Page 34 of New in Town

“He might not be exaggerating. I saw you two at the carnival, you didn’t even notice when I was right in front of your face,” Riley offers.

Leaning back, Grey adjusts his hat and stretches his legs towards the fire. He hustled up here with the portable electric fence, and other non-lethal methods they use to deter predators. Beside him though, sits his trusted rifle, just for his own protection. He isn’t about to make a liar out of himself when he promised Maddie he’d be careful.

He had completed all the required checks to ensure there were no sick or weak cows in the herd, and now they simply kept watch overnight. At least, he hopes it will be simple, an animal bellow in the distance reminds him that things could be unpredictable out here. His anxiety is usually worse when things are out of his control. But for some reason, out here, his anxiety is quieted by his ability to be a small part of the vastness.

Using the toe of his boot, he kicks a log further into the center of the fire. Up at camp is his favorite place to be, and he never complains about night-watch. But tonight, all he wanted was to be with Maddie. Maybe the guys were right about how he was acting around her.

His mind drifts back to the way she had shivered and moaned in response to his touch. He’d spent weeks now staring at those lips, imagining what it would be like to have his mouth on them. Then it was so much better than he had dreamed. He’d give anything to make her react like that again, to be able to touch her and kiss her as he wanted. No fake dating, no rules.

He’d all but admitted that he didn’t want to stop seeing her after Brett’s wedding.I don’t know how I’m going to walk away from you. She hadn’t understood what he was saying, thankfully. She thought he was talking about tonight and canceling their plans. But now there isn’t any doubt in his mind, he likes Maddie and wants these dates to be real. He wants this to be going somewhere other than a deadline scrawled on a napkin.

“Grey. What do you think?” Riley’s voice cuts through his thoughts.

“Think about what?”

“Thoughts elsewhere?” Riley’s typical golden retriever grin splits into a megawatt version of his smile. “Coop and I were talking about doing a check on that rustling we heard a minute ago. Wanted to know if you were joining us or holding down camp. But maybe you should be somewhere else altogether?”

He sits up, his attention back in the present. Rustling? He hadn’t heard anything before, but there it was, just past the tree line across the way.

“I’ll come with you.”

He picks up his rifle and the three men creep along the tree line, just out of the firelight. The rustle seems to be approaching them. All three men stop, waiting for an attack. Over Grey’s shoulder, he hears Cooper whisper to Riley, “Ever see a grizzly up close before?”

“No, actually. Not up close. Just the one I spotted in the distance today.”

“Me either. Grey?”

He doesn’t answer, instead preparing his weapon for whatever is coming for them. He’d have to hit the lungs. And more than once. The noise is already too close for comfort, he knew how a grizzly could charge even after being shot.

“Grey, you’ve got this right?” Cooper’s voice comes out as a strangled whine.

He doesn’t have time to answer through. Whatever is in the woods, has worked its way to the edge before them. Except, it’s not a bear.

“You’re kidding me,” Grey growls, lowering the weapon and taking a swing at Brett. His fist connects with his best friend just as Brett is bending forward in laughter. The veteran Navy SEAL had mastered moving silently in the shadows while serving. It was clear he was trying to make noise to mess with them.

“You realize I could have shot you,” Grey deadpans.

“You wouldn’t have. Even if I was a grizzly. Remember in high school, that wolf that had you in its sights and somehow you convinced Floyd not to shoot it?” Brett points at the rifle, turning to the others. “He’s good with these, but he’d sooner use it on a person than an animal,” he tells Riley and Cooper.

Brett wasn’t far off; Grey always did prefer animals over people. The four of them head back over at the fire and settle in. Brett pulls a bag of jerky from his pack and holds it out in a peace offering to Grey.

“What are you doing back? And how did you get up here, I don’t see Maverick,” Grey says, glancing around.

Brett shrugs and pulls a strip of jerky out for himself. “Laurel sent me a picture of Pippa curled up on her lap. She said you guys were up at camp, so she got the pup for the night. The auction ended early, and I thought I’d come join the watch. Took an ATV at this hour, I parked it just down the way.”

“Why would an auction end early?” Cooper asks.

“The auction didn’t end early. He was feeling left out. Wanted to come chill with us,” Grey replies with a grin.

Brett snorts, turning to Riley to change the subject. “Are you competing at the round up this weekend?”

Riley nods in response, reaching for the jerky. Grey had forgotten about the rodeo night this weekend. He didn’t have any desire to go most of the time, other than to support the newest ranch hand he supposed. But it would be a good public date with Maddie. She mentioned her dad wrote about the Sterling Round-Up in his letters. She had wanted to go places in the letters, right?

* * *

“No grizzlies got me,” he says when Maddie answers the phone.

“Oh my gosh, thank you for calling,” she sighs with relief. She sounds genuinely happy to be hearing from him. No one had ever worried about him before. Sure, Brett and everyone at the ranch cared, they had his back. But he felt like a priority when she answered on the first ring. And now, the relief in her voice? He can feel that sigh all the way to his core.

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