Yellowstone Romance Series - Bundle (# 2-5) (93 page)

Dan had committed most of the pages of that journal to memory. There were descriptions and personal accounts about Daniel Osborne in that journal, bringing the man he’d heard family stories about to life more vividly than the tales his grandfather used to tell him.

Dan had always been proud of his family’s history here in Yellowstone. The fantastical idea that none of his family tree would be around if not for the impossibility that a woman from this time had traveled to the past was still something he couldn’t quite wrap his head around. He’d long given up wondering where that time travel snakehead could have possibly come from. He didn’t want to know the answer. What he really did want to know, what he needed to know – where was that device now?

Dan ran a hand through his hair, and headed out the door. Jana Evans was his key to finding that device. She had to be. His entire future depended on it.

Chapter 3

Jana stood in front of the bathroom mirror, and ran her brush through her hair. She didn’t know whether to just let it hang free, or put it back in a ponytail. Dan hadn’t mentioned where they would be going for dinner. Not that she expected him to wine and dine her, but if he had plans to go somewhere other than the informal restaurants here at Old Faithful, she didn’t want to look like a bum, either. She hadn’t changed out of the jeans and simple cotton t-shirt she’d worn on her flight here. Casual dress was her preference, and if she didn’t have to leave the room anymore this evening, she would be lounging in her pajamas right now.

A loud knock on the room door broke the silence. She dropped her brush in the sink with a loud clank.

“Good grief, Jana. Get a grip,” she mumbled. Her heart sped up as if she’d just run a marathon, and her legs turned to jelly. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror one last time. Too late to gather her hair in a ponytail.

“Jana, you need to smile more. The world doesn’t always have to be so serious. You are beautiful, and I wish you’d stop thinking so negatively about yourself all the time.”
Aimee’s words echoed in her mind. Aimee had always told her the right man would come along someday. For a fleeting moment, the thought entered her mind that Mr. Right stood outside her hotel room door this very minute.
Ridiculous! You know nothing about him, other than he’s Aimee’s great great great great grandson.

Jana inhaled a deep breath and expelled the air slowly through parted lips. No matter how much she tried to relax, her heart would not stop hammering away against her ribcage. She raked her teeth across her lower lip, and opened the hotel room door. Dan Osborne stood before her, his hand held up in a fist, apparently ready to knock again.

“Sorry I’m late.” He lowered his hand, and his mouth widened in a grin that made Jana groan silently, as her heart fluttered in her chest.

“Oh, no problem,” she blurted out, and smiled nervously. She quickly took note of his clothes - jeans and a t-shirt that hugged the contours of his physique much too well. While his ranger uniform hinted at broad shoulders and a well-muscled chest, the green shirt he wore now left no doubt he was lean and well sculpted. Jana’s mouth went dry. Dan’s eyebrows rose and his forehead wrinkled as he sent her a questioning look when she didn’t say anything else.

“So. Are you ready?” he asked, breaking the awkward silence.

“Um, sorry. Let me get my shoes,” she stammered, and turned hastily into the room. She hoped he hadn’t noticed her face, which must be flaming red at this point, judging by the heat creeping up her neck. Dear God, she would never survive this evening without making a complete fool of herself.

Too late, she realized she should have invited him in. Her nerves were getting the better of her. Maybe she could feign a sudden illness and tell him she couldn’t go out to dinner after all.

“Can I come in?” he called, still standing in the hall.

“Oh . . . sure.” Jana cringed. The door closed behind her with a soft click.

“Did you bring hiking boots?” Dan asked. She turned, and chanced a look at him. He stood, eyeing his surroundings. Apparently, he was just as impressed with the nice room as she had been earlier.

“Yes. I figured I’d need them to go see Aimee’s . . . the spot you thought was her grave.” She turned to face him. She noticed the daypack he had slung over one shoulder.

“You might want to wear them,” he suggested when she reached for her sandals at the foot of the bed.

“Now?” she echoed. “Isn’t it too late to hike Purple Mountain?”

