“I don’t think that’s going to work.”
I looked back over my shoulder at her. “If you have a better idea I’m all ears.”
She shrugged. My attention shifted back to Tuck. If a dog could laugh that’s exactly what he was doing.
Cold, wet, hungry, tired, and increasingly irritated, I still couldn’t stop myself from smiling at the goofy mutt.
Then all bets were off.
He gave a few more eager wags of his tail then took off in the direction of home.
Wren was laughing and running through the muck behind me.
Tuck was an older dog so he should run out of steam.
Again I was wrong.
He would slow down and we’d start to catch up, but then he’d look over his shoulder and pick up speed again.
“Damn it, Tuck,” my voice took on a growl. The dog was too stubborn to listen. At this rate he was the one bringing us home,not the other way around.
We reached a slightly lower section where the ground was thicker with mud and slowed to a walk. It wasn’t worth breaking an ankle to catch a dog who didn’t seem to actually be lost.
Wren slowed behind me, still giggling a little.
“He had better survival instincts than we did.”
I nodded. “I don’t think he needs our help.”
Instead of chasing him, we walked behind him, watching his fuzzy tail sway back and forth until the woods began to thin. Eventually we reached the driveway and the clearing around Kara and Grant’s cabin.
By now my luck being what it was, the rain had stopped entirely and it was once again a beautiful summer day.
A group of people sat around the clearing, beers in hand, the smell of steak in the air.
Part of me wanted to throttle my cousin.
Then again it was Wren and I who fought, ruined the map and possibly overreacted to the thunder given our job experience.
“There you two are. Thought you’d be back first,” Kara said.
“We were just having too much fun exploring I guess.”
“Then we ran into your stubborn pup,” Wren added.
Tuck, unlike on the trail, was now sitting between us as if we were best friends. Kara’s eyes pingponged between the two of us. “The search and rescue officer and the wildfire fighter were the last to finish the simple navigation exercise.” She flashed a significant look at Grant and he rolled his eyes.
My neck heated and I rubbed at it like it might push the feelings that were growing. “I’d better get some dry clothes on,” I muttered before retreating to my car, away from Kara’s too-perceptive gaze.
Chapter Seven
Wren
Ididn’t realize how closely I was watching Jasper walk away until Kara snapped her fingers beside my face. I startled, then glanced at her. She had a grin on her face that was definitely trouble.
“Want to share why you were staring after my cousin,” she teased.
“Just zoned out for a second.” Yeah right.
