The Wolf and the Dove

by Linda Turner

  Ten seconds later, the front door slammed, leaving behind a silence that was as cold and deep as the snow piling up outside. Standing flat-footed in the examining room where she’d left him, feeling as if he’d been run over by a truck, Lucas stared after her and started to swear.

  Bustling into Lucas’s private office three days later, Mary caught him scowling out the window at the hangar in the distance and hurriedly bit back a smile. Lucas wasn’t normally a brooder, but he’d spent most of the day staring out the window—at the hangar—whenever there was a lull in patients. And she had a feeling his interest in the old place had nothing to do with planes.

  Her eyes starting to dance with expectation, she laid the day’s mail on his desk, then said casually, “I’ve been going over the invitation list for the Christmas party, and it seems to be missing a few names.”

  He turned, his scowl still in place. “Oh, yeah? Who?”

  “Judge Ryan,” she replied promptly. “Since he bought the old Carson place, he’s practically a neighbor.”

  “You’re right,” he agreed. “I should have thought of him myself. Go ahead and put him on the list.”

  “What about Rocky Fortune?”

  The look he shot her would have done one of his fierce Shoshone ancestors proud. Mary didn’t even blink. “What about her?”

  “What about her?” Mary echoed, amused by his deliberate obtuseness. “Lucas, you’re leasing the hangar to her! Don’t you think it would be rude not to invite her to the only party you give all year?”

  “Not at all,” he said curtly, his gut clenching just at the thought of seeing her again. He’d spent most of the night fighting off the memory of a kiss that never should have happened, and his obsession with her hadn’t improved with the light of day. Damn the woman, he could still taste her, still feel her against him—

  Swearing under his breath, he picked up the mail Mary had brought in and blindly flipped through it. “It’s not like she’s a friend or anything. We have a business arrangement, nothing more.”

  “But—”

  “And she probably wouldn’t come, anyway. We don’t exactly run in the same circles, you know.”

  “Then it won’t hurt to send her an invitation,” Mary said promptly, grinning. “Just as a courtesy.”

  Tossing down the mail, he growled, “Don’t waste a stamp.”

  Mary shrugged, as if to say that was fine with her, but there was a glint of mischief in her eye that Lucas would have immediately recognized if he had seen it. He didn’t. Deliberately turning toward the door, she quickly brought the subject back to work. “Elizabeth Crow’s here. She thinks she wrenched her back carrying in firewood. I’ll show her into room two.”

  When she got the invitation in the mail, Rocky stared at it long and hard. There had to be a mistake. The doc might have kissed her until her toes curled, but she wasn’t fooling herself into thinking that he liked her. In fact, she seemed to have a talent for getting under his skin. He’d gone out of his way to avoid her ever since he’d kissed her. So why had he invited her to his Christmas party?

  “What’s that?”

  Glancing up from her confused thoughts, Rocky smiled at Charlie Short, her new mechanic. He’d been the first one to answer the ad she placed in the local paper, and she’d only had to talk to him five minutes to know that he was just the man she was looking for. As short as his name, wiry and pushing sixty, he was gruff and blunt and not shy about giving her advice when he thought she needed it. And what he didn’t know about planes wasn’t worth mentioning. Over the past two days, he’d gone over the fleet she’d inherited from her grandmother, and he had every engine purring like a kitten.

  “Nothing,” she said with a shrug. “Just an invitation to Dr. Greywolf’s Christmas party next week.”

  “Hey, great! I’ve heard about those parties of his—the food’s supposed to be something else. You’re going, aren’t you?”

  Her heart took a dive just at the thought of getting anywhere near the man anytime soon. She didn’t want to see him, didn’t want to socialize with him, didn’t want to look into his eyes and think about a kiss that had haunted her sleep for the past five nights.

  “It’s just one of those courtesy things,” she said stiffly, tossing the invitation in the trash. “I don’t think there’s much point in going.”

