by Bianca D’Arc
He might’ve said more, but Enid came into the waiting room and walked over to them. She was smiling, which boded well for what she’d found when she’d examined Lucinda.
“She’s being monitored too closely for me to do much of anything, right now,” Enid reported, “but I was able to take a quick look using my…um…abilities, and I think it’ll be pretty straight forward once they let her out of here.”
“That’s great news,” Helene said as Henri looked visibly relieved.
Joe excused himself to call home quickly while Enid and the LaCroix siblings talked more about Lucinda’s condition. He had to check in on things and firm up plans, but it didn’t take long. Joe finished his call just before Henri took his leave to go back in to sit with his mate. Helene was going to go home for a bit to rest before returning to take turns with her brother, watching over Lucinda. The three of them left the hospital together, going to their separate vehicles once they arrived at the parking area.
The plan was for Joe and Enid to fly back to Big Wolf. He’d phoned home while Enid had been catching up with the others and learned that Enid’s plane was almost finished being repaired and would probably be ready to fly back home later today. They’d decided that Joe would take her back to Big Wolf so she could pick it up and bring it back here.
He didn’t like that his time with Enid was rapidly coming to a close, but he also couldn’t change anything. He had responsibilities in Texas, and she had promises to keep here. Though, he would try to convince her to visit. Either today or later, once she had some free time. Either way, he wanted to see her again. Even if he still wasn’t quite sure what it all meant, in the grand scheme of things.
They didn’t speak of anything too heavy while prepping for their departure. They didn’t need to do much, since she was only going to turn around and leave once she had her plane. They stopped back at Enid’s house so she could pack some food for the flight, including sandwiches that Joe helped make. Enid had a thermos, which she filled with coffee, and another that she filled with juice. It wasn’t that long a flight back to Big Wolf, but she made the comment that she knew how much shifters liked to eat, and she wanted to be prepared.
Joe appreciated her effort to make him comfortable. In fact, it touched him deeply. Usually, he was the one seeing to everyone’s comfort. Not since he’d lost Tess had anyone really looked out for him this way. Even such a small thing as making sure he had enough to eat should he get hungry. It was a kind gesture that he wouldn’t soon forget. In fact, it created a little warm spot near his heart as he thought about it.
They flew back to Big Wolf without incident. The only sticking point came when Enid insisted on filling up the jet with fuel on her account. Joe knew jet fuel was costly, and he didn’t like the idea of taking Enid’s money, even in this roundabout way, but she was adamant.
“This way, we split the cost, though I’d be more than willing to foot the entire bill,” she told him. “You paid for the fuel one way, I’m paying for it the other.” She shrugged. “I really should reimburse you for the entire flight. I mean, you went out of your way to bring me here.”
“Not at all,” he’d argued. “I won’t hear of it. I did what any decent person would do.”
She’d acquiesced, and so had he. They’d decided to split the cost, though Joe still felt a bit strange about it. He had let Enid handle take-off and was impressed all over again, by her skills as a pilot. He could imagine her behind the stick of a fighter jet, and the thought made him surprisingly horny. Down, boy.
There wasn’t time or space to get up to any frisky business in the jet, anyway. The flight to Big Wolf seemed even shorter without the weather to deal with, and before Joe knew it, they were landing back at his airport. He taxied the plane back to its hangar, noting the crew still working on Enid’s plane as they passed. The work didn’t look as far along as he’d been led to believe.
They had, at least, towed the craft into the hangar, parking it in the spot next to where he kept the jet. There were still large pieces disassembled, and a lot of tools laying around.
“Not sure what to make of that,” Joe commented as he shut down the jet. “I thought they’d have more done by now, based on my earlier phone call.”
“Maybe they ran into a snag?” Enid offered, peering out at her plane, the engine of which was in pieces. She looked about as skeptical as Joe felt as they shut things down and exited the jet. Their first stop was the smaller plane Enid had come to Big Wolf in. Gilbert, one of the Pack’s top mechanics, was waiting for them.
“Good to have you back, Joe,” Gilbert said, offering his hand in a friendly shake. Joe returned the gesture, glad to have the trust of a wolf like Gilbert, who was steady and strong. Part of the perfect backbone of a powerful Pack.
“Good to be back. What’s the story with the Cessna?” Joe asked. “Gilbert, this is Enid, the owner. She’s also priestess to a small wolf Pack in Louisiana, so you can speak freely around her.”
“Ma’am.” Gilbert nodded politely to Enid. “We ran into trouble with a part. If you look here, you can see this little pump just about tore itself apart. At some point, they replaced the original part with this aftermarket one, which is inferior. I don’t have this part in stock, but I figured it wouldn’t be too hard to get delivered. Only problem is, my supplier said it’ll be tomorrow at the earliest because he sold his last one just the other day. I’m sorry, but I can’t seem to find another one that can get here any faster.”
Gilbert had handed the part in question to Enid, and as Joe looked over her shoulder, he could see the way the smaller pieces inside had worn away, breaking off in some locations. It looked bad. Way worse than he’d expected.
“I’m surprised the engine didn’t just quit on you before you landed,” Joe said, whistling between his teeth.
