by Kate Douglas
“Hear what?” Dar looked in the same direction as Elle. “I don’t hear anything.”
Elle stood. “I’m going to get Tuck, see if he’ll go with me. You know how I am with animals.” She brushed the pine needles off her jeans and headed toward Tuck and Lawz.
Dar called out, “Just don’t go rescuing any more snakes, okay? I draw the line at snakes.”
They all laughed when, without turning around, Elle raised her right hand high and flipped them off.
Tuck hadn’t been able to take his eyes off Elle all morning, and now, as he watched her walking toward him, he almost laughed at the immediacy of his reaction. She wore beat-up hiking boots, nylon cargo pants, and a tank top with her jacket wrapped around her waist. There was a faded Portland Trail Blazers cap on top of her head, and the red, faded almost to pink, clashed horribly with her burgundy hair. Nothing fancy about her clothes, but even in well-worn hiking gear, the woman was sex personified—his very own fertility goddess.
Somehow, he was keeping her.
“Tuck?” She stopped in front of him. “Would you come with me? I think I hear an animal in distress, and I’d rather not wander into the woods on my own.” She laughed. “I hear there are wolves around here.”
That wasn’t at all what he expected her to say. “What’d you hear?”
“A short, sharp bleating, like a lamb, but higher pitched. Whatever it is, it’s hurt or frightened.”
“Sounds like a fawn.” He turned to Lawz. “Be right back, okay?” Lawz nodded, and Tuck stood. “Where’d you hear it? What direction did the sound come from?”
“This way.”
She led him toward the grove of cedar trees like a woman on a mission. He felt like a tethered balloon following her. The enticing sway of her rounded hips and the way her hair bounced against her back strung him along, and the only downside was his fervent hope that they wouldn’t find a badly injured animal. The last thing he wanted to do was put one down with all the women up here on what was supposed to be a fun excursion. Mentally crossing his fingers, when Elle dipped beneath a low growing branch, he followed close behind her.
A doe leapt out of the brush, a big mule deer with full teats, which meant an injured fawn, most likely. The doe didn’t go very far, but what surprised Tuck was Elle’s reaction—or lack of one. She didn’t act the least bit surprised by the doe. Instead, she headed directly toward a clump of bright orange mule’s ear daisies. Then she was down on her knees, cooing softly to a fawn lying in the middle of the flowers.
“Whatcha got?” He knelt beside her. The fawn was lying stretched out in the tangle of leaves. It tried to raise its head, but the animal was obviously weak. Tuck wasn’t getting a good feeling about this at all. The poor little thing was at least a couple of months old—its spots had faded until they barely showed, and the coat was mostly grayish brown.
Elle didn’t seem worried by the animal’s condition; right now, she was all business. He watched, fascinated, as she ran her hands over the wild creature. She crooned softly, a light, rhythmic humming that must have had a calming effect, because the fawn, while it watched her intently, showed absolutely no fear.
“The bone here”—she cupped his right front leg below the knee—“is cracked. Not broken completely, but it hurts too much, so he can’t walk on it.”
He didn’t doubt her—she sounded absolutely sure of herself—but how the hell could she diagnose an injury like that merely from touch? Before he could question her, she turned to him and took a deep breath. “You can’t tell anyone what I’m going to do, okay?”
“What are you going to do?”
She looked deadly serious, whatever it was. “Promise me.”
He smiled and twisted a loop of her burgundy hair around his fingers. “As long as you don’t do something that can get you hurt, I won’t say a word.”
“Thank you.”
“Okay. Can I help?”
“Don’t let anyone come near. And you might need to help me walk back when I’m done.”
Before he could question that curious comment, Elle cupped her hands gently around the injured leg, leaned close, and blew a soft breath over it. The fawn sighed and relaxed. His head went down, and his eyelids fluttered shut. Tuck was almost certain he saw a soft, golden glow over the animal’s gray fur in that space between her palms. Fascinated, he watched as Elle cupped the leg, rubbing gently along the broken area with her thumbs, her soft crooning so hypnotic that it easily found its way deep inside Tuck’s soul.
