The Last Lone Wolf

by Maureen Child

  He snorted and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. “I see nothing of the kind. I see you trying to get rid of a pretty woman because she makes you twitchy.”

  Twitchy didn’t even begin to cover what Daisy did to him, Jericho thought, but damned if he’d admit to it. “Bull. I’m doing this for her, not to her.”

  “Yeah, you can say that all you want, but I’ve known you too long to buy into it.” Sam shook his head and smiled knowingly. “That girl in there gets to you and you don’t like it, so you figure to haul her ass out before she settles in.”

  Another shot too damn close to home, Jericho told himself and wondered if he’d somehow lost his poker face over the past couple of years of civilian life. Or maybe he was only transparent to people who’d known him so damn long. “It’s not just that—”

  Sam snorted again.

  “Fine, you want me to admit it? She’s hot. Hot enough that I’ve been on edge since she fell onto the lawn practically at my feet.” He scowled into the distance, where the rising sun was just kissing the treetops. “Hell, she’s a walking forest fire. But it’s more than that. I served with her brother. Her dead brother. Now she’s looking to me to provide a kind of link to him or something.”

  “That so bad?” Sam countered. “Everybody needs connections, JK. She lost her brother. Isn’t she entitled to whatever it is she can get from us? From you? Don’t we at least owe her the straight-up chance at getting what she wants?”

  Jericho really hated to be lectured. Especially when the lecturer had a point.

  “I saw you at dinner last night,” Sam went on, his voice a little lower, filled with what almost sounded like understanding. “And off the subject, the girl cooks a mean pot roast—but I saw the way you looked at her.”

  That’s just great, Jericho told himself. He’d gone so far as to be fantasizing over a woman at his dinner table—and doing it obviously enough for others to notice. Just one more reason to get Daisy gone. His legendary control was clearly dissolving, which was something he would not put up with.

  “Drop it, Sam.”

  “I’m not saying I blame you any. She’s a pretty one. But if you’re thinking she’s one of your weekend types, you can think again.” The older man narrowed his eyes. “That’s a good girl. A nice one. And she deserves better than a quick roll in the hay and a one-way ticket off the mountain.”

  He knew that. Knew that Daisy Saxon had “complications” written all over her. It was just part of why he wanted her the hell away from him. He wasn’t looking for complicated. He preferred simple.

  “Sergeant Major,” Jericho grumbled, “when the hell did you turn into a nanny?”

  “I’m sayin’ what I’m sayin’. And part of what I’m sayin’ is that you owe that girl’s brother better than to treat her badly.” Sam glared at him. “You give her a real shot on the mountain, JK. See if she’s got what it takes to make it here. And be honest with yourself about why you want her gone.”

  While Sam stalked off toward the two-storied barn several hundred yards away, Jericho was left to fume in silence. Been a long time since anyone had dressed him down like that and damned if he cared for it.

  He made his own rules now. He hadn’t answered to anyone since he left the Corps and he wasn’t about to start now. Yes, he thought, he owed Daisy Saxon something because of her brother.

  But was what he owed her a job? Or was it getting her back to the world she belonged in? Off the mountain. Back in the city. He was torn now. Undecided when before it had all seemed so clear. Maybe he was being too hard on her. Maybe he should give her a chance and just learn to live with his body’s discomfort when he was around her. Maybe…

  “We’re ready!”

  He turned to look at the back door of the house as Daisy stepped off the porch. He sighed. She looked great. And completely inappropriate for the hike they had stretching out in front of them. If he’d had any doubts a minute or so ago, they were gone now. She was very clearly not the outdoorsy type of woman.

  Her hair was pulled into a long tail at the back of her neck. Her face was bright as a new penny and wreathed in smiles. She was wearing designer jeans with a red sweater and shiny black boots with a two-inch heel, and she had a duffel bag slung over one shoulder while she cradled her fake dog with her other arm.

  Jericho sighed. Nope, he thought. He was doing the right thing.

