The Target by Gerri Hill Read Free Book Online Page A

piss off Sara Michaels by asking questions. And really, she didn’t understand all this need for secrecy.
    A short time later they came to a stream and Jaime saw the telltale sign of hot springs as steam rose out of the cold water not thirty yards upstream from where they stood.
    She watched as Sara turned and faced the group.
    “Everyone had enough for the day?”
    “Already? We’re stopping?”
    “Well, I thought you might like to spend the afternoon soaking in the hot springs.”
    “Oh, God. We’re here?” Abby dumped her pack where she stood. “Thank you. I could easily spend the next four hours perched in the water.”
    “Thought you would.” Sara took off her own pack. “The rest of the afternoon is yours, ladies. Soak, take a nap, explore around a bit. Whatever you like. We’ll camp here.”
    “Now this is my kind of camping trip,” Jaime said. She walked underneath a large spruce and tossed down her pack. They’d only been on the trail three hours and had not yet stopped for lunch. As she expected, Sandra pulled out another smashed sandwich. She turned up her nose. “Please say that’s not tuna.”
    “Ham and cheese.”
    Jaime sat down and pulled out an apple, pausing to shine it on her shirt before taking a bite. She watched as most of the others unfolded and pitched their tents. All but Abby. She was fishing inside her pack, finally pulling out a swimsuit and waving it over her head. Suits? They were going to soak in suits? What was the fun in that?

    Sara sat inside her tent, holding the rather conservative onepiece swimsuit she’d packed. For some reason, she was hesitant to change, even when she heard the excited laughter of the others as they prepared for their first soak in a natural hot spring.
    And it wasn’t as if she was ashamed of her body. The hours and hours she spent at the gym and on the jogging trails made sure of that. But still.
    Oh, hell. She was being silly. Just because Jaime Hutchinson was here, there was no need to alter her plans. She’d been looking forward to the hot springs as much as anyone. With that, she pulled off her boots and socks and stripped the T-shirt over her head, then lay back to slide her jeans off. She heard the first splash and squeal of laughter and smiled. Yes, this was good for them. She put thoughts of Jaime Hutchinson from her mind and slipped on the suit.
    Once outside her tent, she walked purposefully to the springs, where all the others, minus Jaime, were already gathered. Even Sandra stood, completely unself-conscious in her swimsuit, anxiously watching the water.
    “What do you think?” Sara asked Abby who was splashing about.
    “This is glorious, Sarge. What the hell are you all waiting for? Hop in.”
    That was all it took as nine other women climbed over the rocks and submerged under the warm water.
    “Oh my. I could sleep in here,” Sandra said as she settled on a rock, the water rising up to her neck.
    “What causes hot springs, Ms. Michaels?” Celia asked.
    Sara smiled. “Sorry. Geology was not my strong suit. Maybe we should ask one of these two college students.”
    “Are you kidding? I was an English major,” Megan said.
    “Music,” Ashley added. “What about you, Lou Ann?”
    “Sorry. Business major.”
    “I bet Jaime knows,” Sandra stated.
    Of course she would, Sara thought sarcastically.
     
    Jaime watched from a distance, her eyes glued to the buff body of Sara Michaels as she stepped over the rocks and into the water.
    Wow. She had runner’s legs, long and muscular. She shook her head. It just wasn’t fair, covering that magnificent body with a swimsuit. Then she grinned.
    “Oh, hell. Might as well shake things up a bit.”
    With that, she pulled off her boots and walked barefoot to the springs, still clad in her jeans and shirt.
    “Well, you look like you’re having fun.”
    “We are,” Celia said. “Aren’t you going to join us?”
    Jaime flashed a grin. “Of course I am.”
    She unbuttoned her jeans