Wolf Tracker (18 page)

Christmas dinner was lively. Tami was worried to death about Dick’s threats, but the Pack didn’t seem at all concerned. They laughed and ate mountains of food, complimented the women’s cooking, especially Renee’s, lavishly, and seemed not to have a care in the world. Even Tracker, sitting beside her, was more lively than she had ever seen him. He smiled at the jokes and even chatted. Sort of chatted. He politely filled her plate for her and asked how she was doing.

“Fine,” she lied. “You?”

“Good.” He took a bite of candied yams and made a sound of approval. “Still having nightmares?”

Tami flinched, and he must have noticed because he immediately said, “Don’t mean to pry. Just want to be sure you’re doing okay.”

Tami got a hold of herself. “I’m doing better, thanks.”

She struggled with an urge to say more. The respite from the nightmares had ended when Dick had threatened to burn the den to take her away. Tracker was someone she might feel comfortable confiding in, but there was a whole room full of sharp-eared wolves, so she clamped her mouth shut except to put food in it. Tami liked Tracker sitting beside her. Every now and then their thighs would brush under the table, and she was relieved to find the casual intimacy didn’t bother her. In fact, she felt a long dormant part of herself sit up and take notice. He was not classically handsome, but his face was arresting, and she liked his lean, rangy body type. Tracker was an attractive man, and he smelled appealingly of clean wind and leather.

Christmas dinner was over. Carla was so thrilled by the figgy pudding she kissed Taye in front of them all. The wolves all cheered loudly, and the guests smiled either politely or nervously. As they all were getting up and leaving the dining hall, Tami nerved herself to talk to Tracker. When he got up from the table, she spoke quickly.

“Could I talk to you for a minute? In private?”

Tracker nodded. He walked in silent moccasins across the hallway, through the rec room with its festive tree and roaring fireplace, to the far corner out of the light. It was late afternoon, and though the sun hadn’t set, the sky was dark, threatening more snow. Carla was sitting beside the fire, Taye standing behind her chair and playing with her hair. But it was dark here in the far corner, and cold away from the fire. Some of the men from the Pack were glancing their way, but none of them came close. Tracker waited in silence with an expressionless face for her to speak. Tami swallowed, trying to find the words to explain she needed to be married. Should she say she didn’t want to marry any of the men from town? Maybe they were all good men. Maybe any of them would make her a good husband. But she couldn’t bear the thought of belonging to one of them, to lay helpless under him in bed while he rutted on her. She felt nothing for any of them. But she trusted Tracker. She even found him attractive. The dream of him caressing her had aroused her. That was all good, right?

Tracker still waited with patient courtesy for her to speak, but words flew away from her. She wanted to approach this the right way. What words should she use to present her request? Her mouth opened, futilely tried to form words, closed. Nothing came to mind.

Finally she blurted, “Would you marry me?”

She peeked up at his face, which showed nothing in the near dark, then her cold fingers found the drawstring to her pants. She picked at the fraying knot on the end for a minute, waiting for him to tell her no, but he didn’t speak. She peeked again. His face was still the cold mask it always was. Her shoulders dropped.

“Never mind.”

She turned to go, but his hand shot out, latching onto her wrist like a clamp.

His cool gravelly voice was even cooler and more gravelly than normal. “Wait. What did you say?” he said.

She darted another look into his face. The flickers of firelight painting his face still didn’t reveal any expression. She swallowed and said again, “I asked if you would marry me.”

“Why?”

Damn, he was making this hard on her. She tugged at the hold he had on her wrist and his hand fell away. “I’m not pregnant or anything like that!” Thank God. It had been her fear that Leach or one of the others had impregnated her. Shortly after the divorce Tami had quit taking birth control pills to save money. She could have gotten pregnant at Greasy Butte. Those assholes didn’t wear condoms. But that was not what she wanted to be thinking about now. She dared a quick glance at him before picking at the knot in her waist string again. “Everybody tells me I need to be married. I’m getting sick of being bothered…”

“Who’s botherin’ you?”

Finally, there was feeling in that soft voice, but she wasn’t sure exactly what emotion it was. It was low and hard. He sounded like he might be angry. If he knew about Dick would he be even angrier? A cold shiver shimmied down her spine. “No one,” she lied quickly. “I was just… No one.”

