Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

G il strode beside Jess as they trekked through the woods. Either she was slowing down, or he’d learned to match her quick, long strides, for he could finally keep up with her. As they maneuvered the pine-needle-covered path, he drank in as much of this wilderness beauty as he could.

The sun shone bright, though it’s warmth was weak since they were moving into winter. Around them, pines so abundant and tall, reaching up to the heavens as if in constant prayer. Rocks and fallen trees lay scattered between the upright trunks, and in the distance, the rocky cliff of the next mountain over showed through the woods.

A rumble of water grew louder as they reached a clearing beside the creek. The waterfall wasn’t tall, about half his height, falling to a pool that flowed into a stream. This was a soothing place, the peace of it weaving through him and easing the tension in his shoulders.

Jess dropped into a seated position on the mossy ground, her back against a boulder. The rock was just wide enough for him to lean against if he sat close to her. Perfect.

He settled, his shoulder brushing hers. Feeling her warmth through his sleeve and breathing in the slight scent of lavender that always surrounded her made it hard to think about anything else.

She pulled out the blue cloth she’d brought and extracted a needle from the material.

He should work on the task he’d brought too.

He pulled out the small notebook and pencil he'd carried with him from home. He’d used them to write names and details in his search for Sampson, but now that he’d found his brother, he’d sketch the tunnels.

Jess leaned in. "What are you doing?"

He moved his hand so she could see his drawing, careful not to shift his arm away from the pressure of hers. “Sketching the mountain and caves.”

Her brow furrowed, then her gaze lifted to his face, searching. “So you can figure out how to get your brother out?” She seemed worried, probably wondering if he planned more than he’d told her.

Guilt pressed in his chest. He did have more in mind than she knew. Did he dare speak of it?

She was so beautiful, and despite the strength she wore like armor, she seemed almost fragile, her skin as clear as Anna’s porcelain dolls, her cheeks flushed in the sun. And worried.

He was the one who’d planted that worry just now, though he’d vowed to protect her.

He needed to tell her everything. He thought he could trust her. Besides, she needed his help to escape her father. And he probably couldn’t accomplish what he needed to without her help.

“My brother, yes. And…” How to tell her about the other? Taking a deep breath, he met her gaze head-on. "Your father stole something from my family. Or at least, his men did. Sapphires, a lot of them. I came here to get my brother back—and to get our sapphires back."

Her curiosity shifted to stoic, her expression giving away nothing of her thoughts.

He gave her time to work through all the pieces of the puzzle she’d not yet known.

Her gaze drifted to the waterfall. What had been a peaceful silence moments before was tense now, and the splashing water didn’t ease it.

"I didn't know about that.” Her voice was barely audible above the falls. “But I'm not surprised. My father..." She trailed off, shaking her head slightly. "He's capable of so much worse than I ever wanted to believe."

Gil's heart ached for her, for the pain this knowledge must bring. He wanted to comfort her, but how?

He slipped his hand over hers, wrapping his fingers around her palm. Her skin was so soft, a fact that always surprised him. And made him want to protect her more. "Jess, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just...I thought it wasn’t fair to keep it from you."

Her blue eyes shimmered when she faced him. "I'm glad you told me. It's just...hard. I’m sorry he hurt you. Hurt your family." She gave a sad smile. “I’m surprised you’d be willing to help me, now that I know what my father did to you.”

He started to protest—why would he hold her father’s actions against her? But she wasn’t finished.

She took in a breath that lifted her shoulders. “And I suppose I should mention that it’s all right if you agreed to help me just to get closer to my father and have a better chance of finding what he took.” Her eyes narrowed a little, but not in suspicion. More like determination. “I’ll do everything I can to help. You have my word.”

He hated for her to think him so calculating, so bent on doing whatever it took to accomplish his purpose. His mission had been part of his reason for agreeing to their fake marriage, but she’d been the other part. He needed her to know that.

He squeezed her hand. “Jess, I won’t deny that your promise to take me to my brother played a part in my agreeing to help you. But that wasn’t the only reason. From the moment I first saw you on that mountain, I knew you were different. I knew I wanted to know you better. And when you said you needed help, there was nothing that would have stopped me from doing all I could.”

Her eyes widened, as though she struggled to absorb his meaning. Her hand had gone limp in his. Was it really so hard to believe a man would put her before his own plans? Maybe she’d never experienced that.

