Breaking Free: A Colorado High Country Crossover Novel, Pamela Clare [i can read book club .TXT] 📗

to judge someone based on their appearance, but there was something about this guy. It wasn’t the hair or the beard. It was that smile—and the way he was looking at them. Jason had long ago learned to trust his instincts.

He caught up with Winona. “Stay close, okay?”

She nodded.

They drew even with the man, who hadn’t taken a single step.

“Well, look at that.” The man chuckled. “A lady deputy.”

Deputy Marcs ignored him.

“Ain’t you gonna ask for my ID?”

“Not today.”

“Good, because I ain’t got one. I’m a freeman, not a federal citizen like the rest of you. My flesh has been freed.”

“How nice for you.” Deputy Marcs’ voice dripped with sarcasm.

But the man went on. “The other little lady—she’s that Indian gal from Scarlet, ain’t she? Yeah, she is. She’s that pretty little Indian gal. What’s your name, sugar?”

Jason bit his tongue and took Winona’s hand. He didn’t like this bastard’s tone or his language—or the fact that he was singling out the women.

Deputy Marcs lowered her voice. “He must be one of those crazy sovereign citizens—anti-government types who live out of vehicles and tents. We get a fair number of them around here. Most of the time, they just want to be left alone.”

Jason was familiar with them. “Once in a while, we find one living in the desert on our land and escort them to our borders.”

He glanced back to make sure the guy wasn’t following them and saw that he was watching them, that idiot grin still on his face.

Chapter 10

By the time they reached their vehicles, the first snowflakes were beginning to fall. While Jack and Nate spoke with Deputy Marcs, Winona and Jason waited in Jack’s truck, out of the cold and the wind.

“I’m sorry for how that bastard spoke to you, Win.” Jason took her hand. “I can tell it upset you. It pissed me off, too.”

Jason was right. The bastard’s words had upset her. They had left a weight in the pit of her stomach, a sense of dread. “It’s not your fault.”

Jack and Nate had also apologized, though they weren’t to blame, either.

Jason’s jaw clenched. “I wanted to shut his mouth for him.”

Winona squeezed his fingers. “I’m glad you didn’t, given that Deputy Marcs was standing right there.”

“It might have been worth it.”

“You know what bothers me most?” After last night, Winona felt safe telling him this. “He knows where I live. He must have seen me somewhere in Scarlet. What if he comes to town? What if he comes to the clinic? He scares me.”

“Maybe it’s time to boost security there, install floodlights and cams and put a system on the front door that requires someone to buzz people in.”

“Buzz people in? In Scarlet?”

“If the people of this little town are as warm-hearted as you say they are, they’ll want you to feel safe at work.”

She supposed he was right. “I put a bell on the door after the attack so I would know when someone enters the clinic. Every time it rings, I tense.”

“We can look into your options when we get back to Scarlet.”

It touched her to think he cared. “Thanks.”

Jack and Nate climbed into the truck, prompting Winona to release Jason’s hand. They started the drive back to the house.

Nate glanced back at them over his shoulder. “We’re mighty grateful to the two of you for your help today. We know a lot more today than yesterday, and I learned a few things about cutting sign.”

Jason answered Nate with a nod. “You’re welcome.”

Winona couldn’t take any credit. “Jason did all the work. I identified animal poo and talked about ecosystems.”

But Nate wouldn’t accept that. “Hey, we learned from you, too, Winona.”

“I wish I’d gotten a look at the tread on that guy’s boots,” Jason said.

“I talked with Deputy Marcs about him.” Nate faced forward, took off his gloves. “She doesn’t think it’s him. He had no four-wheeler, no rifle, no wolf that we could see. Plus, he doesn’t look like he has money. To get a four-wheeler of that size up here, he’d need a trailer and a truck to hitch it to.”

“We’re looking for someone with a bit of disposable income, not some idiot who thinks he’s Daniel Boone.” Jack turned on the truck’s windshield wipers, the snow falling harder now. “I’m going to run it all by Janet tonight.”

Nate grinned. “My father’s wife used to work for the FBI. When they first met, he threw her off the property.”

“Which neither of you will ever let me forget.”

“Is that true?” Winona had a hard time imagining someone as kind as Jack throwing anyone off his land.

“It wasn’t my finest moment.”

Janet West was much younger than her husband—probably in her mid-forties. She met them outside the garage, her daughter on her hip, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. “How did it go?”

“Hey, Lily-bean.” Jack scooped the toddler into his arms, quickly brought his wife up to date, then introduced Janet to Winona and Jason. “We’re hungry, woman. What’s cookin’?”

Janet kissed his cheek, a teasing smile on her face. “Whatever you make, of course. The salad is done, and the baked potatoes are in the oven.”

While Jack and Nate fired up a big gas grill and handled the steaks, Janet gave them a tour of the house—they hadn’t had time for one this morning—and then invited Winona and Jason to kick back in front of the fireplace in the living room. She walked with a noticeable limp, and Winona seemed to remember something about her having been shot in the line of duty.

“Can I bring either of you something to drink—beer, wine, whisky?”

Jason sank onto a long leather sofa. “Whisky. Thanks.”

Winona sat beside him. “Do you have any flavored seltzer water?”

“We sure do—raspberry, I think.”

“Perfect.”

Janet disappeared, returning quickly with their drinks.

“Thank you.” Winona glanced around, feeling strangely safe and at home here, the stress of their encounter with the creepy guy melting away.

Or maybe she was just stunned by their surroundings. She’d never seen a house like