Kristine's lips parted, summoning more. Gloria ran the tip of her tongue along Kristine's bottom lip, smiling at the groan her movement elicited. She tested again and met Kristine's tongue with her own. With a sharp intake of breath, Kristine pushed away from the counter, standing to reclaim her height advantage. Her right hand swept behind Gloria's neck, fingers playing with the wisps of hair that had escaped Gloria's ponytail as she hungrily deepened the kiss.

"I've been thinking about the way that would feel since the last time we stood in a kitchen together," Kristine said.

"And?" Gloria said, tilting her chin up.

"So much better." Kristine kissed along Gloria's neck before reclaiming her lips.

Gloria reciprocated and ran her own hands into Kristine's thick hair, pulling her closer and losing herself in the rush of pure pleasure as Kristine's hands explored her contours. She loved Kristine's playfulness. Her kisses changed quickly, like an unfamiliar trail where every turn brings a new and wonderful view. Gloria felt as if she was running to keep up. Reluctantly, she pulled away to catch her breath. She regretted her decision immediately when she felt Kristine's hands leave her body.

She grabbed for Kristine's hands, holding her put. "Don't go."

"If I stay one kiss longer, I'll be here all night."

"And that's a bad thing," Gloria said, wanting Kristine to know she didn't want to push her.

"Not bad," Kristine said. "There are just things..." her voice trailed away.

"That you're working on. I know," Gloria said, when the silence lengthened.

Kristine nodded, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Trust me, you're making it very difficult to leave."

Gloria grabbed onto Kristine's belt buckle to make it even harder for her. She ran her thumb across the twenty-mule team printed on it. "What is it with cowboys and their belt buckles? They're kind of ridiculous."

"But s.e.xy..." Kristine purred, kicking up one eyebrow and c.o.c.king a hip.

Gloria laughed at Kristine's pose and swatted her away. If she wasn't staying, she didn't get to tease. Kristine's eyes grew serious again, and she cupped Gloria's face with both hands to give her a gentle goodnight kiss. With an audible sigh, Kristine stepped away from Gloria. "Dinner tomorrow?" Gloria asked.

Kristine smiled. "Absolutely."

Gloria watched the cowgirl disappear into the darkness, wishing she could have convinced her to stay longer. But Kristine had proven herself not one to linger. Knowing that had made Gloria feel safe in moving her camper because she knew Kristine would never overstay her welcome. In fact, Gloria found herself wishing Kristine had stayed longer.

Chapter Fifteen.

Kristine fixed a worried eye to the lightning snaking across the black sky. The thick cloud cover almost made the early afternoon look like sundown. It felt like a reprimand for the slip in her resolve. The entire summer had rolled along with bright skies until she gave in to her desire to kiss Gloria. As if the storm wasn't signal enough, she was also stuck in the backcountry for the afternoon helping Dozer set up his camp above Shadow Lake. He was so sick that morning throwing up repeatedly that he'd barely been able to load up his animals. He had asked Leo to send her in until he had his camp under control. Dozer never asked for help, especially not from her. The feeling she got when she was headed the wrong direction on an unfamiliar trail crept into her belly.

She carried an empty leather pannier, half of one of the sets they used for packing much of their gear into the backcountry, from the kitchen. She walked by Dozer chopping on an old log to gather wood for his party and listening to the thunk of the ax succeeded by a string of swearing. Suddenly, she stopped, hearing a familiar voice, a voice that zinged a delicious shiver through her body. She closed her eyes remembering the feel of the speaker's lips against her own.

"Dozer?"

The chopping stopped. "Hey, Ms. Fisher. Lookin' for bears?"

"Sounded like you were losing a fight, so I thought I'd investigate," Gloria answered.

Kristine smiled reflexively and bounded up the last hill to join them. "If I scream bear, will you shoot him in the a.s.s?" she teased.

Dozer scowled at Kristine. "You going to carry more wood or do some more sissy chopping, Teeny?"

"Keep calling me Teeny, and I'll shoot you myself," she said, s.n.a.t.c.hing the ax from him. She aimed at the log in front of her, trying to avoid looking at Gloria for fear of betraying the guilt and disappointment she felt. It was challenging, as she looked irresistible in her official uniform, her hair pulled through the forest-green cap. The original plan was to get in earlier and be the one to cook dinner for them both, but that was before she'd been sent out to Dozer's camp. "I'm not exactly sure how late I'm going to be tonight," she said in what she hoped was an offhand voice.

"That's all right. I don't mind cooking again," Gloria said with much too much pleasure in her voice. Clearly, she was remembering the advantage she had on her home court.

"Again!" Dozer inserted. "You and the bear lady, huh?"

Kristine shot Dozer a look that silenced him. "We've got wood to stock, the horses to put up," Kristine pulled the ball cap she was wearing down on her forehead, wiped her palms on her jeans and swung again at a thick branch in front of her.

