And they had to be back at the homestead before he fell asleep for the winter.
As if Mother Nature had heard Elyse’s silent challenge, the clouds finally opened up. Snowflakes floated all around them, and there was a moment when Ian turned in his saddle and locked eyes with her. They were a somber blue that said so much with just a glance.
Winter’s here.
I can’t stay much longer.
We’ll be all right.
You’re ready for this.
Remember everything I taught you, always.
And last but most importantly, I love you.
He turned and kicked his horse, and Demon responded under him, trotting immediately. And by the time he got him into a run, she could feel it, too. Time was closing in on them.
Ian wasn’t turning back and letting her drive the cattle by herself. He wasn’t playing it safe—not while she was exposed to the werewolves out here.
Their horses ran on and on beside each other. And as the snow steadily blanketed the landscape around them, it was hard not to look at her mate. Time and time again, her gaze was drawn to him.
Beside her, Ian’s jaw clenched in determination to finish this last chore before the cold season swallowed him up completely.
Winter’s here.
I can’t stay much longer.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Is Ian okay?” Josiah asked low, his horse swerving so close, he bumped Milo’s side.
“He’s just tired. He didn’t sleep much on the hunt or last night, and he’s been going for a while,” Elyse lied.
In fact, when they’d slept in the tent last night near the cattle, she’d had trouble waking him to head home this morning. He’d been so limp when she’d shaken him that, for a few minutes, she’d been terrified she wouldn’t be able to wake him at all.
Josiah didn’t need to be saddled with her burdens, though.
At the other side of the herd, Ian was listlessly riding after a stray heifer. He wasn’t even yelling and cussing as she and Josiah did when they wanted to get the cattle moving.
Really, three riders was overkill, since the herd was now only ten strong with the ones she’d lost to wolves, the calf already in the corral, and the one Josiah kept back as payment for watching them through the warm months. It made for an easy drive, though. Two more miles, and they would be home. Two more miles, and she wouldn’t have to live in fear that Ian would fall from his horse and not wake up. Two more miles, and he would be safe to fall asleep without her having to explain any of this to Josiah.
“Hup!” she called, holding the extra length of her reins and waving them side to side over Milo’s neck to get the cattle moving over a slick straightaway. The temperature was dropping so fast it was freezing the bottom layer of snow that had melted. Dangerous conditions for clumsy cattle.
Behind them, a howl lifted into the air. Pissed, Elyse swatted at the raised hair that tingled on the back of her neck. The snow was falling harder now, making it difficult to see any distance, and those damned McCalls sounded close.
Josiah narrowed his eyes behind them. “What the fuck do they want? It’s like they’ve stayed the same distance behind the whole day. There’s still two dead cattle out on the marsh for them to eat.”
“Jo, I think you should take Ian’s truck back.”
“What? No. You need that, and besides, what would I do with Renegade?” He patted his buckskin’s neck.
“I’ll keep him for now, but I don’t want you range riding when those wolves are out like this.”
He frowned behind him again. “They are acting strange.”
“Please, Jo.”
“Bossy. You remember I’m the big brother, right?”
“And I’m the worried little sister. I don’t ask you for much. Just this once, take the truck. I’ll be on a snow machine from here on, anyway.”
“Yeah, all right.” Josiah cast her the tenth worried look he’d given her today and trotted off toward a trio of cattle that were breaking off.
Usually, the herd stuck together like glue, but they’d watched some of their own attacked by wolves this season, and the howling had them spooked. Elyse couldn’t blame them one bit for scattering.
Ian slumped forward again and almost went over. Shit. Elyse kicked her horse and bolted for where Ian was struggling to stay awake on a side-stepping Demon.
She pulled up beside the black gelding and steadied Ian in the saddle. “Baby, you have to make it just a little while longer. We’re almost there. Look.” She pointed to the jutting rock formation that was snow-capped like a miniature mountain. “We’re almost on our property. Almost home.”
When Ian slid her a glance, she swallowed down a gasp. He looked like a shell of himself—like walking death. Eyes dull and bleary, he was as pale as a ghost.
“Ian, can you ride ahead? Can you make it? Josiah and I will bring the cattle in. Just let Demon into the coral, and I’ll take care of him.”
“Elyse,” he slurred, heartbreak in his eyes.