He was back to his stony face. “Why do you want me to marry you? Why not some rich feller from town? I hear Dickinson wants to marry you.”

She suppressed a shudder. “Not him!”

When he tilted his head to the side, studying her, one of his long ivory braids slid over his shoulder to hang over his chest. “There’s plenty of other men who’d be happy to make you his wife. Why me?”

“I like you.” Tami tried to make her voice smooth. “When you found me last month, you didn’t hurt me. We were alone. You could have done anything to me. But you didn’t. I trust you.”

He took one silent step closer. “If we marry, we won’t be sleeping apart.”

She swallowed, the flutters in her stomach going into overdrive. “I understand. I want to be married by a priest.”

The bright eyes looked almost like they had an eerie golden glow behind the vivid blue. “I’ll fetch one. If you’re sure.”

Tami nodded. “I’m sure.”

His long, callused hand slid over her cheek to curve around the back of her head. His thumb brushed over her earlobe in a whisper of a caress. He bent to her slowly, as though giving her a chance to back away, but she steeled herself and tilted her chin up so her lips met his brief, gentle kiss. He kissed her once more, on her forehead, then nodded and stepped back.

“I’ll be back in a few days with a priest.”

Tami made herself smile. The flutters had heated and headed south, budding between her legs into a spark of arousal. “I’ll be waiting.”

Chapter Eighteen

Tracker went to Taye and spoke quietly in his ear. A broad smile spread over Taye’s face, and he thumped Tracker on the back.

“Congratulations, cousin!” he said heartily.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. You’ll take care of Tami while I’m gone?”

“Of course.”

Tracker went to the kitchen where some of the Pack were cleaning up after Christmas dinner, collected some leftovers, and went out to the stable to saddle his horse. Maybe he should say good-bye to Tami? No, he would be likely to linger then, and he wanted to fetch that priest and get her married as soon as possible, before she could change her mind. The nearest priest he knew of was Father John at St. Mary’s in Grand Island. There was a Lutheran church only a day’s ride away, but Tami had said priest, not minister, so Father John it was. Father John probably wouldn’t want to come away. Unlike some of the other church leaders in the area, Father John expected the faithful to come to him, not him go to them. But if Tami wanted to be married by a priest, then Tracker would get her a priest. A priest wedding was unusual hereabouts, and unnecessary. Most people just declared themselves married or had a mayor do the job. The only drawback to that sort of wedding was a man could challenge a husband for his wife, and if he won, the woman would change husbands. But when a pastor or a priest performed a proper ceremony, challenges weren’t allowed. A husband would have to be killed for the wife to marry a different man. Tami would be truly his wife.

As he approached the den’s gate, he heard dozens of voices rise in a unified howl from inside the den. Mikey, one of the wolves on gate duty, raised his brows in inquiry. Tracker felt a smile curve his mouth. “Miss Tami and I are going to be married,” he said quietly. “I’m off to fetch a priest.”

Mikey grinned and raised a howl of his own before swinging the gate open.

The snow was blowing around a good bit, driven by a sharp wind that could have chilled even a wolf. Tracker felt it, but he warmed himself with the memory of Tami’s lips against his. She had asked him to marry her. The smile came back to his mouth and he didn’t even try to stop it. When she’d asked to speak to him privately it was the last thing he’d expected her to say. For the first time in his life, he had been too stunned to comprehend words spoken directly to him. Only Tami’s fallen face as she began to turn away had galvanized him into action.

A wife. He was going to have a wife! Tami, the woman he’d been half in love with since he first tasted her scent on the fabric Leach had given him, was going to marry him. He would have the right to hold her close and breathe in her sweet scent whenever he wanted. He could kiss her and do all the erotic things he’d dreamed of. She had said so. She liked him. She’d said that. She trusted him. She would let him lie down with her in bed, bare skin to bare skin, as he kissed her and sank himself deep inside her. When he had kissed her a very faint scent had come to him, a furtive tang of Tami’s arousal. Just the hint of it made him hard.

