“Lucky you, we’re in the Teton Mountains, not the Rockies.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you teasing me? Aren’t they part of the Rockies?”
He grinned, reached up, and swept a branch from her hair. Then his hand trailed along her neck, and she shivered from his warm, delicious touch. “They are, and you’re also really cute.”
“Cute?” She lifted her eyebrows. “That’s all you’ve got for me?”
“Impressive, beautiful, fun, smart, amazing …” His voice was low and husky, and he was leaning closer and closer.
Mar’s breath caught and she arched up toward him. Without her heels on, she was much too short, but Luke didn’t seem to mind.
A long, mournful howl sounded from nearby in the woods.
Mar yelped, jumped, and grabbed Luke’s arm. “What was that?”
Luke’s gaze darted to the trees, but he wasn’t nearly concerned enough. “Coyote.”
“Coyote?” Now she had another animal to add to the list of things to fear. Did coyotes attack? “Let’s get out of here,” she begged, tugging on his arm.
With a smile, Luke walked over and grabbed her bike, lifting it back onto the trail. “The bike looks okay.”
“Oh, good.” She hadn’t even thought about her bike; if it had wrecked, she might’ve had to run home. Luke wouldn’t make her do that, but they might not have had any choice. She climbed on.
“I know you want to get back, but slow down a little so you don’t crash.”
“Okay.”
The coyote howled again—it sounded like a high, quavering cry—and then it emitted some short, high-pitched yips. Mar cried out, then slapped a hand over her mouth. An answering howl came from their other side. “We’re surrounded,” she said, her voice shaky with fear.
“We’ll be okay,” Luke reassured her as he climbed on his bike.
Mar started off down the trail, not quite as fast as before. It was hard to hold herself back from pedaling at maximum leg speed and putting more distance between them and the coyotes and whatever else might be in those woods. She heard another yip behind them, but it sounded farther away, or at least she hoped so. She was shaking and could hardly keep the bike going straight. The sun had vanished into the horizon, and the sky was gradually getting darker. She’d always thought she was a nature lover, but her nature was beaches, landscaped parks, and Muir Woods—all huge tourist attractions with very little risk.
Finally, she broke out of the woods and saw the house up ahead; bright, warm light spilled from the huge windows. She pedaled quickly around to the garage entrance where they’d gotten the bikes earlier. Luke was right behind her. He punched in a code, and the garage door slid open. Mar got off her bike and walked it in on weak, trembling legs. Luke hung the bikes back up on the rack.
“Did I hurt my bike?”
“Nah. Maybe a couple new scratches, but my brothers are crazy on these things. Caleb and Seth have wrecked so many times, I doubt you could do any more damage to the bike.”
“Thanks for the ride.” Her eyes darted back to the still-open garage door. “Can we close that?”
Luke smiled, rested his hand on the small of her back, and escorted her to the door of the house. He pushed a button next to the door, and the garage door slid closed. Mar let out a relieved breath.
“Are you okay?” Luke asked as they walked in through the large mudroom and into the great room.
“Yes. Sorry I am such a wimp about wild creatures.”
“You’re not a wimp. I shouldn’t have teased with you about it. We grew up in these woods, so I don’t think much of hearing coyotes yap or seeing a bear or moose.”
“You’ve actually seen bear and moose?” She shivered. “I don’t know if I’m going to leave the house again.”
Luke’s blue eyes got more serious. “I’m really sorry that I’m scaring you. Most animals won’t attack you if you leave them alone.”
She didn’t know that she believed him. “Are you okay if I don’t go hiking with you?” He’d talked about a hike in the morning before they went to meet with the business owner, the reason he’d come on this trip in the late afternoon.
Luke caught both of her hands in his. “I won’t push you to go, but I think you’d love it. I promise you I’ll protect you if an animal dares come at us.”
Mar looked him over. He was strong and brave, but come on … who could take on a bear?