«My mother’s mother saw one as a child. Your grandchildren might see one, if they live long enough.»

«Hope they have friends like you to help them.»

«And wives like Willow,» Wolfe said softly.

Caleb didn’t hear. He had already reined his horse away and was trotting toward the horse herd that Reno andRafe were guarding. Wolfe turned toward the house where lights were glowing in welcoming shades of gold.

Knowing how tired Willow must be, the last thing Wolfe expected when he walked into the house was to find it full of the savory scents of cooking. A pan of warm water was on the stove, along with a dry towel and soap. Smiling, he took the hint and began stripping off hat and gloves, heavy jacket and cold boots, vest and shirt and undershirt. He washed as much of himself as he could reach, enjoying the feel of the warm water and the dry towel.

The sound of a woman’s skirt rustling behind Wolfe told him that he wasn’t alone any longer. I Even as he turned around, his blood heated at the thought of catching Jessica and holding her close to his body again. She always smelled so good, so clean. Holding her was like lying in a rose garden in the full bloom of summer.

But it was the scent of lavender rather than roses that met Wolfe. Willow smiled and held out a clean shirt to him.

«If your clothes are anything like Caleb’s have been, they could stand up and shoot for themselves.»

Wolfe put on the shirt, appreciating the clean softness and warmth of the flannel. He looked at the stew simmering gently on the stove and the mound of biscuits, and shook his head in silent wonder.

«They broke the mold with you, Willow. A new baby to take care of, yet you’re washing clothes for four men and feeding them as well, day and night. And in between you rescue foals and shoot wolves.»

Willow gave Wolfe an odd glance. «I’m with you as far as the new baby and the biscuits, but you lost me after that.Jessi did the rest, including the cooking. If any foals got rescued, it was her doing, not mine. All I did was lend her my clothes and a shotgun.»

«What are you talking about?»

«Jessi. She was the one out in the storm, not me.»

Wolfe’s eyes widened. His hands gripped Willow’s shoulders hard enough to make her wince.

«I saw you out there, riding Deuce,» he said flatly. «I saw a wolf leap for you and you fired the shotgun and reloaded it while Deuce was dancing around and you were holding the foal across your lap and I didn’t know if I could shoot that goddamned wolf before he took you and the foal right down into the snow!»

«Jessi,» Willow said succinctly. «JessiandJessi andJessi.»

Wolfe released Willow and began walking quickly toward the bedroom he and Jessica shared.

«If you’re looking for your fancy aristocratic lady,» Willow said dryly, «try the barn.»

Wolfe spun around. «What?»

«Jessiwas worried that wolves might get into the barn. She knows how much store you set by that savagesteeldust mustang. That’s whyJessi rode out into the storm when I saw the mare was missing. That’s whyJessi’s in the barn now with a shotgun. She’s guarding the future the same way I would have in her shoes.»

Wolfe stared at Willow, unable to believe what he was hearing.

«I wanted to go,» Willow continued. «Jessiwouldn’t let me. She said if something happened to me, Ethan would die. But if something happened to her, nobody would die.»

«The little fool.»

«Is she? She may have been born and raised an aristocrat, but she’s not the useless little decoration you believe she is.»

Willow was talking to herself. The door slammed behind Wolfe as he headed for the barn.

17

When thesteeldust caught Wolfe’s scent, she nickered softly in welcome. He leaned over the stall door and looked inside. The breath went out of him as though at a blow.

Jessica was slumped in the far corner, asleep. The shotgun was propped against the wall within easy reach. A newborn blood-bay foal was curled against her, taking advantage of shared warmth. Silence grew while Wolfe measured the changes between the girl who had danced with him in London and the girl he was looking at now.

In London, Jessica’s skin had been as fine-grained and flawless as a pearl. America hadn’t been so kind. She had scratches and welts on one side of her face and her cheeks were chapped by the wind. In London, her color had been vivid, almost incandescent. Now her lips were pale, and exhaustion ringed her eyes with darkness.

It was only the beginning of the unhappy comparisons. In London, Jessica’s hair had been as sleek and burnished as flame, and jewels had glinted from its intricately coiffed depths. Now her hair was wild, wind-tangled, and mixed with straw. In London, her clothes had been designed and executed in the most expensive materials available, and her skirts had billowed like clouds. In America, she wore a boy’s flannel underwear, a boy’s buckskin shirt and breeches, and the evidence of her assistance at severalfoalings was spread from her shoulders to her small, durable boots.

