Page 16 of The Mountain Man's Determined Bride
“Yay Pepper, good boy.” He stood normally as far as she could tell in the darkness; relief flooded through her body. Now she needed to gather some strong sticks and get herself cleaned up and set her leg. Would do her no good to lose much more blood.
“Don’t you laugh Pepper.”As if horses could but knowing mine, I wouldn’t put it past him.“This will definitely be an interesting challenge.” Sliding cautiously but painfully across the wet ground, she gathered three or four solid branches and tossed them into one spot. “Now what do I use to tie them together with?”
* * * *
“Ty are you sure you know where we’re going?”
“Seriously? You have to ask me that? Em and I grew up here Luke, you know that. She has definitely made the trip up this mountain hundreds more times than me but still, my horse could travel alone just as well as hers. Now can you quit yapping like a girl and keep your ears open for any sounds of my sister?”
Luke knew better than to ask such a stupid question but he couldn’t help it, he was trying really hard not to lose it. Things were getting a bit morerealnow that they were actually out on a search and rescue for Morgan. And he definitely blamed himself. If he hadn’t been such an ass to her, she might not have left the cabin so mad.
“I know, I know. I’m kicking myself right now. It’s my fault she took off in such a hurry. If it hadn’t been for your littlegirlfriend,I mighta been able to catch up to her quicker. What the hell do you see in her anyway?”
Tyler pulled on the reigns, stopping so Luke could come up closer to him on the narrow pathway.
“She isnotmygirlfriendalright? There isn’t anything between us as far as I’m concerned and anyway, I didn’t really invite her up to the cabin. She called me and insistedwe, as in her and me head up there because she’d heard my sister was in town and she couldn’twaitto see her. Heck I didn’t even know she was friends with Morgan anymore.”
“I have no clue what’s going on between those two. Last I knew, which was six years ago, they were best friends but Morgan sure wasn’t happy to see her walk in to the cabin today. She was pissed at me too, I think, but I didn’t do anything.”That I know of anyway.
Tyler shook his head and nudged his horse forward. “Who knows, with the way women think these days...we may neverfigure it out. I basically told Margie to do whatever because I had to work and knowing her, she read all kinds of innuendos into that. Enough about her anyway, let’s just focus on finding Morgan alright?”
“Definitely game for that. I’m starting to get a little worried.” Where the hell that came from Luke had no idea. He found himself worrying a lot more about her since she got back to town, almost like she’d never left.
“Well do you at least remember what she was wearing when she left? Did she have her backpack with her? We could always try her on the two-way.”
“Nope, no use trying those. I told you, she was in such a hurry, she stormed out the door and left her saddle bags sitting in the bedroom and the radio was on the table by the couch.” He tried hard to remember what she’d been wearing when they were sitting on the bed together.
“Hell I just don’t remember her clothes.” His brain always went haywire when she was that close to him. He could tell you in a heartbeat what she smelled like or how she tasted and he sure as hell remembered the curves that fit so well with his but what clothes she had on, nope that wasn’t on the top of the list.
“Doesn’t really matter anyway, it’s too dark to distinguish colors. I think maybe we should go to the cabin then set out on the direction she headed. She could have left some signs.”
Ty spurred his horse once they got to the Christmas pines. “We’re almost there now.”
“So Tyler, I saw your truck out at Fin and Kaleb’s farm a while back. I heard Harper’s sister was in town. Did you get to meet her?”
Tyler jerked his head around toward Luke. “Why would you ask me that?”
Luke was surprised. “Just making conversation is all. I just wondered if she was there and if you got to meet her. Last time I was in the post office, Harper told me she’d been visiting and with your truck there, I just assumed. Am I wrong?”
“Oh. No, you’re right. I did get to meet her. She was nice.” He faced forward again.
Nice? That’s it?“So she was justnice, that’s all? You just about bit my head off for asking and all you have to say is she’s nice?”
“Yes that’s all I have to say. Okay, we’re here.” They’d made it to the trees at the edge of the clearing where the cabin became visible.
“Hey wait. Margie’s probably still in there. I don’t want her to know we’re here. Can we just go down the trail Morgan took and not stop at the cabin?” She’d already caused Luke enough trouble tonight. He didn’t need more.
“Oh crap. Yep, I don’t want to see her either. You lead the way, which path did my sister take?”
Chapter Fourteen
“There Pepper, I did it. How does it look?” Morgan finished the makeshift cast for her leg using branches she’d broken down to size and some vines to tie them all to her leg. The hardest part about the process was covering the open wound where the bone stuck out of her skin. She’d ripped off the sleeves from her thermal shirt and wrapped them around that part of her leg to stop the bleeding and cushion the wound a bit.
“It’s not the prettiest I’ve ever seen but it’ll do the trick I suppose.” It still hurt but that was to be expected. She needed medical attention as quickly as she could. Her small first aid kid from the darn saddle bags really would have helped.
“What really would help right now is for Luke to have played the chivalrous role and followed me out the door when I left.” Pepper huffed.
“Yeah I know, wishful thinking. We can’t just sit here and do nothing and wait to freeze to death. I’d scream but I don’t have the energy and this forest is too dense. No one would hear us unless they were right on top of us anyway. Maybe I can find some halfway dry kindling and a couple rocks. We could at least stay warm while I figure out what to do next.”