by Jane Jamison
Dorrie had assured her that she was welcome, that Dina was just “going through a rough patch right now,” but that didn’t make Livi feel much better. She’d had her fair share of haters throughout life, but none had come on as strong or as hard as Dina had.
The girl was obsessed with Tony and obsessed people had a way of doing rash things. Hurtful, sometimes even dangerous things to those who got between them and the object of their obsession.
Under any other circumstances, Livi would’ve cut bait and left the fishing hole. She wasn’t one to fight when a fight wasn’t necessary. If Dina and Tony were already in a relationship, then she’d stay as far away from him as she could. She wasn’t one to cross that kind of line. Not for any man, not even Tony.
At least that’s what she hoped she could do. The pain in her gut at the thought of never seeing him again said otherwise.
But if he and Dina weren’t a couple…
This was Tony. The man she’d dreamed about for the past five years. He was worth fighting for. She’d spent too many nights dreaming about him to let some crazy whacked-out bitch get in the way. Besides, his reaction to Dina said he didn’t care for her.
Of course, if she could avoid physical altercations, then all the better.
The slam of the front door had her jumping to her feet and rushing to the bedroom window that overlooked the front yard.
Tony strode down the stone path and was almost to the street when he stopped and pivoted back toward the house. Her first instinct was to duck out of sight so he wouldn’t catch her watching. But she couldn’t move. If anything, she wanted to throw open the window and call him up to her room.
The angry storm on his face was washed away by one of his sexy grins. He lifted his hand, letting her know he saw her. She smiled and lifted hers in return.
Her heart did a quick flip over when he took two steps back toward the house, then settled down when he stopped. He lifted his hand again and put his palm over his chest. The gesture said everything she wanted to know.
He does care.
A few hours ago she would’ve bet everything she owned—granted, that wasn’t much—that she’d never get caught doing such a schmaltzy move, yet, without thinking, she mimicked the gesture. She could feel the pounding of her heart through her clothes and on her skin.
“Holy hell. Is this really happening?” Her whispered breath brought a fog to the window pane.
He lifted his hand a third time, gave her a quick wave, then spun on his heels and strode into the darkness. She still had her hand over her heart when she stepped away from the window.
* * * *
Nick tossed the bridle to Eric, then ran his palm over the neck of his horse Rain Dancer. “You saw her, bro, so what’d you think? Is she as good as Tony’s been raving about all these years?”
Eric, the more stoic of the three of them, looped the bridle over Walkaway’s head, cinched it, then led the horse past him.
Tony shrugged, then leaned back in his saddle. His horse, Molly Doll, pranced, ready to get on the move. “You know how he is. He’s not giving an inch until we make him.”
Nick didn’t care if his brother didn’t want to talk about Livi or not. They’d waited too long to put up with Eric’s attitude. He trailed after him, determined to get an answer.
“Look, bro, I don’t normally talk about women. But this is different.” Like most men, they might discuss a one-night stand or another casual relationship, but if the woman meant anything to them, then they kept their mouths shut.
Tony had never told them anything about how Livi was in bed, but he’d come home from Vegas convinced that he’d found and lost the woman that was perfect for them. They’d helped him search for her, but once the trail had gone dry, they’d convinced themselves that fate had another woman in mind for them.
Livi Brackin’s surprise arrival in Lost Hills changed that.
“She had to have hit a spot.”
Eric saddled up his horse, bending over to grab the saddle’s straps underneath and pull them tight. The men liked to ride in the early morning, checking the herd along with the fences. After that, they’d split up and do whatever needed doing from throwing out bales of hay for feed to scouring over the bank account’s register and squeezing a little more out of each penny they earned.
Nick mounted his horse, then pulled the reins tight to keep Rain Dancer in check. “You might as well start talking. I’m not giving up on this. Tony says she’s the one.”
“We’ve got some strays to round up.” Eric pulled his body into the saddle, then clucked and gave his horse its head.
“Damn it.” Nick nudged his horse into a trot to catch up. Tony followed behind them, staying silent after having spent most of last night talking about Livi and how the time to claim their mate had come.
Nick hadn’t given up hope that they’d find the right woman. Being in their thirties, they’d hoped she would’ve come along sooner, but he was a patient man. Most of the time.
Part of him had wondered if a mate that they would share was even a possibility. Tony and Eric were skinwalkers, but he was a werewolf. Although they had the same mother and fathers, not every child born of a skinwalker, even three skinwalkers like their parents, became one. Some, like him, turned out to have shifter blood, but not the ability to take the form of any animal. He’d never complained. After all, other children had it worse. They were born human with no shifter or skinwalker blood in them. No one understood how that could happen, but that was just one of the mysteries of the supernatural.
He hadn’t complained, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t wanted more. Since skinwalkers were born and not made, he couldn’t ask his brothers to change him. Instead, he’d asked a high school buddy to bite him, transforming him into a werewolf.
He couldn’t carry on the conversation, knew not to even try, as they worked together to round up the herd. The herd usually stayed close together, but a few wandered off now and then, getting separated from the rest.
