The Reluctant Bride Read Online Free PDF Page B

hikers.”
    â€œThe trail’s that narrow?” Karinne exclaimed.
    â€œYep.”
    â€œGood thing they can see all four feet.”
    More than a few in the group rushed off to the restrooms as Karinne turned to Max.
    â€œPhantom Ranch—that’s the stables, right?”
    â€œAnd the overnight lodgings for riders. We’ll meet Cory and Anita there, get our supplies and head downriver tomorrow.”
    Karinne nodded. She shrugged out of her pack and left it with Max. “Watch this for me? Be back in a minute.”
    Except it took a lot longer. Karinne ruefully wondered if she should’ve taken the helicopter, after all, when she sawthe line for the ladies’ room. The men’s room line was no shorter.
    Oh, well. Better safe than squirming in the saddle.
    When they’d all returned to their mules, the wrangler had everyone mount. She explained that she’d take the point position, and the park ranger would follow in the rear. “Let the mules form their own line after I lead out,” she said. “They have their own particular order.”
    A few minutes of turmoil went by as determined mules took their usual spots. Karinne and Max’s mules preferred the end of the trail, with Max’s mount positioned directly in front of Karinne’s. She adjusted her baseball cap and gave Max a thumbs-up when he turned in his seat to check on her. Then silence set in as the mules took awestruck riders down into the vast colors of the Grand Canyon.
    For the first hour Karinne drank in the sights, grateful for the respite from screaming, yelling, drunken crowds that were her work setting day after day. She’d never heard such quiet on the job. And sounds, when she registered them, were soothing, natural. The clop of shod hoofs on packed ground was broken by the occasional screech of a hunting red-tailed hawk—a cry that carried and echoed through the pure air. No trucks or cars or buildings marred the openness—nothing except rock spires and wildlife. Best of all, from Karinne’s point of view, this place had Max.
    And he’d once offered to give it up for her. How could she allow him to do that? If only she had the courage to quit her own job, but since she couldn’t leave her father, it made no sense to leave Phoenix or gainful employment.
    After Max graduated from college, he’d discussed his future plans with her. They were a real couple by then, though Karinne was still in school, and Max had reluctantly offered to give up his hopes of a canyon raft concession andcontinue to do geological work with the city of Phoenix. He’d been hired on, but wasn’t happy.
    Karinne refused his offer. “No, Max. I’ll join you up north when I graduate. I’m sure I can find work in Flagstaff.”
    After her graduation, they’d been reunited in a Grand Canyon topside hotel. For one happy week the two shared their love, planned their lives together, and Max proposed.
    â€œI wanted to wait until you graduated before making it official,” he said, slipping a diamond ring on her finger.
    â€œWe’ll set a date as soon as I find a job,” she promised.
    But that promise was derailed when, with Jeff’s help, a headhunter tracked her down at the hotel to offer her a media photographer’s dream job. She could have refused—would have if Max had objected—but he was silent. So, with hesitation, she accepted.
    â€œI’ve just finished with classes, and this is a chance of a lifetime,” she explained, feeling a little guilty. “I’d like to get some experience for my résumé. Then I’ll move up here and we’ll get married. It’ll only be for a short time.”
    â€œAs long as it’s short,” Max replied. In her excitement, Karinne missed hearing the strangeness in his tone.
    â€œIt will be. Oh, Dad will be so proud!”
    â€œAnd so will I,” Max said, never reproaching