  “Are you kidding?” Snatching up the invitation, he looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “Dammit, girl, where’s your head? Just about anyone who’s anyone in Clear Springs is going to be at that shindig. And you should be, too! You need to get out and mingle with the locals and let them know that you’re open and ready for business. This is a chance for some free advertising, for God’s sake! Take advantage of it.”

  He had a point, one that Rocky would have given just about anything to deny. But she wasn’t Kate Fortune’s granddaughter for nothing. As much as she wanted to avoid Lucas like a bad case of the measles, she couldn’t let her own personal likes and dislikes interfere with sound business decisions.

  “Oh, all right, all right,” she muttered. “I’ll go. If we can pick up some business, I guess it’ll be worth all the fuss.”

  She didn’t plan to stay long, only as long as it took to put in an appearance, scout out the guests for hunters and guides who could possibly use her services and pass around her business card to anyone who happened to express an interest. But the second she stepped through the clinic’s front door, she knew she wasn’t going to get out of there anytime soon. The place was wall-to-wall people. Laughing and talking and nibbling on food that smelled absolutely fabulous, they were packed in shoulder to shoulder and could hardly move. And nobody seemed to care.

  Mary Littlejohn, spying her hovering near the doorway, plowed her way through the bodies and greeted her like a long-lost daughter. “Rocky! I’m so glad you came! C’mon, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  Not giving her time to do anything but sputter a greeting, Luke’s nurse hauled her through the crowd and stopped in front of a middle-aged man who was already deeply involved in a conversation with a woman Rocky recognized as the mayor. “Sorry to interrupt,” she said in an easy tone that was anything but regretful, “but I want you two to meet Rocky Fortune. Rocky, this is Mayor Whacker and Thomas Gustafson. I was telling them earlier about your new flying service, and they were very interested in it.”

  “You’re one of Jake’s daughters,” Thomas said, pleased, as he shook her hand. “I can’t tell you how delighted I was when Mary told us you’d moved to Clear Springs to set up your business. I own the Black Bear Motel and get requests all the time from guests who just want to hire a small plane to fly them into the mountains for some trophy bighorns, and I have to send them to Jackson. This is great! Just great.”

  Smiling, Mayor Louise Whacker agreed. “We’ve needed the services you’re providing for a long time, dear. Especially search-and-rescue. Your grandmother would be so proud of you.”

  That started a conversation about Kate, and then the mayor spotted one of the town bigwigs that she insisted Rocky meet. Before Rocky quite realized it, she’d been there well over an hour and enjoyed every second of it. Then she spied Lucas towering head and shoulders over most of the crowd.

  She’d known she’d have to speak to him, of course—she couldn’t just show up at his party and ignore the man—but she planned to keep it short and sweet, then get the heck out of there. What she didn’t plan was for her heart to stop in midbeat at the sight of him.

  Damn the man, he had no right to look so good, she thought, shaken. Casually dressed in a white shirt and a red V-necked sweater that did incredible things for his broad shoulders, he was talking to a small, wizened man and laughing at something he had to bend his head to catch. Transfixed, Rocky could do nothing but stare. It was a sight that she knew would follow her into her dreams.

  Still chuckling over Whitey Walker’s latest joke, Lucas felt the touch of eyes on him and glanced up, only to suck in a sharp breath at th
e sight of Rocky staring at him from across the room. He didn’t have to ask what she was doing there—Mary’s innocent smile when he found her in the crowd had told him all he needed to know. She’d invited her, in spite of his direct order not to.

  “Pretty girl,” Whitey drawled, noting his sudden distraction. “That’s Kate’s granddaughter, isn’t it?”

  Lucas nodded. “Yeah. One of Jake’s girls—Rachel.”

  “The one they call Rocky,” the old man said knowingly. “She’s got the look of her grandmother. And all her spunk, from what I hear. Word is, she gave old Jake more than a few of those gray hairs of his. A regular daredevil she is. And she’s eyeing you like you’re the next best thing to sliced bread.” Grinning up at Lucas, his black eyes danced with mischief. “So what are you standing here humoring an old man for? Go talk to her, son.”

