Lone Wolf's Woman

He pivoted on his heels. “Okay, I’ll saddle my horse and make sure you get home safely.”

“Thank you.” Her voice quavered and he thought he heard a muffled sob. “Now I owe you a tremendous favor.”

Chapter Two

A few minutes later, Lone Wolf mounted his piebald pony and watched Julia swing gracefully into her saddle. “Which direction are we heading?” he asked.

When she pointed east he took the lead to use the cross-country shortcut that bypassed town. Considering what a skilled rider she was he didn’t think she would have trouble keeping her seat while moving over the uneven terrain.

“I’m sorry if I seem as much of a nuisance as Harvey Fowler,” she said as she followed behind him. “My brother keeps telling me that I don’t know when to shut up and back off. I didn’t mean to sound so pushy and demanding, but this is very important to me. My brother is all I have left.”

“What’s your name, daredevil?” he asked as he reined his gelding into a rock-strewn ravine.

“Julia Preston. My brother is Adam.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.”

So, why am I riding off into the night with you? he asked himself bewilderedly. There was no question that he had other places to go, come morning. He could use some shut-eye. But the damnedest thing was that Julia had impressed the hell out of him when she had faced off against that pesky kid. Plus, no one had ever stood up for him before. Ever.

It was that one unexpected deed of courage that refused to let him send her off alone in the darkness. He might have earned the reputation of being the toughest son of a bitch in the state—which was probably the reason her brother wanted to hire him—but he wasn’t so hard-hearted that he could completely disregard a desperate woman.

It was a fact that Julia was the prettiest female he’d ever laid eyes on. Her admirable character traits and strength of will appealed to him as much as her physical attributes. She was pure and wholesome and he found that altogether irresistible.

Nothing would come of his temporary fascination, of course, but she was easy on the eye.

“Just one thing, Miss Preston.” He drew his horse to a slower pace so she could ride beside him.

“What’s that?”

“Although you proved yourself to be daring more than once tonight, don’t plant yourself between me and a potential threat again,” he said. “If that drunken brat named Harvey had decided to draw down on me—with the firearm that he probably didn’t think I saw tucked in the waistband of his breeches—you could have gotten your head blown off. That wouldn’t have done your brother much good.”

Julia sighed heavily. “Sorry. I haven’t been thinking straight since Adam got shot two hours ago.”

She still wasn’t thinking straight, he decided as he studied her shadowed profile. Because of her situation, she was treating him as an equal, a potential friend. Her kind usually regarded him as a second-class citizen and steered clear of him. Ordinarily, he could have cared less, but he had the instinctive feeling Julia was one of a rare breed of woman.

Damn good thing he wasn’t planning to spend more than a couple of hours with her. Even if she was a one-of-a-kind female he had no intention whatsoever of getting emotionally attached. Not to her or anyone else. He had accepted his life for what it was and he was comfortable with it.

He cast his shapely companion a sidelong glance, then decided a short-term diversion wouldn’t hurt before he rode off to Colorado tomorrow.

“How bad was your brother hit?” Lone Wolf asked five miles later.

“He suffered a serious chest wound.”

“Did you get a look at the sniper?”

She nodded. “I was standing on the front porch when he appeared from a copse of cottonwood trees to the west, just as my brother approached the ranch house. The sniper was wearing a long canvas coat and wide-brimmed hat. He was riding a dun horse with three white stockings and a white blaze on its muzzle.

“I wanted to storm up to the man that I suspect is responsible for the shooting and repay him in kind, but Adam sent me to fetch you. I suspect he was trying to divert my quest for revenge and shoo me away, in case his condition worsened,” she added sourly.

“Smart man, your brother,” Lone Wolf praised. “You might have played into your adversary’s hands.”

She huffed out her breath. “That’s what Adam said. But if he doesn’t survive—”

He could tell by her quivering voice that she was holding onto her composure by a slippery thread so he changed the subject. “I need background information, Miss Preston. What do you think prompted this ambush?”

“Julia. Call me Julia.” She managed a watery smile. “When a woman bawls her head off in front of man and exposes all her weaknesses she should be on a first-name basis.”

