Embracing the Wolf

by Catherine Bybee

  She stood and glanced his way but didn’t meet his eyes. “Don’t I get one?” Richard joked.

  Her nervous laugh made him wonder about her thoughts.

  “I, ah...”

  “Just kidding.” Not really, he thought, passing her and placing the bags on the kitchen counter.

  “Come on, buddy,” he called to Joey who had dropped his bags and started to pick up his Lego’s. “You’re the one who wanted all that stuff. You’ve gotto help me bring it all in.”

  “There’s more?” Kate’s eyes widened in surprise, as she moved aside when Joey started back to the hall.

  “Yeah, apparently Joey likes to shop.”

  It took three more trips to get all the bags. Kate was already putting stuff away when he settled the last one on the counter.

  “Did you leave anything behind?”

  “Duh,” Joey giggled. “The store has more food than we do.”

  Richard watched her remove groceries out of the bags one-handed. Joey moved alongside her, opening and closing doors. They worked as a team, one knowing what the other one needed without words.

  “Look at what I got ya.” Joey thrust a jar of garlic stuffed green olives in her face with pride.

  “You mean what Richard bought us.”

  “It was my idea.”

  Kate glanced up, caught his eye. He gave a little shake of the head and said, “Joey had a lot of ideas.”

  “I can see that. You didn’t have to buy all this.”

  “I wanted to. Besides, I ate all the Lucky Charms.”

  Joey giggled again, this time Kate joined him.

  Insisting on making them all sandwiches, Kate set about preparing lunch. Joey pulled out his Lego’s and started showing Richard how to build a small space village, complete with Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.

  “Hand me some of those gray blocks,” Joey demanded, his fingers flexing in the give me manner.

  Scooping up a few and handing them over, Richard sensed the weight of Kate’s stare. She swiftly averted her gaze when Richard glanced her way.

  “I will destroy you.” Joey spoke through the palms of his hands over his mouth. Darth Vader jumped on the building and down on Luke. All the while, Joey vocalized clashes and bangs.

  “I thought Luke was supposed to win.”

  “Not always, that would be boring.”

  “Oh.”

  “Let’s eat, space boy.”

  Joey chatted throughout lunch about his archrival from school. Apparently, Cody was the big kid on campus. His mom was head of the PTA and helped in the classroom once a week. Cody, from what Richard could tell, was the class bully.

  “He took my ball at recess,” Joey said between bites.

  “Why didn’t you grab it back?” he asked.

  Kate shot him a glare, making Richard wish he could take the words back.

  “I’ll get in trouble.”

  “Did you tell the teacher?” Kate asked.

  Oh, yeah. That’s a good idea. Richard gave a sarcastic grin, class tattletales always got their asses kicked.

  “Cody’s mom was there, and Mrs. Ford wouldn’t listen.”

  “Was Mrs. Ford the woman who walked you out?”

  “Yeah, she’s my teacher.”

  Richard stored the information away. The teacher sounded like a real piece of work.

  When his cell started to ring, he excused himself and walked away while Kate and Joey finished their lunch.

  Kate once again found herself listening to only part of a conversation. Several times, she caught Richard glancing in her direction with brows arched and eyes squinted in thought. Her mouth ran dry wondering just what she had gotten herself into. Why was he still there? She didn’t feel right asking him to leave after he’d brought Joey home from school. Making Richard lunch was the least she could do after he’d bought all the groceries.

  Kate wondered what had motivated Richard Ritter to spend his entire morning babysitting her. It wasn’t as if he had an obligation to her. So, what if his company did secure the restaurant? It wasn’t as if they could keep criminals from committing their crimes. He wasn’t responsible. So why did he act as if he were?

  Joey settled in the living room, and she clicked on the TV hoping to distract her from the man in her home. Unfortunately, Richard proved impossible to ignore. His obsessive pacing kept Kate’s attention the entire time he talked on the phone.

  “Mom.”

