'Yes, I can use a gun,' Harrison assured him. 'If it will make you feel better, I'll carry two.'
'Strap a rifle behind the saddle as well,' Adam suggested. 'We've had only one bad run-in with a bear in all the time we've lived here, but this time of year they're roaming for food. You might take one by surprise.'
'I'll be prepared for any eventuality.'
'Mary Rose can hold her own, of course. I wouldn't want you to get the notion she wasn't educated. Cole taught her how to shoot to kill. Thank God, she hasn't had to use her expertise.'
'We should get going,' Harrison said then.
'Just a minute more, please,' Adam requested. 'I'm going to be blunt instead of dancing around the issue,' he said. 'Mary Rose is attracted to you, and from the way you look at her during suppers, I have to assume the attraction is mutual. I expect you to behave as a gentleman. I realize I'm insulting you, but Mary Rose is more important than your feelings right now. Do I have your word?'
Harrison wasn't offended. Adam was acting like a loving brother. Harrison wouldn't have expected less.
'You have my word. I'll keep Mary Rose safe, or die trying, Adam, and I will assuredly protect her honor.'
Adam shook his hand and then walked with him to the front door. 'I wish she'd wait until tomorrow, but she's stubborn, Harrison.'
'I noticed.'
Adam smiled. 'Yes, of course you noticed. I'll be curious to get your take on this Corrie woman. Mary Rose tends to see only the good. Watch out for her when she's talking to her new friend. I don't like the idea of a rifle being pointed at my sister all the while she's talking.'
Eleanor stood up when the two men walked out onto the porch. She nodded to Harrison and turned her attention to Adam.
'Are you letting her go, Adam? It looks like rain. She'll ruin her clothes if she rides off into a thunderstorm. I do wish you'd tell her she has to stay home.'
'Where is Mary Rose?'
'She's in the barn,' Eleanor answered.
'Why don't you come inside with me. You can keep me company while I prepare supper.'
Eleanor looked thankful for company. She eagerly nodded and followed Adam inside.
It took Harrison and Mary Rose two hours to reach the secluded cabin tucked up high on the ridge. The climb was slow, for the trail was broken in spots and nonexistent in other sections they needed to cross.
The time passed all too quickly for Harrison. The landscape held him in constant awe. It kept changing with every turn he made, as did the colors and the aromas, and it required his full concentration to keep his eye on Mary Rose too. His gaze wanted to linger on the cascading waterfall to the right of the zigzag path and the rolling hills on the left, thick with heavily scented pines, with clusters of small meadows tucked in between. Wildlife was plentiful in the area. The animals had come down from the higher peaks to shed their winter coats and feed on berries and sweet spring grass. There were deer and elk, mule bucks and red squirrels as thick as cottontails. A whitetail fawn, more curious than afraid, didn't move at all when they passed within inches of the animal. If Harrison had reached out, he was certain, he could have touched her brown, velvety nose.
Mary Rose became his eager guide in the wonderland. She gave names to all the wildflowers he'd never seen before and pointed out several plants the locals used to cure their aches and pains. When the trail was wide enough to accommodate both horses, they rode side by side. She stopped several times to point out animals and views she thought would interest him.
Her love for the land became more evident the higher they climbed. She pointed to a cow moose and calf feeding near a spring and whispered her opinion that they were simply adorable.
She stopped once again near the top of the ridge and motioned to the hill below.
'Brown bears,' she whispered. 'On the left of the stream. Do you see them, Harrison? One's just going in the water. If there were enough time, I would insist we watch them fish. They're much better at it than we are.'
'How do you know they aren't grizzly bears?'
If she thought his question was foolish, she didn't let him know it. 'A grizzly has a distinctive hump behind his head,' she explained. 'We don't see too many around here. Don't be disappointed. They can be troublesome.'
'I read that some men who live in the mountains like to hunt the grizzly.'
She rolled her eyes heavenward. 'I'll bet you read that in a dime novel, didn't you? Those stories are all made up. Men hunting grizzly bears? Only very foolish men perhaps,' she allowed.
The tiny frown that creased her brow as she gave the earnest explanation and the enthusiastic tone of voice as she instructed him made him smile.
He suddenly realized he was as much in awe of her as he was of the land.
'Why are you smiling? Don't you believe me?' she asked.
'I believe you. I'm smiling because you make me happy.'
She was inordinately pleased with his compliment. 'Thank you,' she said.
'Mary Rose?'
'Yes?'
'Why are we whispering?'
The look of surprise on her face told him she hadn't realized they had been whispering. She laughed with delight.
'Adam and I used to whisper whenever we were up here. I was much younger then, and he tended to let me have my way.'
'But why did you want to whisper?' he asked.
'You'll laugh,' she predicted.
He assured her he wouldn't. Then he had to promise. She made him.
'I whispered because I thought I was in God's backyard.'
'You what?'
'You haven't been around many children, have you, Harrison?'
'No, I suppose I haven't. You really thought you were in…'
'Yes, I did,' she interrupted. 'It seemed appropriate to whisper to show my respect.'
'And now that you're all grown up? What do you think now?'
She decided to be completely honest with him. 'That I'm still in God's backyard.'
He burst into laughter. She had to wait for him to quiet down before she spoke again. 'I like it when you laugh, even though you promised you wouldn't. Whenever you smile, which is a rare occurrence indeed, the worry lines at the corners of your eyes crinkle up. It's very appealing. You do worry too much.'
'I do?' He was actually surprised by her opinion. He couldn't imagine anyone worrying too much. The notion seemed foreign to him. When a man worried, he stayed on edge, always ready, always prepared for any eventuality.
'Oh, yes, you worry too much.'
She softened her criticism by smiling at him. He immediately smiled back. And still they lingered. Neither one of them wanted to move. The moment suddenly became filled with promise. A new intimacy flowed between them, in this peaceful interlude when the outside world couldn't invade. Just now she belonged only to him. He didn't have to share her with anyone.
A clap of thunder sounded in the distance, but Harrison ignored the warning. So did Mary Rose. She was fully occupied staring at him. He was just as content to stare at her.
A twig snapped behind them. Harrison reacted with lightning speed. He turned in the saddle, his gun drawn and cocked, and waited for the next sound. A rabbit raced across the trail then, and Harrison put his gun away.
Mary Rose watched him in astonishment. She hadn't ever seen anyone move that fast, except Cole, of course, but brothers didn't count, and she couldn't help but worry about where and why he had developed the skill. Or was it instinct?
He was making her nervous again. There was definitely more than one layer to the man, and she didn't know how she felt about that.
'Now you're frowning. What's wrong?' he asked.
'The way you moved just now. That's what's wrong. You're used to being on your guard, aren't you?'
