by Terry Spear
She showed him a Weber charcoal grill she’d bought for him, grill equipment, and an apron that said: Mr. Good Lookin’ is Cookin’.
He chuckled. “I love it. What’s this?”
Inside one of the big pockets, he found the Steiff Christmas reindeer.
“That was what I found in one of the boxes I opened, but I didn’t want you to see it.”
“Vintage and worth a fortune.”
“Could be.”
“I love it, so it’s worth lots to me.” He set it on the garland on the fireplace mantel.
“Now that you’re part of the household, I expect you to grill meals,” Brooke told him.
“Gladly.”
Brooke gave Maverick another gift, a hat like Josh’s, except it had a vintage Corvette on it. “I’ll have to take a picture of you in your car a little later.” Then she motioned to a taller package by the tree. “For both of you.”
Maverick and Josh opened it and laughed when they found a reindeer statue, a heated birdbath, a starter kit of birdseed, and birdseed hangers resting in the dish.
Brooke started making ham-and-cheese omelets but saw a big snowman Christmas card for her sitting near the fridge. She opened it and found a gift certificate for one completely redesigned kitchen. “Yes! I was so afraid the stove would go out on me before long, and since it’s set in and an odd size, I’d never find one that would fit and have to redo the counters and everything.” Then she opened the item below it that she was sure was a book. She pulled off the gold paper and found a book showing the most beautiful kitchens she could imagine.
She turned to see Josh and Maverick smiling at her. “You don’t know how much this means to me.” She gave Josh a hug and kiss and then Maverick.
“We’re so glad you’re happy with it, and we’ll start on it as soon as you decide on the kitchen of your dreams,” Maverick said.
“I’d love that.” She served the omelets while Maverick poured cups of coffee for them and Josh made some mimosas. “I had initially planned on selling the house and antique shop and starting all over when my three-year contractual obligation was through.”
“You planned to move to another location and set up another antique shop?” Josh asked, sounding surprised.
“No, doing something completely different.” She sat down and raised her glass of mimosa to the guys. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” the brothers said, taking their seats at the dining table and raising their glasses to her before they drank their mimosas.
“What had you thought of doing?” Maverick asked.
“Nothing I could think of. Then something magical happened. A little reindeer calf came to visit. And I met both of you. This is exactly where I was meant to be.”
“Despite all the trouble you’ve had,” Josh said.
She reached over and grasped his hand. “Absolutely.”
“I’m glad.” Josh took a relieved breath. “I didn’t think working in an antique shop would be as rewarding as it is, but the kind of treasures your great-aunt and great-uncle accumulated sure changed my mind. And working with you makes all the difference in the world.”
“That’s exactly how I feel about you and Maverick.”
* * *
After breakfast, Maverick brought out board games, and they played until it was time to start the turkey. Once lunch was ready, Adam, Ethan, and Mr. Lee dropped in to eat with them and watch the movie, all three of them bearing gifts—pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and white wine.
This was the best Christmas with family and friends Brooke could have hoped for. The last three Christmases she’d been alone, since her parents had died. She had suspected she would be this Christmas too. She’d never believed she’d be laughing at the table, eating with a whole group of wolves, and then watching her favorite movie with them afterward.
She might never have left Phoenix to come to Portland if her great-aunt hadn’t stipulated in her will that Brooke had to keep the shop for three years. It hadn’t taken that long to convince Brooke she was right where she needed to be—with her mate, a new pack, and her new family and friends.
* * *
The meal was perfect and the company great, everyone having a grand time talking about the new year and their new year’s goals. Before Brooke had come into his life, Josh really hadn’t had any new year’s goals. Every year was about the same. Same work. Same living arrangements. Same people to hang out with. In a heartbeat, she’d changed all that for him.
First on the agenda was making sure she had a new kitchen. And renovating anything else she needed to have done. He wanted to make a special corral for the reindeer when they came to visit so they’d be secure for visitors, because now they had two places to showcase the reindeer—the ranch and her place, when she wanted them there.
But he also wanted to arrange to have others taking care of the shop while they took trips. He hadn’t gone anywhere in eons, too busy with work. In fact, the emergency leave he took to be with her, to protect her, was the first leave he’d taken in years.
“So when are you going to have a wedding?” Maverick asked.
Josh looked at Brooke. She reached over and took ahold of his hand. “In the summer? I want it to be warm.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“A honeymoon?” Maverick asked. “We’ll have to watch the shop for you, but you deserve to go somewhere for your honeymoon.”
“Fiji? I’ve always wanted to go there,” Brooke said.
“That’s where we’ll go then.”
“We’ll have you covered,” Maverick said, Adam agreeing.
Then it was time to watch It’s a Wonderful Life. The guys all took seats on sofas and chairs. Josh smiled at her and pulled her into his arms, and the guys were quiet until the scene where Uncle Billy lost the money he was supposed to take to the bank.
“That was $8,000, worth $100,000 today,” Mr. Lee said.
“Now that’s a lot of cash to be carrying around in an envelope,” Adam said.
