Free Robin Lee Hatcher by When Love Blooms

of massive, spiraling horns.
    “It’s a bighorn sheep.” Gavin rode up beside her. “The Sheepeater Indians were named for them because the bighorn are a staple of their diet. Better than mutton. We eat them regular in the summer. They’re easy to hunt except when they climb up that high.”
    His nearness increased her anxiety. What if she fell off this saddle, as he’d warned? That would please him no end.
    But it was silly of her to think it. She’d sat more high-spirited horses than this docile mare. She wasn’t in danger of falling, with or without Gavin Blake’s company. She drew a deep breath as she nudged the mare to the right, putting some space between her horse and his.
    A short while later, the trail led them into the forest, tall pines towering over them, filtering the sunlight. She heard the breathing of the horses and the crunch of their hooves on the carpet of dried needles. Doing his part to break the mountain silence, Joker barked as he raced ahead of them.
    A line from the Psalms came to her, and she spoke it aloud. “Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice.” That’s what it was like, here in this forest. As if the trees themselves were rejoicing in their Creator.
    She would do the same. She would set her thoughts on the Lord rather than the oft-times surly Gavin Blake, and she would be the better for it.

    Gavin hadn’t much knowledge of the Scriptures, but unless he missed his guess, Emily had been quoting from the Bible. Perhaps it had been the soft reverence in her voice that gave it away.
    Dru wanted her daughters raised in a Chris tian home. He supposed that was one reason she was so keen on Miss Harris. Emily shared Dru’s faith, and she would make sure Sabrina and Petula remembered all that their mother had taught them. If she stuck it out. If she lasted long enough. He still wasn’t convinced she would. She was young and inexperienced. Wait until winter set in. Wait until Dru’s health worsened.
    Emily’s horse pulled ahead of his as the trail narrowed. She sat her horse with ease, her body swaying with the horse’s gait, her posture straight and sure. Watching her almost mesmerized him.
    He gave his head a slow shake and forced his gaze in another direction. He had no business letting his thoughts get caught up on that young woman. He had a sick wife and two stepdaughters who would soon be motherless. Those were the people he should be thinking about. In fact, he should turn his horse around and go back to Dru right now.
    The trail spilled out of the forest and into the clearing on the ridge. As soon as they all brought their horses to a halt, Emily looked over her shoulder at Gavin. “It’s spectacular!” She clapped her hands together. “I never imagined it would be so beautiful. No wonder Dru loves to come here.” She faced forward again, taking in the panoramic scene.
    From this vantage point, they had a clear view of the rocky mountain sentinels that surrounded the basin. Through the dense woods below them, they caught glimpses of the crystal-clear lakes that dotted the area, the icy waters fed by melting glaciers, and the Salmon River that wove through the tall, drying grass on the valley floor. The colors of autumn were everywhere. Reds and oranges and yellows were splashed among the forest greens, aspen and birch trees quivering in the breeze.
    “It’s so . . . so untouched,” Emily said, her tone reverent.
    Gavin dismounted and walked to her horse. “Let me help you down. There’s a spot over there where you can see even more.”
    Their eyes met, and he saw the wariness there. Did she think he would drop her? She might, given how coolly he’d treated her from the beginning. At last, she leaned forward and placed her hands on his shoulders, allowing him to lower her to the ground. She was light, yet there was something real and solid about her. Not like Dru, who was wasting away to nothing.
    The breeze