“You’re absolutely right.” Lily met Nhya’s unblinking stare. “But that won’t stop them from searching for it. Whatever it is, it must be something big. Pipes, beads, bags, pottery…none of those things would be worth the risk he’s taking.” Lily’s thoughts churned. “He’s looking for some sort of native holy grail.” She knew she’d hit the nail on the head when Nhya’s olive face paled.
“You don’t have to tell me, Nhya, but you need to realize that these types of characters are dangerous. And if you really do have this artifact, whatever it is, you need to take serious steps to protect it.”
Her gaze snapped back to Lily and Lily was taken aback by the cool determination in the young woman’s face. “What would you suggest?”
A tingle zagged up Lily’s spine and she took a moment to process all that had been said—and not said. “First, I’d file police reports if you haven’t already done so. Then I’d state very publicly that you’ve shipped this item off to whichever museum you think would best accommodate it.” Lily paused. “Even if you don’t.”
Nhya was still for a moment, her face raised to catch the last brilliant rays of sun. “Why should he believe that?”
“Or she.”
Lily’s words earned her a stunned look. “I—I never thought it could be a woman.”
“Oh, yes,” Lily said, her gaze straying to the beginnings of a spectacular Montana sunset. “Some of the most passionate treasure hunters are women.” Lily stared at Nhya. “As to why he or she will believe you. You show them the goods. Not them directly, but the local paper. Land yourself and the artifact on the news, and it becomes nearly untouchable. It makes it solid, real, and if it’s a native artifact, going public gives ownership to an entire nation of people who will want to follow its fate.”
Lily paused to sip her tea, the cool liquid washing away some of the dust. “Basically, you’re making the risk too dire. Illegal collectors don’t want to be noticed. They don’t want to raise flags.”
Her words seemed to hang in the air like lightning bugs, and Lily knew the young woman was dissecting her every word, motive and comment. Lily couldn’t blame her. In fact, she admired her for it. She was also burning with curiosity over what the artifact might be and whether or not Nhya and Shain actually had it in their possession. The researcher and curator in her was intensely interested, while her practical side warned her to keep her distance—for more reasons than one.
“I’ll think about what you said,” Nhya finally responded.
Lily simply nodded, more words feeling out of place under the fire-red sky.
Chapter Eight
“That’s it. Now tighten it one more notch. Rialda likes to hold her breath at the last minute.”
Her face a study of concentration, Lily yanked as hard as she could on the saddle’s leather strap, slipping the metal flange up. The mare blew out a heavy sigh and gave her a somber look. “Nice try, girl.” Dropping the stirrups in place, she patted the dappled mare’s neck and beamed at Darrell. “How’d I do?”
With a quick nod and a smile, Darrell flipped the reins over Rialda’s neck onto the pommel. “Not bad for a first time.” He motioned to Lily. “Up you go.”
Since Rialda was several hands shorter than Shain’s devilish beast, Lily mounted with ease and waited as Darrell adjusted the stirrups.
Shain.
Her gaze searched the yard for the hundredth time. No truck. It had been four days since her last encounter with Shain. She couldn’t imagine where he was, what he was doing.
With another woman, most likely. A man like Shain would have his pick.
The thought made Lily’s gut burn and her heart ache.
“Lily?”
Blinking, Lily looked down into Darrell’s lean face. “I’m sorry, what?”
“I asked if you were ready to try some range riding.”
Pushing Shain from her mind, Lily straightened and stared out at the open range. “Absolutely.”
Darrell instructed her to walk Rialda around the corral for a few minutes, letting them get accustomed to one another while he and two of the other hands finished saddling their mounts and packing up the supplies they’d need to spend the entire day out on the range.
They were going to check fence lines, the free roaming herd and, from the under-breath conversations, Lily suspected they’d be looking for signs of the looters as well. As she urged the gentle Rialda in a circle, Lily’s thoughts wandered. She and Nhya had spent the past four evenings chatting and looking at the wide expanse of stars that exploded across the Montana sky. Lily found Nhya so easy to talk to, confide in. Lily had talked about her life back in Bisbee, and in Tucson before that. About her distant father and her mother, who had died when she was only eight. She’d even related stories about her gorgeous cousins and her college days at Stanford with her best friend, Susan.
