Danger at the Border. Terri Reed

and would only end in heartache wasn’t on his agenda.

      Despite how self-reliant and independent Tessa was, she struck him as the type of woman who wanted a happily-ever-after. He didn’t believe such a thing existed.

      Despite his parents’ long marriage, he couldn’t say they were happy. But then he’d never asked them if they were.

      Frowning as he turned the thought over in his head, he settled into a semicomfortable position with his back propped against the stump, his hand on the butt of his holstered weapon.

      Not ready to commit to approaching his parents with the question of their happiness, he tucked all thoughts of his family away.

      Getting to safety and putting a stop to the water pollutant were his priorities. Until he knew this situation wasn’t going to turn into an international crisis, he had to bring on his A-game. That meant staying alert and ignoring his attraction to the woman beside him or thoughts of marriage or family or happily-ever-afters.

      The sound of Tessa’s jacket scraping along the tree roots as she moved to a more comfortable position brought his attention to the moment. She was a trouper, that was for sure. Not one complaint about being cold or tired or uncomfortable. His respect for her continued to grow.

      She shifted again. Her head came to rest against his biceps.

      His blood pressure spiked. He gritted his teeth. Not for the life of him would he shake her off.

      She jerked upright. “Sorry.”

      “Don’t be. You’re welcome to use my shoulder as a pillow.”

      “No, we should stay awake.”

      “Don’t worry. I’m sure Ranger Harris and the sheriff have a search party out looking for us. We’ll make it back to civilization long before we starve or freeze to death.”

      “I’ll hold you to that.” There was a smile in her voice.

      Though her face was shadowed, there was enough ambient light for him to see the fatigue around her eyes and in the tightness of her shoulders.

      “Tell me about Seattle,” she said, her voice low. “I hear it rains all the time.”

      He laughed. “That’s just something we tell people so they don’t move there.”

      “What? It’s not true?”

      “No,” he admitted. “But neither is Seattle the wettest city in the U.S. The Southeast gets more rain than the Pacific Northwest.”

      “Really? That seems odd.”

      He explained about a study he’d recently read. They debated the finer points of living where it rained versus snowed like where she resided in Utah.

      “We get some snow where I live in Blaine,” he commented. “Though it makes a mess of the traffic going in and out of the country when it happens.”

      “I can imagine.” She yawned. He let the silence envelop them. He hoped she’d rest. Slowly, his senses adjusted to the nocturnal sounds, keenly in tune to the world around them, on the alert for any threat, both the two-legged kind and the four-legged kind.

      * * *

      “Tessa.” Jeff’s voice forced her eyes open.

      She shook off sleep to listen to the high-pitched whistles of marmots, several of them if the racket they were making was any indication. Underscoring the squirrellike creatures’ calls was the drumming of a nearby grouse, a chickenlike bird that inhabited the subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere. The rapping of a woodpecker added to the cacophony.

      The first fingers of dawn crept through the tree branches, stinging her retinas and stirring her guilt. She’d fallen asleep, left Jeff to keep watch. “I’m so sorry!”

      “No worries,” his deep voice rumbled.

      Slowly, her gaze shifted to where he stood, tall and intimidating with his hand outstretched. His uniform was dirty and disheveled, but nothing could take away from his rugged good looks. Her eyes met his stunning blue ones. Eyes she could get lost in. Her heart picked up speed, setting off an alarm bell inside her head.