Free Bridal Falls Ranch Ransom by Jan Hambright Page B

track.
    “Eve.”
    “Huh?”
    “The satchel. Can you bring it over here and hold it open?”
    “Yeah.” Refocused, she stepped close to him and held the bag open, watching him lower the knife slowly in.
    “One more thing.” He squeezed the remains of her sketch pad in half and forced it, bloody smudge side down, into the satchel along with the knife.
    Pushing to his feet, he took the bag from her. “Are you okay? You look flushed.”
    “I’m fine. Let’s ride,” she said as she turned and headed for the trail opening where the horses were tied. “I have to get back to the ranch and redraw the gown while it’s still fresh in my mind.”
    J.P. stared after her, unsure if anything he’d said a minute ago had changed her perspective; he hoped it had. Goose bumps erupted on his arms, making him aware the sun had dipped behind the mountains. The air held a decisive bite. It didn’t help that his clothes were wet and his weapon almost empty.
    Caution worked his nerves. They had to get off the mountain before dusk settled in to obscure their visibility. The shooter could be waiting for them anywhere along the trail.
    J.P. hurried to where Eve had untied their horses and put the satchel of evidence into his saddlebag. “Do you think Devon will come looking for us?” Looping the reins over his horse’s head, he reached out and hung on to Eve’s mare while she shoved her foot into the stirrup and mounted up.
    “We’re three hours overdue.”
    J.P. put his boot in the stirrup and swung aboard. “We’ve got to push these horses if we want to make it home before dark.”
    Eve nodded, then reined her horse onto the trail and trotted away. J.P. took up the rear, scanning the woods for movement as he listened to the steady clip-clop of the horses’ progress.
    Devon Hall knew Eve was in danger. He’d told him as much. With any luck he’d come armed with more than a damn pistol. Still, if Eve had wounded the shooter badly enough, he was probably long gone by now and seeking medical attention somewhere. The possibility could provide them with a clue to his identity. The closest hospital in Cascade would be required by law to report a gunshot wound to the police.
    In the distance the spiking notes of a wolf’s howl raised another round of cold creeps on his arms and across his chest. Tapping his heels against his horse’s flanks, he moved up alongside Eve, determined to come between her and anything they might encounter on the trail.
    “What’s the matter, city boy? Never heard a wolf call?”
    “Something like that.” He was pretty sure she was grinning under her hat. “I can belt out a mean wolf whistle, but I’m more concerned by the prospect of coming face-to-face with a man and his .308.”
    Reaching up, she flipped the veil up onto the brim of her hat and shot him a worried glance. “You think he’s that determined to kill me?”
    “I’m not sure.” They topped out on the peak of the ridge and started their descent along its spine, riding side by side in the gathering dusk.
    “But it seems unlikely he’d shoot you if he wanted you to pay the ransom.”
    “Maybe he was aiming for you.”
    J.P. considered her suggestion. Granted, he would have to be lying on a slab before he ever let anything happen to her. But who knew that? Who knew with him out of the way, Eve would be vulnerable?
    “Who knows I’m here to protect you and find the kidnapper threatening you?” he asked, breaking right with her onto the main trailhead.
    “Edith and my parents who are in Europe for the next month.”
    “What about the friend who referred you to me, Tina Davis?”
    “I didn’t give her any details.”
    “That leaves Devon Hall who knows you’re in some sort of danger.”
    “Well, someone else has to know. I’d trust Edith and my folks with my secrets, and I have.”
    The trail turned hard to the left, but Eve reined in her horse. “Whoa. Do you hear that?”
    “What?” J.P. pulled back on the reins and