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At least his sister was smart enough to keep her butt out of the water.

  A group had planted themselves in front of the fire. Girls on guys’ laps and some lying on the ground with their heads on each other.

  There she was. Stefanie stood off to the side with her friend – Nate could never remember her name – and stared at a boy on the other side of the fire. Longing was strong in the downturn of her lips and the narrowed focus in her eyes.

  Nate glanced at the boy then back at Stefanie. Drake Benson. He wasn’t who Nate wanted for his sister. Her crush was evident, even to Nate who’d just arrived. Why wasn’t Drake curled up with Stefanie? Maybe the kid was smarter than he acted. Or maybe he wasn’t interested in the Rourke girl.

  Like his sister wasn’t interested in the Rourke boy.

  Nate lifted his foot to barrel in and drag Stefanie’s butt home.

  Crashing from the east stopped him. He turned with all the others in the clearing, and watched as a tall, willowy, dark-blonde woman took the area by storm. She stopped at the start of a different trail from Nate’s, frozen. Her fury was palpable as it rode the wind.

  Emma Benson. The glimpse of her Nate had craved. Her eyes flashed as she surveyed the crowd. Once her gaze landed on Drake, she returned to her dynamic movement and propelled toward his group. A stark white bandage covered her wrist and elbow.

  Her brother shrank at her arrival, pushing the girl he’d been whispering to away. He lurched to his feet and frantically searched the crowd, probably for the fastest escape. Eyes lighting on Stefanie, Drake rushed around the circle, throwing his arm around her and pulling her lips to his.

  Concern for Stefanie’s safety morphed into concern for Drake’s. One thing Nate wouldn’t tolerate was some boy messing around with his sister’s emotions. Would Nate’s anger finally land him in jail? He clenched his fists and stepped further into the clearing, but no one noticed him as they watched the drama unfold.

  Emma burst through the circle like she didn’t care about the people in her way. A boy lounging on his back grunted when her toe connected with his ribs. She didn’t glance down as she stomped toward Drake. “Drake Benson. You get your butt home. Now.”

  Nate couldn’t drag his eyes from Emma as she thrust her finger at the ground and took a stance a few feet from Drake and Stefanie.

  “Go away, Emma. You’re not scaring anyone.” Drake turned his face away from Stefanie’s dazed expression long enough to comment before turning back and continuing their kiss.

  Nate puffed his chest to get as big as possible, and he wasn’t a small guy. He stepped into sight. “I don’t know about anyone else, but I was pretty frightened.” Nate met Emma’s startled gaze with steadiness. She’d never had anything solid in her life. Nate knew it.

  He’d lost her once because of it.

  Drake thrust Stefanie from him, eyes wide. “Nate. Um, Nathan… um…” He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand and avoided meeting Stefanie’s eyes by looking down at the ground and then back to Emma.

  Nate didn’t blame the boy. If looks could scald a person to death, Drake would be past the boiling point and on into steamed and limp.

  “I’m here for Stefanie.” Nate didn’t raise his voice or move farther than he had to. He postured there, under Emma’s watchful gaze and pretended to be completely unaffected by the girl from his past in front of all of the town’s teenagers. Gossipers by trade.

  Stefanie stepped toward Nate, her eyes bemused like in a trance from the solid kissing Drake inflicted on her. Nate tried not to growl under his breath.

  “Stefanie…” Drake reached out, gripping her upper sleeve in his fingers.

  Hardness erased the bewilderment from Stefanie’s expression. She turned her head, slowly melting Drake with her eyes. “Oh, no, Drake. I’m not good enough for you, remember?” Jerking away from his touch, she continued toward Nate, comfortable in her skin and who she was. Her girlfriend stayed behind, standing closer to Drake and watching Stefanie with narrowed eyes.

  Bending down to grab her cowboy hat, which rested on a rock by a pile of jackets, towels, and six-packs of beer, Stefanie didn’t break stride. She joined Nate. “Let’s go.” She disappeared into the forest line where he’d come from.

  Nate glanced Emma’s way, anxious to connect on some level. She redirected her gaze from him to Drake, ignoring Nate with an effective wall she constructed in seconds.

  Ignoring the catcalls from the other kids aimed at Drake, Nate shook his head. Drake would be effectively labeled as the target of jokes and pranks for at least a week. Until the next mess up came along at least.

  Nate remembered his mistakes with corrupt clarity.

  Emma happened to be one of his biggest.

  At twenty-three years old, a man didn’t want to have too many of those to count. Not yet. Not when they walked on legs that went up for miles and stared a man down with eyes so dark a brown they challenged walnut wood for coloring.

  No, Emma could be a mistake, but she’d never be a regret. Not when Nate had never stopped caring about her.

  He tromped through the woods after Stefanie, no longer worried about who could hear him. If he was lucky, Emma would hear his movements and he’d crash through her thoughts that way.

  One way or another, he had to get back on her radar. Nate hated leaving anything unfinished, and Emma and he were everything but finished.

  Broken Trails

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  Western Romances

  A Clearwater County Romance Series

  Broken Trails

  Forbidden Trails

  Unbridled Trails

  Hidden Trails

  Forgotten Trails

  Endless Trails

  Forsaken Trails

  Lonesome Trails

  Lost Trails

  Untamed Trails

  Boxset – Books 1, 2, 3

  Spurs and Lace

  Secrets and Lace

  Sorrows and Lace

  Boxset (all 3 books)

  Romancing Redemption

  Riding for Redemption

  Resisting Redemption

  Regretting Redemption

  Rewarding Redemption

  Boxset

  Contemporary Romance

  ClickandWed.com series

  With This Click, I Thee Wed (book 1)

  IDo.com (book 2)

  DIY Vows (book 3)

  eHoneymoon (book 4)

  Keyword: I Do (book 5)

  Let US-B Wed (book 6)

  The Right Click (book 7)

  Downshift series

  Downshift (book 1)

  Full Throttle (book 2)

  Block Pass (book 3)

  Acknowledgements

  To Bear

  B.

  Captiva Publishing

  Bonnie R. Paulson

  www.bonnierpaulson.net

  Copyright © 2015 Bonnie R. Paulson

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be resold.

  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Cover design by Ashley Byland of Redbird Designs

  Editing by Grammar Smith Editing

 

 

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