It had been a quiet three days, too quiet, and Emma couldn’t help but feel antsy. The animals seemed on edge, testing her at every turn. Even Wally had taken a swipe at her, something he’d never done before. But she couldn’t blame them. She had no doubt that they were picking up on her anxiety and reacting to it. She was the one on edge. She couldn’t even blame it on the early fall heat wave.

She couldn’t stop thinking about him, or their one night together. She wasn’t even sure why. It wasn’t like she’d never had sex before.

Who are you kidding? It was never like that.

Unfortunately, that was true.

Every time she and Ben were together, there was something that ignited between them, something hot and violently seductive. It was like the crackle of electricity sizzling in the air just before a lightning storm, raising the hair on her arms and making her jittery. And when they kissed, a bolt had touched down, striking her and leaving her weak. But Emma had no time for weakness right now and being distracted this way was going to get her killed if she wasn’t careful.

Across the compound Buster paced in his cage. Ever since his escape, he’d been unhappy and let everyone know it. Between his loud yowls and the way he was jumping against the door, testing the new lock, she worried he was going to somehow escape again, or hurt someone trying. She sympathized with the poor boy. He’d gotten a taste of freedom but hadn’t known what to do with it. The same way she had.

At her father’s insistence, Emma headed to college, fully prepared to get a degree in business management. The plan was for her to return to run the business side of the sanctuary, which her father claimed was his weakness. She suspected he’d just wanted her away from the danger and risk. But only one semester in, she found she’d missed working with the animals. Against his wishes, Emma changed her major and spent the next eight years getting a degree in veterinary medicine. Within a few months of getting her licensing, he’d convinced her that she should take a job offer she received at an amusement park in order to gain more experience before returning to the sanctuary.

They’d agreed on two years. Two years before she would return to run Sierra Tracks with her father. And they’d had big plans—camps, events, programs. Her father had always wanted to combine his love for animals and rehabilitation with hers for teaching people to respect wildlife. She was going to work with him, side by side on a daily basis and someday, years into the future, decide how to deal with his retirement. The plan had never been to leave her to run the sanctuary alone, with nothing but a few very opinionated helpers.

But, while she was away, Brandon and Jake had joined her father. After her father had his first stroke, he’d begun making changes she’d never foreseen. Shutting down programs, turning away animals. He’d begun taking Jake’s advice over hers, even going so far as mentioning that Jake might be a good replacement after he retired. She’d turn over Sierra Tracks to Wally and let the bear run it before she let Jake take over. He was obnoxious, opinionated and overly critical of anything that wasn’t his own idea. If he had his way, Sierra Tracks would only rescue a few species and the rest of the animals deserved to be euthanized.

“He’s going crazy in that cage now.” Jake’s voice grated on Emma’s already frazzled nerves as he and Brandon approached from behind.

Speak of the devil, she thought. She might be better off running the sanctuary alone than trying to do it with Jake. At least then she wouldn’t have someone bent on destroying every ounce of confidence she’d once held in her skills.

“I know,” she admitted. “Why don’t we give him—”

“Please tell me you’re not going to drug him just so you don’t have to give him up?”

“Jake,” Brandon scolded him. “She’s just trying to help Buster.”

“With more drugs.”

“No,” she answered slowly, trying to quench her temper. “But I don’t want him stressed out more than he needs to be at this point, either. Just until he settles back in again.”

“You need to put him down.”

“What?” She spun on Jake in disbelief. “Because he’s pacing?”

“And voicing his discomfort. He’s going to start getting violent if this keeps up.”’

“I’ll make some calls and see if I can’t find a rescue with a larger enclosure, one where he can move around more and climb.” She glanced back at Buster, rubbing his face over the chain link fencing, searching for a way out of his predicament and she felt her heart clench.

“No, you won’t.” He shoved his worn cowboy hat back off his forehead. “Because you’re still trying to turn these animals into something they aren’t. If they can’t be rehabilitated and rereleased, they need to be put down.” He pointed a finger at the mountain lion. “Doing that to him is inhumane.”

“I’m not euthanizing him because some idiot unlocked his cage. It’s not Buster’s fault.”

“I think you need to at least consider what he’s saying, Emma,” Brandon said, his quiet voice surprising her. “Buster may not be at fault but Jake’s right. This isn’t fair to him. He’s miserable now.”

