A Traitor at Poppyridge Cove Read online

  “Ma’am, I need you to stay here and watch over this wire. Don’t let anyone get close to it.”

  Ryan and the other officer raced out of the house again. They had a pair of rubber gloves and two old wooden brooms. Emily recognized them from the pantry closet.

  “But I thought you said the power was off?” she asked. No one responded, and they all headed to the patrol car. “Wait! I can help,” she offered. The officer she’d spoken with jumped into the driver’s side, and the other glanced at her long enough to shake his head. Ryan paused and then pulled the back door open. “It’ll be fine, Emily. Don’t worry.”

  The car was pulling away before she could answer. Her whole body was numb with shock. H thoughts were going over it again and again. It couldn’t have been the same family. Just minutes before, they’d hugged her and were driving safely home. She stared back at the cut wire, wondering. If they’d already turned off the power, then why were they talking about a fire?

  She turned around and looked down the road, and then her eyes lifted, trailing up higher and higher… into the sprawling branches of the redwood trees. The thought had her feeling faint.

  A forest fire.

  Chapter 10

  The moment she thought it, her mind spiraled out of control. She could feel it happening and knew she should stop her imagination before it went too far. But the images and memories came flooding in. A fire raging through the trees, huge and unstoppable, completely uncontained. Her brother had been so sure of himself; he’d left without an ounce of fear.

  She looked down at the road again and imagined Ryan and the officers… the mother and her two sons. It wrenched at her heart until she could barely breathe. And it was no longer within her power to stay put.

  She leaped over a shrub and raced to her car, barreling out of the driveway without looking back.

  In front of her, she searched every inch of the road as it came into view. Curve after curve seemed longer than before, but when she looked up into the trees, she could see one leaning to the side, as if it was about to fall. It was a sapling, skinny and weak compared to the neighboring brutes. But if it was to fall, it would be capable of causing some damage. She slowed the car and crept down the road and around the last curve.

  The police lights came into view first, red and blue lights flashing. They were stopped in the middle of the road, and behind them wires stretched down to the street with a broken tree angled diagonally through the scene. It was ablaze with bright orange flames.

  Emily stopped well before the police car and jumped out with her hands shaking. The memories were relentless, but she forced them back, working to keep herself calm. It was one tree. Just one. And with how damp the evenings had been, it wasn’t spreading quickly, although it had nearly reached the top branches. Just as she thought it, the neighboring tree caught fire and quickly burst into flames. She gasped as the fire ignited from branch to branch.

  It was suddenly a much bigger problem.

  Shouts rose above the roar of fire and she shook away the shock, moving forward cautiously until she could see the car. It was the same one she’d watched leave the inn less than an hour before, now lying under a thick, black wire. Ryan was low to the ground, dangerously close to a downed wire, holding a broom out with a rubber glove on the end.

  One of the officers pushed the other broom handle at the large wire, trying to edge it off the car. It was long and heavy, and progress was slow. With the fire now spreading rapidly through the trees, eating away at the little sapling and threatening to have it falling right on top of them.

  Emily watching as the glove was passed through the window. The mother put it on and opened the door slowly.. A deafening snap echoed around them, and the mother and oldest son burst from the car, running to join the officers. But the younger son didn’t follow. He forced the door open on the opposite side, and Emily was only able to see him for a moment before the tree fell in front of her view. It crashed on top of the car, and sparks showered around them.

  He was trapped. Alone, on the other side.

  Emily scanned the flaming branches above and, with her only thought being of the boy’s goodbye less than an hour before, she skirted into the forest. There was only one direction he could’ve gone. Circling around, she ran as the fire grew. It seemed to jump across entire trees, bursting into flames a hundred yards from where she thought it ended. But there was still a wide enough opening in-between, and Emily was sure she’d find the younger boy there.

  She darted through the trees. “Hello?” she yelled, coughing as the smoke filled her mouth. “Where are you?” Ash settled in her hair, burning her neck. She screamed at the pain and brushed it away quickly, glancing overhead. It was spreading fast, glowing above her dangerously.

  The trees thinned out enough for her to see an outline through the smoke. Wind brushed by and the air cleared enough for her to see Ryan through the smoke. He stood with his hand on the boy’s shoulder; they both looked at Emily with wide, shocked eyes. And then fire burst alive in front of her.

  “Emily!” She could hear Ryan’s voice, but there was no time to answer. She pulled her shirt up over her nose and raced past as a flaming branch crashed to the ground behind her in an explosion of sparks. Coughing after each ragged breath, the heat was so intense she could feel her skin blistering.

  And the noise!

  Never had she realized how alive fire really was. Loud and angry, it fell from the sky in gray, charred flakes and bright orange embers. Entire trunks became covered in flames, blocking her path and forcing her to circle around time after time, sending her deeper into the forest. But at least she was keeping ahead of it. At least there was no wind. The calm day sent the fire up each tree, eating away the branches and tips instead of leaping across the mountainside.

  She spotted one last option and stumbled forward as fast as her shallow breathing would allow. It felt as if the smoke had settled in her lungs forever, no matter how hard she coughed the weight wouldn’t leave. But that wasn’t her greatest worry. The fire had rushed past her on one side, she could see it glowing ahead of her, but couldn’t get her legs to go faster. There wasn’t enough oxygyn.

