Lone Wolf (First in Lone Wolf Series)

Chapter Twenty-One

“Grange.” Sheriff Bishop said good naturedly as he stood from his desk and walked over. Gladys sat in the chair on the other side of the desk and simply appraised Farrah with jealousy. Grange looked at Farrah and tried to see her through the eyes of a man not completely devoted and in love with his mate to figure out what would make Gladys jealous.

She was wearing a white blouse that hugged her lean frame. The top few buttons were undone, revealing her tanned collarbones and the shirt clung to her full chest and flat stomach. Her split skirt was tanned and showed off her flared hips. Her thick wavy brown hair was long and curled down her back and her face was pretty enough.

She was actually just the kind of woman Grange would have been drawn to before Dawn. Though now that he had Dawn he had lost all desire for any other woman than her. She was all he wanted and all he needed.

“Sheriff Bishop, this is Farrah. She is the woman I was telling you about.” Sheriff Bishop nodded and Grange saw his gaze pass over Farrah rather inappropriately before he looked back at Grange and blushed.

“I trust you haven’t had any trouble from the miners? They have not been back in town since I asked them to leave yesterday.” he said as he walked to his wife and stood behind her with his hand resting on her shoulder.

“No, we haven’t seen them, though if they do show up I can promise you now that they will wish they hadn’t by the time Trig is through with them after what they did to his fiancee’” Grange replied. He saw Farrah look over at him but thankfully she did not say anything. Grange couldn’t very well tell these people that Farrah was Trig’s mate and simply calling her his woman would not have satisfied the gossip that was Gladys.

“I understand.” sheriff Bishop admitted. He looked back at Farrah, this time managing to keep his gaze on her face.

“Ma’am, if you don’t mind, could you please tell me exactly what happened in the woods that day between you and those men?” he asked. Grange nearly blew the whole situation when his jaw just about hit the floor the second Farrah opened her mouth.

“Oh my goodness!” she gasped, a southern accent suddenly thick in her voice. “I was so scared. I had been traveling this way to come join my fiance when there was a mix up at camp one night and my traveling party left without me. You have no idea how scared I was. Just little old me, lost and alone out in the woods.”

“You poor thing.” Gladys stated sympathetically and Farrah gave her an appreciative smile.

“I saw the firelight of a campfire and so I made my way to it and those men…. They grabbed me. They started making lewd comments and remarks that woulda had my Christian mother rolling over in her grave, God rest her soul.”

“Is that right?” sheriff Bishop demanded angrily and Farrah nodded before sniffing and wiping a tear from her eye. Grange couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing. This woman belonged on stage or something because he had never seen a more believable act.

“They tried to… They tried to…” Farrah covered her face and Grange put his arm around her shoulders.

“I think you can guess what they tried to do.” he said to the sheriff and his wife and they both nodded.

“But they didn’t know that my daddy hadn’t raised me to be no pretty wallflower. I knew how to defend myself and so that’s just what I did. I got me a couple of them and then I ran away.”

“You know those men said that you turned into some sort of creature.” sheriff Bishop informed her gently and Farrah shook her head and tossed her hair over her shoulder.

“They’re just mad because they didn’t manage to get what they wanted and because I escaped from them. Please sheriff let this be over. Don’t question me anymore, it’s just too difficult.”