by Terry Spear
“Hell, yeah. I just wanted to make sure you turned your phone back on, just in case someone important called you.”
“Like you.”
“Yeah, me. Listen, um, can we have dinner tomorrow night at your place?” He was going to tell her everything tomorrow night. No waffling this time.
“Uh, yeah, sure. I just wanted to say I really had a lovely time, Peter. Thanks for dinner and…for all the rest.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, honey, it was good. Real good. You’re welcome. See you in the morning.” He fully intended to stop by her house and see if she’d like to go for a wolf run first thing in the morning. She seemed so upbeat that he realized he’d had nothing to worry about. At least he didn’t think so. But he was going to prove to her beyond a doubt that he was the only one for her.
* * *
Meghan was about to drift off to sleep when she got a call, and she wanted to scream at the caller when she realized it was her sister Laurel. “Yeah, Laurel?”
“Hey, what’s up with you and Peter?”
“What?” How in the world would her sister know anything about what was going on between her and Peter?
“CJ had to talk to Peter about something that was eating Peter after seeing you.”
Meghan let out her breath in frustration. “Nothing. Well, I mean, Bill, of all people, called several times.”
“Bill…?”
“Bill Weaver! Can you believe it? Anyway, it put a damper on the last bit of our evening, but we’re good. I guess if CJ and Peter talked about it, he came around.”
“Okay, good. I was worried, and CJ wouldn’t tell me anything about what they discussed, but I had to know you were all right.”
“Thanks, Laurel. Yeah, we’re good. Night.”
“Night.”
Meghan must have finally fallen asleep when her landline rang and she sat upright in bed, disoriented, thinking someone was ringing the doorbell. She glanced at the caller ID. Bill. The sun hadn’t even risen yet.
She grabbed the phone, but before she could give him an earful, he said, “Hey, Meghan. God, I’m glad I got ahold of you. I need to talk to you about something really important.”
“About what?” She didn’t think it could be about anything more than him wanting to see her again, and that wasn’t happening.
“I have to talk to you in person. I’m at Wolff’s Timberline Ski Lodge.”
“What?” She’d kill him. “You can tell me what you have to say over the phone.”
“I have to see you. For breakfast, first thing?”
“No. I don’t know when. I’ve got important stuff to do. And just so you know, I’m dating someone. We’re serious, so I’m not getting back together with you.”
“I’ll call you later. I do want to tell you how sorry I am about how I was with you…before. I want to have a go of it, and I’ll call you back.”
“Bill, no. It’s over between us.”
“Later, Meghan.” He hung up on her, and she was thinking she was going to have to change her number.
Damn Bill Weaver! Why did he have to show up in Silver Town, Colorado, now, of all times!
Unable to sleep any longer, Meghan climbed out of bed and rubbed her eyes, then pulled aside the gray-blue curtains surrounding her canopied bed. She’d often fantasized about having Peter naked in that bed, sliding around on the cool cotton sheets, rubbing her body with his hot nakedness, with the curtains drawn shut to keep the cool air out. Though she imagined she and Peter would be getting things pretty steamed up before long, she couldn’t believe they’d actually ended up in her bed, doing just about everything she’d fantasized about—except for the consummation part.
Hopefully, Bill wouldn’t mess everything up between her and Peter.
She quickly shifted into her gray wolf. At least she didn’t have to pause to apply makeup or fix her hair or get dressed. She was good to go once she shifted.
She raced down the stairs past the nine-foot blue-, gold-, and silver-decorated Christmas tree, hitting the large blue-and-beige Turkish rug beneath it with her paws and making little gold bells jingle on the tree. Which made her think of an angel, or several in this case, getting their wings, courtesy of It’s a Wonderful Life.
She hurried out through the wolf door to take a run, trying to work out the frustration she felt over her ex-boyfriend repeatedly calling her and now renting a room near town, of all things. She left before sunrise, running alone, which she never did. A couple feet of snow covered yards and the woods, but the streets and sidewalks had been cleared.
Christmas lights sparkled through the trees as she ran. That’s something she’d love to do with Peter…see all the homes decorated with Christmas lights one of these nights.
She always ran as a wolf with her sisters when they could get away at this hour. Of late, they preferred staying in bed with their mates. Not that Meghan blamed them. If she was mated, she would feel the same way. And if Bill hadn’t called her early this morning to say he wanted to talk to her pronto, she probably would have just slept in a little later.
The snow-chilled air swept across her nose, the rest of her covered in a double coat of thick, warm fur that kept the cold from reaching her skin. The moon was nearly full, offering a hazy light on the misty morning. Branches were sagging from the weight of the snow, with more predicted for later in the day. She could smell the cold freshness of the air and the scents of a rabbit and a deer that had run through the area recently.
Despite trying to enjoy the sounds and smells as she ran through the forested land the Silver wolves maintained to provide an escape on the wild side close to town, Meghan couldn’t quit thinking about the reason she was out running. Bill.
Brushing against Colorado blue spruces, she collected snow on her thick winter top coat, which protected her soft undercoat of gray fur and her skin from the cold and wet. She leaped through the snowdrifts, loving the cold, unlike when she’d arrived here a little over a year ago.