"Tarps to string up," Dozer wheezed, rubbing at his beard. "But she'll still beat your a.s.s out traveling without mules or guests."

"Fat chance. You underestimate how fast I travel," Gloria said.

"Yeah, I'd be hightailing it if I saw Teeny on my trail, too," Dozer retorted. Before Kristine could insert that she wasn't chasing Gloria, he growled, "Give me that ax before you chip it all to h.e.l.l."

Kristine loaded up the pannier with her chopped wood, and tipped her chin toward the kitchen, inviting Gloria to follow her. They pa.s.sed the stock tied in a cl.u.s.ter of trees, unbothered by the storm, heads down, ears pointing at loose angles. Gloria first smelled and then heard the pop of the campfire and stopped short when they emerged at the kitchen Sandy was in the process of setting up. Behind two tables set together in an L, she shelved pots and pans in pack boxes she'd stacked three high. Her produce was neatly arranged in an expanding net shelf hung from a tree.

"Think you'll be cooking in the rain tonight?" Kristine asked, dropping the wood by the cooking fire.

"I hope not." Sandy dug in a different bag. "Oh, good. Here's my camp slippers." She sat on one of the coolers and pulled off her boots to replace them with sneakers. "Where's Mooch?" she asked Gloria.

"Mooch?"

"The ranger we usually run into out here."

"Oh, I'm not checking permits. I'm out here collecting samples. Leo said you guys had a bear visit, and the ranger's reported more encounters too. I want to see if see if it's one animal or if there's a high concentration of bears. That might push them to compete for natural food and turn to campers to supplement."

"Well, I packed extra chicken for tonight. The ranger always seems to show up right around dinner time."

"With the spread you've got going, I don't blame him." Gloria smiled.

"Help yourself. Like I said, I've got plenty." To Kristine she said, "Three more bags should get us through breakfast tomorrow, and I can chop for dinner. Usually Dozer won't let me touch his gear, but he's sure not up to it."

"What's wrong with him?" Gloria asked. "He sounds like he's dying."

"He says it's food poisoning. I made him take me up the mountain for dinner in town. Says I'm trying to kill him by not cooking for him."

"How many days are you out?"

"Just five. We'll do two days here, one at Ruby, then a few at Shadow."

"Will he make it?"

"He'll be fine. Luckily, this is a base camp. We'll be here the whole time because this group wants to fish along Shadow Creek."

"You need a hand?" Gloria asked.

"That's okay," Kristine replied. "I've got it."

Gloria shrugged out of her knapsack. "If I hike in now, I'll be home early enough that I'll have to do my own work. I don't mind pitching in."

"You sure? If you're truly game, I'll show you where Dozer wants the animals picketed." Kristine grabbed two lashropes, and they tromped back through the trees to where the animals stood. "You really want to give up your head start?"

Gloria wrapped her arms around Kristine's waist. "What if my motives are selfish? What if I'm just trying to get you back to the Aspens earlier?"

Lightning zigzagged through the sky, lighting up the blue of Gloria's eyes. Her gaze dropped to Gloria's lips, and she remembered how good it felt to kiss them and how easy it would be to close the distance and kiss her again. She stepped back abruptly.

"Are you okay?" Gloria asked.

"Fine," Kristine lied. Why hadn't she stepped away last night and kept her focus? "Just thinking of how much work there's left to do." She showed Gloria how to loosen the latigo on the cinch and pull the saddle off. Gloria continued while Kristine strung one of the lashropes high between two trees. "I'd better get some more wood to the kitchen. You're okay unsaddling the rest?" she asked once she'd tied the animals to the picket. She needed to put some distance between herself and Gloria who a.s.sured her that she was up to the task. Kristine jogged back down to the kitchen and swiped the pannier, wishing she'd remembered to take it when they went to set up the pickets. She tried to dodge by Sandy unnoticed.

"What've you got going on with Gloria?" Sandy asked. "Who volunteers to unsaddle sweaty horses?"

Kristine shrugged. "I make this work look glamorous?"

"You're totally sleeping with her, aren't you?" Sandy whispered.

"No," she answered honestly, ignoring Sandy's calling after her that she wasn't going to get off that easy. Her escape faltered when she met an equally pushy Dozer taking a rest from his chopping.

"Jesus, Teeny. I'm dying here, and you're s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around?"

"I'm not s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around," she answered, quickly filling the pannier with wood.

"Right."

"I'm out here busting my a.s.s to help you out," she snapped. The mountains echoed her tone with another rumble of thunder.

"Like you were helping Nard?" He shook his head and went back to his chopping.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"C'mon. Everyone knows where your mind is and what you do when things get tough."

