While the Wolf's Away, page 2
Still, involving Sheri came with risks, not the least to Sheri herself. If the pack ever found out Sheri had helped her, she would end up in the same position Elizabeth was in now. Friendless. Her family under suspicion. Watched.
Elizabeth shook off her dark thoughts and refocused on her call with David. She couldn’t believe he had waited for her all this time, though she’d been doing the same for him. If he’d had a chance to find a mate, she had wanted him to take it. To find love.
And at the same time, she hated the very thought of that.
“Still no she-wolves on the horizon?” she asked David. She always asked.
“You’re the only one for me. To think I’ve waited this long and then I would just give you up? No way. You need me and I need you.”
She smiled. He had never wavered once about waiting for her. Even when his other PI partners had all found mates, he continued to wait for her. She couldn’t help but appreciate him for it. She so longed to be with him.
“How is it out there today?” She pictured all the forested land they had around his pack members’ homes. He’d taken her and her grandmother on a video tour of the house and shown them the views of the lake and forest, just so Elizabeth could see the area, could envision herself there when she moved to the Minnesota pack to be with him. And Elizabeth loved every bit of it. Her grandmother had been glad to know how beautiful everything was in the area too. She told them she saw it when she worked on their plans after their calls, adding it to the details in her mind, imagining Elizabeth there with him, happy in the woods and by the lake and in the home he’d built.
“Sunny and warm, perfect for us to go swimming,” David said. “We will take the canoe out, paddle to the island. We can shift and have a nice run through the woods.”
“Hmm, it sounds delightful. And I’d make brownies for dessert.”
“Yes, I love your brownies and the way you always made extras for me.”
“You were always so grateful for them.”
“And for you for freeing Owen and me and for coming with us.”
“I miss that. I wish I was with you now.”
“I don’t miss the danger, but I sure miss you.”
“Yeah. Hopefully, we can do it this time without the chase scenes and all. Okay, I need to speak with you about something else. I know we talked about not getting anyone else involved—especially from my pack. But my childhood friend has offered to help me with Grandmother when she passes. I didn’t talk to her about it, I swear. She just knows me too well.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, and Elizabeth continued. “It might give me a chance to slip away. It might give me a little bit of a head start.”
“Would she say anything to anyone about it?”
“No.”
“But they would learn soon enough that she had helped you with your grandmother.”
“Yeah. They would.”
“Can you get someone else to do it? Someone you trust? Someone human, instead of a pack member?”
“It would be hard to explain why I had to ask someone else to do it. And even if I said something about having an emergency I had to attend to, I wouldn’t want to leave Grandmother’s ashes to a total stranger to take care of.”
“I understand.”
“You know they’re going to be watching me all the time anyway. As soon as I start leaving the house for more than a trip to the grocery store, they’re going to know something’s up.” Then Elizabeth had another idea. “Wait, maybe we’ve been thinking about this all wrong. What if we let it be known that you have a mate already and there’s no way you’re ever coming for me, or that I’m ever going to join you either?”
A long silence followed her suggestion. His face went still, but his eyes spoke volumes. Finally, he said, “It’s a good idea. That could be our answer. I’ll start working on it.”
She was so relieved they might have finally figured out a way for her to leave without anyone being the wiser. “I’ll call Sheri with a sob story, make it sound as realistic as I can.”
“But we keep on with our weekly chats.” He sounded like he couldn’t do without them, just as much as she couldn’t.
“Oh, absolutely. I’ll let my grandmother know what’s going on.” This would work. It had to. “I can’t wait to be with you, David.”
“I can’t wait to be with you either. I love you.”
“I love you too.” They ended the call, but Elizabeth didn’t feel the same sense of letdown she usually did when they hung up. They had a plan! She checked David’s Facebook page and saw right away that he had posted a picture of a woman who didn’t look anything like Elizabeth. Fast worker! She hoped that would be the first step in getting everyone in her pack to believe he had wanted someone new in his life. Someone not Elizabeth.
Another update popped up. “Candy” was listed as his wife. Candy?
Half an hour later, she checked his Facebook page again and found all kinds of pictures featuring David and the blond—Candy—hugging and being together at the lake, swimming, eating a meal together. It wasn’t real. But it would be someday, with her.
Then she smiled, realizing who the woman was. She’d only seen her once; she’d dropped by while David was sitting on his deck at the lake doing a Skype session with Elizabeth, and the woman had to come over to say hi. She was Owen’s mate, Candice-now-Candy, a romance author.
David must have contacted her the moment they hung up to come and help him with the deception. Elizabeth was so thankful for David’s pack; she couldn’t wait to be part of it. She loved all of them. She just wished her grandmother had wanted to go with her and be with them. She would have loved them too.
Speaking of, she heard a bell ring, and she went to see what her grandma needed and to tell her the good news.
“My hot tea?” Grandma asked. “You finished your talk with David, I hear.” She still had the best hearing.
“Oh right.” Elizabeth turned on her heel and headed to the kitchen. She heated the water in the teapot, then brought in a cup of hot Earl Grey, her grandma’s favorite. “Okay, I have to tell you the great news. David found a mate.”
