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“Is that what you want?”
“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “At least for now. Once we’ve dealt with whoever is after us, then we’ll do what’s right.”
“And that is?” Here it was, the question he’d dreaded asking. He knew how much she wanted to work with wolves, train them and showcase their skills.
He understood that, but standing here, looking at them, seeing how they watched her and waited for her direction, he wondered if they would choose her leadership if it was not for her wolves. Was her training turning them into a new kind of wolf?
Gunner hoped her goal had changed, but regardless, his promise was rock solid and could only be broken by death. He’d do whatever she asked and give his life to protect her.
But what he hoped was that now she saw the wolves, or more importantly, recognized her connection to them, and that was likely to determine all their fates, because he and the wolves would follow her lead, to heaven or hell.
Apparently, he was getting two wishes granted today, because of her answer. “We let them go. We leave the park, try to get a grant, and record the integration of Nashoba and Ba’Cho into pack life in Yellowstone. Pay attention to any surprising changes because of that integration. In short, try to determine if their appearance was a blessing or curse to the wolves of Yellowstone.”
“We?”
“Oh shit,” Oakley’s face flushed. “I’m sorry. I thought—”
“You thought right, hot stuff,” he interrupted quickly. “I just like hearing you say we and us. It makes it sound like—you know…”
“That we’re a couple? Mates?”
“United.”
Now she surprised him. Tears filled her eyes, and he watched them spill down her cheeks, even as her smile brought with it a gift of joy. That’s the sensation she emitted.
“And that makes you happy?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You don’t have to call me ma’am, you know.”
“Then what should I call you?”
“You’ll figure it out. I have confidence.”
And with that, the moment ended. Lovers became warriors and turned their minds to the mission. “It’s close enough to dusk,” she said. “We could head for the next camp area. I know a place, it’s not far. I’ve been watching it for a while, and the small lake is a common watering hole for most wildlife that passes through the park. Now that the pack has taken up residence there, the rest of the wildlife has moved back a few miles. Just enough to be out of range for the wolves to catch them if they picked up the scent.”
“Lead on,” he agreed.
“We walk together.”
That short statement said a lot. About her and about how she saw him. As her equal in all ways, but never her superior. Oakley understood his strengths and appreciated them, physical and intellectual. But she didn’t use that as a measurement of the man he was.
She saw people’s hearts. That was the first and only thing that had scared him about her, and only now was he able to admit it to himself. He feared she’d look into his heart and find him lacking.
Instead, she helped him see that he was, in fact, whole. He just needed to drop the shroud he’d worn for too long.
How ironic that the thing Gunner thought he’d never have would be presented to him in a wilderness of unbelievable beauty, surrounded by a pack of gray wolves and with a woman who had no idea how extraordinary she was.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“This is a good spot,” Gunner commented as he looked around. The lake was an irregular shape, it originated from a small waterfall on the far side of the valley. The water pooled against the rock, forming a quarry with years of water erosion. It was deep, cold, and clean.
From the looks of it, a stream naturally formed on the valley side, carrying the overflow of water a short distance before spilling into a sudden depression. That portion of the lake occupied over a third the width of the valley and was perhaps a mile in length.
Oakley’s camp was near the falls, higher into the mountains. A small, shallow cave provided shelter from the elements, and a wide clearing gave enough space for the pack to rest or keep watch.
“Put your gear against the back wall. It’s the only area that stays dry in a downpour.”