After a while, he heard footsteps, and knowing Elle didn’t want to be disturbed, he quietly stood and walked back along the trail to meet Lawz. “Go on ahead, okay?” he whispered. “We’ll catch up in a bit. Tell the girls Elle’s helping me with an injured fawn. But leave a sandwich or something for her to eat. I think she’s going to need it.”
Lawz was obviously curious as hell, but he merely nodded and headed back up the trail. Tuck went back to kneel beside Elle once again. The fawn slept, eyes shut, his breathing even and deep. Elle didn’t seem to be aware Tuck had gone and then returned, so focused was she on the injured leg.
It was close to half an hour before she raised her head and smiled at him. “It’s fine now. I am so blessed to have this gift to heal. My grandmother had the gift, but not my father. It sort of skips around, but I can heal animals if the injuries aren’t too severe. I need to see if he can walk before we leave. He’s been like this since yesterday, so I know he needs to eat.”
She turned and nodded. “Mama’s over there. Can you move away a bit, maybe back up the trail about a dozen feet?”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “You have the scent of wolf about you. Mama’s merely tolerating you, and Junior here doesn’t know any better, but I want her to come closer to feed him. He might need some help.”
How the hell could she possibly know that? “You’re the boss,” he said, but as he moved away, his mind was spinning. After what Lawz had told him, and what Manny and Drew said happened with Jules, he was beginning to think this entire group of women had an extra sense or two. As he backed away and Elle helped the fawn to his feet, he figured it might be an extra three or more extra senses.
The fawn was standing with his weight on all four legs, a bit wobbly but looking for his mama. And here came the doe, ears pricked forward, head low and nose twitching as she got close enough to recognize her baby. The fawn took a stumbling step toward her as Elle sat back and watched. The doe licked her baby and held still while he butted at her teat and finally latched on.
Elle watched with a huge smile on her face. And then, as if she suddenly remembered Tuck was even there, she turned and gave him a thumbs-up. A couple of minutes later, the fawn stopped feeding, and the mama and baby slipped away into the trees.
Tuck walked back to Elle and took both her hands to pull her to her feet. She was shaky and wobbled a bit, so he steadied her. “Are you going to tell me how you do that?”
She leaned against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her.
“I have absolutely no idea. Memaw, my grandmother, showed me how when I was little. I’ve been able to heal injured animals since before I could remember. That’s why I wanted to be a vet. I figured that with my gift and some actual training, I could be a really good veterinarian.”
“I think you’d be an amazing vet. I would really like to have you go with me on my rounds one day this week, just to see you in action again.”
“You’d let me come?” She shrugged and looked away. “I told you, I couldn’t make the grades for veterinary school.”
He shook his head, absolutely amazed by the woman he’d already decided belonged to him. Cupping her face in his palms, he gently turned her to face him. “Grades don’t heal broken bones. Grades don’t calm frightened, hurting animals. You have something that all my training and advanced degrees will never allow me to do. Your grandmother was right—it really is an amazing gift.”
He slipped his hands to her shoulders an
d gazed directly into her eyes. Dark brown like that injured fawn’s, but so bright they made him think of her spirit shining through. “I don’t want to lose that, Elle.” He kissed her then, a long, slow, sweet kiss that left him wanting so much more. “I don’t want to lose you.”
She hung on to his hand, thinking, as they walked slowly back to the main trail. She’d never said a word about her gift to anyone but her girlfriends, yet she hadn’t hesitated to tell Tuck. She could rationalize because he’d watched her do it so there was no hiding, but that wasn’t the full reason. She wanted him to know. Wanted him to see what they had in common.
They stepped out onto the trail. No one had waited for them. “Where’d they go?”
“Lawz showed up while you were healing the fawn. I told him to go ahead and we’d catch up. I wasn’t sure how long it would take you, but that wasn’t too long ago. They’re probably almost to the lake. But …” He walked across the clearing and grabbed a small insulated bag hanging from a tree branch. “They left you a sandwich. I hope.”