She began to see other wolves out for a run in the woods before their workday commenced, and guilt washed over her. She didn’t want anyone to know what she’d done before she had arrived in Silver Town. She’d never planned to tell another soul, though her sisters had been supportive. Bill was another story. One mention of it, and he’d been history. Now he was a wild card who could turn her whole world upside down in a heartbeat.
She saw a few more wolves she knew running at this early hour: Tom Silver with his mate, Elizabeth, who both woofed at her in greeting; Jake and his mate, Alicia, and also their friends Sam and Silva; male ski instructor twins Kemp and Radcliff Grey; and then a few wolves Meghan didn’t recognize. Everyone was out right before dawn broke, and seeing the wolves in pairs, Meghan felt guilty she hadn’t bothered to ask her sisters to go with her. They lived in different areas, and though she usually loved to be with them, she preferred being alone for now.
A large male wolf she didn’t recognize caught her eye—mostly black with gray fur under his chin and on his belly. He was a long distance off, but he was observing her. Something about him made Meghan feel…uneasy. Maybe because he didn’t greet her with a nod of his head or a small bark, but was staring at her in a menacing manner. Then he turned and disappeared into the woods. He could be any of the wolf guests visiting the wolf-run town and ski resort, so she wasn’t sure what about him had spooked her so.
She hoped to reach home well before her sisters arrived at the inn so they wouldn’t know she had run without them. Then she saw Peter loping toward her, looking eager to meet up with her. What was he doing out this way and at this hour as a wolf? Sure, he worked at the sheriff’s office nearby, but usually he was in uniform, not wearing his wolf coat at this time of day. Still, he’d been less and less predictable lately where she was concerned, and she thought it was because he wanted to make sure they were all right with each other.
She waited for him to join her, and when he did, he affectionately nuzzled her cheek and rubbed his body against hers in a way that said he wanted to move their courtship right along. Which again made her think of hot nights she could spend with him in the middle of winter in her curtained bed. She felt like royalty when she slept in it, and she couldn’t imagine a better way to have fun than to have her very own wolf prince sharing the sheets.
She responded with the same kind of affection to show she wanted it, too, though she felt awkward about it because of Bill being in town. Then again, maybe that’s why Peter had shown up at this time of day to run with her. He already knew about Bill.
In that case, the news would be all through the pack before she was ready to deal with Bill and tell him to go home.
Peter licked her nose, she nipped gently at his ear, and he woofed at her in fun. She sighed, her breath a frosty mist, and then nudged him to continue on home.
He ran beside her the rest of the way to her place. He still hadn’t played with her as a wolf, as if he were afraid he would be too rough on her or annoy her. Instead, he loved watching her play with her sisters, looking as though he’d love to join in but just couldn’t make himself do it. He should. If he did, all three of them would pounce on him in fun.
If she hadn’t needed to get to work, she would have tried tackling him when he’d approached her this time, since there were no other wolves that she could see. She’d love to know how he’d respond. Playing was just as important as any other aspect of a lupus garou’s nature. Especially if they were considering mating each other. She couldn’t imagine not playing with her mate, which would help teach their offspring how to play and play-fight. Peter and his brother, Bjornolf, must have play-fought when they were younger. Then again, they didn’t have any sisters, which might explain Peter’s reluctance to play with her.
Forget waiting. One thing Peter had to know about her by now was that she could be predictable at times and totally unpredictable at others. She figured now was as good a time as any other. She swept around and tackled him, totally blindsiding him, and he fell into a bank of snow, looking surprised for an instant.
Chapter 3
Peter was glad he’d been able to catch up with Meghan to run with her as a wolf. He’d dropped by her house first to see if she wanted to run with him, and it had taken him some time to track her down. She’d run three miles from her home and was heading back before he finally saw her. He hadn’t liked that she’d been alone in the woods and was relieved he had located her. Even though the property was privately owned by the pack and No Hunting and No Trespassing signs were posted all over, a human hunter might ignore the signs and shoot a wolf for the fun of it.
He also was glad Meghan didn’t seem upset with him this morning. He’d been worried she might have rethought things last night, which was why he had wanted so badly to see her first thing. He didn’t want to admit he would like to tap her phone to see who was calling her.
No matter what, Peter couldn’t stop thinking about those calls. When he told Meghan about his late wife tonight, maybe she’d feel free to tell him who the guy was. Peter needed to cool it until then.
They’d been running together toward home when he saw her suddenly turn, but he hadn’t expected her to tackle him. Being unprepared, he fell against a bank of windswept snow and woofed with delight. He meant to get up and tackle her in return, but she pinned him against the snow, tenaciously nipping at him with glee. He bit back at her in play, redoubling his efforts to scramble free. And then they chased each other in the snow, her lying down, waiting for him to come after her, and then him charging forward. She wrestled him, growling and barking with sheer excitement. God, how he loved her. He didn’t remember a time when he’d had so much fun play-fighting.
