"I'm Judd," the cowboy said. "Hop aboard. I'll get you down there in no time."

Gloria stared at him. "It sounds like that's the thinking that got everyone into this mess."

"Look, ma'am. I'm a professional. I can get you there safely and in half the time."

She would have trusted Kristine's word more, but Kristine wasn't in front of her. Judd was. She stowed the radio back into her daypack. Judd hung the backpack from the horn of his saddle, gave her his left stirrup and showed her how to link her elbow through his to swing aboard. As soon as she had her arms around his waist, they were moving down the trail.

Her mind jumped back four years, hearing her father's voice full of fear, urging her to come home as soon as possible. Her mother was in the hospital with complications from her last treatment. He'd called Gloria in Tennessee where she had picked up a research opportunity in the Smoky Mountains. Hours had already pa.s.sed when she returned to her camper to find the message. All of the unknowns had crunched her stomach into a knot as she put herself into motion to get home. She'd worried the entire time that she wouldn't make it. The drive to the airport, the flight, getting a car to make it home...she was suspended in time, as she was now on the trail, at the mercy of the transportation to deliver her but void of control of the situation, at the mercy of what she would find when she arrived. That trip had indirectly brought her here to the High Sierras. The thought of arriving home to find her mother already gone drove her to select her next projects more conservatively.

Judd let her off at the crest of the waterfall. Running down the switchback stairs, she quickly spotted the fallen riders. Her brain tried to unscramble the words she heard them hollering. Then she realized they were not calling her. They were letting Kristine know she'd arrived.

Gloria reached the boy first. He sat in another rider's lap resting against the man's chest.

"I hope it's okay that we moved him. He seems mostly scared. I couldn't let him sit on the rocks any longer."

"Should be fine. What's your name?" She asked the s.h.a.ggy-haired boy. He grimaced, and his recently-cut adult teeth that pinched his lower lip accentuated how small his face was.

"Sammy. I want to see my dad. They won't let me go see my dad."

"It's important we know you're okay first. Can you follow my finger?" she asked, moving it from side to side in front of him. His eyes tracked her finger, and his pupils dilated. She felt his hands and asked the man holding him to lift the shirt that he held to the boy's head. Blood matted the boy's head but the pressure seemed to have stopped active bleeding. "Looks like they've taken really good care of you. Now let me check on your dad, okay? Sit tight for just a minute longer."

She found Kristine standing on the trail. Those eyes catching her off guard again. No matter what her expression, Kristine always managed to give Gloria pause. Gone were the indifference, anger and hesitation. The woman looking at her was fully in her element, calm and in control.

"We did okay by him?" Kristine's eyes darted to the boy.

"Yes, he'll be fine. His father's in worse shape?"

"That's where we need your help. He was bleeding pretty badly out of his thigh. I've got his buddy applying pressure up in his groin. I'm so glad you got here as fast as you did." Kristine cut the switchback, and Gloria did the same.

"Good chance he's in shock," Gloria said, settling next to him, taking in his pale coloring. "Smart to cover up the wound. What did it look like before you started applying pressure?"

"Like I said, he was bleeding. I saw bone but still figured we needed to try to stop the blood loss."

"Are we talking bright red spurting blood or darker, seeping blood?" Gloria asked quietly.

"I'd say seeping."

"Let's have a look, then." She nodded at the man applying pressure, and he sat back, giving Gloria access. As she peeled away the towel, her patient wailed in pain. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know it hurts, but I've got to have a look before I radio the Forest Service." She nodded as she examined the wound. "Well, the good news is the blood isn't from a major artery, so we'll just need to stabilize the leg to travel."

"What do you need?" Kristine asked. "A belt? Boards?"

"Let me call Scott and see what the EMTs recommend doing. For now, keeping him still should be enough."

"Could we move his son down here? They've both been asking to see the other."

"The boy can come down here for the time being." Instead of calling to one of the guests, Kristine cut the switchback again, climbing to the boy. Gloria saw another side of Kristine as she bent over him. He listened attentively to whatever it was she said, nodding in agreement when she sat back with her hand on his shoulder. She swept him up in her arms and carried him down the trail, setting him gently by his father who immediately wrapped his arms around his boy.

Her eyes went to the father and son and then returned to Kristine. "You're good with kids. What were you saying to him?"

"Just some stuff about helping his dad out."

Knowing how upset Kristine had been with the party, Gloria was surprised by the gestures that went beyond managing the crisis. Kristine's tenderness made Gloria want to wrap her arms around her. However, she reminded herself that they were professionals and there were still a lot of things to address before they could evacuate.

"The boy'll be okay to ride, won't he?" Kristine asked.

"I expect so. My guess is that they won't take him out by air," Gloria answered.

"You know what they say about getting back on the horse."

"Why do you cowboys make such a big deal out of that, anyway?"

"Keeps him from a.s.sociating riding with falling. Always stop on the positive."

