by Jianne Carlo
Drake clicked off the television.
“Why is the sheriff talking as if Millar and Douglas are still alive? Didn’t you off the two of them last night?” Susie pushed her chair away from the table.
“Really, Susie—off?” Gray squinted at his sister. “We defended our families. It’ll be ruled as self-defense.”
“Charles Smith and Jim Balden are missing. Dodge wants them to think Millar and Douglas are in custody. Dodge figures Smith and Jim Balden will assume they’re spilling their guts,” Mike explained.
“That’s the reason for the cops outside?” Susie wiped her lips with the napkin and began collecting her cutlery.
“Yeah. Though I reckon Jim’s long skipped the country.” Gray handed his plate to Susie. “I can’t help but wonder if he and Charles Smith hadn’t planned a double ruse in the first place.”
“Shuman’s last call. Forgiveness. For not listening to He Who Sees With Eagle Eyes.” Melanie’s eyes misted. “He was asking a collective forgiveness. For killing Gramps because he thought he could change fate if Gramps saw no more.”
“Does Sheriff Pincer know about the wolves?” Lucinda began clearing plates.
“He may have his suspicions. Actually, Mom, the person who filled in most of the blanks was Virgil. After Dad was paralyzed and before his death, he confided his suspicions about Boyd to Virgil. I’m sure he’ll tell you more later, but Virgil’s pretty certain that Boyd paid that first place—”
“Institution. You can say the word.” Lucinda shot her youngest son a narrow-eyed glare.
“Whatever.” Drake continued, “To keep you drugged out of your mind.”
Melanie’s cell played the tune reserved for Brinda. She stretched over the back of the chair, grabbed the phone, and lurched to her feet. “Excuse me.”
“Hello.” Melanie strolled to the rear of the cabin. “Are you okay?”
“I don’t have men trying to kill me. The question is—are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Melanie debated for about one second before blurting, “Are you engaged?”
“Who told you? Yvonne? I love my daughter, but she has loose lips.”
Melanie explained what had happened. “So you haven’t answered. Are you marrying Doc G.?”
“Doc G.? Heck no. I’m marrying Dodge Pincer. I know you don’t like him, but he’s a good man, Melanie. I hope you’ll give him a chance, if only for my sake.”
No way. But then she remembered the rest of her conversation with Yvonne, and Melanie blurted, “Your slight indigestion. You’re pregnant, aren’t you? No one gets married because they have to anymore.”
“I’m pregnant, but that’s not why we’re getting married. I love Dodge Pincer, Melanie, and either you get used to it or our friendship ends. There’s no two ways about that.”
Melanie stifled a sigh. “If you love him, he must be lovable. I don’t get it, though; I always thought you had a crush on Doc G.” Guilt had her antsy. She paced a tight circle at the end of the corridor. How many people had she misjudged?
“I did. Dodge noticed, and he didn’t like it one bit.” Brinda laughed, a carefree, girlish, I-remembered-I’m-a-woman chortle. “That’s what started the whole thing. Poor man. He knows how much you can’t stand him. For the last few months, he’s been trying to get in good with you and failing miserably.”
Melanie choked back a snort. “I figured he thought we Whites were scum.”
“He knows you’re my best friend. He’s just one of those silent types that gets all one-wordish when he’s nervous. Why do you think he insists on sitting in your section every morning?”
Pincer? Nervous? She’d eat her best hat the day Pincer had nerves. “You know, I always wondered about that. You guys never let Valérie sit in my section, but him you let in.”
“He saved Whisper and all the horses, didn’t he?” Brinda’s voice had gone all dreamy.
“How did he know when Jim would set fire to the stables?”
“Actually, that was Yvonne. And inadvertently, Nadine de Verteuil.”
“What?”
“I finally told Dodge about the bullying. He knew Nadine took horse-riding lessons at the Ranch B. Yvonne’s been riding since she could toddle. He put the two girls in lessons at the same time. Yvonne beat Nadine in a jump-off. The two girls got into it and went behind the barn to settle things. They overheard Jim talking to Lance Douglas, and told Dodge when he picked them up.”
