Page 102 of Tangled up in You

“Not a question so much as a correction,” Mark said. “We’re not doubling back. I’ve already amended the permits and we parked Christopher’s truck at the trailhead on the western end, where we’ll exit. It’ll make the trip shorter. We’ll start at the east end and work our way west, then exit the interior.”

She blinked. “I didn’t know there was a trailhead near the last station.” It hadn’t been on her map.

“It’s not accessible to the public by vehicle,” Mark said, “so it’s not on most public maps. It’s for park employees to use for staging, firefighting, et cetera.” Mark arched an eyebrow at her. “If that’s all right with you,doctor.”

She didn’t take the bait. “That’s fine.” It would shorten the journey.

“Good,” Mark said. “Now I have an orientation for you.”

He produced a tablet and detailed a list of wilderness-related topics, a lot of it dealing with bears.

Most of it dealing with bears, actually. Including video.

Jesse did her best not to feel intimidated, but she was.

Truth be told, she was fucking scared. She’d read up on bears but didn’t give them much thought. She knew bears could be an issue, and that one of the men’s jobs was to keep her safe from them, but she’d honestly never thought about bears being…

Well,bears.

She had bear spray, which she’d purchased yesterday in Gardiner, but apparently she needed to obtain more of it.

Based on what Mark said she might want to drag a tanker truck full of it with them.

“Any questions?” he asked.

“Yeah. If bears are such a problem, why are you carrying a gun and Chris isn’t? You just spent an uncomfortably long amount of time warning me about bears.”

“I can,” Chris said. “But bear spray is more effective. Plus, I’m a botanist, not a cop. I don’t need one in town, and rarely need one in the field. I will carry one on our hike.”

Mark rolled his eyes. “I’m not a ‘cop’,” he said, even using finger quotes. “I’m a park ranger in enforcement, not an interpretive ranger.”

“But you carry a gun,” she noted.

“Yeah?” Mark said.

“Can you arrest people?” she asked.

“Well, yeah. Of course. I’m in theenforcementdivision.”

“That makes you a cop.”

Chris snickered. “I like her even more than the other night,” he said. “She’s gonna twist your panties in a knot, Mark.”

“God, just shutup, dude.”

Jesse suspected that on another day she might enjoy the men’s banter.

Today wasnotthat day. Not with so much on her mind. She wanted to get out in the field and set up her equipment so she could gather data.

She stood. “This is a good place to end things.” They all stopped by Dr. Fornier-Thomas’ office to say good-bye, then headed outside. The men followed her and it turned out they parked next to her.

“By the way, exactly where do we meet and when do we leave?” she asked to derail any further exchanges they might devolve into. “I’m guessing we’ll drive to the trailhead first thing in the morning?”

“After we hit the stables,” Mark said. He pointed at her hiking boots. “Do you have riding boots?”

She blinked. “I’m sorry, do I havewhat?”

“Riding boots. Those are great for walking, but not made to fit in a stirrup.”

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