Free To Find You Again by Maureen McKade Page A

and her clothes limp from moisture, Emma should've looked like a drowned rat. However, the rain made her long skirt cling to the curve of her legs, and her jacket hugged the fullness of her breasts. Her wrath only made her more breathtaking.
    Clearing his throat and mind, Ridge concentrated on the task at hand. He retrieved the pieces of rope he'd brought with him and approached her warily. Her narrowed gaze followed him and he was reminded of a trapped animal.
    "Sit down, but keep your hands on your head," he ordered.
    Emma remained mute as she lowered herself to the ground. Without the use of her hands, she plopped clumsily onto the wet, unforgiving ground.
    "Now roll over onto your belly and put your hands behind you," he said.
    Her mouth fell open with indignation.
    "Just do it, ma'am," Ridge said before she could speak. After his lousy day, he wasn't up to any verbal sparring.
    Pressing her lips together, Emma laid flat on the ground. After a moment's hesitation, she placed her hands at the small of her back.
    Ridge closed in behind her and squatted down. "Easy, ma'am. I'm not going to hurt you unless you force me to."
    She lifted her head and glared at him over her shoulder. "But only a flesh wound."
    Ridge smiled, knowing full well she could see him. "That's right, ma'am."
    Despite his injured arm, he made quick work of tying her wrists. He could feel the tension in her shoulders and arms, and wished he didn't have to resort to old bounty-hunting methods. But she'd already proven herself untrustworthy, and he couldn't chance losing her again. Her return meant a prized bull and the beginning of a cattle herd.
    He shifted around to straddle her hips and grasped her ankles, pulling them upward like he was tying a calf. She twisted like an eel, trying to dislodge him or make him lose his grip on her.
    "Damn it, woman, stop fighting or I'm gonna hurt you," he warned.
    Emma struggled even more.
    Ridge leaned back, placing more of his weight on her hips, and wrapped his good arm around her calves. Her dress draped down to reveal heavy stockings with black lace-up boots beneath the single petticoat. The boots weren't made for hard riding, and the kid leather was almost worn through where the stirrups had rubbed. He suspected she had her share of blisters, too, but also figured she'd chew glass before admitting it.
    Because of his injured arm and her resistance, it took longer to truss her. Once done, he released her legs and pushed himself upright, barely containing a groan. "I'm going to get my horse and bring him on into the camp."
    "You can't leave me like this." Emma rolled onto her side to stare up at him accusingly.
    "Yes, ma'am, I can. I'm tired, sore, and hungry, and I don't want to have to be watching out for your tricks."
    "Fine." Her tone said just the opposite.
    Ridge adjusted his hat. Every fiber in his body rebelled against leaving a woman tied up and on the wet ground, but she'd brought the situation on herself. If she'd agreed to go back with him without any fuss, they could be sharing a meal instead of acting like two cats fighting over the same piece of dirt.
    He spun around and strode off to retrieve Paint. Returning five minutes later, he noticed the woman had managed to wriggle over to a tree and sat crookedly against the bole. Her clothes were smudged with dirt and mud, as was her face.
    "That doesn't look too comfortable," he commented, working the saddle's girth loose.
    "It's better than lying facedown in the mud," she retorted, her grimy chin out-thrust.
    Ridge laid the saddle on a rock. "You do look a mite dirty there, ma'am."
    If her eyes could shoot bullets, he'd be six feet under. He turned his attention to removing Paint's bridle. "What's so dang important about finding them?"
    Emma remained mute. Ridge figured he'd have an easier time coaxing a rattler off a warm rock than getting Emma to talk. Not that it mattered to him why she wanted to go gallivanting around the country looking for people who