Authors: Ribbon of Rain
Chapter1 (10 page)
Jude smiled.
“Warning duly noted.
We need to know if
“Elizabeth and I have never been close.
We’ve little in common, other than green eyes and the same parents.”
Her mouth curved into a smile.
“It hurts to think that she might be involved in something so vile, but, if I’m honest with myself, it wouldn’t shock me if she were.”
“I’m sorry.”
Kat heard sincerity in his voice.
“I’d feel miserable if it were my brother or sister.
Apparently, your family wasn’t cut from the
Ozzie and Harriet
mold.”
“Good observation, Mr. FBI agent.
What about your family?
A rerun of
Father Knows Best
?”
A fleeting expression of pain passed over Jude’s face before he forced a laugh.
“I thought so at one time, but, no, mine was just as dysfunctional as yours.”
“You have a brother and a sister.
Where are they?”
“My brother works for the Bureau.
We both followed in my Dad’s footsteps.”
“And your sister?”
Kat felt a twinge of envy at the tender look on Jude’s face.
“Emily’s a sweetheart.
She recently graduated from college and has an apartment in the city not far from me.
She’s just accepted a job with a financial firm.”
They sat in companionable silence until the loons began their nightly symphony.
Jude shivered.
“Jesus, those birds give me the creeps.
That caterwauling is worse than bagpipes at a funeral.”
Kat laughed.
“That’s their ‘all’s well on the lake’ cry.
I think it’s beautiful.”
Jude looked at her as if she were crazy.
“I certainly don’t want to hear their ‘everything isn’t all right’ signal.”
Kat tilted her head.
“You don’t know much about wood’s lore, do you, Callahan?”
“Of course not.”
Kat chuckled.
He sounded proud of his ignorance.
“What a shame.
Perhaps by the time you leave, you’ll have a clearer understanding of Mother Nature.”
“Don’t count on it.
It’s too noisy here.
Reminds me of a jungle in some horror movie.”
“You’re not frightened, are you?”
“I’m not scared.
I just don’t like it.”
At a loud bellowing from the woods behind the lodge, Jude jumped out of his chair.
“What the hell is that?”
“You’re a wuss.
It’s a moose.
Probably a cow calling her calf.”
Jude leaned on the porch rail and stretched his long muscular legs out in front of him.
“How do you live here?”
“What?”
She’d been admiring his legs and missed the question.
“How do you live here?”
Astonished at the question, she stared at him.
“It’s my home.
I wouldn’t be happy living anywhere else.”
Getting up, she started into the lodge.
“Evenings in the mountains can get chilly.
Let’s go inside.”
Kat lit a few candles and placed them on the table.
“Now I’m curious, Callahan.
Why would the Bureau send someone so at odds with the wilderness on this assignment?
There must be at least one agent in
Jude’s scowl made Kat laugh.
“But I’m glad they sent you because I find you amusing.”
“Gee, thanks,” Jude mumbled.
“I need to call John Rowe.
I tried my cell earlier, but it’s not picking up a signal.”
He pointed to a small table sitting next to the kitchen counter.
“Is that a phone over there?”
“It’s a radio phone.”
He gave her a blank look.
“I suppose for you high tech agents, it’s an antique.
You push a button speak and then say ‘over’, release the button, and the person on the other end of line speaks.
Come on, I’ll show you how to use it.”
Kat picked up the receiver and waited for a dial tone.
She frowned.
The line was dead.
“I haven’t used it since I got back, but it should be working.”
She pulled the unit forward to check the wires in the back.
The sound of metal clanked on the floor.
By her feet were several screws.
“It’s been taken apart.”
“What?”
Jude leaned over the table.
“I said—” She turned and found herself wedged tightly between the table and Jude’s hard body.
Kat couldn’t look away from his eyes.
The magnetism between them overwhelmed her.
“It’s broken.”
What in the world was wrong with her?
Standing here behaving like an idiot unable to speak coherently.
Jude brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.
“So soft,” he murmured.
The room became too warm.
Still captivated by his eyes, her fingers gripped the underside of the table to stop herself from touching him.
Pebble hard nipples tried to push their way through her T-shirt.
“Do I still amuse you?”
Jude whispered, his gaze wandering over her face before dropping to her breasts.
She lowered her eyes, hoping to hide her confusion.
Red’s pitiful whine broke the trance.
“I—I think he needs to go out,” Kat stuttered.
“I’ll go shut off the generator for the night and take him with me.”
Red wobbled out the door behind her, not fully recovered from the effects of the tranquilizer.
Once outside, Kat leaned against the side of the lodge and gulped mouthfuls of fresh air.
Her legs trembled.
Jesus.
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined physical attraction between two people could be this strong–this overpowering.
She’d wanted Jude to pull her down on the floor.
Hell, she’d wanted to pull him down on the floor.
