A flash of what looked like guilt crossed her face, but it disappeared too fast for him to be sure. Well, she should feel guilty. This was all her fault.
“You know, you’re right,” she agreed with bright, false smile. “That ought to make you feel better on your hike down the mountain. Enjoy the walk.”
She swung the black stallion around and urged him forward. “I’ll tie your horse to a tree when I catch him,” she called over her shoulder.
“Don’t do me any favors,” he groused at her back.
A couple miles later, he was still cursing her under his breath when the tracks in the snow changed. He stopped, surveyed the area with a frown, and then shook his head. The two horses had probably milled around before continuing down the trail.
A few minutes later, he halted again. Three sets of uniform tracks were visible, not like further back where it was obvious two of the animals had been running. No sir, these tracks were all spaced quite equally as if the animals were being led.
She wouldn’t have.
After another mile, there was no other explanation—the witch had stolen his horse! Anger simmered and escalated to a full-blown rage as he hiked mile after mile. Sure, they’d broken a path through the snow, but his toes were pretty much numb by now.
Oh man, when he found Ms. Brittany Lucas—if that was her real name—the woman would be sorry she ever met him.
Chapter 5
Britt was brushing Paelo in his stall at the ranch, trying not to think about a certain ranger and that hot kiss in her tent, when she heard a familiar voice from the aisle.
“You go soft over the winter, girl?”
She straightened and saw her boss leaning his arms along the top of the stall door. “Hey, Mark,” she greeted with a grin. “What are you doing here? How’s Eve doing?”
“Good. Her sister is here for a week, so she gets a break from me.”
“Come on, she loves having you around.”
“Not when bed rest means she can’t walk away when I annoy her. She says I hover too much.”
Britt laughed, but knew he hovered for a good reason. This was their third pregnancy, the first two having resulted in devastating miscarriages. Being able to spend time with his wife during her third trimester was the reason he’d called and asked Britt to come back to Colorado for another summer.
“Well, you’ve got two more months to go, so this probably is a good break.”
“What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming back ’til tomorrow. You let a little snow chase you down?”
After exiting the stall to give the tall cowboy a hug, she stepped back. “I was escorted out of the park by a Ranger Morgan. Just my luck, too, because anyone else would’ve known me.”
Mark frowned. “I’ve met Joel Morgan. He knows the ranch has restricted trail access.”
The earlier twinge of guilt hit twice as hard. “I didn’t exactly tell him I work here.”
“Why not?”
“Well, when he tackled me, I—”
“He what?”
“He showed up in my camp with his gun drawn and I thought he was a poacher, so I ran.”
Mark lifted his hat, ran a hand through his hair, and resettled the Stetson. “You forget what a ranger’s uniform looks like?”
“He wasn’t in uniform.”
“And why didn’t you just tell him who you were?”
“Tell who who she was? Is. Are?”