Mountain Mystic by Debra Dixon Read Free Book Online Page A

map. “What do they call the kind of motorcycle you have? A crotch rocket?”
    “Yeah. Want a ride?” Joshua asked before he remembered his decision to limit his contact with her.
    Victoria had already thought about living dangerously, about crawling up on the back of that machine, putting her arms around him, and holding on for dear life, flying around curves at speeds that would take her breath away. Assuming she had any left after getting that close to Joshua, her legs straddling his hips. But she wasn’t about to admit any of that to Joshua. Her mouth went dry at the thought.
    “No sense of adventure?” he teased as he headed for the passenger side.
    “My sense of adventure is just fine.” Victoriaopened her door in unison with him and slid behind the wheel. “It’s my sense of impending doom that causes me to hesitate. You stick with that machine, and I’ll stick with old Bessie here.”
    Not for the first time Joshua felt frustration at not being able to get a sense of her true emotions. Did she hate motorcycles, or was she scared of being that close to him? He wanted to know. He wanted to know if the thought of being wrapped around him on a motorcycle was as exciting to her as it was to him. The thought of her breasts pressed tightly against his back and her fingers roaming across his stomach, sliding lower, made his mouth dry.
    He watched her, trying to find a clue in her expression or body language. She seemed to have dismissed the conversation and was pulling out a necklace from beneath her dress. A chuckle escaped Joshua as he realized it was more like a dog-tag chain than a necklace. Instead of tags, the silver chain sported Victoria’s car key. Her jewelry selections continued to fascinate him: expensive earrings, Mickey Mouse watch, and car-key necklace.
    “Don’t laugh,” Victoria informed him as she pulled the chain over her head. “It beats looking for my car key at three in the morning, when I absolutely have to get to the hospital.”
    “What about your house keys? Aren’t you worried about losing them?”
    “Of course not. I’m sure I could borrow an extra set from the landlord, or he could let me back insidethe cabin.” Victoria turned an innocent expression on him, her eyes full of mischief.
    “I thought you said you weren’t going to be any trouble.”
    “Have I been?”
    “Not yet.”
    “Then let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.”
    “Unfortunately, we’ll be crossing several of those today.”
    Joshua was studying the list of names and addresses, but Victoria had a feeling that he wasn’t talking about the incredible number of creeks that sliced through the mountains.
    As she turned off the highways and onto the smaller paved roads, Victoria was amazed at the stark contrasts in the terrain. Unconsciously, her hand found its way to Joshua’s knee time after time as she became excited about the scenery and wanted his attention. The roads had been literally cut into the mountainside. As often as not, sheer walls of rock rose on one side of the road, and a sickening drop lurked on the other.
    The drops scared her as much as the escarpments awed her. The mountain fell away at the side of the road without so much as a guardrail in most places, and even the bushes beside the road were deceptive because they were really the tops of trees from below. She shuddered to think that a moment’s distraction, especially at night or in the winter ice, would send theunfortunate motorist on a downhill ride that one had little chance of surviving. Forcing the depressing thought aside, she focused her attention on memorizing the area.
    Mobile homes had been planted on every level spot available and had taken root, transformed into permanent homes with flower beds bordered with cinder blocks. She saw brick houses, tar-paper shacks, wooden houses marching side by side up the mountain. Many houses had been added on to over the years until they finally had enough rooms but no