After a moment I let go.
Immediately Norm embraced me. “Brother, I am sorry we did not arrive sooner.”
“Thank you for coming.”
“I am sure you thought the worse. You assumed I—”
“No.” I shook my head. “I did not doubt you for a minute.”
“I did,” Alex admitted. “And for that I am sorry.”
“Don’t be. I understand how all of this must have felt.” Norm looked her right in the eyes. “Don’t waste a moment worrying about it.”
“But how did they find out?” Alex leaned into my side.
“They traced your car and found out everything about you. Turns out you were right about leaving it.” Norm looked down at the ground.
Alex shook her head. “It’s my turn to tell you not to worry. But we do need to find Langdon.”
As if on cue, a tiny pup ran out of the woods.
“Langdon?” Alex walked toward the young wolf.
He ran right over to her, and she scooped him up. While she cradled him in her arms, he made the transition back to his human form far more gracefully than a wolf even years older than him normally would.
Nancy helped her wrap him in the blanket. Alex pulled him tighter against her. “You’re all right, baby. You’re all right.” She rocked back and worth, holding him tightly. Tears streamed down her face.
“Did you see that? I was a wolf.” Langdon asked with big eyes.
“I know.” She nodded. “I saw.”
“Is that bad?” He tilted his head to the side. “Are you mad?”
“No.” She shook her head. “It’s good. You are just like your daddy.”
“My daddy?” He looked around. “Is he here?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
I took my cue and walked over. He stared into my eyes. “Daddy?”
“Yes. I’m sorry I haven’t been there for you before, but I promise I will now.” I wasn’t going to blame Alex. She’d done so much for him. I wouldn’t take the chance of messing up their relationship just to make mine easier to build.
He nodded. “Do you like trucks?”
“I love trucks. I drive one.”
He grinned. “Can I drive it?”
I laughed. “Not for a few years, bud. But one day.”
He nodded. “Mommy wouldn’t let me.”
“It’s time to get you out of the cold.” Alex wrapped the blanket tighter around him.
“I’m not cold.” Langdon shrugged off the blanket.
“Wolves run warm,” I explained for him. He probably didn’t understand yet. “Now that he’s shifted he’s taken on that trait.”
“Still, we need to get you somewhere warmer.” Alex cuddled him close to her chest.
I patted his back. “In life you listen to your momma.”
He wrapped his arms around her neck. “I know.”
“Are you ready to go home?” Alex whispered to him.
“Yes.” He snuggled against her. “Let’s go home.”
I wondered what home she meant.
11
Alexandra
“This tree is the biggest ever!” Langdon held his arm up in an attempt to demonstrate the height of the douglas fir Ryder had finished setting up in the living room.
“You sure it’s big enough?” Ryder picked Langdon up. “Maybe we should have gone taller.”
“It almost touches the ceiling.” Langdon wrapped his arms around Ryder’s neck.
“Almost.” I smiled. It was nice to see Langdon so happy. I’d always managed a small tree for him each year, but this was different. As were the lights strung up all over the outside of the house. And the red velvet stockings—each monogramed—hanging from the mantle. This was the kind of Christmas Langdon had never experienced before.
“Can we decorate it now?” Langdon asked. “Right now?”
Ryder chuckled. “In my family we used to wait until Christmas Eve, but I suppose new traditions are in order.”
“I brought the few we had.” I held out an old shoe box to Langdon. “Want to start with these?”
He grabbed the box and knelt down on the floor with them.
I kneeled down beside him, and Ryder came behind me. He rubbed my shoulders. “You doing all right?”
“Fine.” I was thrilled Langdon was so happy, but I didn’t know where Ryder and I stood. I didn’t know where I wanted us to stand. We’d spent two weeks together as a family, and it had been the best two weeks of my life. But that didn’t mean this was going to last. I knew that the hard way.
“Fine isn’t the word I was hoping for.” Ryder let go of my shoulders and moved beside me. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to lose this.” I gestured to Langdon happily taking ornaments out of the box, but I hoped Ryder understood I meant us. The three of us.
“Why would you lose it?” He looked deep into my eyes.
“Because you’re eventually going to get bored. The novelty will wear off.”
“Nope. Never.” He shook his head. “I don’t understand where your doubts are coming from, but you never have to feel them with me.”
I glanced at Langdon. He had abandoned the ornaments and was now playing with the toy trucks Ryder had picked up for him. He was out of earshot. “I’ve been hurt before.”
“I know.” He pulled me close to him. “Nancy told me all about it.”
“She did?” I felt a tinge of annoyance that she’d shared my private history, but I was also relieved he knew.
“Yes. But you need to realize I’m not that guy. This is different.” He gestured between us.
“I want to believe you.”
“You will. It might take time, but eventually you’ll understand.”
“And until then?”
“Until then I’ll keep working on convincing you.”
“Thank you.” I brushed my lips against his. “For giving Langdon this.”
“You’ve given him so much more than I could ever give.” He brushed my hair out of my face. “Don’t forget how much you scarified to give him everything he needed.”
