Desert Heart (The Wolves of Twin Moon Ranch Book 4) Read online

  Wait. Before what?

  He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

  “Rick,” Tina murmured, truly mournful now. “That’s not all.”

  He held his breath. She had more for him to digest than the fact that she could transform into a wolf?

  “You would have died, so I had to… I had to…”

  He tilted his head at her. What could be so bad? She was alive, he was alive…

  She stumbled and fumbled until finally releasing a torrent of words. “The hellhound could have turned you—”

  Turned him? He didn’t have time to ask, because Tina rushed ahead.

  “—if I didn’t do anything so I had to do it—”

  Do what?

  “—but it meant a mating bite—”

  Whoa. A mating what?

  “—so now you’ll be a shifter like us and be mated to me and…” She broke down for a second, then hurried on. “You could have had anyone. Now you’re stuck with me.”

  He didn’t understand half of what she’d said, but he sure got the last part.

  “I don’t want anyone. I only want you. I’ve never wanted anyone but you.”

  She shook her head. “Really stuck, Rick. Like forever.”

  “I want to be stuck with you. I want forever.”

  “But there’s so much you don’t understand,” she mumbled.

  Her face glistened with tears that hurt to see, so he wiped them away. Pulled her tight against his chest and listened to her thumping heart.

  His heart thumped too, and a deep voice murmured inside. Mate. My mate.

  He shrugged it away, because he was tired again. Really tired. Couldn’t he deal with the details some other time? “What is there to understand other than I get to be with you?”

  Tina shook her head. Her gaze was fierce again. “It means you’ll be a…”

  He waited. A what? He wasn’t thinking too clearly any more.

  “…I mean, I had to bite you, so it means…”

  He ran a hand down her arm to steady her a little, even though her look said she’d better steady him for whatever it was that was coming next.

  “It means you’ll be a wolf, too.”

  It took two more long, smooth strokes over her arm before the words registered. He looked at her, waiting for the punch line.

  She held his gaze. No punch line, apparently.

  It means you’ll be a wolf, too…

  He looked at her. Looked at his hands. Looked at the floor then out the window to a patch of startlingly blue sky. A wolf, huh?

  He took a long, slow breath. Now, shoot. He’d need a hell of a lot more than twenty days to digest that one.

  Epilogue

  Two months later…

  “Howdy, neighbor!” Cody grinned and extended his hand.

  Tina slid out of the pickup at the same time as Rick and watched the two men shake hands. It still gave her a thrill to see Rick be welcomed to Twin Moon Ranch as an equal. Hell, seeing Rick welcomed to Twin Moon in any capacity would have been a thrill. But this…this still made her glow.

  She glowed even more when Ty ambled up with a curt, “Hey.” Her taciturn brother hadn’t waited for Rick to come to him but was paying the ultimate sign of respect, one alpha to another, by coming over to greet Rick at the car. Okay, his greeting was a single syllable, but Ty was Ty.

  “Hello.” Rick nodded and threw Tina a secret smile. Yeah, he had Ty figured out, too. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

  “Uncle Rick! Uncle Rick!” Tana and Holly ran up to him, and he swept both girls up in his arms.

  “Hey! Look what I caught here! A couple of little fish!”

  “We’re not fish,” Tana giggled and wriggled away. “We’re wolves.”

  “Don’t look like wolves to me,” Rick said.

  Tina’s heart did a little flip, hearing how casually he said it. Like he’d been a wolf all his life.

  “Yeah,” Cody chuckled. “Really little, really loud wolves.”

  “I’m not little!” Tana insisted.

  “Me, neither!” Holly added.

  Tina stood for a moment, watching Rick carry his tiny charges toward the dining hall. Her beloved mate, her nieces, her brothers. Family, all together in one place.

  “I still think you’re fish,” Rick insisted.

  She laughed out loud, more at the joy in the scene than at his words.

  Ty was watching, too, and he might even have let a smile slip if she hadn’t glanced at him just then. He kicked at the dirt then called after Rick. “Gotta talk to you about that new project before dinner.”

  “Will do,” Rick called. “Will do.”

