Welcome to the World of Carolyn Lampman

LOVE BYTES

PROLOGUE
(Sinks Canyon, 2007)

Kenzie Armstrong frowned at the sunlight streaming in through her windshield as she drove into the mountain parking lot. The occasion called for huge gray thunderheads billowing up over the mountains and a cold Wyoming wind whistling down through the canyon. Today was too bright and cheerful to bury a boxful of worn out dreams.

The parking lot contained only one other car, but Kenzie knew that wasn’t likely to last. People came from all over to visit “The Sinks,” locals as well as tourists. There was something irresistible about a raging river mysteriously disappearing into a mountain, and reappearing as a placid pool half a mile down the canyon. No one knew exactly where the Popo Agie river went while it was underground; some speculated that the pool had a different source. Frankly, Kenzie didn’t care. All that mattered to her was that nothing the river took underground ever resurfaced in the pool. Even Brad should be satisfied with that, though why her fiancé should be so threatened by a few worthless trinkets was beyond her.

Kenzie couldn’t help a tiny flash of resentment as she picked up her shoebox of treasures and slid out from behind the wheel. Brad’s insistence that she get rid of everything her old boyfriends had given her still rankled. Just because they were getting married next week didn’t give him the right to control her life. She was so irritated with his high-handed manner that she’d left her engagement ring at home in her jewelry box. If he hadn’t been more than willing to part with his own mementos, she’d have told him what he could do with his unreasonable demands. As it was, she couldn’t very well refuse. Just last week Brad had donated a huge box of sweaters, jewelry and original art work to a church rummage sale. Every ridiculously expensive bit of it had come from women who fancied themselves in love with him.

Kenzie glanced down at her meager love offerings. They were pathetic by comparison. Even so, tossing them in the trash bin as he’d suggested was unthinkable. If she had to get rid of them, it was going to be in her own way. That’s why she had come here, to this magical spot in order to dispose of them with a full measure of dignity and a touch of drama. With a rueful smile, she locked Brad’s car and started across the parking lot. Maybe Brad had a point. Maybe she was clinging to the past.

She paused for a moment at the head of the trail that led down through the trees to the water’s edge near the mouth of the cave where the river disappeared. No doubt that’s where the occupants of the other car were, and hers was a task that required privacy. After a moment’s hesitation, Kenzie turned and walked up the hill, past the visitor’s center to the observation point above the river. From there a visitor was able to look down over the Popo Agie somersaulting its way down over a jumble of boulders in a foaming, frothing race to the bottom where it disappeared into the mountain.

After a quick glance over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking, Kenzie slipped around the wooden barricade and scrambled down the bank. She clambered over several slippery boulders and finally settled on a large rock at the very edge of the river.

The tumbling cascade of water drowned out all other sound as it rushed down the hill into the cave at the bottom. Kenzie felt as though she was completely alone with only the violence of the river for company. The isolation was comforting as she settled the box in her lap and prepared to say goodbye to her past.

Kenzie took a few moments to steel herself, then closed her eyes and reached into the box. She smiled softly as her fingers closed around a plastic squeaky toy. Her beau had promised to win her a huge stuffed animal at the carnival. She’d wound up with the world’s funniest looking rubber ducky instead. They’d laughed and joked about it for months afterward. The ridiculous toy had never failed to bring a smile to her face and new lightness to her heart.

Even today the silly grin on its face made her feel a bit better. She dropped a light kiss on its odd little topknot and set it in the water. It bobbed up and down as the current swiftly drew it toward the rapids. The duck disappeared and then popped up a few seconds later farther down stream, bouncing around in the wild white water like an absurd yellow cork until it disappeared, taken down into the darkness by the power of the river. Kenzie reached into the box again and pulled out a long necklace made entirely of apple seeds. She ran its length through her fingers, savoring the feel of it. The memory of a lazy summer day and innocent young love flowed through her mind like molten honey, warm and sweet. An image of twinkling brown eyes danced before her as the necklace pooled into her hand, and her fingers closed over it. For a long moment she held it over her heart, then slowly released it into the raging torrent at her feet. It disappeared into the flood without a ripple.

Her other keepsakes followed suit, a bit of lace from her prom dress, a silver pinkie ring, a polished agate, a braided leather bracelet, her journal. One by one they disappeared from sight taking her memories with them.

At last the box was empty, and Kenzie stood watching the last of it, a small dried flower, swirl around and around in a tiny pool of shallow water next to the rock. A great emptiness filled her as though she had somehow lost a lot more than a few worthless trinkets. Sudden tears filled her eyes.

It was definitely time to go. With a sharp twist, she turned and started toward the high bank and the path at the top. Somehow through blurry eyes she miscalculated the distance from one rock to another, and her shoe slipped on the slick surface. The shoebox flew out of her hand as she grabbed at the empty air trying to catch her balance. She teetered for an impossibly long moment, then pitched headlong into the river.

When Kenzie surfaced, she tried to scream, but her mouth filled with frigid choking water as she went under once more. The current tumbled her down over the rocks like a rag doll. Though Kenzie was a strong swimmer, it was impossible in the turbulent water. The second time her head broke through the surface, a solid wall of rock loomed before her. Once again she tried to scream, but it was cut off as the water sucked her down into the mouth of the cave. The last thing she saw was the rock wall racing toward her at a terrifying speed. She slammed into it like a race car hitting a barricade. Then, mercifully, everything went black.

CHAPTER 1
(Rainbow Falls 1868)

“There’s nothing to worry about, Bear Bait. We’re just going to get a drink of water and take a little rest before we head for home.” Adam Trelan Johnson, better known as Whiskey Jug, talked soothingly to his horse as it picked its way down to the small lake’s edge. Bear Bait was nearly broken now, but he still had a wild streak that tended to surface at the worst times. Adam hoped he hadn’t misjudged the horse’s readiness for the loud noise of the waterfall tumbling down from the cliff.

Bear Bait danced around a bit but finally settled down and lowered his head to drink. Adam gave the clearing a quick survey out of habit. In reality, it was probably one of the safest places on the entire mountain. None of the whites had ever seen it, and the Indians all thought it was haunted.

Adam tended to think of it as his own. As a child, he’d come here with his father. They bathed in the hot springs behind the falls and caught huge trout in the small fresh water lake. Still, there was something rather unworldly about the place. Not only did the waterfall pour out of the mountainside without any visible source, the water from the lake at the bottom disappeared just as mysteriously.

Everything was calm as Adam dismounted and stretched. He felt considerably older than his twenty-nine years today. Bear Bait had dumped him in a pile of sagebrush yesterday, and he was still feeling the effects. As long as he was here, he might as well indulge in a nice long soak in the hot springs. It was a pleasure he hadn’t taken time for all summer. With a smile of anticipation, he pulled his shirt over his head just as his horse gave a sudden snort and jerked back from the pool.

Adam yanked his arms loose from the confining buckskin and managed to keep Bear Bait from bolting, though it took him several minutes to get the animal under control. It wasn’t until he turned toward the lake again that he discovered the reason for the horse’s violent reaction. Something small and yellow bobbed up and down near the water’s edge. It must have floated practically under the horse’s muzzle.

Curious, Adam fished it out of the water for a closer examination. He frowned. Though it was obviously meant to resemble a duck in shape and general body features, that’s where the similarity ended. From the toothy grin to the oddly pointed tail feathers and top knot, it was completely un-duck like. What in the world was it doing here?

Adam squeezed it experimentally and was startled by a stream of water that squirted out of the bottom. Another squeeze produced a high pitched squeak. The horse jerked back in alarm. Adam tightened his hold on the reins. “Blast it, Bear Bait. You’ve got to stop being so dammed jumpy.” He spent another moment or two examining the odd little duck then put it in his saddlebag and unslung his canteen from the saddle horn.

Bear Bait lowered his head to graze as Adam knelt to fill his canteen. Suddenly the sound of the waterfall changed slightly, its rhythmic flow disturbed by a something carried in the current. Adam glanced up just as a large object disappeared beneath the surface of the water. “What the…?”

The threat of another unfamiliar menace from the lake coupled with Adam’s exclamation was too much for Bear Bait. With a high pitched snort, he wheeled away and headed up the hill as though a pack of wolves were on his heels.

“Dammit!” Adam jumped to his feet. “Come back here you worthless hunk of horse hide!” He threw his canteen to the ground as the black hindquarters disappeared through the trees at the top of the hill. “Dad blamed idiot. I take back everything I ever said about you. You’re too stupid to use for bear bait.”

Unfortunately, Bear Bait didn’t seem to care and showed no sign of returning. There was something intrinsically wrong with the horse, but so far Adam had been unable to figure out just what it was. As he bent to pick up the canteen, his gaze went to the dark form in the pool. He straightened in surprise. It was a body, very definitely human, floating face-up in the water. This was getting weirder and weirder. After a moment of hesitation, he stripped off the rest of his clothes and waded in.

The current had carried its victim away from the falls. When the water was deep enough, Adam dived under and swam the remaining ten feet. He surfaced next to the body. It was a woman, a young one by the look of it. She wasn’t breathing, but a pulse fluttered feebly beneath the fingers he pressed to her neck.

