Chapter 1
Cassie Cartright lifted her rifle, took aim, and fired. Missed. She bit back a curse, shifted her aim, and then fired a second shot at the mountain lion a second before it slammed into its target…a rancher. He’d twisted around to block the predator with his left shoulder prior to contact.
The mountain lion snapped its head around to take a bite out of the offending bullet.
A clack sounded as it bit air. The impressive animal slammed neck-first into the rancher’s shoulder before bouncing off the tall, muscled man.
Blood splattered across the rancher’s clothes as well as against the trailer, indicating the bullet did its job.
Agitated, the horse whined. As for the mountain lion, the bullet had hit its hindquarters.
The rancher immediately dropped down to secure the injured animal, but it was a few seconds too late. The quick-thinking predator was in survival mode. With beauty and athletic grace, it slipped out of his grasp into the trees.
“We can follow the blood trail,” Cassie said as she started toward the rancher to make certain he hadn’t been hit by shrapnel first.
“Hudson,” he said as he held his hands up where she could see them. “And I’d appreciate it if you’d point your weapon somewhere else besides me.”
“Sorry,” she said, realizing he was right.
“My gun etiquette needs some work, but then I doubt I’ll ever get used to one of these.
” She motioned toward the barrel of the rifle as she tilted the end toward the ground.
“I’m not good with these things.” She stopped close enough to get a whiff of a cedar-musk-outdoor-fire scent that was so good it bordered on obscenity based on her body’s reaction. “I’m Cassie, by the way.”
“I’d think twice about running after a wounded mountain lion,” Hudson said.
“If we can get cell coverage, we can call it in instead to the folks who do this for a living and know how to approach and, better yet, safely capture a predator.” The man was making good points.
Cassie couldn’t argue. “Plus, I’m not leaving my horse out here all by his lonesome.
He’s nervous on a good day. This whole situation has him spooked and we’re about to get more weather. ”
She took a second to contemplate his suggestion before deciding to agree. She gave him a quick nod. “Are you okay? Physically?” she asked.
Hudson checked himself over before answering that he was fine and retrieving a cell from the cab of his truck.
The man would be considered gorgeous by most standards.
Although she somehow doubted he’d think of himself in that light.
At six-feet-three-inches minimum in height with a muscled, filled-out frame and a jawline that could crack concrete, the man would turn heads without flexing a muscle.
Standing this close, she looked into the most intensely beautiful pair of blue eyes.
Not immediately looking away was a mistake times ten.
Lightning zapped her, causing an electrical current to pulse inside her.
A spark ignited a small fire inside her, and she felt an almost overwhelming physical connection to a man she’d just met.
Cassie gave a mental shake of her head in an attempt to force her thoughts back to reality and away from the attraction.
All she knew about the man standing almost toe-to-toe with her was that he was some kind of horse rancher and that he had compassion for animals.
She had no objections to either of those things.
“I don’t have any bars out here,” he said after studying the screen. He looked up, caught her gaze again, and caused a fireworks show to go off inside her chest.
She chalked her physical response up to excitement and adrenaline, and mentally moved on. She’d had one bar on the other side of the road and a few steps into the woods. “What’s the number? I’ll call and report the incident.”
Hudson looked confused.
“I found a connection over there.” She motioned toward the trees.
“But I’m figuring you have no plans to leave your horse alone while a hungry mountain lion is roaming around.
” The lion was also injured, but she wasn’t in the mood to split hairs over what that meant.
The animal could be somewhere nearby, bleeding out as much as it could have circled around to watch and wait until one of them was alone.
“No, I don’t, but I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea of you going over there alone.”
“Please, I’ve been out here doing just fine for two days without a problem.” Cassie decided not to add…until you came along.
“Should I ask why you’re camping on Sturgess property?”
“It’s best if you leave it alone.”
The rancher didn’t come across as the type of person who would be able to.
“Thank you for saving my backside a few minutes ago,” he said after a long pause. “I’ll keep watch from the middle of the road as you make the call. Repaying the favor is the least I can do.”
“Do you really think that animal is coming back?” The thought she’d been camping in an area where this was even a possibility helped her decide it was time to pull up stakes and get back on the road.
“It’s acting out of character in attacking a human. This isn’t the first report, either. So far, she’s evaded capture.”
“What makes you think she’s female?” Cassie asked, picking up on the reference.
“Too cunning to be a male.” He cracked a small smile. “In my experience, females are always a step ahead and can outsmart their male counterparts at every turn.”
Since Cassie couldn’t decide if that was meant as a compliment or not, she let the comment go.
“Animals like that shouldn’t be cornered and sure as hell can’t be predicted.” He shook his head. “Looked like you got a good piece of her hindquarter.”
He motioned toward the opposite side of the street.
Cassie took the hint and started walking, cell phone in one hand and rifle balanced across her forearm, while the butt of the weapon was tucked underneath her armpit. “You’re welcome, by the way. I don’t think I said that before.”
He gave a small headshake confirmation as they crossed the middle of the road.
His gaze swept back and forth while occasionally checking behind them.
He stopped on the opposite side of the road before pulling a bandana out of his back pocket and wiping off the blood.
“I’ll wait here while you make the call. ”
Cassie held out her phone. “Do you mind inputting the number?”
When Hudson took the offering, their fingers grazed.
The electricity she’d felt with eye contact was nothing compared to what happened with physical contact.
An explosion rocked her like she’d never experienced.
Warmth spread low in her belly. Her throat dried up and cracked, like Texas soil in August heat.
She cleared her throat to ease some of the dryness.
His nose wrinkled slightly. She realized the winds had shifted, blowing her scent in his direction. She hadn’t had a good shower in two days and must smell awful, a mix of creek water, cheap soap, and sweat. Nice.
“Sorry about the smell,” she said as he handed her cell back.
He studied her. “You’re fine. But after you make the call, I’d like to know why you’re here and how long you plan to stay.”
“That’s none of your business.” The words came out harsher than intended, but she needed to slap up a boundary before he tried to get too personal.
Getting close to her would put him in even more danger than he’d been in with the mountain lion.
The men after Cassie wouldn’t be so easily shooed away.
“Actually, it is,” he said, “because you’re squatting on my family’s land. What happens on our ranch is very much my business.”
“I was just leaving.”
Shit.
Cassie walked away as she lifted the phone to her ear without a sideways glance toward Hudson.
He hadn’t intended to upset her to the point that she planned to ditch him after making the call to wildlife services.
He’d meant every word about needing to know who she was and why she was on his family’s land but could have been a little less blunt about it.
Being a straight-shooter had gotten him into hot water in the past. You’d think he’d have learned by now. But had he? That would be a no.
A woman camping alone in the woods with a rifle needed compassion, not to be given a hard time, because one question jumped in front of the others: Who the hell was she running from?
His mind snapped to an ex, a boyfriend, or a husband. Women were most often hurt by those closest to them. It was one of those sad-but-true facts that caused him to clench his back teeth so hard his molars could crack when he really thought about it. His hand curled into fists even now.
Forcing a relaxed calm that he didn’t feel, he loosened his grip on the now-bloody bandana.
The bullet had gotten a good piece of the mountain lion.
The wounded animal would likely be nearby, ready to attack anyone who tried to help—exactly the reason they needed to call in the experts.
The animal either needed medical attention or to be put out of its misery.
Since he didn’t have a tranquilizer gun on him, it was time to call in the experts.
Hudson stared at the wheat-haired beauty. He hadn’t felt an instant hit of attraction like this one in far too long. But then, he’d shut down that side of him a long time ago, preferring to date women who posed no threat of growing attached to.