constantly. Buddy looks pretty well planted in place.”
“Exactly. Anyway, Buddy, if he ever needs to, could probably survive some relatively small social upheaval, but anything major...it’s going to be rough on anyone. And I’ve seen enough of the world to know that survival is more likely when you have a community working together. People helping people, not fighting each other.”
She nodded agreement. “But now he’s got this friend who worries you.”
“Yeah. He goes by the name of Cap.”
Sky chewed her lower lip. “That’s an unusual name. Do you suppose it’s a rank?”
“I’m wondering. And he was the one with the AR-15.”
She met those gray eyes again and felt an unwanted shock of desire. Where had that come from? It was the last thing she needed. She dragged her gaze away and told herself to cut it out. “Militia?” she asked finally, hoping her voice sounded normal.
“It’s possible.” Craig put his cup down and rested his elbows on the table. “Thing is, I don’t know. I didn’t like the look of this Cap, I didn’t like being welcomed with a semiautomatic rifle, and I didn’t like the fact that he’s got trip wires outside his fence now.”
Sky felt color draining from her face. “Trip wires?” She whispered the words. Such things evoked horrifying memories for her. She battered down the blackness that tried to swamp her.
“I reminded him they’re legal only as an alarm. He said that’s all they are, but I don’t know. A year ago, I’d have believed it. Right now, with Buddy getting paranoid enough to bother you and some campers a few weeks ago, I’m not sure of anything anymore. Hence a visit from the sheriff. Sky, maybe you should think about painting somewhere else, away from Buddy.”
She thought about it. She thought about it hard because her first instinct was to get stubborn. She didn’t run from things, but this wasn’t her fight. She’d come out here for peace, not a battle.
But she had run away today inside herself, and she didn’t like that. She had to do something to prove to herself that she could handle things, even the Buddy Jacksons of the world.
“No,” she said finally. “I’m going to paint where I want to paint, and he’d better not bother me again.”
“You don’t have to prove anything.”
“Yes, actually I do. To myself.”
Their gazes met again and locked. Craig returned her stare for a while before finally compressing his lips and nodding. “Okay. He probably won’t bother you again anyway. He knows I know about it, and that means others probably do, too. You should be safe now. But...” He hesitated.
“But you’re concerned about this Cap guy so I should still be careful.”
“You should always be careful alone in the woods.”
Something about the way he said it caused another chill to snake through her. “You’re really worried.”
“I haven’t exactly reached REDCON Three yet, but I’m heading that way.”
She knew exactly what he meant. Half his attention would now be on Buddy’s activities, alert for anything that might pose a threat. “Then I’ll just observe REDCON Three myself. I should be fine.”
“Your call.” He pulled the cards together and tucked them back into the battered box. “I’ve got a spare radio you can use. No cell reception in these mountains, but the radio uses a COMSAT link, so you won’t have any trouble getting in touch with me or the office. It also has a GPS Nav system.”
“Are you sure that’s necessary?”
“Maybe not, but I’m going to insist on it. I need to do some poking around. The water flow in the valley creek has dried up some and I need to find out if any of the feeder streams are blocked. And while I’m out there looking for that, I’m going to put a better eye on Buddy. Something about his place is making me uneasy.”
That sounded odd coming from a man who created a first impression of self-contained serenity. She supposed that she ought to take that as a serious warning.
But for right now, she was just relieved that she’d made a decision, that she was out of her private cave. That made her aware that she owed this man something.
“Thanks for what you did earlier. Bringing me out here.”
His smile was enough to make her melt. “You’d have done the same. Sorry this isn’t the Waldorf.”
“This is perfect. It’s a helluva lot better than a tent in a sandstorm.”
That drew a huge laugh from him, one that caused his eyes to sparkle and