Urgency drove him as he pulled her out of the water onto the nearest shore and lay her face down on the grass. He turned her head to the side and began trying to push the water out of her lungs. After several minutes of pushing on her back and pulling back on her arms, water gushed out of her mouth, and she began to cough.

Though the coughing soon subsided, and she started breathing on her own, her eyes remained closed. Adam turned her over and gently smoothed the long tangled hair back from her injuries. There was a large bump on her forehead, while the whole left side of her face was bruised and covered with abrasions. Adam tried to imagine what could have happened leave her face in such a mess.

His gaze traveled the length of her body. Though she was not very tall, the fabric of her shirt, made transparent by the water, clearly showed a woman grown. For the first time he realized how strangely she was dressed. White women wore long calico skirts, Indian women buckskin dresses. None of them wore short pants that ended mid thigh and cotton blouses with words printed on the front. What new aberration was this?

Whoever, or whatever she was, she needed warmed up and fast, her lips were already blue. If Bear Bait hadn’t taken off, the bedroll would have kept her warm long enough to build a fire. As it was, he didn’t even have a flint with him and didn’t have time to dig up his nearby cache.

Adam glanced down at the woman and found her shivering uncontrollably. Was she just cold or was she going into shock? He scooped her up in his arms and headed toward the waterfall. The hot pool would provide the warmth she needed. Earlier in the season, the edge of the waterfall formed a curtain of water between the two pools. Now, with the spring run-off over, it was more like a misty veil that clung to his skin as he passed through. He stepped down off the ledge and moved out into the hot springs.

After the cold water of the outer pool, the mineral springs was almost too hot, but Adam knew from experience that would change as his body adjusted to the temperature. He turned the woman against his body and slid her down into the water. Her head lolled against his chest forcing him to brace it with one hand while the other supported the limp body. Adam forced his mind away from her femaleness to concentrate on the task at hand, namely getting her warmed up.

He made his way to an underwater ledge that ran clear around the far side. Sitting on it brought the water halfway up his chest. Settling the woman between his thighs, he put his arms around her and leaned back against the mossy bank. For now, there wasn’t anything more he could do. Only time would tell if it had all been for nothing. With a sigh, Adam relaxed and let the warmth of the water swirl around them.

#

Kenzie floated in a blissful cloud of warmth. It was at odds with the throbbing pain in her head and the aches in various parts of her body. For the life of her she couldn’t remember coming to Brad’s house and climbing into his hot tub, but she had to admit, it felt rather nice. So did Brad for that matter. As a general rule, he wasn’t a cuddler, but there was no mistaking the hard plane of a masculine chest against her back and the feel of his arms around her.

As she drifted toward wakefulness, the peculiar odor of rotten eggs permeated her consciousness. How strange. Must be one of Brad’s gourmet recipes gone amuck. The last thing she wanted to do was get up and clean the kitchen. Maybe she’d just play possum for a while longer. He obviously didn’t mind; he’d even put on one of his nature CD’s. With her eyes closed, she could almost imagine the waterfall she heard was real. It was so nice to just float here in his embrace, letting the warm water soak away her aches and pains. They fit together like two spoons, so closely entwined that his mustache tickled her cheek.

Suddenly, Kenzie was wide-awake. Brad didn’t have a mustache! Her gaze skittered down to the long, muscular arms that held her in place. Three parallel scars ran down the bulging bicep and disappeared into the water; scars that definitely did not belong to Brad.

Panic and adrenaline hit at the same time. With a hard backward thrust, her elbow connected with his solar plexus, and she scrambled forward out of his grasp. His sharp gasp proved her aim had been accurate, but she hadn’t gone more than a step before a large hand closed around her wrist. She struggled with all her might, but his grip was too strong to break.

“Damn.” He was obviously fighting for breath as he reached out and captured her other wrist and held her immobilized.

Kenzie stared at her captor in horror. His dark hair hung in lank strands clear to the broad muscular shoulders, and a heavy beard obscured the lower half of his face. With a painful grimace he rose to his feet, and Kenzie gasped in shocked dismay. The man stood well over six feet tall and was built like a block of granite. He was also stark naked.

Kenzie could see dozens of scars amid the water droplets covering his arms and chest. He looked as though he’d been through a war. Fresh terror washed through her. Had she been kidnapped by one of the right-wing militants that sought refuge in the mountains? Whatever he was, he obviously had rape in mind. After a moment of stunned immobility, Kenzie began to struggle in earnest.

“Whoa, now,” he said. “There’s no need to get excited. You’re safe here.”

“Let me go!” This was the sort of situation she’d been taught to deal with during her self-defense training. Shifting her weight to one foot, she snaked the other around the back of his leg and jerked his feet out from under him. He went down with a surprised curse and a mighty splash.

Kenzie didn’t even look back, just headed for the opposite side of the pool as fast as she could. She hadn’t gone more than a few steps when a wave of dizziness hit her and she pitched forward into the water. Disoriented and confused, she floundered around trying to get back up.

With no warning, a pair of strong hands plucked her from the water and set her on her feet.

“Here now. No sense in trying to drown yourself.” His voice was deep and gruff, the kind that sent shivers of apprehension racing down her spine. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Then get your hands off me, Jacko,” she said through clenched teeth.

“No problem.” He raised his hands and backed away. “Never meant you any harm. And the name’s Whiskey Jug Johnson not Jacko.”

Kenzie glared at him. Whiskey Jug? Who did he think he was fooling with a crazy name like that? “What am I doing here?”

He shrugged. “Beats me. You came over the falls. By the time I fished you out, you were close to dead.”

“What do you mean I came over the falls?”

“Just that. I was filling my canteen so I didn’t actually see you come over, but my horse did. He lit out like I’d set fire to his tail. I pretty much figured you were a goner, but once I got the water out, you started breathing on your own.”

“The last I remember was falling into the river. ” Kenzie swayed as dizziness assailed her once more.

Before she realized what was happening, he’d scooped her up in his arms. “I don’t think you should be up yet. That’s a pretty nasty bump you have on your head.”

“Put me down!” Kenzie might as well have been the wind blowing in the trees for all the affect it seemed to have on him. She got the distinct impression that he thought the head injury had muddled her thinking. At any rate, short of jabbing her thumbs into his eyes, she was powerless to stop the big galoot. She was seriously considering that option when he set her down on the underwater ledge.

“Will you be all right by yourself for a while?” he asked.

Kenzie blinked in surprise. “You’re leaving?”

“Only for a few minutes. I have a cache just the other side of the waterfall. Will you be all right?”

“S...sure.”

“Good.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “Just rest now. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Kenzie stared after him in amazement as he crossed the pool and disappeared through the mist. Cash? What in the world did money have to do with anything? She wondered if she was dealing with a Rambo type character here. Though he was several decades too young to be a Vietnam vet; he could still be a commando left over from the Gulf War or Afghanistan. More than one soldier had come back from war forever changed. Maybe he was just plain crazy. Running around in the mountains without a stitch of clothes wasn’t exactly sane. Neither was thinking she’d stay here calmly waiting for him to return.

The pool was surrounded on two sides by high steep banks and on a third by a sheer rock wall. Kenzie frowned. The only easy way in or out was the way her captor had gone, and she dared not take that route. Could she manage to keep her wits about her long enough to climb the steep embankment? A critical surveillance of the two banks was not promising, but she had to try. Though she wasn’t quite sure where she was, the highway couldn’t be too far away. Maybe she could see it from the top.

Normally Kenzie would have been able to scramble up the bank without much trouble, but today her whole body hurt. Gingerly, she stood up and tested her balance. For the moment at least, the dizziness seemed to have passed. Every muscle protested as she started up the hillside. The cool mountain air hit her as soon as she left the warmth of the pool and added greatly to her discomfort.

By the time Kenzie reached the top, her misery had increased tenfold. Cold, wet, and hurting, she sat for a few minutes to catch her breath and to think. There was no sign of human habitation in the unending wall of trees, not even a forest-service privy. She listened intently but only heard the roar of the waterfall behind her and a few birds. Either the highway was deserted, or it was farther away than she had anticipated.

Kenzie frowned as she studied the pool behind her. From her vantage point on top of the hill she could see the waterfall and another pool beyond the thermal pool below. It definitely wasn’t part of the Sinks. Instead of pouring down a cascade into a cave at the bottom, the river here came straight out of the cliff and fell into a clear pool. In fact, nothing about this place was even remotely familiar. She rubbed her face in confusion. Where in the world was she?

On the other side of the waterfall, she caught movement on the far bank. Squinting down into the trees, she saw Whiskey Jug Johnson. He was dressed from head to toe in buckskins complete with fringes. Probably thought he was Daniel Boone or something. The only thing missing was the coonskin cap. A cold chill ran through her that had nothing to do with her wet clothing. The man was even crazier than she thought. He appeared to be digging a trench of some sort. A grave? Kenzie didn’t plan to wait and find out.

Unfortunately, she didn’t know which way to go. Though she wasn’t sure exactly where she was, it had to be somewhere close to the Sinks. Surely she could find her way back there, or even to the highway where she could flag down a passing car. Kenzie blessed the girl scout leader who taught her how to tell directions as she glanced up in the sky. The sun had just passed its zenith and started its descent into the west. She knew the town of Lander was northeast of the Sinks so she turned her shoulder to the sun and set out.