Jake crossed his arms, widening his stance, as if daring her to push this further. Brandon was usually the voice of reason between them when they disagreed, which was practically hourly. But, she couldn’t euthanize Buster, not because someone used him to target her. She didn’t want his death on her conscience.

“Let’s see if he calms down after a few days.”

Jake tipped his chin up. “And what happens when he turns on someone? You think I’m taking that blame? Or that risk?”

“I didn’t ask you to—”

“If you keep him here, Emma, you are.” Brandon took a step closer to his brother, making her wonder when this had come to taking sides. “What would your father have done?”

She’d had enough of people questioning her decisions for the sanctuary, enough of Jake’s open animosity and disrespect for her position. Sierra Tracks was hers now and she needed to run it her way.

“You know what, you’re right.”

“I know I am.” Jake’s stance relaxed slightly and he tucked his hands into his pockets which seemed to pacify Brandon as well.

“And you shouldn’t be worried about your safety while you’re working.”

“Exactly.”

Brandon shot her a sideways glance, narrowing his eyes as if curious about her sudden acquiesce.

“You should probably grab your gear and leave.”

“What?”

“What?” Brandon repeated. “You can’t—”

“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong. I can, and I just did.”

“But Conrad said—” Brandon sputtered, choking on his words.

Emma didn’t give either of them the opportunity to say more. “I’m the one in charge now. I don’t know what went on between you and my father, or why he was willing to listen to some of your ideas, especially when they contradicted what he told me for years he wanted for Sierra Tracks, but I’m not going to have anyone here who doesn’t believe in the way I’m doing things. We’ve obviously come to that point.”

“What?” Jake sputtered again. “Your dad hired me. He wanted me in charge.”

His words were a knife to her heart, chipping away at her confidence. Emma took a deep breath, steeling herself. Maybe her father had wanted him in charge, or wanted them to work together, but that wasn’t the way it turned out.

“I understand that the two of you worked well together but I can’t say the same about us. So, thank you for what you’ve accomplished here over the past few years, but this is where we part ways. I’ll have your final check ready for you in the morning.”

Jake clamped his jaw shut with a snap. She could see the muscle twitching with his rage as he glowered at her. “You’ll regret this. I promise you.”

Spinning on his heel, Jake headed back to the main office, gravel kicking up behind his boots.

Not any more than I regret keeping you here so long.

“Emma, you can’t do this.” Brandon watched his brother walk away. “You’re barely keeping the place afloat now.”

“I understand your loyalty to your brother, Brandon. I really do. But the conflict between us was causing more problems than it was solving.”

“Then you’ll understand why I can’t stay?”

She’d thought he might follow his brother. “I really hate to see you leave, Brandon. Where your brother and I butt heads, you and I tend to see eye to eye.”

“Do we?” His eyes were suddenly cold, almost callous, as he pinched his mouth into a thin line and shook his head. “Because if we did, you wouldn’t have fired Jake. Jake,” he called, running after his older brother. “Wait up. I’m coming too.”

Emma watched them leave. As worried as she was about finding someone to replace Jake, or running the facility without him, and as disappointed as she was to see Brandon leave, she couldn’t deny that it felt like a weight had just been lifted from her shoulders. It was as if the negativity was exiting the premises with them.

“That bitch has no idea who she’s dealing with.”

Ben instantly recognized Jake’s voice from where he sat with Angie in the bar. He quickly glanced around, praying Emma wasn’t here and saw him sitting in the back corner with his brother and a few other friends. But Emma was nowhere in sight.

He still hadn’t gotten up the nerve to call her. He wasn’t even sure what he wanted to say. And the more time that went by, the less certain he was that there was anything he could say to make it right. He’d hurt her, although he still wasn’t entirely sure what he’d said or done, and he wanted to fix it.

In truth, the past two days had been hell. Every moment had been consumed with thoughts about her—was she okay, which animal was she working with, what could he do to help her—and being on duty had only made it harder because he struggled to maintain focus to keep his crew safe. He had to keep his mind on his duty and not on a woman who’d made it clear that she didn’t want him around.