It was nice to look back and see that, despite the tragedies of her childhood, she’d had good times, made strong female connections and developed a solid love for history and the items that told the story of their past. She hoped that had come across to Nhya. Lily was disturbed by the thought that Shain and Nhya might still hold her in suspicion. Nhya’s behavior didn’t indicate that she did but the beautiful young woman maintained a level of reserve despite her warmth.
And deep worry.
Nhya took to looking out the window for Shain almost as often as Lily. And as Lily leaned down to pat Rialda’s neck, she found a coal of anger smoldering in her gut. Who did Shain think he was, making his sister worry like that? Didn’t she have enough to stress about?
When she saw him she’d give him a piece of her mind, attitude be damned. He needed to be here to support his sister. And if they did have that artifact somewhere on their property, be it in the house or secured somewhere else on the property, Nhya was at risk. They all were, actually.
A cool breeze rich with the perfume of sage, pine and mountain air stirred the wisps of golden hair that had already escaped the pins holding it up. Lily breathed deep and shivered as an electric tingle zagged down her spine. She’d felt that before, out in the glade with Shain near the dig, and again with Nhya as they’d talked about the artifact. It left Lily feeling dislocated, adrift, as if she were on the edge of something significant.
A sharp whistle shattered the moment and Lily twisted in the saddle to see Darrell waving from the gate. They were ready to go. With a cluck of her tongue, Rialda headed for the opening, her steps quickening when she realized they were on their way out.
“We’re going to start in the east pasture, Miss Whitman,” Darrell said, tipping his head her direction as Rialda trotted alongside his gray stallion.
“Sounds good,” Lily responded, trying to push thoughts of Shain, Nhya and the ranch’s issues out of her mind. The brief instant message chat that she’d had with Bri and Nic last night had done nothing to erase her unease. She had feelings for Shain. Feelings that had nothing to do with simply having a good time and being done with it at the end of the month. Sure, she was good at giving relationship advice to Bri but could she heed her own counsel?
Lily gazed over to where Shain’s truck was usually parked and frowned. Not likely.
Interrupting her frazzled thoughts, Darrell introduced the other two hands. “Luke and Curt have been here the past month helping us catch up on jobs before fall sets in.”
Lily gave them both warm smiles, which they returned. Luke and Curt looked similar enough to be brothers. Both had hair the color of raven’s wings and, while Curt’s was cropped short, Luke’s hung in a tight braid all the way to the middle of his back. With their high cheekbones and midnight eyes, the pair were striking in a dark, brooding way.
“Heeyaw,” cried Curt. He dug in his heels and his pale roan leapt forward, followed by Luke on his brown sugar pinto.
“Miss Whitman,” Darrell said, his pale blue gaze all business. “Just follow us and don’t ride any faster than you’re comfortable.”
Lily pushed the soft
, tan wide-brimmed hat Nhya had given her low on her head. “Lead the way.”
* * * * *
Shain grunted. Nothing. Nothing but an aching ass and hard-on number three from his thoughts wandering back to a tall, leggy blonde with full lips and a face and body that wouldn’t quit.
He pushed his Stetson up on his forehead and tossed the piece of sweetgrass he’d been chewing. He winced as he flexed his left arm. Every part of him had stiffened during his fourth long night in the saddle but it was his cock that was intent on driving him mad with need.
“Shit,” Shain murmured rubbing a hand over his stubbled face. He’d spent the past four nights roaming their acreage watching for looters, and each day spying on the ranch and trailing Lily’s education with jealousy simmering in his gut. Lily had continued to throw herself into the experience with gusto and, as each hour passed, his respect grew. It didn’t matter how difficult or dirty the job was, Lily did it without complaint.
As far as Shain could tell, Lily hadn’t latched onto any other cowboy in his absence. Which thrilled and troubled him all in the same breath. He knew it was twisted but, if Lily went after someone else, it would release him from the overwhelming connection he felt for her.