About twenty minutes later Kenzie discovered a well-worn trail at the edge of the forest. With a feeling of relief she followed it back through the trees. It was sure to lead to a campground or something.

As she walked, her clothes gradually dried in the warm summer sunshine. Only her feet remained damp and uncomfortable in her sneakers. Even so, she was glad she had chosen to wear them rather than her sandals. The day wore on and she walked through the forest, across meadows, up hills, and even crossed a couple of small streams. At times the trail grew faint. She lost it once when she had to cross a huge granite outcropping but managed to locate it again on the far side. The trail seemed better defined after that and hope resurfaced. She must be getting closer to civilization.

By the time the sun went down in the west, Kenzie felt as though she had walked twenty miles. She was tired and hungry, and her feet hurt almost as bad as her head. Worst of all, she was cold. Without the sun, the mountain air cooled rapidly. Her T-shirt and shorts did little to keep her warm.

Before long it was full dark with no moon to light the way. Millions of stars dotted the heavens, but their feeble light couldn’t penetrate the inky darkness that surrounded her. The trail was becoming more and more difficult to see, and she knew she would have to stop soon or risk losing it all together. Kenzie shivered. How in the world was she going to keep warm?

Suddenly she thought she saw a flicker of light through the trees ahead. As she drew closer, she realized it must be someone’s campfire. Thank heavens, she’d managed to stumble across a campground. A few minutes later she walked out of the trees and into the clearing.

After the darkness of the forest she was momentarily blinded by the bright light of the fire. Even so, she could see someone sitting on the other side. “Hello,” she said with a falsely bright smile. “I’m Kenzie Armstrong, and I seem to be lost.”

“I’ll bet you’re hungry too,” said a deep and vaguely familiar voice. “Come on in and have a bite to eat.”

Kenzie’s stomach tightened in horrified panic as the man behind the fire stood up. With a million acres of forest and hundreds of campers on the stupid mountain she’d managed to stumble across the one camp she didn’t want to be in. Running away was useless; he’d catch her before she’d gone ten feet. As closely as he was watching, she’d never be able to overpower him either. Once again, she was in the clutches of the sex-crazed right wing militant who called himself Whiskey Jug Johnson!

CHAPTER 2

“Come, sit by the fire and warm yourself,” Adam said, pointing to a log on the woman’s side of the campfire.

“I-I’m not that cold.”

Adam knew it was a lie, but pretended to accept it. The woman looked ready to bolt back into the woods. If she ran he’d have to bring her back, and he didn’t relish the idea. His ribs still hurt where she’d elbowed him in the hot pool. “Supper will be ready soon,” he said in the same calm tone he’d use for a skittish horse. “Hope you like rabbit.”

The woman looked skeptical but said nothing as he put another piece of wood on the fire. The silence stretched, broken only by the popping of the hot pitch and the occasional hoot of an owl. Adam turned the spitted rabbit over the flames and patiently waited for her to make the first move. He still didn’t know what she was or how she’d gotten here. As far as he knew he’d never even dreamed of a woman like her. His fantasies ran more toward tall, leggy, redheads.

It was hard not to stare at her in those clothes. They certainly didn’t belong in this time or place. Though his experience with white women here was limited to a few saloon girls, Adam was pretty sure they didn’t wear clothing like hers even under their dresses. She wasn’t even self-conscious about her near nakedness. He could see her bare legs for God’s sake! It didn’t help to lift his gaze either, for he found himself staring at the curve of her waist or the outline of her breasts. Dangerous thinking for a man who spent most of his time alone.

“How far are we from the highway?” she asked finally.

Adam looked up in surprise. “Highway?”

“Yeah, you know, the road.”

“Oh.” Adam scratched his chin. “Well, I guess it must be about ten or twelve miles as the crow flies.”

“Ten or twelve miles!” She sat down on the log with a thump. “I’ve been walking the wrong way all afternoon then.”

“If you were headed to Laramie, you were.”

She blinked. “I was going to Lander.”

“Lander?”

“It’s a good 250 miles from Laramie.” She wrinkled her forehead. “I drove up the canyon from Lander. I wasn’t twenty miles out of town.”

Adam blinked. Lander? Where in the world had she come up with that name? “All I know is that you came over the falls.”

“The last I remember was falling into the river above the Sinks and getting sucked down into the cave.” She crossed her arms over her chest and ran her hands over her upper arms. “Nobody knows where the water that goes into Sinks winds up, but...”

“Maybe the two rivers are connected underground.” He frowned. “My mother’s people have some pretty strange stories about those falls.”

His maternal relatives weren’t the only ones with strange stories, Kenzie thought. Did he really expect her to believe she’d traveled several hundred miles in an underground river?

Adam gave her a sympathetic glance. “Tomorrow’s another day. Things will look better after a meal and a good night’s sleep.”

She looked around the clearing, peering off into the darkness. “This isn’t an established campsite is it?”

“I’ve camped here a time or two, but I don’t know as I’d call it established.”

“I meant...oh never mind.” Kenzie knew it was useless to ask him where the nearest forest service campground was. She couldn’t depend on his answer any more than she could be sure the highway was really ten miles away. If she were smart, she’d get the heck out of here. She held her hands out to the fire. Its heat felt good against her chilled skin. On the other hand there was no way she could escape him without a head start even if she knew where she was going, which she didn’t. The tantalizing smell of the cooking meat wafted toward her with invisible tendrils. Her stomach grumbled. As long as he stayed on his side of the fire, maybe waiting until morning wasn’t such a bad idea.

The question was, how in the world was she going to keep him over there? Several possibilities tumbled through her mind but none seemed workable. Somehow, she didn’t think he’d be overly impressed if she threatened him with her self-defense training. Even if she lied and said she had a black belt in karate, there was no guarantee he’d consider that a deterrent. For all she knew, he had one himself and would promptly challenge her to a match right here in the forest.

A slight smile curved her lips as she pictured the ridiculous image. Suddenly, almost as if he read her thoughts, he raised his head and stared straight at her. The fathomless dark eyes were impossible to read in the dancing firelight, but his intent expression made her heart skip a beat and her throat tighten.

“Mr. Johnson,” she began in what she hoped was a business-like tone. “I think we need to get a few things stra...”

“Shhh.....!” He rose to his feet, paused for a moment, then came around the fire in a no-nonsense stride, his long legs eating up the ground between them.

Kenzie’s flinching recoil nearly sent her tumbling backward off the log as she put up her hands to protect herself. “No!” she cried.

“I said be quiet,” he hissed, then jumped the log and disappeared into the dark forest behind her.

She whirled around and stared after him in open-mouthed amazement. The man was definitely a lunatic. There were several long moments of silence then a faint crashing sound. Kenzie wondered uneasily what Whiskey Jug was doing. Had he seen someone? The scuffling sounds could be two men fighting. For a moment she felt a spurt of hope, but then realized there was no certainty she’d be better off with anyone else. For all she knew these mountains were the hiding place of a whole regiment of survivalists who didn’t care for company. Whiskey Jug Johnson could be the best of the lot.

A high-pitched snort sounded back in the trees followed by a sharp curse. Kenzie’s eyes widened in sudden comprehension. It wasn’t another man Whiskey Jug was fighting but an animal of some sort. Her stomach jerked. Grizzly bears and mountain lions had both regained much of their former territory in these mountains during the past few years. Even the wolf packs that had been reintroduced to Yellowstone Park had made their way to Sinks Canyon.

Kenzie glanced around looking for some sort of weapon to defend herself with should the need arise. Scanning the camp, she realized with a slight shock that she’d never seen Whiskey Jug Johnson with any sort of gun. What kind of self-respecting militant went around unarmed?

The sound of something moving toward her through the underbrush threw Kenzie into a panic. With her heart thumping, she grabbed the first broken branch she could lay her hand on and retreated across the clearing to the other side of the fire. It wasn’t much, as weapons go, but it was better than nothing.

Moments later Whiskey Jug emerged from the trees leading a large black horse. “Now we won’t have to walk,” he said with an air of deep satisfaction.

A horse was about the last thing Kenzie had expected. She lowered her branch. “Where did he come from?”

“I expect he was attracted by the light, though I can’t say I know why. I figured the dunderhead would be halfway to Mexico by now.”

Kenzie vaguely remembered Whiskey Jug mentioning that his horse had run away. “He’s yours?”

“Sure is. He bolted when you came over the falls. Dang fool hasn’t got the brains God gave a tree stump.”

“He seems calm enough now.”

Whiskey Jug pulled his rifle out of the scabbard and leaned it up against the log, before hooking the left stirrup over the saddle horn and loosening the cinch. “For the moment anyway. I’ve had a devil of a time breaking him.” A log shifted in the fire, sending a shower of sparks into the air. Whiskey Jug tightened his hold on the reins as the horse jerked back. “Damn it, Bear Bait, hold still. That fire isn’t going to hurt you.”

Kenzie raised her eyebrows. “Bear Bait?”

Whiskey Jug shrugged. “I called him that so much it kind of got to be a habit.” He pulled the saddle off and threw it over the log where Kenzie had been sitting. “It’s about all he’s good for.”

“But he’s beautiful,” Kenzie protested.

