by Terry Spear
“I’m sure your parents figured we needed a little extra sleep due to all the running around we did last night because of your unwelcome guests.”
“Right.” She went into her bedroom, and he heard her speaking on the phone to her parents. “Yeah, Mom, we’ll be right over. Brock’s showering, and I’ll get a quick one too. Sorry for oversleeping. See you there in a few minutes.”
With a towel wrapped around his waist, Brock walked back into the guest room and pulled on his underclothes, jeans, a T-shirt, and a pair of boots. By the time he was fully dressed, Natalie came out of her bedroom dressed in similar clothes, but her green T-shirt had flowers on it and the name of the nursery. She glanced at his black T-shirt.
“You look like you’re ready for a SEAL mission. When we get to Mom and Dad’s place, we’ll get you and Shawn each a garden center T-shirt so everyone will know you’re working here.”
“No being anonymous, eh?” Brock was used to being knowledgeable about any job he worked, so this was a change.
She laughed. “Nope.”
Then they headed over to the main house, and Brock felt guilty for oversleeping. He never did that. He thought it had to do with cuddling with Natalie all night and not wanting to let go of her this morning.
The food was already on the table when they arrived: eggs, ham, toast, hash browns, and coffee. Brock was famished and hurried to eat before they had to run over to the garden center. At least it was within walking distance. Shawn was already wearing the green garden-center T-shirt, and one was resting on the back of Brock’s chair for him.
Brock probably should have changed shirts out of view of the family, though he often removed clothes in front of others when they were shifting. But since the older wolves weren’t part of his pack, and they were Natalie’s parents and he was trying to put his best foot forward, Brock wasn’t sure why he whipped off his black T-shirt and pulled on the green one at the dining table. Maybe to show he wanted to please them by being part of the garden team.
Natalie’s mom was smiling and blushing. “Oh my, I remember when you were like that, dear,” she said to her husband, patting his stomach.
He ran his hand over his chest. “I still am, dear.”
Juliet chuckled. Natalie was laughing. Smiling, Shawn was shaking his head.
“Shawn said he thought we should still visit with your pack and leave today,” Connolly said. “What do you think?”
“I agree. It would be safer for you if we could handle these men while you’re gone,” Brock said.
“But what about running the garden center? Can you do both?” Juliet asked.
“Yeah. They won’t be here messing with us during the day, and we’ll be ready for them at night.” Brock finished off his ham.
“But you were so tired this morning,” Juliet said, glancing at Natalie, as if wondering if she’d had anything to do with it.
“We’ll set an alarm on our phones.” Natalie spread honey on her toast. “We won’t wake up too late.”
“Yeah, I’ll make sure of it too,” Shawn said.
“Shawn said the ones who trespassed have to be the wolves you’re after because they used hunter’s concealment,” Connolly said.
Brock ate another slice of toast. “Right. Wolves who aren’t trying to cause trouble wouldn’t show up wearing it. It’s the only explanation for why I wouldn’t have smelled them at all—human or wolf. There can’t be that many of them, or I’m sure you would have run across them some time or other.”
“Are you sure you don’t need our help?” Connolly asked.
“He wants you to see the pack sooner and fall in love with them so we can start courting,” Natalie said, surprising Brock by mentioning it.
“We’ll go,” Natalie’s mother said, patting her husband’s hand and casting him a stern look.
“All right, but I hope you let your pack know if you need help right away so they can send reinforcements,” her dad said. “I’ll come back too.”
“Absolutely. I’ve been keeping them informed of what’s going on here. I checked with my brother, Vaughn, but he hasn’t located any of these guys back in Denver yet,” Brock said.
Connolly finished his coffee and set his mug down on the table. “Maybe most of their operation is here in Amarillo.”
“It could be. And Marek might even be a new partner in this business. He might not have been with them all along.” Brock finished breakfast and rose from the table and started clearing dishes.
“Run along. Connolly can get you started, and Natalie will join you soon. She’ll cashier while you all do what you need to do, but we don’t need anyone cashiering for another hour.” Juliet started putting the dishes in the dishwasher.
Natalie kissed Brock, and he kissed her back. “See you soon,” she said.
He caught sight of her parents and his cousin watching them, smiling. Good. He was glad everyone seemed to approve, because as long as Natalie was agreeable, they were going to be mated wolves.
Brock headed out with Shawn and Natalie’s dad to the garden center.
“A delivery truck will be showing up soon. Once you off-load the plants, Natalie will verify we received everything we were supposed to get,” Connolly said. “She can show you where to move them to. If you have any questions, just ask her. Open the gate at eight, and then you probably won’t be very busy until around ten or eleven. You can take turns grabbing something to eat at lunchtime, since that’s our busiest time. I’m going back to the house to get us on the road and send Natalie out to oversee things. And thanks, fellas, for helping out with everything. I’m sure the pack will work out for us just fine. I know they need to look us over and learn more about us, just like we do them. Would it be too much to ask if we can be away as long as three days?”