"I..." She started to say that she'd never screwed around on any of the backcountry trips but realized she couldn't honestly say that. A flash of lightning lit up the sky. Kristine balled her fists and bit her tongue to keep from saying he didn't know her half of the story. No point in telling him when he'd probably side with Nard anyway. He clearly held the same opinion of her that he'd always had. They all believed that s.e.x was the only thing on her mind, that she was easy. In the past, she'd always gotten by at the Lodge by ignoring the guys, their taunts and att.i.tude. She realized that maybe that was part of the problem. "I'm not some backcountry ho." He ignored her, his slow, steady swing taking bites out of the log he was splitting into kindling. Kristine felt the first drops of rain, bringing her back to her work. She stomped to the kitchen, dumping her load, still fuming over Dozer's comments.

"What's wrong with you?" Sandy asked.

"Nothing," Kristine said, seeing that Gloria was on her way back to the kitchen too.

Sandy looked in the same direction. "Your girlfriend is an angel. We've got enough wood if you want to take off," she said with a wink.

"She's not my girlfriend. Where's your tarp?"

Sandy furrowed her brow in response to Kristine's clipped tone and fetched the tarp. Kristine worked in silence, brewing over Dozer's words.

Gloria returned, her eyes still full of sparkle. "All the saddles are piled up. Do you want to cover them with something?"

"I'll throw a tarp on them when I go for more wood," Kristine said, watching Sandy observe them.

With a sly look, Sandy said, "Thanks again for the warning about the bear and your help. You know, you two should just stay for dinner, wait out the storm."

"Oh, thanks," Gloria said. "But I think I'll head out. You close to wrapping up?"

Kristine knew from Sandy's satisfied smirk that she understood that Gloria was anxious to get Kristine out of the backcountry. "I still have the stock to help with and probably a few more camp ch.o.r.es."

"Take some snacks with you," Sandy prompted impishly. "You want to keep your strength up."

"I'm off then," Gloria said, grabbing a handful of trail mix. Her eyes asked for a.s.surance, so Kristine gave her what she hoped was a convincing smile. Gloria hesitated for a moment, and Kristine willed her not to comment on her shift in behavior. "Thanks for the snacks," she said to Sandy before turning back to Kristine. "Don't get lost," she said, shouldering her pack and hitting the trail.

"I know the way."

Lightning lit the sky quickly followed by the ground-rumbling boom of thunder. The storm was almost on top of them. Dozer wheezed back to camp with the last of the wood. "Itching to take off?" Dozer said, his eyes on Gloria as she disappeared down the trail.

All business, Kristine refused to look in that direction. "Let's get the tarp up." Dozer's accusation about where her priorities were made her realize how instead of dealing with the past as she had resolved to do, she was hiding out with Gloria. She dug into the remaining ch.o.r.es, ducking in and out of the tarp as the rain picked up to a pour.

She stayed past dinner and helped Dozer put up the barrier on the trail that would keep his stock from returning home when he turned them out for the night. Leaving on the cusp of nightfall, she was almost tempted to huddle up under the saddle pads, spend the night and head home in the morning, but she trusted Digger to get her home in the dark. The storm had moved through the valley, leaving the sky bright with stars. She kept wondering what she'd do if she found Gloria still on the trail. However as she'd argued, Gloria set a good pace and had beaten Kristine back.

Her light shone in her small camper. Kristine rode past.

"Hey," Gloria called out, swinging her head out of the door. "I was starved and already ate, but I saved a plate for you."

"I'm going to get this guy home. Then I think I'll wash up at home. Stay warm," she added lamely. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Gloria wasn't letting her off that easily. She shoved her feet into sneakers and jogged over. Kristine could read the concern in Gloria's eyes. She put her hand on Kristine's thigh, sending a bolt of electricity through her body. "No, not okay. I know something happened out there."

"Nothing happened," Kristine lied. "I'm just beat is all." She nudged her mount forward, feeling Gloria's hand slip away. When she hit the road, the last stretch before home, she put her own hand on her thigh where Gloria's had been, missing the warmth of it. She unsaddled without hurry, working another internal dialogue about her ill-fated trip with Nard so long ago, this time with Dozer. In this version, she told him everything. She turned out her stock and went inside to shower, barely saying anything to Gabe.

As the water ran over her, she remembered when she threw the stone into Rosalie Lake and vowed to stop carrying the past. Despite being given the chance to do just that in her exchange with Dozer that afternoon, she had not let go. Emotions washed over her: anger at her inability to tell Dozer the truth and guilt for blowing Gloria off. She threw on a pair of sweats, long-sleeved tee, sweatshirt and jacket.

"Forget something out there?" Gabe asked when she emerged from her bedroom.

"Gloria held supper for me. I'll be back later."

"I haven't eaten yet," he said, balancing on the back two legs of the chair, angling for an invite.

"So go scrounge something down at the Lodge."

"Why is it I suddenly feel like a third wheel? I thought we were all buddies."

"Girl talk tonight."

He let the chair slam back down to the floor. "In that case, the Lodge it is. I'll drop you, if you like."

Kristine opened her mouth to turn down the offer but then thought of how much harder it would be to chicken out if Gabe dropped her off. The sooner she got there, the better, before she talked herself out of it.