She barely kept her mouth from hanging open. Spoiled little rich girls? Screw him. He knew nothing about her. Wasn’t going to either, she decided. Sure, she could tell him the ranch had unrestricted access to the park, but he didn’t believe she was camping, so why would he believe anything else she said?
“Thank you, sir. Now I know for the future.”
“No.” He gave a shake of his head, swept his gaze over her campsite, then turned his glare back on her. “Not good enough. You can’t stay here. You’re going to have to pack up and go.”
Seriously? Casting a pointed glance toward the setting sun, she saw it was partially obscured by a low bank of thick, white clouds that stretched. The weatherman had said possibility of light snow, but she didn’t like the look of them any more than she liked Ranger Morgan’s hostile tone.
“It’s too late to leave tonight.”
When she moved to brush past him, his hand clamped on her arm.
“At first light then,” he ground out, clearly annoyed that she was right. “I’ll drag you from your tent if I have to.”
She jerked free, resisting an urge to massage the tingling feeling that remained from his touch. Batting her eyelashes, she gave him a sugary smile just to piss him off. “Surely you wouldn’t disturb my beauty rest?”
“First light,” he repeated through a jaw clenched so tight it was a wonder he got the words out. As he turned away, he muttered what sounded like, “Now I’m a damn baby-sitter.”
Hands fisted on her hips, Britt glared after his retreating back. Oh, this guy was a piece of work. She’d make sure to be gone before dawn’s early light, and if she was lucky, she wouldn’t run into the jerk again for the rest of the summer.
Chapter 2
By the time Joel Morgan hiked back to where he’d tied his gelding, he concluded Ms. Brittany Lucas was either one hell of an actress, or she really was just camping. Unfortunately, he didn’t think she could’ve fabricated the surprise in those wide green eyes. Not to mention, the genuine relief that had softened her resistance when she’d spotted his badge spoke volumes.
A thief could’ve faked the words, but not the involuntary physical reaction.
Still, he needed to keep an eye on her and make sure she left the area. Not only because she was in a restricted area, but for the precise reason she’d given for running from him. A camper alone in the backcountry wasn’t a good idea to begin with. A woman as pretty as her by herself with a poacher stalking the area put the situation from bad to worse.
He’d felt the stirring of physical reaction as she lay beneath him, all soft curves and a thick mass of blond curls fanned out on the grass. The sick bastard who was responsible for murdering and decapitating the bighorn sheep likely wouldn’t have any issues assaulting her as she’d feared he might.
Yeah, she was right to be afraid—he just wished she’d have considered that before hitting the trail. He may be new to the Rocky Mountain National Park, but the responsibility of keeping visitors safe weighed on his shoulders, no matter how much the woman’s blatant disregard for the rules irked him.
The ghosts of his past tried to sneak up from behind. Joel shrugged them away. People in his past may not have needed him, but these mountains did, and so did the animals. That’s all that mattered.
He radioed into headquarters to report his location for the night as he swung into the saddle. One of the rangers who’d been assisting with his investigation answered the call.
“Find anything interesting up there?” Randy Gifford asked.
“Just a camper in a restricted area.”
“You think it could be the guy you’re looking for?”
“It’s a woman. Camping where she shouldn’t be. I’m going to make sure she leaves in the morning, then return to my original route.”
“You may want to reconsider. That storm front I mentioned earlier is moving a lot faster than expected. It’s over the Never Summer Mountain Range and will reach your area tonight. Temperature’s dropping, too, so be prepared.”
Joel surveyed the heavy, gray clouds he’d noticed earlier. “What are they forecasting?”
“If it keeps moving, a couple inches. If it stalls, up to a foot.”
He muttered a curse. That would be a problem. “If that happens, we could be up here for a few days, so yeah, scrap the original route. The closest trailhead is Longs Peak, can you get someone to drop off my truck and trailer over there in the morning?”
“Will do.”
Five minutes later, he rode back into Brittany Lucas’s camp as she threw a couple pieces of wood on the campfire that’d been nothing but banked coals when he left. She brushed off her hands before bracing them on her hips.
“Now what?”