The wolf snored loudly in the back seat as if in perfect agreement. He did seem to want to stay close to her.
She cleared her throat. “So, um, I’ll clean the clubhouse today for pay, and then I can head to Montana if you’ll let me borrow your truck. Or any truck.”
“No.” Trent leaned forward and angled his head toward the fields in front of them.
She stilled. “Excuse me?”
He turned her way, his gaze inscrutable. “I said no.”
Well. “Fine. If you won’t lend me a truck, then I’ll rent something in town.” She had enough cash to do that, probably.
He turned and studied the field on the left, frowning. “I said no. You’re no longer handling Montgomery or sons.” His voice was distracted and tension thickened the air around them.
She nudged him in the arm. “What in the world are you talking about?”
“Ah hell.” He jerked the truck to a stop. “Stay inside.” Without waiting for an answer, he pulled a shotgun from behind his seat and jumped out, firmly shutting the door. Rain beat down on him, and he’d left his hat in the truck.
She released her seat belt and scrambled to the driver’s seat, pressing against the window to take in the darkened morning outside.
Harley jumped up and made a weird growl-bark noise, his nose wet against his window.
Trent leaped over a fence, as graceful as any animal, and landed on the other side with the gun safe in his hand. He turned and made some weird hand gesture before letting out a piercing whistle.
Harley barked twice and dropped to his haunches..
Hallie shook her head and looked over the seat at the prone animal. “Wow. Somebody really did train you at one point, and there’s no way they’d just force you out. You must’ve lost someone, huh? I know how that feels.” For a second, she’d been afraid of being in the locked truck with a wild animal. Now he lay as tame as any house dog, and she could identify with him.
She turned her attention back outside. What was Trent doing? Her eyes scanned the area and found a bunch of cattle and . . . holy moly. A mountain lion. A real one with glinting yellow eyes and powerful muscles beneath its wet coat. It circled a dead cow, fur raised on its back, its gaze on Trent.
Panic gripped her, and she froze in place. Weren’t mountain lions afraid of people? Why didn’t it run? Trent was a dark shadow in an even darker morning, and he moved carefully, lifting his gun and shooting into the air.
The cat snarled, and the sound reverberated across the field and into the truck.
Hallie pressed her hand to her throat, her gaze riveted on the scene. The cat continued to circle, not moving away. Then it bunched its legs and struck, faster than she would’ve thought possible.
Trent twisted, nailing the animal with the butt of the gun and throwing it several feet. It had to weigh about a hundred pounds and was sheer muscle.
Then he pointed the weapon and fired. Once and then again.
She jumped both times, her heart beating so fast and hard that the truck started to spin around her. “Okay. It’s okay,” she whispered, maybe to the wolf and maybe to herself.
Trent faced away from her, a massive man surrounded by the perils of nature. He looked down at the fallen cat, his shoulders hunched. He shook his head.
Then he turned and prowled back to the truck, clearing the fence easily again.
She hurried across to her seat, her heartbeat thundering in her ears.
He opened his door and slid the gun to the back seat before climbing in, bringing rain and the smell of the grassy fields with him.
She didn’t know what to say. Wasn’t sure if she could talk.
He pressed a dial on his phone, and a sleepy voice answered.
“Who is this and why are you calling me so early?” The voice was female and young. Tired-sounding.
Trent sighed. “Hi, Dr. Mills. It’s Trent, and I just shot a mountain lion that tried to attack me.”
Blankets rustled. “Did you try to scare it first?”
“Of course,” Trent said, his face a hard mask of stone. “Darn thing came at me anyway.”
The woman sighed across the line. “I’ll need to check it for rabies, then. Were you scratched or bitten at all?”
“No. Nothing on me, but he took down a couple cows. Probably more. I’ll scout the fields later today and let you know.” Trent gave the location of the