Callie's Captors [Mountain Men(29)
But I thought they were…Were what? Special? The “one” three times over? When did I start believing in that shit?
Yet the answer was clear enough. She hadn’t been aware of it, but she’d started believing the moment she’d looked into their eyes.
She threw herself down on a pile of quilts and sobbed.
* * * *
“Callie?”
She whirled around at the sound of Blue’s voice. Going against everything she’d told herself since Raine had gone the night before, she let the rush of emotions fill her.
It’s sexual attraction, that’s all.
Yet the dull ache in the middle of her stomach said otherwise. Blue’s enticing blue gaze stole her breath away. He was clothed in the same light-colored pants Luke had worn along with moccasins like the ones she had on. The dress she’d found in the tent was comfortable, although going without any underwear was taking a bit of getting used to. She could’ve changed into the extra set of clothing she had in her pack, but the dress had looked so tempting that she hadn’t been able to resist.
“Are you here to take me back down the mountain?” She was glad she could muster up an angry tone. After figuring out what they had in mind, each of them planning to add a notch to their belts, she didn’t owe him civility.
The lightness in his features faded. “No.”
“Really. Well, if that’s too far, then you could show me back to the pit. I think I could find my way back to a place where I could get my bearings. I could take it from there.”
“I can’t do that, either.”
Fear curled its way into her like a snake slithering across the ground and wiped her anger away. “Why not?”
He pulled one side of the opening flaps back and inclined his head toward the outside. “Come on. Take a walk with me and I’ll try to explain.”
After last night’s revelation with Raine, she wasn’t in the mood for any explanations. She wanted results, but in order to get them she had to play along. “Fine. But you’d better do more than try. And no funny business, either.” She stalked past him.
Damn, but he smells good.
Not in the way most men she knew smelled good. His wasn’t an aroma that came from expensive aftershave. His came from his skin, his breath, and his very being.
It doesn’t matter how good he smells. Keep your guard up.
“It’s Kirkland.”
“What?”
“My last name. It’s Kirkland.”
She wasn’t sure why, but suddenly she wanted him to know.
He smiled. “Callie Kirkland. I like it. It fits you.”
He followed her into the sunlight then stopped as she came to a standstill. The sight around her was amazing, throwing all other concerns out of her mind. The people she’d seen last night were back, along with many others. Children of all ages dashed about, playing and shouting at their friends, then laughing as women tried to corral them. At last, one very large woman with a long braid of red hair bouncing down her spine gathered them together and herded them into the woods. A couple of other women along with three men followed them, disappearing into the heavy brush.
“Where are they going?”
“Who?
She pointed in the direction that the children had gone. “The kids. Why are they taking them into the forest?”
Blue took her hand and she couldn’t bring herself to remove it from his. “They’re taking them on a nature walk so they can learn about the medicinal purposes of the plants.”
“So it’s like a community school? Or homeschooling?”
Luke ambled by with two other large men who, judging by their size and their similar features, had to be relatives. He lifted his hand in greeting and she did the same. “Are those Luke’s brothers?”
“Yup.”
She smirked at Blue’s imitation of the way Luke talked. Checking around her, she found several groups of men and women who appeared to be related. “Is that common? The brother thing?”
“For us, yes. We tend to stick with family. But there are others who join together to make new families.” He took the orange a small woman with flowing blonde hair gave him, thanked her, then started pulling it apart.
Callie took the wedge he offered her. “What’s this place called? Have you always lived here? Or is this one of those retreats people pay exorbitant amounts of money to visit? Is it a getting-back-to-nature therapeutic resort?”
“I’ll tell you what you want to know, but you have to promise me that you’ll keep an open mind.”
“You people sure do ask for a lot of promises.” She paused to stare at a man whose nose was very wide. Long teeth jutted out over his bottom lip. He stretched his lips wide, exposing more teeth, and making her aware that she was gaping at him. She looked away, embarrassed by her rudeness. But then it hit her. Many of the people around her were unique in their appearance. Some had large teeth or facial features while others seemed different in their coloring or the way they held themselves.