Rocky Mountain Miracle by Christine Feehan Page A

small talk.
    â€œWhy don’t you have your own practice?” Cole asked, flicking a quick glance her way.
    Maia stiffened. Her eyes held a wariness that hadn’t been there before.
    â€œMaia, it was an idle question to keep the conversationgoing. You don’t have to answer. I detest people prying into my private life.”
    He heard her swift, indrawn breath, and saw her turn toward the passenger-side window. Cole was ready instantly for trouble, peering through the windshield to try to see what might be coming at him beyond the heavy shroud of snow. He spotted dark shapes running alongside them, slipping in and out of his field of vision. “What the hell is that?”
    â€œWolves.”
    He didn’t dare take his eyes off the road to look at her. Cole concentrated on driving, alert for the moment the wolves would run out in front of the Land Cruiser. He didn’t doubt it was wolves. Jase and he owned several thousand acres, and their ranch backed up to the national forest where wolves had been relocated.
    â€œThe wolves have always stayed away from my ranch and well back into the forest. What’s bringing them out?” He glanced at her. Somehow she knew. “You’ve known the animals were there each time before we saw them, before they jumped out in front of us.”
    â€œHow could I?”
    He didn’t listen to the words so much as her voice. It was strained and trembling. She was lying to him. She knew, but he couldn’t figure out how. “I don’t know, but you reacted, bracing yourself.”
    â€œI must have seen them.”
    A mournful howl rose, sending a shiver down Maia’s spine. A second, then a third wolf joined in. A chorus followed them, long, drawn-out notes of warning. She bit down on her knuckles to keep her teeth from chattering.
    â€œWhat are they doing?” Cole asked. “Why are they runningalongside the truck in hunting mode? And the owl, it was coming in as if hunting, head back, talons extended, coming right at me.” Even to him, it sounded completely ridiculous. Had he not been trapped in the middle of a snowstorm, he wouldn’t have ever said such a bizarre thing, yet it felt right, not strange.
    â€œI have a certain affinity with animals,” Maia admitted. She sent up a silent prayer that he wouldn’t ask what it meant. She didn’t know what it meant. “Stop! Don’t hit it.” She flung out her hand to brace herself on the dashboard as he fought the Land Cruiser to a halt without even seeing what was in the road.
    Before he could stop her, Maia was out of the vehicle, dragging a bag with her, disappearing into the swirling white flakes. Cole slammed his fist against the steering wheel, pulled a gun from where it was holstered in concealment on his calf, and checked the load before he shoved open his own door.
    The snow swirled around him immediately, engulfing him in a white, silent world and as fast shifted with the wind to allow him glimpses of the animals and Maia. He heard the chuffing of the wolves as they surrounded the vehicle. Maia crooned to something in the distance. He began to move toward her, watching the wild creatures warily. Immediately the chuffing turned to warning growls. He froze, trying to peer through the heavy fall of snow. The wind blasted through the canyon, and he saw her crouched over something on the ground.
    â€œMaia? I didn’t hit it, did I?”
    â€œNo, it was injured earlier. I’ll just be a minute. Get back in the Cruiser. The wolves are getting agitated.”
    â€œI’ll stay here and watch your back.”
    She hissed her displeasure. Actually hissed. He heard it. “I can’t protect you while I’m working. Get in the car and wait for me.” It was a definite order.
    The wind blew a blanket of snow between them again, and when it lifted, he could see the darker shapes slinking around them. He stayed where he was, afraid of