In London, Jessica’s days were composed of teas and balls, plays and the latest books. In America, she worked like a scullery maid andstablehand combined. In London, she entertained her guests with wit and silver laughter. In America, she rarely laughed and had nearly died.

Jessi, what have I done to you?

There was no answer to Wolfe’s silent, anguished question except the truth: He had almost killed the girl who trusted him when she trusted nothing else on earth.

Making no sound, Wolfe went into the stall. He picked up the shotgun, took the shell from the firing chamber, and closed the gun. The small noise woke Jessica. She sat up with a start, automatically reaching for the corner where she had propped the shotgun out of the way.

«It’s all right, Jessi. The wolves are gone.»

She focused on Wolfe, blinked, and smiled sleepily. «All save one, and he is my very own Lord Wolfe. I’m safe with him.»

Pain went through Wolfe like black lightning, scoring his soul in ways he couldn’t name. He could feel it, though, a kind of agony he had never known before. Jessica trusted him without reservation, yet he had brought nothing but unhappiness and harm to her.

«My stupidity nearly killed you, elf. When I think how close you came to being torn apart by wolves…»

«You’re a fine shot,» she murmured, sliding back into sleep.

«I’m a fool.»

Though Wolfe’s voice was harsh, he was very gentle as he lifted Jessica into his arms. When she realized he meant to carry her from the stall, she woke up in a rush.

«Wait. You haven’t even looked at thesteeldust’s foal,» she protested. «She’ll be a wonderful foundation mare for our herd. I’ve never seen so fine a head on a foal, nor such a deep chest. It’s a filly. Isn’t that grand? In a few years she —»

«To hell with thesteeldust and her filly both,» Wolfe interrupted savagely. «Don’t youunderstand?Youcould have died.»

Jessica blinked. «So could you.»

«That’s different. It ends here, Jessi.»

«What?»

«I’m taking you back to London as soon as the passes are safe.»

«Going to give that carriage another shot at me, is that it?»

«What are you talking about?»

Jessica smiled and nuzzled Wolfe’s hardjawline. «I nearly got run down by a carriage in London, remember?»

Wolfe’s mouth flattened. «I remember.»

«You should. You beat that driver to within an inch of his life.»

«I would rather have killed the drunken bastard.»

«There are a lot more like him,» Jessica pointed out.

«So?»

«So I’m no safer in London than I am here, am I?»

The tip of Jessica’s tongue drew a line of sensual fire down Wolfe’s jaw.

«That’s not the point,» he said roughly.

«Then what is?»

«I’ve nearly killed you trying to make you admit that you aren’t cut from Western cloth. You’re a British aristocrat and you deserve to have the elegant life of ease for which you were bred, born, raised, and trained.»

As Wolfe spoke, he stepped out of the barn into the brilliant moonlight. The ground was cold and shiny with melting snow. The air was like warm silk.

«Nonsense,» Jessica said, yawning. «You wouldn’t be happy in England.»

«That won’t be a problem.»

Jessica went very still in Wolfe’s arms. All sleepiness fled before the wave of unease that swept through her.

«What are you saying?» she whispered.

«I’ll leave England as soon as our marriage is annulled.»

«I haven’t agreed to an —»

«You don’t have to,» Wolfe interrupted savagely. «I’ll be the one to seek the annulment.»

«But why?» she whispered. «What have I done to make you hate me so?»

«I don’t hate you. I never have, even when I wanted to throttle you for trapping me into marriage.»

«Then why are —»

Jessica got no farther in her question, for Wolfe’s mouth descended on hers. By the time he lifted his head once more, both of them were breathing quickly, hungrily.

«It’s over, Jessi. It never should have begun.»

«Wolfe, listen to me,» she said urgently. «I want to be your wife in all ways. I want to live with you, work beside you, bear your children, care for you when you are ill, and laugh with you when the rest of the world is a hundred shades of gray.»

The words were knives turning in Wolfe, tempting him unmercifully, slicing away at his self-control, making him bleed with all that could never be — an aristocratic elf and ahalfbreed mustang hunter. He had known it was impossible since she was fifteen.