Chapter Twenty-Two

Ance would have liked to simply bypassed High Rock and the waterfall that cascaded over the cliff there but he had made a promise to Penelope and he intended to keep it... Even if it would mean an extra night of sleeping under the stars with Audrey just one small campfire away. 

If he went straight on through they'd make it to Old Man Thompson's within the next three days but if they went to the waterfall it would be at least four. Truthfully, Ance could use needing to get to safety as an excuse and probably get by with the fib, but he couldn't bring himself to lie to Penelope that way. 

"It's getting rough here," Audrey noted from behind him. Penelope was riding on her horse with her since the girl had decided Ance was too grumpy of a riding partner. Hell fire, it wasn't his fault he was grumpy! It was Audrey's. That damned woman had him twisted up, turned inside out and completely beside himself. Ance wasn't used to feeling so vulnerable and exposed and that's exactly what Audrey caused him to feel. 

When he'd been kissing her beneath the cloudy night sky a few nights ago, it had been pure heaven--or a one way ticket to hell--depending on how you looked at the situation. He wanted her, he knew she wanted him, and yet he couldn't be what she would want and need. She'd want a settling down man, a home every night for supper man, a faithful one woman man... Ance couldn't be that man. He didn't want to be that man. 

If Audrey had been any other woman, Ance would have taken her without caring about the consequences, but Audrey was different. She was a good woman; the only one he had ever met! She was a loving mother which was something Ance hadn't realized existed and she seemed to be a genuinely good person.... Not only that, but she was Penelope's mother and if he hurt her then Penelope would hate him for it--Ance wouldn't do anything to cause that girl to hate him. 

"These rocks are getting big!" Penelope exclaimed as they weaved between the boulders and climbed steadily upward. 

Ance rolled his broad shoulders as he patted his mare on the neck. "We gotta travel up a bit to get to that waterfall I was telling you about," Ance replied, though it wouldn't be much longer now before the trail looped around and they arrived at their destination. Already he could hear the roar of the water cascading in the distance. 

"You remembered?" Penelope exclaimed, her brown eyes lighting up. 

"Have I let you down yet?" Ance demanded with a wink. 

She giggled while Audrey did what could only be described as glowering. Ance winced. Audrey had been damn hostile toward him since the night of their kiss.... A kiss that still burned Ance's lips each time he let his mind go back to it.  Ance didn't understand why she was so damn mad at him. Hell, he'd been protecting her when he'd stopped things before they could go further.  

Penelope's cheerful voice began to sing songs about giant waterfalls and colorful rainbows. Ance let himself get caught up in her song and let Audrey, and his won mixed up emotions, fade from his mind. 

"Mama look!" Penelope exclaimed when they rounded the bend in the trees and rocks and the cascading thirty foot waterfall came into view. 

"Wow..." Awe filled Audrey's voice. "That's beautiful." 

Ance had known they'd love the view and it was why he had brought them here. The small glen they could see just below them at the base of the falls, was Ance's favorite place to camp and one of the only places that not even Irish knew about. The thoughts of why Ance had chosen to share this place with not only Penelope but also Audrey attempted to enter his mind but Ance quickly shook them away. 

"We'll camp there tonight," Ance announced, pointing toward the flat ground, dancing grasses and colorful wildflowers. 

"It's only a little after noon." Audrey glanced up toward the sky. "Shouldn't we move on?" 

Ance shook his head. "Nope. We're stopping. That pool there is perfect for more of those swimming lessons that Penelope has been asking for." 

"Swimming?" Audrey inquired while chewing on her lip. 

Ance had learned that Audrey chewed her lip whenever she was unsure or thinking hard about something.. He wished she'd quit thinking altogether. She was far too tempting a sight when she grazed those teeth across that full bottom lip. 

"Yeah, mama. Ance has been teaching me how to swim, remember? Can you swim, mama?" 

Audrey brought her horse to a stop beside Ance and shook her head. "Not very well." 

"Ance can teach you too!" Penelope's face lit up as Audrey slid her from the horse's back and sat her on her feet. 

Audrey waved her hand dismissively. "I don't think...." 

Penelope put one hand on her hip and pointed her finger toward Audrey's chest, mirroring the same bossy pose that Audrey had used on Ance more than once. For the first time in days, Ance found himself chuckling. Two sets of eyes were quickly turned in his direction and Ance shrugged. "Like mother, like daughter," he stated bluntly. 

"Ance, you'll teach mama how to swim, won't you?" Penelope asked, turning her powerful pleading abilities on him. 

"Uh.." Ance pulled his cigar from his mouth. Audrey, wet and nearly naked, clinging to him as they moved through the cool clear water...? He put his cigar back and puffed--hard. "I don't think so." 

Penelope grabbed his big calloused hand in both her tiny ones and batted her lashes at him. "Please, Ance? It's important for people to know how to swim, isn't it?" 

