laughed. Cade definitely smelled good. But he was unusual in other ways, too. His dark, gleaming eyes, his gentle frankness as he showed Kristen how to walk properly, his solid good looks. Lyn just hoped she could trust him to do what was best for her child.
“We’ve been too busy and gone way too long without you seeing a doctor,” Lyn said. “Now that we’re settled in, I’ll get you to physical therapy every week.”
“With Dr. Baldwin, that’ll be nice,” Kristen said.
Hmm. Maybe Kristen had a small crush on the attractive doctor.
As they ate dinner that evening, then prepared for bed, Kristen talked nonstop about Cade. Today had been a great start, and Lyn felt an inkling of optimism for the first time since Rob’s death. Perhaps Cade was just what Kristen needed.
* * *
The last thing Lyn expected the following morning was Cade showing up unannounced at her ranger’s office. Looking up from a pile of paperwork stacked on her desk, she found his tall silhouette outlined in the doorway and inhaled a sharp breath. He’d appeared silently out of nowhere, and she wondered how long he’d been watching her work.
“Cade! You startled me.” She glanced behind him, speculating on where Cindy, her office manager, was and how he’d gotten past her without interception.
He gave a lazy shrug. “Sorry. I had an idea and decided to stop by to see if you might be amenable.”
He didn’t smile, but his gentle eyes betrayed his inner feelings. He wanted something. From her.
“You got a minute?” he asked, his thumbs hanging casually through the belt loops of his blue jeans.
She stood and indicated a chair across from her desk. “Sure! Please, sit down.”
He sat, lifting one long leg to cross the booted ankle over his opposite knee. She caught his subtle aroma of spice and leather, and her gaze lowered to the hollow of his throat where a thin, white scar ran along the front of his throat. Almost as though he’d been sliced by a knife.
She swallowed and focused on his face. “So, what did you want to talk about?”
“I’m actually here in an official capacity,” he began. “I’m the wild-horse representative for the Toyakoi Tribe.” He paused as though letting this information sink in.
“I’ve heard of them, but what does Toyakoi stand for?” she asked.
“Mountain peak. We’re a federally recognized Shoshone tribe with our own constitution.”
“I see. And what can I do for you?”
“You said you go into the mountains on Fridays. I was wondering if it might be possible for me to accompany you now and then.”
She hadn’t expected this request. Not at all.
“I don’t have time to go out every Friday.”
He shrugged. “That’s okay. I’d like to accompany you when you do have time.”
“But what about your doctor’s office? Don’t you have to work?” she asked.
“I only work in my office three days a week. The rest of the time I usually do research. For now, I’d like to spend some time with you, checking on the mustangs.”
She tilted her head, an edge of suspicion filling her voice. “You mean you want to spy on me? To see if the big bad forest ranger is plotting the demise of all the wild- horse herds?”
He hesitated, his eyes crinkled with misgivings. “No, I don’t want to spy, but I do want you to show me the problems so I can better understand how to help the wild horses.”
She shook her head and laughed, trying to lighten the tense mood. “All right, I can accept that. But remember, I want to help the mustangs, too, Cade. I really do.”
“I hope that’s true. I’ve been thinking over what you said last week about the wild horses, wildlife and domestic livestock all being equally important. I think we should work together to find some satisfactory resolutions.”
“But last week you weren’t interested in hearing my ideas.”
He gave a lazy shrug. “I’ve reconsidered.”
Hmm. Maybe this could be a good thing. Working together with the Toyakoi Tribe might help alleviate a lot of tension between the horse advocates and the government entities.
“You realize the Bureau of Land Management has jurisdiction over the wild horses, not the Forest Service. I can’t decide anything for the mustangs,” she said.
“Yes, but I also know you have the power to call the BLM in to look at the situation and then get them to consider rounding up the mustangs and move some of them off your ranger district.”
He made a valid point.
“It’s not my ranger district, Cade. I’m merely the overseer here. And I won’t pretend I’m not very close to being forced to call in the BLM now. The horse and burro population grows by about twenty percent each year. Without any natural predators, that means they double in size about every four years. There’s just too many of them, and the damage has become quite serious.”
She didn’t mention the myriad of ranchers she had breathing down her neck, asking her to do something about the problem soon. She’d handle the ranchers the same way she would the Shoshone Tribe. With honesty, professionalism and tact.
He sat back in his cracked leather chair. “Look, Mrs. Warner. All I’m asking is that you involve me in your decisions. I can do a lot to talk about this with the Shoshone people and keep this problem from blowing up into a big hornets’ nest. We might be able to assist with some decisions, if you’ll let us.”
Yes, she was highly aware of that. Maybe a partnership of sorts would be wise. If Cade saw firsthand what she was dealing with in the mountains and valleys, he could take that information back to the wild-horse advocates and gain some support for what must be done.
“Okay, you’re welcome to come along—on one condition,” she said.
“And what’s that?”
“You call me Lyn. I don’t like formality if I can avoid it. I’d like us to be friends.”
He blinked, his eyes glinting with hesitancy. “Okay, I’ll call you Lyn. When is your next trip? What are the plans?”
She noticed his omission of them becoming friends. That was okay. She’d learned long ago that she could work with people she had no fondness for. As long as she maintained her composure and worked professionally, it wouldn’t be a problem. At least not for her.
“I’ll be taking a horse trailer up into the McClellan Mountains on Friday and then riding into Barton’s Canyon to look at the creek there. If you want to tag along, you’ll need to bring your own horse. We can ride together, but plan to stay out all day.”
He flashed her a devastating smile. “Deal. I’ll even pack us a lunch.”
“That’s not necessary. I can bring my own food.”
“I want to do it. I promise you won’t regret it.”
She let the subject drop. What she ate for lunch was the least of her concerns.
They made a few more arrangements, with Lyn planning to drive out to Sunrise Ranch so they could load his horse into her Forest Service trailer. Then they’d drive up onto the mountain and unload the horses. They’d spend the entire day riding across some very rugged terrain together.
Lyn doubted her sanity for agreeing to Cade’s proposal. Being near this man made her jittery for some peculiar reason. She tried to tell herself that working with him would help with resolving the wild-horse problems. But it could backfire on her, too. If he didn’t like what he saw or didn’t believe what she told him, he could make a lot of