by Terry Spear
Meghan shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe he wants to move here.”
Ellie laughed. “That’s not happening—no matter what important skill sets Bill might have or how likable he can be—if Peter has any say in it.”
Meghan rolled her eyes. “Peter and I aren’t a sure thing.”
Her sisters looked like they didn’t believe her. Well, she and Peter might be a sure thing, but they weren’t there yet.
Thankfully, the inn guests—all wolves who knew to book well in advance for the holidays—were all out sightseeing or hitting the slopes, so the sisters were free to talk about anything they needed to discuss.
The fragrances of cinnamon spice and evergreen garlands and wreaths scented the air, perfect for the Christmas season. The ten-foot-tall living Christmas tree, courtesy of the Silver brothers and cousins, was decorated with Victorian lace bows, strings of berries, and twinkling white lights. A special angel took center stage on the fireplace mantel among the collection of German nutcrackers. The angel was a gift from a lady whose husband had died. Meghan and her sisters had been able to help his spirit find peace after telling the lady he loved her one last time. Each of the sisters had the gift of being able to see ghosts and help them on their way, most of the time.
This was Meghan’s favorite time of year, when everything was sparkly, twinkly, and festive. At least this year she’d gotten a lot more used to the snow and loved having a white Christmas. She and her sisters grew up in Florida and had been restoring Victorian hotels mostly in the southern states, so she hadn’t been prepared for the winter in Colorado last year.
Laurel finished mopping the floor. “No one knows about your past but us. And we’re not sharing. If you and Peter are the least bit serious, you have to let him know.”
“If they were in his bedroom while the light was going off on her landline, they are getting serious,” Ellie said.
Laurel was their oldest sister by ten minutes, and Meghan was the middle child. Which meant she was the “lost” child caught in between, and she’d had to prove she was just as important as her big sister and baby sister growing up. But she’d screwed up big time when she’d witnessed a male wolf’s attempt to murder a human woman, though her options to rectify it had been limited, and none of them had been good.
“Peter’s got some secrets too.” Meghan began dusting around the banister. She didn’t need to dust it again. She just needed to have something to do with her hands. She didn’t know why she was so nervous about Bill showing up in town. There shouldn’t be a problem, unless the Silver pack made a big issue of him being there or tried to force him to leave and he fought them about it.
She didn’t want him ruining things for her. She couldn’t believe he’d even consider trying to change her mind after all this time and after all the ugly things he’d said to her. He’d been right—Rollins could have exposed the wolf kind for what they were—but still, she couldn’t ignore how or what Bill had said in his tirade after hearing what she’d done.
She’d never revealed to her sisters that she had told Bill about her past. She’d hesitated to tell him, fearing he would end the relationship once he’d learned what she’d done, which he had. She had told her sisters that he and she just weren’t mate material. And that was true too. She’d never felt drawn to him the way she was to Peter.
“Oh?” Laurel returned the mop and empty bucket to the closet.
“What kind of secrets does Peter have?” Ellie tidied up the reception desk.
Meghan began dusting their grandfather’s clock. “I have no idea.”
Ellie scoffed. “You said he has secrets, so you have to know something.”
“You know how when Mom and Dad were up to something, they’d quit talking when any of us entered the room? I’ve seen Peter speaking with some of the Silver guys, and they all clam up when I approach.”
“So that they can greet you.” Laurel leaned against the check-in counter.
“Well, yeah, they greet me, but it’s as if they don’t want me to overhear what they’re talking about.”
“Maybe it’s a criminal case Peter’s working on,” Laurel said.
“If he can talk to any of the Silvers about a case, what difference would it make if he talked about it in front of me?”
“True. Maybe it’s about an old girlfriend,” Ellie said.
“I’ve considered that.”
“If it is, don’t worry about it. Old girlfriends aren’t important.” Laurel started making a pot of tea in the kitchen.
Meghan joined her. “Just like my old boyfriends aren’t important.” She suspected Peter wouldn’t think so if he saw Bill in the flesh. If she and Peter were mated wolves, it would be different because wolves mated for life. But with them becoming more serious, she didn’t think Peter would be happy about Bill saying he wanted to get together with her.
“So what did Bill say?” Laurel asked.
Meghan brought out a tray of cranberry scones and put them on the kitchen table. “He said he had to talk to me. That it was important. He sounded anxious. I told him it was over between us. I don’t want him getting the idea that I’m interested in dating him again. I mean, he could have just called me and not come all the way out here to see me personally.”
“And? What else did he say?” Ellie poked her head into the kitchen and saw the scones sitting on the table. “Oh, more fresh scones. I thought the guests ate the last ones.”
“They did. I made new ones,” Laurel said.
“You’re the best,” Ellie said. “Hey, you’ll need to pick up the ingredients for the gingerbread house contest too. We didn’t have time to participate last year, but I have all kinds of plans.”
Meghan agreed. Laurel made the best baked goods.
“Bill said he’d like to work things out, but he had to talk privately with me,” Meghan said while placing Santa napkins on the table. She sat down at the table.
“About what?” Laurel poured hot Christmas tea in reindeer mugs for each of them.