“You will have just arrived and practically turned around and come home. Make it at least five days, which includes your two travel days. That will give you three full days to meet with the pack and see the area. But spend more time away if you need to. We’ll be sure to run everything right.” Brock really wanted them to enjoy the pack, but if they had any issues or concerns, he wanted them to have time to hash them out too.
Natalie joined them. “I’ll make sure we handle everything, Dad.” She gave him a hug and a kiss. “Go. Mom’s waiting at the car already, eager to get me mated off.”
Her dad chuckled and hugged her back. “Just don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone.”
Brock suspected that was just what they were going to do as soon as they ran into Marek and his men.
After her mom and dad drove off, Brock said, “I was surprised they didn’t worry about leaving the place in our hands when we might have some trouble. Especially since your dad is a retired homicide detective.”
“I think I was more of a concern for them.” Natalie glanced in the direction of the road where an eighteen-wheeler was driving toward their garden center.
“I’m all for ridding them of that worry.”
She just smiled at him and ran her hand over the garden-center logo on his shirt. “Nice abs. You gave my mom a real thrill.”
“I should have moved out of view of the dining room table. I was just thinking we were in a hurry to eat and get over here, and I wanted to show your parents I was happy to wear the center’s T-shirt.”
“Mom appreciated it.”
“And your dad?”
“He was amused.” Natalie waved at the truck driver. “It’s time for the delivery of new garden plants. We’ll have to move them to their various locations once they’re off the truck.” Natalie led the way and opened the gate so the truck could pull up closer to the center.
Then they all got busy off-loading the plants. After Natalie confirmed delivery, the truck left and Shawn locked the driveway gate. They each had a cart to move plants to their temporary homes, starting with the shrub
s.
Brock and Shawn followed her lead.
“Listen,” Brock said as they hauled their carts full of hollies, “these guys, or at least one of them, could very well visit the garden center with the ruse of shopping for plants to check the place out during the day. And to learn who all works here.”
“Or they might even send a woman to check out the place—and us—so we don’t suspect anything.” Natalie motioned to where they needed to off-load the hollies.
“Marek won’t be coming. We also know what Dexter looks like, but he wouldn’t know that. I still can’t believe it’s the same bastard I thought I’d killed. I suspect he won’t come if he’s running the show. He’d more than likely send one of his henchmen.” Brock finished unloading his cart and headed back to the delivery area.
“Unless others are working with them, that would leave Ink Man and Antonio, the printer. I wonder if Dexter thought you were dead too.” Natalie followed Brock and began loading roses on her cart.
Brock and Shawn did the same with their carts.
“Dexter might have thought I died after he shot me so many times,” Brock said. “I’m sure he’d love to finish the job.”
“They’ll be wearing hunter’s concealment, don’t you think?” When they reached the rows of roses, Shawn moved some of them around.
“I’m sure of it, or one of us would smell the wolf.” Brock set the last of his rosebushes down.
Brock and Natalie watched Shawn rearrange the potted plants.
“They weren’t color coordinated. The red roses and orange ones clashed,” Shawn said.
Brock smiled. He never would have thought to organize the colors, but if Shawn was trying to earn brownie points, he was doing a good job of it.
“Isn’t that right?” Shawn asked Natalie, ignoring Brock.
“You’re absolutely right. You can reorganize them to your heart’s content.”
“I’ll move the rest of them after we put the other new plants where they need to go.” Shawn tugged his cart behind him.
“My folks are going to love having you work with us. If you have any other ideas to make things look more appealing, let any one of us know.”
“I will. Thanks.”
Brock was surprised his cousin was really getting into the gardening bit. Not just as a job, but as a viable member of the team. He hoped that didn’t change Natalie’s and her parents’ opinions of him with regard to Natalie. He didn’t mind doing all the grunt work, but designing gardens wasn’t really his thing.
“My mother had prize roses when she was alive. I used to give her a hand in the garden all the time. And I helped grow the vegetables.” Shawn shrugged. “It was just something I did and enjoyed. I hadn’t remembered how much until I was assisting your mom and dad in the garden center yesterday.”
“How wonderful. Working out here always makes me feel good,” Natalie said. “What about you, Brock?”
“Yeah, it’s always good to get out of the house and enjoy nature. It’s beautiful here, and it’s nice seeing customers who love plants just as much.” Brock listened to the birds tweeting in the nearby trees, bees buzzing around the flowers, butterflies fluttering about, all something he didn’t really pay a whole lot of attention to normally. “I guess I don’t get out and enjoy gardening like I might if I took the time to do it.” He finished loading the cart of ferns and other shade-loving plants. They began hauling their carts into the shaded part of the garden. “There hasn’t been any pressing need. Just mow, trim trees, that’s about it. Now, if I had a mate who happened to be a master gardener, I’d be a lot more interested, because she could teach me what I needed to do to turn my yard into a showcase garden.”
“Good. Another new customer.”
Brock laughed. “You’re going to make me pay for the plants?”
“You’ll get a family discount.”
Shawn laughed.
“You too,” Natalie said to Shawn.
When they finished moving all the plants, Shawn began reorganizing the roses.
