Alphas for the Holidays

by Mandy M. Roth

  The phone rang, distracting him from her for a moment. “Nocturne Falls Fire Department.”

  “Sam, it’s Titus.”

  “Hey, Chief. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m glad you asked.”

  Chapter 2

  Bridget walked into the firehouse expecting to see a few people, but the place was deserted. She supposed it made sense with the holiday and all. But someone had to be here. A skeleton crew at least. What if there was a Christmas tree fire? Or a horrible fondue accident? Or a flaming eggnog that needed dousing?

  “Hello?”

  Her answer came in a single word from an all-too-familiar, all-too-sexy voice. “Hello.”

  She turned to see him walking out from the break room. The only Christmas present she’d asked Santa for, Mr. Tall, Dark and Wolfy. Her heart did a ridiculous flutter. She refused to do more than look bored. “Sam.”

  “Bridget.”

  She looked at her nails. “I thought you’d be over at Hank’s with Ivy and everybody else.” Which was why she’d planned to go home and fix up a little first. Instead, he got to see her fresh from work, which hello, new chip in her manicure, wasn’t fresh at all.

  He shrugged. “Probies don’t get to pick their shifts.”

  “No, they don’t.” And unlike Lenny, Sam had actually shown up. And of course he had to be wearing his uniform, which he looked unfairly hot in. He had his sister’s dark hair and deep brown eyes, but the beefy build of an alpha male. Every wolfy hormone in her body sat up and wanted to beg. Down, girl. “I’m just here to borrow a truck.”

  He nodded. “The chief called. It’s all set.” He swung a set of keys around his finger. “Where do you need to go?”

  Her brows lifted. “I can drive myself, thanks.”

  He laughed softly. “Not in my truck you can’t.”

  She put her hands on her hips. She wasn’t in the mood for this macho manliness. “I can drive a truck.”

  “I’m sure you can, and if you had one of your own, you’d already be in it.”

  “Don’t you have to be here? On call?”

  “Yes, but I can be on call without being here. Plus the chief has his radio on. Anything comes in before we get back, he’s promised to cover it.”

  “Huh.” Sam was awfully quick with the we. And Titus had been just as fast agreeing to take calls. But then maybe keeping busy was good for her brother right now. “Fine.”

  A hint of smile bent his mouth. Bridget’s knees went to jelly, and she had to concentrate on what he was saying to catch every word above the nine drummers drumming that her hormones had turned into.

  “What do you need help with? Titus said a delivery?”

  She unstuck her tongue from the roof of her mouth. “Yeah, long story that I can tell you on the way, but I need to deliver a case of champagne to the Ellingham estate.”

  “One of the brothers?”

  “No. The grand dame herself, Elenora.”

  His brows shot up and he nodded. “We should go then. I’ll grab my coat.”

  “Yeah.” Crap. She realized she was about to be in truck cab with him. Those weren’t exactly wide-open spaces. He probably smelled good too. One more thing for her psyche to bring up in her dreams.

  He shrugged his coat on, then jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Truck’s out back.”

  She nodded and followed him. They didn’t talk much for the next few minutes, which was fine with her. Sam let her into the cab, then shut her door, went around to the driver’s side and got the heat on, then went to work clearing snow off the windshield.

  All too soon he was done and in the cab with her. He smelled amazing. Of course. He put his hand on the shifter and glanced over. “Back to the bar?”

  She nodded. “Park in back.”

  “Got it.” He pulled out and drove.

  Being this close to him made the tension between them impossible to ignore. Nothing had happened between them, but it sure as Christmas felt like it had. How was that possible? She stared out the window and tried to imagine how a man who’d been ignoring her, a man she’d never touched, let alone kissed, could make her skin tingle and her body ache.

  Full moon fever?

  She did a quick mental calculation in her head, but the full moon was two weeks off. That wasn’t it.

  “You get this all the time?”

  She turned. “What?”

