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She’d spent a couple of sleepless hours trying to figure out why he hadn’t grabbed her backpack. Even if she’d tried to stop him, they’d already established that he was physically superior and capable of taking control. Why had he backed off?
The reason, she’d finally decided, was simple: Liam was a decent person who respected her privacy. Even though he was incredibly curious, even though he wanted her to return to Denver, he wouldn’t force his opinion upon her.
Her eyelids opened wider. The soft, pinkish glow of dawn flowed into her cave, and a hint of dewy moisture hung in the air. Such a fine way to start the day! She would miss these mornings.
Nonetheless, Rain knew it was time to leave her mountain habitat; she couldn’t deny that she was Kate Carradine from an old-money family in Denver. While Liam had talked and shown her the photographs, memories of her former life had taken root in her consciousness. She had to go home, to face whatever awaited her in the city.
After sleeping on it, her decision was made. It was time.
Rolling to her stomach, she gazed across the cleared area to where Liam should have been sleeping under the silver solar blanket. She didn’t see him.
Where was he? Throwing aside the sleeping bag, she emerged from her cave and went to the three boulders that sheltered her campsite. After a quick scan of the meadow, she spotted Liam’s red plaid shirt down by the stream. Even at this distance, she noticed the breadth of his shoulders. A mountain man. He was comfortable here…almost as much as she was.
Rain decided to use this time alone in camp to handle an important task. Returning to her cave, she knelt before the backpack and unzipped the bottom pouch. Stacks of hundred-dollar bills tumbled onto the earthen floor. Though she’d already used some of this paper money for kindling, the cash made a good-sized package when she wrapped it tightly in a T-shirt. At the deepest part of her cave, she crammed the bundle into a crevice, then added the pouch full of diamonds and gold. For extra security, she rolled a heavy rock in front of the hiding place, then smoothed the dirt with her hands.
This stash was her insurance policy. If she’d stolen it herself, the treasure was safely tucked away from the police. If, on the other hand, the hunters wanted to get their hands on the cash and jewelry, she had a bargaining chip. Only she would know where it was hidden.
As she came out of the cave dusting off her hands, Liam returned. He looked at her dirty fingers. “Making mud pies for breakfast?”
“Just tidying up,” she said. “After thinking about everything you told me last night, I’ve made my decision. It’s time for me to pack up and leave.”
He rewarded her with a huge smile, and she thought for a moment that he was going to hug her. “You made the right decision, Rain.”
With a sigh, she said, “I guess you should start calling me Kate.”
“All right, Kate. By coming back, you’re going to make a lot of people happy.”
“Not everybody.” For the hunters, her return would not be cause for celebration. “If you don’t mind, I think I should ease back into civilization gradually.”
“Not a problem,” he said. “We’ll go to my cabin first. It’s fairly remote. You can take a shower, have some solid food and get your bearings.”
“I can’t wait.”
BY THE TIME LIAM BROUGHT his Super Cub around for a landing on an unmanned airstrip in the mountains, Kate was bubbling with excitement, unable to decide which delightful thing to do first.
“I want bacon and eggs for breakfast,” she said. “And a candy bar for dessert.”
“We can do that.”
She beamed. All the food in the world was available to her. The idea of going to a grocery store and picking out whatever she wanted seemed utterly astonishing.
“And a shower,” she said. “And clean clothes.”
“You got it.”
Liam would also make sure her family was notified that she was safe and well. He wondered why she hadn’t immediately thought of them but chalked her indifference up to amnesia.
The Cub touched down lightly and slowed. Liam maneuvered until he had the small plane backed up in front of a rough, wooden shed with a door wide enough for the wingspan. He cut the engines. “I’m not going to put her in the hangar. I’ve got my Land Rover parked in back. I was doing a little work on her.”
She peered through the windshield. “Is this your property?”
“The cabin’s back there in the trees.”
When her feet touched the packed gravel, she felt weightless, as though they were still in the air. Kate hitched up her baggy jeans and followed him toward a neat little two-story log cabin with a sloped shake-shingle roof and a wide porch across the front.
“Very nice,” she said, echoing his comment when he’d seen her cave.
“Like I said, it’s remote.”
