Page 31 of Rangers Last Promise

Tate lifts one eyebrow.

Mara closes it again.

I almost smile.

Her gaze cuts toward me.

“If you laugh, I’ll arrest you.”

“For what?”

“I’ll think of something.”

Wolf lowers his shotgun and comes around the bar. Blood runs along his forearm from a piece of glass, but he either hasn’t noticed or doesn’t care.

I notice.

“You’re cut.”

He glances down. “It’s nothing.”

“That phrase must be contagious in Eagle River.”

Mara gives me a look.

I point toward a chair away from the windows.

“Sit down.”

Wolf snorts. “You’ve been gone fifteen years and still think you’re in charge of everyone’s injuries.”

“I am.”

Trigger returns from the kitchen carrying a flashlight.

“He’s right. Sit down before he tackles you too.”

Mara brushes glass from her sleeve.

“He won’t make that mistake again.”

I remove the medical kit from the emergency cabinet behind the bar and set it on the table.

The contents are better than I expected.

Until I look closer.

“Who stocked this?”

Wolf looks at me. “I did.”

I hold up an expired package of gauze.

He shrugs. “I own a tavern, not a hospital.”

“You own a building where drunk people throw chairs.”

“They haven’t thrown one in months.”