Page 36 of Her Bachelor Cowboy Billionaire

“Okay. Good to know.”

She fished in the pool, and he fished in the creek below it.

Jessica hadn’t finished reeling in her second cast when a fish hit her Royal Coachman fly. She pulled the tip of her rod up and set the hook. “Fish on!” She shouted as she reeled in, keeping steady pressure on the line so the fish didn’t have a chance to spit out the hook.

When she got it nearly up to the shore, she used her net and scooped the beautiful brook trout out of the water. She cradled the fish and removed the fly, then released the fish back into the water. “Live to be caught another day, my friend.”

Roark came up beside her and laughed. “You talk to the fish?”

“Of course. Don’t you? I want to be on good footing with them so they bite my fly again and again. One of these days, I’ll keep him and he’ll make a delightful meal for us.”

“I’m glad you said for us. I didn’t have any luck. Are you about ready to explore a bit? I have a little hike we can go on if you’re up to it.”

“That sounds great. I love to hike. Where are we going?”

He pointed to the west toward the mountains. “To where the spring exits the rocks. It’s over the hill and it’s a bit of a climb but really easy walking. Are you ready for that?”

She put her hands in her back pockets. “Sure. I don’t mind a little rock climbing.”

“There is only one place that is a little dangerous, and that’s only if you fall. We take a path along the rock face over the stream to get to the other side and the outlet for the creek.”

“Okay. I’ll be careful.”

They started off following the stream as it headed first north and then west. About half an hour after they started, they came to the path over the rock face he’d told her about.

He went first. “Just walk where I do and you’ll be fine.”

She followed him. Suddenly, her boot slipped on some loose gravel. “Roark!”

* * *

He stoppedand called over the side. “Jessica! Jessica!”

“I’m here. There is a small ledge that I landed on, but I’ve twisted my ankle. I can’t climb up.”

He laid on the ground and peered over the side. He saw her boots on the edge of the ledge but couldn’t see the rest of her. “I need a rope to get to you. I’m going to have to go for help.”

“Okay. You better get started.”

“It will probably be after dark before I get back. Will you be all right until then?”

“I’m fine. No animal can get to me, so I’m perfectly safe until you return.”

“I’ll hurry. I’ve got a satellite phone in my saddlebags for an emergency. I’ll have to wait for them. The only place they can land is in the meadow, and then I’ll bring them back here.”

“Okay. I’ll see you when you return. And Roark?”

“Yes.”

“Try to hurry. My ankle is killing me.”

“I’ll hurry, baby. As fast as I can. I’m leaving now.”

“Understood.”

He ran as fast as he could, safely off the cliff, and picked up speed as he went. When he finally reached Apollo, he opened his saddlebags and pulled out the sat phone. “He dialed the house.”

“Sullivan residence.”