The terrain was rugged, little more than a clearing in a dense conifer forest. A craggy cliff side formed a natural boundary at the western edge of the grassy field.
She noticed a battered old Jeep with a snowplow attached to the front. “I thought your car was in the hangar.”
“The Rover is parked indoors. I only use this Jeep to clear the road and the airstrip. I’m on the edge of national forest, and the regular plows don’t come up here.”
“The end of the road,” she said. “You like your solitude.”
“Love it.” On the porch, he pulled his keys from his jeans pocket and unlocked the front door. “What do you want to do first? Food or shower?”
“Shower,” she said emphatically. “I haven’t felt hot water in twenty-eight days.”
He whisked her through a living room with a stone fireplace and heavy furniture. “The bathroom is back here. Take your time.”
“I don’t suppose you have any clothes that might fit me.”
“As a matter of fact, my twelve-year-old nephew was up here for a week. I think he left some stuff.” He opened the door to a linen closet and rummaged through the lowest shelf. “Here we go. Jeans and a T-shirt.”
One glance at the tiny jeans convinced her that they’d never fit. And the T-shirt was emblazoned with voluptuous blue lips and gothic-style print. “Does that say Death Wormer?”
“I think it’s Darth Vermin,” Liam said. “They’re not his favorite band anymore. Which is why the shirt was left behind.”
Though she doubted the little-boy clothes would fit, she accepted them with thanks and entered the bathroom. Hesitantly, Kate sidled toward the mirror above the sink. She wasn’t going to be a pretty sight. For twenty-eight days she’d been without moisturizer, body wash, shampoo or conditioner. Her only cleansing products were toothpaste—thank goodness she’d had that—and a large bar of soap which she’d used sparingly, to make it last.
Avoiding the inevitable moment when she confronted her reflection, she turned on the water faucet. Hot water was a luxury she would never take for granted again. She held her hands beneath the flow and slowly washed away the dirt. Her palms felt rough and calloused.
Slowly, she lifted her chin and faced her reflection. Her matted, multicolored hair looked like porcupine quills. Her skin was dirty brown and her eyes seemed huge and wild. She was skinny, seriously scrawny. There was no meat on her cheeks, and the line of her jaw was razor sharp. Her neck was a twig.
She peeled off her clothing. Her hip bones jutted out. Her breasts were almost nonexistent.
Apparently, living off the land was a terrific weight-loss program. However, if the end result meant looking like this, Kate doubted anyone would rush to sign up for a wilderness health spa.
“It could be worse,” she told her reflection. “You could have turned green and grown scales.”
But she didn’t hate the way she looked. In her eyes, she saw a brand new confidence that she’d never had before. Her twenty-eight days in the mountains had given her time for growth. She was wiser—strengthened by the knowledge that she could take care of herself and survive against overwhelming odds.
Life would be different now. She was Kate Carradine, a pampered heiress who had regular appointments for facials, manicures and stylists.
She reached toward her reflection. Her fingers touched the mirror. “Goodbye, Rain.”
Chapter Four
While Kate showered, Liam threw together a sandwich. His mood was pensive and concerned. He’d dragged Kate halfway back to civilization. Now he had to figure out what came next.
The problem was Wayne Silverman. He was still missing, and Kate was, most likely, the last person who had seen him. She was a witness. As such, Liam should have turned her over to the authorities for questioning.
But she was also a victim who was scared to death. She needed protection. His protection.
Her need was enough reason for him to bend the rules and keep her safely hidden away at his cabin. She wouldn’t be much use as a witness, anyway. Not while she couldn’t remember what had happened.
Her memory loss was the second big problem. Amnesia wasn’t much of an alibi; the police would be skeptical. And when the media got hold of her story, all hell would break loose. Might as well call the tabloids right now.
Things would go a lot easier for Kate if she could remember. Last night, when he’d talked about her family, she seemed to have recall, and it stood to reason that more data might jog her memory. Photos and articles. The kind of information that Colorado Crime Consultants might have on file.
On the kitchen phone, he punched in the number for CCC. The office manager, Molly Griffith, greeted him warmly. Though they’d only met once, she remembered him. “You’re the pilot from Grand Lake. What’s up?”
“Is Adam there?”
“He’s out on a case. I can help.”
