* * * *
“Everybody’s mounted and ready,” Sam said. He swung up into the saddle of a sorrel quarter horse with a thick chest and bowed neck and turned to give her a last reassuring glance. “You have any kind of problem, don’t be afraid to let me know, okay?”
Libby nodded. “Okay.”
“Let’s go.”
They set off single file, with the Dunbar family on the trail behind Libby, Caleb looking nearly as comfortable in the saddle as Sam. The perky black horse Caleb rode had plenty of energy, dancing from side to side and tossing his pretty head. Jordy and Suzy followed, grinning from ear to ear, Jenny smiling as she rode behind them.
Betty on Biscuit and Alice on Red were clearly enthralled. Kim and Brad Hillman mostly grinned at each other, barely noticing the spectacular scenery. Max and Vince rode in silence. They didn’t look particularly happy to be there, but maybe their attitude would improve once they reached the lake.
Big John led the pack string, three mules plodding along in a line tied together with a length of rope. The riders made their way along the main ranch road, then turned onto a trail across one of the pastures. Clusters of curious Black Angus watched them; then Sam dismounted and opened a gate, and they headed up into the hills.
Libby shifted in the saddle, but it didn’t take long to get familiar with the roll and sway of the horse, and she found herself relaxing. It was hard to admit, but she was glad she had come. If she didn’t have to look at the broad shoulders and narrow hips of the man in front of her, the dark gold hair that curled over his collar beneath the brim of his hat, she might have thought the day was perfect.
By lunchtime, she wasn’t so sure. Her legs and bottom were aching, and sweat trickled down the back of her neck. She was working up the courage to swing down from the horse when she felt Sam’s big hands wrap around her waist and lift her down to the ground.
Pain traveled up her thighs, and Libby inwardly groaned. Sam smiled, and she wanted to hit him.
“You’ll get used to it,” he said. “If you walk around a little, your muscles will loosen and some of the stiffness will ease.”
He walked off to help Betty and Alice, but they had been riding in the arena next to the barn every day. Libby had been sure she could talk Sam into letting her stay back at the ranch. Now she was paying the price.
Eventually, the ache in her legs and behind began to fade. She took one of the sack lunches and sat down on a log next to Jenny, a cool breeze ruffling Jenny’s light brown hair.
“Where are the kids?” Libby asked.
“Caleb took them for a walk. The two weeks we spend up here is like heaven for him.” She sighed. “If he hadn’t married me, his life would have been completely different. Sometimes I feel bad about that.”
“Caleb loves you and the kids. You can see it every time he looks at you. Maybe someday you’ll find a way to give him his dream, and both of you will be happy.”
Jenny smiled. “We’re saving for a weekend home in the mountains. We’ve almost got enough.”
“That’s wonderful.”
They chatted as they each ate one of the thick ham-and-Swiss sandwiches Clara had packed, along with an apple, a carton of orange juice, and a chocolate granola bar.
Sam walked up when they’d finished. “If you need to make a pit stop, there’s an outhouse on the other side of the clearing. I’ll see you back here in fifteen minutes.”
“We better go,” Jenny said, rising. “We might not get another chance till we get to camp.”
Libby reluctantly followed, thinking how much easier it was for men out here in the middle of nowhere. She and Jenny joined the other women in front of the wooden outhouse door. When her turn came, she held her breath and fought down her gag reflex.
“Not exactly the Ritz,” she grumbled as she walked back outside.
Next in line, Betty laughed and disappeared into the wooden shed.
As she started back toward the horses, Libby spotted Vince on the other side of the clearing. He was looking over his shoulder at her as he urinated in the grass behind a tree. He turned so she could see that his fly was open, his dick in his hand.
Heat rushed into her face. Libby turned away and kept walking. She thought about telling Sam. He’d be furious, she was sure, but if Sam confronted Vince, anything could happen, and she didn’t want to ruin the trip for everyone else.
Besides, she’d known Vince was a dick. Seeing it just proved the point. She grinned. In her line of work, men often made fools of themselves. No way was she letting an asshat like Vince Nolan get to her.
Besides, she wasn’t really afraid of him. Uncle Marty had insisted she take a self-defense class in Manhattan. She wasn’t particularly good at it, but she’d passed the course. If Vince pressed her again, maybe she’d get a chance to use what she had learned.
She smiled at the slim possibility the moves she’d learned would actually work.
Making her way back to the horses, she pulled out the half of an apple she had saved for Sunshine, held her hand out flat, and let the horse pick it up.
Sunshine chewed the treat and gave a soft whiffle of thanks. Libby swung up in the saddle, ignoring a twinge of pain. She ached in places that had never ached before, and once they got to camp, there would be chores.
And it was only day one. Libby groaned as Sam settled into the saddle of the big sorrel in front of her, and they headed up the trail. She wanted to curse Uncle Marty.
Then they reached a turn in the trail, and she looked down at the lush green valley below and the tiny speck that was the ranch house and found herself smiling instead.
Chapter Nine
Night had settled in. The steaks Sam had grilled on an iron grate over the cooking fire had been a big success.
Bridger Camp was a permanent fixture in a clearing just above Wolf Lake. Besides the cooking fire, there was a portable stove that had been packed in earlier and assembled.
The tents had also been set up days ago, each furnished with a pair of cots. There was an outhouse in the forest not far away and a solar shower that could be filled with water from the lake.
The most popular spot was the fire pit, where the flames were currently blazing into the clear night sky. It was surrounded by a circle of logs that made the perfect spot for everyone to gather after the meal.
Sam smiled. As campsites went, it definitely wasn’t five-star, but it wasn’t completely primitive either.
Big John and Caleb had unpacked the mules and tended the horses; then Big John had wandered off somewhere, as he liked to do.
The honeymooners had taken a blanket and disappeared into the forest with a word of caution not to wander too far away. With their dad’s help, Jordy and Suzy were shaving branches off sticks for marshmallow roasting. Vince and Max sat drinking beer on one side of the fire pit, with Betty, Alice, Jenny, and Libby on the other.