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ideas his finger inspired. "Sometimes I don't know." And why the hell didn't she just tell him to keep his scorching fingers to himself, anyway? When she thought to do so, her mouth betrayed her and refused to utter the words. She just couldn't win.
    He gave a little wink that flipped her stomach and made matters worse. And he took his finger away and deprived her of that fascinating sensation. "I think you can."
    The words didn't make up for the loss, but thankfully Ray chose that moment to return and saved her from having to answer. Would have been impossible anyway with her heart pounding in her throat.
    Even as he nodded to acknowledge Ray, Jakob refused to move out of her personal space. One thing for sure, the man had nerves of steel even with Ray staring him down like some angry god from an ancient civilization. "Tell me what you know about this lion."
    Ray's heavy scowl spoke volumes but Jakob continued to ignore it, and asked questions about what they'd found. Ray finally seemed to resign himself to his lack of control and began to speak in more than monosyllables.
    With Jakob only inches away, his scent quickly overwhelmed Kate again, leaving her unable to stay focused on whatever was being said. Over the next hour, Jakob and Ray discussed the predator and its known habits, while Kate tried in vain to keep up and Ray ignored her. Of course, in all fairness, she couldn't blame him, since she'd essentially told him to go fly a kite.
    As lunch-time grew near, Brady and one of the other hands joined them, electing to sit in the battered folding metal chairs, and pointedly refusing to acknowledge Jakob's proximity to Kate, or anything else out of the ordinary. Obviously, as far as they were concerned, if he got rid of the lion issue, everything else was all good.
    Eventually, Jakob seemed satisfied that he knew as much about the lion as he could learn without a face to face meeting. "Okay, I'm going to double check all my gear and animals. Miss Kate, I could use a hand if you have time." He rose and offered his hand in a casual way, as if offering assistance was purely habit, more like in-grained good manners than trying to help someone less able.
    Despite her usual stubborn independence, it felt natural to place her hand in his and accept his support to stand. "I'll be glad to help. I need to get my gear ready too." Her men stared at Kate as if she'd sprouted a second head right in front of them. It took some doing but she managed not to take any of their heads off as she reminded them of some of the tasks waiting for them. You'd think the bastards had just suddenly realized she was female.
    Orders given, she followed Jakob out toward his truck, trying not to let her lingering aggravation at the men effect the hours ahead. Since she intended to be in the wilderness with this man for several days, far from any kind of assistance, she needed to get to know him a little, at least. Of course she would go armed to the teeth and prepared for trouble, no matter what he did to her libido.
    The risk was the same every time she, or any other woman, worked or lived in relative isolation with one or more men. The smart woman took it seriously and took sensible precautions. And Kate paid close attention.
    Sorting through gear and determining how to distribute weight and bulk, and ensuring emergency materials were easily accessible took up most of the afternoon. Perhaps it would have gone more quickly if Jakob handled the task alone, but he said it was important for her to be aware of how everything was packed as well. With everything safely stashed in the big panniers and smaller packs that would be attached to the big pack saddles once they were on the horses, Jakob placed everything in the horse trailer to wait for morning.
    "Ready to take care of your stuff?" He grinned and closed and locked the trailer. "I assume you have animals chosen?"
    "Of course." One shoulder lifted in an offhand gesture. "Two riding horses and one pack,