Rocky Mountain Lawman

chapter 6



Sky wished she found Craig less appealing. She wished she knew how to kiss better because then maybe he would have kept on. Maybe she was nuts, but she felt that making love with him might turn into one of the best experiences of her life. She certainly wanted to.

But that was evidently going nowhere at all. Much as she tried to tell herself that was for the best, she couldn’t escape a sense of disappointment. On the other hand, did she want to discover that her ex had been right about her?

Not really. Sometimes delusions were good things, and believing Hector had been wrong could be a useful delusion to carry. For all she knew, it might even be true. She certainly didn’t want to learn that he had been right.

She checked the steaming veggies. “Just another minute.”

Craig stuck a fork into the potatoes. “Well, these won’t be far behind. The steak is on the edge of ready, too.”

A short time later while they ate, she decided to tell him more. “I had the feeling that I was being watched out there.”

“This afternoon?” He lifted his head to look at her.

“Yeah. Right around the time I took the photos. I tried to act like I was taking pictures of the whole valley, but that creepy feeling didn’t quit. They might have been watching me through binoculars. Or I might have imagined it.”

“You know better.” He said it firmly.

“You’re right, I do.”

“If there’s one human instinct that’s rarely wrong, it’s the sense that we’re being watched. Hell. I need to poke around and see if I can find any evidence that someone was out there with you.”

“I doubt you can find much. I didn’t see anyone or hear anything, and I was alert for it. Pine needles are so thick in those woods they don’t leave a good trail.”

“Unless someone is on horseback and the hooves scuff them. Or someone is careless.”

She pointed to the monitor. “Those guys don’t look like they’d be careless. But they were down there, not anywhere on the hill where I was, obviously.”

“That assumes they’re the only ones working with Buddy.”

She hadn’t thought of that, and her heart quickened. “You think there might be more of them?”

“I wish I knew.”

She frowned for a minute, arguing with herself. How much trouble did she want? This was supposed to be a little rest and recuperation, after all. But other instincts were kicking into high gear anyway.

“I’ll wander in the woods a bit tomorrow, like I’m looking for another vantage for painting. I’ll let you know if I see anything.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want you taking risks.”

“Craig, I was a soldier, too. I think I know something about patrolling and self-defense. I’ll be just fine. I’m not going to do anything to make anyone suspicious. Besides, I was hoping to find a ravine, something rocky and deep, to paint. I was going to be looking for that soon anyway.”

He looked as if he were about to object, but instead forked a piece of steak into his mouth and chewed hard. The steak was nowhere near tough enough to demand that kind of attention, and she almost wanted to giggle.

“You’ve got to make me some promises,” he said finally.

“Such as?”

“You won’t wander too far, you won’t go anywhere without your radio and if anything creeps you out, get the hell out.”

She couldn’t resist. “Are you going to throw me out of the forest if I don’t promise?”

“Sky...”

She laughed quietly. “You usually seem so calm, I couldn’t resist. Okay, I can promise that.” And she could. It was basic common sense.

His expression relaxed. “Sorry. I guess I’m too used to taking command. I don’t mean to underestimate your abilities. I just worry. I’m supposed to take care of the people in this forest.”

She felt herself softening, too. She liked it when his face settled into gentle, calm lines. “I won’t do anything stupid. But even if nothing else were going on, I’d be looking for a different vantage. I want something less peaceful and more energetic to paint.”

He waved to the impressionist painting sitting in the corner on her easel. “That’s not exactly pastoral. I can feel energy popping out of it.”

“Really?” She looked at the canvas and smiled. “Thanks. I wasn’t sure.”

“You can be sure. I’m no art critic, but it’s brimming with life. Wildflowers never looked so lively. And the shadows...” He thought a minute. “Somehow it feels almost haunted. Or haunting. Like the woods have spirits.”

“You just made me feel like a million dollars. That’s what I was reaching for.”

“I think you got it.” His gaze tracked back to her. “I spend so much time out here I get to feeling as if it’s all alive. As in sentient.”

She nodded slowly. “I was getting that feeling, too. As if there’s some kind of consciousness out here. Different from ours, but very real. Don’t Native Americans believe that?”

“Some do, at least, but I wouldn’t venture to speak for them all. Have you ever read about Black Elk? He was an Oglala Sioux holy man.”

“Afraid not.”

“He wrote something that struck me deeply. I don’t remember the exact wording, but it stayed with me anyway. Something about how when you cut a lodgepole pine you should always give the tree thanks for its gift.”