“It is. I’m taking you to dinner, remember?” His smile sent renewed adrenaline through her veins. He pulled the pack from his shoulder, and held it out. “Dinner’s in here,” he said before she had time to wonder at the gesture.

“We’re eating trail mix?” she asked, hoping her attempt at following Aimee’s advice to lighten up didn’t come across as too stupid-sounding.

Dan laughed. “I may be a cheap date, but hopefully not that cheap. Local burgers were all I could come up with. But for my lack of gourmet fare, I hope the ambiance will make up for it.”

“Ambiance?” Jana swallowed nervously. His inference that this was a date sent another rush of warmth through her system.

“Yeah. I hope you’ll like it.”

Curious, but afraid to ask what he was talking about, Jana sat on the bed and pulled on her hiking boots. While she tied them, Dan continued to survey the room. “I hope this is comfortable enough for you,” he said, pushing aside the curtain to look out the window. He had slung his pack over one shoulder again.

“This is really too much. I could have just as easily stayed in a motel room outside the park.” Jana stood, and grabbed for a wool sweater she’d hung in the closet earlier. She stared at Dan’s back. His shirt hugged him like a second skin along his shoulder blades, defining the muscles along either side of his spine.  He turned, and her eyes quickly darted to the ground, hoping he hadn’t caught her staring.

“Ready?” he asked, and moved to open the door for her. She realized he hadn’t responded to her comment. He stood aside, and waited for her to step out of the room ahead of him. His hand lightly touched her lower back as he followed her into the hall. She suppressed a gasp. His warm hand might as well have been a hot iron as it sent coils of heat radiating up her back, down her legs, and around her waist, to settle in the pit of her stomach. She fumbled in her pocket for the room key.

With her nerves on edge at her heated reaction to his simple touch, Jana followed Dan as he walked briskly down the hall, through the lobby, and out into the bright early evening sunshine. He cut a sharp right along the sidewalk, and headed across the parking lot toward the visitor center. She broke into a jog to keep up with his long, confident strides.

“Where are we going?” she finally asked when they skirted the visitor center and headed for the boardwalks leading to the Upper Geyser Basin. He seemed to be in quite a hurry.

Dan slowed, and glanced over his shoulder. He waited for her to catch up with him.

“If we hurry, we’ll be able to see Old Faithful erupt.” There was a boyish enthusiasm in his voice.
Aimee’s enthusiasm
. No matter how many times she’d seen Old Faithful erupt, the idea of seeing it again had excited her every time.

“But we’re right here.” Jana swept her arm to their left. Old Faithful’s sinter cone stood like a solitary sentinel several hundred feet away, steam and occasional sprays of water belching from the opening. The benches that lined the boardwalk were already filled with people, but at this hour, the number of spectators was far fewer than earlier in the day.

Dan grinned, and his eyes lit up like a little boy at Christmas time. Jana’s mouth suddenly went dry.

“Have you ever seen it go off from Observation Point?” he asked.

Jana emitted a short laugh. “I’ve probably been on almost every hiking trail here in the park, and more backpacking trails than I can count. Aimee was obsessed with this place.”

Dan’s eyebrows rose, and the gleam of admiration in his eyes sent a flutter through her chest. His lips curved in a lazy grin. He let his shoulders slump in a feigned defeated gesture.

“Well, there goes my surprise then. But since I don’t have a Plan B, could you please act impressed when we get to the top?”

His easy-going manner, and natural smile were infectious. Jana nodded.  Dan reached for her hand, and pulled her along with him. Her palms began to sweat. She couldn’t extract her hand free from his firm grip. Some small part of her enjoyed the gesture as she noticed several women they passed flash appreciative looks at him.
Get a hold of yourself, Jana. He’s not your boyfriend. He’s merely trying to hurry you along.

He walked briskly down the asphalt walk toward the boardwalks that led to the back geyser basin, and turned right toward the river. They crossed the wooden footbridge over the Firehole River, and instead of following the path to the left that led to the geyser basin, he turned right up a dirt path where a trail marker indicated that this was the Observation Point Trailhead.

