Color bloomed in her cheeks at the reminder of their first meeting.
“Joel’s right, Britt.”
The firm reinforcement came from Casey. Joel cast him a quick glance, and noted the gravity in the brown gaze that met his. A brief nod told him Ful
ler was one hundred percent on his side in the matter. Surprising, yet good to know.
“I agree,” Mark added in a voice that said the discussion was closed.
Mitch was the only one who didn’t chime in. The dark-haired wrangler’s silent observation of the entire meeting, including speculative glances between him and Brittany, did not escape Joel’s notice. Nor did the fact that Brittany wasn’t prepared to take his order sitting down.
“Does this rule of yours apply only to me?”
Joel wished he could say yes, just to piss her off in the face of her defiant sarcasm. But there were still too many unknown variables to consider, and safety came first. “No. Buddy system for everyone, and keep your batteries fresh in your radios. You see anything at all suspicious, call it in immediately.”
* * *
Joel strode into the ranger station Friday morning despite Ryan’s suggestion he take some time off after working straight through since arriving in Colorado a couple weeks ago. His dad had called yesterday about driving down from Montana for a visit after he finished the investigation, he’d take a day or two then.
For now, he just needed to focus on the job, and this morning, he planned to review the background checks he’d ordered for Highlands’ employees.
Cal Rogers, the overweight, balding ranger who manned the front desk covered the mouthpiece of the phone with his free hand. “Morning, Joel.”
He nodded while pouring a cup of coffee, then grabbed the patrol reports the night-shift rangers had turned in. Nothing unusual stood out with his first scan, so he tucked them under his arm to read more thoroughly at his desk. Sipping from the steaming cup, he ambled over to check out the camper registration map on the wall.
A green pin was stuck in the map near Storm Peak. Once he realized it was the restricted area where Highlands guided their Wildlife Ride, irritation sparked that they hadn’t notified him personally with a list of registered guests for his review.
As soon as Cal hung up the phone, Joel indicated the pin. “This Highlands Ranch?”
“Yeah. Britt and Mitch are scouting the trail before the season starts. They wanted us to be aware of the campfire in case there were any patrols tonight.”
“Got it. Thanks.”
He headed into his office with a scowl and slapped the reports on the desk. Damn it, he didn’t care if the two of them were spending the night up there together. Didn’t care that Mitch had danced with her at the Kick-off party, nor did he care that the guy had shown undue interest in their exchange the other day at the meeting.
He located the envelope with the background files Randy Gifford had left on his desk and broke the seal. Brittany’s was the top one. After a moment of temptation, he set it aside.
Next he found Casey Fuller’s and was surprised to discover he had a Bachelor’s degree in National Resource Management. In addition, the wrangler had completed the Seasonal Law Enforcement Training Program required to become a law enforcement ranger. So why the hell was he working at Highlands? Looked like he and Fuller would have to have a more in-depth conversation.
His gaze drifted to Brittany’s pages more times than he wanted to admit, so finally he just read the damn report. He committed the information to memory, but didn’t give himself a chance to process before moving on to Mitch Levins’ file.
That’s when he discovered just how much he did care who Brittany spent her time with. He grabbed his cell phone and truck keys, and called Mark Jennings on his way out the door.
Chapter 12
Britt stewed in the saddle as her stallion picked his way along the trail. Mark had called a half-hour ago, claiming he needed Mitch back at the ranch. He hadn’t given a specific reason, and the moment she’d heard Joel was riding in to be her new safety buddy, she figured there was more going on than he would say.
Or could say.
Mitch’s initial frown had morphed into an emotionless mask, so different from his usual carefree attitude. He hadn’t questioned the request, or even commented when she tried to speculate about the change of plans. With a grim “Good luck,” he’d turned his mount back toward the trailhead and left her wondering what the heck was going on.
She’d slowed Paelo’s stride, but sure as hell wasn't going to stop and twiddle her thumbs while waiting for Mr. Power-trip Ranger to catch up. She was tired of him issuing orders and ruining her day every time she turned around.
With the sun warming her back, she tried to enjoy the scenery while she could. Lord knew once he appeared she wouldn’t have a moment’s peace for the rest of the trip. In the past week, the new leaves on the trees had darkened to a deeper shade of green, their thick foliage shading the trail so much in places the snow from a week ago still hadn’t completely melted. She knew the terrain well, had each landmark etched in her mind. The hands of time and Mother Nature changed something about them every year and she looked forward to cataloguing the alterations each spring.
Her gaze scanned the trail ahead and the sight of hoof prints in the snow made her draw back on the reins. The tracks didn’t appear fresh, maybe a few days old judging by how they disappeared wherever the sun had melted the snow. She dismounted and gave Paelo a soft command.
Inspecting the bare ground, she saw no sign of passage in the moist soil, not even a slight indent. She’d guess the rider had come through sometime after the storm a week ago because there hadn’t been any precipitation since then.