Conard County Marine (21 page)

Life could still be good. It could still be almost perfect. She let that realization sink into her battered heart and soul, let stirrings of happiness replace it.

Then Coop shifted, turning her toward him within their cocoon of blankets. He smiled into her eyes as he cupped her chilly cheek with a warm hand and stroked it gently with his thumb.

“You are one beautiful woman, Kylie Brewer. You make me crazy with wanting you.”

She caught her breath, staring at him in amazement. She’d sensed his desire, even tasted a bit of it, but driving him crazy with it? It felt like an injection of power through her entire body.

“You know I have to leave,” he said, still holding her gaze, still caressing her cheek. “Uncle Sam will call and I’ll have to go.”

Her happiness in the moment teetered, in danger of falling.

“I don’t make promises I can’t keep,” he said. “I need you to understand that. I’ll have to go, and even if you wanted to come with me, you couldn’t come to some of those places. I want to make love with you, but I need you to understand my limitations. I already made a promise to the government and the United States Marines.”

“I understand.” She did, too, except she wondered why he thought these caveats were suddenly so important. She’d understood from the outset that he would only be here until his leave was over. That one of these days all too soon he’d have to go back. It made her sad to even think about it, but she’d already accepted it. It had been built-in from day one.

He moved his hand, brushing hair back behind her ear. “I like looking at you,” he said. “You’re a feast for my eyes. And if we weren’t up here on this mountainside, I’d be so tempted to love you. Thank goodness it’s too dang cold.”

She didn’t know how to take that. “You’re grateful it’s too cold? What does that mean?”

He dropped a chilly kiss on her lips. “Only that you know my intentions and now you’ll have time to think about them. I don’t want to take anything from you that you aren’t willing to give.”

So he thought he’d be taking and giving nothing in return? She didn’t feel that way at all. At this point in her life, a long-term relationship was the last thing she felt comfortable thinking about. But a fling with this gorgeous man? She suspected it would give her the kind of memories she’d recall in old age to warm her on chilly nights.

Assuming, of course, that she didn’t forget the whole thing. But the thought surprised her by amusing her. Making love would involve a heck of a lot more than her short-term memory. She suspected Coop would imprint himself so deeply on her that she’d remember nearly every touch.

And, oh, how she wanted those touches. Part of her felt as if they would help bring her back to life, moving her away from the precipice she had felt was so close since the attack. Reminding her of all the good things she had to look forward to, rather than the bad things she’d forgotten.

A journey of discovery, an opening door when for weeks now she’d felt as if every door was closed.

If a brief fling was all he could give her, what could be wrong with taking it? Since she’d learned her memory loss wasn’t physical, after all, but rather something that would be corrected by therapy and time, she’d felt an increasing thirst for life, and Coop was part of the thirst she was feeling.

God, she just wanted to be a woman again, to put aside all her worries for a little while. Including the maniac who still seemed to be after her. If she let him, he’d just keep leaching every possible moment of joy from her life.

Was she scared? Of course she was. But she was also extremely tired of being held in thrall by that fear, by some man she couldn’t even remember. It was as if he controlled her life by remote, impressing fear on her until she sacrificed everything but her terror of him.

She could feel a shift coming inside her, as if a dungeon door were opening and letting in the light. If she had only another day or two, then let them be good days.

She snuggled closer and was pleased when his arm tightened around her. “Can I be honest?”

“Please. I prefer it.”

“Then...I want you, too. However little or much you can give me. I know it might only be a few days. But I might only have a few days.”

She felt him stiffen, and for a long time he didn’t say anything. Then, “Kylie?”

“What?”

“I’m better than that.”

“Better than what?”

“If that guy comes near you, I’ll take him out. But apart from that...I don’t want to take advantage of you because you think you have only a short time left.”

She was stunned. “I didn’t mean it that way at all!”

He twisted until they were face-to-face. The chilly mountain air crept under the blanket, but she barely felt it and he didn’t seem to notice at all.

“Then what did you mean?”

