Charmed by the Wolf

by Kristal Hollis

  It would’ve seemed like a peaceful drift down the stream if she hadn’t known what lay beyond the bend. If anything had been within reach, Nel’s fingers would’ve been clenched around it.

  She glanced at Tristan in the raft ahead of them. He sat angled, watching his charges and sneaking quick peeks at Nel. Each time a relieved smile lifted his lips, a warmth would flash through her, easing her anxiety.

  Mary wiggled in her seat. “I’m getting splashed.”

  “Duh!” Her friend laughed. “We’re on a river.”

  “Sit still and tough it out,” Nel said.

  Laughter and squeals of delight from the other girls drowned out Mary’s dramatic sighs.

  Nel began to relax. Tristan continued to keep an eye on them, his reassuring smile broadening when she gave him a thumbs-up.

  The guide in the back called out confident instructions for the paddlers as they neared the first rapids.

  Nel’s gut tightened and her heart raced, a little fear mixed with excitement.

  They bumped and jarred over the first minor hurdle to the screams of teenagers having fun. Except for Mary, shrieking at her wet clothes and hair.

  Nel made a quick head count and released a sigh of relief. All were safe in the raft.

  Before long, the guide called out again. “Bump!” Everyone leaned forward, and those with paddles placed the T grips on the floor, pointing the flat paddle end in the air. They hit the rocks and a wall of water cascaded into the raft. Mary screamed in frustration and stood instead of shifting back into the proper seated position. The guide yelled. Nel reached for her, but the raft dipped and jarred.

  Losing her balance, Mary grabbed Nel’s wrist. They both pitched forward.

  Time slowed to a crawl.

  The wind licked Nel’s damp skin as she tumbled from the raft. The roar of rushing water sounded faint and lulling against the hard, fast, steady beat of her heart. A hard splash sliced through the sound and then she was cocooned in a blanket of cold water.

  Panic erupted. She wanted to breathe, to gasp for air, but some sane part of her brain prevented it. She flashed back to the accident that killed her parents. The lightning, the storm, the rushing water of the flash flood.

  She forced the memories from her mind. She needed a clear head, not only for herself, but for Mary.

  Sunlight hit her face. She forced open her eyes as she bobbed in the water. The life jacket had done its job.

  Mary, slightly more than a yard away, screamed and flailed her arms.

  “Calm down and put your legs up! We’ll float!”

  Mary drifted close enough for Nel to grab her. “Do this.” Nel flipped her feet into position. “Do it now!”

  Mary did as instructed. Nel aimed her feet toward the raft. The guide and paddlers had slowed for them to catch up. Nel used her free arm to steer them. Mary clung to the other.

  When they reached the raft, Nel clasped the side and pushed Mary’s bottom upward as the others hoisted the girl into the raft. Then it was her turn. She didn’t have anyone to push up her ample bottom, but with the others’ help, she managed to wiggle into the boat without slipping.

  “You did good,” the guide told her.

  Good?

  What she’d done was damned amazing.

  * * *

  Tristan stood at the rafting dock, squinting against the sun and straining his neck to see downriver. Unfortunately, his wolfan vision didn’t enable him to see around the bend.

  When Nel had fallen out of the raft, Tristan’s heart had leaped from his chest. Despite the debilitating flash of panic, he would’ve dived in after her if she hadn’t bobbed up almost immediately.

  Nel had remembered the safety instructions and gotten Mary and herself back to the raft without incident.

  Tristan couldn’t have been more proud.

  Even so, his anxiety hadn’t eased and wouldn’t until Nel reached dry land and was tucked safely in his arms.

  The distant rumble of laughter reached him before the raft came into view. Nel was all smiles.

  Instead of relief, all Tristan felt was the scurrying sting of imaginary insects crawling beneath his skin. And the coiling of a python around his chest and stomach.

  He needed, actually needed, to feel Nel in his arms, to breathe her scent into his lungs. Hoping to curb the trembling, he fisted his hands.