Meghan blew on her tea, her sisters giving her the look that said she’d been taught better, but the black tea infused with cinnamon and cloves was calling to her, and she was too impatient to wait. She took a sip, glad it had cooled enough and she hadn’t scalded her mouth and tongue. If she was going to be questioned to death, she needed some fortification.
“I don’t know. Really. If I did, I’d tell you.”
Laurel was eyeing her with suspicion. Meghan knew Laurel suspected she hadn’t told them everything. Laurel and Ellie sat down at the table.
“You know, you are too much like Mom.” Meghan let her breath out in a huff. She could never get away with anything when their mom was alive, and her sisters were just as wary. “I told Bill. Okay? When I was dating him, I told him everything about Rollins.”
Ellie’s and Laurel’s eyes widened.
Ellie’s face turned stormy in an instant. She slapped the table with her hand. “That’s why the two of you broke up, isn’t it? I knew it!”
Meghan steeled her jaw. “Yeah. But it’s still only my fault. I’m the one who sent the wolf to prison.”
Laurel frowned. “If Bill had been the one for you, he would have seen your point of view in the matter. You didn’t have a choice! There were no male wolves in the vicinity and no pack in the territory. No one else could have taken Rollins down. You had to deal with him the best way you could think of. He would have killed the woman if you hadn’t intervened. You couldn’t have stopped him any other way. If you’d tried using your own might, he could very well have killed you! You were lucky the police were just around the corner, or he might have killed both of you anyway, once he saw you calling the police.”
“I could have become a wolf. I would have had the advantage then. I should have shifted instead of calling the police. We’re just damned lucky he’s a royal and doesn’t h
ave to shift during the full moon while he’s incarcerated.”
“Like I said, the police were just around the corner. What if the woman or the police, or both of them, had seen you shift? It was just a bad situation all the way around. Either one of us would have done the same thing in your place,” Laurel said.
“No, not you, Laurel. You would have shifted and killed him.” Meghan knew that for certain. Laurel had done so in a similar situation.
“I don’t know what I would have done, given the circumstances.” Ellie tucked her red hair behind her ear. “Laurel’s right. No way is perfectly good. The woman was unconscious when Laurel attacked and killed the man who had injured her. Laurel didn’t have witnesses that way. What if the woman hadn’t been unconscious? That would have been an entirely different story. Just like the woman you saved, who hadn’t been. So it’s not the same situation.”
“You can’t tell me what I did was right. It’s been drummed into us since we were little that it’s too dangerous for wolves to go to prison. Too many variables exist. Even if they’re royals, they could still get angry enough to shift and take out someone who is hassling them.” Meghan had given a lot of thought to how she would react to being bullied in such an environment. Turning wolf would definitely be something she’d want to do.
Most of the time, Meghan was glad the lupus garous weren’t out of the closet. But sometimes, like then, she wished they were. Then, she wouldn’t have had any trouble with wolves over what she’d done.
“All right, well, we said we wouldn’t talk about that anymore. Since you’ve discussed what happened with Bill, it sounds to me as if he has amended how he feels about what you did,” Laurel said.
“He wants to date you again. You can’t talk about that over the phone. Betcha that’s what it is. He’s come to his senses about the issues between the two of you.” Ellie took another bite out of her scone.
“But you told him you were dating Peter?” Laurel asked, her brows raised.
“Yes. Well, I didn’t tell him Peter’s name. I didn’t figure that was any of Bill’s business. But I told him I’m dating a wolf. That’s not a secret. I’m sure if Bill talked to anyone about… Oh…my…God, I hope he didn’t mention me to the ski lodge’s staff, or any visitors up at the lodge. I can just imagine that news getting around the pack like a bad case of the flu.” Now Meghan felt even worse about this mess. Why in the world did Bill have to turn up here? He hadn’t talked to her, not once in the year and a half they’d lived here. Was that why Peter had met up with her as a wolf this morning? Because he’d learned Bill was there to see her, and to make sure she didn’t want to start dating the old boyfriend?
Laurel rose from her seat and gave Meghan a hug. “Everything will be just fine. But you might want to give Peter a heads-up first.”
“I haven’t told Peter about putting the wolf in prison either.”
Laurel sighed. “I told you if you were dating him seriously, and you have been, you’d need to tell him. He’ll understand.”
“And if he doesn’t? If he reacts the same way Bill did? What if Peter tells the other pack members and they all react the same way toward me? Most of the wolves love us. All of us. But that could change in a heartbeat once they learn what I did.”
Ellie joined them and leaned down to give Meghan a hug too. “You’ve got to tell Peter. We’ve finally set down roots here. Nowhere else. Laurel and I are married to Silver brothers in the pack. CJ’s one of Peter’s best friends. Brett will understand. Most would, I’m sure. Peter wouldn’t risk upsetting you over it.”
“Right,” Laurel said. “Our mates wouldn’t dare do anything but come to your defense.”
Meghan managed a small smile. She loved her sisters. They always stuck together, no matter what.
