Chapter 10

10

Noon had come and gone, and Tanner hadn't seen a sign of Lester Acker and his sons. At least, not yet.

The early afternoon sun had climbed high in the sky, chased away the chill in the air, and turned the day balmy for October. The bright light was shining on the eastern hills beyond the river and turning the changing leaves into gold, so that the beauty of the landscape was stunning.

And peaceful. Too peaceful to fight against an angry neighbor.

But Maisy had made up her mind to defend Smoke. And once Maisy made up her mind, he knew there was no swaying her. She was strong-willed and determined, and she'd fight to keep Smoke with or without his help.

As much as he understood Lester Acker's frustration over losing his cattle to wolves, he also understood that Maisy counted Smoke as a friend, almost as family. And she wouldn't stand by and let anyone hurt the creature.

Like it or not, he would have to help her save Smoke.

And now they were both staying near the cabin... just in case Lester followed through on his threat.

Tanner deposited the wood he'd brought in, adding it to what was stacked near the wood box. Maisy stirred one of the pots filled with the stew she'd set to cooking shortly after dawn with the remaining pheasant she'd shot yesterday.

He prayed they wouldn't have to fight Lester, but he feared the fellow wouldn't be satisfied until Smoke was gone.

Was there any other solution to the problem?

Tanner stood back, crossed his arms, and stared at the wolf sitting in the corner where Maisy had positioned him a short while ago. How long would the creature stay before growing restless?

Smoke flattened his ears and peered back with his bright gold eyes. He seemed to be asking Tanner the same question: how long would he stay with Maisy before becoming restless?

Maisy cast him a glance over her shoulder, giving him a view of her beautiful face, now taut with worry. "Thank you for helping me, Tanner. I'm indebted to you."

"Yes, you are, darlin'." He forced a smile, hoping to lighten the gravity of the situation. "And I intend to make you pay for all this help."

An easy smile formed on her lips. "And what kind of payment are you expecting?"

"A big one."

"Meat enough to last you a week?"

"No. Something better."

"Meat and greens?"

"No, even better than that." He wanted to steal a kiss. But he couldn't admit to that.

He hadn't teased her much over the past few days, and he missed their bantering. But he'd been attempting to refrain from thinking about his desire for her and hadn't wanted to do anything that would allow his feelings to surface. That meant he'd tried to keep from staring at her, watching her, thinking about her, and flirting with her.

He'd had to set strict guidelines for his own sanity.

But now, at this moment, he could sense she needed to be distracted from the worry of protecting Smoke. He could set aside the stringent rules he'd given himself the night of the pillow fight, couldn't he? Just for a little while?

She turned to face him, sipping the liquid on the spoon at the same time.

She had such a pretty mouth—her bottom lip rounded and plump and her top lip defined and full with a perfect dip in the middle.

It wouldn't hurt anything to admire her again, especially since he'd done well so far keeping his rules. Surely he could make this exception and let himself enjoy looking at her mouth.

She sipped at the hot liquid, blew on it, then sipped again. "I think I can guess what you want."

"I doubt it."

"I have no doubt." She lifted the spoon back to her lips and this time licked at the remaining liquid.

At the sight of her tongue, heat pierced him low and hard. He knew he needed to focus on something else, but he couldn't tear his gaze away.

As she licked again, this time at the drips off the side of the spoon, her lips curved up into a taunting smile.

His breathing had snagged inside, and he tried now to draw in air. But her tongue flicked out over her upper lip, and he couldn't make his lungs work, not even a wheeze.

When she lowered the spoon, she laughed lightly. "I'll give you the payment you want. Have no fear."

He finally tore his gaze from her mouth to find that her eyes were dancing merrily. He'd nearly forgotten what they were talking about—clearly a common problem around her. Since he wasn't sure he could get his voice working without it cracking, he cocked one of his brows.

"Don't think I can't tell." She smiled so broadly that he couldn't imagine a more beautiful sight in all the world. "A blind man in a blizzard could tell."

"What?" he managed.

"That you want to kiss me again."

Was it that obvious? He almost choked and made himself look away, this time out the wide-open door. He immediately tensed. Several horses and riders had crested the rise, and several more seemed to be joining them along the clearing at the trailhead.

Lester had brought a posse, which meant he was aiming to get Smoke one way or another.