  He didn’t want to go anywhere near her, but she was his guest, whether he wanted her to be or not, and his mama hadn’t raised him to be rude, especially not to a woman. “I’ll be right back,” he said. “Don’t run off.”

  He’d be polite, make sure she was enjoying herself, then find an excuse to put some space between them for the rest of the evening, he promised himself as he started toward her. Considering the number of people he still had to speak to, that wouldn’t be hard to do.

  Catching up with her, however, proved to be more difficult than he’d expected. He’d hardly taken three steps before one of his mothers-to-be latched on to him and worriedly confided that she thought she might be going into labor three months early. By the time he’d questioned her and determined that she was just being the tiniest bit paranoid, Rocky was nowhere in sight.

  Scowling, he went looking for her, got waylaid by one of his elderly patients, then stopped by the police chief for a lengthy conversation about the pros and cons of lowering the speed zone in front of his clinic because of the amount of traffic that was always coming in and out of there. Impatient, he broke away as soon as he could manage with the excuse that he needed to check to see how the food was holding out. Finally, breaking through a group blocking the entrance to the waiting area, he caught up with Rocky near the front door, just as she pulled her coat from the coat rack.

  Walking up behind, he took it from her before she even knew he was there. “Sneaking out, Ms. Fortune?” he taunted softly. “And without even a proper thank-you to your host. Tsk, tsk. What would your grandmother say?”

  Startled, Rocky whirled with a gasp, her hand flying to the pulse that was suddenly thundering irritatingly at the base of her throat. What was it about this man that had her always off balance? He hadn’t even touched her, and her knees were already weak. It was downright embarrassing.

  “I wasn’t sneaking,” she lied. “You were busy and I didn’t want to bother you. I was going to send you a note tomorrow telling you how much I enjoyed myself, but now I won’t have to do that.” Using the manners she’d been taught as a child, she said sweetly, “It was a wonderful party, Dr. Greywolf. Thank you for inviting me. Good night.”

  She started to reach for her coat, but before she could take it from him, Mary appeared at the door to the waiting room, her smile wide and devilment dancing in her eyes. “Oh, good, I see you found it.”

  Confused, Rocky looked around. “Found what? My coat? It wasn’t lost.”

  “No, the mistletoe.” Mary laughed, nodding to a spot above their heads. “Go ahead, Lucas. Kiss her.”

  Three

  Mortified color staining her cheeks, Rocky should have said something flirty, then gotten the heck out of there. But her brain shut down and her heart started to pound and all she could think of was that first sizzling kiss he’d given her days ago. As flustered as a virgin, she instinctively took a step backward. “Oh, no! That’s not necessary—”

  His dark eyes starting to twinkle, Lucas arched a brow at her. “What’s this? The fearless Rocky Fortune, unnerved by a tiny sprig of mistletoe?” he teased. “It’s just a little kiss between friends.”

  She wanted to protest that they weren’t friends—how could they be when they seemed to continually rub each other the wrong way?—and she had a feeling there was no such thing as a little kiss where he was concerned. But before she could get the words out, he leaned down and brushed a kiss on her flushed cheek. She felt the fleeting warmth of his lips, a whisper of breath against her skin, and then he was stepping back, his grin crooked as he gauged her reaction.

  “There. See? No harm done,” he assured her lightly as he held her coat out for her to slip into. “Where’d you park? I’ll walk you to your pickup.”

  Her heartbeat still drumming in her ears, Rocky automatically turned her back on him and eased her arms into the sleeves. “I had to park in the street, but it’s not that far. Anyway, you don’t need to walk me out. You have guests.”

  “Who won’t miss me for the few minutes it takes to see you to your truck,” he said firmly. Grabbing his own coat, he quickly tugged it on.

  “He’s right, dear,” Mary said, adding her two cents. “You’re not used to Wyoming winters. It doesn’t take long for ice to build up. If you slipped and fell in the dark, it could be a while before anyone found you.”

  Rocky could have pointed out that she’d dealt with ice and harsh winters in Minneapolis for years, but Lucas already had the door open and was waiting patiently for her to precede him. From the challenging glint in his eye, it was obvious that he was prepared to wait as long as necessary. “Oh, all right,” she said with a sigh. “But if you walk all your guests to their cars, you’re going to have frostbite before the night’s over.”

