The first few minutes of their flight weren’t that bad, as her companion kept his concentration on the job of flying and was silent. Silence was good. But she should have known it would not last.
“I’m surprised you aren’t asking where we’re headed.”
“You seem to like the secrecy of this being some sort of a clandestine mission from some B-grade movie, so I thought it best to remain silent and let it be a surprise.”
“B-grade movie? No way,” he countered, “it would be something like an action blockbuster. As for clandestine, I don’t think that’s the best description. But attempting to keep things below the radar is closer to the goal, although that is easier said than done given your non-participatory attitude. Nothing personal, Your Honor.” He seemed to tack that last bit on with a measure of insincerity.
Erin left her point of focus and traded it to look directly at the man. “Make no mistake, Marshal. This is very personal for me. Do you know how backlogged the courts are already? And with the judges being away for however long because of some maniac, this will quadruple the time it will take to get the cases into a courtroom.”
He nodded. “I understand that this is something you have no control over and you’re a dedicated jurist. And believe me, I would love to be able to take you back to Austin and your life. But you also can understand duty. And right now, it is my duty to keep you under wraps and safe until the all clear is given. And cooperation is always appreciated.”
Erin opened her mouth to make a retort, but then she stopped. She had to admit that he was right. He had a job to do. Duty was a term she had been weaned on and it had been served to her daily by her father and then her ex. This lawman was doing his duty and that happened to be her. Cut him some slack…for a little while.
“Where are we going? Am I allowed to know that? You took my phone so I can’t shout the location to the world.”
There was an amused lifting of the corner of his mouth. She caught sight of it. For a moment she wondered if he would have dimples when he gave a full-blown smile. She snapped her brain back to its usual serious state. Whether he had dimples or not was none of her concern.
“We’re headed to a little fishing cabin that not too many people would associate with me…apart from my closest family members. It’s very secluded and next to a large ranch that has good security, and a person would have to cross it to get to the cabin. We’re flying straight to the cabin, so all is good.”
Her mind was formulating what a fishing cabin would look like. It wasn’t something she had much experience with, but something told her not to expect a five-star accommodation. Surely, they wouldn’t be there for long.
“And don’t worry,” he added, “there is indoor plumbing. Just in case you’re wondering.”
How did he read her mind? Was she that much of an open book? He probably had her pegged as some straight-arrow, by-the-book legal snob whose family’s old-world money had joined the new-world rich of her ex-husband to land her far above the rest of them. After all, wasn’t that what most people inhabiting the halls of the courthouse said about her…behind her back? So maybe they were close to the mark. But what did they know? Let them think about whatever they wanted. She was very good at her job and that was all that mattered. That much did belong to her and her alone.
“Just ahead you should be able to see the lake and the taller trees that follow the river into the distance from below it.” His voice brought her attention to the matter before them. There were hills, and lots of trees. The water shone like colored glass through the thick tree cover where the late afternoon sunlight caught its slow-moving surface.
“I see it. What lake is that?”
“It’s all called Destiny’s River. The springs are located at the head and that water travels down into the lake, which is really a series of pools, that continue to turn into some fairly nice rapids. Then it settles down to course into the valley and through the town of Destiny’s River several miles beyond that second set of hills to the right that you see. It’s a beautiful place. A lot of good people.”
She could hear a quality in his voice when he spoke about the place and its people that stirred a feeling deep inside her. It was one she had experienced a few times in her life. It often came when something would remind her of home and family and all those things often taken for granted by those who had them. But it was a reminder to her of things she had limited knowledge of herself. And then she would push it aside and pretend not to notice and move on. After all, she was okay. She had a career and a house, and her life was her own. And she intended to return to it sooner rather than later. And there was nothing the lawman beside her could do about it.
Chapter Three
So far, so good, Rance reminded himself. They had made it this far. Piece of cake assignment. Not! When this assignment was done and he had deposited her judgeship back in her courtroom, he would celebrate over a whole weekend with a huge grilled steak, some cold beverages, and think of a way to pay back his boss for giving him such an assignment. But for the moment, he needed to keep his wits about him, his head clear, and his eyes open. It was an established fact that the judge was not going to be an amiable protectee.
He could cut her a bit of slack given the lack of any warning of how her life was going to be upended earlier that day. And she had little time to absorb the facts involving her fellow judges and the gravity of what that meant for her. But it was also clear that she was used to calling the shots in her world and that habit was on hiatus until he said otherwise. Which made him the enemy in her eyes. He had protected only a few witnesses prior to this assignment, but none had been close to being like her honor.
Glad for the dark lenses concealing his eyes, he was able to slide a few glances in her direction without being obvious. His first impression from walking into the courtroom was that she was a rude, stuck-up, full-of-herself woman who was spoilt in having people jump when she spoke, and he was not falling into line in her way of seeing things. Hopefully, for both of their sakes, this would only be for a day or so and he could get the ‘all clear’ and deposit her right back on her high bench and good riddance. Until then, well, he would have to be on his toes and pray for a lot of patience.
“We’ll be landing in about ten minutes.”
“Where did you learn to fly one of these? They teach you to do this in the marshal service?”
Rance shook his head. “I’ve been flying one of these or one just a little smaller since high school. It came in handy by rounding up herds of cattle or horses and finding lost ones.”
She gave him a long, skeptical look at that point. He grinned in response. “I was looking for a serious reply,” she said with no hint of a smile in return.
“That was a serious reply. I worked for a rancher during my last two years of high school and through my college years. And we did just what I said. It was a big ranch with a lot of acres and brush and canyons, and we covered it faster in a chopper. Then there was a stint in the military where my skills came in handy.”
“I see,” she finally responded, the debate going on in her brain evident as she gave him another considering look. “And you keep your skills up by using the air instead of the ground to cover tracks with your protectees.”
“I also keep my skills up, as you say, by helping out on that ranch now and then and also on my brother-in-law’s property during his roundup times. So don’t worry…you are in practiced hands.”
That hint of a grin broke through, and he couldn’t help it. Anyone else might find the choice of words amusing, but there was no answering curve on her face. She turned her attention to the scenery next to her.
“We’ll see about that. The jury is still out. Besides, the sooner we land, the sooner we can be headed back to civilization.”
