Yellowstone Origins: Yellowstone Romance Series, Book 6 by Peggy L Henderson

Author:Peggy L Henderson [Henderson, Peggy L]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2016-11-07T11:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Riley’s hands trembled when she adjusted the bulky sheep hide over her shoulder. With a determined set of her jaw, she raised her head to look up the steep slope of the mountain. She’d reached the timberline, and the rest of the climb would be over open tundra.

Cameron's words from the day before came rushing back. She blinked away the tears that stung her eyes and heaved herself upward. Throughout all her years in school, she'd allowed the teasing of others to feed her insecurities, and send her into hiding behind her academics. Even her clumsiness was a result of that. She gritted her teeth.

“I’m in control, not this mountain,” she said out loud.

The deer trail became more difficult to see over the sparse vegetation until it disappeared completely. She continued to climb at an angle rather than vertically, picking her way carefully over rocks and shrubs. The wind started to pick up, whipping her hair around her face, and sometimes the gusts threatened to blow her right off the mountain.

As far as the eye could see below her, the forest and meadows stretched in one long carpet into the horizon. Mountains rose in the distance while the peaks of others were far below her, and a wide crack in the earth was clearly visible in one direction. It ended in what looked like a vast, green valley. She'd heard of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and if she had to guess, that's what she was seeing from so high up.

Riley stopped when she reached an outcropping of boulders, seeking shelter from the wind. Even filling her lungs to capacity with the thin air was a struggle. The sensation of drowning made her dizzy and light-headed. She caught her breath and scanned into the distance down the mountain.

The timberline wasn’t too far below her. Obviously she hadn’t moved up as far as she’d thought. It looked much steeper from her vantage point than when she’d climbed up, and she grabbed hold of the rock behind her for support. The mountain dropped off in a sheer cliff. She’d never been fond of high places, and should really be looking up rather than down, but maybe she’d see Cameron.

She straightened, and was set to continue with her climb when movement down the steep slope caught her eye. She leaned forward and squinted. Her heart leaped in her chest, then dropped to her stomach. Four figures were visible just beyond the line of some trees, where the mountain leveled out slightly, and then dropped off almost vertically. She'd recognize the one man facing three others anywhere.

"Oh, no," she whispered when it became clear what was happening. Cameron looked to be in hand-to-hand combat with one of the men. He raised both arms, his bow held over his head, fending off an attack from the front, then kicked at his opponent, sending him to his knees. Faster than she could blink, he'd wheeled around and swung the bow like a club against an opponent coming at him from the side.

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