Ranger, accustomed to searching out ahead of her, was up by a large boulder. He, too, steered clear of the groomed tracks.Nick was a few yards behind her. He was smooth and strong on snowshoes he'd borrowed from A.J. Several inches of snow had fallen late last night and into the morning. The sky was beginning to clear, a few streaks of blue breaking through the white, the late-morning sun beaming through in a thin ray of light. There'd been a brief alert overnight for a pair of hikers lost on state land, but they'd turned up unharmed.Ranger paused just past the boulder, his golden coat standing out against the white landscape. Rose caught up with him, then looped behind a hemlock, its branches laden with snow, onto a shortcut to the sugar shack.Nick eased in next to her. She smiled at him. "It's a beautiful day. I'd love to head down to the lake after we're done at the sugar shack. The trail's steep. It's a little tricky even on snowshoes.""You can manage?" he asked her."Of course, but I've done the trail practically since I could walk.""No worries, sweetheart," he said.
