Once a Marine (29 page)

Their father, Prince Faysal, told Rafi in confidence that he wanted his sons to learn manly skills, away from the influence of their mothers. Short of knocking their heads together, Rafi had carte blanche authority over them for the time they were his charges.

The nine-year-old grinned like a fox. “They were trying to sneak away from you. I told them you’d catch us.” He giggled at the sour faces of his older brothers.

Rafi sensed they weren’t quite as spoiled as they tried to be. With few complaints they helped unpack the back of the car, hose off and dry the gear and clean the cooler. He teased them with mild humor, hair tousling, and jokes. When he finally let them go, they laughed and ran for the big villa in a happy mood.

He called after them. “I’m pulling out of here at eight in the morning. If you want that helicopter tour of Teton Park, be on time. I’m not waiting for anybody.” He adopted a no-nonsense pose, hands on his hips, and cocked his head in their direction.

They turned, a couple of them skipping backward, waved their arms and promised to be on time in the morning.

Before he got in the shower, Rafi picked up the phone and called his office. The answering service picked up the call on the third ring. “Cruz Aero, where may we fly you today?” A female voice tinkled like a wind chime on the other end of the line.

“Dammit,” Rafi muttered. “Where is everybody?”

“Excuse me?”

“Hey, gorgeous, Cruz here. Where is everybody?”

“They’re wondering where you are. Joe must be around someplace. Probably couldn’t get to the phone in time.”

The young-voiced woman on the line was old enough to be his mother. She operated the answering service out of her dining room where she oversaw her daughter’s children after school.

“This is the first chance I’ve had to check in, Diane. I’ve changed quarters twice, but this should be permanent. See if you can locate Joe for me.” He gave her the number. “I’m hopping in the shower when I hang up. I’ll be here another hour.”

“OK, I’ll find somebody for you.”

“Hey, Diane. What do you want me to bring you from Jackson Hole?”

“Not one of those god-awful moose heads. I’ll settle for a long, lean cowboy.”

He was still chuckling over her comment when he closed the shower door. He hoped it wouldn’t be long before she located Joe. Then maybe he could talk to Beautiful.

* * *

BD and Kelly browsed the Jack Dennis Sporting Goods store on Broadway in downtown Jackson. They’d gone to find a hat for Chase and bear spray, but had found armloads of terrific bargains on the clothing sale racks.

“Jack is going to kill me.” Kelly put her stack on the cashier’s counter. “Tell him I had too much wine at dinner and you forced me to buy all this stuff.”

BD set her own pile a hand’s width from Kelly’s. “Don’t tell him anything till the bill comes. By then we’ll have come up with something more original.”

Digging for her credit cards, Kelly nodded. “You’re probably right. He rarely notices what I wear.” She turned. “Where’s Chase?”

BD looked across the store. “He’s over there, trying on cowboy hats. I’ll get him. Watch my stuff.”

By the time she reached Chase, he’d engaged a salesman in deep conversation about where to buy a horse. BD swept him up in her arms and winked at the young man. “Let’s go find your mama, cowboy. We’ll see horses tomorrow.”

His big blue eyes widened. He pointed to the front window of the store. “Horses!”

“Ah, yes. It looks like the stagecoach just got back into town. I tell you what. If you’re a good boy while Mama and I check out, we’ll take a ride on it, OK?”

His little body gyrated with such anticipation he almost slipped from BD’s arms. Squeaks of excitement filled her ears.

Kelly picked up her packages and backed away from the counter. “What’s all that about?”

BD handed him over. “I told him we’d take a ride on the stagecoach when we finish here.” She reached into her wallet and handed Kelly a couple of twenties. “Take him across the street to Town Square. They sell tickets at the stagecoach stop. I’ll be right behind you.”

* * *

Rafi’s hair stood erect on the back of his neck. “BD’s in Jackson? She’s here?”

“Yes. When she told me she would be there for the next two weeks, it took me a minute to think of what to say.”

Longing for BD rippled through Rafi’s belly like a mountain trout stream. She was here, in the same town. “Does she know I’m here?”

“No. All I said was I’d pass her number on to you. She’s with her brother’s family. He’s a musician, did you know that?”

“Yeah, he plays some kind of horn in the Santa Monica Orchestra.” He racked his brain to remember what else he knew about Jack James. “He goes by Jonathan James. According to BD, he’s very good.”

