Wild Within (Wild at Heart #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

inside.
    “Size fourteen. Wow.”
    She glanced at his pack. Its compression straps held her empty three-liter water bottle. On a hunch, she squatted, slid open the pack’s draw cords, and felt around inside, recognizing items by touch: sleeping bag…tent stakes…headlamp…cook pot…hard candy in a plastic baggie…socks…toilet paper and trowel…harmonica?
    In the depths, her hands encountered another plastic container, squashed to take up less space. She pulled it out. A second three-liter bottle. Empty.
    Her heart beat quickly as her eyes registered shock.
    The other bottle he said he was drinking from was empty the whole time. He never had any water out there. Just let me use up his entire supply.
    She sat cross-legged on the dirt by the camper and stared at the bottle.
    So, basically, when I’m on the trail, I’m not only a threat to myself, I’m a threat to others.
    She rose and walked to the showers, shaking her head.
    Later, after sharing a hearty dinner with the RV couple, Lone Star and Grace pitched their tents in adjacent campsites. For Grace, tent poles went into wrong grommets, stakes came loose, and clips misaligned. Lone Star set his up in a flash and sat in the entrance, watching her struggle.
    “I wouldn’t mind a little help here, if you’ve got the time.”
    “I’ve got the time. But you have to learn this for yourself, darlin’. Soon it’ll be as easy as pie. But not if I do it for you. Besides, I enjoy watching you. You clean up real nice.”
    “Thanks.” Grace curtsied. Her foot caught in a tent line and she fell. Lone Star chuckled so long he had to hold his sides.
    “From where I’m sitting, Lone Star, you’re not living up to Southern gentleman standards.” She brushed herself off. “What’s the Texas expression for go jump in a lake?”
    “What I think you’re trying to say is that you think I’m about as fine as cream gravy.”
    Grace used a rock to pound in her final tent stake and attached its guy-line. “Yes, that’s what I meant.” She tossed a pine cone at his head. “You’re as fine as clean gravy. So is my tent. Not bad for a first try.”
    “Not clean gravy. Cream gravy. And it’s a fine tent indeed.”
    Once inside her shelter, Grace was too tired to crawl into her sleeping bag. She pulled it over her like a blanket, thought for a second of Lone Star’s blue eyes, and fell asleep before the cover reached her chin.
    Cheerful whistling roused her when dawn was still a light orange glow on the horizon. She pushed the tent flap aside and made out Lone Star breaking camp.
    “Didn’t mean to wake you, darlin’.”
    “You’re leaving? Already?” Sudden anxiety prickled in her.
    “Sure am. Today’s supposed to be cooler, they say. Still, it’s good to start early in the desert, no matter what the prediction.”
    “Wait.” Grace scrambled out. “I can pack up and go with you. Quick as a caterpillar in heat. Or whatever you’d say.” She wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm in the crisp morning air.
    Lone Star’s face shone with affection. “Just Grace, your coming with me is a sweet thought.” He took gentle hold of her shoulders and turned her around. “But you crawl right back in your bag. You’re staying put today.”
    Her attention focused on his hands as he gently pushed her toward her tent. Warm, firm, comforting hands. A sudden longing enveloped her. She struggled out of his grip. “I don’t need any more rest. I’m fine.”
    “You don’t know how tired you are.”
    “I’m okay. Really.” She jumped up and down. “See?”
    “No arguing.” He again ushered her to the tent and waited until she was tightly wrapped and zippered inside. His thighs appeared at the entrance as he folded his long body until his head was level with his knees.
    “I loved hiking with you yesterday, Just Grace. My heart is saying stay here with you. But I’ve got 2,600 miles to hike before snow lands in Canada. And my law practice isn’t going to