“So talk to the sheriff, then.”
His half laugh sounded forced. “They don’t have sheriffs in Alaska. Out in the bush, they have village public safety officers. When I asked around, I was told she was helping deliver a baby, so I left it at that.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“I wish I were. Besides, Aiden hasn’t been gone long enough to cause concern for the authorities. But I’m still worried. Something about this job hasn’t felt right to me from the start.”
Shay gazed over her shoulder and stared out the back window again.
“That’s why I brought the gun. I had a feeling.” He tossed a glance her way. “You ever have one of those?”
Shay angled her head to look at Rick while she considered his question. When the light hit his eyes just right, the gray almost looked blue. With his thick brown sun-kissed hair, the tanned skin of a man who spent a lot of time in the sun, his toned physique and the way he handled himself— Oh, yeah, she had a few feelings herself.
But attraction wasn’t where the feelings ended, and that was the problem. She’d also had a feeling that Rick Savage would never notice her, and so far he hadn’t disappointed. That was okay, because seeing the pain her father went through after losing her mother, Shay didn’t want to fall in love. Shay was all about staying safe, and love wasn’t a safe choice. Especially not with a man like Rick. That had been especially true after the day he pointed a gun at her.
“I’ve had a few feelings, sure, like the one I have right now that I’m not going to like where we’re going. It’s not like we can get too far on wheels in the direction you’re heading.” Oh, yeah, she’d looked at the maps of Alaska, all right.
“There has to be an airstrip somewhere around here or else there couldn’t be an airplane. I didn’t mention anything to the seaplane’s bush pilot because I didn’t want him to know what we were up to, but I did ask an old-timer, a native Alaskan woman, who looked like she’d been around long enough to know something.”
“And?” Shay’s question was accompanied by a jolt.
The shocks on this Jeep were in serious need of repair. She’d never liked Jeeps as it was. Squeezing the handgrip, she pressed her other palm against the top of the cab, but her head bumped the ceiling anyway.
Rick tugged a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over. She recognized his handwriting and read the lengthy, convoluted directions.
“Directions to a gold-mining claim? Are you serious?”
“Dead serious.”
Shay sat up, not liking where any of this was taking them. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Rick exhaled. “Someone’s been watching us. Following me around. They were getting a little too close for comfort.”
* * *
Shay didn’t speak for a few seconds. Rick cut her a glance, catching her frown. Did she think he was overreacting? He couldn’t tell. He’d never spent this much time with her, especially in such close quarters, so he had no experience reading her expressions. Looking for clues into her thoughts, his eyes skimmed over the few freckles splashed across her nose and the short-cropped auburn hair framing her face that was a little mussed from their travels.
“You think it’s related to Aiden and the plane? Why don’t you just ask them instead of running away?”
Rick shot her a glance. “I did.”
Shay’s sunset-blue eyes grew wide with her gasp. “And what did they say?”
“Let’s just say they weren’t forthcoming with answers. They made a wrong move and I had to make a fast exit. That’s when I came for you.”
He glanced her way and she watched him. He didn’t like the look of concern on her face. “Not to worry. We lost them.”
For now, at least—but depending on what they wanted, he could expect to see them again. Were they bent on stopping them from taking the plane? Did they know something about Aiden? Or were they just a couple of guys preying on tourists in backcountry Alaska? If something happened to him, then what about Shay? What would she do? He’d tried to find out what he could in town but when they’d grabbed him, thinking he was an easy target, he’d opted to leave them behind and come for Shay.
The trick would be to stay safe until they could find Aiden or make it out of here on the next bush flight tomorrow—whichever came first.
The Jeep bounced to the right, and Rick turned his focus to the uneven dirt road—a thirty-five-mile loop to a secluded lake. He wasn’t sure he wanted to endure the bumpy road for another thirty-plus miles, and he doubted Shay would be too happy with the journey either, but there was strength behind her beauty. He knew she could handle it.
She sighed and stared at the paper with directions. He knew she was probably still worried about those men. He could only be grateful she wasn’t with him when the confrontation had happened. They could have easily used her against him in that situation, and then where would they be?
“This looks like it’s going to be the scenic route,” she finally said. “What happens when we get to the nine-mile ridge trail? Don’t we need ATVs or something? How’re we going to get there?”
“I suspect there’s an easier way in, but those directions are all I have for now.” If anyone was actually mining the claim, as his conversation with the woman had made him suspect, they’d have had to have built a road to move in the type of equipment used these days. But if something sinister was going on and his brother was in trouble, going in the direct way would be a mistake. The roundabout path would be their best bet.
“Rick,” Shay said, startling him out of his thoughts.
He realized now that she’d been talking to him for a while and he hadn’t been listening. Looking over at her, he sent her a look like he’d heard every word. “Just focusing on the road, thinking about the directions.”
Hoping I wrote them down right.
“These directions aren’t a stroll in the park,” Shay said. “Unless you’ve done a lot of shopping, we’re not prepared to get to this claim. Haven’t you heard a word I’ve said?” Her gaze skewered him, burning a hole through his head.
“I just want to drive the loop to get a look and feel, okay?”
If he was brave enough to stare her down at the moment, he might risk a look into her eyes. Back at the Deep Horizon shop, any time Shay explained some sort of complicated repair she was making, Rick would get lost in those eyes, then shake himself free and pretend he’d been listening. Just like he’d been doing now. He had a feeling he hadn’t fooled her then.
Or fooled her now.
She slapped his arm.
“Hey, what was that for?” He grimaced, making sure she witnessed it.
“What are the plans? I don’t like being left out.”
“Let’s check it out—or
