Wolf Tracker by Maddy Barone

not much for a former pilot to do here. It’s either a restaurant or marriage.”
    Tami shuddered. “Restaurant, definitely.”
    “For me, yes.” She glanced at Des. “Marriage is not my thing. But Melinda Parry is marrying Steve Herrick.” Connie nodded at one of the men using a plane to shave down a plank. He had a long blond ponytail going silver and beefy arms whose summer tan hadn’t completed faded. “I’m not marrying anybody, but to each her own. Follow me and I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”
    Des folded his arms over his chest and shifted half a step to block her. “Taye wants someone with Tami at all times.” His voice was mild, but somehow challenging for all that.
    Connie frowned slightly, her pale brows pulling together. Then she shrugged. “Fine, but he has to stay in the hall, not the bedrooms or the bathrooms.”
    “Fine,” Des echoed. “Snake.” He jerked his head at one of the big dogs Tami thought might be half wolf. Thank God. For a minute Tami thought she’d be assigned a male guard, and that would have reminded her too much of her time at Greasy Butte. The mixed breed trotted over to Tami. The dog was sort of cute in a feral way.
    Connie hadn’t waited to hear what Des would say before moving around him to go up the stairs. Renee had already headed toward the back, and Marissa was still there. The younger woman walked with Tami, following Connie.
    A rough voice from one of the workers stopped Connie with a growled, “Wait, woman.”
    Tami jumped, and Connie jerked around with a glare. “I’m busy,” she barked at the man who’d spoken.
    While Tami was trying to control her pounding heart, she made herself look at him. He was tall with curly brown hair cut short and a well-trimmed mustache. He was handsome, in the brawny, outdoorsy way she used to find attractive. Tami wondered if she’d ever find a man attractive again. She’d seen a dozen very handsome men at the motel, but that wasn’t the same as attractive. Attractive was when just seeing a man smile could make her need to fan herself.
    But if circumstances had been different, she might have fanned herself over Tracker. Without being precisely handsome, he was certainly fan-worthy. He had saved her life by finding her, killing those men, and bringing her to a place of safety. She wished he were around. Somehow, she felt so very safe with him.
    While she’d been lost in her thoughts, the man and Connie had still been speaking. Actually, he was speaking, loudly and aggressively, while Connie appeared to be struggling to keep her temper.
    “Thank you for the offer,” Connie was saying through gritted teeth. “But the answer is no.”
    “You don’t want to turn me down. I’m the richest man in three hundred miles,” the man boasted. “My wife will have everything she wants.”
    Connie seemed to be losing the battle with her temper. “Won’t that be nice for her,” she snapped.
    “I’m in charge of a lot of people. My wife will need to know how to run my house and keep the cowboys in line. I’ve seen the way you’ve taken charge of these women; you’re the perfect wife for an important man like me.”
    Connie leaned over the stair rail to glare right into his face. “The answer, Dick, is … No . Just as it has been the other ten times you asked.”
    Dick lifted on his toes to put his face closer to Connie’s. “But I think—”
    He didn’t get a chance to say what he thought. Tami didn’t see Des move, but he was suddenly there, pulling the man back with a hand on his throat.
    “The lady said no,” he growled, sounding dangerously pissed off. “You better leave now.”
    Des gave Dick a shove that sent the self-important man staggering back, and jerked his head at a couple of the men who had walked in with them. They strode over to Dick with the lethal grace of predators stalking dinner. Dick straightened his coat with a steady stare at Connie and left.
    Connie snorted and jabbed her cane