Sharp Shootin' Cowboy (24 page)

She swallowed hard, taking the biggest leap of faith ever. “Yes, Reid. I'll marry you.”

The answer was barely out of her mouth before his lips claimed hers in a long, lush kiss, the kind that sent ripples of desire all the way to her toes. His hot mouth moved slowly up her neck to hover at her ear. His hands cupped her breasts, his thumbs teasing her nipples. His breath was hot and humid on her skin. “When is the boat coming back for you?”

“In four days,” she replied. “I told him to send out a posse if I'm not back by then.”

“Then that only gives us ninety-six hours.” He grinned, big and sexy. “We'd better not waste any of it.”

Between fevered kisses, they kicked off boots and peeled off clothing. Moments later, a squeal ripped from her throat as Reid pulled her into the crystal clear pool. The steamy water engulfed them, but nothing compared to the heat of his hands and mouth.

He settled on a natural ledge, pulling her onto his lap. She wound her arms around him and shut her eyes, suffusing her senses in the feel of his hard, muscular thighs supporting her body and his hungry mouth feasting on her breasts.

Writhing with need, she reached for his erection, jutting large, hard, and proud between them. “I want you inside me, Reid,” she gasped. “Please.”

He suddenly tensed, his breath leaking out in a long, unnerving hiss.

“What's wrong?”

“Shit! I don't have protection. Do you?”

“No,” she replied in dismay.

He shook his head on a sigh. “Don't worry about it, sweetheart. I'm happy to take care of you.”

“No, Reid. That's not enough for me. I
need
you inside me.” After their heartfelt exchange, the prospect of anything less made her feel cheated.

He stared back at her in protracted silence, the tension of the moment stretching out.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I promise you I'm safe, but—”

Safe? She almost laughed. With Reid Everett, safe was the last word that ever came to her mind. “I'm certain,” she replied. “I want to feel all of you and I want you to feel all of me. All or nothing, right? I want you to come inside me, Reid.”

His pupils flared, darkening his irises to cobalt. “Sweetheart, if you want a bareback ride, I'll make a cowgirl out of you yet.”

She threw her head back on a cry of pleasure as he pierced and filled her. They merged and melded with mingled moans and synchronous sighs. Kissing, nipping, groaning, and gasping, they embraced the sweet, wet friction. Harder. Deeper. Careening into a climax as pure and primordial as their surroundings.

* * *

Hours later, after making love again, they lay in joined sleeping bags, gazing up at a nighttime sky exploding with brilliant stars. Haley had never felt more content, or more in harmony with the world. Everything was so right when it was only the two of them. It was only when the outside world came crashing in that things always fell apart.

But they wouldn't be alone forever. Once they went back, would they discover that it was all just a delusion? Would their differences lead to constant discord and strife?

“Reid?”

“What, Runt?” He nuzzled into her hair.

“What's going to happen when we get back? You know I don't fit into your world.”

“I'm not asking you to.”

“Do you think your family will accept me?”

“They will if they want to be part of our lives,” he replied solemnly.

“Are you going to go back to outfitting?”

“I don't know.”

“Is there something else you want to do instead?”

“I don't know that either, although I have a few ideas.” He ran his tongue around the shell of her ear.

“Like what? You need to stop that now, Reid. This is a serious discussion. Tell me what you've been thinking about.”

He shook his head. “Not yet. It's a bit premature to discuss. I want to do a bit of research first.”

“Don't be so mysterious,” she persisted.

“That's me,” he remarked dryly. “Mr. Enigma.”

“C'mon, Reid,” she cajoled. “Tell me. Maybe I can even help. Research is very much what I do, remember?”

“You truly want to know?”

“Yes!”

“It's going to be really anticlimactic now.”

“I want to hear it,” she insisted.

“All right. Maybe you do, especially since it concerns wolves.”

She regarded him quizzically. “Wolves?”

