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Rodland handed Caleb a cup of coffee when he came back to the camp two hours later. “It took you long enough. You had trouble locating her?”
He shook his head. “She was on the horse. As soon as I saw the hoofprints, I knew she’d have to take care of him. I could have followed her, but that would have been dangerous for her. She would have run from me. The mountains can be lethal at night.”
“Not for you.”
“We’re not talking about me.” He took a drink of coffee. “Chasing her in daylight is still going to be a risk. I’m not going to make it harder for either one of us.” He added ruefully, “And Jane might make it difficult as hell for me to capture her. It’s not as if I don’t have to pull my punches. She knows I’d never do anything to hurt her.”
Rodland started to laugh. “My God, you’re helpless. I never thought I’d see it.”
“I’m glad you’re amused,” Caleb said through set teeth. “I’m not helpless. I just have to figure a way to do what’s needed.”
“Well, you’re almost helpless.” He was still chuckling. “I can see the problem. My sympathy.”
“Another word for sympathy is pity,” Caleb said softly. “I really wouldn’t use either one when referring to me.”
“Certainly not.” Rodland’s smile vanished. “I’m not that stupid. Let’s talk about how I can help. You did mention that, didn’t you?”
“I believe I did.” He cradled his coffee cup in his two hands. “I want you to call Jane tonight and talk to her. She doesn’t know what’s happening and she’s probably feeling alone and unhappy. She’s very much on edge and I need you to make that go away.”
“I beg your pardon? Shouldn’t that be your job?”
“You’re damn right it should,” he said roughly. “But right now, I can’t do it. She won’t accept anything I can do for her. She might have accepted it from MacDuff, but she believes she hurt him and that blows that. But for some reason she trusts you. So it’s up to you.”
“What am I supposed to say?”
“I don’t care. Anything. Just make her feel better. She’s aching, dammit. I canfeelit.”
“Okay.” He took out his phone and started to dial. “I’ll do my best. But you stay out of it, Caleb.”
“Whatever.” He was staring into the fire. “Evidently that’s what she wants anyway. Do it right and I won’t cause you any trouble.”
Chapter
10
Jane hesitated as she checked the phone ID. Rodland. She was tempted to not answer. There were probably several reasons why she should ignore it. But she wanted to know if his wound was better, and she was feeling very isolated at this moment. It wouldn’t hurt to talk to him for a few moments. She had no doubt that the call was connected to Caleb but that might not be bad. She couldn’t hide from him indefinitely, and going through Rodland might be less painful. Rodland’s relationship with Caleb was complicated but he had always been honest about it. His relationship with her had been equally aboveboard…yet less complicated. Keep it that way.
Decision made.
She answered the call. “Hello, Rodland. How are you?”
“Okay. The gunshot wound was nothing. But the doctor said my head wasn’t as hard as I’ve been told.” He paused. “I was wondering if you were going to answer. You took your time.”
“You probably know why. Are you with Caleb?”
“Yes, and you’re on speaker, but he said that you don’t have to talk to him. He can take a hint. You made it fairly clear. He assigned me to make contact.” He added, “For tonight. Tomorrow all bets are off.”
She stiffened. “How close are you?”
“Closer than you’d like. I believe I’ve never seen anything more beautiful than these Highlands. I’m eager to see these hills in the daylight.” He added quickly, “But I just got a frown from Caleb. He’s afraid that I’m going to send you on the run tonight. He’s already warned me that these mountains could be dangerous in the dark. There’s no way he’ll go after you until after dawn.” He chuckled. “You have him over a barrel. I admit I’ve been enjoying it.”
“Don’t enjoy it too much,” she said. “It would be like baiting a panther. Though you may be an exception. He’s already saved you once. He might not want to spoil his record.”
“Well, tell me that you’ll hold out until dawn before you take off so that I won’t get on his bad side.”
“I’m not about to break my neck to avoid being caught by Caleb. I know these hills as well as he does,” she said. “Maybe a little better. I stayed at MacDuff’s Run long before I became close to Caleb. And I’d have no compunction about using everything I know about Caleb or the Run if I had to.”
“I guess that’s a yes,” Rodland said. “I still think you might have an edge on him. Women can be ruthless. That’s why I wasn’t sure I could trust you at Kilgoray.”