Tony was off to the right, keeping the main herd together while Eric and his well-trained horse worked the strays, running them out of culverts and bushes. Nick kept his horse moving, staying on the left side of the herd and pushing the strays toward the rest after Eric had them moving that way.
Once they’d gotten the last one, Nick took a moment to tip his hat back and study the horizon. Trees dotted the sloping hills that soon lifted into higher elevations. The weather was perfect, with just the right amount of sunshine and breeze. He loved the land, the people of Lost Hills, and his way of life, but a hole had always existed in him. He had a feeling that Livi Brackin was the answer to filling that hole.
Eric wasn’t getting pushed. That much was clear. As it had been in the past, Nick would have to play the waiting game and let his brother come around to talking in his own time. It had taken him most of last night and all of the morning to come to that realization once more, but he finally had. He laid one wrist on top of the other and waited for his brothers to bring their horses on either side of him.
“Okay, let’s talk.”
Nick resisted the urge to tell Eric that it was about damn time.
“Tony, you’re sure?”
The fact that Eric could ask that question after everything Tony had said about her irritated the hell out of Nick.
“Yeah. I’m sure. I was then and I am now.”
“I don’t think we got off to a great start.”
So there it was. The real reason why Eric hadn’t said anything. “What’s that mean?”
“I saw her at Sugar Foot’s and I might have told her she was foolish for going into the woods after the white wolf.” Eric adjusted his position in the saddle to drop his chin and shoot a glare at Tony. “She’s looking for you.”
Tony cleared his throat. “Damn it, man. I’m not the only one around here that changes into a white wolf. You do it, too.”
“True enough. But you’re the one who likes to give campers a scare.”
&
nbsp; “So it was you.” They’d told Tony often enough to steer clear of outsiders, but his brother hadn’t listened. He loved playing jokes on the campers. The next thing they knew, stories about a white wolf started hitting the Internet. The last thing skinwalkers wanted was to draw attention to them.
“We can’t let her get a photo.”
Nick tried not to curse. Eric was a mastermind at stating the obvious. “Then we don’t change while she’s here.”
As soon as he’d said it, Nick knew that his words implied that they’d stay silent until she left. But letting her leave was the last thing they wanted. He’d yet to see her, but Tony’s feelings were good enough for him. As soon as he met her, he’d know it, too.
“Once she gets to know us and we tell her what we are, then she’ll know about the white wolf. Until then, we keep track of her in case someone else decides to give her what she wants.”
Tony was right. Any number of skinwalkers could change into a white wolf if they wanted. “But they won’t. They don’t want a bunch of damn idiots up here scouring the wood any more than we do.”
“Can we get back to the subject at hand?” Tony rested his hand on his leg, the reins in the other hand.
“What’d you say to her, Eric? Were you trying to frighten her off?” Nick took Tony’s lead. Whatever had brought her to Lost Hills didn’t matter. All that mattered was that she was finally there.
“Nope. She just got under my skin, is all. We don’t need her stumbling around looking for a white wolf. Not only because we can’t afford any more photos getting out, but for her own safety. She could end up falling down a ravine or running into a bear. You know how dangerous it can get.”
“Which is all the more reason to bring her home.”
“Tony, she’s not going to hop into the truck and haul ass here just because we want her to.” Not that he wouldn’t love it if she did.
“Yeah, I know.”
Nick sensed Tony’s need for her. His whole body was stiff as though he physically ached for her.
“She’s beautiful and sexy as hell. Right, Eric?”
“Yeah. She’s that, all right.”
Nick was going to remedy the fact that he hadn’t seen her as soon as possible. “So let’s get going. I want to meet our future mate.”
“We’ve got work to do.”
“Damn it, Eric, this is more important. You know it is. I’ll give a couple of boys a call and ask them to help us out. We can’t let this chance pass us by.”
There was no way Eric could argue with him. A shapeshifter who never found his mate would lead a long and lonely life. To have found her then let her slip away would kill their very souls.
He was right. Eric couldn’t argue. “Fine. Give the guys a call and let’s roll.” Eric tugged on his horse’s reins and headed back to the cabin at a gallop.
Nick glanced at Tony. “He gave in awful fast.”
Tony’s grin split his face. “Which means he agrees. She’s the one for us.”
* * * *
Eric had listened intently all night to Tony talking about Livi. He’d kept quiet, knowing it would drive Nick crazy, but unable to do anything else. Nick liked discussing things, not contemplating them as he did.
After running into her earlier that day, Eric had found his thoughts drifting back to her time and again. Before he could discuss her with his brothers, much less give into Nick’s incessant urging that they get to town—hell, he’d wanted to go to Dorrie’s late that night and rouse the whole house—he needed more time to sort out his feelings. She’d caused a storm to erupt inside him, making his mind go haywire and his gut churn with his yearning to skim his palms over her skin and taste her juices.
Not only was her hair fiery with its red color, she was just as vibrant, engaging and, yes, challenging. She was a fire to his cool, calm exterior.
After getting the horses squared away and waiting until Bob and Jerry McElvy showed up to take instructions on what needed to be done on the ranch, the three of them had piled into his F-150 pickup and pointed it toward town.
