“What if your agent learns about this and becomes upset?”
“I don’t have an agent. I’ve done tons of these before. Just never overseas. I can look for bookstores in smaller places, so there’s less of a chance that anyone follows me from there.” She set her laptop and the bag on the kitchen counter and stared at the seven-foot tree. Wow. She thought hers was nice and cheery, but his was rich, huge, and elegant—woodsy style. Green-and-red-plaid bows, colorful lights, wooden ornaments, and feather-covered balls, with little faux birds’ nests and birds sitting in them all made her feel as though he had decorated the tree in the forest.
“All right. I can help you with that. Just give me an itinerary, and I’ll help you set it up. I can call Strom when you’re ready. I doubt he’ll look into it, but just in case.”
“Okay. As soon as we finish unpacking, I’ll start to work on it.” She headed outside with him and grabbed another bag.
“Why don’t you just use your laptop to start it? I’ll grab the rest of your things and then fix dinner.”
“Thanks.” She paused beside the car as she saw the lights trimming the whole house from every angle—the windows, gutters, and rooftop. Even the trees were aglow with white lights. “Wow, just beautiful. I never put any lights up outside. It seems like too much work just for me.” She couldn’t believe how much he’d decorated the place. She’d expected a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, if that. If her mother hadn’t decorated their home, her dad certainly wouldn’t have.
“There’s a bit of a competition between the guys. Wolf posturing.”
She laughed. “Money involved?”
“Nah, just a little friendly competition. And the kids love it too.”
Candice thought the guys were cute to want to impress the kids. She also couldn’t believe Owen was willing to help her with this charade. Then again, he was like her, an Arctic lupus garou who had to keep her true nature under wraps. She was beginning to believe this could work. For a while, she hadn’t been so sure. Yet, she hadn’t wanted to pretend Owen was still looking for her while her uncle was paying for Owen’s services.
When she reentered the house, she glanced around the spacious home. The kitchen was open to the dining room and living room like hers, but Owen had expansive bay windows looking onto the lake, while her large windows viewed the mountains. She could imagine how pretty it would be here when the fall and spring colors emerged, reflecting off the water. Wanting to see more of the view, she opened the back door and stepped out onto the deck. An aluminum boat dock jutted out into the water, and a bright-orange canoe rested on the shore. Now that’s what she’d love to do. Go canoeing. She could add it to one of her stories even. She smiled. This would be great as a new setting for a book.
A boathouse was off to one side, and she wondered what kind of a boat Owen had. A huge wreath hung on the side, and Christmas lights trimmed the boathouse and the dock, the lights sparkling in the water. Just beautiful.
“Don’t you have to remove the dock?”
“I’ll be taking it out in a couple of days. It’s a one-man job to install and remove; don’t even have to get in the water to remove it. The sections are lightweight and can be stacked by the boathouse. I would have brought it in already, but it’s been mild so far. Plus, a spring runs into the lake that helps to keep the water from freezing early. It’s deep, so it takes longer for the ice to take over. Our dock bubblers help us to keep the water from freezing around the docks also. I have a sailboat too,” Owen said. “I hauled her out of the water for the winter, but I love taking her out for night sails or seeing the sunrise.”
“Perfect for a romance story.”
“Then you’ll have to hang around and go sailing with me so you can experience the real thing.” He motioned to the house. “I can set your PC up on the table next to my computer desk. I have another comfortable desk chair you can use. Sometimes the guys come over and we play video games. Or you can use my desk. Whichever is more convenient for you. Or I can set it up in your guest room if you’d rather. Maybe you need more quiet to write.”
“Nah. I write no matter how much noise is going on, or even when it’s really quiet. I’ll sit at the table next to your desk. I’ll only be here for a couple of weeks until the new moon arrives.” But she was already thinking of returning in the summer to sail with him. “Do you mind if I just sit on one of your recliners while I do this on my laptop?”
“Go right ahead. There’s an outlet next to the recliner.” Owen got busy starting a fire. He put away the groceries she’d brought and then began preparing the meal. “Are stuffed bell peppers okay?”
“Sounds delicious.”
Owen called Cameron and let him know they had arrived, then confirmed tomorrow’s lunch date before signing off.
“What made you decide to take up writing?” Owen pulled out a pot for the bell peppers and filled it with water.
“Oh, I’ve been writing stories since I was a kid. I would write stuff at night after work. I was a file clerk at a law firm. I got really lucky with a publishing contract about five years ago, but back then, I was writing romantic suspense, no paranormal. My focus shifted once I was turned. I had a new appreciation for the paranormal and began writing werewolf romances. A write-what-you-know thing. Not only that, but it was a way for me to deal with the issues I was having. I have fifteen books out now. When I could no longer work at the law firm—trying to control the urge to shift wasn’t working—I had to work at something that I could do at home without creating mass hysteria. That meant writing full time and really having to make sure I made it work. You must have had a real time of it with the kind of work you do.”
