Nevada shrugged. "As long as you pay attention, he's the best winter horse on the Rocking M." With the unconscious ease of a man performing a familiar task, Nevada gathered the roping rein, stepped into the stirrup and mounted in a single easy motion. "Especially in fresh snow. Target's big enough not to get bogged down in the drifts."

"Wouldn't life be simpler if you just shot the cougars with a tranquilizer dart, put a radio collar on them and tracked them from the air?"

"Simpler? Maybe. A hell of a lot more expensive for sure. And a hell of a lot less fun for the cats – and me."

Ten laughed softly. "That's what Luke said. I didn't argue." Ten started to turn away, then remembered something else. "You know that old cabin just beyond Wildfire Canyon?"

"The one at the end of that abandoned logging road?"

Ten nodded. "A guy from the government called yesterday to tell us that some cougar specialist will be using the cabin as a base camp for the next month or two, depending on the cats. So if you find signs of someone moving around in the high country, don't worry. Luke and I agreed to give free access to Rocking M land as long as we got a copy of whatever report is filed about the cougars."

At the word cabin, Nevada went very still. A conversation that was three days old echoed in his mind. There's no other store between here and the government cabin.

"Did anyone mention the name of the cat expert?" Nevada asked.

"I don't think so. Why?"

For a moment Nevada said nothing, remembering Eden's gentle voice and surprisingly strong hands, and the utter lack of fear in her eyes when she had seen the elemental violence in his.

Do you make a habit of collecting and taming wild animals?

No. I'm a wildlife biologist, not a zookeeper.

Eden's voice, her scent, the tactile memory of her alluring warmth… they had haunted Nevada's waking hours. They might have haunted his sleep as well, but he would never know. It was a pact he had made with himself years ago. He never remembered dreams.