  The irony that she was trapped in a forest fire seemed all too cruel. Her brother’s memory was right beside her, full gear on, directing her forward and calling her name. But she’d never been to this part of the forest before. There could very well be a safe corner or hill or cave, but she was beginning to feel lost. The fire had changed direction several times already, and with each turn she lost her bearings a little more, twisting the way back to the street in her mind until she had no idea where she’d started.

  Spotting a game trail, she followed it, skirting between two large hills and down into a creek bed. A wide-eyed racoon scampered up the stream a few feet and stopped, looking back at her. There were chipmunks taking shelter on the wet banks of the stream as well, and far downstream she could see a group of deer standing in the shallow water with their heads down.

  She sunk down to her heels and splashed water on her hands and face, cupping scoops of the cool stream and pouring it on her hair until it was dripping wet. It was at least something. But if the fire came their way, the small stream wouldn’t be enough. She had to make her way back, and that would mean finding a high place.

  The hill beside her looked big enough, and the smoke was mostly on the opposite side. Crossing her fingers, she left the water and climbed the hill as fast as her weak lungs would allow, breathing hard and trying to stave off her cough. She focused on one big step after the other, pushing both hands down on each knee as she stepped. It was a slow but steady climb, and when she finally reached the top she felt a small buzz of excitement. She turned a circle, searching in every direction.

  The fire had turned away from her on the opposite side of the stream, for which she was grateful. But it looked like the road was very far, she could barely make it out. At least the burned trees acted as a marker, showing her the way back.

&n
bsp; She started down along the ridge of the hill, exhausted but relieved. The sun was getting lower in the sky, a signal that evening was close. One foot in front of the next, she kept an eye on the flames, glad when a cool breeze whisked the smoke from the air. She breathed in the clean air. When she heard someone shout, she angled toward it, around the back of the hill. She knew the voice, and even if he’d lied, she was glad to hear it. Rounding a thick group of trees, she saw Ryan.

  The phone call didn’t matter. Whether or not he lied didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she’d made it out of the fire and had found another human. A smile stretched across her face and she attempted to yell his name, but her voice choked up. Her lungs felt torn. She slowed to a walk and stumbled forward, overwhelmed by sudden, violent coughing.

  Just as she was going to try to shout again, he turned. His shoulders squared and he ran toward her, catching her just as she sunk to her knees, still coughing.

  “Emily!” His arms were around her, and he gasped for breath, holding her against him. “Oh my gosh, you’re okay. You’re okay,” His voice choked up, and Emily froze, not sure if she was hearing him right. But when he leaned back there were tears in his eyes. A smile spread across his face, and he brushed her hair back gently. It was all so confusing. She could only stare back, at the streaks on his face that he completely ignored, and the look in his eyes. It was deep and warm, telling her things she knew couldn’t be real.

  A paramedic joined them, ducking down and looking at the trees as he ran. “This way, c’mon!” he yelled, ushering them away from the fire and over a small hill by the road. They made their way up the hill, and Emily looked back to see the fire from a different angle. It had spread so fast. Firehoses were spraying streams of water at it, keeping the flames at bay. From where she stood, it no longer felt out of control. Strange how deceptive a bit of distance was, because after being in the middle of the flames, she knew that it was definitely out of control.

  “Is he okay?” she asked, her voice a weak croaking thing. Ryan still held her under one arm, and he nodded.

  “Yes, he’s okay. The family’s fine.”

  They reached the ambulance, and Emily sat on the end of the truck while the paramedic went to work checking her lungs and a few burns on her face and arms. She snuck a glance at Ryan when he looked away, studying his features carefully. What was going on? Why had he looked at her like that? Could it be possible that he cared about her and was fooling her at the same time? Did people do that?

  Her head swam, aching with questions… and none of them made sense. She was going to have to talk to him, there was no other way around it, and she wanted to do it soon before her head split in two. She chewed on her lip but stopped suddenly when she tasted ash. Wiping her face with her hand, she looked down at the streaks of dirty, smudged gray across her skin.

  “Here.” Ryan handed her a towel, and she looked up at him before taking it. His eyes were steady and warm, gazing into hers. She wiped the towel across her face, rubbing the sense back into it as she cleaned the dirt away. His reactions just weren’t making sense.

  “Look, I need to say something,” she said, crumpling the towel into her lap.

  The paramedic stood and patted her arm. “Glad you’re okay, ma’am,” he said, leaving them alone. Either he had impeccable timing, or he’d noticed the tone of her voice.

  Ryan sure hadn’t. His face was still blissfully happy. Emily chose to look at the ground instead. “Last night when you came back to the inn, I woke up and heard you on the phone.” She looked back at him, expecting to see shock and maybe a little anger. But there was nothing.

  He only nodded, waiting for her to continue.

  “Well.” She rubbed her hands on her jeans. “I’m telling you right now that I’m going to stop you.” Her throat felt tight, but she kept her eyes on the dirt. “I won’t let these access roads pave the way for you to clear trees and buy up the land or privatize it or whatever. It’s not going to happen.” Finally, she looked up at him, and there it was. The shock she’d been waiting for. But if he thought she was backing down, he didn’t know a thing about her.

