you,” he said. “You’re from an upper-class background, haven’t been in trouble with the law before and you’re socially active.”
She took a potato chip from the bag on the table and studied it before nibbling at the edge. “None of those things are a guarantee that I wouldn’t do something I might regret.”
“Everybody is capable of lapses in judgment.” He tipped back in his chair. His arms folded across his chest. Those sexy hazel eyes steadily regarded her. “You’ve brought up the topic of criminal behavior a couple of times. Why?”
Because I might be a thief. Or a murderer. She looked away; it wasn’t easy to withhold information from him. “I can’t tell you.”
“Can’t? Or won’t?”
“Both,” she said. “Do you think I’m crazy?”
“I can’t answer that question until you tell me the whole truth.”
She wasn’t ready. Not yet. Not until she was certain that she hadn’t shot Wayne Silverman or stolen the loot that was now buried in her cave. “I’m not lying to you.”
“But you’re holding back.”
His scrutiny made her nervous. She got up from the table, walked a few paces, then turned toward the front windows. “I need to go outside. I’m feeling cooped up.”
“Holding back information will do that to you.”
Liam shoved back his chair and rose from the table. Her refusal to come clean was beginning to tick him off. What was she hiding? He wanted to help her, to believe her. But he didn’t have the patience to play evasive games.
On the front porch, he leaned against the railing and looked out on his land. Lazy clouds drifted across the afternoon skies. At the end of the day, the pace of life slowed to a crawl. Even in the mountains, where there were no time clocks, the squirrels took a recess from their constant foraging and the birds returned to their nests.
Liam glanced toward his Super Cub, gleaming white in the sunlight. Probably, he ought to move it inside the shed. But it didn’t look like rain. The Cub would be okay for the night.
Besides, they’d be taking off early tomorrow, heading back to Denver. Kate had to return to her family. He’d probably never see her again. In the life she’d been describing, there was no place for a man like him.
“It’s odd,” she said. “We’ve only known each other for twenty-four hours, but it feels like a lot longer.”
“A lifetime.” Long enough for him to be annoyed with her.
Her sharp chin lifted as she stared straight ahead, concentrating on an unknown future beyond the horizon. Her short hair ruffled in the breeze, and the corner of her mouth pulled into an adorable little frown.
His irritation faded. He’d known her long enough to forgive, to accept her shifts in attitude. Long enough to know that he liked this woman.
“Can I ask you a favor, Liam?”
He nodded.
“When we get to Denver,” she said, “promise me that you won’t leave me alone.”
“You don’t need me to hold your hand.”
“I’d feel safer if you stayed with me.”
He couldn’t deny her request. If she truly was in danger—a possibility that he was beginning to doubt—he would protect her. Grudgingly, he promised, “I’ll stay at your side. For a while.”
But not for long. His place was here, in the mountains. Once they got to town, she’d slide back into her upper-class life. Kate Carradine would be fine. Just fine.
Suddenly, her back stiffened. Her thin neck craned. “Someone’s coming.”
He glanced toward the road. “I don’t think so.”
“Listen. They’re getting closer.”
“Kate, you’re mistaken.”
She grasped his arm and tugged at his sleeve. “Can’t you hear the birds? We need to get out of here. We’ve got to run.”
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