Lindsay McKenna Read online

  The early July morning was warming up fast. There, coming up the hill on his new gray horse, was Talon. Zeke was loping along beside him, tongue hanging out. Her heart picked up in beat. Talon was riding at a long, ground-eating trot up the hill, his face intent. He wore his black baseball cap and a red neckerchief around his strong neck. The chambray shirt outlined his broad shoulders. Cat smiled a little to herself, glad to see him. Of late, they had passed one another, more or less, like ships in the night.

  The fire department had changed her shifts for the next three months and she no longer got to sit down with the McPherson family for dinner. Cat missed it and knew her shifts would change in another three months and that she could be back on her old schedule. That way, no group of firefighters was saddled permanently with night duty.

  Talon looked at ease on the big gray horse that was half mustang. He knew how to ride and she enjoyed watching them breast the hill. Talon wore heavy chaps just as she did. He smiled a hello at her as he rode up.

  “Hey, Miss Gus said you were out riding fence line,” he said, pulling the gray to a halt. Talon hadn’t seen Cat in nearly a week with her new shift schedule. Zeke trotted over and nuzzled Cat’s gloved hand in hello. Gazing down into Cat’s upturned face, Talon felt his heart swell with silent joy. His lower body reacted just as quickly to her smile. Controlling the reaction, Talon drowned in her warm, returning smile, her eyes shining with happiness.

  “I thought Griff was coming out later,” Cat said, pulling the tools out of the saddlebag.

  Talon dismounted and dropped the reins on his steel-gray gelding. “I told him I’d do it.” Because I want alone time with you.

  Cat felt a skitter of pleasure thread through her heart as he walked around her horse. She tried to sound casual even though she didn’t feel that way. “That was nice of you.”

  Talon pushed up his baseball cap, studying her. “I haven’t seen you for a week.”

  “I got the graveyard shift for the next three months.”

  “I’ve missed you at dinner.”

  Her heart squeezed. “I’ve missed it, too,” she admitted softly. She looked up into his narrowing eyes, saw desire in them. As time had gone on, Talon didn’t try to hide how he felt toward her. It was a shift in their relationship. Not that it was a relationship, but Cat could not forget their one and only kiss. And damn, she ached to kiss that well-shaped mouth of his even now.

  She dropped the pliers into the wet grass, nervous beneath his warm inspection. Talon had placed his hand on the horn of the saddle, too close to her. She could feel the male heat of his body. In fact, she unconsciously inhaled his scent. It was so familiar to her. It always sent licks of fire straight through her body, making her achy and needy for him. Again.

  “I’ll get them,” Talon said, leaning down and picking up the tool.

  Stepping away from him, she muttered, “Someone’s deliberately cut the fence. Take a look.” She was desperate to break the sizzling connection between them. Her heart was thudding in her breast and Cat wondered if he could hear it. SEALs seemed to have the eyes and ears and nose of a wolf. And one time, Talon had jokingly referred to SEALs in general as male alpha wolves. She believed it.

  Talon walked over to the curled strands of barbed wire that had been cut. He scowled and checked them out. “What’s this all about?” he asked, holding up one strand, the end cleanly sliced off.

  Cat stood at the opposite fence post. “Yeah, that’s what I want to know.” She pointed toward the tire tracks. “These go all the way down to that road along Long Lake on the forest service side.”

  Dropping the wire, Talon walked over the crest of the hill near the tire tracks. He studied everything and turned back, walking over to where she was prepping the wire to restring them. “You have any ideas about it?”

  New wire would have to be attached to one end of the strands and then looped and tightened on the other side of the cut wire to bring it together. He held the first strand so Cat could quickly and expertly wrap the new wire around the old. She was fast and he watched the concentration on her face.

  “A year ago,” she told him, “there was a Guatemalan drug ring that tried to set up shop here in Jackson Hole,” she said. Pointing toward the lake, she said, “A plane carrying cocaine would land on Long Lake twice a week. It kept waking Val up at night because the plane flew directly over the ranch house. She and Griff, who was her wrangler at that time, eventually came down to the lake to check out one of those night flights.”