He started cooking the hamburger for the bell pepper filling. “We all had a lot of funds saved, and some of us also had inheritances, so we pooled our money and worked together to make this a viable option. All of us guys had been PIs, so we knew the business. And a lot of the research is done online now. We just officially opened our office after not having one for seven years. I was glad the four of us have jobs to show opening a brick-and-mortar business was worth it.”
“I bet.”
“Not sure I should mention it, because I imagine a lot of people who learn you’re an author tell you they’ve started to write a book or have a great story to tell, but…”
“You’ve written a book,” she said.
“I’ve written a little bit of one.”
She raised her brows, smiling.
“I wrote when I was a kid too. Later, when I was waiting to hear on leads while working on cases or doing a stakeout, I’d record story ideas.”
“Do you plan to do anything with them?”
“I… Well, I never get beyond the first chapter before I start something else.”
She laughed. “Hey, maybe we can take a canoe trip around the lake sometime.”
“Great way to work out. I’ll put it on the schedule of fun things to do while you’re here.”
She glanced at his Christmas tree. Leaving her laptop on the couch, she walked over to see the wooden ornaments up close. Intricately hand-carved wolves, bears, moose, foxes, Santa Clauses, and elves. Topping the tree was a hand-carved fairy, the details just beautiful. “These are lovely.”
“Thanks. When I’m thinking about a case, trying to come up with another angle, I whittle away.”
She walked over to the bookcases on either side of his TV and saw that he was a big mystery reader. “Have you ever considered writing about some of your cases? Writing a mystery story?”
“I’ve thought about it, actually. I was writing more in the line of fantasy. But after listening to your book, I was thinking a romance story with a mystery plot could even be more fun. Maybe you could give me some writing tips.”
She smiled, having known he’d ask. She hoped she could be honest without hurting his feelings if his stories needed tons of work. “I?
??d love to. Anytime you need some help, let me know.” A half hour later, they sat down for a dinner of stuffed bell peppers, boiled red potatoes, and whole green beans. Afterward, they got ready to run. She loved running with him. It wasn’t the same as running alone at all. Normally she’d be wary of her surroundings in a place where she’d never been before. In fact, since she’d moved to her new home, she’d never ventured far from the house, so she could race home if she felt threatened by humans.
Here, it was different. Owen knew the lay of the land, and he was comfortable with his surroundings. That made her relax too and enjoy not only the new scenery, but also running with him. She was still watchful—they always had to be—but she wasn’t as worried as she normally was. Even back home, she’d enjoyed taking a wolf run with him, despite the dire circumstances of having to rescue the snowmobilers. Before that, running with him had been pure joy. Even after that, with her heart pounding with trepidation, she’d felt better not being alone.
She could imagine worrying about the snowmobilers on her own and not having any backup. She loved her home and the forested area surrounding it. But now she could see how important it was to have friends who were just like her—who could commiserate with her and help her out if she was in trouble. She wasn’t sure she could go back to the way her life had been.
It was like going to a movie theater alone, then sitting next to a wolf and sharing the experience with him the next time, laughing at the same comedic points, sitting on the edge of the seat during the dangerous twists and turns, and relaxing during the lulling moments. Talking about the experience afterward, agreeing and disagreeing. She realized she’d really missed that human interaction. Being with just a human wasn’t the same either. Her perspective had changed so much. Being with fellow wolves who could understand those feelings was a real boon.
Candice continued to explore and sniff out the scents—a fox, two raccoons, a number of deer—while she pondered her once-again changed life.
She’d given up hope of ever being with someone again. Anyone. Not even girlfriends. To learn that her longevity had increased made doing something about that all the more important, now that she could. Knowing Owen meant all the difference in the world. And meeting the others in his pack did too.
She paused to observe the night sky, the stars, and the growing moon.
Meeting the pack was more important to her than anything money could buy, she realized. The situation with the inheritance had been a miracle. It had made her come face-to-face with the pack that had changed her life. The money or properties didn’t mean half as much to her.
She turned her head and found Owen watching her. Then she began moving again, sniffing the scents, memorizing his territory, and thinking about her parents.
Before her parents died, all that had mattered was going back to see them when she could. Unfortunately, those visits had become strained. Her parents had been angry with her for not coming to see them when they could have really used her aid. The care packages she’d sent, the flowers, nothing could have replaced her being there.
Now they were gone. Candice had to believe they were still watching over her like they had when she was growing up, providing a good home that her own parents couldn’t have given her. If that was so, could they see now she was a wolf sometimes? Know that was the reason she couldn’t go home? She wanted to believe so, for her own peace of mind.
She looked up at the stars, imagining her parents up there, some of the brightest stars lighting her way.
As she began to walk with Owen again, she recognized they were drawing nearer to his place. She swore she heard movement in the shrubs close by, not caused by the wind. Something small, an animal. Owen was off to her left, the animal to the right. She didn’t want to scare it off, but she was curious about what it was. It sounded larger than a rabbit. A fox, maybe? One of the raccoons she’d smelled before?
Then the animal woofed. Not a loud woof, but one that said he wasn’t sure of himself. A wolf woof, not a dog’s.
