Page 9 of Seeking Shelter

A thud from outside has my eyes flying open. I must’ve dozed off. There’s a heavy tread on the porch, then the latch on the door lifts. The rifle is up and braced against my shoulder when the door opens.

Jonah gives me an assessing look, then a nod. “Glad you’re prepared.”

I lower the gun. “Were you able to contact anyone?”

He nods. “I got dispatch. They’ll set up a command center at the ranch and will stage resources there. But no one’s coming to the rescue until the weather lifts.”

“Any idea when that’ll be?”

“Storm’s expected to clear out late afternoon tomorrow at the earliest.”

Something in his expression has me pushing. “What aren’t you telling me?”

His look is assessing. “I smelled woodsmoke. The wind is blowing from the southwest, so it wasn’t from here.”

The poachers. “From where then?”

“Possibly the other line shack, though it’s far enough away I wouldn’t think the smell would carry to the ridge. Could be Abel and Denny have a tent and found someplace sheltered to set up camp.”

I glance outside. Daylight is fading. Jonah picks up the box of matches and lights a squat Coleman lantern, adjusting the mantle.

“Did you find any other sign? Footprints?”

He shakes his head and moves to stand at the wood burner with his hands outstretched for warmth.

“Nothing. If they’re hunkered down somewhere, I expect they’ll stay put for the night. Regardless, I’ll sit up and keep watch. You take the bed.”

“We’ll take shifts.”

He gives me a long look, then nods. “Soon as the storm lets up in the morning, I expect they’ll come after you. We need to be ready.”

“They don’t know you’re with me.”

“Which is to our advantage. But if they spot the two horses, they’ll know you’re not alone.”

I open a can of chili and begin putting dinner together, his words heavy between us.

Jonah pours coffee into a mug and I’m conscious of his gaze on me. He sets his mug on the table and pulls on his hat again.

“I need to check on the horses before it gets dark. And Angel?” He waits until my gaze meets his. “Get it out of your head that I don’t like you. That was never true. I like you. Probably too much.”

CHAPTER SIX

Jonah

Outside, a barely perceptible lifting of gray suggests dawn has broken. Snow has stopped, and the pines at the edge of the clearing are visible, a dark smudge against a pewter sky. It’s June but might as well be the dead of winter. I search for any sign of movement. Nothing. Abel and Denny likely spent a miserable night freezing their asses off. My guess? They’ll want to find Angel quickly, deal with her, and get off the mountain.

They’ll have to go through me to get to her.

I’d taken the first watch, then shook Angel’s shoulder to wake her around midnight.

A sweet and sleepy Evangeline Beaumont is a dangerous temptation.

When she moved to the chair for her turn on watch, I’d crawled into the sleeping bag warm from her body and rested my head on a pillow smelling of peaches. After what seemed like only minutes, we’d switched again around four.

I light the lantern. She stirs, and I watch her in the shadowy light. She’s curled on her right side, and her hair that’s a dozen shades of color from dark brown to golden spreads across the pillow. Her eyes flutter open and our gazes lock with a connection so strong it pulls me across the room.

I stop at the bedside, feeling like I could consume her in one hungry bite. Her eyes, dark and mysterious, invite me closer.