Page 87 of Colton's Last Resort

A resounding thump brought Noah’s head around.

Doug DeGraw sprawled beneath his horse.

CJ shook his head as his boots hit the ground. Gathering Doug’s horse’s reins, CJ extended a hand to him. “Something tells me you’re going to need a masseuse.”

“Forget that,” Doug said, brushing himself off. He struggled to his feet with CJ’s help. “Get me a stiff drink and an hour with a nimble woman.”

Kim Blankenship rolled her eyes. “That one’s a winner,” she muttered as she led her horse down the hill past Noah and Joshua.

Noah took Penny to the creek. “Good girl,” he said as she bent her head to the water that burbled busily over its smooth rock bed. He took a moment to admire where they were. There was no fence to mark the boundary of Mariposa, just an old petrified tree trunk with a butterfly carved into its flank. He could see familiar formations from the state park in the distance.

He’d always been drawn to that perfect marriage between the cornflower blue sky and the red-stained mountains, buttes and cliffs that jutted toward it. The wind teased his hair as he took off his hat and opened his canteen for a long drink.

Someone stumbled over the rocks, making Penny sidestep. Noah patted her on the neck until she settled. Then he watched Doug pry off one dirt-smudged brogue. “I told you those were the wrong shoes.”

Doug groaned as he rubbed the bottom of his socked foot. “I miss LA. I can’t understand why CJ keeps getting drawn back to this place.”

Noah lifted his eyes to the panorama. “Can’t you?”

“No.” Doug stilled as a woman from their party brought her horse to drink. He lifted his chin to her in greeting. “Ariana, right?”

“Yes,” she said. “And you’re Doug, CJ’s guy.”

“Just Doug,” he said. “You’re the host of that new game show—Sing It or Lose It.”

“I am,” she said, beaming. She was young, a redhead with large green eyes and long legs encased in jodhpurs. “Well, I don’t exactly host. I’m the DJ.”

“You should host,” Doug asserted. He slid a long look over her form. “The network would draw far more viewers if they made you more visible.”

She favored Allison. The resemblance jolted Noah, and he fought a sudden overwhelming urge to put himself between her and Doug.

Ariana stepped back a little, as if she didn’t care for the way Doug was coming on to her either. Politely, she fixed a smile into place. “Thanks.”

Noah cleared his throat, doing his best to draw Doug’s attention away from her. “Your shoe’s making a break for it.”

“Huh?” Doug did a double take when Noah pointed out the brogue racing across the surface of the creek. He swore viciously and ran after it while Ariana giggled.

With Doug out of earshot, Noah moved toward her. “Here,” he said, taking her horse’s bridle. “They’re building a fire. You go get warm. I’ll make sure your horse is taken care of.”

“Oh, thank you,” she said, surprised. “Her name’s Autumn. She’s a sweetie. But I will join the others. That guy’s vibes are way off.”

“I’m starting to get that,” Noah said.

“Hey.” She touched his wrist. “That’s an evil eye.”

He looked down at the bracelet peeking out from under the cuff of his shirt. “Yeah. My, uh...” Licking his lips, he absorbed the pang above his sternum. “My sister gave it to me,” he finished quietly.

“Did you know the evil eye dates back to 5000 BC?” she asked. “It’s also used in symbolism across various cultures—Hindi, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim...not to mention Indigenous, pagan and folk societies.”

“I didn’t know that,” he said truthfully.

She rolled her eyes at herself. “I sound like a geek. But I love that sort of thing. You’ve got a light blue eye. It’s supposed to encourage you to open your eyes to self-acceptance and the world around you.”

“Interesting,” he said.

“Is it?” Doug snarled as he returned with one dripping shoe.

Ariana stiffened. “I’ll go get a seat by the fire.”

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