Page 54 of Vicious Sabotage

With both horses peacefully grazing on the tall grass growing on both sides of the trail, Carver led her to the picnic blanket.

When he waved a hand for her to take a seat, she spied the small rocks weighting down each corner of the blanket. With a gasp, she picked one up.

“It’s shaped like a heart!” What she said sank in. A heart.

His lips quirked at one corner, stopping that organ in her chest. As he took a seat next to her, legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles, she had to force her breathing to slow.

She wanted him. Now.

But she wanted to see what was inside that picnic basket too. She got the feeling it wasn’t a dangerous venomous snake but more touching overtures meant to sweeten her.

He flipped up the lid of the basket to reveal several covered dishes. He began to unpack them, setting them out on the blanket. She pulled the lid off one and couldn’t stop a sound of appreciation at seeing the fresh strawberries.

There were also croissants, spicy sausages, a tea cake and a thermos filled with more hot coffee.

She eyed him. “Okay, who helped you with this?”

He chuckled. “Ivy.”

“Of course. She’s always been good at organizing things.”

He placed a hand close to hers and leaned in. She leaned in too, inch by inch, until their lips brushed.

On a moan, he deepened the kiss, gliding his tongue over hers and creating a new kind of hunger.

When he broke the caress, she swore the birds were singing louder and the breeze was more fragrant with the scent of mountain pine.

A sudden wail broke the silence. A whoop of an alarm.

Carver jolted to his feet, hand along his spine. A ripple ran through Livia at the thought of him needing to pull out that weapon and use it to defend her. Defend both of them.

She started to clamber to her feet, but he threw out a hand to stop her. The scream of the siren sounded again, louder this time, coming their way.

“Is that an ambulance?” Her hoarse whisper was hot with the worry of somebody needing an ambulance. There was only one house on this road—the Graceys’.

While they were very isolated on the trail, the road ran close enough that they could see the ambulance lights through the trees.

The horses stomped their feet and shifted, restless from the noise.

Livia put a hand on Carver’s arm. “That has to be going to the ranch.”

He gave her a hard nod. “Let’s go.”

* * * * *

Carver led the way down the trail, weaving left and right to avoid branches stretched across the divide. Every few feet, he glanced back to make sure Livia was still seated, but she held her own in the race back to the ranch.

On a working ranch, injuries happened. It was also possible that Sean Gracey was having more heart problems. He was still recovering from bypass surgery, and sometimes things happened.

Carver just hoped it wasn’t his men or the Gracey daughters. They had suffered too much already. They deserved peace and time to heal.

Under him, the horse’s muscles rolled, and the hooves thundered in his ears. When they hit the trail head, he threw a look back at Livia. Confident that she’d keep up, he spurred his horse faster and took off at a fast gallop along the edge of the pasture.

She edged her horse neck and neck with his. If his chest weren’t burning with worry over what happened to warrant an ambulance being called to the ranch, he would be turned on with the competition Livia threw at him.

When they rounded the pasture, a cluster of people came into sight. He spotted the flipped ATV just as Livia let out a cry.

Oh god. An ATV accident. Those things killed people. Accidents were no joking matter.

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