He breathed in deeply, treasuring the smell of her and the feel of her in his arms, finally. Gently his kissed the top of her head, loving the touch of her silky hair against his lips. “It’s over, Jordan. He’ll never bother you again.”
In the distance they could hear the screaming of approaching sirens howling through the darkness. Wolf allowed his hands to slip down her back, drawing her closer against him, drinking eagerly of her smell and the touch of her hands gripping his shoulders.
Her face was buried against his chest, her arms caressing his broad back. His head slipped around the top of her head and down against her cheek. He used his cheek and chin to push her loose hair back so he could feel her cheek against his. Slowly he turned his face and he felt her respond as he nudged her head around so their lips were almost touching.
“I’ve wanted you in my arms like this since the first time I walked around the back of the trailer and saw you standin’ there. I’ve dreamed it.” He voice was soft and husky as his breath caressed her ear.
“Me, too.” She wondered if he could feel her heart pounding against his chest. “I’ve wanted to be in your arms worse than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”
His head turned just enough to allow his lips to barely touch hers. “I felt it, and it’s been so hard to maintain any semblance of professionalism.” His lips touched hers again, lingering only for a second. He lifted his head and brought one hand around to cradle her cheek. “My job here is over. From here on, I’m just a man and you’re a woman.”
Jordan’s full lips tilted as she looked up at him. “Yes. You’re a man and I’m a woman. I’m a woman who has been alone for five years and I’m so tired of alone.”
Wolf smiled down at her. “I think I can take care of that problem.”
She loved the way his blue eyes seemed to sparkle with laughter. “I have no doubt.”
They heard the patrol cars slow and turn onto the dirt drive coming up from the highway toward the barn. Slowly Wolf lowered his head and covered her lips with his, once, twice, and then slowly settle on hers for a slow lingering kiss. They would not be denied one full kiss while there was still time. One kiss, each second promising that it was just a beginning. Finally he lifted his head and pulled her head against his shoulder again, cradling her in his arms as the patrol cars slid to a stop and four deputies hurriedly, but cautiously approached the barn entrance with their guns drawn. He spoke quietly to the big red dog and obediently, the animal moved to Jordan’s side and sat down.
Continuing to support her in his arms, Wolf identified himself and Jordan, although both of them, and Lambert were illuminated by the shaft of light that spilled from the door of the office.
Another vehicle arrived and John Davis jumped out and hurried into the barn as his four deputies were returning their handguns to their respective holsters. “Jordan?” His eyes quickly took in the scene and he felt a flood of fear as he saw Wolf clearly supporting her in his arms.
Jordan lifted her head and smiled at the sheriff. Slowly, she withdrew from Wolf’s chest, although she deliberately remained close enough that one of the big deputy’s arms stayed around her back. “I’m fine, Sheriff John.”
He crossed the barn toward them and began giving directions to the four deputies that followed him. He squatted beside Lambert and felt for a pulse, then called for an ambulance. He looked up at Jordan and Wolf. “He’s still alive.”
“My eyes must be getting’ bad,” Wolf muttered. “I thought I drilled him right through the heart.”
John Davis shrugged. “You kept her safe. That’s what’s important.”
Wolf’s arm behind her tightened slightly and Jordan leaned against him. “Did you doubt that I would?”
John Davis chuckled dryly. “Not really. I just didn’t know how seriously you would take the assignment.”
“I took it very seriously.” Wolf admitted, smiling down at the woman beside him.
Her face flushed as she looked up at him, then at the old lawman. “He was totally professional. In fact, he was professional to a fault.” She smiled and let the back of her head lean against Wolf’s chest. “But now, that assignment is over.”
John Davis shook his head negatively. “Not until the paperwork is done and turned in.”
Wolf groaned audibly. “That’s the downside of law enforcement.”
John looked at his watch. “By the time we get him transported, and secure the scene, it should be about daylight. You can go on down to the office now and get it over with, if you want to. Take my truck. My other deputies and I will be around here for a while.” The sheriff looked at Jordan as he tossed his keys to Wolf. “Do you think you can get some rest?”
She shrugged, then turned and looked at Frankie Lambert lying so still on the floor of the barn. “Are you sure he’s alive?”
John Davis nodded. “Yeah, he’s alive. The ambulance will be here shortly to take him to the hospital. You can stay down here with me until that happens, if it’ll make you feel better.”
She nodded, and then turned to speak softly with Wolf before he reluctantly withdrew from her and walked to the front of the barn and disappeared into the darkness of the night.
Her eyes seemed drawn to Lambert, lying so still on the floor of the barn. She was doing some inner soul searching. She didn’t want to wish death on anyone, but just knowing that Lambert was still alive made her uncomfortable. What if he regained consciousness? Could he over power Sheriff John and his deputies? Then she touched the grip of her handgun that Wolf had transferred to the pocket of her robe, before he left the barn, and a smile spread her lips. He wanted to make sure she could protect herself, even in the presence of the sheriff and four deputies.