With a surge of resolve to stand by Maisy through the confrontation, Tanner grabbed his rifle from the table where he'd left it and unholstered his revolver from his belt. As he stepped into the doorway, he made sure both of his guns were visible.

"Tanner Oakley." Lester's greeting was less than friendly. Not that the man was ever all that friendly—not with their disputes over the trapping grounds.

"Lester." Tanner spoke the man's name without any preamble or welcome. At the same time, he counted six men, including Lester's oldest sons—Lenny and Louie. Tanner recognized two of the others as miners from down in One-legged Joe's Mine. The third was a stranger, but Tanner guessed he was the newest rancher who'd moved into the river valley.

Shouldering his rifle, Lester stepped forward with a scowl. "Was hoping I was wrong about my suspicions about you staying up here with Cleveland's daughter."

Tanner's gut pinched with the guilt he'd been attempting to hold at bay. "It's not what it looks like."

Lester's oldest son, Lenny, guffawed.

Lester shot him a dark look that silenced him and left him sullen. Then he turned his forbidding glare upon Tanner. "Reckon Cleveland ain't gonna be happy when he learns you've been staying here fornicating with his daughter."

Tanner stiffened at the insult against Maisy. "I'm here as a family friend. That's all."

"He's made it clear through these parts that he'll cut up and dismember any man who touches his girls."

Tanner was well aware of Cleveland's threats. But that was to scare away all the other men, not him. Cleveland trusted him and knew he wouldn't take advantage of Maisy.

Regardless, he'd wanted to avoid the speculation and rumors. But what could he do now except to justify why he was there and hope the explanation was enough? "His older daughter died this week. I didn't want to leave Maisy alone."

"You'd have been better off if you had."

"If you must know, I'm sleeping on the floor. Maisy's just a friend. That's all."

"All I got to say is that Cleveland's gonna kill you." Lester didn't crack a smile. Clearly this was no joking matter to him.

Even so, the fellow had it all wrong, and Tanner wanted to prove it. Yet how could he? All he had was his word.

"Now, let's get down to business." Lester surveyed the cabin yard and the stable beyond. "I came to see if you have the wolf carcass I asked for."

The other men had dismounted and now formed a line behind Lester, all of them armed.

Tanner didn't want to stir up more trouble, but he didn't owe these men anything. And he owed Smoke a chance at living since he'd been the one to save Maisy's life this week.

Thankfully, Maisy was still inside, crouched beside Smoke, both arms around him. Clearly she intended to guard the wolf and make the men shoot through her first.

Tanner sighed. "Listen, Lester. Maisy is moving out of the area real soon."

"Then all the more reason to kill the wolf."

"No." Tanner spoke the word firmly, decisively. "She's taking the wolf with her. And it won't be a problem after that."

Lester was silent for several beats. One of the men—the new rancher—leaned in and spoke in a low but urgent tone. Lester nodded several times before facing forward again. "You know as well as I do that wolf will make his way back here eventually. No sense putting off the inevitable."

"He's a loyal creature. It's possible he'll stay with her."

"You should know I can't chance that."

The problem was, Tanner did know it. He'd killed his share of pesky wolves over the years to keep the Oakley cattle and horses safe. But this time was different. Because of Maisy.

"Sorry, Lester, but we're not handing the wolf over. You might as well go on home." With that, he closed the door and latched it.

"Come on, now," Lester shouted. "I don't want to hurt either of you."

"Then go home," Tanner called through the door.

"I'm not going without that carcass."

"Guess we're at a standoff."

Silence settled outside. Tanner didn't think Lester would purposefully hurt either him or Maisy, but the situation was still precarious.

Was the wolf worth the danger?

No. He shook his head and turned to tell Maisy so.

She was still kneeling next to Smoke, both of her arms around the creature and her eyes wide with fear.

He didn't want to let her down. And giving Smoke over to Lester would hurt her more than anything. He couldn't hurt her in that way. He cared about her too much.

"Go home, Lester," he called again. "We promise to keep the wolf in the cabin until we leave the area."

"I've given the girl and the wolf enough chances, and I'm done." Lester's tone rang with finality. "We'll be waiting out here until you open up and surrender... however long that takes."

Tanner had hoped it wouldn't come to this. But he and Maisy could wait things out for a short while. Lester and his crew would get cold and tired and leave soon enough.