Page 52 of Thunder Pass

“No, we can—” She broke off, her face slowly turning pink.

“We can what? What are you thinking about?” He pinned her back on the bed and braced himself over her. “I have ways to make you talk,” he said in a low, sexy growl.

“You have ways to make me moan,” she corrected. “And even scream. That’s not the same as talking.”

“Valid point. Please, what are you thinking?”

“Well,” she said slowly. “I’m still Luke’s daughter, and I’m sure he still believes he has to give me permission to…well, to marry. And he knows we have some kind of connection. It would all make sense to him. That could be our cover story if we’re caught. Of course, it wouldn’t be true,” she added quickly, turning red as a strawberry. Adorably red. “We won’t actually be engaged.”

“Right. And it’s only if we’re caught.”

“Yes. We’ll say that we kissed, and then you asked me, actually begged me to marry you,” she gave him a wicked smile, “and I said I need my father’s permission, so you’ll have to go beg Luke first. He’ll like that.”

Gunnar felt a slow grin spread across his face. That plan might just work, as a backup. Best of all, it would keep Ruth from thinking about moving back. “Then I guess I have only one thing to say.” He swung himself off the bed and dropped to one knee. “Will you pretend to want to marry me, Ruth Chilkoot?”

25

In the morning, Ruth emerged from a deep sleep to the sound of Gunnar’s phone ringing. She scrambled over his still-sleeping body to grab it, but missed the call.

“Gunnar.” She shook him awake. “Someone just called, and only one person knows your number.”

He blinked sleep from his eyes, his hair a tumbled blond mess, as if they’d been camping in the woods for a week instead of rolling around in a comfortable hotel bed.

She blushed thinking of all the things they’d done last night.

He played Naomi’s message. “Ruth, a little warning for you. Whatever Luke’s up to, he decided to accelerate it. I overheard Soraya talking on the phone. You guys poking around might have something to do with that. Anyway, be careful. Whatever he’s doing, he’s pulling the trigger now. The way Soraya was talking, there’s a heavy hitter involved, someone with lots of resources. So watch your backs. There you go, I guess you’re right. I’m not completely heartless. Oh, there’s one more thing. She said it’s going to be really hard to get to Firelight Ridge soon.”

Gunnar clicked off his phone. “What the fuck does that mean?”

Ruth was already scrambling out of bed. “I don’t know, but we should get home while we can.”

Driving back down that endless dirt road through the forest to Firelight Ridge, Ruth fought back against a sense of dread. It felt as if something ominous was coming at them. Was she really strong enough to handle it, as she’d claimed to Naomi?

She definitely wasn’t the little mouse Naomi had always scorned. Over the past couple of days, she’d seen and done things that she’d barely known existed until now. Karaoke? Who knew? She was already concocting ways to bring that magical activity to the kids. Sarah would love it to the bottom of her dramatic little heart.

“So what do you think of the outside world?” Gunnar asked as they passed the Snow River overlook, when things started looking familiar again. A few fishermen in their hip waders were casting for salmon on the gravelly shoreline. She recognized Old Solomon, and waved, though he was so focused on the river he didn’t notice.

“It was all very interesting, but to be honest, I’m glad to be going home.”

“I know what you mean. There’s nothing like the mountains. I stuck around here for my dad, but the smell of spruce trees is a close second.”

“Have you ever had spruce-tip jam?”

He quirked an eyebrow at her from the driver’s seat. “I like to smell them, not eat them.”

She smiled. Gunnar always managed to make her laugh, even when her stomach was still tense with dread. “I’ll make you some. I have a special secret recipe.”

“Sounds good. It’s the least you could do for your new fiancé.”

She laughed. “That’s a backup cover story only, remember? In case we’re caught?”

“I remember.”

She wondered just how angry Luke would be if he caught them on the property. Yelling angry, or whiplash angry?

Her shoulders tightened at the thought of Luke’s anger. Then came a light touch on her back.

“What’s the matter?” Gunnar asked gently.

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