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“I wouldn’t count on it.”
Grant shook his head. “It was worth a try.”
“There’s good food at the saloon.”
“True,” Grant said, attempting to ward off a smile. “But the saloon entertainment pales in comparison to what goes on out here.”
“Have you been spying on my woman again?”
“I have not,” Grant said, sounding believable. “But I gotta tell ya. That time I saw her polishing the pearl and playin’ with the kitty has stuck with me like ya wouldn’t believe.”
“I’m sure it has,” Jock said, remembering the first time Grant had told him what Carla kept in her barn loft.
Grant mounted his horse. “Take care, Jock.”
“You too, Marshal.”
Grant doubled over his reins and slapped the leather against the horse’s withers. “Come on boys! Let’s ride!” He took off like a wild outlaw, galloping way ahead of the wagons.
Frank joined them on the covered, slanted porch. Lined up perfectly in front of their remaining pack, Jock, Frank, Carla, and Heck kept their gazes trained on the departing wagons.
“Reckon Grant realizes the wagons aren’t right behind him?” Heck asked.
“He knows,” Jock said, staring after him. “He’s just scared to death one of his ‘men’ overheard him talking about the past. If I know Grant he’ll ride as hard as he can until he reaches Laramie.”
Frank laughed. “That’s a fact.”
When the wagons were just a speck in the distance, Frank said, “One of us should address what’s happened here over the last few days.”
“Let me,” Carla said, stepping in front of them.
The wolves showed their respect by bowing their heads as Carla chose her spot. Standing in front of the newly dug graves, she said, “We lost dear pack members here today and went to war with an enemy we didn’t even realize we had. Let us return to our homes tonight and reflect on the lessons of war.
“There’s never a winner or a loser when a man or a woman is driven to draw their weapons and take a life. There’s never peace at the end of a long fight or a good solution found after harming another.
“Still, this battle here yesterday should’ve taught us something if nothing else. We take one another for granted. We believe our days will be long and our nights will be short and that whoever we sleep beside tonight will wake up next to us tomorrow. This event proves how wrong those assumptions are.
“We will mourn our dead, but we will also live on and always honor them. And the way to honor them is to reach out to the ones living among us and offer them love, peace, and hope. Without those three things, we are robbing our young of a healthy and spirited life, for in us they seek an example and in us they find their only truth.
“Teach your young to love. Teach them to settle differences by talking things out rather than reaching for their deadliest weapon.
“When the werebears showed up here today offering a truce, they explained why they had chosen this fight. They wanted our land. They wanted this territory.” She glanced at her mates and then back at the wolves once more. “This land was not theirs to have.”
She nodded once and ended her short speech. As she returned to her mates, she heard clapping. It gained in momentum as each wolf shifted to their human form and shouted to their Alpha female with cheers of praise.
“And that’s why she likes to speak on our behalf,” Frank said, bracketing his arm around Carla and kissing her forehead.
“She likes the attention,” Jock said.
“I need some,” she said in a low, sultry voice.
“You aren’t tired?” Heck asked.
Frank chuckled and slapped him on the back. “Why do you think Jock and I quickly came to terms with the idea of Carla having a third mate?”
“She’s never satisfied,” Jock explained.
“Oh yes I am,” she teased, her gaze bouncing between them. “I just pretend like I’m not. If I keep you boys worn down, then I can rest assured you won’t ever have a need for another woman.”
