Another Chance (25 page)

She
frowned.  “No.  It’s in my purse.  Have you been calling me?”

He nodded,
then leaned in to place a quick kiss on her lips.  “Don’t worry about it,
now.  I’ve found you and that’s what’s important.”  He pulled her
chair back up against her legs.  “Sit back down and eat your lunch.”

Jordan had
almost forgotten about Mel Jenkins sitting across the table and settled back
into the seat Wolf was holding for her.  He pulled out the chair beside
hers and sat down, his eyes moving from her face to study the man across the
table.  He had seen Jordan snatch her hand away from Jenkins hand and had
felt her panic from across the food court.  Now he sensed a roiling, dark,
anger directed at him from the same man.  He smiled and used the arm he’d
casually draped across the back of Jordan’s chair to lift her long braid and
finger it possessively.

“My fiancée is
a beautiful woman, don’t you think, Mel?” he asked his voice soft, but cold.

Mel
nodded.  “Yes, she is.”

“I’m probably
the luckiest man alive,” Wolf’s drawl continued.  “When I first saw her I
couldn’t believe she could ever feel the way she made me feel.”  His
shadowy eyebrows arched questioningly.  “Do you believe in love at first
sight?”

Mel
shrugged.  “I really don’t know.”  His response came out stilted and
chilled.

Jordan looked
from one man to the other, feeling the icy tension stretching between them for
maybe the first time.  Wolf dropped her braid and began to rub her back
gently, but now she felt the tautness in his whole body.

“You can
believe it,” Wolf assured him.  “I walked around the back of my horse trailer
and she was standin’ there, and,” he snapped his fingers for emphasis.  “I
was in love.  Just that fast, I knew that if she ever gave any indication
that she felt the same way, I’d do whatever it took to make her happy,” his
voice dropped a note and his eyes bored into Mel Jenkins, “and to keep her
safe.”

Jenkins
frowned, but remained quiet.

“I guess you
heard what happened out at her place about six weeks ago?”  Wolf didn’t
want one speck of doubt to linger in Jenkins.  “The man who murdered
Jordan’s first husband tracked her down.  He was insane with hate.  A
real nut case!  I guess he figured she needed to die for testifyin’
against him in court, or maybe for not returning his obsession.”  Wolf
shook his head negatively and continued.  “I suspect he had other plans as
well, but,…..here we are today.  He survived that night, but just
barely.  I still can’t believe my bullet missed his heart.”  He
managed a blasé shrug.  “I think the sights on my gun must have gotten
nudged just a hair, while we were fightin’.”  A smile split his lips and
he pulled Jordan toward him so her shoulder rested against his broad
chest.  His blue eyes caressed her face.  “But we don’t have to worry
about him escapin’ prison again, do we Sugar?”

Her head shook
from side to side.  “No, I don’t think that’ll happen again with him in a
wheelchair.”

Wolf’s
attention returned to Jenkins face.  “This woman doesn’t have to ever
worry about perverts and freaks threatenin’ her again.  I’ll do whatever
it takes to keep her safe.  But durin’ that time when we worked together
to protect her, a miracle happened.  I discovered that Jordan shared my
feelin’s.  We belong together, now.”

Jordan had
come to realize why Wolf was taking such a direct path while talking to
Mel.  Somehow, he’d sensed the way she’d reacted earlier.  She looked
up at this beautiful man who was going to be her husband and knew he’d
felt
her fear.  She didn’t know if it came from his gift, or if they had just
developed a bond that strong.  She didn’t really care.  He had felt her
fear and she was glad.  She turned and looked at Mel.

“I’ve learned
a lot since David was murdered.  I’ve taken some self-defense classes,
I’ve taken shooting classes and have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and
I do, but I think the most important lesson I’ve learned is to pay attention to
that little feeling I get that warns me before things get really bad.  I
can’t explain it, but I felt that little warning when you put your hand on mine
earlier, Mel.”

Mel pushed his
unfinished lunch aside and stood up.  “Fine, Jordan.  I’ll admit I
thought maybe something could develop between us, but I can see now I was
wrong.  I didn’t mean to offend you.”

Wolf chuckled
and looked up at the man, his icy-blue eyes sparkling with chilling humor.
 “She’s a pistol, ain’t she?”