Go figure. What were the odds? “I bet the girls are besties now.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say besties. But they aren’t enemies anymore. What about you and Mike? Set a date yet?”
A throat cleared. She glanced up to meet her mate’s intent stare. “Date? I haven’t even had a proposal.”
Mike jammed his shoulder into the wall and motioned for her to put the phone on speaker.
She winked at him but didn’t obey.
“He hasn’t asked you to marry him as yet? What’s wrong with the idiot?” Brinda snapped. “Maybe I should have a word or two with the man.”
“Don’t you have a wedding of your own to plan?” Melanie loved the way Mike looked at her, as if she were his most favorite treat in all the universe.
“It’s already planned. End of the month. Fiesta Square. Dodge applied for a license for a block party. Whole town’s invited.”
Melanie hooted. “The sheriff applied to the sheriff’s office for a license. Talk about having influence.”
“That’s cute. I have to run. We’re all working double shifts with you being off.”
“That can’t be good for you and the baby. I’ll call Virgil right away and tell him that I can start working again tomorrow.”
“I think he’s headed your way right now. Something about Mrs. Dorland and a dinner? Listen, I really do have to rush. Later.”
“Bye.” Melanie ended the call and shoved the phone into her sweater pocket.
“Drake and I have to go into town and clean up a few things. Dodge doesn’t want any of you leaving the cottage.”
“Because Charles Smith and Jim Balden are still missing; I get it. But I’ll miss you.”
“Come walk me to the truck.” Mike caught her hand and twined their fingers together. “Let’s go out the back.”
“Pincer didn’t explain a whole lot during the conference. I still don’t understand exactly what happened.” They strolled past the washer and dryer.
“Augustus Balden had denied his son the chance to train Whisper for the Triple Crown. Jim was furious. That’s what caused the rift between father and son. Jim left to work for an owner who had a rival horse in the final race. That was the horse nearest Whisper when she stumbled. Augustus was livid. He’d bet everything he owned on Whisper winning the Triple Crown—mortgaged the farm and all the other properties to raise the cash.”
“So that part was true. Truly it’s awful on both sides. I mean, Jim must have been devastated at his father’s lack of faith in him.”
Mike opened the back door, and they both exited the house.
The sun ruled the day from a cloudless sky. With no gusty winds to alleviate the globe’s hot rays, a rare fall warmth had stolen into the air, replacing the early morning chill.
“Not a reason to plan to murder your father.”
“I know. But both sides were wrong. Go ahead; tell me the rest.”
“When Whisper lost, Augustus made a deal with Willowby—Whisper’s foal in return for Willowby paying off his debts. Jim was enraged. Somehow he hooked up with Lance and, by default, Sam Millar. Around the same time the men were first seen together, Augustus was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.”
A shiver chased Melanie’s spine, and the hairs on her neck tingled. “Coincidence?”
“Mighty convenient coincidence.”
Mike halted when they reached the truck. He picked her up by the waist and sat her on the pickup’s hood. The metal had absorbed the sun’s heat. Melanie wiggled her rump, relishing the delicious warmth.
“It was premeditated then. I never would’ve picked Jim for a cold-blooded killer.”
“He was that, all right. So far this is what they pieced together. Augustus had a hefty life insurance. Dodge believes Sam Millar suggested the bear killings, then a couple of random murders using the same MO, then Augustus’s murder. The authorities would be on the hunt for a serial killer, and Jim could collect the insurance easily because he had alibis for all the murders. They changed the insurance form for Whisper to make Doc G. the beneficiary to throw off the authorities long enough for Jim to cash the check.”
“He was at the house when his father died, though, wasn’t he?”
Mike spread her knees, stepped between them, and curled her closer. His erection nudged her mound. She glanced down and grinned. “Are you always in this state?”
“Around you? Always.”