“It was sputtering. A lot,” Enid said, her expression tight. “If I ever wanted proof that prayer can work miracles, I think I’m holding it in my hands, right now.” She chuckled and handed the part back to Gilbert. “Of course, I think I could’ve coasted to some kind of landing if I had to, though the weather would have made it interesting.”
Joe barked a laugh at her understatement. He’d seen the crosswinds she’d been facing. Without power to the engine, she would have been blown all over the map.
“You might’ve landed in a field somewhere, but you wouldn’t have made it onto this runway,” he countered. “The Mother of All was definitely looking out for you.”
“You can say that again,” Gilbert put in.
Enid just smiled serenely. “I always like to think She looks out for those of us sworn to serve Her.”
“Seeing this,” Gilbert said, raising the part in one beefy hand, “I believe it.”
“So, it looks like you’re staying overnight, at least,” Joe said, looking at Enid. “Come on, I’ll set you up. You’ll need some clothes and a place to stay. I can help you on both counts.”
“I don’t want to be a bother,” Enid said quietly. “Thanks for looking after my ride,” Enid told to Gilbert before she followed Joe out of the hangar. Gilbert just nodded and turned back to his work.
Joe went around the side of the hangar to where a couple of pickup trucks were parked. He opened the passenger door on one and gestured for Enid to climb up into the cab. He didn’t want to acknowledge the little inner cheer his wolf had given when he’d heard that Enid would have to stay another day. More importantly, another night.
There was no question in his mind that he’d ask Enid to stay with him. He didn’t want to send her to a hotel, though the fact that he still had a pup living at home was a bit of a problem. Not that Kevin wasn’t old enough to understand about sex. Far from it. He was getting to the age where he was entertaining females from time to time, himself, though never at home. Most often, young wolves frolicked in the woods. Taking someone home meant things were more serious, and none of the youngsters wanted to pair off exclusively at their age. Not unless they were freakishl
y fortunate to find their mates incredibly early.
As far as Joe knew, none of the youngsters were showing signs of having mated, so they were still in the experimental stage when it came to the opposite sex. That being said, Kevin had never had to deal with his father bringing another woman home, and Joe wasn’t sure how he would react. Which put Joe in a strange position.
He wanted, with all his heart, to have another night of bliss with Enid, if she was willing, of course. By the same token, he didn’t want his son to be shocked or made uncomfortable by his father’s actions. It was tricky. The question had never come up before because Joe hadn’t wanted to be with anyone else since Tess had died.
Enid had changed all that, for some reason Joe still couldn’t comprehend. He hadn’t wanted to be with any of the others who had offered comfort over the years. Just Enid. Only Enid.
What that meant, Joe couldn’t fathom.
Chapter Seven
Enid didn’t know where Joe was taking her. He’d been quiet since they’d left the airport grounds and started heading toward town. He was thinking. She could feel it. His gaze was intense on the road, and his eyes were narrowed in thought.
“Is the town very big?” Enid asked, not sure how to break the ice.
“Growing every day,” Joe replied, blinking out of his reverie. “Just the way I like it.”
“Are you building an empire?” she asked, half joking.
“Something like that,” Joe agreed. “I just want the Pack to be strong. The way things are going in the world today, we need to stick together. There’s strength in numbers.”
Enid nodded. “I agree. Which is part of why I think Henri and Lucinda should try to ally with a bigger group. They’re good people, but their Pack is new and small. They need the guidance of an older, wiser Alpha.”
Joe looked over at her, one eyebrow raised. “Are you going to counsel them in favor of an alliance with me?”
Enid decided on candidness. “I am. I think you could really help Henri learn how to be an even better Alpha. He’s got the basics. He just needs time and experience. A good role model can only help.”
Joe straightened in his seat a bit. “I’m glad you think I’d be a good role model, but how can you be sure? We’ve only known each other less than a day.”
She tilted her head as she looked at him. “I like to think I’m a good judge of character. Plus, there’s just something about you, Joe… I can’t put a finger on exactly what it is. Just…something.”
“I know what you mean,” he replied in a gruff tone that sent little tingles down her spine.
It reminded her of the way he’d growled as he’d made love to her and the little nips of pleasure he’d given her throughout. She’d never made love to a shifter before, so she didn’t know if that was something they all did, but whatever it was, it had turned her on like she’d never been turned on before. Joe’s lovemaking ranked right up there as epic on her personal scale. Of course, she hadn’t been with all that many men, but each had held a special place in her memory and on the pleasure scale that Joe had blown to bits last night.
If she was going to be stuck in his town overnight, she wondered if Joe wouldn’t mind a little repeat of the passion they’d shared the night before. She was certainly up for it, if he was.
“I’d like to invite you to stay at my house,” Joe said, surprising her.
What did he mean? Was he inviting her or was he setting her up to say how he wasn’t going to invite her? She waited for clarification.
“Thing is, Kevin—you met him briefly yesterday—is still living at home. He’s of an age, but it’ll be a while before he moves out, I hope. Anyway, he’s never known me to invite anyone to stay at our place before, so it might be a little awkward,” Joe explained, but she still wasn’t sure if she was invited, or not.
