Eddie’s Prize

by Maddy Barone

  “Stop that.” Annoyance rang in Carla’s voice as she glared at her escort. “Remember what I said about behaving?” Her voice and her brow smoothed as she looked at Eddie. “Sorry about that. Let’s just pretend we shook hands, okay? Hey, Lisa.”

  It was a cliché, but Carla really was a sight for sore eyes. Lisa was so happy to see her only friend from her old life she had to swallow tears. “Hi, Carla!”

  She went forward to hug Carla, but Eddie brushed past her to put her behind him. She could barely see the side of Eddie’s face, but she could tell he was glaring at the other men.

  “Good lord,” huffed Carla. “I thought it was only wolves who acted like that.”

  “No.” Lisa looked over Eddie’s shoulder at the country music star and rolled her eyes theatrically. “Eddie thinks he’s a caveman sometimes.”

  Eddie obviously didn’t appreciate that. “Lisa,” he growled.

  Carla ignored Eddie’s warning. “I know exactly what you mean. Sounds just like Taye when a strange man gets too close to me. Jay, why don’t you guys go wait outside, okay?”

  Jay must be the tallest one with shoulder-length dark brown hair. His narrowed eyes were fixed on Eddie. “No, Lupa. The Chief wouldn’t want you alone with another man.”

  Carla opened her mouth to speak, but Lisa beat her to it. “Eddie.” She laid a hand over the tight ridge of clenched muscle in his shoulder. “You leave me and Carla alone for a while. Go find Mr. Gray. Maybe he needs some help getting set up.”

  “Not leaving you alone with them.” Eddie’s beautiful tenor voice was a feral growl.

  This time Carla made her voice heard. “Jay, take the guys and wait out in the hall. I’ll be right here with Lisa. Alone, right, Eddie?”

  Eddie’s shoulders rolled while he thought it over. “Fine.” He turned and brushed a kiss over Lisa’s lips. “I’ll be right outside, Lisa-love.”

  His gait when he moved to the other men was a graceful, predatory prowl. The other men stood firm, bodies held loosely as if readying for an attack.

  “Don’t hurt them!” Lisa told him.

  At the same moment, Carla said, “Don’t hurt him!”

  It felt good to laugh, even if it was shaky. After the door closed behind the men, Lisa gestured to the loveseat by the fire. “Come and sit down.”

  Carla sat down and examined Lisa’s face. Lisa suppressed a twitch of discomfort. Her face was bare of any makeup, her skin was pale without weekly visits to the tanning bed, and her hair was in a plain ponytail. Carla, on the other hand, looked vibrantly alive. Her walnut brown hair hung in a straight, thick sheet to her waist, and her dark-lashed eyes looked fine without shadow or mascara to highlight them. What made her appear so beautiful was something more subtle than clothes or make up. She looked happy. Self-confident. Secure. She was everything Lisa was not.

  Carla settled herself more comfortably on the loveseat. “Lisa, you look fantastic. Where did you get that dress? You make it look so elegant, but it would look like a sack on me.”

  “Oh.” Lisa cleared her throat, feeling the threatening tears fade away under the pleasure of Carla’s compliment. “Hannah Martin made it. I’m going to go into business with her designing clothes she will sew.” She slumped beside Carla, thinking about the fact that Eddie didn’t approve of her business plans. What did Eddie approve of?

  Carla must be psychic. “How are you and Eddie doing?”

  Lisa lifted one shoulder. “We’re doing okay. It’s been a bit of an adjustment. This is a different world, you know? I don’t always act the way Eddie thinks I should.” He wanted her to act invisible when other men were around. “But we’re working it out. I know it sounds crazy, but I think I could truly love him. Even if I could go back home, I wouldn’t go without Eddie.” Of course, Eddie would have a heart attack if he saw the way she lived back home. Better change the subject. “And Taye? I heard he’s a werewolf?”

  “No, he’s not a werewolf.”

  Lisa smiled with relief. Eddie must have been pulling her leg.

  “Just a guy who can turn into a wolf,” Carla finished with a casual wave of her hand. Then she grinned. “He doesn’t like being called a werewolf. Talk about crazy, huh? It took me a little while to get used to it.”

  Oh, my God! Lisa thought. “Does he bite you? Are you okay?”