When she glanced sheepishly at him he caught sight of her features. He felt another thud of unnamed emotion thump him in the chest. Lone Wolf fiercely resisted the unfamiliar sensation and turned his attention to the business at hand.

He watched Julia inhale a restorative breath and gather her thoughts. His traitorous gaze dropped to her breasts and he hurriedly jerked his attention back to her face. Which didn’t help much because, damn it, he found himself studying each enchanting feature.

“We have been involved in a feud with our nearest neighbor for three years,” she stated, her voice growing steadier with each word. “It began when my father and our neighbor’s wife were found dead in our wrecked wagon at the bottom of a ravine. Our neighbor was as overwrought as Adam and I were.”

Or did her neighbor simply pretend to be overwrought because he was the one who’d orchestrated the murders to repay his wife’s infidelity? Lone Wolf wondered.

“The scandal turned him bitter and vindictive,” Julia continued. “He swore our father had humiliated and cuckolded him. He wanted to buy our ranch, sell every head of cattle with the Preston brand on it and wipe away the family name, along with the ugly memory of the supposed affair.”

“You don’t sound convinced that something sordid was going on between your father and your neighbor’s wife.”

Julia shook her head emphatically. Moonbeams glowed in the curly cascade of red-gold tendrils. Lone Wolf looked the other way when another jolt of unwanted awareness shot through him. This woman was too distracting.

“My father was devoted to my mother,” Julia maintained. “After my mother died from cholera, Papa spent the next four years until his death devoted to raising Adam and me. He showed no interest in other women.”

She shrugged helplessly. “I can’t explain why Papa and our neighbor’s wife were together that night. Neither do I know why her buggy was left beside the road after she had ridden into town to be a midwife for her friend. But I do not believe for one minute that my father was romantically involved with Rachel.”

Lone Wolf didn’t comment. He couldn’t say for sure but it sounded as though Julia’s undying loyalty and love for her father had clouded her judgment. He thought there was a strong possibility that a clandestine affair might have been going on, whether Julia wanted to accept it or not.

“Adam and I were determined to hold the ranch together, but it hasn’t been easy. Incidents of rustling began not long after Papa died. We had no substantial proof that our neighbor was involved, but he was our prime suspect. He seemed to hate us.”

Julia continued. “To complicate matters, our neighbor’s daughter was our childhood playmate, and he refused to allow her to associate with us. Still the affection between his daughter and Adam remains. She grew up loving my brother and he has always felt the same way about her.”

It sounded to Lone Wolf as if history was trying to repeat itself. Julia’s bitter neighbor, however, was having none of that. Not after he had lost his wife to another man. The prospect of losing his daughter to the son of his wife’s lover was obviously intolerable. Especially if Adam was using his charm on the neighbor’s daughter to retaliate.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she surprised him by saying.

“Do you? Then you would be the first,” he countered drily. “I try very hard not let anyone know what’s running through my mind. It’s bad business when dealing with cutthroats who like to get the drop on you.”

“You’re thinking Adam is trying to get back at our neighbor by turning his charms on his daughter,” Julia guessed correctly. “But you couldn’t be more wrong. Maggie and Adam were childhood friends, and then they became sweethearts. That was long before the hint of scandal.”

“Maggie?” Lone Wolf grew very still. His focus settled intently on Julia.

“Maggie Griffin. Sol Griffin’s daughter,” she explained, unaware of the suppressed emotion roiling through Lone Wolf.

Tormenting memories flashed through his mind, then exploded like fireworks. Old hurt and the raw pain of rejection threatened to swamp him. For a moment he was transported back to a time when he had been a weak, desolate and vulnerable teenager.

“Despite Sol’s unfair decree, Maggie and Adam continued to see each other secretly,” Julia reported. “Maggie has rejected every marriage proposal that Sol approved. When she stood up to him and informed him that if she couldn’t wed Adam then she would never take a husband, Sol sent her to Saint Louis to stay with his cousin’s family. She has been home for two months and she and Adam have gotten very good at sneaking away so they can be together.”

“Maggie must have a great deal of determination and gumption,” Lone Wolf remarked.

Julia bobbed her head and smiled fondly. “She does, in her own ladylike, dignified way. Which is why we are steadfast friends and always have been.”

