"I know I said today but can we wait until tomorrow?" Allie asked as she and Jack walked up onto Hawke and Lily's porch the next day.

"Having second thoughts, doll?" Jack asked with a grin. Allie shook her head and he ran a gentle knuckle over her cheek.

"I wanna have time to figure out what I'm gonna wear and then I'll need some flowers and there are a couple people I'd like to have here and…." Jack pressed his lips to hers, cutting off her rambling.

"I've been waiting this long." he said as he pulled away. "I guess one more day won't kill me." Hawke walked out the cabin door then and the two of them jumped apart as if they were young kids again caught doing something naughty.

A smile tugged at Hawke's mouth and he raised one sculpted brow as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Since there isn't going to be a wedding let's get out and fix some traps." he said and then he walked off the porch and whistled for Wolf who followed after him to the barn.

"I guess that means I'll see ya this afternoon." Jack said.

"Am I staying at your cabin again tonight?" Allie asked as a blush colored her cheek and she bit her lip. Jack smiled at her sudden shyness and nodded.

"If ya think I'm letting you stay anywhere else you've lost your mind." he replied. Allie tilted her head.

"Do you think you can tell me what I have to do now?" she demanded teasingly. Jack puffed out his chest and nodded.

"Yep." Before Allie could reply Hawke came out of the barn with Trigger.

"I gotta go, doll." Jack kissed her cheek gently and his warm breath caressed her skin causing her knees to feel weak. She watched him jump back on his horse and ride off into the woods with Hawke and Wolf and then she turned to go inside.

888

"You look beautiful." Lily said as Allie stared at herself in Lily's full length bedroom mirror.

"Are you sure Hawke won't mind if I wear this?" she asked as she ran a finger over the buttery soft doeskin dress and marveled at the way it hugged her body.

"I'm sure. Hawke might seem like a hard man but deep down inside he's nothing but a big softie." Lily replied with a wink. Allie laughed lightly.

"I don't know about that but what I do know is that this dress is beautiful."

"Jack won't be able to take his eyes off of you." Allie felt butterflies swarm in her stomach. "We better get you back out of this dress and you can go out to my flower garden and figure out which ones you want to wear in your hair and carry in your hands tomorrow."

Allie nodded and was about to pull the dress off when a knock sounded on the cabin door.

"Sarah, stay in here with aunt Allie." Lily said sternly and she walked out of the bedroom. Allie waited in the bedroom door and watched Lily open the cabin door.

"What in the world are you doing here?" Lily demanded when it was Gavin standing on the porch with his gray bowler hat in his hands and a nervous smile on his face.

"I was hoping to talk to Allie… Um.. Jack isn't here is he?" Lily shook her head.

"No he's not." she said. "Come in." she added stepping aside and letting Gavin enter the cabin. Allie walked out of the bedroom and glared at him with her hands on her hips. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the sight of her in the curve hugging doeskin dress that showed off much of the soft skin on her chest and all her long dark wavy hair hanging down her back and over her shoulders.

"You have a lot of nerve coming out here." Allie said. Gavin nodded.

"I know. I want to apologize, Allie. I should never have hurt you the way I did."

"No you shouldn't have but you've already apologized for that before." she replied.

"Why don't you have a seat both of you. The soup is heated and we can eat a bite." Lily said. The last thing Allie wanted to do was eat. Of course the hot soup would make a nice weapon to throw at Gavin's smooth, soft face. She smiled at that thought and sat down at the table. Gavin sat across from her and Sarah sat beside her.

"So why are you really here, Gavin?" Allie asked after Lily had given them each a bowl of soup and sat down as well.

"I um… I miss you, Allie." Gavin replied nervously and his green eyes pleaded with her to listen to him. "I miss the way you could always make me laugh and I miss the way your brown eyes sparkle when you smile. I didn't realize just what a great thing you were when I had you and now I am paying for that oversight everyday."

