Rough (Wolf Ranch 1)

I had a different goal now, and she wasn’t shallow at all.

I tipped my hat. “Nice to meet you.”

He scowled like the feeling wasn’t mutual. Which was fine since I’d lied through my teeth, anyway. He turned his attention back to Rob. “We need to hunt this wolf. Now. I’m about to double the size of my ranch and—”

“What do you mean double?” Rob interrupted.

“I’ve got an offer in on the Shefield property. Old Shefield left it to a young niece who has no interest in ranching. From what the Realtor said, she’s still in college and most likely won’t be able to cover the cost of the taxes to keep the place. She’ll take my offer. And then I’m going to double my herd.”

I detected another growl from one of the guys behind us.

If I weren’t standing so close, I’d be growling too. I hadn’t taken much interest in Wolf Ranch since I’d been gone, but I sure as hell felt strongly about this. No fucking way we wanted Markle to be our next-door neighbor. Having one property between us was going to be bad enough, especially not with his stance on wolves.

We had to make sure that deal fell through.

“Well, if you guys won’t track some wolves with me, I’ll rustle up some hunters at Cody’s tonight,” Markle said, scanning all of us. We weren’t all here, but there were six of us, and we were all big. None of us liked him. He had to sense that, or he was as dumb as a nail in a fence post.

“Keep off this property, or we’re going to have a problem,” Rob growled. Yeah, Markle’d be pretty dumb to not miss his lack of welcome either.

Markle tensed, his lower jaw jutting out. “If I track the wolf over here, you’re damn right I’m going to follow it to your property.”

A low, collective growl rippled through the pack, every shifter suddenly stepping forward to flank their alpha and form a united front. This was the Wolf pack. No one fucked with us. We could take this one guy out, finish him and bury him in the back forty for no one to find for fifty years. Sadly, he’d probably be missed, maybe by his mother, and we didn’t need anyone else snooping around.

“No. You won’t.” There was no mistaking the menace in Rob’s voice.

Markle glared at Rob for a long moment, but there was nothing he could do. With an angry scoff, he yanked the reins to turn his horse around, then kicked its ribs and rode off without another word.

“Fucking dick,” I muttered as soon as I deemed him out of earshot.

“You boys see what you can find out about those prints,” Rob ordered.

“I’ll bet they don’t exist,” Levi said. “You think it’s true about Shefield’s place? We can’t have that asshole next door.” He took his hat off, scratched the back of his neck, then settled it back in place.

Rob shook his head. “I sure as fuck hope not.” He looked at me. “You see if you can find anything out about it. Go to Cody’s tonight, too. He seemed to like you the best.”

I huffed at that. Totally doubtful, but I could use my fame to my advantage, at least with Markle.

“Make sure no one joins him on his hunt,” he added.

I nodded, headed off toward the main house to shower. It was pathetic how buoyed I felt to have Rob give me a task for once. To trust me to handle something, other than the things I’d fucked up.

“I’m on it,” I called.

Cody’s it was. And maybe I’d find a little more out about my sweet doctor while I was mingling with the humans. My patience with giving her some space was pretty much over. My wolf, and dick, were in agreement on that one.

11

AUDREY

I didn’t know how to dress like a cowgirl. I had no boots. Definitely no hat. I’d settled on a button-down blouse—not flannel or even plaid, sadly—and a black jean skirt with a frayed hem that probably looked way more urban than western. It was the best I could do. I’d have to go shopping on my next day off for some real Montana clothes.

I left my hair long and ensured I had on makeup. I figured Becky would send me home or doctor me up with stuff from her purse in the bathroom mirror otherwise.

I was primped, spritzed and ready to have a good time.

The sun hadn’t set yet—it stayed light late in the summer this far north—but the air was cooling off quickly. I parked my little car in between all the huge pickup trucks in the dirt lot outside Cody’s and slung my purse over my shoulder to cross my body. I performed lifesaving surgeries and brought babies into the world. I was only walking into a bar for a little fun. There was nothing to be nervous about.