Trevor smiled at the man. "I have a feeling she'll be taking care of me, sir. But don't worry." Milton nodded his head and smiled to himself as Trevor strode out the door. He was still smiling when Harriet reentered the room.

"What are you grinning at," she asked pouring him some more coffee?

"I think that's the first time she's sat in a room with a man for more than ten minutes and hasn't started a fight," Milton laughed. "I knew there was something special about that man when I met him."

Harriet glanced out the window and watched as the two in question rode out of the ranch yard. "Did you hear that Andrew is coming in for Christmas?"

"Yeah, I heard," Milton grimaced. "They're throwing some huge soirée in town for him. The old man has made a point to give us an invite."

Turning back around, Harriet sat down to enjoy her coffee like she did every morning after Mac left. "Well, surely, Trevor will be attending as well. He'll give Andy a run for his money. Besides, Mac has never seen Andy as anything other than a friend."

"How Mac sees Andy is not what I'm worried about," Milton stated flatly.

*****************************

Trevor watched in horror as Mac made a perfect arc through the air, landing none to gently and quickly rolling to a stop. She was moving about slowly as he started to move his horse in her direction. The sudden hand on his arm brought his eyes up into the face of the foreman, Ray.

"Don't do it," the man said. "If she's moving, she's fine and won't appreciate the attention." Ray had taken an immediate liking to the new owner of the neighboring ranch. But he also knew it would take some time for Trevor to know how to handle Mac without getting his nose bitten off every time he opened his mouth. He was actually surprised it happened yet. They had been up there for a couple of hours now and it had been a rather peaceful morning so far.

Ray watched the play of emotions cross Trevor's face before a smile finally graced his features. "I'll stay out of firing range." Ray shook his head as he watched Trevor ride over to where Mac had been thrown from her horse. He knew from prior experience she would be angry about taking a tumble in front of the men. He didn't notice one of the other men ride up beside him. "Round of drinks says she lays into him before he can even dismount."

"I'll take that bet. She's been acting strange today. But I think he'll dismount before he says anything," Ray said accepting the bet.

Trevor rode up beside the obviously angry woman sitting on the ground with her head hanging down. He didn't say a word as he propped his leg up in the saddle and waited a moment to see if she would say anything. While he waited, he quickly assessed her condition, reassuring himself that she was ok.

They had been up in the high country for a couple of hours and Mac had been completely business the entire time. For some unknown reason she had erected a wall around herself from the moment they had stepped out of the house this morning. She had only spoken of ranch related items and nothing he had said or done could break through the shell.

Some of her hair had pulled out from the braid and gently fell around her face that had yet to raise up. He knew she had seen him ride up. He assumed she was trying to compose herself before facing anyone. Finally deciding to force the issue he spoke. "Graceful," he stated with a direct matter of fact tone. He chose to look out at the horizon and not at her. But he was fully aware when her head snapped up to look at him. He didn't need to see her eyes to know the fire that was flashing in them.

"Excuse me," she asked incredulously? Mac had been waiting for him to show up, rushing to her rescue. It would be exactly what any man would have done that didn't know her. Never had she been so embarrassed. Why, she didn't know. She had taken falls from horses before. But for some reason, falling today, with Trevor watching, was bothering her more than it should have. And then to have him completely do the opposite of what she had expected.

"I said graceful. The dismount." Trevor finally looked down at her. "Been practicing that long?" His face was completely blank, not showing any of the amusement he was feeling. He could have been talking about the weather.

Mac sat with her arms resting on her raised knees staring up at him completely dumbfounded. She had expected questions about her well being, not sarcastic comments about her riding. Of course, the more she thought about it, the more she realized how funny the situation was. She knew better than the ride an unfamiliar horse up here. But she had done it anyway. And look at where it had gotten her?

She couldn't help the smile from creeping across her face as she realized the amusement shining in his deep blue eyes as he stared down at her. Finally, she couldn't hold it in any longer and started giggling. Trevor quickly joined her, allowing his laughter to mix with hers.

Reaching down, Trevor extended his arm to help her up, which she took, still laughing. "As a matter of fact, I have," she said, answering his earlier question. I've almost got it down perfect don't you think?"

"I'd work on the landing if I were you." He watched as she dusted off her jeans and started looking for her runaway horse. His eyes followed the motion of her hands as they dusted off her shapely backside. More than once today he caught himself staring at her raw beauty and strength. She was a rare woman indeed.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught the look of Ray smiling and shaking his head. When he turned to look more fully at the two cowboys he noticed money exchanging hands from several men that had stopped to watch his and Mac's discussion.

