White Wolf by Susan Edwards

She opened her mouth to explain, but James stopped her with an accusing finger.
    “What the hell are you trying to do, Jess? Of all the wild, reckless—”
    “Reckless is right,” Wolf interrupted. “Attacking strangers seems a good way to end up dead.”
    James’s lower jaw dropped. “Jess attacked you?” He stepped farther into the barn, shock and disbelief written on his face. “You’ve gone too far this time.”
    Jessie lowered her gaze to the tip of her muddy toes. Yep, she was truly in trouble now. She didn’t need to look at James to know his face was red as the lips of the women working in the saloon. She narrowed her gaze, her brief feelings of trepidation giving way to indignation. What had she really done wrong—aside from losing her temper? Nothing! She had rights. She was a Jones. No Jones worth his or her salt would sit complacently and let some outsider split them up. Refusing to cower, Jessie tilted her chin, her green gaze mirroring the anger in her brother’s.
    She had every right to protest what her brothers were doing. And though White Wolf was responsible, James was allowing him to split them up. He deserved to shoulder some of the blame. “If I’ve gone too far, James, it’s your fault.”
    “Dammit, Jess! We’ve talked about this.”
    Jessie shook her head vehemently. “No!” Her voice trembled as tears threatened to break forth. “ You made the decision to go to Oregon without me.”
    “And you know why! We can’t afford to pass up this chance, and if you’ve ruined it…” His arms fell to his sides and he sighed heavily. “I’m real disappointed in you, Jess.”
    Recognizing the familiar tactic meant to make her feel guilty, Jessie yanked herself free from Wolf and stomped over to James until she stood toe-to-toe with him. Over the years, she’d pulled some stupid stunts that he’d had every right to chastise her for—but not this. Oh, no, not this time. She was a grown woman. It was time he realized it. Digging her fingers into her hips, Jessie leaned forward.
    “If that isn’t low enough for a belly-crawling snake! How do you think I feel? What happened to sticking together?” she accused, her voice low and husky with the effort to hide any weakness. Her voice hardened as she drew a deep breath and continued: “Talk about disappointing! Finding out that money is more important to you is bad enough, but then to learn that Jordan’s going to marry Coralie, that she’ll go to Oregon but not me, your own—”
    “I’ve heard enough,” Wolf said in a growl, his fingers closing around her upper arm to pull her aside. “I want to know why you didn’t tell me you had a younger brother, James.”
    Jessie stared at Wolf in confusion. He thought she was James’s brother? Glancing down at her shirt and homespun pants, she grimaced. One side of her face felt tight. Lifting one hand, she felt the streak of mud on her right cheek. Heavens, she was a mess from head to toe.
    She tried in vain to rub it off; unfortunately, her hands were just as dirty. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. In all fairness, she couldn’t blame Wolf for mistaking her for a boy. Still, it rankled, illustrating just how lacking in womanly curves she was. Her fragile feminine ego took another bruising.
    She opened her mouth to correct him. “You’ve made a mis—”
    Wolf silenced her with a raised hand. The anger left his cold blue eyes, and the hard line of his mouth softened with compassion. “Quiet, boy. This is between me and your brother. As the eldest, James is responsible for your welfare. I will deal with this. You will not be abandoned by your family.”
    The combination of his change toward her and the sudden realization that she might have caused her brothers to lose their jobs stopped the flow of words gathered on the tip of her tongue. The color fled from her face. What had she done? Did Wolf mean to fire her brothers?
    She’d never meant for them to lose their jobs. She’d only