Page 67 of Claimed By 3 Mountain Men

“Oh, you didn’t? Who’s going with you, then? Your trusted sidekick Ben?”

“Yeah,” I say, glancing over my shoulder to see Ben did not follow me outside.

“Where is he?”

“Getting ready.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“Not the first time I’ve been told that today.”

He points to the front door.

“Get your ass inside before you sneak off and fall into another trap.”

“What if I want to leave the lodge and go into town?”

“Someone can drive you in, and when you’re ready to leave Silver Ridge, well, I’ll drive your pretty ass to the airport myself.”

“You’re really off my Christmas card list, you know that, right?”

“Already struck off,” he deadpans, but I can see the amusement in his eyes, the tension between us, if only for a moment, eases.

“Fine, you win,” I grumble, and reluctantly hobble my way back inside to find Ben sitting on the massive leather couch, watching me with a smug grin.

“How’d it go?”

“Are you still up for helping me?” I ask. “Like before?”

Ben tilts his head, watching me with a slow steady gaze. “That sounds like a loaded question.”

My cheeks burn at his remark.

“I mean by tracking the lynx, you ass!”

“Oh, of course,” he grins wolfishly. “I’d be happy to help you. I want to prove that we’re not the ones doing this. I want to help you find the truth.”

“Really?” I say slowly.

“Of course, Mac. We can head out this evening after dinner, but I have chores to finish up and you've put enough weight on your leg for the day.”

The afternoon drifts by in a slow, hazy blur. I spend most of it in the lodge, trying to keep off my leg and mentally preparing myself for the evening ahead.

As the sun begins its slow descent behind the mountains, casting long, golden shadows across the landscape, Ben and Ifinally start gearing up to head back out. The plan is to set up the equipment I still have and use some of Ben’s trail cams to fill in the gaps. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s something, and right now, it was better than nothing.

Ben is in the barn, pulling out some of his hunting gear while I linger near the porch, adjusting the straps on my backpack and trying not to think too much about the fact that we’re about to head back into the same woods where I nearly lost my life. I glance up at the sky, watching as the last rays of sunlight dip below the horizon, and the first stars begin to flicker to life.

“You sure you’re up for this?” Ben asks as he approaches me, wearing a worn jean jacket with a gray flannel underneath.

“It’s going to take a lot more than a leg injury to stop me,” I say flippantly.

He smiles, and I catch a glimpse of the same charming twinkle in his eyes that I saw when I first met all three brothers together at the bar.

“You got a plan?” he asks.

“You know I always do.” I clear my throat, leaning against the porch railing for balance. “We’re already covering a decent amount of ground with the cameras we’ve got,” I start. My voice is steady but laced with the urgency I feel within. “But if we really want to capture something definitive, we need to think bigger.”

Ben nods, his expression serious. “What did you have in mind?”

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