  Carla shifted her hips on the seat and blushed brightly.

  “Oh, I see.” Lisa couldn’t suppress a smile.

  “We’re okay.” Carla was still red. “He treated me like a princess from the start. None of my boyfriends ever treated me half as good as Taye does. Except for the growling and the overkill guards,” she amended. “That’s only because he wants me safe. He’s bossy. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s the guy in charge or because he’s a wolf. He loves me. I don’t always change his mind when we argue, but he listens to me, at least.”

  That was more than Eddie did, Lisa thought sadly. “How do you feel about him? Last I saw, you didn’t look very happy to be going home with him.”

  “I love him,” said Carla immediately. “It’s funny. Back home my boyfriends said they loved me, but did they? How many marriages back home last forever? Here, the question is—how many marriages break up?”

  That was a good point. Lisa shivered a little in spite of the fire. Carla studied her.

  “Lisa, are you happy?” she asked baldly.

  Good question. Lisa spread her hands. “I guess. Eddie loves me. At least, he says he does. But he’s the jealous type.” Relief at being able to talk about it flooded Lisa’s throat. “A couple days ago he saw a magazine article, the one that said I fooled around on Brent. He’s my most recent ex. Did you read it?” Lisa had to stop talking to swallow tears. The anger she’d felt this morning rose up again. “Eddie believes I was cheating on Brent. The magazine talked about me and all the men I’ve dated. Women here don’t date, so he thinks I’m a whore. He really does.” Lisa forced her hands to unclench. “He doesn’t want me to smile at any other man, even a teenager.”

  Carla’s eyebrow lifted in an expression of disbelief.

  “Really,” Lisa insisted. “It’s not like I’m running around town flirting with every man I see. I can’t go anywhere alone, anyway. Eddie has to escort me like I’m a prize prisoner. And if I smile when I say hello to a man, Eddie turns cold and angry.”

  “But, Lisa, when I came in, you and Eddie looked pretty happy.”

  “Oh, sure.” Lisa wiped her eyes fiercely. “The sex is great. When we’re alone at home, he’s a sweetie. It’s not like he hits me or yells at me. He just won’t talk to me about why he’s jealous.”

  “It sounds to me like Eddie needs to quit being so insecure and grow up.” Carla’s voice was blunt.

  Was that why Eddie was behaving like this? “Yeah. You’re probably right. I’m the only woman Eddie has ever been with. In a way, it’s nice. I mean, I don’t have to worry about how I compare to his old girlfriends.”

  Carla made a scoffing noise. “You’ve been voted The Most Beautiful Woman how many times? Why would you worry about that?”

  Lisa’s laugh was bitter. “Because it doesn’t matter if just about the whole world thinks you’re beautiful. No one can compare to a memory.” Lisa managed a wobbly smile into Carla’s frown. “Back home, lots of men said they loved me. They said it because I’m beautiful, or because I’m rich, or because I’m famous. But here I have nothing, nobody knows who I am, and I’m too skinny to be beautiful.” That last part hurt. If she wasn’t beautiful, what was she? “Eddie keeps trying to get me to eat more. If he only knew what my thighs will look like in a few months…”

  Her attempt at a joke failed, and the tears poured as if faucets had been turned on. Carla patted her arm.

  “Lisa, it will be all right. You and Eddie have been together a week. It will get better.”

  “I know.” Crying made her nose clog up. She forced the tears back. “You’re right. It’s just going to take some time. I’m only a few ye
ars older than he is, but in some ways, Eddie is so young. He doesn’t know how to handle marriage. Or a wife.”

  “You’ll have to teach him,” Carla suggested.

  Lisa nodded. “In other ways, he’s so mature. He’s a vet, you know. A few nights ago, he delivered a colt. It was amazing to watch him.” In her mind, Lisa could see his hands and muscled forearms glistening with birth fluids, guiding a shiny bundle of baby horse from the mother to the floor of the stable. “Amazing,” she repeated. “He saved the mother and baby, and he was so gentle and compassionate. So strong. You can see how much he loves animals.”

  Carla said bracingly, “So that means he’s good husband material, right? A man who is so gentle and strong with a colt can be gentle and strong with his wife. Maybe he needs some time to learn how to show you.”

