JUSTIFIED DECEPTION Read online

  She glanced at the clock. Realizing it was well past time to get Annie up, she went to Annie's room, but when she peeked inside, Annie was gone. The clothes she'd laid out for her were also gone, so she knew Annie had dressed herself. As she started down the stairs, she braced herself for Matt's reproach. He'd been adamant her first night there that Annie be up and dressed promptly, and down for breakfast with the men. She hoped he'd let this incident pass.

  From the sound of their voices, the men seemed to be engaged in a heated discussion, so maybe she could slip in and take her place at the table, reasonably unnoticed.

  But when she turned into the dining room, she stopped in the doorway, shocked to find Brad Kincaid sitting at the table. The men's voices died, and all faces turned her way.

  Matt was the first to speak. "It's good of you to show up," he said, with irony.

  For a moment she didn't respond, her gaze focused on Brad, her mind digesting the fact that he was still there. But when the man's brows gathered in puzzlement, she knew he was struggling to remember where he'd seen her. She quickly turned to Matt, and said, "I'm sorry I'm late. I guess I lost track of the time."

  "Yeah, well don't make a habit of it," he groused.

  She gave him a contrite smile, then looked at Annie and winked. Annie smiled and patted the bench beside her. Ruth sat down and focused on cutting Annie's breakfast steak while trying to keep her face turned away from Brad. The less he could study her, the better her chances would be of him not recalling where he'd seen her. But even while she attempted to concentrate on helping Annie with breakfast, she had a half dozen questions she wanted to fire at the man...

  'Who left in your airplane? Why are you still here? When are you leaving? What would you do if you knew who I was...?'

  "We'll be heading upriver on the horses in about an hour," Matt said.

  A moment later, Ruth realized he was talking to her. "Upriver?" she said. "Will you be rounding up cattle then?"

  "No, we'll be going on an overnight campout."

  "All of you?" Ruth said, looking around the table at the men. She glanced at Brad, hoping that if the others were leaving, he would too.

  "Not the men," Matt replied, "Just you, Brad, Annie and I. Pack your things and Annie's for overnight... warm clothes, since it gets chilly in the mountains in the evening."

  Ruth breathed deeply to quiet the agitated beating of her heart, and said, "Is there a reason why we're going?" Brad Kincaid did not look the type to want to sleep under the stars. If it was for her benefit, spending the night on the hard ground in a sleeping bag in which multi-legged creatures could crawl inside to keep warm made her cringe. She'd never been on an overnight campout, and she did not look forward to going on one now, especially with Brad Kincaid along.

  "It was my idea," Annie piped up.

  "Annie wants you to see her special places," Matt said. "And Brad's stuck here with us for a couple of days."

  "Stuck here?" Ruth said, looking at Brad. The thought that he'd be around for a while troubled her deeply. "I heard the plane leave this morning. Is there something wrong?"

  "You mean that I'm not on it?" Brad offered, a cynical smile curving his lips.

  "Well no. It's nice that you can stay," Ruth lied.

  Matt caught her eye. "The plane you heard was the governor's plane," he said. "He stopped by with papers for Brad."

  Ruth looked at Matt, stunned. The governor of the state of Oregon just happened to stop by the Kincaid Ranch, a place in the middle of nowhere, and at daybreak no less, to see Brad Kincaid? Was there no one at the pinnacle of the political hierarchy that this family didn't rub shoulders with?

  "Brad's working something up for me," Matt said. "Camping upriver seemed the practical thing to do."

  "Camping at the Hilton sounds a whole lot more practical to me," Brad groused. He looked at his watch. "If we hopped in the plane now, we could be there by noon."

  "Sorry pal," Matt said. "Annie's the boss around here and she wants Ruth to camp out with her upriver. Besides, it will help roughen up some of your too-smooth edges, give you a taste of the real world. You've been too long in your ivory tower."

  "I hate to burst both your bubbles," Ruth said, "but neither the Hilton, nor this ranch, is the real world."

