A Promise Worth Remembering (Promises Collection) (3 page)

She used a modified backstroke, inhaled fresh air, and battled the river with one thought on her mind—call Dr. James. But could the large exotic animal veterinarian reach her preserve in less than an hour when her vetting needs were usually scheduled well in advance?

Unwilling to give up hope, she gripped Copper tighter, but the current tugged her like a tether and pulled her toward the space to the right of the rocks where the river plummeted to the falls. Her muscles burned with the strain.

A tan shape darted across her vision.

A deer?

She kicked harder, faster, using her other hand as a rudder to guide them both away from that pull, the Pierce’s side, and toward a large gray mass up ahead.

But the current pushed against her back. Pushed her like the relentless hunters. Pushed her like Old Man Pierce. Each focused on taking instead of cultivating life.

An ankle knocked into a slick boulder and sent her twirling through the water, but she didn’t let go of Copper. She surfaced and gasped for breath. She hugged Copper’s stillness and swallowed past the unbearable threat of losing him.

The slab approached.

And slipped past.

Lactic acid build-up became an inferno within her thighs and shoulders. Finally, she grasped another rock’s rough surface. With her free hand, she hauled Copper alongside her body to rest on the dried algae wedge just in time to hear tires grinding over the graveled levee road.

Raymond…

Copper lay flat and she used the bottom of her t-shirt to press against his wound to stop the bleeding. She hadn’t abandoned the big cat like her mother had her. Like Jesse and her uncle had in death.

Like Tucker…

Inhaling, more like hyperventilating, kept her from crying. And from rejoicing. Once she guaranteed Copper’s return to the preserve and saw him vetted, she’d celebrate. However, with her flattened against the boulder, with Copper nearly drowned, with her throat thickened by what felt like a jagged boulder, she didn’t feel like celebrating.

Adding to her pain, Copper stared into the Pierce’s land like he’d tasted the mountain that had destroyed two families and wanted more. And finally, the fact Tucker had returned threatened to unleash a decade worth of tears.

His gangly adolescence had transformed into brute strength and a man closer to two-hundred-and twenty pounds. Though she couldn’t be sure, because of the river between them, he seemed to have added several inches to his six-foot height. A dark shadow settled above his lip and jaw line.

At the thought of caressing his prickly face, thick arms, and blocky chest, she nibbled her lip. He’d changed so much.

Dogs bayed in the distance and tugged her from an imaginary reunion with the man she’d once loved. But at least the dogs sounded stationary.

Copper’s eyes widened and his pricked ears twisted to the sound, but he barely stirred.

She glanced at the crimson blotch staining her shirt and allowed the first tear to ease out, but clenched back the rest. She vowed to make the sanctuary more enticing to the cats than even the luring mountain. She’d plant more bamboo, add current jets to the pool, and hire a night security guard to scout the perimeter. She’d protect her precious tigers when no one else had. An elbow braced on the rock and she pushed upright, ignoring the simmering pain in her ankle while examining Copper’s wound. “I won’t let go, Copper.”

A red streak that trickled from a deep gouge and darkened his soggy coat had slowed. Water leaked from his mouth on each exhale, but he dragged his prickly tongue over her arm several times, then nestled his head in her lap like old times. He nudged her arm with his soppy head in a stroke-me-more gesture.

With her fingers, she combed the wide space between his ears, committing to memory the velvet fleece and downy undercoat. She wished she could hold on to him forever. Watch him thrive on the mountain where he belonged.

But that dream of her uncle’s, and hers, would never come true while the Yants battled the Pierces.

And Tucker? Would he return? Had he tried to help Copper instead of hurt him? As much as she wanted to hate Tucker for his father’s wrongdoings, she couldn’t. At least, he’d warned her of Copper’s escape. And he seemed to have lured away and secured the dogs. She had been wrong to judge him so harshly, not about leaving her, but about helping Copper. “Hang on, boy. Help’s on its way.”