“And Sol Griffin is one bitter, obstinate man,” he murmured.

When Julia stared curiously at him, Lone Wolf shrugged as nonchalantly as he knew how. “I know of Sol Griffin.”

Know of him? Hell, he was Sol Griffin’s blood kin, a fact that he would not acknowledge or accept under the circumstances. Sol had made that known eighteen years ago.

“If you know of Sol, does that mean you won’t help my brother and me because you don’t want to get on his bad side?” she asked anxiously.

“I was born on his bad side,” Lone Wolf muttered under his breath.

“Pardon?”

He clenched his teeth, stifled the onrush of resentment, and said, “I don’t allow personal sentiment to get in the way of business. If I decide to take an assignment, then I represent the client who is paying me. No one else.”

“You will be exceptionally well paid if you agree to take this assignment,” Julia assured him. “I want that sniper brought to justice for the murder attempt on my brother’s life. If the man I saw firing his rifle at Adam is remotely connected to Sol, I want to see them both locked in jail with no chance of parole— Oh, God… Maggie…”

Her voice trailed off and her shoulders slumped in frustration. “I can’t get word to her about what happened to Adam. And though she resents Sol’s demand to keep her distance from Adam, I doubt she will believe her father would go so far as to have Adam shot to end their courtship.”

She raked her hands through her hair and sighed. “I’m sorry. I feel as if I’m telling you all my problems. It’s bad enough that I practically bled tears on your shirt. I don’t expect you to figure out how I’m going to break the bad news to my dearest friend.”

“Not a problem,” he said with a casual shrug of his broad shoulders. “I get paid to solve other people’s dilemmas. That’s difficult to do without all the facts.”

Julia glanced at the powerful-looking bounty hunter who sat a horse so impressively. He seemed detached, even more distant than before. And why shouldn’t he be? He wasn’t embroiled in the upheaval of her life.

She was just another prospective client to him.

Her thoughts trailed off when she spotted the glow of lights in the distance. Almost home… Soon she would find out if Adam had survived his gunshot wound.

With tension coiled inside her, she promptly picked up the pace. She had her horse in a full gallop by the time she reached the dirt path that led to the ranch house.

Lone Wolf was right on her heels. When she skidded her horse to a halt and bounded from the saddle, his lean fingers closed around her forearm to waylay her. She looked up at his inscrutable expression and wished she possessed the same iron-willed self-discipline. She felt as if she were on the verge of scattering in every direction at once, while he was a bulwark of physical and emotional strength.

“Take a breath, Julia,” he ordered firmly. “A deep one.”

She did as she was told.

“Again,” he demanded.

Julia sucked in a huge gulp of night air and tried to get herself under control.

“You won’t accomplish a damn thing by walking in there and falling apart. Whatever happens, I’ll be here to take care of things. Save the tears and tantrums for later. Do you understand? Don’t give your brother or your employees something else to worry about right now.”

She peered into his angular face, into those intense hazel eyes that bored straight into her. “Does that mean that you will take this assignment?” she asked hopefully.

When he nodded, Julia embarrassed herself by flinging her arms around his neck and practically squeezing the stuffing out of him. She buried her head against the solid wall of his chest and savored the sense of security that overcame her. Although she was aware that he didn’t reciprocate—except to drape his brawny arm awkwardly around her shoulder—she absorbed his strength. She clung to him for comfort and support for several moments, wondering why she had developed an instant attachment to a total stranger.

Maybe it was because she had poured her heart out to him and he had listened, then agreed to help. Maybe it was because she was desperate to anchor herself to something strong and solid.

Vince Lone Wolf was definitely that. Rumor had it that he was hell on outlaws, ruthless when necessary and unyielding as granite. Legend also had it that no one that he was sent to apprehend ever walked away to brag about escaping from him. He was the justice system’s last resort, and he accepted the difficult challenges no one else wanted.

This was definitely the man Julia needed on her side.

Summoning her composure as best she could, Julia stepped back, then wheeled toward the front porch. When she opened the door and was met with silence, another wave of apprehension swooped down on her. She took comfort in Lone Wolf’s presence as he hovered over her, close as her own shadow.

