Linda Howard - Prey

But it looked as if that was what she was going to get. Maybe this was a sign that she was doing the right thing, selling out and moving on.

“He’s an ass,” she muttered, then realized she’d said that aloud and looked at Chad with an appalled expression. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry. I apologize. I should never have said that.”

Chad mopped his shiny face, then gave her a shy smile. “Yeah, I know,” he said, keeping his tone low. Then he gave a helpless shrug, as if to say, What can you do?

She should have known, should have expected it when Davis had left her to take care of all the horses, not even tending to the bay he’d been riding. He was a decent horseman, she’d give him that, which made it even more incomprehensible that he hadn’t offered to take care of the animal that had hauled his ass up here. His personality would be vastly improved if he were more like the horse he’d ridden: silent, and gelded. Come to think of it, that would apply to a certain other man she could think of, though it totally pissed her off that she couldn’t put him completely out of her mind.

“I don’t know what’s wrong,” Chad said, darting an anxious look at the closed tent on the far end. “I know he likes to hunt, he talks about it all the time. I really enjoyed going out with you last time, and I thought, well, I had no idea he’d be…” He let his sentence trail off, evidently not wanting to call his client a bastard.

“Not your fault, Chad,” Angie said honestly. She smiled at him, trying to ease his discomfort. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and both of you will bag a bear tomorrow. I don’t think anyone would mind if this trip ends early.”

Chad shrugged. “If he gets a bear, I’ll be happy to call the hunt done. I mean, I have my permit for a bear, but I’m really not much of a hunter. I just don’t get into it.”

That was kind of sad, that he forced himself to go on this kind of a trip with a man who seemed bent on making everyone around him miserable.

“Then why don’t you take it easy the rest of the day,” she said, thinking of his sore muscles, “while I see what I can find.”

A relieved expression chased across his face before he blinked and said, “But isn’t that dangerous, going out on your own?”

“Dangerous enough, but I’m armed, and I have the bear spray.” She thought about saddling up the roan and riding it, but the idea was to not spook any nearby bear. Besides, she wasn’t going that far, and the horses needed a rest. The trail was rough and mostly uphill, and the brush was thick where she needed to go. She felt her stomach draw up tight at the idea of going in alone, but she’d done it before when she scouted up here. All she wanted was to find some fresh bear scat, then she’d quietly and quickly retreat, and tomorrow they’d go hunting.

Breathe .

Dare thought about calling Harlan so Harlan could remind him again why this was such a good idea. What else was the satellite phone good for if he couldn’t call an old friend who’d convinced him to act like a stupid idiot, so he could reinforce the idea?

Fishing. He wanted to fish . That was definitely a good idea. Angie wouldn’t need any help from him, or accept it even if she did, but he could use some down time. Fishing was just the ticket.

Even though guiding hunters and fishermen was his job and he spent a lot of time in the mountains, he still loved it here. The solitude, the rough landscape, the smell of the mountain-they never got old. When he’d been a hell-raising teenager he’d spent a lot of time up here on his own, but now he was a damn adult, responsible, a small-business owner, and he’d been too damn busy to enjoy life. He’d make trips up this way to resupply, or take care of repairs, but coming alone to fish? No. There was always too much to do, and taking a little vacation of his own was so far down on his list that he didn’t even know it was there. Maybe he was way past due for this kind of break.

The fact that Angie was also on the mountain with the men who gave Harlan the willies… that was a coincidence. Nothing more.

Yeah, right. After dismounting, Dare turned so he faced the direction of the camp Angie had leased for the week. He had a great sense of direction and he knew this mountain better than anyone, so he mentally placed the camp almost immediately. If not for the mountains, trees, and the distance, he’d be looking right at Angie and her hunting party. He’d been there a time or two himself, knew how far it was from his camp, which paths led to that camp. It wasn’t the best, nor was it the worst. What it was, was acceptable.

Harlan had written down the names of the men Angie was with, and he’d said he’d do a search on the computer to see if he could find anything suspicious, then call Dare on the sat phone if he did. Dare doubted anything would turn up, but Harlan would feel better if he was doing something productive.

Angie’s truck and trailer, and an unknown SUV, had already been at Ray Lattimore’s place when Dare had pulled in with his own horse trailer. Ray, in his early seventies but as tough as old jerky, had come out to talk a bit. “Angie Powell went up early this morning,” he said, nodding toward her truck. “Two clients with her. One’s useless, the other’s an asshole.”

Dare grunted. “That so?”

Ray had more of his opinions to share, and did so at length. By the time he was finished, Dare was an hour later than he’d planned on being, but what the hell, this was a vacation . He wasn’t punching a damn time clock.

Because this wasn’t a guided hunt, he’d decided to use the trip to do some training on a new horse he’d bought, a three-year-old buckskin that showed promise of being a great trail horse. The youngster was full of piss and vinegar and Dare had to stay on his toes, ready for anything, but he enjoyed the challenge. When they arrived at his camp safe and sound, overall he was pleased. He wouldn’t put a client on the horse just yet, though; the buckskin needed a lot more experience and settling down. This was his first time in the mountains, and some of the less-secure footing made him nervous.

Dare unpacked and settled in with the ease and automatic mindlessness of a man who’d done it a thousand times. There was comfort in the routine, almost a sense of coming home. He saw to the buckskin first, then unpacked his fishing gear and supplies for the week. This was the first time he’d ever had this place to himself, and it felt odd to bring in one air mattress, one sleeping bag. Normally the quarters felt cramped, but with just himself and one horse, damned if everything didn’t feel roomy. He should do this more often.

This was his camp, not a lease, and Dare had designed and built it himself, with safety from predators his foremost consideration. The building was small and rough-looking, blending into the background so well it was almost invisible from any distance, but it was two stories tall and a hell of a lot sturdier than any tent-sturdier than most hunting cabins, come to that, and definitely what he considered a better design for bear country.

The bottom of the building was horse stalls, while the top was a sleeping platform, partitioned into small areas with curtains that could be pulled over the openings for privacy, but the platform itself was open to the stalls below, with a ladder that could be pulled up. The heat from the horses’ bodies rose, effectively heating the sleeping platform so during cold weather it was almost comfortable. During hot weather, the small windows in the upper section could be opened. The clients on the sleeping platform were always safe from predators of any kind, and they had a clear shot into the lower level in case a bear actually tried to claw through the heavy double door below. From the higher position, Dare knew he could take out any predator before it got near the horses.