“Yes. I've been thinking a lot, Haley. This whole situation has gotten so far out of hand. There's gotta be a better, more proactive method of managing it. A lot of folks seem to think the silver bullet is killing more wolves, but reducing their numbers is only a partial solution. As long as there are
any
wolves, they're gonna compete with hunters and threaten livestock. That's a real problem when people are fighting just to make ends meet.

“But there are programs in place—”

“But they don't always work. You gotta understand how it is with ranchers, Haley. Once they move their cattle out to summer range, they only do spot checks a few times a week, sometimes less. They can't afford to spend all day babysitting cows. On the other hand, if they aren't around to witness a predator attack, they may never find the carcass to report. No carcass means no reimbursement.”

“I understand that, but what more can we do that we aren't already doing?”

“Ever heard of range riders?” he asked.

Her forehead wrinkled. “Aren't they just cowboys?”

“They're the old-school kind, the kind that stay with a herd for the entire grazing season, moving cattle around, doctoring whatever needs to be doctored, and watching out for the stock. They don't kill predators, but they do haze with rubber bullets, flash rounds, or shellcrackers. Some of the big commercial cattle operations use them to minimize losses while grazing stock on public lands.”

“So where are you going with all this?” she asked.

“I'd like to start a range rider program and recruit returning vets. There're a lot of good men and women out there who are having trouble adjusting to civilian life. And a lot of them can't find jobs. They already have survival skills and arms training. They just need to learn about the livestock. It's only a seasonal gig and wouldn't pay a whole lot, but it could give people who need it time to decompress and get their heads together, just like I have out here in the wilderness.” He added with a dry laugh, “When all I've had is my own company, it hasn't taken me long to figure a lot of shit out.”

“It's a brilliant idea, Reid, but how could small ranches afford to hire these riders?”

“That's the dilemma. For this to work, I think it would have to be a co-operation between the Feds, ranchers, and conservation groups. That leads to the research part I was talking about.”

“But I can help you with that,” she said. “God knows I have enough experience with grant writing. I did almost all of Jeffrey's for him. I'm certain a number of veterans' organizations would get on board, and I'd be happy to contact some the conservation groups that set funds aside for projects like this.”

“So you support the idea? It's something you could get behind?”

“Absolutely,” she assured him. “And it looks like I'll have plenty of time to devote to it since I'm now unemployed.”

“What do you mean? What happened to your job?”

“I quit. Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing to do with nothing else lined up, but I couldn't stay after everything that happened. Problem is, Jeffrey has a lot of clout and will likely retaliate. I may not be able to find another position.”

“What about that independent study you wanted to do?”

She snorted. “The one I've been denied funding on for three years?”

“Yeah, that one. Why not apply for an independent grant?”

“I admit the thought occurred to me after Jeffrey shot me down again.”

“Screw Jeffrey. He has his own agenda.”

“He used me, Reid, and I'm sorry you had to suffer for it.”

“Don't worry about it, sweetheart. There's nothing you could have done.”

“How can you be so damned nonchalant about all this?” she asked.

He turned her face to his and brushed her lips in a soft and tender kiss. “Because I have everything I want right here. Everything I need.
You.
In the great scheme of things, nothing else matters.”

Haley nuzzled into his chest, breathing him in with a blissful sigh. How could she ever have doubted him? Just as Yolanda had said, he was everything she needed to bring her life into balance. He was a warrior and a lover—tender, sensitive, passionate, attentive, masterful when he had to be, but still willing to give up control. As a husband, she knew he would love and respect, provide, and protect. And as a father…

“What are the chances?” Reid's softly spoken question eerily echoed her thoughts.

“I don't know,” she whispered. “It probably wasn't very smart or safe.”

She gazed up at him with a sudden onset of guilt. She hadn't even considered that he might resent being rushed into fatherhood. She'd been far too caught up in the moment, in her need for him, even to care.

“And if you are?” He softly stroked her hair. “Any regrets?”