“But I could have avoided that if I came to you earlier.” I’d let fear get in the way of what was best for Langdon and me.
He took both my hands in his. “Stop looking backward. Let’s look forward.”
“Looking forward sounds perfect.” I squeezed his hands before standing up to retrieve the box. I took out the new ornament I had picked out for Ryder. “This seemed perfect for you.”
He accepted the glass wolf howling under a full moon. “Absolutely perfect.” He kissed me lightly.
“Oh, one last thing to hang up.” He dug through a bag by the fireplace. He pulled out something green and walked back over.
“It’s not Christmas without this.” He opened his hand, revealing a strand of mistletoe. He held it over our heads.
“Mistletoe?”
“Yes. And you know what it means.” He didn’t wait for me to answer. Instead he pressed his lips into mine.
I responded immediately, enjoying the sweetness of it.
The sound of giggles had me pushing Ryder away.
I took a moment to compose myself before facing Langdon. “All done with those ornaments?”
“Yup. I’m ready for more.”
Ryder took my hand in his. “Ok, bud. Let’s start with this one.” He helped Langdon hang the wolf on a low branch.
12
Ryder
It needed to be perfect. Everything about this Christmas needed to be. It was the first one I was spending with my family, and I was going to make sure it was one they remembered. Getting the gifts was easy. It was the rest that was hard.
I’d decided to take my time. I wanted to claim Alex as my mate, but I wanted it done the right way. I didn’t want her agreeing to it out of a sense of duty to our son, or out of fear from what happened with Adrian. I would wait as long as it took, the only caveat being both Alex and Langdon were safe in my home. And to that
&
nbsp; she’d agreed immediately. She wanted Langdon safe, and she wanted my help now that he was shifting.
I didn’t fight her when she chose to sleep in one of the twin beds in the extra bedroom instead of my bed. She was impossible to resist, but I could wait. She was back in my life, and she’d brought Langdon. I was truly the luckiest man alive.
“Daddy!” Langdon ran into my room and jumped on the bed. “It’s morning.”
“Are you sure?” I sat up and looked around my dark room.
He crawled up the bed and sat down beside me. “It is. I know it.”
“It’s not morning.” I glanced at the glowing red numbers on my clock. “It’s four a.m.”
“A.m. Means morning Mommy said.”
“Not really morning.” I rubbed my eyes. “But it’s Christmas so I’ll make an exception.”
“Where did Mommy go?”
“What do you mean?” The rest of my sleepiness disappeared. “She isn’t sleeping?”
“Nope. She isn’t. I thought she might be in here, but she isn’t either.” He lifted up the blankets as if she might be hiding under them.
“Stay right here. Don’t move.” I jumped out of bed. I searched the house. “Alex?” I called out.
There was no answer. I looked out front where her car was still parked in the driveway, covered with a fresh layer of snow.
I ran to the back door and yanked it open. And then I saw her. She was sitting out on the deck wrapped in a blanket and clutching a mug. I sat down beside her on the bench. “Are you trying to kill me?”
“Merry Christmas.” She kissed my cheek. “And no, why would you think I was trying to do something like that?”
“You disappeared. We had no idea where you were.”
“It’s four a.m. Why are you even up?”
“Why are you up? And why are you out here?”
“I woke up and saw the snow had started again.”
“And you decided to come out here?” My heart was still beating out of control, but I tried to relax. Alex was safe.
“I made coffee first.” She set her mug down on the floor beside her.
I scooted closer to her. “Merry Christmas. I suppose I should have led with that.”
“Is he up?”
“Of course. I told him to wait in our room, but I doubt he listened.”
“Our room?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Yes. It will be our room eventually.”
“It will be.” She grabbed my hand and pulled it under the blanket. “Ready to go in?”
“What do I need to be ready for exactly?”
“Have you watched a preschooler open presents before?”
“No. But there’s no time like the present to experience that.” I grinned. “And just so you know, you’re not getting your present until tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes. Is that okay with you?”
“Absolutely.” She picked up her mug and stood. “But you didn’t need to get me anything. I told you that.”
“And I told you I’m going to be buying you presents all the time, whether it’s a holiday or not.”
She laughed. “All right, let’s find Langdon before he opens everything without us.”
I brushed my lips against hers. “You’re amazing.”
“Why?”
“Because you have given me the greatest gifts in the world. I didn’t know this kind of happiness existed.”
“Neither did I.” She rested her head on my chest. “Neither did I.”
13
Alexandra
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked, trying to hold some of my fear back. When Ryder dropped his plan on me I didn’t respond for a full minute. Letting Langdon out of my sight made me nervous. Letting him out of my sight for multiple nights starting on the evening of Christmas made me even more nervous.
“Of course it’s a good idea.” Nancy gave me a stern look. “You two need some time together, and Langdon needs some Aunt Nancy time. You guys usually spend Christmas with me. I haven’t had a chance to spoil him yet.”
“And Uncle Norm time.” Norm grinned. “Don’t forget I’m going to be there to watch out for him too.”
