His Outback Cowgirl (Wildflower Ranch Book 4) (13 page)

“So, Bridie, when’s your next mountain trip?” Henry asked from across the table, expression innocent.

“Sunday.”

Henry’s narrowed gaze zeroed in on Ethan. “So you’re not going?”

Before Ethan could answer, Bridie spoke. “He is. It’s just a day trip so Ethan can take you to Bozeman Monday.”

Henry grunted. “So you’ll want to leave early then so you can have a full day away?”

“No, just the usual time,” Ethan said, voice firm. He hadn’t missed a telltale glint in Henry’s eyes and going by Cordell’s widening grin, his twin hadn’t either. They both knew what that glint meant. Henry was up to something.

“So where will you be tomorrow night, Bridie?” Henry asked, his voice too smooth. “Your mom’s house in Marietta or out here at Zane’s?”

“Probably here, why?’”

“Why waste time driving when you could be riding? Come and stay the night at Larkspur Ridge.”

Ethan fought to keep his tension from registering on his face. A night in close proximity with Bridie, even if there was a wall between them, would be living dangerously.

“That’s a great idea,” Bridie said sweetly. She winked at Payton, who sat close beside Cordell. “But I don’t need to stay at Larkspur Ridge, Payton’s already asked me to stay.”

Ethan took a gulp of coffee to mask his grin and saw his brother do the same.

Henry’s matchmaking plans didn’t stand a chance against two beautiful and willful cowgirls. But as Henry leant back in his chair and his eyes smiled, Ethan had a suspicion that uniting Bridie and Payton had been his goal all along.

“I
thought you told Henry we were leaving at the usual time?”

Bridie flicked up the collar of her denim jacket to prevent the pre-dawn chill from stealing the warmth from her skin. Around her stretched an intense silence. Not even the birds were awake. Ahead of her in the gloom, Ethan and Captain were a blurred outline.

Ethan turned to speak over his shoulder. “We are. We’ve just a little further to go today in a shorter time.”

He slowed Captain and Molly drew alongside the even-tempered bay. Ethan’s smile flashed. “Trust me. It will soon be worth the early start.”

Bridie returned his smile. “I’m not complaining; you know I can’t get to the mountains quick enough, it’s just ...” She smothered a yawn. “Payton and I talked until late and another hour of sleep wouldn’t have gone astray.”

Ethan chuckled. “I know you and Payton were up late. Cordell texted and said he was coming over to sleep if you didn’t stop laughing and talking soon.”

“Ha. Did he? I guess he forgot to mention he was the one making us laugh and he only went to bed half an hour earlier than us.”

Ethan shook his head. “Cordell and his stories. For a cowboy who could never talk his way out of trouble he sure can spin a yarn when he wants to.”

“He can. I finally found out what happened between you and the Taylor boys. Even since Lesley mentioned there’d been trouble and you and Cordell stopped their cattle rustling, I’ve been wondering.”

Ethan shot her a quick look. “I didn’t realize you wanted to know. I would have told you as well as given you the correct version. Which one did Cordell tell you?”

“The one where he talked, they listened and then you threw a punch.”

“I take it Payton was in the room. They’d only just started going out when we tracked down the Taylor boys and as Cordell was supposed to be taking fewer risks and living less dangerously he was a little sketchy on the details.”

“I gathered that because Payton laughed so much she nearly choked. She told him as if she ever believed there wasn’t more to the story. So Cordell came clean and said he tried to talk first but his, what did he say you called it, ‘his death-glare that would snap-freeze a lake’, didn’t work and so he had to talk without using words.”

“He did and then, as I always do, I had his back, and one bruised fist the next day.”

“Ouch.”

Cordell had told other stories about Ethan and common to each one had been his love and respect for his more level-headed twin. She’d listened and nodded, careful to not reveal how much she wanted to know more about Ethan. But when a story had ended and she’d asked for another one a little too quickly, Cordell’s blue eyes had warmed and she’d known she hadn’t fooled him. He’d realized that talking about Ethan made her heart beat faster and made her feel closer to him when he wasn’t with her.

But he was with her now. She looked sideways. In the poor light Ethan wouldn’t see her expression or if her gaze lingered. She still didn’t know what had made her ask him to come with her. She wasn’t worried about poachers or being on her own, all she knew was that without him the peace that she so desperately needed would be harder to find.

She looked ahead and the inky darkness of the sky had begun to lighten. They hadn’t been gone long, or even reached the foothills yet, but she already felt a sense of calm. A calm that was not only from being in the wilderness she loved but also from being near the steady cowboy riding beside her.

This trip Ethan led them away from the ranch house via a different meadow. Once they entered the treeline he then headed toward a mountain peak to their left. The sky continued to lighten and the dawn birdsong began to fill the forest. Bridie glimpsed elk but didn’t stop to take photographs. Ethan might sit relaxed in the saddle, but their consistent and unrelenting pace suggested that until they reached their destination there’d be no halting.

Finally they reached a small clearing backed by a rocky slope. The peak they’d been aiming for was now an angular and dark void against a sky streaked in pale gold and orange.

Ethan dismounted and when the horses were secured she followed him along the slope. Midway up, he stopped, grinned and took her hand.

“Come on slowpoke, we’ll miss the show.”

With any other man, Bridie would have pulled her hand free and made her own way. But because it was Ethan, she let her fingers stay laced with his and didn’t protest when he helped her over the larger rocks.

