“Can you do me a favor, Tina?”
“Sure thing.”
“I’d like to email you an image of a medicine wheel. I was wondering if you could print it or load it onto a laptop and take it out to my grandfather.” Old Man didn’t have Internet or a computer or a smartphone. “It was left with a newborn baby girl who was abandoned by her mother in an alley twenty-seven years ago. I want to find out if Grandfather recognizes the work or has any ideas about who might have made it or owned it.”
“Sure thing. I need to head out there anyway, see how he’s doing.” Tina was part of their tiospaye, their extended family, being his grandfather’s second cousin once removed or some such. “Do you have any other information about this young woman?”
“She looks Native except for her eyes. They’re blue. She has no idea who her parents might have been. She was found, close to dying, in Martin next to a dumpster.”
“That’s a rough way to start life.”
It sure as hell was.
“This medicine wheel was tucked inside her blanket.”
“I’ll watch for your email, load it onto my iPad, and drive out there on Saturday.”
“Pilamayayelo.” Thank you. “It means a lot to me.”
“I think maybe this young woman means a lot to you. How did you meet her?”
Chaska told her the whole story, including what he’d said the moment before Shota had run off. “She’s staying with us for now.”
“I have to agree with Winona. You were led to her. Tunkasila was watching out for this woman—and maybe for you, too.”
Chaska regretted telling her as much as he had. “Don’t tell Old Man that part. You know how he is.”
He would get behind the wheel and drive his battered old pickup truck all the way to Scarlet just to meet Naomi.
“I’m not making any promises.” Tina laughed, apparently finding this implied threat funny. “I’ll give you a call or shoot you an email when I’ve heard what your grandfather has to say. Talk to you soon.”
Chaska had just ended the call when Casper stepped into his office, coffee mug in hand, clearly pleased. “Great work, Belcourt. The NASA team was impressed with your solutions, so we’re moving to the next stage.”
“That’s good.” That’s what they’d all been working toward.
“I know you’ve put in a lot of extra hours, working from home. Why don’t you take a few days off, take a break?”
“Thanks. I’ll do that.”
Sheldon stepped into the room, this time wearing jeans and a button-down shirt. He saw Chaska and stopped short, his eyes going wide for a second.
Chaska decided to make it easy on him. “How are things in avionics?”
Sheldon gave a stiff nod, looking terribly self-conscious. “They’re good, sir. Thanks for asking.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Five minutes later, Chaska was on his way back up to Scarlet—and the woman he couldn’t get out of his thoughts.
Naomi sat in the little kitchen at Winona’s clinic talking with Bear, who had just finished the second peanut butter sandwich Naomi had made for him. “When did your family come to Colorado?”
Across the room, Winona was on the phone talking to someone named Rose about a big snake that was living under her front steps.
“We were always here.” Bear sat with his hands in his lap holding his battered Bible. “Colorado is the Centennial State.”
He was a big man, well over six feet, and as shaggy as his namesake, but something had happened to him. His mind was truly that of a child.
“Do you remember your parents?” Naomi asked.
He nodded. “God took Mama and Daddy to heaven, and my sister and brother too. They’re waiting for me, but God hasn’t called me yet.”
If anyone else had said this, Naomi would have felt uncomfortable. She’d grown up listening to Peter and Ruth talk about what God had to say. She avoided anyone who claimed to know what God wanted, but Bear was different. He was humble, sincere, not the kind to use words to bend other people to his will.
Across the room, Winona was losing her patience. “Rose, if you call an exterminator, they’ll kill the snake. If you don’t want to kill it, you’ll need to trap it and relocate it. No, I’m not going to trap it for you. That’s not what we do here.”
“Why did they go to heaven? Were they sick?”
Bear shrugged. “I guess so.”
“It must have been hard for you to be left alone.”
“Oh, I’m not alone. Everyone in Scarlet Springs is my friend, and I have Him.” He held up his Bible.
“I’m glad. I didn’t know my parents.” Naomi wasn’t sure why she was telling Bear this. “My mother left me near a trash can in an alley after I was born. I almost died.”
Bear seemed to consider this, then spoke as if trying to comfort her. “The Lord will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.”
“Psalms one-twenty-one, verses seven and eight.”
Bear had recited it verbatim, every word. He grinned, his smile largely hidden behind his beard. “Are you a believer, Naomi Archer?”
“I used to be.” She told him a little about Peter and Ruth, how they lied to people, how they used religion to hurt and control people, to have power over them. “I ran away when I was sixteen. I quit believing in anything.”
“The people who raised you—they were false prophets, Pharisees.”
She’d never thought about it like that before. “I guess they were.”
“No, Rose, I can’t ask Chaska to do this for you. He’s busy with work and the Team. He doesn’t have time… Okay, I’ll ask, but I doubt he’ll be able to help. You’d be better off calling animal control.” Winona hung up the phone and turned to Naomi, the irritation unmistakable on her face.
“Who is Rose?”
“She owns a New Age gift shop in town and does tarot readings and horoscopes—that kind of thing. She’s always trying to get into my brother’s pants.”
That’s all it took. Naomi hated Rose.
