Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume II)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Just then, a strapping tall man stepped out of the woods and crossed the clearing heading for the cabin. He stopped next to the chopping block and swung an axe to embed the blade in the solid wood. He jerked his head at Riskin. “How's the patient?”

  Riskin nodded. “She's better. She's awake. Aurora's tending to her.”

  Austin looked Riskin up and down. “Good. Then you can come with me and start earning your keep.”

  Riskin's head shot up. “What?”

  Austin grinned. “You've been sitting by her bedside for three days, and you haven't set foot outdoors since you got here. Let me guess. You haven't chopped wood since you left the Mackenzies’, so you can start now. I've been working at Farrell Homestead all day, and I'm tired, so you can do it for me.”

  Riskin pulled his head down between his shoulders. “Yes, sir.”

  Austin slapped him on the back. “Good lad. Come on. We've got all our winter firewood to split.”

  Riskin followed him. “I'll do my best, but I'm not good for much with this bum leg of mine.”

  Austin raised an eyebrow. “Why don't you let Briar take a look at it? She'll fix it up for you.”

  Riskin looked away. “She's tried, but I wouldn't let her. I don't know. I…I don't want her working on my leg.”

  “Why ever not? She's the best there is, second to her ma. Everybody knows that.”

  Riskin shrugged. “I guess I didn't want her to see me…you know…weak. I want her to think I'm…”

  “What? You want her to think you're strong?” Austin laughed. “Listen, son. Finding the right woman to mate with is the strongest thing you can do. Making yourself vulnerable to her and letting her build you up is the best way you can make yourself stronger. I found that out for myself.”

  Riskin stared at him. “Do you really think so? I felt that way, too. I just didn't want her to think I was…I don't know. I guess I didn't want her to think I was damaged somehow.”

  Austin rounded on him and murmured into his face, “You are damaged, son. Your leg is maimed. If you want to be strong for Briar, you have to get it fixed one way or the other, and she's the best person to do it for you.”

  “I know that.”

  Austin straightened up. “Good. Here you go. Split these logs and stack 'em in the shed. I'll be back in a couple of hours to check your progress.”

  Riskin's eyes widened at the mountain of cut logs piled behind the cabin. “This? You want me to split all this?”

  Austin walked away. “Do you have somewhere else to be?”

  Austin disappeared around the cabin, and the door thumped closed behind him. Riskin stood where he was. The pile of logs towered high over his head. He could split until doomsday and never split all this.

  He heaved a sigh. At least his leg wouldn't stop him splitting them, and Austin was right. Riskin had nothing else to do or anywhere to go except back to the chair at Briar's bedside.

  He went back around in front of the cabin and fetched the axe and chopping block. He set the block in front of the pile. No time like the present to get started. He set the first log on the block and split it. It sprang apart with a satisfying tink.

  He split the halves into quarters and picked up the next log. The more he split, the more the old familiar rhythm took hold of him. He understood this primal activity in his blood and bones. He'd been chopping wood as long as he could remember.

  His shoulders swelled with the work. He swung his back into it, and his legs dug into the ground. His injured leg didn't hurt so much, now that he got into the groove. He worked faster. He started to enjoy the strain on his muscles. He pushed himself harder. He would show Briar and the rest of the world he was strong.

  He chopped and split until the split pieces cluttered up the ground. Then he loaded them on his arm and stacked them in the shed. He worked all morning and didn't even notice the effort.

  The sun angled around Bruins' Peak. Riskin got the shed half full by the end of the day. He didn't stop until Austin came back at dusk.

  Austin nodded. “Good. Keep going tomorrow.”

  Riskin set the axe in the block and followed him to the door. “The shed's half-full already. Where do you want me to put the rest of the wood?”

  Austin waved his hand. “Stack it along this wall. You can stack it all the way up to the eaves if you want to. There's plenty there, and the more you get done the better.”

