Free Faith by Viola Rivard Page A

commotion had them both tearing apart from one another, their attention shooting over to the tree line. A chipmunk darted from the woods and seconds later, two wolves, one brown and the other dark copper, came crashing into her front yard after it.
    They were practically leaping over one another to get the terrified rodent. The brown wolf, who Taylor recognized as Glenn, tripped the copper wolf, Penny. Losing her balance, she went careening into the quail coop, taking out one of the posts. The birds squawked and made a mad dash for the hutch.
    Scowling, Alder set Taylor aside and stood. Arms folded across his chest, he bellowed, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
    Both wolves froze in place. To Taylor’s relief, the chipmunk managed to escape under the safety of her porch.
    Penny bowed her head in submission, while Glenn shifted, his guilt evident on his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but Alder cut him off.
    “That was a rhetorical question. I know exactly what you’re doing. Acting like a couple of juveniles.”
    Glenn said, “We were just—”
    “I don’t want to hear it. Get back to your posts.”
    Glenn shifted back into his animal form and both wolves headed back towards the forest, their tails between their legs. When they had disappeared from sight, Taylor placed a hand on Alder’s leg.
    “They’re bored. It’s been a week and they have nothing to do.”
    He frowned down at her. “They’re supposed to be protecting you.”
    “From what?” She arched a brow. “Chipmunks?”
    Alder sat down beside her, his long legs stretching over the steps. “There’s no telling what Tulip told Silas. They could be planning to—”
    “Kidnap me?” Taylor resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “For what? What could they possibly gain from holding me hostage? Any agreements you make to get me back, Hale would just renege on.
    “Besides,” she went on, hoping to hammer her point home, “I can see the den from here. I highly doubt they’ll come this close to the den to steal me away.”
    Alder let out a heavy sigh. “I can’t leave you unprotected out here, Taylor.”
    She put her hand over his. “Can we compromise somehow?”
    She held her breath as Alder gave her a measuring look.
    “Two guards during the night,” he finally said.
    That was a start, but she could tell there was more.
    “And?”
    He leaned down to press a kiss to the top of her head. “And I sleep here with you from now on.”
    Her cheeks officially hurt from smiling. “I think I can accept those terms.”

CHAPTER TWO
     
    Deciding not to go back to sleep, Alder had left to get an early start on his day, leaving Taylor alone and restless. She felt as though when she was with Alder, she was protected by a cocoon of warmth and affection. As soon as he was gone, her earlier feelings of peace and contentment became elusive.
    With Hale still MIA, she couldn’t be wholly settled. Sure, she hadn’t been expecting him to settle down and be a father like Alder, but she felt like she at least deserved some sort of closure for their relationship.
    After fixing the post that Penny had knocked down, Taylor spent the better part of the afternoon working on her garden. The spinach was growing nicely in the rich soil, but so were the weeds. When she was done with gardening, she went back inside to dust the cabin.
    By the time she finished, the sun was beginning to sink, casting shadows throughout her room. As she didn’t like going in the lake after dark, Taylor decided not to waste the daylight and began gathering up her bathing supplies.
    Her door swung open, hitting the wall with a bang that made Taylor nearly jump out of her skin. The sound heralded Lark’s arrival.
    The raccoon shifter was lugging an unfortunate-looking piece of furniture. Taylor recognized the chair as the rocker that had belonged to Old Fay. It was one of the many things they’d removed from the cabin when they’d first cleaned it out, and with good reason.