He stroked his thumb over the back of her hand. “ You are special, Jess McPharland. I realized that from the very beginning.”

Her eyes turned glassy, and was that a tremble in her jaw? Oh, Jess. Every part of him wanted to pull her close, but she already looked like she was fighting emotion. Would she welcome his comfort or push him away?

She inhaled and straightened her shoulders, a forced brightness entering her eyes. “Thank you. And I’ll do everything I can to get your sapphires back.” Her brow wrinkled. “When were they stolen? Do you think he still has them? Would they be sold by now? Is there a way to track them?”

He kept her hand. “Over two months ago. It was a full wagonload of crates, each packed tightly with gemstones. He wouldn’t be able to sell that many sapphires here in the territory. We have a friend in Fort Benton watching for a shipment he might be sending east. We think it’s most likely he’s storing them somewhere around here, maybe selling them a little at a time or waiting until we’ve given up the search to send them to the big buyers in New York.”

She squinted like she was sorting through what he’d said. Maybe trying to think of places McPharland might have stored them?

She picked up his notebook and opened to the page with the map of the caves. “There are two storage rooms I know of. Here and here.” She placed her fingers along the tunnel they’d traveled an hour before.

“We passed them this morning?” He’d not seen anything in the blackness. What else had he missed?

“They’ve been there since I was young. There’s a door and a lock on each one.”

His heart quickened. “Is there a way we could search them? Or at least walk that tunnel with a lantern?”

She frowned. “That’s the main route my father and Jedidiah use. I don’t think it’d ever be safe to be obvious about traveling through there.”

“What about at night?”

She shook her head. “Jedidiah roams at all hours. I hear him and Father talking sometimes about things he’s seen and heard when he decides to take a stroll because he can’t sleep. I think it happens often.”

Frustration churned in Gil’s chest. There had to be a way. Could one of them watch for Jedidiah while the other searched the cave?

“Maybe…” Her word trailed off.

Hope lifted its head within him. “Maybe what?”

She looked hesitant. “Both of them usually accompany me to town to guard me. I could say I need an urgent trip to the store before we set off. But I doubt Father would let you stay here while we go.”

The hope eased its head down as he mulled through all angles of that idea. “I’d be surprised if he allowed a trip at all when we’re getting ready to leave. Wouldn’t he just say you can stop at a mercantile in the first town we come to?”

Her gaze turned sly. “He would. But I’ve learned through the years how to talk him into what I really need.”

He raised his brows. “Like?”

She tucked in her lips, looking a little nervous. What had she done?

He hoped she would tell without him nudging her along.

She shot him a nervous look. “When I was sixteen, Father arranged for me to marry. It was someone he knew, a man he’d done business with.”

Gil’s middle churned, pulling so tight he could barely breathe.

How could a father do such a thing to his daughter? Only sixteen? Too young to be married off to a man she didn’t love.

Maybe it wasn’t her age at the time that bothered him most. The thought that she could belong to another man ignited a fire of jealousy inside Gil.

But she wasn’t married— Thank You, God. How had she gotten out of it?

She stared at the flowing creek. “I didn’t know the man, and I sure didn’t want to marry him. I guess that was the first time I realized my father might see me as something other than his daughter. That I was a possession to him, someone he could use for his advantage.” Her mouth formed a pained smile.

“Anyway.” But her voice shifted to a forced lightness. “I was allowed to meet him once, a few days before our wedding. He was…” She wrinkled her nose, sliding a quick look at him. “…not what I was hoping for. He reminded me of Jedidiah a little. Taller, but just as conniving. Older than me, of course, maybe by fifteen years. Which might not have been a problem.” She shrugged, as though she wasn’t speaking of a very narrow escape that might have changed her life forever. “I could’ve lived with it if he were someone I could respect. But I would have been a possession for him, too, something he’d paid good money to obtain, to be used when and how he wanted.”

Her mouth pinched. “I knew I had to get out of it. So I convinced my father I was too young to marry. That I hadn’t yet reached womanhood…” A blush turned her cheeks and ears pink. “That my husband would be unhappy with me and likely demand his money back. I described how much worse things would be for him, how he’d lose respect from those he does business with.”

She let out a breath. “It worked. He called the marriage off. I think he even got the fellow to carry on with one of the schemes they’d planned to do together anyway.”

Gil’s mind whirled.

