An Accidental Family

He found himself dragging Rainey along faster as anger and worry drove him. As annoyed as he was at this woman for blowing his stakeout, his fear for her safety and the safety of three young boys was greater.

“Officer? Seth? You’re hurting my hand.”

“Sorry.” He relaxed his grip.

“I’m the one who should be sorry,” she said, as if she’d just read his mind. “I should never have covered for the boys the way I did. I’m afraid I was too soft-hearted. I always gave them one more chance. You see, the rule is if a boy causes trouble at Big Cedar, the next step in the system is the reform school at Werner. I didn’t want boys this young to end up in that awful place, especially with their disabilities. The other inmates there would rip Maddy and Aaron to pieces.” She came up short. “I imagine they won’t let me near children now. And the boys will end up trapped at Werner, anyway.”

Seth frowned, thinking, Not so fast. He was already planning to place the boys under his protection. This woman might have connections that would help accomplish that. “What, exactly, was your job?”

“I work for the DHS—the Department of Human Services.”

“I’m familiar with it.”

“I did casework in the Tulsa office at first. I hated it. It was so bureaucratic. Worse than being an attorney.”

“You’re also an attorney?” Seth had a thing for smart women. He found himself getting more interested in this particular smart woman than he probably ought to be—in more ways than one. It had been a long time since he’d felt this charged up around a female. He glanced back and caught a glimpse of model-trim thighs below the snug jean shorts.

“I was an attorney. In my mother’s law firm.”

“Your mother’s a lawyer?”

“One hell of a one. For a while I followed in her footsteps like a good little girl. It wasn’t exactly a healthy relationship.”

She sounded so disappointed when she said it. He supposed nobody escaped disappointment in this life. He sure as hell hadn’t.

“So somewhere along the way you decided to be a counselor?” When he glanced back her jaw looked stubborn.

“I’m a pretty good one, despite what you may think about this particular mess. I wanted to be closer to the kids, to make a personal difference with them. And I wanted to relocate out here in the Winding Stair, where I was born. Like I said, it’s a long story.”

“Maybe I’ll get a chance to hear it someday.” When he looked back again, the moonlight caught in her eyes and their gazes locked. In that instant, it was as if he knew, and she knew that he knew, that someday he would, indeed, get to hear it all.

She stumbled on a rock and he caught her again. “Thanks,” she said as she wiped the sweat at her temple. “Is it incredibly hot out here tonight or what?” She lifted her pale, tangled hair off her neck, twisted it up, tucked in some stray strands.

“Yeah, it’s hot,” he agreed, studying her. He wondered if she realized how attractive she looked. “The lower the elevation, the worse it gets, but we’re almost there,” he said. “Take a second to catch your breath.” As she propped one hip against a boulder, he was glad it was too dark for her to see him sneaking a glance at her trim little backside. “Mind if I ask how old you are, Ms. Chapman?”

“Call me Rainey, okay? Ms. Chapman reminds me of my days at the firm. Twenty-nine.”

He gave her another once-over, then trained his mind back on the case. “How’d you track the boys up here?”

“I had a pretty strong suspicion that they’d come back. We had taken the children on a field trip to see the Rune Stones. Dillon kept wandering off in the direction of the caves that day. He tried to act jaded, as always, but I could tell he was fascinated by the idea of Viking carvings on the rocks.

“You can see these formations from miles around. It’s like tacking in a sailboat,” she explained, “traveling in one general direction, but in a zigzag pattern.” She chopped her hand in a rising Z. “Eventually you hit your target.”

He nodded. Hunters in these mountains used that strategy.

“And I know this area—somewhat. I spent a lot of summers up in these mountains with my gran.” She stopped, surveying the moonlit valley that opened below. She turned her head to the east, toward Big Cedar Camp. The base of Purney’s Mountain, where they now stood, was well over two miles from the facility. “Dillon claimed the caves were as far as they’d ever gone. But he’s such a colossal liar. It’s hard to say where they’ve been, what they’ve done, what they’ve seen.”