  He tipped his head toward the road. “Snow. You get a lot of snow like this?”

  Oh, sure. Snow. “Sometimes. The elevation makes it more likely than not.”

  He nodded. “I could buy a plow for this thing, probably make a little extra cash clearing driveways.”

  “Or you could just shovel them. I know a lot of single women who’d pay to see that.” She clamped her jaw shut, but the words had come out too fast. What had gotten into her?

  He laughed. “Is that right?”

  She shook her head and looked out the window again. Where was a sinkhole when you needed one? Filled with snow, that’s where. “Maybe. I don’t know.” Why had she said that? Because she was hot for him. But being hot for a guy who didn’t want you back was awful.

  Thankfully, he pulled into Howler’s rear lot. She jumped out before the truck came to a complete stop.

  “Hey—”

  She shut the truck door, yanked her bar keys out of her pocket, and went inside. Why on earth had Titus thought getting Sam to help her was a good idea? He had to know there was something between them. Correction, he had to know she thought there might have been something between them. Both her brothers had teased her about Sam for a while, but since he’d gotten back from the fire academy and things had gone cold, both Hank and Titus had let up.

  Until Titus’s little trick this evening.

  Sam stormed in behind her. “Hey, what’s with you?”

  She answered him without looking at him. “Nothing.”

  He snorted. “I guess I haven’t spent enough time around you then to realize you had such a sunny disposition.”

  She took a breath and stopped at the door to the storage room. He’d spent very little time around to be honest, but if he wasn’t interested in her, that was perfectly within his rights. And something she needed to get over. She smiled tightly as she glanced at him. “Sorry. Working on Christmas Eve and all that.”

  He nodded. “I hear that.”

  She flipped on the light in the storage room. “Champagne’s in here. I’ll just be a sec.”

  “I can carry it.”

  “I’ve got it. It’s not that big a deal.” Except she did have the two other bottles to carry and the bar to lock up. And she needed to lighten up on the crankiness. “Actually, you know what? That would be nice. Thank you.” She picked up the two loose bottles, then patted the case. “This is it.”

  He hefted the box. “They just put twelve bottles of really expensive champagne in here? They’re padded or something right?”

  “They’re well packed in their own boxes. They should be fine in the back of your truck. Just no off-roading.”

  His brows bounced in response. “That’s for sure.”

  She followed him back to the truck, turning off lights and locking up as they went. The two loose bottles she took into the cab and laid on the floor between her feet. He strapped the case into the back with tie-downs, then joined her in the cab.

  He got the engine going, then leaned on the wheel to look at her. “I have no idea where I’m going.”

  “Haven’t you been to the Ellingham estate? It’s not hard. Basically we’re going up into the back country a bit. Past where the vineyards are.”

  He nodded as he shifted into drive. “Sounds nice. You ever run up there?”

  “Sure, couple of times. The Ellinghams don’t mind shifters on their property as long as no damage is done.”

  He pulled out. “They’re pretty cool for vampires, huh?”

  “They are.” She looked at him. “You ever know any vampires before you came here?�
�

  “Can’t say that I did.”

  “Nocturne Falls must have been a huge change for you.”

  He nodded. “It was, but change can be good.”

  The look on his face said change could also be bad. She wondered if he was thinking about the rest of his family. His mother had stayed behind in Tennessee. Bridget knew that from talking to Ivy, but their father and all of the other brothers had ended up in prison because of their shady business dealings and tax fraud. “So… you like it here?”

  “I do. New job. New people. New start. What’s not to like?”

  “You must miss your home.”

  For a moment, it seemed like anger darkened his gaze. “I miss my mother, but I have Ivy and Charlie here.”

  “True.” She pointed as they came to the road that would take them up into the hills and toward the estate. “Turn here, then just stay on this road until you see the house. You can’t miss it.”

