EDGE (44 page)

“Huh?”

“My journal. You took it, along with my film, remember?” His brows arched. “Where is it?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she scoffed.

“No. I want it. Now.”

Looked as though all pretenses were finally over. He sat there on the edge of his seat. His body tight like a fishing line with a salmon snagged on the other end. He seemed finished with playing the lover. She now faced the cold-hearted reporter.

She threw her hands up in the air. “Fine.” If that is what it took to get him off The Edge. So be it. She thought back to when she’d last seen his journal. “It’s in my bedroom, in my backpack.”

Cache immediately stood and left the room.

Could she call them or what? Why did he have to be like all the others? A little part had hoped, dreamed, he was different. That what he’d said was true. That he did love her. It was suddenly hard to catch her breath.

Cache reappeared in front of her and thrust his journal in her face. “Here.”

She looked at him with a blank stare for she hadn’t thought she’d see him again until his bags were packed and he was ready to leave.

“Take it.” He thrust the journal at her again. When she didn’t take it, he dropped it in her lap. “Read it. Cover to cover and then tell me what I feel. You want words?” He tapped the journal. “Those come from my soul and were never meant for anyone else to read, but me.”

“Cache—”

He turned on his heel and slammed the door that led out to the deck. She watched him through the glass until he disappeared down the steps to the beach, his back stiff, his uneven stride fast and choppy.

She looked at the journal. What if he really loved her?

C
HAPTER
T
HIRTY

“Get away from me, old man.” Linnet backed away from Ramsey, and those beguiling lips of his, and ran up short against the kitchen sink. The man had been shadowing her since he’d shown up.

“Now, Linnie, I just wanted to bring you this little gift I picked up in Anchorage.” A jeweler’s box appeared from the pocket of Ramsey’s jacket.

Oh, no. Not a ring.

“I don’t want to see it.” She put her hand out in front of her as if that would stop him. “Take it back.” Of course, her words didn’t do anything. The man was as stubborn as a wolverine.

“Just take a look-see and then if you don’t want it, I’ll take it back.”

“No, I don’t even want to see it.” She was a sucker for things that sparkled.

Ramsey flipped open the velvet top, and instead of a ring, a jeweled pin made of rubies and emeralds in the shape of a mosquito, winked at her.

Damn the man. How was she supposed to let him return this?

“Come on.” He pushed the jewelry box her way. “Try it on. See how you like it.” A knowing smile lifted the corner of his mouth.

If she tried it on, she was keeping it. Oh, who was she fooling? It was already hers. Her hand reached out of its own accord. The box nestled softly in her palm.

“Here let me help.” Ramsey took the mosquito out of the box and moved to pin it on her.

Okay, so she was keeping the pin. That didn’t mean she had to take Ramsey with it.

She took the mosquito from his fingers. “I’ll do it.” She made quick work pinning it on her blouse. It was perfect. She flicked a glance at Ramsey and then bristled at his clever grin. He leaned in closer, and her chest rose with a heavy breath.

“You know, Linnie.” His voice dropped and the huskiness of it rubbed at her nerve endings like well-washed wool. “We’d be mighty good for each other.”

“No, we wouldn’t.” She shoved the empty jeweler’s box at him. He smoothly captured her hand in his as he took the box from her, stowing it back in his pocket. “All we do is fight.”

“I know.” His eyes twinkled, and his brows did a dance, as he brought her fingers to his lips. “Think of the passion.”

Her breath caught. She didn’t want to think about that. Or did she? He did look terribly tempting all cleaned up.

“I know that spark in your eye. You’re a wonderin’ just how I’ll be in the sack.”

“I was not.” She had to put a stop to this or they’d be hitting the sheets for some fast and furious loving. She swallowed a groan. Her favorite kind.

“Lie to yourself if you want, woman, but just so you know. I’ll be the best you’ve ever had,” he whispered the last words. His breath brushed against her face in a tease.

Hot flash. She needed to fan herself. Melt ice over her skin. Something, before she went up in flames.

The best she’d ever had?

She’d had pretty good. It was almost worth it to sleep with him for the comparison. “You were Jake’s best friend, how could you be thinking of sleeping with his wife?”

“Widow,” Ramsey was quick to correct. “I haven’t called Jake ‘friend’ in seven years.”

“Why is that? I know you know more about his disappearance than you’ve let on.”

His eyes shuttered, and she could feel him retreating even though he hadn’t moved. “That’s my business.”

She yanked her hand from his. “Jake was my husband.”

“He was no husband to you. A man does not treat a wife the way he treated you.”

Linnet felt the flush of her shame stain her cheeks. Ramsey had witnessed too much of what had gone on between her and Jake.

He cupped his palm over her shoulder, the weight of it tipping her a bit. “You don’t need to be worryin’ about the man ever again.” His tone was serious, almost brittle, like ice during breakup.

She jerked her shoulder and his hand fell away. “I haven’t worried about him in years. I’m not going to start now.”

He gave her an approving nod. “That’s my girl.”

She drilled her finger into his chest. “I’m not
your
girl.”

He didn’t budge. “You will be.”

“Why you arrogant son of—”

“Now, don’t be saying stuff you’re gonna be regrettin’.”

Hot flash or not, Linnet’s blood began to percolate. “I’ll show you regret.” She picked up the frying pan lying in the dish drainer and swung.

Ramsey ducked. Who would have guessed the man was so spry?

He backed out of her reached and laughed. “You swing like a girl, but don’t be worryin’ about it. I like that about you.”

She lifted the pan again.

“Now, Linnie, you hit me with that, I’ll have to retaliate.”

The pan faltered in her hands.

