Forbidden Spirits
kid," Jeremy replied. "That's the first sign of domestication in males, noticing other people's children."
    "You'd better not call him kid ," Josh said. "If you haven't noticed, he taller than both of us."
    "I noticed . So then," Jeremy said to Tyler, "is your socialization still limited to mares, or have you finally started socializing with human females?"
    Tyler didn't answer right away , finding himself distracted momentarily by images of Rose standing in the meadow with her hair blowing gently, and little points of light in her big brown eyes as she held his gaze while telling him that she loved sleeping under the stars. And there were other things that came to mind at odd times, like the golden glow of her shoulders and bare back and small waist as she sat in the hot spring pool, and the way she toyed with her hair when she was talking to him, like she might be a little nervous, distractions he didn't need, he reminded himself. "I'll stick with mares," he at last replied.
    Looking at Tyler in curiosity, Josh said, "You took a while to answer. I'm betting a female of the human species has caught your attention. Marc said he hired a woman from the reservation, and Kit claims if anyone could catch your eye she'd be the one."
    Jeremy gave Tyler a little fist to his shoulder, while saying, "It's bound to happen sooner or later, little brother. A man can be a free spirit only so long before he finds himself thinking it would be a lot more fun to snuggle up to a warm female body at night than a pillow." He tightened his arm around Billy and she responded by smiling up at him.
    Tyler let out a feigned laugh, because he'd had those same thoughts recently. Not wanting his brothers to have any fodder for teasing, he said, "I have six mares to snuggle up with and they don't give me any guff." Again, Rose came to mind, but this time he visualized the way her eyes sparked with anger as she went off on a tangent about his chiseling into the mountain...
    " Mares won't give you any kids," Jeremy pointed out. "Here, hold Amy for a few minutes and see what it's like to be the uncle of Amy… Sullivan."
    Tyler took Amy into his arms and found her staring at him with wide curious eyes. He couldn't help smiling at the way she seemed to be puzzling over him, and when she saw him smile, she smiled too, the sweetest little smile he'd ever seen, which tugged at his heart. "Are you okay with the name Sullivan now?" he asked Jeremy, while continuing to look at Amy. It was a new experience, holding a small child the way he was. Sophie and Rick had a slew of kids, Marc and Kit had Lizzy, Adam and Emily had Jesse and Gracie, Josh and Genie had Levi, and Ryan and Annie had Cody, but he'd never paid much attention to any of them. In fact, he made a point of disappearing whenever the house filled with kids because he got mind clutter and verbal overload from everyone speaking at once...
    "We don't intend to stay Sullivan forever," Billy said. "The trials are ongoing in Las Vegas right now, and if the jury believes the testimony of my brother-in-law, it will be over for the mafia boss and his crime family, and by this time next year we could be home."
    "And if they don't believe your brother-in-law?" Tyler asked.
    Billy shrugged. "I'll be called to Las Vegas to testify and we'll be here longer."
    "Here?" Tyler asked.
    Billy looked askance at Jeremy, who stared blankly and said nothing, and for a few moments neither spoke. Tyler didn't press them, but he suspected that somewhere in the vicinity of Cody, Wyoming, was Jeremy and Billy's witness protection hideout.
    "Never mind , don't answer that," Josh said. "But if we get back this way we'll let you know. Maybe both of you could dress like clowns and meet us at McDonald's."
    "Not going to happen," Jeremy said. "This face paint you clowns wear is a mess. Are you still bullfighting?"
    Josh chuckled. "Genie gave me my marching orders and marched me right out of the arena, but that's fine with me . Levi and

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