To tell the truth, Liam was relieved to be talking to Molly instead of her boss. Briggs was a stickler for following the letter of the law. No way would he approve of Kate staying at Liam’s cabin.
“I found Kate Carradine,” he said.
“Dead or alive?” Molly was blunt and straightforward. He suspected that she was all too accustomed to hearing the worst about missing persons.
“Very much alive,” he assured her. “Kate’s in good physical condition.”
“Un-freaking-believable!” Molly enthused. “She’s been missing for nearly a month. It’s amazing that she survived. Where are you?”
“My cabin.”
“How long will it take you to get here? I’ll call her mother right away and—”
“Hold up,” Liam said. “I want you to wait before making the notifications. Kate’s scared and confused. She can’t remember what happened to her.”
“Amnesia?”
“Exactly,” he said. “I need a day or two to calm her down.”
“You know we don’t work like that,” Molly said. “CCC always cooperates with the cops.”
“It’s not the police that worry me,” he said. “There’s going to be a media frenzy. Kate needs time to prepare herself.”
There was a pause on the other end of the phone while Molly considered. Then she said, “One more day can’t hurt.”
“Thanks, Molly.”
“Adam won’t be happy about this plan, but I’ll convince him.” Molly had a lot of brass. She needed a strong personality to deal with her boss. “What can I do to help?”
“Like I said, she has amnesia. It’d be useful if Kate could see more information on the Carradine family. Fax me anything you have. Photographs would be good.”
“I put together a file when her mother contacted us,” Molly said. “Consider it faxed.”
He disconnected the call, finished off his sandwich and made himself another. After only one night on Kate’s regimen of weeds and bitter tea, he was starving.
Sandwich in hand, he went outside and stood on the front porch to eat. The view always gave him pleasure. He owned eight acres, but the surrounding national forest made his location seem vast. His nearest neighbors were 2.7 miles down the road, and they weren’t often home. Still, he was able to drive into Grand Lake in about half an hour, and he had all the comforts. His solitude was nothing compared to Kate’s experience.
With the second sandwich devoured, he went back into the house and headed toward his office to pick up the faxes from Molly. As he passed the closed bathroom door, he didn’t hear noise from the shower. “Kate? How are you doing in there?”
“You wouldn’t happen to have a blow-dryer?”
“No.”
“Mousse?”
“Sorry.”
She opened the door. “I’m sure mascara is out of the question.”
She looked damn cute in his nephew’s jeans and T-shirt. Though she was skinny, her curves were unmistakably feminine. Her waist was tiny, and her butt filled out the denim quite nicely. Though her hair was still spiky from being wet, her overall appearance was more tamed. “You look good.”
“Not hardly,” she said. “I don’t care what the Duchess of Windsor said about how you can’t be too thin or too rich. This is too much.”
“Too much thin? Or too much rich?”
“I don’t know about the rich part. You seem to think my family is loaded.”
He remembered his initial destination: the fax machine in his office. “We’ll find out.”
She leaned toward him. Her nose crinkled as she inhaled. “You smell like a ham sandwich. I want one.”
Stepping inside his office, he scooped a handful of pages from the fax. He wasn’t surprised by the speedy response; Molly was efficient.
Then, he led the way to the kitchen. “There’s the fridge. Help yourself.”
She stood with the refrigerator door wide open. “Everything. I want everything.”
Moving at warp speed, she grabbed bread, mayo and lunch meat. Before she put together a sandwich, she was distracted by an orange which she juggled from hand to hand before biting into the rind. In seconds, she had it peeled. Two sections popped into her mouth. The cheese didn’t reach the countertop. Kate folded the slice and devoured it.
“Potato chips!” She snatched the bag from the counter and ripped it open. A couple of chips followed the cheese.
Liam stepped back to avoid being accidentally consumed by this human eating machine. He sat at the kitchen table and watched with amusement as Kate sampled bites of everything she touched. Like a kid given free rein in a candy store, she was tempted by each item, and she ate with blissful abandon.
But it only took a few minutes before she stopped. She placed her hand on her flat stomach and said, “I’m already full.”
Her eyes were so mournful that he chuckled.
“All this great food,” she said, “and I can’t fit more than a couple of bites inside me.”