  The raft drifted toward the landing at a leisurely pace in the stream’s calmer current. Tristan was no longer interested in the rest of the field trip. He just wanted Nel, a nice secluded spot and no clothes between them.

  When the raft reached the dock, Nel gave him a thumbs-up. Tristan helped unload the kids off the raft, and then Nel. When his fingers clasped her hand, relief mixed with a healthy dose of desire flushed out the dread and anxiety.

  “That was fun!” A broad smile curved her luscious mouth; a healthy flush brightened her skin.

  “She’s a trouper,” the guide said.

  “You have no idea.” Tristan unfastened Nel’s life preserver and slipped it off her shoulders. Despite her hair plastered to her head and wet clothes sticking to her body like a frumpy second skin, she had never looked more beautiful.

  He dropped the life preserver onto the ground and cupped her face, his thumb strumming her rosy cheek. “Are you okay?”

  “Fantastic.” Confidence sparkled in her eyes.

  The need to touch her, kiss her, make love to her nearly crushed him. Had they been alone, he would’ve surrendered without a fight.

  Nel was unlike any woman he’d ever known. Caring, sensitive, ferociously brave. Now that he knew her, he couldn’t imagine ever growing tired of her company, her touch, her sweetness, her creativity. Her nearness was a comfort. Her touch nirvana. Her taste addictive. Her scent divine.

  “You gave me quite a scare.” Tristan lifted her hand and pressed his lips against her knuckles.

  “I knew what to do, thanks to you.” She grinned. “You’re an excellent teacher.”

  “Remember,” he teased, “I’m excellent at a lot of things.”

  “Indeed, you are.”

  As if it was the most natural thing in the world, they walked hand in hand to where the group had gathered.

  Carmen did a head count. Everyone was present, except for Mary. Even after a few calls, the girl didn’t answer.

  “I know she got off the raft,” Nel assured them. “I should’ve kept an eye on her afterward.”

  “This isn’t your fault. She was told to stay with her group.”

  As Carmen began to put everyone into teams to start a search, Mary strolled out of the women’s restroom in dry clothes.

  “I got this,” Tristan told Carmen. He kissed Nel’s temple. “Go change. We’ll meet back here in ten minutes.”

  Nel gathered her girls and led them to the changing room.

  “Mary,” Tristan said sternly. “Here. Now.”

  The girl rolled her eyes and took her time strolling toward him.

  “You were reckless on the raft,” he said, keeping his annoyance out of his voice. “You could’ve been hurt and you could’ve hurt someone else.”

  “Chill, man.” She popped her gum.

  “You could end up in a bad place if you don’t learn to follow the rules.”

  “Yeah, okay.” She sighed. “Is that it?”

  “I know your family is going through a difficult time. It’s hard to adjust to change, but your attitude, not your circumstance, is what will keep you from making and keeping friends. Everyone here has gone through hardships. Yours isn’t special, so stop acting like an ass. Otherwise people will treat you like one.”

  Mary glared at him with the same icy-cold gaze her mother, Deidre, had given him when they were dating and he’d done something that had pissed her
off.

  “There’s opportunity in starting over, Mary. It’s yours to make or lose. Choose wisely.”

  Tristan sent her back to the group gathering at the rendezvous place. He watched Nel chatting with her charges.

  Mine.

  The thought drifted through his mind.

  He shook his head.

  If only she could be.

  Chapter 24

  The scent of corn dogs, popcorn and cotton candy saturated the air. Throughout the fairgrounds, loudspeakers piping country music from the band performing in the outdoor pavilion competed with the calls, bells and whistles of carnival games. With the whooshes of rides and their riders’ screams, and the hum of conversation from everyone who’d come out for the Fourth of July celebration, it was a wonder Nel could hear her own thoughts.

  “Which prize do you want?” Tristan stopped in front of a gaming booth in the middle of the midway and gave Nel a wink.

