Quinn (38 page)

She could tell, by the tension in his voice, that he was about to say something of the utmost importance. “Having second thoughts so soon after the wedding?”

“You must be kidding.” He gathered her close and kissed her lips. “You’re the one who insisted on a proper ceremony. If I’d had my way, we’d have met with Judge Bolton weeks ago and made it legal.”

“I know.” She smiled up at him. “I’m glad you were willing to wait. I could see how much it meant to your family to make this into an occasion. I’m glad I thought of gifts for Phoebe and Ela. And look what Micah gave me.” She lifted her arm to show off the sparkly bracelet at her wrist. “It belonged to his mother. I was so touched and he was so happy, we both cried.”

“Happy tears.” Quinn kissed her again. “They’re the best kind.”

“Yes, they are. All right.” She looked around. “Now tell me that ‘something else’ you mentioned.”

He nodded toward a stand of trees some distance from the cabin. “While I was working, I heard a few yips and spotted a wolf family. Their den is in that woods. I’m thinking of tagging the young male.”

“Oh, Quinn. You’ve found your next wolf to study.”

“Only if you agree. It means a lot of time on the trail, in the wilderness, following wherever they lead.”

“You think I’d object to your life’s work? Quinn, I don’t mind how much time you’re gone, as long as you always come home to me.”

He gave her one of those dangerous grins that always did such strange things to her heart. “I guess I haven’t made myself clear. I wouldn’t dream of hitting the trail alone anymore. The loner you met has been transformed.
The thought of leaving you, for even a day, is too painful. I was hoping you might want to tag along.”

Before she could open her mouth he added quickly, “I know it’s a lot to ask. The life is pretty primitive. Sometimes we’d be out in the wilderness for a week or more, without ever seeing another human. Just us and the stars at night, and our wolf pack, howling at the moon.”

She shivered and wrapped her arms around his waist before tipping her face up to his. “You just described paradise.”

He paused to stare down into her eyes. “You’re sure? You wouldn’t mind leaving your ranch in the hands of your wranglers to spend time in the wilderness?”

“Quinn. You’re just asked me to share not only your life but your dream. And you ask if I’m sure? Oh, my darling, I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

She brushed her mouth over his and felt the thrill that coursed along her spine at the thought of all that had happened. She’d been lost, without family, and unaware of the danger living under her very roof until this man had come along to change everything. With Quinn Conway she had found all the things she’d thought lost to her forever. Love. Laughter. Family. And, best of all, a renewed purpose in life.

He gathered her into his arms and held her close, feeling the way her heartbeat kept time with his. They were perfectly suited. They shared the same love of hard work. The same sense of wonder at the beauty of the countryside around them. The same passion for the wildlife that thrived in this land.

Quinn still couldn’t believe his good fortune. He’d walked headlong into a raging storm and emerged with the great love of his life.

Whatever dark cloud had been hovering over his family for generations, it had been dispersed. He wouldn’t question the wonder of it. It was enough to know that he loved, and was loved by, the only woman who would ever tame his wild heart.

“Come on.” He caught her hand. “We’ve kept the family waiting long enough. I don’t want to be late. You realize we’re about to start on the adventure of a lifetime.”

The adventure of a lifetime.

As they headed toward the ranch, Cheyenne felt a tingle of warmth on her cheek and lifted a finger to the spot. As though, she thought, her father and mother and Buddy had touched her in a blessing.

Her heart felt as light as air.

She couldn’t wait for the journey to begin.

H
oo boy.” Josh Conway, fresh from morning chores in the barn, shook the rain from his dark, shaggy hair before hanging a sodden rain slicker on a hook in the mudroom. He bent to wash his hands at the big sink and stepped into the kitchen of the family ranch. “Rain’s coming down out there like the storm of the century.”

“That’s what it looks like to me, boyo.” Big Jim was standing by the window sipping coffee and watching dark clouds boiling around the peaks of the Grand Tetons in the distance. Jagged slices of lightning illuminated the ever-darkening sky and turned the leaves of the cottonwoods to burnished gold.

Though it was early autumn in Wyoming, there was a bite to the air, hinting at what was to come.

“Do I smell corn bread? Now that ought to brighten my day.” Josh made a beeline for the counter beside the oven, where Ela was cutting a pan of her corn bread into squares.

“Wait for the others.” The old Arapaho woman rapped his knuckles with her wooden spoon but couldn’t help grinning as he stuffed a huge slice in his mouth before turning away to snag a glass of orange juice from a tray.

Josh’s father, Cole, who had been going over financial papers in his office, paused in the doorway just as his oldest son, Quinn, and his new bride, Cheyenne, came striding in, arm in arm.

“Good,” Quinn said in a loud stage whisper. “They haven’t finished breakfast yet.”

“Haven’t even started.” Phoebe, the family’s longtime housekeeper, hurried across the room to hug them both.

After the disappearance of their mother, she had been hired to help Ela with the household and to help raise the three boys. A young widow herself, Phoebe had sold her hardscrabble ranch and moved in to become their trusted friend and confidante, and their biggest supporter as they’d made the difficult journey through childhood and adolescence. Now, looking at the grown men she’d helped raise, she felt as proud as a mother hen.