Grandma looked puzzled, but she was a crafty old wolf, and it didn’t take her long to smile. “Aww, I’m so angry with him.”
“Yeah, so am I.” Elizabeth left again, then returned with her laptop. She popped open the lid and showed her the pictures of David’s “mate.”
Her grandmother frowned. “Photoshopped?”
“No. That’s Owen Nottingham’s mate, Candice, wearing a wig. She’s the romance writer. She makes a great actress, doesn’t she?”
“I’ll say. I would have believed it.”
“In his posts, David doesn’t call her by her real name, though, just Candy, so no one will really know who she is. And the wig looks real. I saw her once on a Skype call, and she doesn’t look at all the same.”
“Does she have her photo anywhere else? A Facebook page that shows her and her real mate or something?”
Elizabeth checked Candice’s account. “She shows Owen is her mate, but see? She doesn’t look anything like the pictures David uploaded.”
“You’re right. Between the makeup and hair, she really doesn’t. And she doesn’t look anything like you either.”
“Exactly, like he was going for someone completely different.”
“When are you going to tell Sheri?”
“After I cry a bit.”
Her grandmother laughed. “Make me some roast-beef hash from last night’s leftovers, and then you can cry over cutting up the onions.”
Elizabeth laughed too. “It’s a deal.” She went into the kitchen and started making the hash. While it was cooking, she FaceTimed Sheri, tears in her eyes from all the onion chopping. “David found a mate.”
“Oh, no, Elizabeth, I’m so sorry. I’ll be right over.”
Elizabeth hated lying to her best friend. “No, it’s”—sniffle, sniffle—“time for Grandma and me to eat dinner. She’s upset about it too. I just had to tell you.”
“I’m so sorry. You let me know when you want me to come over, then.”
“I will.”
“How’s Grandma doing?”
“Raging at David on my behalf but fine otherwise.”
“Well, as much as I hate to hear it, I’m not surprised. If he finally found someone, it’s understandable.” There was a pause, then: “He’s not a royal anyway. Maybe you’ll be better off with someone who’s…” Another pause, like she wasn’t sure what kind of reception this line of discussion would get. She plowed ahead though. “Who’s like you.”
Elizabeth wasn’t bothered by the whole royal thing, not that anyone from the territory who was a royal was interested in her. And she wasn’t interested in anyone like that either. But it did worry her that Sheri said “if” he finally found someone. Did Sheri have doubts about Elizabeth’s story?
“Right,” she said, playing along, hoping that Sheri bought it. “I don’t know what I saw in a newly turned wolf anyway. He would have been nothing but heartache, and having kids by him would mean our offspring wouldn’t be royals. Why would I do that to my own children?”
“Exactly. I’ll let you get to your meal and I’ll talk to you later. Feel better.”
“Thanks, Sheri.” Elizabeth was already feeling much better. She served up the hash on a platter and took it in to her grandma. She was still eating well and had an iron stomach, Elizabeth thought, which she was thankful for.
“Did Sheri take it hook, line, and sinker?” Grandma asked.
“I think so. And because she thinks that will somehow make everything all right with the pack concerning me, she’ll spread the word. Not because she’s a gossip or anything.”
“Hopefully it will throw Kintail and the pack off the track. They’ll figure you’ll have nowhere else to go. You won’t want to join Cameron’s pack now since you’d have to see David with his new wolf mate all the time.” She held a fork full of hash suspended in front of her mouth. “Whose idea was it?”
“Mine. I suddenly figured out what might work. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier.”
“Well, it’s an excellent plan,” Grandma said.
They finished eating and watched a wild thriller—her grandma’s favorite kind of movie. When it was done, Elizabeth kissed her good night. “Love you, Grandma. Call me if you need anything.”
“I will, dear. Love you too.”
***
Three days later, in the middle of the night, Elizabeth heard a noise coming from her grandmother’s room and went to check on her to see if she needed anything. She pushed open the door, listening to the quiet darkness within. Her grandmother had died peacefully in her sleep.
Tears ran in tracks down Elizabeth’s face as the reality of her grandma’s death pierced her heart. But like Grandma had told her, when the time came, she had to bury her sorrow for the moment and put a plan of action in place right away.
Elizabeth dried her eyes and called David, waking him from sleep. “David, Grandma’s gone.” Her voice cracked with emotion.
“Oh God, Elizabeth, I’m so sorry. How are you doing?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I have expected this forever, and yet it’s never seemed real to me. Even now, I can’t believe it. But”—the tears flowed again, unchecked—“Grandma died peacefully in her sleep, at home, just like she wanted, and she would tell me to get my butt in gear and get going. So that’s what I’m going to do.”
“I’ll get ahold of Amelia right away and get a flight out as soon as I can. If she can’t do it, maybe her brother can. I already have a bag packed. Did you tell everyone in your pack that I had mated Candy?”
“I told Sheri. She would have told the rest of the pack.”
“Okay, good.”
