behind us?”
“This is the first time I’ve noticed him,” Everly said. “I glanced back to look for bears but that was a while ago.”
“Maybe he’s a park ranger.”
“Or a serial killer following two idiot women from Nashville and he’s going to drag us back to his lair and turn us into human stew.”
“Eww.” I cringed. “Thanks for the visual.”
“Sorry. I’ve been watching a lot of Criminal Minds.”
The man approached quickly, his long legs eating up the distance between us. His thighs bulged beneath his faded jeans with every stride. If he’d hiked the past seventeen miles at that speed, it was no wonder we hadn’t noticed him behind us.
He wore a backpack like ours, but the straps seemed tiny on his broad shoulders, and they stretched the navy cotton of his T-shirt tight across his muscled chest and flat stomach. The baseball cap on his head shaded his eyes from view, though even from a distance, you could see the strong line of his jaw and the straight bridge of his nose.
Neither Everly nor I spoke as we watched the man get closer, his features becoming clearer with every step.
Everly clutched her can of spray in a fist as he lifted an arm to wave.
I fought to keep my mouth from falling open at this unexpected and devastatingly handsome surprise.
Everly jammed her elbow into my side, forcing me to close my gaping mouth. “You’re drooling. Potential murderer, remember?”
I blinked, dropping my eyes to my feet for a long moment as I composed myself. When I lifted my chin, the guy was standing before us.
“Ladies.” He kept his voice low as he looked over our heads. “Roadblock, huh?”
“Yeah.” I sighed. “And they aren’t moving any time soon. We were just going to hustle back to the trailhead.”
“Seventeen miles?” He shook his head. “No offense, but you’ll never make it before dark. And this is not the place you want to be after nightfall.”
Everly and I shared a look. She shook her head, knowing what I was about to say.
I said it anyway.
“Any chance we can tag along with you until the end of the trail?”
“Not a problem.” He nodded, his gravelly voice sending a zing down my spine, before he took a step into the tall grass.
“But the trail . . .” I pointed to the narrow dirt path.
“That’s not the hiking trail. That’s a bison path. They knock down trail markers a lot.” He lifted a hand and pointed toward the mountains in the distance. “The trail is over there. But you two looked lost so . . .”
He’d come to rescue us.
Which meant the reason we were standing in the middle of a bison herd was because they’d lured us to them.
Sadistic creatures, buffalo.
“Come on.” He jerked his chin and took another step. “I won’t get you lost. Promise.”
“Sir,” Everly held up a hand, stopping him. “I really hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but how do we know you’re not leading us to your serial killer hideaway?”
A slow grin spread across his face, and he shrugged off his pack, setting it down and dropping to a knee as he unzipped the front pocket.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Everly aimed her bear spray at his face.
“Easy.” He held up his hands. “I’m a cop. I was going to show you my badge.”
Everly’s eyes narrowed. We really needed to find her another show to binge on Netflix.
“She’s just a little on edge.” I placed my hand on her wrist, pushing her arm down as I gave her a scowl. “Nature stresses us out.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Yet you’re in the middle of Yellowstone National Park.”
“We all make mistakes, Officer.”
He chuckled, flashing me a smile of straight, white teeth before he rifled through his backpack.
I fanned my face.
“Seriously,” Everly mouthed.
“What?” I mouthed back.
She rolled her eyes.
In a different setting, Everly would be shoving me into this guy’s arms. He was exactly my type, tall and built with an unpolished and rugged edge that had always been my weakness.
He stood and handed me a wallet, opening the front flap to reveal a gleaming silver and gold badge. “Sheriff Duke Evans.”
Sweet lord, I nearly swooned.
He had a great name.
I’d always been a sucker for a great name.
Everly hovered over my shoulder, studying the badge. When she deemed it real, she relaxed and holstered her spray.
“What’s your name?” Duke asked, taking the badge and putting it away.
“L—Jade.”
“Lajade?”
“No, sorry.” I blushed. One gorgeous man saving my life, and my tongue felt twelve sizes too big