by Joan Hohl
“I’m going to check on Minnich,” he said. “Then I’m going to tear down that excuse for a shelter he threw together.”
What seemed like forever later, Bri was cradling Boyo in her arms, her head resting against his. She was still murmuring encouragement to him, every bone and muscle complaining in pain at the awkward position she was sitting in, when she heard the sound of the helicopter approaching. She’d have cheered, but she didn’t have the energy.
Boyo had been dozing from the effects of the painkiller, but he opened his eyes and moved his head enough to look up at the sky, golden now with the setting sun.
“Yes, baby,” she said, ruffling his wiry coat. “It’s the boss. He’s come to take you home.” For the first time, Boyo whined, but it had a happy sound to it.
Bri watched as the copter came into sight, then stopped to hover overhead. She saw the line with the rescue basket attached, Hawk in a harness, clinging to the line as it slowly dropped to the ground. Tanner was waiting to catch it.
Between them, Tanner and Hawk lifted an unconscious Minnich into the basket and motioned to have it hauled up. Before it was off the ground, Hawk was striding to where Bri sat cradling his wounded pet.
“So, then, laddie, you took a bullet for my friends, did you?” Hawk said, the contrived Scottish burr failing to conceal the concern in his tone.
At the sound of Hawk’s voice, Boyo’s tail began thumping against the ground. Bri blinked against the mist stinging her eyes.
Hawk dropped to one knee as another basket was lowered from the copter. “Okay, fella,” he said, sliding his arms under the dog. “Grit your teeth, ’cause I’m gonna lift you.” Slowly, very carefully, he rose to his feet. Cradling Boyo in his arms like a child, he carried him to where Tanner waited.
Gritting her own teeth, grunting, swearing to herself, Bri pushed herself upright and, moving stiffly, followed at Hawk’s heels. She saw Tanner remove a small cooler from the basket as Hawk approached.
After Boyo was settled into the blanket-padded basket, Hawk turned to Bri and drew her into his arms for a strong hug. “Thanks for taking care of him, Brianna,” he said in a suspiciously choked voice.
She stepped back to look at him with worried eyes. “Will he be all right, do you think?”
He gave her a nod and a shaky smile. “He’s a tough one. He’ll live to see his pups.”
“But…” she began, confused by his remark.
“Gotta go,” he said, turning to shake Tanner’s hand, then pull him into a quick hug. “Thanks, my friend.”
“Anytime, buddy.” Tanner stepped back. Hawk fastened himself into the harness and grabbed the line, and he and the basket disappeared inside the copter.
The hunt was over.
Bri watched until the rescue helicopter was out of sight. When she looked around the area, she saw Tanner had not only cleared away the makeshift camp but had set up their domed tent and brought the horses from where they had left them.
“I see you were busy while waiting for the helicopter,” she said, feeling a twinge at having not helped him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t any help….” she began.
He gave a sharp shake of his head. “I didn’t need any help. Boyo did.”
That quick, at just the mention of the dog’s name, Bri got all misty-eyed again. Just as quickly she felt Tanner’s arm around her, pulling her toward him in a comforting embrace.
“Don’t worry, Bri. He’ll be fine. He’s one tough dog. Now…” He slanted her a grin and wiggled his brows at the cooler Hawk had brought. “Let’s eat.”
“Hawk brought us supper?”
He nodded. “I guess he figured we’d be tired of trail grub by now.”
“And he was right. What did he bring?” she asked, suddenly ravenous.
Tanner began withdrawing items from the cooler. “Chili…French bread…and real brewed coffee.”
Bri sighed. “Be still my heart.”
“And he even packed desert,” he said, pulling out brownies.
“Wonderful,” she replied, her mouth nearly watering.
As evening was nearly upon them, chilling the air, Tanner built a small fire inside a ring of stones and they sat to eat.
“Getting chilly?” he asked, when he saw her shiver. Without waiting for her reply, he draped her jacket around her shoulders.
