A Mail-Order Hope (Miners to Millionaires Book 3) Page 4

  Before he could respond, Sawyer fired a bullet into the air. “Go!”

  The starting gunshot jostled Belle out of her memories. She shook her head, forcing away heartache and loneliness brought on by talking about her parents. She missed them every day, and while they hadn’t been perfect, they’d been the best parents she could’ve asked for.

  “Let’s open it,” she exclaimed, handing the sealed clue to Asher. A split second after she’d done so, she felt like tugging it back. While she’d brought him books and left a letter in two of her baskets, she’d never actually asked him if knew how to read, and didn’t want to embarrass him.

  But apparently, that wasn’t a problem. He opened the seal and unfolded the paper.

  “Listen well, for this is all we’ll tell. To get your next clue, you’ll have to plunge deep in old Bart’s blank.”

  She leaned over and read the paper, her brows furrowing. “This is it? How hard will that be? Even I know about the wishing well.”

  “Shh.” He pressed his finger to her lips, but immediately pulled back as if scalded.

  “What?” When he cleared his throat, she began to worry. “You aren’t sick, are you?”

  He groaned softly. “No, I’m not sick. I didn’t want you calling out the answer. While this one is easy, remember what I said?”

  “The first one will be the easiest. Right. Got it.”

  As people took off through the town square, and ran down main street to get there first, Asher nudged her arm toward the trees. “In there.” At her questioning look, he explained, “I know a shortcut.”

  Well, she was all about that. She didn’t say another word as they jogged for the tree line. He led her through the brush, pulling back branches and helping her over decaying logs. When they came to a stream, she hesitated while she gauged the width and depth of the water.

  “I can’t jump over that.”

  He eyed her dress, seeing the restriction. But instead of guiding her around it, or taking a different path, he scooped her up in his arms.

  The breath whooshed from her lungs as she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. Butterflies danced in her belly and she felt weak. “What are you doing?” Was that breathy voice really hers? She gulped.

  “Seems the easiest way over. My boots can take the water.”

  Warmth seeped through her clothes on her back and behind her knees where he held her. It was intimate and a little disturbing at the same time, to feel and know that his body warmed hers. “Are you sure I’m not too heavy? I’d hate for both of us to fall in the water.”

  Laughing hazel eyes met hers, closer than any other mans had ever been. “That won’t be a problem. I almost feel like I’m carrying air.”

  Her eyes narrowed playfully. “I’ve never been accused of that before.” She wasn’t large by any means, but she knew she wasn’t the most dainty of women.

  “Honest. I could carry two of you across without worry.”

  His words made her stomach flip again. He was just stating a fact, but for some reason, her mind and body were taking it as praise, as a compliment.

  He stepped into the shallow stream and didn’t seem to have the slightest hesitation. Her body relaxed in his hold as she decided to enjoy this. Never had a man held her this way, and she doubted any would any time soon.

  For a moment, she could almost pretend that she meant something to him. The hold was intimate. She was so close to him, pressed up against him, that she could smell the woodsy scent of him—sun, man, leather, and a hint of campfire smoke. Had he slept outside last night?

  He looked down and caught her looking at him. “What is it?”

  His voice sounded a little different, a little deeper, a little huskier. Heavens. “Did you sleep outside last night?” she blurted out. Good one.

  He looked confused. “Yes,” he said slowly. “Why?”

  Her cheeks flushed. She could feel them getting hotter by the second. Why had she opened her mouth in the first place? “You, um…”

  “Yes?”

  “You smell like the outdoors, like a campfire. I just wondered.”

  “Oh.” He adjusted her, cradling her a little closer.

  And now she wanted to curl up somewhere and hide. Did she really have to ask that? She huffed, but only succeeded in drawing in more of his scent. He smelled really good. It was like a weapon.

  When they reached the other side of the bank and he set her feet back on the ground, Belle longed to crawl back in his arms but forced herself instead to take a few steps away from him.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  He nodded. “Come on. It’s not that far from here.”

  He didn’t wait for a response, and she was grateful. She didn’t need further opportunity to say, or do, something embarrassing.

  She jogged after him, but slowed as they approached the clearing, looking for any of the other hunters.

  “Looks like we’re the first ones,” he told her as they walked over to the well.

  When they arrived, she looked down the darkened hole. “Are we supposed to plunge the bucket down there?” How on earth were they going to pull out the clue?

  He smiled as if amused, then reached into the bucket for another sealed piece of paper. Many more papers remained in the bucket for the others to find.

  “Oh. Well, that was easy.”

  He held it up. “At least we got one before the rest are ruined if they don’t bother to look first.”

  Her mouth fell open. “That’s terrible.”

  He shrugged. “That’s the game. Come on, let’s move out of sight before the others get here.”

  They moved back into the shelter of the trees, far enough away no one would see them. He opened the next clue right as they heard shouts at the well.

  “Guess the others found them,” she said with a twisted smile. Her eyes returned to the letter. “What does it say?”

  “Now that you found the first, move on to the second part. Your next clue can be found on the back of the structure with darts.”

