by Terry Spear
“He’s been in a lot worse scrapes than getting an extra blood transfusion when he’s perfectly healthy and managed to do fine. I only said that about the time frame because I don’t want him to really overexert himself. Besides, being a guard is his job, and I swear he’ll generate more blood faster if he’s doing what he feels he must. Do you think anything I have to say will change his mind? Rafe pays their salaries, so they listen to him.”
Holly sighed. “As long as we don’t have to haul his body back into the house later so he can recuperate.”
“I agree. Do you want to see the rest of my charts and records on the tests I’ve been doing?” Aidan asked.
“Yeah, sure.” She sat down at his desk, and he set up the laptop so she could access his files.
“Do you want something to drink?” he asked.
“Hot tea?”
“I’ll bring up a selection of tea bags for you to choose from. Be right back.”
Aidan headed to the kitchen, unable to shake free of the concern he had as soon as Holly told Ronald she was leaving. He didn’t like that she’d have to face Ronald or Jared in the morning when she and Greg returned to their cabin. He suspected they’d be angry with her for being with Aidan all day and then overnight. They would smell his scent on her, so she couldn’t hide the fact that she’d been with him. He assumed they would be just as irritated that Greg had been with them. Aidan was also very interested in her pack’s blood samples, but since Ronald hadn’t agreed to Aidan getting involved, he was certain there would be trouble.
He wanted to accompany her and tear into Ronald himself, or Jared if either of the men gave her a hard time, but he suspected she wouldn’t want him to be with them and maybe cause more of an issue.
He was glad Nick was taking him up on checking out the Montana pack and hoped they would be perfect for him, but he was just as glad that Holly had agreed to go with him. He hoped she would be agreeable to joining him in the hot tub later.
Aidan fixed himself a hot cup of coffee and hot water for her tea and carried them to the lab.
“I’m glad you’re going with me. I think Nick will feel better about it too,” Aidan said, setting the tray down next to the computer so she could pick out the tea she wanted.
“You doing this for him is so nice. He really deserves to find a home with a pack,” Holly said.
“He does. I can’t imagine what it was like for him to be kicked out for no good reason.”
“It was a rotten thing to do.”
Aidan took a seat next to her after she’d made her tea and was looking over his research again. “I have to say I’m worried about you and Greg returning tomorrow to your cabin. I want to go with you.” Aidan knew it had to be Holly’s choice, but he wanted to be there as her backup if either she or Greg had any trouble. His research and caring for wounded or sick wolves was what he was meant to do. But he’d been involved in any number of wolf altercations over the many years they’d lived, so he had no qualms about tearing into troublesome wolves.
Eliminating a pack leader wouldn’t automatically mean the pack would do well on their own though. They’d need another leader, and Aidan was certain Jared would jump at the chance to lead the pack and also fight him. Though his bodyguards would be in the middle of the conflict too.
“No, I’ll be fine. If you and your bodyguards show up, there’ll be a fight for sure, and Ronald and the others won’t just scuffle with you to prove something and send you on your way. Others who don’t like Ronald’s actions concerning Nick will side with their leader, showing their pack commitment. You know how that goes.”
“Yeah, I do. But I don’t want the bastard to bully you.”
“I’ve never had someone stick up for me like that.”
“Any decent wolf should. What about telling him you’re leaving the pack?” That was what he was really concerned about. How they would react.
“I’ll be up front with him, but I’m not going to burn my bridges.”
“You mean if you and I don’t work out?” They were going to work out. Just like he was sure he was going to find a cure. Someday.
“I’ve had relationships not work out. If we solve the issue of the longevity, we might not have anything further to base our relationship on.” She raised a brow.
He only smiled at her. Okay, sure, it was smart of her to leave her options open, but he had every intention of showing her that she really had only one option worth considering. But staying with him could mean she’d be mating a wolf who aged faster and died long before she did. She might feel that was too much of a risk to take. Which meant he’d have to work a lot harder to find a cure.
