“Too bad the humans will never find out about your race design,” Briar pointed out.
“Your beloved mate is blowing smoke out of his rear end,” Austin countered. “The race wouldn't be anywhere near finished if he hadn't taken over the harvest loading. Not only did he free me up to concentrate on the race site, but he even refined the design and corrected some problems I didn't foresee. Even Mason was impressed.”
Riskin's cheeks glowed, but he wouldn't look up from his wine cup. “I didn't do anything. I just made a few comments. I didn't know I was correcting the design. You're the one who deserves the credit. Brody doesn't know what he's got in you.”
“Oh, yes, he does,” Austin shot back. “He gets his money out of my hide. I can tell you that.”
Riskin turned suddenly serious. “I have one last favor to ask you before I leave. It's not much, but it's important to me.”
“Name it, man. You know I'll help you if I can.”
“I want you to take Briar home tomorrow morning. I'm going around to Dodd Homestead to…you know… come to an understanding with Rhys, and I don't want her anywhere she might be in danger. I won't rest easy unless I know she's safe.”
“Sure, man. No problem.”
Briar slammed down her cup. “Excuse me, but I am NOT going home while you go face Rhys. I'm going with you.”
Riskin squared his shoulders. “No, you're not. You're going home. I'll come and get you as soon as it's over.”
She waved her hand. “Oh, that's just great. What am I supposed to do—sit around and wait, and wait, and wait some more for you to show up? And what if you don't show up? Then what am I supposed to do?”
“If I don't show up, you won't have anything to worry about. Rhys won't bother you if…” he broke off.
Briar crossed her arms over her chest. “Forget it. This challenge affects me just as much as it affects you, and I'm not sitting on the sidelines waiting to hear the outcome. I'm going with you.”
“Forget it,” Riskin snapped. “You're not going anywhere near Rhys.”
Briar turned to Aurora. “Will you talk some sense into this guy? Tell him he can't send me home like a schoolgirl.”
Aurora threw up her hands. “Leave me out of this. You two work it out.”
Briar rounded on Riskin. “You can't leave me behind. I'll…I'll…I'll fight you. I'll bite you and scratch you and make you take me with you.”
Riskin groaned and turned to Austin. “What am I supposed to do with a woman like this?”
Austin chuckled. “Unfortunately, this is the sad plight of every man married to a Bruin woman. They don't back down once they get their mind set on something like this.”
“So, what am I supposed to do?”
“I find in situations like this it's best to let her have her way. If you try to pull rank on her and force her to do something she doesn't want to do, you only make it worse. You don't want to fight the she-bear.”
Riskin grumbled under his breath. “It's not right. She shouldn't be around a fight like that. What if Rhys tries something?”
“What would he try? What could he really do? If he tried to win the challenge by hurting her, he would only harm himself. The whole mountain would turn against him.”
Riskin threw himself back in the chair. “Aw, nuts. I'm trying to protect you, and you have to go and pull something like this.”
Austin chuckled. “Welcome to the club, son. We're supposed to be bigger and stronger and dominant and all that, but the sad truth is they're in charge. They've all got us by the short and curlies, and they can do whatever they want with us. It's been like this since the dawn of Bruin kind.”
Riskin hitched up his shoulders. “It shouldn't be allowed. We should all band together to stop it.”
Austin brayed in his face. “Band together, you say! That'll be the day. Show me the Bruin who would band together with other men against their wives. It will never happen. Get it into your head right now. You exist at her whim. You can't live without her, and she knows it better than you know it yourself.”
Riskin shook his head and fell into a brooding silence. Aurora bumped her cup into Briar's and laughed. “Here's to us, darling. Here's to the she-bear.”
Chapter 17
Briar and Riskin stood in front of the cabin with Austin and Aurora. Aurora gave Briar a hug. “Take care of yourselves. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help you.”
“Thank you so much for everything. I only wish we could show our gratitude somehow.”
Austin shook hands with Riskin. “You showed it. Look at all that firewood.”
Riskin pulled him in and gave him a hug. “Maybe I should come back next year and do it again.”
