Chapter 29
Tinsley
Jason sent Landon a text letting him know Detective Robards had checked out of the Holiday Inn and left town almost five days ago, but Landon is still on edge. We set a goal to finish the development of this layer of the translations, but he gets distracted easily. He’s told me he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. I can’t blame him.
Fiona is going to stick around. She says she’s staying because people will be arriving for the poker tournament in less than a week, but I believe it’s because she knows Landon feels better having her close in case something goes sideways. I’m sure he’s paying her a fortune as well, but I don’t want him to disappear back into the anger and despair that engulfed him for two months not long ago.
Today I’m going to drag him on a fat-tire bike ride. One of the ranch hands told me about a great trail that skirts the river and ends at a waterfall. Hopefully this will get his mind off of what’s going on. His friends are arriving in five days for the poker tournament, and I’m ready for fresh faces.
The alarm on my phone sounds, indicating it’s two o’clock. I shut my computer and look up at Landon. “Are you ready?”
“Sure. I’ll follow wherever you go, as long as I can stare at your ass.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re incorrigible. Is there ever a time when you’re not thinking about sex?”
“Of course. When we’re in the middle of it. Then I’m thinking about satisfying you.”
I roll my eyes like the comment bothers me, but secretly, I love it. I’ve never before felt the power he lets me have—like I have a magic pussy or something. It’s heady.
“Come on,” I tell him. “We need to go now, or we’ll not make it back before dark.”
I pick up the backpack with all our essentials, and Frank sets the bikes out for us at the bottom of the porch steps. I swing my helmet on and clasp it beneath my chin.
“Are you sure that bike’s not too big for you?” Landon asks as he fumbles with his helmet.
Frank has a funny sense of humor; Landon’s helmet has a wide strip of rubber spikes, which look like a mohawk. I pull my phone from my back pocket and take a picture.
“I’ll be fine. Try to keep up.” I push off, and we head down a path that skirts the river in the valley. We’re heading uphill as we ride, and it doesn’t take long for it to get difficult. I’m out of shape since I’m not getting to swim, and our afternoon hikes aren’t as rigorous.
I spot a large rock and slow to a stop. “I need a break.”
“I needed one about a mile ago.”
I grin. “You should have said something.”
“What? And look like a wimp? No, thank you. You’d tell Claire, and then she’d tell everyone here this weekend, and they’d use it to break my concentration. These guys play some serious poker. No one has ever won two games in a row, and I’m going to break that streak. I want to win again.”
“But you’re not going to lose Magnolia Homestead, right?”
“No, I’m going to put up my house in Whistler for my final collateral, if I need it. When I won this place, I didn’t need any additional collateral. I had the majority of the chips.”
“Is your place in Whistler grand like this?”
“Not at all, but it’s nice. We should go. Maybe if I win, we can host next time up there, and I can show you where I used to seduce the women I met on the ski slopes.”
“Why? So you can seduce me there, too?”
“Of course, along with all the other places I plan on seducing you.”
“You’re too much.” I chuckle, shaking my head. “Mikey told me at this point, we have another two miles or so to the waterfall. It gets rocky, and he suggested we walk the last few yards.”
“Mikey the ranch hand?”
I drink from my water bottle and nod.
“I’ll follow your lead.” Landon mounts his bike and looks back over his shoulder. “Maybe you should stare at my ass for a while.”
“That works for me.”
We push off, and as Mikey predicted, the incline gets pretty steep. I’m about to suggest we walk when I see Landon’s bike pitch. He puts his leg out to stop the fall, but momentum torques it the wrong way, and he crumples to the ground.
I fling myself off my bike and rush to his side. “Are you okay?”
His ankle is swelling up like a balloon. He groans. “I’m okay.”
He’s not okay. When he tries to stand, his face contorts into real pain.
I pull the satellite phone out of the backpack and call the house.
Molly answers after the first ring. “What’s wrong?”
“I think Landon broke his ankle. It’s swelling, and he can’t put any weight on it.” I explain to her where we are, and she puts Frank on the phone.
“How far back is the meadow?” he asks.
“A few miles.” I do some mental calculating, trying to figure out how long ago we rode through there. “I’m not sure I can get him there.”
“I’ll call a helicopter in. Mikey, since he got you into this mess, and I will be right there. Hold tight.”
“Thanks.”
I disconnect the call and look at Landon. He’s trying to be tough, but I can tell by the crease in his brow that he’s hurting. “Mikey and Frank are on their way. They’ll have the helicopter in the meadow, which I believe is going to take you right to the hospital.”
“I’m never going to live this down. You know that, right?”
“Hey, I’m on your side here.
