Heartstealer (Women of Character3 (13 page)

His round face was pasty white.
"Sorry, Jacie, I’m heading back. I’ve got a touch of the flu
or something. It suddenly came on me."

With concern, she noted droplets of
perspiration on his forehead and his dark hair was damp. "Bill, are you
okay? Are you going to make it?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but I want
to get out of the air." The plane bumped a little and she grabbed the back
of his seat. "We’ll land in a few minutes. Don’t worry,
I’ll get us down safely."

Bill was a good pilot. There was no
reason to worry but she went back to sit with MaryAnn, she rubbed her palms
nervously down the side of her jumpsuit.

"Unfortunately, we’ll
have to postpone your jump," she told MaryAnn. "The pilot has a touch
of flu or something. To be on the safe side he’s bringing us down."

"Poor guy."

To her relief MaryAnn didn’t
look duly concerned but Jacie kept a furtive eye on Bill. Moments later they
landed smoothly. MaryAnn exited the plane while Jacie moved quickly back toward
Bill.

His cheeks now had a faint flush.

"You need to see a
doctor," she told him quickly. "I’ll see about a ride for
you." She didn’t like how shaky he looked.

"What’s the
matter?" Sloan asked, appearing around the back of the plane. "Did
MaryAnn decide not to jump?"

"Bill’s sick."

Sloan looked at Bill as he too
exited the plane. "I’ll take you into town."

Bill didn’t protest. "I
think it’s a flu or something." He held his stomach and grimaced.

Sloan unhooked a radio attached to
his belt and spoke into it. "James, call Dr. Adams in town and tell him
I’m bringing someone in to see him. Bill is in pain, might be the flu.
We’re on the way now."

Jacie touched Bill’s arm
reassuringly. "I hope you’re okay."

"Sorry, Jacie," he said
with a grimace.

She watched Sloan run across the
pasture to get the truck.

"Don’t worry about it.
Here comes Sloan now. Let him get you to the doctor. You’ll be feeling
well in no time."

She helped him into the truck and
watched it drive away. Hopefully Bill would be feeling better in a few days. As
the truck moved down the road, she pondered the suddenness of the pilot’s
illness. She hoped no one else caught it.

Ω

The next day Jacie burrowed into
her jacket, trying to ward off the chill morning air. She was glad she had
decided to go on the overnight camping trip to Haines Falls. Since Bill was out
of commission for a few days there would be no skydiving jumps. The doctor had
declared it a case of gastric upset. Apparently he had eaten something that
didn’t agree with him. She thought it was kind of odd, considering everyone
had eaten bagels and cream cheese from the same breakfast buffet as Bill and no
one else became sick but the doctor also conceded it might have been another
place he had eaten.

James, Michelle and Donny had led
them along trails of rock and through dense evergreen and hardwoods for over an
hour before they reached a clearing on the mountain.

She had elected to ride the horse
Dandy, yet he seemed out of sorts today. The longer she rode, the more uneasy
his behavior. Snorting, sidling, he acted like a totally different horse from
the previous times she had ridden him.

"Jacie, maybe we'd better
switch horses," James said again, casting a worried glance at her. "I
don’t like the way he’s acting."

Jacie shrugged. "I'm okay,
maybe he's just in a bad mood. I’m sure he’ll be okay until we get
there."

"We're almost to the
camp," Michelle said.

They had left quite early, before
the sky had had a chance to lighten the sky. The supplies for the trip had been
packed the night before so all they had to do was climb on their horses and
take off.

Right now as they crossed a
wide-open ledge the rising sun bathed everything in an eerie half-light. They
were offered a pure, unobstructed view of trees and mountains. The ragged ledge
below them cast interesting shadows into crevices and hidey-holes along the
escarpment trail.

"This place is gorgeous,"
she murmured. "I’m going to have a hard time leaving."

"That’s the magic of the
Catskills," James asked. "I think the bug has hit you."

Mentally shaking herself, she
agreed with his assessment. "It amazes me I guess that where I live there
are taxis and lines to contend with, humanity on all sides and you guys have
constant access to the total opposite. Nature at its best."