  Talon picked up the second strand and held it for Cat to rewrap. “Val was telling me about that the other day,” he said. Cat was so close he could smell her unique womanly fragrance. She liked using a soap that had ginger in it. Nostrils flaring, he inhaled it. Her scent made him go hot with longing. Talon wanted to kiss her, take her to his bed, love her. Every night, he had dreams about Cat, and it was a helluva lot better than the nightmares that usually stalked him. Talon saw how some of her black hair, caught up in a ponytail, moved gently in the morning breeze. A number of shorter tendrils softened her temples. There was a sheen of perspiration to her skin as she worked with focus and intensity.

  Talon had never ridden fence with Cat before and he could see why Gus had hired her as a wrangler. She damn well knew what she was doing, was strong enough to wrestle with wire and thorough in her patching of the fence.

  Frowning, Cat muttered, “I just wonder if that Guatemalan ring is back.”

  “Did you take photos of the tire treads?” He moved, his shoulder brushing hers as he moved beside her.

  Cat felt the quiet strength of Talon beside her. He, too, knew how to fix fence and they worked well together. “Yes, I did. I thought I’d go in early before my shift tonight, drop by and see Cade at the sheriff’s office. See what I can find out. Or, at least report it.” She grimaced. “Probably some drunk local kids screwing around.”

  Talon walked over and picked up the lowest piece of cut wire and brought it to her so she could apply the splice. “Tell you what,” he said, holding her gaze for a moment, “let me take you to an early dinner at Mo’s late this afternoon. I’d like to go in with you and see what Cade has to say.”

  A frisson of joy moved through Cat. And fear. Her mouth tightened. Did she want to be in Talon’s company? All the time. Still, she worried she wouldn’t be able to control her desire for him. And God knew, he was a man’s man in every possible way. He made Magee looked weak in comparison. “This isn’t a date, Talon, if I go to dinner with you,” she insisted.

  He grinned and chuckled. “Okay.” Seeing the warning in her eyes, he smiled into them. “Call it whatever makes you comfortable.” Talon could feel Cat wanting him, wanting to kiss him. Yeah, he wanted it, too. That invisible connection was sizzling and popping between them right now as they struggled with the barbed-wire repair. Smiling to himself, Talon had the patience of Job when it came to her. Someday, he was going to make Cat his. He sensed she wanted him, but there was just so much fear from the past stopping her.

  “I miss our nightly hot chocolate with one another,” he told her, his voice gritty.

  Cat tried to ignore his effect on her as she put the second splice in place. They were working together like a well-oiled team, their bodies brushing one another as they did so. “I imagine Zeke is longing for his marshmallows.” She wasn’t about to admit she missed having Talon so close to her and their conversations. He was eye candy. Look but don’t touch.

  Talon smiled, watching the sheen of perspiration make her skin glow in the morning sun. “Yeah, he is. I’m an ogre. I never give him sweets.”

  She had her white cowboy shirtsleeves rolled up to just below her elbows. He could see the taut play of muscles in her lower arms. Cat was in top shape. He knew she also worked out at the gym at the fire station to stay strong. Entertaining the thought of those strong arms around him made him grow even harder.

  “You’re hardly an ogre,” Cat muttered, hauling hard against the wire, tightening it. Anyt
hing but.

  Talon picked up the top wire. Cat made swift work of it, and in no time the fence had been repaired. He walked the line, making sure the U-shaped nails were solid in the fence post, running the fingers of his gloved hands over each strand to check them. Often, when wire was torn and ripped, the nails needed to be replaced. But not this time. This time, someone had deliberately driven up here, got out of their vehicle and calmly used a pair of wire cutters to open up the fence line. He wondered who would do this.

  Cat was checking the post at the other end, her gaze on the nails for each strand. Talon watched her, absorbed her tall, graceful body. She was voluptuous, her hips shapely, breasts full. The kind of woman Talon saw in the old masters’ paintings from the Renaissance. There was a natural softness, beautiful curves that inspired him, made him hard as hell to explore all of her with his hands, lips and body.

