Addie And The Renegade Read online

  Addie had expected to fall asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.

  Letter to Reader

  Title Page

  Books by Dallas Schulze

  About the Author

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Teaser chapter

  Copyright

  Addie had expected to fall asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.

  She might have done just that, if there had been a pillow for her head to hit. Because, if there had been a pillow, there would have been a bed and, if there had been a bed, she certainly wouldn’t be sharing it with Cole Walker.

  Undoubtedly, she should be thinking of weightier issues. A brush with death should probably make her contemplate the meaning of life, not Cole Walker’s lean body and the wicked charm of his smile.

  Her eyes flew open as Cole shifted position slightly. Holding her breath, Addie tried to make herself as small as possible beneath the sleeping bag.

  “I won’t bite,” Cole said quietly in the darkness.

  “I know.” Addie’s breath left in a rush. “It’s just that I’m not used to sleeping with anyone – at least not under these conditions....”

  Dear Reader,

  We’ve got six great books for you this month, and three of them are part of miniseries you’ve grown to love. Dallas Schulze continues A FAMILY CIRCLE with Addie and the Renegade. Dallas is known to readers worldwide as an author whose mastery of emotion is unparalleled, and this book will only enhance her well-deserved reputation. For Cole Walker, love seems like an impossibility—until he’s stranded with Addie Smith, and suddenly... Well, maybe I’d better let you read for yourself. In Leader of the Pack, Justine Davis keeps us located on TRINITY STREET WEST. You met Ryan Buckhart in Lover Under Cover; now meet Lacey Buckhart, the one woman—the one wife!—he’s never been able to forget. Then finish off Laura Parker’s ROGUES’ GALLERY with Found: One Marriage. Amnesia, exes who still share a love they’ve never been able to equal anywhere else...this one has it all.

  Of course, our other three books are equally special.

  Nikki Benjamin’s The Lady and Alex Payton is the follow-up to The Wedding Venture, and it features a kidnapped almost-bride. Barbara Faith brings you Long-Lost Wife? For Annabel the past is a mystery—and the appearance of a man claiming to be her husband doesn’t make things any clearer, irresistible though he may be. Finally, try Beverly Bird’s The Marrying Kind. Hero John Gunner thinks that’s just the kind of man he’s not, but meeting Tessa Hadley-Bryant proves to him just how wrong a man can be.

  And be sure to come back next month for more of the best romantic reading around—here in Silhouette Intimate Moments. Yours,

  Leslie Wainger

  Senior Editor and Editorial Coordinator

  * * *

  Please address questions and book requests to:

  Silhouette Reader Service

  U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

  Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

  * * *

  Dallas Schulze

  ADDIE AND THE RENEGADE

  Books by Dallas Schulze

  Silhouette Intimate Moments

  Moment to Moment #170

  Donovan’s Promise #247

  The Vow #318

  The Baby Bargain #377

  Everything but Marriage #414

  The Hell-Raiser #462

  Secondhand Husband #500

  Michael’s Father #565

  Snow Bride #584

  *A Very Convenient Marriage #608

  *Another Man’s Wife #643

  *Addie and the Renegade #727

  Silhouette Books

  Birds, Bees and Babies 1994

  “Cullen’s Child”

  *A Family Circle

  DALLAS SCHULZE

  loves books, old movies, her husband and her cat, not necessarily in that order. Her writing has given her an outlet for her imagination, and she’s a sucker for a happy ending. Dallas hopes that readers have half as much fun with her books as she does! She has more hobbies than there is space to list them, but is currently working on a doll collection. Dallas loves to hear from her readers, and you can write to her at P.O. Box 241, Verdugo City, CA 91046.

  To Robert Rowe—my consultant on all things aeronautical. Any technical errors that remain in the story are mine. Also to his wife, my good friend Joann, in whom wit, talent and beauty are combined in one amazing package, and whose assistance in writing my dedications has been invaluable.

  Chapter 1

  Dying had not been on Addie’s list of things to do today.

  In fact, since she was only twenty-seven years old and in excellent health, she hadn’t expected it to turn up on any such list for a few more decades. But as the small plane shuddered and trembled around her, she was starting to think it might be time to change her expectations.

  She shot a quick glance at the man piloting the struggling aircraft but there was nothing in his expression to reassure her. Not that he showed any signs of feeling the same fear that was threatening to choke her. Cole Walker’s face was still and calm, his eyes flickering between the instruments and the view outside the plane.

  It certainly was a spectacular view, Addie thought. The Rocky Mountains were spread out beneath them in craggy splendor, the peaks dusted with snow. At another time, the sheer beauty of them would have been enough to steal her breath away. As it was, she would have traded all that majestic ruggedness for one nice, flat Kansas cornfield. Or maybe a good stretch of Los Angeles freeway, miraculously empty of cars.

  “I’m going to set it down there,” Cole said suddenly.

  Addie looked in the direction he’d indicated, searching in vain for a meadow or valley or even a broad ledge—just a hint of a flat spot for landing. “It’s just another mountain,” she pointed out. Fear had tightened her throat, making her voice come out thin and unsteady.

