They reached the valley floor and Jase spotted the house. He stopped a little ways from it, his heart thundering in his ears. His greatest fear was that they might be walking into a trap. After what they’d just been through, he’d learned anything was possible.
He found a group of spruce trees and stopped. “Why don’t you wait here just to be safe and let me scope it out?”
She grabbed his arm. “Jase...be careful.”
The worry on her face touched him to the core. “Hey...” He brushed a thumb across her cheek. “I’ll be okay. We’re going to get through this, Reyna. I’m not going to let them get away with what they’ve done. They need to pay.” He smiled tenderly and added, “I’ll be right back, okay?”
She slowly nodded and returned his smile and his heart did a crazy little flip. The time they’d spent together had shone a light into the darkness of his empty life. He wasn’t sure he could go back to simply existing.
He turned away and headed for the house before she could see the struggle going on inside of him. Jase quickly covered the distance and stepped up on the porch.
Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. The porch was lit up and he could see a light on inside the house through the lace-curtained windows. A silver-haired woman sat on the sofa knitting. An older man was nearby in a chair in front of the roaring fire, reading a book. They seemed harmless enough.
Under his breath, Jase said a quick prayer and knocked on the door.
A handful of seconds ticked by followed by footsteps, and then the older man opened the door. He was dressed in a plaid flannel shirt, his steely eyes a contradiction to the smile on his face.
“Evening,” he said, and after a quick assessment of Jase, he held out his hand. “I’m Don Warren. I imagine you must be Jase Bradford. We’ve been expecting you.”
Jase clasped the older man’s hand. “That’s right. Boy, am I glad to see you.”
Don chuckled and opened the door wider. “I’m sure. Aaron’s buddy said you’ve had a tough few days. I spoke to him earlier. Where’s your friend? He said you’d be traveling with a woman.”
Jase pointed back in the direction he came. “I wanted to make sure everything was on the up-and-up. As you said, it’s been a rough couple of days.”
Don gave a terse nod. “I can certainly appreciate that. You come over the mountain range behind you?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“That’s a hard hike, especially at night. You both have to be exhausted. Linda is keeping a meal warm for you. Let’s get your friend and get you both warm and dry.”
To Jase, it sounded like sheer bliss. He motioned for Reyna and she came to where he and Don waited.
“Reyna this is Don Warren, Aaron’s friend.”
Don shook her hand. “It’s a pleasure, ma’am. Come inside and meet my wife.”
They stepped into the house, where a petite woman waited with a welcoming smile on her face.
“Welcome to our home. You two must be half-frozen. I have some extra clothes that should fit, so let’s get you into something dry. There’s a fire in the living room. When you’re done, come warm yourself by it. I’ll get supper on the table.”
“Has there been any word from Aaron?” Jase asked Don once they’d finished the meal. Reyna glanced up from helping Don’s wife, Linda, clear away the dishes. She could hear the tightness in Jase’s tone.
“No, not a word, but I suspect the weather is playing havoc with the signals again.”
Reyna bit her bottom lip. They were both so tired. The thought of having to leave again made her want to weep. As a physician, she knew they couldn’t keep up this pace much longer.
Jase held Reyna’s gaze. “As grateful as we are for your help, we’re putting your lives in jeopardy every moment that we’re here. We need to keep moving.”
Linda handed him a cup of coffee. “You both are exhausted. What you need is to rest.”
The thought of sleeping in a soft bed sounded wonderful to Reyna.
“She’s right,” Don said. “You’ll be safe here. There’s no way a four-wheeler can make that trek over the mountain. Not to mention they won’t be expecting you to have crossed it, either. Aaron’s friend said they had a chopper. It’ll be grounded until morning.”
Jase visibly relaxed. “You’re right, I know. We’ve been running for so long that I’m not sure I know how to have downtime.”
Don chuckled kindly. “I get it. You’re afraid to let down your guard even for a second.”
Reyna accepted the cup of piping-hot coffee from Linda. “We’re so grateful to you and Don for taking us in.”
The older woman patted Reyna’s arm. “It’s no problem at all. We’re always happy to have young folks around. Let’s go into the living room where it’s warmer. It seems like each year winter comes a little earlier and stronger to the valley.”
Her husband took their cups of coffee and they went to the living room. “I’ve got news for you, Linda. It isn’t the weather, it’s us. We’re getting older and it’s harder to endure the winters.”
Reyna watched as they sat side by side. When they looked at each other the love they shared just radiated from them. It made her almost envious. She and Eddie had once had such a connection, but his years working for the CIA had changed him. He had secrets. Parts of his life he couldn’t share with her. In those last few months before his death, it had taken a toll on their marriage.
Reyna shook off those dark memories. She didn’t want to remember Eddie like that. She wanted to hold on to the good times.
