Adam (12 page)

The sun glittered off the pristine snow that blanketed the meadow surrounding the line shack. Vivid blue skies broken by floating columns of white played host to a pair of red-tailed hawks that drifted on air currents in search of a winter’s meal. Keelee leaned against the door and watched as Adam’s silhouette dropped past the ridge heading towards the old homestead. He left on foot, or rather snowshoe, at daybreak to retrieve her snowmobile. When she could no longer see him, she let herself back into the little cabin. He had left the snowmobile and Sat-phone for her, taking only a rifle, water, and small tool kit with him.

The man’s physique defied her limited vocabulary. His heavily corded arms and shoulders, narrow hips and sexy-as-hell muscled thighs had driven her to distraction and beyond several times last night. And once this morning. Keelee could feel her face warming with the memory of his body thrusting against hers. The feel of the muscles in his back pulsing and his ass bunching and releasing. The caress of his breath against her heated skin. The revelation of rapture on his face as his body released into hers. His male hardness forced an ache deep within, but it was one she’d gladly accept. Hell, she’d beg for it.

But they needed to get off the mountain—sooner or later. A knowing smile spread across her face. But not tonight. There were four condoms left in the supply he’d brought and she intended on using every one of them. He explained he had every intention of making love to her, so he came prepared. Mmmm… his cock was so big and felt so damn good. Her hands flew to her face and covered her cheeks.
Such thoughts! Girl, you are wicked!
A carefree laugh bubbled up and bounced off the pine and plaster walls.
Does everyone in love feel this good?

Thoughts of Adam carried her through the morning. She pulled some of the stores out of the cupboards and put together a chicken stew. She had the makings for dumplings and would add them to the pot. Her ankle injury sent small twinges of pain, reminding her to take it easy as she puttered around the kitchen putting things in order. A smile at the stacked mattresses in front of the fire grew exponentially when she heard the distant growl of a snowmobile. He’d made good time. Keelee ran her fingers through her hair and straightened her flannel shirt.
If only I had something nice to wear.
She giggled again and wrapped her arms around herself in delight. Adam. After all this time, she had Adam.

When she opened the storm door, her smile and her delight vanished. The rider was too slight to be Adam. As the machine drew closer, she knew. Clint.

Keelee watched as the machine got closer. There was no way she would have survived in the old cellar until this morning. If it hadn’t been for Adam braving the storm, she’d be dead.

With a sigh, she leaned against the doorjamb. Clint was a decent man. He treated her well. But there had never been and now never would be anything but a few tepid kisses between them. He was more of a friend than a boyfriend. Still, this conversation wasn’t going to be easy. She hated to hurt his feelings, but she’d be damned if she was going to deny her own any longer.

Clint lifted from the snowmobile. His usual smile spread across his face. “Well, I guess you could have gotten off this mountain without my help. You don’t appear no worse for wear.” He tossed a hard once-over at her. “Betty was worried about you, but it seems like you’re fine. Figured you would be. She seems to think you’re staying up here for another day or two. Why’s that?”

Keelee regarded the man in front of her. His sandy brown hair and lean build were attractive but nowhere near the drop-dead sexy physique of Adam. Stark reality forced her to see what she had been afraid to admit for the last two years. They would never work. Clint had repeatedly told her he didn’t like her being in charge at the ranch. He felt it was a man’s job. He questioned her every directive, but not enough to cause problems. Clint’s comments that she was too tall, gawky and lean to be considered attractive hurt. Yet he wanted to date her. The only reason she could come up with for that attraction was the ranch. Clint seemed eager enough to elevate the relationship, but something prevented Keelee from agreeing. In the very cold light of day, his desire for her was a means to an end.

Her face flushed when she remembered how Adam had made love to her last night and told her with embarrassing detail what he loved about her body. The two men couldn’t be more different and that suited her just fine. Yeah, this conversation needed to happen, and it needed to happen now.