“Only that I know you have to leave! Time is short no matter which measure I use. Him or you. I get it. I still want to live as much of that short time as I can. I’m tired of moping around and feeling as if everything is pointless. I’m tired of being afraid. I want to grab the goodness that life offers with both hands for however long I can have it. I want
you
.”

He wrapped both arms around her then, holding her so tightly his muscles felt almost like steel. “I live on the edge so much of the time that I grasp what you’re trying to say. All I want is for you to be as sure as you can. I don’t want to leave any regrets behind me.”

Boy, that sounded pretty final. No prettied-up suggestions that he might ever return or want anything more from her.

Squeezed in his embrace, she nodded, although she knew she still had some thinking to do. Maybe she’d been harboring some furtive hope that he’d say he’d come back. He’d just made it clear that wasn’t in his plan.

So did she want this fling or not? That question suddenly loomed as large as the threat against her.

*

Todd was beginning to go a bit crazy. Kylie was within reach yet out of reach. That damn Cooper was always there, and on the rare occasions he stepped out, Glenda was home.

How was he going to separate that herd? The pressure to finish Kylie off was growing like a disease in his system, raising his emotional temperature to the boiling point. He no longer questioned his desire to get rid of her. That was lost in the mists of time.

She had scorned him once too often, and then she hadn’t died when she should have. Defiant bitch. He needed to finish teaching her the lesson he hadn’t finished in Denver. Afterward...

Well, afterward he might find another woman to teach. He’d found his thoughts drifting that way more and more often since he’d finally worked up the nerve to take Kylie down. Had discovered he’d enjoyed the screams, enjoyed knocking her senseless, enjoyed watching the blood flow from the knife wounds. God, he’d felt so powerful, her life in his hands.

Yeah, doing it again would be fun. But first he had to take care of number one, the woman who had first gotten under his skin in high school and had ever since been like a burr under his saddle, irritating, maddening, rubbing him raw. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t given her a chance. He’d given her more than one chance over the years, including several in Denver.

But she always left him feeling as if she wished he were a thousand miles away. Nothing she exactly said or did, but something in the way she hurried away, slipped to the side to avoid even the merest of touches.

Then, in the midst of the seething cauldron of his lust for vengeance, came the idea. How to separate the herd?

Connie Parish had three children. The oldest had been taken once before, but he ruled her out mostly because she was old enough to be a problem.

But she had two younger children. The six-year-old boy would be the best. The hard part was going to be getting anywhere near that kid. He was being watched like a hawk. But he’d manage. Just make him disappear for a short while. Everyone would be looking for him, most especially his uncle Coop. Oh, yeah, with his cousin’s child missing, Coop would put the search on the front burner and Kylie on the back. He’d leave her somewhere he considered safe enough, like the house, and he’d go looking for the child.

All Todd needed to do was grab the kid and hide him somewhere, causing a panic everywhere. Hell, even Kylie might go out looking.

But first he had to watch the Parish kids and figure out when he’d have an opportunity to take the boy. The minute he saw it, he’d jump.

And then when everyone was in an uproar, he’d find an opportunity to snatch Kylie.

It wasn’t the most careful plan in the world, but he’d finally realized one thing for certain: he was going to have to take any chance that presented itself, or he was never going to get Kylie.

And if she happened to remember him first...well, he plain couldn’t take that risk.

*

Kylie and Coop stopped at the grocery after they came back from the mountains. Glenda would be starting to wake for another night at work, and they wanted to make her a dinner before she left.

Kylie found the market easier to bear this time. Either people were staring at her less, or she was getting more comfortable with it. Staring less, she decided. She was no longer the most recent event and people were probably used to her being home by now.

Given that time was relatively short, they skipped over time-consuming ideas for dinner. Coop finally settled on some steaks, a salad and baked potatoes, which sounded really good to Kylie, too. Easy to make, as well, and Glenda had a small gas grill behind the house.

When they arrived home, they found Glenda draped over the kitchen table with the local newspaper and her first cup of coffee.

“The news about the kids is getting big headlines,” she said as soon as they entered the door carrying bags. “God, I hope they catch this creep soon.”

