Josh

by R. C. Ryan

Sierra relaxed, displaying a radiant smile. “I really needed some hot food. And that corn bread was an added bonus. Did your wife bake it?”

  “Our cook, Ela.” He returned her smile. “Ela is probably as old as these mountains. She’s been baking corn bread since my grandfather first came to Wyoming. She’s been with us since before I was born.”

  “Us?”

  “My father, grandfather, and two brothers.”

  She looked startled. “You all live together?”

  “Yeah. Except for my older brother, Quinn. He recently married, and he and his bride are spending time at both her ranch and ours. I guess sooner or later they’ll figure out where they intend to plant roots.”

  “How about you?” She glanced at his ring finger. “Are you married?”

  He arched a brow. “No. You?”

  She shook her head. “No, thank you. I’m married to my career.”

  He nodded toward her camera. “Do you photograph weddings and fancy occasions?”

  “That’s not at all what I’m interested in capturing. I want to use my photography as art. I hope someday to see my photographs hanging in galleries and on people’s walls.” She chuckled. “I think that’s a look of skepticism on your face.”

  “Sorry if that’s what you think. I guess I’m just surprised that anyone would pay good money to view a photograph of a storm in the Tetons.”

  “That’s because you live here and can see the real thing whenever you want. You’d be surprised what people would pay good money for.” She grinned. “But to answer the question you’re too polite to ask… I’m not a starving artist. I make enough to get by, and that’s all I need.”

  He laughed. “Now that’s what I call fancy mind reading.”

  “Oh, how I wish I had such a gift. I’m not a mind reader, but I’ve seen that look of skepticism before. There are a lot of people who don’t consider photography art.”

  “Sierra Moore.” He spoke her name aloud and searched his memory. “I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m not familiar with your work.”

  “Not many people are… yet. Actually, my photographs sell better in Europe than they do here in the States. But my agent hopes to change that, starting with the pictures I’m taking on this trip.”

  “Then I’m glad the weather cooperated and gave you such a photogenic storm.”

  They shared an easy laugh.

  Sierra topped off his cup and then her own before sitting back on her bedroll. With so little space between them, they were barely able to stretch out their legs without touching.

  “How often are you called on to find lost climbers?”

  He shrugged. “Whenever there’s a real emergency. Most of the time, the rangers can handle it. But whenever they need a hand, they know I’m available.”

  She studied him more closely. “What do you bring to the climb that they don’t have?”

  Again that negligent shrug of shoulders. “I’ve been climbing here since I was a kid. It’s my playground. I was homeschooled until high school, and whenever I had any free time, I was climbing. How about you? Where did you go to school?”

  “Boarding schools in England.”

  “That explains the accent. How do you go from boarding school in England to climbing the Tetons? And why now?”

  “School was quite some time ago. As for the timing, it seemed right. I don’t have any commitments. I wanted to catch the flavor of autumn in the Tetons and, hopefully, some fierce storms. My agent is hoping to get some American galleries to take a look at my work. If the images I captured today are as good as I suspect, his job just got a lot easier.”

  Josh lifted his cup in a toast. “Then here’s to some great pictures and a big, fat contract.”

  She touched the rim of her cup to his. “Thanks. I’ll drink to that.”

  He stretched out on his bedroll, enjoying the warmth, the coffee, and the company. “How does your family feel about you climbing mountains alone?”

  Her smile dissolved. “I’m a big girl now. I live my life as I please.” She stared into her cup and forced a yawn. “Sorry. I think I’m ready for lights out. How about you?”

  Josh stretched out his long legs. “Yeah. More than ready.”

  She reached over and turned off the battery-operated torch.

  In the darkness, the only sound was the slight shuffling as they sought a comfortable position in their sleeping bags.

  And then, with the wind howling outside their tent, they were soon fast asleep.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Josh awoke in the predawn darkness.

  The howling winds had stilled, replaced by a silence that was as soothing as the soft breathing coming from the bedroll beside his.

  Sierra Moore.

  What a surprise she’d been. Gritty enough to catch him without warning when he’d first entered her tent. He’d broken his first rule, to always expect the unexpected. But who would suspect a missing hiker of threatening her rescuer with a weapon? Even if the weapon had turned out to be a useless piece of plastic.

  She was a mystery. A fascinating mystery.

  First of all, there was this tent, and its location, huddled against a white mountain peak, making it practically invisible. Though she claimed to be here only to photograph the mountains during a storm, he couldn’t shake the suspicion that she’d been hiding out here.

  Then there was her secrecy. The moment he’d mentioned her family, she’d shut down completely, leaving him to wonder just who she was and what sort of childhood she’d experienced.

  Could her family be searching for her?

  He quickly discarded that notion. He hadn’t seen anger so much as pain in her eyes when he’d asked about her family. Still, she’d gone to great lengths to find the perfect spot to be invisible.

  From the little she’d revealed, she seemed to be the complete opposite of him in every way. Where he still lived as an adult with his large and loving family, she was completely on her own.

  That would explain her survival skills. She’d used whatever was handy to attack when she’d felt threatened by his unorthodox arrival at her tent.

