Page 24 of Ranger Devotion

“Pretty sure my pride was left back in the cabin.” His mouth quirked. “But you went to so much trouble to save me, I guess it’s rude to kick the bucket now.”

“You got that right.” Her scowl softened into a gorgeous smile. Suddenly, Tate was breathless for a completely different reason. Gratitude filled him. He shouldn’t have been surprised by her bravery. Annie had always done what was right, no matter the cost to herself. Still…after everything he’d put her through… His throat tightened. “Thank you.”

“Keep your thanks. I owed you one.”

“Ah. So that’s why you recklessly ran into a burning cabin.” Her face was a hair’s breadth away from his. Tate’s gaze held hers, and his heart stuttered at the look in those emerald eyes. “To repay a debt.”

“Absolutely.” But the word came out in a whisper, her breath caressing his lips.

Neither of them moved, both caught in a gravitational pull that refused to let go. Logically, Tate knew he should back away. Their friendship wasn’t on stable ground, and he needed to prove his trustworthiness.

Then she closed the distance between them, taking the decision out of his hands. Her mouth, soft and sweet, brushed against his. Every thought in his head scattered. Using his uninjured hand, he cupped her face tenderly. Her skin was chilled from the rain, impossibly soft beneath his calloused fingers, and she leaned into his palm as if she’d done it a thousand times. Like she’d been waiting to.

Twenty years. Twenty years of wondering, of regret, of imagining the road not taken. The reality of her undid every version he’d ever dreamed up. The kiss was gentle. Unhurried. A question and its answer in the same breath. She tasted of smoke and rain, and emotions he’d locked away came loose all at once.

He cared for her. Maybe even loved her.

And he’d never stopped.

Annie broke the kiss first. Her eyes flew open, and Tate watched the exact moment reality caught up with her—the softness fracturing into something like panic.

“That was—” Her voice cracked. “I shouldn’t have.”

“Annie.” It hurt to see the regret in her expression.

But she was already turning toward the lodge. “We need to get you inside. You’re bleeding and freezing and—” She dragged in a breath, squared her shoulders, and when she faced him again, her expression was shuttered. “Lean on me.”

He did as she ordered, flattening his lips to keep all the words he wanted to say inside. She wouldn’t hear his assurances. Wouldn’t believe them.

And that was his fault.

The side door to the main lodge banged open before they reached it. Brooke stood in the doorway, her expression filled with concern. “I heard about the fire on the radio. Thank God you’re both okay.” She ushered them into the warmth. “I radioed Evan. He was on the far side of the property, still searching for Caleb. He’s heading back now, but I’ll tell him to double-time it.”

“Good.” Annie pushed open the door off the hallway. “Tate needs medical attention.”

“We both do,” Tate corrected. Evan was a paramedic, something Tate had learned last night over s’mores. “But it can wait. The priority has to be finding Caleb.”

Brooke continued down the hallway, already lifting the radio to her mouth as if Tate hadn’t spoken.

Annie steered Tate into the infirmary and directed him to a chair. “Caleb is safe and sound, here in the main lodge. He came back after you left.”

Relief hit him hard. Tate collapsed in the seat, wincing as pain lanced through his side. He needed to move more slowly. “Where was he?”

Annie scrubbed her hands in the sink before opening a cabinet, removing saline and gauze. “Someone pretending to be me texted him, asking to meet in the stables to discuss Kayla’s murder. He was waiting there for an hour.”

Tate stiffened. He’d known the attack in the cabin was well-planned, but the text to Caleb proved how far ahead the killer was thinking. “He lured Caleb away, so I’d go looking for him.”

“That’s my read too.” Annie pulled a rolling stool next to his chair and took his injured hand in hers. Her touch was gentle, and although it wasn’t meant to be romantic, it took everything inside him not to close his fingers around hers. The air felt charged.

Once again, Tate was tempted to say something, but it was clear from Annie’s face that she wasn’t ready to discuss it. Instead, she focused on his removing the towel covering his wound and asked, “What happened in the cabin?”

Right. Better to focus on the threats. Tate described the assault, starting with the stun gun and ending with being barricaded in the bathroom. “He opened the gas line to start the fire.”

“That explains why the kitchen was gone.” Annie cleaned his wound with saline. “The back door to the cabin was barred. Your attacker did his best to make sure you wouldn’t get out.”

“That we wouldn’t get out.” The realization of the danger Annie had put herself in hit him anew. “He must’ve seen you go into the cabin to rescue me. He waited until we tried to escape before taking shots at us.” Tate’s stomach roiled with anger and frustration. “He probably used my gun. Took it off me before I could stop him. But whoever this guy is, he prefers a knife. The fire and shooting at us were backup plans, designed to finish what he’d started.”

“But why?” She frowned. “Why kill Kayla and then try to kill you? Or me?”