  Matt laughed lightly. "You know," he said to Brad, "I think she's right." He looked at Ruth.

  "So, Miss Crawford, tell us about the real world. Where you grew up. What your house was like.

  Where it was located. Where you live now. What your father did. Actually, I just realized you've mentioned nothing about yourself or your family. Now I'm curious."

  "Well, there's really nothing much to tell," Ruth replied, unnerved that Matt seemed intent on ferreting out information she'd deliberately buried, especially since there was no Ruth Crawford at her parent's address in Portland. But with enough questions, he could discover that there was a Jennifer Sinclair there, whose daughter was kidnapped, and whose face was all over the news for weeks after the abduction. "Meanwhile," she added, "Annie and I had better get ready to go."

  Annie let out a, " Yippee!" slipped off the bench, and rushed out of the room. And Ruth jumped at the chance to escape Matt's questions and Brad's perusal by following Annie. But she had a gut feeling both men would be returning to those questions in the very near future.

  ***

  As they followed the well-worn trail along the river, Annie took Ruth on numerous side trips to point out her special places. A meadow where she always let Skeeter graze for a few minutes.

  A short ride up a ravine to see a waterfall. A detour down a narrow footpath to an abandoned cabin. Not only was Ruth becoming a more confident rider, but her time with Annie was a time of bonding in a way she could never have imagined their first few days together.

  It was also a chance to become familiar with Matt and Annie's world. Until now, she hadn't realized how magnificent the mountains of eastern Oregon were, or how remote. She'd lived in Oregon all her life, but before arriving at the ranch, she'd only seen it from a distance. Trips to the coast or the mountains had been by car, and whenever she'd stepped out to take in the scenery, it had always been at a park where trails were well maintained, or on a beach crowded with beachcombers. But she'd never ridden a horse before coming to the ranch, nor had she followed a trail that seemed to go on forever, or slept under the stars. When Matt first mentioned the overnight, all she could think about was what might crawl in her sleeping bag. Now, she was anxious to look up at the vast sky above and see it at night, away from city lights, filled with stars. Being at the Kincaid opened up a whole new world, and she wondered if the closeness of city living would ever seem right again. She also wondered if Annie could ever adjust to city life if she turned out to be Beth.

  When they returned to the main trail, Matt rode up to them, and said to Annie, "I'll ride with Ruth and you can catch up with Uncle Brad and show him the way, before he gets lost."

  "Okay." Annie pulled her horse around Matt's, gave him a little kick, and cantered ahead to where Brad was waiting for her to join him.

  Matt fell alongside Ruth, and said, "How are you enjoying the ride so far?"

  Ruth scanned the surroundings, feeling her breath trapped in her lungs as she took in the vastness of the mountains with their immense boulders and cascading waterfalls and evergreens as far as she could see. "It's really quite breathtaking," she said, though she couldn't deny that the man riding beside her could have more to do with the feeling of tightness in her chest than the scenery. "Much more impressive than the view from my front window at home."

  "Which brings us back to my earlier questions," Mat said. "Where did you grow up? What was the house like that you lived in? Where do you live now?"

  Realizing it would raise more questions if she attempted to evade the ones Matt was asking, Ruth said, "I grew up in a modest house in a quiet neighborhood in the middle of Portland. When I felt a need to get away, I rode my bike to a park a block away. I still live in the
same house."

  "Then your parents have passed away?" Matt asked.

  His question caught her up short. No one she knew still lived with their parents. But being a single mom, and having to work, she'd moved in with them right after Beth was born. And after Beth was stolen, there was no question of moving out. She needed people close by who knew and understood her ongoing grief. "Well, no," she replied. "I live with my parents. Working as a live-in nanny, I'm gone so much of the time it's impractical to maintain my own place." She hated lying. The few times she had as a child, she'd gotten caught. "But I like it here," she added, in an attempt to change the course of the conversation. "The air's so fresh and crisp it makes my nose clear. The air's much thicker in the city."