Jenkins picked
up his lunch and deposited it in the nearest trash receptacle and disappeared
into the crowd.

The couple
watched his body meld in with the myriad shoppers wondering the mall.

“I guess I’ll
have to move my finances to a different bank,” Jordan sighed softly.

Wolf
chuckled.
 
“Just tell the bank president that
you want a different financial manager.
 
You don’t have to give him a reason.
 
As one of their clients, they’ll be glad to accommodate you.”

Then he turned
and looked at Jordan.  “Were you gettin’ ready to leave, when I got here?”

She smiled at
him.  “No, I was getting ready to tell him what I just told him, and it’s
easier to drop kick someone if I’m standing up.”

“Mmmm mmuh,”
Wolf murmured close to her ear.  “I like it when you get physical.”

Jordan’s smile
became a sultry laugh.  “How many days until we get married?”

“Too many,” he
replied quickly.  He glanced at her half eaten salad.  “Aren’t you
going to eat that?”

She shook her
head.  “No.  What are you doing down here anyway?”  She shoved
the remains of the salad over to him and he began eating it.

“I woke up
this morning feelin’ funny, so I called in and took the day off.  When I
went to the barn, Bhrandii was feelin’ strange, too, so I called Feather and
found out you’d come here shoppin’ alone, so here I am.”  He pointed to
the vegetables in the bowl in front of him.  “You should have finished
this, it’s a good salad.”

“How did you
know to come here?”  Her eyes sparked with suspicion.  “How did you
know I was in the food court, in the mall, right then?”

“Baby, I can
track a fly through a mile of black pepper.  Hey,” Wolf pointed across the
mall using his chin.  “Isn’t that the preacher’s wife?”

She followed
his chin and sure enough, Andrea, the preacher’s wife was waving at them as she
paid for her lunch.  Then she collected it and started over to join them.

Before she arrived,
Jordan hooked a finger under his chin and pulled his face around until he was
looking at her.  “We aren’t finished with that conversation, and you know
what I’m thinking, right?”

He nodded.

“Am I
right?”  She was beginning to suspect his gift had allowed him to locate
her, but she needed to hear it from his mouth.

“In a way,” he
admitted.  “Maybe I can explain it later.”

She leaned
toward him and kissed his cheek quickly.  “Darn right you will.” 
Then she turned at smiled at Andrea.  “Pull out a chair and join us. 
Is Brother Tommy with you?”

Andrea nodded,
placing one covered tray in front of her and another one on the table beside
her.  “He’ll be along eventually.  He ran into one of his fishing
buddies and you know how that goes.”  She looked at Wolf and smiled. 
“How are you, Daniel?”

“Fine,” he
responded.  “Spendin’ the rest of the day with my intended.  Thin’s
don’t get much better than that, do they?”

“I suppose
not,” she agreed laughing softly.  “Just a few more days before you two
make that big commitment.  Are you excited?”  Immediately she
regretted using the last word.

Wolf nodded
his head solemnly, not wanting to embarrass her as he might have been tempted
to do.  She was a very nice lady and he respected her.  “Yes,
ma’am.  Jordan and I are goin’ to look for her a dress to wear for the big
event.”

Andrea
scolded, casting a teasing glance at Jordan.  “He’s helping you shop for
your wedding dress?  He’s not supposed to see it before the wedding!”

Jordan
laughed.  “I’ve looked at dresses all morning and haven’t seen anything I
like.  I don’t think I’m going to have to worry about him seeing it ahead
of time.  Feather and I are going shopping again tomorrow so we’ll
probably find something then.  I’m almost tempted to get married in
jeans.”

Wolf pushed
the last of the salad into his mouth and nodded.  “I’m all for that,” he
said when he could manage to speak.

At that
moment, Jordan spotted the tall slender form of Brother Tommy walking
steadfastly toward them, his ever present smile lighting his face.  Andrea
smiled as he pulled out the chair and settled into the chair beside her as he
greeted the young couple across the table.

Automatically
they both bowed their heads for a brief prayer, before looking up again.

“Well, it’s
almost the big day!” he said, his southern drawl drawing the words out. 
“Are y’all ready for it?”

Wolf
grinned.  “Beyond ready.  I’m wishin’ you could do it right now!”

They all
laughed.  “That’d disappoint a lot of people,” Tommy said softly.