  Cat lifted her chin, looking over at Talon. She felt the burn of his gaze on her. On her breasts, her belly and hips. For a moment, a skittering desire flamed to life within her lower body. The look on his face was nothing but naked, raw desire. For her. There was no mistake in it and he made no effort to hide it. Mouth quirking, Cat moved toward her horse and put the tools away in the saddlebags, her hands trembling. She hoped he didn’t see it.

  “I’m going to continue to ride the line,” she told him, pulling the straps closed on the saddlebag. Her throat ached with tension. Her heart had galloped off wildly beneath his silent, intense perusal. Groaning inwardly, Cat grabbed the reins on her horse and mounted up.

  “Lead on,” he said, swinging with sheer male grace into the saddle. Cat decided that the years in the SEALs had given Talon’s body tightness, hard muscle and a grace she’d rarely seen in a man until now. He walked silently, like a cougar on the prowl. She never heard him coming or going. Without another thought, she nudged her heels into the flanks of her horse.

  A noisy blue jay swooped down in front of them, landing in a tree down in the center of the pasture below them. Talon brought his horse alongside hers, their boots occasionally touching one another as the horses swayed from side to side.

  “How are you getting along on the graveyard shift?”

  Cat shrugged. “I hate it, but it’s just part of twenty-four-hour duty at a fire station.” She was on from midnight until eight in the morning.

  “Do you get fire calls every night?”

  “No, thank God, we don’t.” She briefly turned and met his gaze. “Most of the time, especially in the summer, we can sleep the night through, which is nice.”

  “Miss Gus is grumbling that you aren’t there for breakfast or dinner.”

  Cat smiled. “I know. I don’t like it either.”

  “You stay at your condo most of the time.” Talon didn’t like that at all. He couldn’t see her, which was why he’d decided to ask her out to lunch. He’d felt triumphant when she said yes, but far be it for him to call it a date.

  “I have to. But I’m out here at the ranch on my days off. Then I can eat lunch with the family.”

  Nodding, Talon watched as they crested another hill, his eyes always on the fence line. “Everyone misses you.” He, more than any of them.

  “I know,” Cat admitted softly. “They’re family to me.”

  “I miss you, too.” Talon made a point of watching for her reaction. She tensed a little, her mouth going tight before relaxing again. “So does Zeke.” His dog was his secret weapon to getting to her and Talon knew it. Maybe it wasn’t fair, but he was searching for ways to get inside her walls, to get her to relax and accept he was going to be in her life.

  “I like Zeke.” Cat ignored the rest of his statement, seeing a faint smile play across his lips.

  “It’s good he’s around people, a family,” Talon said. They began to ride down the gentle slope of the next grassy hill. The sun felt good on his back, the temperature beginning to climb, taking the chill off the air.

  “You said he was a combat assault dog? What does that mean?” Cat found it infinitely safer to talk about Zeke rather than them.

  “He was trained to go after the bad guys,” Talon said. “I trained with him at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. SEAL dogs have a specific kind of work they do. When they assigned Zeke to me, we got along in an instant.”

  “How did you use Zeke?” Cat wondered. She saw Talon’s mouth tense.

  “If we were on a patrol, often Zeke and I were at point. He could smell or hear the Taliban before we’d ever get close to them. He protected us many times and we avoided being trapped by the enemy as a result.”

  “Does he bite the enemy?”

  “Yes. But he won’t do it unless I give him the command. And once he has the guy down, he’ll hold him until I can get there. Then I’ll give another command and he’ll release the guy.”

  “Isn’t that dangerous for Zeke? Couldn’t the Taliban see him coming and shoot him?”

  Nodding, Talon said, “Zeke always wore a bulletproof vest. These dogs are highly trained and we don’t want to lose them in a firefight.”

  Cat shook her head. “How much duty has Zeke seen?”

  “Three years with me.” His voice grew warm. “Zeke is a real hero. He saved my life and the life of my team so many times, I lost count.” But he hadn’t been able to save Hayden. Talon blamed himself for that.

  “Was he ever shot at?”

  “Yes.”

  Cat made a sound and shook her head. “And he’s alive.”

