Chapter 4
Four
He’d steered to the back of the house next to the gate and come out to investigate why Timber was barking.
Then found a strange woman with a gun, looking like she might shoot Timber.
Nobody messed with his dog. A stranger on his property aiming a weapon appeared to be a threat to him, and so he’d lifted his own gun, but he holstered it now.
Sarah had cleaned up, and he almost hadn’t recognized her. Relief rushed through him.
“Come here, boy,” Ryder said.
Timber whimpered and growled but obeyed. Ryder kneeled to pet the beast, and Timber calmed. “What got him so upset?”
“Whoever Timber was barking at disappeared into the woods.”
He hadn’t seen anyone, but he’d been focused on Sarah. Ryder stood and stared into the darkening forest. That couldn’t be good. “Well, they’re gone now. Timber scared them off. That’s what guard dogs are for. He was doing his job.”
Still, he’d like to know who had been back there and if that was something to be concerned about. A cool breeze swept over him and rustled the trees. Where someone could still be lurking and watching. “Let’s get inside.”
He’d investigate later.
Sarah didn’t move. “You laughed when I said your mother forced me to stay. Is this a regular thing with her?”
“No, not regular. But it’s something she would do.”
Sarah picked up her handgun—a compact Sig—and stuck it in her ankle holster. Her weapon readiness made him curious. Was she former law enforcement? Military? Federal agent? Or just someone who knew how to protect herself?
“Please don’t feel like you have to stay,” he said.
“Oh, I’m staying,” she said. “Your mother insisted, and I’m scared to find out what happens if I don’t. Besides, I’m depending on her to give me a ride home.”
Right. His mother knew full well that Ryder would be the one to take Sarah back to wherever she was staying. Something about this woman had intrigued his matchmaking mother enough to invite her over. “How did you meet her anyway?”
His mother flipped on the back porch lights and stepped outside before Sarah could answer. “Y’all coming or what? The pies are getting cold.”
“We’ll be right there.” He picked up the pace, as did Sarah. This was some kind of weird. Save a woman from a mudslide and his mother invites her to dinner. What was going on?
Mom had set the table and there wasn’t anything left to do. She’d put a beautiful bouquet in the center—fancier than usual—which he figured was for their guest. He and Sarah sat across from each other, and his mother sat at the end of the table.
Ryder said grace over the food. Mom poured everyone iced tea.
“I have to ask . . . are you from Texas?” Sarah smiled at his mother.
“Why, yes. Let me guess. My accent gave me away.”
Ryder enjoyed the pot pie and let Mom explain how the Goodwin family—three generations ago—ended up in Mercy Ridge, Washington, from Midland, Texas.
His mother, however, grew up in Texas, where she met his father, who’d been stationed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.
He married Mom and then settled back in the Cascades.
Ryder took a sip of his iced tea and studied Sarah, then when she glanced his way and caught him staring, he dug deeper into his pie.
“How did you two meet?” he asked, since Sarah hadn’t had a chance to answer him before.
“She came by Adventures just as I was locking up. She wanted to thank you,” Mom said. “I persuaded her to join us for dinner. She put up a fight, but who can resist my chicken pot pies?”
Dinah Goodwin always got her way. “No one can resist you, Mom, but Sarah has that frozen-by-the-bright-lights look on her face.”
“Me?” Sarah gave a small wave. “I’m fine. This is fine.”
I don’t believe you. “I never got your last name.”
Sarah had taken a bite and almost choked. Swallowed some tea. “Ellison. Sarah Ellison.”
Mom asked personal questions, which Sarah eluded like an expert, redirecting everything back to Mom and her diner in town and—oh, yeah—the horses.
Sarah’s expertise in fielding questions made her all the more intriguing and a little suspicious too.
For now, he would avoid asking point-blank about her background.
Finally, Mom said, “So, what’s this about you saving Sarah?”
Funny that hadn’t been Mom’s first question at dinner. His phone dinged, and he glanced at it.
“Ryder, you know I don’t like cells at the supper table,” Mom said.
“I’m sorry, ladies. I have to take this. I’ll be back to clean up the dishes, Mom. Sarah, you need a ride to wherever you’re staying. Give me a few minutes and I’ll take you.”
Ryder stepped outside to take the call from Harlan Bishop.
He was an old, grizzled vet who cared for Mom’s horses.
They never had time to ride them anymore, and he wasn’t sure why they kept them, except Dad had loved his horses.
Dad was gone, and Mom couldn’t bring herself to let the horses go.
Ryder appreciated having Harlan around to watch out for both the horses and Mom.
