Escape from the Badlands. Dana Mentink

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       A stranger who had put his life at risk for hers.

       Anger pricked her insides. Why had he bothered?

       The answer came quickly. Because he hadn’t known it was her and Charlie. As far as he knew, it was some hapless traveler, and he’d lent a hand because it was in his character to do so. She wondered if she would have the chance to thank him before they parted ways again. Permanently.

       She peered harder into the gloom, hoping he would reappear at any moment. She looked for Paddy Paws as well, and thought about the little boy waiting in the van for his cat’s safe return. How would she tell him that Paddy was gone? Just like Rose? And how would she feel if Shane didn’t come back?

       The man gave her a nervous look. “Maybe you should go wait in the van. You’re shivering.”

       She hardly heard him. A movement caught her eye at the base of the cliff some twenty feet away. “I just saw…”

       He saw it, too, and they both ran, slipping and stumbling until they reached the overhanging rock. The man let down a rope, securing the other end and using his body as an anchor to take some of the weight.

       Soon the rope grew taut as the bedraggled figure on the other end began to climb slowly to the top. Kelly found the tension in her gut ratcheting up the closer he came until Shane appeared, face contorted with effort.

       As the man heaved backward on the rope, Shane crawled over and made it to his feet. His face was torn and bleeding, but the eyes—those eyes which she knew to be a startling blue—were lively as ever. Her legs trembled.

       There was nothing in his hands. Even Shane, the unstoppable outdoorsman, hadn’t been able to save Paddy.

       She swallowed hard, her nurse’s training overriding the strange feeling of misery and relief that coursed through her. She ran to him, stopping so quickly her feet skidded on the slick ground. “Are you hurt?”

       He shook the water from his hair. “Only scratched.” She saw several sets of parallel gouges on his exposed forearms and one nasty set on his cheek.

       Her eyes widened. “Did you…?”

       He reached inside his shirt and pulled out a very wet and terrified cat. “So tell me why I nearly killed myself to save this ungrateful cat?”

       Shane watched Kelly’s face shift from unsettled to joyful in a quick second.

       Her expression made his chest tighten.

       “Paddy,” she cried, scooping the soggy cat from his arms.

       He watched her stroke the exhausted animal, grateful for the darkness that covered his rush of emotion. He’d grown used to surprises, even craved them, but this one left him reeling. Kelly Cloudman. Here. Her smile fired every nerve inside him.

       He saw from the uncertainty on her face that she was as disarmed as he was.

       “Thank you,” she said finally. “For helping me and Paddy.”

       He shrugged. “I was in the neighborhood.”

       Gleeson broke in. “Matthews, you were supposed to be standing down until the storm passed. Didn’t you hear me say Ackerman ordered us off?”

       Shane slicked his wet hair out of his face and kept his eyes on Gleeson, praying Kelly would not ask about his fictional last name. “I don’t take orders from Ackerman or anyone else.”

       Gleeson’s chin went up. “Yeah? Well, you may have just cost yourself a spot in the race.”

       Shane shrugged. “So be it.”

       “So be it?” Gleeson seemed to puff up in anger. “Listen, kid. I gave you a shot and took you on as a partner, but you still have to meet the qualifications and you definitely have to follow orders. I’m in this thing to win, and I don’t need you going cowboy and messing things up for me.”

       A woman Shane recognized as a fellow racer got out of the van and joined them in time to hear Gleeson’s outburst. “He had a good reason.”

       Gleeson wasn’t mollified. “He risked his life without a word. Didn’t even radio for help. That’s the kind of thing that will make Ackerman kick you out of the race, and I don’t have time to keep finding new partners.”

       The woman held up a placating hand. “I’ll talk to Devin. Explain things. He’s quick-tempered but he’s got a soft spot for women and cats.” She cast a curious glance at Kelly. “Devin is my fiancé so I should know. I’m Betsy Falco. I’m competing in Desert Quest.”

       Kelly offered her free hand to Betsy and Gleeson. “I’m Kelly Cloudman, and this is Paddy Paws.”

       Betsy smiled. “Pleasure. I’m racing with my cousin, Gwen. She’s back at camp because we already did the ropes prelim. I’m glad I decided to drive along and watch these guys, or I would have missed all the excitement. Are you a racer, Kelly? Can’t think of any other reason you’d be out here, especially with your son.”

       Shane flushed. The effort of his clumsy water rescue had driven thoughts of the little boy out of his head. Now he glanced toward the van at the tiny bundled figure wrapped in the too-big slicker.

       Kelly kept her eyes away from him as she answered. “He’s my nephew. We were on our way to the campground. I’m the race medic.”

       Shane almost yelped. “What?”

       Kelly finally looked at him, her face a mix of sadness and anger. “I needed a job,” she said simply. “Charlie and I wanted to be closer to my uncle Bill anyway, and his wife, Heather, and my aunt Jean said she would help take care of him during the race events. She’s joining me tomorrow. If I had known…”

       If she had known he was a race participant, she never would have come. The words cut right through him. It couldn’t be. He was here to catch a killer, and he didn’t care what he had to risk to accomplish his task. But Kelly? He looked back to the van.

       The boy’s soft round cheeks and chubby hand pressed to the window brought back memories of his little brother, and the pain almost swept him away until Gleeson smacked him on the shoulder. “You okay? You look washed up.”

       He tried for a smile. “Rough swim.”

       Kelly nodded at them and returned to the van, her slender figure hunched against the violent wind. He heard a low squeal of joy as she handed the cat back to Charlie.

       “You should get her back,” Betsy said.

       He started until he realized that she hadn’t meant the words the way he heard them. “I’ll stay with the bikes. You two drive the van to the campground and come back for me and the gear.”

       Gleeson looked at the sky. “Going to storm some more. Not much shelter here.”

       Not much shelter anywhere from the angry storm inside him. “Go on. Take care of her. I’ll be here.”

       He watched them load up into the van, Gleeson at the wheel and Betsy next to him. Kelly sat in the back now, with Charlie, СКАЧАТЬ