Wind Shadow Read Online Free Page A

wouldn’t have been my guess.”
    Silky’s face flushed scarlet at the unexpectedly sensual quality of his deep voice. She swallowed uneasily, but before she could speak, Rex walked swiftly up to them, pushing his bike and sputtering angrily under his breath.
    Coming to a stop at their feet, he exploded, “Who the hell is the wise guy?”
    Wade frowned, crossing his arms casually over his chest. “Beg pardon?”
    Rex gritted through clenched teeth, “Some creep let the air out of my tires when I was—uh, indisposed.”
    “No!” gasped Silky.
    Wade lifted a questioning brow. “Are you sure? Maybe you just had a slow leak.”
    Rex’s light blue eyes flashed angrily. “Am I sure! Of course I’m sure. Just what kind of a fool do you take me for?”
    Wade shrugged, rubbing a fist across his mouth and mumbling something that sounded like, “Not sure yet.” Or did he? Silky couldn’t be absolutely certain.
    Rex blurted, “Well! What are you going to do about this?”
    Wade shrugged wide shoulders and slowly stood up, dusting off his shorts as he straightened.Nodding at Rex, he turned toward the main gathering. “Say!” he called loudly, “Did anyone let the air out of this man’s tires?”
    The bikers, lounging in small groups or standing idly beside their bikes, all stared blankly back or shook their heads in the negative.
    Silky saw Annie now, seated cross-legged beside a young married couple, Beth and Dan. Annie’s expression was every bit as bewildered as the others’.
    Wade nodded, apparently satisfied. “Okay, thanks.” Turning back to Rex, he said, “Well, Overbridge, it looks like you just ran into some prankster passing by. Next time, you might take your bike into the woods with you.”
    Rex’s look was one of complete astonishment. “What? You mean to tell me that’s all you’re going to do about this?”
    Wade pursed his lips in thought. “Can’t really do much, Rex. I didn’t have room on the bike for my lie detector, so I guess we’ll just have to take these folks’ word for it this time.”
    “And that’s it! That’s all? I had to walk this thing six miles, you realize.”
    “Six miles,” Wade repeated, shaking his head and looking concerned, but not overly so. “You don’t have a pump, I take it.”
    Rex snarled back, “If I did, I wouldn’t have had to walk!”
    “Too bad.” Wade took hold of the handle bars. “Well, I do. Have your lunch and get some rest while I pump this up. We’ll be leaving in aboutten minutes.” With a friendly nod toward Silky, Wade led the bike away.
    Silky stood and stretched, brushing the crumbs of her dehydrated dinner from her lap. It was after ten o’clock, but still dusky light on this long, Alaskan summer evening. Dinner over, most of the pack were either quietly talking around the dwindling embers of the camp’s fire, or pitching their one-man tents.
    Silky was bone weary but, after spending most of the last year working nights, she found it hard to imagine going to bed this early. Besides, she felt grimy. She wondered if she really could hear the faint gurgle of a stream from the nearby woods.
    She decided it wouldn’t hurt to check. Pulling a robe, soap and a towel from her pannier, she walked off into the Alaskan twilight along a woodland path.
    Yes. The gurgling grew louder. Silky smiled when she finally saw the water sparkling beyond the trees. Reaching the grassy shore, she looked around. Deciding that she was safely alone, she stripped off her white tank top and shorts, shoes and socks, leaving on only her brief bra and panties.
    Just as she moved to unfasten the catch between her breasts, a hand slid boldly around to her bare stomach. “You’ve lost a little weight,” a familiar voice whispered near her ear. “I might add, you’re looking great.” His fingers pulled her back, kneading the skin lightly.
    She sucked in a surprised breath. “Rex! W—what are you doing here?”
    He turned her to him. His smile was dashing,