John Davis hadn’t missed the intimacy his deputy and Jordan appeared to have developed. He couldn’t say he was surprised. She was a beautiful woman and Wolf was definitely a masculine man. He’d suspected there was an attraction between them almost from the beginning. He’d been a little concerned to start with, but after talking with Don, he accepted that Wolf Cetan was everything his previous supervisor had claimed he was.
It was good to know that Jordan had finally allowed someone to touch her heart again. On the floor, Lambert groaned and stirred, drawing his attention.
Jordan saw the movement and stepped back away from the injured man. Sensing her fear, Sheriff John squatted and even though he was sure Lambert was only semi-conscious, he secured the man’s hands with a pair of handcuffs. In the distance, they could hear the wail of an ambulance, racing toward the barn.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jordan sat on her porch, watching Feather riding her gelding in the training ring beside the barn. She was so glad that she had been able to resume her friendship with the girl. Although she hadn’t known her a long time, she felt a kinship with Feather that she had never shared with anyone outside her family.
Thinking of family, she glanced down at the engagement ring Wolf and slipped onto her finger last night. It was almost frightening to think of getting married again, but it was even more terrifying to think of spending the rest of her life without him at her side.
It didn’t seem possible that six weeks had passed since the night Wolf had prevented Lambert from getting to the house. There were still nights when Bhrandii had to nudge her awake from a nightmare. But now it was a new nightmare. In this one, she rushed into the barn to find Wolf lying on the ground dead. She was always glad when the dog awakened her.
Lambert had returned to prison with a couple of added life sentences tacked onto the one he was already serving, but now, his time would be spent in a wheelchair. She was content that he would not escape again.
Thinking he was dying, Lambert had confessed to killing Mr. and Mrs. Swartz and told them about Ruby helping him escape. He even confessed to killing her, although he couldn’t tell them exactly where to find her remains.
Jordan was glad there had not been another trial. She wasn’t sure she could have sat in the
same courtroom with him, while it took place.
Bhrandii as usual was lying curled on the porch near her feet. He was contentedly holding down his new playmate. The small female Rhodesian Ridgeback pup squirmed and nipped his foot, causing him to release her, and then she crawled up on his back and lay down. They called her Emma and she had been an early wedding gift from Mac and Mary and came from an entirely different bloodline than Bhrandii. When she grew up, the two would have beautiful puppies.
A truck pulled to a stop down at the barn and Mac’s middle son, Steve hopped out and waved toward the house at Jordan, but his attention was fixed on the Indian girl riding the rangy paint gelding in the training ring. He walked quickly to the gate and propped one foot up on the bottom panel, smiling up at her. She stopped her mount next to him and dismounted. It was easy to see the two enjoyed being together. Jordan wasn’t surprised. Feather would be good for Steve. He had been Mac and Mary’s wild child, but it didn’t take long for him to discover that the object of his affection wasn’t interested in his foolishness. He had fallen hard for Feather and with her encouragement had returned to school to become a law enforcement officer. He figured his wild shenanigans gave him extra insight into the way criminal minds worked.
Then a four wheel drive SUV bearing the insignias of the Sheriff’s Department crept slowly up the driveway and Jordan pushed to her feet. It was Wolf!
He drove all the way to the house, but having seen Steve and Feather together, his attention was divided.
Jordan hurried off the porch and met him as he emerged from the vehicle.
“What’s he doin’ here?” Wolf said, bending to place a gentle kiss on her lips.
She smiled. “What do you think he’s doing here?”
“I’m not sure I like him hangin’ around Feather all the time.” He dropped one arm around her as they strode toward the porch.
She shrugged, still smiling. “I don’t think either one of them care what you think.”
He grasped one of her arms in his hand and pulled her around so she was facing him. “Is that the kind of supportive wife you’ll be?”
She laughed softly and nodded. “Yes. I promise to always be honest with you.”
Their arms encircled each other. Jordan sighed deeply, then the doubts she had been repressing all day suddenly overpowered her and she was almost sobbing when she spoke.
“Do you think David would hate me for loving you as much as I do, for being as happy as I am now?” She whispered her deepest fear to him.
He drew her closer and shook his head negatively. “No, Sugar. He loved you enough to give his life so you could go on livin’. Not so you could stay alive and spend the rest of your life grievin’ for him. I know that, because that’s how much I love you.”
Silently, she nodded her head against his broad shoulder. “I guess I know that. It’s just once in a while, I’m so happy, I feel guilty. The therapist I went to called it Survivors Guilt.”
“Well, no more Survivors Guilt! We have a weddin’ to plan.” He admonished her gently as they ended the embrace and walked up the steps onto the porch.
Bhrandii had followed Jordan, dumping Emma on the porch to whine after him. She was still not comfortable traversing the steps. When they reached the porch, she wriggled happily against their feet.
Wolf leaned down and picked her up. There was already an amazing bond between the two of them. Her pink tongue licked eagerly, trying to reach his face. Wolf chuckled indulgently and let her wash his hand instead.
He turned and looked at the woman standing beside him. How she’d come to be the center of his universe, he didn’t know. That she was, he understood and accepted. He’d been blessed beyond belief when she came into his life.