“I’ll call to have my grandmother’s body picked up. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think they’ll do anything…with her…” Her voice went soft, nearly a whisper, as she struggled to say the words. “With her body until morning at least.”
“Elizabeth, honey, it’ll be okay. I promise.” His heartbreak for her came through in every word. “Don’t think about that right now. I’ll call you back as soon as I know what time we are leaving and when we’ll get in, and we’ll go from there.”
“Okay.” She sniffed. “At least the waxing gibbous moon phase is here, so you won’t have a problem with shifting for a while. And it’s summer.” She sighed through her tears. “No moon and no snow. I swear my grandmother planned it that way. I love you so much.”
“I love you too. Your grandma was a great woman. For the time I got to know her—even though it was just on Skype—I loved her and miss her too. It’s time for us to be together now though.”
“I know she wanted this for me, for us. I know she did. She knew how much I wanted to be with you. I love you. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Then Elizabeth ended the call so she could take care of her grandmother, one last time.
Chapter 3
Hating to hear her feeling so destitute after her grandmother died and unable to hug Elizabeth like he wanted to, David was immediately on the phone to Amelia, waking her. He didn’t waste time with niceties. “Hey, it’s on.”
Amelia responded like he hadn’t just awoken her from a dead sleep. “Elizabeth’s grandmother died.”
“Yes.”
“Okay, I’m calling my mom to have her get ahold of a couple of standby pilots to take Slade’s and my flights for the next couple of days. I’ve already talked to Slade about going with us so we can switch off on flying. We always have a bag packed for emergency flights so we’re ready to leave at a moment’s notice. This is definitely an emergency rescue mission. I’ll take care of the flight plan. We’ll be going to Winnipeg, refuel, and then to Calgary, which is two hours from there. And another three hours from Calgary to Yellowknife. Are you sure that the business with being mated to ‘Candy’ was enough to have Kintail call off his watchdogs?”
“We won’t know for sure until we get there. I’ll rent a car and pick her up at some place we can agree on, someplace not anywhere near the airport so they won’t think she’s taking off. We’ll meet you back at the airport after that.”
“Okay.”
Then he called Elizabeth back. “How are you doing?”
“I wish you were here already. What’s the plan?”
“I’m flying out with Amelia and Slade. You need to pick a place where I can come and get you. If you have any indication that they’ll be on the lookout for us at the airport, let us know and we’ll change our plans in a hurry.”
“What if Amelia comes to meet me at a restaurant instead? There’s a place called the Wildcat Café. Hopefully, if anyone’s following me, they won’t think twice about me having dinner with a friend.”
“Okay, though it’s going to kill me to be so close to you and not be able to see you. I’ll stay with Slade.” And pray this worked out all right. “What about your car?”
“I could have Sheri drop me off at the restaurant and tell her I was going with Amelia to do something after dinner. I’ll call Amelia by some other name though. I hate lying to Sheri about any of this, but I can’t tell her what’s really going on. I’m afraid Kintail would force it out of her if he suspected anything.”
“What if Sheri wants to join you for the meal?” David asked.
“Actually, she could. It might even seem more natural if we all went out to eat together and then I left to do something with Amelia, telling Sheri that Amelia will drop me off at home afterward.”
“Sounds good.” He told her the flight times to the various airports, then they said another rushed goodbye. But this time the goodbye was tinged with hope because their next hello wouldn’t be over the phone.
It would be in each other’s arms.
***
“I’m so sorry about her grandmother, but I’m damn glad Elizabeth is coming back with us. And if she decides she can’t live with you, there’s always me,” Slade said to David, smiling.
Amelia shook her head. “You’d better not even think of it, Slade. I don’t want to be on the outs with the whole pack because of you stealing the woman away.”
Slade laughed. “As if that would ever happen. I’m just glad David and Elizabeth can finally work something out between the two of them if it’s meant to be.”
That was the thing. No matter how much David was sure it was, they wouldn’t really know for certain it was meant to be until they’d had the chance to be together in a normal setting. At least they’d have a playground—so to speak—in their backyard where they could run to their hearts’ content when he wasn’t working. And a home they could make their own. And a pack where she knew most of the members already, members who loved her. Maybe he had nothing to worry about. Maybe her transition to his pack, his life, would be easy for her.
Maybe everything would be just fine.
They loaded up the plane, and it wasn’t long before they were heading to Winnipeg. Slade took the first shift, being more of a night owl. Amelia and David would get some sleep, but not until after he explained Elizabeth’s plan and Amelia’s role in it.
“Oh, I bet they’ll have bison burgers. I haven’t had any of those since we left Alaska,” Amelia said.
“Bring us some back, will you?” Slade asked. “I haven’t had one since then either.”
“Anyone watching might wonder why Amelia is taking a sack of burgers to go,” David said.
Slade sighed. “All right. But don’t you get yourself kidnapped by Kintail’s pack, Amelia, or Mom and Dad will have my head. And David’s too.”
Six hours later, they landed in Winnipeg, grabbed a quick bite, then refueled. Slade turned the pilot’s seat over to Amelia, his eyes already closing as he slumped next to David.