“Honestly?”

“Yes. Always. There isn't room for anything but honesty between us, Haley.”

She shook her head. “No regrets, Reid. Not a single one. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.”

To her relief, the wrinkle eased from his brow. “Glad to hear it, Runt.” A slow, sexy smile spread over his face. “It might take me a little longer than a heartbeat, but I'll be happy to oblige you.” Rolling on top of her, his eagerness for an encore emerged between them as his tongue sought hers in a long, lush kiss. “Then again…” He pulled back, chuckling. “Maybe not.”

Frank Church Wilderness, Central Idaho

Six months later

“Targets sighted,” the pilot announced.

The helicopter zoomed in on the wolf pack, easily identifiable with the barren trees and heavy snow cover. There were six in all—groggy, lethargic, and slow to react after gorging on the nearby elk carcass. And Reid hoped to get them all.

He locked his sights on the largest of the bunch, presumably the alpha male and took careful aim. “Steady now,” he commanded the pilot. A second later, he squeezed the trigger. “Hit,” he declared. “One down. Five to go.”

By now the wolves had roused from their post-feast torpor and were in motion. Hovering and swooping close to the ground, the helicopter gave chase to the howling pack. One by one, Reid took his shots. After hitting the last, he gave the signal for the pilot to land.

Minutes later, they leaped out of the chopper, gear in hand. They had a narrow time window to get the job done. The tranquilizer darts were fast-acting and had already begun to take effect, but they wouldn't last long. The snow was deep. By the time they reached the first wolf, Haley was breathless and flushed.

“Are you all right, sweetheart?” Reid asked.

“I'm fine,” she replied, still panting as she dropped her pack. “It's just hard to move fast carrying all this extra weight.”

In truth, it hadn't slowed her down near enough for his peace of mind, but when Haley set her mind to something, she was unstoppable. His wife's energy and tenacity never ceased to impress and amaze him.

They handled the wolf with the usual caution. Haley's drug of choice was a paralytic agent that left the animal immobilized, but still conscious, a fact that always made Reid a bit nervous. Reid muzzled the wolf as an added safety precaution and then stood guard over her, assisting as needed while Haley took blood and recorded the animal's gender and vital signs. She then placed a radio collar around its neck. Working with fast and confident efficiency, they were finished within ten minutes. After administering the reversal drug, they moved on to the next wolf.

The second wolf was female, which meant she got a dose of the new contraceptive vaccine they were testing, along with a special GPS collar for closer monitoring. In less than an hour, they'd collared the entire pack. He was glad this was the last excursion until spring. They were too close to the wolves' breeding season to do any more. Any further contraceptive vaccines would only be wasted.

“I think that was our record, Reid.” Haley grinned as she gathered up her supplies. “Who would have known we'd make such a perfect team?”

“I did,” he replied smugly.

Haley laughed in reply as he boosted her back into the chopper.

Reid's eyes never left her beautiful, wind-burned face during the twenty-minute flight. Watching Haley work with the wolves, he recognized that she was in her true element, and his heart swelled with pride. She'd been relentless in her quest for subsidies and grants for her contraception study, and her efforts had paid off in spades. She'd received enough funding to support a ten-year study.

Their next greatest challenge had been to obtain study subjects. This is where Reid's family had surprised him. They'd thrown themselves behind Haley's pet project, using all of their substantial clout to gain the cooperation of state wildlife services in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. It was a priceless gesture from his family, and one that gave Haley the sense of acceptance she so deeply craved.

They didn't speak again until after landing at the Salmon Heliport. It was too loud to be heard on the chopper anyway. A few minutes later, he handed her up into the truck. He barely had the engine running before she'd shed out of her coat. “Aren't you cold?” he asked.

“I was while on the helicopter, but mainly because of the wind. Now I'm getting hot. It hits me at really weird times, Reid.”

“Good thing I like the cold,” he said. “Else you'd freeze my ass off.”