"Gavin, I…." Allie started but he held up a soft callous free hand to silence her.

"I know I messed up but I am only a man and men make mistakes. I love you, Allie, and I can learn to live with the cursing and even the guns. I will build you a place in the country and you can have all the flower gardens you want and work in them….."

"Gavin, I'm getting married." Allie said matter of factly and his gentle face fell.

"Married?" he repeated with disbelief. "To who?"

"Who do you think?" Allie asked and Gavin rubbed his lip which hadn't been healed for very long.

"Jack. I should have known." he said wrinkling his nose as if he smelled something foul. Allie was amazed that not long ago she had been prepared to marry this man. He was the complete opposite of Jack. Jack had a hard, tan body, made that way from years of hard work and living in a saddle. Jack had a wild look about him with his long, constantly tangled hair and stubble covered face. His blue eyes almost always sparkled with amusement as if there was a joke playing in his head that only he could hear.

Gavin was soft and pale. He had been born into a home with maids and servants and had never worked or even seen a hard day in his life. Everything had been handed to him. His green eyes were warm but lacked the spark that Jack's possessed that excited her so much.

"Yes Jack." she replied. "What happened to your Alice?" Gavin snorted and looked down at the untouched soup in his bowl.

"She was not happy about the fact that the man romancing her was already engaged to another woman. She has not spoken to me since that day in the bank."

"So you're here out of desperation?" Allie asked with a laugh. She wasn't angry. Gavin was not worth getting angry over. Not when she had a strong, caring man with a warm body and hungry arms to love her. Gavin shook his head hard and locked eyes with her.

"I am here out of love, Allie. I love you. Please think about what you are doing before you marry him. I can give you everything that money can buy. I know you are not the type of woman who cares about material possessions but just think about the things I can do for you." Allie shook her head and shrugged.

"I don't love you, Gavin. And no amount of money will ever change that. I love Jack."

"I guess I'll be going then." Gavin said clearing his throat. Lily spoke up then.

"It's a long ride back to town. At least finish your soup before you go." she said. Gavin agreed but only because he wanted to be able to look at Allie in that dress just a while longer.

"My uncle Jack is much more handomer than you." Sarah said sweetly before sticking a spoonful of soup into her mouth. Lily and Allie both choked on the soup they'd been about to swallow and Gavin turned red with a mixture of anger and embarrassment and he nodded.

"Your uncle Jack is a lucky man."

888

"So are Jack and that injun there?" Brian asked as Bearclaw seemed to appear out of nowhere beside them, slipping silently across the forest floor.

"No. There is a man there but he is not Jack and he is not an Indian. They are all in the house."

"What about a wolf? Is there a big gray wolf?" Brian asked remembering the way that wolf's golden eyes has seemed too smart and aware to belong to an animal.

"No. There was a white wolf but she wandered into the forest. I do not believe she is a threat." John nodded.

"Let's go then. We'll kidnap the women to have a little prize for ourselves and leave Bearclaw and Kaid to take care of Jack and the injun" he said. Brian nodded in agreement and the two of them turned to face everyone else.

"Let's saddle up boys and go have a little fun." John said and the men all laughed and hooted with excitement. All except Bearclaw who simply hoisted his thin, wiry body up on his horse and stared off into the forest.

888

Janna ran through the trees as quickly as she could. She had to find her alpha, her mate and the grumpy one named Jack and let them know that trouble was coming to the cabin. She had smelled the bad man and she had watched him leave. She had to find help before he came back. She couldn't let anything happen to her pack. Wolf would know what to do. He was wise in the ways of hunting and killing. She raised her nose in the air, picked up his scent and increased her pace.

888

"Thank you for the soup, Lily. I'll be leaving now." Gavin said standing up and placing his hat back on his head. Allie walked over to the door and opened it for him. Sarah screamed as soon as the door opened and when Allie looked out to see what she was screaming at a fist connected with her face and she fell hard to the ground.