Flicking Windigo’s reins, he urged the stallion toward the hilly rise studded with old cedar and pine. If it had just been sex, why did he feel so different? Keyed up. On edge. All things that he needed not to be right now.
“Damn it,” Shain muttered for the thousandth time. With powerful strides, Windigo climbed the hillside, his master leaning slightly in the saddle to provide the horse better traction. “What a mess.”
He was still waiting on a call back from his buddy Lance, an FBI agent who worked out of Billings. He’d asked him to run a background check on Miss Lily Whitman. Lance had been keen to know what had prompted Shain to ask that type of favor, something his longtime friend never did. But Shain had been mute. “Just check it, would you, Lance?”
Of course his friend had agreed, with a promise to get back to Shain within seventy-two hours. Which was today.
On the hill, Shain paused to search the valley below. He fished out his binocs and scanned the treeline to the east. Nothing. Wait. Horses cresting the rise. He recognized Curt’s roan, then his cousin Luke on the pinto close behind.
More movement in the distance. Another horse and rider. Shain’s gut clenched. He’d recognize that blonde head and straight posture anywhere. Lily. On Rialda. And she was galloping hard, trying to catch up to Curt and Luke.
What in the hell was she doing out there with Curt and Luke? Where was—
Some of the fire in Shain’s belly eased when he spotted Darrell’s gray stallion at Rialda’s flanks. Good man. He was tagging behind to make sure Lily didn’t fall off and break her sweet little neck. Shain took a deep breath and went back to observing his gilded Lily. Damn, but she looked good in a saddle. Good enough to eat.
Shain grinned, his cock responding eagerly to the idea. Just as quickly, a band of protectiveness tightened around his chest. He should be the one riding with his ranch-hand trainee. Not Darrell. Or God forbid, Curt or Luke. Shain heeled Windigo into action and started down the hill. It would take him a while to head them off but it was only a matter of time. He knew they were on their way to the east pasture to check the fence line. He’d meet them there and take over Miss Lily’s range riding education.
* * * * *
“Buffalo roamed freely here once. The herds numbered in the thousands.”
As Lily’s gaze trailed the vast expanse of waving prairie, she could well imagine the great herds of dark, shaggy beasts dotting the majestic landscape. What a sight it must have been.
“Have you lived in the area your entire life?” Lily asked Luke as their horses plodded the fence line. Darrell and Curt had ridden ahead to check the gate. They were on their way to join them.
He nodded, his braid slipping off his shoulder.
Luke wasn’t much of a talker and, despite her best efforts, she’d learned zip about the handsome young man. Something about him struck her as familiar but she couldn’t quite place what it might be. Even so, she felt comfortable with him. Safe. It was disconcerting how much she was relying on feelings and instincts since she’d been at the ranch. Where was the practical, sensible Lily Whitman? She hadn’t even e-mailed her cousins last night like she’d planned. She gotten halfway through her message, then saved it to the drafts folder for later revision or deletion.
What was she going to say? That she’d dived into the bet headfirst and was so deep now she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to go back to her old life? The thought left Lily feeling slightly ill and lightheaded. It was true. Lily couldn’t imagine getting on a plane bound for Tucson in less than five days and melting back into her old life in Bisbee. How could she leave never knowing the outcome of the Red Bear? Nhya? And then there was Shain.
Stop thinking about him, Lily…
“Whoa.”
Luke’s soft call brought Lily’s head up. The cowboy’s deep eyes were focused on something in the treeline several yards away.
“What is it?” Lily asked softly, pulling Rialda to a halt.
“Something…in the trees,” Luke said quietly, his shoulders tense.
That electrical tingle flowed through Lily once more, and she straightened, her gaze fastened on the gently waving pines. She could hear rustling underbrush. Something was moving in there. Something big.
Lily gasped, her hand flinging out to grab Luke’s arm, which was stiff as a piece of petrified wood.
