Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,79

replied. “Didn’t see a bitch hanging around the puppy pens Barb Debany had set up. Didn’t see any other pups around her age.”

Giving in, Jesse held out her hands. “Let’s see her.”

To give him credit, Tobias didn’t smile, didn’t indicate in any way that he’d known this would happen. Of course he’d known. He had a feel for animals, just like she had a feel for people.

“Rachel can be an honorary big sister,” Tobias said.

“Don’t push it.” Wolves cared about the pups in their pack, but Jesse wasn’t sure how a juvenile Wolf would react to a young dog.

“Did you think to pick up what this one will need?”

“Yep.” Now Tobias grinned. “Want me to put it in your car? I have to be heading out to help Truman move to the Skye Ranch and make a list of the folks who will be working for him. Then I’m heading to the Prairie Gold ranch to get my own new workers settled and introduced to Ellen and Tom Garcia.”

“Have you decided on what to do with the girl? She can’t bunk with the men.”

“Tom and Ellen have their own cabin behind the main house, so the housekeeper’s suite is available. Figured I would talk to Ellen about putting Ed there.”

Jesse hesitated. She didn’t have any concerns about the girl, but the distance between living in a Northeast community, no matter how small, and living within sight of the Elder Hills—and knowing what lived there—was a distance of more than miles. And the reality could easily change expectations.

“Having her work for you instead of other Simple Life folks who might resent her breaking away from traditional roles is good of you, but you should be careful that she doesn’t start thinking that being given use of the housekeeper’s suite is a step toward sharing the master bedroom.” Being the only single woman on the ranch would garner the girl plenty of attention.

“I get the feeling that Ed is looking for the freedom to be one of the boys rather than someone’s missus.” Tobias raised his eyebrows. “Don’t you?”

Put that way … Smiling, Jesse studied her son—and felt an interesting tingle. Even if Ed hadn’t wanted to be one of the boys, Tobias wouldn’t be looking in her direction. “Something else before you haul this one’s supplies to my car?”

“What do you know about the new deputy?”

The boy was about as subtle as getting whacked with a two-by-four when he was trying to act as if his interest in the answer was casual to the point of indifferent. Tobias was never indifferent when it came to people or critters.

“She arrived on Sunsday, started work on Windsday, and despite some grumbles and growling, she and Virgil haven’t had a full-blown fight. Yet.” Although she had the feeling that something had happened between them when they escorted that mixed family to the hotel.

Tobias looked concerned. “You think that’s likely?”

Jesse thought for a moment. Morgan and Chase Wolfgard, the new leader and dominant enforcer of the Prairie Gold pack, had come from a pack that had been too far from human settlements to be found by the Humans First and Last movement when those men had slaughtered other Wolf packs. They left their home pack because they were needed in the terra indigene settlement at the southern end of the Elder Hills. But Virgil …

“Were you told about Virgil?” Jesse asked. She wasn’t sure who had decided to make Virgil the sheriff. It hadn’t been Tolya. He’d been given orders and had to deal with the result as best he could. She did know Virgil was the reason Tolya had wanted a human deputy to be hired to work in Bennett.

“I know about him. Don’t think Deputy Paniccia was told.” He didn’t meet her eyes. “I’m coming back tomorrow to look over the horse she chose. I have a feeling it’s not the right one for her.”

“Why don’t you help her choose a dog?” Jesse suggested dryly as the puppy tried to squirm out of her arms and sniff whatever was in reach.

Tobias grinned. “I already did.”

* * *

* * *

In Wolf form, Virgil and Kane roamed some of the residential streets of their territory. Old human scents. They found the carcasses of a couple of the roaming dogs—and they found the fresh scent of some Elders on a blue post office box that was at an intersection that was part of the new boundary for human settlers. They both marked the box on the