“Is it a problem if you run into each other up there?”

Rafi wanted to see her, but not while he was working. “Not much chance of that happening. I’m with the four boys most of every day. If Faysal’s party leaves the resort to have dinner in the evening, they usually reserve the entire restaurant, and what they don’t use is closed to the public until they leave.”

Tortured with the knowledge BD was so near, Rafi ached to see her, to touch her. Yet there was no way he could possibly accomplish that. He was on the clock twenty-four-seven for the duration of his assignment.

“Joe, do me a favor. Give me the number, but you call her. Tell her that you located me, but I’m unable to contact her until I’m finished with the job.”

“Sure. Anything else?”

“Yeah, say I’m a sorry ass, and I’m dying to get back together with her. Soon as I wrap up the operation here, I’ll put everything aside, and make her my number-one priority.”

He paced. Making Beautiful his number-one priority was the only way they would have a chance at life together. It had taken him a long time to come to that conclusion. He hoped it wasn’t too long. A big fence-mending job stared him in the face. She was more than worth it.

* * *

If Silverstone learned what Rafi was about to do, he’d no longer be working for them. The hell with it, he was going to call BD and break a cardinal rule. He’d made the mental adjustments with his priorities. He wanted Beautiful in his life more than he craved danger and adventure. Lord knew there was plenty of danger and adventure in marriage to satisfy any brave soul.

He dialed the number Joe gave him. His body vibrated in anticipation of hearing her voice.

On the third ring the call was picked up by a generic answering machine with a computer generated voice. Rafi hung up. No way would he leave a message if he wasn’t sure he’d reached the right phone number. He unfolded the paper which had the number written on it and dialed again to verify it. Same result, same voicemail, same robotic voice.

The villa phone that he held in his hand had a security block on it. No caller ID would show on the receiving end. He cleared his voice and left a message. “Bravo Delta, it’s your old leatherneck. I’m safe. This job is over in nine days. I love you.”

Forcing misgivings from his head he grabbed his gear and went to round up the princelings for their helicopter flightseeing excursion.

Chapter Twenty

Dr. Gillespie arrived to ferry the James family to the trailhead for Death Canyon. His teenage son, Garth, an accomplished hiker and rock climber would join them. Garth had explored the trails around Jackson Hole all his life. Like his dad, he enjoyed showing their piece of paradise to visitors. Even though Jack was also an expert climber, the hike would only be two and a half miles. With two women and a small child in the party, they’d turn around at the top rise, where they’d have a spectacular view of Phelps Lake.

BD stood shivering beside Jack, Chase, and Kelly outside the condo in the sharp cold air of morning in the high Rockies. Even during summer, mornings and nights tended to be cold.

She cocked her head in the direction of the window. “Is that our phone ringing? Did you hear the phone?

Kelly shook her head. “I didn’t hear anything.” She pointed to the eastern sky. “I don’t like the looks of those clouds moving this way. I’d hate it if we got rained out and missed our hike.”

Jack picked up his backpack. “Here come the Gillespies. It’ll probably blow over.” He guided Chase toward the four-wheel-drive pickup driven by the doctor’s son. A big yellow lab sat on the seat beside Garth.

Following close behind was Dr. Gillespie at the wheel of a Dodge Durango four-by-four.

Chase pointed. “Look, Daddy, big doggie.” He waved. “Hi, big doggie.”

Garth leaned through the driver’s window of the pickup and grinned, all white teeth and tanned freckled cheeks. “Old Bill can’t go on the trail with us. He’s spending the day at my buddy’s place off Wilson Road.”

He stepped outside the truck, picked up a couple of the backpacks, and set them in the truck bed. Old Bill jumped out and went straight to Chase, sat, and stared at him with chocolaty brown eyes.

BD poked Kelly. “I swear that dog is grinning.” She looked at Garth. “Is he friendly with kids?”

He reached for the other backpack and nodded. “He thinks he
is
a kid. We almost enrolled him in kindergarten last year.”

Garth knelt and took Chase’s hand. “You can pet him. Just hold your hand out like this.” He extended his fist to show Chase the proper way to approach a strange dog. Old Bill sniffed and then licked the little fist to Chase’s happy giggles.

