Excerpt: 'Wolf Haven' by Lindsay McKenna

Lindsay McKenna, author of Wolf Haven, joins HEA to share with us an excerpt from book nine in her Wyoming Series, out now.

Lindsay: For those who are following my cowboy series with HQN, Wolf Haven is next! It has already garnered a starred review from Publishers Weekly (Oct. 20), which is wonderful!

R.N. Sky Pascal, U.S. Navy, has suffered torture at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and is desperately trying to find a job after leaving the service. She will be expected to assist Grayson McCoy at the wildlife center. Sky was once a confident and competent ER nurse. Broken by torture, struggling to reclaim herself, she must get and hold a job. Iris Mason, owner of the ranch, is her last hope.

Animals are always healing if we allow them into our lives. You will meet Gracie, Crystal and Chert, the wolf puppies in the book. When you combine love with wounding, then the person is bound to start an inner journey toward healing.

Here's the excerpt from Wolf Haven …

Grayson McCoy was walking from the main office of the Elk Horn Ranch after talking with Iris Mason, when he saw a silver Kia Sorento SUV pull up in front. He'd settled his black SEAL baseball cap on his short brown hair and slowed a little. The early June morning was near freezing, not uncommon at this time of year for this part of Wyoming. To the east rose the jagged, tooth-shaped Teton Mountains, their slopes glazed with white snow.

Because he'd been a SEAL for seven years, he was alert and watchful. Iris, the owner of the Elk Horn Ranch, had been excited about a woman named Skylar Pascal, who was coming to interview for a job. It wasn't just any job, either. Gray wasn't sure he wanted to work with a woman at the wildlife center. He'd been hired a year ago because his mother, Isabel McCoy, was a noted wolf biologist and wildlife expert. Iris had wanted to create a one-hundred-acre wildlife preserve on the Elk Horn for their dude ranch families who came every year for a vacation.

Further, Iris, who always had an eye on saving the planet, wanted part of the refuge for timber wolves and to bring them back to the States. His mother had told him about this job, and Iris had hired him on the spot.

The green grass beneath his cowboy boots was thick with dew as he slowed. Across the dirt road stood the log cabin. He watched with a little more interest as a woman dressed in a tasteful, coffee-brown pantsuit with a white blouse, emerged from the SUV. His eyes narrowed speculatively as he absorbed her.

Being a SEAL, he had the ability to see all the details, which was always important. She was young, mid-twenties, with long, beautiful, ginger-brown hair that swung gently around her shoulders. The way she squared them, the way she walked, made Gray think she had a military background. Military people walked a certain way: shoulders back and proud, a straight spine, the chin slightly tilted upward. This woman was probably around five foot ten or so. Long, lean and damned graceful. She had a white leather purse she pulled over her left shoulder. Another sign of being in the military. Gray smiled to himself. It left the right arm free to salute with, and women in the military always carried their purses on their left shoulder, as a result.

He didn't want to be swayed, but when she lifted her chin and looked around—looked at him——his heart unexpectedly thumped once. It was a crazy reaction and surprising to Gray. He had been emotionally numbed out for a long time…ever since Julia's murder.

Frowning, Gray slammed the door shut on his aching past. Instead, he zeroed in on the woman's square face, her high cheekbones and wide-spaced blue eyes. Damn, she was good-looking as hell. A ten in his book. Yet his SEAL senses warned him that something wasn't right about her. Nothing appeared out of place, but his finely honed intuition was never wrong. It had saved his life way too many times to count over in Afghanistan when he was with SEAL Team 3.

Not close enough to really dig into her eyes to ferret out what he sensed, Gray saw her mouth was full. Even lush. Brushed with pink lipstick. Her cheeks were high. He wondered if she had Native American blood in her. There was keen intelligence in Skylar's eyes, and Gray applauded that. Iris wouldn't hire someone for the wildlife center who didn't have a lot on the ball. His heart stirred for the first time in two years. What was it about this woman that was making him feel once again?

Gray rubbed his recently shaven chin. Skylar Pascal dressed conservatively. Even her footwear showed that. She wore no heels, just common-sense white leather shoes. Sunlight glinted off her plain gold earrings and a practical watch wrapped around her slender right wrist. He liked the way her hair glinted with red, brown and blond highlights as the early-morning sunlight slanted across the narrow valley. His fingers positively itched to tunnel through that shining, thick mass.

Gray turned away, snorting to himself. He headed down the path toward the one-story red brick building not far away. The sign above the two main double glass doors read: Elk Horn Wildlife Center. He'd helped lay those bricks to create the building as well as the sidewalk he traversed. Glad to have his black nylon goose-down jacket on, he saw his breath turn white in the freezing air. The sky was a light blue, cloudless, and he loved this quiet time of the day.

His heart turned back to Skylar Pascal. Who was she? Iris had her résumé on her desk, but hadn't offered it to him. She'd interviewed ten people so far, and none had met her criteria. Iris was in her seventies and knew what she wanted.

She'd single-handedly built the Elk Horn into one of the most economically successful ranches in the valley. Iris was like a sweet, silver-haired grandmother to him. That nurturing exuded from her. Iris and her second husband, Timothy, along with her son, Rudd, and the rest of her family, ran the ranch.

Halting, Gray partly turned to see Skylar Pascal disappearing inside the office door. He wondered obliquely how her interview would fare with Iris Mason.

Find out more about Lindsay and her books at www.lindsaymckenna.com.