  Kate waved off her son, trying to hear what Richard was saying in the heated debate with whomever was on the other end.

  “Mom...” Joey tapped her knee.

  “What?” Kate asked, not taking her eyes off the hallway where Richard stood.

  “MOM!”

  “What?” She snapped her head at her son.

  “Isn’t that where you work?” Joey pointed to the old tube-style set.

  Kate’s jaw dropped, the hair on the back of her neck started to stand long before she turned to look at the TV. Sure enough, there it was...The Eatery, in all its glory, with a bleached blonde reporter standing outside telling all she thought she knew.

  “...according to an eyewitness, the restaurant was held up last night at gun point. One of the waitresses, suffered a single gunshot wound to the upper torso. The victim was transferred to a local area hospital...”

  “Oh my God!” Kate struggled for breath.

  Joey sent her a suspicious glance before staring back at the TV.

  Without warning, Richard came up behind them and turned off the set. “Time to go.”

  Having your life plastered all over the news had a way of knocking you back. Kate was no different.

  “Mom, isn’t that where you work?” Joey moved closer to her.

  “Hey, Joey? Do you like to swim?” Richard grabbed his jacket.

  “Do I?” Joey jumped to his feet. His lips pulled into a tight grin.

  “Tell ya what, I know a great place we can go and swim in a huge heated pool. What do ya say?”

  “I’ll get my swim shorts.”

  Joey headed off to his room.

  “Kate?” Richard’s soft voice drifted into the fog of her brain.

  “I can’t believe it,” she gasped. “I’m on the news.” Dumbfounded, she turned her head to the man standing over her.

  “Kate, we need to get out of here. That was Max on the phone and the reporters are on their way.”

  “So...”

  “So, we need to go.” Richard reached down and brought her to her feet.

  “Why?”

  “Listen, the reporters might think they are doing their job. But what they’re really doing is leading the men who robbed you last night to your front door.” Richard lowered his voice. “They are leading the men who would rather have you dead than able to testify against them right to you.”

  Dread washed over her in a steady stream of prickly ice. It wasn’t over. Her nightmare from last night wasn’t over. Her body trembled. The hot, little apartment suddenly felt ice cold.

  “Pack a bag, Katie.”

  His use of an old nickname brought her back to reality. “What?”

  “Pack a bag,” his voice grew stern, almost cold and detached.

  On autopilot, Kate stood and went to her room.

  Chapter Four

  Richard maneuvered the car into the long driveway of Max’s home after going through the security gates. Stalked by a plethora of camera holding media personalities, Richard inched the car to the front of the house deep in thought. Max’s home would be the safest place for Kate and Joey until they found the men behind the robbery.

  Until they found the werewolf that stalked Kate.

  Joey jumped out of the car the minute it came to a stop. “Wow, is this a hotel?”

  Richard pulled the suitcase from the trunk with a grin. “No, it’s just a house,” A house which stood a mere two stories with about seven thousand square feet of space. Every bedroom sported its own bath. Parties for their extended family of over fifty people
gathered regularly, especially when their collective werewolf needs arose.

  “Wow.”

  The kid had a one-word vocabulary. Kate was a little less impressed. “Why did you bring us here?”

  “Max’s home is safer than Fort Knox. He uses all the new technology from our business here first.”What he really wanted to say was that Max built a fortress to keep unwelcome werewolves away. If any approached the perimeter of the property, alarms would blaze. But he didn’t think that would go over too well with Kate.

  He placed his hand on her shoulder and led her to the door. Joey bounded up the stairs.

  The front door opened before he had a chance to knock.

  “There you are,” Janet said after opening the door. She’d changed from her hospital scrubs to a bright yellow and white maternity sun dress and sandals. “I was starting to worry.”

  “Traffic,” Richard explained, ushering them inside.

  “This must be Joey.” Janet ruffled Joey’s hair.

  He smiled and put his hand out, placing his palm on Janet’s protruding stomach. “Are you going to have a baby?”