  “I’m a doctor,” he reminded her, chuckling. “I know how to treat it. Let’s go.”

  The second they stepped outside and shut the door behind them, they might have been the only two people in the world. Silence engulfed them, broken only by the low, mournful moan of the wind as it whipped around them like a living thing, circling them, touching them with icy fingers as they hurried across the crowded parking lot.

  Her shoulders hunched against the cold, Rocky kept her eyes focused on the snow-covered ground, all her senses attuned to the man who fell into step beside her. He didn’t say a word, but the crunch of his boots was loud in the crystal clear silence, the puff of his breath mingling with hers on the crisp night air. If she hadn’t known better, she would have sworn she could even hear the steady thump of his heart beating in time with hers.

  The cold’s numbed your brain, girl, the voice of reason said tartly in her ear. The only thing you can hear is your own imagination working overtime. The doc didn’t follow you out here into this icebox because he wanted a stroll in the moon-light—he just didn’t want you falling on his property and suing the bejeebers out of him. So don’t start getting all breathless over nothing. He’s just covering himself.

  The thought stung, and it shouldn’t have. Wasn’t she just here to drum up business? Not willing to delve into that too deeply, she sighed in relief when they finally reached her pickup, which was at the end of a long line of cars that were parked on either side of the road in front of the clinic. “Okay, you’ve done your duty,” she said with a smile as she turned to face him, “and without a single mishap. See, I told you this wasn’t necessary.”

  Standing in the dark, far from the parking-lot lights, Lucas silently acknowledged that she was right. Escorting her to her truck hadn’t been all that necessary. But suddenly kissing her was.

  He didn’t know where the need came from, but suddenly it was a hot, hard fist in his gut, one that wouldn’t be put off with a wimpy brush of his lips against her cheek. He wanted a full-fledged, breath-stealing, knee-buckling kiss, the kind that a man could lose sleep over just thinking about. And he wanted it now, from Rocky Fortune.

  You’re out of your mind, Greywolf. A few sandwiches short of a picnic. Just how many glasses of Mary’s rum punch did you have?

  Staring down at her in the darkness, he told himself not to do something stupid that he was going
to regret later. All he had to do was wish her good-night, then turn around and walk away, while he still could. It was that simple.

  But almost from the beginning nothing had been simple with this woman. And tonight was no different. She got under a man’s skin like a rash and just didn’t go away, dammit! He’d tried to ignore her, to keep his distance, to distract himself with his other guests, but nothing had worked. Muttering curses under his breath, he knew there was no way in hell he was going to walk away.

  Reaching for her, he saw her eyes widen, and he murmured, “I know you’re probably going to belt me for this, but there doesn’t seem to be a damn thing I can do about it.” And with no more warning than that, he hauled her up on her toes and into his arms and his mouth found hers.

  Her lips were cold, and her breath was seemingly caught in her throat. For what seemed like an eternity, she stood motionless in his arms, frozen, hardly breathing. But even through their coats and party clothes, he could feel the tension that wired her and knew that as hard as she tried, she wasn’t indifferent to him. Murmuring her name, he gathered her closer and blindly rubbed his mouth against hers, warming her, nuzzling her, slowly, patiently melting her bones.

  Her arms trapped against his chest and her senses starting to swim, Rocky fought the sweet, enervating tug of seduction. She couldn’t do this, she thought desperately. She wouldn’t! But no one had ever kissed her the way he did, with all his concentration focused on her. Just her. The wind swirled around them, blowing snow and nipping at every exposed inch of skin, but it might have been the middle of summer for all the notice he gave their surroundings. His arms were snug around her, and his only thought seemed to be pleasuring her. His mouth wooed and caressed and teased, stealing her breath, her common sense, delighting her, until she couldn’t think of anything but the hunger he lit in her blood. With a shudder that seemed to come all the way from her toes, she clutched at him, moaning, and kissed him back.