Ance wanted to say no and he was fairly sure he would have if Audrey hadn't spoke up. "I'm sure Ance won't mind," she announced. "Everyone needs to know how to swim." 

Ance threw a glare in her direction and then nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw the hunger and determination in her brown eyes as she looked back at him. 

Ance's confusion about his feelings vanished and was replaced by disappointment and a bit of anger. So she was just like all other women in certain ways. Right now she was acting like a scheming woman, making a plan to get what she wanted from him. Ance grinned, a cold, hard, calculating grin that had the confidence in her brown eyes faltering. 

"Sure, Penny. I'll teach your mama how to swim." 

Penelope giggled. "Don't worry, mama. Ance is a really good swimmer and he's really strong. He won't let you drown." 

***

Audrey wondered what exactly she had been thinking when she'd pressured Ance into teaching her to swim. She had to have been delirious...

She was now standing in the warn afternoon sun, watching Ance and Penelope splash in that clear pool of water and dreading the moment when Ance would look up and realize she was back from removing her dress and skirts. Audrey felt exposed and vulnerable standing in her underclothes out in the open where anyone could walk up and see her. 

She didn't like being so vulnerable... not after the way Ance had rejected her days before. Audrey was not a woman who put herself out there in the position to be hurt, and while Audrey knew Ance had issues of his own that had caused him to walk away from her, his rejection had still hurt her--deeply. 

Audrey had been eager to seize an opportunity to be close to Ance. To pay him back for walking away from her and show him what he was missing. She'd wanted to feel his calloused hands and strong arms holding her body.... 

And then he had flashed her that cold grin that had told her he knew exactly what she was up to. The grin that had her feeling like a mouse in a trap. 

What had she been thinking?! Ance was a powerful predator and she had been taunting him! 

Now Audrey couldn't back down. If she backed down, she would seem weak and that was something that she never wanted anyone to see her as. She was Audrey Reynolds and she wouldn't let Ansel Adams scare her off. 

Standing there awkwardly, Audrey waited for the moment when Ance's deep blue eyes would find her... and then they did. 

Audrey nearly melted into a puddle right there under his intense gaze. His eyes roamed over her slowly, his gaze dropping to her feet before slipping back to her face, pausing at her breasts long enough to have her cheeks heating. 

"Mama, are you ready to swim? I'll let you have a turn now. I'm getting tired." 

Audrey forced a smile while inside she cursed her daughter's generous nature. Ance didn't say a word as he picked Penelope up and carried her from the water. Audrey found herself unable to stop her eyes from wandering over the muscles and planes of his body. Water droplets ran down his tanned skin and caught the sunlight. 

Audrey felt an ache low in her abdomen and a warmth spread throughout her body. She wanted Ance desperately... Then her eyes fell on that healing wound on his side and she swallowed hard. 

Suddenly, Audrey knew she couldn't do this... not now. Not with Ance. She couldn't play this game, it simply wasn't in her nature. Yes, she wanted Ance but not by seducing him and using her daughter to help get him close to her. 

Audrey wanted Ance to come to her. She wanted him to want to be near her. She wanted Ance's touch but only if he truly desired to touch her. This was the man who had saved her daughters life, saved her life, was taking care of them without questions. The man who had won her daughter's heart and friendship. The man who had won Audrey's own heart.... Was she falling in love with him? She couldn't be.. She hardly knew Ance! 

Dammit, Audrey was confused! 

Without a word, Audrey turned on her heel and ran away from the camp as quickly as she could. 

***

"What's wrong with mama?" Penelope asked, concern lacing her voice. 

Ance quickly put her brace on her leg with a practiced ease and patted her blond hair. "I don't know but you stay here and guard the horses and I'll go check." 

"Okay," Penelope replied, her voice absent as he eyes stared at the tree line Audrey had disappeared into. "I don't think she wants to swim," Penelope added. 

"Don't you worry none, Penny," Ance assured her. "I'll take care of your mama." 

With that, Ance stood straight and followed after Audrey, wondering what had made the woman run off. When Ance had seen her standing there on the riverbank, chewing that lip and wearing only her underclothes, he'd nearly come undone. 

Never in his life had Ance felt desire for any woman the way he felt it for Audrey... and then she had turned and fled and his desire had quickly morphed into concern. 

Holy hell.... Ance cared. He cared about Audrey. He genuinely liked her. He admired her stubborn nature, her fighting spirit and her motherly side when she was with Penelope. 

Ance nearly stopped in his search of the woman and fled back to camp when he realized what that meant. He cared about her, admired her, desired her and worried about her when she wasn't happy. He'd even put her above his own needs when he'd walked away from her that rainy night. 

Ance hadn't thought it possible.. Hadn't thought it plausible.. Hell he hadn't thought it would happen in a hundred, million years! But it had. 

Ance had been bitten by the love bug and, dammit, he was falling ill fast.