“You still haven’t told me what you learned from your informant.”
The change in her was startling. Her tone had thawed to conversational, her expression, while not exactly warm, had relaxed somewhat. Swallowing a sigh of relief, Tanner put the SUV into gear and drove forward once more.
“He was seen leaving town two days ago. Apparently he’s heading deep into the wildest section of the mountains. He left on horseback, leading a packhorse, and from the direction he was going, I suspect he’s making his way to the Weminuche Wilderness.”
Brianna frowned. “I vaguely recall having heard of it, but where and what is the Weminuche Wilderness?”
“The Weminuche is one of the largest designated wilderness areas in the country at somewhere around nine and a half thousand acres,” he said, keeping his eyes on the inclining road. “While many tourists hike and bike in it, there are sections that are nearly inaccessible. It seems our man is heading in that direction.”
“Well, if he is on horseback, leading a packhorse, I would think we could catch up to him in this SUV before he can reach one of those sections. Couldn’t we?” She sounded satisfied with her deduction.
Tanner hated having to burst her confidence bubble, yet he had no choice. “No, we can’t, Brianna. Even this vehicle can only go so far into the mountains. Later this afternoon, we’ll stop for the night and go on by horseback in the morning.”
She shot him a puzzled look. “But… How…I mean, where are we going to get horses out here?”
“I have a friend who owns a horse ranch tucked out of the way in a small valley.” He shot her a grin before she had a chance to question him further. “We can spend tonight there.”
By the quick glance he sent her, Tanner could tell by her expression she had questions, lots of questions, likely tripping over one another to see which one she could get out first. Within moments, she appeared to have sorted them out. She shot them out rapid-fire.
“How do you know your friend is there? How can you know we’ll be welcome to spend the night? How can you be sure he’ll have horses for hire? How—?” That’s as far as he let her go.
“I know,” he cut in, “because I know my friend. If he’s not there when we arrive, he’ll be out in the hills somewhere, and we’ll wait until he returns.”
“But—”
Tanner didn’t hesitate to cut her off again. “Brianna, you’ll have to trust me on this. We can’t follow our man in this SUV. It can go a lot of places but not into the roughest terrain in the mountains.”
“I understand that,” she shot back impatiently. “But you just sprang this other person at me out of the blue. Who is he, other than your friend?”
“His name is Hawk,” he began. Apparently she thought it was her turn to interrupt.
“What’s his real name?”
“Hawk.” He slanted a droll look at her. “His last name is McKenna. And, yes, he’s a half-breed.”
“I do not like that expression,” Brianna said in a clipped, stern-teacher tone.
Tanner was hard put not to laugh. “Neither do I, but that’s how Hawk refers to himself. He’s not ashamed of his heritage. Matter of fact, he’s proud to have both Scot and Apache blood in his veins.” Now he laughed aloud, softly, almost as if to himself. “I think you’ll find that Hawk is something else.”
“And what might that something be?”
“Different,” he said after a moment’s silence. “He’s one of a kind.”
“One of a kind of what?” Her tone was clear warning she was getting edgy again.
Tanner shrugged. “One of a kind of man, of human being. I don’t know how to explain it, he just is.”
“Does he live alone?”
“Usually.”
“Tanner…” There was a sharp note of impatience in her voice.
He laughed. “It’s the truth, Brianna. Hawk is usually alone, but now and again he has his sister staying with him. Cat isn’t as proud of her heritage.”
She frowned. “Cat? Hawk and Cat?”
Tanner slid a quick grin at her. “Hawk is just that—Hawk. He’s named after his maternal great-grandfather. Cat is short for Catriona, the Scot and Irish name for Catherine. She’s named after her paternal great-great-grandmother.”
“And she doesn’t like being of mixed racial parentage,” Brianna said, obviously choosing her words with care.
“No, she doesn’t. So every so often she runs away from the world by hiding out with Hawk.”
“Hiding out?” she nearly yelped. “Is he hiding out from the law?”
“No, Brianna, Hawk is not hiding from the law. He’s not a criminal.”
“Well, what is he, then? A hermit? Has he always lived away from society? How old is he?” She once again zapped the questions at him rapid-fire.
He shot the answers back at her in kind. “A man. No. Since he became an adult. I’m not sure—somewhere in his midthirties, I suppose.”
“Odd,” she murmured.
“Why?”
“Don’t you think it’s odd, a man deciding to live away from family, friends…women…at such a young age?”
Tanner shifted another glance at her. “I didn’t say he was a cloistered monk, Brianna. When he’s in the mood for company, he does see his family, friends.” He paused deliberately, as she had. “And he does see women.”
“You know—”
The SUV plowed over a natural speed bump, silencing her except for a startled, “Oh!”
“Sorry,” he said, biting back laughter. “I told you it was rough—and it’s going to get rougher.” He couldn’t hold back a slight grin. “A whole lot rougher.”
She glanced around at the terrain, the narrow shoulders bordering the macadam road, and the thickening forest beyond. She frowned and shifted in her seat. “You said we’d stop at sunset. The sun’s starting to track west now.” She glanced around again. “Tanner…”
“There’s a clearing up ahead,” he said, anticipating her question as well as the need causing her suddenly restless shifting. He swept a hand in an encompassing movement. “We’re in a national park area. Not only is there a clearing, there are restroom facilities.”
Brianna sighed in relief. “I’m glad to hear it.” She smiled. “I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of asking you to stop while I made a dash into the bushes.”
He laughed. “I know what you mean. I’m experiencing the, er, same pressure.”
“Don’t you dare make me laugh, Tanner Wolfe,” she said. “I would rather not embarrass myself, thank you.”
“Well, you’re in luck, Brianna Stewart,” he assured her. “The clearing is just beyond the bend up ahead.”
“Here we are,” he said moments later, pulling the vehicle into a spacious clearing by the side of the road. Along one side of the area, just beyond a posted sign reading Restrooms, was a good-size building. They headed toward it quickly.
Within minutes, they were back on the road. An hour and a half later, Tanner made a quick turn.
“What