A Very Jaguar Christmas

by Terry Spear

  “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

  She frowned. “What’s wrong with some people anyway? He doesn’t show any interest in his son, but when Brayden finds a lovely family to live with, Lucian all of a sudden wants to what? Protect him? Show some fatherly love? I doubt it. More likely, this is all about the trust fund arrangement.”

  “Agreed. We need written permission from the beneficiary, Brayden, and Lucian, the current trustee, to change it. We’ll ensure that Lucian agrees. If you have any further trouble with him, direct him to me. I’ll take care of it. Keep me informed.”

  “Yes, sir.” She figured this was the last she’d get to work with Everett on the mission, and she was really disappointed. But maybe working together wouldn’t end there. She smiled a little. No, it could be just the beginning.

  When she ended the call, she said to Howard and Everett, “I guess we’re done with this case for now, unless something else happens to warrant further investigation.”

  “I agree,” Howard said.

  “I’ll be on leave for the next two weeks,” Everett said.

  “Me too. I am so looking forward to just lazing around in my pajamas until I feel the urge to go out and do something fun.”

  Both Everett and Howard raised their brows and smiled at her.

  She felt her face warm. She could say that to her female friends, and they totally understood. Say that to men, and they immediately envisioned something completely different.

  “Well, before you go home and do that, do you want to have lunch out?” Everett asked.

  She couldn’t believe he’d ask.

  Howard smiled. “I’d say yes, if you were asking me.”

  She laughed. “Sure. It’s nearly noon.”

  “Okay, I just made reservations. I can drive,” Everett said.

  Howard just shook his head. “See you around. If I learn anything more about the jungle incident, I’ll let you know.”

  “Thanks, Howard,” Demetria said. When he left the room, she turned to Everett. “You didn’t think I had other plans?”

  “I considered it, but I figured you would have said you had to run to have lunch with someone.”

  “Always an agent.”

  “Got to keep on my toes.”

  “So where are we going?” she asked.

  “Does the Japanese hibachi steak house at the mall appeal?”

  “Ohmigod, yes. Really? I never get to go there. It’s so expensive. For real? You’re paying, right?”

  Everett laughed. “Yeah, I’m paying. And if you don’t have anything else to do, I thought we could see a matinee movie and do a little Christmas shopping. I usually do it online—fewer crowds and less of a hassle. But I wouldn’t mind checking out a few stores if you want.”

  “Yes, I’d love to. I usually try to run in, grab what I need, and run out—I’m not a window shopper—so that sounds like a great plan. We could even split up if the places I want to go wouldn’t interest you, and vice versa.”

  “It’s a deal.”

  * * *

  Everett told himself he needed to go slowly to not make Demetria feel as though he was desperate to see her. She was an independent free spirit, and he didn’t want her to believe he was planning to monopolize all her time during her vacation. Though when she mentioned staying in her pajamas late into the day during her time off, that sure made him wish he was lounging with her and enjoying the holidays, chilling out, and more. He was trying not to mentally make plans with her for the next two weeks.

  It wasn’t working. As soon as the night was through, he’d be asking her out for tomorrow.

  He’d hoped if he made the reservations for the restaurant, she wouldn’t back out or ask Howard to join them. He knew Howard would understand where he was coming from and would butt out. As Plan B, if she had said she had other plans, Everett would have asked Howard if he wanted to join him. Wouldn’t he have been surprised? Demetria too, he suspected.

  Everett was glad she’d said yes to everything. When they arrived at the mall, he realized he actually hadn’t been here during the holidays for a number of years. Online purchasing was just so much less of a hassle. No vying for parking spaces or dealing with all of the crowds.

  And yet, he really felt the Christmas spirit at the mall. He enjoyed hearing the Christmas music, seeing Santa and his elves, the kids all lined up eager to sit on Santa’s lap, and the shops all decorated in Christmas trees and wreaths or other holiday fare.

