Page 45 of Her Rugged Guardian

“Goddamn it,” I hissed as I lunged for her, yanking her by the arm. “You’re not driving.”

“Like hell I’m not.”

“You don’t know the area, Cass, and you’re in no condition to drive.”

She glared at me with as much hatred as I’d often felt for myself. Her features relaxed but her body remained tense. The single sob coming from her throat almost destroyed me. “Okay. Let’s just find him. Please. Just please.”

The tension we’d felt between us had returned, which of course was my fault. At least she allowed me to guide her to my truck. I even opened the door but sensed she wanted none of it. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d ever opened the door for anyone. What crazy shit to be thinking about when her tears continued to fall. Every few seconds, she wiped them furiously, her mouth twisting when she did.

I knew that kind of feeling, as if letting go was the worst thing in the world. As if by doing so the truth of sadness or death claimed a portion of your soul. Yeah, it had taken all of mine. I jumped in, not wasting any additional time lamenting about a past I couldn’t change. If I was right about where Moose had gone, there were dangers existing in the woods that I wasn’t going to tell her about. Between bears, coyotes, and wolves, not to mention venomous snakes, it seemed rain brought the wildlife out in full force depending on the time of year.

The property bordered Tangerine Sunset, even though it was over a mile from the furthest edge of the property.

“Why would he disappear? Why? He’s never done that,” she said absently as I sped off down the road. She was sitting on the edge of her seat, yet to put on her seatbelt. I doubted chastising her at this point would win me any points.

“However he got out, if he noticed a rabbit or another creature, he might have run after it. There are lots of scents he’s not used to.”

“I guess it’s possible. But how did he get out? How, Jake? I swear I locked that door. You weren’t in my house. Were you?”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“That’s right. You pawned me off on some other dude. I guess I was too much for you.”

I didn’t like hearing her insistence she’d locked the door, my thoughts drifting to the two recent murders. “I thought given the fact you hate me, it would be better if someone else worked on your house.”

“I guess you thought right. I have a lot of reasons to hate you.”

“I’ll check on it after we find him. Okay?” It was obvious she didn’t want me anywhere near her house, but she would deal with me checking things when we returned whether she liked it or not. I sped down the road until it ended, the boggy forest just ahead of us.

“Whatever.”

As soon as I’d thrown the gear into park, she shoved open the door. Once again, I grabbed her arm. “You need to listen to me,Cinnamon Girl. What you see up there is a natural area that when it rains becomes more like a marsh. There’s a whole bunch of debris from a building site not too far away so the area doesn’t drain very well. As you might imagine, it’s inhabited by several creatures.”

“I don’t give a shit if green aliens live there. I’m going in to try and find my baby. You notice I have jeans on.” She tried to jerk her arm away, but I held fast. I adored her conviction, but she had no clue what kind of dangers she could face.

“I’m talking several inches of water, a creek that floods and attracts wildlife. There’s also briars and snakes. Could be coyotes as well.”

“Are you trying to scare me because I don’t give a shit, Jake. And don’t you dare ever call me Cinnamon Girl again. Not ever.”

Exhaling, I cut the engine. “What I’m trying to do is let you know there are some dangers. Let me take the lead. I’ve done this kind of shit before. Have you?”

This time, she snatched her arm away with enough force, she smacked her elbow against the glass. But just as I would expect, she made certain she didn’t make a squawk from pain. Yet the fact her eyes remained wet tore at me all over again. Even if her scowl was as pronounced as I could make mine.

“Fine. But we’re not leaving until we find him.” She jumped out, holding her arms as she stormed toward the forest.

Damn, the woman didn’t make anything easy. Maybe that was one of a hundred reasons why I liked her. I needed that shit out of my system. I climbed out, grabbing my work gloves in case and shoving them into my back pocket. I followed behind,still scanning the area, hating the fact I had a bad feeling Moose hadn’t gotten out on his own.

I moved directly into the forest, the stench of rotting leaves and stagnant water assaulting my senses. The sun was still bright in the sky, but with every step taken into the dense path of trees, the darker it got. While it was a natural barrier between Tangerine Sunset and the development, Margaret had always hated it. I couldn’t say I blamed her.

“Moose! Moosie!” Cassandra called. She took careful steps forward into the slop, groaning after a few seconds. “This is awful.”

“I told you it was.” I glanced around the area, trying to detect any sign someone had recently crawled through. Unfortunately, there were broken limbs everywhere given the recent storm.

She took two longer strides forward and almost tripped. I managed to grab her before she went down, and I’ll be damned if the girl didn’t act as if she wanted nothing more than to free herself from me.

“I can do it,” she snapped.

“Don’t allow what happened between us to get in the way. Just stay calm. Okay? We need to continue searching.”

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