“I always thought we’d meet up with some wolves at the next city while renovating a new Victorian hotel. But it never happened, not until we landed in Silver Town to learn about our aunt’s disappearance. We definitely hadn’t planned to stay here for any length of time,” Meghan said.
“But then some of us hit the mother lode,” Ellie said.
Laurel agreed. “Talk about Silver Town having a real silver lining. Even if Peter’s not the one for you, the bachelors will be getting in line in hope you’ll choose one of them over him. You better believe if you ever give Peter the boot, you’ll have dates galore. For now, no one will chance asking you out while the sheriff and you are an item.”
Even though that should have cheered Meghan, getting to know a new wolf was like starting all over again. Each trying to present their best image, hiding their secrets. The wolves who had lived here forever all knew one another so well that they already understood each other’s foibles and strengths and probably knew all their secrets. Not Meghan. It was new territory.
* * *
Peter was anxious to spend the morning helping build the snow wolves with Meghan, but as soon as he arrived at the inn to pick her up, he sensed something wasn’t right. Not with the way the sisters were looking at him differently, both frowning as if he’d done something wrong.
Meghan was hurrying to put on her gloves and scarf.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.” She gave him a smile, but it was strained.
Peter thought about how she’d acted earlier as a wolf and realized she’d seemed a little preoccupied then too—at least before she tackled him. Then she was all play. “Are you ready?”
He hoped she’d tell him what was bothering her, if something was. Though the phone calls she’d had certainly came to mind.
They said goodbye to her sisters, and he drove Meghan to Silver Town Square where the pack was building the snow castle, complete with a slide, as a fun pack-building effort for Christmas. He wanted to take her to the Christmas celebration the pack put on too.
When they arrived, six men and three women were already working on one of the walls. “Hey, Meghan, Peter,” everyone said, pausing to greet them.
They greeted them back, and then Peter began helping Meghan build the first wolf.
He’d really been looking forward to taking part in creating the wolves with Meghan as his partner. It helped to see how compatible they could be in team efforts. Mates needed to be able to work and play well together. Not that they wouldn’t have differences of opinion, like all couples did, but they still had to be compatible. He and Meghan had signed up to build two of the snow wolves guarding the castle. Others had built the towers, the slide, and several families of wolves running or playing.
“I was glad we could sign up to create a wolf couple,” Peter said. “I’ve had to deal with so many car accidents due to the last snowstorm that this is a nice break.” He was thoroughly enjoying being out in the snow with Meghan. She was concentrating hard on starting the sculpture’s legs, and he loved how eager she was to do this with him.
“Oh, I agree. This is so much fun. But how awful to have all the car accidents! My sisters and their mates worked on the snow slide because they wanted to be the first ones to slide down it.”
Peter laughed. He could imagine CJ and Brett getting as much enjoyment out of that as their mates.
“Are you going to help us make a gingerbread house?” Meghan asked.
He’d thought she’d never ask. He hadn’t wanted to invite himself if this was just her sisters and their mates participating. He piled up more snow to make another wolf’s leg. “I’m game. I’ve never made one before, but that should be fun. Maybe I could put it on my résumé if I ever need a new job. Course, it depends on how well I do.”
She chuckled. “You never know until you try. We’ll have fun doing it.”
Peter was glad to take part.
He felt good doing something with her that was fun, even though he was still wearing his sheriff’s uniform. She was quiet for a while, and then she took the snow she’d gathered but didn�
�t press it against the wolf as he’d expected her to. Instead, she balled it up and threw it at him.
The snowball splattered on his shoulder, and Peter laughed. He sure hadn’t expected a snowball fight—though after the way she’d tackled him on the wolf run, he knew how unpredictable she could be—and he was quick to retaliate.
Chapter 4
Meghan and Peter had never played with each other before, except for her tackling him as a wolf this morning, and she thought he wasn’t used to playing with a she-wolf. To get her mind off Bill and enjoy the time she had with Peter, she’d decided that last bit of snow she’d gathered would make for a great snowball. To her delight, Peter had followed suit, whipping up snowballs while she was throwing hers as fast as she could.
He was laughing, and she’d never seen him this animated. Others had paused to watch them and were laughing too. When she knocked Peter’s cowboy hat off, he came around the snow wolf and tackled her in the snow. She laughed and he kissed her. At least they were below the castle’s snow slide where they had a bit of privacy. His cold mouth pressed against hers and quickly warmed her up, and she swore with the way his hot body pressed against hers, they were going to melt the snow all the way to the dormant grass in the town square.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight. God, she hoped Bill being here didn’t ruin things.
Peter sighed. “I wish I could take off the rest of the day and just spend it with you.”
She agreed and tongued his mouth before he kissed her deeply. Then he reluctantly moved off her and helped her up. But she wasn’t done playing. As far as she was concerned, the big snow wolf they were working on was the male. And she added the parts to prove it. When Peter looked down to see what she was doing, he laughed out loud.
They spent three hours on the two wolves, and then Peter took Meghan back to the inn. They’d had fun, and she was glad they’d been able to get away for a few hours to do it.
“Are you sure the male snow wolf was anatomically correct?” he asked her, pulling into the parking area behind the inn.