Sky turned that around in her head, considering all the nuances. “I like that, too. And it would be a good way to live, always thanking the earth for its blessings. We might be better caretakers.”

“I try to always keep it in mind.”

She realized she had gotten a glimpse of this man’s soul, and perhaps part of what made him seem so tranquil much of the time. For him, protecting nature wasn’t just a job. He was protecting life of all kinds, taking care of the earth, and perhaps it seemed to him that his calling was at least somewhat holy. Not exactly a religion, but sacred in a way.

She liked that. She had seen enough destruction for one lifetime, and was more than ready to consider all life sacred. Even the rocks and trees, come to that.

After they washed up, he showed her how to use the gravity shower. Even though there was a holding tank into which she could pour some stove-heated water, she had a feeling the experience would be reminiscent of a few she had had in Iraq. Pull the chain, the water would be all the wrong temp, wash fast, pull the chain again...

“Or,” he said, “you could continue to go to town anytime you want a real shower. I wouldn’t advise the streams, though. That’s really cold. But if you decide to go that route, there’s biodegradable soap and shampoo on that shelf.”

Not to mention she was beginning to wonder just who was wandering around in the woods. No, it would be the gravity shower or a trip in to her motel room. She had already paid in advance for an entire month.

Night had settled fully, and she decided to pull out her new jacket and stargaze again. The nighttime woods had a beauty all their own, one she probably couldn’t justify in paint, but one she could feel all the way to the depths of her being.

She sat on her tarp with her knees up, arms wrapped around them. A few minutes later, Craig joined her with two cups of coffee. She noticed he put a safe distance between them.

“I love sleeping in the open,” he remarked.

Well, that was a nice way of telling her she’d probably have the cabin to herself tonight. She almost sighed, then stopped herself. It was hard, she thought, to get to know somebody new. In fact, it was so hard she wondered if a lot of relationships lasted long beyond their expiration date simply because nobody wanted to go to that much trouble again.

But this was different. This was never going to amount to anything, so no effort was really required. Just take it for what it was and skip the social anxiety.

“So you’ll be going to see the sheriff in the morning? What exactly happened?”

Craig turned a little toward her, sitting cross-legged. “Well, it turns out he was right. He saw evidence that there were at least four men there beyond Buddy and his family, and it bothered him that he didn’t see them. As if they were trying to stay out of sight. And he didn’t like that guy called Cap either.”

“Sounds unanimous.”

“Apparently. Anyway, when I was out riding along one of the streams looking for obstructions, I saw something I didn’t like—a watchtower under construction.”

She stiffened a bit, turning her head to look right at him. “What does he need a watchtower for?”

“Exactly what I was wondering. You know, Sky, I admit I’ve only known the guy for three years, but he never struck me as the sort who’d want to build an armed camp. At least not without some reason. Being out in the middle of nowhere like this mostly obviates the reasons. You tell me how many people are likely to show up at his place if a meteor drops out of the sky. And if Yellowstone erupts, there aren’t going to be any of us around anyway.”

“What a thought!”

“It’s true. Not likely in our lifetimes, but true anyway. Regardless, this is a pretty thinly populated place. Most of the ranchers are fairly self-sufficient to begin with. You take the townspeople, and I think this would be the last place they’d come. Besides, Buddy, being a prepper, isn’t exactly advertising what he’s doing. His family has been here forever, they’ve never been really sociable from what I hear and I doubt anyone thinks of him very often if at all. The sheriff and I know he’s a prepper only because we see him so often and he’s let a few things slip.”

“So?”

“So I don’t think he’d cross a single soul’s mind if a catastrophe happened. People in town would pull together, the ranchers would hunker down and help who they could. But nobody would be on the way to Buddy’s place. I’d bet on it.”

Sky nodded and tipped her head back so she could see the stars and avoid looking at Craig. It seemed hazier tonight. She wished that haziness would encompass the man beside her, because every dang time she looked at him, the yearning blossomed anew. “I wonder if he’s considered the downside to that.”

“What do you mean?”

“If something bad happens and he needs help, nobody’s going to think of him then, either.”

Craig’s laugh echoed off some nearby tree trunks and rocks. “That’s a good point.” He reached out, clasped her hand and squeezed, then released her. She regretted the loss of his touch nearly as much as she would have regretted the loss of air to breathe. She envied him suddenly, because if he felt the same attraction, he was doing a far better job of handling it. She tried to stiffen her own spine.