“Don't you dare!” Austin shot back. “You split your own firewood from now on.”
“I'll do that.”
Austin waved to them. “Come on. I'll give you a ride around to Dodd Homestead.”
Briar gave Aurora one last hug, and they all waved until they passed into the trees and lost sight of the cabin. They came to the road not far away where they found Austin's truck parked on the verge. Riskin held the door open for Briar, and they all buckled in.
Austin fired up the motor. “I didn't want to say anything in front of Aurora, but I'm kinda relieved you're going home. I didn't feel right keeping you hidden from Mattox.”
“I felt the same way,” Riskin murmured. “I'm sorry if we strained relations between you and him.”
“You didn't. He might never find out you were here, but I'm glad you decided to go back. It's the best thing for everybody.”
“I know it is. It's been a long time coming.”
The trio fell silent. The familiar landmarks of Bruins' Peak slipped past the truck on their way around the mountain. Briar's heart sank. The cabin and all the wonderful memories there faded into the past. What lay ahead? What would this day bring? Would it end in triumph or disaster?
Austin pulled his truck onto the shoulder and threw it into Park. He set his foot on the floor and turned to Riskin and Briar. “This is where I split off. You can handle it from here.”
Riskin stuck out his hand. “You bet we can. Thank you again for everything.”
The two men shook hands, and Briar gave Austin a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks, Austin. You’re the best.”
Austin’s cheeks flamed red. “Shucks, Ma’am. I’m just doing my duty.”
Riskin slid through the door, and Briar hopped out next to him. Austin gunned the motor, and Riskin and Briar waved until he vanished around the corner. The dust cloud blew away on the breeze, and Riskin took Briar’s hand. “He’s a prince. I never knew him much before. I’m glad I got the chance to get to know him.”
Briar looked around. The road wound into the hills below Dodd territory. “I guess this is it.”
Riskin fixed his eyes on the trees ahead. “Yep.”
They hiked into the woods without a word. Briar didn’t know this country well enough to find her way overland to Dodd Homestead. She let Riskin lead her. He marched straight into the dense undergrowth with silent, single-minded determination. He paid no attention to her. He didn’t even notice when her hand slipped out of his grasp. His whole awareness dwelt on the confrontation ahead.
Briar left him alone. He didn’t need to think about her right now. Maybe she made a mistake coming with him. Maybe she should let him handle this by himself.
She shook that thought out of her head. She belonged with him. If he died up there, she better be right there to see it. She better see her life made or destroyed when he confronted Rhys.
She fell a step behind him, but she couldn’t let him leave her behind. He marched faster, and she worked to keep up. He climbed onto the ridge and followed it. Briar recognized the country now. She crossed this ridge with May when she visited Virginia.
She almost collided with him when he stopped in his tracks. She stole a peek around him. There was Dodd Homestead lying in the sun, but Briar’s heart plummeted into he
r shoes.
Milling around in front of the house, with hundreds of weapons sticking out in every direction, stood Rhys and all his hunting buddies. Trucks and motorbikes parked at odd angles in the yard, and dogs rested in the shade.
Rhys moved from one man to the other, but Briar couldn’t hear what he said to them. They pointed into the woods and around the road. They must be planning something—another hunt for Riskin, no doubt.
Briar glanced over at Riskin. He stood stock still inside the trees. His glinting eyes took in the scene just as fast as Briar did, but she didn’t dare speak to him now. Pent-up tension sizzled through his whole body. His jaw clenched, and his nostrils flared when he breathed.
The terrible tension infected Briar, too. Her teeth chattered, and she knitted her fingers together to stop them shaking. How could Riskin ever stand up to all those Bruins bent on putting an end to him? If he stepped into that yard, they would tear him to pieces. They would set their dogs on him and shoot him with their guns. They would never let him walk out of here alive.
She wanted to run, to bury herself in the woods. She wanted the trees to swallow her up and erase her existence, to save her from those men, but that would never happen. Every spot on God’s green earth she set her foot, she left scent behind. Any Bruin could track her. They would find her. They wouldn’t let her run far.