A massive, rust red bear emerged from the pines into the clearing. Even from a distance, Lily knew instinctively that bears weren’t supposed to be that big. Or red as faded maple leaves before a frost.
Her heart hammered, her breath shallow, and, as the bear’s massive head swung in their direction, Lily knew there was an unnatural intelligence behind those deep eyes.
That’s crazy. Right? Crazy…
The bear sat on his haunches and chuffed so loudly Lily imagined she could feel the force of it from twenty yards away. What was it doing? With her blood thrumming, Lily turned to Luke. His gaze was still frozen on the bear, his body like granite. Lily squeezed his arm. “Luke,” she whispered, “what do we do?”
After a second Luke responded: “We do nothing. For now. We stay still.”
Which was when it hit Lily. Why weren’t the horses freaking out? In every movie Lily had seen, when a predator showed up, horses went wild. Their mounts seemed totally unconcerned. Rialda was yanking out tufts of grass along the fenceposts and Luke’s pinto was standing still but relaxed, its brown eyes blinking lazily.
“I thought you were supposed to scream and make yourself as big as possible if you encountered a bear,” Lily murmured.
Luke didn’t respond and Lily kept quiet, her entire body quaking. If Luke thought it safe for them to wait the bear out, then that’s what they’d do. And wow…when would she ever get a chance to see such a creature? The beast was majestic, larger than life. And despite her fear, Lily felt a strange draw to the creature.
They sat in silence for a time, the soft breeze teasing at their exposed skin, hinting that fall was around the corner. As the light played across the bear’s shining fur, Lily detected numerous colors in the animal’s thick coat. It reflected the sun in shimmering waves, making it seem as if the beast actually glowed.
The bear’s massive head swung her direction. It seemed to be staring straight at her! Tingles raced across her shoulder blades and down her spine as a low rumble reached her ears. It was coming from the bear! The sound reverberated through Lily’s chest and her heart raced.
“Luke, are you hearing what—”
The unmistakable drone of hoof-beats shattered the moment and Lily and Luke turned in their saddles.
Shain!
He was thundering across the plain toward them; his stallion’s neck stretched as its stride lengthened. Lily wanted to call out, stop Shain from ruining the mom
ent, strange as it was. But Shain was riding as if the devil himself was on his heels. Sod churned as Shain pulled his horse up only feet away.
Lily couldn’t help but appraise the impressive man in the saddle. He looked as if he’d been born to it and the hills. His strong jaw was flecked with a five o’clock shadow, which made him look even more dangerous, more weather-roughened. Lily’s entire body vibrated as he pulled alongside, her heart hammering now for a different reason.
“Shain!” Lily called. “There’s a—”
“Not anymore,” came Luke’s hoarse growl.
She looked back to the treeline. Gone! Lily scanned the area. There’s no way something that big could have disappeared in a matter of seconds! “But, it was just there!”
“What in the hell are you—”
“A giant bear!” Lily exclaimed, her excitement getting the best of her. Making her forget how nervous she should be around Shain. How mad she was at him for running out on Nhya. And her.
Lily pointed to the trees. “There. It lumbered out and just sat and stared at us. I’ve never seen anything like it. It was red! Can you imagine such a thing? A rust red giant bear.”
Shain’s face went white, then whiter still as his gaze rested on Luke who nodded nearly imperceptibly in corroboration of Lily’s story.
“It was probably a brown bear. Their fur can look reddish in the sunlight,” Shain said gruffly.
Shaking her head, Lily urged Rialda forward. “No. It was red. And huge. Like, freakishly huge.”
Shain grabbed her reins, pulling Rialda to a stop. “That’s not possible.”
Lily gazed at Shain’s brown hand gripping her reins, then looked up. His expression was grim, indomitable…and something else. Fearful, perhaps? The realization sent that tingling careening down her spine again and Lily shivered as a sense of ‘otherness’ hit her.
“It’s nothing. Just a bear.” Smoky brown eyes crashed down on her with obvious irritation. “Weren’t you told it was dangerous out here? Bears aren’t the only predators.”
Hearts Are Wild Page 27