Hunter Moon (Lupine Moon Series) (18 page)

“I thought you two had kissed and made up?” I asked into Cash’s back.

I wrapped my arms around his waist for support and felt the gun holster underneath his left armpit. I hadn’t noticed it before but he’d worn his warden’s jacket. My hands were starting to get cold, so I slid them underneath his shirt and pressed them against his stomach. I heard his sharp hiss, and I smiled, reveling in the feeling of his abs tensing underneath my fingers.

“No,” he said with a chuckle in his voice. “That’s what
we
did.”

 Even though I couldn’t see his face, I knew he had that damned smug smile of his. I narrowed my eyes at his shoulder blades, rolled the cold backs of my hands against his stomach and heard him hiss again.
Take that!
His warmth felt amazing. Jack and Roanie finally caught up and fell into a rhythm behind us as we rode along the fence line.

Jack piped up. “So what’s the plan? You’ve got something like three million acres, how are we going to find this prick?”

I shrugged. “What are you, Russian?” I asked, and I felt the rumble of a laugh in Cash’s chest as he caught my
The Hunt for Red October
reference. “I don’t know, really. I kinda figured we could check out all of the water troughs and creeks. Don’t those pot growers need a lot of water?” Cash nodded and turned so he could glance back at Jack and me.

“That’s a good idea, Shells. You’re absolutely right about the water. That’s why these guys can do so much damage. All the crap they leave is usually by water, so it leaches into the land.”

We rode a little while in silence. I didn’t know if it was the soothing motion of the mule’s gait, the soft thud of hoof beats, or Cash’s lovely warmth, but I had almost fallen asleep with my head resting against his back when Cash spoke up again.

“How’s Reggie?” he asked softly.

Tears brimmed in my eyes, so I squeezed them shut, inhaling his wonderful scent and waited a minute before answering. “Bart thinks he was fed antifreeze. He’s got to get Reg drunk. He tried to explain it all, but I still couldn’t get past the fact that my dog could be dying and Bart made him mainline booze.”

One of Cash’s hands wrapped around mine on his stomach.
He knows you’re really upset, but you’re telling jokes to keep yourself from crying.
His thumb traced patterns on the back of my hand and we rode that way for a little while.

“Bart said it might be a couple days before he’s out of the woods. Reggie’s got to stay with him through the whole process because he’s got to stay on an IV till the antifreeze is out of his system. I don’t like him not being home.” My voice broke at the very last. Cash’s hand tightened on mine.

“I’m so sorry, Shelby. I know how much you love him,” he said in a quiet voice. I appreciated that he didn’t try to give me any false hope. I wasn’t in the mood to receive it well, and Jesse was usually the only person who could get away with it. “If it will make you feel better, I’ll stay at your place until he gets back.”

To that, I didn’t have an answer. I wasn’t sure how I felt about having him around again. Cash had gotten way too far under my skin too quickly and I was certain having him under the same roof would make it so much worse.
But it would hurt so good…
I frowned at the voice and shook my head.

“I think I’ll be okay. My wolf has been sticking around so I’ll probably just let him sleep with me.” I had thought he would’ve said something about the wolf but he just nodded. Curious, I was about to say something when Jack’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“How many water troughs do you have, Shells?” I looked over Cash’s shoulder and saw the trough that I had visited a couple days ago and saw the footprints. Brow furrowed, I tried to remember when I had given Cash directions. He had ridden straight here and I was almost positive I hadn’t told him how.

“I’ve got four, but there are a couple streams that run in the summer from snowmelt and into the fall.”

We rode in a wide circle, but didn’t see any signs of activity. It didn’t even look like the cattle had been back here since I’d been there. The mud around the trough was hard and dry. Jack got off the horse and walked around looking closely for any other signs of the intruder.

“Yeah, I see the prints you were talking about, Shells. But I can tell they’re several days old. It doesn’t look like he’s been back here since you were.”

Coincidence? I think not.
I felt Cash’s muscles tighten underneath my hands. His right arm reached across his chest, and even though I couldn’t see it, I knew his hand gripped his pistol. The knuckles on his left hand were white, his fist squeezing the leather reins so hard they were squeaking. Even Tahoe noted Cash’s unease and started to jig a little to one side.

I tightened my arms around him and leaned into his back, laying my head in between his shoulder blades. I reached my hand up from his stomach and gently circled my fingers around his wrist while I pulled his hand away from the Glock. He resisted for a moment but allowed me to peel his hand away and place it in my own. I laced my fingers in his and gave them a squeeze while I watched Jack hoist himself back into the saddle.

“I can’t stand the thought of some douchebag watching you.” Cash muttered.

 He had angled his face at me far enough to see a muscle in his jaw spasm.
He does that when he’s angry
, I thought absently. I reached up, smiling slightly and tucked a stray lock of his dark hair behind his ear. It was silky soft, contrasting with his scratchy five o’clock shadow I felt as I ran my hand down his cheek. His eyes were the color of a stormy ocean, darkened by his fury.

“You two ready?” Jack’s voice cut through the moment like a hot knife and I felt Cash’s body flinch along with mine. Both of us turned and shot Jack a glare. Eyes wide with affected innocence, he raised his hands in a sign of surrender. “Sorry, geez—”

We continued on toward the other three water troughs, but the story was the same at every one. No sign of any intruder. The sun had set behind the coastal mountain range and it was starting to get dark. My heart sank at the thought that I’d have to spend another night with a strange man somewhere on my land. Lurking.