  She couldn’t believe that after nearly a week of twelve-hour shifts and overtime he’d chosen to bring her to the festival instead of catching up on sleep.

  Licking cotton candy off her thumb, Nel eyed the rotating tables of milk-bottle pyramids. “You know these games are rigged, right?”

  Tristan waggled his eyebrows. “Which one?”

  Nel looked at the collection of stuffed animals suspended from the rafters. “That one.” She pointed at the small wolf with coloring similar to Tristan’s wolf.

  The game attendant unhooked the prize and set it on the counter. “Six wins and it goes home with the lady.”

  Tristan took out his wallet.

  “He’s just going to take your money.”

  “And I’m going to take that wolf.” Tristan paid for six balls and lined them on the counter. He picked up the first, rolling it methodically in his hands. His expression set in serious study, he walked around the entire booth ignoring the taunts and goads made by the game attendant.

  “That’s one,” Tristan said before Nel’s mind had had time to register that he’d thrown the ball, never mind that he’d actually knocked over one of the pyramids.

  The game attendant’s jaw dropped. Shaking his head, he moved toward the tables.

  “I’m not done.” Tristan passed behind Nel, his hand gliding along her lower back, and a widespread thrill passed through her.

  “I was going to clear the table,” the attendant said.

  “Not necessary.” Tristan picked up the second ball. “Just stay out of the way.”

  He stalked around the booth, making five more throws. Each struck its target just as quickly and precisely as the first.

  “Why did you pick that one?” Tristan asked as they walked away with Nel’s prize.

  “He reminds me of your wolf.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yep.” Nel tucked the stuffed animal into her bag so his head was peeking out. “Besides, if I woke up in the middle of the night and saw one of those psychedelic ones on my dresser, I might have a heart attack.”

  “I wouldn’t want that to happen.”

  “Me, either.”

  “Tristan!”

  He and Nel stopped, turning toward the woman advancing on them. “I can’t believe you’re here with her!”

  “Who I spend time with is none of your business, Deidre.”

  “Mary nearly drowned because of her!” Deidre jabbed her finger at Nel.

  “That’s not what happened,” Tristan and Nel said in unison. Only his voice remained level, while Nel’s rose a few octaves.

  “When you picked up Mary after the field trip last week, Carmen and I explained what happened. We gave you a copy of the incident report that Nel, Carmen, myself and the rafting guide signed.” Calm and authoritative Tristan showed no signs of the panic Nel felt as a result of Deidre’s accusation.

  “Nel, in all likelihood, saved Mary’s life.” Tristan laced his fingers around Nel’s hand. “You should be thanking Nel, not attacking her.”

  Deidre’s mouth twisted into an ugly frown. “Keep her away from my daughter, or you’ll be sorry.” Her gaze snapped to Nel. The sharp, icy stare caused Nel’s stomach to churn as Deidre looked her up and down.

  Following a derisive grunt, the angry mother turned abruptly and left.

  “I dodged a bullet with that one.” Tristan squinted in the direction Deidre had stomped off. “She used to be my high-school sweetheart. I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I hadn’t broken up with her.”

  Nel coughed. Tristan and Deidre together was an unpleasant association she did not want to dwell upon.

  “Except,” Tristan continued, “I wouldn’t have met you.”

  He looked at Nel. An understated smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and his eyes, vast chocolate pools, warmed.

  Nel’s body heated and it wasn’t from the summer sun shining in the bright blue sky. Tristan had a way of making her feel special. Of course, that was all part of his charm.

  She needed to be careful not to get swept away by his compliments and attention. Or she’d be the one who was in danger of drowning in her own foolishness.

  * * *

  “This is so exciting.” Nel clapped her hands and held them to her mouth. “I’ve never even been on a plane.”

  Too bad her excitement wasn’t contagious. Tristan gripped the edge of the giant basket, trying not to flinch every time the burner fired.

