Free Chapter1 by Ribbon of Rain

laughed.   “That’s their ‘all’s well on the lake’ cry.   I think it’s beautiful.”
    Jude looked at her as if she were crazy.   “I certainly don’t want to hear their ‘everything isn’t all right’ signal.”
    Kat tilted her head.   “You don’t know much about wood’s lore, do you, Callahan?”
    “Of course not.”  
    Kat chuckled.   He sounded proud of his ignorance.   “What a shame.   Perhaps by the time you leave, you’ll have a clearer understanding of Mother Nature.”
    “Don’t count on it.   It’s too noisy here.   Reminds me of a jungle in some horror movie.”
    “You’re not frightened, are you?”
    “I’m not scared.   I just don’t like it.”
    At a loud bellowing from the woods behind the lodge, Jude jumped out of his chair.   “What the hell is that?”
    “You’re a wuss.   It’s a moose.   Probably a cow calling her calf.”
    Jude leaned on the porch rail and stretched his long muscular legs out in front of him.   “How do you live here?”
    “What?”   She’d been admiring his legs and missed the question.
    “How do you live here?”
    Astonished at the question, she stared at him.   “It’s my home.   I wouldn’t be happy living anywhere else.”   Getting up, she started into the lodge.   “Evenings in the mountains can get chilly.   Let’s go inside.”  
    Kat lit a few candles and placed them on the table.   “Now I’m curious, Callahan.   Why would the Bureau send someone so at odds with the wilderness on this assignment?   There must be at least one agent in
Washington
better qualified for the job.”  
    Jude’s scowl made Kat laugh.   “But I’m glad they sent you because I find you amusing.”
    “Gee, thanks,” Jude mumbled.   “I need to call John Rowe.   I tried my cell earlier, but it’s not picking up a signal.”   He pointed to a small table sitting next to the kitchen counter.   “Is that a phone over there?”
    “It’s a radio phone.”   He gave her a blank look.   “I suppose for you high tech agents, it’s an antique.   You push a button speak and then say ‘over’, release the button, and the person on the other end of line speaks.   Come on, I’ll show you how to use it.”
    Kat picked up the receiver and waited for a dial tone.   She frowned.   The line was dead.   “I haven’t used it since I got back, but it should be working.”   She pulled the unit forward to check the wires in the back.   The sound of metal clanked on the floor.   By her feet were several screws.   “It’s been taken apart.”
    “What?”   Jude leaned over the table.
    “I said—” She turned and found herself wedged tightly between the table and Jude’s hard body.   Kat couldn’t look away from his eyes.   The magnetism between them overwhelmed her.   “It’s broken.”   What in the world was wrong with her?   Standing here behaving like an idiot unable to speak coherently.
    Jude brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.   “So soft,” he murmured.  
    The room became too warm.   Still captivated by his eyes, her fingers gripped the underside of the table to stop herself from touching him.   Pebble hard nipples tried to push their way through her T-shirt.  
    “Do I still amuse you?”   Jude whispered, his gaze wandering over her face before dropping to her breasts.   She lowered her eyes, hoping to hide her confusion.
    Red’s pitiful whine broke the trance.  
    “I—I think he needs to go out,” Kat stuttered.   “I’ll go shut off the generator for the night and take him with me.”   Red wobbled out the door behind her, not fully recovered from the effects of the tranquilizer.
    Once outside, Kat leaned against the side of the lodge and gulped mouthfuls of fresh air.   Her legs trembled.   Jesus.   Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined physical attraction between two people could be this strong–this overpowering.   She’d wanted Jude to pull her down on the