Mountain Ranger Recon

A few of the hikers staked out some boulders, collapsing on top and chugging their water. Several dropped their packs and wandered to the edge of the trail for a better look at the falls in the distance. The honeymooners massaged each other’s shoulders.

As Meg unhooked her canteen from her pack, Ian sidled up next to her. “Meg, I wanted to ask you about some purple flowers we saw back on the trail. I can point them out to you.”

Meg choked on her water and it dribbled down her chin. She’d have never made it in her sister’s circle, even if she’d wanted that lifestyle. “Describe the flower to me and I’ll tell you all about it.”

“I’d rather show you. They’re not far, and I don’t see any like them in this spot.” Ian raised his brows, probably incredulous, she wasn’t jumping at the chance to discover his mission.

She wanted to tell him to go to hell, but her curiosity trumped her petty need to strike out. “Okay, but I don’t want to leave the group for too long. We need to get moving if we’re going to meet the afternoon train at the top.”

Nodding, Ian tromped ahead, effortlessly traversing the rugged trail, while the other hikers remained sprawled out behind them, still panting from the morning’s exertion. If he knew the terrain, Ian could lead this hike in her place.

If he knew the terrain.

As soon as they rounded the first bend, he grabbed Meg’s arm. “Thanks for not blowing our cover. I had no idea you were leading this hike. The website listed some guy, Richard.”

Ian hadn’t planned on seeing her at all. She gulped. “Richard got sick. I took his place.”

“Can’t pretend I’m happy about it, but I told Kayla we could count on you.”

Even through Meg’s multiple layers and Ian’s gloves, his touch felt like a brand on her arm. She shrugged him off. “I’m guessing her real name isn’t Kayla.”

Ian lifted a shoulder. “I figured you’d catch on.”

“And I figured my ex-husband wouldn’t choose one of my hikes as an opportunity to relive old times.”

“Husband.”

“What?”

“I’m your husband.”

Meg stumbled back, Ian’s words punching her in the gut. The aching pit of emptiness she felt at his words surprised her. Ending her marriage to Ian had broken her heart, but she thought she’d finally recovered. She’d even accepted most of the blame, since she was the one who had changed the rules of their relationship. Seeing him again, and the way his grin tilted up on one side, contrasting with the sharp intensity of his eyes, carved open a hollow space in her heart—one she thought she’d filled ages ago.

One she’d better start filling with something. Anger would do.

She dug her boots into the dirt and squared her shoulders. “What are you and your partner doing on this hike?”

His grin vanished, a furrow forming between his brows. “You know I can’t tell you that, Meg.”

“Blah, blah, blah. Same old crap with you, Dempsey. You’re obviously using Rocky Mountain Adventures for some reason, or you’d hike in here on your own. Why didn’t you just call and ask me? Why’d you have to sneak in here pretending to be a tourist…John?”

He put his finger to his lips. “Not so loud.”

“What if I blew your cover, right here, right now?” She narrowed her eyes at the way his jaw tightened. “I’d be jeopardizing national security or something like that, wouldn’t I?”

“Not only national security, but your own and that of every tourist on this hike.” He cocked his head. “Why so angry, Meg? You’re the one who ended it, although you never did bother filing for divorce.”

Her cheeks burned and she lifted her face to the cool air. “You couldn’t handle a real relationship, one with trust and commitment.”

“That’s bull. I committed to you with everything I had. I love…loved you with everything I had. When you lost the baby…”

“A baby you didn’t want.”

“I could’ve grown used to the idea.”

Meg snorted. “That’s big of you.”

He grabbed her shoulders. “I’m not playing the pity card, but you know damn well why the thought of a child scared the hell out of me.”

“You’re not your father, Ian. You never were.” Her eyes burned with tears as frustration gnawed at her insides. She should’ve been able to make him see that. She’d failed him.

His grip on her shoulders softened to a caress. “You made me see that more than anyone, Meg.”

She swayed toward him, and then clenched her hands into fists. She couldn’t take this trip with him again, especially while he was in the middle of one of his covert operations, shutting her out, keeping secrets.

She stuffed down her guilt over keeping Travis from him. He’d probably rather not know about his son.

Whatever Ian and Kayla decided to do once the hike ended didn’t concern her. She’d deliver them to the top of the mountain, along with the rest of the tourists, and they could knock themselves out with their secret agent crap. Then maybe she’d get that divorce she’d been putting off, and then maybe she’d better tell him about his son.

“Where’s the purple flower?”

Ian’s nostrils flared for a second and then he grinned. He dropped his hands from her shoulders and swooped down, plucking a flower from the ground. Cradling the small flower in his palm, he said, “Here it is.”

“It’s poisonous.”

He tipped his hand over and the flower floated to the dirt. Meg crushed the petals beneath her boot as she headed back up the trail to the other hikers.

Perched on a boulder, Kayla raised her head from her small guide book and her brows shot up. She didn’t know her partner very well, if she thought Ian had spilled the beans about their mission.

Meg adjusted her pack. “Our next stop will be the viewing deck for the falls, but on the way keep your eye out for some small mountain critters—picas, squirrels and some cute rodents.”

Meg did a head count and frowned. “Where’s…” She snapped her fingers, “Russ and Jeanine?”

The lovey-dovey couple emerged from some underbrush, holding hands. Wide-eyed, Jeanine asked, “Are you waiting for us?”

A few of the other hikers smirked while Meg nodded, clenching her teeth against her irritation, recognizing it for what it was—jealousy. “Okay, everyone’s accounted for. Let’s go.”

The furtive conversation with Ian had rattled her. He hadn’t been expecting to see her leading this hike, but he obviously knew she worked as a guide for Rocky Mountain Adventures.

Had he been keeping tabs on her? Not likely. He’d given no indication he knew she had a child. His child.

AN HOUR LATER, Meg halted at the top of the fifty-three wooden steps that descended to the viewing platform for the waterfall. “If you don’t want to expend your energy climbing down and then back up these steps, you’re welcome to wait here. We still have another two hours of hiking ahead of us.”

A few groans met this statement and Meg grinned. Wussies.

She trudged down the steps with the heartier members of the group, steering clear of Ian and Kayla, who branched out in different directions. After pointing out a few features of the falls and the river running through the canyon, Meg climbed back up the stairs and took some questions while waiting for the others.

As Meg opened her mouth to answer yet another question, a scream echoed through the canyon where the waterfall plunged into jagged rocks. The sound sent a shot of cold dread straight to Meg’s heart.