Copper let out a gentle yowl.

“Still a sweet talker, too,” she crooned.

“On occasion.”

At Tucker’s voice behind her, she stiffened and sat taller. Copper’s pupils transformed from yellow marbles to onyx orbs.

She wiped her eyes and twisted to face Tucker while keeping a hand on Copper’s nape, though she doubted she could stop him from attacking if he tried. “Careful…”

Tucker, drenched to his waist and arms folded over his heaving chest, leaned against the
Trespassers Shot on Sight
sign that punctured the riverbank not ten feet away. “Bailey, I don’t know whether to chalk up your move to bravery or stupidity. But I’ll say this, your swimming technique has improved.”

Her jaw dropped. She hadn’t passed a deer—that flash of beige had been Tucker. Trying to save Copper…or her?

In a fluid movement, she pushed to her feet and Copper followed. Wincing at the twinge in her ankle, she balanced on the uneven surface and gripped Copper against her thigh to keep him from falling. She’d heeded Tucker’s advice about taking swimming lessons, but never had the chance to tell him she’d excelled on the swim team like he had. “I know good advice when I hear it. Thanks…for helping.”

His stare dropped to her bloodied shirt and he stepped forward. His cowboy boots licked the foamy sand where the water met the shore. “You’re hurt.”

She glanced at Copper and stroked his head. “No. But he is. I’ve stopped the bleeding for now, but I need to get him back to the ranch and vetted.”

“Is the cut deep?”

“Deep enough that I don’t want to wait for my ranch hand to find us.”

She scanned the area. They’d traveled further downstream, past the eddies, and had landed short of the falls. Sure, Raymond would find her eventually, but she couldn’t call and tell him where she’d ended up with her phone that was half a mile upstream and on the opposite side of the river. The current must have twisted her around. “You have a cell phone?”

He brushed back his shirttail and patted his wet front pants pocket, where a square bulge protruded. “Did.”

Without infringing on Pierce land and invoking the restraining order, she tried to figure out which stone to hop to next. She had to close the distance to Crooked Bridge where Raymond could spot her from the
Rock
. The only way, however, was by way of Tucker. “I need to get to Crooked Bridge. To do that, I need to cross onto your property and use the levee road. But I can’t because your father has filed a restraining order against me.”

“I want to talk to you about that—”

“Really?” She raised her brows and bit back a snort. “You came here to discuss our families’ legal issues?”

“No. I’m here to make sure you’re safe and to tell you my father wants a truce. And to apologize.”

She jammed her free hand on her hip. “Your father what? You expect me to believe he wants to apologize after all the trouble he’s caused me? Besides, if he wants to apologize, he can tell me to my face. In court.”

“I’m asking, too,” he paused. “So we can work things out.”

Sounded like Tucker wanted a truce between her and him instead of her and his father. Something she’d only dreamed about. But in reality? Working together sent a tremor of apprehension straight down her spine. “Why would we need to work together?”

“See…I’m the new land owner.”

She froze as his words leached into her mind. He wasn’t passing through— “But your father’s still alive. And active.”

“And he hates his life, the choices he’s made, and how he’d treated me in the past. I told him I’d never have a relationship with him unless he showed a willingness to change. He tore up the restraining order. He wants peace once and for all between the Pierces and Yants. And not only has he closed the hunting range, but he’s encouraged me to work out something with you to extend the tiger preserve.”

At that moment, Copper lay down and chuffed.

She narrowed her eyes and chewed the inside of her lip. Copper’s wound wasn’t as bad as she first thought. But even though she wanted to, she didn’t trust Tucker. He’d betrayed her once. Her mind wouldn’t let her forget the past. “Tucker, can’t you see your father is using you to get to me? Or has that been your intention all along? Another Pierce generation targeting the Yant’s land for the gold?”

