Maverick / The Playboy's Passionate Pursuit: Maverick / The Playboy's Passionate Pursuit

Tanner was hard put not to laugh. “Neither do I, but that’s how Hawk refers to himself. He’s not ashamed of his heritage. Matter of fact, he’s proud to have both Scot and Apache blood in his veins.” Now he laughed aloud, softly, almost as if to himself. “I think you’ll find that Hawk is something else.”

“And what might that something be?”

“Different,” he said after a moment’s silence. “He’s one of a kind.”

“One of a kind of what?” Her tone was clear warning she was getting edgy again.

Tanner shrugged. “One of a kind of man, of human being. I don’t know how to explain it, he just is.”

“Does he live alone?”

“Usually.”

“Tanner…” There was a sharp note of impatience in her voice.

He laughed. “It’s the truth, Brianna. Hawk is usually alone, but now and again he has his sister staying with him. Cat isn’t as proud of her heritage.”

She frowned. “Cat? Hawk and Cat?”

Tanner slid a quick grin at her. “Hawk is just that—Hawk. He’s named after his maternal great-grandfather. Cat is short for Catriona, the Scot and Irish name for Catherine. She’s named after her paternal great-great-grandmother.”

“And she doesn’t like being of mixed racial parentage,” Brianna said, obviously choosing her words with care.

“No, she doesn’t. So every so often she runs away from the world by hiding out with Hawk.”

“Hiding out?” she nearly yelped. “Is he hiding out from the law?”

“No, Brianna, Hawk is not hiding from the law. He’s not a criminal.”

“Well, what is he, then? A hermit? Has he always lived away from society? How old is he?” She once again zapped the questions at him rapid-fire.

He shot the answers back at her in kind. “A man. No. Since he became an adult. I’m not sure—somewhere in his midthirties, I suppose.”

“Odd,” she murmured.

“Why?”

“Don’t you think it’s odd, a man deciding to live away from family, friends…women…at such a young age?”

Tanner shifted another glance at her. “I didn’t say he was a cloistered monk, Brianna. When he’s in the mood for company, he does see his family, friends.” He paused deliberately, as she had. “And he does see women.”

“You know—”

The SUV plowed over a natural speed bump, silencing her except for a startled, “Oh!”

“Sorry,” he said, biting back laughter. “I told you it was rough—and it’s going to get rougher.” He couldn’t hold back a slight grin. “A whole lot rougher.”

She glanced around at the terrain, the narrow shoulders bordering the macadam road, and the thickening forest beyond. She frowned and shifted in her seat. “You said we’d stop at sunset. The sun’s starting to track west now.” She glanced around again. “Tanner…”

“There’s a clearing up ahead,” he said, anticipating her question as well as the need causing her suddenly restless shifting. He swept a hand in an encompassing movement. “We’re in a national park area. Not only is there a clearing, there are restroom facilities.”

Brianna sighed in relief. “I’m glad to hear it.” She smiled. “I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of asking you to stop while I made a dash into the bushes.”

He laughed. “I know what you mean. I’m experiencing the, er, same pressure.”

“Don’t you dare make me laugh, Tanner Wolfe,” she said. “I would rather not embarrass myself, thank you.”

“Well, you’re in luck, Brianna Stewart,” he assured her. “The clearing is just beyond the bend up ahead.”

“Here we are,” he said moments later, pulling the vehicle into a spacious clearing by the side of the road. Along one side of the area, just beyond a posted sign reading Restrooms, was a good-size building. They headed toward it quickly.

Within minutes, they were back on the road. An hour and a half later, Tanner made a quick turn.

“What exactly—Oh!” she said, startled by the jostling of the SUV as he drove off the paved road onto a dirt, stone-strewn track undeserving of the name road. “Where are you going?” Bri demanded, glancing at the forest, which seemed to be closing in on them.

“To Hawk’s place.” He shot a flashing glance at her frown. “What? You expected Hawk to be living smack-dab in the middle of a superhighway?"

Bri’s frown turned into a scowl. “No, of course not,” she said, one hand gripping the edge of the seat, the other clinging to the dash in an attempt to keep from being flung back and forth within the confines of the seat belt like a rag doll.

“Just hang on,” Tanner said, his grip solid on the steering wheel. “It’s gonna get worse before it gets better.”

“I…d-didn’t…think it c-could get any worse,” she finished in a rush.

“Ah, honey, you’re in for a bouncy surprise.”

She sighed, ignored the cramping in her fingers and glared at him. “I told you not to call me ‘honey.” ’

Tanner laughed all the way down the track to the valley that spread away from it at the bottom. Tucked on the leeward side of the mountain was a one-story ranch house much like the ones seen in Western movies.

Hawk’s place was hardly the small, run-down outfit Bri had been expecting to find. In the waning afternoon light she could see several rail-fenced corrals, all containing horses, their coats gleaming in the slanted sunlight. But the ranch was the least of the surprises in store for her.

Bri was so distracted by looking around the property she never noticed Hawk McKenna standing in the shadows of the wraparound porch until he stepped out into the light. At his side stood the biggest dog she had ever seen. More like a pony.

Her startled gaze watched man and animal as they sauntered toward the vehicle Tanner pulled to a stop.

Hawk was not quite as tall as Tanner, but slimmer, rangier. Though older, McKenna was every bit as handsome as Tanner, if in a different, somewhat rougher way.

Where the younger man’s appearance was sculpted, Hawk’s features had a harshly rough-hewn look. His hair was even longer but as clean and well kept as Tanner’s. Most startling of all, it was the same shade of brown and, in the golden glow of slanting sun rays, shot with streaks as dark-red as Bri’s own.

Tanner got out of the truck and the two men hugged like long-lost brothers. The dog, not barking or whining, just stood beside his master as if waiting for his turn to greet the company.

As soon as the men were done hugging and slapping each other on the back, the animal moved to Tanner. When he greeted the dog, it jumped up, front paws on his shoulders, standing almost as tall as Tanner.

“Hey, Boyo. No kisses, not on my face,” Tanner said, laughing as he twisted his head to avoid the excited dog’s eager reception. “Yeah, the hand’s okay.” Still laughing, he ruffled the dog’s coat.

Boyo, Bri thought. What kind of name was that for such a large dog? He was massive, formidable, his silvery-gray coat marked by small streaks of black. Fortunately the dog appeared friendly or she wouldn’t have considered stepping foot from the safety of the SUV.

Tanner’s sudden appearance at her door broke into her concentration on the animal.