  Her nose wrinkled and she laughed. “Who wrote these clues? They’re awful.”

  He laughed then. “As I told you, this is only a fun activity. A lot of the people here aren’t that clever. Be grateful it almost rhymes.”

  She wanted to stick her tongue out at him but resisted, though just barely. “Perhaps I should volunteer to write clues for the next one. Surely I could do better.”

  “Could you?” he countered with an arched brow.

  A brow she suddenly wanted to kiss. He was teasing her. Him. Asher Walker. A man that had hidden himself up in the mountains for years. This is working! He was opening up to her. That teasing brow was just the first step.

  That teasing, kissable brow, her mind whispered, but she ignored it. At least she tried. But as she thought up a potential clue, her eyes kept being drawn back to the reddish-brown arch, and her fingers itched to trace over it.

  “You’ll need to boil it, after finding it in the toilet.”

  Her mouth fell open when she realized what she’d said, and his laughter gave away their hiding place.

  “I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have said that,” she mumbled, as mortification continued to burn through her. But he was laughing, so part of her wasn’t all that sorry.

  He finally brought his laughter under control enough to speak. “Let’s hope and pray we don’t come across that clue. If so, you’ll be the one reaching in to find our next one.”

  His response soothed her enough to laugh and she shook her head. “I don’t know where that came from.”

  “Perhaps you shouldn’t oversee the next hunt. I’d hate to hear where else you’d hide clues. Come on. The clue should be behind the saloon. I can’t think of any other place to find darts.”

  “Hopefully, people will get confused with exactly where the clue is. There’s some ambiguity there.”

  They were the first to the clue again, from what she could tell, although she could hear voices inside t
he saloon. A few of the hunters might’ve thought it was behind the dart board. “Do you see it?” she asked.

  “Not yet. Look everywhere; it must be tucked somewhere.”

  She looked behind barrels and crates, and was just about to give up when she saw a flash of white.

  “Found them!” She was excited, but she’d still managed to speak softly. She didn’t want to tell everyone where they were. She grabbed one of the clues before they quickly made their escape, hoping others wouldn’t realize where the clues were.

  She flung her back against the opposite side of a tree, giggling while she attempted to catch her breath. Asher was in the same state.

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying this,” she told him.

  Some of the amusement left his face, but she turned away, acting like nothing had changed. She scolded herself. Why had she said that? If he enjoyed it without realizing it, that was okay. She didn’t need to constantly remind him of what she was trying to accomplish. Belle turned her attention to the paper in her hand, opened the clue, and read, “The third times a charm, but you don’t want to be caught here during a gas alarm.” She lowered the paper. “Gas alarm?”

  She mulled over possibilities until Asher said, “They must mean the coal mine. Firedamp is a big problem and they’d sound an alarm.”

  “You must be right. Where is it? I didn’t even know Promise Creek mined coal.”

  “We don’t now.” He pointed toward one of the closer peaks. “This town actually started out mining coal, but once gold was found, it was given up. More people flooded the area and begun staking their own claims.”

  “Interesting.” Belle was fascinated by history. The past shaped people and places more than anything else. She had a better picture of the town and its history just by that one piece of information. “Should we walk there?”

  He shook his head. “It’ll be faster with the horses. Let’s hurry.”

  Chapter 5

  As they rode up to the coal mine, the silence in the air made him hesitate. This seemed the most logical place for the next clue to be, but it was possible he was wrong. He dismounted and turned to speak to Belle as she pulled up beside him on her own horse.

  “We should know pretty quickly if the next clue is here. The town wouldn’t want everyone wandering into the mine. In fact, it looks as though someone has barricaded the entrance so that no one does enter it.”

  He reached up to her, placing his hands on her tiny waist before she leaned toward him. He brought her down off the horse, amazed at how small she was. She seemed so strong and determined, but as he spanned her waist with his hands, he realized how delicate she truly was. He hadn’t noticed that as he’d carried her across the stream earlier. Anything could happen to her out here in the wilderness.

  The icy fear that had licked at his heels all those years ago with Lily came back, and as soon as her feet touched the ground, he released her and stepped away.

  “Are you all right?” Belle asked.

  He hadn’t been rough, but something must’ve tipped her off. “I’m fine.”

  He started toward the entrance, but didn’t hear her follow him. After a few more feet, he stopped and turned to her, and found that her hands were back on her hips—her curvy, lush hips.

  He swore.

  He’d know this was going to be a problem. She was gorgeous, especially out here in the open, with the sun shining warmly on her back, teasing the honeyed highlights within her light brown hair. Her eyes sparkled as much as the grass in his meadow did from the morning dew; and her lips were richer, warmer than the wildest sun-ripened berries in the summer.

  She did something to him, made him want things he couldn’t have since the loss of Lily.

  When his fiancée had been kidnapped, he’d searched for her, but he hadn’t been fast enough or skilled enough to track her in time. She’d been left tied to a tree, and had no defense when a bear had come upon her.

  The men who’d taken her had effectively killed her as well as if they’d taken a knife and done it themselves.

