Things That Go Bump In the Night 2004
Page 5
What worried her was that she wasn’t sure that he’d taken just her body. Granted, she hadn’t had sex in ages, at least not with anything other than her toys and her imagination. Ralph Hipp had come along and moved right into her thoughts. And with every move, and every muscle in her body reminding her, she couldn’t get him out of her head today.
“Who is hurt?” Greta’s question pulled Sandy out of her thoughts.
The old woman clutched the phone to her ear, her expression impossible to read. After a moment, she nodded and hung up the phone without saying goodbye to whoever was on the other end.
“That was your werewolf.” The healer moved around her, digging through her grocery sacks and pulling out herbs.
“My werewolf?” Sandy asked.
“You have Ralph Hipp’s scent all over you.” Greta didn’t look up while she transferred some of the herbs into her cloth medicine bag. “You think because I’m old that I have forgotten about sex?”
Sandy opened her mouth to respond but embarrassment made her temporarily dumb. Greta ignored her awkward moment and walked out of the kitchen.
“I need you to take me over to the diner. Some of the pack got in a tumble with a few humans.” Greta left her front door open and headed toward Sandy’s car.
Sandy hurried after her, pulling the door closed but not locking it. She wasn’t sure if Greta knew where her house key was.
“Who got hurt?” Sandy caught up with Greta in time to open the car door for her.
Greta waved her skinny hand in the air. “More than likely it’s just some scrapes and bruises.” She took her time sitting in the car seat then situated her bag on her lap. “That pack leader and his ideas of exposing us to humans. This will happen every time.”
She pursed her lips together, jutting her chin out. Sandy knew the look to mean that Greta had no more to say on the subject. She shut the car door and hurried around to the driver’s side.
They drove in silence to the diner but Sandy’s thoughts were anything but quiet. Greta smelled Ralph’s scent all over her. She didn’t smell him on her. And she’d showered, last night and this morning. She had put lotion on and a dab of perfume.
Not that she cared if she looked good for anyone today. But she was the queen bitch’s mother. And her duties for the day entailed running the pack healer around. It was important to look nice.
Greta had stronger senses then most werewolves. Sandy knew that. She also knew the old healer seldom joked. It had been a long time since she’d had sex, but no one had ever commented that they smelled the werewolf on her the next day. Greta implied what Sandy and Ralph did last night was more than fucking. They’d made love, marked each other without even realizing it. Or at least, she hadn’t realized it. She had no idea how she felt about that. It made her nervous and excited all at once. And the more she thought about the damned werewolf, the more she ached to have him inside her again. She needed to get a grip on herself.
Sandy pulled into the gravel parking lot of the diner at the same time Ralph exited in his truck on to the street. She met his gaze, captivated by his dark brooding look. But then he looked away, leaving her and driving off.
He was working, she told herself. And besides. Did she want to see him right now anyway?
Sandy parked and then helped Greta out of the car. Several werewolves talked in excited tones outside the diner, but parted ways and nodded to the two women while holding the door open for them.
Her pack had always shown her respect. Since Beth had mated with Ethan Masterson that respect had only grown. Of course, she knew Ralph was held in high esteem with the pack also. But would everyone approve if they knew what she’d done last night?
Werewolves her age just didn’t go around fucking under the moonlight, did they?
She almost stumbled over a chair at one of the tables while she followed Greta. The old healer turned and gave her a reprimanding look.
Pay attention to your day. There was nothing she could do about Ralph Hipp at the moment so she wouldn’t think about him.
“I don’t think it’s anything serious.” Matty Crock stood at the end of the counter, wiping her hands on her apron. She gestured to her oldest cub, who was busy clearing one of the tables. “Paul. Take Greta back to the men.”
The teenage werewolf, sporting some facial hair he hadn’t had the last time Sandy had seen him, carried the dishes behind the counter. He glanced at the pack healer.
“They are back here.” He walked slowly, and glanced at his mom when Greta took his arm.
The smell of blood and body sweat filled the small room that was used as a break area for the Crock family between rushes. Frustration and anger lingered in the air as well, and Sandy rubbed her nose to keep from being rude and sneezing from the harsh smells.
“Well, well. What has happened here?” Greta set her bag on the round table in the middle of the room that several pack members sat around.
“Humans trying to tell us where we can take our cubs trick-or-treating.” One of the werewolves hunched over at the table, nursing what looked like a broken hand, filled the air with a fresh spurt of outrage.
“The matter will be handled.” Ethan spoke from behind her, and Sandy turned to acknowledge their pack leader.
The others in the room straightened as well.
Ethan filled the doorway with his massive frame, his dark features glowering at his pack members in the room. His gaze barely softened when he looked at her.
“You need to go talk to your daughter,” he told her.
If she hadn’t been watching him, she might not have known he was talking to her. He moved around her, taking slow strides around the table while eyeing each of his werewolves. The room grew respectfully silent while he moved quietly and slowly. Ethan had a way of grabbing a room’s attention by not speaking. Sandy had credited that trait with one of the many reasons he had such a successful pack. But right now, she wanted to speak. She wanted to know what was going on with her daughter.
