“First drive and she’s gone,” Simon agreed.
“First drive?” Beth questioned.
“The first trip down the river. You take it, and then we ship you home.” Garrett rubbed the back of his neck. The gleam in her eye belied her ready acceptance. He didn’t believe her for a minute.
He turned and jumped from the railcar, holding out his hand to help her down while searching the surrounding area to ensure no one saw his slight in helping this boy down. Her face glowed with victory, and he wanted to turn her around and toss her back on the railcar.
He clenched his teeth, his only release for the anger building in his gut.
“Emotion is a sign of weakness. One must always be on guard.” He repeated the lesson his mother frequently chided him with when he was a child, not for Beth’s sake, but for his own.
She glanced back and frowned. “I was always led to believe that emotion was a spigot for the soul. I’d rather have a clean soul than a surly disposition.”
With a curt nod of acquiesce at her retort, he turned to escort her to the center of camp. He must not let her sharp tongue or enchanting charm affect him so. He already doubted all of the decisions he’d made since she entered his life.
Chapter 4
The excitement of the afternoon made Beth want to join in the chaos. Never before had she experienced such an informal and comfortable afternoon. No one in camp seemed to pay mind to social rules, and no one looked twice when she’d tripped over her spikes. So concerned with organizing their own affairs, the loggers failed to realize she was even there.
She smiled.
Men, teenage boys, and the occasional wife or spinster cook ran in all directions—greeting old friends, meeting new ones, and setting up camp. She studied the throng of people for the man she saw at the train platform—the one with the cane and his illusive partner—but with no luck. None of the people buzzing about camp reacted any different from the person next to them. All were excited and happy; not calculating and cross like she imagined a traitor would behave. She frowned. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d thought. What did she know about investigating a crime anyway?
A fat-bellied man stood in the center of the crude log buildings and watched the activity. He would bark out an order, but didn’t move from his position. Who was he? The man’s gaze skimmed over Beth and settled on her brother. He motioned for Simon to join him.
“Be back in two shakes.” Her brother ran toward the man.
Beth turned to Garrett. “Who is that?”
“Paul Smith. He’s from the Big Mountain Lumber Mill.” Garrett’s tone was soft and happy. Warm even. It was hard not to be affected by the aura of the first day in camp, and apparently Garrett wasn’t immune to the cheery, mountain fresh mood.
Perhaps she could get him to loosen up a bit. She’d always been one to charm the gentlemen of the ballrooms. How different would it be to charm a logger? Hard seeing as she was dressed as a man. She turned a teasing smile on him. “And are you as important as he is?”
“I am to you.” His dry tone punctuated the words with finality. She tried not to frown. How was she going to get him to loosen up enough to trust her, talk to her, and carry on a decent conversation? Never in her life had a man spurned her as much as Garrett Jones did. She didn’t know how to respond so she kept quiet and let the moment stretch into silence as they watched the loggers. Many of them with visible injuries, which brought to mind her mission. “Do any of the loggers here use a cane?”
“No. Why?” He gave her a curious stare.
If the man with the cane wasn’t here, then he must be the one who offered the money. She needed to look for the second man from the platform. The only problem was she had no idea what he looked like. “Just curious is all. I heard there are a lot of injuries in a logging camp.”
He nodded. “There are. It’s a dangerous place.”
Beth’s cheek twitched in a nervous smile. Garrett obviously intended that remark to be a warning. “Do all of the men from the train live in the Missoula spring camp?”
Garrett shook his head. “Some are from the Bonner camp, and a few are from the year-round camp. Most of the long-term residents leave during the spring and return in the fall.”
“Does each camp have Devil May Cares?”
“Each of the camps here have their structure—timber beasts, river rats, and homeboys. But the long-term camp, they’re the ones that have loggers year round, falling trees and bringing the logs to the river’s edge. They do not employ rivermen. That’s where us seasonal loggers come in. Since we can’t bring the logs down in the winter, and the rivers are too low in the summer, we can only ride the logs in the spring when the water is high. We give the long-term loggers a break for a few months, and then take the drives down the river. There’s two camps with rivermen. The Missoula camp, and Bonner camp. The Bonner rats take the drive down the river with us, but walk along the bank to dislodge any logs hung up there. It’s complicated, but you’ll get the gist of it once we get going.”
“Homeboys are the men from the towns around here, but what are river rats?”
“They are drifters working for as long as they deem to remain in the area. Stay away from them. The Bonner camp is full of them. They are not to be trusted.”
“Are there any river rats in your crew?”
Garrett shook his head. “I am selective of the men I allow on my team. The Devil May Cares are all homeboys.”
“When will we go on the drive?” She needed time to find out which of the men had taken the bribe, and who the man with the cane was.
Garrett ran his fingers through his hair and gave a resigned sigh. “I don’t yet know. We’ll have to talk to Teddy first. He schedules the river runs.”
“So he’s the most important man to me?” She gave a playful punch to the air, hoping to lighten the mood. Garrett stretched his right shoulder muscles like Simon did when he scolded her. What did she say wrong? She dropped her hand back to her side. “Do I make you tense?”
He raised his head, but a strange glint shimmered in his eyes. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s not good for either of us.”
Before she could respond, Simon trotted back to their small circle.
“Beth will be on the first train out tomorrow morning,” Garrett said. “I can’t risk her life just so she can get a thrill.”
“No,” she screeched, but checked herself when two loggers turned curious stares in her direction. She lowered her voice and leaned closer to Garrett and Simon. “I’m not leaving. I thought that was settled. I’ll bear hug a tree and never let go.”
“Gar.” Simon turned a warning look to his friend. “Paul said the Bonner camp lost a few rivermen this year, including their leader, and the big bugs at the mill refuse to hire anyone else. Said we had to make do with what we got. Chances are you’ll need her to man the bateau on occasion while you work the jams with the boys. As much as I hate to admit it, we might need her.”
“Goddamn it.” Garrett ran a hand through his hair, and turned his glance to something off in the distance.
He pinched his lips together, but remained silent. Not arguing and not conceding. His face like a fierce storm calculating the best path of destruction. She had a feeling he wasn’t finished trying to send her home. She couldn’t go. She would fight until her hands were raw if she had to, but she wouldn’t