She stole a glance at Jase. She could see the physical exhaustion etched on his handsome face, yet he wouldn’t give up. He was a strong man. The time she’d spent with Jase had made her aware of the things Eddie’s death had taken from her. As she studied his strong profile, she could almost imagine what sharing her life with him would be like.
He looked her way and their eyes met. His curious, searching hers for answers. She sucked in a breath. It would be so easy to fall in love with him. She was just a breath away from it now.
As his gaze slid over her face, she could feel the color rising in her cheeks, and she looked away.
Linda patted her husband’s leg. “That’s true, dear.” Reyna realized she had no idea what Don had just said.
She cleared her throat and tried to ignore the man seated next to her, but it was a near-impossible task. She was aware of every breath he took. Every movement he made.
“Do you and Don live here alone?” she asked to take her wayward thoughts off Jase.
As Reyna was quickly discovering, Linda was a warm woman who loved to smile. “Oh, yes. In fact, we’ve lived most of our married life right here in Painted Rock Valley. We bought the place when Don left the service. That’s been...what?” She glanced at her husband. “Forty years now.”
Don nodded. “Forty wonderful years. And to think it almost didn’t happen.” He chuckled at the memory.
“Oh, you.” Linda pretended to smack his arm. “But you’re right.” She grinned up at her husband. “Don asked me to marry him at least a dozen times before he left for active duty in Vietnam. I told him I wasn’t ready. That I’d wait for him. We’d be married when he returned.” Linda’s eyes grew misty and Reyna felt as if they were outsiders in Don and Linda’s world. The two could almost finish each other’s sentences. It made her want a love like that. One that could endure just about anything. “Only Don was injured in battle and he almost died. I thought I would lose the love of my life.” Linda shook her head. “I asked God to heal him. I told God if He would, I’d marry Don the day he was discharged from the hospital. And He did.”
“He sure did,” Don added with a smile meant only for his wife.
“We’ve been so happy. I wouldn’t trade a moment of it.” She dabbed at her eyes and Don tugged her into the shelter of his arms.
Reyna could feel tears close, as well. She glanced up at Jase. The tenderness etched on his face touched her profoundly. He reached for her hand and held it, and she was happy just being close to him. She’d worry about the future once they could catch their breaths long enough to think about it.
“What my wife is being so sentimental about is we’ve been debating on whether to sell our spread and move to a warmer climate.”
“Oh, no, I’m so sorry. That must be a difficult decision for you both. Do you have children somewhere else?” Reyna asked.
Don shook his head. “We were never blessed with them ourselves, but for almost thirty years we ran a ranch for troubled youth right here, so I guess you can say we have thousands of kids.” He beamed at his wife.
“That’s true,” Linda agreed.
“Over the past few years though, it’s gotten to be too much for us. We closed the ranch down a while back and we’ve been living here alone ever since. We have our friends—Aaron is like a son and we love our church. But it’s time to make a decision about our future. My arthritis grows worse with every passing year and I’m not able to care for the place like it needs.”
Linda squeezed her husband’s arm. “It’s hard. But look at us prattling on and you two are ready to drop from exhaustion. When we built the ranch, we set the place up to be a series of small cabins, including ours. Don and I put you two in our most secluded cabin.”
Don took his wife’s hint. “That’s right and I have a truck that we use to do work around the ranch. You two take it. You’ll need a way out of here come morning. Linda and I have some food boxed up for you to take along with extra clothing. It’s not anything fashionable, but it’ll do. You both look as if you’re traveling pretty light. Let’s get you settled into the cabin so you can get some rest.”
“Thanks for the truck...and the hospitality,” Jase told Don as he clasped his hand warmly.
“You’re very welcome. If you need anything at all, or if something comes up during the night, just call. I’m still a pretty good shot.” Don gave him another one of his rugged mountain man stares.
Jase chuckled at the older man’s directness. “We will.”
They waved goodbye to the Warrens and went into the cabin. “This will do,” Jase said as he closed the door and glanced around. The rustic cabin consisted of a large open kitchen, a great room, the bedroom and a small bathroom. “I’ll take the sofa,” he volunteered when he correctly read Reyna’s hesitation.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“No... I insist. In all honesty, I’m too keyed up to think about sleeping.”
She sighed wearily. “Same here. I’m ready to drop from exhaustion, but I’m wide-awake. I need something to do. I think I’ll carry in the food and put it away.”
“I’ll help you. I need to bring in the backpack.”
Once they’d toted in their things, Jase set the backpack on the table, took out one of the covered dishes from the box Linda had packed, and placed it in the fridge. He watched as Reyna grabbed some bread and put it in the pantry. Even worn-out and disheveled from their treacherous climb, she was beautiful. Her silky golden-brown hair fell across her face as she worked. He remembered the feel of it against his fingers. The way her eyes shone when he kissed her. He gave himself a mental shake. Best not to go there right now.
Once they’d finished putting the food away, they sat down together on the worn leather sofa. He could see something troubled her. It didn’t take long to find out what.