  Demetria was all smiles, looking at all the decorations and smelling the sweet scents from a candy shop decorated in giant-sized candy canes and lollipops.

  “Did you want to go in?” He could probably get some gifts for his family in there.

  “Yeah, after we eat. This is where I’ll buy us dessert.”

  He smiled. “Dessert’s on me. I need to pick up some gift boxes too.”

  “Okay, but next time…”

  So many people were rushing to do last-minute shopping that it was hard not to bump into someone. Everett took advantage of the situation, wrapping his arm around Demetria’s shoulders to pull her close and shield her a little. At least, that’s what he told himself.

  She smiled up at him. “Crowded, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah. That’s why I normally shop online. But this is fun for a change.” Only because he was with Demetria. She made it fun.

  “I agree.”

  Everett swore more people had brushed against him than not when a young boy holding a sticky, red-and-green candy cane nearly ran into him. “Hey, buddy, watch out.” He spoke with authority to get the kid’s attention, but not in a mean way. Still, wide amber eyes gazed up at him, as if the kid could see Everett was really a jaguar in human disguise and all of Everett’s wickedly sharp jaguar teeth were on full display.

  A woman with two more children that looked just like the boy—who couldn’t have been much older than four—quickly intercepted him, giving Everett an apologetic, frazzled smile. “So sorry. Just saw Santa. I shouldn’t have let them have the candy canes Santa gave them until we got home. I usually have more help when I’m at the mall.”

  “No problem.” But when he took a breath as she hurried past him to grab another of her triplets, he smelled wolf. He cast a glance back at the slightly built woman, a brunette with amber eyes, her boys all favoring her. The boys were staring at him as if he were a big, bad wolf, eyes rounded, mouths open wide.

  The mom looked back at him as if to see what the matter was, frowned, then hurried her children along again.

  “Did you know her?” Demetria asked. “Cute kids. I can’t imagine trying to take triplets to the mall during the holiday rush without some help.”

  “Nah, I didn’t know her. She and the boy closest to me just smelled of…” He shook his head.

  “Of what?” Demetria slid her arm around his waist.

  Everett tightened his arm around her shoulders, glad she was hugging him. “Of wolf. I just can’t imagine anyone with young kids, triplets and all male at that, owning a wolf dog.”

  “Girls can be just as out of control.” Demetria glanced back at them. “I missed the scent. Some people like to live dangerously.”

  “I guess.”

  After that, they ate at the hibachi restaurant, enjoying the entertainment as the chef tossed a cooked shrimp at Everett and he caught it between his teeth. Demetria smiled and took hold of Everett’s arm, leaning close and whispering, “I’d love to see you do that as a jaguar.”

  “The chef would leave all of it for me and run.”

  “More for us then,” she said, since they had to share a table with six other people.

  “You sound hungry.”

  “I am, but I’m saving room for dessert.”

  He smiled at her, and she laughed. “Why is it that when I’m saying something perfectly innocent, you don
’t look as though I am?”

  “Hey, I’m the innocent here.”

  She laughed again. “Somehow I find that hard to swallow.” She pulled out her phone to take a picture when the chef created a fiery volcano in the center of the grill. But then another woman offered to take a picture of the two of them sitting together with the fire display in the foreground.

  Even better.

  After that, they had fun in the candy shop. Everett bought a bunch of boxes of candy for gifts and peppermint fudge for dessert. Demetria eyed it for a long time, then asked the clerk for a sample, though Everett had offered her a bite of his, waggling his brows at her. After that, she chose a piece of it too.

  They shopped some more, then went to the theater to choose the movie. The choices were a sci-fi adventure thriller and a Christmas murder mystery. Everett left it up to Demetria. They both read the reviews, but neither of them knew anyone who had seen the new releases yet.

