by Maddy Barone
“Mom. Dad. I love you and I’ll always be your daughter, but I’m not a baby girl any more. I’m grown up now.” She blinked back tears. “I love Kit and he loves me. We’re going to be married. We want your blessing.”
Her mom was shaking her head. “Olivia, how long have you known him? A few weeks? That’s not long enough for him to grow to love you.”
Olivia turned to her dad and caught him giving her mom a look. It was a significant look that Olivia couldn’t interpret. Her mother obviously could. Her cheeks went pink, and she looked away, frowning. Her dad watched, a tiny hint of a fond smile tilting his lips.
“He loves me,” Olivia told her dad. “Uncle Stone says he does. Kit says he will do anything he can to make me happy. Uncle Stone said he’s telling the truth.”
Her dad’s posture eased minutely. He and her mother exchanged another of those glances that showed nothing, but which they seemed to understand completely. “That’s good,” he said in a neutral tone. “Will you be happy living with the mountain cats?”
“We won’t be.” She took her dad’s hand. The calluses on it told the story of a life lived by a man who worked hard to provide for his family. “They kicked him out because he wanted to learn to become civilized.” She took one of her mom’s hands too. “We’re thinking of taking over the Scranton place. Raise some cattle.”
Her mom’s hand clutched hers hard. “That’s only eight miles from our ranch.”
“Yeah. I’d still be right there. You’d see me all the time.”
Her parents looked at each other again. After a long minute of silent conversation, her dad nodded. “Your mother and I’ll talk it over.”
She didn’t let them free their hands from her grip. “Kit is coming by tonight. You can talk to him, too.”
Olivia was sure there was a violent struggle going on behind her dad’s eyes. He squeezed her hand. “Okay. We’ll talk to him.”
“You won’t attack him?”
The corners of her dad’s mouth turned up a fraction in a tiny smile. “I won’t attack him.”
She lurched forward to grab her mom and dad in a big hug. “Thank you. You’ll like him!”
Her mom gave a sigh that stirred the hair at Olivia’s ear. She leaned back to look into Olivia’s eyes. “Will you marry him even if we don’t approve?”
Olivia steeled herself. “Yes. But I’d really, really rather have your approval.”
Her mom looked at her for a long moment before nodding. “We’ll see.”
Olivia paused in the hall when she heard her mom say, “Our little girl has grown up.”
“She’s old enough to know her own mind,” her dad agreed. “And how long does it take to fall in love, Tami? It took me one sniff.”
Her mom gave a watery laugh. “I know, I know. I guess we’ll have to talk to the young man. If he really loves her, I guess we’ll have to let her have her way.”
“Yeah.” There was a shadow of sorrow in her dad’s voice. “We better have a word with the boys.”
*
As Kit approached the gate to the house where his mate lived, he ran a hand over his hair to smooth it. Her parents had arrived this afternoon. He had watched from a distance and immediately recognized her father when the man stepped from the train. He hadn’t appeared particularly happy, even when he saw his daughter. Her brothers had been worse. Her father’s face had been cool, but theirs had been angry. He must be the only reason they would be angry with their sister.
The icy night wind caught his hair again. His hand trembled slightly when he reached it to pull it back. The guard came to the gate. He recognized Gray Shirt. He was the son of Des and Connie.
“Hey, Kit” said Gray, opening the gate. His oddly light blue eyes crinkled in a smile. “You’re a little early. You might want to hang out here with me for a while.”
As Kit stepped through to the yard, he heard a roar muffled by distance. He froze, trying to identify the voice. “What’s going on?”
Gray barred the gate and turned back to him. His grin was friendly. “Just a little family discussion.”
“Is Olivia okay? Is she— Her parents… Are they angry?”
“Nope, it looks like Aunt Tami and Uncle Tracker are okay with you. Maybe not thrilled, but okay. Parker and Taylor, though …” He gave a mock wince at the next roar. “Well, you can hear how well they are taking it.”
Kit stared at him. “Why are you being so friendly? Don’t you hate me too?”