  “Joey!” Kate growled at him while swishing his hand away.

  “It’s okay.” Janet laughed. She caught his hand and put it back. “If I told you I swallowed a watermelon, would you believe me?”

  “Duh, I’m not that dumb.” Joey rolled his eyes in a gesture Richard had seen several times since he had met the child.

  “Well, Joey, sometimes I feel like I swallowed a watermelon.”

  “I’ll bet!”

  His words made everyone laugh, even Kate who hadn’t said two words on the entire drive over.

  Richard set the bag down and helped her remove her sweater. Kate glanced around the huge living room; she did her best not to ogle. It must have been difficult not to, he thought. Max’s home rivaled any Beverly Hills mansion. It sat atop the Hollywood Hills on just over five acres. Its seclusion was what made it the perfect place to hide. The perfect safe house.

  “James?” Janet called out to their butler.

  James came into the room, greeted him, and nodded to Kate and Joey.

  “Come meet our house guests. This is Kate Davis and her son, Joey.”

  “A pleasure to meet you, Miss.” The butler’s British accent boomed. “And you, young man.” He winked at Joey who attempted to wink back but squinted his eyes instead.

  “Will you take Kate and Joey’s bags to the guest rooms?”

  “Of course, Miss.”

  Richard watched Kate’s eyes widen and follow the man up the stairs. “You have a butler?” she questioned in little more than a whisper.

  “Crazy, isn’t it?” Janet shook her head. “James is more like family. Wouldn’t you say, Richard?”

  “Yeah, James worked for my father before he came here with Max.”

  “Come along out back, Max was just finishing up our lunch. Are you hungry?”

  “We just ate,” Richard and Kate said in unison.

  “I could eat,” Joey announced.

  “A kid after my own heart.” Janet put her handout to him, and Joey slipped his in. They walked away chatting about the way they liked their hamburgers cooked.

  Richard stopped Kate before she could follow. His dark eyes searched hers.

  “How are you holding up?”

  Richard appeared to be watching her like an uncertain child on their first day at school. “My life is spinning out of control.” Her words expressed her frustration. “I don’t know you, I don’t know your family, yet here I am...at your mercy.”

  “If there was another way...”

  “Is there?”

  He shook his head. “None that I can see. You and Joey will be safe here.”

  “For how long, Richard?” Kate swallowed the knot in her throat. She didn’t want to cry again. She was tired of crying yet her eyes burned all the same.

  He moved closer, caught her chin, and forced her eyes to his. “As long as it takes.”

  “I don’t want to impose.”

  “You’re not an imposition,” he assured her.

  She could see the sincerity of his emotion. His caring eyes made her believe him. She didn’t understand his motives. Why did he care what happened to them?

  Richard stroked the pad of his thumb over her cheek, his lips parted as if he wanted to say something. He didn’t. Instead, his head dipped lower, his eyes questioned.

  Oh, God. He’s going to kiss me, she thought. Part of her wanted to back away, a very small part of her. The bigger part, however, wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on hers. Butterflies warmed her belly. Anticipation rushed through her veins. How long had it been since a man had kissed her?

  Forever.

  She moved toward him only a fraction, but it was all the invitation he needed.

  Richard’s lips proved warm and inviting, just like him. His arms circled her back, pulling her close. She trembled and opened her mouth to his questing tongue. He turned his head and deepened their kiss.

  Kate ran her free hand up his chest, fingers spread. His heart beat as rapid as hers did, faster maybe.

  Her worries forgotten, Kate leaned into him and gave herself up to his touch.

  His hand stroked her side, his mild, sweet kiss turned into something more desperate, more passionate. Had she ever been kissed like this before? With such passion? A shiver of desire danced over her limbs.

  Rising voices from the other room broke them apart. Kate sprang back, not wanting to explain to her son why she was in the arms of a virtual stranger. Hell, she didn’t know the answer to the question herself.

