She glanced up at the cloud-shrouded band of granite just above her. A hawk circled overhead and close by she could hear a blue jay’s call. Up here, she understood why her father loved the Cascades so. There are so few places man can be completely alone, he used to say. And few places that still held mysteries.

  Oregon had once been a land of giant bison, mammoth, mastodon, wild horses, giant bear and ground sloth. Today the largest animals were elk. Unless, of course, Bigfoot was an animal—and not a form of human. There was no doubt in her mind there was another lifeform out there—and it was a humanoid.

  She had loved to sit around the campfire and listen to her father’s stories. He often talked in awe about the day he’d photographed the creature in these woods.

  “It had a horrid smell to it,” he’d said. “But what got to me was the look in her eyes. It was a female, I’m sure of that. She looked scared, but it was the pleading I saw there, as if she was saying, ‘Please, just leave me alone.’ I wish I’d never let anyone see those photographs.”

  Roz thought about that now. If her father had found Bigfoot bones, would he tell anyone? Once there was proof that Bigfoot existed the next step was capturing a live one. Her father would want to prove his earlier photos hadn’t been faked. But he wouldn’t have wanted the Bigfoot hunted down and caged. Would her father hide the bones and protect the creatures in the end?

  The hair lifted on the back of her neck. She straightened slowly and turned, positive someone was watching her. In the trees, a pine bough moved. She heard the rustle of leaves followed by the snap of a limb, then silence.

  She let go of the breath she’d been holding. No one there, she told herself. Just forest sounds. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that not only wasn’t she alone, but someone was very close by, watching her, waiting.

  But waiting for what? Her to find the bones? Or evidence that her father’s fall hadn’t been an accident?

  FORD LOST Rozalyn’s tracks just before he reached the rimrocks. Earlier the rain had fallen in a steady drizzle, the low clouds offering little light. Even now that the rain had stopped, the air was damp, everything dripped and he could hear water cascading down the rocks off to his right not far from a huge old Douglas fir. The cliffs loomed ahead of him. Rozalyn would already be at the base of them. Might have already found a cave to explore.

  He found himself running to catch up to her. As he topped a rise, he spotted her just yards away standing at the base of the rock cliff.

  Something caught his eye higher up the cliff. A movement on a wide ledge directly above her. A dark figure clad in a raincoat, the hood up, bent over behind a large boulder. In the time it took for his heart to beat, Ford saw the boulder tumble off the edge of the cliff headed right for Rozalyn.

  Chapter Twelve

  Charity stepped into the Timber Falls Courier newspaper office and closed the door behind her, bracing herself for a tongue-lashing.

  Daisy Dennison looked up when she heard Charity enter. She set down the newspaper, pulled a tissue from the box on Charity’s desk and dried her tears as if ashamed to be caught crying.

  Charity watched her, surprised how good the woman looked considering she’d been shot in the shoulder just two weeks before and had spent the past twenty-seven years a recluse in her mansion before that.

  Daisy had gained some weight, had color again in her cheeks and had put some expensive highlights in her hair. She looked damned good, and Charity couldn’t help but wonder if getting rid of Wade wasn’t responsible for it more than anything else. Tears and all, Daisy looked happier than Charity had ever seen her.

  Charity went to the small fridge next to the bathroom and opened the door. “Can I get you anything to drink?” This definitely called for a Diet Coke—if not something stronger.

  Daisy suddenly seemed to realize that she was sitting in Charity’s chair and quickly got up. “No, thank you. I…” She took another wipe at her tears. “I just need to talk to you.”

  “If you came here to defend Wade—”

  “No,” Daisy said almost too quickly. “It’s…I’m worried. You don’t know Wade like I do. You don’t know what he’s capable of.”

  But Daisy did? “If you’re worried about my safety—”

  “I’m worried about my own,” the older woman snapped. Her eyes filled with tears again. “I’m afraid he’s going to snap and…and kill me.”