“Actually Clint, I’m staying up here with Dr. Cassidy. He’s due back any second. I thought you were him. But to answer your question, my ankle is pretty sore and I got a concussion when the root cellar at the homestead collapsed under me. Adam searched for me during the blizzard, found me and probably saved my life.”

“You actually needed rescuing, huh? Honestly woman, if you had any sense in your head you wouldn’t have come up here with a blizzard blowing in.” He took off his gloves and shoved them into his down-filled coat.

“Sense? Sense would have dictated you help those people you ‘claimed’ were at the homestead. I was there Clint. Nobody had been there for ages.”

“Bullshit, Keelee. I saw them, but I don’t know why you’re all the way out here. I saw them at the old homestead by
my dad’s
ranch. Not this one. Seriously, you don’t listen worth a shit sometimes.” Clint’s eyes narrowed before he asked. “Why are you staying another night? You have a snowmobile. I’m here. I can take you down to the ranch if you can’t drive.”

Keelee could feel the warmth rising in her cheeks. “We’re staying for another night because we want to, Clint. To be alone.” Her soft words caused the man to flinch as if he had been hit.

“Would you care to explain why? We’ve been dating for over a year and I get a handful of kisses? Hell, no. You’re not staying alone here with another man. Now get your shit and let’s get out of here.”

Keelee’s mouth dropped open at his audacity. “Excuse me?”

Clint closed the gap between them and pushed her slamming her back into the doorframe of the shack. He pointed toward the cabin. “Get in there, get your shit, and get your coat on. We’re leaving. Now.”

Without thinking, Keelee shoved him back. The force of her hit caught him hard on the chest. He staggered back. “You don’t have the right to tell me what to do! I am staying here with Adam and I don’t care what you think. There is no ‘we,’ Clint. There is you wanting my dad’s ranch. You think I don’t know that?”

Keelee blinked stupidly at the ground.
What the fuck just happened?
Her hands and knees were buried in the snow next to the cabin. Pain suddenly ruptured through her dazed senses.
He punched me! Oh God.
Her split lip painted crimson Rorschach blots across the pristine white of the snow. Nausea rolled as sharp cords of pain radiated through her skull. Black spots danced across the snow, mixing with the abstract spray of her blood.

Clint clutched a handful of her hair and pulled her up, pinning her to the wall of the cabin. His other hand gripped her neck. He squeezed. She gasped desperately for a full breath of air. Keelee cringed as he shoved his face in front of hers. “I should be the one you’re spreading your legs for.”

The man jerked his head towards the meadow behind him. In the distance, the growl of a snowmobile expanded in volume as it approached. Turning, he leered at Keelee. His features relaxed and he released the excruciating grip he had on her hair. His stranglehold still tight, she clawed at his hand, trying to get him to release his killing grip.

Keelee’s pulse pounded in her head and her vision started to black out. She slammed her knee up and racked the man hard in the balls. He released her and folded into himself. Able to breathe, Keelee sucked air into her starved lungs.

“You fucking bitch!” He grabbed her hair again, but she threw an elbow backward, hitting his chin. He lurched forward, pinned her against the outside wall and forced his tongue between her split and bruised lips. Keelee clamped her teeth shut. Clint reared back and growled before he backhanded her across the other cheek. Keelee felt the explosion of pain from the blow and the fall that slammed her shoulder into the doorjamb. He picked her up by her hair and threw her into the cabin. A wicked kick of his boot landed against her ribs. “You’re mine, damn it!”

Keelee desperately scrambled away from him. He grabbed her hair and jerked her to him. Off balance, they fell backward into the legs of a table. It slid toward the fireplace. The Sat-phone on top teetered, then rolled off into the coals.

Regaining his feet, he lifted her up by her hair and trapped her face. His fingers pried her jaw open. He shoved his tongue forward in a rape of her mouth before he viciously bit her split bottom lip. His fingers kept her jaw pressed open, preventing her from biting down. In desperation Keelee lifted her leg and stomped as hard as she could on the arch of his foot.