"The camp is right around this
bend." James stopped and let everyone pass by him. "Go on ahead.
Unsaddle your horse and then we’ll take care of them while you get
breakfast."

He fell into line behind her.
"I’m starving," she told James as she dismounted. She swept a
soothing hand over her horse’s neck. Nervously, Dandy tossed his head and
pawed the ground. "I wish I knew why this guy was so ornery today."

She removed his saddle and tack and
Michelle led the horse to the sturdy camp corral. James and Michelle conferred
on the animal and then released him into the confined area. Dandy immediately
whisked away, bucking across the fenced area.

Everyone helped pitch the tents.
She chose an area outside the clearing, close to a growth of white birch
saplings. Beside the small corral was a pipe with a tap that made use of an underground
spring.

"Coffee's on," James
said.

Donny had already started a fire.
She dropped to sit cross-legged beside the small blaze, holding her cold white
fingers out to the flames. "That was quick work, Donny." She threw
the long-haired teenager a smile.

"Can I get you coffee or tea,
Ms. Turner?" Donny asked shyly, brushing a stray lock of dark blond hair
off his forehead.

"Make it Jacie, and I'd love
tea."

"Sure thing."

She held the warmth of the mug
between her fingers as he prepared eggs, bacon, potatoes and ham.

"Have you worked at Timber
Falls long?"

"The last two summers."
He flipped the eggs, then looked up at her. "This is the first summer
Sloan let me help on the overnight trips."

Her interest perked up another
notch at the mention of Sloan. She hadn't seen him since he’d taken Bill
to see the doctor yesterday.

It had been James who told her the
gas leak at her place had been due to a fitting that had worked its way loose.
It had been taken care of and she had been able to move back into her cabin.

She ran a finger along the rim of
her mug. "It must be like a working vacation," she said to Donny.
"Living and working up here."

"I love the summers," he
said. "Everyone at Timber Falls is like family."

"Especially Michelle?"
she asked impishly.

Donny looked at Michelle where she
stood across the clearing talking with James. His ears immediately became red.
"Um, yeah, Michelle is okay."

Realizing she had inadvertently embarrassed
him, she said casually, "I like Michelle too. Does Sloan ever do the
overnights?"

"Sure. James expects Sloan to
show up. He got back late last night from a buying trip. I heard he picked up
twenty new heifers."

"I didn't know that." She
kept her voice level, trying to tamp down feelings of anticipation. She had
missed him.

"Hey, Donny, we're
starving!" James called out good-naturedly.

The rest of the party gravitated
toward the campfire.

"Pass me a cup, will you,
Jacie?" James said.

She reached over and picked up a
mug, then handed it to him. "You've lived here all your life?" she
asked him now.

"I was born here in the
Catskills. Sloan, on the other hand is a transplant. Our dad moved here
permanently from Texas when Sloan was little."

"Yes, he mentioned that."

James looked surprised. "He
told you that? My mom married Everett Wright when Sloan's mother died. Sloan
was around nine. I came along about a year later."

"You seem very close. That
probably has a lot to do with the success of Timber Falls."

"I have to admit the last two
years have been the best yet. Dotty, that's my wife, well, she thinks we should
expand and build a dozen more cabins."

"You sound like you don't
favor the idea?"

"Not entirely, Sloan and I
think Timber Falls is fine the way it is. I want to bring in more revenue, but
not to the extent that the ranch loses its quaint appeal."

"I agree with you, James. You
might lose something if you catered to too many at once."

Emma joined them as she
precariously balanced a full plate of ham and eggs. "Hey James, what's on
the agenda for today? If I don't get moving soon, I won't want to."

"We'll hike to the falls then
meet back here for lunch. By then Sloan should be here."

Jacie was aware of heat enveloping
her from head to toe at the mention of Sloan's name. Tensely, she ran her palms
over her jeans. Disturbed by her reaction, she spied a bright growth of Morning
Glory and walked across the clearing to inspect the delicate blue flowers. They
had wound themselves tightly around a nearby sapling and the effect of the
flowers against the slim trunk was startling and unexpected.