She dashed off, and he raced after her. And then she lay down, waiting for him again. She was still, her eyes on him, and then he ran forward. She tackled him, both standing on their hind legs, their teeth clashing playfully, and then she ran off toward home, and he dashed to join her.
Now this he could get used to on a daily basis.
* * *
Meghan was glad they had played as wolves, though she was still surprised he’d met up with her. When she and Peter emerged from the woods, she saw her sisters’ cars parked in the paved lot next to her home behind the Silver Town Inn. She nuzzled Peter in parting, and he responded with a lick to her muzzle. She smiled and licked him back, wishing they could spend the whole day and night together, and that Bill hadn’t shown up in her life.
She sighed and ran through the wolf door. The home had been her sisters’ and hers when they bought it and the inn as a package deal, but her sisters had ceded the deed over to her once they were mated and living with their mates. Meghan loved the gingerbread-trimmed house and hoped Peter, or whoever she ended up with as a mate, would want to live here.
She raced through the house and up the stairs, then shifted in her bedroom. She now had the master bedroom instead of Laurel, and she loved having her own bathroom. As soon as Meghan was dressed, she headed out of the house and through the snow-covered garden to reach the inn. The fountain had been turned off for the winter and icicles dripped off the basin, shimmering in the orange and yellow rays of the sunrise. Christmas lights sparkled on her house, the gazebo in the garden, and the inn, making it look like a winter wonderland.
When she entered the inn, Meghan grabbed supplies from a closet and began dusting the sills on the back windows and then washed the windows, avoiding her sisters. She knew if they so much as looked at her, they’d realize something was wrong. She didn’t want to tell them that Bill was actually here in Silver Town.
Each of the sisters was assigned daily chores to keep up with managing the inn. Ellie, the youngest, was manning the front desk for now. Laurel was vacuuming, but she shut off the vacuum as soon as she heard Meghan in the sitting room.
“Meghan?” Laurel called out.
“Yes, I’m here. Are all the guests gone?” Meghan asked as she moved to the lobby and dusted the piano and coffee tables.
“Yes. What’s going on with you?” Laurel asked her. “You and Peter are supposed to be doing your share of building the snow castle this morning.”
Ellie finished making another reservation and turned her attention to Meghan.
Meghan glanced at the grandfather clock. She had time. “He’s not picking me up for another hour or so.”
“Don’t tell me nothing’s wrong with you. I know you better than that. You dusted the windowsills and washed the sitting-room windows yesterday. And you went running as a wolf first thing this morning without asking either of us to accompany you. You never do that unless something’s bothering you,” Laurel said. “Peter was looking for you, appearing somewhat unsettled when he didn’t find you home. I told him you might have gone running. So he went after you. We thought maybe you needed some wolf time alone with him before you went to help create snow wolves at the snow castle.”
Meghan could never get anything past her sisters, but she didn’t explain what was going on either.
“Have you had a disagreement with Peter?” Ellie prompted. Then the reception-desk phone rang, and she booked another reservation.
“She got a call from Bill last night when she was home with Peter,” Laurel said, since Meghan hadn’t told Ellie what was going on.
“Ohmigod, how awful. I can’t imagine what I would have done if something like that had happened when I was dating Brett,” Ellie said. “What did you do?”
“I didn’t answer it and turned off my cell phone, figuring that was the end of it after he called twice.”
“Oh, no, there’s more?” Ellie asked, her eyes widening.
“He called my landline after that.”
“Totally awkward,” Laurel said.
“I unplugged the phone, but not until after Bill left a voicemail and the light was
flashing on my phone.”
“You told Peter he was an ex-boyfriend, right?” Ellie said.
“No. If I told him that, I’d have to tell him about Rollins. I plan to. Tonight. It just wasn’t the right time to talk about it.”
Her sisters’ eyes widened. Then Ellie and Laurel smiled.
“The landline in your bedroom?” Laurel asked.
Meghan knew her sisters would learn soon enough that her ex-boyfriend was staying at the lodge. She’d wanted to surreptitiously send him packing without anyone in the pack being the wiser. In a bigger human-run town, it might have worked. In the small wolf-run town? The word was sure to get out. She was certain Peter wouldn’t like it one bit and would have Bill Weaver arrested for any infraction of the law, no matter how minor, just for thinking of getting back together with her.
Ellie asked, “Well?”
“Well, what?” Meghan had forgotten she’d dusted everything yesterday. Whenever something was troubling her, she either ran as a wolf or did chores. Or…both. She hoped she could take care of Bill before Peter learned the ex-boyfriend was in their territory, if he hadn’t already.
“Something more is bothering you,” Laurel said. “Spill.”
The or was silent, but Meghan knew her sisters would enlist everybody’s help in learning what was troubling her if she didn’t tell them.
She began to dust the piano again. “I didn’t want Peter or anyone else to know.”
Her sisters’ eyes grew wide in surprise.
“Bill Weaver is here, wanting me back. He’s staying at Wolff’s Timberline Ski Lodge.”
“Are you kidding? Does he want you to return to St. Augustine with him?” Laurel asked, sounding shocked and a little worried.
The sisters had never been separated for very long and they never wanted that to happen, as close as they were to each other.
