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It was a good thing she enjoyed meeting new people. Lookingpeople in the eye and convincing them to pose brought her back to when she first started photography.

“Thanks for allowing me to take your picture,” she told the cute young couple she’d just finished photographing. “That is the cutest baby I’ve ever seen!”

They walked away smiling, reminding her of why she loved what she did. Sure, when she told people she was a boudoir photographer, she got a funny look. But she helped people, mostly women, realize every single body was sexy. Sexy wasn’t about the outside of a person. Not really.

Sexy was about believing in your own power and appeal. Real sexiness came from the inside. She helped people find that. And she helped people preserve the special moments of their lives. She loved it.

Then a tickle ofknowingshivered through Joy. Her granny would have said it meant someone had walked over her grave, but that wasn’t the case. Her mother would have said she needed a coat, but that wasn’t it, either. Joy knew without a shadow of a doubt someone was watching her.

With so many people milling around, she shouldn't be surprised. Technically, people had looked at her all day long.

But that was before, when all her memories were happy ones. Now, she slept with one eye open and broke out in a sweat whenever she sensed someone's gaze on her. Like she did now.

She scanned the crowd, hoping to spot the person staring at her. However, she was surrounded by strangers. No one seemed to be paying any particular attention to her. The guests here were just part of the landscape, not unlike the grand mountains and the tall pines and spruce.

There went that tickle of awareness again. She was probably paranoid. Then a tap on her shoulder made her jump out of her skin. Spinning around, relief flooded her when a clean-cut man in a white button-down and denim jacket smiled at her.

“I found my girl and our boy,” he said. “Can you take a picture of us now?”

Putting her fears on the back burner, she smiled. “I'd love to. Why don't we go to the wagon over there, and we'll get you posed up.”

The man had a beautiful family, and it didn't take long for her to provide several pictures for them to choose from. She showed the couple the images, and they selected their favorites. After they paid, she emailed them digital copies of their photos, and they left happier than when they’d arrived. Yes, she loved her job.

Then she spotted him, staring right at her. A tall, strong cowboy with a frown on his face. Glancing around, she looked for a place she could go to outside the gathering.

As if hearing her silent wish, Joy spotted the most breathtaking sight she'd ever seen. An adorable bison calf romped and cavorted around the pen, and she knew she’d found her special moment.

Why did they have such a cute calf penned up away from its herd? It didn’t look sick or injured. It was getting older, but she’d be willing to bet it should still be nursing. Where was its mother?

Taking pictures of a creature so happy and carefree was just what the doctor ordered. It would be so much fun, and it would get her away from the cowboy. Trying to appear as nonchalant as possible, Joy wove her way through the crowd.

The slats of the wooden fence were the perfect distance apart for climbing. She made it over in no time. Holding out her hand, she inched closer to the baby bison one tiny step at a time.

In her softest voice, she talked to the cutie. “Hi, there, sweetie. You are a cutie patootie, you know that?” She paused to take a few pictures. He was… oops,shewas as cute as a button. “You are just adorable. I wanted to take a few pictures of you, but with that soft, downy fur, I will have to take a selfie of the two of us, too. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, girl?”

Moving slowly, she waited for the calf to feel comfortable.Then, stepping closer, she focused on getting the best picture possible. She might even leave one for the owner of the ranch to use in their advertising.

After snapping a few pictures, she turned to make her way back out of the pen, only to find herself face to face with the largest bison she’d ever seen in her life. It was all she could do not to scream. How in the heck had something roughly the size of a mountain snuck up on her?

She glared at her newly made baby bison friend. “I thought you said we were alone!”

CHAPTER 2

Chance turned toward the holding pen and nearly lost his mind. Inside the pen, with the largest and most temperamental bull on the entire ranch, stood the stunning photographer. But did she notice the twenty-five-hundred-pound beast plodding up behind her? No, not until it was practically breathing down her neck.

All her focus had been on the orphaned calf housed in the holding pen until they could try to figure out where to place her. The woman treated it like a stray puppy.

Once she noticed the bull, did she run for the fence? Hell, no. She talked to the calf. Then, she placed herself between the calf and Ironside. Did she think she would be able to protect it if the bull decided to charge? Because charging was exactly the kind of thing Ironside would do.

See? Trouble.

After all, nothing said “Friendsgiving” like having a guest trampled by a bull.

Yelling orders to his men to get the bull backin the barn, he raced toward the holding pen, praying he would make it in time to keep her safe.

The fact that she was in the pen with Ironside was bad enough, but his heart nearly stopped when she started to inch closer to the bull. She extended her hand, palm up, as if she were approaching a stray dog rather than a two-thousand-pound, ill-tempered bison.

She was smiling, oblivious to the danger she’d put herself in. When he got his hands on her, she’d be one very sorry trespasser. As he approached the pen, he slowed to a jog, doing his best not to startle the beast.