  Kate glanced toward the sound, then back to him. A half smile covered his lips. Heat rushed to her cheeks in what she knew was a full-blown blush.

  She felt sixteen all over again.

  “Should I apologize?” he asked.

  “Are you sorry?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  His confident smirk along with his honest words excited her with his admission. “Neither am I.” He stepped in, took her hand, and led her to the other room.

  ****

  The Ritters acted as though they had known her and her son for years.

  Joey wasted no time jumping into the huge swimming pool. The waterslide kept him entertained for hours while the adults talked. Janet mixed Margaritas, but drank Iced Tea.

  “How much longer?” Kate asked Janet, nodding toward her overgrown stomach.

  “A few more weeks. If I can last that long.”

  Kate laughed. “The last month is the hardest. It seems it’s never going to end.”

  “This baby is coming before next month one way or another.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Janet took a sip of her tea before continuing. “If nature doesn’t call, my doctor is going to induce labor.”

  “Why, is something wrong?”

  “Oh, no, nothing like that. We want to make sure Max is here for the birth.”

  Kate glanced over at Janet’s husband, deep in conversation with Richard by the grill. “Does he have a business trip planned?”

  Janet’s head shot up and paused while staring at her. Kate wondered if she’d speak. “Kind of,” she said finally. Kate’s brows pitched in. Which was it? Why did Janet suddenly seem nervous?

  “Would you like another?” Janet started to get up and grabbed her glass.

  “You don’t have to wait on me. You’re the one who’s pregnant.”

  “And you’re recovering from a gunshot wound,” Janet said.

  “Good point.” Kate motioned toward the men.

  Janet cleared her throat and raised her glass. Kate followed suit.

  Max and Richard exchanged smirks, then approached them to carry out their request.

  After they walked away, the women burst out in laughter.

  “So what’s with you and Richard?”

  Kate took a sip of liquid courage wondering if she had an answer to the question. The reality is she didn’t. “Yo
ur brother-in-law is a very kind man.”

  “Kind?” Janet wasn’t convinced. “The looks he keeps sending you are anything but pure.”

  Heat rose to her cheeks. She noticed his eyes travel over her frame once or twice since they’d arrived. Janet was right, his mouth curved in a way that spelled out his desire. The craving he sparked with their kiss had her body burning for something she hadn’t had in a very, very long time. Sex and male companionship simply wasn’t something she had sought once Joey came into the picture.

  As if he knew they talked about him, Richard turned and narrowed his eyes at them.

  Kate immediately turned her attention to her son in the pool. He was having a fabulous time diving after water torpedoes in the shallow end. When she turned back, Richard still watched. She felt her cheeks flame again. This was starting to get embarrassing.

  “See what I mean?” Janet whispered over her glass.

  “I admit, there is an attraction.”

  “Ya think?”

  Thankful the men were too far away to hear their conversation, and even more delighted to have a woman to talk to, Kate turned her head in secrecy.

  “Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve had sex?”

  “Considering I just met you, no.”

  “Forever. As in Joey’s conception.”

  “Oh, really?” Janet’s sarcasm quickly replaced with certain horror. The expression made Kate smile.

  “Yeah, really, Joey’s dad could charm the pants off a seventeen-year-old virgin,” she paused. “Which is exactly what he did with me. I was young, stupid, and naive. Once he knew I’d become pregnant, he took off like a roach running from light.”

  The memory no longer left the void it once did. Even the anger diminished after time. Kate was almost thankful, at times, she had Joey all to herself. Christopher would have been a horrible father, had he stuck around. He was selfish and flighty, as evidenced by his hasty retreat. No. Kate had learned long ago that she was better off without him.

  “Are you telling me there has been no one else?”

  “Yep, that’s what I’m saying.”

  “Wow, how do you do it?”

  “With a little help from the energizer bunny,” she joked. The words left her mouth so swiftly she almost choked, which was exactly what Janet did.