All at once, Riskin rounded on her. Frightening fire burned in his eyes, and his voice hissed through his gritted teeth. “Run away, Briar. Run back home to your Ma. I can’t do this if I think you’re in danger. Go on. Turn around and run. I’ll keep ‘em here long enough for you to get clear.”
Briar took one last look into the yard. Rhys laughed loud enough for the sound to carry into the woods. He ruled this Homestead. He’d already won.
Briar turned back to face Riskin. She took his hand and gave it a squeeze, and this time, she didn’t let go. “I’m not running away, Riskin. We’re in this together, and I’m going out there with you. I won’t be in danger. Take a look. A yardful of dozens of Bruins is the best protection we could ask for. Think about it. If you defeat Rhys in front of everybody, no one will dare harm us. Your victory will go unchallenged.”
Riskin glanced through the trees, but he didn’t scan the dozens of Bruins milling around. His eyes locked on his brother, and they didn’t leave him. His shoulders swelled out, and his hands balled into fists. The strength he never let himself feel before pulsed in his veins.
Riskin could defeat Rhys. Nothing could stop him, and he knew it. He was stronger than his brother. He always had been. Rhys couldn’t face Riskin without twenty or thirty armed men and trained dogs backing him up. All Riskin had to do was challenge him.
Riskin’s chest rose and fell with steady breath. His eyes never wavered from his brother’s face. “All right. Let’s go.”
Without waiting for Briar to reply, he stepped out of the trees. A few men saw him coming. Most didn’t. Riskin got halfway across the yard before a surge of activity swept the assembly. A murmur of surprise went through the men. They spun around to look, and Rhys glanced over to see what the commotion was.
He froze when saw Riskin. His rifle still rested on his shoulder, but the self-satisfied smirk drained off his face. He stared at Riskin coming straight toward him. Riskin glanced neither right nor left. The men jumped off their fenders. Some backed off and some moved closer to get a better look.
Riskin strode right up to Rhys. He kept his voice low and casual, but no one could mistake the expression on his face. He jerked his chin at his brother. “You and me, Rhys, right now, and the winner take all.”
Rhys shook himself out of his trance. He glanced around at his friends, who watched to see his reaction.
Riskin waited, but Rhys didn’t say anything. Riskin nodded one more time. “Come on. Put your gun away and face me, man to man and bear to bear.”
Rhys woke up with a start. He swung his rifle down and cradled it against his elbow. He looked Riskin up and down and laughed in his face. “Man to man and bear to bear, just like you did at the Mackenzies’? Is that how you want to do it?”
Deep lines furrowed Riskin’s brow, and black thunder smoldered in his eyes.
Rhys looked around at his friends and laughed. “Take your little friend and get out of here before you get hurt—again. Go back to the woods where you belong and leave the tribe to a real man. You don’t belong here.”
Riskin glared at him. The insults stung Briar to the quick, but she couldn’t tell if they bothered Riskin at all. Did that old humiliation shatter his new-found confidence? Could he overcome his defeat to face Rhys and win?
Some of Rhys’s friends joined him in strained laughter at Riskin’s expense, but most stood still and watched. They all heard Riskin challenge Rhys in front of everybody. Only a coward would back down from that challenge, and here was Rhys delaying to beat the band.
Riskin waited for the laughter to stop. In one swift stride, he stepped close to Rhys and murmured into his face. “What’s the matter, Rhys? You’re not scared, are you? Don’t you think you can beat me without your rifle in your hands?”
Rhys twisted up his mouth in a hideous grin. “I’m not scared of you.”
Riskin stepped back. He spun around to turn his back on Rhys, and he raised his voice to a yell that echoed out to the forest and back. “He’s scared. He’s scared to face me. You all heard him.”
Riskin walked away. He didn’t turn around, but kept his broad back turned toward Rhys. He walked up to Briar and stopped. He muttered to her under his breath, “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
At that moment, Rhys shot forward with a broken cry. He pitched his gun aside and launched himself at Riskin from behind. He barreled straight into him and slammed his shoulder into Riskin’s back. He flattened Riskin to the ground and landed on top of him. Before they hit the ground, Rhys shifted and the great bear brought all four paws down on Riskin’s back.
