Page 61 of Wyoming Heart

CHAPTER TEN

THEWINDRIVERRESERVATIONwas huge. There were plenty of tourists here, even in mid-March with snow still lingering on the sides of the roads. The hotel and casino drew people from all over this part of Wyoming, including tourists coming out of Yellowstone National Park.

Mina was fascinated with the crafts she saw. She started to buy a sterling necklace with a wolf’s head, only to have Cort lift it gently from her fingers and pay for it himself.

She tried to protest but he took the necklace from its packaging, unhooked the catch and draped it around her neck. The pretty wolf’s head, small but perfect, fit in the hollow of her throat. His hands lingered on her shoulders as he studied her, without smiling.

“You like wolves,” he said quietly.

“Yes. There’s a reason.”

“Because of that television series we both watch, and you like the family from the north?”

She shook her head.

“Tell me.”

She looked around uncomfortably.

He chuckled and caught her fingers in his. “I’ll find a more private place.”

He led her back to the casino and lifted her onto a high bar stool. He gave the bar man the order.

“Piña coladas?” she asked. “But listen, I’ve never had hard liquor...”

“I’m here to protect you,” he said gently. “And one drink isn’t going to affect you. Trust me.”

“Didn’t that snake in theJungle Bookmovie say that?” she asked suspiciously, but with a smile.

He leaned toward her. “I’m much more dangerous than any snake,” he whispered. He grinned. “But just for tonight, I’ll make an exception and behave myself.”

She grinned back. “Okay!” She fingered the cold silver of the necklace. “Thank you. For this. You shouldn’t have.”

He shrugged it off. “I like having something I gave you lying against your skin,” he said, his voice deep and soft as velvet.

She flushed. No man had ever talked to her that way.

Their drinks came. She was surprised at the size of them. She looked at Cort worriedly.

“It’s mostly pineapple juice and coconut milk. A little rum,” he added with a smile. “Nothing to be concerned about. They don’t put a lot of rum in them.”

“Well...okay.”

She sipped it and made a face. The tang of the liquor was uncomfortable, and she wondered if it was just that she wasn’t used to liquor. It seemed very strong. But she took another sip, and another, and soon it didn’t bother her at all.

Cort moved them to a table and they ordered shrimp cocktail and steaks and salad. While they waited for the order, Cort made slow circles around the back of one of her hands while he stared into her eyes.

“Why wolves?” he asked abruptly.

“My grandfather had Shoshone blood,” she said. “He taught me about totem animals. He said that mine was a wolf. That I’d always be protected by them if I ever chanced upon one.”

“And you did?”

She nodded. “It was just before my mother and her boyfriend went driving and died in the wreck. Henry had made another really serious pass at me and I’d run into the woods to hide from him. I always seemed to be hiding,” she added wearily, aware of the anger in his taut face. “I didn’t mean to go so deep. There are rattlesnakes and bears and other predators, but I was heartsick and so afraid.” She swallowed. “I walked into a clearing and there was this huge, and I mean huge, silver wolf. He was bigger than a Saint Bernard. I know he was well over a hundred pounds, maybe a hundred and fifty. I’d never seen such a large wolf. He didn’t make a move toward me. He just stood there, looking at me.”

“What did you do?” he prodded.

“I was afraid to run. If you show fear to most predators, they tend to attack. And a wolf can sprint to about thirty-five miles an hour. There was no way I could have outrun him. So I stood my ground, waiting to die.”

---