She was the perfect incentive.
* * *
Before they had supper that night, “Let There Be Peace on Earth” and other Christmas music was playing. Even though they hadn’t intended on staying here for the holidays, hadn’t even planned to be here for them, the guys were making an effort to add a little Christmas cheer for their unexpected guests, and Aidan really appreciated it.
Ted and Mike were speaking in private in the kitchen, but Aidan overheard a little of the conversation while he, Holly, her brother, and Nick were piecing together a thousand-piece wildlife puzzle on the coffee table in the living room. Everyone who visited the cabin tried putting the puzzle together for a time. They usually did so many outdoor activities that this was an evening pastime when they wanted to wind down, drink beers, sit before the fire, and have something more to do while having a conversation.
Ted and Mike were saying something about making spaghetti for Nick, Greg, and themselves, because they didn’t have enough for all six of them. Aidan knew better. They always overbought food supplies when they picked up groceries, as if they were cooking for a whole army of wolves for a month, and they’d take the more perishable, uneaten food with them when they left. They’d have plenty of meals. They planned to serve a special dish of veal marsala over egg noodles and wine for the docs. They sounded like they had taken on the role of matchmakers too. Maybe they believed Aidan needed help in the romance department. With Holly, he didn’t need any encouragement or assistance, though he could use more privacy.
He eyed the puzzle but then looked again at Holly as she pushed another piece into place. She’d placed twice the number that he had. He and Rafe and the others who came here with them hadn’t finished a lot of the puzzle, maybe a hundred pieces since they’d bought it a few months ago, and hadn’t been up here but once since then. With the progress she was making, she’d have it done in short order. He was trying his darnedest to find another piece that would fit next to some of the border, since that was completed.
She watched him for a minute and pointed to a puzzle piece that was lying among the ones he’d spread out. “Can you hand me the blue one that has a couple of orange leaves floating on the water?”
There were lots of blue ones. And lots of fall leaves. Any of which could be the one she was looking for. He looked at the spot she wanted to add it to, but he couldn’t see any that might work there.
She smiled at him and leaned over him, brushing her body against his in a sexy way when she could have easily avoided touching him. He took advantage of the opportunity to wrap his arms around her and kiss her cheek. “Have you put this puzzle together before?”
“No.” She reached for the puzzle piece. “This one. See how that part of the leaf fits in there with the partial leaf on that part?” She pointed out the parts of the small puzzle piece, but he still couldn’t see that it would work.
He also realized that even if she had put the puzzle together before, the puzzle had too many pieces for her to be able to know where they would all go again. She’d eyed the picture of the finished puzzle on the box cover for a long time before she had begun doing her part.
He was still trying to find a puzzle piece while she placed three more. If he was in a race
and not doing this just for fun, he would have felt outdistanced in a hurry. He studied her for a minute more, watching her place another piece, and frowned. “Do you have eidetic memory?” It was rare to find an adult who still had it.
“Some think so. I can see a visual of something, like the puzzle box cover, and remember where everything goes for a short time. When I see the pieces, I can recall the bordering ones they connect with. But not long term. If we did this for a couple of hours, I would have to look at the cover again.”
“That’s a heck of a lot better than I can remember. We’ve got to do this as teams when we go to the chalet, just for kicks.”
She laughed. “You mean you and I would team up against Rafe and Jade? That would be cheating. Now, if Jade and I took you guys on—”
“You’d have an unfair advantage.”
She laughed again.
Greg shook his head. “I’m still looking for my first piece, and she’s already filled in fifteen.”
“That’s a remarkable gift,” Nick said.
“Some children have it, but unless it’s nurtured, the ability is lost. I guess I just was interested in recalling visuals I’d seen, and it helped to keep that ability alive.”
“I wish I’d done that. Not long enough attention span for me though,” Greg said.