  "I wouldn't know," Matt said. "I've never lived in the city."

  "But... I thought you grew up in a big house in Baker City," Ruth said, then realized too late that the information had come from Bill, not Matt.

  Matt arched a cynical brow. "I don't remember talking about my house."

  "Well, actually, it was Edith," Ruth lied again, hoping Matt wouldn't be curious enough to question Edith later. "It was just a comment she made. I guess I jumped to conclusions."

  "It was a big house, but I left home when I was sixteen so I've lived away from the city longer than I lived there," Matt said, verifying what Ruth already knew. At least some of the information Bill gleaned was accurate. "I was the black sheep in the family," he added. "I didn't get along with my father, and I was always at odds with my brothers, so I struck out on my own.

  I've never regretted it. Now I have everything I want."

  "You don't miss having a family?"

  "I have a family," Matt said. "I just don't have them breathing down my back. But Annie's all the family I need, which is why Brad's here. My ex-wife intends to sue for joint custody."

  "Do you think she'll be able to get it?" Ruth asked.

  Matt let out a cynical laugh. "With Brad on the case? Not a chance this side of hell. Brad's cutthroat when it comes to winning a case. By the time he's through with Jody, she'll wish she'd never heard the name Kincaid. Brad has his contacts who feed things to the press, and once things start rolling, the scandal sheets will be filled with every sexual escapade Jody's ever been involved in. I imagine the studs she's serviced will have a few words to add as well. But before it gets to that, Brad will give her chance to back out."

  "I saw her picture on the tabloid you tossed away," Ruth said. "She looks kind of hard."

  Eyes focused ahead, Matt said, "She looks like the trash she is. Even her father conceded that. He knew she'd been sleeping around, but he told me he thought I had the male apparatus it would take to keep her satisfied. I took it as a challenge and married her." He let out a snort of derision. "The problem with being male and nineteen is that your brains are below your belt.

  Now, I find her repulsive."

  "You do?" Ruth didn't mean to sound enthusiastic. "I mean, that's good, because then you won't find yourself fantasizing about what you no longer have."

  "I stopped fantasizing about Jody the day she walked out on Annie and me," he said, "and nothing has changed. If I ever start fantasizing about a woman again, I assure you she won't be shaped like Jody." He let his eyes slide over Ruth. "Then on the other hand, maybe I've already started fantasizing again. But don't worry, Ruthie girl, I won't act on it unless you give me permission. Then all bets are off."

  Ruth laughed at Matt's offhanded comment. It came to her that Matt was quickly becoming an obstacle in her quest. She was enjoying his company far too much. He was also beginning to fill a void she never knew existed until now. But she'd quell her aberrant attraction. Matt was a complication she simply didn't need. Far too much was at stake.

  ***

  Ruth sat across the campfire from Brad, and although she stared into the flames, she could feel his eyes on her, as she had most of the afternoon and evening. Always he had that puzzled look on his face, clearly a man who would not set aside the misplacement of a face. He had to know where he'd seen her before. To avoid his relentless gaze, after they'd corralled the horses and set up the campsite that afternoon, she'd made up excuses to be away from him—taking Annie to look for butterflies, looking for gold nuggets in a mountain stream, picking mountain flowers for pressing between the pages of a book.

  But Matt called them in to help with dinner, and that's when Brad started asking questions.

  Exactly where in Portland did she live? How long had she lived there? Had she ever worked for an attorney? Been in court? Attended Lewis and Clark College where he'd gone to law school?

  And she'd answered, she thought, to his satisfaction. She was about to excuse herself to get ready to crawl into her sleeping bag when Matt said, "Don't worry about getting Annie ready for bed.

  She went out like a light." He extended his hand and added, "Come with me for a short walk and I'll show you a sight you won't soon forget."

