Kirby watched him leave and felt a momentary twinge. If not for this swollen ankle, she could have joined him. She had no doubt he was searching the area for any tracks that might have been left by a man on the run.
She tried to imagine what he was thinking. With a dangerous criminal in the area, was he frustrated to find himself stuck with a wounded animal and an injured woman? Without both, he could be safely home. Still, he hadn’t shown any sign of impatience. In fact, he seemed perfectly calm, cool, and content, caring for her and the mustang as though he’d rather be here in the middle of a blizzard than sitting in front of a cozy fire at home.
She pressed the cold container against her swollen ankle and sank back against her bedroll, listening to the wind swirling outside the cave. With her rifle close beside her, she closed her eyes, grateful for the warmth of the fire, and the company of the horses, dozing in opposite corners.
Casey used his knife to cut off a low-hanging branch of an evergreen. For the next hour he walked around an area that encompassed all sides of the cave, searching for any sign of another human. With every step, he used the feathery branch to erase his footprints. No sense broadcasting to a desperate criminal the fact that there were other people out here.
Though he was fully aware of the danger he faced, another part of his mind was on Kirby Regan.
There was something sweet and vulnerable about her that had all his healing instincts on high alert. It was obvious that she didn’t want to show any weakness. But that stoic nature had him all the more intrigued.
Part of her reticence probably came from losing her parents early and learning to depend only on herself. He knew from experience that losing a parent at an early age left plenty of marks on a child’s soul. Fortunately, he and his brothers had one another, as well as a huge support system. And though Kirby’s uncle opened his heart and home to her, she’d probably experienced plenty of times when she’d felt completely alone in the world. And so she had most likely learned to look out for herself.
She might have spent the past few years in a cushy job in the city, but she had the strength of a conditioned athlete. He could tell her ankle was a lot more painful than she let on. He marveled that she could even stand. In truth, he was glad she hadn’t insisted on leaving with Solitaire. Unless she was able to make the entire descent unmolested, she would have been at the mercy of the weather, the animals, and the man the authorities were searching for.
The fact that she’d come here to buy her childhood ranch added another layer of interest. Casey wondered how it would feel to be separated from the ranch that had been in his family for generations. The ranch, and this land, were as much a part of him as the air he breathed and the food he ate. He hoped Kirby got her wish to buy the place. His hand fisted. There were far too many ranches going up for auction. And no way to save them. It was a fact of life across the West.
Beneath the shelter of evergreens, Casey put a hand up to shade his eyes as a police helicopter came roaring overhead. It veered off, only to be followed by a second helicopter. He watched as the two separated, each going in a different direction. Within minutes the sound of their engines faded.
This was proof that the convict was probably still at large.
When Casey was convinced that he hadn’t missed any evidence of another human in the area, he returned to the cave. Instead of going inside, he walked around it, trying to see it from a passing stranger’s point of view. Though it had a natural barrier on three sides, anyone searching for shelter would find it without too much trouble. Kirby had found it, even in the dark. The huge outcropping of rock and the overlarge entrance had been what drew him to use it to shelter two horses. Those were the same things that would lead a man on the run to take notice.
After cutting more evergreen branches, he began draping them over the top of the cave, and positioning some to hang down far enough to mask the entrance. When he was convinced that the cave was perfectly camouflaged, he stepped inside.
Kirby was standing to one side, leaning slightly against the cave for balance, her eyes narrowed on the entrance, her rifle aimed and ready.
Seeing him, she gave a sigh before lowering the weapon.
“Sorry.” Aware that she’d been prepared to fire off a shot, he touched a hand to her arm. “I should have alerted you that it was me out there, and not a stranger.”
“Yeah. That would’ve saved me a lot of worry.” She put a hand to her heart. “I was gearing up for battle.”
“Yeah. I see that. And cool as a cucumber.”
She gave a weak laugh. “You wouldn’t say that if you could feel the way my heart is pounding.”
“If it’s any comfort, I didn’t see any sign of our convict around here. Apparently, neither did the police, since they left as quickly as they arrived.”
“I heard the helicopters. Mind telling me what all that scraping overhead was?”
“Evergreen branches. Just a little camouflage in case anybody happens to come this way.”
She sank down and set the rifle beside her.
Noticing her pallor, he turned. “I’ll get you a blanket.”
“No.” She held up a hand. “If anything, I’m sweating.”
With a dry laugh he sat down beside her and took her hand in his. “Sorry. I never gave a thought to what you must have been thinking with all that moving and scraping right over your head.”
“I won’t bore you with all the things I was thinking.” She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
Casey got to his feet and moved around the cave, adding another log to the fire, and checking the mustang. He noted idly that the animal barely flinched as he examined the leg.
When he began to remove the dressings, Kirby limped across the cave and knelt beside him.
He flicked a quick glance over her. “Need something?”
She shook her head. “I thought I’d hand you whatever you need from your medical bag.”
Surprised and pleased, he smiled. “Thanks. You can grab that tube of salve and fresh dressings.”
She did as he asked and watched as he gently applied fresh ointment to the deep gash before once more wrapping the mustang’s leg. He finished up with his usual dose of antibiotics before closing up the bag.
Then he turned to her. “I suppose we should think about lunch—”
They both looked up as a roar louder than any thundering freight train interrupted him. It began at a distance, then drew closer until it passed directly over the cave.
Kirby’s eyes went wide with fear as the cave was enveloped in darkness. If not for the fire, it would have been as dark as midnight. “What—?”
“Avalanche.” Casey swore. “Probably induced by the warming temperature and low-flying copters.”
Smoke began swirling around the cave, burning their lungs.
Coughing, Casey switched on a battery-powered lantern before grabbing a saddle blanket and quickly smothering the flames. “We’re going to miss the heat of the fire, but not the smoke.” He reached for the longest log in the pile and turned to the mouth of the cave. “With nowhere to go, the smoke in this place would make breathing impossible.”
While Kirby watched, he began poking and prodding the log into the wall of snow that had sealed the entrance to the cave.