Free Love Finds You in Sundance, Wyoming by Miralee Ferrell Page A

didn’t slow the pace of her mount. A surge of reluctant admiration grew in Travis’s chest. What a display of first-class horsemanship. She could ride as well as any man. The thought jarred him.
    Travis turned his attention toward the cattle and removed his own rifle from its scabbard. The dust cloud intensified, and the bawling of the cattle increased. Suddenly, a young calf broke from the melee and streaked across the clearing. A gray, rangy form shot from the dust in long bounds, rapidly closing the distance. The calf’s distraught mother followed, swinging her head back and forth and bellowing at the top of her lungs.
    A loud crack echoed off the nearby hills. The wolf took one final, desperate leap and tumbled to the ground, rolling several times before crumpling. Travis drew back on his reins. But why wasn’t Angel slowing?
    He strained to see through the dusty haze. Angel headed for the middle of four wolves circling two mothers with their babies huddled alongside. The hairs on the back of his neck rose. One of the cows dropped her head and charged a wolf that edged closer, catching his chest with the tip of her horn. The animal yelped and sprang backward. Another beast closed on the empty spot in the circle and crouched low.
    Travis shouted and spurred his horse forward. He’d nearly caught up with Angel now, as she slid her mare to a halt.
    The young woman raised her rifle again. Holding his own weapon at the ready, Travis slowed to a trot and watched Angel’s practiced movements. A series of shots rang out, and two wolves fell. A third yipped as he headed for the nearby trees. The fourth ran close on his heels, her tail tucked as she looked furtively toward the now silent gun.
    Travis drew up alongside Angel, who sat reloading her rifle, a scowl marring her pretty face. “That was some shooting.”
    She raised her chin and stared at him. “I should have had those last two. My gun jammed.” She flipped the chamber closed and shoved the rifle back in its sheath. “I’ll check it when I get back to the ranch.”
    “I could have one of the men—“ Travis nearly bit his tongue at the look she shot him. “I’m sure you’re quite capable.”
    She nudged her horse forward. “We’d best check the herd. Make sure the wolves didn’t injure any of the calves.”
    “Right.” He followed her, suddenly at a loss for words. What was he supposed to do now? Angel had proven her worth as a hunter and horseman, but that didn’t change how he felt. He still didn’t believe she should be riding the range alone. Although she seemed capable of taking care of herself, there were more predators a woman had to worry about than wolves.

Chapter Eight

    Angel drifted around the kitchen, feeling lost for the first time in years. Libby had taken the buggy to town and left instructions for Angel to help herself to whatever she could find for dinner. Shooting, riding, even brandings calves, were all easier than spending time in the kitchen. Of course, she’d fixed meals out on the range, but that was over an open campfire and with vittles the ranch cook supplied.
    She could count on one hand the number of times she’d been alone in a house during a workday. Strange that Travis insisted she take the day off. Maybe he felt he owed her, even though she’d been on the job for only ten days.
    This man was different from her past bosses. Of course, none of them had known she was a woman, so that could account. But Travis seemed gentler, even under his gruff, irritable exterior. She’d noticed the tender way he looked at Libby and how he ruffled James’s hair. He even treated his cowboys with gratitude when they’d done a good job. Appreciation wasn’t something she’d grown accustomed to, but it was nice, even if it meant a day away from the range.
    She stepped into the pantry and surveyed the array of tinned goods, bags of sugar and flour, beans, rice, and other things she couldn’t identify. Where to start? Maybe