"Penny for them." A pair
of dark brown boots appeared beside her. She lifted her eyes slowly . . . dark
jeans, silver belt buckle, faded green shirt, stopped at devil blue eyes.

"Hi, Sloan."

Sloan had a slight smile curving
his lips. Leaning close, he plucked one of the blossoms and offered it to her.
She looked at the fragile bloom lying in his calloused palm, her heart turning
over. The gesture was so simple, yet touching.

She had worked with all types of
men, been wined and dined by a few, but none affected her as this man did. Her
relationship with Brad paled in comparison. He had never made her feel so
intense, yet secure. Sloan was outside her realm of experience; she had the
sense he played for keeps. Did she want to be in that league?

"Thank you," she said
simply, a satisfying warmth coursing through her. She plucked the flower from
his palm and touched it gently to her nose.

"How was the ride here? Did
you enjoy it?"

She nodded. "I loved it. This
is the best scenery and James is a great guide." She added the last for
James' benefit as he appeared beside Sloan.

"You must have hustled to get
here," James said, his glance moving between the two of them.

"I brought the truck and
trailer," Sloan said.

James nodded. "Good. You've
got perfect timing. We're getting ready to leave on the hike."

"Sometimes, I get lucky,"
Sloan murmured, his eyes on her. She watched him drop his pack to the ground
and look around their group. "Are we ready?" he asked.

"Here." James tossed his
brother a backpack identical to his own, which Sloan caught deftly. "You
can carry the bag with the juices and water. We’ll be leaving as soon as
we finish eating."

Emma looked over at the horses
where they stood in the corral. "Will the horses be okay here by
themselves?" she asked doubtfully.

"Sure," Sloan answered.
"Donny and Michelle will stay behind to keep an eye on things."

When everyone was ready Sloan and
James led the way toward a dense growth of short pines. "Watch out for the
briars," Sloan warned, holding back a tangle of vine.

Jacie skirted around him.
"Thanks." She stopped beside a huge stone monument located halfway up
a steep bank. She touched the precisely placed stones with her hands. They felt
cold and damp yet seemed to have held together well through time. Slinging her
camera around to her back, she climbed to the top of the stone mound.

"This is an old railroad
bed," James said, climbing up behind her. "When we climb out of this
shallow knoll you'll see the clearing where the Laurel House used to stand.
Below it is where you'll find the falls."

"Be careful going down toward
the falls," Sloan cautioned. Everyone paused beside railroad ties that had
been sunk into the earth above the creek to stabilize the bank. "The
ground has washed out. It’s always slippery."

His hand closed around her arm as
he guided her down the small slope, then he did the same for Emma and MaryAnn.
When she stood on a flat rock at the top of the falls, she drank in the
one-hundred-eighty-degree view stretched so magnificently before her.

"This is magnificent. The
falls is at our feet."

James came to stand beside her.
"It gashes its way through the mountain to the clove at its base."

Jacie stood perfectly still, aware
only of the hushed quiet and the long drop to the top of the trees. She pulled
her camera out and slowly, methodically began to take pictures. "Can
everyone face me?" she called out. "I want to get everyone in this
picture with the mountains as a backdrop." She specifically wanted a
picture of Sloan as a memento of this time.

Jacie snapped several pictures.
Sloan joined her by the edge of the falls. "This height doesn't bother
you?" he asked.

She lowered her camera.
"No."

"The top of this falls used to
have an observation deck about a hundred years ago." Sloan touched the toe
of his boot to a circular bit of metal that appeared embedded in the rock.
"They used to lower drinks down to hikers at the bottom of the
falls."

"A hundred years ago?"
Emma asked. She looked carefully over the edge, holding on to her
husband’s arm. "I don’t see a trail."

"There’s a really steep
trail on the side of the falls. It used to be maintained a bit more back then.
Women used to hike with their long skirts and dresses."

"Amazing," Jacie
murmured, snapping more pictures.

"The area’s hotels used
to be host to quite a few famous people," James remarked. "The
biggest hotels were the Catskill Mountain House and the Kaaterskill.
We’ll be riding to those sites later."

As a group they moved away from the
edge of the falls and up the creek, hopping from rock to rock.