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“Yeah, okay,” Mariah said, then breathed a sigh of relief when Quinn came back.
“Here,” he said, and dropped two pills into her outstretched palm.
Mariah downed them quickly. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Do you need to go to the bathroom before we leave? Like I said, it’s about an hour to the cabin.”
“I guess,” she said, but when she tried to stand, her leg went out from under her. Quinn grabbed her before she fell. “Damn it!” she muttered.
“I got you,” he said, and slipped an arm around her waist to walk her down the hall to the bathroom door.
“Can you make it from here?”
There were tears in her eyes. “Yes. Just wait for me.”
“Don’t worry, kid. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
* * *
By the time they said their goodbyes and he got her to the Jeep, the pain pills were having enough of an effect that she was feeling some relief. He put a pillow on the passenger seat before helping her inside.
“The Jeep’s shocks aren’t as good as the SUV’s, but if you sit on this pillow I think it’ll help.”
“You don’t need to worry about me,” she said, as Quinn reached across and buckled her in.
He was so close she could feel the warmth of his breath against her skin. What she was thinking was disconcerting in the midst of so much pain. Then he turned, and she found herself caught in his gaze.
“What happens if I want to worry about you?” he asked.
Longing washed through her. “I don’t know. I guess I can’t stop you, can I?”
Quinn’s pulse was racing. He was so close he could almost taste the kiss, but he wouldn’t go there. Not until she was standing on her own two feet and no longer dependent on him for her care. It wouldn’t be fair, and if he had a chance in hell of rebuilding this relationship they had to start on equal ground.
He winked to lighten the moment, then backed out of the Jeep and closed the door. By the time he got inside, she had her emotions in check.
“I know you must be exhausted, but this is the last leg of the trip. Once we get to the cabin you can sleep, relax and watch some TV, whatever you want.”
“I’m okay. The pain pills are kicking in.”
“Good. Next time, don’t wait so long, okay?”
“I won’t.”
She waved at Ryal and Beth, who were standing on the porch, then leaned back against the seat as he drove away.
“Your family is really nice.”
“Yeah, they’re pretty special, but they’re also nosy. You’ll probably meet more of them than you’re ready for over the next few weeks.”
She shrugged. “I’ll take my chances.”
“Just don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he muttered.
Mariah grinned. “Take a breath, Quinn. I’ve been fighting insurgents for almost five years. I’m not afraid of your family.”
The smile on her face was like a breath of fresh air. It was the first time since they’d left the hospital that he’d gotten even a glimpse of the Mariah he’d known before. It gave him hope that the rest of her was in there somewhere, waiting until it was safe to come out.
When they got back to the main road he turned left and headed up the mountain. Just a little bit farther and they would be home.
It didn’t take long for Mariah to notice the houses they were passing. Some were bunched together in twos and threes, and others were set so far back off the road all she saw was the driveway and the roof. A lot of them were in varying stages of disrepair. She knew what it meant to choose food over shelter.
Most of the vehicles she saw were up on blocks or were being stripped for parts. Children playing in their yards paused and waved as they drove past. A couple even gave chase until called back by a family member keeping watch from a nearby porch. It was obvious that the job market around here was weak.
Quinn caught the changing expressions on her face as they drove and couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking.
“I’m guessing this lifestyle is pretty foreign to you,” he said.
Mariah frowned. “The rural part, yes, but the obvious poverty, not so much. Some of my foster homes weren’t much better, and after I aged out of the system I was homeless. I would have gladly chosen any of these houses rather than sleeping in an abandoned building or a sewer pipe with a half dozen others just like me. In fact, these people are all better off than me. If not for you, I would be homeless again.”
“You never said anything about being homeless before,” he said.
She shrugged. “Why would I? We were too busy trying to stay alive to dwell on what I’d left behind me. I never thought I’d come back all messed up, or that I’d be right back where I started before I signed up. No, that’s not the truth. I have a ways to go to get back where I started.”
“And you have all the time you need to do it,” Quinn said.
She frowned then shook her head. “I can’t stay with you forever.”
“You’re not looking at this from the right angle. All you need to do is take one day at a time, honey. One day at a time.”
She leaned back and then sighed. “You’re right. As usual, I want everything put back together yesterday so I can get on with tomorrow.”
Quinn frowned. “If you think like that, then you forget to live for today.”
She’d never thought of life that way before. It was something to consider.
A short while later he began pointing out places of interest, and her focus shifted.
“My brother James and his wife live down that road,” he said. “They have two of the cutest kids.”
“Beth told me she’s an illustrator and Ryal makes furniture. What does James do?” Mariah asked.
“He farms a little tobacco, but his main job is with the postal service. He’s the mail carrier for all of Rebel Ridge and parts south.”
“I don’t mean this to sound prejudiced, but how come your family seems to have a higher standard of living than a lot of your neighbors?”
“I don’t know. There are plenty of others like us. We find ways to support ourselves knowing we won’t ever be rich, but we know how to be happy with what we have. The people on Rebel Ridge aren’t any different from people down in the city. Some are willing to settle for less, some aren’t. It’s just a fact of life.”
“Do you have a job you go to every day?”
He nodded. “I work for the Daniel Boone National Forest Service as a backcountry ranger. I’m not in constant contact with the public like some rangers, which suits me.”
“Then what do you do?”
He shrugged. “It varies. Just before I went to get you we had two hikers go missing.”
“Did you find them?” Mariah asked, and then knew from the set of his jaw that something had gone wrong. “I know that look,” she said. “What happened? Couldn’t you find them?”
