Celebration

by Anna Lowe

  She shot him one more look before stepping out of the car. “One in a million, huh?”

  His smile was a vow and a tease at the same time. “One in a million. Now just be patient for another two minutes, will you?”

  Patience had never been her strong suit, and she couldn’t claim to have been patient on the forty-minute drive from the Blue Moon Saloon, but okay. She could hold out another two minutes if she really, really tried.

  Her wolf did its best to refrain from pacing and cheered her on inside. Our mate loves us. He wants to please us. His gift is this surprise, so our gift should be to show how much we appreciate it. The way he appreciated our surprise for him.

  She hid a sly grin, remembering his reaction to the lingerie set she’d surprised him by wearing the previous night. A cute little pink lace number with just the right amount of too-little in all the right places. Oh, he’d appreciated that, all right. He’d appreciated it through most of the night — to the point that her sister had crooked an eyebrow at the two of them when they finally tumbled downstairs for breakfast at noon.

  “I want to know, but I don’t want to know,” Jessica had chuckled.

  Cole’s ears had turned pink, and Janna had laughed out loud.

  “I, for one, definitely don’t want to know,” Simon had sighed. His frown held a secret smile, though. Janna and Cole hadn’t been the only ones enjoying themselves a little too loudly at times. Jess and Simon had their moments, too. So much that her sister had looked positively rosy that morning. Well, even rosier than usual, if that was possible. Maybe it was the holiday season infecting her usually restrained sister.

  Maybe it’s something else, her wolf hinted in a tone that said, I know a secret.

  What secret?

  Can’t tell, her wolf said smugly.

  Janna was about to demand her wolf to spill the beans when Tina Hawthorne-Rivera stepped out onto the porch.

  “Hi there!” Tina waved.

  The funny thing was that Tina glowed, too, and even Rick looked taller, prouder, and more adoring of his mate than usual, if such a thing were possible.

  Janna cocked her head. Hmm. Maybe there was something in the water. Maybe Jess and Tina were both using a new moisturizer or something. Because Janna was pretty sure her own skin didn’t have that kind of glow even though she was happier than she’d ever been. Happier than she could ever imagine being, in fact.

  She gripped Cole’s hand as they walked toward the house. A new thought struck her, and she took a deep breath. As wonderful as Cole’s surprise was bound to be, that wasn’t the point. The little moments she shared with Cole were what counted. The anticipation. The pure joy of exploring the world with her mate in ways great and small.

  “Merry Christmas,” Tina said, hugging Janna as Cole and Rick shook hands.

  “Merry Christmas,” Janna echoed, giving Rick a quick peck on the cheek. She followed that with a kiss straight to Cole’s lips. A deep, wet kiss to remind Cole just how much she loved him and how true that love was. Cole and Rick both had enough gentleman in them not to mind their mates giving another man a platonic kiss, but they also had enough wolf in them to bristle just a bit.

  Tina laughed and smothered Rick in a kiss, too, and the edgy vibe that had briefly crackled around the four of them dissipated.

  “Are you here to see our little miracle?” Tina asked when she and Rick finally broke apart.

  “One of our little miracles,” Rick whispered, locking eyes with his mate. His voice was so low Janna wasn’t even sure whether she’d heard the words or imagined them.

  Tina swatted Rick’s arm, covering up whatever inside joke had passed between them. “Over there.” She motioned to the west. “It’s really a sight to behold.”

  And just like that, Janna’s burning curiosity about Tina and Rick’s secret jumped over to whatever lay over the rise.

  Cole kept his lips sealed as he led her over the winding path, calling out his greetings to the ranch hands dawdling on the bunkhouse porch.

  Luke was there, whistling as always, and Mack, Sam, and Jake.

  “Hey, Cole. Hey, Janna.” One after another tipped their hats.

  “Merry Christmas, guys,” she called back.

  “Going to visit our little beauty?” Mack asked.

  “Yep,” Cole replied.