  Charity stared at her, speechless.

  “He blames me for everything,” Daisy said, her voice breaking. “For the rumors about the baby…” Daisy looked away. “I think in his mind he believes that Angela would never have been kidnapped if I hadn’t…”

  “Had an affair?” Charity suggested.

  Daisy’s gaze swept back to hers, the eyes now cold and hard. “This town is good for nothing but rumors. The baby was Wade’s. There was never any doubt.”

  “Are you sure about that?” The moment the words were out of her mouth, Charity regretted them.

  Daisy reached for her purse, anger giving her cheeks high color as she glared at Charity. “I thought I could appeal to you as another woman and ask you not to do any more stories about this. Just let it be forgotten. Let us try to get on with our lives.”

  She had to be kidding. “How is that possible, Daisy, when you still don’t know what really happened to Angela? What about justice? Surely you don’t think it’s been done.”

  “Life isn’t always just,” Daisy said lifting her nose into the air. Except now everyone in town knew Daisy was no aristocrat. “Isn’t it enough that the man who took my daughter is burning in hell as we speak?”

  “Is it enough for you?” Charity asked.

  Something dark flickered in the woman’s gaze before she turned and left. She didn’t even bother to slam the door.

  Charity stared after her, wondering what Daisy had really come to see her about. It wasn’t to ask her not to run any more stories. Daisy wasn’t that naive.

  No, Daisy Dennison had another agenda and Charity wondered what it was.

  ROZ FIRST HEARD THE tinkle of small pebble-size rocks trickling down the cliff. Then a rumble. If she hadn’t been standing under a rock face she might have thought it was thunder.

  Rock slide!

  She was too far from the trees to find safety there. Her only hope was a small cave back under the cliff face. Her feet were already moving as the first boulder careened down from overhead, showering her in dirt and rock chips before it thudded to the ground just inches from her. Overhead, she heard more boulders break loose and rumble downward.

  As she dove for the shallow cave, she was hit hard from behind, the air knocked out of her as she was thrown to the ground just inside the mouth of the small dark cavern and rolled back under the overhang, something heavy coming to rest on her.

  The earth shook as rocks pounded the ground next to her in a shower of crashing thunder that drowned out everything else except the sound of heavy breathing next to her ear and the weight on top of her.

  The rocks seemed to fall forever. Then silence.

  “You’re crushing me,” she wheezed into the chilling silence that followed the rock slide. She would know that distinct male scent anywhere, as well as the now familiar contours of his body. “You just can’t stay off of me, can you?”

  He rolled from her and she gasped for breath, flipping over to stare in shock at the pile of rocks in the spot where she’d been standing only moments before. She began to shake at the realization of just how close a call it had been and looked over at Ford.

  He’d moved to a sitting position against the wall of the cliff. The look on his face surprised her, a combination of anger and—fear. “You are crazy,” he spat. “What does it take to get through that thick skull of yours that this is dangerous?”

  She glared at him. “The only danger I’m in is from you.”

  He shook his head in disgust. “I’m the one who keeps rescuing you.”

  “Really? And why is that?” she demanded.

  “I was just asking myself that very question. Obviously not to impress you, that’s for sure.” He cautiously crawled from under the overhang, then reached back to grab her hand and pull her out behind him. He dragged her away from the cliff before he spun around to face her.

  “What the hell are you doing up here by yourself? Do you realize you were almost killed? And worse, I was almost killed.”

  “It’s what you get for following me,” she snapped. “And don’t try to tell me you saved my life again. I was jumping out of the way when you tackled me.”

  “I’m not going to try to tell you anything.” He swore. “I should wash my hands of you. Let you get killed.”

  “If you’re trying to scare me again—”

  “Lady, if you were a cat, you’d be out of lives by now,” he said, dusting himself off.

  “I know the truth about you,” she threw at him, remembering what she’d found at the guest house in the papers he’d tried to hide under his laptop, and what Charity had told her about him being in town two weeks ago.