  “How high will we go?” Nel asked the pilot.

  “Around twenty-three hundred feet.”

  Great, just great.

  He must be out of his damn mind. He hated heights, but the look on Nel’s face when she’d seen the hot-air balloon ride that the Chamber of Commerce was sponsoring made it impossible for him to say no.

  Nel continued chatting with the pilot, but the roar in Tristan’s ears prevented him from hearing the actual conversation. He took slow, measured breaths to relax and tried to focus his thoughts on how much fun Nel was having rather than about how horrific their deaths would be if they plunged to the ground in a fiery ball.

  “Everything okay?” Nel squeezed Tristan’s arm.

  “Yeah,” he said, not feeling okay at all. His stomach tingled uncomfortably, like there were ants scurrying inside his intestines.

  “It’s such a beautiful day.” She leaned on the basket’s railing, her face lifted to the sky.

  Tristan kissed her temple, praying they would make it safely back to earth once they launched.

  His heart raced as one by one the ties fell away. By the time the basket bumped from the ground, Tristan felt like he would have a full-blown heart attack.

  If Wahyas were meant to float in the sky, they would’ve been born with feathers and wings. He wasn’t even a fan of flying in a plane.

  Pure joy radiated from Nel as they rose higher. Tristan did his best not to look like a scaredy-cat. The first time he’d flown on a plane, he’d been happily sedated. The next time was an absolute nightmare. A large cold front had moved in over Atlanta about the time the plane had started to descend. With no way around it, they’d had to fly straight through it. The cabin shook so hard the overhead compartments spilled their contents, the oxygen bags dropped and Tristan swore the rivets were loosening.

  The plane had landed hard, jarring and bouncing passengers in their seats as they slid to a long, screeching halt. But for several long seconds he hadn’t been sure they would actually stop.

  Cooler air pricked his skin the higher they rose. Nel listened aptly to the pilot’s monologue on the view.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

  Tristan didn’t take his eyes off Nel’s rapturous glow. “Breathtaking.”

  An impish grin plumped her cheeks. “The world looks perfect from here.” She turned back around. “Fro
m this perspective, you can’t see all the things going wrong. The bad decisions, the heartbreak, the sickness and disease. Everything looks calm, peaceful. Hopeful.”

  He sensed a brief moment of melancholy coming from Nel, and then felt a rush of gratefulness.

  “It’s good to be alive.” She rubbed her bare arms dotted with goose bumps.

  Tristan uncurled his stiff fingers and loosened his grip on the rail. Reaching for Nel, he pulled her in front of him, sheltering her with his body. When she was tucked safely against him, he fastened his hands back on the rail and rested his chin on the crown of her head.

  Mine.

  Instead of a loud and insistent declaration, the word hummed in his head.

  Nel was right. Up here, everything was perfect.

  * * *

  Black velvet stretched across the expanse above them. If not for the twinkling pinpoint brilliance of innumerable stars, Nel thought the darkness would have swallowed them whole.

  Hundreds of people reclined in lawn chairs or sat on blankets on the south side of the hill that faced the water. On the small island, not quite in the center of the lake, the outline of figures appeared in the muted glow of lantern light.

  Nel hadn’t been this excited, or had this much fun, since her parents took her to a carnival when she was five.

  “They’re almost ready,” Tristan assured her.

  “How can you tell?”

  He was silent for a moment. “Timing. I’m usually out there helping. From the moment they step off the boat, everything they do takes a specific amount of time. It’s practically a science.”

  “I’m glad you’re with me and not out there tonight.”

  “Me, too.” Tristan nuzzled her cheek. Warm fuzzies danced beneath her skin.

  She loved how cozy and comfortable she was with Tristan. And how relaxed and in tune with her he seemed.

  “Here we go.”

  No sooner had he said the words than a boom echoed over the water. She tipped her face to the sky as an explosion of red, white and blue filled the heavens. Sparkles of green and ribbons of gold followed.