“Nope.”
“But you used to.”
The other man shrugged, one of his black braids sliding over his shoulder to hang down his chest. “That was before Stone cleared you. Since you’re going to be marrying my cousin, I guess we should be friends.”
Kit clutched his arm. “Am I? Am I going to marry Olivia?”
Gray cocked his head toward the house. “It might not sound like it right now, but never bet against a Clan woman. We men try to take care of them, but they’ve been raised to think for themselves.” A smile spread over his face as the sound of a feminine screech rose. “Hear that? Olivia seems pretty set on marrying you.”
He had to go find her. When he took a step toward the house, Gray stopped him with a hand on his chest. “Where you going? Better hold off a while. Tell me something.” Gray looked away and shifted his weight. “How was it for you when you found Olivia? Did your cat tell you she was your mate?”
Kit made himself relax and turn away from the house. “No. Olivia told me that you and your wolf are separate, but I am my cat. How was it for you?”
Gray shrugged and his mouth twisted. “I don’t know. I haven’t found my mate yet. Everyone says I’ll know it when I do.”
“Yeah.” Kit remembered that strange, wonderful moment when he went from growling, wanting to hurt Olivia, to knowing she was his mate. “That’s how it was for me. I wasn’t expecting to find a mate. Most cats don’t. But as soon as I smelled her, I knew Olivia was my mate.”
They both heard the sound of footsteps at the same time. Their heads turned to search the dark outside the gate. It was Stone, followed by a shorter, rounder figure, and four more.
“Stone. Aunt Sara.” Gray opened the gate for them. “Come in. India, you’ve grown. You must be how old now? Twelve?”
The smallest of the figures answered with dignity, “Thirteen.”
Kit wanted to go to Olivia but he found himself pinned in place by a pair of narrow brown eyes in a plump, pretty face with smile lines around the mouth. This woman must be Stone’s mate.
“You are the young man that Olivia is in love with,” she said. Glee threaded her words. “We got here just in time, Spot. Let’s go in quick so we don’t miss anything.” She beckoned to the four other people who had come in with her and Kit realized they must be her children. Amazingly, two of them were girls. “Come on, kids.”
Kit was going to follow them in, but Stone put a hand on his arm. “Hold on a minute. Let’s give Sara and the kids a minute to say hello and get settled. She’d be disappointed to not see the whole show.”
With effort, Kit relaxed. He owed this man. Gray said the reason he accepted Kit as a future cousin was because of Stone’s word. He should be polite. The four children following the round woman into the house weren’t all children. The largest was a young man in his late teens. “You have a nice family,” Kit ventured. “Your son is named Spot?”
“No.” Stone’s voice was dry. “That would be me. My mate’s idea of a love name. No, we have five children, two boys and three girls. Cut Ear, Red Paint Woman, Black Sun, and India are here. Suzanne is only seven and she decided to stay at the den tonight. It’s too cold for her, and she wanted to play with her favorite cousin.” The ghost of a smile drifted over Stone’s lips. “Colby is amazingly patient with her. He’ll make a good father one day.”
Kit spared a moment to be fervently thankful that Colby hadn’t come. The roars from the house had dwindled to murmurs. He hoped that meant things had been resolved in
his favor. “Can we go in now?”
“Sure.”
*
Olivia shot her brothers one last disgruntled look. They had subsided, still scowling, onto one of the couches in the family room. Satisfied that they would finally be quiet, she turned when the door opened.
“Aunt Sara!” She enveloped the older woman in a hug. “Oh, you’re cold. Come sit by the fire. Alexia — I mean Red Paint Woman, it’s so good to see you.” Most of her girl cousins went by their European names, but not this one. Red Paint Woman was tall and slender and stately, with raven black hair and eyes so dark a brown they looked black. In spite of her queenly dignity, she gave Olivia an enthusiastic hug.
“I saw your mate outside,” she whispered. “He’s handsome.”
Olivia’s heart gave a leap. He was here! She shot a single quick glance at her father. He was greeting Sara gravely and shaking hands with Cut Ear and Black Sun. She made herself turn away from the door. “India, look how big you are. You look just like your father.”
