Bishop's Rock

I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Mrs. Westin.

She physically jumped at the memory. Or was it a memory? Maybe her nerves had conjured the raspy voice in her ear, but that didn’t explain why her senses were suddenly filled with the scent of mint. The fragrance was so strong she might have been holding a fresh sprig beneath her nose.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“What? Yes. I just...remembered something.” She tried to shake off her unease.

“Must have been something unpleasant by the look on your face.”

“I need to find my husband.”

An unsettling combination of doubt and bewilderment glinted in his eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Fear prickled across her scalp. That voice! She had heard it before, a hoarse murmur against her ear.

“Mrs. Westin?”

“I’m...fine.”

He purposely lowered his tone as if to create a false intimacy between them. “Don’t worry. Your husband hasn’t gone far.” He glanced over his shoulder into the great room, where Andrew and Elise stood at the bar mixing martinis.

As Lea started into the room, the stranger straightened, falling in line beside her as she moved across the threshold. A few people milled about in small groups, chatting and sipping drinks as they waited for dinner to be announced. They took scant notice of Lea and her companion, but she was acutely aware of Cole Matheson at her side. How could she shake him when he seemed so insensitive to her discomfort?

She fixed her gaze on her husband, willing his attention. Andrew glanced across the room and smiled as he caught her eye, but he made no move to rescue her. He didn’t even motion her over. He seemed too absorbed in whatever Elise Terry had to say to pay Lea anything more than a cursory acknowledgment. She watched them for a moment before turning back to Cole Matheson.

“Would you like a drink?” he inquired politely.

“No, thanks, but don’t let me keep you.”

His blue eyes deepened. “I don’t drink when I hunt.”

She suppressed a shudder. “What do you hunt?”

“Big game mostly, the more elusive the better. I enjoy a challenge.”

Her chin lifted. “You’ll forgive me if I don’t appreciate your passion. I don’t understand how anyone can find pleasure in the taking of a life.”

“Don’t you?”

“Excuse me,” she said coolly. “I think I’ll get a breath of fresh air before dinner.”

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