Page 22 of Cowboy Wolf's Kiss

S’mores.Hot cocoa.Popcorn, of course.And holiday cookies supplied by Devil’s Food Bakery.

“I think that does it,” Kian grunted, leaning on the post he just finished hammering into place.

I wiped the sweat from my brow, feeling a sense of accomplishment swell within me as I looked at the results of all our hard work.Each post stood tall and strong, a testament to what we as a Crew could do when we banded together.

“Good work, boys!”Max came riding up to us on the 4-wheeler he named after his ornery old horse, Betsy Two.

The original Betsy was living the good life, retired from ranching, just sitting pretty in her stable and eating all the carrots and oats she wanted.

I had to admit, Max was doing a much better job now than he had at the beginning.With the dairy making the bulk of our income over the winter, it was important to maximize the land, turning the fields over, and planning our crop for next harvest.

Kian had some terrific ideas for accomplishing that.He was excellent when it came to gauging the fertility of the land.Maybe that was because of his Bull, I had no idea.Wolves weren’t farmers.We were hunters.

But I’d been working ranches for a long time now, and the Motley Crewd had an interesting blend of raising dairy animals and growing things.But I guess New Jersey wasn’t called the Garden State for nothing.

Max sidled up to Dante, and the two of them started discussing the herd of dairy cows, while Kian and I put away the tools we’d used for this part of the fencing project.I was only half listening when Max called my name.

“Well, Emmet?”

“Well, what?”I replied.

“Will you be done in time to bring the goats home tomorrow?We want to bring the milk cows in from the second pasture,” he explained.

“Yeah.Should be done around noon,” I told him, nodding at Kian who was already grabbing a big roll of woven wire fence from the back of his truck.

“I thought we were using chain link?”Max asked, noting the material.

“This is better for keeping the goats safe.Jed insisted,” I replied, and we both grinned.

That old Prairie Dog sure did love his Dollies.

“Okay, then.Jed would know,” Max murmured, tipping his hat and walking back to his 4-wheeler.

I waved him off and got back to work with the others.As we got into the swing of mounting the fence, my mind wandered.Running this place together was the best damn thing that’s happened to me in quite a while.

There was a palpable energy in the air.I could not be sure what it was for, but it made my blood hum and my heart pump steadily as I worked side by side with Kian and Dante.

Maybe it was the fact that Demon was giving me some peace for a rare moment.

Or maybe it was because I was hoping so damn hard that Jezebel was going to say yes to my dinner invitation.

Whatever the reason, this sense of camaraderie felt good.Comfortable.Almost like that first sip from a hot mug of coffee on a frosty morning.

Each member of the Crew was finding their groove, discovering their strengths, and taking ownership of their roles.The transformation was almost magical.

Like we were building something more than just a fence.We were forming a community.

A family.

I could see it reflected in my eyes when I woke up in the morning, a sense of purpose energizing me each and every day since I stepped foot on this place.

Hell.Maybe the ranch was magic itself.I didn’t know.

But I imagined the same rang true for the rest of them.I felt like each of us was finally coming into our own.And for the first time in my whole fucked up life, the possibility of having a future seemed almost within reach.

Maybe I’m not that broken.

“You gonna help or what?”Kian barked, and I grinned, flipping him the bird as I got back to it.

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