Jack glanced at Cash and must have seen something in his face because he nodded and they both turned the horses home. Before I could let out a squawk of disapproval, Cash preempted me.

“We’re not going to keep looking in the dark, Shells. It’s way too dangerous, and you’re practically begging for the guy to get the drop on us. I’ll call a few other wardens in and we’ll give it a try another day.”

I saw the sense in his words, but it didn’t mean I had to be happy about it. I grumbled under my breath and beat my forehead against his back a few times. He squeezed my hand, our fingers still entwined together. Roanie and Tahoe seemed to know we were going home and sped up their pace.
Barn sour beasts.

With the sun down, the temperature had really dropped. I could feel the first frost coming on and I huddled closer to Cash. He always seemed to be warm. I rubbed my numb ears and nose against his back. I could hear the rumble of his sexy chuckle through his jacket and it did more to warm me up than his radiating body heat. We rode that way until we could see the lights of my trailer.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you?” His voice was husky with promise and my resolve almost cracked.

I wished I could let myself go long enough to enjoy a night of his company. The fact of the matter was he had weaseled his way into my heart and broken it within a few weeks. I couldn’t let him get anywhere near that close to me again.
You’re frightened by the power he has over you,
said a nasty little voice inside my head. An absolutely spot on nasty little voice too.

“No, I think Jack is going to stay another night, and I’m sure Fang will be around too. Plus, I always put my trust in Misters Glock, Sig and Benelli.” The last I said with more bravado than I felt. We followed Jack as we rode into the barn. “Besides, all I want is something to eat, a hot bath, and my bed. In that order.”

My legs screamed at me as I slid off of Tahoe’s rump. I was used to riding for hours in the saddle without getting the ‘Yosemite Sam’ effect, AKA walking like there was still a saddle in between your legs. But since Tahoe’s butt was considerably wider than behind his shoulders where I usually rode, my groin and thighs felt like spaghetti noodles.
It’s probably a good thing Cash isn’t staying the night
…I gave my libido a mental smack and started to help Cash unsaddle the mule. He took one glance at me before pushing me gently out of the barn.

“Go get your food, bath, and bed. We’ll finish up here.” I took in his compassionate, if a bit amused expression and nodded.
No wonder you’re in love with him.
I spun and hobbled over to my trailer.

“Okay, this ‘love’ stuff has got to stop.” I muttered under my breath.

After I unlocked and opened the door, I walked straight to my bathroom and found my bottle of ibuprofen. I emptied three tablets into my palm and popped them in my mouth. I stuck my head in the sink and washed down the pills with a couple gulps of water hoping the magic that is Advil would kick in soon.

I shuffled back into the kitchen and popped a lean cuisine into the microwave. I watched numbly as the plastic tray spun around on the glass plate, unheeding of the two men who walked in behind me. When Cash placed his hands on my hips I jumped and squeaked simultaneously. He sighed and put his chin on my head. I wasn’t a small woman, but in that moment he made me feel like a little girl.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay?”

I let out a big breath, willing my heart to start beating again. “Yeah. I’ll be alright. Tomorrow?”

His hands tightened on my hips and little flurries of desire ran across my skin.
I can barely move and he still gets me hot…that’s talent.
I felt him nod his head once, his chin still resting on the top of mine. The microwave beeped. Cash spun me around and held my face in his hands. His gaze were so intent I thought he was going to lay another soul-searing kiss on me. Instead, he feathered his lips lightly over mine.

“Dream of me.”

Those words coming out of any other man’s lips would have been so uber-cheeseball I’d have felt nauseous. Coming from him, with his voice rougher than a back-woods road, I thought I was going to pass out from the onslaught of desire that marched unforgiving through my body. He gave me another light kiss and stalked out the door. I heard his truck start up and drive down the driveway.

I slowly lowered myself into a chair, wheezing a little. Jack stood in the corner, arms crossed over his chest. The sardonic look pasted on his face was not welcome as I sat sorting through the myriad of emotions assaulting me.

“I never thought I’d see the day.” His cynical voice was even less appreciated. I shot him a glare that I hoped was dully menacing as well as silencing.

“If you’d like to continue
seeing
I suggest you shut up.” He barked a laugh and strolled over to the beeping microwave. He took the frozen dinner out, peeled off the cellophane cover and proceeded to eat it thoughtfully.

“How did you let this happen? I’ve never seen you so over the moon for a guy before. Especially his type of guy.” He watched me, eyebrow raised, and forked another bite of pasta primavera into his maw. I sighed, watching my dinner disappear before my eyes, and suddenly felt very, very tired. I plunked my head on the table covering it with my arms.

“ Mm Mmmmph MMmmmmmmph Mmmphhhh.”

“Excuse me? I didn’t quite catch that, Shells.” I could hear the laughter in his voice, but I was too drained to care. I lifted my head.

“I don’t know how.” I pushed up from the table, looking wistfully at the disappearing pasta before shuffling to my bathroom. “He’s gorgeous and infuriating and I think I’m in love with him,” I said over my shoulder. I ignored the choking sound coming from the kitchen and closed the bathroom door, turning the shower on.