Page 37 of A Sweet Chat for the Cowboy

“That makes sense.”

She looked at him quickly. It hadn’t been praise exactly, yet it had hit her heart that way. He’d said it matter-of-factly, but she sensed that he was impressed that she had spent hours of her life listening to toad songs. What a strange life she had built for herself that she would be cherishing this particular moment.

“And?” Tucker said.

“And it might just be wishful thinking, but I really think that one sounded different.” Immediately, she doubted herself. “I mean, maybe it’s just because we’re out here in the wild, and it’s live, interacting with all of the elements. It’s going to sound different coming out of a speaker, no matter how good the technology.”

“Don’t doubt yourself. Trust your instinct.”

Her heart warmed at the words.

“I couldn’t tell which direction it came from,” Tucker said. “Could you?”

“No.” She would have guessed north, but if she were right, that was really bad news.

“If I had to guess,” Tucker said, “I would say north. If you want, Sundance and I could head that way and see if we can hear anything else?”

“Do you mind if I come?” Wait, why had she just asked permission? This was her project.

“Of course not.”

“How are you going to get across the drop-off?”

“Come on. I’ll show you the way.”

Chapter 19

Tucker led Wynona ina sweeping arc around the small cliff near their light. He wasn’t sure how far the drop-off extended, and he didn’t want to have to walk alongside it, where one slip of a boot could really complicate things. So by the time he intersected the extended line of that cliff, there was no cliff. The land did still dip down drastically, but there were now trees to grab if they needed to. He whispered to Sundance to stay beside him, and the dog did. Tucker positioned himself so that if Wynona wanted to come alongside she would be on his right. His left side belonged to Sundance. He had to keep stopping, as she was treading very carefully. He couldn’t blame her. It was dark as dark could be, and she kept pausing to look up to locate him.

“How on earth are you so surefooted?” she whispered.

He couldn’t fault her. The scree was loose underfoot, and the slope remained steep. “Do you want to keep going?” he whispered. They hadn’t heard anything since the initial call. “We’re going to have to climb back up this.”

“Maybe a little farther,” she whispered. As she said that, her foot slid out from under her and instead of falling back, she lunged ahead with her other foot. She managed to do this somewhat gracefully, but now she was running down the hill toward him. He reached out to catch her, and his arm went around her waist. He could feel her heart thumping through her sweatshirt. It was warm enough that she had her parka unzipped. He waited until she was steady and then slowly let go of her. “Thanks,” she whispered. Then she let out an adorable giggle. “Are you part Indian?”

The question surprised him. He’d been asked that before, but never by an actual Indian. “No idea. I don’t think so, but my dad did have a lot of secrets.”

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