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downright hostile when it came to outsiders. They obviously wanted no news or visits from the outside world.
    But they had no idea of the menace waiting to strike.
    Meredith inhaled a deliberate breath and dismounted. She’d come this far. She might as well see it through. With trembling hands, she secured Ginger’s reins around the gate post and stroked the mare’s neck.
    â€œI’ll be back soon. I’m just going to deliver a message. It won’t take long. You’ll be fine.”
    Ginger reached her head down to nibble at some grass, apparently unperturbed at the prospect of being left alone. But as Meredith hiked up her skirt and wedged her left foot onto the bottom slat of the gate, the confidence she’d projected into that little speech evaporated.
    She scaled the gate quickly and paused at the top to swing her leg over. Closing her eyes for a moment, she straddled the gate and whispered a quick prayer.
    â€œPlease don’t let them shoot me.”
    Then before she could talk herself out of it, she scrambled down the far side and started walking.
    The last time she’d trespassed on Archer land, she’d ended up with a broken leg and a nasty scar. Last time she’d had an excuse, and there’d been no fences. This time she didn’t have the innocence of childhood to protect her. Was Travis still the kindhearted man she remembered, the one who hid his tender side behind a harsh reputation and a wall of secrecy, or had he hardened into the unyielding, coldhearted man people thought him to be?
    Meredith shoved that last thought aside. She refused to believe it. She’d seen his heart that day. Travis might put up a ruthless front, but gentleness was too ingrained in his character to disappear over time.
    But just to be safe, she walked with her arms angled away from her sides, palms facing forward, to present herself in as unthreatening a manner as possible. No point in putting her theory to the test if she didn’t have to.
    The smell of woodsmoke tickled her nose, and Meredith’s heart skittered. The house must be close. An odd-sounding birdcall echoed somewhere in the distance off to her left. Her head swiveled in that direction. Then another bird answered from up ahead of her to the right. A chill passed over her. In all her years in Anderson County, she’d never heard a bird that sounded quite like those surrounding her. Then again, she’d been in town for quite some time. Perhaps she’d forgotten.
    The trees began to thin, and Meredith spotted a clearing ahead. She picked up her pace, anxious to have her errand over and done. But before she took more than a dozen steps, four men emerged from the woods and surrounded her, each pointing a rifle directly at her chest.

    What in blue blazes was a woman doing waltzing onto Archer land at the brink of dark?
    From his vantage point behind her, Travis couldn’t see much of her face, so he had no way of judging her intelligence. But anyone crazy enough to come onto Archer land without an invitation was sure to be unpredictable, and he wasn’t taking any chances.
    The woman kept her hands a healthy distance from her sides, and he could see her fingers quivering. Yet despite her obvious nervousness, she stared at each of his brothers in turn and even twisted around to examine Neill and finally . . .
    Travis raised his head from sighting down the rifle as shock radiated through him. Those eyes. Such a vivid blue. It was as if he’d seen them before. But that was impossible. Females didn’t exactly pay them calls on a regular basis.
    Clearing his throat, he readjusted his rifle. “We don’t cotton to trespassers around here, lady. You best skedaddle back the way you came.”
    â€œI will. But not until I say my piece.” She pivoted to face him fully, her lashes lowering for just a moment before she aimed her gaze directly at him again.
    Even knowing what was coming