He wouldn’t be calling without good reason.
“Hey, Harlan, what’s up?” Ryder answered.
“I don’t know if it’s anything to worry about. Someone was in the woods on your property earlier today. Timber alerted me. I took a horse out—I needed to exercise Daisy anyway. I think I chased the intruder away.”
And apparently, they’d come back.
Harlan continued. “I thought you’d want to know. I didn’t want to worry Dinah.”
“Thanks for the heads-up.”
“You bet.” Harlan ended the call.
Timber nuzzled up to Ryder, and he ran his hand over the dog’s ears. “Good work, boy. You’d better stay here with Mom tonight.”
For the first time, guilt crept in that he hadn’t taken up his mother’s offer to just move in and live in this big old house with her after Dad died. But he had his own place with a great view. He headed back into the kitchen to find Mom and Sarah finishing up the few dishes.
Mom glanced his way, a concerned look in her eyes. “Everything okay?”
“Harlan says someone was out there earlier today.” He glanced at Sarah. “Apparently, Timber was barking at them again tonight.”
Mom turned to face him. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve got your father’s shotgun. And if you’ll leave Timber, he’ll chase them away or at least warn me. But what do you think is going on?”
“I’m not sure.” Maybe he should stay here until they figured it out. “But I need to get Sarah back.” He directed his next words to Sarah. “You ready?”
She dried her hands on a towel. “If your mom doesn’t need me anymore, yes.”
“You go on,” Mom said. “You two have fun.” As if it was some kind of date. “It was lovely meeting you, Sarah. I hope you’ll come back soon.”
“Sure,” Sarah said.
That seemed to be her word. He didn’t know what she was up to—or maybe he did—but he didn’t believe in coincidence, and this all seemed too strange. Something was off with her. Not science. His gut again.
Ryder led her outside and opened the door so she could climb into his Chevy Silverado Z71.
“What’s the winch for?” she asked.
“You’re not a country girl, are you?” He didn’t wait for her answer and jogged around to get in on his side.
Once they were in his vehicle, he started it and let the engine rumble. Then turned to face her.
“Seriously, what’s that thing for?” she asked.
He arched a brow. “Tell me you’ve never been stuck in the mud without telling me.”
“Funny. If you recall, I wasn’t exactly stuck in the mud.”
“True enough. I shouldn’t have made a joke about it.
As for why I have the winch, I take the truck to secluded places.
Out here, it’s either the winch or call someone if I get stuck.
” He shrugged and offered a tenuous smile to soften his next words.
“I answered your question. You answer mine. What are you really doing here?”
His mother could be ridiculously persuasive, and he wouldn’t fault Sarah for being unable to resist. But he suspected she had an ulterior motive. He could have it all wrong, but he wasn’t one to play games.
“Well, that’s a little rude, don’t you think?” she asked. “Do you have any idea how your mother kind of pushes her will on people?”
“Do I ever. But there’s more to the story where you’re concerned, Sarah Ellison. So don’t waste your time or mine.” You want something. What is it?
“You get right to the point, don’t you?”
He’d better drive her home before his mother got any ideas. She was trying to fix him up with Sarah. It wouldn’t be the first time matchmaking Dinah Goodwin interfered in his personal life.
“Where are you staying?” he asked.
“Oh, uh, you can just drop me off downtown. I want to grab something I can eat for breakfast at that small grocery store.”
“Sure.” He glanced her way. Had she noticed he used her favorite word?
He steered out of the neighborhood, hoping she’d want to fill the silence and give him information.
“Look, I need your help. I came to Mercy Ridge to hire an experienced mountain wilderness guide.”
“This time of year, it’s not a proverbial stroll through the park. The weather is changing, and in the higher elevations it’ll be snowing soon if it’s not already.” He was already trying to talk a client out of it before he’d even gotten the full story.
“Isn’t guiding hikers your business?”
“Good Adventures offers guided hikes in the summer. Kayaking. River rapids. That kind of thing.”
“Come on. You do more than that. You offer wilderness survival training.”
“For a specific clientele during a certain time of year.”
“What does it matter the clientele if a person is willing to pay?”
“That season has closed.”
“Look, I want to hire you to guide me.”
“I’m personally not guiding people, but we have several other guides. You can stop in tomorrow during business hours and get signed up. I’m surprised you didn’t do that when you were there today.”
“I wanted to talk to you, to hire you specifically. You weren’t in, and then some guy named Dean, your competition, showed up, and so I decided to leave and come back later. Then your mom coerced me to dinner.”
“Again, we have other guides.”