“It was better than having to have a bullet dug out,” Kilraven protested. “And I should know. I’ve had three bullets dug out, over the years, along with various bits of shrapnel, and I’m wearing two steel pins, as well. The pins hurt less.”
Winnie was studying him curiously.
“I’m not telling you where they are,” Kilraven said. “And shame on you for what you’re thinking!”
Winnie flushed. “You don’t know!”
“The hell I don’t,” he huffed. “My great-grandfather was a full fledged shaman who could read minds.”
“That’s not what Harley Fowler says he was,” Keely interrupted.
He gave her an exasperated glance. “What does Harley Fowler know about me? I’ve never even met the man!”
“He doesn’t know you, but he plays poker with Garon Grier, who works with Jon Blackhawk, who’s your half brother,” Keely explained.
“Damn the FBI!” Kilraven cursed.
“Harley doesn’t belong to the FBI,” Winnie pointed out.
“Garon and my brother do,” Kilraven said. “And they can stop telling people lies about me and my family.”
“Jonisyour family,” Winnie replied. “And Harley didn’t tell lies, he said your great-grandfather got mad at a local sheriff and smeared him with fresh meat and shoved him headfirst into a wolf den.”
“Well, the wolf den was empty at the time,” Kilraven defended his ancestor.
“Yes, but your great-grandfather didn’t know that.” Keely laughed.
Kilraven made a face at her. “You didn’t get that from Harley Fowler, you got it from Bentley Rydel.”
Keely blushed.
Kilraven threw up his hands. “You take your dog to a vet and expect him to stick to medicine, instead of which he pumps you for personal information and then tells the whole community!”
“You don’t get to join the family unless we know everything about you,” Clark pointed out.
Kilraven scowled. “What family?” he asked suspiciously, and glanced at Winnie, who blushed as warmly as Keely had.
“The Jacobsville family,” Clark returned. “We’re not a town. We’re a big extended family.”
“You don’t live in Jacobsville, you live in Comanche Wells,” Kilraven retorted.
“It’s an extension of Jacobsville, and you’re avoiding the issue,” Clark said with a grin.
Kilraven’s wide, sexy mouth pulled up into a faint snarl. “I’m leaving. I don’t want to be part of a family.”
“With that attitude, I wouldn’t worry about it,” Winnie said under her breath.
He paused to look down at her. “Your director will talk to you in the morning about some more training. He’s going to do it personally. I don’t want you fired. Neither do any of the other law enforcement and rescue personnel. You’ve got a real knack for the job.”
Kilraven turned on his heel and stalked off back to his patrol car. He got in under the wheel, coaxed the engine into a roar and shot out of the driveway without a glance, a wave or anything else.
“Well, he’s sort of nice,” Clark had to admit.
“He’s sort of scary, too,” Keely said, watching Winnie.
Winnie was smiling through her tears. “Maybe I’m not a lost cause, after all.”
Keely hugged her. “Definitely not a lost cause,” she laughed.
