Free Waking the Dead by Kylie Brant Page A

mode. “There are more hot springs in Oregon than any other state in the country. It sits on the Ring of Fire, a volcanic belt that circles the Pacific Ocean.”
    “Which also gave birth to the Cascade Mountains.”
    He shouldn’t be surprised. She had her head buried in a map most of the time they were together. “There’s superheated igneous rock and molten magma beneath the surface here. We still have a few active volcanoes. With all the rainfall we get, all it takes is a basalt fissure to release thermal flows into a natural hot tub. Belknap is a good example, but I prefer the less-developed springs myself.”
    “Because there’s fewer people around,” she guessed shrewdly.
    He skirted a hollowed-out rotted log. “People are overrated.”
    “And yet important in a business that demands customers to survive.”
    “A necessary evil.” He stopped for a moment to allow the garter snake in his path to finish its journey to the jumble of rocks at the base of a white pine before continuing on. “We sell river and hiking sporting equipment, too, so we’re not all about the tours. But they allow me to do what I love most, so it’s a trade off.” And times spent with days full of chattering tourists made his solitary hours on the river or in the Willamette all the more precious.
    Falling into silence, he led the way through the forest surely. It wasn’t particularly dense in this area. Zach knew Mona and Gil kept the underbrush trimmed to allow their guests freedom to wander. And the path to the hot springs was a well-worn one. He could easily head back to the vehicle and let Cait do her thing. The fact was, that action held no particular temptation. The curiosity he felt about her purpose here was unusual enough to have well-worn defenses slamming into place. He didn’t want to wonder about her. He didn’t want to think about her, period.
    But that didn’t make it any easier to banish the questions that swarmed his mind like pesky flies. He just couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the contrast of her former and current occupations. His natural cynicism reminded him that for many, their careers were often owed to who they knew and who they blew.
    Unfortunately, that particular visual image of Caitlin Fleming wasn’t one easily banished from his mind.
    With a muttered curse, he stepped aside and waved an impatient hand. “There are the hot springs up ahead. Looks like you won’t be alone.” There was a solitary occupant in the pine tub, a man in his midthirties. Unlike some of the more rustic settings for springs in the area, this one had a dress code, so the guy probably wasn’t nude.
    Cait brushed by him and stepped down the rocky incline leading to the springs while he took up position leaning against a towering pine. He observed the exact moment the guy in the tub noticed he had company. And he’d have to be blind to miss the immediate interest in the man’s expression when he caught a look at the woman approaching him.
    “Down, cheesedick,” Zach muttered. But the guy was too far away to hear him, which was probably a lucky thing. Because he had no business warning men away from Caitlin Fleming. The woman was probably better versed than most in how to get rid of unwanted male attention. If it was unwanted.
    Zach’s gaze shifted from the guy in the tub back to her. Cait had reached the bottom of the slope and was scanning the ground. She appeared to be looking for something. But even he was surprised when she dropped to her hands and knees, seeming to examine the water’s edge where it lapped up against the rocks.
    “Did you lose something?”
    The pine tub constructed for tourists intent on soaking in the springs was several yards upstream. The man inside it seemed to have lost interest in the sulfuric water in light of the newcomer. He’d risen and was peering over the side at Cait, placing his back to Zach.
    “I can help you look, if you want.”
    “I’m fine, thanks.” Cait’s voice was