She headed up the steps to Adam’s room, wondering what her acquaintances in Dodge City’s elite social circle would think of her association with Lone Wolf. No doubt, they wouldn’t approve. But Julia had been raised not to be judgmental and presumptuous. Furthermore, her brother’s life and the future of Preston Ranch were at stake. She would be damned if she was influenced by the dictates of society. She and Adam had a hired gun on their side in this feud and she didn’t give a flying fig what anyone thought of that.

Lone Wolf might be hard-edged, gruff and emotionally detached, but if he could help her put her life back together and end this dangerous fight with Sol Griffin then she would be forever in his debt. Plus, she wouldn’t think twice about paying whatever price Lone Wolf demanded for his expert assistance.

Her thoughts trailed off and her footsteps stalled as she stared at the closed bedroom door. With Lone Wolf’s words of advice whispering through her mind, Julia inhaled a steadying breath, then grabbed the doorknob.

She prepared herself for the worst…and prayed for the best as she entered the room.

Chapter Three

T he moment Lone Wolf stepped into the room behind Julia his attention settled on the deathly pale patient whose chest was wrapped in bandages. When Julia rushed to her brother’s side to clutch his hand, Lone Wolf noted her visible relief.

After studying Adam’s pale face and sandy-blond hair for a long moment, Lone Wolf recalled their one and only meeting. Near as he recollected it was about a year ago, when he was in a saloon on South Side in Dodge. He hadn’t gotten the name of the man who had casually leaned toward him at the bar to confide that one of the ruffians playing poker had a pistol resting against his thigh beneath the table.

It was trained on Lone Wolf’s back.

Lone Wolf had murmured, “I owe you one,” before he strolled up behind the hombre he had been sent to arrest for robbing a dry goods store in Abilene. If memory served, Adam Preston had tripped up the criminal when he tried to bolt and run, saving Lone Wolf the trouble of tracking him down.

“How bad off is he?” Julia asked as she half turned to stare inquisitively at the stout, gray-haired physician who had scooped up his medical bag.

The doctor smiled gently. “Lucky to be alive, but I think he’ll make it. He’s going to require lots of bed rest.”

Lone Wolf watched Julia’s shoulders slump in relief, saw the wash of tears that filled her luminous green eyes. But when she looked in his direction she regathered her composure, just as he’d ordered her to do.

Because of Adam’s injured condition, a mountain-load of responsibility fell on Julia’s shoulders, along with a heaping mound of traumatic emotion. But she seemed to be made of sturdy stuff. The determined set of her jaw indicated that she intended to meet the challenge of managing the ranch until her brother’s condition improved.

Damn, she was something—as much as he wished he hadn’t noticed. It had taken every ounce of self-control he could muster not to respond when Julia had flung herself into his arms on the front porch a few minutes earlier. The feel of her luscious body pressed against his caused fierce need to spear through him.

When another ripple of desire tried to overtake him, Lone Wolf reminded himself that Julia Preston was a client—too damn attractive and intriguing for his peace of mind but a business client nonetheless. He didn’t want or need the slightest personal involvement with her. He was a man who needed no one. With that in mind he concentrated on the problems at hand.

“I managed to dislodge the bullet,” Doc Connor reported as he came to stand at the foot of the bed. “Adam should come around in a few minutes. But don’t tire him out.” He handed Julia a bottle of laudanum. “Give him another dose to help him sleep and keep him sedated for several days.”

Five minutes after Julia had introduced Lone Wolf to the men who had congregated in the room, the physician bid them good-night and promised to return the following day. Frank Slater, the foreman, and two of the cowboys eyed Lone Wolf cautiously before they also took their leave.

A moment later Adam’s eyes fluttered open.

Julia pressed a kiss to his peaked forehead. “Hey, big brother.” She smiled affectionately. “I’m glad to hear that you’re going to be all right. That is, if you follow doctor’s orders and rest while I take care of things for you. I get to boss you around. I’ve always wanted to do that.”

The faintest hint of a smile trailed across Adam’s ashen lips. Then he fixed his dazed eyes on Lone Wolf. “Make sure no harm comes to Julia,” he wheezed. “But I need to warn you—” he paused to swallow and lick his lips “—she can be a handful.”