Chests heaving and out of breath, they finally made it to the top. The early start and climb had been so worth it. He’d brought her to a mountain paradise.

“Oh Ethan ... this is ...” She stopped as words failed her.

“This is ... a first, you being lost for words.”

While his tone was light, Bridie didn’t miss the emotion thickening his words. She squeezed his hand that she still held. Just like when he’d found her in the games room and he’d made her smile, he was doing his best to again help her through her grief. And it was working.

She didn’t know where to look. A panorama of natural beauty stretched as far as she could see. To her left flowed a waterfall and to her right the sun would soon explode across the sky. She glanced at Ethan and saw him not looking at the waterfall or sunrise, but at her.

He touched her cheek with gentle fingers. “The world is full of beauty and happiness, Bridie; your father wouldn’t want you to only see shadows and darkness.”

She nodded and knowing speaking would be impossible, led Ethan over to where the rock flattened into a small seat. She sat and he joined her. She wasn’t sure if Ethan’s lips touched her temple or if it was the wind playing with her hair but then his arms settled around her. She relaxed into his side and sat still. The pebble he’d given her in the cave might still be in her jeans pocket but when she was with him she no longer needed it.

Not speaking, they watched as first one and then another golden ray spilled over the mountain peak and then the sun slowly ascended, filling the world with light. Bridie swallowed. Light ... and hope.

Ethan was right. It was time to embrace all that was good in life and to let go of all her loss. Just like her father had told her to do when she’d held his limp hand on that last day. He may no longer be with her physically but his love, wisdom and the lessons he’d so patiently taught her would remain.

Deep inside, her grief shifted and as it swelled and surged, she no longer fought it. This time when her tears came they slipped over her cheeks in silence, a slow, soundless torrent that drained away her sorrow and left room for only good things. Good things like laughter, friendship ... love.

Love. This time the shift within her wasn’t her emotions breaking free but instead it was a realization and an acknowledgment. All the feelings that she hadn’t trusted, or wanted to examine, weren’t by-products of her grief, they were ... real. Just like the sun throwing light across the natural landscape, now the darkness of her grief had receded, the view of her emotional landscape was clear.

She loved the sensible and gorgeous cowboy holding her.

“Bridie?” Ethan’s voice was a concerned rasp. “You’re sitting too still.”

She cleared her throat and swiped a hand across her wet cheeks. “I’m ... okay. I’ve said ... good-bye.”

His arm tightened around her. “I’m glad.”

“Me too. Thank you for bringing me here.”

She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from trembling at his touch. She was so close, Ethan wouldn’t fail to feel her every movement. With the knowledge that she loved him now came uncertainty and a new vulnerability.

Did he feel anything too or did he still believe they were incompatible? If he did feel something, could it last? He’d stepped outside his life to care for Henry, when he stepped back in and returned to his own ranch, would he feel the same? He’d shown her such care and concern but he was a decent man who’d been through what she was going through, would he help anyone out the way he had her? As for their kiss, did it mean as much to him as it did her? After all she’d been the one to instigate it.

She forced herself to remain still. Until she discovered the answers to such questions she couldn’t risk putting her still bruised heart on the line. She had to continue to hide the effect he had on her and now the depth of her feelings.

Her self-control caved in and she succumbed to the urge to move. She came to her feet, and not looking at Ethan, reached into the camera bag hung around her neck. “I have to take some photos.”

Ethan stood too and put his hands in his jeans pockets.

She snapped pictures of the sunrise and then walked over to her left to get a better view of the waterfall. The roar of the water was muted by distance but with her zoom she could easily see the water tumble over the rock lip and the reflection of the sunrise in the pool below.

She panned her camera across the pool hoping to catch some wildlife drinking. Something red flashed. She zoomed in closer and saw the unmistakable pattern of a man’s red and black shirt.

“Ethan?”

“What is it?”

She handed him the camera. “To the left of the rock pool there’s a man in the undergrowth wearing a red and black shirt.”

Ethan looked through the camera for a long moment. “I caught a brief glimpse, but he’s gone now.”

“Could he be the poacher?”

Brow furrowed, Ethan passed her the camera. “Maybe or he could be a photographer? That’s private land but people still trespass if they think they can get away with it. When I have signal, I’ll call Cordell and he can take a look. Beargrass Hills backs onto that land and Cordell has permission to visit.”

“We can go?” Bridie said quickly.

He chuckled. “No, we can’t, Little Miss Impulsive. We don’t have permission and it would take hours to ride there.”

“So how will Cordell get there?”

“There’s a gravel road, even though it’s not used much and has washboards that would shake out your teeth.” Ethan pointed behind them. “See that small brown square? That’s still Henry’s land and that’s an old line cabin. The road also allows Henry access to the cabin and then his backcountry.” Ethan turned. “If you’re ready, we’d better keep moving; there are more things to show you today.”

She took a last lingering look at the waterfall and now bright sky, and also turned.

“Hypothetically ...” she asked as they descended the slope, “if that was a poacher they’d have to be a local who knew the area?”

Ethan sighed and nodded.

“Why would a local destroy their own backyard?”

“Sport, boredom, money. Bobcat and lynx pelts are fashionable overseas so there’s money to be made.” A muscle worked in his jaw. “All I can say is those poachers had better hope Cordell and I never catch up with them.”

Ethan stopped and offered her his hand as they neared a loose part of the slope. She curled her fingers around his. All thoughts of poachers slipped from her mind as she followed the steady and careful man she loved down to the clearing.