I laughed.
Another awkward silence fell and I filled it by eating.
"So, how's the hunting up here?" Dad finally broke the silence.
We all traded amused glances. The memory of hot, fresh meat wasn't nearly as disturbing as I had thought it might be, even while eating. The memory of the wind in my fur and the ground under my paws as I raced after the deer we had taken down recently tugged at me.
"It's good," Ed finally answered. "There are a lot of deer up here. Especially on Doc's land. Do you like hunting?"
Dad nodded. "I try to get away during hunting season. I've never hunted in Colorado before. Thought about giving it a try."
Ed and Allan traded another glance before they shrugged. "We could take you next season. I think Doc knows some good areas to get tags for."
They glanced at Doc who nodded. "I've led hunting parties before. One of the many things I've done with my life."
Dad looked surprised. "That would be good."
For a while Doc and my dad fell into a conversation about different areas to hunt and how to go about getting the correct tags.
Mom and I traded an amused glance. We enjoyed game meat, so we never minded when Dad actually made it out, but it was often hard for him to get away and he'd given his game tags to friends more often than he'd actually made it out for his own hunts. Maybe we could change that next year.
By the time that conversation wound down, it sounded like they had agreed to give it a try next fall.
I supposed if that finally got him to accept the others, I was all for it.
Between the werewolves, guests, and Nikolai, we polished off the food. I couldn't remember a time when we'd actually had leftovers.
Ed and Allan left the cleanup to Nikolai and Doc and the rest of us went out into the living room.
Ed and Allan traded uneasy glances before Allan finally spoke. "We need to go, uh, run. It was nice to see both of you," he said to my parents.
"Nice to see you, too, Ed and Allan. I'm sure we'll see you again before our visit is over."
"Yes, we're hoping you'll join us for Christmas dinner." Ed shoved his hands in his pockets, looking nervous.
We were? I was touched that the guys wanted to include my parents, but it also surprised me.
"We would love to," Mom answered. "Are your parents joining us?"
"Uh, they're dead. So, no. Hopefully not." Ed bounced on his toes.
Mom put her hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry."
Ed shrugged. "It was a few years ago. Werewolves attacked our family camping trip. Allan and I survived. Parents didn't. We like being werewolves, so it's mostly not a big deal. We miss them, but it's almost like it was a different lifetime. So much has changed since then."
Mom, probably overcome by some sort of parent instinct, went over to Ed and gave him a hug. Then she hugged Allan, too.
"Go run. We'll see you later." She smiled as she watched them head down toward their bedrooms. They could leave out the backdoor unless they really wanted to see how my folks were handling me hanging out with werewolves.
"I had no idea," Mom said when they were out of normal human hearing range.
"They handled it pretty well," Doc said. He didn't go into details and Mom didn't ask.
Nikolai waved his hand at the fire after putting a fresh log on. Blue magic sank into the wood and flames sprang up.
"Anyone want to play cards?" We hadn't replaced any of the electronics yet, so we didn't have a TV or video games or anything yet. We had spent a lot of time learning various card games.
"Yes!" Nikolai particularly liked playing cards.
Mom and Dad did, too, so we settled in by the fire with a couple of decks of cards.
We had to play on the floor since we didn't have a table for the living room yet and I sat between Doc and Nikolai, my knees brushing against theirs.
Mom gave me another contemplative look especially when Nikolai treated me to one of his random casual touches that he liked so much.
I just focused on the game, trying not to squirm under her scrutiny. We might just have to have that conversation, but I wasn't ready to do that now. Maybe Monday. Victoria would help. I hoped. This really was complicated. Worth it, but complicated.
Chapter 18
Sofia
We took Dad's truck down to meet Victoria and left the guys at the mercy of my dad. Or maybe it was the other way around. I wasn't quite sure. Doc and Nikolai were going to take him shooting. As long as no one killed each other I supposed it wouldn't go too badly.
Mom and I talked about easy things on the way down the mountain. It was a long drive but nice to spend some time alone with her.
Victoria decided to meet us in Estes so we didn't have to drive all the way down to Denver and by the time we arrived, both Mom and I were ready for lunch.
"It is beautiful here." Mom looked around as we walked toward the café Victoria wanted to meet us at. "I can see why you like it here."
"Yeah. The mountains already feel like home. Even with everything crazy that has happened."
"I'm glad, honey. You've found yourself some nice boys."
Nearly tripping over a curb, I sucked in a breath and tried to calm my heart. She didn't seem to notice me trip, gaze fixed on the river while we meandered through the light crowd. Though a lot of smaller shops were closed on Monday, enough were open that I thought I could find something for everyone.
"Christmas shopping this year is complicated." I studied a glassblower's display as we walked past.
"Oh?"
"I don't know what to get everyone."
"How about things you can do as a group.