“Although I am fully capable of taking care of him myself, as long as a crazy wolf doesn’t come after him.” Nancy’s expression darkened. She still felt guilty about what happened, but none of it was her fault. It was Adrian’s fault, and mine for waiting so long to tell Ryder the truth.
“Of course you are,” I reassured her. “None of what happened was your fault.”
“I am a wolf.” Langdon grinned. “I can protect you.”
Nancy laughed. “I bet you can, but I’m still the boss.”
“I know.” He gave a devilish smile that looked so much like Ryder’s it was eerie.
“I want to spend time with him anyway.” Norm smiled. “Besides, does my hanging around bother you that much?”
Nancy shrugged, and I wondered not for the first time if there was a little something brewing there.
“But promise you’ll call and check in?” I was always going to be nervous about leaving Langdon. I think it just comes with being a mom.
“And I’ll have my phone on,” Nancy added.
Ryder rubbed my back. I appreciated he wasn’t trying to convince me of anything. He was leaving the decision up to me. Although he didn’t have to say anything for me to know his opinion. He was ready for alone time. And so was I. Besides, Langdon would have a blast with Nancy and Norm. It was only my own fear holding him back.
“Ok. But only for the weekend.” I bent down and opened Langdon’s bag to make sure he had everything he needed.
“You’ve checked twice already, babe.” Ryder knelt down beside me. “He’s all packed and ready to go.”
“I know.” I took a deep breath and stood up. “Ok, Langdon. I need the biggest hug ever.”
He ran and jumped into my arms, nearly knocking me over.
I held him close. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too, but you’ll have Daddy.” My heart soared. It still seemed amazing how quickly Langdon took to Ryder. They had a natural bond that only grew the more time they were together.
Ryder joined our hug. “You have fun, and come back to us with all sorts of stories.”
“Ok. You take care of Mommy.” Langdon reached for Ryder and moved into his arms.
Ryder hugged him. “It’s a big job, but I think I can do that.” Ryder set Langdon down.
Langdon ran over to Nancy and Norm.
“Love you!” I called as the three of them disappeared through the door.
“He’s going to have a blast.” Ryder rubbed my back. “Remember that.”
“I know.” He deserved to spend time with Nancy. They had a close relationship I never wanted to get in the way of.
“And so are we.” Ryder pulled me into his arms.
“I know that too.”
“First things first.” Ryder put a hand on my hip.
“What? Am I supposed to know already or guess?” I loved the feel of his hands on me. They made me feel so safe. When I pushed away my fears over him tiring of me, I couldn’t deny the way he made me feel.
“Neither. It’s a surprise. I did promise you your gift was coming tonight.”
“My gift is still a surprise?.” I tried to hide my disappointment, but it was hard to do.
“Don’t you like surprises?”
“Sometimes.” Very rarely. Surprises made me nervous.
“Only sometimes?”
“You know I get nervous about things.”
“This is nothing to get nervous about.” He pulled me closer.
“Promise?”
“Do you really need to ask that question?” Ryder narrowed his eyes.
“Probably not.” I shrugged.
“Probably not? I hope you mean definitely not.”
I looked up into his eyes. “I’m not crossing my arms.”
&n
bsp; He laughed. “Nope, but you’re doubting me.”
“No arm crossing, no doubting, what other rules do I need to know about?”
“The unequivocal trust when I tell you it’s a good surprise.”
“How is that different than doubting you?”
“It’s not really. Just a different way to spin it.” He ran his hands down my back in the way that gave me the good kind of chills.
“Uh huh. I see.” I started to cross my arms and then stopped. “Is this surprise going to involve me getting naked?” With Ryder that was a good question to ask. He’d largely kept his hands to himself over the weeks since we rescued Langdon, but I had a feeling that was going to change now that we were alone again.
“You will be naked eventually, but the surprise itself doesn’t require it.”
“Ok. That eliminates a few things.”
“How much I wish I could see inside your mind right now to figure out what you’re thinking.” He wriggled an eyebrow.
“And that’s exactly why I’m sure glad you can’t.”
“But you are going to have to be blindfolded.” He grinned.
I groaned. “No. Let’s not go there. Blindfolds are not my friend.”
“When were you blindfolded before?”
“Sixth birthday party, pin-the-tail on the donkey. Don’t ask, but it didn’t go well.” I shook away the memory.
“This is going to end completely differently from how that ended. By your reluctance I can only assume the ending was pretty bad.”
“Beyond bad, but I’m going to trust you.”
“Good.” He pulled a bandana out of his back pocket. “I promise this won’t end bad.”
He tied the bandana over my eyes. I tried to stay calm. “Will any of this be bad?”
“Nope.” He put hand hands on my shoulders and led me out of the room.
I heard the squeak of the door.
“Careful we’re stepping down.”
“Wait, we’re going somewhere?” I froze on what I knew were the front steps.
“Yes. Is there a problem with that?”
“How long am I going to have this thing on?” I touched the blindfold.
Full Moons and Mistletoe Page 7