  Janna looked from one man to another, suddenly worried what their idea of a beauty might be. These guys obsessed over cattle the way some people followed sports teams or the stock market. They lived, breathed, and dreamed cattle. So what were they hinting at? A champion heifer? A particularly well-proportioned calf?

  Cole caught her worried glance and laughed. “Hey, I promised, right?”

  The second they crested the rise, he put his hands over her eyes and whispered in her ear, “Trust me.”

  A thousand dusky images of all the bedroom promises he’d ever made — and kept — hit her, and a shot of lust ran through her veins. Was Cole teasing her on purpose, or was he clueless to the effect he had on her?

  His wink told her he knew exactly what effect he had and just how much he’d enjoy the payback she’d deliver the moment they got back to the privacy of their own place.

  She pushed a dozen dirty images into his mind — images of the two of them, naked and sweaty, with her perched on the dresser and his hard body pinning her there — and his eyes went wide.

  Promise? His voice sounded in her mind, and she could practically see his inner wolf wagging its tail.

  She leaned closer with a whispered reply and a tiny lick to his ear. “Trust me, my mate.”

  She nearly forgot where they were going, because the scent of his arousal mixed with hers and tickled her nostrils. Maybe this surprise could wait. Maybe the two of them could drive off to someplace private and—

  “First things first,” he whispered, nudging her gently onward.

  She stepped slowly, feeling her way with each foot, following Cole’s cues. He kept her eyes covered then brought her to a stop and guided her hands to a wooden rail at chest height. The scent of horse was everywhere, and a mare whinnied not too far away.

  “Ready?” he whispered, close to her ear.

  “Ready.” She nodded.

  He pulled his hands away and pointed.

  She stared at the paddock in front of her. There was one mare and one foal. For a split second, she didn’t understand. But then her breath jammed in her throat, and she pointed dumbly.

  “Oh, wow.”

  She didn’t mean the pinto greeting her with another whinny — pretty as the mare was — but the gangly form beside it.

  “The foal was born yesterday,” Cole said.

  Janna cracked into a huge smile. The foal stood on four long, wobbly legs, swaying and blinking in the sun.

  “Look,” Cole said in a reverent whisper.

  His outstretched finger led her eyes to the coloring on the foal’s head. The newborn had inherited its mother’s rust-on-white pattern, with a big patch on its chest and a two-toned mane. Its nose was pink, its head snow white, and around its ears—

  “Wow,” Janna breathed, spotting the crown of color at the top of its head.

  “A medicine hat,” Cole said.

  She stared, transfixed. The splash of color really did make the foal look like it was wearing a hat.

  “You know what that means?”

  A bubble caught in her throat. “Great luck? Magic? Something like that, right?”

  He nodded. “Native American tribes have legends about Medicine Hat ponies. Things like, a Medicine Hat will keep its rider safe in battle. Warn him or her of dangers. Bring everyone good luck.”

  Janna thought over the many trials they’d been through in the past months and the invaluable assistance of the wolves of Twin Moon Ranch. Shifter life was never easy, and damn, they’d weathered a particularly tough spell. But things were on the upswing, and maybe the tiny foal was a sign of that.

  “And the color on her chest is said to be like a shield. A
t least, that’s what the stories say,” he said.

  “Do you believe the stories?” she ventured.

  Cole hugged her closer. “The past six months have taught me to believe in a lot of things I didn’t think could be true.”

  She thought back to the day she’d first laid eyes on Cole, sitting at the end of the bar in the Blue Moon Saloon. Her heart beat faster as her mind spun through memories of their early days. Cole had gone from a haunted, hopeless drinker to a sunny, loving mate with a job he enjoyed. He’d survived two rogue attacks and the change from human to shifter — an agonizing process that had come close to killing him.

  She wiped away a tear. She’d come so close to losing everything. Her journey from hunted wolf to happily-mated-after was equally unlikely, and yet she’d beaten the odds to start a new life with a wonderful man.

  “You’re right,” she gulped. “The craziest things can come true.”

  “Sure can,” he whispered, brushing her hair behind her ear and cupping her face. He looked into her eyes for a long, poignant minute, then kissed her.