She laughed. “Now that would be a crime. You already know how fond I am of your ass. I still think it's much nicer than Hugh Jackman's, and he flaunted his big time in the last Wolverine movie.”

Reid shuddered. “That was a visual I did
not
need, sweetheart.”

She laughed. “Are we staying here tonight or driving home?”

“I s'pose that's your call,” he replied.

“I'm pretty tired, but I'm even more homesick,” she said. “I'd really love to sleep in our own bed tonight.”

He would too. After a week of motels and rough camping, he was glad that they were finally free to head back home. “Are you sure you're up to the trip?” he asked, concerned about the dark circles shadowing her eyes.

“I'm fine, really, Reid, as long as you don't mind driving. If I get too sleepy, I'll just take a nap.”

“Here.” He handed her a pillow from the backseat. “I'll wake you up when we get into Wyoming.”

“I'm not
that
tired yet.”

“Are you hungry?” he asked. “If you want to get something, we should stop here in town. There won't be many options once we get on the highway.”

“I'm always hungry, Reid, but I have juice and granola bars in my pack. I'll survive until we hit Wyoming.” She shook her head with a giggle and then threw the pillow in the back. “What a mother hen you're becoming.”

“I take care of what matters to me, and you top that list.”

“You're first on mine too, Reid,” she returned with a soft smile, and then curled up against his chest. He put the truck in gear and drove the next twenty miles lost in his thoughts. He thought she'd nodded off until she broke the silence. “It's getting close to Christmas.”

“Yup.”

“We haven't talked about how we're going to spend it.”

“Nope,” he replied, watching her in his peripheral vision.

“So…do you have any thoughts on the subject?”

“As a matter of fact I do,” he replied. “Thoughts and plans.”

“Care to elaborate, Reid? I'm not sure I like playing twenty questions.”

“Seems to me we have several options.”

“I'm listening.”

“Since it's our first Christmas together, we might want to spend it alone. Or, if you prefer, we're always welcome up at the ranch.”

“You said several options. What's the third?” she asked.

“We
could
drive out to California and spend it with your grandparents.”

“Really, Reid?” Her face lit up. “You'd do that?”

“Absolutely. Only seems right. You haven't seen them in almost a year.”

“But will your family be disappointed if we don't spend it with them?”

“A little.” He shrugged. “But they'll get over it.”

“We've come a long way, haven't we? Your family and me. I never could have imagined it, especially Krista.”

“She never really disliked you. She just wanted to see me with Tonya and thought you were the only reason it didn't work out. She didn't know anything about Ton and Jared. Everything changed once I told her. Krista's always been fiercely loyal to me.”

“Don't I know it,” she replied dryly.

“Speaking of family, there's something else I've been wanting to talk to you about.”

“What's that?”

“Your mom, Haley. I'm wondering if you might be feeling a tad bit softer toward her now.”

She exhaled a long sigh. “I don't know. Maybe part of me does, but the other half feels more resentful than ever.”

“Then maybe you can just concentrate on that first part?” he suggested.

“Why are you bringing it up out of the blue like this?”

“Because she'd like to see you at Christmas. She'd like to be part of your life.”

Haley's brows met in a scowl. “You've spoken with her?”

“Not directly.”

“Then how?” she demanded.

“Your grandpa told me. Just think about it, okay? We could drive through Washington on our way to California. That way you could visit however long you like—twenty minutes or twenty hours. Totally your choice. I'd just like to see you mend your fences with her. Especially now. I think you'd be happier if you did.”

“But I
am
happy,” she insisted.

“You might be even happier knowing the truth about your parents, especially with the baby coming. Have you ever thought about tracking down your father?”

“I lied when you asked me that once before. I told you I hadn't, but the truth is I'm afraid.”

“Of what, sweetheart?”

“Rejection, Reid. What if he really is the dog I've always believed he was?”