How could any man not treasure her? Especially her father , the one man she should always be able to depend on. The man who should make her feel protected and cherished.

Anger burned in his belly.

He had to get her away from Mick McPharland, no matter what else he accomplished on this mission. And he wouldn’t send her off into the wilderness to fend for herself, either. If he could talk her into staying at the ranch, he’d do it.

Dinah would welcome her into their home, he had no doubt. As would any of the other women.

Jess needed to know what it meant to feel safe, to be safe. To be part of a family who cared about her , not what she could do for them.

And was it too much to hope she might one day fall in love with him? Because he was more than halfway in love with her. He didn’t want to confuse love with concern, but she ignited something deep inside him. Something solid that hadn’t been there before. Like part of him had been searching and had finally found its perfect match.

Jess smiled, the look almost sly—but in a sweet way.

If that even made sense.

“I think I could convince my father to take me to town if I had to. I could make him think there’s a way he’ll benefit from the trip.” Her voice turned hesitant. “If you think that would be helpful.”

“I don’t want to use you like that.” He shifted away, turning to face her, and held her eye contact. “I’m sorry your father did. I promise I never will. You’re safe with me.” He infused meaning into his words and hoped she saw sincerity in his eyes. “When we’re back on my family’s ranch, you’ll be safe there too. No one will make you do anything you don’t want to.”

Wariness flashed in her gaze. Did she not believe him? Or did she worry about going to their ranch?

He’d have to cross those hurdles later.

He settled beside her again, enjoying the feeling of her shoulder against his, her hand in his.

It was amazing that such ugliness—her father, his business, these caves—could coexist with the beauty of this place.

How could they explore the tunnel without being caught?

He mulled the question. “If we had a couple of lookouts, we could search the cave where the storage areas are.” He angled toward her and found her watching him. He wouldn’t define the look in her eyes, needing to attend to the problem at hand, but if he were to define it…

Wonder?

He swallowed emotion that crawled up his chest. There was nothing wonderful about him. He was just a man who knew how to treat women. The fact that she was so surprised by him wasn’t so much about his—for lack of a better word— goodness , but about her father’s ugliness. And that of all the people he’d chosen to surround his daughter with.

Focus, Coulter.

Right.

“Sampson and your friend Ezekiel. Could they distract your Father and Jedidiah?”

Fear flitted across her gaze. “No. Nobody talks to Dad or Jedidiah unless they have to. They’ll punish a man for the tiniest infraction.”

Gil didn’t want to put his brother or that godly old man at risk. “What about at night? Where does Jedidiah sleep?”

“He has a chamber off the side of the bunk room.”

Another hidden room Gil didn’t know about. How many more could there be? He’d have to talk through the map with her and see if she remembered any other spaces, no matter how insignificant.

But an idea was beginning to form.

“Maybe tonight when both of them should be sleeping, we can ask Sampson to help. He can stand inside the tunnel near the bunk room and give some kind of signal if Jedidiah comes out. Do we need a lookout at the other end for your father?”

Doubt gathered in her expression. “Probably not.”

Probably not.

Should Gil ask Ezekiel so they could be certain? Bringing in another person would add to the risk—that they’d get caught, or that someone could get hurt. Maybe she could watch for her father and distract him if he started to leave the cave

Sampson wouldn’t like the plan, but he’d go along. Gil just had to find a way to ask. “Are you going to tend to Ezekiel while your father and I eat at midday?”

She gave a wary nod. “He was in a lot of pain yesterday.”

“Could you slip a note to Sampson, or put it under his blanket?”

She let out an exasperated breath. Clearly, she understood his plan and it didn’t sit well with her. “I suppose.” Her brows gathered in a frown. “The sapphires might be somewhere else. I need to think about it.”

“All right.”

She pushed to her feet. “I want to check on a flower I found on the other side of the waterfall before we go back.”

He stood, too, as she stepped to the edge of the bank, then onto a flat stone that poked up above the water’s surface.

As she moved to the next rock, he scanned the opposite bank for what flower she meant. A low bush with bright green leaves sat at the base of the falls. Purple flowers peeked out from the leaves. It wasn’t a plant he’d seen in this area, and it was lovely. No wonder she liked it.

Jess threw her hands wide, and his gaze snapped to her.

She yelped and tumbled sideways into the water.

"Jess!" He lunged forward, his heart leaping into his throat. Could she swim?