"I might frame it."
I groaned.
She laughed.
The sound drifted across the pasture.
Light.
Happy.
Dangerous.
Because every time she laughed, something inside me loosened.
Something I had spent years trying to keep locked down.
We started walking again.
The barn came into view.
So did an old pickup parked beside it.
I frowned.
Sadie's smile disappeared.
The truck wasn't familiar.
At least not to me.
The ranch hands noticed it too.
All three boys straightened.
The oldest one frowned.
"You expecting company?"
Sadie shook her head.
"No."
The easy mood vanished immediately.
Years in the Rangers taught you to trust instincts.
Mine didn't like this.
Not one bit.
I stepped slightly in front of Sadie.
Automatically.
Without thinking.
She noticed.