Jordan
nodded.  “He reminded me of that just a day or so ago.  I think we’ll
both be glad when it’s over with and we can just begin to live our new lives.”

She looked at
Wolf, then back at the older couple.  “I hate to leave good company, but
there are a couple of stores in here that I haven’t looked in, so I guess I’d
better get started.  We’ll need to be home in time to feed up this
evening.”

Wolf stood up
and pulled out her chair.  “Y’all enjoy your lunch, now, and we’ll see you
Sunday mornin’.”

It didn’t take
but a few minutes for Jordan to make him admit that to his surprise, his gift
had expanded so now he could sense some of her more powerful emotions, like
anger and fear.

Jordan wasn’t
sure how she felt about it, but knew it was something that she’d just have to
accept.  It wasn’t something he could change, and she sure wasn’t about to
lose him over it.

Jordan didn’t
think she was that hard to please, but when she got out of her truck back at
home, she still hadn’t found anything she wanted to wear.  Feeling
restless after the feeding was done, she encouraged Wolf, Feather and Steve to
help her move some boxes from the closet of the third bedroom into the storage
shed behind the house.

Wolf scratched
his head, one hand on his hip as he surveyed the boxes stacked from floor to
ceiling in the closet.  “What’s in these boxes?” he asked.

Jordan
shrugged.  “I’m not sure.  Its stuff that was packed up after my
parents died.  I just haven’t had the motivation to go through it.  I
don’t know if I’ll ever be able to.”

“Then why keep
it?” he queried her.

Again she
shrugged.  “I suppose there might be stuff that I’d like to keep in some
of them.”

“Then let’s go
through them now.  What you want, we’ll keep, what you don’t want, we’ll
get rid of.  There might be thin’s here that others could use,” he
suggested.

Jordan cast a
speculative look at Feather and Steve.  “If y’all don’t want to do this, I
understand.”

Feather
grinned.  “We’ll be glad to help.  I’ve always loved going through
old stuff.”

“And sneezing
her head off,” Steve added, causing Wolf to arch one of his dark brows.

Jordan
nodded.  “Alright, but when y’all decide you’ve had enough, feel free to
leave.”

“Thanks,”
Steve offered, pulling a box down and sitting it on the floor.

The contents
of the boxes were a constant surprise for Jordan.  Items she remembered
with laughter and some with solemnity were separated into stacks of keepers or
movers.  Occasionally she’d squeal with joy and share a story of her
youth, triggered by something one of them pulled from a box.

They were nearing
the bottom of the stack of boxes when Feather suddenly gasped.  “Oh, my
gosh!  Jordan,” she jumped to her feet and began hopping up and down, a
lacy dress bouncing with her movements.  The other three looked at her in
astonishment, and then Jordan scrambled to her feet and began dancing too. 
She grasped Feather in a fierce hug, tears beginning to flow over her cheeks.

“I’ve only
seen pictures of it!  I didn’t think Mom had kept it!”  She turned to
face Wolf holding a long, off-white dress of gauzy looking lace out for him to
see.  “It’s my mom’s wedding dress!”

A smile melted
across his face.  “I don’t think I’m s’posed to see that, before the
weddin’.”  He smiled, knowing that Jordan had found her dress.

No more
shopping or worrying about a wedding dress.  She wore the dress her mother
was married in on Wednesday evening as she walked down the aisle of the little
country church to stand beside Daniel Chetan and become his wife.

Jordan’s heart
pounded with excitement as she sat astride the powerful blue/gray mare waiting
for their turn to enter the show ring.  It was two years ago that she’d
found Pride on the internet and now they were waiting to enter the ring at the
AQHA World Show.  Several months ago, Pride had earned her AQHA Championship
in reining to allow her to compete here today.

A strong hand
rested on the calf of her leg and she looked down again into the still
surprising pale eyes of her husband.  “Are you ready for this?”  His
voice was deep and flowed around her like a warm balm.  Bhrandii and Emma
sat on the dirt beside him.

She nodded,
knowing she’d have to shout for him to hear her over the music streaming into
his head through the buds in his ears.  They had worked hard to get Pride
to this point and Jordan knew that years of work stretched out ahead of
them.  Her dream, his dream, their dream.  Pride was just the
beginning.