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Authors: Gigi Moore
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like him brought to this untamed territory, said it made them feel safe knowing that men so capable and strong looked out for their welfare.
Capable and strong. Ha! More like uncivilized as the red savages that taught and bore the mixed-breeds. And now Hayden and his ilk lorded over the territory with more authority than some white men and had a weapon to back him up.
Gritted teeth punctuated the silence.
Three Men and a Bounty
59
It frustrated a body to know that friends and neighbors held the enemy in such high regard. T’wasn’t right, no way, no how. And it had to stop.
It would stop, if it was the last thing ever done.
* * * *
He’d almost swallowed his tongue when James called him Troy, Jr., automatically second-guessing his wisdom of appearing to the marshal in his wolf form.
Troy hadn’t been able to help himself, though, fear and confusion riding him when he initially followed James out of town after he’d gotten wind of the incident at Nellie’s. Once he’d shifted on the outskirts of town and began following James and his prisoner, fear and confusion had finally been replaced with a healthy dose of plain old-fashioned hankering.
He still hadn’t recovered from that adventure, adrenaline spiking through him at the thought of losing the two men he wanted before he even got to know them.
Troy still hadn’t gotten to know either man as well as he wanted, but watching Chris sleep last night and swimming with James in the lake this evening made him feel a lot closer to each than he had been before.
He told himself he had something to build on, but what, really?
How could a relationship between him and either man ever work? As if he didn’t have enough trouble starting a relationship with one man, here he thought about forging a relationship with two?
Troy’s life had always been about impossibilities, his very existence the essence of impossibility. Yet here he existed, both man and animal in one body, able to shift between worlds and accepted by neither.
Maybe those Indians had had it right and he should have died in that fire. He refused to believe, however, that he hadn’t been brought 60
Gigi Moore
into this world for a purpose. He just hadn’t figured out what that purpose was yet.
And you think Chris and James can show it to you?
Still wet and naked, Troy slid down to sit at the base of a lush, towering oak. Sighing, he pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them. The evening air felt invigorating against his damp skin, just enough to keep him alert.
He’d sensed another in the surrounding area but had been too busy trying to corrupt the marshal to home in on the individual’s exact location. Now he wondered who or what was stalking him as he had stalked James.
It wasn’t like him to be so all-fired foolish. He’d learned the hard way that he needed to always be on his guard. His enemies had taught him that over the years.
Troy peered into the darkness, vision easily adjusting to the lack of light. He didn’t see anything, and unlike humans, he could see well in the dark, much like his animal. The idea that someone had watched him and James in the water, though they hadn’t really done anything unseemly, made him decidedly wary and vulnerable.
Still, he didn’t regret the impulsiveness that had put him in this position. He did not regret the jealousy or over-protectiveness that led him to follow James all the way to Wolf Creek and halfway back.
He’d thought to give the marshal a piece of his mind, to stake his claim for Chris, but best laid plans. Really, how much could he do in wolf form that wouldn’t give him away, except hurt the marshal?
And, despite his competitive nature or proprietary feelings for Chris, that had been the last thing he wanted to do.
Troy leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. He didn’t feel the presence anymore and figured he was far enough inside the woods to be safe from prying human eyes at least. Funnily
Capable and strong. Ha! More like uncivilized as the red savages that taught and bore the mixed-breeds. And now Hayden and his ilk lorded over the territory with more authority than some white men and had a weapon to back him up.
Gritted teeth punctuated the silence.
Three Men and a Bounty
59
It frustrated a body to know that friends and neighbors held the enemy in such high regard. T’wasn’t right, no way, no how. And it had to stop.
It would stop, if it was the last thing ever done.
* * * *
He’d almost swallowed his tongue when James called him Troy, Jr., automatically second-guessing his wisdom of appearing to the marshal in his wolf form.
Troy hadn’t been able to help himself, though, fear and confusion riding him when he initially followed James out of town after he’d gotten wind of the incident at Nellie’s. Once he’d shifted on the outskirts of town and began following James and his prisoner, fear and confusion had finally been replaced with a healthy dose of plain old-fashioned hankering.
He still hadn’t recovered from that adventure, adrenaline spiking through him at the thought of losing the two men he wanted before he even got to know them.
Troy still hadn’t gotten to know either man as well as he wanted, but watching Chris sleep last night and swimming with James in the lake this evening made him feel a lot closer to each than he had been before.
He told himself he had something to build on, but what, really?
How could a relationship between him and either man ever work? As if he didn’t have enough trouble starting a relationship with one man, here he thought about forging a relationship with two?
Troy’s life had always been about impossibilities, his very existence the essence of impossibility. Yet here he existed, both man and animal in one body, able to shift between worlds and accepted by neither.
Maybe those Indians had had it right and he should have died in that fire. He refused to believe, however, that he hadn’t been brought 60
Gigi Moore
into this world for a purpose. He just hadn’t figured out what that purpose was yet.
And you think Chris and James can show it to you?
Still wet and naked, Troy slid down to sit at the base of a lush, towering oak. Sighing, he pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them. The evening air felt invigorating against his damp skin, just enough to keep him alert.
He’d sensed another in the surrounding area but had been too busy trying to corrupt the marshal to home in on the individual’s exact location. Now he wondered who or what was stalking him as he had stalked James.
It wasn’t like him to be so all-fired foolish. He’d learned the hard way that he needed to always be on his guard. His enemies had taught him that over the years.
Troy peered into the darkness, vision easily adjusting to the lack of light. He didn’t see anything, and unlike humans, he could see well in the dark, much like his animal. The idea that someone had watched him and James in the water, though they hadn’t really done anything unseemly, made him decidedly wary and vulnerable.
Still, he didn’t regret the impulsiveness that had put him in this position. He did not regret the jealousy or over-protectiveness that led him to follow James all the way to Wolf Creek and halfway back.
He’d thought to give the marshal a piece of his mind, to stake his claim for Chris, but best laid plans. Really, how much could he do in wolf form that wouldn’t give him away, except hurt the marshal?
And, despite his competitive nature or proprietary feelings for Chris, that had been the last thing he wanted to do.
Troy leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes. He didn’t feel the presence anymore and figured he was far enough inside the woods to be safe from prying human eyes at least. Funnily
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