As he raced along the lakeshore, his cheeks jiggled with every impact of his boots against the ground. He saw a tree limb that had washed up on the bank and bent to grab it, never breaking stride. Erin. She wasn’t a rookie who took her weapon off safety for no reason. She definitely wasn’t a person who would jack a bullet into the chamber unless she intended to fire.

His lungs began to burn. He couldn’t see the ground clearly and tripped on a rock, barely managing to keep his feet. It seemed to him he was running against a headwind. Erin. If something happened to her because he’d gotten into a snit and forgotten about the damned wolves, he would never forgive himself.

As he rounded the last curve to get around the body of water, he was about a hundred yards from the campfire, only he didn’t see Erin or Domino. Where had they gone? Had the wolves come in? Had Domino run from them? Had Erin gone after him to try and protect him? Dear God, please, no. Normally wolves didn’t choose humans as a food source, but Wyatt doubted they would hesitate to go for blood if a woman got between them and their next meal.

When Wyatt reached the fire, he screamed Erin’s name. But even if she had answered, he wouldn’t have been able to hear her. He turned in a circle, yelling with nearly every breath. This was why he’d sworn never to love a woman. If the situation wasn’t just right, he couldn’t protect her, not even from himself.

Just as Wyatt broke into a run to find Erin, Domino came charging up to him. His feet not only left the ground with his barks but cleared the earth by several inches, telling Wyatt the dog was beside himself. Still holding the tree limb, Wyatt whirled in a circle, desperately trying to see Erin, only he couldn’t. Domino lunged at Wyatt’s leg, sinking his teeth into the denim of his jeans. The tug from the dog was language all of its own. Domino was asking Wyatt to follow him.

“Go!” Wyatt yelled. “Find Erin!”

The border collie mix took off like a shot, and Wyatt fell in behind him. It was all he could do to keep up. And as he ran, he knew exactly where Erin had gone. She was protecting the horses. Fear for her lent Wyatt speed he didn’t know he possessed.

When he reached the highline, he saw Erin lying on her belly and facing the forest. She held the butt of the rifle snug against her shoulder. He ran toward her, and she rolled onto her back, throwing up the barrel of the weapon to sight in on him. Then she rolled back onto her stomach and reassumed a firing position. He saw her body jerk and knew she’d pulled the trigger. With a jerk of his gaze, he followed where the weapon was pointed and saw large, gray shapes skulking through the trees.