“Looks don’t count for much out here. Dependability and endurance are a whole lot more important when your life’s at stake.”

“I suppose that’s true, but how often does your life depend on a horse?”

Whiskey Jug frowned. “A man doesn’t last very long in these mountains without one. Horseback is the only way to get around except on foot, and this is mighty big country for that.”

“The only way to get around?” Kenzie’s look of confusion cleared as she glanced around in sudden comprehension. “Oh, I get it. We’re in the wilderness.”

Whiskey Jug gave her a long look. “Where did you think we were?”

“Within walking distance of my car. But that can’t be. They don’t allow vehicles of any kind into the wilderness. Besides, the nearest wilderness is miles and miles from Sinks Canyon.” She rubbed her forehead. “This gets more confusing by the minute.”

“That’s just what I was thinking,” he muttered under his breath.

“Pardon me?”

“Nothing.” He turned back to the horse. “That rabbit ought to be about done. Why don’t you give it another turn?”

Kenzie looked dubiously at the fire. “How do I do that?”

“Just turn the spit.” He glanced over his shoulder at her. “You might want to put your club down first, though. It’s easier if you have both hands free, and you’re in no danger now.”

Kenzie blushed. She’d forgotten she held the stick. It was obvious from the sarcasm in his tone that he didn’t think much of her choice of weapons. “Actually, I thought you might need it for kindling in the morning when you want to get the fire started again,” she said with airy nonchalance as she dropped it into the wood pile.

“I don’t plan on letting the fire go out tonight.”

“You don’t?”

“Nope. Gets cold up here, and we’ve only got the one blanket. Think maybe I’ll leave a good buffalo robe in my cache by Rainbow Falls from now on.”

Whiskey Jug’s reference to money didn’t make any more sense now than it had at the waterfall, but Kenzie decided to ignore it as she concentrated on turning the rabbit. The spit wobbled a bit but stayed firmly wedged in the forked branches Whiskey Jug had stuck in the ground. The last thing she needed was to dump their dinner into the fire. That kind of thing would make a hungry man lose his temper, and Whiskey Jug Johnson didn’t look like the type that was long on patience anyway.

The smell of the cooking meat sharpened her own hunger until it was almost painful. Whiskey Jug had said the rabbit was done, but she didn’t have the slightest idea what to do next. There wasn’t a table to set or even any plates to put the rabbit on.

Kenzie glanced hopefully at Whiskey Jug, but he appeared to be concentrating entirely on Bear Bait. He ran his hands up and down the animal’s legs and over its flanks and back, apparently checking for injuries. When he was satisfied, he grabbed a handful of grass and started to rub down the animal’s glossy hide. It didn’t look as though they were going to eat until the horse had been cared for. Maybe if she pitched in, the work would get done faster.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Kenzie asked.

Adam looked up in surprise. “I don’t know. I guess you could bring me the picket if you want. It’s in my saddle bag.”

“All right,” Kenzie said, heading for the saddle. “What does it look like?”

“It’s a leather cuff hooked to a chain.”

His words stopped Kenzie in mid-stride as images of manacles chained to a bed crystallized in her mind. “A...a leather cuff?”

“I fasten it around Bear Bait’s leg, and drive a stake into the ground through the end of the chain. It’s the only way I can get him to stay put. He’d be halfway down the mountain if I used hobbles. Figured out how to crow hop the first time I put them on him.”

Embarrassed by her lurid imagination, Kenzie was glad he’d turned back to his work. Brad always teased her about how easy it was to figure out what she was thinking just by reading her expression.

When she finally reached the saddle, she paused in surprise. Though the leather looked new, the styling was very old. In fact it looked like a museum piece. “Is this a replica?”

“No, it’s a Pollard. I had him make it for me two years ago when the trapping was good. Can’t say that I ever heard of a saddle maker named Replica.”

“No, I mean a copy,” she said reaching into the saddle bag. “It looks like something right out of the eighteen hundreds.”

“What do you mean?”

“It looks like it was made in the eighteen nineties.”

Adam stopped what he was doing and rested both arms on the back of the horse as he turned to look at her. “It was made in 1866,” he said.

She laughed. “Yeah right.” Her smile faded. “You’re serious aren’t you?”

Their gazes met and held for a long moment, each trying to read the other’s thoughts. Kenzie was the first to look away. He was crazier than she thought.

She reached into the far saddle bag. “Here’s your picket,” she said pulling it out. A bright yellow object dropped to the ground. A look of surprise crossed her face when she bent to pick it up. “Hey, you found my duck.”

“It’s yours?”

“Until I threw it away, it was.” She gave it an experimental squeak. Bear Bait snorted and threw up his head.

“Dammit!” Adam grabbed the bridle before Bear Bait could bolt. “What the hell is that thing doing here anyway?”

“It’s just a toy. My boyfriend won it for me at a carnival. He was trying to get one of those big stuffed animals, but for some reason his aim was lousy that night.” Kenzie was suddenly aware of how silly it must sound. “It was all kind of a joke,” she finished lamely.

Adam let go of the bridle and started grooming the horse again. “I would have thought you were a little old to be playing with toys or little boys for that matter.”

“He wasn’t a little boy, he was my boyfriend. You know, the guy I was dating, my significant other.” When Whiskey Jug still looked blank, Kenzie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He was going a little overboard with his 1800’s fantasy. “How about my sweetheart?”

“Ah.” Whiskey Jug nodded. “He was courting you.”

“Er... right.”

“This....toy seems an odd sort of gift for a man to give his intended.”

“Oh, he wasn’t my fiancé. In fact, we each went our own way soon after that.”

“Small wonder,” he muttered fastening the leather cuff above Bear Bait’s foot.

Kenzie decided to ignore the remark as she watched him drive the picket spike into the ground. “Do you want me to turn the rabbit again?”

“No, we best eat it while there’s still some juice left in it,” he said wiping his hands on the legs of his pants and moving toward the fire.

Kenzie experienced a momentary twinge of revulsion as she watched him handle the rabbit with the same hands he’d used to wipe down his horse. By the time he’d cut the rabbit in half, her hunger overcame her distaste, and she accepted her meal with gratitude. Though there was a blackened crust on the outside, the meat was surprisingly good. Kenzie ate every bite and licked her fingers when she finished.

“I never had rabbit before,” she admitted. “I’d heard it tastes like chicken, but I never really believed it.”

“Does it?” Adam asked, as he rose to his feet and stretched.

“Does it what?”

“Taste like chicken.”

“Don’t you know?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Not too many chickens running around up here in the mountains. I mostly eat deer, elk and moose with an occasional bear thrown in for a change.”

“You eat bear?” she asked revolted by the thought.

“Yup,” he grinned at her. “Keeps me from being puny.”

“But surely you had chicken before you moved up here...”

“Lived up here since my Pa bought me at a Rendezvous in the Wind River Country.” He pulled a wicked looking knife out of the sheath at his waist and tested the sharpness of the blade against his thumb. “I wasn’t much more than knee high at the time.”

Kenzie’s mouth dropped open. “Your father bought you?”

“More or less. Pa traded Crazy Charlie a jug of rotgut whiskey for me.” He flashed her a lopsided grin. “That’s where I got my name.”

“Selling children is against the law!” Kenzie exclaimed.

“Maybe back East, but around here folks pretty much do what they want.”

“I think that’s terrible!” Kenzie was aghast at his blatant disregard for the law. Of course, he was a militant so maybe that was to be expected.

Adam whacked off a pine bough. “What’s so terrible about it? All Pa did was make everybody happy. Crazy Charlie didn’t want me. Hell, he couldn’t even remember where he’d found me for sure, and my Ma had been hankering after a baby.”

“What about your real parents?”

Adam shrugged. “Probably dead. Can’t quite figure out what white folks were doing out here back then anyway.”

“Maybe Crazy Charlie kidnapped you.”

Adam chuckled and shook his head. “From where? In 1839 the closest civilization was St. Louis. Crazy Charlie is harmless, but he’s not one to go to any extra work. Besides, what would a lone trapper want with a little boy, especially a little white boy? Makes no sense.”

1839! There it was again. Kenzie frowned. This man was truly convinced he was living in the nineteenth century and his fantasy was oddly complete. No doubt if she asked, he could tell her all sorts of convincing tales of growing up in the mountains. The strangest part was that it all sounded so completely real. “If your mother had waited so long for a baby, I find it hard to believe your mother called you Whiskey Jug.”

“She didn’t.”

“Well then what’s your real name?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Adam cut another bough and tossed it into the pile. “No one ever calls me by it. Don’t suppose I’d answer to it if anyone was to use it any more than if they were to call me Mr. Johnson.”

“What are you doing?” she asked as he picked up the pile of pine boughs and moved them closer to the fire.

“Making us a bed.”

“Us?” she squeaked. “There’s no way I’m sleeping with you.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Then where do you plan to sleep?”

“Right next to the fire.”

Adam snorted. “You won’t last five minutes.” He glanced at her bare legs. “Especially in those clothes. You’ll cook on one side and freeze on the other.”

“I don’t care.”

They stood glaring stubbornly at each other for a long moment, then Adam sighed. “Look, I don’t plan on taking liberties with you if that’s what you’re afraid of,” he said. “In fact, we can spoon, if that will make you feel safer.”

“What?”