  When they pulled apart a minute later, Janna wasn’t the only one with dreamy eyes. The mare nickered, and they both turned to study the foal.

  Janna took in the tiny creature on unsteady legs and shook her head. “Well, even if that’s all just legend, that foal sure is cute.”

  Cole laughed, and the mare lifted her head as if to say, What do you mean, just a legend? Of course it’s true.

  Janna was sure she’d never seen a mother prouder of her baby — human, wolf, or equine. She climbed the lower rail of the fence for a better look.

  “Just admiring your baby,” she murmured.

  As you should, the mare’s nicker seemed to say. As you should.

  Cole climbed up beside Janna, looped an arm over her shoulder, and leaned in close. “She’s something, huh?”

  She nodded, unable to take her eyes off the foal. Its coat was still damp and wrinkled from birth, and it studied the world with eyes that shone with wonder.

  “She’ll be Tina’s once she’s all grown up.”

  Janna bit her lip. “If anyone deserves a horse that special, it’s Tina, all right.”

  Cole shifted to hug her from behind. “I wanted you to see her. I have a present waiting for you under the tree, too — the one with the really bad wrapping job,” he added.

  She laughed. “I don’t care about the wrapping.” In fact, she barely cared about the gift other than what it represented.

  “—but I wanted you to see this, too. Some people go a whole lifetime without seeing a horse as special as this.”

  She turned in his arms, coming face-to-face, and leaned in for a kiss. “And some people go a whole lifetime without a mate as amazing as you. So I’m doubly lucky, wouldn’t you say?”

  A little current ran through her when their lips met. No matter how many times she kissed Cole, it was always a thrill. His tongue played over the seam of her lips, and she deepened the kiss. Their bodies meshed, and her heart thumped faster, harder.

  She found herself weaving her fingers through his hair while stepping down to the ground. Cole’s body pinned hers against the railing as he followed her ever deeper into the world of that kiss, and everything faded away except the taste of her mate. The heat of his body. The movement of his hands across her arms—

  The mare nickered, and they broke apart sheepishly.

  “Sorry,” Cole murmured, glancing at the mare. “Better keep things PG, huh?”

  Janna took hold of his collar and reeled him back in for a second kiss. “Just for now, my mate. Just for now.”

  “I like the sound of that. And you know what? That was just the first part of your present.”

  “There’s more?”

  He nodded, clearly pleased with the smile that broke over her face at the news. “Of course, there’s more.” He turned his head and whistled.

  A horse came trotting up in the adjoining paddock, and Cole called softly. “Heya, Gypsy. Ready for a ride?”

  The horse tossed its head and nickered.

  “A ride?” Janna asked, caught off guard. She loved riding but hadn’t had time in months. Any free time she and Cole got together, they spent at home or wandering the forest above town in wolf form.

  “Yeah. What do you think?”

  “That would be great,” she squeaked.

  He grinned. “Be right back.”

  She rubbed Gypsy’s nose while she waited. “Aren’t you a pretty horse?”

  Gypsy tossed her head in a nodding motion. Yes, yes I am.

  Her head, mane, and tail were all black, her body a blueish-black roan. Pretty wasn’t the word for this horse. Gorgeous was more like it.

  “You take good care of my mate, right, beautiful?” Janna whispered, giving the bulls in a distant field the evil eye.

  Another nicker. Of course, I do.

  She ran her hand over the horse’s head. Cole had been over the moon when he’d first found the mare at an auction. In a few months, he’d helped Gypsy transform from a mistreated, scrawny wreck of a horse to a gleaming beauty who worked as hard as he did, or so Cole claimed.

  “Ready?” Cole asked, returning with a bridle in his hands.

  “Um, did you forget something?” Janna asked.

  He tilted his head.

  “Like, a second horse? A saddle?”

  He flashed another one of those dangerous smiles that made her want to strip him on the spot. “One horse, baby. Bareback. Just you and me.”

  Her heart skipped a beat. Just her and him, nice and close, on a quiet Christmas ride? Maybe her cowboy did have a little romantic in him, after all. “That sounds great.”