  Tina bit back a sigh. Her list of things to be thankful for was a mile long. Rick’s quick adaptation to becoming a shifter stood at the very top, followed by dozens of other points, like the fact that he and Ty were actually getting along. And not only that, but moving past the grudging détente of their early days to something approaching a respectful business partnership.

  “Remember Thanksgivings with the Seymours?” she murmured, watching Rick head into the dining hall.

  “Sure do.” Ty nodded, then shook his head. “Damn thing, that will of old Lucy’s. Full of surprises.”

  “You can say that again.”

  She’d been shocked the day the estate lawyer called not long after the hellhound attack. Rick had mended enough to move back to Seymour Ranch, and she’d moved with him, counting her luck every second. They’d been wrapped cozily around each other in the apartment above the barn when the phone rang.

  “What?” Rick had shouted into the mouthpiece. He half sat, half fell onto the bed. “Are you sure?”

  Old Lucy Seymour hadn’t just named him manager of the ranch. She’d also named him sole heir in a clause that said if Rick did a solid job his first twenty days on the job, the ranch would be his.

  “Bless the Seymours and their twenty-day rule,” Tina murmured, nodding at her brother.

  “Twenty days?” Ty asked.

  She waved a vague hand. Someday, she’d try to explain.

  Rick had joked about his first twenty days as a wolf, but the amazing thing was, he’d taken to it by the end of his second shift.

  Check this out. Rick had grinned at her in his new wolf form and took off flying down a scrubby slope, teeth bared in glee. They’d run for hours before stopping to howl their joy to the moon in a duet that went on and on, and then wrapped up a memorable night by making love under the stars. As wolves, then as humans, when Rick worked up the nerve to bite deep into her flesh and seal their mating bond forever.

  “You sure I won’t hurt you?” he’d asked.

  “I’m sure.” God, was she sure.

  When his teeth sank into her neck, sparks hammered through her, and her whole body shook with pleasure. With relief, too. Her destined mate was hers—truly hers—at last.

  “No wonder Dale wanted him dead,” Ty grunted, pulling her back into the present.

  Tina shivered at the thought. Lucy Seymour’s will had also stipulated that if Rick were deemed unsuitable as manager, the entire ranch would go to Dale.

  She shook her head at the ugly image of what Dale would have done with beautiful Seymour Ranch, like selling its precious resources to the highest bidder. Water, gold, uranium. Who knew what else the man had planned?

  “You two serious about bringing in that new Heritage breed Henry used to talk about?” Ty asked.

  She smiled. She and Rick had plans to work Seymour Ranch by honest means, mixing tradition with innovation. Hard work and honest enterprise were the way to a prosperous future, not raping the earth. They might never get rich doing it, but hey, she already had all the riches she wanted.

  Well, almost all. She watched Carly scurry up with a squirming baby Sammie in her arms. From the look of it, Carly had had enough of babysitting for Heather and Cody.

  “Can I hold her?” Tina blurted.

  Carly laughed and handed the baby over. “Hello to you, too, favorite sister.
And yes, please! I’m at the end of my patience here.”

  Ty snorted. “Already?”

  “Hey!” Carly protested. “This is a lot of work!”

  “Just you wait,” Ty murmured and ambled off, dodging Carly’s play-slap. “Just you wait.”

  “Like I’ll ever have kids.” Carly huffed at his back. “And hey, if you’re not nice to me, I won’t stay for this long a visit ever again.”

  “Promise?” Ty shot back.

  Tina tuned out the amiable sibling banter and hugged Sammie close. Inhaled her soft baby scent. Marveled at the tiny fingers, the plump cheeks. Wondered if she was being greedy for wanting even more joy in her life. But there was a time and place for everything, so she’d be patient a little longer. She had a ranch to sort out, a mate to shower with love, and a challenging job as head accountant and chief operations officer of two ranches.

  Plus a brand-new he-wolf to show the ropes, her wolf added in a lusty undertone. In bed and out.

  Right. Like Rick needed any teaching when it came to that. Even in wolf form, the guy was a natural.