  “Yeah, but it looks softer than the others,” Cole said.

  “Softer?” she said faintly.

  “Sure. It’s practically a feather bed.” He took his eyes off the instruments for a split second and glanced at her. His smile held a reckless edge and his dark eyes were bright and hard with challenge. “Don’t look so scared. In a few minutes, you’ll be on the ground, safe and sound.”

  “Of course.” Addie forced a thin smile. She didn’t doubt that he was at least partially right. Clearly, they were going to be on the ground shortly. It was the second part of the statement that she had doubts about. Safe and sound seemed more like wishful thinking than a likelihood. She sucked in a quick, frightened breath as the plane dipped abruptly downward.

  “I’m going to take it down and then bring the nose up alongside the mountain,” Cole explained, his hands steady on the controls.

  Addie bit her lip against the urge to protest the idea of doing anything to basten their descent. Staying in the air as long as possible sounded like a much better idea. She stared out the windshield with a kind of horrified fascination. It almost seemed as if the mountain was reaching out for them, first shouldering aside the peaks around it and then blocking out the pale blue of the winter sky until the looming bulk of it filled her vision. It didn’t look much like a feather bed to her.

  Cole pulled the plane’s nose upward and they were suddenly skimming along the side of the mountain. They dipped lower and then lower still. There was a scraping sound and the plane shivered. A
ddie realized that its belly was scraping the tops of the trees.

  “Put your head down!” Cole said sharply.

  She threw him a quick look, saw the muscles in his forearms straining as he fought to control the plane and bring it down in one piece. And then she pressed her face against her knees and braced for the moment of impact.

  Addie knew she’d never forget the sound. Logically, she knew that what she heard was the sound of metal scraping against trees and rocks, the screech of welds popping loose, but it seemed as if the plane itself was screaming in anguish. Her father would have dismissed this as the most blatant example of anthropomorphism.

  I expect better than that of you, Adelaide. Use your head. You didn’t inherit your mother’s beauty but you did get at least a portion of my intelligence. Use it.

  His voice was so clear in Addie’s mind that she half expected to see him standing in front of her when she raised her head. He wasn’t there, of course, and she took a moment to be thankful for that. Her father prized practicality above all things. He wouldn’t approve of her being involved in a plane crash. Certainly, he’d never allow such a thing to happen on any plane on which he was a passenger. But for once in her life, she had something more important to worry about than what her father thought.

  If only she could remember what it was.

  A movement to her left drew her attention. Addie stared blankly at the man climbing out of the seat next to her. She knew him, of course. The tousled, dark gold hair and brown eyes were familiar, as were the solid thrust of his jaw and the deep creases that framed his mouth. She knew his name as well as her own. The thought made her frown. That was a ridiculous saying. How could you possibly know someone else’s name as well as your own?

  “Are you hurt?” His voice was deep and a little husky.

  “I don’t know.” Her voice sounded unfamiliar, as if it belonged to someone else.

  He knelt beside her and began running his hands over her body. Addie was vaguely surprised by his touch but she didn’t offer a protest. She felt as if she were viewing the scene from somewhere outside herself and she was in no hurry to abandon that distance.

  “I think you’re okay,” he said, reaching for her again. She heard the snick of a latch being released and knew it was her seat belt. “We need to get out of here.”

  “You’re hurt,” she murmured, lifting one hand toward him. Blood was streaking down from a cut on his forehead, turning the left side of his face into a garish red mask.

  “I’m fine.” He dismissed the injury. “We have to get out of here, Addie.”

  “Addie. It’s short for Adelaide, you know,” she offered vaguely. “I never liked that name.”

  “I’ll try to remember that,” he promised. “Can you stand up?”

  “There’s a lot of blood.” She brought her hand up again but he caught it before it reached his face. His fingers were tight and hard around hers.

  “Forget it! We need to get out of here. I don’t think the plane is stable and I don’t want to be in it if it heads for the bottom of the mountain.”

  The plane. Those two words exploded Addie’s pleasant feeling of distance as surely as if he’d slapped her. She sucked in a ragged breath as memory rushed over her.

  “Don’t fall apart on me now,” Cole snapped, seeing the sudden awareness in her eyes and the remembered terror.

  “We’re alive,” she whispered incredulously.

  Cole grinned crookedly. “Oh, ye of little faith. You can make it up to me by getting up.”

  As soon as he saw her start to obey, he rose to his feet and stepped toward the archway that marked the transition from the cockpit to the main body of the plane.

  “Oh!” The startled exclamation brought him back to her side.

  “What is it?” Nightmare visions of internal injuries skidded through his mind.

  “My ankle,” she said.

  “Broken?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He started to kneel beside her to try to get a better look at her ankle but froze in a half crouch as the plane shivered around them. It was less a movement than a feeling of unsteadiness, gone almost as soon as it began. A warning? Addie’s eyes met his. She was frightened, but there was understanding and determination there, too.

