by Terry Spear
“Uh, right.”
“I’m not a heavy sleeper normally, but I must have been really tired and sound asleep about that time.”
Maverick called Josh, who wondered what his brother needed now. “Yeah, Brother?” He put it on speakerphone.
“I’ve got to get more feed in town for the reindeer. Did you want to grab a hamburger with me?”
“You should have called earlier. I’m already having lunch.”
Brooke said, “Tell Maverick I said hi.”
“You’re eating with Brooke at her store?”
“Yeah. I came by to tell her what I learned about the reindeer theft.” Josh cut into his chicken.
“And question me some more.” Brooke cut up one of her asparagus spears.
“You’re there questioning her again?” Maverick sounded annoyed.
“I’ll see you tonight, Maverick.”
“What did you get her for lunch this time?”
Josh knew his brother would give him grief over questioning Brooke further when he went home for dinner. “Talk later.” Josh didn’t see himself as a pushover, but what could he say when Brooke wanted a special meal?
“You didn’t tell him what we were having for lunch,” Brooke said.
“I’ll tell him tonight. If I didn’t end the call, he would have continued to talk.”
“About me.”
Josh leaned back in his chair. “He didn’t think you were guilty of stealing Jingles.”
“But you did.”
“From a police detective’s point of view, I had to consider anyone who had motive, opportunity, and the stolen reindeer in possession as a possible suspect.” He drank some of his water. “You have to admit things were looking bad for you.”
She shook her head. “Have you ever run in Forest Park in Portland? It’s supposed to be one of the largest urban forests in the United States, and I’ve never run there before. I was thinking of doing it tonight.”
“Yep, with eighty miles of trails, fire lanes, and forested roads, the park stretches over seven miles. It’s open from five in the morning until ten at night, so we could run tonight after it’s closed. Fishing and hunting are prohibited, and no fires, camping, fireworks, or firearms are allowed, so we should be safe running as wolves. We might even see others there from the pack.”
“We?”
He shrugged. “Think of me as your tour guide. My brother and I have run there for years, when we’re not running on our ranch or Leidolf and Cassie’s ranch.”
“What about Maverick?”
“I’ll ask him if he wants to go.”
She was about to take another bite of her chicken when the front door opened with a jingle. She sighed again. “Thanks so much for lunch. It was delicious.” She packed the rest of her meal in a microwave container. “This will be perfect for dinner. Feel free to enjoy the rest of yours. I’ve got to help my customers. I’ll see you after ten tonight?”
“At the shop or the house?”
“House.” She stuck her leftovers in the fridge and hurried off to greet the new people in her store.
Josh finished the rest of his meal, figuring it was better than just grabbing a burger and eating it on the run, even though he had wanted to visit more with Brooke. Then he got a call.
“Hey,” Adam said, “we’ve got another case. Another robbery. Same MO: two guys wearing black ski masks, blue jeans, heavy boots, dark-gray parkas, black ski gloves—”
“Like Ackerson.”
“Yep. I smelled his scent for sure. Either he picked up another partner or this guy was with him on the other case, too, but maybe the getaway driver that time. We have no description of a vehicle. They stole about $40,000 in jewelry, threatened the clerk with guns, and tore off before the clerk could call the police. They must have been parked somewhere else.”
“Like the last time. Location?”
“Johnson’s Jewelers. Five miles from the other store.”
“I’m on my way.” Josh couldn’t believe the same man would rob another store so soon after the other one. Then again, there was really no rhyme or reason for what some thieves did. Maybe the thief was emboldened because he didn’t get caught the last time. Maybe he was angry he didn’t get anything out of the earlier attempted robbery and was determined to do so this time.
Josh hoped they’d catch him and his cohorts before they hurt any innocents. Was Ackerson in charge of these jobs, or was someone else hiring him to do them?
Josh threw out his trash and put their cups in the dishwasher, then left the kitchen. He had the unfathomable urge to kiss Brooke before he left the shop—as if their lunch together had been a real date—but she was cheerily talking to a customer. He noticed she was standing underneath an archway, and above it, mistletoe was hanging. She waved goodbye and mouthed a thank-you to him. He thought if he could time it right later, he’d kiss her under the mistletoe. She couldn’t object to that, could she?
Josh headed outside but hadn’t gotten very far when a brown tabby wound its way around his legs. He petted the cat, checking out the collar. Her name was Muffy, and there was an address on a tag. The customer Brooke had been ringing up walked outside and smiled at him and the cat. He lifted Muffy into his arms before she ran away.
“Are you going to find the owner?” Brooke asked, poking her head outside of the shop.
“Uh, yeah. Her tag says she belongs to a place a couple of doors down from your shop.”
“Good.” Brooke gave him the wickedest smile and petted the cat’s head. “I’m glad you didn’t find her in my courtyard. No telling what you’d think.”
“That you had a refuge for lost animals.” He smiled. “See you tonight.”
“See you then.” She walked back inside her shop, and he went to the garden shop turned Christmas shop for the holidays to find Muffy’s owner.
