Aimee called through the door, “They’re okay. The kids are at the mall. Carver told Leidolf they’re fine, so he and his men are returning to their ranch. He wishes you both good luck with your mission.”
Anna let out the breath she had been holding, relieved beyond measure that both teens were fine.
“Sarah texted me,” Aimee continued. “They’re shopping for Christmas ornaments for your tree—but I imagine there’s something more to it than that with Nathan coming all the way here to see her in his wolf coat. Nathan wanted to surprise you. They said they were still looking for the perfect angel for the treetop for Anna.”
Anna couldn’t help it. All of a sudden, tears just sprang forth and were dribbling down her cheeks as fast as she could furiously wipe them away. Between the angel comment and knowing he was all right, that both kids were okay, the worry, the stress… she just… lost it.
Bjornolf’s heated expression quickly changed to surprise, then worry. He said to Aimee, “Thanks for the good news. We’ll be out in a minute.”
“Carver’s pacing out in the backyard. He said he needed to cool his heels a bit. He’s thinking of letting them come home in their own good time. That’s going to be a first.”
“Good. I think it’s for the best,” Bjornolf said, pulling Anna into his arms.
Aimee said, “Take your time. I’m cooking lunch, and we all want you to stay.”
“Thanks,” Bjornolf said. “We’d like that.”
Anna never cried. Well, occasionally over a sad movie, but generally speaking, she did not cry. Twice in front of Bjornolf now? What was her problem? He had to think she was some kind of basket case.
“I’m okay,” she whispered, hating that she was soaking his chest with her tears.
He stroked her back with one hand while keeping his arm planted around her waist, holding her tight. He had no intention of letting her go until he was sure she felt better.
He kissed the top of her head as she snuffled, finally getting her emotions under control.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m not normally like this.”
“At least I wasn’t kissing you this time.”
She saw he was smiling down at her with the warmest, most tender expression. She chuckled and he kissed her wet cheek.
With her auburn hair in a braid hanging down her back, Sarah walked beside Nathan in the crowded mall, hand in hand. He hadn’t seen her in three months and had been avoiding her, thinking that it would be better to stay away because of her father. And… for other reasons. The human girl, Jessica Everton, daughter of the owner of the Christmas tree farm, topped the list.
Sarah had been thrilled to see him when they had first met at her house, but she’d also been scared. Afraid that her father would kill him if he learned that she’d already met Nathan and hadn’t told her father about him.
He really did like her, maybe because she could relate to him since she’d lost her mom like he’d lost both his mom and dad. But more as a friend. He thought she wanted more from him than he was willing to give.
“You haven’t texted me in months, Nathan,” Sarah said.
“I’m sorry. You said your father would kill you if he knew you were seeing me. I thought…” Nathan shrugged.
He’d had enough to deal with already. He hadn’t been happy with any of the families he’d lived with so far. He hadn’t known how staying with Bjornolf and Anna would be, even if it was only short-term. Though, if they got along well enough, he hoped it might turn out more permanent. He thought living with a couple of undercover operatives would be cool.
“It was easier not to see me,” Sarah finally said, hurt in her voice, drawing him back to the shopping expedition and the problem at hand.
Yeah, it was easier not to see her. The issues of her father not wanting her to see a wolf of another pack, of Nathan’s not having a real home but being bounced from one family in the pack to another—and then just dealing with a girlfriend who was a wolf from a different pack—all complicated the issue. Especially when she learned he’d been seeing a human girl.
“I’m working now,” he said.
“You could’ve texted.”
“I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say. He
They walked in silence. They’d already bought several boxes of colorful ornaments, but they still hadn’t found the angel Nathan thought Anna might like.
“I wish I had the money for the ornaments on me. Kind of hard traveling as a wolf to bring anything with me.”
“Just send it to me when you have a chance.” Sarah sighed. “So… what’s Anna like? You said she works undercover. Is she really tough looking?”
“She’s really cool,” Nathan said. “
Sarah stopped him and looked up into his face, her brows pinched together. “Why did you really run here as a wolf, Nathan? You know everyone’s going to be upset about it. Your pack, mine. My dad and his new mate. My sister, even. Why didn’t you just drive up here?”
He let out a deep breath. “I don’t know. Sometimes… I just have to run. Bjornolf and Anna had gone out to investigate the tree farm. I thought of joining them, but they need to do their work without me underfoot.”
“You felt unneeded?”
“Yeah, I guess. I caught them kissing last night, and she was crying.”
Sarah frowned at Nathan.
“I think she really likes him,” he said, “and I know he likes her. But something’s upsetting her. I think it’s the holidays. She didn’t want to decorate the tree. But you know what she did? She made a popcorn garland. She worked for an hour stringing it all by herself in the living room. I would’ve helped her, only I thought she was just eating popcorn. He shook his head. “I thought… if I did something, like bring home the ornaments, maybe she’d feel better. I had to get the urge to run out of my system first. And… I wanted to see you.”
He had wanted to see her to settle things in his mind because he couldn’t get Jessica Everton, the human girl he
Yet he couldn’t help it. Maybe it had to do with the fact she was a human who smelled like a she-wolf.
Dressed in blue jeans and a gray sweatshirt, Bjornolf used Carver’s phone to call Hunter and let him know that the teens were fine. “We’ll be home later this afternoon. I didn’t even think about Nathan’s job, though…”
“I already called them and told them he was sick with the flu. If he wants to go to work tomorrow, that’s fine. If he needs to stay with the two of you for the next couple of days to sort out things, that’ll work also.”
“Okay. About the murder case—I haven’t had a chance to tell you what happened. Last night, Anna found some dog tags where Nathan had smelled a dead body. The name is Thomas Cremer.”
“Cremer. I’ll share this second name with Finn.”
“Did you learn anything more about the Wentworths from our last mission?” Bjornolf asked.
“Not yet. I have Rourke, our investigative reporter in the pack, looking into things. He’s got a lot of connections, and he’s good at ferreting out information. Maybe he’ll unearth some clues for us.”
Bjornolf let out his breath, wanting to mention how upset Anna had been. He wanted to see if Hunter knew what was distressing her so much, but decided it would be best not to share that bit of news. Hunter might want to take her off the case, worrying about her safety in the frame of mind she seemed to be in. Bjornolf knew that neither Nathan nor he could get through the holidays without her, and he wasn’t about to give up his pursuit of something deeper with her. He had no intention of putting it off any longer.
“Talk to you later, Hunter.”
Anna was outside in the backyard with Alice, Sarah’s twin sister. Alice was showing Anna the gardens. He smiled as he watched Anna move about in the light sprinkle of snowflakes as if she was a snow sprite, thinking how much he’d love wrapping her in his arms.
