Page 16 of Hard Bounty

The magnificent beast kept its gaze trained on them.

“Damn.” John was speaking louder now as he rose to his feet. “Actually, stand up. Don’t run. Keep your feet planted firmly. Just move your arms around.”

“But—”

“Stand up. Raise your arms. Make a lot of noise. Let’s scare it off. Unless you want me to have to shoot that thing.”

Mary did as told, and a moment later, she was making loud, weird noises, waving her arms, and making a fool of herself. That didn’t really matter right now, though. Not when a damn cougar was sizing them up.

John was doing the same thing as far as the noises were concerned, but he kept his arms in a position where he could fire that rifle on a moment’s notice if need be.

For a few tense seconds, Mary feared he’d have to do just that. The giant cat didn’t seem very eager to leave. But then, just when she feared it was going to pounce, it stepped backward before turning around and trotting off.

“Whew,” John said.

“Thank God!” Mary cried.

“You the religious sort are you?” he asked.

“What? You don’t think I could be? My name is Mary, after all.”

“Not sure you’re living up to your namesake.”

The comment stung, but she let it roll off her back. And just like that, they were back to their old dynamic, she realized.

Should she expect anything else?

“Come on,” he said. “Sun will be up in a few minutes. Let’s get a move on it.”

“You think that cougar will come back?” she asked, unable to hide the fear in her voice.

“Eventually. This is probably its cave. He was out hunting all night. Now, he’s tired and ready to sleep. I don’t want us to be his bedtime snack.” He looked out of the cave. “Anyway, we might have a lot of ground to cover. Best we get an early start.”

She stuck out her lips in a pouty display. “What about breakfast?”

“What about it?” he said sharply. “All my rations are back—”

“On the pack horse,” she finished for him.

“You’re catching on. Now let’s get going. The sooner we start, the sooner we can get to some food.”

That sounded good. They’d gone to sleep last night without any supper, and her stomach was starting to growl in protest.

With that, the two ambled down from the cave, hit the trail, and started walking to who knew where.

Chapter Eleven

John felt awful for snapping at Mary the way he had, making that dig about her name.

He didn’t know her. It wasn’t his place to judge her standing with the Almighty. It was just that…well…when that cat had been stalking them, he’d not been afraid for himself.

All his fear had been for her

He was growing too close. Getting too attached, bringing too many complicated feelings.

And those feelings could get him killed if he wasn’t careful.

So, maybe his dig had hurt her, but that was for the best. She needed to be reminded of the nature of their relationship, in case she too was battling the same crazy feelings he was.

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