“Ohmigoodness, you silly cat. She always stays in the shop, but something outside must have caught her eye when a customer opened the door. Thanks so much.” The woman took the cat from Josh’s arms and thanked him again. “No more running off.” She took Muffy to a back room and shut the door, while Josh left the shop to get on with the business of catching Ackerson and whoever else was running with him.
He brushed the cat fur off his clothes before he climbed into the vehicle. Then he thought about running with Brooke tonight as wolves. Instantly, all his crime concerns vanished, and he smiled. Then he lost the smile. He hoped his brother wouldn’t tag along.
He called Maverick on Bluetooth on the way to the jewelry store. “Hey, Brother, Brooke wants to run with me in Forest Park tonight. I’m picking her up at ten. Did you want to run with us?”
“Man, oh man, I told you that you were chasing after the little she-wolf, and not just because of the case of the stolen reindeer calf.”
“She asked me about running in Forest Park. What could I say? She needs a tour guide.”
Maverick snorted. “You could have offered my services.”
Josh knew he had to be kidding. “Do you want to come with us?”
“No. At least not this time. I know how I’d like it if I had a wolf date for a run and you came along to run with us. Later, but not for the first time.”
“It’s not a date. I’m just showing her the park.”
“Just keep telling yourself that. Will I see you for dinner?”
“Yeah, she has leftovers from lunch to eat up tonight.”
Maverick laughed. “Déjà vu. What did she ask for this time?”
Josh parked his car at Johnson’s Jewelers. “Chicken marsala.”
“When did you ask her if she wanted you to pick up something for her for lunch?”
“After I saw her about the reindeer.”
“I told you that you were interested in her. See you tonight at dinner then.”
Josh wasn’t about to tell his brother Brooke had already mentioned him bringing lunch to her tomorrow.
* * *
Brooke wished she and Josh could go running earlier, though she’d busied herself after she closed the shop for the four hours before he arrived. But she was tired! And ready to shower and call it a night, even though she really wanted to run as a wolf.
When Josh arrived at her house, she immediately went outside to get into his car so they could get started on their run.
“We’ll go to Carver’s house—his place is butted up against the park. He and his family are taking a vacation right now, but any of the wolves of the pack are welcome to park at his house and shift in a little shed out back so we can do it in privacy,” Josh said.
“Oh, that’s good. Even though this park is closed, I always worry about someone being in a city park illegally after hours and witnessing a shift.”
“I agree. And if a park ranger found our clothes? We can leave the car in Carver’s driveway without any difficulty.”
“That’s good. I haven’t run in months. I might be…a little rusty.”
“We’ll have a nice run, explore, and let you work up to your full potential.”
They parked at Carver’s house and left the car, then headed around through the gate to the backyard. Brooke immediately saw the little garden shed with a red roof and windows with curtains. When Josh opened the door, he reached inside and turned on a light. They had benches and a trunk inside. How nice that the Carvers had set this up for other wolves in the pack.
“For anyone to change in so neighbors with their two-story houses don’t see us getting naked, though the evergreen trees should shield us from prying eyes.”
They went inside, removed their clothes, and then shifted. Brooke was trying hard not to look at his toned body, though she lost her balance when she tried to remove her panties, and his arm shot out to grab ahold of her. Heat spread through her whole body, despite them being in the cold storage shed. Their eyes locked for a second, his dark-brown ones capturing hers, and she felt as if she were frozen in time. She was way too impulsive when it came to dating wolves, and she had sworn she wouldn’t turn a chance encounter into something deeper. Not right away. She always became disillusioned after the first few dates. And those wolves hadn’t even accused her of committing a crime!
Josh released her, though his gaze had dropped to her lips, and he looked like he wanted to kiss her. Before she allowed him to, she shifted. His lustful look changed to a smile, and he shifted, too, the blurring of forms so quick that if anyone saw them shifting, they would believe they had imagined the whole thing.
He was a beautiful red wolf with a coat that had a distinctive copper color to it. She was more red, though she had a few gray and black guard hairs. The insides of her legs were white, her belly white, and her face partly white. His face was red, except for a little gray on his forehead, and he wore white boots. He was larger than her, a magnificent specimen of a red wolf.
They bolted out of the shed and headed for the gate and wolf door in Carver’s back fence. Josh poked his nose through, making sure the coast was clear. Once everything looked safe, he moved out, and Brooke followed him into the park. Instead of staying on the path like humans were required to do, they ran freely through the forest like animals would, only crossing a path on occasion and then venturing back into the woods.
This was what she’d been missing. The wolf run, feeling the chilly wind in her fur, breathing in the scents of the firs and pines, the rabbits, squirrels, and birds now sleeping for the night. An owl hooted, and another passed on the warning farther away that wolves were on the prowl. Brooke ran through the woods, feeling invigorated and no longer tired. She knew she’d be sore tomorrow because she hadn’t exercised as a wolf in forever, but she didn’t care. She loved running as a wolf.
Not to mention that the male wolf behind her was making the run even more enjoyable. He bumped against her flank, telling her to move to her right. Then he was right beside her, guiding her to a Japanese tea garden. It was just precious: a waterfall cascading down rocks to a pond from above, bridges crossing the waterways, crane sculptures standing beside still waters, and koi swimming across the pond.
