Hunter s Moon - By Lori Handeland Page 0,8

The way he held himself screamed some kind of martial arts training. His hair was short, and a golden feather swung from one ear. He was exotic - both wild and tame. I couldn't seem to stop staring.

"You must be Leigh. Welcome."

The man held out his hand, but Jessie yanked him back. "Just one minute there, Slick; the duchess is being a pain in my ass."

"Since that's awful easy to do, Jess, I'm not going to hold it against her."

I smiled. He had her number.

"I'm Will." He offered his hand again, and I managed to shake it before Jessie could stop us. "Will Cadotte."

"Leigh Tyler," I returned.

"And you think Jessie is going to get us killed why?"

Not only was he sharp, but his hearing wasn't bad, either.

"Attachments." I shrugged. "You can't have them if you're going to be a Jdger-Sucher." I glanced at Edward. "What's the matter with you? Didn't you check her out better than this? Or is he a new development?"

I couldn't say I blamed her. Cadotte was a damn fine development. But I wasn't going to get my neck torn out or my head blown off because Jessie couldn't keep her mind off his assets.

"He is one of us, too."

I stared at Edward for a long moment. "It's finally happened."

"What is that?"

"You've gone senile. I must say, you hide it well."

He narrowed his pale blue eyes. "Watch your mouth, young lady. I know what I am doing."

That remained to be seen.

I glanced at Cadotte. "No offense, but you don't seem like much of a hunter."

"Probably because I'm not."

"He is the expert I spoke of."

I looked Cadotte up and down. "I just bet he is."

Cadotte threw his arm out, stopping Jessie before she could spring across the room and kick my ass. Or at least try. We were going to go round and round before this was over. It was only a matter of time.

"You must forgive Leigh," Edward said. "She is devoted to the job."

"Don't apologize for me. I'm the one who has to train her. I can see she's gaga over him. If he's in danger, she'll be useless."

"On the contrary, Jessie was very useful, even when Will was in grave danger. It is one of the reasons I chose her."

My eyes met Edward's. His were determined and I accepted the inevitable. Jessie was one of us now, and so was the boyfriend.

"What kind of an expert is he?"

"He's right here," Cadotte said. "I'm a professor of Native American history, with a specialty in totems."

"Which will do us any good why?"

His lips twitched. For some reason Cadotte found me more amusing than annoying, which only annoyed me more. Of course that was very easy to do. Jessie and I had more in common with each passing moment.

"I live to acquire obscure data."

"Will was invaluable during our escapade with the wolf god," Edward said.

"The wolf god is gone."

"But not forgotten," Jessie whispered.

A shadow flickered across her face. Will took her hand. I wondered what was up with that, and since I'd never been one to shut my mouth, I asked.

"You knew the wolf god well?"

"She was my best friend."

"Nice friend."

"At least I had one."

"Girls - " Mandenauer broke off as Jessie and I both snarled at him. "I mean, ladies, must you?"

"I think they must," Cadotte murmured. "It's a territorial thing."

"Why don't they just pee on the trees as we do?"

"It'd be quieter," Cadotte agreed.

I stared at Edward, then shifted my gaze to Jessie. "What did you do to him?"

Jessie frowned. "Nothing."

"He never made jokes before he met you."

"Then my work here is done." She brushed her palms together.

"Leigh, if we cannot laugh once in a while, what good is living?" Edward asked.

"I don't know; what good is it?"

Silence fell over the room. Edward glanced away. Jessie and Will stared at me with something akin to pity in their eyes. And they didn't even know me.

I threw up my hands. "Never mind. Where am I staying? Just don't say here, because you can forget it."

"As if," Jessie muttered.

"There was one room for rent in Crow Valley," Edward said.

"Only one? No cabin? No hotel?"

Jessie rolled her eyes. "You aren't in Kansas anymore, Duchess."

I winced. Kansas. Did she know? Or was that just a lucky guess?

Edward, ever sensitive to my pain, jumped in. "Crow Valley is not a resort area. No one comes to this town on vacation."

From what I'd seen so far, I understood why.

"Why do they come?"

"To retire."

"Here?"

"What's wrong with here?" Jessie demanded. "I've lived here