“And you just happened to be in the neighborhood,” Josh deadpanned.

“That’s right.” Quinn helped himself to a cup of steaming coffee. “After morning chores at Cheyenne’s ranch, we figured we’d amble over here and see if you needed any help.”

“Amble? Bro, you had to drive a hundred miles an hour to get here in time for breakfast.” Jake, their youngest brother and the family prankster, stepped in from the mudroom, his sleeves rolled to the elbows, his hair wet and slick from the downpour.

Cheyenne shared a laugh with her husband. “I told you
they wouldn’t buy the story that we just happened to be in the neighborhood.”

“The only thing that happens to be in this neighborhood is Conway cattle,” Big Jim said with a laugh. “And maybe a few of Quinn’s wolves and Cheyenne’s mustangs.”

“I’m betting they’d start a stampede for some of Ela’s corn bread.”

At Quinn’s remark they all laughed louder.

“That’s one of the reasons we’re here.” Quinn turned to Ela. “Cheyenne and I have used your recipe, but it never turns out like yours.”

Josh winked at his new sister-in-law. “I bet she left out a key ingredient, just so you’d always have to come back here to get the best.”

“You see, Ela?” Jake was grinning from ear to ear. “I told you it would work.”

They all joined in the laughter.

“Sit down, everybody.”

At Phoebe’s invitation they gathered around the big wooden trestle table and began passing platters of ham and eggs, potatoes fried with onions and peppers, and Ela’s corn bread, as well as an ample supply of wild strawberry preserves, a favorite of Big Jim’s.

Phoebe circled the table, topping off their cups of coffee.

Jake filled his plate before handing the platter to Josh.

“Big Jim and I are heading up to the hills after breakfast.”

“You’re heading right into the storm,” Josh remarked.

“Yeah. I’ve been watching those clouds.” Jake nodded toward the window, where the sky had been growing murkier by the hour. “Want to come along, Bro?”

Josh helped himself to eggs. “Sure. A little rain doesn’t bother me. I can lend a hand. You doctoring some cattle, Doc Conway?”

Jake nodded. “Pretty routine stuff. But the work goes a lot faster with an extra pair of hands.”

When Josh’s cell phone rang, he idly glanced at the caller ID. His voice took on a businesslike tone: “Josh Conway.”

He listened in silence before saying, “Okay. I’m on it.”

As he tucked his phone into his shirt pocket he turned to Jake with a grin. “Guess I’ll have to take a pass on going along with you and Big Jim. I’m needed on the mountain.”

Cole shook his head. “I wouldn’t want to climb those peaks in this storm. How come they never call on you to climb on a sunny day?”

“I guess because no fool hiker ever gets himself lost in good weather, Pa.” Josh drained his cup and pushed away from the table. “I think it’s some kind of rule of the universe that every careless hiker in the world decides to climb the Grand Tetons just before the biggest storm of the century blows through.”

He left the room to fetch his gear, which he kept always packed and ready for just such emergency calls. Through the years Josh Conway had built a reputation as a fearless, dependable climber who could be counted on to locate lost hikers who couldn’t be found by the rangers.

When he returned to the kitchen, Phoebe handed him a zippered, insulated bag.

At his arched brow she merely smiled. “Something to eat on the drive to your mountain.”

“Thanks, Phoebe.” He brushed a kiss over her cheek
before giving a salute to the rest of his family. “See you soon.”

“Take care, boyo.” Big Jim listened as his grandson’s footsteps carried him through the mudroom and out the back door.

The old man glanced at his family gathered around the table. Though their conversation resumed, it was muted. And though they never spoke of it, every one of them knew that there was no such thing as a routine climb. Not when the one doing the climbing was there because the professionals had already tried, without success, to find a missing hiker.

Josh was their last resort. The strong, capable loner who would never give up until the one who was lost was found.

See you soon.

Josh’s parting words played through Big Jim’s mind.

Funny, he thought, that ever since Seraphine disappeared all those years ago, none of them could ever bring themselves to say good-bye.

Maybe it was just as well.

Good-bye
seemed so final.

“The missing hiker’s named Sierra Moore.” Mitch Carver, a ranger who had been working the Grand Teton range for over twenty years, tipped back his chair and tensely tapped a pen against the desktop, the only sign of his agitation. “A professional photographer and veteran hiker. When she filled out the required backcountry use permit, she was warned of possible storms in the area and said she was hoping to capture them on film. I didn’t think much of it, until she failed to check in with our station.
I tried her contact number, and she never responded. It could mean that she simply forgot to power up her cell. Or the storm may have knocked out any chance of a signal. But her lack of response could mean she’s in trouble. And, since she didn’t fill out the names of any friends or family to contact, I decided to send Lee to track her. But she wasn’t found in the area where she’d said she was heading.” He glanced at the papers she’d filled out. “Midlevel, possibly climbing as high as the western ridge.”