“Sure, thanks.”
Get a grip. He scrubbed his hands over his face, then took the cup Randy handed across the desk. “What are you doing here?” Gifford had been off the past week for a family graduation in the southern part of the state. He wasn’t due in until the Monday morning shift.
“Checking the schedule for the week.” The ranger’s gaze took in the mess of files crisscrossing the flat surface, then nodded toward Joel’s laptop. One of the pictures from yesterday morning was open on the screen. “What’s that?”
He spun the computer, then sat back in his chair to take a sip of coffee. “New kill up near Storm Pass. Not much to help out though. A mountain lion had been feeding on it for a couple days by the time we discovered it. Never found the spot where the shot was taken.”
Randy scrolled through the pictures, his keen gaze taking in details. He shot Joel a quick glance. “We?”
“Brittany Lucas from Highlands Sunset Ranch. You know her?”
“Yeah, I know Britt.”
Randy frowned as he took a seat, but Joel wasn’t sure if it was because of the picture on the computer, or the woman.
“What were you two doing up there?” he asked.
“Scouting their overnight trail before the season starts.”
“I’m surprised Ryan doesn’t shut them down.”
Joel sat forward and set his cup to the side so he could start sorting out the mess he’d made during the morning hours. “I thought the same thing at first, but now, it might be good to keep the area active. It might keep this guy on his toes.”
“Their rides are all pre-scheduled,” Randy pointed out. “A simple call and he’d know if the coast was clear.”
“True. But I was considering asking Casey Fuller to do some extra scouting during the week. What’s your take on him?”
“I’ve known Casey since high school. He’s a good guy. Honest as they come. It’s a good idea putting him on the trail.”
Joel nodded as he piled his files together. “Good. Because I want to catch this bastard.”
“Anything else new since I left?”
“No. It feels like I’ve been over these files a hundred times.” Joel picked up a photo of one of the first animals he’d found and stared at it, willing a clue to reveal itself. “He’s going to slip up though. Sooner or later, they always do.”
“That’s what they say.” Randy’s large hand rubbed the whiskers on his jaw. “So…you mind me asking what’s going on with you and Britt?”
The question caught him off guard. Along with the answer. Yes. He minded, because he didn’t have a clue himself.
He kept his attention on the files in front of him. “What makes you think anything’s going on?”
Randy laughed and sat forward, eyebrows raised. “Besides the fact you didn’t just deny it, more than a few people saw you two at the Watering Hole last weekend. Now you’re camping together?”
He braced his forearms on the desk and met the other man’s gaze. “Something came up on Mitch Levin’s background check and Mark Jennings needed someone to ride with her. Anything else is our business, not yours.”
Speculation remained in Randy’s eyes, and something more he couldn’t quite put his finger on as the ranger got to his feet.
“Britt and I are good friends. She avoids relationships out here because she’s not sticking around, and neither are you. Casual sex isn’t her thing, so whatever’s going on, don’t hurt her.”
He stared at the empty doorway after Randy’s parting warning. Brittany Lucas seemed to be friends with everyone and involved with no one. Is that why she’d wanted to be friends with him?
Definitely the smarter idea, so why didn’t he like it one bit?
By the time he left the station for his temporary apartment later that evening, his only answer to that question was that he was an idiot.
He detoured on his way home to stop at the Watering Hole for dinner. The bar was obviously a favorite among the locals, because he not only recognized Gifford’s truck, but Fuller’s as well. His pulse picked up speed at the possibility that Brittany could be inside.
Yep. Idiot.