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“Uh, sorry. Ellis Hunter. Will Hunter’s son. You called me?” He strode forward and held out a hand. When she didn’t take it, he folded it into his coat pocket and tilted his head toward Peanut. “And that insane little creature is Peanut.”
She spared his dog a glance before her dark gray eyes shifted back to him. He saw suspicion there. This was not a woman who trusted easily.
“What are you doing here? You said you weren’t coming.”
He raised one shoulder. “I changed my mind.”
“Why?”
He watched her walk over to Peanut and scoop the little dog up. Peanut wasn’t interested in letting go of the rope. They engaged in another game of tug, with Brielle pulling on Peanut, Peanut on the rope, and the old husky merrily pulling on the other end.
Eventually, Brielle said, “Norte, drop it,” and her dog let go of the rope.
Norte. Spanish for North. A good name for him. He had the typical husky coloring, but what stood out beyond his unique eyes was his markings. A white patch covered most of his face and ended on his forehead in a three-pronged crown.
“Rey del Norte,” Ellis said, more to himself than anyone else.
Brielle’s head whipped around. He couldn’t see her face behind her scarf, but the surprise came through in her voice. “How did you know that’s his full name?”
“The crown on his head. King of the North. He looks the part.”
Except the king was currently moping at the loss of his rope.
The toy was too big for Peanut, but it didn’t stop her. She pranced around in front of the other dogs, kicking her legs out like a dancer, showing off her hard-fought prize.
“Okay, good guess.” Brielle placed her hands on her hips. “You didn’t answer my first question. Why are you here?”
“What, I can’t change my mind?”
“People don’t fly a thousands of miles on a whim and yesterday when I spoke to you, you were dead-set against coming back.”
Dammit, she wasn’t going to let it go. Just like Peanut and the rope. “It was your text, okay? Your text convinced me to come back. I can’t let you go after him.”
* * *
Bree felther hackles rise just like one of her dogs. “Oh, you won’tlet mego?” Was he serious right now? Like he, a virtual stranger, had any control over her.
“I didn’t mean—” Ellis exhaled hard, his breath clouding in the cold air. “At very least, you shouldn’t do it alone. It’s dangerous.” He glanced around the barn. “We should talk. Maybe someplace warmer?”
“If you think this is cold, you won’t make it in the interior.”
He pressed his lips together in obvious frustration, then nodded. “We should still talk.”
Bree didn’t want him in her house, her sanctuary, but he was right. The barn wasn’t warm enough for human comfort and with her dogs’ fondness for howling, it wasn’t the best place for a serious discussion.
“Fine. We’ll talk inside, then you’re leaving.”
Ellis held up his hands in a gesture that was meant to be surrender, but his grin and the wicked sparkle in his eyes said he had no intention of letting her win this battle.
God, Ellis Hunter was gorgeous.
Bree didn’t know why, but she hadn’t expected him to be. Maybe because Dr. Will looked like the hero of a Jack London novel— a man who had spent his life living hard in the wilds of Alaska. Leathery wind-burned skin and wiry salt and pepper hair, with more salt than pepper in his unkempt beard.
But if Ellis looked anything like his father, she couldn’t see it. He wore his dark brown hair just a bit too long and it stood up on end when he took his knit cap off. He swiped a hand through it in a move that had to be calculated to melt panties. Because, dammit, even with the sub-zero temperature, she felt her own start to simmer. His strong, angular jaw hadn’t seen a razor in at least a week.
He certainly looked the part of the aimless, unambitious wanderer.
But it was his eyes, a shocking glacier blue, that she couldn’t seem to rip her gaze from. They were like her dog Indigo’s. She glanced over at her dogs, searching for Indigo. He sat behind the fence watching the newcomer with barely contained hostility. People were frightened of Indigo because his black coat and intense blue eyes made him look wolf-like. She was frightened of Ellis for the same reason. This man was a predator, and she had no interest in being his prey.