  She just didn’t belong.

  Four

  Daisy was willing to put up with the backpack Jericho had forced her to wear. She had even thanked him for the heavy jacket he borrowed for her from Kevin, the cook. She had dutifully changed into sneakers when he threatened to break off the sweet heels on her favorite boots. But she absolutely refused to leave Nikki behind.

  “Everything’s new to her, and she’ll be afraid without me.” She continued the argument even though he’d surrendered ten minutes ago. She glared at his broad back as he hiked five feet ahead of her through the trees.

  He didn’t even turn around to look at her when he said, “That dog has no business on the trail. She’ll get eaten or lost or God knows what.”

  “No, she won’t,” Daisy insisted, snuggling Nikki’s cheek to her own. The tiny dog’s rapid heartbeat felt like the brush of butterfly wings against her palm. “I’ll take good care of her.”

  “Unbelievable.”

  At least she thought that was what he muttered but she couldn’t be sure. He was certainly grumpy on a hike. He didn’t even seem to be charmed by the beauty all around them. Daisy was, though. Barely gone from the lodge, they’d been swallowed up in the thick woods and one look back over her shoulder assured her that she couldn’t even see Jericho’s home anymore. If he hadn’t been with her, she’d wander through the forest for days without finding her way, which made her a little anxious. But a moment later, she dismissed the worry—since she did have Jericho—and gave in to her surroundings.

  Her head swung back and forth as she tried to take in everything at once. The floor of the forest was spongy and soft, making her feel almost as if she were on springs when she walked. Layers of pine needles cushioned the ground and sent up a fresh scent every time she took a step. The trees all around her seemed to scrape the sky.

  As they walked on, there was the occasional clearing where late-blooming wildflowers struggled to survive in the cooling weather. And then there was the sky. She didn’t think she’d ever seen anything that shade of blue. Down in the city, there was so much smog and so many buildings, the tiny scraps of sky you could see were never that beautiful. It made even the relentless walking more enjoyable. When she fell, landing face-first on the cushiony ground, she could only blame it on not watching her step.

  “Ow!”

  Nikki jumped from her grasp instantly and darted into the undergrowth before Daisy could call the dog back. Then Jericho was at her side in an instant, grabbing hold of the shoulder of her red sweater and pulling her to her feet in one smooth motion.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine,” she muttered, more embarrassed than hurt. She brushed pine needles, dirt and who knew what else off the front of her sweater and the knees of her jeans. “I was watching the sky, and— Nikki honey, come back here!”

  “Keep your eyes on where you’re going, all right?”

  “I will, it was just pretty and— Nikki!”

  The dog barked from somewhere nearby and Jericho muttered a curse.

  “I scared her when I fell,” Daisy said in defense of her dog. “I think I tripped on a rock or something.”

  “You sure you’re all right?”

  “I’m fine. Just humiliated.” The little dog raced toward her then and hopped on its hind legs as if doing a celebrational dance. “There you are, sweet girl! You scared Mommy running off like that.”

  “Mommy?”

  “She’s all mine,” Daisy said with a grin as she bent down to attach a bright-red leash to the chest halter the little dog wore.

  “Right.” Jericho
shook his head. “Can we go now?”

  “Sure.” She was determined to be upbeat and positive through this entire experience. She’d earn her place on this mountain if it killed her. “I’m sure I can walk another ten miles no problem. We’ve already come about that far, right?”

  He raised one eyebrow. “We’ve gone about two miles so far.”

  “Really? Well, that’s disappointing,” she said, silently acknowledging the aching burn in her thighs and calves. “It really seemed longer.”

  “You’re telling me,” Jericho muttered, then started walking again. Daisy fell into step behind him, keeping one eye on the trail and the other eye on Nikki.

  Though being at that altitude made talking, climbing and breathing all at the same time a little difficult, Daisy struggled on.

  “I looked you up, you know, before I came here,” she called out.

  “Is that right?”

