Spirit of the Wolf by Vonna Harper Page A

the cattle, she wondered if he’d learned his compassion from his parents—parents she knew nothing about.
    Why not? She’d stripped off her clothes and spread her legs for this man. Didn’t his background mean anything to her?
    Unable to admit that about herself, she reluctantly faced the other possibility. Matt had offered nothing about his family because he didn’t want her to know.
    Fine. Blame him. Except that she’d been no more forthcoming.
    Male voices swirled around her to remind her what today was about. Damn it, her relationship with Matt wasn’t what was important right now. No way would she let his supremely masculine body speak to hers.
    As for the growing energy between her legs—forget it!
    “No way,” Matt said forcefully, jarring her. “I don’t want armed men swarming over my land.”
    “You can’t mean that,” Sheriff Wilton replied. “Look, Matt, I’m not a rancher, but I know how important livestock is to one. Your herd’s in danger. I’d think you’d want all the help you can get.”
    “That’s what I have hands for. My land, my responsibility.”
    “Sorry,” said the Fish and Wildlife man, who’d introduced himself as Chuck Ehlers. “Going by the size of your spread, I’d be surprised if you have more than three or four employees, right?”
    “Four, counting Beale,” Matt admitted.
    “Besides, it’s not that cut and dried,” Chuck continued.
    “Word’s going to get out about what happened. As soon as it does, you’ll be inundated by hotheads waving their rifles around and after blood. You’ll have a hell of a time trying to get them to leave.”
    Matt, who had briefly sat down but now stood near Beale, shook his head. “What are your plans?” He sounded trapped.
    Chuck ran a long-fingered hand into his thick, graying hair. “I’m not sure yet. Nothing like this has ever happened. The government’s set up to reimburse ranchers for wolf-killed livestock—”
    “ If the rancher can prove his case,” Matt broke in. “There’s a lot of red tape involved.”
    “I can’t argue that, but back to my comment. I have to confer with my supervisors before anything’s implemented.” Chuck turned his attention to the sheriff. “Sorry, Bob. I know you’re thinking this is your territory, but in this situation, the federal government trumps local law enforcement.”
    “Maybe.”
    “No maybe to it, unfortunately.”
    As Chuck spelled out the need to make sure his agency’s plans met with federal approval, Cat again let her attention drift. Beale had adamantly nixed having an ambulance dispatched for him. He’d drive himself, he said, only to have his employer disagree. Matt was willing to go along with Beale’s wish to stay out of an ambulance, which meant either he or one of his other hands would drive him into town. Because Matt’s tense gaze repeatedly went to the window as he spoke, she had no doubt that he longed to go to where the attack had taken place and assure himself of his herd’s safety. Equally important, he wanted to find the wolves. Don’t, please. If anything happened to you . . . We have things—resolutions—
    “This jurisdictional discussion is all well and good,” she said to stop her thoughts. “But right now we have a man who needs to be seen by a doctor. Chuck, you’re heading back to town, aren’t you?”
    Chuck shot her an irritated look. Obviously he didn’t take kindly to a civilian telling him what to do.
    “You’ll take me?” Beale asked. “I don’t mean to complain, boss.” He looked at Matt. “But I’m hurting something fierce. If they’ll give me a shot or something . . .”
    It took more discussion than she thought necessary, but in the end, Chuck agreed to drive Beale to town but only because he had to wait for several officials to return his calls. The sheriff’s mouth twitched a couple of times as he told Matt that he was counting on him to take him to where the attack occurred, now preferably. When Matt