She forced her thoughts back to the subject at hand. “Maybe it was just brainwashing, but the army taught me we can all do a lot more and be a lot safer in a unit. Solo actors just got into trouble or caused trouble.”

“I don’t think that’s brainwashing. I think it’s true. Humans need community to survive.”

“Says the guy who lives like a lone wolf.”

He laughed, but shook his head, hard to see in the dim starshine. “Not entirely a lone wolf. I need my compadres in the service. In fact, they’re coming in closer to help me keep an eye on this situation. Given that this is our busiest time of year, I can’t get them all, but we won’t be alone indefinitely.”

“For busy this seems awfully quiet.”

“We’ve got maybe seventy or eighty hikers out here now. I can’t be exactly sure because not everyone checks in. Regardless, there’s a whole forest to watch, not just this place, but we’ll get some help.”

She nodded, actually glad to hear that. “If we’re going to play hide-and-seek in the woods, more people will help.” Then she looked up at the heavens. “The stars seem dimmer tonight. Almost as if there’s a haze. Is it going to rain?”

“There’s none in the forecast but it’s always possible since we’re in the mountains. Weather can change fast.”

“I wish I could capture how that sky makes me feel on canvas. But for once my imagination fails me. Every mental image I get would be blah, and no way would it do justice to what I feel looking up. That sky, even with the haze, seems so deep, so big. A canvas would confine it and flatten it.”

“Maybe that’s why there are so few paintings of moonless nights.”

“Maybe so.” She shivered a little, and hugged her knees closer. It was getting a lot colder out here.

“Want to go in?”

“Not yet,” she answered. Not yet. The beauty out here was worth shivering a bit. Besides, once inside the temptation to give in to desire would simply grow.

Surprising her, he scooted over and drew her close to his side. “Maybe this will help.”

Well, of course it helped. He might as well have struck a match to her. The chill vanished in a sudden wave of internal heat. Not good, she groaned inwardly. What the hell was happening to her? She couldn’t remember having this much trouble corralling herself, even with Hector.

That thought brought her up short. Really? Really? She cast her mind backward, trying to remember what her initial days with Hector were like. She had certainly believed she loved him, she had found him attractive, but she honestly couldn’t remember having felt like this. That attraction had been quieter, more under her control.

It hadn’t struck her then, but it struck her now, that maybe that wasn’t such a good thing.

Think about something else. Anything. Buddy provided an immediate source of distraction.

“This militia thing,” she said. “What could they hope to accomplish? It’s not like they could take over anything. Those things never end well.”

“I guess it depends on what they want. Attention? Creating terror? I agree they won’t get very far if they try something, but how far do you have to get to create an impact?”

“True. God, I hope they’re not planning something.” Such horrors were no longer abstract for her and it was beyond the scope of her comprehension that someone would willingly choose to cause such things except with extreme provocation. What provocation did Buddy have? Of course, there was still that guy called Cap. Who knew what motives he might have?

Come to think of it, she was getting awfully sick of Buddy and she didn’t even know the guy. She had come out here for peace, quiet and the restorative benefits of painting and solitude. Instead a total stranger had walked her into something that inevitably harkened back to Iraq. She really ought to just pack up and go somewhere else.

But she knew she couldn’t, wouldn’t, do that. She hadn’t been exaggerating when she had said she would never abandon a fellow soldier, and she meant it. She couldn’t leave now. She got the feeling Craig didn’t have a whole lot of help, so unless they found a reason to call in the Feds or ATF or something, she would do what she could to help. She was going to have his back.

No escaping that. It was a kind of loyalty that was rooted deeply in her, and it didn’t require a personal relationship to validate it.

So here she was, sick of thinking about Buddy and company, not wanting to think about her attraction to Craig and just clean wiped out of conversation and other thoughts.

Lovely.

She heard Craig draw a breath, as if he were about to say something, when she suddenly realized that the edginess running along her nerve endings no longer solely had to do with him.

“Sh,” she whispered almost inaudibly. “We’re being watched.”

He grew so still he might have been stone. He murmured, “I was just going to say that.”

“Where?”

“Don’t know. Sh. Eyes and ears.”

She imagined that with Craig’s arm around her, they must look like an ordinary couple just enjoying a starry night. On the other hand, they’d been talking about Buddy. Had they been overheard?