“Of course not. Everything I told you is the truth.” He shook his head and the gun strap slipped off his shoulder. “I have some explaining to do…but I’m not like my father.”

Her glare locked on the gun and she resisted rolling her eyes. In the past, she’d seen Old Man Pierce with his Jeep racked with artillery or a lifeless buck strapped to the rear. Tools of his trade.

Only why did the blue in Tucker’s eyes lighten as his pupils dilated? Why did the tip of his tongue caress his bottom lip and pull to the ground another panel that surrounded her heart?

Wet t-shirt and a shallow mind. Biology, pure and simple
.

But even as she thought the words, he inched closer. His gaze softened and pushed her to believe…a whisper of a chance…he still might want
her
. His ring finger hadn’t the slightest tan line, but could he still be single? As lonely as she?

Vulnerable?

Copper stood and yawned.

Why hadn’t
he
registered Tucker’s agitation or fear for a hundred-and-fifty-pound Bengal? Unless Tucker told the truth. He’d come to her aid when she needed help. He’d placed his life in the river’s grasp, the same way he’d dove into the water that day on
Kissing Rock
—the day she’d nearly drown.

He’s not his father
.

Could she put the past on hold, at least for an hour? A day?

“Let me help you.”

She gazed into the five-foot spread between the rock she’d landed on and Tucker’s side of the Cosumnes. With her injured ankle, she couldn’t jump, but she could wade. Hopefully, Copper would follow. “I’m doing fine.”

“Fine,” he mocked. “That was your go-to answer the last time we spoke.
Ten years ago.
When I tried to explain why I’d gone missing, you hung up—”

Her insides quivered along with her voice. “What did you expect me to do? Be all lovey-dovey. Go back to the way things were between us?”

Forget.

“I understand that I hurt you.”

She glanced at Copper who attempted to lick his would, but couldn’t quite reach the top of his shoulder. Tucker hurt her so much more than a superficial wound. Sure, he’d attempted to make contact, but too much time had passed. “Tell me the truth. Just once. Did you coax him”—she pointed at Copper—“with bait?”

Did you charm him with sweet words and a gentle touch? With promises of a happy ending? And a kiss that had turned her knees to puddles? She shook off those thoughts.

“No. Why would you think that?”

“It’s something your father has done in the past. There are boot prints on the riverside of the sanctuary. Men’s boots. I’d guess size eleven. Your size.”

He pinched his eyes and his full lips went flat. “I’m
not
my father.”

His dark voice, the way he spat his declaration, rippled a tremor of pain through her. She hadn’t meant to hurt him with words. Until now, she’d never realized she might have by not listening to his explanation. When he’d needed her, when he’d called, had she pushed him away? “No. You’re not your father. But why care now?”

“I’ve always—Listen, let’s get you both down.” He waved a beckoning hand. “Then we’ll walk and talk. The cat needs stitches.”

Copper flicked his tail, but the movement was like a tired whip laden in oil.

She used the cat’s tail to gauge his minuscule agitation, but still she cautioned Tucker. “Copper doesn’t trust you.”

“Are you sure it’s him that has the trust issue?” Tucker pushed his rifle behind him, so only the strap that flanked his shoulder showed. “Do I seem threatening?”

He presented himself with open arms, as if his wet clothes saran-wrapped to places she dared peek explained everything. “Were you going to shoot him?”

He squinted. “No. I tried to save him. Besides, Copper barely flinched when I walked up.” His narrowed gaze slipped into a smile. “I have an uncanny way with wild things. So, let me help him.”

She huffed at the word he’d used.
Him
. He hadn’t said
her
. Deep down, she’d wanted him to say
her
. For a moment, her mind drifted… Could she tear through her ribcage, past the bone and flesh and soft tissue, to reveal the jagged scars that laced
her
heart? The ones he’d branded there by his absence and would explain her trepidation?

He held out his hand and entered the water that reached his thighs. “The cat will follow you. Give me your hand, Bailey.”