“I hope so, too.” She plopped her tail on a fallen tree before she fell over. After the hike and the healing, she felt weak and half-starved, but the fawn was okay. And so was she, when Tuck opened the bag and handed a big turkey sandwich on a French roll to her. “Is there one for you?”
“No. I haven’t done anything to earn an early lunch. You have.”
“I’ll share.”
“You’ll eat. And then you’ll tell me why you think the doe thought I smelled like a wolf.”
She’d been afraid that was coming, but it was obvious they both had secrets. “Well, I’ve never been around wolves before, but I had an awesome gray-and-black wolf sleeping beside me all night. I wasn’t the least bit afraid of him because I sort of suspected he was you.”
“Why would you think anything so—”
She held up the hand that wasn’t full of sandwich. “Silly? Unbelievable? I thought at first that he reminded me of you, but I wasn’t sure why. Then, when I buried my nose in his fur and was drifting off to sleep, I realized he smelled just like you. At first I thought it was merely a coincidence. I mean, men who can change into wolves? Impossible, right? But so is healing broken bones with touch, or like Darian, always knowing when someone is lying.”
She laughed at the look of consternation on his face. If he was planning to deny what she’d said, she’d somehow have to hook him up with Dar to get the truth out of him, though she’d much rather he just fess up. “Believe me, Tuck. After what the two of us did last night, I know you’re different. You’re special. No man has ever made me laugh so much or come so hard in my life. I really want to do that again, by the way.”
She finished the last few bites of her sandwich, wiped her fingers and face with the napkin that had been in the bag, and took a swallow out of her water bottle. Tuck hadn’t said a word. Instead, he was staring off into the forest as if the weight of the world lay across his broad shoulders. “For what it’s worth, Tuck, I don’t intend to tell anyone beyond these trees about you. I understand that keeping secrets is sometimes necessary. And while I don’t expect you to keep my abilities secret from the other guys here, I would appreciate the same consideration.”
He sat there, forearms resting on his powerful thighs, big hands hanging loosely between his knees, not saying a word. Finally, he turned and smiled at her. “You’ve turned my entire world upside down, you know. And I’ve only known you what, about, oh … maybe eighteen hours?” He laughed softly. “I would like to tell the guys about your gift, if only to share how amazing you are. I can’t discuss anything about your suspicions without talking to the other guys and our …”
He paused as if he was trying to figure out how to tell her what she’d already guessed.
“Your alpha?” She rubbed his tense shoulder when she said that. “Which means we’ll need to wait until we get back to the lodge so you can speak to Trak.”
He jerked around and stared at her. “But how—”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “He walks with authority, and while he doesn’t say or do anything at all bossy, it’s obvious that all of you defer to him. I think a couple of the others have already figured you guys out. It’s okay. We won’t talk.”
He nodded and then stood. Grabbing the small bag off the log and looping it over his shoulder, he reached for Elle’s hand. His silence spoke volumes.
A man able to shift into a wolf. It was something so far from reality it was almost impossible to believe … except she did believe. But did that mean there could never be anything between them? She couldn’t quite see herself married to a guy who went furry while she stayed home and sulked.
And that image had her biting her lips to keep from laughing. What a bizarre conversation she was having with herself!
After a few more minutes of an easy hike, they rounded a stand of pine trees, and a pristine mountain lake glistened in the sunlight, spreading across a small valley with the towering ridges and harsh cliffs of the Trinity Alps framing the scene. Elle stopped dead in her tracks and stared for a long, long moment in time. The entire view was exquisite, beyond anything she’d ever imagined, so stunning it hardly looked real. Thick tules grew along one end of the lake, the bulrushes home to dozens of red-winged blackbirds that were obviously the source of the lake’s name. Their calls echoed off the nearby cliffs. She blinked rapidly, clearing the tears from her eyes, and took a deep breath.