  “So, you can forget about it,” she continued. “If I say no to the roads, they’re never going to happen… and if you make a single move to build your private resort, I’ll say no.”

  His eyebrows lifted and a breath rushed from his mouth in a gust. “Oh.” He dropped his head into one hand, and Emily steeled her nerves, prepared to fight back. “No, Emily.”

  He brushed his hair from his eyes. “I’m so sorry, I wish you would have told me.” His gaze came back to her face cautiously, searching her expression. It was hard to resist, and the apology in his eyes threw her off balance.

  But he seemed to realize something, and this time when he settled a hand on her arm it was unsure. “I was talking to my uncle, that’s all. He’s the one who wanted the private resort, not me. We just don’t understand each other.”

  He sat back on the dirt next to her, looking at where there was now only blackened trees and distant smoke. “He doesn’t understand what I want to accomplish in life. I want so much more than him, and when you talked about making a difference for people, about building a cabin for those who were really hurting… it inspired me.” His eyes flickered to hers briefly. “I’m sorry I used your idea for my own battles, but I’d love to help you with it in any way I can.”

  Emily was fighting with herself, listening to him explain while hoping these weren’t crafted, beautiful, and very believable lies. She swallowed hard.

  “So, what you heard was me not properly standing up to my uncle.” He turned to her. “I’m sorry, I hope you know I’d never treat you like that.”

  She took a deep breath. “Why are all your accounts blocked, then?” It felt cruel to trample over the last few minutes of his explanation, but if he was lying, she had no choice.

  Ryan flinched back in surprise, with his brows pinched together. “My accounts?” He pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the home screen. “Because I’m a private person,” he explained softly, “I don’t share these pictures for the world, it’s just not why I do things.”

  He looked back at her and opened up his account, holding his phone in front of them as he scrolled through pictures of his family and even a few of the inn. He hesitated before scrolling to the top, to a picture of Emily playing football with the group of kids.

  “I should have asked you if I could post this.” He cringed. “I can delete it if you want.”

  Emily’s heart sank, lower and lower until she felt less than the dirt under their feet. “No, it’s okay,” she whispered, distracting herself by rubbing her hands on the towel. “I just…”

  Her voice trailed off, and she wished she’d never tried to explain. Emotions were pressing on her heart like a giant fist. “I’ve been known to be pretty trusting and, quite honestly, easy to fool.” She tried to swallow away the emotion, but her lip shook instead. “I hope you don’t think that I—”

  A tear escaped her eye, and she brushed at it quickly, blinking back any others. She shook her head in frustration. But before she could finish, Ryan reached for her hands. He held them gently and waited for her gaze to come back to him. She took a deep breath and finally relented, looking into his face at the same expression she’d seen before.

  “You can trust me, Emily,” he whispered. His face was solemn as he gazed at her, as if he could see the memories there. “I’m glad you told me, and I’m sorry I didn’t handle that phone call better.”

  They looked back at each other in silence, with the distant sound of fire crackling. The sun was fading, but Emily didn’t notice. She only looked at his face in a sort of awe, cautiously releasing pieces of her heart that she’d held back for so long.

  A police siren chirped in the distance, breaking their trance. Ryan stood and glanced around them. “We’d better get back.”

  Emily got to her feet slowly, still watching him as her emotions boiled over. And befo
re Ryan’s gaze had turned back to her, she wrapped her arms around him, holding herself against him and all his kindness. Her head leaned against his chest, borrowing his strength and relaxing into his arms.

  In her mind, his words repeated, his explanation and the look on his face when he’d seen her walking from the fire. It had been so confusing then, but it suddenly, perfectly, wonderfully made sense.

  She held him tighter, and when his arms fell around her, she reveled in the feeling. The way he held her was a compliment in itself, tracing his hand across her arm, like her skin was velvet soft, and coming to rest at the back of her neck.

  There were no reservations holding her back, and no questions in her head. She only thought of him, and the incredible fact that he was real.

  Chapter 11

  Ryan hesitated, his lips hovering so near hers he could feel her breath. He didn’t want to rush her, and there were so many things he knew now that he hadn’t before. This woman that he admired for her strength and boldness, he now knew was aching inside. From her brother’s death to her past relationships, it all made her so fragile to him.

  He hoped she would trust him, wanted it more than anything. And when he kissed her, it was different that before. While their first kiss had been tentative, this one was a burst of adrenaline. She stepped into it, bringing her hands to his arms and tilting her head slightly. There was no rush, and yet, he could hardly breathe. What was air, anyway? He could do without it. What he couldn’t do without was her.

  When their lips parted, they only sank closer into an embrace he could spend the rest of his life in. She sighed, and he couldn’t help but slide his arm around her waist, holding her as long as she wanted him to.

  Too soon, she stepped back and he released her, looking into her face like he’d never seen her before.

  And he hadn’t.

  At least, not quite like this. There was nothing hidden in her gaze, nothing reserved. She radiated a serene glow, and he knew exactly what she was feeling.