  Demetria picked the Christmas murder mystery because it looked like it had a happier ending than the other. Halfway through the movie, Everett was sure the choice had been a mistake. Demetria was tense, wiping away tears trailing down her cheeks and visibly upset. Hell, who would have thought the hero would have flashbacks of fighting terrorists in the jungle now that he was at home during the Christmas holidays. He was trying to solve the murder of his best friend, involving the woman he loved, a woman who hadn’t known how the hero felt about her.

  Even Everett felt uncomfortable with the similarities in the story to their own true-life situation, as much as they were dissimilar. He tried to see it as just a made-up story, not like their lives in the least, but that didn’t help. Not when he was sure Demetria was feeling distressed.

  He didn’t want to intrude, but he didn’t want her to believe she had to see the rest of the movie because he wanted to, that it would be okay if she felt like leaving. Either way was fine with him. Then again, maybe she cried a lot at movies, and if he said anything, he would embarrass her.

  Damn, he hated second-guessing the situation. But he didn’t want her feeling bad.

  “Is the movie all right? Do you want to go?”

  She shook her head. “I’m fine. I want to see the happy ending.”

  They saw the happy ending—boy and girl fell in love, and the murder mystery was solved—but Everett was sure they should have watched anything other than that movie. “Well, that was kind of a downer,” he said, walking her to the car and rubbing her back lightly.

  “I had a lovely time, Everett. Don’t worry about it.”

  “If you’re not doing anything tomorrow…” he said.

  “I’m going to just…veg tomorrow. I’ve really needed this vacation.”

  “Sure, I understand. Me too.” But he still would have loved to spend some time hanging out with her. Maybe he should have started out more slowly. “If you decide you want to do anything, just let me know. I was thinking of going to see that ice sculpture place. They’re featuring Christmas around the world. I’ve never been before, and I thought it would be fun.”

  She smiled, but her smile was sad. “I haven’t been either. Maybe some other time.”

  “Sure thing.” He dropped her at her car parked at the JAG headquarters, but before he could open her door, she hurried to get out of the car, her body language saying she wanted out of there, no kissing, no hugs. He wished the evening had ended a whole lot differently.

  Chapter 5

  Demetria had a wonderful time with Everett, but she wished she hadn’t picked that movie to watch. How was either of them to know that it would hit so close to home? She tossed and turned all night, unable to quit envisioning Everett and Matt in the jungle fighting to save Lacy, and Matt losing his life.

  She finally managed to sleep in, did her laundry, changed bedsheets, and dusted. She did everything she could think of while trying to get her mind off Everett and how unhappy he’d seemed that she’d so quickly ended the night with him. But she couldn’t help it. Everett was the hero in the movie, had the crush on her while she’d been dating his best friend, and yet, she hadn’t loved Matt like the woman had loved the man who had died in the story. As a friend, yes, but not as a man Demetria had wanted to promise her love to forever.

  How could things get so complicated?

  She gave up on trying to sort it out in her own mind and called Tammy. “Hey, girl, need to talk. When is your next break coming up?”

  “I work only half a day today. Students are training in combat maneuvers for the rest of the afternoon and through the night so I’ve got a break. Want to get together?”

  “Yeah. I’ll fix enchiladas.”

  “You sound down. You’re on your vacation. You’re supposed to be happy. Is there something wrong with the case you’ve been working on? Brayden Covington’s case? Don’t tell me Lucian’s being a total jerk again.”

  “No. I went and saw Christmas Trouble.”

  “Oh.”

  “You’ve seen it?”

  “Umm, yeah. I never read reviews or what the movie’s about. The title said Christmas, and my mate wanted to go. Believe me, getting him to see a Christmas movie is like pulling jaguar teeth. So we went and we both immediately thought of…” Tammy paused. “Well, anyway, I’ll be over in half an hour. Do you want me to bring dessert?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  Tammy could always cheer her up. The problem was that Demetria had never told Tammy how she had felt about the two men.

  Demetria finally threw on jeans, sneakers, and a sweater, brushed her hair and applied a little makeup. Then she turned on her Christmas tree lights before Tammy arrived. She was there in twenty minutes, as if she figured Demetria was about to go off the deep end.