“You’re not getting out of telling me the whole sordid tale, Michael David Dorland. And Mama and Lucy are watching us from the kitchen window.”
He banged his head on her shoulder. “I have a ton of things to do at the office anyway. Where was I? Yes. Jim was in the barn the entire day his father wandered off. All the hands will vouch for that.”
Melanie frowned. “That explains why Old Man Balden said he couldn’t find anyone when he called me. But he also said he couldn’t find Whisper.”
“Can’t explain that one. At any rate, somewhere along the line, they decided to cheat Willowby out of Whisper and her foal. Dodge discovered that Jim met with two wealthy Yemini breeders. Seems he intended to sell both horses to them and the stud from Willowby’s farm. If it hadn’t been for Yvonne and Nadine overhearing Jim’s phone conversation with Lance—”
“Brinda told me about that.”
“Dodge roped in Season. The two men came up with a plan. They asked Jim’s lawyer to set up an appointment with Jim and to keep him occupied until late. Dodge waited for Millar and Lance to make their move to steal the horses. He stationed men around the stable. They managed to retrieve Whisper and the other mares, and the stud, but somehow Millar and Lance got away.”
“Could Millar shift?”
“Don’t know. But we do know he could jump and run the way Drake and I do. He must’ve used his skills to escape all those armed men. Dodge didn’t have any proof against Jim once both Lance and Millar vanished. So he faked the fire. Season planted carcasses where the mares and the stud should’ve been. Then that windstorm came out of the blue.”
Melanie’s stomach knotted. “But the other horses could’ve been killed.”
“Not a chance. Dodge had everything under control.”
“Brinda and Dodge are getting married at the end of the month.”
“I know.” He chucked her chin. “He’s gaga over her. And quite stymied by you.”
She twisted her mouth. “I am so going to have to learn to like him, aren’t I?”
“What if the situation was reversed?” Mike kissed the tip of her nose.
Melanie flinched. “How could anyone not love you? Okay, okay. I now officially like Dodge Pincer. Satisfied?”
“No. But we’ll remedy that situation over time. After I told Dodge about Bernie knowing about Boyd being in town, he had a hunch, and asked Bernie to come in and see if he could identify the body. He’s about the only one left who could do that if Millar was Waquini.”
A lightbulb went off. “I’ll bet you anything that both Eddie and George somehow could identify Millar.”
“You may have something there. I’ll mention it to Dodge. Anyway, Mac brought Bernie in for the identification. Turns out not only had Bernie seen Boyd with Millar, but Mac had also seen Millar before. On his bus, he got off at the reservation stop one early morning last week.”
Melanie cupped a hand over her mouth.
“What, babe?”
“The stranger on the bus. He got off after I got on. Oh my God. I passed him.”
“You’ll never ride another bus, not while I’m alive. Forget all of this. You’re almost in heat. Your scent’s been driving me nuts for the last few hours. I arranged the next three days off with Virgil.” He cupped a hand over her mouth. “No arguing. For the next three days, you’re mine. We’re heading to the cabin this evening when I return. Wanna travel like a wolf when I come back?”
Chapter Eighteen
They made it to the cabin before the full moon claimed her dominance of the night. From the first time he recognized Melanie as his mate in the fanciful gazebo at the head of the cabin’s lake, Mike had known he’d sire his first cub there. “What were you doing at the cabin five months ago?”
Melanie blinked up at him. “It was my birthday, your mother had come back to live in town, I found that first bear cub, and it was all just too overwhelming. I had decided to give up on you. To wipe you clean out of my mind.”
“Never going to happen, babe. You looked like an ethereal fairy. I watched you trail your finger down the ivy on one post. You wrinkled your nose and hummed this melody that I couldn’t get out of my head for weeks. Every single time I’ve jacked off over the last five months, I saw your face in the moonlight. The way your lashes cast these tiny shadows on your cheeks.”
Her throat worked. “I’ve loved you forever, Michael David Dorland. And you are not to mind if I cry often during the next few days.”
