I tangle my fingers in my hair where the long ends pool over my shoulder and down to my thighs in a curtain of cherry red. “A few years. I tended bar while I studied. Winnie was the party girl who showed me how to socialize on our nights off. Or, at least, she tried to help me befriend everyone. But that was years ago, before she married. And divorced. I’ve only been bunking here for a few weeks.”
And we’re back to my freeloading habit. I already feel guilty enough on that front. Or maybe I’ve been in one place for long enough and it’s time to move on.
“I’m glad Winnie loves work, but she knows she can stop any time,” Cord says in a low voice, leaning in.
A million things clunk into place at once. I never considered just how wealthy Cord must be to own land like Coyote Falls on prime Montana grazing lands, plus the ranch house the size of a mansion. I mean, I lost myself there in a matter of minutes. Hell, the man probably owns a few mountains, too.
What about wolves?
Not for the first time, I consider asking him if hehas a local population for my study project. The thought niggles, but I push away the idea of begging for an invitation.Not the time, Lanie.
“She’ll never let you do it.”
“Do what?” His demeanor remains open, but his eyes possess a shiftiness I recognize.
Suppressing a smile at the same reaction Winnie puts on when she’s caught out, I lean forward a miniscule amount, knowing I’ve read the rancher beside me right. “You want to pay for your sister not to work. That’s why she gets mad at you, isn’t it?”
Those icy eyes glitter at me, but for once I don’t back away.
For the first time, I stare right back.
FOUR
CORD
New Promises and Dust Devils
Damn, but Lanie Parker’s cute.Even when she’s caught me on the back foot on all the things I shouldn’t be doing because Winnie’s told me often enough to stop, but I’m here anyway. And now, I have a second—no, a third—reason not to haul my ass to my truck and head back north.
Because somewhere between when she drove onto my property and this morning, the wolf girl I haven’t been able to stop thinking about embedded herself solidly into my mind. She’s different from the type of buckle bunny I usually go for around this time of year, especially with the Valiant Peak Invitational coming up. But the craving she’s lit inside my veins isn’t something I can ignore.
If I didn’t drive three hours on a flimsy excuse that my sister sees straight through, Lanie’s sassy nature alone gives me the best reason to stay. “I’m that transparent, huh?” Because damn if that mouth of hers doesn’t do it for me.
“It’s gotta be obvious. My head isn’t working so well right now.” Lanie leans forward. She braces her forearms on her knees asher hair tumbles further over her shoulder, and she lets out a soft groan.
I note the shadows beneath her eyes for the first time. Not that I have a reason to be looking anywhere other than her ass since that’s what I got my first eyeful of when I walked straight into Winnie’s townhouse. It rankles that the place was unlocked for anyone to wander in, but I push the security risk aside for now as a different set of alarm bells ring in my head.
Lanie mentioned a migraine earlier. I can’t help myself; I reach out and cup her jaw, checking her over as Winnie has taught me to do, searching for the pinpoint pupils, the wince when she watches me or turns away from light, but she doesn’t display any of the symptoms I know to look for. Pretty blue eyes the color of Big Sky Country track the movement, dusky pink lips parting as she stares at me.
Why the hell do I care so much about this woman who drove into my life days ago?
It might be fast as fuck, but my hands won’t let me quit. I swallow hard and pretend to continue the rest of my examination, my lips tingling at her proximity. “Are you okay?”
She blazes at me like she did the day she first turned up at Coyote Falls. I turn her head gently side to side. Her pupils aren’t dilated. Maybe Winnie can look at her, but I know she’ll already have an eye on Lanie. My sister is nothing if not conscientious. Besides, neither woman will appreciate me prying into their lives any more than I already am.
“I’m fine.” Lanie shakes her head, her brow dipping as pain etches across her gaze.
My touch on her jaw eases, but I’m not ready to let her go just yet, knowing I’m easing my way into her boundaries as it is. “You’re not going to pass out on me, are you?” I brush my knuckles over her cheek, aching to gather her in my arms, but we’re not there yet.
It’s been a hell of a week since this woman left Coyote Falls, but the house has been silent without her in it.
Her breath catches, her opaline eyes never breaking their hold on mine. “No,” she whispers.
Lanie doesn’t move at first. Then my chest tightens as herhand lifts to wrap around my wrist, her thumb stroking over my pulse point once more. Maybe I’m not the only one struggling with the deluge of emotionaleverythingwhen it comes to the connection between us. Or maybe I’m full of shit. “I’m okay. I have a lot of research to sort out, and it’s taking more screen time than I expected.” Her grimace tugs at heartstrings I thought long retracted. “Light is one of my triggers. Your sister has your tendencies, you know. She won’t let me pay her rent, either.”
“Won’t she.”Mood killer.Lanie’s pinpointed the one thing my sister and I fight over constantly. My hands drop, grazing her knee.
She inhales sharply.
