Lumberjacked (A Holiday Lumberjack Mountain Man Romance) - K.C. Crowne Page 0,48
leaves, but it was too long ago for us to follow and find something.”
Angela nodded. “This is actually pretty cool.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
“Sink or swim, huh?” she asked, referring to my analogy.
“Exactly.”
As we walked, I explained to her what to look for, how to follow tracks, and how to keep the cabin at our back at all times so we knew how to get home. She was quick to learn, absorbing the information like a sponge.
And holy fuck, if that didn’t give me a raging hard on, I didn’t know what would. She was so fucking hot when she was interested in hearing what I had to say, and eager to learn. I hated when women acted dumb. I hated when they didn’t want to learn. As much as I loved being the one to protect Angela and look after her, I loved an independent woman, someone who could stand on her own two feet. There was nothing more of a turn off than a needy woman.
I heard a twig snap, but it wasn’t me or Angela. It was a little ways through the trees, and I lifted a finger to my lips, indicating for Angela to be quiet. Silently, I crept through the trees, and a moment later, I saw it. A small deer tugged at low hanging leaves, chewing.
I lifted the gun to my shoulder, took a breath, let it out again. The gun was trained on the deer. The deer lifted its head a little higher, hearing something, but I stood downwind so it wouldn’t smell me.
A moment later, on the exhale, I squeezed the trigger. The gun clapped loudly, recoiling in my hand a little, and the deer dropped dead.
“Oh, my God,” Angela cried out behind me, hands clasped over her mouth. “You killed it.”
I stood. “We won’t have to track it down.” I walked to the deer and studied it. It would last us a while.
“Viktor, it’s dead,” she mumbled.
I glanced up at her. Angela had a strange look on her face, a combination of horror and awe. “We can’t eat it alive. Do you have a problem with hunting for food?”
“No,” Angela said carefully. “I’ve just never seen it.”
I stood, ready to hoist the deer onto my shoulder so I could take it to the cabin to be dressed. I would insist she go inside while I dressed the animal; her squeamishness would become full-on sickness if she watched.
“Can you teach me?” she asked.
I blinked at her. “You want me to teach you how to shoot?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Of course.” I was surprised she wanted to. I’d thought she had a serious aversion to guns with how she’d reacted after the shot. “Let’s get back to the cabin, handle the deer, and then I’ll show you on a target.”
“What do you mean handle the deer?”
“I have to dress it,” I answered, holding up a hand before she could ask. “You don’t want to know. While I do that, you can go inside, and I’ll come get you for shooting lessons.”
She frowned, watching as I lifted the deer over my shoulders in a fireman’s hold. I turned to her and said, “Lead the way back.”
Eyes wide, she said, “Me?”
“Yes. Though I don’t want you walking out here alone, if you do, you need to be able to get back.”
Angela nodded and turned to survey the surrounding area. For a brief moment, I thought she’d pick the wrong direction, but she didn’t. I was impressed by the way she told me what she was looking for and how she found the way back.
At the cabin, I hung the deer from a high tree branch and properly dressed it while she was inside. I walked out into the rain when I was finished, noting the rain was coming down harder and the light of day shrinking fast. We still had a bit of time for shooting lessons. I called to her, and she came out a moment later, a spring in her step, and joy filled me again, just like it did every time she appeared.
She’s dangerous, I thought, but I wanted her danger in my life, I realized. How would I let her go when it was time for her to leave?
“We’ll aim for this,” I said, setting up a log a few feet away. I walked back to her and put the gun into her hands, wrapping my arms around her and standing behind her. “Okay, you need to know that this is