There was a round of hugging and a shuffling of seats for the newcomers. Just as everyone was settling in, the door opened and Stone came in. Olivia smiled at him. Her smile grew when she looked past her uncle to the man behind him. Kit returned her smile, but he immediately looked around the room. Even crowded as it was, he seemed to have no trouble finding her dad. She watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down as he swallowed.
Her dad stood still, examining Kit with his usual impassive face. He didn’t look away even when he murmured into Stone’s ear. Stone replied in a voice too low for Olivia to hear. She hoped he was telling dad about how truly Kit loved her. She looked quickly at Kit. He was watching her dad. She crossed to him and slipped her hand in his. He looked down at her quickly, and gave her fingers a squeeze. Of course, her brothers growled. She gave them the evilest eye she was capable of giving. It didn’t stop them. Her father’s cold glance did. He nodded once to Stone and came toward them. Kit’s fingers tightened almost painfully on hers.
“So.” Her dad looked Kit over with cool thoroughness. “You want to marry my daughter.”
She watched Kit swallow. “Yes, sir,” he said.
After a long moment of silence her dad looked back at her mom. She stood up and came toward them. Her brothers stood up too, but her dad shot a hard look at them and shook his head minutely. Dissatisfaction and anger all over their faces, they sat down again.
“I guess we should take this somewhere more private.” Her dad jerked his chin at the door. “There’s a little dining area back this way, if I recall.”
Yes, there was. Olivia turned to lead the way, but her father put a hand on her arm. “No, Livvy.” His voice was more gentle than the look he’d given her brothers, but firm. “You stay here.”
“But, Dad,” she began.
“No, go sit down with Taylor and Parker.” Dry humor colored his tone. “I think they still have some things to say to you.”
She turned to Kit and squeezed his hand. She wished she dared kiss him, but it wasn’t a good idea to rile Dad, so she just smiled. “I’ll see you in a little while. I’ll be waiting right here for you.”
*
This was a moment Tracker should have expected. Any father of a young woman would have to deal with suitors requesting permission to marry his daughter. Olivia was plenty old enough for courting, but somehow he still thought she was a child. He stalked into the smaller room with its one table and half a dozen chairs.
“Sit,” he growled at the cat.
The cat, looking ridiculously young, took off his coat and hung it carefully on the back of a chair before sitting. Tracker remained standing, arms folded over his chest. Tami came to stand beside him so they were both standing in front of the cat. He let the silence stretch, waiting for the cat to break. He didn’t, just sat with his hands on his thighs and his eyes turned up at them. Tracker gave him a sliver of respect for his composure. He leaned slightly toward the cat and inhaled. He couldn’t tell truth from lies like Stone, but he could scent emotions. Nervous? Yeah, this cat smelled of nerves, but there were other things too, like determination and hope.
“What’s your name, boy?” Tracker didn’t bother to gentle his voice or even try to sound civil. If the cat could be scared off by words or tone alone, he couldn’t keep Olivia safe.
“I’m Christopher McQueen. Most people call me Kit.”
“All right. Why do you want to marry my daughter, Mr. McQueen?” he said quietly.
“She’s my mate.” That was quick and definite. “And I love her.”
That’s what Stone had said. Tracker slid a quick look at his mate and saw Tami lift a single eyebrow in an expression of doubt. Once again the young man kept still, only watching them without speaking more.
“Do you think you’re good enough for my daughter?”
For the first time he looked away, studying his fingers spread over his knees. After a moment he looked back up. “Maybe not, but I’ll do anything I can to make her happy.”
“What do you have to offer her?”
Tracker watched as Kit’s jaw squared. There was softness in the youth of the face, but there was character there, too. “I don’t have land. I don’t have money. I know those things are significant to humans. I’m strong and willing to work. I’m a good hunter. But the most important thing I have to offer Olivia is a heart that has never loved another woman and never will love another woman. Only her.”
