that, or end his interest in her, once and for all. In all honesty, her incessant fascination with his brother was slowly killing his romantic interest in her. A woman letting a man treat her in such a careless, offhand manner as Shane treated Kailynn just revealed that she didn’t have a lot of confidence in herself. Not if she still wanted the jerk. He was almost ready to tell Shane what the hell was up just to let them have at it.
Except, here they were. Alone. Five days. Together. Yeah, might be time to see what the hell, if anything, existed between them.
“Well, luckily, I have plenty of food for the horses, and our food and gear, so we are good. I put Shane and your brothers’ stuff in their rig.”
“You packed for them?”
“Mostly. I pictured them getting up there with no beds, sleeping bags, pots… well, you’ve already observed their carelessness.”
She nodded, and her eyebrows scrunched together. At last, she realized how often Shane and her brothers screwed up, and worse, screwed her over. Why did any of that surprise her? Ian noticed when they were an hour past the agreed upon meet time. He could have punched a few faces in, if they’d been in front of him, when he finally got a hold of his brother on his cell.
“Let’s see if you can lift any of these boxes.” Ian tugged the first brown box out and had Kailynn take one side. He could easily have handled most of the weight, but while snapping the strap around the metal hoop on the sawbuck, he needed her help in holding it up. She leaned over and pulled hard, her expression registering some strain and surprise, but she did not utter a word of complaint.
They managed to leverage the box against the horse’s side. Roxy braced under the pack-saddle’s weight as Ian quickly worked to buckle the strap. Kailynn used her shoulders to support the box and held it with the trunk of her body. By the time they were done, both sweating, Kailynn threw her coat off. Only three more boxes to go. He felt bad, but there was no other way to do it. After an hour, all the horses had the boxes loaded and the top packs over them. He spent a rather long time tying the pack set-ups down in order to keep them secure for the long trek in. They nevertheless wobbled and moved as the horses made their way over steep hills and rocky terrain. The pack gear always started out looking secure, but a mile or so in, you could easily see the beating it took. More than once, the entire rig slid off to one side or the other. Straps even broke, and the top packs once slid off. Ian had endured every disaster at some point. As he helped Kailynn mount her horse, after stashing her gear in the saddlebags, he checked to be sure it was all tied down good and tight.
They didn’t speak except for his instructions to her on what to do next. She suddenly made an odd sound.
“What about sleeping bags? Bedding? I-I didn’t think about it. I mean, you kept talking about gear… I’ve just never done this before, so I didn’t really think about having to bring everything in.”
Her face looked stricken. He had already gotten the packhorses untied and had one lead rope tucked under the other pack saddle. They weren’t tied very tightly, for safety reasons, and he expected the second horse would follow without needing the rope too much. Kailynn wasn’t ready to lead a pack horse in. They were cumbersome to tow and their giant packs in tight spots could make things very precarious. Sometimes they shied, or got startled, and weren’t even aware as to what their packs might be hitting. Ian had seen more than one person get hurt on the trail.
“Don’t worry; I got it all,” he said, mounting his horse before pulling on the lead rope for Roxy, who stood between Samson and him.
He caught a glimpse of her mouth flattening, and she shook her head. “I’m an idiot. Really. How could I forget about that stuff?”
“Because you’ve never done this before. I knew that when I agreed to let
Except, here they were. Alone. Five days. Together. Yeah, might be time to see what the hell, if anything, existed between them.
“Well, luckily, I have plenty of food for the horses, and our food and gear, so we are good. I put Shane and your brothers’ stuff in their rig.”
“You packed for them?”
“Mostly. I pictured them getting up there with no beds, sleeping bags, pots… well, you’ve already observed their carelessness.”
She nodded, and her eyebrows scrunched together. At last, she realized how often Shane and her brothers screwed up, and worse, screwed her over. Why did any of that surprise her? Ian noticed when they were an hour past the agreed upon meet time. He could have punched a few faces in, if they’d been in front of him, when he finally got a hold of his brother on his cell.
“Let’s see if you can lift any of these boxes.” Ian tugged the first brown box out and had Kailynn take one side. He could easily have handled most of the weight, but while snapping the strap around the metal hoop on the sawbuck, he needed her help in holding it up. She leaned over and pulled hard, her expression registering some strain and surprise, but she did not utter a word of complaint.
They managed to leverage the box against the horse’s side. Roxy braced under the pack-saddle’s weight as Ian quickly worked to buckle the strap. Kailynn used her shoulders to support the box and held it with the trunk of her body. By the time they were done, both sweating, Kailynn threw her coat off. Only three more boxes to go. He felt bad, but there was no other way to do it. After an hour, all the horses had the boxes loaded and the top packs over them. He spent a rather long time tying the pack set-ups down in order to keep them secure for the long trek in. They nevertheless wobbled and moved as the horses made their way over steep hills and rocky terrain. The pack gear always started out looking secure, but a mile or so in, you could easily see the beating it took. More than once, the entire rig slid off to one side or the other. Straps even broke, and the top packs once slid off. Ian had endured every disaster at some point. As he helped Kailynn mount her horse, after stashing her gear in the saddlebags, he checked to be sure it was all tied down good and tight.
They didn’t speak except for his instructions to her on what to do next. She suddenly made an odd sound.
“What about sleeping bags? Bedding? I-I didn’t think about it. I mean, you kept talking about gear… I’ve just never done this before, so I didn’t really think about having to bring everything in.”
Her face looked stricken. He had already gotten the packhorses untied and had one lead rope tucked under the other pack saddle. They weren’t tied very tightly, for safety reasons, and he expected the second horse would follow without needing the rope too much. Kailynn wasn’t ready to lead a pack horse in. They were cumbersome to tow and their giant packs in tight spots could make things very precarious. Sometimes they shied, or got startled, and weren’t even aware as to what their packs might be hitting. Ian had seen more than one person get hurt on the trail.
“Don’t worry; I got it all,” he said, mounting his horse before pulling on the lead rope for Roxy, who stood between Samson and him.
He caught a glimpse of her mouth flattening, and she shook her head. “I’m an idiot. Really. How could I forget about that stuff?”
“Because you’ve never done this before. I knew that when I agreed to let
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