“Hell, you know that $242 that the bank loan customer took out? That would be the equivalent of $3,500 dollars,” Ethan said, figuring it out on his phone.
“The $17.50 would be worth $250 today,” Maverick said.
Brooke started to laugh. “I will never watch this movie again without thinking about the inflated value of money.”
The guys all laughed.
“Totally different perspective for me.” She snuggled against Josh and got all teary-eyed when George wanted to end his life because he was worth more money dead than alive. Some things never changed for her, and she loved that she could watch a movie that moved her and cuddle with her mate at the same time.
At the end of the movie, everyone agreed it was great, and then Maverick said, “Hey, want to watch Jingle All the Way?”
* * *
Josh deferred to Brooke because, even though he’d love to watch the movie and he knew they’d all be commenting on that one, too, and they were all having a good time, he was just as ready to make love to his mate on Christmas Day.
Brooke smiled. “That would be fun. I’d love to see how you guys react to that movie.”
“If I had a kid who asked for something for Christmas, I wouldn’t forget,” Ethan said.
“Ha! You get so caught up in your drug busts, you’d be just like the dad,” Adam said.
Mr. Lee admitted, “That was me when my kids were young.”
“I won’t be. I’ll be retired,” Josh said.
Everyone looked at him.
Brooke blushed.
He chuckled. He’d sort of walked into that one. But making beautiful babies with Brooke? That was next on the agenda, once the guys took off.
Mr. Lee eyed the Steiff reindeer on the mantel that Brooke had given Josh for Christmas. “That’s from my brother, isn’t it?�
�
“Yeah, from one of the boxes of stuff he gave me,” she said.
Suddenly, Mr. Lee and Josh were headed for the reindeer.
“I didn’t see that in any of the boxes,” Ethan said.
“Me neither,” Adam said.
“Not me either,” Josh said.
“I didn’t want Josh to see it because it was a Christmas surprise,” Brooke said, sounding guilty, like she’d done the wrong thing.
Josh smiled as Mr. Lee pulled a thread loose from the belly of the little reindeer and out popped a thumb drive.
Chapter 30
Brooke pulled out her laptop, and everyone gathered around to see what was on the thumb drive. It showed videos of the men who had broken into Brooke’s shop talking to Mr. Gulliver about drug shipments. And his stepdaughter, Daisy, arguing about where they should be sent.
“They shouldn’t be sent to a stupid antique shop. Sure, the lady’s old and she’d probably never figure out what’s in the pottery, but what if she puts them out to sell?” Daisy said.
“Have you got another location to ship them to that would be more secure?” Gulliver asked Ackerson.
“A warehouse.”
“Which we raided and took possession of the cocaine,” Mr. Lee said for everyone’s information.
“Not all of it,” Josh reminded him.
Another video revealed the stepdaughter arguing with her stepfather. “Your daughter lives in Paris. She’s not interested in running the family business. Neither of your sons are interested either. They’re in Geneva. Let me run part of the business to show you how well I can do. You know I can be as ruthless and cunning as you.”
“You’re only my stepdaughter,” Gulliver said. “My sons will tire of Geneva, and when they do, they’ll return home to run the business.”
Daisy laughed. “You always said I was like one of your own kids, but when it comes to business, I’m not. Fine. Have it your way. Not.” She pulled out a gun. He raised his hands in a pleading way, but she shot him in the chest with a bang, and he crumpled to the floor.
Brooke gasped, not expecting that. She thought… Well, she didn’t know what she thought. That Mr. Gulliver would reconsider? He probably would have had her terminated after threatening him. “Your brother caught all this on video?”
“Yeah. He always wanted to be like me—catching the bad guys, putting them in jail where they belong. He turned out to be the best undercover agent he could have been. At least he didn’t die in vain.”
“I’m sorry I never got to meet your brother,” Brooke said. “He was a true hero.”
“He was,” Mr. Lee said.
Brooke said, “I can’t believe I hid the reindeer from Josh for a Christmas present when it had the thumb drive concealed inside it.”
“You protected Jingles, and now this little reindeer is going to protect you, once the evidence on the drive puts Daisy and the others away for a very long time,” Josh said.
Ethan, Adam, and Mr. Lee were going to the police bureau to sort out the files on the thumb drive and get with the local FBI and DEA, too, since the Gullivers had been involved in drugs, murder, and other criminal activities across state lines.
“If you want to go with them, you can, Josh,” Brooke encouraged. “These are your cases too.”
“Hell no. I’m retiring, and my place is here with you,” Josh said while the other guys waited to hear the verdict.
Brooke had found her own hero in Josh, who would set aside this other important business to be with her.
When the guys left, Maverick gave Brooke and Josh a hug. “Merry Christmas. I’ve got to get home to the reindeer since the ranch hands have Christmas off and Adam and the others are coming over later to watch movies and have dinner there. Thanks for all my gifts. It makes up for me not getting the girl.” He winked at Brooke, and she smiled.