  She frowned when he kept walking without so much as a glance at her. He couldn’t have let her know any more clearly that he wasn’t interested in what she was saying. But that didn’t silence her.

  “Well, not just you, but this place. The mountain itself. Did you know that grizzly bears used to live here?” Just saying that aloud had her checking the tree line warily even though she knew the animal was mostly extinct in California now.

  “Yep,” he said, “I knew.”

  “And,” she added, “did you know that King Mountain is the largest piece of acreage bordered on wilderness area that’s still in private hands?”

  “Knew that, too.”

  She frowned and chewed at her bottom lip. Of course he knew, it was his land after all, but he could at least pretend to be polite about listening. “I saw a waterfall, too, on one of the maps I looked at. Are we going to see that on this trip?”

  “Might.”

  Aggravating man, she thought as her temper began to simmer. He was deliberately not talking to her. Probably trying to make her be quiet by his lack of response. Clearly, he didn’t know her very well. Her mother used to say that Daisy could talk to a stump. Which, she mused, she actually was doing.

  “I still can’t believe you own your own mountain,” she said, shaking her head, as if trying to wrap her mind around it. “I mean, did you know your name is on actual maps? King Mountain.”

  “Yeah,” he muttered, “I know. Did you know that you shouldn’t talk so much on the trail?”

  “Really? Why?”

  He turned and glared at her over his shoulder. “There are wild animals out here. You might want to pay attention to your surroundings.”

  “But you’re here.”

  “Yeah, I am…”

  “What kind of wild animals?” she asked after a moment’s pause in which she thoroughly scanned the surrounding tree line for any sign of slavering beasts hidden in the shrubbery. “There aren’t grizzlies, I know, but…”

  “There are still black bears. And brown bears,” he said. “Not to mention coyotes, the occasional wolf and oh, yeah, mountain lions.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Thought you researched the mountain.”

  “I did but—” Nowhere had she read about mountain lions. How had she not considered that?

  “Still glad you brought that dog?” he asked.

  Visions of Nikki being carried off by God knew what flew through Daisy’s mind and she reined in the dog’s leash as she hurried her steps to close the distance between her and Jericho. He might be surly, but he knew what he was doing out here and she was pretty sure he wouldn’t let her or Nikki get eaten.

  “More glad now than before,” she told him when she was no more than an arm’s reach from him. “She’s better off with me. Where I can make sure she stays safe.”

  “And who’s making sure you’re safe?” he asked, shooting her a sidelong glance.

  “That would be you,” she told him, giving him a bright smile.

  “I’m not here to help, you know,” he said. “It’s my job to be with you on this trail. But I’m here to see how you handle yourself out here. I’m the observer. The taskmaster.”

  “I know that, but—” They came around a sharp bend in the trail and Daisy stopped dead, conversation forgotten. “That’s just gorgeous,” she whispered, the words sliding from her on a breathy sigh.

  She felt him come up right beside her. Felt the heat of him reaching out for her, felt the sizzle of awareness that ricocheted through her in response. But she didn’t take her gaze off the picture in front of her.

  A clearing. Knee-high grasses, spotted with deep-red wildflowers. And moving through it with a sort of balletic grace was a deer. As if it weren’t quite real, the animal stepped through splotches of sunshine and dipped its great head to nibble at the grass. Caught in the moment, Daisy reached out, took Jericho’s hand in hers and squeezed it, almost reassuring herself that she was really there. Really seeing something so beautiful and wild and perfect.

  His long fingers wrapped around hers and he held on for a breathless moment and the two of them were linked—suspended in time.

  Then Nikki barked and the deer lifted its massive head, looked directly at them, then bolted in the opposite direction.

  As if the dog had spooked more than just the deer, Jericho dropped Daisy’s hand and said brusquely, “We should get moving.”

  Her heart was pounding, thundering in her chest until she felt as if every breath was a battle. Her skin was still humming, as though his skin was still pressed to hers. The heat of his touch slipped inside her and Daisy folded her fingers into a fist, futilely trying to hold on to the sensation. When she could trust her voice, she asked, “Are we really going ten more miles?”