  Oh, there’s still a trick or two I can teach my mate. The wolf grinned, giving its tail an imaginary swipe.

  My mate. She could live a hundred years and still tingle from the power of those two words.

  Carly leaned in. “Promise me we’ll do Thanksgiving at your place next year.”

  Tina lifted an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

  Carly flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. “Less cleanup, of course.”

  “Maybe for you.” Tina’s voice was scolding, but she swelled inside at the image. Thanksgiving at her new home. The Seymour homestead would come alive again with voices, footsteps, and chatter. The garden she’d been laboring to revive would need another couple of seasons, but it was coming along nicely. The whole ranch was, bit by bit.

  She pictured her relatives arriving, crowding the long table, passing platters laden with food. The solemn voice of the grandfather clock would fascinate another generation of Hawthorne kids, and the house would fill with laughter. Mrs. Seymour would be proud, and Tina might just feel ready to call herself lady of the house.

  Not that she and Rick had actually moved in to the main house yet. They’d decided to settle in together in the apartment over the barn and move to the house after the holidays. A new year, a new beginning. She couldn’t wait.

  Her eyes swept over Twin Moon Ranch. The mighty cottonwoods, the chirping crickets, the gentle breeze. A horse whinnied in the distance, and a stray chicken pecked at the dirt. A dog snoozed in the shade. The smell of barbecue permeated the air, because the guys had the grill going, as if the usual Thanksgiving trimmings wouldn’t be enough. She closed her eyes and breathed it all in.

  Home.

  Twin Moon Ranch had always felt like it stood in the crosshairs of a rifle, with danger all around. But for the first time, it felt secure, as if they’d built a moat. Their alliance with the coyote shifters of Echo Creek was stronger than ever. Now that Seymour Ranch had joined that alliance, too, everyone had gained firmer footing than ever. The three territories together covered a huge chunk of central Arizona, creating a formidable force. Maybe even a new era of peace for her pack.

  “If you don’t watch out, life might just get boring,” Carly murmured, reading her thoughts.

  “Right, boring.” Tina shook her head. Two huge ranches to run, a new pack to establish, a new partnership to manage…

  My mate to take care of, her wolf chimed in, setting off the tingle again.

  Yeah, she’d take that kind of boring any day.

  “And just think—now Dad will want to meddle with your ranch, too.” Carly chuckled. “He’s only staying in Colorado until North Ridge finds a suitable alpha to run the pack. Then he’ll be right back here, making a nuisance of himself.”

  Tina thought it over. “No. I mean, yes, Dad will make a nuisance of himself. But he’ll be happy, too.” Because the unthinkable had happened: another shifter pack had established itself in the area without a drop of blood spilled—well, at least not between warring shifters. Her father had always harped on about the advantages of joint territories, though he’d never, ever have tolerated another alpha anywhere near his home turf. He could hardly object to a new pack forming at Seymour Ranch, though, not with his own daughter as alpha female there. In fact, her dad couldn’t have orchestrated a more advantageous alliance if he’d tried.

  Funny, the way fate worked sometimes.

  “Right. Dad, happy. That I gotta see.” Carly chuckled. “The man is only happy when he’s unhappy.”

  “True,” Tina murmured. Painfully true. But her dad would just have to learn to butt out. Seymour pack would be Rick’s to run, just like the ranch, and she’d be at his side every step of the way. They’d need a lot of new hires to wrestle the ranch into shape, but they’d have their pick of young shifters eager to make a new start with a promising new pack.

  Her pack.

  She sighed and let her eyes drift a little more then snuggled her cheek against little Sammie’s. Twin Moon Ranch would always be home, but Seymour Ranch was, too. Bit by bit, everything was falling into place.

  “Ugh,” Carly muttered.

  “What?”

  “You’ve got that dreamy look again. I’m starting to feel sick.” She sauntered toward the dining hall.

  “Ka!” Sammie motioned in an order to follow. Ka for Carly, because Carly’s magnetism even drew babies in.