  “I can make it,” she said flatly. And he knew she would.

  The cockpit of the Beech Craft was too small for him to be anything more than a hindrance to her so Cole backed out into the main cabin. Addie followed a moment later, hobbling badly as she tried to keep weight off her right ankle. Cole slid one arm around her waist, bracing her as they made their way across the sloping floor of the cabin. The plane had landed at an angle, forcing them to go up to get to the door. Cole worked the latch and thrust open the door, offering up a silent prayer of thanks at not finding anything jammed against it—like half a mountain. Cold air rushed in on them.

  “The Rockies in January,” Cole said, squinting against the late afternoon sunlight that reflected off the thin layer of snow. “Should have brought skis.”

  “Why didn’t I think of that?” Addie murmured, forcing a weak smile in answer to the grin he threw over his shoulder.

  Weak or not, at least she was neither hysterical nor catatonic, Cole thought with relief. Either one would have made the situation even worse. Not that it was exactly terrific to start with, he admitted. But he wasn’t going to think about the big picture right now. It was enough to concentrate on the immediate problem, which was getting out of the plane before it decided to head for the bottom of the mountain.

  Addie watched as Cole crouched and then jumped out of the plane, disappearing from sight. A thud and a smothered oath told her that his landing hadn’t been perfectly smooth. Favoring her injured ankle, she eased into the opening and peered down. The drop was probably less than seven feet. Under ordinary circumstances, she could easily have slid backward out of the plane and hung by her hands for an instant before dropping to the ground. Her injured ankle seemed to throb in protest at even the thought.

  “Sit down and slide out. I’ll catch you,” Cole said, lifting his arms.

  “I’m too heavy,” Addie protested, immediately conscious of the extra ten pounds she could never seem to lose.

  “I can manage. Come on,” he said impatiently.

  Addie lowered herself gingerly to the floor of the plane and swung her legs over the edge. Cole braced himself to take her weight but found a large tan purse being dangled in front of his face instead.

  “What the hell?”

  “It’s my purse,” she said, leaning forward to peer down at him.

  “I can see that,” he snapped. “You actually took time to pick up your damned purse on the way out? If that isn’t the most ... female thing.”

  “That’s a very chauvinistic thing to say,” Addie admonished.

  “Excuse me, Ms. Smith,” he said, laying heavy emphasis on the title. He jerked the dangling purse from her hand and dropped it unceremoniously on the ground. “Would you mind very much getting out of the damned plane before it slides halfway down the damned mountain with your butt still planted in it?”

  “There’s no reason to bark at me,” she muttered. She was aware that this was not exactly the time to be arguing manners but it seemed safer than thinking about how scared she was.

  “Excuse me all to hell,” Cole snarled. “My manners tend to get a little ragged right after I crash my plane.”

  “I’m sorry,” Addie said, peering down at him. “I didn’t mean—”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Cole interrupted. The temper left his voice as quickly as it had entered. “Just get out of plane. Please. I’m starting to get a crick in my neck.”

  “Are you sure you can catch me?”

  “I’m sure.”

  He braced his booted feet on ground churned ragged by the plane’s landing and lifted his arms. Above him, Addie hesitated a moment longer, her teeth nibbling her lower lip. He restrained the urge to shout at her to hurry.
She was holding together remarkably well. If she needed a few more seconds to gather her courage, it wouldn’t make any difference. At least he hoped it wouldn’t, he thought, glancing at the downed plane.

  “Are you ready?” she asked.

  “I’m ready,” he assured her with strained patience.

  She drew a deep breath and pushed herself away from the plane. For a split second she felt herself falling and then Cole’s hands closed around her waist. He caught her easily, as if those extra ten pounds didn’t matter at all. She hadn’t been aware of squeezing her eyelids shut until she opened them and stared into Cole’s chocolate brown eyes only inches away. He smiled at her.

  “I told you I’d catch you,” he said as he lowered her to the ground.

  “Yes.” Her smile wavered around the edges. “I’m sorry I—”

  But her apology was cut short by a sudden grinding, the tearing sound as something shifted beneath the downed Beech Craft. The plane jerked and quivered, rolling toward them with all the grace of a beached whale, and then, with a sound that could almost have been a sigh, the aircraft gave in to the inexorable pull of gravity and started to slide down the mountain.

  It happened in the space between one breath and the next. One moment Cole was reading the apology in Addie’s blue gray eyes, the next he was staring at the rear edge of a shattered wing rushing toward their heads.

  “Holy—” The oath was cut short as he dropped to the ground, taking Addie with him. He thought he heard her cry out but whether in pain or surprise, he didn’t know and couldn’t stop to find out. Wrapping his arms around her, he rolled away from the plane. There was a rushing, grinding sound and the ground rumbled beneath them. Cole rolled again, felt pain tear through his shoulder and rolled once more. They came to a halt well away from where they’d started, Cole on top of Addie, his body shielding hers. Off to their left, the rushing, tearing sounds continued for a moment longer and then came to an abrupt halt as the plane found a new resting place.