  “He got wounded once,” Talon said. “That’s why he was released from military service.” Zeke had been wounded charging into that house where he and Hayden were held and being tortured. His brave dog hadn’t waited for the SEAL team to arrive. Instead, Zeke had burst through a window, shattering the glass, lunging at the man who was torturing him, and took him down. Another Taliban in the room had shot Zeke. By that time, the SEAL team had arrived and shot them. After being cut down, Talon didn’t even have the strength to help his brave dog.

  Another SEAL had done what he could to patch Zeke up, stop the bleeding and then carried the dog a mile to where they were all picked up by an MH-47 Chinook helo and choppered back to Bagram.

  Talon had lost consciousness en route, his last word was his dog’s name on his lips. Zeke had been shipped out to Germany, to a military vet hospital at Landstuhl medical center, where he underwent lifesaving surgery. When Talon woke up two days later after extensive surgery himself, he’d found out Zeke was alive but would never work again for the military. Neither would he.

  “You’re both very brave. Both heroes,” Cat told him softly, holding his dark gaze.

  Talon said nothing. It wasn’t a place he wanted to go, but Cat’s observation made him feel good. Better to be a hero than a coward. In his case, he was neither. Zeke, on the other hand, had been awarded a Silver Star for his heroism and it was well deserved and earned. But no one outside the SEAL community of those who had rescued him and Hayden would ever know the particulars. It was top secret. Like his life.

  “Do you stay in touch with your friends who are SEALs?”

  “I try,” Talon admitted, “but they’re so damned busy training constantly or being deployed that it’s tough to keep up communications.”

  “It sounds like they were on 24/7/365.”

  “You could say that.”

  “That’s why Sandy said it was tough for you to find time to get home to visit her.”

  “Yes,” he admitted, his voice heavy. “Now, looking back on it, I wish I’d have pushed back with my master chief and demanded the time off. I just never realized what chemo and radiation did to a person.”

  Hearing the regret in his voice, Cat reached out, briefly touching his upper arm for a moment. “Sandy understood.”

  His skin burned beneath her unexpected touch. Talon told himself it was her paramedic side expressing itself. Not the woman wanting to touch her man. How he wished it was reversed. The sympathy in her expression told the real story. “My mother’s very qu
ick to forgive someone like me.”

  Cat laughed quietly. “Well, you are her son, after all. She loves you, Talon. Do you think she wouldn’t forgive you?”

  “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, Cat.” Ones that will haunt me until the day I die.

  “Like you’re the Lone Ranger?” She chuckled and shook her head. “God, I’ve made so many mistakes, too. I don’t see why anyone would like me.”

  Talon gave her a dark, assessing look. “That doesn’t diminish who you are, Cat. You care. You’ve saved lives.” And I’ve taken so many lives I’ve lost count. Big difference between you and me.

  She snorted. “I’m talking personally, Talon.” And then, without thinking, she admitted, “I have such lousy taste in men that it’s pitiful.”

  His eyes narrowed. And he saw Cat gulp, suddenly realizing what she’d let slip. “What do you mean?”

  She took a deep breath. “I choose guys who don’t respect women. I wish I could stop or go back and fix my mistakes.”

  Talon digested her comment, seeing how uncomfortable she’d become. “What do you mean, lack of respect?”

  “I don’t want you to think less of me,” she blurted. “But the guys in the past were…well…abusive toward me.” She saw his eyes instantly harden. She felt his anger. “I mean, I didn’t stay with them. The moment they laid a hand on me, I was gone.”

  His throat tightened and Talon forced his rage into his kill box. Because he wasn’t angry with Cat. There was real shame in her eyes. He could hear it when she talked, as if feeling she had to apologize. “Your father abused you,” he rasped. “That’s all you knew.”

  She couldn’t even look at Talon. “Yeah, that’s what Casey Sinclaire said. She’s really smart and my best friend. She’s seen the guys I chose over the last seven years. Not that there were that many…. And she pointed out the pattern. I didn’t even see it but I do now.” She rolled her shoulders and forced herself to look over at Talon. “I’m not about to get tangled up with another guy like that ever again.”