Quinn (5 page)

“Amen to that.” Cole studied the stingy slice of pie she passed him. “What’s this?”

“The dietitian’s list warned about excess sugar.”

Cole’s lips thinned. But before he could explode, Jake intervened. “Remember, Pa, the doctor also said that you have to be your own advocate. Don’t put this on Phoebe’s shoulders, or on Ela’s. You know what’s good for you, and it’s up to you to do the right thing.”

Cole glowered at his youngest. “I don’t need you to tell me—”

“That’s right. You don’t.” Jake turned to Phoebe. “Just so you know, it’s not your responsibility to be Pa’s nursemaid. He doesn’t need to be coddled right now. What he needs is to step up to his responsibilities and do the right thing.”

Phoebe couldn’t hide the impish grin that tugged at the corners of her lips. “Thanks, Dr. Jake. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Quinn and Josh shared a smile before Quinn decided to change the subject. It was obvious that their father was getting close to his boiling point.

Quinn turned to his grandfather. “Josh tells me one of the herds is snowbound up in the hills.”

Big Jim nodded. “They may be there until spring thaw. I’ll be heading back up there at first light with a truck full of feed.”

Quinn glanced out the window, where snow fell like a thick, hazy curtain. “That’s a mountain of feed to disperse. Do you have wranglers to lend a hand?”

“I do, boyo.” Big Jim smiled. “And don’t think about
volunteering. You look like you need about a week of sleep to catch up.”

Quinn touched a hand to his freshly shaved face. “At least I don’t look like a grizzly.”

“Or smell like one,” Jake added.

Around the table, everyone joined in the laughter.

Cole looked over at his oldest son. “You thinking about leaving again soon?”

Quinn shot a glance at his brothers. The three of them had come up with a strategy of sorts. They would try to see that one of them was always around to handle the toughest chores without letting their father know what they were doing. If he had even a hint of what they were planning, he’d have their hides.

“Not for a few weeks.”

Cole fixed his middle son with a look. “What about you, Josh?”

Josh shrugged. “My job is done for now. I found the lost hiker I was searching for, and the rangers have assured me he’s doing fine in the hospital. So I have plenty of time to lend a hand.”

Cole visibly relaxed. “Good.” He swiveled his head. “What about you, Jacob? Got time for your old man? Or are you heading out, too?”

The use of his full name was a signal to his family that Cole was battling his emotions. One look at his face told him that they’d guessed correctly that Cole was craving sympathy and attention from his long-absent family.

“We’ll be in finals all next week. But I have my laptop and can study everything I need right here. I won’t have to fly out until the weekend.”

Now Cole smiled broadly, and the last of his tension
seemed to melt away. “That’s good news.” He looked down the table. “Right, Big Jim?”

The older man nodded. “Great news, boyo.” He tucked into his dessert, which Ela had topped off with a mound of vanilla ice cream.

Seeing it, Cole’s eyes narrowed for a moment. Then, seeing his family watching him, he pushed aside his own dessert and drained his glass of milk.

He’d be damned if he’d whine about having to give up desserts. For now, for tonight, he had his family around him. That was sweet enough for him.

“What do you think?” Josh settled himself into a chair pulled close to the fireplace in the great room, where a roaring fire blazed.

Quinn shrugged. “His color’s good. He seems tired, but that’s to be expected, I’d say.”

Both men turned toward Jake, who walked in carrying a tray of longnecks.

After passing them around, he set aside the tray and took a long pull on his drink before dropping down on one of the hearth cushions.

Having overheard them, Jake picked up on the thread of their conversation. “I think this heart attack has rocked Pa’s world. He never saw it coming.”

“Neither did I.” Quinn leaned a hip against the arm of a sofa. “He’s the strongest man I know.”

“Next to Big Jim,” Josh put in.

“Yeah.” The two shared a look.

Jake looked over at his brothers. “This doesn’t have anything to do with strength, physical or mental. This is about stress to the heart. And we all know Pa’s had enough
of that in his life. I see a sadness in Pa that I haven’t seen in years. Not since…”

His words trailed off, as they always did when he started thinking about their mother. After a lifetime, it was second nature to avoid all mention of Seraphine. Even now, after all these years, the loss was still a source of real anguish to Cole Conway. A lingering wound that continued to fester and drain the joy from his life.

Jake cleared his throat. “Maybe Pa’s sadness is just a natural side effect of his heart trauma. Or maybe he just wants some attention, and sees this as a way to get it. Whatever the cause, I’ve decided to put off leaving as long as I can.”

“You said you’re in finals. You plan on just dropping out and forgetting about graduating?”

At Josh’s question Jake shook his head. “I did give it some thought. But I’ve worked too hard, studied too long, to quit now. I’ll fly back and turn in my last papers and take whatever exams and complete any procedures that are necessary. And then I’m heading home for good.”

Quinn drained his beer and idly tapped the empty bottle against his thigh while he digested his youngest brother’s words. “I plan on staying put for now. I can’t think about leaving Pa when he looks so…”—he struggled for words—“… so crushed. But sooner or later I’ll have to go. This weather won’t wait. If I don’t get back to that pack soon, they’ll be lost to me until summer and, with them, years of work down the drain.”

Josh stood and slapped his brother on the back. “You don’t need to explain to us. I know Pa understands.”