Lone Wolf didn’t doubt it. Even when Julia was at her worst, overcome with grief and anguish, she had spunk, spirit and courage in spades. She had braved the dangers of South Side to find him quickly. Plus, he remembered well how she had retaliated when he had accidentally touched her in an inappropriate manner.

“I’ll be on my best behavior while Lone Wolf is underfoot,” Julia promised. “You won’t even recognize me.”

Adam’s smile faded and his eyes drooped. “You need to tell Maggie—”

“You can tell her yourself later,” Julia cut in as she offered him a dose of the sedative. “Right now you need to rest. I’ll be back to check on you after I get Lone Wolf settled in for the night.”

He swallowed dutifully as his focus drifted to Lone Wolf. “Thank you for coming to help. Now I owe you one.”

When Adam drifted off, Julia heaved herself to her feet. She looked exhausted but mightily relieved that her brother had survived. Lone Wolf wondered what it felt like to be loved so devotedly. The affectionate bond between brother and sister fairly radiated in the room. No doubt, they had grown very close after losing their mother, and then their father.

Aware of the strong attachment and family connection the Prestons shared made Lone Wolf realize something was missing from his life. It had been almost two decades since he had felt as if he belonged anywhere. He had also gotten used to knowing that he was probably the only one who gave a damn whether he even existed. But at least he was the master of his own soul. There was a lot to be said for that.

“I’ll show you to your room,” Julia murmured as she breezed past him. He tried very hard not to get lost in her feminine scent again. But it was difficult, especially when the aroma of jasmine clung to his clothes after she had hugged him gratefully.

“No need for a room,” he insisted, following her into the hall. “I’ll camp outside.”

Julia stopped short, spun around then tilted her head to stare up at him. “No, you will not,” she countered firmly. “The whole point is for you to be close at hand in case Sol decides to send his henchman to finish the job on Adam.”

Lone Wolf’s eyes widened. “You want me under the same roof with your kind?” He snorted at that. “You’d be laughed out of town by your highfalutin friends. Half-breed bounty hunters aren’t prized houseguests so don’t bother trying to be noble. I don’t miss what I’m not used to.”

Julia looked him squarely in the eye and said, “Do you want to hear the truth, Lone Wolf?”

“Yeah, don’t mind if I do. That would be a refreshing change, considering the ruthless, backstabbing, two-faced liars I usually have to contend with in my line of work.”

Julia studied him consideringly, trying to imagine what his life was like, knowing he had been stigmatized for reasons beyond his control. No matter what anyone else thought of him, she admired the countless talents and skills that had earned him the reputation as one of the most formidable shootists and capable trackers in the West.

She also wondered if the fact that her emotions had been all over the place the past few hours accounted for her unexpected attachment to him. She certainly hadn’t developed an interest in any of the fortune hunters who had tried to charm her into marriage the past few years.

But her connection with Lone Wolf was different. He had been there when she needed a shoulder to cry on and had offered her moral support when she returned to the ranch. He had also helped her brace for the worst before she climbed the steps to determine if Adam had survived.

Of course, it was pretty clear that he didn’t want any involvement with her, but he had been there for her whether he’d wanted to be or not. That made him special to her.

“Well, the truth is,” she said belatedly, “that my maternal grandfather didn’t think my father was good enough for my mother, which was, of course, ridiculous. Snobbery, society’s dictates and prejudices are wasted on me. I have been encouraged to think and speak for myself and to stand up for what I believe in. I’m not, nor have I ever been, a shrinking violet who is easily controlled. You need to know that from the start.”

His low, rumbling chuckle startled her. She grinned when she saw him smiling wryly at her.

“I figured out that you had gumption and spunk, right off.” He rubbed his stubbled jaw. “You also pack a mean wallop. I didn’t think I had that retaliation coming since it was unintentional. You weren’t who I was expecting.”

Julia blushed furiously, remembering the feel of his hand on her breast. She had reacted instinctively, unaware that he had mistaken her for Harvey Fowler. “You’re right,” she admitted. “You didn’t deserve those hard slaps. I apologize. It was just my self-preservation instinct kicking in.” She returned to the matter at hand. “You will be using my suite during your employment. No argument.”