Page 69 of His Forgotten Colton Fiancee
In worn jeans and a soft sweater, Quinn walked alongside him as they hiked the path. Birds chirped in the overhead trees, and he heard a faint rustle in the underbrush. West clasped her arm to halt her. A black snake slithered away.
“Oh, that’s nothing.” Quinn shrugged. “Bull snake. They get big, but they won’t hurt you. Not like rattlers. My father taught me that.”
“Rusty actually knows the difference between a bull snake and a rattler? I thought he had a hard time differentiating between light beer and regular.”
Quinn laughed, her first real laugh in days. It felt good to hear it from her.
He lifted a branchout of her way. “It’s good to hear you laugh again, sweetheart. I’ve missed that sound.”
“I’ll make a note to do it more often.” She took his hand as he helped her climb over a fallen tree limb. Her palm was soft, smooth, and a shudder raced through him as he recalled the feel of her hands stroking his naked body...
Easy now.
He kept a close eye on Quinn as she climbed over rocks andused the stick to playfully poke at the brush.
“Careful, you’ll upset the rattlesnakes.”
She turned, her eyes wide. “You’ve seen them?”
West chuckled and she mock scowled, swatting him with the stick. “You’re teasing me.”
“They’ll let you know when you get close.”
“They rattle.”
Quinn laughed. Man, he adored that sound of her low, sexy laugh, loved making her smile. Hisown smile dropped. He had a job to do—get her to remember anything and everything, especially about Demi.
“Do you remember that song?” he asked. “Our first dance?”
Confusion wrinkled her brow. “No. I’m sorry I don’t. But I’d like to remember. Tell me.”
His chest ached as he told her how he spotted her at the bar and asked her for a dance.
She’d told him she didn’t dance and he’dreplied that all she had to do was follow his lead.
The country-and-western band had struck up that song and they danced nice and slow. Quinn only stepped on his toes twice, and he’d been wearing boots. They fitted together just fine and he’d wanted to stay in her arms for much longer than the song. As it ended, Quinn had lifted her head to him and told him,Hey, cowboy, don’t think that justbecause we shared a dance that this means we’re in love.
He’d looked down at her and said,I’ll settle for a steak dinner, rare, without sprouts.
She’d laughed.You’d stand a better chance of me learning to salsa than cooking you something that moos, Agent Brand.
From that moment on, she grabbed his heart and held on. Because Quinn Colton wasn’t into playing games as some women did.She was open and honest, unwilling to change just to please a man. She was true to herself. After dating a series of women who were not, West found her deeply refreshing.
He told her this as they navigated the pathway winding up to a splendid view of the canyon cliffs. Quinn stopped and looked at him.
The little frown dented her brow. “You’re good with animals. You treat them well andlove them. I remember that now. I remember thinking that a man whom animals trusted was a man I could trust, as well.”
Pleased she’d recalled even a sliver of a memory, West touched her arm. He craved the connection between them, needing it as much as he needed to find Demi Colton.
“You can trust me, sweetheart,” he said in a low voice made husky by desire and sheer need. “I aim to keepyou safe, and care for you the rest of your life.”
But Quinn only looked away. She flicked a hand upward. “If there’s a place up there with a bench, let’s stop. I need to rest.”
He didn’t want her pushing herself. West struggled between the need to care for her and the urgent need to get her to remember every damn thing about what she’d seen before the world exploded and nearly took herwith it.
Because if a killer stalked her, he had to know who it was. He couldn’t keep an eye on her every waking moment.
At the plateau, there was a simple bench made from a log. Rex joined them as Quinn sat, her breath heaving in and out. West uncapped his water bottle and handed it to her.