“Jase, what happened in Abudah? What went wrong? Eddie didn’t like to talk about it but I know it tormented him.” He could feel his expression turn stone hard. It happened every time he thought about those days. He had finally gotten to where the nightmares were seldom. In his book, that was a good thing.
She watched as he fought back his troubled memories. “I’m sorry. Forget I asked,” she said in a barely audible voice, then got to her feet to leave. He caught her hand.
“No, don’t go. It’s okay,” he said huskily, drawing her back down beside him. “It’s just hard talking about it at times. I haven’t spoken about it since I came back to Defiance.” His gaze met hers. “But I want to with you.”
Her heart beat an unsteady rhythm. I want to with you. She hadn’t expected those words to thrill her so much.
She sat perfectly still, riveted by the dark, enigmatic expression on his face.
“It was a setup right from the start. We went into that building to extract an asset. A woman, the wife of a high-level enemy leader operating in the area. She had information about the Fox. She agreed to talk in exchange for immunity. Only there was no one there. And we were ambushed.” A muscle clenched in his jaw.
“You think someone tipped the enemy off?” She asked incredulously.
“Without a doubt. Reyna, these people are ruthless. They were determined to take out the remaining members of the Scorpions and they didn’t care who they had to kill in the process. Eddie was just collateral damage,” he added slowly. “The only question is who tipped them off. Until all of this started I never would have considered that someone from the CIA might be dirty. Now...” Jase blew out a breath. “That night in Abudah, well, I’ve gone over every part of it a dozen times in my head. As I said, the mission was off from the start. Something about it didn’t feel right.”
He had her full attention. “Like what?”
“For starters, normally when we went out on a mission, we were backed up by a team of marines. I can count on one hand the number of times that didn’t happen, and those were always highly classified and critical missions. Then there’s the fact that usually we had several hours at the very least to prepare. Not this time. We got the word we were heading out fifteen minutes before we left.”
Reyna shivered at the implication and he continued, “At the time, I never questioned the order, even though it hadn’t come through Kyle. I was told the mission couldn’t wait. We’d gone radio silent, which was routine. I later learned from Kyle that he’d found out the mission was a setup and tried to call it off, only it was too late.”
Jase drew in a breath. Let it go. “Somehow, we got separated. Abby and I were together, but it felt like we were being cut off deliberately from the rest of the team.”
Reyna could see the fear he’d experienced reflected on his face.
“I was shot in the chest first. When the bullet hit my leg, I dropped to the ground. I lost visual on Abby. I could see the enemy descending...” He stopped, dragged in another breath. “They were armed to the teeth with US weapons.”
“You think the weapons were part of the ones that had gone missing?” she asked.
“Probably. Anyway, before they reached me, your husband showed up, took out several of the enemy in the process, and pulled me out of there. Eddie found a safe location to leave me and then went back for Abby. She was injured, as well. He had just managed to get her out when the place exploded.” Jase stared straight ahead, his voice a hoarse whisper. “No one else walked out of there alive. Brady and Douglas, our two newest members, died instantly. I guess they were collateral damage, too.”
He swallowed visibly. “I was hurt bad. They didn’t know if I would survive the flight to the States, but I did. I found out after I’d returned home that Abby never made it out of Afghanistan. Her injuries were too severe. She died that same night.”
“Oh, Jase.” She touched his arm gently.
He struggled to regain his composure. “I wouldn’t have survived if it hadn’t been for Eddie getting me safely out of there. I’ll never forget what he did. Eddie was one of the good guys. Truly good. I’m just sorry the CIA changed him for the worse.”
The raw hurt she saw in him sliced through to her heart. She looked up and found him watching her. He brushed a strand of her hair from her eyes, his fingers resting on her cheek. She could feel the solid warmth of him close to her. Smell the fresh mountain air that clung to his skin.
Jase stared into her eyes as he brought her slowly into his arms and kissed her long and slow. He wasn’t Eddie. He didn’t feel like Eddie, didn’t kiss like Eddie, and yet she wanted to be near him. Wanted him to keep on kissing her. Wanted...
“I’m sorry...” He started to pull away. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“No, Jase.” When he would have moved away, she wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and kept him close. They both had loved Eddie. She just needed to be close to someone else who grieved for him, too, she told herself. Still, the possibility for the future hadn’t seemed this bright in a long time.
Jase froze for a second and then held her tight, and everything was right with the world for just a little while.
She looked to him for reassurances and his eyes softened as they settled over her face. He kissed the top of her head and let her go.
Jase got to his feet and stepped away. “You want to use the shower first?” he said without looking at her.
The moment may have passed, but the way she felt about him hadn’t. “Thanks. After what we’ve been through tonight, a shower sounds wonderful.”
He smiled at her. “Take your time. I’ll check around outside and I’ll be back in a minute.”