  A candle burned on the table inside. Riskin stood his boots by the door and went over to Briar's bed. She scooted up on the pillow when he sat down next to her. “Where have you been all day? I missed you.”

  He kissed her on the lips and took her hand. “I was doing some work outside for Austin. I thought you'd be snoozing the day away.”

  “I was, but when I looked over there, I didn't see you. I wondered where you were.”

  “I was right outside.”

  “Listen, Riskin. You heard what Aurora said. You can't hide from Rhys forever. You have to go back and fight him.”

  “I don't want to hide from Rhys forever, but I don't want to fight him, either. If there's a way to get him to back off, we should do it. I don't want to break my mother's heart by hurting him.”

  “He'll never leave us in peace. Don't you understand? Rhys would never have come after you with guns and dogs if he thought he had a chance of defeating you in an open Alpha challenge. You're stronger than he is. You can beat him.”

  “We'll deal with him, one way or the other. I won't let him come after you again.”

  She lifted her gaze to his face. “You saved me. I can't thank you enough for that.”

  He pressed her hand. “You don't have to thank me. I couldn't lose you. We're mates now. If I saved you, I saved myself.”

  “I'm worried about you. I'm more worried about you than I am about myself.”

  “What do you have to worry about me for? I'm all right.”

  She put out her hands to him. “I can't let anything happen to you, either. If you're in danger, I want to protect you.”

  “I should be protecting you, not the other way around.”

  She shook her head. “I want to make you strong so you can face Rhys. I want you to be as big and powerful as you need to be to face whatever comes.”

  “I am. I'm as big and powerful as I need to be because I have you.”

  She hugged his head against her chest. He stretched out on the bed next to her and pressed his ear against her heart. He couldn't lose this. His whole life beat in that fragile, little body.

  She pressed her lips against his hair. “Don't hide from him. Go to him and fight him. You don't have to kill him. Just beat him. Take the Alpha position away from him and take it for yourself.”

  “I don't want to be Alpha. You don't want to be married to an Alpha. I can't think of anything I'd rather do less.”

  She pulled his head up to stare into his eyes. “You're afraid. You're afraid he'll beat you the way Mattox did.”

  Riskin frowned. “I'm not afraid. I just…don't want to do it.”

  “You have to. We'll never have a life if you don't. Do it for me if you won't do it for yourself.”

  He tore his head out of her hands and laid it back down on her chest. Why did he hesitate to face Rhys? He told himself he wouldn't run away again, but when he really thought about it, he cringed from fighting his brother.

  Their brief confrontation in the woods, when Briar stopped them fighting, flashed before his eyes. He fought Rhys, but he never unleashed his full strength against his brother. He let Rhys drive him to the ground and pin him down on his back. Why did he do that? Why didn't he want to fight Rhys?

  He didn't really want to be Alpha. Who could bother with all that political stuff? Riskin wanted nothing but a quiet life in the forest with his mate. Why would God deny him that?

  Austin cleared his throat across the room. “Supper's on the table, lovebirds.”

  Riskin didn't move until Austin came over and clapped him on the shoulder. “Come and get so
mething to eat, boy. A man can't work like that all day on fresh air.”

  Riskin peeled himself out of Briar's arms with another kiss. He let Austin lead him to the table. Once he started eating, he found he couldn't stop. He never remembered being that hungry. He kept eating long after Austin and Aurora pushed back their plates.

  Austin started talking to him while he ate. “I want you to come with me tomorrow. I have a job for you.”

  Riskin gulped down a mouthful of water. “Don't you want me to finish the firewood?”

  “You can do that in the evenings. This job is more important, and I can't do it myself.”

  “What is it?”

  “I'm harvesting timber in the woodlot I planted for Brody. I need you to supervise the loading platform and make sure all the trucks have the right paperwork for the mill.”

  “I can do that. I've done it a million times at the Mackenzies’.”

  “I know you have. That's why I'm taking you.”