  “No. Just a couple more before we make camp.”

  Though she was grateful, the thought of even two more miles made Daisy really want to whimper, but she controlled herself. She couldn’t afford to look weak. Couldn’t let him see that her legs were already aching and her shoulders hurt from the weight of the stupid backpack. She was going to prove to him that she could fit into his world, then she would be that much closer to what she wanted.

  “Only a couple?” she forced herself to say. “What’re we waiting for?”

  One of his black eyebrows lifted into a high arch and he gave her a speculative look that hid as much as it said. But after another moment or two, he simply said, “Keep the dog quiet. Some animals won’t be startled by it barking. They’ll be curious. Maybe hungry.”

  She gasped. “You’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you? Trying to scare me.”

  “You should be scared, Daisy. This isn’t a city park. This is the wilderness and the animals you’ll meet out here aren’t the kind you’re used to seeing on TV or in the movies. They don’t laugh and dance and they don’t like people.”

  “I’m not an idiot,” she told him. “I know that wild animals are just that. Wild. I also know I’m a little out of my element—”

  He choked out a laugh at that one.

  “But,” she continued doggedly, “I’m going to do this.”

  He shrugged and walked off with long, lazy strides. “If you’re bound and determined, then get a move on.”

  She tamped down the exasperation bubbling inside her and swallowed back a sea of retorts she wanted to hurl at his back. Then she realized that he was getting way too far ahead of her. So Daisy held Nikki a little closer and hurried to catch up to the man who was, at the moment, the very center of her world.

  Why wasn’t she making him crazy? Jericho asked himself for at least the tenth time in the past couple of hours. When he was out on the mountain, he liked silence. Sure, some of his clients were incapable of being quiet for very long at a stretch, but Daisy Saxon was in a class all by herself. The woman hadn’t stopped her rambling conversations since they’d left the house.

  She talked about the forest, about her former job, her late brother and the boyfriend who had not only left her for her friend, but also had stolen her credit card on the way out the
door. That story had just amazed him, though he hadn’t commented. The man had to have been an idiot to walk out on Daisy, in Jericho’s opinion, and she was better off without him.

  And when she wasn’t talking about her own life, she was pestering him with questions about his. She talked about the sky, what kind of music she liked best and how she planned to make him that fudge mountain cake of hers as soon as they got back to the lodge.

  His ears had been ringing for hours and damned if he hadn’t half enjoyed listening to her. She was interested in everything. Had an opinion on everything as well and wasn’t afraid to voice it.

  But in all the ranting, he acknowledged silently, she hadn’t complained once. And that surprised him. It wasn’t often Jericho was surprised by anything. So the fact that Daisy could make him rethink his original opinion of her was astonishing.

  The last bunch of clients he’d had out on the mountain included a bank manager, who had prided himself on his rugged individuality, had wept like a baby after a few hours on the trail. He’d bagged the wilderness trip and called it quits as quickly as he could.

  Yet Daisy, not a peep.

  He knew she was tired. Her steps were less brisk and even her attempts at conversation were beginning to slow to a trickle. But she hadn’t stopped. Hadn’t asked to rest. Hadn’t whined about a damn thing, and Jericho had to admit he admired her for it. She was more than he’d thought. But in the long run, did that mean anything?

  She stumbled and, instinctively, he reached out and grabbed her elbow to steady her. Just touching her sent another zing of heat shooting through him, so he let go of her fast and when he spoke he was harsher than he should have been.

  “Watch your damn step or you’re going to break a leg or something and I’ll have to hump you out.”

  “Hump?”

  “Carry,” he explained curtly.

  She nodded. “Right. Sorry. I was watching Nikki.”

  “Let me watch the damn dog,” he told her in little more than a growl. “You watch where you put your feet.”

  “Wow, King Crabby.” She didn’t wait for his response. “You really don’t want me out here, do you?”