Hidden Summit

he asked.
    “Sure,” she said. “Which one is yours?”
    “Number four,” he said. When they got there, he leaned the rod against the outside wall and took off the waders. He opened the unlocked door and held it for her.
    When they were both inside and the door closed, her expression went south in a hurry, and she punched him in the shoulder. It was not the force of the blow but her angry expression and surprise that caused him to take a backward step. “Hey!”
    “Have you lost your mind?” she snapped. “You have a thing going with Leslie? Didn’t we talk about this?”
    “Not exactly,” he said. “If you’re referring to telling me this wouldn’t be an ideal time to hook up with someone, I heard that. I couldn’t agree more. In fact, when you get down to it, it’s not an ideal time for anything! ”
    Brie got right in his face. “What are you thinking? You’re supposed to be flying under the radar as much as possible!”
    “Yeah? Then you brought me to the wrong place! I’ve been helping erect the school, finish a friend’s house, hang out at the bar with your brother and work overtime for your friend Paul. I’ve been fishing with Art every week. Art depends on me fishing with him. And that’s the tip of the iceberg. This isn’t the kind of place where you stay a stranger for long.”
    “But a girlfriend? ” she said, an accusing tone to her voice.
    “I didn’t plan that,” he said.
    “Where’s this going? You going to just leave her high and dry when it’s time to testify?”
    “No,” he said. “At the very least I’m going to tell her. Everything.”
    Brie palmed the top of her own head and dug her fingers into her scalp, massaging. “Oh, God. And make her collateral damage, too?”
    “How?”
    “If the other side ever finds out who’s important to you here—”
    “The list would be long,” he said flatly. “And it might even include you.”
    “No. No, you don’t understand. The rest of us have a lot of other links—like for example, I’m married to a cop. Jack’s not exactly someone you love even if you like him. Lots of people worked on the school. But Leslie is alone....”
    “No, she’s not. Paul and Dan look out for her, too. She’s not that alone and I’m not going to leave her stranded and like a sitting duck. Not going to.”
    “You shouldn’t tell anyone anything until your testimony is complete and you’re finished with the court!”
    “You know where I am, so what if the bad guys snatch your daughter? Would you tell them?”
    “I’m not going to know where you are after then, which makes what I’m putting out for this effort the ultimate sacrifice!”
    “You’re going crazy,” Conner said. “Stop it, it’s my job to go crazy.”
    “Can you break it off?” Brie asked. “Before it gets any more serious?”
    “No.”
    “Conner, this could be bad for you. Emotionally bad, if you have to cut and run. It could be bad for her if anyone on the other team ever figures out there’s someone here you really care about. They could leverage her to get to you.”
    “Then maybe we should change the game plan....”
    “Huh?” Brie said, startled.
    “Just thinking out loud, maybe Danson Conner disappears forever and Conner Danson grows a new life in Virgin River. I have a hard time believing any of Mathis’s connections are going to figure out I’m here.”
    “People will make the connection when you testify....”
    “Maybe I won’t testify, then,” he said. “I can’t believe they won’t make a conviction without me—they have the car, the murder weapon, forensics.... Max said there’s other evidence, he just wouldn’t tell me what.”
    “And an eyewitness, who led them to all the other evidence! Max will pull the plug on you! He’s not going to help you maintain this cover—he can’t. It costs the state money.”
    “I’m working. I’m paying the rent on this cabin,” he argued.
    “You think transferring all your identity and bank accounts was free? You think that truck you’re driving is free? And if you try to sell your Sacramento properties without a middleman like the D.A., Mathis is going to find out. At least we have to assume he knows how to get that information, even though it wouldn’t be through legal channels. Besides, you know it’s the right thing to do! If you don’t testify, you’re setting a murderer free, and even though he looks upstanding, if he’d kill once… Conner…!”
    “Settle down. I know