Gloria saw Kristine retreat into the thoughts that so often distracted her and realized that she was probably thinking about how she'd left the Lodge on a negative. She wanted to ask about it, but Kristine had already pushed the thought away, telling Gloria to let her know when the boy was ready to travel, her mind back on the task at hand.

Gloria nodded, and as she put in the call to Scott, she watched Kristine coordinate a crew to gather the dunnage spilled in the fall. She admired how Kristine controlled the scene and knew that her calm had been a big part of managing what could have been chaos. That she did so without letting the past distract her impressed her even more.

"You two work together a lot?" the wounded man's friend asked when Gloria ended the call.

"No. We've crossed paths a few times this summer, but we're not colleagues."

He looked puzzled. "The way you work together, it seems like you've done this before."

Gloria smiled. "I'm just following Kristine's lead like the rest of you."

"Well, we would have been sunk without you two." He nodded from Gloria to Kristine, who stood catching her breath from hiking back up the trail.

"Do we need boards to make a brace?"

"No. Scott says we don't want to risk nicking the femoral artery, so we'll just bind the broken leg to the good to keep it stable. A few belts will do the trick."

"You heard her. We need some belts here," Kristine said with authority. Gloria enjoyed watching the guests scramble to comply.

Gloria accepted the belts and snugly bound the legs just above and below the protruding bone.

"Can I snag some of your gauze?" Kristine asked when she'd finished. "One of the mules has a nasty gash I need to wrap before he can travel."

"Make sure the injured guy stays still. Give a holler if the wound starts bleeding again or he pa.s.ses out." Standing, she said to Kristine, "Let's see how good I am at doctoring a mule."

"Thank you for helping us out," Kristine said when they reached the stock. "The way you talked about the Lodge before, I wasn't sure..."

Gloria waved off Kristine's thanks.

"What?" Kristine asked.

"You're here," she pointed out. "What makes any part of this mess your deal?"

"I'm just doing what needs to be done," Kristine answered.

"Cleaning up a mess very similar to Fish Creek?" Gloria ventured.

Kristine ducked her head, the brim of her hat hiding her face. "I'm surprised you weren't ahead of the party this morning on your way to chew Leo out again."

"Good thing I wasn't ahead of you."

"And now you've got more to add to the mile-long list you had this morning," Kristine tossed over her shoulder as she tromped down the trail.

"That so?" Gloria smirked, trailing the clink of Kristine's spurs. She wondered what Kristine would think of her original litany of worries about the bear. Though the accident had taken precedence, that problem still weighed heavily. She had been planning what to say to Leo, and thought again about how much Kristine's blowing her off had bothered her. She'd antic.i.p.ated Leo's response but had thought she would have had Kristine's support.

"That's so," Kristine said. She met Gloria's eyes. The challenge she'd had when they'd spoken about Fish Creek two nights ago was gone. Gloria hadn't even felt like Kristine had seen her during that conversation. This time, Gloria's body flushed hot under the intense stare. "And this time, I've got a few things to add."

Gloria read so many things in Kristine's eyes, apology, anger and frustration. But now she knew that they were on the same side, angry for the same reason. "It's a good thing you sent me out, though."

"Lucky," Kristine said, continuing down the hill.

Gloria considered her words. It didn't feel like luck. It felt like fate. Fear for her mother had brought her back to California. But fear of death had kept her away from home. Anger at Leo and Kristine had pushed her away from them into the backcountry. And now she followed Kristine, unable to peel her eyes away from the way Kristine's chaps highlighted her a.s.s.

After a few steps, Kristine stopped and swung about, catching Gloria midstare. Her eyes twinkled in response. "What's the holdup?"

"You," Gloria said. "I'm sorry I took my frustration out on you."

"Oh." Kristine looked down the trail and then back to Gloria. She smiled. "You can make it up to me when we get home tonight."

Gloria liked the sound of that very much.

Chapter Twenty-Five.

Kristine stood in the stirrups and craned her neck around to see if she could spot the chopper coming into the valley. Not wanting to risk spooked stock on top of all of the other excitement of the day, she'd left with her mules after Gloria had helped her bandage Ramsey's leg. Judd was on his own for the cleanup but lucky to have only the big mess and no casualties to manage. She was happy to leave it all behind. She should have been fuming about the accident. She should have been worrying about her upcoming trip with Nard.

Instead, her thoughts were full of Gloria. She admired her skill and had found it difficult to pull herself away from watching her confident hands moving over the rider's body to a.s.sess any damage. Her own body responded to the memory. They'd been professional, and as that guest said, they made a great team. She was one who usually preferred to work alone, typically finding that people got in her way. Yet Gloria didn't get in her way. They had worked together instinctively. Kristine flushed hot remembering just how well they'd worked together in the cabin...

Instead of leaning on her when her old fears returned, Kristine realized that she had pushed Gloria away, regressing to her I-have-to-tackle-this-on-my-own mentality. The irony suddenly hit her. She trusted Gloria enough to share her past but not enough to risk her future. Their night together was far beyond casual, and that scared Kristine. She didn't know what the end of the summer meant for Gloria. Instead of risking that discussion, she created a distance at the first opportunity. That way she didn't need to acknowledge her own fear, something she'd have to fess up to Gloria when she came back in.