  Where he’d been homeschooled until he was old enough to drive himself to high school, Sierra had grown up in structured, demanding boarding schools, no doubt forced to abide by strict rules not of her making, living with people who weren’t her family.

  What would it be like, he wondered, to have no one to count on when the world came crashing down, as it often did during childhood and adolescence?

  He thought about Phoebe, who had been surrogate mother to him and his brothers after their mother had disappeared. Though they thought of themselves as rugged, independent men, in truth they’d spent a lot of years turning to Phoebe when their father and Big Jim were too busy with ranch chores to listen to their problems.

  It had been Phoebe who had gone with him to buy his first suit for the prom. Phoebe who had painstakingly taught him the rudiments of leading a girl through the dance.

  Who did a girl turn to at boarding school? Her friends, most probably. Friends who were probably just as young and inexperienced in the ways of the world.

  Maybe that was why she seemed to be such an enigma. One minute she was the tough little warrior, the next she became the very civilized, proper lady, apologizing for causing any concern.

  Despite her flippant comments, Josh had the sense that there was a lot she was concealing.

  When he’d first found her snug and warm in her tent, he’d wanted to throttle her for being the cause of this wild goose chase. He had every right to resent the fact that her carelessness had cost him a day on the trail. A day that he could have spent with Jake up in the hills, tending the herd. But his anger and resentment had faded when she’d expressed genuine sorrow that she’d been the cause of concern to the rangers, and regret that he’d had to leave his ranch to chase after her.

  Once again he found himself thinking how mysterious and fascinating Sierra Moore really was. She had not only survived
the storm but had used it to her advantage.

  Not all his climbs had such happy endings.

  He was curious to see the photographs she’d taken, but decided that he had no right to ask to view them. Like any artist, she probably chose to guard her work until she’d had time to edit it and make it perfect.

  He rolled to one side, determined to remain as quiet as possible, to allow her to sleep until first light.

  Sierra lay in the quiet darkness and listened to the soft rustling of the man in the bedroll beside hers.

  She’d been absolutely furious when Josh Conway had stepped into her tent. The thought of having her precious space invaded had her reacting like a cartoon character. What had possessed her to grab that plastic spoon? And when he’d managed to overpower her and take away her only means of defense, she’d had a moment of real panic until he’d explained his reason for being here.

  The panic had been because of Sebastian. For that one brief moment she’d thought that he’d managed to track her down here. Impossible. She’d gone to great lengths to see that nobody but her best friend even knew where she was. That part of her life was behind her now. She was starting fresh.

  Still, she couldn’t deny that the white tent against a snow-covered wall of rock had added to her feeling of safety and invisibility.

  Until Josh Conway, intrepid hero, had discovered her refuge.

  Thank heavens he’d proven to be an honorable man. So honorable that she’d actually been able to sleep for a few hours, even though he was mere inches away.

  Of course, it didn’t hurt that he was easy on the eyes, she thought with a quick grin.

  Easy on the eyes didn’t come close to describing her intruder. The man was gorgeous. With all those muscles and that sexy smile, along with piercing dark eyes that had a way of making her want to blush, he could easily be mistaken for a Hollywood hunk.

  But what mattered more to Sierra was the fact that he’d been easy to talk to. She’d sensed no pretense in him. Apparently he was exactly what he appeared to be: a busy rancher who was an experienced climber called in to find a lost hiker.

  She’d had her fill of good-looking guys with egos. She’d take an unassuming rancher any time, thank you very much. Not that she had any romantic ideas. The last thing she needed was a romance. Even if the guy was a Greek god.

  His all-too-brief mention of his life had been fascinating. She tried to imagine three generations living and working together. A grandfather, father, and sons, all sharing one house and working a ranch together.

  It was so far from the life she lived, it was impossible to imagine. But this much she knew: Josh Conway was the epitome of every wild Western fantasy she’d ever enjoyed. The strong, silent, and thoroughly capable cowboy who rides up to save a damsel in distress.

  Even if said damsel didn’t want to be saved.

  She actually chuckled at the thought.

  “Something wrong?”

  Josh’s voice in the darkness had her head turning. “What?”

  He sat up. “I thought I heard crying.”

  “Sorry. I was laughing.”

  “Ah. I misunderstood. Nobody should ever apologize for laughing. Care to share?”

  Her mind raced. How could she possibly explain? “No. Just a silly thought. Did I wake you?”

  “I was already awake, and trying to be quiet so you could sleep.”

  She was touched by his thoughtfulness and suitably impressed. She slipped out of her sleeping bag and sat up in the darkness. “Well then, we may as well enjoy some coffee and trail mix before heading out.”

  “Trail mix?” Josh flicked on the battery-operated torch and reached into his pack to retrieve a pouch of egg mixture and another of beef, made especially for an instant cooker. “Step aside, woman. We’re going to have steak and eggs before tackling the trail.”

  To Sierra’s delight, he was as good as his word, producing a breakfast that would fortify the hungriest mountain climber.

  “Careful. Let me go first and test that ice shelf.” Josh stepped around Sierra and probed the snow-frosted ice in front of them. Because of the icy trail, they’d attached cleats to their boots for traction.