  “Yeah, I gathered that when you took off on me,” he said and turned his back on her as he started toward the cliff face again.

  “Why were you in town two weeks ago and failed to mention it? Where are you going? Aren’t you even going to try to deny why you’re really in town?” she demanded to his retreating backside.

  “What would be the point?” He started to climb up a series of rocklike steps. “You coming or not?”

  “What? And let you get me up there so you can push me off?”

  “Don’t tempt me. I thought you might be interested to know how those rocks just happened to fall.”

  Rock slides happened all the time in this part of the country. “Don’t try to tell me that rock slide was anything but an accident.”

  He stopped and turned to look back at her. “And waste my breath? I’m going to show you. Unless you’re afraid to climb up here.”

  Was that a dare? Did he really think she would fall for something so obvious as a dare? She glanced up at the cliff. She certainly wasn’t afraid of climbing up there. But what would be the point? Just to prove the rock slide had been an accident? Just to prove him wrong?

  She clambered up the cliff behind him wondering how he thought he could prove it was anything more than a rock slide when she and Ford were the only two people for twenty miles.

  As she reached the wide ledge where he was waiting for her, she saw the smug look on his face. He’d known all he had to do was dare her and she’d climb up here. But she realized that wasn’t the only reason for his smugness. He pointed to one clear boot print in a patch of wet earth in a flat rock at his feet. Past it there were scrape marks where a boulder had been pushed to the rim of the ledge.

  Her heart caught in her throat as she spotted something else near one of the rocks along the ledge. She stepped closer and bent down. She heard Ford move to her side, heard him swear under his breath.

  “Don’t touch it,” he ordered. He shrugged off his backpack, removed a small plastic container and carefully scooped up the two fresh cigarette butts where someone had smoked while they waited. From this point, a person would have had a clear view of the path below—the same one she’d just come up. “The lab might be able to get DNA from a saliva sample.”

  She nodded. She still had her camera strapped to her chest. She took it out and, stilling the trembling in her hands, turned back to get a shot of the single boot track in the mud. The tread was worn along the outside edge and she thought she might be able to match it if she ever came across the boot that had made it.

  “You can’t be serious,” Ford said obviously realizing what she was thinking as he watched her take the photograph of the boot print. “This person just tried to kill you—and probably put your father in the hospital. Unless you only plan to turn that photograph over to the sheriff—”

  “Whoever did this doesn’t know me,” she said as she put her camera back into its case strapped to her chest. “If this is the same person who hurt my father, I’m going to find him or die trying.”

  “Exactly.” He reached for her but she stepped away. His hand brushed hers. He felt her stiffen, saw the panic in her gaze. She’d felt it, too, the heat, the electricity, the heart-pounding, brain-numbing chemistry.

  “You aren’t going to try to stop me, are you?” She didn’t bother to give him time to reply. “No, you want me to find the bones so you can make a name for yourself. Or is it the money you’re after? Or both?”

  “Would it do me any good to tell you you’re wrong?”

  “None,” she said stepping over to the edge of the cliff, her back to him. She could see another storm coming, the sky dark, the rain headed this way. A light breeze came up out of the forest below them scented with cedar.

  He cursed under his breath.

  “Tell me, is this still your best behavior, because I’m having trouble telling.”

  ROZ STARED DOWN at the pile of stones, ignoring Ford as best she could. Her heart was pounding and she felt weak at just his touch. What was wrong with her? He was the enemy. The man was despicable. He would sell his soul for money and fame. And yet her body ached for his touch.

  She turned, realizing the would-be killer had gotten down from here without being seen after the rock slide. So where had he gone?

  She looked past Ford to a crack in the cliff and walked over to it, ignoring him. He was watching her, studying her, a frown on his face. The crack in the rock was just wide enough for a person to slip through. Beyond it she could see where the boot prints had slid down the earthy slope to a stand of trees.

