Page 101 of Wrangled

I bit my lip. “Don’t you worry. I’ll act all surprised when I get there.”

He laughed. “Thanks, Toby.” We got out of the trailer and he closed it up. Paul glanced toward the house. “See if you can get him to unwind a little. Earlier, he seemed… I don’t know… stressed about something.”

I wondered if it had anything to do with the visitor I’d seen with Butch. “I’ll do my best.”

Paul’s eyes gleamed. “Yeah. I’m sure you’ll think of some way to relieve his… tension.”

I could think of a lot of ways—and most of them required Robert being naked.

Hey, he asked for the bedrolls to go with us, right?

Paul straightened, and I knew Robert was walking toward us. “All ready, boss.”

Just then, I caught the rumble of thunder in the distance. I glanced at Robert, who shrugged. “It’s nothing. There are no forecasts for rain where we’re headed.”

“One of those dry thunderstorms, huh?”

He smiled. “Yeah, we get those. True, stormscancome up out of nowhere, and you can’t always trust the forecasts, so we’ll keep an eye out for the weather.” He inclined his head toward the truck to which Butch was attaching the trailer. “Let’s go. Otherwise, we won’t be back in time for supper.”

“Enjoy yourselves,” Paul called out.

I waited for Butch to add one of his usual snarky comments, but he didn’t utter a word.

Maybe Teague had really gotten to him.

I climbed into the passenger seat, relaxed and content. A sunny afternoon, a beautiful lake, and the company of a sexy man.

Things didn’t get any better than this.

Robert pulled into the parking lot at the trailhead and switched off the engine. “This is as far as we go in the truck.” The lot was full of cars, and everywhere I looked there were hikers in stout walking boots, armed with sticks, backpacks, and hats.

“Obviously a popular destination,” I commented.

“For walkersandriders, yes.” We got out, and went around the trailer to let the horses out. Robert pointed to the horizon. “That’s where we’re going. Up there are the Spanish Lakes, and we’re following the trail to one of them, Mirror Lake. It’s not a long trail, but the view when we get to the top is amazing.”

“How long is it since you were last there?”

He gave a wistful smile. “Too long.”

We walked the horses over to the mounting blocks thoughtfully provided, and saddled up. It wasn’t long before we were in open country, vast stretches of meadow with much more space than the first trail we’d done. Now and then we spotted a couple of hikers, but apart from them, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

Tall pine trees reached into the sky on either side of the meadow. We didn’t speak, and that was just fine. I wanted to enjoy the peace of the place, the gentle movement of the horse, the smell in the air, and the breeze that teased my hat and cooled my face.

We drew closer to the trees, and the trail crossed a creek into woodland. The ground was rocky, with roots snaking across it, and the horses had to step carefully. I lost count of how many creeks we crossed, each one wider than the previous one. At one point we reached a fork in the path, and Robert pointed left to where water cascaded down over rocks, a kind of mini waterfall.

“We go that way.”

We trotted across the top of it, the water louder than before. And then we were back in the trees, riding in shadows, the trail narrowing as it climbed, the wind whistling through the forest.

“No bears in here, right?” I quipped.

He laughed. “There’s always the possibility of running into a grizzly. That’s why I came prepared.”

I gave a mental eye roll.Sure, Toby—notice the bedrolls and completely miss the rifle.I knew wheremyhead was at.

The hills climbed steeply to the left of us, and the terrain grew rockier. There was yet another creek to cross, and another. In the distance I heard the rumble of thunder again.

“You sure that weather report is reliable?” I had visions of lightning striking the trees around us.

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