For the Soul of an Outlaw by T. S. Joyce

Author:T. S. Joyce [Joyce, T. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wicked Willow Press
Published: 2018-03-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

She had to tell him.

Crap, she didn’t want to tell him, though.

Tenlee paced back and forth in front of the big cabin. The numbers on the house glinted in the sunlight. 1010. She’d seen the Clan make wishes on those numbers too, but she didn’t understand it. What could a number do? She was the wishing squirrel. She was the one who made wishes come true.

But it couldn’t hurt, because she was pretty sure Kurt was going to be really mad. She was clutching a handful of Ramsey’s feathers in her hand and watching Gunner like a hawk. Karis was here too, and Ava, sitting on the porch talking softly, wrapped in blankets on the porch swing. It was plenty big enough for three, but Tenlee would never fit in with them, so she was content to pace the muddy path she’d created in the new grass, check the trees for crows, and watch the horizon for the men…or more specifically, for her man.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to help?” she asked Gunner.

“No, no, I got it. Dad said if I get people to help all the time, I won’t learn it. And I want to grow up big and strong like him.” He was wearing a little cowboy hat and Wrangler jeans, but he had sneakers on and was trying to tie them. Momma Crow had taught her how to tie her shoes. And speak English, eat with utensils, brush her hair, and have manners…mostly. She wanted to teach Gunner everything she’d learned so she could be important to him too, like Momma Crow was important to her.

She squatted down beside him and watched, but he seemed to have it, slowly but surely. Gah, she didn’t want to tell Kurt about Ramsey.

“Gunner? How did you know the crow was in the barn with me?” she asked.

“Well, me and Karis were working in the garden, and I got this funny feeling.”

“What kind of feeling?”

“A mad feeling. I thought maybe you were crying or something because sometimes when you’re sad, I get a sad feeling, too, in my tummy.”

“Okay.” She got that because she got the same feelings when something was off with Kurt or Gunner, or even Colt. “Did you run away from Karis?”

“Yes. When she was puttin’ little carrot seeds in the ground, I ran to the barn. I got madder when I saw that fuckin’ crow bein’ mean to you.”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to say fuckin’.”

“Well, Dad, Colt, and Trig say it all the time. I’m gonna be a big mountain lion someday, Ten. I’ll always protect you.”

She really liked when he called her Ten, like Colt did. The whole Clan had started to pick up on the nickname. Scooting closer, she did something she’d never done before. Tenlee pulled him in close, hugged him, and kissed the top of his messy hair, the same shade as his dad’s. And then he did something that shocked her. He went all soft against her and

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