Was every woman Scarlet in love with him?
Winona went on. “She doesn’t understand that he’s not interested. Now she wants him to come and catch this snake for her. I’m sure she’s just trying to … Hey, Chaska. Did you get fired or something?”
Naomi’s head jerked around, her heart taking flight at the sight of him.
He stood in the doorway in jeans and a blue gingham sport shirt. His gaze met hers, his lips curving in a smile meant just for her. “Have a little faith, sister. The meeting with NASA went well, and I’ve taken the rest of the week off. Hey, Bear. Good to see you. Did my sister give you something good to eat?”
Bear pointed at Naomi with a little nod of his head. “Naomi Archer made me two peanut butter sandwiches.” He lowered his voice to a near whisper. “She’s awful pretty.”
Chaska leaned down as if sharing a secret and gave Bear a brotherly clap on the shoulder, his eyes looking into Naomi’s. “You’re right. She is.”
He stepped over to Naomi, kissed her on the lips. “The Team just got toned out to help a fallen climber in Eldorado Canyon State Park. I thought you might want to come and watch us in action.”
“My brother wants to show off for you,” Winona teased.
Naomi took hold of her crutches and stood. “I would love that.”
“Hoka hey. Let’s go.”
Chaska parked behind Rescue One. “You’ll need to stay here with the vehicles. You’ll be able to see us. The Bastille, where we’re headed, is right next to us off the road. It’s going to be hot out there, so stay hydrated. There’s bottled water behind the seat and some snack bars if you get hungry. Whoever is acting as Incident Command will be down here, too, so if you need anything—”
“Stop worrying about me.” Naomi picked up her camera bag. “Do what you need to do. I’ll be fine.”
He leaned over, kissed her mout
h, drawn to her. “See you soon.”
“Be careful.”
“You know it.”
He stepped out, grabbed his pack out of the back of the truck, and walked over to Rescue One where Moretti, O’Brien, Herrera, Ahearn, and Nicole were gearing up. As the first Team members on the scene, they were Hasty Team. Dave Hatfield was there, too. He was a ranger with the City of Boulder, as well as a tenured Team member, and was on duty today and acting as IC.
Megs saw Chaska—then looked past him to Naomi. “Well, well. What a surprise. Nice to see you again, Naomi.”
Nicole looked from Chaska to Naomi, hurt flashing across her face before she looked away.
Shit.
Hatfield brought them all up to date. “We’ve got a male, age thirty, with a probable broken knee. He was climbing Your Mother on The Bastille here when a fixed bolt broke. He took a whipper, striking his knee. He was lead climbing. His buddies have him on belay, but when they tried to lower him down, he started screaming.”
O’Brien jumped in first. “I’ll climb up to him, give him morphine IM, and get him as comfortable as possible while you all set up the vertical evac.”
Megs nodded. “Make it happen. Nicole, you’re on belay with O’Brien. Belcourt, you solve the anchor problem. Moretti, Herrera—work with Belcourt. We’ve got six more members en route. They can join Ahearn as the evac team.”
Chaska put on a harness, a helmet, and his climbing shoes, then grabbed a radio and a rack of climbing gear, and was off, Moretti and Herrera beside him, carrying ropes.
Herrera turned to look over his shoulder. “Looks like you got something going on with that sweet mami.”
“Don’t call her that.”
“Oooh.” Herrera laughed. “Looks like I’m right.”
“Button it, Herrera,” Moretti said. “You’ll have time for that kind of eighth-grade bullshit when we’re done.”
They reached the base of The Bastille, a huge, craggy buttress of stone, where O’Brien was already on his way up, Nicole on belay. Chaska tied into the rope, looking for the fastest route to the top of the wall. They needed to get above the victim to set up the ropes that would support the weight of the litter, the victim, O’Brien, and at least two members of the evac team—fifteen hundred pounds to be safe.
Chaska waited for Moretti and Herrera to be ready. “Are we good?”
“Let’s get it done,” Moretti said.
“On belay?” Chaska asked, going by the book as Megs demanded.
“Belay on,” Moretti replied.
“Climbing.”
“Climb on.”
Chaska moved up the rock face.
Chapter 15
Naomi showed Megs the photos she’d taken of the rescue, only too aware of the man who sat beside her, his hard thigh pressed against hers, this attraction between them like a living thing. Even surrounded by a pub full of people and Team members, all she could think about was Chaska.
It was a Monday evening, so Knockers wasn’t as busy as it had been last time she was here, bluegrass music playing on a jukebox, the stage dark and bare. Her taco salad had been delicious, but Naomi wanted to go so that she and Chaska could be alone.
She had plans for tonight.
“These are incredible,” Megs said. “You make us look like badasses.”
“You are badasses.”
Naomi was in awe of the Team. She’d watched the rescue from beginning to end, amazed by their skill and the smoothness with which they’d gotten that climber to safety. Not two hours had gone by from the time they’d gotten the call to the time the victim was loaded into an ambulance. And watching Chaska climb…
She’d be lying if she said it hadn’t made her want him.
Megs looked up from the photos. “Could I persuade you or perhaps beg you to let us post these on our website? I’ll happily give you credit.”