Tuck took hold of her hand and squeezed. His warm gaze said he understood the effect this magnificent little valley surrounded by stark mountain peaks was having on her.
Her friends were all down by the water’s edge while the guys spread a cloth over a picnic table set closer to the trees and set up their lunch. A few clouds floated over; the air was chilly, but it really was a flawless day. All this and she’d even saved the life of a fawn. Smiling, still hanging on to Tuck’s hand, she squeezed his fingers to get his attention. “You are so lucky to live in such a wonderful place. What’s it like here in the winter?”
“Cold,” he said, laughing. “Very cold, but it’s even better when the peaks are covered in snow and ice.”
“I’d love to see it.” She turned and studied him for a moment. He looked spectacular, his dark hair in loose curls over his head, his beard not much more than a heavy shadow that defined a strong jaw and an absolutely kissable mouth. She knew his chest was covered in a soft pelt of dark hair, and the tattoo decorating his right shoulder and wrapping across his back was like a magnet to her fingers. She really wished there was a good reason for him to take his shirt off, just so she could feast her eyes on all that male splendor.
Instead, she voiced a thought that had been rattling around in her head ever since he’d watched her heal the fawn, something she’d not really even considered other than as an errant wish. Now, though? It was more than a wish. It was something she felt that she really needed to do. He’d praised her healing. She wondered if he’d meant what he’d said.
“Dr. Jones?”
“Yes, Ms. Marcel?”
His lips twitched, and she knew he was fighting a smile.
“I’m ready for a career change,” she said. “Are you in the market for an assistant?”
The hike back down the mountain was a lot easier than going up. Jules had never really thought of herself as a country girl, but she had to admit that she loved the fresh air and the wide-open views, loved the idea of hiking with her best buds through rugged cedar and pine forests, and really loved the idea of two hot men paying her so much attention.
She might have started out with Manny, but Drew had latched on after spending the night—and there was no doubt in her mind that the second wolf had been Drew and the first one Manny—and she certainly wasn’t going to tell him she didn’t want him walking so close, touching so easily, looking so absolutely awesome.
He had no idea how much his scent, the mere fact of his proximity, turned her on. Her entire body was over-sensitized, her nipples hard
from the slight friction of her clothing over the tips, her panties damp—and it wasn’t just sweat from their hike
Good thing it wasn’t illegal: hiking while aroused. Try explaining that one to a judge. On the other hand, she’d actually been wondering what it would be like to have two sexy men in her bed. This was a vacation, after all. A chance to play out a fantasy or two … or more? Dar was practically connected at the hip to Lawz, and Elle and Tuck obviously had something going on that already looked like more than a vacation fling.
Which left Meg, who was engaged to be married, and Jules with both Manny and Drew paying court. Not a bad way to spend a week in the woods. Or in that cute little cabin. The thing was, how did a woman go about letting two very hot men know she was interested in sharing?
If nothing else, it gave her something to think about all the way back to the lodge.
Meg hadn’t expected to have so much fun on today’s hike, especially after she’d dumped all her neurotic angst on her best friends, but she’d loved every minute. When Elle talked about rescuing the fawn, Meg was reminded once again that she had the most wonderful friends around, women who were each so special in so many ways. But Elle? Elle was definitely something else. They all knew about her healing gift, but it was fun to hear her try to explain it to the guys. The best part was the way Dr. Tuck accepted everything she said without question.
Zach was like that. He deferred to Meg on so many things, accepting the fact that there were some things she knew more about than he did. She missed him. She thought of him constantly, wondered what he would think of this place, wondered what he’d think of her out hiking and playing in the woods, doing things that were totally out of character for her.
She wondered if it was bad form to invite a fiancé to a bachelorette party. The others had guys; in fact, it looked like Jules had two. Jules deserved two incredible men in her life, even if it was only for this week. They’d all figured out there had to be a horrible problem between Jules and her dentist boyfriend. She hadn’t said anything, but Meg was positive she’d quit her job when they broke up, even though Jules hadn’t said anything. Could her cocky dentist have been abusive?