  Tina twirled a finger in the baby’s downy hair and followed Carly out of the bright daylight and into the soothing shade of the dining hall. Oak tables formed three lines across the cool flagstone floor, and most the pack was already gathered, ready to eat. Their happy chatter filled the airy space between thick beams that supported a high ceiling, decorated with colorful flags. Packmates raised their hands in welcoming waves and little cheers of hello. A few, like her Aunt Jean and old Ruth, gestured toward Rick with winks of approval.

  Yes, everything was falling into place.

  Axel, the injured javelina shifter, was propped up in a place of honor near the fireplace. Tina strode over to him, at a loss for words as always, because how could she ever thank the man who’d given her a beautiful future instead of a horrible end?

  Little Tana and Holly had abandoned Rick to tend to Axel, their newest hero. Everyone’s hero, in fact, and Tina’s most of all. If it hadn’t been for the javelina’s courage on the day of the hellhound attack…

  “Happy Thanksgiving, Axel,” she murmured, trying to make her thanks seep into every word.

  “Happy Thanksgiving,” the burly man croaked in his deep, earthy voice.

  “Brought you cookies,” she said.

  “My favorite,” Axel rumbled, hitting a seven or eight on the Richter scale with his deep voice. He smiled as he always did, no matter what kind of cookies they were. She’d baked enough for him in the past weeks to feed an army. Visited him daily as he recuperated, too, though it still would never seem like enough.

  Javelinas were tough—and the amiable Axel doubly so—but they healed slowly. The young boar had a long road ahead of him to recovery. The least Twin Moon Ranch could do was host him while he convalesced. When the time came, he could head back to the nomadic life of his kind.

  Not that the modest javelina shifter looked ready to rush off anytime soon. Not with those injuries, and certainly not with half the pack’s single females doting on his every move. The poor guy didn’t have the energy to evade them even if he wanted to.

  Uh-oh. An urgent murmur sounded in Tina’s mind.

  She spun to see Lana tilting her head toward the head table, where Ty and Rick sat in animated conversation. Uh-oh, indeed.

  Not good, Lana warned, already striding over on long legs, ready to rein Ty in.

  Tina handed Sammie to Aunt Jean, steeled herself for trouble, and race-walked over. Alpha males who hadn’t yet fully established their respective ranks had a way of jumping straight from conversation into all-ou
t war. Tina and Lana reached the table at exactly the same moment, and each slid a placating hand over her mate’s shoulder. Lana had a lot of practice with the gesture, and though it was new to Tina, she felt like she’d been doing it all her life.

  Rick’s hand found hers, and as always, his touch was a bridge that connected their souls.

  “Hey, Tina, Lana. Good thing you’re here,” Ty said.

  Yeah, Lana’s wink said. Good thing we’re here.

  “Where do you reckon is the best place to put the new pump house?”

  Tina blinked. From the sounds of it, the men hadn’t been on the verge of a territorial dispute. More like an amicable business talk.

  “The new pump house?” she mumbled.

  “Why operate two leaky pump houses when we can share one? A new, efficient one,” Rick chimed in, and both men looked up, waiting for her reaction.

  Lana waited, too, and Tina warmed all over. Maybe Good Old Tina wasn’t just a quiet supporter. Maybe she was a leader in her own right.

  Rick squeezed her hand, and Lana gave her a wry smile as if she’d known it all along.

  “Um… The spot just west of where the old one stood seems like a good one, and it was on Stef’s list of recommended sites,” she managed.

  “Exactly what I was thinking.” Rick nodded.

  Ty nodded, too. “Just need to work out the details. Fifty-fifty split of costs and water?” He looked at Rick.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Just don’t get greedy and talk about increasing the volume,” Lana warned.

  Ty waved a hand. “No way.”

  Rick dipped his head in agreement. “Not going there.”

  “Hey, everyone, dig in!” Cody announced from across the hall. The feast was on.

  The children scampered over, along with all the young men of the pack who seemed to inhale food the way they inhaled air. The old curmudgeons leaned back and waited at their table, waxing poetic about the good old days.

  Good old days? Tina sighed and looked around. More like good new days. The ranch was prospering, the kids happy and healthy. Christmas was right around the corner, and it would be a truly special one.