He’d best put a stop that train of thought. The alien presence that lurked inside him seemed happy. Tracker was so happy himself that he didn’t inwardly sneer at his lame wolf. He’d wanted a wife of his own to cherish for some years now, but had never found a woman he truly wanted. And what woman would want a drifter like him for a husband? Sandra, his cousin Jimmy’s wife, was miserable most of the year because Jimmy went off and left her for months at a time. Tracker didn’t want to do that to a woman, but he didn’t think he could stay in one place for long. But Tami was strong and good on the trail. She could come with him. Did she still want to go west to see her ranch? They would talk about it and decide. On their wedding night, after they had sated their bodies, he would hold her in his arms and they would talk about their future together.

Tracker looked up at the stars beginning to peek through the clouds. The wind was dying down. He had another thirty miles to ride to get to Grand Island. Normally he could go to Grand Island and back to Kearney in two days of easy riding. How long would it take him to talk Father John into coming? Tracker smiled again, not as nicely as he had earlier. It wouldn’t take long, he figured, because if the priest argued, he would just tie him to a horse and bring him along anyhow. Tami was waiting for them.

* * * *

What had she done? Tami accepted the well wishes of the other guests and the jubilant congratulations of the wolves with a numb smile. She had actually proposed to Tracker. And he had said yes, then rushed out to find a priest. How long would that take? An hour? A day? A week? She was going to be married! Oh, God help her.

Taye led the wolves in a feral, joyous chorus of howls. After everyone got done with their well wishes, Carla led all of them in the Christmas carols she had taught them. Tami sat in the chair she habitually claimed by the fire and tried to look more happy than alarmed. Snake, sitting cross-legged on the floor beside her chair, looked happy enough for both of them. He kept smiling at her even as he belted out “Jingle Bells” with more enthusiasm than melody. The Grandmother sat by the fire and listened to carols that must have been familiar to her fifty years ago. The boys cleaning the kitchen came in to the rec room with a big kettle of hot spiced cider and handed out cups to all of them. Tami sipped hers gratefully. She was still feeling stunned.

Ellie went to Taye with a shy smile and a small box. “Cousin Taye, this belonged to our Grandmother. I thought you and your wife should have it.”

Taye took the tiny box and dropped a light kiss on the top of Ellie’s head. “Thank you, cousin.”

By craning her head, Tami could see the box was a white velvet ring box, a bit grungy with age. It looked small in Taye’s brown hands as he pressed the tiny button to lift the lid.

“It’s a wedding set,” breathed Carla. “It’s beautiful.”

Taye took the rings from the box and put the box on the arm of Carla’s chair. “Give me your hand, sweetheart.” He slid the rings onto the finger Carla lifted for him, the traditional wedding-ring finger. “With this ring, I thee wed,” Taye murmured, and kissed his mate tenderly.

“Taye,” said Carla with an excited smile. “When Dan comes back with the priest, let’s get married, too.”

Taye drew back with a scowl. “Why would we do that? You’re my mate. We already are married. We don’t need a priest. I won the Bride Fight, remember?”

At Carla’s look of accusing hurt, Taye backpedaled quickly. “But if it will make you happy, sweetheart, we can be married by the priest.”

The Grandmother didn’t try to hide her chortle. “Smart man.”

Carla gave Ellie a quick hug. “Thank you so much, Ellie. But are you sure you don’t want this for your own wedding?”

The teen smiled at Carla and then at her fiancé. “No, Neal already has something. Besides, I have lots of things from my family, but Taye doesn’t. I thought this would be perfect, because you could share it.”

Nice girl
, thought Tami. Ellie was a sweet, thoughtful girl. The guy she was going to marry looked at her like she was the most wonderful woman in the world. They were young, but they seemed touchingly in love with each other. They had a sweet, innocent love, untouched by brutality.

On the other side of Tami, Marissa was whispering to Red Wing. The wolves, with their excellent hearing, must have heard, and it was plain by their happy smiles they approved. Taye nodded. “We’ll send someone else to the Clan to fetch re-enforcements,” he said obscurely.

Hawk leaned over Renee and pressed a quick kiss to her temple before dropping to his knee. “Renee Lisa Mathias, would you marry me?”

The Grandmother poked a delighted finger at Tami. “See what you started?”

Tami didn’t get a chance to answer. The exultant howling drowned her out.