“Motherfucking son-of-a-bitch!” In his rage, he slung her down to the floor and she felt the stabbing agony of his boot connecting with her ribs. “You bitch! You and that damn doctor had better watch out. Do you hear me?”

Another wicked kick landed on her back and then the door slammed. Keelee scurried to the kitchen and grabbed a butcher knife. Her hands shook as she limped to the door and leaned against it trying to catch her breath. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. Clint’s machine fired and the snowmobile raced across the pasture. She took in the tattered seam of her shirt, blood staining the checkered pattern an ugly dark red. Lifting a hand to her face she pulled away a palm full of blood.
Great.
Pulling open the front door, she scooped a handful of snow, then limped back into the cabin.
How in the hell did this happen?

*

Adam pulled Keelee’s snowmobile into the far end of the meadow as a machine left the cabin. He headed straight for it. There had to be something wrong if Keelee was leaving without waiting for him. As the two vehicles pulled closer, Adam slowed. The man on the snowmobile veered radically and gunned it down the hill. Clint flew past him. The man’s driving was going to get him killed. The idiot was going too fast. Adam watched him for a few seconds. An eerie feeling of apprehension wrapped around him. He glanced back towards the cabin and revved the snowmobile’s motor.
Oh, fuck no!

Adam hit the throttle. The snowmobile topped out and flew across the field.
If that son-of-a-bitch touched her…
Adam’s training kicked in. No visible signs of distress to the buildings or out structures. No fire, the doors and windows appeared intact. He slid to a violent halt in front of the house, nearly sending the machine sideways into the pine fencing. He killed the engine.

“Keelee!” His shout echoed in the sudden silence. His eyes fell on the bright crimson staining the pristine white snow.

He roared, “Keelee!” He slammed against the door. It crashed open, sending splinters flying. The wood panel smashed against the interior of the cabin.

She stood at the kitchen sink with her back to him. As he stormed in, she turned a little and lifted a hand. “You’re going to fix that. I’m not good at carpentry.”

“What was he doing here?”

“Came up to bring me down to the ranch. We had
the
talk. I… ah… it didn’t go well. I shouldn’t have just come out and said it. He… he got mad.”

Adam walked up and turned her, holding her close. Slipping a hand under her hair, he lifted it to see her face and winced at the evidence of Clint’s brutality.

“What the fuck!”

“Yeah, we had a disagreement about me staying with you. Like I said, should have broken it to him differently.”

Adam glanced at the destroyed satellite phone. The putrid odor of melted plastic hung heavy in the air.

“No way in hell this is your fault. That motherfucker is dead. I’m going to kill him.”

He tilted her face up, examining it. One eye was swollen partially closed. The other had a bruise forming under it and a contusion forming on the cheekbone. Her lip was split, bleeding, and swollen. She held a melting snowball in one hand. It was tinged with blood. She had been icing the swelling. She put her hand on his wrist to stop him from examining her injuries. “Adam, I’m not asking you to go avenge my honor. Believe me, I got in a few good licks too.”

“Baby, he’s going to jail for what he’s done to you. After I examine you, I’m calling the sheriff.”

She leaned back against the wall and he saw the livid red finger marks at her throat. Pure unadulterated rage filled him. Nobody treated a woman like this.

She nodded toward the fireplace. “The phone got dumped into the fire during the fight. It’s toast. Literally. I pulled it out of the fire, but it’s dead.”

The ass-wipe was lucky. Adam would have to take care of Keelee’s injuries and couldn’t follow him down the hill. Damn coward. That vermin could run, but he couldn’t hide. He had no idea the can of shit he’d just opened. He’d find and deal with that son-of-a-bitch later. Now, Adam needed to take care of his woman.

“Where else are you hurt, baby?” He wiped a lone tear from her face as it trickled towards her split lip.

She gave a tiny shrug. “Couple kicks to the ribs and back. Been kicked harder by horses.”