All Chapters of Trail Leads Back: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

It was a hot August evening. The cicadas had started their evening symphony, their familiar buzzing carrying across the ranch as the sun slowly made its way toward the distant mountains. Even with the day coming to an end, the heat hadn't shown any signs of letting up. The dry Montana dirt seemed to hold onto every bit of warmth, and the occasional breeze did little more than stir up dust before disappearing again. I was standing on the bars connected to the front end of my old pickup, trying to give myself a little leverage to see under the hood. Sweat rolled down my nose and dripped onto the bolt I was trying to loosen. I wiped my forehead with the back of my arm, leaving a lovely streak of grease behind. At this point, I probably looked like I'd lost a fight with a mechanic's toolbox. My dog, Buck, lounged in the shade beside me, seemingly enjoying the fact that I was doing all the work. It was a peaceful end to a blistering day, and aside from the occasional string of colorful

The bathroom door cracked open, steam escaping as though it were fleeing for its life. Mr. MC emerged wearing my shorts and T-shirt, which looked oddly regular-sized on him. I hadn't expected them to fit, considering the size of the man, but somehow they did. The shirt stretched across his broad shoulders, and the sleeves barely contained his tattooed arms. His dark hair was still damp, sticking up in places as though he'd run his fingers through it one too many times. Without the leather vest and road grime, he looked considerably less intimidating. Unfortunately, he was still built like a brick wall.He had rolled up one sleeve to reveal a bit of road rash, but overall, he looked much less worse for wear than I had expected. He was carrying his mangled clothes and MC leather vest.Even battered and dirty, the vest caught my attention. The three-piece patch on the back was hard to miss. RIDERS OF THE BADLANDS stretched across the top rocker, with a winged skull dominating the centre

There were several things I hadn't planned on doing today. Driving a practically perfect stranger to his motorcycle clubhouse was pretty high on that list. Yet here I was, hands gripping the steering wheel, wondering if I'd officially lost my mind. Ryan sat beside me, looking entirely too comfortable for someone who had managed to turn my otherwise ordinary day upside down. I shot him a sideways glance. "You always make a habit of inconveniencing women who rescue you?" He straightened in his seat, suddenly looking a little uncomfortable. Buck huffed from the back seat. Some protector he was. I should have let Buck eat him. At least I would have been asleep right now. As the mountains gradually gave way to rolling hills, the blacktop beneath my tires improved. Buck began hanging his head out the window like this was the best day of his life. Traitor. The town appeared in the dim glow of my headlights almost out of nowhere. We were the kind of place where stoplights didn't exist

Swiftly sliding out of the saddle, I led Sundance to the barn and tied him to the post. Pretending to ignore Ryan for the time being was my ultimate move. I had things to do before I had the bandwidth to deal with whatever he had brought with him.I could feel his eyes following me as I moved around the yard. Apparently, patience wasn't going to be his strong suit today. Too bad. He'd have to learn that my schedule didn't revolve around unexpected visitors.Unlocking the barn, I turned back to Sundance to remove his saddle. Buck trotted past me toward the shade of the small tree beside the porch. I knew full well what he was doing. Sitting down with a huff, he fixed Ryan with a glare.I should have let him eat him in my driveway yesterday."Hi, Bucky boy," Ryan grinned.He extended a hand, which immediately got snapped at. He quickly pulled it back, and I bit back a laugh. He should have expected that.The poor man was learning t