The thought stretched her nerves even tighter. A mistake so basic even a newbie should have known better. But who thought one of them would come to the cabin?

On the other hand, it should have occurred to them.

She tried to think back to when the sense of being watched had struck her, and how long before that they had fallen silent. She didn’t know because she hadn’t been paying attention.

Which made her mad, because she knew better than that. As long as there was any possibility that they needed to be cautious, she should never have dropped her guard. Never.

Worse, she had been the one to use exactly the wrong topic as a distraction. They had moved on to other things long before she started to feel watched, but no, she’d had to divert the subject back to Buddy.

She wanted to pound her head on something.

The feeling didn’t last long. After a minute or two, the sense of being watched vanished.

“It could have been a bear or some other animal,” Craig said quietly.

“Maybe. I wish I believed it. Me and my big mouth.”

“Let’s go inside,” he said firmly.

This time she didn’t argue. The night had lost its charm, and she was fairly angry with herself.

“I’ll pick things up,” he said as he pulled her to her feet. Then, tugging her close, he said quietly in her ear, “You keep watch.”

At once she felt better. At least he trusted her that much. Right now she wasn’t feeling all that trustworthy.

He folded her tarp as if he were in no hurry, and picked up the coffee mugs he had brought out for them.

Then he lead the way inside, taking his time about it, and let her open the door since his hands were full. Only when they were inside did she say another word.

“I can’t believe I was stupid enough to talk about that outside.”

“We both talked about it. Don’t beat yourself up.”

“But I brought it up a second time.” Annoyed, she kicked her foot at the floor. “Operational security. I can’t believe I forgot it so fast.”

“You’re out in a national forest, for heaven’s sake,” he said mildly. “Not a war zone. Why should you even be thinking of things like that? I know I’m having trouble with it.”

“I felt like I was being watched this afternoon. I shouldn’t have forgotten that possibility so quickly.”

“Consider where you are. There are lots of things with eyes out here that could watch you.”

“Well, that’s a creepy thought.” Still, it settled her a bit. He was right. She had no reason to think Buddy’s militia was watching them this closely. Why would they? Anyway, they hadn’t been talking all that loudly, and the latter part of the conversation had been more generalized, about militias. “Okay,” she said finally. “But I won’t be so careless again.”

“Fair enough. I won’t either.”

She looked at him from beneath her eyebrows, smiling faintly. “So the woods have eyes, huh? Sounds like a sci-fi film.”

“So don’t go out alone,” he joshed back. “It’s always the girl who goes out alone who meets the monster.”

“Good point. Isolated cabin, nobody around, dark woods, yeah, I wouldn’t last very long. I’d be lucky to be listed in the credits as ‘girl number three.’”

“Which means you lasted longer than one and two.”

The last of the tension seeped out of her and she laughed. “Sorry, I just got mad at myself for being careless.”

“I was careless, too, like I said. So, okay, we’ll follow reasonable OPSEC rules and REDCON procedures, but right now there isn’t a whole lot of reason to be frightened of anything. I think Buddy and Cap would be happy if they thought we’d forgotten all about them, and that’s the impression I intend to create.”

“What about the sheriff?”

“I doubt he wants to stir the pot without some additional proof that something’s going on. Mostly we’re just going to have to keep an eye out and see what develops.”

Then he pulled the zipper up on his jacket. “I’m going out to look around, check on Dusty.”

A thought struck her. “Wouldn’t Dusty have made some kind of ruckus if something was out there?”

He shook his head. “Dusty doesn’t react to much except bears, wolves and snakes.”

“I guess we know what wasn’t out there, then. I’ll come with?”

He shook his head. “We don’t want to appear too alert if someone is out there. Let me just take an ordinary look-see, the kind I often do. I won’t be long.”

Of course he didn’t find anything. She suspected that neither of them had expected him to, not in the dark. Probably an animal. It had to be an animal.

Because surely they were making too much of this Buddy character?

But then she remembered how he had accused her of spying, and warned herself not to go into a state of denial. Spying was something that worried a person only if they had something to conceal. Especially spying from so far away.

She was glad, though, that Craig didn’t decide to sleep outside. He spread his sleeping blanket on the floor near hers and that simple choice meant more than it probably should have.

Oh, to hell with it, she thought. Just let it go. Nothing would come of this, and thus she had nothing to be worried about. In a few weeks, or sooner if she got the urge, she’d move on. The way she’d been moving on for a long time now.