“What do you want me to do?” Brock asked Natalie, pulling her into his arms for a hug before the place opened for business and he wouldn’t get another chance.
She smiled up at him. “Water the plants. I’ve got to get the cash register ready in about half an hour. You can open the gates then.”
He kissed her, his arms wrapped around her in a hot-blooded embrace, wanting to clear up a matter with her. “You really don’t mind that I’m not going to be working at the garden center like my cousin plans to, do you?”
“No. You have an exciting job. I don’t blame you for wanting to continue to work at it. Besides, you’d probably get tired of me telling you what to do.”
“It depends solely on what you’re asking me to do.” He kissed her again, more deeply this time, emphasizing that when it came to this, showing her just how aroused she made him, she really didn’t even need to ask. He took a deep breath, not wanting to release her, but the place would be open before they were ready if he didn’t. “Okay, so I’ll go in back and water, but when we open up, I’ll water out front, just to keep an eye on you and the customers.”
“What do we do if we suspect a customer could be one of Marek’s cohorts?” she asked.
“Call or text me. Just tell me I need to water the plants out front if I’ve moved away to help someone. I’ll already have done so, and that way, I’ll know you’ve spotted a potential rogue wolf.”
“This is going to be so strange. All the time I’ve worked here, I’ve never felt like I’m an undercover cop, viewing anyone who visits the center as a potential rogue wolf.”
Brock rubbed her arms. “Are you okay with it?”
“Oh yeah. This is a real change of pace for me. Makes it even more exciting.”
He chuckled. “You’ll have to go on some of my cases, just to make your life a little more thrilling.”
“After the center closes for the night, sure. I’d love to. And I would love to help you research on the computer too.”
“Sounds like I’ve got me a part-time PI partner.” If he had a full-time mate.
“Okay, go off to water, and I’ll open the register in a bit,” Natalie said.
It wasn’t long before Brock was opening the gate before it was time because three vehicles were already waiting to drive in and park in the lot. He knew how it was when he was waiting for a shop to open. He always appreciated the shops that opened a little early to accommodate their customers.
“You need to open earlier,” an older man wearing a navy cap said as he climbed out of the cab of his black pickup. “The major chains do.”
“I’ll certainly suggest it to the owners,” Brock said, taking the man’s comment seriously. He was usually up before dawn himself, so he understood the man’s needs. Go to the garden center early before it was too hot out, carry the plants home, put them in the ground, and enjoy the rest of the day pursuing other interests.
“Thanks, young man.” The gray-haired man motioned to Brock’s shirt. “You need a name tag.”
“I’m Brock, sir. I see you were in the navy. Thank you for your service.”
“Thanks. Some great times, some rough times.”
Brock wasn’t going to mention his own time in the service because he figured he needed to work, not chat it up with the customers too much. He could see the gardens being in ruins by the time Natalie’s parents returned if he didn’t do what needed to be done.
“Mr. McCormick, Brock is a Navy SEAL,” Natalie said, having overheard their conversation.
The older man turned and smiled at Brock. “You don’t say. Well, I know this young woman’s got you working hard, but why don’t you come along with me? We’ll talk along the way, and”—he glanced back at Natalie and winked—“you can sell me on a bunch of plants.”
Great.
Natalie and her parents knew all about gardening. Shawn knew some stuff, but when it came to plants, Brock didn’t know much at all. He was clueless on how to care for them, if they were low maintenance, high maintenance, or did well in this area. Hell, he wasn’t even from this area. He hoped it wouldn’t be too obvious when he stopped to read the cards on the plants if the gentleman asked him anything specific. He also hoped Natalie didn’t have any trouble up front while he was wandering all over the gardens, pulling a cart behind him for Mr. McCormick while shooting the breeze about the navy.
But then he caught Shawn’s eye, and his cousin realized what was going on, waved, and headed up front.
Chapter 13
Natalie thought Brock looked a bit panicked that he’d have to actually help a customer pick out plants. But she knew Mr. McCormick, who was as well read on gardening as she was. He just wanted to talk to a fellow serviceman about his war stories. She figured Brock would enjoy it too.
She saw Brock catch Shawn’s attention and send his cousin to watch over her, which showed no matter what other tasks Brock had to perform, his mission to keep her safe was his utmost priority. She appreciated his sense of duty, though she didn’t think anyone would try to harm her while the garden center was open.
Shawn began watering the plants near her, and since customers were off wandering around in the distance, he said, “Did you think Brock looked worried when he had to help the customer find the right plants for his garden?”
She laughed. “A little. But he doesn’t have anything to worry about. Mr. McCormick has a mind of his own. He’ll pick out everything he wants. And who knows, just so he can revisit the old days, he might even buy more plants this time.”
“You won’t miss this place if you move?” Shawn asked.
“No. We’ve created three of these since we started the centers, and each time, they’ve been perfectly unique and suited to the area. We always do well, and our former businesses sold well because they were so profitable, except for the time my ex-boyfriend ran us out of business with his franchise garden center. Of course, buyers wanted to know why we were quitting at the other locations, and Mom and Dad usually used me as an excuse.”