Owen immediately barked at him, and the young wolf came out of the brush. The juvenile wolf looked a little older than when she’d seen him two years ago—she figured it was like Owen had said, juveniles didn’t grow up as fast because of their human halves—but she would swear it was Corey, the wolf pup who had bitten her. And then she realized she recognized his scent. Not when he had first bitten her, but later, when she was a wolf and cataloging all the scents around the campsite.
A howl rent the air, and Owen immediately howled back. She assumed the wolf who had howled was Corey’s momma or daddy. Then the wolf appeared among the trees, just as big as Owen, just as white and majestic. He stared at Candice a moment, then sniffed the air. She was trying not to be too obvious about it as she sampled the air too. It was amazing how quickly humans turned into part-time wolves picked up the wolves’ habits. It was impossible not to.
She walked over to greet Corey, to let him know she wasn’t upset with him. He looked back at his dad, who just bowed his head a little as if to say it was okay to greet her back.
Corey poked his nose out at her, and they touched noses. She smiled. Despite all that had happened to her, she couldn’t help but love the little fella. If she’d been a wolf pup when she was young, she could imagine the trouble she would have gotten into.
After she greeted Corey, Cameron came over and greeted her, and then he took his son away and Owen walked with Candice the rest of the way home. From the woods, the house looked magical, all lit up in its small clearing. She paused to take in the beauty of it, and Owen smiled at her, appearing pleased that she seemed so appreciative.
Once they’d gone inside and retreated to their respective rooms, they shifted, dressed—him in jeans and his lumberjack shirt, her in her soft flannel pajamas—and rejoined each other in the kitchen.
“That was Corey and his dad, if you hadn’t guessed.”
“I assumed as much. I actually recall Corey’s scent from when he came into camp after I had been turned.”
“I suspect he came over to see you tonight, unable to wait until tomorrow. Of their three children, he’s the real alpha. Angie and Nick would rather watch and see what happens to him than venture into the unknown.”
“I can imagine. He’s as cute as the last time I saw him, just a little bigger. But if I fed him again when he was running as a wolf, I’d toss him the treat. Are you ready to call it a night?”
“Yeah.” But Owen pulled her into his arms. He wanted to kiss her. It meant the world to him that she liked Corey and had treated him like a friend when he needed the encouragement. He was certain Corey, and even Candice, would sleep better tonight, having met each other again and made amends.
Owen decided that while Candice was here, he’d start writing his book. And maybe with her encouragement, he could really stick to one and finish it this time. Maybe if he got really good at it, he could write a book with her. Maybe this would make her consider him as more than a friend and help cement their relationship.
He lowered his head and kissed her, holding nothing back, and wondered if she’d write about this in a scene—the way her body warmed his, the press of their mouths together, the softness and sweetness, and hardness and spiciness. The way his arousal was growing by the millisecond, the labor of their breaths, the ragged beat of their hearts all had him wanting to tell her in no uncertain terms that he intended to court her as a wolf.
Her tongue sought entrance, and he quickly let her in, not believing how wondrous it was to kiss a woman who was a wolf, feeling a blaze of desire building between them. He didn’t want to let go of this beginning if she felt half as intrigued with him as he did with her. He thought so, given the way she reacted to his kisses and rubbed her body lightly against him, the seductive minx.
She finally pulled her mouth away from his, smiled, and said, “Wow.”
“Incredible,” he said. “Just incredib
le.”
“Is it you and me together, or the wolf in us?”
“Both,” he said with certainty, but he didn’t know for sure. What if she kissed the other guys and felt the same way about them, just because they were all wolves?
He wanted to sequester her away from them so he and Candice could get to know each other a whole hell of a lot better before his friends returned and met her.
“I know this is sudden, but…” He hesitated. He didn’t want to sound like a desperate wolf, but he was. “…I’d like to court you.”
“Court?” She looked a little surprised, then smiled. She patted him on the chest. “That means no dating your single wolf friends, right?”
He’d felt hope until she spoke the words. Yeah, it sounded way too controlling. But hell, he wasn’t going to skirt the issue with her. “Hell yeah.”
She laughed. “’Night, Owen. I had a lovely time. And thanks for everything.” Then she slipped off to her guest room.
He wondered if he’d made a big mistake in pushing the issue. “You just need to think on it tonight, right?”
She laughed again and shut her door.
“Hell.” He went straight to his computer, turned it on, pulled up a clean document and began writing:
In Love with the She-Wolf
by Owen Nottingham
Chapter One
Lucky Ryder had taken a run with his Arctic wolf pack…
Okay, so he was supposed to write a romantic mystery. But he should write about what he knew, like she was doing.
…and had been separated from the others when he spied the most beautiful wolf staring at him across the river. What were the odds that he would ever find an Arctic werewolf to mate in the land of ten thousand lakes?
He knew then that he was in love, and he had to learn who she was, even if crossing the raging river killed him.
Maybe a little over the top? He deleted and revised. Wrote some more. Stood up, looked at the time—midnight—sat down, wrote some more, finally left the computer and started to write by hand in a notebook on the couch, and promptly fell asleep.