  Ruth took Matt's hand, and he pulled her up from the log where she sat. When his hand tightened around hers, she tugged her hand free, and said, "How far is it?"

  "Just over that rise," Matt replied. He clicked on a flashlight, and as they walked off, he added in a hushed voice, "I'm taking you where Brad won't keep staring at you. It's making you uneasy and me jealous. If anyone stares at you, it will be me."

  Ruth looked at him, perplexed. "Why would you want to do that?"

  "Because you're easy to look at." He took her arm then, and when she started to pull it away, he said, "I'm holding onto you is so you won't step off the trail and fall down a ravine."

  Ruth looked to where the ground seemed to fall off. "How far down is it?" she asked.

  "About two-thousand feet. Better yet..." He released her arm and slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her against him, "I'll hold onto you. I probably wouldn't have gotten you here in daylight. As they say, darkness hides all evils."

  "Then isn't it dangerous to have Annie here?" Ruth asked, unable to dismiss the feel of Matt's hand around her waist and her shoulder against his side as they walked.

  "Actually, no," Matt replied, the hint of laughter in his voice. "It's a two-thousand foot slope."

  "Then why did you lead me to believe we were walking along the edge of a cliff?" Ruth asked, yet making no attempt to move out of the curve of Matt's arm.

  Matt pulled her to him, and replied, "Because I've been wanting to do this all evening." He stopped and turned her around, then bent down and kissed her. For the moment, Ruth was too shocked to protest, but when his arms closed around her, she kissed him back. Kissed him under a canopy of trillions of stars, in the light of a silver moon, accompanied by a symphony of tree frogs, and crickets, and night birds, and with the breath of the wind caressing her...

  A low, throaty moan came from somewhere deep inside her, the reverberation drawing her out of her state of bliss. She broke the kiss and looked up at Matt. "This is a very bad idea," she said. "We need to get back or Brad will wonder what we're doing, and I don't want you to have to explain to him how easy the new nanny is."

  "Easy?"

  "I didn't exactly fight you off."

  "Honey, there's nothing easy about you. You're a very complicated woman, but I'm enjoying trying to figure you out."

  Matt's words set Ruth on edge. She'd never considered herself complicated, at least not until Beth was taken from her. Then her whole life became complicated. But what she didn't want was Matt trying to figure her out. "We really need to get back," was all she could think to say.

  Matt sighed. "I intend to continue this later."

  Ruth looked up at him, wanting to say, 'Yes, they would continue this later. And yes, she wanted to kiss him again. And yes, she was lonely for male companionship.' Instead, she said,

  "Like I told you, this is a very bad idea. I'm here to take care of Annie, nothing more." She turned and headed back to the campsite, ready to crawl into that sleeping bag, varmints and all, just to be away from Brad Kin
caid's incessant stare, and the almost uncontrollable urge to throw her arms around Matt and kiss him again.

  Later, as Ruth lay in her sleeping bag while attempting to shut out the effect of Matt's kiss, she was vaguely aware of Brad discussing with Matt his plan if Jody pressed her case for joint custody. From what she could hear, Jody didn't stand a chance of getting Annie. Brad, it appeared, was shrewd, cutthroat and extremely proficient.

  Ruth was beginning to drift off when Brad's words on another subject brought her eyes popping wide open. "I'm working on an adoption case where a biological mother is challenging the adoption," he said. "It's a hell of a situation. The woman claims she was drugged right after the child was born, either by her parents or the midwife, then pressured by her parents into giving her child up by telling her the child had brain trauma and multiple medical problems. The child was taken away, and the mother signed the papers. It wasn't until the adoptive parents contacted the child's mother, because the child had an unrelated medical problem, that the biological mother learned that the child had had no disabilities at birth. The woman's parents admitted they thought they were doing the right thing because their daughter was unmarried and only sixteen at the time."

  "How long have the adoptive parents had the child?" Matt asked.

  "About three years," Brad replied.

  "So, what are you going to do?"