  “Don't you have a manager to do it?”

  “I've been doing it myself, but I have to start another job tomorrow so I need a ringer.”

  “What's the new job?”

  “I'm building a new race at the mill. I have to be there to brief the construction crews. I designed the race myself, so I have to explain a few things to crew manager.”

  “Who's the crew manager?”

  “Mason Cunningham.”

  Riskin nodded. “I know him. He did a job for us at the Mackenzie ranch. He's good. You couldn't ask for a better man on the job.”

  “What did he do for you?”

  “He built a loading station for running cattle into trucks. Before he did that, the loading used to cost us days of rounding up and running them up some old chutes that weren't big enough. We always lost a few good steers on those chutes because larger animals would get stuck or they would injure each other in the yards. We asked Mason about it, and he designed and built a new station. All we had to do was drive the animals into this big yard. They would go straight into the chute and onto the trucks. They never came near enough to each other to hurt each other again. It was the perfect solution.”

  Austin cocked his head. “I appreciate you telling me that. That's the kind of guy I need on this project. I need someone who can think, who won't back down from a new idea. This race I designed is like nothing on the mountain. It will process hundreds more logs per season.”

  “Can I see the design?”

  Austin narrowed his eyes. “What do you want to see it for?”

  “I'm just curious. I want to understand the concept.”

  Austin softened. “I would show it to you, but I don't have it here. I'll show it to you when I take you to the harvest tomorrow morning.”

  Riskin brightened. “Thanks. I won't blow your idea all over the mountain, if that's what you're worried about.”

  “I'm not worried. I know I can trust you.”

  Riskin leaned back. His shoulders spread, and his eyes sparkled. “I never thought I'd be talking about this stuff again. I thought I left all that behind when I left the Mackenzies’.”

  “You did good work at the Mackenzies’. A lot of people on this mountain have been waiting a long time for you to come back from the forest. They want to use your skills in their businesses.”

  Riskin froze. “They do?”

  “Sure. You and Azer managed that ranch on your own for years. There's not many men who could do as well as you did.”

  Riskin moved his fork back and forth on his plate. “Mattox doesn't seem to think so.”

  “Of course, he does. Mattox knows perfectly well what good work you did for the Mackenzies.”

  Riskin's voice cracked. “Then why did he have to drive me off that way?”

  Austin lowered his voice to a gentle murmur. “You know the answer to that as well as I do, son. You challenged him to an open fight for his chosen mate. He couldn't stand by and let you do that. That doesn't mean you didn't do good work for the ranch. You're a talented and experienced manager and a hard worker. Everybody knows that. You've been wasting yourself all these months with your head under a rotten log. You've got a life to live and a lot of good people waiting to help you live it.”

  Riskin cast a glance over his shoulder toward the bed. Briar's eyes gleamed in the firelight. She heard. Maybe she was right. Maybe Austin was right, too. Life called him back.

  Chapter 15

  Briar heaved herself up on the pillows when Austin entered the cabin. Deep purple-grey darkened the clearing outside, and the cabin fell in shadow when Austin shut the door. “Where's Riskin?”

  Austin jerked his thumb toward the door. “He's out there splitting firewood. He said he wasn't finished for the day.”

  Aurora straightened up from the fire. “It will be dark soon, and supper's on the table. Tell him to come in.”

  “He'll come when he's ready.”

  “But he's been gone all day,” Briar protested.

  “He's been with me all day,” Austin replied. “He's been working at the harvest since I dropped him off this morning, and I just picked him up right now. When we got back, he said he wanted to keep going.”

  “He'll wear himself out like that.”

  Austin dropped into a chair. “He's got amazing energy, that boy. He must have been going out of his mind in the forest all these months with nothing to do, and now he's making up for lost time.”

  “How long will he keep working like that?”

  “Maybe he'll keep working until he passes out. I don't know. He wouldn't do it if he was tired. My guess is he's not tired enough. That's why he wants to push himself.”

