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Rose. She had written him a few months ago telling him she was tired of waiting for him, but with the hearings coming up he hadn’t found time to write her back. Her timing was rotten, but she had been patient for years. He would talk to her and convince her to wait just another year or so. By that time, change would have come to Omaha. He could leave the city with a clear conscience and come home. Then he would give her all the time she wanted to court her properly.
    Of course, if the hearing didn’t result in the changes to the law he’d so ardently campaigned for, it could be longer than a year. The wolf inside him whined softly. Sky wrestled him down. The damn beast hadn’t made himself known for over six years. Why was he manifesting now? Oh, Sky knew why. The beast pined for their mate, and now that they were on their way to see her, he had perked up.
    Sky wasn’t sure if he was happy about the return of his wolf or not. The wolf was a simple creature who didn’t understand the delicate dance of politics. His solution to the injustice in Omaha was to kill every man responsible. He didn’t understand that working inside the law would bring lasting change peacefully. Killing the mayor and his cronies would only bring chaos to the city. His wolf was an alpha, and at first he’d tried to yank control from Sky. Having the wolf sleep was safest.
    Yes, safest, but Sky missed the wind on his face and the prairie grass under his paws when he ran. He would have to wait three days for the return train to Omaha. For that long at least he could indulge his wolf. He could take off the business suits and dress shoes and run like the wind over the prairie.
    The train slowed and a man shouted that the next stop was Kearney. At last! Sky checked that his suitcase was still under his seat, and adjusted his tie to be sure it was straight. Of the thirteen men in the single passenger car, two others were also getting ready to disembark. Seven hours to travel from Omaha to Kearney was actually very fast, compared to the three or four days it would have taken on horseback, but Sky was glad for it to be over. All he had to do was find his mate, convince her to wait for him a while longer, and get back to Omaha as soon as possible. The vote might not take place for several days, depending on how much discussion was required. Maybe he could get back for the end of it.
    He picked up his suitcase and carried it down the ramp that joined the train to the platform. Would Rose be at the den north of Kearney? A sudden, sickening thought hit him. She could be with the Clan on the prairie. They could be anywhere from North Dakota to Kansas. Dear God, this trip could have been in vain.
    A terrible yearning to see his family again punched him in the gut. The only member of his family he’d seen in eight years was his brother Jimmy White Elk. That hadn’t gone well. Jimmy thought since his little brother owned a whorehouse, he would give Jimmy free passes with his ladies. Even now disgust curled in Sky’s gut at the memory. Jimmy was a married man. How could a husband even think of being with another woman? After a bitter fight, Sky ejected his brother from his house, and two days later he was dead, the result of a barroom brawl. He could have accompanied the body back to the Clan, but he had been too ashamed. Jimmy would still be alive today if he hadn’t turned his back on his brother. Why hadn’t he tried harder to talk Jimmy into going home to his wife and sons? He wrote a letter instead, and sent the body home with a pair of hired men.
    Right now, even with that shame standing between himself and his family, he wanted to go back to the easy life he’d had as a child in the camp of the Lakota Wolf Clan. But he couldn’t take the time to ride out to the Clan right now. He was here to find Rose, talk sense to her, and get back to Omaha as quickly as possible.
    Finding his mate turned out to be exceptionally easy. She stood on the train