Kelly leaned down and patted Old Bill’s head. “Why can’t he go with us? He’s such a nice boy.”

Garth stood and, using hand signals, ordered Old Bill into the truck. “He’d love to go, but no dogs are allowed on any of the Teton Park trails. He’ll have a great time running around on the ranch with his pals all day.”

Dr. Gillespie joined them. “Garth will go ahead and drop off Old Bill. He’ll join us at the Moose entrance to Teton Park. Let’s get going. Don’t want to be starting on the trail if it warms up too much.”

BD gripped her upper arms and shivered. “Too warm? Brrr, I’m freezing.”

The doctor opened the back door of the Dodge. “Ladies?” When they were inside he leaned through their window. “Once those clouds blow past, I expect we’ll warm up fast. You’ll work up enough heat on the trail you won’t even remember how cold you are now.”

Jack lifted Chase and handed him through the window to Kelly. He got in the front seat beside Dr. Gillespie. Garth pulled out ahead of them.

On the way to the park entrance Dr. Gillespie filled them in on some of the history of Teton Park. They’d go for a look and refreshments at Jackson Lake Lodge after their hike. “The lodge has the most spectacular view of the Teton Range. One of the Rockefellers built it. He bought up all the surrounding land, and turned it into a park.”

Garth joined them shortly after they arrived at the parking area for the Death Canyon trailhead. He unloaded their gear from the bed of his truck, and they set off. Chase, to his laughing delight, was secured in a carrier on Garth’s back.

BD stared heavenward. Clouds raced past overhead. She crossed her fingers that they’d keep right on going.

An hour later they reached the high point on the trail. The magnificent view of the jewel-like lake surrounded by mammoth granite walls prompted BD to pull her camera from her belt. Jack sat a few yards away on a large rock with Chase on his lap. Kelly and Garth were discussing a trail map several yards ahead of them. The sky grew darker and more ominous by the minute.

Kelly came to stand next to BD while she snapped pictures. “Garth’s concerned about the weather. He thinks we should have our snacks and turn back, not spend too much time up here.”

BD snapped another picture and put the camera in its case. “I think that’s a good idea. You have all summer to explore. No sense in being out in bad—”

Before the words were out of her mouth, icy, nearly frozen raindrops pelted them. An earsplitting crack of thunder slammed down on them like a monster stamping its gigantic foot. Simultaneous with the thunder, a lightning strike blazed hideously close. Large pieces of rock and dirt flew. Thrown off her feet, her ears blaring with pain, BD’s nose burned from ozone, and grit blurred her vision.

She struggled to her knees. Kelly, her face a mask of shock, sat on the ground next to her. “Kelly, are you all right?”

Kelly screamed. “Jack! Chase! Oh my God!”

BD whipped her head around. Jack and Chase were down and not moving.

Dr. Gillespie ran to them, knelt down, and frantically checked their eyes and pulse. “They’re not breathing. Garth! Come here, son. I need your help.”

Garth struggled and groaned. He’d been struck by a boulder. His leg twisted at an ugly angle. “His leg is hurt.” BD ran to her brother and nephew. “Garth can’t get up. What can I do? Tell me what to do!”

Dr. Gillespie pulled Chase into his arms. “Do you know CPR? If you do, get to work on your brother. I’ll take care of the child.”

Sobbing, Kelly crawled on bloody knees to her husband and son. “Are they dead? Are they going to be all right?”

Dr. Gillespie waved Kelly away from Chase. He pointed to BD and Jack. “Help her with your husband. You do the breathing while she does the chest compressions. Quickly now! We have to get them breathing.” He cast a quick glance at his own son then began resuscitating Chase.

Once the doctor was satisfied that Chase could breathe on his own he gently laid him on his jacket. The rain had passed them. The clouds flew west at accelerated speed, the thunder grew distant.

“Let me have a look.” He pushed Kelly aside and examined Jack. He lifted his eyelids and placed his other hand on Jack’s carotids, searching for a pulse. “He’s breathing and has a strong pulse.” He ran his hands over Jack’s body. “His collarbone is fractured. I can’t tell yet if he has any other injuries.”

Sobbing, Kelly knelt at the side of little Chase’s unnaturally still body. “My baby, my baby, he won’t wake up. He won’t wake up.” Her heartbreaking keening bounced off canyon walls.