Sighing with gratitude from the warmth of the jacket and the fire, she smiled her thanks.
Everything tasted delicious, warming her inside as the fire and her jacket kept her warm outside. Bri silently thanked Hawk for everything, sighing in contentment over her second cup of coffee.
“Feel better now?”
“Much, thank you,” she answered. She stared into the fire letting her mind wander back to the action earlier that day. “Tanner, Hawk said something about Boyo living to see his pups,” she said. “What did he mean?”
“Just what he said. Hawk has a friend, a breeder of wolfhounds, and every so often he’ll agree to her plea for him to bring Boyo to impregnate one of the bitches she feels is champion-producing material. His pups are due any day now.”
Bri smiled, the first one since they had sighted Minnich. “I bet they’ll be beautiful.”
“So far, they all have been, and some of them have become champions.” He gave her an encouraging grin. “And I’m sure Hawk’s right—Boyo will live to see his litter and many others.”
Bri was quiet a moment, not sure she wanted to know or even cared, but she finally asked, “And Minnich?”
Tanner’s features went hard. “Oh, he’ll live to face a jury.” He was silent a moment before he added, “And by the way, we both got him. I hit him in the thigh, you got him in the shoulder. Now forget him. He’s not worth one more moment of your thoughts.”
“Right.” Bri nodded, swallowing against a sudden tightness in her throat, blinking against a sharp stinging in her eyes. “I’m beat. Let’s get this stuff cleared away so I can turn in.”
“Go,” he ordered. “I’ll do it.” He arched a brow. “Would you like me to warm some water so you can have a—” he grinned “—cup bath?”
“Oh, that would be wonderful, Tanner. Thank you.” She heaved herself up off the log.
He waved her away. “Go, get ready, I’ll be with you in a few minutes.”
She was waiting for him in the tent, stripped naked except for a towel she had wrapped around her shivering body. Tanner stepped into the tent to hand her the bigmouthed thermos and cup.
“Take your time,” he said, lifting the flap to leave her alone. “I’m going to clean up at the stream.”
Although it was big for a thermos lid, bathing from it was more than a little difficult. Bri managed, at least enough to make her feel reasonably clean again. Though she was cold, she relished the feel of the water as the cupful sluiced down her body. She imagined it washing away not only the grime but the horror she had seen that day. The pain that she had endured while watching her sister suffer. It was over now, but somehow she couldn’t get it out of her system.
When the thermos was empty, she dried and dressed in another pair of long johns and socks she’d stuffed into her pack. She had just exited the tent when Tanner came back to camp.
“Better?” He was close enough for his breath to ruffle her hair.
“Yes.” She spoke true, to a point. Her body and clothes were clean, but she was tired and emotionally exhausted. Maybe that’s why the dam burst.
Tears welled in her eyes. Bri could no longer hold them at bay, nor the sobs clawing at her throat.
Turning away from him, she ran into the tent, and scrambled under the cover. Unable to stem the tide, she wept like a heartbroken child.
“Hey, Brianna, what’s this?” Concern deepening his voice, Tanner crawled into the sleeping bag next to her, turning her into his arms. “Honey, it’s over now,” he murmured, drawing her protectively closer to him. “Why are you crying?”
“I was thinking of Dani—” she sobbed. “Now maybe she’ll unlock her
bedroom door and come join the family again for meals, start living again.”
“I’m sure she will.” Tanner stroked her hair as he tried to reassure her. “Maybe you and your parents can even talk her into seeking professional help.”
Bri nodded, the tears clogging her throat and blocking her voice. In his arms she wept and wept, for what seemed an eternity.
When the emotional storm passed and her tears had subsided, Bri managed, “Thank you.” She took Tanner’s hankie and wiped her eyes and cheeks.
“You’re welcome,” he said.
She sighed. “Now I’ve got your shirt wet.”
“It’ll dry,” he whispered near her ear, softly, almost affectionately. “Now go to sleep.”