Their ranch, Lonesome Trail, wasn’t that far away from Lost Hills. Unlike many skinwalkers who owned ranches, they’d put their home on lower ground part way between their small town and the larger cities. That way they could go either way for supplies.
Eric pulled the truck to a stop in front of Dorrie’s place. He leaned over the steering wheel and thrust his chin forward. “Looks like we got here just in time.”
“Damn. She’s heading for the woods.”
Eric let Nick and Tony get out of the truck first. He couldn’t have slowed them down if he’d wanted to, but letting them make the first approach was more his style. That way Livi would get involved in meeting Nick and give him more time to study her.
He didn’t trust what he was feeling. The emotions, the attraction, had come too hard and too fast, and after waiting so long to find the right woman, he wasn’t about to jump the gun. Tony had talked about her throughout the years and it was obvious that he was full-on head-over-heels in love with her after that one weekend in Vegas. But he wasn’t his younger brother. He needed more than a hard hit in the gut with lust to make up his mind.
She was bent over, throwing a backpack and what looked like one of Dorrie’s famous brown-bag lunches into the Jeep. Her bottom was pleasingly round without taking up too much spread. His mouth watered thinking about putting his cock inside her ass.
She jerked around when she heard Nick and Tony coming up behind her. Her face lit up at the sight of Tony, then mellowed a little when Nick did what Eric expected Nick to do. Being exuberate in most things, Nick swept her into his arms and twirled her around. From what he’d heard from others, it was the same kind of greeting Tony had given her.
Eric took his time getting to them. Nick was talking fast, not letting her get a word in, but that wasn’t unusual. When Nick got excited, his mouth ran away with him. Tony grinned, adding a word or two whenever he could, but he could tell how thrilled he was to have Nick meet her.
As Eric got closer, her attention finally shifted to him. “Oh, hi.”
He guessed it was a better greeting than “get the hell away from me,” but not as good a one as he’d hoped for. “How are you?”
She glanced at the house where Dina stood at a window, glaring at them. “I survived.”
He liked her sense of humor. Tony had told him about Dina’s behavior. She’d had a crush on them for as long as he could remember, but she’d gotten worse during the past year when they’d started telling her flat out that they’d never have anything to do with her. That included cutting off any kind of a friendship if she continued to obsess over them. But how she’d treated Livi last night had put it over the top. They’d have to do something about her. He just didn’t know what yet.
“Good for you.” He pointed at her gear. “Are you leaving us?”
Funny how just saying the words, not even with that specific meaning behind them, made his chest tight.
“I’m heading to the woods, if that’s what you’re getting at.” Suspicion rolled off her. “Unless you’re expecting me to set my sights on going home.”
“I figured it was the woods.” He hadn’t thought that they’d gotten off on that bad a start. Changing her impression of him would have to come sooner than later.
“You’re not going alone, are you?” Tony scowled at her, but it wasn’t a mean scowl. He was worried, just as Eric was.
“Yes, Tony. Alone.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
She couldn’t have given him more of a hard reaction than she did as she set her body square with his. He was twice her size, but he had no doubt she was ready to tangle to get her way.
“Oh? And what thinks you have the right to tell me what I can or can’t do, Eric?”
He hadn’t meant it to come out sounding so harsh. Damn it, did she always have to take whatever he said the wrong way? “I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I only want you t
o stay safe.”
She softened, her eyes growing less piercing, her body relaxing if only the tiniest bit. “I know and I appreciate that.”
“We can’t have you getting eaten by a grizzly. It’d be bad for the town’s reputation.”
His brothers silently lifted their lips in snarls at him and they had a right to. What the hell was he thinking? And yet, he knew the answer as soon as the question popped into his head. He liked seeing her riled up. Weren’t redheads supposed to have fiery tempers?
“I don’t know what’s going on with Eric, but he doesn’t mean the things he’s saying.”
“Or at least not the way he’s saying them,” added Tony.
“Whatever.” She turned back to positioning things in her car. “I need to get going.”
“Where exactly are you planning on going? Do you think the white wolf’s going to show up and pose for you?”
She flipped her magnificent hair back over her shoulders as she pivoted to confront him. “I don’t get it. Why are you on my case? Why should you care what I do? Other than ruining the reputation of a town that hardly anyone knows exists?”
At least he managed to bite back the retort on the tip of his tongue. “All I’m asking is if you have a plan. Or are you going to wander around the woods aimlessly until he shows up?”
“He? So you know it’s a male?”
The morning sun on the ridge of her nose made her freckles look like stars on a background of pale sky. He wondered what she’d do if he skimmed his fingertips over them. “Call the wolf an it, a she, or a he. It doesn’t matter because it doesn’t exist.”
“Well, that’s for me to find out.” She slammed the back door shut and walked around to the driver’s side. “Now, if you three will excuse me, I have work to do.”
“How about if we go with you?” Nick asked the question that Eric had wanted to ask, but couldn’t get out from behind his teeth.
“Go with me? What for? To try and talk me out of it the entire time I’m out there? No thank you.”
Her rueful smile lifted the corners of her pouty lips. Damn, what he wouldn’t do to have them wrapped around his cock.