Seth frowned. He hated to tell her what they’d seen. She’d find out soon enough when she helped him question the other two kids.

“Come on.” He took her arm, leading her onto a fork in the path that led down to a clearing. “I need to know what this Maddy kid has to say.”

CHAPTER THREE

WHEN THE AMBULANCE CAME into view, Rainey broke into a run. The sight of the blue-and-red strobe lights smacking against the dark trees brought a fresh lump of fear to her throat. In the passenger seat a paramedic sat, writing calmly on a clipboard.

“The boys?” Rainey breathed as she approached the lowering window.

“Cut those lights!” Seth ordered from behind her.

“Yes, sir.” The paramedic leaned forward to flip a switch. Rainey could hear a man and woman’s muted voices coming from the back.

“She’s the counselor.” Seth’s voice was nearer to her now.

Rainey found his physical presence overwhelming again, as if she were almost preternaturally aware of his every movement. She was dismayed to realize she’d felt off-center ever since he’d first grabbed her in the woods.

She tried to tell herself that she was frightened, but there was more to it than that. She was starting to recognize all the signs in herself. That old jittery euphoria that bubbled up around an attractive man.

And this was one extremely attractive man. She tilted her head to give him a covert look in the light from the ambulance window. Tall, dark and handsome, as they say. He looked like he might have some Indian ancestors. His brows were dark, his skin was bronzed, and what she could see of his hair under the brim of his Stetson looked thick and jet-black. When he caught her looking at him, his dark eyes glinted from the depths created by his high cheekbones.

She quickly looked down.

He was handsome, all right. Possibly the best-looking man she had ever seen. But she couldn’t actually be attracted to this… Dudley Do-Right. It was as if some kind of sick kismet had thrown her together with a good-looking cop. A combo of her best dream and worst nightmare. Because long ago, she’d sworn off cops, and with good cause. No cops. Never a cop.

They made her nervous, these guys who took control of every situation and never admitted even the slightest weakness. Her father’s kind, that’s what Seth Whitman was.

“Oh, the counselor. I see.” The paramedic looked her up and down with a judgmental frown that clearly questioned Rainey’s competence. But when his eyes flicked up to Seth, the guy’s expression became abruptly respectful. “The boys are okay, ma’am.” He jerked his head. “In the back.”

Rainey trotted around and found the double doors at the rear of the ambulance locked. She knocked on the panel.

Seth came up behind her again, reaching above her head to bang on the metal impatiently. “Jake! Open up!” he boomed.

A heavyset, ruddy-faced man peeked around the curtain in the ambulance window, then cracked open the door as he holstered a sidearm. Rainey noted the badge and uniform identical to Seth’s. “Sorry, bud.” The cop looked pointedly at Rainey. “Glad he found you, ma’am. Kath and me were just discussing who to call about these kids.” His gaze slid back to Seth. “Did you come up with anything out there?”

“Not much.” Seth jerked the door open fully. “Let us in.”

The cop flung the other door wide and Rainey felt a wave of blessedly cool air pour out. The ambulance engine was running, with the air conditioner pumping.

“Careful, hon.” The chubby cop offered Rainey a hand up onto the metal step. She looked around, trying to find another place to take hold and then flushed when Seth grabbed her arm.

His grip was strong and warm, and just touching him sent a tight awareness through Rainey’s middle that made her wish she had accepted the chunky cop’s hand instead. Attracted. Definitely attracted.

“Thank you.” She tried to say it with detached dignity, but it came out breathy. Not detached.

As she squeezed past the chubby cop’s potbelly, he emitted an inappropriate hum of approval and she caught him giving Seth a randy little smirk.

“Rainey Chapman. Jake Gifford. My partner.” Seth’s tone was long-suffering.

“So I gathered.” Rainey favored the man with a flat smile and a cool look that caused his leering expression to dry up. She’d been dealing with goatish men all her life.