriously.”
“It could mean more business for local guides,” Bethany said, remembering what Ian had said about encouraging people to hire someone to escort them through the course.
“I met Ian Seabrook years ago, climbing Katahdin,” Tony said. “He had a good reputation in the local climbing community.” He shrugged. “Of course, that was years ago.”
“I really think he wants this to be a positive thing for our community,” Bethany said.
“Bethany just wants the via ferrata to go through because Seabrook offered her a job,” Carter said.
Her face heated as everyone turned to look at her. “Nothing’s decided yet,” she said. “He just mentioned it. And Carter had no business bringing it up.”
He held up his hands. “Hey, nobody said it was a secret.”
Dalton rested one hand on Carter’s shoulder. “If you get the job, promise you’ll ask Ian if I can drive his Porsche.”
“That is a sweet car,” Caleb said.
“The Porsche is in storage somewhere in Junction now,” Bethany said. “Ian said it wasn’t practical to drive here.”
Which led to a discussion of the merits of different sports cars. Had that been Dalton’s intention all along? He was generally more thoughtful than Carter, though sometimes the two paired up to tease her.
But eventually the conversation turned back to the via ferrata. “I heard Walt Spies is leading the push to turn down the operating permit for the via ferrata,” Carrie Andrews, a local architect, said.
