Mina laughed, delighted. “We had a moose come right up to the barn when we had our milk cow,” she commented. “I think he was in love.”

“What happened to him?” he asked softly.

“He broke down a fence trying to get to her, so we had to have him relocated by the wildlife people. And soon afterward, I had to sell the cow and her calf.” She grimaced. “We have hard times occasionally. I missed the cow, but not the daily milking. It really hurt my hands.”

He chuckled. “I tried to milk a cow once. I never could get any milk.”

“There’s an art to milking,” she agreed. “Bill McAllister taught me how. I guess he’s done a little of everything in his life.”

“I guess.” He was looking down at her curiously.

“What is it?” she asked.

“This.” He touched the silver wolf pendant he’d bought her. He smiled tenderly. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it,” she said, smoothing her fingers over the cool silver. “I’ll always wear it.”

His heart jumped. A simple silver pendant, and she was overjoyed to have it. One of his lovers had taken a huge dinner ring sparkling with diamonds from his hand and put it on without even a thank you.

“You don’t have expensive tastes,” he said, thinking out loud.

“Not really,” she agreed. “I’ve noticed that a lot of money doesn’t make people happy or make up for what they don’t have. Cousin Rogan lives alone. He has nobody, except me, and he spends his life traveling.”

“He might be happy doing it.”

She sighed. “I guess.”

“There are a lot of things money can buy,” he countered.

She looked up at him with an impish smile. “Like either of us would know,” she chuckled.

He had to laugh. It wasn’t true. He knew exactly what money could buy.

She slid her hand into his and he relaxed. Odd, she gave him peace. He didn’t know that he’d ever experienced it with a woman.

“Mina,” he said softly, and looked down at her. “What’s it short for?”

“Oh, this is rich. Wilhelmina,” she told him. “It was my father’s idea. I was named for one of his ancestors.”

“Somebody German?”

“I’m not really sure. I was so young when he left.” Her face tautened. “I shortened it to Mina when I was still in grammar school. I took a lot of teasing about it.”

His fingers contracted around hers. “My first name is Cortrell,” he told her. “God knows where my mother got it from. At that, it’s not as bad as Cash’s. His real name is Cassius.”

She laughed. “Really?”

He nodded. “He shortened it to Cash when he started in military school. Dad sent him away when he was nine, just after our mother died.”

“That’s awful,” she said softly.

He shrugged. “He didn’t get along with our stepmother. She told Dad something that made him furious. He packed Cash up and sent him off the same day. Cash never got over it. He and Dad didn’t even speak until our brother Garon went to see him, just before he settled in the same town.”