Kylie looked down at the paper and realized she’d never seen a bigger headline on it. At least not that she could remember. With the masthead, it took up most of the top half of the page.

“It’s horrible,” she said. “Just horrible. I hate to think of how scared the children must be getting.”

“Not to mention their parents,” Glenda remarked. She shoved the paper aside. “What have you been up to?”

“Oh, we took a nice drive in the mountains, then stopped at the grocery. Coop bought us a wonderful dinner.”

“Oh?” Glenda lifted a brow.

Coop had dropped the bags on the counter, but he now pulled out the foam flat bearing three strip steaks. “Look good?”

“Like I’m in heaven,” Glenda replied, smiling at last.

“You just relax,” Kylie said. “I’m making the salad and potatoes. Coop is going to grill the steaks.”

“Grill?” Glenda perked up even more. “You have no idea how rarely I do that just for myself.”

“There’s a lot I don’t cook just for myself, either,” Kylie remarked. “It gets boring, but who wants to spend the time?”

Coop laughed. “When I’m not in the field, I’ll spend all the time it takes to cook a good meal.”

A totally different perspective, Kylie thought as she began to rinse greens for the salad. Completely.

While the greens dried on paper towels, she prepared the baking potatoes and put them in the oven. With about an hour to bake the potatoes there was no rush. But there was time to spend with her sister.

Coop was about to leave the room, apparently to give them some time alone together, but Glenda waved him back in. “You’re family now, Coop, so unless you want to be somewhere else, join us.”

He smiled and sat next to Kylie. He still carried the scent of fresh air and woods about him, a pleasantly enticing scent. Kylie felt herself stirring with the pleasant heat he awoke in her so easily. Fling? Oh, yes, she wanted the fling. Whatever the price, she was willing to pay it.

When he inadvertently brushed her arm, she tingled all the way to her center. Any minute now she’d be panting and Glenda would know exactly what was going on. Not good. She drew a steadying breath and reluctantly edged away from Coop. Just a tiny bit.

He glanced at her, and something in the way the corners of his eyes creased told her he knew why she’d done it. Oh, heavens, she hoped her face didn’t flame.

Under the table, his hand captured hers, and she had the strangest reaction. Instead of pushing her excitement to higher levels, it seemed to fill her with a soothing calm. Inside she felt everything go soft and warm. The last of the tension seeped out of her and she was able to relax.

Glenda leaned back, rolling her shoulders. “I’m really upset about this person stalking kids. But I’m even more worried about Kylie.”

“Why?” Kylie asked.

“Because so far the stalker hasn’t harmed a single child. Not even made any attempt to. But you getting a dead black rose? That makes my skin crawl.”

Everything inside Kylie clenched as her fear returned. She’d successfully avoided thinking about it all day, concentrating instead on being with Coop, but as Glenda spoke she knew it had all been just a diversion. She was still terrified of the man who had tried to kill her, a man who apparently hadn’t given up.

Coop squeezed her hand, as if to offer reassurance. But there was no real reassurance as she looked past her sister to the late-spring afternoon outside. None. Not unless she could remember who had attacked her. That was the only way she could free herself of the fear, to put that man away.

For now she just had to do her best to live with it.

She tightened her hand around Coop’s, wondering if she was hanging on to him for dear life.

“I guess I said exactly the wrong thing,” Glenda said. “Hell, I’m sorry, Kylie.”

“You didn’t say anything wrong,” Kylie reassured her, trying to feel a bravery that kept eluding her. “It’s true. That man is still out there. I can’t afford to forget that for very long.” And that was true, too. A short vacation from fear was all she could hope for at this point.

The doorbell rang and Glenda went to answer it. She spoke to someone and Kylie recognized the answering voice immediately. “Todd,” she muttered to Coop, then sighed.

“What’s wrong with him?” Coop asked.

“I couldn’t tell you. For some reason it didn’t work between us years ago. He’s only a friend. I guess I just don’t feel like seeing anyone right now.”