  Satisfied that it would take their weight, he nodded. “Okay. It’s good.”

  With Josh leading, she carefully followed in his tracks.

  The descent had been slow and treacherous, since the temperature had begun to climb, making the snow wet and the ice soft. Already they could see depressions in the snow where the runoff had begun, forming little streams and rivulets that would, when they reached the lower elevations, turn into gushing rivers.

  Hearing her breathing, Josh paused and turned. “Do you need to rest?”

  “Thanks. Just for a minute.” Sierra dropped onto a rock and released her backpack, which weighed nearly half her body weight.

  Josh eyed it warily. “That’s a lot of supplies for a simple photo shoot.”

  She managed a smile. “There’s nothing simple about hiking a mountain. I wanted to be prepared for anything. Of course, if you hadn’t come along when you did, I may have stayed up here for a week or more.”

  “I hope you’re not leaving on my account.”

  “Oh, but I am.” She grinned. “Ranger Carver ‘strongly suggested’ that I accompany you down the mountain.”

  Josh threw back his head and laughed. “Yeah. Mitch has a way of giving suggestions that most folks wouldn’t dream of ignoring.”

  He turned and studied the trail ahead of them, but his mind was on Sierra. She was such a contradiction. Strong enough to hike the mountain with a pack that would stagger most hikers, male or female. Yet there was an air of fragility about her, as though she would blow away in a strong wind. It wasn’t a physical thing, but rather an emotional fragility. And layered over both her strength and her fragile nature was a sadness that appeared occasionally in her eyes, and a sweet, easygoing attitude that made her a joy to be around.

  So far on their difficult descent, he hadn’t heard her utter a single complaint.

  “Oh, look.” She pointed to a pool where the swiftly running water formed frothy caps on the boulders that rimmed the shore. The water reflected a mirror image of the fiery foliage above.

  Moving quickly she pulled her camera from her pack and began snapping pictures.

  Josh paused to enjoy the beauty of the scene, and realized that though he’d seen such a thing hundreds of times before, he’d rarely taken the time to appreciate it the way he was now, thanks to Sierra’s unbridled joy at the beauty of nature all around them. She was, he thought, the perfect hiking companion. Independent enough to carry her own weight, and so fresh and exuberant her attitude was contagious. Though he’d always preferred to travel alone, he found himself enjoying her company far more than he’d expected to.

  Keeping the camera dangling around her neck, Sierra adjusted her backpack. “Okay. I’m ready to move on.”

  He led the way, pausing often to make certain that every step of the trail was safe and secure before allowing her to follow. The last thing she needed, with all that extra weight, was to take a nasty fall that resulted in an injury.

  Each time Josh paused, Sierra used the moment to snap off yet more pictures of the fiery autumn foliage that lined the trail.

  Sierra trailed slowly behind Josh, grateful that he was being so thorough. The weighty pack was affecting her balance, though only minimally. If forced to move faster, she knew she could do it. She was an accomplished hiker and in excellent physical shape. Still, she was more than willing to make a slow, methodical descent. Though she told herself it was all about safety, the truth was she was in no hurry to reach the ranger station and get back to reality.

  Reality. The thought was jarring. Especially after the past week.

  She’d loved her time on the mountain. Appreciated the pristine beauty, the silence, the aloneness of the place. There, in her little cocoon of ice and snow, she’d felt completely insulated from the real world.

 
She had intended to remain for at least another week. Possibly more, if her supplies held out. The only thing she hadn’t counted on was being discovered. And so, here she was, descending the mountain a week or more ahead of her timetable.

  Not that it mattered. As she trailed Josh, she was convinced that the time she’d spent on the mountain had been enough to get the pictures she’d wanted, and to let the dizzying pace of her life prior to arriving here slip away.

  Dizzying pace. It was too mild a term. Her life the past few months had been chaos. But there was no looking back now. She refused to think about the fact that she had left everything familiar behind. This was her clean slate. A whole new world that she was about to explore, to see whether or not it suited her.

  “You okay?”

  At Josh’s words she put aside the disquieting thoughts and forced her mind back to the task at hand.

  She adjusted her heavy pack and stepped up her pace. “I’m keeping up. Don’t worry. I’m fine.”

  “Yes, you are.” He surprised her by waiting until she was beside him. “I have to admit, when I first saw the size and weight of your backpack, I was pretty sure I’d be recruited to carry it before we were halfway down.”

  She shot him an offended look. “Oh, please. You’re not going to pull that Me-Tarzan-you-Jane nonsense, are you?”

  He pretended to take an arrow to his heart. “Ouch. Great aim. You just shot me down.”

  She grinned at his humor. “I’ll have you know I’ve carried packs heavier than this, and I’ve never resorted to asking a guy for help.”

  “Uh-huh. I get it. I am woman, hear me roar?”

  That had her laughing out loud. “Now you’re getting the message.”

  “Loud and clear.”

  As they rounded a bend in the trail he pointed. “The ranger station is down that path. We should be there in half an hour.” He shot her a sideways glance. “If you think you can hold out for that long.”

  “Careful, Conway. I might dare you to a race.”

  He threw back his head and roared. “I’m thinking with your attitude you just might beat me.”