Tami shifted an inch closer to her husband. Tracker was sent back to that moment so long ago in the dark corner of the den’s rec room, when Tami had asked him to marry her. In that moment, he hadn’t been sure that he was good enough for a woman like Tami, or that he had anything to offer her. His life had been lived on the road, always roaming from one place to another, with no home to take her to. They had somehow managed to make each other happy for the past two and half decades. There had been some hard times over those years, but they had remained united. He wondered if this young man could possibly understand that love wasn’t just a feeling. Sometimes it was hard work. There were times when a man had to put his own plans aside and let his mate have her way, because that was what love did. It was worth it. He looked down into Tami’s eyes and knew she was thinking along the same lines. Her lips curled into a faint smile and she gave a slight nod.
Tracker gave Kit a hard stare. “My daughter tells me you’d like to take land near our place, raise cattle. You got any cows to start a herd?”
“No, sir.”
Tami spoke for the first time. “I think six cows would make a nice wedding present.”
Wild hope sprang into Kit’s eyes, tempered immediately into caution. “That would be very nice.”
Tracker hid an inner sigh. “Six cows ain’t enough to start a herd. You’ll need a bull. You work for me for one year and you’ll earn yourself wages and a bull. You can’t earn our daughter, no matter how hard you work. But she wants you.” He extended his hand to shake. “You have our blessing to marry Olivia.”
*
The family room was too crowded for pacing, so Olivia forced herself to sit still and only cast occasional glances at the door. Victoria shoved Parker out of the way and sat down next to her.
“Your dad isn’t crazy like mine,” she said comfortingly, patting Olivia’s knee. “He’ll give permission.”
“Yeah.” Olivia tried to relax. She was sure her parents would give their blessing. She cast another glance at the door and picked at a chip in her fingernail. “I want my parents to like Kit, not just tolerate him.”
“That might take some time.” Victoria looked like she was trying to suppress a smile. Her expression melted into glumness. “If my dad would even tolerate Marty, I’d be doing a victory dance.”
Glad to have her mind taken off her own concerns, Olivia turned quickly to her cousin. At twenty-six, Victoria was the oldest unmarried woman she had ever heard of. “Does Uncle Shadow know about Marty?”
“If he doesn’t yet, he will s
oon. I sent a letter back to the winter camp two weeks ago.” Her mouth quirked into a smile that was half sarcastic. “Maybe he doesn’t. I haven’t heard him roar about it. I figure news like his daughter wanting to be courted will make him howl loud enough to be heard across two states.”
Now Olivia patted her cousin on the knee. “Marty is a good guy. He’s Kearney’s representative in Omaha. He’s respected, he can afford to support you, and his brother is good friends with the Pack. What could Uncle Shadow possibly have against him?”
“I don’t know.” Victoria looked sincerely troubled. “But there’s something about Marty. I don’t know what it is, but something seems a little … off.”
“Off?”
“No, off isn’t the right word. It’s nothing bad. Just different. I think—”
But Olivia didn’t hear what Victoria thought because at that moment Kit came through the door. His big smile and shining eyes told her he had won her parents’ blessing. Silence descended over the entire room. When he located her, his smile grew even brighter. She flew across the room and into his arms. Warmth shot through her when he clutched her tightly to him for a moment. She missed it immediately when he released her. The tight silence was broken by low murmurs when he went down on one knee in front of her.
“Olivia Stensrud,” he said formally, as if reciting a memorized speech, “would you do me the very great honor of becoming my wife?”
From the corner of her eye she saw Aunt Sara muffle a gasp behind her hand, and then blink hard as if to keep tears back. “Aw, how sweet,” she breathed.
Olivia stared down into his anxious face. He had never looked more handsome. “Yes.”
Kit’s eyes went wide. “Yes?” he whispered.
She didn’t want to whisper. She wanted everyone to know she was going to marry him. “Yes!” she shouted. “Yes, Kit, I’ll marry you!”
Leaping to his feet, he clamped her hand hard against his chest. “When?” he demanded, face shining with eagerness. “Tonight?”