  He followed her directions and they fell into silence. She wanted to ask him more questions but got the sense his family wasn’t something he wanted to discuss. “What’s Titus like as a boss?”

  “Good. Fair. No complaints.”

  She laughed. “None you’d tell me anyway, right?”

  “There is that.” The hard line of his mouth softened. “What’s it like running your own business?”

  She took a breath. “Lots and lots of work. But I love it.” Except the loneliness part. She reached over to poke his shoulder. “You don’t come in much. I see a lot of the other firefighters, but not you. I don’t bite, you know.”

  “We all bite. We’re werewolves.”

  “You know what I mean. How come you never come in?”

  He shrugged. “Bar’s not my scene.”

  “You’re a young male werewolf who also happens to be a firefighter and you’re a Kincaid, and the bar’s not your scene?” She laughed. “No lies on Christmas. Santa’s watching.”

  “It’s not a lie,” he growled. “Don’t judge me by my name. Please. You don’t see my sister drinking and out every night, do you?”

  “No, but she’s married and a mother.” A blind man could’ve seen how upset he was. “I’m sorry. It was a dumb thing to say. I didn’t mean anything by it, I just thought, I don’t know… You seem like someone who’d be in my place all the time. Anyway, I’m sorry I upset you.”

  He stayed silent longer than she was comfortable with. “I appreciate the apology. And I’m sorry I snapped. I hate being defined by my name. You must understand that. Not that it’s an excuse.”

  “Sure, I get it. Being a Merrow hasn’t always been easy.”

  “I meant you must understand because you know what my family is like. The name Kincaid conjures up a less-than-upstanding image. Doesn’t it?”

  It was her turn to be quiet. “Yes. It does.”

  He took a deep breath. “This is my chance to reinvent myself. That’s all.”

  She felt for him on so many levels. “I feel like we should start over.”

  He looked at her. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, we should be friends. We’re basically family since your sister is married to my brother. We should at least be able to be civil to each other.” Since they weren’t going to be making out anytime soon. Regrettably.

  “Okay. We start over. Hi, I’m Sam. Your driver for the evening.”

  She laughed. “You know what I mean.”

  He grinned. “I’m sorry, ma’am, who are you again?”

  They both snickered.

  The trucked slipped, fishtailing slightly. Sam’s hand shot out and he grabbed her arm, going instantly serious until he had control of the vehicle again.

  She sucked in a breath. His instinct had been to protect her. But maybe that was just being a brother and nothing more.

  “You okay,” he asked.

  “I’m fine.” But it was nice to be asked.

  He dropped his hand.

  She twisted to see if the case of champagne was okay. It was. She let out a relieved sigh as she turned back around.

  He kept his eyes on the road. “How’s the Dom? All good back there?”

  “I don’t think it moved. You strapped it in tight. Roads are getting bad, huh?”

  He looked up at the sky through the windshield. “This snow doesn’t look like it’s going to let up anytime soon.”

  “Good thing we’re almost there.” She pointed ahead to where the Ellingham estate sat atop a rising hill. With the lights on around it, highlighting the falling snow, it looked like a castle of ice.

  “Not too much farther then.”

  “Nope.”

  They returned to silence as he navigated the road.

  So they were going to be friends, were they? His agreeing to that much gave her hope. Stupid, foolish, high school hope, but she was a woman after all. And he was gorgeous and built and very sweet and the son of an alpha. A crappy alpha, but that wasn’t Sam’s fault. He was not his father and clearly had no intentions of becoming anything like the man. All that talk about starting over. How could a woman be around Sam and not want him? She sighed.

  “What was that for?”

  “Oh, nothing.” Just the wolf in her yearning to run free with the wolf in him. She gave him new directions as they pulled into the long driveway. “Just park right in the front of house.”

  “Your wish is my command.”

  If only, she thought. Then her Christmas would be perfect.