Naomi was touched. “Are you kidding? I’d be thrilled to have them on your website. You all saved my life, remember? I can never repay you for that.”
“You let us post the photos, and we’ll call it even.” Megs scrolled through the photos again. “I photograph most of our rescues, but my pictures never turn out like these.”
Naomi had seen Megs’ little point-and-shoot. It had a zoom feature, but that wasn’t enough to get good action shots at a distance. “You need a better camera.”
“Are you sure it’s just the camera that needs to improve and not the photographer?” Ahearn joked from across the table.
Chaska leaned in, spoke for Naomi’s ears alone. “All I want right now is to be alone with you. Let’s get out of here.”
Naomi’s pulse skipped. “Yes.”
Chaska stood. “I think Naomi and I are heading out. I had an early morning meeting with a team from NASA, and I’m wiped.”
Megs glanced up, looking from Naomi to Chaska. “I bet you are.”
Heat rushed into Naomi’s face. Did Megs know somehow?
Naomi took her camera from Megs and zipped it inside her padded camera bag. “How can I get the photos to you?”
“We can email them.” Chaska held her crutches for her while she stood. “Or we can run by The Cave tomorrow so Megs can download them from the memory card.”
“Good enough,” Megs said.
Naomi threaded her way through the tables and chairs, Chaska beside her.
Rain waved to them as they passed. “See you Friday.”
She had stopped by the Team’s table earlier, and they’d chosen this coming Friday evening for the fundraiser.
“See you then,” Naomi called back.
But she wasn’t thinking about the fundraiser now or medical bills or the cost of getting her SUV repaired. All she could think about was Chaska.
They walked in silence to his truck. He opened the passenger side door for her and helped her in, stashing her crutches behind the seat. The moment he shut the driver’s door behind him, he was there, kissing her, his mouth coming down hard on hers, one big hand sliding into her hair.
This.
This is what she’d wanted, what she’d craved, all day long. The heat of his lips on hers. The taste of him in her mouth. His body so close.
And then it was over.
“Not here.” He drew back, jammed the keys into the ignition.
It seemed to take forever to drive the short distance from Knockers to the house, enough time for Naomi to work up her courage. She decided to tell him what she had in mind now—in case she chickened out later.
“I want you, Chaska.” Could she actually say this? “I want all of you.”
Well, that sounded stupid.
He slammed on the breaks, having nearly missed a stop sign.
He looked over at her, a wry grin on his face. “I don’t think we should talk about this while I’m driving.”
They drove the rest of the way home in silence, their fingers twined. The moment they were inside, she was in his arms, her crutches hitting the floor, her arms going behind his neck, her lips seeking his.
He took what she offered, kissing her until there was no breath left in her lungs. Then he scooped her into his arms and carried her up the stairs, the two of them sinking into his bed, hands sliding beneath fabric, eager to give pleasure. Clothing hit the floor, the wall, the sofa until they were both naked, the last golden rays of sunlight spilling through his windows, playing over their skin.
His gaze raked over her, one big hand palming her breast. “You are so beautiful.”
Then he lowered his mouth to her and suckled.
Naomi gave herself over to it—the heat of his mouth, the tug of his lips, the flick of his tongue against her nipples. Her hands explored the smooth muscles of his shoulders, his hair spilling over her belly like a curtain of black silk. “Chaska.”
He dragged his mouth from her breasts, trailing kisses across her ribcage and belly, his lips leaving a trail of fire on her skin. One big hand slid over the curve of her hip to cup her.
“Oh, yes.” She s
pread her thighs, already aching for him.
Skilled fingers found her clit, stroking, teasing, his teeth nipping her skin until she was going out of her mind, the tension inside her now an ache. She found herself clutching the bed covers, so lost in sensation that it took her a moment to realize what he was about to do.
Her eyes flew open to find his face between her thighs, his gaze fixed on that part of her. “Oh, no, you don’t have to do that. I know guys don’t really like—”
“I do.” He dropped off the edge of the bed to kneel on the floor, lifting her injured leg and resting it over his shoulder before dragging her bottom to the edge of the bed. “You kissed me yesterday, remember? It’s my turn.”
Then his mouth was on her, the hot shock of it making her gasp. This was no simple kiss. She saw his eyes drift shut, heard him moan, his tongue taking over for his fingers, his lips doing to her clit what they’d done to her nipples, suckling, tugging.
It felt so … incredibly … good.
She buried her fingers in his hair, her hips lifting of their own accord, the breath leaving her lungs in little moans, the ache inside her bordering on torment. Then he thrust his fingers inside her, penetrating her, stroking that ache, taking her to the brink.
And then it all stopped.
She moaned in frustration and opened her eyes to see Chaska standing between her legs, his cock full and thick. Her mouth went dry.
He crawled up the bed until he loomed over her, his gaze fixed on hers, a little smile on his wet lips. He balanced his weight on his knees and one arm, reaching with the other to pull something out of his nightstand.
A condom.
Naomi watched as he tore open the packet with his teeth, helping him to roll it down his length.
He kissed her, her taste and scent all over him. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. Hurry.”