Ted came in. “We’re going to split up into groups for dinner tonight. We’ll eat first, and then we’ll run with Greg, while Nick is going to turn in early, and the docs can have dinner then.”
Aidan realized this was a bigger conspiracy than he’d imagined.
“Mike has to take it easy,” Aidan reminded him.
Mike smiled. “Of course. I’ll walk. The others can run.”
“We don’t have enough spaghetti for the six of us, so we’ll slap something else together for you two later.” Ted shrugged as if it was a no-brainer. “We figured you could spend some more time talking about your research when we go running.”
Mike gave Ted an annoyed look that said talking about research wasn’t supposed to be on the agenda, and he was afraid that’s just what would happen, given the suggestion.
The “slapped-together” meal that Aidan had overheard them planning warranted five stars, if this was as good as the meal they’d prepared before.
“Ted and I like to get some extra exercise in whenever we can. Isn’t that right, Ted?” Mike asked, as if he had to further explain why the bodyguards weren’t staying to protect them.
Aidan knew they’d be outside, watching the cabin, not running all over, but he still didn’t want Mike to overdo it.
“We sure do. That way, if we have any bodyguard missions, we’re in shape for them,” Ted said, returning to the kitchen.
“I can use the exercise too,” Greg said.
“Not me,” Nick said. “I’ve had my year’s worth of cold weather and exercise in the couple of months I’ve been out there. I need to give my old bones a rest, and going out in the snow right now doesn’t appeal.”
Aidan worried Nick might feel the same way about joining the pack in Montana if he didn’t like the cold weather.
Nick added, “I mean, living in it, day in, day out. Having a nice toasty fire and a hot cup of coffee in a warm house? That’s a different story.”
Aidan was glad to hear it because he thought that since Nick already knew a family in the Montana pack, he might fit right in.
Mike brought everyone mugs of spiced cappuccino, with whipped-cream Christmas trees decorating the tops, and then returned to the kitchen with Greg to help Ted make the spaghetti. Aidan smiled at the little white Christmas trees. “You’re a class act, guys.”
“You mean the whipped-cream Christmas trees? You don’t want to know how mine turned out. One of you has more whipped cream in your drink because I had to stir it into the cappuccino. The second try came out just as messed up,” Ted said. “Mike graciously offered to see if he could do better before someone had ten times the whipped cream in their mug.”
They all laughed.
Holly sipped hers. “This is delicious.”
Everyone else agreed.
“Thanks,” Mike said. “I’m the drink maker back home for Christmas.”
Ted filled a pot with water. “Ha! You could have told me that before I made such a mess of the whipped cream.”
“It was more fun watching you making the one, staring at it, getting rid of it, and trying again. You have to keep after it before you get it down pat.”
The lighthearted banter continued back and forth between them as Holly said to Nick, “I’m so sorry about Ronald banishing you. Once we learned what he’d done, we tried to reason with him, but he threatened to banish everyone who objected. You know how much his henchmen like their positions in the pack, so we couldn’t all rally together to get rid of Ronald and his brother. They could also have hurt a lot of the pack members’ businesses, and that’s all they really have.”
Nick sipped from his cappuccino. “I don’t blame you, Doc. Some of the ones running the pack, yeah. If I were a younger wolf, I would take them all on and lead the pack again. But that’s for someone else to do now.”
“We’d take care of ’em, if we didn’t have a job to do,” Ted said from the kitchen. “All three of us—Doc, Mike, and me.”
Nick raised a brow at Aidan. “I would think you were more of a healer than a fighter.”
“Oh, he’s fought in plenty of wolf skirmishes, and he’s all for righting a wrong,” Mike said. “You should have seen the wolf fight he was involved in recently when Jade’s brother tried to steal her son away.”
Though what they said was true, Aidan figured Mike and Ted were saying so to show he could be a fighter, not just a science geek. He wished they hadn’t mentioned it. What if she liked science geeks and wasn’t into a macho warrior wolf?