“You know, spoon. We put our heads at opposite ends of the bed.” He demonstrated by putting his hands together, fingers to palms. “That way, you’ll only have to sleep with my feet.”

Kenzie glanced from him to the bed of pine boughs and back. Sleeping on the cold hard ground with no blanket really didn’t appeal to her. Besides, if rape were his plan, he’d have already done it. “All right,” she said doubtfully.

Adam didn’t even acknowledge her capitulation, just finished arranging the boughs. He spread the horse blanket over the needles then shook out the blanket and lay it over the top.

As tired as she was, Kenzie had to admit it looked pretty inviting. She stood looking at it, uncertain what to do next.

“You can go to bed if you want,” Adam said picking up his rifle. “I’m going to take a look around.” With that he strode out of camp and into the dark, silent woods.

Kenzie stared after him for a moment then scrambled into bed. It wasn’t terribly comfortable and smelled strongly of horse, but it was better than nothing. She gazed up into the star-studded sky and concentrated on relaxing. A hundred camping trips from her youth floated through her memory. Instead of sheep, she and her sister had taken turns counting satellites as they went across the sky.

Kenzie smiled to herself. Tonight, there was no one to dispute whether a light belonged to a plane rather than a satellite. She was still looking for her first one, when Whiskey Jug came back ten minutes later and crawled into bed. True to his word, he put his head at the far end of the makeshift bed.

Thirty minutes later she still hadn’t spotted her first satellite and the first stirrings of unease flickered to life. Surely the law against any kind of motorized travel in the wilderness didn’t extend to outer space. She shifted slightly and turned her gaze in a new direction.

“It’s Adam.”

Kenzie started at the sound of his voice. Somehow, in her search of the heavens, she’d almost forgotten he was there. “Wh...what?”

“My name. It’s Adam.”

“Adam Johnson,” she said experimentally. “It has a nice sound.”

“You seem restless,” he said. “Sometimes the ground is too hard even with pine boughs under you.”

“No, it’s not that. I’m just looking for satellites.”

“Satellites?”

“Yeah, you know little lights that move across the sky,” she said with a touch of sarcasm in her voice.

“Oh, you mean falling stars,” he said after a long pause. “You may as well go to sleep. They come later in the summer.”

Kenzie grimaced in the darkness. Oh, of course how could she have forgotten? They didn’t have satellites back in 1868! Suddenly she was determined to find her satellite to see how he explained it away. She continued to gaze up at the stars until her eyelids finally began to get heavy, but never once did she see what she was looking for. Her last thought before sleep overtook her was as irrational as it was frightening. What if she had somehow become caught up in Whiskey Jug Johnson’s fantasy?

CHAPTER 3

Adam Johnson slowly opened his eyes. The blinking lights on his control panel flashed in odd syncopation with the loud ringing of the door bell. He sighed deeply. “Just a minute,” he called, stripping the gloves from his hands. The door bell continued its insistent clangor as though he hadn’t spoken. “Damned interfering woman.” He removed the helmet from his head and set it carefully on the specially padded pedestal next to him.

He dropped his hands to the push rims of his wheelchair. “Yeah, yeah I’m coming.” Using a couple of powerful strokes he backed out of his computer station and propelled himself to the door. With a quick flick of the wrist, he twisted the lock and turned back toward his instrument panel.

“Come on in, Annie,” he said, disapproval heavy in his voice..

“My aren’t we in a cheerful mood this evening?” The shapely blond held three plastic bags of groceries in one hand and a gallon of milk balanced precariously in her arms as she wrestled with the door. “What’s the matter, miss your nap this afternoon?”

“Annoying sounds make me grouchy. Some idiot was leaning on the bell.” Adam flipped a couple of switches and studied the read-outs on one of the screens.

“Sorry about that,” she said cheerfully. “I had my hands full.”

“What are you doing here, anyway? My surgery isn’t until Wednesday and you know I don’t like to be disturbed when I’m working.”

“Well, somebody has to pull you out of that computer once in awhile.” She closed the door with an elbow and crossed the room to deposit the bags and milk on the breakfast bar between the living room and kitchen. “I knew you’d forget to go get food so I picked you up some groceries while I was doing my own shopping.”

Annie glanced up at the blank screen attached to the hanging cupboards above her head. Reaching under the counter, she pressed a button. The empty hall outside flickered into view. “You know, Adam, John installed that security camera for a reason. The whole idea is for you to find out who is outside before you unlock the door. What if it hadn’t been me?”

“I knew it was you. Nobody else comes by.” He tapped out a string numbers on the keyboard. “Don’t know why your husband thinks I need a security system anyway.”

Annie leaned her back against the counter and crossed her arms. “Gee, I don’t suppose there’s a burglar alive who’d be interested in the four zillion dollars worth of computer equipment you have in here, not to mention what you’re working on.”

Adam snorted, “As if they’d have a clue. I doubt if there’s a handful of people in the world who’d recognize what it is.”

“Maybe not. On the other hand there are some very bad people out there that would pay just about anything to get their hands on the first virtual reality program capable of simulating the real world, not to mention the creator of that program.”

“You worry too much.”

“And you don’t worry enough. Want some supper?”

“Annie, go home to your husband and kids”

“Can’t. John had a security system to install up in Jackson and his partner is gone on vacation. Lisa and Seth offered to go along and help.”

“Too bad you didn’t go with them.”

Annie smiled. “What, and ruin all John’s fun? Three long, lovely days of listening to his teenagers bicker back and forth. Now what about that supper?”

“I don’t suppose you’ll go away until you’re satisfied I’m not starving to death, will you?”

“Nope.” Annie grinned as she straightened and pushed away from the counter. “You know, you really ought to be to be grateful to me. In the long run it’ll will save you time. You won’t have to stop and fix yourself something or put your groceries away.”

Adam just grunted and focused his attention back on his calculations. For the next three quarters of an hour there was little noise in the apartment aside from the clicking of computer keys and the sound of meal preparation.

“This makes no sense,” Adam muttered to one in particular.

Annie scooped grilled cheese sandwiches out of the frying pan and slid them onto plates. “What’s wrong?”

“A new character showed up today.”

“That’s happened before hasn’t it?” Annie looked up as she opened a bag of chips.

“Yeah, but this one’s different.” Adam scanned the screen in front of him. “I’ve always been able to find them in the programming.”

“What do you mean?”

Adam pointed to an incomprehensible block of numbers and letters. “For instance, that’s Jesse Three Dogs. And this,” he said scrolling down several pages, “is the Indian village.”

“How in the world do you know that?” Annie put the plates on the table and walked across the room to look over his shoulder. “It all looks like gibberish to me.”

“It’s too complicated to explain. Suffice it to say I recognize the pieces when I see them. I can tell when something has changed, too. I’ve looked through the whole program, and I didn’t find anything unusual.”

“Well, maybe it’s not big enough yet.”

Adam turned his head and looked up at her, the incredulous expression on his face speaking as plainly as words.

“Ok. That was obviously a stupid thing to say,” Annie said . “You don’t need to look at me like I have rocks in my head. I never claimed to know anything about computers.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “That’s the understatement of the century.” He turned back to his screen. “Maybe I can change it from the inside.”

“From the inside?”

He nodded. “I’ll go back in and try to reprogram the glitch from there.”

“Are you crazy?” Annie squeaked. “If it’s messing up you could get trapped inside. What then?”

Adam chuckled. “Then you’ll come in on Wednesday and unplug me.” He grinned as he reached up and switched on another monitor. “Don’t worry, Annie it’s only a glitch. It’s not even in my main program.”

“What do you mean?”

“Look.” He moved his mouse and tapped the button a couple of times. Suddenly a bright picture sprang to life on the screen. Bold letters flashed across a moving landscape, announcing Fantasy Quest. “This is the program I’m putting together for Microcom. The other one I use to test out ideas I have.”

“You mean like the Indian village?”

“Exactly like that. I’m not sure what caused the glitch or where it is, but it doesn’t represent any danger.”

Annie rubbed her arms. “You’re sure about that? It creeps me out the way that thing keeps changing on its own. ”

“Creeps you out?” Adam laughed and shook his head. “You’re going to have to stop borrowing from Seth’s vocabulary.”

“Actually, it was Lisa’s, and you’re avoiding the issue.”

“There is no issue except that I’m hungry. Is that meal you promised me about ready?”

“You’re trying to distract me.”

“Moi?” He gazed up at her with a look of wounded innocence. “Now why would I do that?”

Annie put one hand on her hip and shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t know why I bother with you.”

“Because you can’t resist the urge to try and save me from myself.”

Annie made a face. “I think you’re a lost cause.”

“Probably, but I’m glad you haven’t given up on me.”

“Oh? And why is that?”

“Because,” he said whirling his chair away from the computer console and heading toward the table, “you make a killer grilled cheese sandwich.”

She laughed as she followed him to the table. “And the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, right?”

“Something like that.” His eyes brightened as he lifted one corner of his sandwich. “Ah, ham and cheddar with Dijon mustard. Tell John he’d better be good to you or I’ll steal you away from him for your sandwiches alone.”

She smiled as she sat down and shook out her napkin. “Not a chance.”

“Why not? I’m handsome, charming, and a great conversationalist.”