  What she couldn’t understand was why her father would have ever come up here. Unless… She turned and looked down the ledge to where a tree grew out of the rocks. Behind it was darkness. A cave.

  As she moved to it, she could see that it wasn’t very large, no more than three feet across, maybe six feet deep and about her height. It was hidden behind the tree unless you were standing at the right spot to see it. She would never have noticed it had she not been trying to determine where her assailant had gone.

  She peered inside with her flashlight. The cave floor was smooth, rocky, no sign of digging. Nor any sign of bones embedded in the rock. It would have been too easy to find the bones here but she still couldn’t hide her disappointment.

  “What is it going to take to get through to you?” Ford asked impatiently behind her as the first drops of rain began to fall, splashing down hard on the rock ledge. She stood under the shelter of the pine tree but Ford stayed out in the rain, not seeming to notice it.

  She turned, surprised how close he was. “You don’t give a damn about me or my dad. That stunt at the hospital, getting Jesse Tanner to guard him night and day, was just a way to get to me. For all I know you set up everything—all the times you supposedly saved my life—including this one.” She sounded close to tears and hated it.

  His sea-green gaze washed over her in a warm wave. “Is that really what you think?” he asked quietly.

  “Damn right it is,” she said but her words carried little conviction and they both knew it. “You’re an impossible man,” she whispered, all the fight gone out of her. “Totally incorrigible.”

  “I’ve been told that on more than one occasion,” he said as he stepped under the tree with her to thumb away an errant tear from her cheek.

  The rough brush of his thumb pad sent a tremor quaking through her. She felt her pulse jump, her heart suddenly a drum in her chest. “What makes you such an ass one minute and such a…a…”

  “A prince of a guy the next?” he asked. He was so close she swore she could feel heat radiating from his body. He looked down into her eyes. “I don’t know. You probably have some theories though.”

  She let out the breath she’d been holding as she tried to step back, tried to put some distance between them, but there was no place to go. Her back was to rock. If she moved she would be forced into the cave. He had her trapped and he knew it.

  “Don’t,” Rozalyn whispered. Her brown eyes swam with tears as she looked up at him. She drew in a short, shuddery breath. “Don’t do this.”

  “And hate myself the rest of my life?” He touched her hair, not surprised that it felt as silken as it looked as he cupped her chin in his hand and turned her face up to his. Her eyes pleaded with him not to kiss her as he lowered his mouth to hers.

  She seemed to hold her breath as if afraid to breathe, afraid to move. Her palms came up as if to push him away, but only rested against his chest as he deepened the kiss.

  She groaned softly against his mouth, leaning into the kiss, leaning into him.

  He tried to warn himself. This was crazy. If he didn’t stop, there would be no turning back. But even as he thought it, he knew he’d gone way past the point of no return a long time ago with Rozalyn Sawyer. This felt as if it had always been written in the stars. As if he had spent his life headed for this moment—and nothing could stop the inevitable.

  He knew he should run like hell. But running was the last thing he wanted to do right now. Think of the bones, the money, the scientific recognition. The fame.

  “I want to make love to you,” he heard himself say even though he knew instinctively he would be giving up both the money and the fame should they find the bones. He had a lot more to lose and he was putting it all on the line for the first time in his life. He’d never been so scared or so certain.

  Roz lifted her hands from his chest as if to ward him off. He caught both in his and drew her hard against him.

  His Caribbean-blue gaze locked with hers as he dropped his mouth to her lips. She felt herself diving into his gaze as if it really was tropical surf. It was heavenly. She kissed him back with a passion she hadn’t known she even possessed.

  A moan escaped his lips. He backed her up against the cool stone, pinning her there with the hard planes of his body. His mouth explored hers as his hands cupped her bottom and rain fell in a torrent just beyond the shelter of the tree. She’d never been kissed like this. In fact, she’d never known a kiss could have this effect.