  Lisa nodded again. Carla was right. Eddie was worth some bumps in the road. He didn’t really know her yet. Once he knew she wasn’t going to cheat on him, his jealousy would fade.

  “But.” Carla squeezed Lisa’s upper arm. “If he ever does anything to hurt you, you can come to the den. Taye and the Pack will protect you. They have a thing about women and don’t like to even hear about them being hurt.”

  Leave Eddie? She wasn’t a quitter. Their relationship was too new for her to give up on so soon, but it was good to know she had options. A trapped feeling she hadn’t quite been aware of eased a bit. “Thanks, Carla.”

  Carla searched her face before nodding and changing the subject. “Did you know the other survivors from the plane have been found? The Clan—they are Taye’s relatives, like an Indian tribe—found them and are taking care of them.”

  “That’s good.” A wave of relief flooded over Lisa. The thought of the injured people back at the plane had haunted the back of her mind, filling her with nagging guilt because she hadn’t been able to do anything to help them. The guilt was twice as sharp because she’d been too busy with her own concerns to think of them very often. “I tried to talk to Ray about it, but he didn’t want to do anything. A few of Eddie’s friends went out to look, but I never heard anything more about it.”

  She glanced at her watch. “Oh, hey, look! It’s time for your concert.”

  Carla leaned to give her a hug. “I’m glad we got to talk. You have to come out to the den for a visit soon, okay?”

  “I’ll ask Eddie about it.”

  Out in the hallway, the three men who came with Carla—Werewolves? Eww, weird—leaned on the wall next to the office door, facing Eddie with crossed arms and hard faces. Eddie had one shoulder propped on the opposite wall, eyes narrowed in a glare. It looked like a fight was ready to erupt at any second. Lisa hesitated, but Carla walked right to the tallest one of her escorts and poked a finger into his chest.

  “Behave, Jay!”

  “I haven’t done anything, Lupa.”

  “No, but you want to,” she returned. “Don’t, okay?”

  One of the three, whose curly, golden brown hair hung to his shoulders, stood closest to the door. He shifted to give Lisa a little more space. He had a sweet, bashful smile. “Ma’am,” he said politely.

  Without thinking, Lisa smiled back. Eddie did that awful growl-thing and leaped the four feet that separated them. The one called Jay whirled and shoved him back. His growl was even more impressive than Eddie’s.

  “Not here, Madison. One of the ladies could get hurt.”

  With what looked like precarious control, Eddie stepped to Lisa’s side and put a tense arm around her waist. “You’re right. Just tell your man to keep away from my wife.”

  Lisa opened her mouth to say the curly-haired man had only been polite, but she closed it. Arguing with Eddie was a waste of time.

  “Quill doesn’t want your wife.” Jay snorted with disgust. “Unless his wolf has chosen her for his mate, he won’t have any interest in her. Did your wolf choose Mrs. Madison, Quill?”

  Wide, green eyes peered through tumbled curls as the man shook his head emphatically.

  “See, Madison? And a wolf wouldn’t choose a married woman anyway. She stinks of you.” Jay smiled at Lisa. “No offense, ma’am.”

  This time Lisa was careful to not return the smile. She sniffed discreetly at her shoulder.

  “Fine,” snapped Eddie, sounding angry. But Lisa noticed the muscles in the arm around her were now relaxed. “We better get going so Mrs. Wolfe doesn’t miss her concert.”

  Eddie held her back for a minute so Carla and her men could go first. “Now, Lisa, you know Dane Overdahl will be here.” He sounded very calm. Very carefully calm. “Don’t smile at him. Don’t try to talk to him. Don’t even look at him, okay?”

  “Okay.” What else could she say? At least he wasn’t dragging her home before the concert. “Let’s go get our seats.”

  The open area in the library was filled by four neat rows of chairs. There were probably thirty people present, not including Taye Wolfe and his friends. Lisa was introduced to Mr. Gray’s daughters-in-law and his granddaughters, including a slender teenager with long, brown hair named Ellie, who was also Taye Wolfe’s cousin. Taye’s mother had been from Odessa. That news confounded Lisa. How had one of the repressed women of Odessa come to marry a werewolf?