“Yeah, and he loves kids. That time, he rescued Toby in the Pacific Ocean too, when his brother was trying to rescue his mate,” Ted said.
“Okay, enough, guys.” Aidan didn’t want them to overdo it, and he wasn’t ever in the limelight. That was Rafe’s job. Rafe had to keep up appearances. Aidan was just his twin brother, the doctor working in his lab all the time, and he preferred it that way.
“He’s also way too modest,” Ted said.
Holly laughed. “It’s good to know he’s not just another pretty face.” She smiled and winked at Aidan.
Aidan chuckled.
Thankfully, Ted announced the spaghetti was ready and the others could eat. “We’ll fix your meal as soon as we eat.”
“No hurry.” Aidan knew they would wolf down their food so they could prepare his and Holly’s meal next, and they wouldn’t have to wait too long. Aidan tried to figure out another piece of the puzzle. And found one! “Were you born around Christmastime?” He didn’t really believe she had been, but it was a conversation starter since her name was Holly.
She rolled her eyes. “Yes. In about three days. My parents thought Holly was the perfect name for me because I was born so close to Christmas.”
He smiled. “I like it. It suits you.”
“You should tell him what your name really means,” Greg said. “She looked it up when we were teasing her about being named after a shrub.”
“Oh?” Aidan said.
“Lover of nature. Self-sufficient. Strong-willed, courageous, and bold. See? I would have climbed out of the crevasse, given the chance.”
“You needed boots and cleats,” Aidan reminded her.
“I agree,” Nick said. “It was hard enough for me to make it with them.”
“But you had a sprained wrist,” she told Nick.
“You still would have needed boots and cleats,” he said.
She sighed.
“Tell them the rest,” Greg said.
“What? About my name? Well, I attract success and wealth
. I don’t know when, but someday, I guess.”
“And you want to make a difference in the world. That’s why Ronald really irked her. When she heard about your research, she wanted to help,” Greg said.
She placed another piece to the puzzle. “And you and Dad didn’t want me to.”
“I’ve changed my mind. I mean, what if you’re right? I want to have the longevity that the rest of the wolves have.” Greg took another bite of spaghetti.
“We’ll have to celebrate your birthday, Holly.” Aidan was eager to do so.
She laughed. “Usually, it’s lumped in with Christmas. Oh sure, this present is for Christmas, and this one is for my birthday, but…”
“Yeah, she has a raw deal.” Greg chowed down on a piece of toasted garlic bread. “You should have your own special day. Marianne and I always tell you that you should have your birthday in May along with us.”
“I know, but May just doesn’t seem right.”
Aidan wondered what he could get her on such short notice for her birthday. Their kind didn’t wear jewelry because of the issue with shifting. He didn’t have time to order something online, and if he took her shopping, it wouldn’t be a surprise. Then he had an idea. Before they went to see the Montana pack, he’d ask if they could pick up a birthday cake and a couple of presents for her from him. He was certain Lori Cunningham wouldn’t mind at all. But he didn’t want to involve Lori and Paul’s pack in the actual party. It would be something he could share with Holly and maybe Ted and Mike and Nick too.
“Hey, I’ve got to make a couple of calls to let Lori and Paul Cunningham, the leaders of the Montana pack, know we’re coming so they can make arrangements for everyone to stay there for a day or so,” Aidan said.
“Okay. You do that, and I’ll finish the puzzle before you return.”
He looked down at the puzzle. “Another 850 pieces? I’ll take a bet on that.”
She laughed and continued to find pieces.
She might not be able to do it in the time he was making a call, but he was certain she’d have a lot more done when he returned than he would have. He went upstairs to his bedroom, wanting to make this private. He hoped they didn’t think he was worried that the Cunningham pack wouldn’t take Nick in, despite Everett saying they would. And he hoped Holly didn’t suspect he was making her birthday arrangements. He wanted it to be a fun surprise.