  Lily had been sweet and kind. They hadn’t loved each other, but he’d cared for her. Even more, he’d felt responsible for her. It was his job to keep her safe, to protect her. Abandoned by her good for nothing father, she’d been at the mercy of any drifter who’d taken a fancy to her, and he’d promised to protect her, to marry her.

  He hadn’t even been able to do that.

  And now, here was Belle. Even more tempting, becoming, and lovely, and she was making him question his resolve to stay away from others. He didn’t deserve to be around people. He wasn’t even capable of taking care of one person.

  “I know you’re lying. Why can’t you tell me? Did I do something?” Belle asked, drawing his attention.

  She hadn’t moved from her warrior stance. She fought for what she believed, fought and never gave up.

  “Look”—he ran his hand through his hair—“I’m fine. I just remembered something that wasn’t pleasant, and I’d rather not think of it ever again. Let’s just go to the mine, check it out, get the next clue if it’s here, and move on.” He turned his back to her and took two steps toward the entrance.

  “Asher…”

  Her soft words spoken with understanding, contrition, and softness, cracked something inside him. He turned toward her, but didn’t speak.

  She took a tentative step forward, then two more before walking up to him. “I know that your past isn’t pretty. No one’s is. There are things you’d rather forget, and I understand that.” She puffed out a breath. “I definitely understand that. There’s plenty I’d rather forget.”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  The muscles in his jaw clenched. It was time to change tactics.

  “All right. We don’t need to talk about it. But let me just say one more thing...I doubt your fiancée would’ve wanted this life for you. I doubt anyone would wish this existence on someone they cared for. Would it be so terrible to find what little joy there is in this activity? Is it so wrong to feel something other than misery and loneliness?”

  He didn’t speak, and she wondered if she’d gone too far. Maybe she should apologize—

  “You’re right,” he finally said. “Lily wouldn’t have wanted me to live like this. But she’s dead and doesn’t have a say. It’s better for everyone that I live in the mountains.”

  When she was about to contradict him, he shook his head. “Death follows me, Belle. Those around me die. I can’t protect people, and it seems the harder I try, the more they’re in jeopardy.”

  “I don’t believe that.”

  When he turned to leave again, she grabbed his arm, pulling him back to face her.

  “You don’t want to push me right now,” he warned her.

  She stepped forward so that they were toe-to-toe. “Oh, I don’t? Well, I guess I’m going to do it anyway. You lose nothing by enjoying the time we have together. It’s your choice how you feel, but you’ve already promised to do the three things I asked of you. Deal with it.”

  Deal with it.

  Her words burned through his mind like a forest fire, setting off explosives he hadn’t even known existed until that moment.

  He gripped her upper arms, pulling her flush against him. Her eyes widened at the move, and the inner animal that lurked close beneath the surface within him relished her surprise.

  “You want me to enjoy myself? To deal with it?” When she remained silent, some of the heat faded and he eased her away. “That’s what I thought.”

  Before he could fully release her, she latched onto his shoulders, pulling herself back against him, before fusing her lips to his.

  He froze, unable to process what was happening; but before he could react, she pulled away, frustration coloring her cheeks.

  “Yes. I want you to deal with it. I want you to get mad. I want you to push past the numbness inside. I know what that feels like. I know what it feels like to be alone, to not have anyone, to think that you don
’t deserve anything. But you’re wrong. You have your whole life ahead of you, and if I have to hit you over the head with a branch—”

  Blood pumping hard, he kissed her quickly, sealing away the rest of her threat. He wanted this—her—for just a moment. He wanted to know just a glimmer of what it would be like to have her in his arms, wanting him as much as he wanted her.

  Like a switch was flipped, she clung to him again, kissing him with a frenzy which echoed deep inside him. She opened her mouth, kissing him as fiercely as he needed, as they both needed.

  One of Asher’s hands gripped the back of her dress, pressing her tight against him, while the other moved up, clutching the hair at the base of her head.

  They both moaned at the contact, at the purely dominating hold, and he lost his mind. He fitted her tighter, closer, as her hands gripped his shoulders and back, before sliding into his hair.

  It was raw, carnal, and honest. And it undid him.

  Wanting to pull her down to the ground, settle on top of her and kiss her until neither remembered their past, he began to look around them for a place to lay her. But once he used that one sense, his other senses started up again—in time to hear others approaching.

  Cursing himself, he pulled away from her lips and practically carried her further into the trees. The newcomers would know others were there from their horses’ presence, but Asher wasn’t worried about that.

  Her chest heaved as Belle dragged in gulps of air, and Asher’s eyes were drawn to the movement, his body clenching with each rise and fall against her corset. Tearing his gaze up to her eyes, the sight was even more devastating: her green eyes glazed over with passion, rosy, kiss-swollen lips that begged for more, cream skin tinged with a red tint...it was a sight that would bring any man to his knees.

  What had he been thinking? The minute her lips touched his, he hadn’t been thinking, he admitted. It was like his brain had decided to stop working. To just do, and he did. And heaven help him, he wanted to do it again. And again. And again.