They wished him a Merry Christmas and saw him off, and then Brooke and Josh returned to the warm house, Christmas lights sparkling on the tree, the fire crackling in the fireplace. It was time to enjoy their Christmas as mated wolves. Though she wanted to repair the poor little Steiff reindeer.
Josh had only one notion in mind. He kissed her, scooped her up, and hauled her back to the bedroom. Christmas would never be the same for her. And she was glad about that!
Epilogue
After Christmas, both Lucas and his friend Ty helped to work off their community service debt to Josh and Maverick by mucking out reindeer stalls, but Josh also had them demonstrate how they hacked into the security video. What they loved best was they got to show off the reindeer to visiting tour groups. His friend Ty was glad Lucas had finally been adopted into a family and had his own girlfriend so Ty could continue to see Sandy as his own.
Josh and Brooke managed to free up two of the second-floor rooms at the shop. They decorated the first with seasonal merchandise, and the second contained consignments from the wolves in the pack. Maverick’s beautiful signs were on display all over the shop. Almost daily, a wolf would come in to have Brooke appraise some item’s value or bring arts and crafts to consign. She loved it because she felt really connected to the wolf pack members.
All the men and the one woman charged with the crimes against Brooke were in custody, awaiting trial. Ethan was still working on the Colombian cocaine case. And Mr. Lee had to return to Florida where he was based, but he had already wished them a happy new year, and Brooke and Josh wanted to keep in touch with him.
Come spring, she, Josh, and Maverick intended to go through the old homestead and its storage places to look for treasures they no longer wanted.
The guys would soon put in her dream kitchen, and she couldn’t have been more pleased. And she’d found her great-aunt’s diaries. Ivy had been to China and traded some other merchandise for the vases, way back when they must not have been valued at much. As for the Santa Claus suit and Natalie’s clothes from the movie? A friend who’d worked on the set had given them to her because the movie had been Ivy’s favorite Christmas story from way back then.
Now Brooke and Josh were getting ready to celebrate the new year with the pack, and she was wearing the red gown after it had been professionally cleaned. It was beautifully vintage, and she felt sexy and unique wearing it.
Josh smiled and raised his brows. “I told you that you’d look great in that dress. I just couldn’t envision how much so.” He took her hands and leaned down and kissed her mouth. “You are beautiful. When I first met you, I was hoping I could convince you to spend New Year’s Eve with me.”
She smiled up at him. “When you still thought I was guilty of stealing your reindeer? Or after you cleared me?”
He chuckled. “Before. I really didn’t think you had stolen the calf.”
“I had an accomplice, right?”
“Hell, I wanted to see more of you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “You got your wish. So did I.”
Nothing could make the new year better than being mated to the wolf she loved. “You were meant to be my partner in all things.”
“I agree with you about that. You know what made it happen?”
“One adorable little reindeer calf named Jingles. Well, and one teen wolf on a lark.”
* * *
Josh loved Brooke with all his heart. She was the only wolf for him. He would never forget the way they’d met. The way she’d been so annoyed with him for not searching for any other suspects in Jingles’s case. How could he when he’d already found the wolf he wished to be with?
She was truly beautiful in her vintage red dress, and he wanted to ring in the new year as soon as possible so he could peel her right out of that dress and make love to her to bring in the new year right.
He was still thankful that Lucas had borrowed Jingles, that Brooke had taken care of him and her customers had shared the news with the world, and t
hat he was the first one who met the she-wolf, got to know her, and fell in love.
His new year had begun in that moment. “I love you, Brooke, with all my heart.”
“I love you too. Let’s go celebrate with the pack and return home to show each other just how much.”
He took her out to the Ferrari, and they drove to the pack leaders’ ranch in style, everyone cheering them when they got there, several of the guys wanting to check out the car.
Josh was ready to make the hot moves with Brooke while they were dancing.
“You know we’re here now at the ranch,” she told him. She held him close, dancing with her hot little body tight against his.
“Yeah?”
“We should ring in the new year the way only wolves can.”
He groaned.
She kissed his mouth, spearing his tongue, caressing, rubbing against him.
“At home after midnight.”
“After we run as wolves.”
He sighed. “You know you’re killing me, don’t you?”
She laughed. “Yeah, but you love it.”
And so they did just that. Danced, toasted to the new year, and ran as wolves, howling to the new year in the way only wolves could, and then made love back home that night under a full and glorious moon.
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Donna Fournier who is always looking up unique sayings for clothes, or fun little details to add, or reminding me in snowy stories when I’m writing during the heat of the Houston summer, when it’s 107 degrees Fahrenheit, that the characters in the story need some hats, gloves, and warm winter parkas, and the ground and lakes and rivers might be frozen. And thanks to Darla Taylor and Donna for beta reading for me at the last hour and catching so many of my typos and other mistakes. I appreciate Deb Werksman for believing in me from the very beginning over a decade ago and giving me the opportunity to share with my readers from all over the world. And thanks to the fantastic cover artists who give my characters a visual appeal—both human and wolf—and combine that with a setting that makes them world-class covers.