They’d put out three grass fires in the last forty-eight hours, thanks to people and their damn cigarettes. Between the fires and the tossing and turning he’d done, trying not to think about Emma, he was beat. But when Angie offered to buy him a beer after their shift, he didn’t turn her down. Not only did he need to wind down but it gave him a reason not to call Emma.

Besides, Angie didn’t drink often but when she did, it was never just one and always because of trouble with a guy. It was safer for him to keep an eye on her and drive her home rather than leave her to her own devices.

“Pipe down, Jake,” his friends said, slapping his shoulder and sliding a beer his direction. “You didn’t like working for her as it was.” Ben caught a glimpse of Brandon trying to calm his brother as he waved the waitress over for another round.

“That doesn’t mean I can afford to be unemployed. Damn bitch! That place is going to crash and burn without me.” Jake slid off the side of his chair and landed on his ass.

Brandon pulled him back up. “Shut up. We’ll be fine and I’ll take care . . .”

Ben missed the rest of what Brandon said as Angie continued to bemoan her latest ex, a lowlife who wrecked her car while he was out on a date with another woman.

“I can’t believe that cocksucker . . .” Angie slapped a hand on the top of the table. “Hey! Are you even listening to me?”

“Yeah,” he lied, watching from the corner of his eye as Jake wobbled and fell against the side of the table. The man was completely smashed and he was tempted to go over to find out whether Emma had actually fired him and why.

She tipped her head to one side, her dark hair falling over one shoulder, brown eyes gleaming with humor. “Really?”

“Okay, halfway,” Ben admitted with a lopsided grin.

“Why do I even bother talking to you? You haven’t been on a date in at least a year and a half.”

“Because I’m the only guy at the station that isn’t trying to get into your pants.”

She rolled her eyes before they took on a hopeful gleam. “You think Ryan might be interested?”

“Are you kidding, woman? That is why you end up sitting here with me. Because you keep picking assholes. Why don’t you pick a guy who’s interested in more than just a one-night stand?”

“Because I’d end up with a guy like you, Ben. A sweet guy with marriage on his mind. I’m not ready for that.”

“I don’t have marriage on my mind.” He ran his fingers over the condensation gathering on the glass of ice water in front of him.

“Pshhh.” Angie waved a hand at him and downed the rest of her beer. “Sure, you don’t. You are Mr. Responsible, Always-Do-The-Right-Thing, Put-A-Ring-On-It. Maybe if you’d been more impulsive or spontaneous, we’d still be together.”

Ben tipped his head to one side, the corner of his mouth quirking in doubt. “That wasn’t the reason we split up.”

“I know, I know. I guess Colby cheating on me is karma for what I did to you.” Angie rolled her eyes, and reached for his hand, giving it a quick squeeze. “Trust me, I wish I could have made myself feel that way about you. But you’re like a brother to me.”

“And I’m totally okay with that.” It was funny how Angie cheating on him and dumping him for another man had led them to this point of their odd but working friendship. He lifted his glass in a toast. “To making better decisions in the future.”

“You drink to that. I’m drinking to misbehaving tonight.” Angie clinked her beer bottle against his glass, her gaze shooting toward the door of the bar as it opened. Ben didn’t miss the instant interest there just before she tossed back what little was left of her beer. She rose and dragged her hand over his shoulder. “Head home, McQuaid. I just found my ride for the night.”

He watched as she strolled over to where Ryan and Kevin, the two probies in the department, including the one he’d knocked around a bit, made their way to the bar to order drinks. Sliding one arm around each, Angie’s body language would be difficult to mistake. She wasn’t going home alone and she could take her pick of which man she wanted, or both, which left him free to head home.

“I’m going to kill that fucking bitch the next time I see her.” Jake’s voice carried across the pool tables and the televisions tuned to some sports talk show. “Please, tell me that’s her truck.”

“Where?” Brandon tried to pull his brother away from the windows that ran the length of the wall.

“Right there, and if she so much as sets foot in here—”

Ben saw Emma’s truck parked a few spots from the front doors and heard the chirp of her car alarm. Jake was already staggering toward the front doors, ready to meet her at the entrance. As much as Ben had wanted to reconcile with Emma, it looked like he was going to have to rescue her first.

Now, he had to figure out how to rescue a woman who didn’t even understand she needed saving?