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"Joy!" Chance yelled. "Stop!"

Evidently, his voice, or the fact that he shouted, popped the bubble of safety that somehow seemed to always surround Joy. Time slowed, and his worst fears were realized as everything happened at once.

Joy straightened too fast as she turned to see him. Her quick movements threw her balance off, and she tumbled head over heels into the holding pen.

Bullwinkle startled. His lungs seized when, instead of running away from the commotion, the bull charged toward his little gypsy. Chance’s heart dropped to his boots. He wasn't going to make it in time. He would fail to keep someone he loved safe. Again. Just as he’d failed his parent eight years ago.

Fuck that. That was not happening. Not today. He forced his body to unlock, and raced toward his Little girl.

"Trace! Tanner! Fuck, anybody! I need help in the holding pen." He didn't try to hold the words back, even though he knew they would do no good. The bull was headed straight for Joy. And Bullwinkle was much closer.

Out of options, he pulled his Colt from where it always stayed when he was working the pastures. Without slowing down, he pointed his gun at Bullwinkle. He didn’t want to shoot the animal for acting according to its nature, but he had no choice.

Suddenly, a dark gray wolf raced toward the holding pen, growling and snarling as he ran. He didn't slow as he reached thefence, leaping up and using the top wrung as a launching pad. He ran toward Bullwinkle.

The wolf snapped and nipped at the bull’s hooves, effectively herding Bullwinkle away from Joy and toward the holding pen shed.

If he tried to tell someone what he was witnessing, no one would believe him. Hell, it was happening before his eyes, and even he couldn’t believe it. Things like that didn't happen in real life.

Unless you were Joy Joplin, that was. Wasn’t there some saying about angels guarding innocents and fools? She was no fool, but innocent? Hell yes. Joy’s guardian angel had been granted strength, patience, and a lot of luck. And, it seemed, the ability to communicate with animals.

As Chance made it over the fence, the wolf dog stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face him. Great. Chance wasn’t sure if his situation was now better or worse. Joy struggled to her feet. So, she was fine. But the low growl coming from the wolf was a different matter.

Following his gut, Chance called out, "Dodger!" because in Gypsy world, what other wolf could it be?

He had hoped he was wrong, but the wolf headed toward Gypsy at a trot. All Chance could think of doing to keep his Little girl safe was to shoot the wolf before it reached her.

Joy watched as he aimed his gun again, this time at the wolf. She ran to his side, yelling, "Wait, Daddy. Stop! Don't shoot my puppy!"

Chance looked at the dog more closely. A young wolf, probably male. But not a full-blooded wolf. That dog was a mix, maybe wolf and husky or shepherd. He was going with husky with those blue eyes. But even if it was a mix, it wasn’t safe. Wolfdogs were unpredictable at best.

As he studied the wolfdog, he got the distinct impression thewolfdog was studying him as well. It didn’t seem the animal was impressed with what he saw.

Chance shook his head. Only Gypsy would find a wolfdog pup in the woods and try to make it a pet. Wolfdogs were not pets. It wasn’t legal to have one as a pet in most states, including Wyoming, with good reason. Wolf dogs were wild animals, uncontrollable, unpredictable, unfit for domestication.

The wolf glanced at Joy, then back at him. If he could put words to the look the wolf gave him, it would have been, “Keep an eye on her this time.” But that was the adrenaline in his system, causing an overactive imagination.

Reality clicked back into place, and Chance saw red. Grabbing her shoulders, he gave her a shake to get her attention. "What in the hell did you think you were doing? I told you to stay inside. This is not inside."

"I'm sorry," Joy said. "I was inside. I stayed inside all day. But then I saw Bullwinkle outside in the cold all by himself. He was lonely, and I know what that’s like. So, I came outside for just a minute to make him feel better. I was only outside for a second or two. Um, what time is it?"

The sun had begun to set. And the temperature was dropping fast. "We'll finish this discussion inside," Chance growled.

Scooping Joy up, he tossed her over his shoulder. Keeping his eye on Dodger to make sure the wolfdog kept going, he marched through the snow to the gate.

She wiggled to try and get off his shoulder. He answered by smacking her on the ass.

She froze. "Wait! I can explain it better!"

Not damn likely. He gave her a solid piece of advice. "If you have a snowball's chance in hell of ever sitting down again, you'll stop talking now and wait till we get to our room."

CHAPTER 15

The clatter and chatter of women talking from the kitchen let him know the three of them were fixing supper. He didn't have time to tell them that neither he nor Gypsy would feel much like sitting at the table by the time he was finished with her.

He gritted his teeth and did everything he could not to strangle her on the way up the stairs. He had to hold her legs, which she was kicking, with a tight grip before she toppled them both back down the stairs. Entering the bedroom, he tossed her on the bed before crossing back to slam the door shut.

Not trusting himself to come any closer to her, he leaned his back against the door, crossing his arms and ankles. "Would you like to explain to me what you were thinking?"