The Rancher Meets His Match (The Millers of Morgan Valley #4) - Kate Pearce Page 0,68
and there was a lot of illegal hunting and poaching.
“Do you want me to check up on her?” Kaiden offered.
There was a long pause and then Juan finally spoke. “That would be very kind of you. I wish I could go myself, Kaiden, but I can’t, and I don’t want to worry the emergency services if this is just because we can’t connect with each other.”
“I’m in town right now, so I’ll let Nate Turner know what’s going on before I head up there. If you don’t hear from me, then assume all is good. If there is an emergency, I’ll talk to Nate, and you’ll hear from him, okay?”
“Thank you, Kaiden. I really appreciate it.”
“No worries, Mr. Garcia. I’m glad to help.”
Kaiden packed his toolbox in the back of his truck, stopped for gas at Ted Baker’s, and called in at the sheriff ’s office beside the post office.
Nate was already shutting up shop ready to go out on patrol when Kaiden came in the front door. He stopped long enough to approve of Kaiden’s plan, and gave him a radio pack to take with him, which would work anywhere in the valley.
Kaiden took the bulky radio. “Thanks, Nate.”
“You’re welcome. There’s a late storm coming in tonight over the mountains so watch out for that.”
“Will do.” Kaiden walked out into the parking lot behind the sheriff ’s office with Nate. “I’ll keep you in the loop.”
He checked to see that he still had his winter gear stowed in the truck along with a few basic supplies and decided to head out. He’d already texted his mom so she could tell everyone at home where he was. He still wasn’t ready to talk to his dad, and the urgency of his mission gave him the perfect excuse not to go home.
“Coward,” Kaiden chided himself as he turned onto Main Street. “Conflict avoider.”
He checked his phone again, put the map coordinates Juan had given him into the truck navigation system, and hoped to hell the signal would last long enough to get him close enough to Julia in the dark.
* * *
“Damn!”
Julia shivered as her attempt to light the fire in the stone hearth of the cabin failed once again. She got a firmer grip on the lighter and this time managed to create a flame, which immediately flickered out as she tried to set fire to the crunched-up newspaper in the grate.
She sat back on her heels and took a deep breath.
“You can do this, Julia. You were a Girl Scout, remember?”
She finally connected the flame to the kindling and, sheltering it with her hands, managed to coax the small, curling strands of wood she’d stripped to take fire. Five minutes later the smaller twigs started to burn vigorously and she sat back on her butt to monitor further progress. She glanced out of the window noticing how quickly it was getting dark. With a groan, she got to her feet and went back outside, carefully closing the door behind her. She knew her dad usually kept some supplies in the truck. She just hoped he’d replenished them recently.
The sound of an approaching vehicle had her backing out of the interior and turning to face the rutted track. She eased the hunting knife she’d found in the glove box out of the back pocket of her jeans and held it behind her back. With the glare of the headlights directly in her eyes she couldn’t see a thing.
“Hey!”
She blinked away the spots of vivid color behind her eyelids and stepped cautiously to one side.
“Anyone need help around here?”
Her breath tumbled out as she pocketed the knife and practically ran toward Kaiden, who was smiling. His expression changed as he took a good look at her, and he drew her in for a hug.
“It’s okay, hon. We’ve got this. What happened?”
“The rear tire on the truck got a puncture.” Despite her best efforts, Julia’s voice shook.
“I’ll help you change it, then.”
“I might have lived in the city for years, Kaiden Miller, but I still know how to change a tire.” She pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I got the truck jacked up, found the spare, and put it on. Ten minutes later, it was also flat, and I had to come back here.”
She didn’t tell him that it had taken her well over an hour to get the job done and that watching the sun disappearing behind the Sierras had made her as anxious as hell.