“One more thing.” She tilted her head up. He drew back to stare at her face with those heart-meltingly gentle eyes. “Since the hunt’s over, do we have to get up at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning?”
He laughed. “No, sweetheart, we don’t. You may sleep in an hour or so longer. But we need enough time to eat and collect our personal gear. Hawk said there would be a helicopter arriving to pick us up around midmorning.”
“But what about the horses?”
“Wrangler friends of Hawk’s will be along to take care of the animals and bring them in.”
“Oh, okay.” She yawned, so bone-tired now that she’d let out her suppressed emotions.
Tanner lowered his head to softly press his mouth to hers in a sweet good-night kiss.
But, as it had the night before, the kiss deepened immediately, setting off a firestorm of passion between them. Suddenly Bri was wide-awake, grasping his hair to pull him closer to her, returning his kiss with everything in her.
When he could, Tanner said, “Brianna, you’re tired. Are you sure you want—”
“Yes, I want,” she said, running her hands over his shoulders, down his already heaving chest. “I want your kiss, your body, all of you.”
“And I want you the same way,” Tanner muttered in a half growl of need.
After some hurried shuffling around, their clothes were gone, heaped on the tent floor on either side of them. Tanner was kissing her, her lips, her face, her breasts and lower. He kissed at the juncture of her thighs, and she cried out with pleasure. Before her cry faded, he was inside her, increasing her pleasure to near screaming point. This time when they climaxed, they soared over the edge of ecstasy together.
“That was lovely,” she murmured, curling against him. In the next moment she was sound asleep.
“You are lovely,” Tanner whispered. Fully aware she couldn’t hear him, he added, “And I love you.”
The helicopter dropped them off on the helipad at Hawk’s place. Bri lugged her gear to the house, eagerly waiting while Tanner unlocked the door with the key Hawk had given him. Hawk had remained in town at the animal hospital with Boyo.
The minute she stepped inside, she dropped to the floor everything but her backpack and took off for the bathroom.
“What’s the hurry?” Tanner called after her. “Don’t you want some lunch?”
“No.” Bri kept going so had to raise her voice. “I want to soak in a tub full of hot water for hours. Then I want some lunch.”
Tanner was laughing. She could hear him through the door of the bedroom she had slept in before. She practically tore off her dirty clothing, grabbed the one clean set of bra and panties she had left and made a dash for the bathroom.
Bri didn’t soak for hours. She remained in the water only until it got cold. Then she turned on the shower to rinse off before shampooing her hair.
Feeling wonderfully clean and refreshed, she returned to the bedroom, dressed and went in search of food. After a satisfying lunch, she hit the bed. It was beginning to get dark when a light tap on the door and Tanner’s voice woke her.
“Brianna? I’ve rustled up some supper for us. Are you hungry?”
“Starving,” she answered with the sudden realization. The exercise of hot sex and emotional upheaval must have activated her appetite. “Give me five minutes.”
“Take ten.” Laughter danced in his voice. “It will keep.”
Nine minutes later, Bri entered the kitchen dressed in socks and the wrinkled but clean blue jeans and T-shirt she had put on after her bath. “What smells so good and spicy?”
“Pasta with marinara sauce.” Tanner smiled. “I poured you a glass of Chianti. Help yourself to the pasta.”
The meal was delicious, the Chianti the perfect complement to the pasta. The fresh-brewed coffee afterward was wonderful, and the slice of apple pie Tanner had found in the freezer and baked was just the right finisher.
“We’ll leave first thing in the morning,” Tanner said when they’d finished.
Bri was relieved he didn’t suggest they start out that night, as she was still feeling tired and sleepy. It had been a long time since her last trek.
Together, they cleaned up the kitchen to the spotless condition Hawk kept it in, then shared a final glass of wine, exchanging mundane conversation until, rising and stretching, Tanner said he was ready to turn in. As Bri was every bit as ready, she washed their glasses and he dried them.
They were so tired they slept in separate beds that night.
