Husband Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire #1)(63)

She’d taken a deer, and respectfully. It had been a good, clean, painless shot, and her effort would help to keep her and Ian fed this winter. And as she stared at the stranger reflected in the mirror, something within her clicked into place. She could do this. No longer was she living each day thinking this winter would be her last. Her confidence in her own abilities were growing.

Ripping her gaze away from the mirror glass, she pulled a dark green winter hat over her ears, then tugged her warmest work gloves on and left the house to pack the horses’ saddlebags.

Ian’s lessons repeated in her mind as she checked the weapons one last time for safety before she slid them into the leather sheaths on the saddles and strapped them into place. And when Milo and Demon were ready, she allowed them a good drink, then pulled them behind her out of the gate. Josiah waved as he trotted toward his truck, a black trash bag of meat dangling from his other hand. “I’ll meet you there. I’ve got them penned up on the south side of my property.”

“Okay, we’ll see you tonight.”

“Yep!” Josiah nodded his farewell to Ian, who was locking up the freezer.

Ian gave a soft whistle, and Miki left the bowl of food he’d just devoured on the porch and trotted toward them.

Demon lurched to the side as Ian put his foot in the stirrup, but that moody gelding was no match for him. Ian swung over the saddle smoothly and jerked his reins as the beast reached back to nip his leg. Of course he knew how to handle himself on a horse. There was likely nothing Ian Silver couldn’t do.

Ian gave a troubled look up at the storm clouds, then back at her. “You ready?” But his eyes looked different. Hazy. Tired.

Dread snaked through her, but she nodded. “Ready.”

A stark sense of urgency was a constant companion as she led Ian toward Josiah’s homestead. She pointed out the landmarks along the way. Even though it was only a twenty mile journey, it was easy to get lost in Alaskan wilderness like this. And out here, getting lost meant death. Everything out here was designed to kill the weak. Weather and predators were king, and mistakes meant dying alone in the unforgiving wilderness.

Miki made it a mile before he tired out and Elyse zipped him up in her jacket. He fought it at first, but he settled against her chest soon enough. The smooth gait of her horse lulled her into a quiet comfort as she and Ian rode along in silence. His lack of speaking was more troubling when highlighted by the way he slumped in the saddle, then straightened his spine, then slumped again.

He wasn’t saying it out loud, but she could see it clear as day. His body was preparing for the long sleep. He’d told her he would get tired at the end. No, not tired, exhausted, as if he’d taken tens of sleeping pills all at once. It would get worse and worse until he couldn’t stay awake anymore. Sometimes it happened slowly, but more often, it happened fast.

And they had to be back at the homestead before he fell asleep for the winter.

As if Mother Nature had heard Elyse’s silent challenge, the clouds finally opened up. Snowflakes floated all around them, and there was a moment when Ian turned in his saddle and locked eyes with her. They were a somber blue that said so much with just a glance.

Winter’s here.

I can’t stay much longer.

We’ll be all right.

You’re ready for this.

Remember everything I taught you, always.

And last but most importantly, I love you.

He turned and kicked his horse, and Demon responded under him, trotting immediately. And by the time he got him into a run, she could feel it, too. Time was closing in on them.

Ian wasn’t turning back and letting her drive the cattle by herself. He wasn’t playing it safe—not while she was exposed to the werewolves out here.

Their horses ran on and on beside each other. And as the snow steadily blanketed the landscape around them, it was hard not to look at her mate. Time and time again, her gaze was drawn to him.

Beside her, Ian’s jaw clenched in determination to finish this last chore before the cold season swallowed him up completely.

Winter’s here.

I can’t stay much longer.





Chapter Twenty-Three


“Is Ian okay?” Josiah asked low, his horse swerving so close, he bumped Milo’s side.

“He’s just tired. He didn’t sleep much on the hunt or last night, and he’s been going for a while,” Elyse lied.

In fact, when they’d slept in the tent last night near the cattle, she’d had trouble waking him to head home this morning. He’d been so limp when she’d shaken him that, for a few minutes, she’d been terrified she wouldn’t be able to wake him at all.

Josiah didn’t need to be saddled with her burdens, though.

At the other side of the herd, Ian was listlessly riding after a stray heifer. He wasn’t even yelling and cussing as she and Josiah did when they wanted to get the cattle moving.

Really, three riders was overkill, since the herd was now only ten strong with the ones she’d lost to wolves, the calf already in the corral, and the one Josiah kept back as payment for watching them through the warm months. It made for an easy drive, though. Two more miles, and they would be home. Two more miles, and she wouldn’t have to live in fear that Ian would fall from his horse and not wake up. Two more miles, and he would be safe to fall asleep without her having to explain any of this to Josiah.