Free Indigo Blue by Catherine Anderson

that. “Since the last collapse, I check the timbers every morning before we begin work. What more can I do?”
    She thought she glimpsed a smile tugging at his mouth. “I haven’t gotten that far yet. Which is why I’m full of questions. I can see this isn’t the place to be asking them, though. It’s as cold as ice down here, and you’re shaking like a leaf.”
    As he turned and continued walking, she fell in behind him and said, “Cold or not, I’d prefer you to go ahead now and ask any questions you have. My mother has enough to worry her.”
    “I doubt that avoiding the subject is going to ease her mind. She knows the last cave- in was no accident. You’re working here. There’s probably not a minute she forgets that.”
    “I’d still appreciate it if you wouldn’t talk about it too much in front of her.”
    At the entrance, he doused their lanterns and stared out at the twilight. Indigo stepped past him, relieved to be in the open once again. Aware of his gaze on her, she glanced back.
    “It’s a heavy burden of worry for you to be carrying alone, isn’t it?” he asked.
    She straightened her shoulders. “I’m not complaining.”
    “No, I don’t imagine you are.” He stepped out into the gloaming. “If it’ll put your mind at ease, I’ll watch what I say while we’re at the house. In turn, I’d appreciate it if you’d search your mind for anything you might’ve forgotten to tell me. I need all the ammunition I can get.”
    She didn’t miss the fact that he said I , not we . He was already taking over. As if to drive home the point, he led the way back down the mountain.
    They hadn’t gone far when he closed his hand roughly on her wrist. With a violent jerk, he brought her reeling against his chest and clamped a steely arm around her. She tried to wriggle free, horrified when he drew his knife.
    “Hold still,” he whispered urgently. “We’ve got company.”
    Indigo froze and threw a glance over her shoulder to see what he meant. She could see perhaps fifty yards. Shadows turned to blackness beyond that point. Tree limbs swayed in the wind. Brush moved. He was startled by something—that was clear. She could feel his heart slamming.
    For her part, she was relieved to know he’d grabbed her to protect her, and not for other reasons. Whatever it was that lurked in the woods, Indigo doubted it could frighten her as badly as Jake Rand just had. Earlier in the barn, she had sensed the untapped strength in him; now it was a reality. His body was padded with muscle and roped with tendon, all taut with tension. She felt surrounded by him and knew she hadn’t a prayer of extricating herself from his hold until he chose to release her.
    “It’s a wolf,” he whispered. “The biggest I’ve ever seen.”
    She tried to speak, but he was squeezing the breath out of her. The iron hardness of his thighs pressed against her. The heat of his body steamed through their wet garments.
    “If I can draw him away from you, can you shinny up a tree?”
    She worked a hand between them and shoved against his chest. “It’s my—friend. Lobo—my friend. He won’t hurt us.”
    His embrace relaxed, but only slightly. “Your friend?”
    She managed to drag in a breath. Standing so close, she realized that her head barely cleared his shoulder. She could see the underside of his jaw and the whisker follicles along his throat. The scent of him surrounded her, a pleasant blend of wet wool, clean sweat, and male muskiness. His hand, broad and long- fingered, curled over her ribs, warm even through the leather.
    “Yes, my friend.” Even though his closeness unnerved her, she couldn’t help but smile at the incredulous expression on his face. “His name is Lobo.”
    Jake sheathed his knife. She made the pronouncement as if everyone had wolves for friends, and she looked as if she was smothering a laugh. He felt like an idiot.
    “Lobo,” he repeated. “Your friend. Why didn’t I guess?”
    He glanced