“I hope so.” Quinn turned back to Jake. “I’m glad you’re hanging around for a couple of days more. That
ought to take some of the sting out of my departure whenever I decide to go.”

The two brothers shared a backslap, the closest thing they’d ever had to a hug between them.

As they stepped apart Jake couldn’t help laughing aloud. “You realize, of course, that staying a few more days will make me Pa’s favorite.”

“Wow. What a concept,” Josh deadpanned. “The baby of the family a favorite.”

His two brothers broke into gales of laughter while Jake shot them each a smug look.

“Not that you’re jealous or anything. But I am, after all, his baby forever.”

Josh chuckled. “I’m sure glad my babysitting days are over.”

“You.” Quinn shook his head. “What about me?” His voice took on a perfect imitation of their grandfather’s growl. “ ‘Quinn, take your little brother along. Don’t let him out of your sight, boyo. Did you let Jake ride that ornery stallion? Shame on you, boyo.’ ” He chuckled. “I’m surprised he and Pa didn’t ask me to take you along on my dates.”

“You went on dates? With girls?” Jake pretended to be shocked.

Josh and Quinn shared a laugh.

Josh nudged his brother. “You had him fooled, Bro.” He turned to Jake. “I bet you thought he was tracking wolves whenever he slipped away after dark.”

“And just who were you seeing?” Jake demanded.

Quinn put a finger to his lips. “Some things are better left a secret, little bro. But I will tell you this: Francine Hurly may be one of the best kissers in all of Wyoming.”

“Fancy Francie? You actually dated her?”

“I don’t know if you could call it a date. But whenever we met in her daddy’s barn, we used to melt the snow for a hundred yards or more in all directions.”

After sharing a laugh, Jake shook his head. “And I thought I was the only one Francie ever kissed.”

“Francie kissed every guy in this part of Wyoming. But what about your wild fling with that flame-haired niece of Flora’s when you were sixteen?”

Jake’s smile faded, as he remembered his first mad crush. “She was dating three guys in town and telling me I was her one true love.”

“As I recall, Bro, you moped around for days after you found out about the other guys.”

Quinn nodded. “And when Phoebe found us teasing you, she ordered us out of the room so she could have a little talk with you about life.”

Jake’s frown turned into a smile at the memory. “And Phoebe became some kind of mama grizzly, even ordering Pa and Big Jim out of the house, as well. And the next thing I knew, I was telling her everything. And she told me that I’d just experienced an important life lesson. Hearts, she told me, were very resilient organs. They could be broken again and again and, given enough time, would eventually heal.”

“Good for Phoebe.” Quinn put a hand to his heart. “I wonder why she didn’t tell me the same thing when Francie dumped me for one of her daddy’s ranch hands?”

“Maybe because you never bothered to confide in her.” Jake looked over at his oldest brother. “Did Francie break your heart?”

Quinn grinned. “The only thing she wounded was my
ego. It wasn’t very cool to be dumped for a guy who was missing some teeth and a few brains, as well.”

The three shared a laugh.

“Anyway, I survived without Phoebe’s sage advice.”

“And moved on to college girls,” Josh added.

“Well, they did take the sting out of my bruised ego.”

While the fire burned low the three brothers continued nursing their beer and reminiscing together until at last, drained by the emotional events of the past few days, they were forced to give in to the need to sleep.

Quinn climbed the stairs to his old suite of rooms on the second floor.

Inside he kicked off his boots and stripped off his clothes before turning down the bed linens.

Before he could climb into bed he heard the distinct howl of a wolf. Low and mournful, it carried on the night air.

The sound always had the same effect on him. It shivered through his veins and seemed to touch his very soul.

He crossed to the window and leaned against the sill, watching the darkened silhouette against the snow on a distant hill. The very sight of the wild creature sent a thrill coursing along his spine.

He loved his family. There was no place he’d rather be than here on his ranch. But when he wasn’t needed here, there was no doubt where he would be found. Out there. On the trail with his pack.

Q
uinn framed the wolf in his long-range viewfinder and snapped off a couple of quick photos. The male’s coat, thick and shaggy, was matted with snow from the blizzard that had been raging now for three days.

After Quinn had left the ranch and returned to the mountain, it had taken considerable skill to locate the pack, despite the homing device implanted in the male. Cut off from their den by the storm and with the alpha female about to give birth, the pack had hunkered down in the shelter of some rocks near the top of a nearby hill. Since there’d been no sighting of the female, Quinn was fairly certain there would be a litter of pups before morning. That would create a problem for the leader of the pack, whose hunting ground had been narrowed considerably by the unexpected spring snowstorm. The alpha male would have to provide food and shelter for his pack, and all would have to wait out the storm before returning to their den.

Quinn saw the male’s attention fixed on something in the distance. Using his binoculars, Quinn studied the terrain. When he spied a small herd of deer nearly hidden in a stand of trees, he understood what had snagged the wolf’s interest.

The springtime blizzard had caught all of nature by surprise, it would seem. As Quinn watched, a doe dropped her newborn into the snow and began licking it clean of afterbirth.

Sadly, the doe and her fawn, in such a vulnerable state, would be the perfect mark for a hungry pack of wolves desperate for food during their own confinement.

The male wolf took up a predator position, dropping low as he crept slowly up the hill until he reached the very peak. For a moment he remained as still as a statue, gazing into the distance.