Page 17 of Valor

Bear rushed over to the grass and immediately squatted to do his business. She couldn’t help but smile. “Good boy! You’re such a good boy!”

Pleased by her response, his little body wiggled with excitement. She wished she had treats to use as a reward, but giving him dinner would have to suffice. She turned back to the truck to find Owen watching them with a wistful look in his eyes.

Then in a flash, it was gone. “Let him play for a while. I’ll grab his things.” Owen ducked to pull the dishes and the half-full bag of dog food from the back.

Owen placed two scoops of food in the bowl with the name Bear printed on the front. He frowned as he put some water in the other dish. “I can’t figure out when the Martins got the puppy. It must be within the past two weeks that I’ve been gone. And I’m a little surprised they went to the trouble of special ordering a doggy dish for him.”

“That is a tight time frame.” She raised her voice. “Bear, here boy.”

Bear lifted his head from the grass and bounded toward her. When he saw the food and water dishes set off to the side, he pounced on them like he hadn’t eaten in weeks. She leaned down to scratch his ears, remembering something Maya had once said about making sure dogs were touched and played with while eating so they didn’t get overly territorial about their food. “You mentioned Doc was a retired vet. Maybe the puppy’s owners knew they couldn’t keep him, so they brought Bear to the ranch and left him there.”

“Could be. Either way, I’m glad we were able to find him.” Owen leaned against the truck, closed his eyes, and lifted his face to the sun. He almost looked as if he didn’t have a care in the world the way he was enjoying the reprieve.

Then abruptly she realized he was living minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. Knowing that his life could end at any moment.

Propelled by her wayward emotions, she closed the gap between them, went up on her tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

CHAPTERFIVE

Emily’s kisscaught him completely off guard. He’d never imagined she’d do something like that. But he couldn’t stop himself from pulling her close and deepening their kiss. If he were honest, he’d thought about kissing her all the time during the hours she’d cared for his injury. And those feelings had not gone away.

If anything, they’d grown stronger.

He held her tight for a long minute, then forced himself to end their embrace. As much as he wanted to keep her in his arms, this—whatever this was—wasn’t fair to her. She deserved better than a guy like him.

Bear pounced on his feet, biting his boot laces. Using the puppy as a distraction, he tried to control his breathing as he scooped the pup off the ground. “We should get going.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Her voice was clipped, and glancing at her, he realized she was hurt. Feeling his gaze, she abruptly turned and headed for the truck.

There were so many things he wanted to say, but what was the point? They had no future together, which was what she deserved. He was living in the crosshairs. Whoever these guys were, they wouldn’t stop. They would keep coming after him until he was dead.

And that was a lousy legacy to give a woman as sweet, kind, and beautiful as Emily Sanders.

“You’ll be good for her, Bear,” he murmured as he carried the puppy to the car. When he left Emily behind, he’d make sure she kept the puppy too. He opened her passenger-side door, set the dog on her lap, then turned to grab the dishes. He stored them in the back, then slid in behind the wheel.

He continued heading up the mountain, keeping a wary eye on the temperature gauge. The truck wasn’t new, and he had no idea how well the engine had been maintained.

“Are we just going to keep driving for the rest of the night?”

“No, of course not.” He shot her a surprised glance. “We’ll find a place to stay. Maybe a campground of some sort.”

She frowned. “We don’t have any camping gear. Not even a sleeping bag.”

“I know.” He shrugged. “You can stretch out on the back seat. I’ll sleep sitting up.”

She didn’t look happy about that suggestion, and it took him a minute to remember he’d promised to leave her someplace safe so that her brother could pick her up. Giving himself a mental kick in the pants, he amended his plan. “Look, the truth is, I don’t know where the next town is located. It could be farther away than we realize. Depending on the distance, I may need to take a few hours to rest. Especially since I’m not sure it’s wise to drive in the mountains all night. We don’t want to hit a deer, elk, or some other wild animal.”

“Fine with me.” She avoided his gaze, stroking the puppy in her arms. “I should have considered the hazards of driving through the mountains at night.”

He didn’t answer, wishing their previous camaraderie would return. She was the one who’d kissed him.

Yet he was the one who’d kissed her as if he’d never let her go.

“I don’t know this area very well either,” she said, breaking the silence. “I haven’t been this deep into the Bighorn Mountains. I used to live in the Jackson Hole area, which is where I grew up. I’ve only been in Cody for seven months.”

He glanced at her in surprise. “I didn’t know that you recently moved to the area.”

She arched a brow. “Are you saying you wouldn’t have kidnapped me if you had known I was a newbie in Cody?”

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