Tanner woke her early the next morning. There was one difference, though. This time she was ready to get up, and most of the aches and stiffness were gone. They were on the road less than an hour later.
Bri was glad to be going back. At least that’s what she told herself. In truth, though, with each passing mile she felt more and more deflated, depressed. It was probably the sudden release of the tension of the hunt, she reasoned. It had nothing at all to do with her leaving Tanner and very likely never seeing him again.
“You’ve been awful quiet,” he said as they parked by the side of the road to rest and eat lunch. “Is something bothering you?”
“No.” Bri shook her head. “I, uh, I’ve been thinking about going home.”
“Oh.” He was silent for a moment. “I guess you’re anxious to see your sister and parents.”
“Yes, of course, even though they’ll have heard the news of his capture by know, I suppose.”
“Yeah.”
The conversation between them was less than scintillating, more like desultory. Bri had a stupid urge to cry, which didn’t make a bit of sense. She was going home at last. She should be feeling elated, not darn near morose. Shouldn’t she?
Their lunch finished, Tanner didn’t start the SUV; he just sat there, gripping the wheel.
“I love you, you know.” His voice was flat, stark with an astounding note of pain.
Bri stopped breathing. When she could take in air again, she raised her head to look at him in wonder. He was so beautiful it made her heart ache. “I love you, too, Tanner.”
“It can’t work.” He looked and sounded sad, regretful.
Tears rushed to Bri’s eyes. She had to swallow before attempting to speak. “Tanner, couldn’t we find—”
He silenced her with a rough shake of his head. “No, Brianna, and you know it as well as I do. You belong back east, doing research in your quiet library. I belong out here, somewhere, wherever. I’m not going to change. I am what I do.”
“Couldn’t we work together?” she asked, a pleading note in her voice. “Was I such a drag on you?”
He gave her one of his gentle smiles. “No, love. I enjoyed having you along. But this was a short, fairly easy hunt. Most of them aren’t. And you were aching by the time we caught him. Sometimes I’m gone weeks, not days. It simply couldn’t work for us.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Tanner…”
“Brianna, don’t. You’re tearing me apart inside.” He pulled her close, shutting his eyes against the pain. “I wish it could be different, but wishing won’t change anything. This time with you has been wonderful, more than I probably deserve. But it’s over. We live in two different worlds, and mine is too dangerous to risk hurting the woman I love.”
Her throat was tight with emotion she refused to reveal to him. She grasped the door release and softly said, “Goodbye, Tanner. I’ll have your check for a million dollars delivered to you tomorrow.”
“I don’t want it, Brianna. This one’s on me.”
She gave a quick shake of her head. “No. The bounty is yours. You earned it. Don’t bother sending it back. Remember, my father is a banker. It would be easy for him to have it deposited into your account.”
“Okay, you win.”
Right. Bri wanted to weep. She didn’t, though; she turned to the door. He stopped her by curling one big hand around her nape and turning her to him, claiming her mouth with his own. His kiss was deep and passionate and tasted of urgency, desperation. When he let her go, he moved back behind the wheel, his face once again carved in stone. “Goodbye, Brianna.”
Bri almost stumbled out the door. Tanner’s voice stopped her as her boots hit the pavement.
“Take care of yourself.”
She couldn’t look back at him. “You, too,” she said over her shoulder and went striding for the entrance doors. As soon as she stepped inside, she heard his SUV drive away. Knowing he was taking her heart with him, she kept moving, not looking back.
Eleven
Bri was back in her own apartment two days, and the pain was still unbearable. It had seeped beneath her skin, soaking her insides, drowning her in misery. She had given in to tears again when Tanner called her.
“Hi, Brianna. How are you? And how was your flight back home?”
The sound of his voice, low, intimate, even asking such innocuous questions, set her pulse thumping. “I’m fine and so was the flight,” she answered, telling herself to grow up, while trying to catch her breath. “How are you, Tanner?”
“Fine.”
Bri frowned at the handset. Was that all he had to say?