For some time, she and Josh walked through the tea garden, then he led her out of the garden to run some more. They were running side by side when she turned and licked his face.
He woofed a little, and she swore he stood a little taller and prouder. She smiled and headed back toward Carver’s house. She’d loved the run, but they had been out there for at least an hour, and Josh still had to drive home. And if she was going to wake on time in the morning, she’d have to get some sleep. She was hoping to do the wolf run on a regular basis. Not with poor Josh though. She didn’t want him to have to come late at night, run with her, and then return home so much later that night. She could do it on her own, now that she knew to go to Carver’s house and change and shift there.
The two of them raced each other back to the house, trading off the lead. They were nose to nose when they reached the gate and wolf door, and Josh waited for her to go through first.
After he followed her through the wolf door, they made their way to the shed and shifted, then hurried to dress. He was buff, looking like he lifted bales of hay at the reindeer ranch on his off-duty time from the police force. His backside was as hot as his front side. Seriously toned and delectable. Tearing her gaze away from him, Brooke hurried to pull on her lacy panties and then her bra.
“Anytime you’d like to do this again, just ask and I’ll come and pick you up.” He pulled his sweater over his hot abs, hiding them and making her sigh.
“But it’s a drive for you to come in and then go home again.” She pulled her sweater over her head.
“Just let me know. It’s not too long a drive, and I truly enjoyed the run.”
“I did too. Thanks for being such a great tour guide.” Once they had finished dressing, they drove back to her house. The run had been a lovely way to end the day. “Just in case you’re not busy and you want to bring me lunch tomorrow, beef Stroganoff would be great,” Brooke said. “That’s only if you’re free. I always have a granola bar waiting for me.”
He chuckled. “I will endeavor to bring you lunch.”
When he dropped her off at her house, the Christmas lights sparkling on the roofline and the shrubs and the lighted wreath made her feel so perfectly Christmassy.
As to Josh, she reminded herself not to get too involved with him too fast, gave him a sweet peck on the cheek, and hurried inside. She needed to get a quick shower and go to bed, or she’d sleep through her alarm clock tomorrow.
Finally, she was in her pajamas in bed and trying to fall asleep. Instead of thinking about shop stuff like she usually did—watching for packages to arrive and sorting through all the stuff she already had—all she could envision was one hot wolf getting naked in a shed behind a pack mate’s house before taking a jaunt in the woods with her as if they were a couple of wolves on an enjoyable date. And the rakish smile he’d offered her when he dropped her off at home and she’d hurried to give him a peck of a kiss and scurried out of the big, bad wolf’s way. She suspected she wouldn’t get away with that the next time. Nor would she want to.
Chapter 7
“How was the run, Brother?” Maverick asked, getting a cup of milk as Josh headed into the kitchen to get some water before he went to bed.
“Perfect. No trouble at all. And Brooke had a good time.”
“You know you could bring her out to the ranch, and you two could run out here.”
“I will. The park is closed so late that she might like coming here right after she closes shop, and we can even have dinner.”
“Once you stop making sure she has leftovers for dinner.” Maverick put his empty cup in the dishwasher. “I knew you had something going on with Brooke. What’s tomorro
w’s lunch going to be?”
“Beef Stroganoff, if I can swing it. You know how work goes. I never know if I’ll be in the middle of an investigation when lunchtime rolls around.”
“The best place for beef Stroganoff doesn’t deliver. Let me know if you can’t make it, and I’ll pick up lunch for her. I’ll tell her it was from you.”
Josh didn’t want that to happen. If he wasn’t interested in the lady, why would it matter if his brother took her a meal? Despite that, since she would be expecting it, he would rather his brother pick up lunch for her if he couldn’t make it. It really was an ingrained need to impress the she-wolf when he hadn’t thought he’d be headed down that path again anytime soon. “Sure, I’ll let you know.”
“Good. That shows what a caring wolf you are, and I won’t even have lunch with her. I’ll just drop it off for her.”
“If we can’t get together and you take her meal to her, you get yourself some too. There’s no sense in you going all the way into town to take her lunch and not have some yourself. I’m sure she’ll enjoy your company in any event.”
“I’ll do that. I need to run a couple of errands afterward, so that will work. I could even get a meal for you, and you could reheat it in her microwave when you finally get through with your investigation. She might have more of a lull in her shop then and be able to sit down and take a break with you.”
“I’ll let you know.”
“By the way, Ethan called and said he was coming out to the ranch to run with us tomorrow night. Have you told him we’ve met Brooke? I don’t want to mention her if you’re keeping her secret.”
Josh cleared his throat. “I’m not keeping her secret. He knows about her. We had a situation at her shop this morning.” He told his brother what had happened with the Colombian shipment.
Maverick sat down to hear all of it. “Hell, I would never have thought Ivy would get herself into that kind of trouble. Ethan said Brooke would be all right, correct? Leidolf will have a fit if the DEA thinks she was involved in any of it.”