“Damn it, don’t be lookin’ at me like that. I’m not Jake.” He stepped closer, wrestled the pan from her grasp, and dropped it on the counter. “My idea of retaliation would be in the form of heavy lovin’ in the bedroom. Take that mad of yours and put it to use doing somethin’ we’d both get a bang out of.”

“What is it with you? I’ve known you for…hell, I don’t know how long, and you’ve never let on you had any feelings for me.”

“How could I, when you were with Jake?”

“Jake’s been gone for seven years!”

“Yeah, and in the last seven years you’ve been trying to get him out of your system with every man around. That is, every man around but the one who could actually make you forget.”

She didn’t have a comeback for that. As much as it galled her, he was right. Not that she’d let him know that little tidbit. Instead, she changed the subject. She’d put him on the spot and maybe, in the process, finally get the truth out of him. “What really happened that day Jake went missing?”

Now, he backed up. “Linnie, we’ve been over this.”

It was her turn to advance. “Yes, we have. I’ve yet to hear the truth out of you.”

“How about we go and watch a movie with Mel? I bet she’s in need of some company.” Ramsey swiveled on his feet and hightailed it out of the room.

Linnet marched after him. If he thought she wouldn’t demand information with Mel as a witness, he was sadly mistaken. He was already at the bookcase where they kept the DVDs when she entered the great room. Linnet stole a glance at Mel who was reading a plain bound book, and didn’t seem to have a clue they’d entered the room.

“All right, old man. We’re having this out right now.”

Ramsey held up a DVD of John Wayne’s,
McClintock.
“Let’s start this up. Wanna pop some corn?”

“No, I don’t.” She took the movie from him and shelved it. “I want answers.”

Ramsey indicated Mel, who had raised her head and studied them as though grateful for the interruption. “Not in front of Mel.”

“She’s family and I have no secrets.”

His dark, bushy brows lowered over his eyes. “There are secrets and then there are
secrets
.”

“I was Jake’s wife. I deserve to know what happened.”

Ramsey rubbed a hand over his hair and studied his boots.

“He’s dead, isn’t he,” Linnet said. On some level, she’d known something real bad had happened to him. Had always known Jake wasn’t coming back. After dealing with the guilt of the relief she’d felt, Linnet had gotten over it.

Ramsey raised his head. “Yeah, baby. He’s dead.”

“Did you kill him?”

“No, I didn’t kill him.” He met her eyes, his as steady as glacier ice. “I didn’t save him either.”

Huh?
“Want to explain that?”

“No.” His voice sharpened. “I didn’t want to talk about any of this to begin with, woman.”

She planted fisted hands on her hips.

He huffed out a deep breath as though resigned to the fact she wasn’t going to let it drop. Smart man. “He fell through a fissure on the glacier we’d been hiking. There was no point in going after him. The fall would have killed him.”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?”

“And have the authorities snooping all over The Edge? Looking at you? Looking at me? Wondering if I had murdered him? Believe me, I’d thought of killing him. I had motive and opportunity.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell
me
.”

“You were after the life insurance. Given the chance, you would’ve sold me down the river to get your hands on that money as fast as you could.”

Damn, the old coot was right. She would have thrown him a paddle though. Still didn’t excuse what Ramsey had done and what he’d put her through the last seven years. All the wondering. The not knowing. The struggle of not having a dime.

She slapped him on the upper arm. “I could have been a rich woman all this time.”

“So. You’re a rich woman now.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. Was that why he was chasing her skirts? Was he after her money?

“Get that look off your face. I have my own money.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, right. You’re loaded, aren’t you?” Her sarcasm dripped like sticky honey.

Ramsey glanced at Mel, who by this time was avidly watching them, and then lowered his voice. “I don’t like it to get around, but yeah. I’m pretty well-to-do.”

Was he pulling her leg? She looked him over. No twinkle in the eye, no shifting of the feet. “How?”

He looked sheepish. “I created a series of highly successful computer games back in the 90s.”

“Computer games?” Ramsey, the picture of an Alaskan sourdough, was a computer programmer? Did she know this man at all? She went off and hit him again. “Why didn’t you say something?”

He rubbed his arm and tried for an injured look. “I didn’t want you wantin’ me for my money. I want you wantin’ me for my body.”

“You lying son of a bitch. All this time, you’ve known about Jake and left me wondering.” Plus, knowing the man was fish-stinking rich wasn’t sitting well either. “I want you outta here.”

“Now, Linnie—”

“Don’t you, ‘now, Linnie’ me. All this time you’ve kept the truth from me and now that Jake’s legally dead, you think you can waltz in here and take his place? You gotta another thing coming, buddy.”

“Simmer down. You’re getting worked up.”

“You bet your ass I’m worked up. In fact, I’m so worked up, it’d be a good idea for you to make tracks.”

“I’m not leaving unless you’re willing to go with me.”

“It’ll be a cold day in hell before that happens.”

“Winter’s comin’ sweetheart, and it’s been hell being near you and not having you.”

“Out!” Linnet pointed to the French doors.

Ramsey backed up a step as though a little worried, and damn well he should be. “All right, baby. We’ll talk once you’ve thawed a bit.”

“
Thawed a bit
?” Hot flash or not, she was going to blow, and Ramsey was getting the fallout. She lowered her eyes until she only saw him in her cross-hairs.

He must have realized he’d pushed her far enough for he stumbled over himself to get to the door. Once there, he turned and said, “Love you, baby.”

That was it. She grabbed one of the DVDs and let it fly. The old coot ducked and it hit the door right where his head would have been. He blew her a kiss and beat a trail out of the lodge.