Free Nothing But Trouble by Lisa Mondello Page A

way.”
    “You said it was up to me,” she shot back.
    “To a point.”
    “Oh, come on.  You can’t tell me about the most wonderful place on earth, then not take me there.”
    “We can head out into the mountains, but not there.  The weather can be brutal in the high elevations, freezing temperatures, whitewater streams to cross, thunder and lightning that’ll zip so close your hair will stand on ends.”
    “Are you telling me we're not prepared for to go there?  Even with all this gear?”
    “I’m not going to let you get yourself killed.  That’s tough trailing even for someone who’s experienced.”
    She nodded her head, clearly annoyed as she straightened her spine.  She gave a gentle kick to Dolly's side and pulled up alongside him. 
    “Are you saying you don’t think I can do it?”
    “The thing is I don’t know what you’re capable of handling.  Josh and I used to trail there, but-”
    “You had to do it for the first time once.”  She lifted her chin and pursed her lips.  He hated that he suddenly was focusing on how much he wanted to taste them instead of what she was fitting about.  “I want to head to the plateau tomorrow.”
    He stared at the determined fire in her cinnamon eyes and knew she wasn’t going to back down.  How could he know what she could actually handle unless he let her have a go at it? 
    “Okay,” he said.  “But if it gets too rough, if I think you’re in trouble, we’re heading back.  You hear?  No arguments.”
    She smiled, seemingly satisfied with the arrangement.  “Lead on.  But do you think we can try to find whatever is out there?  I’m dying to see some of the animals in their natural habitat.”
    He drew in a deep breath and tried his best to squash his feelings of longing, but they just kept washing over him until he felt himself grow hard.  He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have Melanie’s luscious legs wrapped tight around his waist as he kissed her...everywhere.  He wasn’t on firm ground with this woman.  Quicksand was more of what he was sinking deep into.
    She may be dying for adventure. 
    He was just dying.
    He cleared his throat.  “If we’re going to head up into the high country, we can’t go after every little rabbit sound in the forest.  I want to set up camp before sundown, so we’d better get moving.”  He heard the harshness in his voice and silently chided himself for it.  It wasn’t Melanie’s fault he was in over his head with lust for the woman. 
    He caught her soft smile fade to bewilderment before he twisted back around in his saddle and dug his heels into Thunder’s side.  The horse kicked into motion, with Chester following.  He could only imagine the daggers Melanie was throwing at his back with her eyes as they rode.  And he knew every one of them was deserved.
    It was a lot easier in the saddle, riding ahead of her through the mountains.  Just the thought of her perched in her saddle, hips rocking back and forth with the sway of the mare carrying her, was enough to give him a heart attack.  If he’d been with Joshua or even alone, he would be able to relax a little more.
    Stoney would have liked to push on for another hour or so before setting up camp.  But he knew that setting up camp would be tiring.  As the sun cast a golden gleam over the mountain tops, painting colors of copper and amber against the wide Wyoming sky, he braved a look back at Melanie.  One look and he saw how her first day was beginning to take toll. 
    She hadn’t complained.  He knew she wouldn’t.  He’d already figured she was much too stubborn for something like that.  She’d push on if it killed her just to prove to him wrong.
    He pulled hard on the Thunder’s reins until both horses came to a halt.  “This is a good spot to camp for the night.”  It was a nice flat spot by the river with plenty of grassy area to picket the horses and let them graze.
    Melanie dismounted and