“Not to mention ridiculously rich,” she added. “No, in spite of all that I’d have to turn you down even if I weren’t madly in love with my husband. No woman could compete with your computers. She’d be a fool to even try.”

Adam gave a dramatic sigh. “Ah, well then I guess I’ll have to settle for your sandwiches.” He took a bite and closed his eyes as he chewed. “Mmm heaven on Earth.”

“Flatterer.”

Adam winked at her and the meal passed amid companionable conversation. Afterwards Annie loaded the dishwasher and finished putting away the groceries while Adam went back to his computer.

“Well, that’s that,” she said at last. “Now where did I put my car keys?”

Adam glanced over his shoulder and smiled as she started digging through her purse. Her keys with the distinctive silver Cinderella-shoe key chain lay half in and half out of a plastic potted plant on a stand near his desk. He reached over and scooped up the keys. “Think fast,” he said tossing them to her.

She caught them in mid-air. “How in the world did they get there?”

Adam raised his hands. “I didn’t touch them I swear.”

“That reminds me, I’ll pick you up for your appointment with Dr. Dowie at 1:30.”

“I suppose you will whether I want you to or not.”

“Darn right. Until the doctor gives you the ok to drive again, I have you under my thumb.” She walked to the door. “I left you some lunch in the fridge. All you need to do is heat it up in the microwave. If you know what’s good for you, I won’t find it there tomorrow afternoon when I check.”

“Do you know you’re a bully?”

Annie grinned. “That’s what big sisters are for.”

“You’re not my sister.”

“There you go splitting hairs again.” Annie opened the door and blew him a kiss. “See you tomorrow.”

He watched her walk down the hall on the surveillance monitor. At the corner she turned around, stuck her thumbs in her ears and waggled her fingers at the camera before waving and disappearing from sight.

Adam laughed out loud. Annie was a treasure he probably didn’t deserve but was grateful he had anyway. Hers was not the first face he saw when he opened his eyes after the attack that had left his legs paralyzed and useless, but it was the only one he remembered from his long, pain-filled recovery. They’d started out as patient and physical therapist, but somewhere during the months of painful exercises they’d become friends.

A year later, they met by chance at a snow-cone stand on a hot August afternoon. By the time all the snow cones had been consumed, Annie’s kids were taking turns sitting on Adam’s lap and squealing in delight as he whipped his chair around the park’s many walk ways at top speed. The next week, Annie and her husband John took Adam to his first wheelchair race. Just as John had predicted, it was love at first sight. Before Adam knew what was happening, John had enrolled him in a gym and begun him on a rigorous training regime.

Adam sighed and rubbed his left shoulder. Now here he was, ten years later, a washed-up, has been. Racing had been the one thing that made him feel whole again. The trophies he’d won were secondary to the satisfaction of competing with other highly trained athletes. A dislocated shoulder and massive tendon damage had brought it to an end. Even Wednesday’s surgery wouldn’t make his shoulder whole again.

He turned his chair toward the computer console again. At least he still had this. Computers had been his passion long before he’d been chained to the chair. Though he’d built his first computer at the age of ten and created his first break-through software package at 15, his real love was Virtual Reality. Fantasy Quest was the fruit of that love and was projected to completely revolutionize the world of VR when it went on the market in February.

Still, it was his test program that drew Adam. Early on he’d realized he needed a place to try out all his new ideas without contaminating Fantasy Quest. With that in mind he’d created a program inspired by some of the brightest memories from his childhood and the time he’d spent with his father. As an amateur historian and black-powder gun enthusiast, Trelan Johnson had been fascinated with the life of his great-grandfather, a mountain man named Whiskey Jug Johnson. Trelan embraced the life of the mountain man once a year at a rendezvous reenactment somewhere in the West. From the time he was small, Adam had accompanied his father to these events, reveling in the primitive living conditions and mountain-man festivities as much as his father did.

So when it came time to create a place where he could try out new ideas, the world of the mountain man had seemed like a natural. He’d created the setting and his own persona based on what he knew of the real Whiskey Jug Johnson who had been bought at a rendezvous and raised in the mountains by a white trapper and his Arapaho wife. From the beginning Adam had felt comfortable there amid the pines and high rocky peaks of the Great Snowy Range. It had welcomed him like an old friend when he sought solace there after the fiasco of his last race.

“Let’s see where that glitch is hiding,” Adam muttered as he focused on the screen in front of him.” He scrolled through the programming looking for any slight deviation. When he’d first tried to put people in his world, he had attempted to recreate his father. The result had been a senile old trapper Adam named Crazy Charlie. Since then he’d learned how to do his creating from the inside of Beta Quest. The town of Laramie City was populated with his first attempts. Many were mere caricatures but a few, like a saloon girl named Dolly were quite believable.

Kenzie, wasn’t the first character to show up unannounced, but she was the first that didn’t fit. All the others were town-folk or Native Americans, and they were all in step with his 1868 world. Only Kenzie was different. From her clothing and speech to her expensive tennis bracelet, everything about her was 21st century. Strangest of all, he didn’t seem to have any control over her.

Adam’s ability to influence the characters in Beta Quest was limited, but he had become pretty adept at changing them in small ways. To date, his most complex character was a self-appointed uncle named Jesse Three Dogs. Adam couldn’t keep the old man from drinking too much whiskey, but when the alcohol wore off, Jesse became the quintessential wise old Indian just as Adam had intended him to be.

Kenzie had defied all attempts to change her. Adam’s first inclination had been to convert her to the proper century by acting as though he didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. So far, it hadn’t been overly successful. Though he hated the thought of it, Adam knew he was going to have to delete her from the program. Except that he couldn’t find her in the programming anywhere. It almost seemed as if she weren’t part of it, which was impossible.

Adam scanned the program yet again, but to no avail. There didn’t seem to be as much as a semi-colon out of place in the programming let alone an abnormality as big as Kenzie. He rubbed a hand over his face. The only way to deal with the glitch was to go back inside.

For some reason, Adam didn’t experience the flash of irritation he usually did when things didn’t go as he’d planned. Instead, he felt something very much like anticipation. There were worse things than hanging out with a computer glitch, especially one who looked like Kenzie Armstrong.

CHAPTER 4

Dawn was painting the eastern sky with a vivid pink brush when Adam opened his eyes. This was usually his favorite time, when the entire day stretched out ahead of him, fresh and full of possibilities. Today he felt nothing but misgivings as he watched the golden rays of the sun slice through the first blush of sunrise.

Though Beta Quest existed only inside his computer, it followed the natural rules of the universe. The woman, Kenzie, couldn’t be deleted from here and he couldn’t change the course the program chose to follow. He’d just have to play it out and hope he could get her to change.

Kenzie, lay curled hard against the warmth of his legs. Obviously lying next to the fire covered with the single blanket hadn’t been enough to keep her scantily clad body warm. She’d been tossing and turning ever since he’d entered Beta Quest. It was sheer torture. Every movement reminded him how long he’d been without a woman and how good this one looked to him. Even with a vicious sunburn and covered with cuts and bruises she was appealing. At any rate, she was better company than Bear Bait. ‘Who do you think you’re kidding?’ whispered an insidious little voice inside his head. ‘You’d think she was pretty in a roomful of beautiful women.’

Adam pushed the notion away with a sigh. It didn’t matter what he thought of her, he’d programmed Beta Quest so that no one could use it as a sexual playground including himself. She seemed to have gotten over her initial terror, but she obviously didn’t trust him. Of course, that went both ways. He didn’t exactly trust her either with her little yellow devil duck and elbow of mass destruction. Everything she said and did reinforced his first impression. He had a crazy woman on his hands.

It was hard to say why the program had created a glitch with rats in her attic. Whatever the cause, he was stuck with Kenzie until he figured out what to do with her. The tribe thought there was great magic in such people; that they were to be protected and revered.

Almost as if his uneasy thoughts disturbed her slumber, the woman stirred against him, and threw her arm over his legs. His reaction was instantaneous and nearly painful in its intensity. Adam ground his teeth as irresistible images of love making tumbled through his head. It was definitely time to go. Carefully, so as not to wake her, he disentangled himself and crept from his warm, comfortable bed into the sharp mountain air.

An involuntary shiver ran through him. Usually he draped the blanket around his shoulders to ward off the early morning chill as he built up the fire. Thankfully, it only took a few minutes to rekindle flames from the embers. As he warmed his hands, he scanned the clearing. Bear Bait looked half asleep, completely ignoring the squirrel that chittered at him from a nearby tree.

Adam glanced over his shoulder at Kenzie. She didn’t appear to even realize he’d left. A single hand lay curled next to her cheek, and she slept with a slight smile on her face, as though her dreams were pleasant. A magpie flew overhead, his raucous call loud enough to wake the dead. Kenzie didn’t even wiggle.

The animals convinced him there was no danger in the area. The only food he’d brought along was some buffalo jerky and a canteen of water. Another glance at Kenzie and the blanket draped across her slender frame decided him. Jerky would be good enough for him, but she looked half-starved. She should be safe enough here while he went to find something for their breakfast.

Adam had programmed certain rules into the structure of Beta Quest in order to maintain the illusion of reality. Characters had to sleep and they had to eat. In Fantasy Quest the players could choose to have grocery stores or cupboards full of food. But in his own little kingdom, Adam preferred to provide food for himself.