“Go on.” Greta broke the silence, looking up at her while she worked. “One of these gentlemen will give me a ride home.”
“Yes.” Ethan nodded and reached for his cell phone at the same time. “Tell her I sent you. She was upset this morning, and I want you to talk to her.”
“Upset?” Sandy wanted to know immediately what had upset her daughter. “Beth is upset?”
Ethan answered his phone, turning away from her. The only way she would get answers was to go see her daughter.
The news reporter speaking on the TV over the counter reported something about local legislation being passed to prevent werewolves and humans from trick-or-treating together. She’d hardly had time to keep up with current events. No wonder her daughter was upset.
She hurried out of the diner, glancing at her watch. In the middle of the afternoon she knew it might be hard to get in to see Beth.
“Excuse me.” A young woman she didn’t recognize walked toward her.
Sandy froze when she realized the woman was human, and a man walked behind her carrying a large black camera. The woman stuck a microphone in Sandy’s face.
“Where will you be taking your children trick-or-treating this year?” The woman turned around before Sandy could answer. “Cut that,” she told her cameraman, and then turned to Sandy again. “I meant, where will you take your cubs trick-or-treating this year?”
A hard knot formed in Sandy’s stomach. She stared at the red light on the camera, and then at the young human woman who reeked of nervousness.
Suddenly her mouth seemed too dry to speak. She licked her lips. The pack would want her to be friendly to the human. The last thing needed was to start a fright over Halloween. But she was no spokesperson for her pack. No one had ever mentioned to her anything about where or where not to take the cubs.
“Mine are all grown.” She did her best to sound friendly, ease the woman’s nerves. “And since I’ve just moved here, I couldn’t say where the safest places are.”
She slid her finger across her throat and the camera guy lowered his camera.
“Wait a minute.” Sandy tried to reach for the human.
But the lady moved away quickly, barely glancing over her shoulder while she hurried to a running van parked in the corner of the lot.
Sandy thought about chasing her down but didn’t. She worried though that she had just made trouble for her pack. Maybe it would be a good idea to seek out her daughter. She might need a lawyer.
Chapter Eight
Ralph hated leaving Sandy alone amidst all the turmoil taking place at the diner. He didn’t like the mood there. The humans had learned it was a werewolf-owned establishment and were descending in curious hordes. Sandy needed protection.
And to make matters worse, his pack leader was on edge today. It didn’t make his job any easier protecting everyone when Ethan was glowering at him with suspicion. If the werewolf was suddenly going to get overprotective about his mother-in-law, then Ralph and Ethan needed to have a talk.
Ralph glanced at the dark sky overhead after parking in the city parking lot. He smelled rain in the air, and the cold chill made it possible the weather could turn nasty. He buttoned up his coat and hurried toward the courthouse.
Voices and people moving around echoed throughout the old building. Ralph climbed the stairs to the main floor and headed toward the meeting room.
“Good afternoon, Ralph.” A pretty young werewolf who worked in the mayor’s office grinned flirtatiously at him.
He couldn’t remember her name but winked, which produced a broad smile on her face.
“They’re expecting you.” She sauntered in front of him, shaking her ass nicely in what he might assume was an invitation.
“Thank you, sweetheart.” He smiled again and opened the large door where a handful of officials had already gathered.
He noticed Beth Parks behind him, her secretary in tow, and held the door for the two ladies. Beth scowled at him and he got a strong whiff of irritation when she walked past.
“This shouldn’t take too long.” The mayor glanced at his two armed security guards and Ralph did the same. “I think from what I’ve heard we all want the same thing.”
Ralph didn’t sit but stood behind Beth, his ears tickled by her whispers with her secretary.
“We’re asking for an ordinance to be passed that states where werewolf children will be allowed to trick-or-treat.” Frank Hoffman, who Ralph knew had recently been voted on to the city commission, passed papers around the table while he spoke. The young human’s hands shook slightly while he spoke. “I think we’ve split the town equally so that both human and werewolf children can enjoy the holiday.”
He smiled at Beth. Ralph guessed the nervousness in the room came from him. Beth took the papers, glancing over them quickly.
“Most of our pack lives in the same area.” She addressed the mayor. “I don’t want to see any child shipped out of their own neighborhood in order to trick-or-treat. We need to keep in mind that this holiday is for their enjoyment.”
“Exactly.” Hoffman cut her off, and Ralph smelled her annoyance immediately. “And it’s imperative our children be safe.”
“Your children have been trick-or-treating alongside werewolf children as long as the holiday has existed, Mr. Hoffman.” Beth stood abruptly, tossing the papers Hoffman had given her on to the table. “Mr. Mayor, I will advise you of the neighborhoods the werewolf children will be trick-or-treating. But I won’t have any child segregated over the holiday.”
She turned to leave while her secretary hurried to gather together papers. “I’ll have something to your office later today.” She glanced at the proposal that Hoffman had suggested. Her secretary slid it into the file along with other papers. “That is unacceptable. And if your office passes any similar ordinance without consulting me, you won’t like the legal mess I’ll create for you.”