“Why would you want to cry?” For the life of him, he’d never understand the workings of the female mind.
“Because I’m so happy I could burst.” And sure enough, tears rolled down her cheeks.
“How about we substitute orgasm happiness for tear happiness?” Mike did his eyebrow wiggle.
“Works for me.”
She gasped when the gazebo came into view. “It’s beautiful. How did you manage this? After all that happened the last few days?”
Mike decided the explanation could wait for later. And he owed Brinda big-time. She’d covered the gazebo in a diaphanous gauze that looked like a magical mist. The rose petals he’d insisted on lined the gazebo’s wooden floor. Little sprigs of clustered rowan flowers were tied to the ivy curling around the birch posts.
“I wanted to make love to you here in the moonlight. And I was worried about you being cold.”
Melanie giggled.
It made him smile. “What?”
“Like I could be cold around you? I get hot all over just thinking of you. Since that first night, there are times when I think spontaneous combustion might be possible.”
“It is.” And then he set about verifying his statement.
The jersey dress she wore proved fortuitous. For she was gloriously naked beneath. “You have the most incredible skin. So soft and sensuous. For the past few days, all I could think about is your skin. Licking it. Here.” He lapped the side of her neck.
“Here.” He tasted the cusp of her shoulder.
She drew him to the other side.
“Here.” The ridge of her collarbone enchanted him.
She ducked her head and nipped his bottom lip.
“Here.” He rested his tongue on her throbbing pulse.
She muttered something and knotted her fingers in his hair.
“Here.” He clamped his teeth on her claim spot.
She dragged his head up, and their eyes, the windows to their souls, connected.
His toes curled.
“I think we need to come to an agreement.” She seemed to be speaking through clenched teeth.
Mike frowned. “You want to negotiate? Now?”
“No negotiation. More a condition.” Did she actually growl on the last word?
“What?”
“The first time is going to go down with a bang. You can do all the lingering you want after that. Bite me. And fuck me.” She hooked her legs around his back. “Now, Mike David Dorland.”
Mike grinned and obeyed. Who was he to argue with certain paradise?
He entered her slowly, watching her eyes become slightly glazed, her lids grow hooded, and her reddened lips curve as h
e flexed and thickened. She was so hot, so tight; the way her muscles spasmed and coiled around his dick had his stones firing high against the throbbing base of his ready-to-erupt erection.
“I love it when you first come inside.” She slipped her tongue along the seam of his mouth. “I love the way you stretch me. The way your cock thickens and grows and fills me so I can feel you all the way up to my throat.”
“Mercy.” Mike tried to hold on, tried not to let the wolf in him take control, tried to stop the climax. But it came on fast and furious. He surrendered to the ecstasy and pounded into her.
“Bite me.” She arched her neck and shot him a heavy-lidded, sexy, come-hither look that threatened to unman him.
The scent of her heat blossomed and intertwined with the petals and rowan flowers. Her pussy creamed and tightened, locking over his cock. Her walls gripped his dick, released and contracted in waves from the base to the crown.
Mike shuddered. His balls went into overdrive, and he could’ve sworn her folds grabbed at his stones and sucked them into her slickened heat. Heat. She was an inferno. Flames licked him from head to toe.
She grabbed his ass, and her nails dug into his cheeks.
His entire groin clenched. The orgasm pushed up from his curled toes, threaded his calves taut to the point of pain, fired his loins, and sucked the air from his lungs. Her pussy churned around him. Contracted in an impossible, irregular rhythm that alternated between milking and vacuuming. His eyes rolled back in his head.
He came to in a start. His face plastered between the most beautiful breasts in the universe. The galaxy. A zillion black holes.
She patted his back. “Are you okay?”
Mike shook his head. But that brought a bitter taste into his mouth. “I’m fine. What happened back there?”
“Promise you won’t get upset?” She cupped his chin and peered at him. “I think you fainted.”