While she waited, she put up her stock. Since she didn't want to miss Gloria, she couldn't head down to the Lodge to do proper laundry. Instead, she dragged a pile of dirty jeans to the porch and began thwacking them against the railing to see if any could be salvaged.

"What in the world are you doing?" Gloria asked, appearing as Kristine started in on the third pair.

"Laundry," Kristine said simply.

Gloria's wonderful laughter filled the yard. Kristine had missed that laugh when Gloria was out in the backcountry, undoubtedly stewing about how insensitive Kristine had been. "You know they have machines for that. Water. Soap."

"That's not very Western. We aim for authentic around here." Kristine beat the pair of jeans in her hands against the railing a few more times, held them up, nodded and folded them to add to her pile. "That'll do."

"You're a puzzle, you know that?" Gloria said, her head c.o.c.ked to the side studying Kristine.

"That sounds like a bad thing."

"Who is the authentic Kristine?" she asked, her eyes searching. "I don't know that I've seen her."

At first Gloria's words seemed confrontational. Kristine felt like marching into the cabin, but she could hear that the words were not delivered with malice, just confusion. She fought the urge to run. She recognized that it was Gloria who had remained steady throughout the summer while, true to her form, Kristine had swung wildly from flirtatious to detached, from confident to unsure. She took her time gathering the jeans to take inside, feeling Gloria behind her. She shut the door gently, and Kristine could see how tired she was. The long day they'd shared had shaved off some of the radiance Gloria usually brought to a room.

Tentatively, Kristine set down her clothes and crossed the room to wrap her arms around Gloria. "I have to be honest with you. I don't know that I know the answer to that question. I'm kind of working on it."

"That confident woman on the mountain, the one who backed me up. I'd like to believe that's the authentic Kristine."

Kristine smiled and ran her fingers down Gloria's neck, cupping her hand around her face. "Believe me, I'm trying to stick with that one." Her hand slipped down Gloria's shoulder and arm and intertwined with her fingers. "You look like you could use a shower and food."

Gloria simply nodded, so Kristine pushed her toward the bathroom, leaving her to undress while she found clean clothes for her.

When she stepped back into the steamy bathroom, she could see Gloria's naked form silhouetted behind the gla.s.s door. One thing she knew for certain: she wanted Gloria. Quickly, she stripped and slipped into the shower. She took in the beautiful, toned body that stood before her, water running off Gloria's nipples, cascading down to the blond thatch between her legs. Gloria pulled her head from the stream of water. Her eyes were waiting for Kristine's when she made her way back up the tour of her body. She handed the bar of soap to Kristine, increasing the heat Kristine felt stepping into the shower.

Gloria turned, covering her chest with her hands, tucking her chin over her shoulder to block the hot spray of the shower as Kristine lathered the soap. Her hands traveled freely over Gloria's shoulders, back and hips. She pulled Gloria's hips back into her own, her body warming in response to the moan that escaped Gloria's throat. Gloria lowered her hands, reaching behind her to pull Kristine closer. Kristine took advantage, running her hands around Gloria's hips, up her belly and over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, loving how Gloria arched into the cups of her hands.

The rise and fall of Gloria's chest matched Kristine's own. Gloria reached out to brace herself between the walls of the shower, her head bent forward in the spray of the shower.

Kristine sputtered when Gloria tilted her head, spray hitting her directly in the face. Gloria spun around. "I'm so sorry!" she said, wiping water from Kristine's face.

They laughed together and circled to let water rinse soap and weariness away. "I have to admit that I've never gotten very far in a shower," Kristine said, kissing her way around Gloria's collarbone, reaching around her to shut off the water.

"Me neither." Gloria closed her eyes, as Kristine's hands traced the droplets of water cascading down her body.

They grabbed towels, drying off enough to tumble into bed, so they could get wet again in different and wonderful places.

Later, Gloria lay with Kristine's naked form draped over her belly and legs. "I don't want to move, but I'm hungry."

"I don't know if we have any food," Kristine said. "Good in that it got Gabe out of the house..."

Gloria swatted her playfully. "I don't care if it's PB&J. I need some sustenance."

Kristine rolled out of bed, grabbing clean tees and sweats for both of them. They scrounged together soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. Though clothed, they touched frequently in the small s.p.a.ce of the kitchen. Each time she felt Gloria's hand at her waist or brush past her b.u.t.t, she again felt the energy of their connection surge.

"You're never getting food if you keep that up," Kristine said.

"What," Gloria asked, running her hand along Kristine's a.s.s again, "I thought it was important to let you know I was behind you, so you wouldn't kick me."

"Ah, so you do think I'm an a.s.s." Kristine had meant it as a joke, but she could tell that her words had taken both of them back to the last time they'd stood in this kitchen, fighting instead of touching.

"I am sorry I took out my frustration on you."