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dragging the stubborn little beast with him.
    Within fifteen minutes of trudging through rain and mud, Roxanne located the first of a series of caves she’d spent many summers camping in with her brother and father. The memories they evoked made a cold lump rise in her throat, reminding her why she could never forgive Pierce Thunder Horse.
    A jagged crevice, wide enough for two horses to stand abreast, allowed them to enter without ducking, bending or otherwise forcing the animals through. The opening also allowed a moderate amount of light inside. The cave’s interior, carved out of solid rock through years of erosion, was the size of a barn.
    Getting the filly inside took a little more time and patience, but with Roxanne’s help, Pierce maneuvered the frightened animal through the passageway, tying her to a boulder large enough to anchor her.
    “I’ll be right back. I need to radio my brothers and let them know we’re okay and will stay here until the rain lets up.” He went back through the crevice to stand at the opening of the cave, far enough away from the horses the static wouldn’t bother them. The distance from Roxanne helped him to think as he made contact with his brothers. Too bad he couldn’t come up with any solutions to keep Roxanne safe and also far, far away from him.
    * * *
    T IRED AND COLD TO THE bone, Roxanne dragged the saddle from Sassy and let it fall to the floor. What had happened to her strength? She felt as weak as a kitten. Determined to pull her own weight, she lugged the saddle up onto a large rock to dry. She used the saddle blanket to rub down the horse, then stretched the damp blanket over another rock.
    Pierce reentered the cave.
    “They didn’t try to come down the trail after us, did they?” Roxanne asked.
    “No. But they were about to when I called. They’d been searching the area and were fortunate enough to find some bullet casings before the rain hit. I told them where we were, and sent them back to the ranch. They’re not going to find anything else out there in this weather. They’ll contact the sheriff’s department and let them know about the casings.”
    Once both horses were cared for, Roxanne trudged her way through the darkness, searching for anything they could use for firewood. When she and her brother had last been inside the cave years ago, they’d left enough fuel to burn for the next visit, knowing firewood was scarce on the plains.
    In the shadows farther away from the entrance, she located the ring of stones they’d arranged for the fire. That was expected. Less expected was what she found at the center of the circle—charred firewood, discarded cans and plastic wrappers that had definitely not come from her or Mason.
    “Someone has used this cave. By the looks of this trash, fairly recently.” Roxanne lifted a plastic wrapper and something shone brightly beneath, catching the little bit of light from the cave’s access. “Interesting.” She pushed the object out of the dirt. “It’s a bullet.” From the shooter? Well, who else could it be? This cave was on Carmichael property, and there certainly wasn’t anyone who had permission to be using it.
    Pierce caught her hand as she reached for the shiny metal. “Don’t. We might be able to lift prints. And let me have that plastic wrapper.” He tore the tail of his shirt off and picked up the unexploded round and the wrapper using the piece of fabric, tucking the wad into his jeans pocket.
    Roxanne rearranged the ring of stones, searching for any other items of interest. “You think the man who camped here is the same man who shot at me?”
    His lips thinned into a straight line. “We won’t know until the state crime lab can perform the forensics on the casing and compare it to the ones my brothers found.”
    “Hopefully, the sheriff made it out to the ranch and has started the investigation.”
    Pierce’s jaw clenched at the mention of the sheriff.
    Cold slithered across Roxanne’s skin,