This lack of control had her more worried than the men in the plane who’d taken potshots at her.
Red made it to a tree and almost over when he lifted his leg.
He ended up squatting like a puppy to relieve himself.
Kat ran to shut down the generator and returned to the porch with Red by her side.
Taking a deep breath for courage, she promised herself to stay away from Jude Callahan and especially to avoid looking into those damn cinnamon-colored eyes.
“Someone sabotaged the phone,” Jude commented, as she walked through the door.
“Are you sure?”
Kat hurried to the table, making sure she kept a safe distance.
“See for yourself.”
He waved his hand toward the back of the radio unit.
“Willie could have done it when he arrived this morning, but he’s the type who’d brag about what he’d done.”
“Since the buildings are unlocked, anyone has access.”
Kat turned away when he ran his hands through his hair.
That’s what she wanted to do.
“Any other options for a phone, other than driving to
Jude asked, his tone irritable.
Kat stepped into the kitchen area and poured herself a cup of coffee from the thermos sitting on the counter.
“There’s a spot out on the lake marked with a buoy.
Cell phones can usually pick up reception there.”
Jude groaned.
“How far out?”
Kat shrugged her shoulders, sipped her coffee and watched him over the rim of her cup.
“About a mile.”
“I’ll wait till tomorrow.
My hands couldn’t take any more paddling today.”
“Blisters?”
Kat walked over to him.
“Let me see.”
His hands were a mass of broken, bleeding blisters.
“These could get infected.
Come sit down.
I’ll take care of them.”
“What?
No wise comment about not wearing gloves?”
Kat gave him an understanding look over her shoulder before she rummaged through the first aid drawer.
“It’s not an uncommon mistake, even for experienced canoeists.
Eventually, your hands will toughen up after you paddle enough.”
“Fat chance of that.”
Kat spread a clean towel on the table.
“Hands down, palms up.”
Opening a square green can with red clovers on it, she applied a gummy, yellow salve to the broken blisters.
“What is this stuff?”
He wrinkled his nose.
“It smells awful.”
“Callahan,” Kat sighed, “stop whining.
It’s Bag Balm.”
“Bag Balm?
Never heard of it.”
“I’m not surprised.
Probably not much use for it in
It’s an antiseptic made from natural herbs.
What you smell is eucalyptus.
Dairy farmers use it on cows when their udders get chafed.
It’s been around over a hundred years.”
“Don’t you have anything normal, like Bacitracin?”
“No.
Bag Balm is the best.
Your hands will be as good as new tomorrow.”
Rubbing the ointment into Jude’s blisters got her thinking about rubbing other places on his body.
This problem needed to be nipped in the bud.
“We need to talk about this—this thing between us.”
“And what thing might that be?”
He asked her, in his slow lazy drawl.
“You know damn well what I’m talking about.
Stop baiting me in a sexual way.”
“Whoa!”
Jude held his salve covered hands in the air.
“Wait just a damn minute.
I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about.”
She clenched her jaw and stared at him.
“Oh no?
What do you call what happened this morning upstairs?
And a few minutes ago, right here in this room?”
“I call it sexual attraction,” he answered.
“And believe me, I don’t like it any more than you do.”
“Then stop provoking it.”
“It’s a two-way street, Kat.
If we keep our baser instincts under control, we’ll be fine.
Think you can manage that?”
Kat expected to see amusement on his face, but he looked as rattled as she was.
“I can do that.”
Even as the words left her mouth, she wondered if she spoke the truth.
The man sitting next to her stirred feelings she hadn’t been aware of until today.
Feelings she had no control over.
“How about you?
Think you can manage it?”
She threw his question back at him.
“I’ll give it my best shot,” he mumbled in the middle of a yawn.
“Right now I need some shut eye.
It’s been a long, tiring two days.
I hope it’s a quiet night.
I’ve had enough excitement.”
“I’ll go upstairs and get your bag.
You can sleep on the couch, or, if you prefer, you can have the cabin next to the lodge.”
Kat’s foot touched on the first stair when Jude spoke.
“I’m sleeping upstairs with you.”
She turned to face him.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
Kat recognized the look on his face as his stubborn look.
“I don’t think so,” she said in a deceptively soft voice.
“The couch or the cabin.
Those are your choices.”
“Be sensible, Kat.
It’s important we stay together.
I’m not suggesting we share the same bed, as exciting as I know that would be.
I saw two beds in that room.
I’m sure you have enough self-control to stay in your own bed.”
“Why you—” Kat started towards him ready to do battle.
“Keep your distance.”
Hands held as if to fend her off, he backed away, his eyes full of mischief.
“Or we’ll end up on the floor tearing off each other’s clothes.”
Chapter 5
Jude braced himself for a fight.
One he was determined to win.
“Fine.
Sleep upstairs.
I’m too tired to argue with you.”
With a toss of her head, she ran up the stairs.