  Ellie was engaged to marry a good-looking young man who happened to be Dane Overdahl’s younger brother. All these family relationships seemed important to people here, as if a family label put them in a certain box that told people who they were.

  True to her promise, Lisa ignored Dane when he came in. Eddie, sitting in a hard wooden chair beside her, remained tense, but he didn’t say anything, or even growl.

  Carla walked up to the front, where a stool and her guitar waited for her. Taye Wolfe walked close behind her. He was certainly good-looking, Lisa thought, although his black hair could use a trim. The ragged bangs hung over his forehead almost to his lustrous dark eyes. His jeans were faded and worn—the sleeves of his olive green T-shirt only elbow length, revealing muscular forearms. As for his physique, Lisa couldn’t find a thing to criticize. The jeans hugged his tight rear end lovingly and emphasized his long legs. The unflattering shirt only served to highlight the muscles in his chest and belly.

  Oh, dear. Lisa jerked her eyes away. She just ogled her friend’s husband, and in front of her own jealous husband. Eddie, thank heaven, hadn’t seemed to notice. He stared straight ahead, and his brows and mouth twitched as if he were holding a silent conversation in his mind.

  Lisa’s last concert experience had included ten thousand other people, many of whom had been drunk and disorderly. Jumbo screens had shown close-ups of the singers and musicians, and amplifiers had raised the volume to a thunderous roar. Security had been legion.

  This concert was different. There were only a few dozen attendees, all of whom were quiet and focused on the music. When Lisa looked around, she saw even the few teen-aged girls sat straight in their chairs with their attention on Carla. Security consisted of a dozen stern-faced men who stood with arms folded along the wall. One of them, she noticed, was the man with the curly golden-brown hair she had seen outside Mr. Gray’s office. Quill. His eyes roved the room watchfully, but every minute or so his eyes went to Ellie and settled there. Lisa was intrigued by his reaction to the girl. His whole body tensed, and he leaned the slightest bit in her direction. It reminded Lisa of her little brother’s Irish setter pointing at a bird.

  Without a multitude of modern instruments, the purity of Carla’s alto voice was clear. Lisa was snared by the sweetness of the song she sang. Taye stood behind his wife in a spread-legged, arms-crossed stance—almost threatening, except for the look of pride and love on his face.

  A needle of envy stabbed through Lisa’s chest. Eddie looked at her like that the morning he’d taken her around town and introduced her. It had changed once he’d read the magazine articles that same afternoon. Had he worn his expression of pride since?

  Song followed song, with some talking in between, and then Carla slipped off the stool and walk
ed a few steps forward to address the audience. “Like the first song I sang this afternoon, this song is one I’ve written since I came here.” She glanced back over her shoulder at Taye. “It comes from my heart, and it’s for my husband, Taye.”

  Then she turned away from the people in the chairs to face Taye and began singing. Lisa felt tears sting her eyes, and she listened to Carla tell everyone how she came to fall in love with a stranger so quickly. Tears welled and spilled when Eddie’s hand closed around hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.

  *

  Eddie could feel misery coming off Lisa in almost tangible waves. Most of the songs Mrs. Wolfe sang this afternoon were about love. Why would that make Lisa cry? He tried to feel inside himself to see what the monster was up to, but he felt nothing. Maybe music did sooth the savage beast. The surprised look Lisa gave him when he took her hand hurt him. He had to learn to control the damned creature before it made Lisa hate him. They had been together so short a time, and already he couldn’t imagine not having her in his life. He pressed a kiss to her knuckles and held her hand to his cheek.

  “I love you, Lisa,” he whispered. “Why are you crying?”

  “Because…” She trailed off and sniffed. “Because you’re so angry at me sometimes.”

  Oh, God, the need to convince her he loved her was killing him. “I’m not angry.”

  “No,” she agreed softly. “You’re jealous.”

  “I’m not jealous.” His voice was a little too loud. “It’s that damned m—” Eddie swallowed the damning confession, took a deep breath, and lowered his voice back to the merest whisper. “I love you.” He lifted her hand to his lips again. “We can work out whatever challenges we face, as long as we stand together. Right?”

  The knot in his chest loosened as a hesitant smile bloomed on her beautiful face.

  “Right,” she whispered, squeezing his hand.