Feather laughed at something Steve said and stretched her hand up to stroke his cheek tenderly. The sound drew Wolf’s pale eyes back to them. He turned his head to look at Jordan again. “I guess you’re right. She put her whole life aside and moved here with no hesitation, for me, I suppose I can learn to accept the friends she chooses.”
Jordan smiled up at him. “Honestly, I don’t think you have much choice. Maybe Steve didn’t mature as fast as a lot of people have, but I think Feather has been good for him. She’s made it clear that she’s not putting up with any foolishness on his part. Mac and Mary are so proud of the changes he’s making in his life and they give all the credit for those changes to your baby sister.”
Wolf’s white teeth flashed with his smile. “Smart Indian women always know how to get their men to do what they want. I should have remembered that.”
“Indian women?” Jordan queried him. “I think you might want to rephrase that!”
He lowered his head and kissed her quickly. “You’ll be an Indian soon. By marriage.” He nuzzled lazily along her chin down to the soft skin of her neck. “And you certainly know how to get me to do what you want.”
“Hey you two,” Feather’s voice drew them both to the present and they stepped apart.
Wolf bent down and put Emma on the porch beside Bhrandii who was sitting near their feet, as the younger couple approached the porch, hand in hand. The puppy hurried over to lick the larger dog around the face until he stood up, lifting his head out of her reach. She bounced around his front feet, barking and growling threateningly. The huge male dog looked down at her in disdain, then with an air of superiority, he trotted down the steps and out into the yard. Emma followed him as far as the steps, then stopped and whined fearfully. She hated the steps.
Feather, at the bottom of the steps lifted the puppy and stood her on the ground after which she quickly scampered off after Bhrandii. Then Feather looked back up at her brother and his betrothed. “Steve and I are going for pizza after I put Music away. Do you want to go?”
Wolf looked at Jordan who nodded. “Sounds good to me,” he agreed. “Why don’t we meet y’all there. There’s somethin’ I need to discuss with Jordan before we leave. Y’all can go ahead and order for us. Lots of meat, thin crust.”
Jordan nodded her assent. “And peppers,” she added.
They waited until Feather and Steve headed back to the barn then went inside. Jordan looked at him. “We have something to discuss?”
He nodded and took her hand leading her into the living room. He settled into the big comfortable chair and pulled her down into his lap. “I can’t marry you without bein’ totally truthful with you.”
Her insides drew into a knot and her heart skipped a few beats. “Alright. This is sounding a little frightening, so maybe you just need to get it done, because you are not getting out of marrying me.”
He raised one of her hands to his mouth and kissed her palm softly. “I haven’t always been Daniel Chetan. I was born Hank Silver Hawk, and officially, I’m a dead man.”
Jordan looked at him, hoping to see a flash of humor in his eyes, but instead she saw only endless, solemn blue. “Well,” she finally managed to say, “I hope you don’t plan to stop with that revelation.”
Reluctantly he filled her in on his life in the northwest, and ended with him and Feather deciding to bring Pride to her.
Jordan was stunned. “How long were you in the hospital?”
He shrugged. “Several weeks. I’m not sure exactly.”
“So do you think the gang would follow you all the way down here?” She asked.
He shook his head negatively. “No. They were mostly low profile pushers and such, but I knew who one of the big shots was, and before I …uh…before I died, I gave a deposition about his involvement. Last I heard he was goin’ away for a long time.”
Jordan shrugged and leaned back to rest her head in the curve of his neck, against his shoulder. “So what’s the problem?”
Wolf tightened his arms around her. “The problem is he has a couple of brothers who have put out a contract on me. It seems they’re a pretty close knit family.”
Jordan frowned. “A close knit family of drug pushers?”
Wolf shrugged. “More lik
e a family that’s really a drug cartel, from Mexico.”
“They put out a contract on Hank Silver Wolf, right? And now they think you’re dead.” She stroked his cheek with one hand. “They don’t know where or who you are now, do they?”
He shook his head. “That’s why Flower and I moved all the way across the country. That’s why we have new identities, but I just felt that you needed to know the truth.” He shifted in the chair and turned her to face him better, one of his hands drawing her face to his. He didn’t think he’d ever get close enough to her. “I’ve never known a woman who had such interestin’ lips. They were made to be kissed.”
Jordan chuckled from deep in her throat. “Then why aren’t you kissing them?”
“Because,” his drawl came out deep and rough sending shivers up and down her spine. “With you sittin’ on my lap like this, and us all alone here, just a couple of your kisses might make me want to change my mind about waitin’ until we’re married. Are you ready to make that move?”
She sighed deeply and reluctantly slipped off his lap. “You know, we really don’t need to plan a wedding. We could just go down to the court-house and have a civil ceremony.”
Wolf unfolded his big frame and stood up. “And have Feather, the Sheriff’s Department, your church people, Mac and Mary and Clay and Sue all mad at us? I don’t think we’re ready for that.” He swatted her fanny playfully as she walked toward the door.
She caught his hand and lifted it to her lips. “We need to get everything set so the wedding can happen as soon as Clay and Sue can get here. I love you Wolf and I’ve never been very good at waiting for what I want.”
Another Chance Page 17