  Chapter 3

  Sam opened Bridget’s door, then turned and tipped his head back to get a good look at the building in front of them. He let out a low whistle. “This is some place. No wonder you called it an estate. How many people live here?”

  “Not entirely sure. Elenora Ellingham, of course, and her secretary, Alice Bishop, who’s also a witch, so mind yourself. As for the rest of her staff, I know she’s got at least a housekeeper, a gardener, and a chef. Not sure if there’s anyone else.”

  He shifted back around to face her. “You’re telling me five people live in a house that looks like a hotel and most of them are staff?”

  She nodded. “Yep.”

  He shook his head. “Money doesn’t always buy sense, does it?”

  A throat cleared and they both turned to see a man standing in the open doorway. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

  “Hear what?” Bridget asked.

  Sam twisted away so the man couldn’t see his face and made crazy eyes at Bridget.

  She grinned at him and nudged him with her elbow as she spoke to the man. “Julian, this is Sam Kincaid. Ivy’s brother. You can thank him for the use of his truck.”

  Sam turned around and gave a little wave.

  Julian snorted. “I think you’d better be the one to thank him, seeing as how this delivery should have already been here.”

  “I’ll get the champagne,” Sam said. He slipped around to the back of the truck and wiped a thin layer of snow off the box before releasing the tie-downs. He lifted the box, bumped the tailgate shut with his hip, and walked back to Bridget.

  She wore a crown of snowflakes, and in the house lights, they sparkled like diamonds. Something he’d never be able to give her. The thought of how large the delta was between them put him back in a dark place. To be so close to her, to be able to taste her scent on his tongue, and yet still be so far away. It felt like the universe’s way of punishing him for not seeing the truth about his father sooner.

  “Come on,” she said. “Julian’s waiting.”

  “Forget me,” Julian shot back. “It’s Didi who’s missing her champers.”

  Bridget tucked the two extra bottles she’d brought into the crooks of her arms. “Keep your frock coat on. We’re coming.”

  Sam followed her into the house. The foyer was large enough to park two of his trucks in. An older woman in a blue velvet gown and loads of expensive-looking jewelry appeared at the far end.

  Her mouth made a shape that screamed displeasure. “I see the
matter of the champagne has been rectified.”

  Bridget nodded. “Elenora. I trust Julian explained what happened?”

  The woman nodded. “He did.” Her expression softened. “I do appreciate your coming out here this evening to make things right.”

  Bridget held up the other two bottles. “These are on the house.”

  “Very kind of you.” She smiled, showing off fangs. Then her gaze shifted to Sam. “See that the bottles are stored in the walk-in.”

  He nodded, not sure what else to do.

  The woman left, leaving him and Bridget alone with Julian. Bridget waved Julian off. “Go ahead, go back to whatever you were doing. I know where the walk-in is.”

  Julian shook his head. “Cook will freak out if I don’t take you in. She’s already in a snit because her kitchen helper quit. Some dustup about getting stuck in the walk-in because of not knowing how to get the door open.” He rolled his eyes. “The woman had a complete claustrophobic meltdown, and now cook has to do Christmas dinner by herself. Between that and the champagne, it hasn’t been a fun day here. Follow me.”

  They zigzagged through the house, finally accessing what felt like a back hallway, which it probably was, something used by staff. A strange shriek met their ears.

  “What on earth is that?” Bridget asked.

  “Cook,” Julian answered. “She likes her opera. Usually Didi makes her keep it down, but today no one’s telling her anything.” He pushed the doors open to the kitchen. The music rolled over them like a wave. Sam had no idea what language it was.

  Julian stood there, trying to get the chef’s attention. “Frauke. Frauke.”

  A tall woman with the build of a second-string linebacker turned to face them. She wore chef’s whites and held an enormous whisk tipped in white froth. She eyed the strangers, then saw Julian. “Ja?”

  He motioned toward Bridget and Sam as he shouted to be heard. “They’re putting Didi’s champagne in the walk-in.”