He doubted any of them would make it to South Park before nightfall. But it wouldn’t hurt to try, since once they reached a main wagon path, they might be able to find a ride the rest of the way to Fairplay.

As long as the fire didn’t change directions, they’d be fine. The least that could happen was having to camp for the night at a lower elevation. He didn’t want to end up spending the night alone with Ivy. He’d only be asking for trouble if he did so. But he prided himself on being a strong man. And this time, he needed to be extra strong so he could protect the woman he loved from himself.

Chapter
21

“Over here!” Ivy halted and waited for Jericho to catch up. Blackened rocks and embers crunched beneath his boots as he climbed over the rough boulders that made the mountaintop a challenging place to cross. But, of course, Jericho made it seem effortless.

For a second, she let her eyes feast upon him, the surety with each step he took, the proud bearing in his shoulders, and the rounded muscles in his chest and arms that made his suit coat stretch tight. Even coated in dust of ashes and smoke, his handsomeness made her heart patter faster.

Jericho paused on top of a large boulder, his feet spread. He glanced around as though trying to find the object of her fascination. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothin’.” She trailed her gaze over him again. “Just admiring the view. Ain’t I allowed to do that once in a while?”

At the sight of her so blatantly staring, he ducked his head, but not before she caught sight of his crooked grin. “No, Ivy. Admiring the view wasn’t part of the bargain.”

Her chest bubbled up with pleasure. “The only promise I made was that I wouldn’t kiss you. Everything else is fair game.”

“So you intend to make it impossible for me to resist you?”

“Sounds like a real fine idea to me.”

He shook his head, still grinning, and resumed his hiking.

She turned and started forward. She loved being up here with him, hadn’t wanted to leave the cave, would have lingered longer if he hadn’t been pushing to start out. The only thing that had needled her to go was the possibility Hance and Otis had been hurt during the fire, that even now they might be lying unconscious somewhere from the smoke. Or, worse yet, burned.

She blamed herself for bringing them up so high with the danger nearby. Even if she hadn’t known the fire was close and moving so fast, she still should’ve used more caution. Hopefully the fire hadn’t reached them. But if it had, the ravine where she’d left them had been fairly safe, especially with the cave nearby.