“But what if he isn't? Worst-case scenario, he's the man you already think he is, but maybe he isn't. What if he has regrets about the past and is equally fearful of rejection from you? What if he never knew about you at all? I'm not gonna force the issue, but just consider it, okay?”

“I will,” she replied. After a moment she added, “It's really sweet of you to care about all that, Reid.”

His hand came off the wheel to grip hers. “I care about
you
. Everything that matters to you, matters to me. Which brings up another subject I've been waiting to discuss.”

“What's that?”

“Wolves. Or rather wolf control.”

“What do you mean?”

“You remember that range rider idea I had?”

“Of course I remember.”

“I have some thoughts on how to get it started.”

“Do you? Tell me, Reid.”

“A couple of weeks ago I got a call from an old buddy of mine who's having some wolf troubles. He's got a big spread, about five thousand acres, I think. He's expecting a new crop of calves soon and is getting worried about driving them into the mountains for summer grazing. He says he lost a number of high-dollar cows to predators last year.”

“Is he using fladry?” she asked.

“No. It's not practical in the mountains.”

“Then I suppose we could collar them and try to weed out the culprits,” she suggested.

He shook his head. “But then the damage is already done. On top of all that, it isn't just depredations that he has to fret about, but aborted fetuses and low-body condition of their stock due to stress from predators. Do you see how it is?”

“I'm starting to,” she said.

“Dirk told me he's looking for some ranch hands to watch over the herd. I asked him about hiring some vets. I think his place would make an ideal pilot program.”

“What did he say?”

“He's interested. He knows better than most how it is. He had a helluva time adjusting.”

“Why's that?”

“He lost half his leg in Afghanistan.”

“And he's still running a ranch?”

“Yup. Moreover, he's about to expand his operation. He just signed a grazing lease for twelve hundred acres owned by his brother's fiancée.”

“So what's the next step?” she asked.

“We need to go up there and meet face-to-face. Iron out some details about how we're going to do this.”

“When do you want to go? I'd love to meet him.”

“
Them
,” Reid corrected. “I forgot to mention he's getting married. I know her too. We all used to rodeo back in the day. Her name's Janice. You'll like her. He's invited us to their wedding in February. It's going to be small and private.”

“The best kind,” she said.

“Oh yeah? So you didn't miss that whole bridesmaid-and-bouquet-tossing thing?”

“Maybe a little,” she confessed, then broke into a mischievous grin. “But you more than made up for it with the honeymoon.”

They'd rushed things a bit once they'd learned about the baby, but he had no regrets about any of it. He'd waited long enough already. After the civil ceremony, he'd surprised her with a honeymoon cabin at Dunton Hot Springs outside Telluride, Colorado. He'd seen it listed in
Forbes
as one of the ten most romantic places in the U.S.
Forbes
was right. They didn't leave their cabin for three days. Although most of the amenities were wasted, at least they'd had the benefit of a private hot pool and five-star room services.

The memory stirred him to life. “Do you recall that first night we spent at the hot spring?”

“Do I?” She gave a throaty chuckle. “It's kind of hard to forget.” She slid their joined hands from her thigh up to her protruding belly. “Unlike you, I have a daily reminder of it.”

He reached under her sweater to caress her bare skin. The thought of the life growing inside her never ceased to fill him with awe. “Since you mention it, what does the doc say about…”

“Sex, Reid?” She grinned. “You can't say it? I can. You've corrupted me. I can even say
orgasm
now,” she exaggerated the word. “Yolanda would be very proud.”

“Well, don't say it anymore unless you want me to pull the truck over.”

“Really?” She arched a brow. “Is that a dare, Reid?”

“It's a
promise
.”

“In that case I'd better choose my words very carefully. How about
multiple
screaming
orgasms
?”

“That's a damned tall order to fill in a truck, sweetheart.”

“Oh.” Her mouth drooped in disappointment.

Two miles later he turned off the highway, answering her confused look with a lecherous grin. “But there's a motel just up the road.”

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