Finally, a young cowboy came up leading Mac's wayward horse. "Here he is, Mac." Handing her the reins, the man looked over at Trevor and smiled before heading back to his duties.

Mac quickly mounted again and started back off to the herd. Trevor moved in beside her. "You know what spooked him?"

"Who knows. With Blacky, it could have been the wind was blowing wrong. I usually don't ride him up here. As he's proven, he's too unpredictable. But I thought it might be that he hasn't gotten out much recently."

They fell into a companionably silence, riding the herd and watching the other cowboys rounding up the strays for the drive down to the winter pastures. Now that the snow had started on a regular basis in the mountains it would be too easy to lose a head or two in the freezing weather. It was a practice that had survived since Mac was a little girl and would continue into the future. She explained to Trevor how the two ranches had shared the area every summer, combining their respective herds and allowing them to graze the lush grass in the upper valleys. She naturally assumed they would continue with his herd.

After lunch, Mac finished up with Ray, making sure everything was ready for the next day. "I'm going to head on back down. I've still got to make sure the fencing crew is done," Mac said as the pair made one last circle.

"We should be down late afternoon," Ray confirmed for her. "I'm not expecting any delays." Ray scanned the herd in front of them, his eyes landing on Trevor who had decided to ride around the area. "Trevor going down with you?"

"How should I know," Mac snapped? Realizing her tone was sharper than she intended, she took a deep breath before continuing. "We haven't discussed it. I assumed he would head his own way." She had to get herself under control and not lose her temper every time his name was mentioned. Well, after today, she had no reason to see him, other than the normal course of business. Lucky for her, ranching mean a fairly solitary life. "I'll see you tomorrow then," she stated turning her mount away.

"See ya," Ray called after her smiling. Oh yeah, Trevor had definitely gotten under her skin.

Mac rode over in the direction Trevor was sitting his horse, talking with some of the men. She should have just left. There was no need to tell him she was leaving. Her father would ask though, and she didn't need that hassle. At least she was going to use that as the excuse if asked.

As she rode into the group, conversation stopped, and the men looked decidedly uncomfortable. All but Trevor that is. He sat starring at her with those clear blue eyes, appraising her. Addressing the group as if it was a normal thing, she announced her intentions to head back home.

"I'll ride with you," Trevor said gathering his reins. "There's no need."

"I didn't say there was." Trevor's tone, although not sharp, didn't brook any discussion. He said his goodbyes to the men and turned to join her on the trail down.

They rode for some time in silence. Trevor was stunned at the raw beauty of the area. The forest surrounding them was filled with tall pine trees with pockets of beautiful hardwoods he wasn't sure he could identify. The leaves had turned with the cold weather, bathing the area in beautiful golds and reds. As the setting sun continued toward the western horizon, the light shining through the canopy turned the area to a mystical wonderland.

Trevor did his best to ignore the cold that penetrated his thick coat. He had not been in the area long enough to be acclimated to the weather. Figuring it was a safe topic to bring up, he broke the silence. "Is it always this cold so early in the season?"

"It's not early," Mac answered without turning to look at him. "It's really not all that cold either. Wait until you have to check the herd in a blizzard. Then you'll know cold."

Mac waited a minute, expecting him to speak again and was surprised when he remained silent. After some careful consideration, she had decided to take his word for not wanting anything from her other than friendship. He had done nothing to the contrary in the short time they had known one another. It would be nice to have someone who shared the same interests as her without the boss employee mentality hanging over her head.

Turning her head to look at him, she was once again taken aback by his rugged good looks. God had certainly not spared anything when sculpting this man. "Have you settled in," she asked?

"Settled into what," he asked looking over at her.

"The ranch? Grizzly? Living in Montana?"

"Yes. Yes. No." His smile lit up his eyes as he answered her questions.

Mac was going to have to work on dealing with that smile of his. It always turned her insides to mush. "Well, if there's anything I…we can do," she amended quickly. "Let us know."

Trevor hadn't missed her slip, but chose to ignore it. He was surprised at her offer but thrilled as well. "I'll do that. Thank you." Their eyes locked a moment before he finally turned away. It was going to take some serious work not to fall for this woman riding at his side. But he couldn't afford for that to happen. He would not put hers or anyone else's life in danger ever again. As long as he laid low and didn't bring attention to himself, he would be safe as would everyone else. Although he could never become involved with her, he had every intention of becoming the best friend she had ever had. He would have to make that do for himself as well.