The trail began up a gentle incline, heading up and into a lodgepole forest, and Dan slowed and motioned for her to walk ahead of him. He released her hand, and Jana rubbed her damp palms together. Her hand still tingled from his touch.

The trail switchbacked up the mountain, and became gradually steeper. Jana picked her way up the incline, determined not to slow him down. The high altitude air left her feeling dizzy and winded. She inhaled deep, steady breaths. The fragrant scent of pine, damp earth, and sweet grass overpowered the more acrid sulfurous odors the nearby geysers emitted.  Every now and then when they hit a particular steep section, Dan’s hand on her lower back propelled her to greater effort to navigate the half-mile of switchbacks, simply to avoid him touching her. His light touches as he assisted her up the hill sent her mind spinning, and left her nerves on edge.

They reached the top of the hill in silence. Trying to take enough of the thin air into her demanding lungs, she breathed as hard as if she’d just completed a five-mile run at home. She took in the breathtaking view of the valley before her. It had been a while since she’d last stood in this spot, and certainly not at sunset. The entire geyser basin was visible from here through the tops of the pine trees, the bright orange sun on the horizon magnifying the brilliant colors of reds, oranges, and greens of many of the geyser run-offs. People walked the boardwalks, and several of the smaller geysers suffused the air with their steam and jetting water sprays, veiling parts of the valley far below in a misty white.

“At this time, there’s rarely anyone up here,” Dan said. “I figured this would be a better place to talk than in a crowded restaurant.” Jana turned, startled to find him standing directly behind her. His lips curved upward. “And you can’t beat the view.”

His eyes held hers, his last words spoken in a low tone. Jana’s heart rate sped up anew, having just recovered from her trek up the hill. She inhaled a lung full of air, drawing in his clean scent. She got the distinct impression he wasn’t referring to the scenery. Jana blinked, and merely nodded. A rustle in the nearby brush was a welcome distraction to the man standing before her. A marmot scurried off a large boulder, emitting a loud whistling sound in apparent protest of the human invasion to its territory.

Dan’s deep brown eyes lingered on her face. Jana found it difficult to breathe. Her throat constricted almost painfully, and she tried to swallow away the imaginary lump. Finally breaking eye contact, he headed for a downed log that had obviously served as a resting place for countless other visitors, and peeled his pack from his shoulder. He pulled out two cardboard boxes, and Jana’s stomach grumbled in answer to the delicious smell of burgers and fries. The odor of deep fried food seemed so out of place here, among the pine and sage.

“Did you know that the Shoshone that lived here considered marmots a delicacy?” he asked, handing her a plastic soda bottle. Jana sat on the log, and took a long drink. “They called them whistle dogs.”

“I can hear why they called them that,” Jana said. “And no, I didn’t know they were a delicacy. I don’t think I could bring myself to eat something as cute as a marmot.” She unwrapped the cheeseburger Dan handed her. About to take a bite, she stopped and eyed the food in her hand. “These are beef burgers, right?”

Dan grinned. “You’ll never know the difference,” he said conspiratorially, kneeling beside her. “You’d be surprised what you might eat in a survival situation.”

“I’ve eaten my share of nasty stuff,” Jana said between bites. “The survival courses Aimee and I took were pretty demanding sometimes. But I never resorted to killing something cute and fluffy.”

Dan stared up at her. His eyes visibly darkened. There was something familiar in their depths. They were the same color she remembered Daniel’s eyes to be, but the intensity and seriousness were missing in this modern version of that feral mountain man.

In desperate need to focus on something other than the man squatting next to her, Jana readjusted the paper wrapper around her burger, and took a bite.  She chewed, and forced the food down past the lump in her throat.  Fearing she might choke, she reached for her soda that she’d set on the ground in front of her. Dan got to it first. Her hand grazed his for a mere second, but the contact was like an electric jolt. Tingles raced up her arm, and she shivered when the sensation shot down her back. How could he affect her so deeply? Apparently unperturbed, Dan handed her the soda.