“I don’t want to cause any difficulties with your family,” she put in, hoping to get to the bottom of things. “If it’s easier, I can stay at a hotel or something.”
Joe looked pained. “On the one hand, we’re both adults. We should be free to do as we wish, and my teenaged son shouldn’t be surprised that his old man might have a lady friend. On the other, it would be the first time I ever brought someone home since he lost his mother. I know my son is a good boy, but I can’t really predict how he might react.”
“Would it be any easier if you took me to a hotel and maybe…stayed for part or all of the night? Would that help ease Kevin into the idea that you might have a sex life again?” she asked, daring greatly. “You know, without rubbing his nose in it?”
Joe seemed to think about that, frowning as he had some internal debate. “To be honest, I don’t really know if I’m ready to have a sex life again, as you put it. I only know that I want to be with you. Only you, Enid. Nobody else.” He pinned her with that laser blue gaze she’d fallen in love with. “And I’m not really sure what that means, if anything.”
Her breath caught in her throat. That sounded serious. As serious as she’d been feeling, if she was being honest. Why did being with Joe feel so…momentous? She just didn’t understand it herself. Every time her mind went to that conundrum, she shied away. Shifters could only have one true mate. Any thoughts of a future with Joe were just pipe dreams. His heart had already been given to that brave, fierce woman who had died in the wreckage, holding Enid’s hand.
“Just to be clear, I feel kind of the same. I haven’t been in a relationship for a long time, and right now, nobody else has even come close to interesting me that way, except you,” she admitted, feeling a bit shy but wanting honesty between them. “I’d like to spend more time with you, if that’s what you want, too.”
“All right, then. I like your idea about not rubbing Kevin’s nose in it. It may upset him no matter what I do, but I think it’ll be easier if we’re not in the same house. Tonight, I’ll take you over to the bed and breakfast in town. I’m in and out of there when we have important guests, so I don’t think anyone will say anything to embarrass you. And I can tell Kevin not to wait up for me. I’ve done that before when work ran late, but he’ll probably be able to figure out that there’s something more to it this time. I know I surprised him by flying off with you. He’s probably already put two and two together. My pup is pretty sharp.”
Enid liked the pride in his voice when he spoke about his youngest. “You know tomorrow’s the solstice,” she said, broaching a subject that had been crossing her mind since she realized she’d have to stay. “Do you have a priestess in town or a ceremony planned?”
“We don’t have a priestess at the moment. The last one moved to be closer to her daughter, who was starting a family, and we haven’t found a replacement yet. There is a wise woman who acts as midwife, and I think she might be holding a small ceremony up at the Pack house, but I’m sure she’d welcome you, if you wanted to stay and lead the festivities for us. That would mean staying until dark falls tomorrow, though, and you’d miss whatever you had planned for Henri’s Pack.”
“Actually, we’d decided to cancel any official celebrations since we didn’t know how things would go with Lucinda. Even now that she’s healing, she’s stuck in the hospital for a good long while, and Henri will be at her side, so the Pack isn’t going to do anything in particular, except maybe a group run,” Enid told him. “I can easily be spared, since I can’t run with them. I’d be honored to help out here, if you like. I can always either fly off tomorrow night or stay an extra day. Either way is fine.”
“We usually have a howl after the ceremonial part, but like I said, the ceremony wasn’t going to be anything elaborate this year. I think folks would be glad if you’d do the full solstice ceremony for us. We have a lot of elders who probably enjoy the ceremony more than the party and run after,” Joe told her. “I’d count it as a personal favor if you’d stay,” he added, shooting her one of those patented laser blue looks that made her swoon a little every time.
How could the man be so darn sexy?
�
��Then, I’ll stay, of course,” she told him. How could she deny this man anything when he looked at her like that? It wasn’t humanly possible.
“Great. I’m taking you home to my place first,” he told her. “We’ll have lunch and iron out the details while I make a few calls to set things in motion. Then, we’ll do a little shopping so you can have some clothes and other necessities. I know you thought you’d only be here a few hours, so your shopping spree is on me, since you’re doing us a favor in conducting the ceremony. Then, we can drop off your new stuff at the B&B. We’ll see what time it is by then, and go from there. I’d like to take you to the barbeque in town for dinner. You can meet my daughter and older son. They both work there. Then, we can swing by the Pack house if you want to see what the facilities are like before we go back to the B&B.”
“Wow, that’s a full schedule.” She marveled at his decisiveness. Then again, that was part of being Alpha, she supposed.
“If you’d rather relax at the B&B, just let me know,” he told her quickly.
“No, it’s all good. I like to hit the ground running,” she told him. “Remember?”
They shared a smile.
“I do seem to recall you saying something like that once before,” he replied, grinning.
How was it she was so comfortable with this man after only knowing him such a short time?
Joe felt good about having Enid in his house. It wasn’t the same house he’d shared with Tess. That home had held too many memories for them all, and he’d moved them out of it a few years ago. He’d built this new home a bit bigger, with the growing pups in mind, but they’d left, one by one, until only Kevin was left at home with Joe. No woman had ever shared this house with him. It was free of the sad memories of Tess and the happy life they’d had together.
