Even with that headline setting the town alight, Brayden had been unable to entirely tear his attention away from Esmée. Telling himself it was because of her involvement in the case hadn’t worked. He wanted to see her again. It was a simple truth that made his heart race with a combination of excitement and fear. He had even taken the trouble to find out where she was staying.
It was years since he had last felt this way. That had ended in disaster and public humiliation. He wasn’t naive enough to believe that, having been burned once, he was incapable of feeling attraction again. He just didn’t understand why, after lying dormant for so long, his wayward emotions had to choose such an unsuitable target. Whatever the reason, he knew he had to do a better job of fighting it.
The most important thing he could do was stay out of Esmée’s way and hope she would soon be gone. Every time he told himself that, various reasons to drop by the bed-and-breakfast kept occurring to him. What harm could it do to take Echo to see Rhys? Find out how the little guy was getting on with his talking?
Do the words lame and excuse mean anything to you, Colton?
Undeterred, his mind found another motive for a visit. He should stop by the bed-and-breakfast to see how Corey Gage was doing. The sixteen-year-old son of the proprietor had landed himself in some trouble a few months back after driving his mom’s car into a wall in the early hours of the morning. No one had been hurt and Corey had gotten away with a caution. Privately, Brayden thought facing his mom would be a whole lot worse for Corey than dealing with the law. Wendy Gage was not known for her warm personality.
“Maybe I should forget the excuses. Just turn up with flowers and candy and ask her on a date instead,” he muttered, as he opened the rear door of his car.
Echo jumped inside, his tail thumping loudly in the confined space as he looked up at Brayden with shining eyes.
“I was being sarcastic.”
Echo gave a single, enthusiastic bark in response. Shaking his head, Brayden closed the door and walked around to the front of the car.
Great. Even my own partner thinks I’m a sad loser who needs to be pushed to make a move.
Esmée paused at the top of a steep incline, breathing hard as she took in the view. When they started out, Rhys had been walking, but he had tired after an hour. It was about two months since she had used the carrier, and she was amazed at how much he had grown in that time.
“Talk about giving your mommy a workout.”
“Down now.” He wriggled to indicate his eagerness to be free again.
Esmée checked out the area. Although they were on a ridge above the forest, they were still on the gravel trail. On one side, the ponderosa pines soared above her. The sheer rock face rising high above the trees resembled cathedral spires. If Esmée tilted her head back far enough, she could just about see the blue sky beyond the rugged peaks. This must be the point known as Eagle’s Nest. In which case, Esmée estimated that she was standing right on the rooftop of the famous Red Ridge cave system.
On her other side, there was an expanse of brush and shrub before the ground fell away in a sharp drop down into the valley. She had packed bottled water, sandwiches and cookies in the pockets of the carrier. Beneath the trees on the wooded side of the trail there was a large, flat rock. It looked like a good place for a picnic.
“Okay. But you have to keep close to me.” She undid the straps on the carrier. “Stay away from the edge.”
Rhys eyed the drop warily. “Long way down.”
“It’s okay,” Esmée reassured him as she pointed to the trees. “We’ll be safe over there. Are you hungry? I sure am after carrying you all that way.”
She brought their food over to the rock she had chosen as a table, doing what she always did. Talking, explaining what was happening, soothing him with her voice. She watched Rhys carefully, happy when she saw signs that he was relaxed.
Although the sun was high overhead, it barely penetrated the canopy of branches that shaded their picnic spot, and Esmée didn’t object when Rhys removed his bright yellow baseball cap. When Rhys had finished eating, he began to investigate the area around the rock. Soon, Esmée’s lap was filled with a variety of stones, leaves and sticks. She leaned back against a tree trunk, content to watch him as he explored. There would need to be some serious negotiations about how much of this forest treasure trove they could carry home with them.
“Play hide-and-seek?” Rhys deposited another handful of pebbles in his stash as he asked the question.
Esmée looked around. They were in a circular clearing, surrounded by trees. As long as they stayed within these clear boundaries, there was no reason why she shouldn’t indulge Rhys in his favorite game. Besides, he was wearing a brightly colored, dinosaur-print T shirt. She would spot him easily in this natural setting.
Carefully she explained the rules to him. “You can’t go past that fallen tree trunk over there and this stone where I’m sitting now.”
For a two-year-old his understanding was good, and she didn’t need to spoil his fun by telling him she was going to do a little mom-cheating. As he skipped away to find a hiding place, Esmée counted out loud. She pretended to cover her eyes while watching him through her fingers. Rhys cast a quick glance around before ducking under the fallen tree stump that rested up against the face of the rock.
“Here I come, ready or not!” Placing Rhys’s precious new possessions in a pile on the flat stone, Esmée got to her feet.
Although she knew where he was, she made a big performance out of the hunt. “Fee-fi-fo-fum. Mommy’s gonna get you Rhys-baby.” His squeals of laughter rang through the trees. “Ain’t no hiding place good enough to keep you from me...”
After calling out a few fairy-tale-style threats, she eventually ducked her head under the stump. “Gotcha!”
Catching hold of Rhys around the waist, she started to tickle him until they both collapsed onto the ground, rolling around helpless with laughter. Rhys scrambled to get away from Esmée and back to his hiding place. The layer of dried leaves and pine needles under the fallen tree trunk had already been churned up and his sneakers were kicking up the loose dirt. Esmée paused as she caught a glimpse of something shiny close to his right foot.
It couldn’t be what she thought it was...
If it was, she didn’t want Rhys anywhere near it. Setting him on his feet, she gestured for him to stay behind her. “I need to check this out.”
“Snake?” His voice was half hopeful, half afraid.
Esmée laughed. “No, it’s not a snake. It’s just something Mommy needs to get a closer look at.”
Once he was safely out of the way, she kneeled and cleared the ground around the object, taking care not to touch it. Her heart began to pound as it became clear that her suspicions were correct. It was a knife.
It was a large fixed-blade knife with an overall length of close to twelve inches. The wooden handle had carved finger grooves and the blade looked like it was made from stainless steel. There might be any number of innocent reasons why this knife was here, half buried in this wooded area off the Coyote Mountain trail, but Esmée’s instincts were ringing alarm bells.
This wasn’t a big-game hunting area. It was too close to the town for anyone seeking deer, antelope, elk or mountain goat. But this was the sort of knife hunters used to skin their kill, and it looked new. The blade was lethally sharp, shining bright even in the shade of the trees. Except, of course, for the areas where it was covered in dried blood.
That was the main reason for her apprehension. Until Rhys had disturbed