There had always been game here, though at first it had been fairly scarce. He never knew if the animals had increased or if his hunting skills had improved, but it was rare that he came home from a hunting trip empty handed. In the tradition of the mountain man, he used every part of the animal, jerking meat he couldn’t eat fresh and making clothing from the hides and sinew.

Adam slung his powder horn around his neck, picked up his rifle and checked to make sure the powder was dry. With a final look at the sleeping woman, he crossed the clearing and entered the woods on silent, moccasined feet.

He hadn’t gone far when he came across fresh deer sign. After a moment of hesitation, he decided to follow. Though he wouldn’t be able to take the extra meat with him this morning, they weren’t so far from his cabin that he couldn’t come back and get the rest later in the day. He’d need plenty of meat if Kenzie stayed.

As he stalked the deer, plans revolved in his mind. The first thing he’d have to do was find Kenzie something to wear. Maybe some of his mother’s things would work. They’d be a mite large, of course, but maybe if he dressed her in the clothing of the period, she’d start act accordingly. At least she’d be decently covered. There was only so much enticement a man could take, and he was about at the end of his tolerance.

A slight movement in the trees ahead drove all other thoughts from his mind. Moments later, Adam crept up to the edge of a meadow where a young buck grazed peacefully, the twin points of his antlers still swathed in their summer velvet. Adam raised the Hawkins to his shoulder and sighted down the barrel.

Just as he squeezed the trigger, a scream split the air. The lead ball kicked up dirt inches behind the deer who was bounding across the meadow toward the safety of the trees on the opposite side, but Adam didn’t see it. He was already running toward camp, his heart pounding in his throat. All he could think of was the cougar he’d sighted yesterday, a large lioness with a den of hungry cubs to feed. One small unarmed human wouldn’t stand a chance against the big cat’s fangs and claws.

Cursing the shot he’d wasted on the deer, Adam stuck a patch and ball in his mouth to moisten them and poured powder down the barrel of his gun as he ran. On an off stride, he hit the butt of the rifle on the ground to tamp the powder then slammed the wet ball and patch down the barrel with his hand. As he seated the ball tight with the ramrod, he wished he had a Winchester repeating rifle so he wouldn’t have to load on the run like this. The entire process had taken little more than a minute, but it seemed like an eternity.

His long legs covered the remaining distance in record time, leaping obstacles in his path and dodging trees. A frightened whinny sounded close at hand, and Adam’s stomach lurched in panic. Had the marauder finished with the woman and turned its attention to Bear Bait already? With images of horrible carnage racing through his mind, he burst into the clearing, the Hawkins already swinging into place against his shoulder.

It took a second for him to realize there was nothing to shoot. Bear Bait was pulling and jerking on the reins that Kenzie held in her hands. The saddle sat on his back at a cock-eyed slant as though the cinch weren’t tight enough and someone had tried to mount. Adam’s incredulous gaze snapped to the woman who was covered with a liberal coating of dust and had a long ugly scratch on one leg.

“You tried to steal my horse!” he said accusingly. In a few quick strides he crossed the clearing and grabbed the reins out of her hands. “Give me those.”

“I...I...just...,” she stammered.

“I don’t want to hear it,” he snarled. “Just get the hell away from my horse. It’s going to take a miracle to get him calmed down after this.”

“Look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get him all riled up like this. He hardly let me get a foot in the stirrup before he blew up.”

The look Adam gave her could have started a forest fire. Kenzie started to speak but appeared to think better of it and withdrew to the bed of pine boughs on other side of the fire. She never made a sound during the entire time it took for him to remove the saddle and quiet the horse.

When he turned at last, she watched him with wary concern as he put out the fire and started to break camp. “I...I don’t know what to say.”

“No, don’t suppose I could expect you to apologize for stealing my horse.” His voice dripped with heavy sarcasm.

Kenzie had the grace to blush. “I’ll admit it was a pretty stupid stunt; but when I woke up and realized I was alone...well, I guess I didn’t think it through. It just seemed like such a perfect opportunity to...”her voice trailed off uncertainly.

“To what? Escape?”

“All right, yes. That’s exactly what I was trying to do. Every prisoner has a right, ...no, an obligation, to escape if they can.”

“Prisoner! Is that what you think?”

“What am I supposed to think? You followed me all afternoon even after I made it quite clear I didn’t want anything to do with you.”

“I was trying to protect you!”

“From what?”

A look of pure astonishment crossed his face. “From what? Holy hell, this mountain is crawling with wild animals that would just love to make a meal out of a tenderfoot like you.”

Kenzie snapped her fingers. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot this was 1890. How silly of me.”

“It’s 1868,” he said clearly exasperated, “and I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

“Hadn’t you heard? Most of the wild animals are gone, hunted to extinction by men like you.”

“Only the beaver and they were never very dangerous unless you backed them into a corner. There are still cougars and grizzlies aplenty. I suppose you’re going to tell me you have nothing to fear from them either.”

“I saw a documentary just last week that said grizzly bears are basically vegetarians and rarely eat meat.”

Adam snorted. “Somebody should tell the bears that.”

“What is it about people like you that makes you want to kill helpless little animals?”

“Hunger.”

“I guess I should have expected something like that from a living anachronism like you. There are laws against hunting out of season you know.”

Adam stared at her for a long moment then shook his head and went back to breaking camp. “Crazy woman,” he muttered under his breath.

Kenzie sighed. “Look, I obviously went about this all wrong. All I really want to do is go home. Can’t you understand that?”

He glared at her. “Listen, lady, you don’t want out of here half as bad as I want you gone.”

“Then maybe we can strike a deal. If you’ll just take me to the nearest town, I’ll pay you.”

“With what? I know damn well you weren’t carrying any money yesterday.”

“My fiancé will be glad to pay you whatever you ask when we get back to civilization.”

“Fiancé! I thought you sent him on his way after he gave you the duck.”

“No, that was Mark. This is Brad, Brad Mariot. Maybe you’ve heard of him?” she asked hopefully. Apparently his name had opened more than one door for her in the past.

“Can’t say that I have.”

“Well suffice it to say he can afford any price you name.”

He snorted. “And you figure I’ve got nothing better to do with my time than go gallivanting all over the countryside looking for this beau of yours.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll call him the minute we get into town. He’ll have the money there in no time.”

Adam raised an eyebrow. “He comes when you call?”

“He will this time. I’m sure he’s worried sick. How much do you want?”

Adam turned away. “I hate town. I wouldn’t take you there for a hundred dollars!”

“All right, how about two hundred then?”

Adam blinked. Two hundred dollars! Where in the world was she going to get that? His eyes narrowed. “How can I be sure I’d get my money?”

“You have my word.”

“The word of a horse thief?”

She frowned. “I left my ATM card and my checkbook in the car...” Suddenly her face brightened. “I know, I’ll give you my tennis bracelet for collateral.” She unfastened it from her wrist and handed it to him. “It’s worth a lot more than two hundred dollars.”

Rainbows of light danced across his palm as he gazed down at the gold and diamond bracelet in his hand. Maybe Laramie was exactly the place she needed to be. She’d probably fit right in with the motley group of misfits there. Besides, he was curious about where this was all going to lead. It wasn’t the first time things had come out differently than he expected in Beta Quest; look at Bear Bait.

“We’re leaving in ten minutes,” he said, slipping the bracelet into his possibles bag. “Best get yourself together ‘cause I’m not waiting.”

Kenzie didn’t argue, just nodded her head and hurried off into the woods. Five minutes later she was back, her hands and face damp and her hair curling in wispy tendrils around her face.

Adam resisted the urge to sigh. He’d given her time to answer the call of nature, and she’d decided to wash up in the frigid creek instead. The woman was a total idiot. “Here,” he said tossing her a piece of jerky.

“What’s this?”

“Breakfast. Probably not what you’re used to, but that’s all there is until noon.”

“And then?”

“Then we have more jerky.” Adam shoved his rifle into his scabbard, and swung up into the saddle. “We’ll stop at my cabin to pick up supplies. Should make it to Laramie tomorrow some time.”

“Are we going the whole way on horseback?”

“Unless one of us sprouts wings we are.” Adam took his foot out of the stirrup and extended his hand toward her. “Here, I’ll give you a hand up.”

Kenzie approached the horse uncertainly. “How do I get on?”

“Stick your left foot in the stirrup, grab my arm and swing up behind me.” As she put her foot in the stirrup, Adam leaned down and grasped her arm just above the elbow, certain that he’d crush the delicate bones of her hand. The strength of her grip on his arm surprised him as she swung up behind the saddle.

“How come you don’t have a four-wheel drive,” she asked as she settled behind the saddle. “Surely you need it when you come out of the wilderness.”

Adam frowned. A wagon or a buggy were about the only things in Beta Quest that had four-wheels and could be driven. “Wouldn’t be much use up here,” he said finally. “A travois does the same thing, and it’s easier to get from one place to another.”

There was a long pause, then she gave an exasperated sigh. “Fine, have it your way. I give up trying to talk to you.”

It was fine with Adam if she didn’t talk all the way to Laramie. He was used to silence, liked it even.

