A Hero To Count On. Linda Turner

      She still didn’t know how he’d known she was at the ranch’s hot springs yesterday. She’d taken her sketchpad and pencils and slipped away from the homestead in Rainey’s SUV. All she’d told Rainey was that she was going out on the ranch somewhere to work on the illustrations that were due at the end of the month. No one had seen her leave the homestead, let alone followed her. Considering that, she should have had the rest of the morning to herself. Instead, she’d hardly settled beside the bubbling hot springs when Hunter drove up in his Toyota 4Runner.

      “What are you doing here?”

      Not the least bit put off by her greeting, he’d only grinned and started toward her with the lazy grace of a mountain lion on the prowl. “I was just out exploring and decided to check out the springs,” he said easily. “Buck told me the Indians used to camp here.”

      It was a good story, and another woman might have swallowed it without a blink of an eye. But thanks to Nigel, she wasn’t nearly as naive as she’d once been. “Really? And you just happened to show up when I was here?”

      “That’s right,” he chuckled. “Coincidence is a pretty amazing thing, isn’t it?”

      “Coincidence, my eye,” she retorted. “You followed me!”

      “Now, sweetheart, why would I do that?”

      “Don’t call me sweetheart!”

      “Yes, ma’am. What would you like me to call you? Personally I like darlin’. It’s got a nice ring, you know. But I can’t call you that without kissing you first. That’s one of my rules—”

      Frustrated, irritated, fighting the smile that tugged at her lips, she hadn’t said another word. She’d packed up her art supplies and left.

      When he’d gone out last night to one of the local watering holes, she’d told herself she was glad. There was bound to be a woman there who would catch—and keep—his attention for the rest of his stay at the ranch. Then he would stop yanking her chain and pestering her.

      Clinging to that thought, she should have slept the night away. Instead, the darn man chased her into her dreams, and she’d tossed and turned and stared at the ceiling for hours before finally falling asleep around four in the morning.

      Not surprisingly, the rest of the family, including Hunter, had already eaten breakfast by the time she woke at ten, and the house was deserted. Desperate for a cup of tea, she stepped into the kitchen, only to discover a note from Elizabeth on the refrigerator.

      Hey, sleepyhead. Hope you slept well. John and I have gone to the cabin, and Buck and Rainey and Hunter are riding fence on the ranch’s north boundary. If you want some company, take the dirt road west of the barn and it’ll take you to the cabin. I packed a picnic lunch for the three of us, and Rainey left her keys for you on the kitchen table. See you later. Elizabeth.

      So Hunter was with Buck and Rainey. She shouldn’t have been relieved—she liked to think she didn’t care what Hunter Sinclair did one way or the other—but she couldn’t forget the way his eyes danced when he teased her. Why did he have to be so attractive? Why did she have to notice?

      Irritated with herself—she really did need a break from the man!—she grabbed the keys and found Rainey’s SUV parked in the circular drive at the front of the house. Within minutes she was heading west, toward the old hunting cabin in the mountains where Elizabeth and John would live after they were married.

      Nearly forty-five minutes later, she broke through the trees into a small, natural clearing, and there was the cabin right in front of her. Last month, one of the wannabe heirs had torched it in an effort to drive Elizabeth and John away from the ranch, and the damage had been significant. When Elizabeth had told her that she and John were going to rebuild it and make it their home, Katherine had thought they were crazy. She’d assumed it was nothing but a burned-out shell and any attempt to repair it would be nothing but a waste of time and money. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

      Only part of the cabin had been burned, and John had already removed the damaged wood and replaced it. He hadn’t, however, stopped there. The framework for two new rooms and a new front and back porch were already in place, and although the design was simple, Katherine could see that it was going to be charming when it was finished.

      “Hey, stranger, I see you finally decided to join the world of the living,” her sister said with a grin as she parked and stepped from the car. “What do you think?”

      “It’s wonderful! Why didn’t you tell me…”

      From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of movement and turned just in time to see Hunter come around the side of the cabin. Stunned, she gasped, “What’s he doing here?”