  “Hey, Demetria,” Tammy said, handing her their favorite chocolate-chip mousse cake from a shop near her and giving her friend a hug.

  “Sorry to be so glum.”

  “No problem. I brought the fixings for Christmas margaritas, perfect to go with your out-of-this-world enchiladas.”

  Demetria smiled.

  “Let me just grab my bag out of the car.”

  “You’re staying the night?” Demetria was thrilled. “What about David?”

  “He’s got nighttime tactical maneuvers with the students. You and I haven’t had a sleepover in eons. Besides, I can’t drive after we have a couple of Christmas margaritas and”—Tammy pulled a handful of Christmas movies out of her bag—“I brought a bunch of fun Christmas movies that David prefers I watch by myself. He’ll play a shoot-’em-up computer game instead while sitting with me on the couch. It will be fun to watch with someone who really wants to see the movie with me.”

  Demetria laughed. “Okay, sounds good.” She started serving the enchiladas and rice.

  Tammy began making the margaritas, adding some cranberry juice to change the lime green color to red and running a wedge of lime around the edge of the glasses, then dipping them into a saucer of sugar and adding thinly sliced limes on top.

  Demetria picked one of the Christmas comedies and started it, and then they settled on the couch to eat and drink and be merry. Until she got a call from her mother. “Hey, Mom. Tammy’s here to watch Christmas movies with me.”

  “Oh, okay, dear. I just wanted to let you know your father is back in town.”

  “I’m coming over.”

  “I don’t need your protection. I’m fine. I’ll call the JAG branch if I have any trouble. Have a good time. I just wanted to let you know in case you got word he was back in town.”

  “Mom—”

  “I’ll handle it. Okay? I guess I shouldn’t have told you.”

  “Of course you should. I’ll let you deal with it then. But you call me too if he’s a problem. All right?”

  “You know I will. Have fun with Tammy. Night, dear.”

  “Night, Mom.” Ugh. Demetr
ia couldn’t believe her dad was back in the area. After leaving them with no word for the last two years?

  She was still thinking about that when Tammy took a sip of her margarita, turned to her, frowning, and said, “Wait, you did not go to see that movie all by yourself, did you?”

  * * *

  Everett had spent the day playing video games, thinking about Demetria and their time together and wishing things had ended better between them. He was trying to pretend that seeing the movie hadn’t happened.

  Before he retired to bed, he sat in his boxer briefs fighting the third dragon he had to kill before he could get on with the story on an RPG, a role-playing game, when his cell rang. It was two in the morning. Worried something was wrong, he grabbed the phone off his desk and saw that Demetria was calling. He was both concerned and eager to talk with her.

  “Hello, Demetria? Is everything all right?”

  “I can’t believe you took Demetria to see that movie.”

  “Tammy?” For a moment, he tried to sort out his confusion. His sister was slurring her words, which meant she’d been drinking. Hell. “Where’s David?” As if he was supposed to keep Everett’s sister in check.

  “Out training. Nighttime. Maneuvers.”

  “Are you home?” She couldn’t be. She had called from Demetria’s house. “You’re at Demetria’s place?” Which was why she knew he and Demetria had gone to see the movie. He was a little slow on the uptake.

  “Yes, and she told me you took her to see that movie.”

  “She wanted to see it. It was her choice.” Everett took a deep, settling breath. “We didn’t know anything about the movie. I asked if she wanted to leave partway through it, but she said no. What did she say to you?” He hadn’t meant to sound so defensive, but Tammy was clearly on the offensive.

  His sister let out her breath in an exasperated way. “She won’t talk to me about it. She always talks to me about everything. What did you do to her?”

  “I didn’t do anything to her.” Except upset her by taking her to see the movie. Everett ran his hands through his hair as he studied the paused game screen, the blue dragon spewing ice instead of fire at his party of highly trained warriors. “Let me talk to Demetria.”