“No, I found them, but one was dead and the other severely injured.”
“Oh, no. What happened?”
“They were attacked by a rogue bear, but that was on the other side of the mountain. He killed one. The other managed to get away. He was in bad shape when I found him.”
She shuddered, her eyes widening as she peered into the trees lining the road. “Did you kill the bear?”
“Last I heard they were still tracking him. But don’t worry, they’ll find him and do what they have to.”
She shuddered and wrapped her arms around her waist. “What else is up here that I need to be concerned about?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say that would be me. I snore. I have some serious flashbacks that turn into living nightmares, and I’ve been known to shout in my sleep.”
She rolled her eyes. “At least now I know I won’t have to worry about making a fool of myself in front of you.”
“There are no fools where I live, girl—only members of the same survivors’ club. Now stop worrying. It’s all good. You’ll see. I only have one bedroom, but my sofa makes into a bed, and we’ve got it all fixed up for you. I would have let you have the bedroom and taken the sofa myself, but the bedroom is up in the loft and the stairs are steep.”
“Loft?”
“Yes, my place is an A-frame. Two stories, with one bedroom and bathroom upstairs, and one big open room downstairs, with a kitchen at one end and the living area at the other. There’s another bathroom downstairs, next to the utility room. It makes more sense for you to be on the main floor. And there’s a wraparound deck that will be great for you to get your exercise without having to walk on uneven ground. It’s not luxurious, but it’s pretty new, and I’m not a slob.”
Mariah was silent, picturing the home and him in it, when he added, “We’ll be okay. No pressure to do anything but relax and get well. Understand?”
Relieved that he’d finally brought up the issue of nothing personal expected between them, she could finally relax. Whatever happened, she was grateful to be with someone she trusted.
* * *
Up in the high country on the other side of Rebel Ridge, Jake Doolen, his sons and their bloodhounds were still trying to pick up the bear’s tracks, desperate to find it before it attacked and killed someone else, but the signs were scarce to nonexistent. It was as if the bear had just vanished.
As far from the hunters as it could get, the bear was carrying an arrow in its rump, and the wound was infected, making it impossible for it to hunt as it once had. It was sick and in pain—two issues that drastically increased the danger quotient. Within hours of first sensing the dogs and the hunters it had made an about-face and begun moving in the opposite direction. If the Doolens didn’t find it in time, it would emerge from the reserve and right into populated territory.
Four
The sun was already sliding toward the western tip of the mountaintop by the time Quinn and Mariah reached the cabin. Her first glimpse of the site he’d chosen for the simple A-frame made her think Quinn was still in soldier mode. He’d set the cabin in the middle of an open meadow that was surrounded on all four sides by trees, with only one road in and out.
In fact, the original homestead had been built in this same place nearly a hundred years before for essentially the same reason: distrust of the federal government in general. The first Walkers to live here had believed that if you couldn’t be found, you couldn’t be counted, and if you couldn’t be counted, then you were off their radar. That mind-set still lingered in some of the more remote areas of Rebel Ridge and the rest of the South.
“Home sweet home,” Quinn said, as he pulled up to the cabin and parked.
Mariah couldn’t quit staring. All it needed was some gingerbread on the eaves and snow on the roof, and it could pass for a fairy-tale cottage from a picture book. The deck was deep and wrapped around the cabin on three sides. The railings were strong and sturdy, built for sitting or leaning. And just like that, all the tension she’d been feeling was gone.
“It’s absolutely beautiful,” she said.
Pleased that she hadn’t freaked about the isolation, Quinn relaxed, too. The first hurdle was over.
Mariah opened her door, carefully swung her legs toward the side, then slowly slid out of the seat.
“It feels good to stand up.”
Quinn quickly circled the Jeep and slid an arm around her waist to steady her.
“The ground can be a little rough. Hang on to me until we get up the steps.”
Mariah didn’t argue. The last thing she wanted was to bust her nose before she got in the house, although it wouldn’t be the first time she’d taken a tumble since she’d been wounded.
Once they got up on the deck, Quinn stopped to unlock the door. It swung inward on silent hinges, revealing a large open room with a two-story ceiling and a shiny hardwood floor. The walls were cedar paneled, and the massive stone fireplace at the far end of the room was a statement in itself. She could imagine being snowed in up on this mountain with a fire blazing and Quinn at her side, then shook off the fantasy. No need dwelling on things that weren’t going to happen.
“You must love living here.”
“It’s okay for a hillbilly, I guess.”
She frowned. “I wasn’t making fun of you. I only called you that because I…liked you, and because you always called me twerp.”
“Well, you were a twerp. Now you’re a corporal,” Quinn said, and started to tousle her hair when he felt the scar on her head and stopped short.
“Ooh, sorry. Did I hurt you?”
Mariah traced the crooked ridge of scar tissue with absent fingers.
“No.”
“How bad were you hurt?”
“Bad enough. It makes me nuts that my memory’s scrambled,” she admitted.
“But that means if I tell you that you always used to rub my feet and scratch my back, you’d have to believe me.”
She laughed out loud, startling herself with the sound. It had been a long time since she’d felt like laughing.
“Sorry, mister, but I’m not that bad off. I’m not the foot-rubbing, back-scratching kind.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Quinn said. “You were damn good at scratching certain itches.”
“And so were you, but that doesn’t mean we’re picking up where we left off, right?”
“Right.”
“So stop making me nervous and show me around, okay?”
“You get the fifty-cent tour, which means all of the downstairs. If you get strong enough to walk up the stairs on your own, you’ll get the other half.”