What he wasn’t used to was the feel of a female form against his back. For the most part, the cantle on the back of the saddle kept them separated, but whenever they crossed rough terrain, she’d put her arms around his waist and cling to him like the bark on a tree.

It was silly, it was distracting, and it was completely unnecessary. Adam found himself going out of his way to cross gullies, climb hills and traverse creeks that he could have just as easily avoided.

They reached his cabin shortly before noon. Though Kenzie didn’t complain, it was obvious the long ride had taken its toll. Her movements were slow and awkward when he helped her dismount. While he gathered a few necessary items, she wandered around the meadow with a slight limp, peering back into the trees. Just from the way she walked Adam could tell the tender insides of her thighs were chaffed and raw, probably covered with a rash caused by the leather of his saddle. There wasn’t much he could do for her except maybe put some bear grease on it. He considered it for a minute then shook his head. No, she’d probably object to the smell.

One thing he could do, though, was get her into appropriate clothes. He ducked back into the cabin, crossed the dirt floor and pulled a hide-wrapped bundle down from where it hung near the ceiling. The clothes were his mother’s or at least a virtual copy of them. Though she didn’t quite have her husband’s and son’s enthusiasm for the mountain man life, Barbara Johnson had often attended rendezvous with them.

Discovering the cabin in Beta Quest had been a surprise to Adam. Finding his mother’s rendezvous clothing had been a shock. He’d never figured out why they were here, but at least they were in good shape. The mice couldn’t get to them suspended from the ceiling that way and the smoke from the fireplace should have kept the bugs out.

“Mr. Johnson...er...Adam?” Kenzie’s voice came uncertainly through the door behind him. “Um...could you tell me where your bathroom is?”

Adam turned to look at her, his eyebrows raised. His subtle attempts to change her obviously weren’t doing much good. Maybe it was time to bring out the big guns. “My bath room?”

She nodded. “I need to use it.”

“You don’t have time for a bath.” He turned back to the bundle of clothes. “Besides, the closest thing I have to a bath room is the hot spring behind Rainbow Falls where I found you yesterday.”

“No, no. I mean the toilet...You know, your outhouse.”

“Ah.” Adam could almost feel her embarrassment. “Haven’t got one.”

“Then what do you...I mean where do you go...?”

“Out in the trees.”

“Oh.”

There was a long moment of silence then he heard her moving away. ‘damedest computer glitch I’ve ever seen,’ he thought with a shake of his head. The smell of cedar and smoked leather surrounded him as he unrolled the bundle. The dress he’d been thinking of was right on top. His father had bought it for his mother at a Rendezvous they’d attended on their honeymoon. Adam remembered seeing her stroke the soft, white leather and run her fingers through the fringe more than once. He’d been picturing Kenzie in it since the idea had occurred to him that morning.

Regretfully, he laid it aside. The dress was the last thing Kenzie needed. Riding into Laramie looking like an Indian would be worse than showing up the way she was. At the bottom of the pile, lay a rumpled calico dress his mother had worn to her last few rendezvous. It was way too big for Kenzie, but at least it was white women’s clothing, and she’d be decently covered. He rolled up the buckskin dress and put it in the Dutch Oven to keep the mice away. Then he gathered up the cotton dress and went to find Kenzie.

He found her walking back and forth across the meadow.

“I decided to get some exercise while I had the chance,” she said. “Is it time to go?”

“We’ll leave as soon as you change into this.” He handed her the calico. “It’ll be too big for you, and it’s a little out of style, but...’

“A little out of style! Good grief, things like that weren’t even in style when my great- grandmother was a kid.”

A muscle tightened in his jaw. “It’ll be better than going to town that way. At least you’ll be decent.”

Kenzie glanced down at her clothing. “Since when are a T-shirt and shorts indecent?”

He folded his arms across his chest. “If you don’t change, I won’t take you to town.”

“Oh, for cripe’s sake. How the heck do you expect me to ride a horse in a long dress? The darn thing must have ten yards of fabric in it.”

“Other people do.”

“Have you ever tried it?”

He uncrossed his arms. “Hell, no, but I don’t ride in my underwear either. You can’t convince me your legs don’t hurt from rubbing on the saddle.”

Kenzie glared at him. Drat the man anyway. He was right about her legs; the inside of her thighs felt like they were on fire. Even so, it would be impossible to get on the horse in that stupid dress. What she wouldn’t give for a good pair of jeans. Her face brightened. Of course! “Don’t you have an extra pair of pants I could borrow?” she asked pointing to his legs.

“You mean my britches?”

“Yes.” She crossed her arms and lowered her voice in a near perfect imitation of him. “If you don’t lend me a pair of pants, you won’t get your two hundred dollars.”

His eyes narrowed and his jaw hardened. “Threats don’t work on me.”

“They don’t work on me either, so why don’t we just skip that part and come up with a compromise?” She softened her expression and dropped her aggressive stance. “Look, I’m not trying to be difficult. I just can’t ride in that dress. The pants don’t have to be anything fancy, and I’ll pay you an extra twenty dollars for them.”

“Twenty dollars! Hell, all I’ve got is an old pair of buckskin britches.”

“All right fifty then. Please, Adam.” Kenzie tried not to sound wheedling. Nothing set Brad’s temper off faster than that.

“How come you keep calling me that?” he growled.

“It’s your name isn’t it? Personally, I like the sound of it a whole lot better than Whiskey Jug.”

He glared at her a moment longer then turned and disappeared into the cabin. Several heartbeats later he emerged with a wad of buckskin in his hand. His expression as he stalked toward her didn’t invite comment. Ignoring the warning, she smiled as he shook out the pants and measured them against her legs. “Perfect!”

He glanced at her as he pulled the wicked looking buck knife from the sheath at his waist. Kenzie managed to swallow the involuntary gasp that rose to her lips, but she could tell he saw the panic in her eyes.

“Perfect, huh,” he said with sardonic amusement. “Funny, I would have said they were a little long.” He sliced a foot and a half of leather off each leg, then tossed the pants to her and walked back into the cabin.

Shaken by what she had misperceived as a threat, Kenzie clutched the buckskin to her chest, and closed her eyes in relief. She opened them moments later, calling herself seven kinds of a fool. She’d won this round. There was no way she was going to let him intimidate her, especially since it appeared that hadn’t been his intention in the first place.

By the time Adam emerged a few minutes later, Kenzie had slipped into the buckskin trousers and was trying to secure them around her waist.

“Here,” he said, tossing her a rawhide string. “You’ll have to use this for a belt. We’re leaving as soon as I get the canteens filled. Be ready.”

Not only was she ready when he returned, she’d even loaded the extra supplies into the saddle bags. But if she was expecting a thank you, she was sadly disappointed. He merely grunted and handed her a piece of jerky for lunch.

The afternoon passed much the same as the morning, with little conversation and a great deal of hard riding. Kenzie felt ready to drop by the time Adam stopped for the night. She didn’t even have the energy to complain when he gave her the third meal of jerky. In fact, she could hardly stay awake to eat it while he fixed two beds, one on either side of the fire. That must be why he’d brought the extra blanket along.

As Adam lay down on his own bed he glanced down at his rifle and then over at her. “Don’t even think about it,” he said in a threatening voice. “It’s not loaded.”

“What if we get attacked by wild grizzlies?” she asked sarcastically.

He turned his back to her and pulled the blanket up over himself without even bothering to answer.

Kenzie crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out at his back. Then, feeling more than a little silly, she climbed into her own bed. Unlike her companion, sleep did not come right away in spite of her exhaustion. Her bed was freezing cold. Kenzie wondered why he’d bothered to make up two beds; it really was much warmer sharing the single bed. Oddly enough she no longer worried about him trying to take advantage of the situation. He obviously was interested in only one thing ... getting rid of her. She studiously ignored the little niggle of hurt that accompanied the thought and turned her attention to falling asleep.

The next morning, Adam awakened her at the crack of dawn. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon as Kenzie heaved herself up behind the saddle and settled in to chew on her breakfast of jerky. She promised herself a huge meal as soon as she got to town and was solvent again.

The remainder of the trip took two hours but seemed much longer to Kenzie. She drooped behind the saddle, too exhausted to hold herself upright. Several times, she caught herself just as she dozed off. The mood Adam was in, if she fell off the horse he’d probably just leave her there. It was the last thought before she fell asleep against Adam’s back. She awakened slightly when one of his big hands closed over the two of hers where they clasp each other around his waist. A smile touched the corners of her mouth as she drifted back into dream land.

“Well, there’s Laramie,” he said at last. “Where exactly do you want me to take you?”

Kenzie jerked awake and pretended an alertness she didn’t feel. “The nearest phone will be fine. One of the truck stops should...” the words died in her throat as she leaned forward and peered around his broad back.

The mountains and the surrounding prairie looked pretty much the same as they always had, but the town sure didn’t. It resembled a movie set of the old west complete with clapboard building fronts, hitching racks and horses. No, that wasn’t quite right either. The town was too dirty and smelly...too realistic for a movie set. There were more tents than actual buildings lining the narrow street which seemed to be paved with inch thick dust and piles of horse droppings.

Kenzie felt a tickle of recognition and a deep chill of foreboding as she gazed at the busy little frontier town. It didn’t look like a movie set; it looked like 1868!

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