Your Wild Heart Read Free

“You’re not going to hurt it, are you?”
    “Only if she doesn’t cooperate or gets out of control.” He headed toward the bear.
    Isabelle held her breath as she watched.
    Ranger Powell pulled something from his belt as he circled the creature. He seemed to be speaking to it, but she didn’t understand what he said. There were a few growls, but Isabelle couldn’t tell which of them made the sounds.
    The two of them danced just out of reach of each other, until finally, the bear ambled off into the brush.
    “You can come down,” the sexy Ranger said. “I doubt she’ll be back.”
    “Are you sure?” Isabelle looked at the place where the bear had disappeared, waiting to see if it returned.
    “Pretty sure.”
    “What did you say to it?”
    “Say?” He moved closer to the tree.
    “Yeah. It sounded like you were talking to the bear. What did you say?”
    “The same thing you’d say to a stray dog if it were in your yard. I told her to move along.”
    “It didn’t sound like English,” she pointed out.
    “It wasn’t.”
    “Then what was it?”
    He looked up at her with a half grin. “Are you always this persistent?”
    “Usually. So, what language was it?”
    “Sioux.”
    “Really?”
    “Afraid so.” He motioned for her to come down. “Toss me your bag, and I’ll help you get down.”
    She let her backpack fall into his outstretched hands. He set it on the ground a couple of feet away then held his hands up as if waiting for her to drop into them. Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.
    She turned and laid her belly over the branch, and then she swung down so she hung from her hands. The drop to the ground wasn’t far, but Ranger Powell steadied her when she landed.
    “Are you all right?” His nearness sent a fission of awareness zinging through her body.
    “I, uh…yeah.” She wiped her hands on her shorts to knock the bark off. “Thanks.”
    “You were smart to climb the tree. A lot of people panic and try to scare bears off by doing something stupid like banging on pots and pans. That backfires more than it helps. So, good thinking, Dr. Acker.”
    “Thanks.” She slung her backpack over her shoulder. “And just call me Isabelle. Save the doctor stuff for the guy who gives you your tetanus shot.” With a grimace she went to see how much damage the bear had caused. “Just so you know, scientific curiosity outweighed any smarts. I wanted to see what the bear was after and what it would do.”
    He frowned. “Please tell me you didn’t leave food out hoping to attract animals.”
    She stopped and glared at him. “What kind of idiot do you take me for?”
    “You tell me. You said you wanted to see what it would do.”
    “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I tried to attract the bear’s attention.” She put her fist on her hip. “Or any animal’s for that matter.”
    “Wouldn’t be the first time a tourist did something stupid like that.”
    “I’m not a tourist. And I’m not stupid. Thank you very much.” She stomped over to her trailer to see what could be salvaged.
    The bear had bent one of the poles but it wouldn’t take much effort to bend it back into shape.
    She walked to the backside of the trailer. Her cooler was another matter. It had been scratched and the lid was half torn off and filthy. There would be no salvaging that. Even if she managed to scrub it clean, the lid would probably never seal.
    With a sigh she said, “Guess I need to go shopping.”
    “There are a couple of convenience stores nearby, but if you want to replace this stuff”—he pointed to the mauled items—“you’ll need to go into town.”
    “How far is that?”
    “Not quite an hour away.” He tugged on his ear. “Now if you want a big-name place, you’ll be better off going into Rapid City.”
    She groaned. “That’s one way to kill an entire day.”
    “At least you weren’t hurt.”
    “True.” She faced him. “Thank you for chasing the bear away, Ranger Powell.”
    “You’re