asked where Trinity Ranch was located?”
Helen nodded before turning when a couple ranch hands waved her over. He’d waited long enough. Heading outside, he spotted Natasha hurrying alongside the bed-and-breakfast. Her long hair swaying down her back and the cute way her ass swayed noticeably, even in the dark, distracted him only a moment. She hadn’t spotted him, or if she had, she was better at concealing her thoughts than he’d give her credit. Not once had she looked his way.
Trent slipped into his heavy coat he’d kept in his Suburban all day, knowing he’d need it now that it was dark. It appeared he wouldn’t be heading home as soon as he thought. He’d parked around the side of the restaurant where his vehicle wouldn’t have been obvious and given away that he was inside. It was an old trick he’d learned from his father. As a kid, Trent used to complain how far they had to walk to get inside a business when there were parking spaces close to the door. Now he understood his father’s intentions. People behaved differently when they didn’t know the law was within earshot. Trent watched the Avalanche pull out of Pearl’s and turn north, in the direction of Trinity Ranch.
He waited until she had gone through the intersection, then jumped into his Suburban and fired it up. When he hit the road, he still had a view of Natasha King’s taillights ahead of him.
Chapter Three
Natasha had typed in the address Helen had given her for the exact location of Trinity Ranch. Her head still buzzed with everything the friendly waitress had told her. Helen had been as eager to share what had happened out at Trinity Ranch as she had been to tell Natasha all she knew about their sexy sheriff.
Natasha would find out soon enough how much of a gossip Helen was. She’d asked Helen not to mention to Trent any of their conversation or the questions Natasha had asked. When Helen had cocked an eyebrow over that request, Natasha offered a version of the truth as an explanation.
“He doesn’t think a female bounty hunter can solve this case as well as he can,” she’d offered.
Helen’s reaction had surprised her. “Really? That doesn’t sound like Trent.”
“Turn right in half a mile.” Natasha’s GPS navigator interrupted her thoughts. Already she was outside of town, and she flipped on her brights as she slowed the truck.
Something caught her attention in the road and she slowed more, leaning forward against her seat belt and squinting to better see what lie in the road.
“Shit!” she cried out, screeching the truck to a stop and swerving on the road as she tried to avoid hitting some kind of giant animal lying lifeless right before her turn. “What the fuck!” she yelled, white-knuckling the steering wheel as her heart hammered so hard in her chest she couldn’t catch her breath.
She stopped the Avalanche within yards of what looked like a very big dead deer, at least by the large set of antlers sticking out from his head. She’d never seen one so close before, and staring at the motionless creature didn’t help get her bearings. It took a moment for her to realize the truck was almost sideways in the road, its rear end sticking into the next lane. For a two-lane highway so close outside of town, it was dark as hell outside.
Natasha took a moment to find her purse, which had slid to the floor on the passenger side, grab a flashlight out of the glove box, and fish out her cell phone as she worked to put her wallet and lipstick as well as hand lotion that had fallen out of her purse back into it.
“Okay, it’s obviously dead or it would have moved by now.” The last thing she needed was to try to move the truck and have the thing realize sleeping in the road was a bad idea and try to stampede her with all those antlers. If that was what deer did. She didn’t know a thing about deer, other than they were obviously a lot larger than she’d imagined.
Slipping the truck into gear, she
Helen nodded before turning when a couple ranch hands waved her over. He’d waited long enough. Heading outside, he spotted Natasha hurrying alongside the bed-and-breakfast. Her long hair swaying down her back and the cute way her ass swayed noticeably, even in the dark, distracted him only a moment. She hadn’t spotted him, or if she had, she was better at concealing her thoughts than he’d give her credit. Not once had she looked his way.
Trent slipped into his heavy coat he’d kept in his Suburban all day, knowing he’d need it now that it was dark. It appeared he wouldn’t be heading home as soon as he thought. He’d parked around the side of the restaurant where his vehicle wouldn’t have been obvious and given away that he was inside. It was an old trick he’d learned from his father. As a kid, Trent used to complain how far they had to walk to get inside a business when there were parking spaces close to the door. Now he understood his father’s intentions. People behaved differently when they didn’t know the law was within earshot. Trent watched the Avalanche pull out of Pearl’s and turn north, in the direction of Trinity Ranch.
He waited until she had gone through the intersection, then jumped into his Suburban and fired it up. When he hit the road, he still had a view of Natasha King’s taillights ahead of him.
Chapter Three
Natasha had typed in the address Helen had given her for the exact location of Trinity Ranch. Her head still buzzed with everything the friendly waitress had told her. Helen had been as eager to share what had happened out at Trinity Ranch as she had been to tell Natasha all she knew about their sexy sheriff.
Natasha would find out soon enough how much of a gossip Helen was. She’d asked Helen not to mention to Trent any of their conversation or the questions Natasha had asked. When Helen had cocked an eyebrow over that request, Natasha offered a version of the truth as an explanation.
“He doesn’t think a female bounty hunter can solve this case as well as he can,” she’d offered.
Helen’s reaction had surprised her. “Really? That doesn’t sound like Trent.”
“Turn right in half a mile.” Natasha’s GPS navigator interrupted her thoughts. Already she was outside of town, and she flipped on her brights as she slowed the truck.
Something caught her attention in the road and she slowed more, leaning forward against her seat belt and squinting to better see what lie in the road.
“Shit!” she cried out, screeching the truck to a stop and swerving on the road as she tried to avoid hitting some kind of giant animal lying lifeless right before her turn. “What the fuck!” she yelled, white-knuckling the steering wheel as her heart hammered so hard in her chest she couldn’t catch her breath.
She stopped the Avalanche within yards of what looked like a very big dead deer, at least by the large set of antlers sticking out from his head. She’d never seen one so close before, and staring at the motionless creature didn’t help get her bearings. It took a moment for her to realize the truck was almost sideways in the road, its rear end sticking into the next lane. For a two-lane highway so close outside of town, it was dark as hell outside.
Natasha took a moment to find her purse, which had slid to the floor on the passenger side, grab a flashlight out of the glove box, and fish out her cell phone as she worked to put her wallet and lipstick as well as hand lotion that had fallen out of her purse back into it.
“Okay, it’s obviously dead or it would have moved by now.” The last thing she needed was to try to move the truck and have the thing realize sleeping in the road was a bad idea and try to stampede her with all those antlers. If that was what deer did. She didn’t know a thing about deer, other than they were obviously a lot larger than she’d imagined.
Slipping the truck into gear, she
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