In an instant, all the onlookers jumped away to give them room. Briar scuttled out of the way just in time. Rhys spread his gaping mouth, but he didn’t maul Riskin’s exposed neck and head. Not even Riskin’s arms could protect him from that, but Rhys only held him down while his back legs worked up and down to shred Riskin’s pants to ribbons.
Briar couldn’t figure out what Rhys was doing. He should be taking advantage of his position to crush Riskin’s neck, but he didn’t even try. He kept looking down at his hind quarters, where his claws worked against Riskin’s legs. Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. Rhys wanted to attack Riskin’s old injuries, to disable him and weaken him.
Riskin must have figured it out, too, but he didn’t try to get away. He didn’t even try to make a space for himself to shift. Briar stared at him in horror. He couldn’t intend to fight Rhys, man against bear. That was sheer insanity. It was suicide.
Riskin didn’t shift, though. Once he realized Rhys wouldn’t dive for his neck or maul his face off, he let his arms drop away. He flipped over and looked his brother bear right in the face. He waited until Rhys turned back from checking Riskin’s legs. Then, with a upthrust of his hands, he jammed his fingers right into Rhys’s eyes.
Rhys flinched away from those stabbing fingers, but he was too late. He squealed out loud and sailed clear off Riskin in one jump. The bear pawed his face, but he couldn’t open his eyes.
Riskin took all the time in the world to roll onto his side and climb to his feet. He faced his brother in no particular hurry and waited until Rhys recovered enough to open his eyes.
Rhys shook his head and snorted. He growled low under his breath, but he stood off at a distance and made no move to attack again. Riskin stayed where he was. He didn’t bother to shift.
Rhys lowered his big head between his shoulders and roared. He paced back and forth and shook his head and shoulders. Riskin glared at him under his furrowed eyebrows and nodded. “Well, come on if you’re coming. Don’t stand there making a big noise. You’ll wake the neighbors. If you don’t co
me now, every man on this Homestead will know you’re scared. Is that what you want?”
Rhys still didn’t come. He thundered and trotted back and forth, but he didn’t come any closer.
One of the men murmured on Briar’s left, “It’s not a fair fight. He can’t win, man against bear. Rhys cheated attacking when his back was turned.”
Riskin showed no sign of having heard. He shook his head. “You’re a coward, Rhys. You always were.” He raised his voice to a deafening boom. It struck fear into every heart within earshot. “He’s a coward. Dodd Alpha is a coward. Do you want to stand with him now?”
Riskin didn’t have to look around to know the affect his words had on his listeners. The men fidgeted back and forth. Some put their weapons away, and others shook their heads.
Riskin faced his brother. “All right, Rhys. I’ll make this easy for you.”
In the blink of an eye, he rocketed forward. His feet didn’t touch the ground. In mid-flight, he changed, and the battered old bear sailed across the gap to attack Rhys.
Rhys spun around with his mouth open, but he couldn’t stop himself from crouching under that impending attack. Riskin pounced on him from above. All four paws trained on Rhys to maim and his fangs bared to rip. Riskin’s forefeet landed on Rhys’s back, and his mouth closed around his brother’s face.
Before Riskin could close the deal, Rhys burst into action. He swung around and rose on his hind legs. He shrugged Riskin off, and the two bears faced each other chest to chest. They hugged each other with their burly forearms, and their open mouths darted to and fro in matched ferocity in search of a place to bite.
Some part of Rhys’s strategic mind kept functioning. He lunged forward and knocked Riskin back. Riskin planted his injured leg behind him to brace his balance. Briar held her breath. Would that leg hold? Rhys counted on Riskin’s old weakness, but he didn’t know Riskin spent the last three weeks working for Austin. He couldn’t know Riskin made that leg stronger than it ever was before Mattox crippled him.
Briar on Bruins' Peak (Bruins' Peak Bears Book 7) Page 11
