Ambush Before Sunrise: Bonus Story (Cardwell Ranch Book12; Montana Legacy

horses and tack away by the old corral. Rising, he took his cousin’s empty plate and his own and started toward the chuckwagon.
Brick was headed back to the campfire and stopped him. “We made good time today, don’t you think?” his brother said. “Another couple of days and we’ll be in the high country.” Brick looked toward the towering peaks, dark against the fading light. “This job isn’t going to last that long. I was thinking we could still go north for the summer and work that ranch up by the border.”
Angus laughed and shook his head. “You know you aren’t serious about that woman up there.”
Brick cut his eyes to him. “Who says I have to be serious?” Jinx had been talking to Max at the chuckwagon, but now made her way toward them and the campfire. Brick had seen her, too.
Angus grabbed his arm to detain him for a moment. “I’d tell you that you’re wasting your time but that would only make you more determined,” he said with a sigh. “Emotionally, Jinx is no place good right now. The last thing she needs is a wolf like you tracking her. In case you care, I’m not interested in her so let’s not make this a contest.”
Brick grinned at him. “Nice speech, my brother. But I’ve seen the way you look at her.”
“I’m worried about her and what T. D. Sharp is going to do next. You should be, too, since the man is dangerous.”
“You’re just worried about her.” His brother laughed. “I turn on the charm and get nowhere while you just quietly worry. I’ve also seen the way she watches you. Come on, we’ve been doing this since grade school.” He glanced toward Jinx, who’d stopped to turn back to say something to Max. “But you should know. I could be serious about a woman like Jinx.”
Angus shook his head and muttered, “I knew I was wasting my breath. You aren’t serious about this woman or even the one up on the Canadian border and we both know it. Leave Jinx alone.” With that he turned and walked over to the wagon where Max was watching Brick get a log for Jinx by the fire. What made him angry wasn’t even his brother, but the surge of jealousy he’d felt.
“She forgot her bread,” Max said, more to himself than Angus.
“I can take it to her.”
Max studied him for a moment before handing him the plate with the bread on it. As he handed over his dishes and walked back to the campfire, he thought about how protective Max was of Jinx. The woman seemed to bring that out in all of them. He reminded himself that this was just a job, even though he knew it wasn’t. They were here because Jinx needed their help and not just with her cattle, he feared. But his cousin and brother were right about one thing. He was determined to protect Jinx, for old times’ sake, he told himself. It was more than a job for him.
“Happy with the progress we made today?” he asked Jinx as he handed her the plate of bread Max had sent for her.
Jinx took a piece and he set the plate down on a spare log and sat across the fire from her. Brick had taken a log between the women.
“We’re on schedule but last I heard there’s supposed to be thunderstorms tomorrow,” she said. “We won’t be able to get any cell phone service until we get to the top of the mountain, so there is no checking to see if the storm has been upgraded or not.” She sighed. “Spring in the mountains. I’m hoping we can beat the bad weather to the next large meadow where we have another corral at least for the horses.”
She took a bite of her meal. Angus suspected she didn’t even taste it. A lot was riding on getting the cattle to summer range. But he knew it was also a distraction from what had been happening down in the valley with her ex.
“That’s why I want to leave at daybreak. To get as far as we can before the bad weather hits us,” Jinx was saying. “If you could let the others know?”
“I’d be happy to,” Angus said. He could tell that she was exhausted from more than the cattle drive. He wished there was something he could say to make things better for her, but unlike his brother, he thought Jinx probably needed silence over sweet words.
“I’ll go tell Cash and Royce,” he said and rose.
“Tell them chow’s on, too,” Max called as Angus headed over to where the men were standing and talking next to the corral holding the horses. He felt every mile in the saddle as he stretched his long legs. Walking through the tall green grass, he found himself looking forward to turning in early. They’d gotten through the first day without any trouble. No disgruntled almost-ex-husband. But a thunderstorm could change all that. Lightning was the major cause of stampedes on cattle drives.
Even if T. D. Sharp didn’t show his face, they were in for a rough day tomorrow.
JINX WATCHED ANGUS GO. She still hadn’t figured out why he seemed so familiar. Nor had he said anything. She sighed and rose to take her dishes back to Max.
“I can take those for you,” Brick said, shooting to his feet.
She smiled but shook her head. “Stay here by the fire with Ella.” She was glad when he sat back down. She needed to be alone. Brick was sweet and a good wrangler. He amused her with his blatant attempts to charm her, but he was wasting his time. While he resembled his brother, they didn’t seem to be anything alike. Angus was a mystery to her.
The more she was around him, the more she felt a strange sense that they’d been here before. She couldn’t shake the feeling that she knew this man, as in another life. It