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He cut her a look that mirrored his words, “Yeah, right. One thing. And that was?”
“We brought back the wolves.”
“No,” he was stunned.
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Look it up and read for yourself. And yet, even that isn’t enough to protect them. But this might have a chance of making them the heroes of the tale, rather than the villain.”
“Interesting and I will look it up. But if you tell anyone I may have to… well you know.”
She chuckled, and that lightened the mood. “Sorry, I get… you know.”
“Passionate? Baby, I am totally into that. But I’m curious. Why does it mean so much to you? The wolves?”
Oakley looked away, and when she spoke again, her voice was softer and seemed to carry a hint of sadness. “Maybe one day I’ll tell you, but not today.”
“You don’t trust me?”
“Let’s just say that discovering one another should be a process, like discovering who each of these pupsare. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Where are they vulnerable, and how do we help them develop skills to minimize whatever vulnerability they possess?”
He thought about her response for a bit, actually until they reached the turn off to Grady’s ranch, and then he asked. “So, you’re going to show me your vulnerability, Major Rising Wolf?”
“No,” she faced him. “You’re going to figure it out.”
“You reckon I can?”
“I reckon we’ll see, won’t we big guy?”
Maybe it was her words, the inflection in them, her tone, or the look in her eyes. Whatever the case, that response lit something inside Gunner. It provided him with a tantalizing challenge, and as most people knew, Gunner was always up for a challenge.
Especially, this one, because he’d already decided that he was going to make Oakley his.
Chapter Seven
Oakley couldn’t believe her good luck, but was completely befuddled. The pups were full-blooded grey wolves. How was that possible? Grey wolves inhabit places like Michigan, northern Wisconsin and Idaho, western Montana, and the Yellowstone area of Wyoming. Not Texas. So how did two grey wolf pups end up in Texas? This was beyond coincidence. Someone had to have brought these pups here. But who?
That was a question she didn’t know she’d find the answer. A small voice inside, one she kept as silent as possible, spoke up.Is that what’s really important? You’ve dreamed of this most of your adult life, and all you want to do is fret over how the pups ended up here? Call it a dream come true, a cosmic joke, a gift from God or whatever you want, but don’t turn away from something you’ve dreamed of because you can’t figure out how the moment came into being.
Maybe that inner voice was right. She had her wolf pups and an offer too good to be true. Rather than worry about how it manifested, she should turn her mind to what she was going to do with the offer.
Oakley didn’t have much experience at life, just handing her a dream. She’d worked for every commendation and rank she’d achieved, and thus far had been gifted very little. No, that wasn’t true. She cut a look at Gunner, seated beside her on an old Adirondack chair close to the fire pit behind his cottage.
Life had gifted her something rare, and in her book, marvelous, when she met Gunner. He was the mostgenuine person she’d ever met, and she grew fonder of, and more attracted to him, every day.
She knew the attraction was mutual, they’d acknowledged the night they met. And the kisses they’d shared promised of things she was eager to experience. But neither of them had made the move, and she wondered which one of them finally would.
Right now, she was content. Her belly was full, the pups explored the yard and played, Gunner was sitting beside her, sipping beer, and enjoying the fire, and all was right with the world.
“So, are you going to say yes?” Gunner’s voice was pitched low, almost a whisper.
She glanced over at him. “That depends. Are you?”
He shook his head, mumbled “I don’t know,” and looked away for so long she thought he’d decided not to respond.
“Look, I’m not trying to force—”
