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“Ha, ha. I’m glad you found that funny,” I grumbled, and she doubled over, bellowing even harder.

“You thought… You were… I bet you thought you were going to die. Which isn’t funny, but you slipping…” she giggled and slapped her knee.

“Do you want dinner or not?” I narrowed my gaze at her, and she snapped her mouth closed.

“Yes, I do.” She coughed, choking down a laugh. I fought against the smirk rising on my lips.

“Then knock it off, Goldie.”

“But—”

“No. I will toss this dadgum fish back in that river,” I threatened and raised the large trout that twitched in my hand. I was finding this rather fun and much less embarrassing. “And I didn’t think I was going to die. My shoulder hit the bottom of the river first, and that actually hurt a bit, alright?”

“Awwww, you poor baby. Would a kiss make the boo boo feel better?” she teased.

“If it’s on the lips, you best believe it will.” I winked, and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

“Oh my gosh, I didn’t—That’s not—” she stammered and slapped a hand over her mouth.

Chuckling, I pushed myself upright and grinned as the water trickled a little uncomfortably down my back. My clothes stuck to my body, but at least I’d thought to take my chaps off before coming over here. “It’s fine, Goldie. Now, there’s another good-sized fish up on the bank where I definitely didn’t fall off at.”

She sighed and stood upright. “Good because I came over here to let you know the fire is going.” She offered a hand to help me up as I pushed off from the wet ground. But instead of accepting, I narrowed my eyes teasingly and stood up on my own. Brushing myself off was not going to help, and I frowned but ignored the squishy sound that occurred while we walked back to the other fish.

“How’s Bud?” I asked, stooping down to snatch up the rest of our dinner.

She sighed and pushed some blonde hair behind her ear. “Bud has a gash on his side that is pretty deep. He probably got it when he ran and it ripped through the back cinch. Which, we can obviously take that off and still have a functional saddle—”

“But if you slide your leg back even half an inch it’ll brush over his wound…” My voice trailed off, and she nodded. We wandered around a few trees and emerged in our little makeshift campground.

“Yeah,” she agreed. Flames flickered in a fire pit, stones circling the low-roaring coals that danced along logs itching to erupt in warmth that I craved. Luckily, the chill wasn’t deep nor too bad since it was summer, but there wasn’t much else helping me dry seeing as the sun had already set.

“I applied some of the cream that you have in a bottle that I’m not going to question how you got it, but he needs actual veterinarian care. Probably some stitches, too,” she continued as I slapped the fish down on two large, stone slabs near the fire.

“Tenley being a vet helps in these situations,” I replied and winked.

“So, the ointment isn’t over-the-counter. Just like I thought.” She tossed her hands on her hips as I pulled out the knife hooked to my waistband. One that was there so often, every pair of pants I owned had indentations from that and the gun I carried on my other hip.

“And?” I teased and slapped the blade down on the fish, cutting its head clean off.

“And, who’s the criminal now?” She sat down on part of a log beside me.

“We received the ointment legally as a prescription from a one Doctor Tenley Mayn Duke. So, I’ll have you know, you are, Goldie. You’re still the criminal,” I flirted, and then whacked the tail off the fish.

She didn’t flinch at the sight, nor was she squeamish as I began gutting the fish and cleaning off the scales. “I hate you,” she grumbled and pouted.

A chuckle rumbled from my throat as I prepared the next fish. “To which, you know your reasoning is conflicting.”

“I know,” she added with a heavy sigh. “But don’t ask me to explain it, ’cause even I don’t get it.” The flames of the fire weren’t reaching quite as high into the night sky, but the coals roared hotter than ever as I finished preparing the fish.

“Do we still got some foil left that the sandwiches were wrapped in earlier?” I asked, glancing at Briar.

Her fingers stopped twisting the braid that really wasn’t looking much like a braid anymore. “Actually, yeah, I think so.”

“Mind grabbing some for me? I’ll wrap these babies in there and toss them straight onto the coals,” I answered.

She stood up and darted away. The low glow of the fire combined with the silver stars sparkling overhead outlined her figure. One that, while not as curvy as some girls I’d dated, was delicious all on her own.

Part of me devoured the attitude that she gave me, lapping it up like a puppy to a treat. She held her ground against me, which was such a nice and refreshing change. Briar pushed me out of my comfort zone, got under my skin, and made me lose all control. Control that I was willing to let go for her.