softly without looking back.
“If you’re sure you don’t need me around here, I think I’ll head for Wildfire Canyon early tomorrow.”
“Happy hunting.”
Only Carolina could have seen Ten’s wide, knowing smile, and she was asleep.
“Would you miss one of the ranch trucks?” Nevada continued. “We I lost the cat’s tracks on a windy slope way back up a canyon. Even a dog couldn’t track her there. It’s too steep for a horse, so I might as well drive up that old logging road and work back down from there.”
“Take the black truck. Take extra supplies. Take anything you need to get the job done right, including time. For once we’re not shorthanded. In other words, don’t hurry back.”
Sensing the buried amusement in Ten’s voice, Nevada watched closely as his brother disappeared up the stairway, carrying the utterly relaxed child.
Abruptly Nevada turned away and went to the bunkhouse. He packed what he would need, set his mental alarm clock for five hours of sleep and crawled into his cold bunk, trying not to remember what it had been like to hold Eden for just a few moments in his arms in an isolated cabin when she had been disturbed by his dark, unremembered dreams.
Nevada slept quickly. deeply, and he did not remember his dreams. Five hours later he awakened, dressed, and went to the black pickup truck. When he opened the door, a mélange of fragrances greeted him Carla’s chocolate chip cookies and Mariah’s fudge brownies, a sack of freshly baked biscuits and a kettle of hearty beef stew that would feed him for several days.
The corner of Nevada’s mouth turned up as Ten’s words came back to him: Don’t tell that to the Rocking M women. Luke, Cash and I would hate like hell to give up our ration of cuddling!
Something told Nevada that the women enjoyed it, too.
*
By the time Nevada had negotiated the final washout on the abandoned logging road, he was beginning to wonder how Eden had managed the trip in the first place. If it hadn’t been for the signs of her vehicle tracks, he would have sworn that no one had been over the road since the logging operation had been shut down a decade ago. In an emergency, it would be impossible to get to the cabin quickly or to get away from it.
The anxiety that had been gnawing at Nevada ever since he had left Eden increased as the truck bumped and labored over the rutted, slushy track. He told himself there was no reason for him to be concerned about Eden’s welfare. There had been no new storms, no word of strangers in the high country, nothing to set his mind to worrying. Even if there had been, Baby was a formidable bodyguard and Eden had been very much at home in the wild. Rationally, Nevada knew he didn’t need to worry about her.
But he wasn’t feeling very rational at the moment.
Eden haunted him like an echo down a lonely canyon, touching hidden places that even the sun couldn’t reach. Nevada knew he wouldn’t have any peace of mind until he assured himself that Eden was all right.
Impatient with himself for his own foolishness, Nevada braked to a stop in front of the isolated cabin. Beyond the cabin, the open, sparse forest began. Even before he turned off the engine, the anxiety that had been driving him intensified. There was smoke rising from the chimney but no one was coming out to greet him. Light green eyes noted every detail of the cabin. Though the weather had been clear, the only tracks Nevada could see in the melting snow went from the cabin around to the outhouse in back, with a single set of tracks detouring to the woodpile.
Eden hadn’t left the cabin for anything but absolute necessities.
I knew it. Damn it, I never should have left her alone. Accidents happen. Hell, one happened to me!
Nevada left the truck and reached the cabin door in three long strides. He opened the door and automatically shut it behind him. Baby whined and rumbled a greeting.
“Hi,” Eden said, then coughed before continuing
“If you’re sure you don’t need me around here, I think I’ll head for Wildfire Canyon early tomorrow.”
“Happy hunting.”
Only Carolina could have seen Ten’s wide, knowing smile, and she was asleep.
“Would you miss one of the ranch trucks?” Nevada continued. “We I lost the cat’s tracks on a windy slope way back up a canyon. Even a dog couldn’t track her there. It’s too steep for a horse, so I might as well drive up that old logging road and work back down from there.”
“Take the black truck. Take extra supplies. Take anything you need to get the job done right, including time. For once we’re not shorthanded. In other words, don’t hurry back.”
Sensing the buried amusement in Ten’s voice, Nevada watched closely as his brother disappeared up the stairway, carrying the utterly relaxed child.
Abruptly Nevada turned away and went to the bunkhouse. He packed what he would need, set his mental alarm clock for five hours of sleep and crawled into his cold bunk, trying not to remember what it had been like to hold Eden for just a few moments in his arms in an isolated cabin when she had been disturbed by his dark, unremembered dreams.
Nevada slept quickly. deeply, and he did not remember his dreams. Five hours later he awakened, dressed, and went to the black pickup truck. When he opened the door, a mélange of fragrances greeted him Carla’s chocolate chip cookies and Mariah’s fudge brownies, a sack of freshly baked biscuits and a kettle of hearty beef stew that would feed him for several days.
The corner of Nevada’s mouth turned up as Ten’s words came back to him: Don’t tell that to the Rocking M women. Luke, Cash and I would hate like hell to give up our ration of cuddling!
Something told Nevada that the women enjoyed it, too.
*
By the time Nevada had negotiated the final washout on the abandoned logging road, he was beginning to wonder how Eden had managed the trip in the first place. If it hadn’t been for the signs of her vehicle tracks, he would have sworn that no one had been over the road since the logging operation had been shut down a decade ago. In an emergency, it would be impossible to get to the cabin quickly or to get away from it.
The anxiety that had been gnawing at Nevada ever since he had left Eden increased as the truck bumped and labored over the rutted, slushy track. He told himself there was no reason for him to be concerned about Eden’s welfare. There had been no new storms, no word of strangers in the high country, nothing to set his mind to worrying. Even if there had been, Baby was a formidable bodyguard and Eden had been very much at home in the wild. Rationally, Nevada knew he didn’t need to worry about her.
But he wasn’t feeling very rational at the moment.
Eden haunted him like an echo down a lonely canyon, touching hidden places that even the sun couldn’t reach. Nevada knew he wouldn’t have any peace of mind until he assured himself that Eden was all right.
Impatient with himself for his own foolishness, Nevada braked to a stop in front of the isolated cabin. Beyond the cabin, the open, sparse forest began. Even before he turned off the engine, the anxiety that had been driving him intensified. There was smoke rising from the chimney but no one was coming out to greet him. Light green eyes noted every detail of the cabin. Though the weather had been clear, the only tracks Nevada could see in the melting snow went from the cabin around to the outhouse in back, with a single set of tracks detouring to the woodpile.
Eden hadn’t left the cabin for anything but absolute necessities.
I knew it. Damn it, I never should have left her alone. Accidents happen. Hell, one happened to me!
Nevada left the truck and reached the cabin door in three long strides. He opened the door and automatically shut it behind him. Baby whined and rumbled a greeting.
“Hi,” Eden said, then coughed before continuing
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