She left the room, her shoes clicking against the tiled floor as she hurried toward the hallway that led to her office. Ralph heard immediate whispering but didn’t stay to hear what was being said. He left when Beth did, closing the door silently behind him.
“It was nice to see you again.” The secretary who had given him the eye before, sounded a bit too flirty this time. More than likely she tried to make the other women in the office believe she had something going with him.
He nodded and smiled. She didn’t hold a flame to Sandy.
“Mr. Hipp.” Beth’s sharp tone wasn’t missed by anyone listening.
Two people walking across the foyer area turned to look at him, their looks making it clear they wondered what terrible thing he’d done to earn the wrath of the successful young Beth Parks. He wondered the same thing.
He walked across the open area, more than aware of more than one person watching him. “Call me Ralph,” he said, maintaining his smile against her hard gaze.
“I want to speak to you for a moment,” she turned and headed down the hallway. “In my office.”
He got the overwhelming sensation that he’d just been called to the principal’s office.
“What can I do for you, young lady?” Ralph asked, after closing the door to her office behind him.
Beth dropped into her chair behind her desk and glared at him. Her animosity was more than apparent.
“Cut the crap.” She leaned forward, giving him a look she was sure had made more than one werewolf quiver in his time.
He imagined Ethan had a time with her when the two of them were alone. She didn’t appear to be the type of female that did anything she didn’t want to do.
“I want you to keep your paws off of my mother,” she hissed.
Ralph raised an eyebrow, realizing he suddenly tread on thin ice. Say something to upset the daughter, and he would have the mother to deal with.
“Has she said something to you?” He hadn’t had time to speak with Sandy today. It hadn’t crossed his mind that she might be upset after last night. And it sure never entered his mind that she would discuss it with her daughter. He wondered how much Beth knew.
Beth sighed. She stuck her lip out, running it slowly over her top lip. For a brief second, she looked like her mother.
“Mr. Hipp,” she began.
“Ralph,” he corrected her.
The look she gave him bordered on outright hostility. “We are not establishing a friendship here,” she hissed. Anger filled the room with its hot, spicy fumes. “You are a womanizer and you will stay the hell away from my mother. Is that clear?”
Something churned deep inside Ralph. The urge to set this little lady in her place almost got the better of him. His two cubs had been gone from the den now for so many years, and he seldom saw them since both of them had moved to packs back east. He’d forgotten the defiance one’s own cubs could show.
And although Beth wasn’t his cub, she was Sandy’s daughter. He didn’t know the young lawyer that well, other than her outstanding reputation that spoke wonders about her. But she would be part of his life if he continued to see Sandy. And he had every intention of doing that.
“I’m afraid that isn’t possible.” He spoke just as someone tapped on Beth’s office door.
“What?” Beth almost yelled while glaring at Ralph.
Sandy opened the door, looking at each of them with curiosity and concern covering her expression. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Not at all, Mom.” Beth forced a smile although her anger filled her office. “I think my point is clear, Mr. Hipp. You may go now.”
He’d been dismissed. Sandy gave him a rather amused look. He knew she was guessing what had just transpired here. He glanced from mother to daughter and then slowly left the office. But he had every intention of wait
ing for Sandy.
Chapter Nine
Beth was absolutely outraged. Sandy could only imagine what her daughter and Ralph had been discussing before she’d arrived.
“Ethan told me that you wanted to talk to me.” She decided her daughter could fill her in if she wanted.
“Mom.” Beth picked up her pen, clicked it open and closed a few times, then dropped it on her desk. “Ethan told me that he saw you and Ralph in our kitchen last night.”
Sandy leaned back in her chair, waiting for her daughter to say what she would. Obviously she was upset by the news. Angry—if the encounter she’d just missed with Ralph in here was any indication.
“I take it you don’t like Ralph,” she said when Beth seemed at a loss as how to continue.
Her daughter shook her head, her anger still simmering. “He’s incredible security for the pack. And his investigational skills are outstanding.”
Sandy nodded, knowing all of this already. Ralph had a solid reputation with the pack. In fact, he had a solid everything. She blinked, trying to stay focused for her cub. Grown or not, Beth needed her right now. She was upset. And Sandy understood. Beth had never had to share her.
“He’s just not right for you, Mom.” Suddenly the successful attorney was gone. Her child, trusting and concerned appeared before her.
Sandy stood up and started to walk around Beth’s desk. “You shouldn’t get yourself so upset about this.”
Beth bristled. She held her hand up, stopping Sandy in mid-pace. “I am looking out for your best interests. And if you don’t see what those are, then I guess it’s my job to open your eyes.”
Sandy didn’t like her daughter’s tone. It was one thing to be concerned. But she wouldn’t be reprimanded by Beth.
“I do know what my best interests are, young lady.” Sandy didn’t try to approach her any longer. Instead she turned toward the door. “You will not speak to me like that.”