  Aurora shook her head. “He's crazy.”

  “He's young,” Austin countered. “I remember being like that. He wants to pack as much as he can into every day.”

  “I don't like it,” Aurora remarked. “He'll burn himself out working like that.”

  “It's a good sign,” he told her. “It means he's coming back to life. He's not hiding anymore.”

  Austin and Aurora ate together at the table. Aurora put a tray on Briar's lap, and she ate in bed, but she couldn't settle down to rest after Aurora cleaned up. Austin and Aurora went to bed, and Aurora left a plate of food and a candle on the table for Riskin, but Briar sat up waiting for him for hours.

  After the sounds of day faded, she heard the steady plunk of the axe outside. On and on it went, like a steady clock ticking. He never slowed down. He never flagged or stopped except when he stacked the wood against the house. The thump of the wood falling against the wall led to another steady tap of the axe.

  How long could he go on like this? Would he work all night? She got tired long before he did. She slipped back down in the bed and closed her eyes. What kind of monster did she saddle herself with?

  She started to drift off but woke to see him shutting the door as he came in. He slipped out of his boots and tiptoed to the table. He ate standing up. The candlelight glowed on his cheekbones.

  Briar whispered in the dark, “You're back.”

  His head shot up. “Are you awake?”

  “I waited up for you.”

  He took another bite of mashed potato and crept over to the bed. “You should be asleep.”

  “I wanted to see you, but you've been working out there for hours.”

  “I wanted to get it done. I want to do something for Austin and Aurora to thank them for putting us up.”

  “You shouldn't work so hard.”

  He set the candle on the table by her pillow. He whispered low, “I've been thinking. I want you to do something for me.”

  “What is it? I'll do anything for you.”

  “I want you to fix my leg.”

  Briar gasped. “You do? What made you decide that?”

  “I'm not strong—at least, I'm not as strong as I could be. I want you to fix me up.”

  “You know I'll be happy to do that.”

  “Do you need anything from your ma's to do it? Maybe Austi
n can go get us anything you need.”

  “I don't need anything. Aurora already went down to the Homestead to get stuff for me. We can use the same on you.”

  He stood up and took hold of his pants. “Great. Let's do it.”

  She held out her hands. “Not now. We need daylight so I can see what's going on with you.”

  He frowned. “Can't you do it now? I want to go back to work in the morning.”

  “You'll just have to wait a few extra minutes before you leave so I can take a look at it.”

  Austin's voice boomed out of the dark, “You can't go to work tomorrow, anyway. It's Saturday, so you'll have all day to work on your leg. Now, be quiet and go to sleep. Some of us are tired.”

  Riskin jumped at the sound. He faced Briar with a stunned expression. Then they both dissolved into muffled giggles. She put out her arms and drew him down on the bed. He snuffed out the candle, and darkness closed over their heads.

  The next morning dawned bright and clear. Riskin supported Briar on one arm while she limped outside. He helped ease her down on a wooden bench near the water pump and sat down next to her. “Your leg is much worse than mine.”

  Briar shook her head. “Mine is clean and fresh. I took a look at it yesterday when Aurora changed the dressing. It's knitting together nicely, and there's no infection—unlike yours. Now, let's take a look, but I'm not looking forward to what I'm gonna find.”

  Riskin hesitated. Then he took a deep breath and slipped off his pants. He laid his leg across her lap. Briar touched the puffy scar with tender fingers. She prodded and pocked until he flinched, but she didn't stop until she found all the pockets of infection.

  “What's the prognosis, Doc?”

  Briar didn't smile. “It's pretty bad, Mister Dodd. I'm afraid I have to amputate.”

  Riskin's face turned white as a ghost.

  Briar stroked his cheek. “I'm joking, but you’ve got some serious abscesses here. I should lance them.”

  “Lance them! You're not coming anywhere near me with anything using the word 'lance'.”