Page 19 of Chance (Wild River Ranch #3)

F our days later, he was still riding the high of Gypsy’s body held motionless by his ropes, straining to reach him as he fucked her sweet pussy with his tongue before finishing her off with his fingers.

It had taken every ounce of Chance’s self-control not to slam his dick inside her and fuck her until they both found relief.

But he already had plans for the first time they made love, and that wasn't it.

Three days ago, he had to get back to work. His brothers and the hands had carried his part of the load for too long now, but he hated being unable to call her throughout the day to make sure she was doing okay. All she had was the burner phone the detective had given her.

Two days ago, he had driven into Wilder and bought his girl a new phone.

When he gave it to her at lunch that day, she acted like he'd given her a bar of gold. The memory of her jumping up and down, squealing, before throwing her arms around his neck and pressing kisses all over his cheeks never failed to make him smile. Not to mention every time she texted him one of the countless pictures she’d colored or asked some question about some word grouping game called Connections.

It made him feel good that he’d given her something she needed, something she also enjoyed. He probably went over the top, buying her the latest model with all the bells and whistles, but he wanted nothing but the best for his little girl.

She'd worried at first about Eddie being able to find her. When he explained it wasn't a public number and her name wasn't attached to the phone at all, she reluctantly agreed when he told her to always keep the phone with her.

Yesterday, she started working in the kitchen with Ruby, Kenzie, and Tildi.

They were good for her and helped keep her mind off Texas.

She’d also taken over the ranch’s website and social media.

That was huge because he hated that shit.

She showed him the progress she’d made last night, and it was stunning.

He wasn’t sure they were ready for the uptick in guests they’d be getting from her efforts, but he’d worry about that later.

When she’d shown him her photography website, he’d been amazed.

And turned on. She was an incredible photographer.

And he was already planning a photo album of her in those poses wearing nothing but his ropes.

He knew exactly why she’d named her company Smile, Beautiful .

It was evident in every picture she took.

She brought out the beauty in everyone she photographed.

Chance was thrilled with the way Joy had settled into his home.

It was as if she’d always been there. And if he had anything to say about it, she always would be.

Because letting her go wasn’t an option.

Not anymore. His life was settled into a peaceful, predictable routine.

Just like he liked it. He relaxed back into his life, where he was in complete control.

Today, well. That peace of mind was what led to the situation he faced now. He’d let his guard down. To say he was surprised to see Joy outside in the cold was an understatement.

He had told her to stay inside the house unless she had one of his brothers with her. Best he could tell, she was all alone. At least she'd better be, with what she was doing. If not, one of his brothers was a dead man.

He blinked twice, just to make sure what he was seeing wasn't some type of snow mirage. But no, it was her, live and in person. She stood, no hat and no gloves, tossing a giant beach ball at Bullwinkle – fuck – Ironside.

He took off at a run, too scared to shout her name for fear of upsetting the bull. The sense of déjà vu irony was not lost on him. If he’d handled that like he should have, she wouldn’t be out here, putting her life at risk again in less than a month.

Hearing her laughter on the breeze only stoked his anger. She was about to learn there was nothing fun about putting herself in harm's way. Especially harm that could gore and trample her. What the hell was she thinking?

Even as he asked the question, he knew. She didn’t think. She just acted, expecting everything to be sunshine and roses. She needed to wake up to a few of life’s realities. Life didn’t guarantee sunshine, roses, and happily ever after.

Sometimes, when everything was going well, life kicked you in the balls and dumped everything on your shoulders. Whether you were ready or not. He’d learned that lesson years ago when his parents left on a routine errand and never came home.

There she stood, standing with her feet on the bottom slat of the fence, leaning into the holding pen by balancing her hips on the top slat. She tossed the giant ball into the center of the pen.

Bullwinkle—fuck it—Bullwinkle watched the ball sail to the center of the holding area. Shock at what happened next halted him in his tracks. The bull trotted off toward the ball, then, gentle as a lamb, retrieved the ball by pushing it back to Gypsy with his nose.

What. The. Fuck. No, really, what the everlovin’ fuck?

The ball rolled to a stop just out of reach. So, climbing up to the third slat, she leaned into the pen and stretched out her hand for the ball. Bullwinkle watched, swinging his tail in excitement.

Chance had lived on the ranch all of his thirty-three years, and he’d seen how quickly things could change when animals were involved.

He had to stop her from getting hurt, even as he recognized when he got his hands on her, he was tanning her ass.

The difference was, though it would hurt, she’d live through a spanking.

"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 the fence, 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 the wolfdog 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."