The Challenger Read Free

at the house.”
    â€œMom.” Jake’s voice was level, but Sam saw his eyes dart toward Linc Slocum.
    Mrs. Ely seemed not to notice. As she strolled toward the house, Jake looked after her, then glanced at Sam for help.
    Yeah, right, Sam thought. After that smug little smile he’d given Rachel, the muscle man was on his own.
    Jake’s chest rose and fell in a silent sigh and he moved a few steps closer. As he did, Sam saw his jaw clench tighter. She’d bet the leg he’d broken last month still hurt.
    â€œI’m afraid Royal might be too much for me.” Rachel’s tone invited Jake to contradict her.
    He took his Stetson from a fence post and pulled it on before he answered. “Probably,” he said.
    Sam swallowed a laugh. It was a good thing Jake was interested in ranching and police work. He’d make a terrible salesman.
    â€œThat’s done, then.” Slocum stepped nearer.
    â€œDaddy—” Rachel whined, but this time her father didn’t listen.
    â€œWhat do you know about a mountain lion up on the ridge?” Slocum asked Jake.
    Something in his tone worried Sam, but Jake just shrugged.
    â€œYou’ve seen tracks, haven’t you?” Slocum demanded.
    Jake was well-known as a tracker. If there hadbeen a mountain lion nearby Jake would have seen signs. But Jake stood even stiller than before.
    Slocum took Jake’s silence as a dare.
    â€œC’mon, what’s it to you?” Slocum taunted. “If there’s a cat prowling behind my house, and yours, and the Forsters’, we need to take care of it.”
    The more Slocum pushed, the more stubborn Jake became. His jaw set harder with each word Slocum said.
    All at once, Sam thought of Buddy. Her pet calf was six months old. Would a mountain lion see her as easier prey than a deer?
    â€œA cougar’s tracks don’t look much different from a big dog’s,” Jake offered, but Sam noticed he didn’t answer Slocum’s question.
    Slocum noticed, too. “You could tell the difference.”
    â€œMaybe Jake has better things to do than snoop around the ridge,” Rachel said, shifting so that her body angled toward Jake. “Besides, Dad, Katie Sterling said they were shy.”
    Jake watched Linc, then Rachel. His eyes barely moved, but Rachel didn’t need much encouragement to start flirting all over again.
    â€œNot that the idea of a dangerous animal being up there doesn’t give me chills.” Rachel skimmed her palms over the sleeves of her spotless white shirt. “But if Jake isn’t worried about it, neither am I.”
    Linc crossed his arms and fixed Jake with a stare.
    Finally, Jake spoke, but each word mockedSlocum’s concern.
    â€œThe tracks are from a mother lion teaching her cub to hunt. The cub’s a yearling or a little older. They’re stalking squirrels and rabbits. Nothing big.”
    â€œI knew it!” Linc shook his index finger at Jake. “Doesn’t mean they won’t graduate to something larger, does it? And what if a rider was afoot?”
    All at once, Sam understood Slocum’s worry. He fell off his horse, Champ, pretty often. Just a few weeks ago, she’d caught the palomino and led him back to Linc, who’d been tottering across the desert in high-heeled cowboy boots.
    Even before that, Slocum had hinted he was afraid of the big cats. When an escaped stallion called Hammer had tried to steal a mare from the Gold Dust Ranch, Linc had looked at the teeth rakings on her rump and asked Gram if they were from a cougar.
    â€œIf that happened,” Slocum went on, “a person on the ground might make a pretty tempting tidbit, don’t you think?”
    â€œI think it’s a pretty big switch, goin’ from rabbits to riders. And cougars are solitary animals. It’s not like they run in packs,” Jake said.
    â€œThat’s fine. I’m only getting a permit for one.”