Rocky Mountain Rescue, Elle James [rooftoppers .TXT] 📗

she shut him down. And it was fair. He had no right to butt into her life and figure out her problems for her. If anything, he should know you can only resolve your own problems.

They mounted the ATVs and started down the mountain, heading back to the lodge. The haunted look in JoJo’s eyes stayed with Max for the rest of the day. He’d really like to know what had happened to her. It might help him understand why she acted the way she did, and then, maybe, he could help her in some small way. Obviously, she wasn’t ready to talk about it. He hoped that she would want to talk about it someday with him. He knew she was hurting over something, and he wanted to take her pain away. Why? He didn’t know. She was practically a stranger to him, but he understood pain.

Chapter 7

Confront your fears?

Ha! JoJo thought. How does one confront your fears when you were raped? You don’t challenge that kind of fear unless you can stand face to face with the one who did it. That would be the only way to confront that kind of fear. Until then, every man she met could be her attacker.

JoJo barely saw the scenery as she drove back down the trail all the way to the barn. Her thoughts leaped back and forth between Max’s issues with his accident and his subsequent hesitancy to get back into mountaineering, and then her own issues with her attack and her resistance to getting back into life.

Or attempting any type of relationship.

She could tell that Max wanted to help her. But what had happened to her was a lot more personal than falling off a mountain.

When she arrived at the barn, several other vehicles were parked outside near the house. She recognized the one belonging to Jake. Beside it was a truck. Jake and another man stood in front of that one. A dark SUV was parked beside the truck with a big campaign sign on the door proclaiming Lawrence Stover’s candidacy for the US Senate, encouraging whoever read the sign to vote for him.

Max pulled up behind her, killed the engine, climbed off his ATV and walked over to the two men standing by the truck. He shook hands with Jake and the new guy.

JoJo opened the barn door and parked her ATV in the last stall on the left. She removed her helmet and laid it on the seat. Then she bent over and ran her fingers through her hair, lifting it off her scalp where the helmet had pressed it close. Not that she was trying to look good for anyone in particular, she told herself. It wasn’t as if she were trying to impress Max, Jake or the new Brotherhood Protector.

She exited the barn and headed toward Max’s ATV.

Max waved and said, “I’ll take care of that in a minute. Come meet Weaver.”

JoJo would rather have stuck with the machines, but he’d put her on the spot, so she walked across to be introduced.

“Weaver, this is Ms. Ramirez,” Jake said. “She works for Gunny. JoJo, this is Cage Weaver. He just came on board with the Brotherhood Protectors here in Colorado. He also agreed to help out this weekend. Anywhere you can think of that he can help, let us know. Or let RJ or Gunny know he’s available.”

She searched the man’s face, looking for any sign of recognition in her own eyes. Nothing in the shape of his face or his eyes triggered any memories, but then again whoever attacked her could be anybody as long as she couldn’t remember his face. “Prior military?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said.

“Branch?”

“Army.”

Nothing in his face, Jake’s, or Max’s triggered any kind of memories. She didn’t expect it with Jake, him being a SEAL. However, SEALs could have been temporarily located where she’d been deployed.

From what Jake had said about Max, he’d been stationed here in Colorado around the time of JoJo’s attack. He had been training younger soldiers in the art of mountain warfare. The possibility of Max being in the same place that JoJo had deployed was pretty slim. But she didn’t know anything about Weaver, and him being Army…he could’ve been deployed where she was. She’d have to find out more. Still, she hesitated to take his hand in a firm handshake, but she ultimately did.

His grip was firm and blessedly short, and he released her hand. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Ramirez.”

“Please, people call me JoJo.”

He nodded. “JoJo.”

Jake glanced up at the house and tipped his head toward the two gentlemen walking down to the barn with Gunny. “That must be Stover and his campaign manager.”

Jake, Max, Weaver and JoJo met them halfway.

Gunny turned to the man at his side. “Mr. Stover, these are some of the people who will be helping out this weekend. Ms. Ramirez works for us here at the ranch. She’s quite a good mechanic, and she helps out in the bar at night. She’ll also be with my daughter RJ on the ATV tour Saturday.”

Stover smiled and held out his hand. “Ms. Ramirez, nice to meet you.”

JoJo placed her hand in his. Almost immediately, she wanted to jerk it back, but she forced herself to hold on and shake the politician’s hand.

His palm was cool and dry, as if he’d just stepped out of an air-conditioned SUV. “Gunny tells me that most of the people helping out this weekend are prior military. Does that include you, Ms. Ramirez?”

She nodded.

“Which branch?” he asked.

“Army.” JoJo pulled her hand free of his.

His smile broadened. “I, too, was Army. Recently retired. We’ll have to visit for a while and figure out where we might have been stationed together. Who knows, we may have worked together.”

“Unless you were in the motor pool, I doubt it,” she said.

He turned back to his aide. “Ms. Ramirez, this is my aide, Miles Curry. He’ll be able to answer most questions anyone might need to