  A minute later, he mounted in one smooth hop and reached down to give her a hand. “Ready?”

  She pretended she wasn’t, just to be able to etch that picture in her memory forever — her mate, grinning like a fool, ready to sweep her off her feet, with a blue winter sky behind him as open and endless as the Arizona plains.

  “Ready,” she murmured, hopping while he tugged and swung her up behind him.

  “Gotcha,” Cole murmured in a low, growly tone.

  “Gotcha,” she replied, sliding her arms around his waist.

  She was definitely going to reward her mate for this afternoon out. Soon. Very soon. But she beat back the urge to slide her hands a little farther — like to the zipper of his jeans — and concentrated on riding instead. Well, she concentrated as best she could while secretly enjoying the feel of his hard abs beneath that flannel shirt.

  Gypsy stepped off at a comfortable walk, making their legs dangle and bump.

  “Wow. I’ve forgotten what the world looks like on horseback,” she said.

  “Nice, isn’t it?”

  Considering her view included Cole — hell, yes. “It’s more than nice. It’s amazing.”

  The scrubby landscape stretched on and on around her, undulating here and there. Prickly pears with wine-red buds bristled, and a desert broom spread its vivid green leaves toward the sun. A bird flitted between the branches of a twisted black mesquite. The desert was in its winter slumber, but she knew it would all come to life in spring.

  She swayed a little with each of Gypsy’s steps, but the horse had a knack for picking her way through the uneven terrain. No wonder Cole raved about his ride so often. And there was something about riding double — and bareback — that made her feel like a kid again.

  They headed up a winding path and crested a rise.

  “Wow,” Janna whispered, hugging Cole tighter.

  “I love this place,” he said, waving a hand at the view.

  A rugged valley spread out before them, dotted with rocky mesas and pebbly hills. The mountains in the distance were a deep purple, fringed with a crown of snow. A hawk circled high overhead, and a jackrabbit darted from the shelter of one thornbush to another.

  Gypsy ducked her head and snatched at a clump of grass, chewing contentedly, and Janna sighed. It was that
peaceful, that timeless. That perfect.

  “Town’s that way. And you know what I do when I’m working here and you’re in town?” Cole said in the hush that ensued.

  Janna waited.

  “I ride up here when I think I can’t stand another minute without you and look that way. Then it doesn’t feel like we’re so far apart. I can feel you there, and so does my wolf.”

  Janna rested her cheek on his shoulder. So that was the warm, snuggly feeling she sometimes got at work. She’d go from wondering how her mate was doing to sensing a deep inner peace that gave her a second wind during her double shifts.

  “I can feel it, too,” she whispered, rubbing her jaw up and down, inhaling the leather of his vest. “And my wolf, too.”

  He covered her arms with his, and they sat there quietly for another few minutes, both of them on one horse, nice and cozy and warm.

  “Did I ever say thank you?” he whispered.

  She chuckled. “Did I?”

  He patted her arms, and his chest expanded in a deep sigh. “Thank you, Janna. For everything. I mean it.”

  “I mean it, too,” she said. “Thank you for everything. I don’t know where I’d be without you.”

  “Merry Christmas, Janna,” he whispered, kissing her knuckles.

  She burrowed closer to the warmth of his broad shoulders. “Merry Christmas, my mate.”

  Chapter Three

  2:47 p.m. Christmas Day

  “Shh,” Sarah said as Soren hummed into her neck. “Don’t wake the baby.”

  “Don’t plan to,” he growled lightly, nipping her skin. “This is our time. My time with my mate.”

  “My time with my mate,” she echoed, kissing his ear.

  She’d only been a bear shifter for a few months now, but damn, sometimes she felt she’d been part bear all her life. She’d always hungered for Soren, and she’d always been able to turn him on as quickly as he turned her on — but as a bear, those feelings intensified. Of course, a baby complicated things. A good thing Teddy was a solid sleeper.

  “Thank goodness for nap time,” she chuckled.

  “I love nap time,” Soren said, unclipping her bra. “I just wish I got to enjoy it this much every day.”