by Terry Spear
She shouldn’t be overanalyzing this so much. If she were a guy, just a partner, she wouldn’t be. Which made her realize how much she wanted to be more than just his partner.
“Okay, sure. Works for me.” In the meantime, she would check on Lori and Rose. They had to be more than distraught over the whole business. If they didn’t want to talk about it, that was fine, but she wasn’t letting Allan speak for them.
As soon as they ended the call, she headed over to the ranching community of Cottage Grove where Rose’s house, a new two-story log home, had been recently built on an acre of her mother’s property behind her home. Rose’s husband, Everett Johnston, had actually built it and Debbie loved how beautiful and remarkable it was.
She really liked how much the family stayed together. She imagined how helpful it would be for Rose’s mom to live right there. When Rose needed help with the triplets, she would have it.
On the drive to Rose’s place, Debbie mulled over all that Rowdy had told her, wondering what really had happened.
* * *
Allan was glad to learn from the receptionist at the clinic that Debbie had left twenty minutes earlier. He needed to speak with Franny in private and didn’t want to have to make excuses about that to Debbie.
At the reception desk, Yvonne Messner frowned at him when he arrived, and he wondered what was wrong now.
“That homicide detective, Rowdy Sanderson, was here, talking to your dive partner in private. She seemed surprised and then upset. I tried to listen in, but I was fielding calls about Franny and the baby and missed out on it. I did overhear him telling her about Lori and Rose discovering the body.”
“Thanks, Yvonne. She just told me.” Allan liked Rowdy. He was a friendly sort, but Rowdy really liked Debbie. Allan couldn’t help feeling a little possessive about her in a wolf way, which he had no right feeling.
“Franny is with her baby in room three. She’s expecting you.”
“Thanks.”
When he reached the room, he found Franny lying in bed with Stacy, both sound asleep. He hated to disturb them, but being a wolf, Franny instantly smelled his scent and opened her eyes.
“You’ll keep what I have to say private?” she asked before he could inquire about how she was feeling.
“If the person who forced you into the culvert did so on purpose and I’m investigating it, I can’t guarantee the word won’t get out. I’ll be discreet, and Lori and Paul will have to be kept informed, but otherwise, we’ll try to keep it between ourselves.”
“I…I don’t want my husband knowing.”
Allan raised his brows marginally, then took a seat next to the hospital bed so he didn’t tower over her and appear intimidating.
“We can have lovers—human lovers, I mean—before we’re mated to a wolf, you know,” Franny said. “So I saw this guy for a while, too long really. Not just for a few times, but we dated seriously for a couple of months. I even had the notion of turning him. I know it was foolish. His name is Cleveland Hawkins. Then I met my mate and knew he was the one for me. That was about a year and a half ago. We found your pack and the perfect job opportunity for Gary as the chef at the new Italian restaurant. And we wanted to raise our baby with the pack.
“Cleveland was angry when I called it quits with him and started stalking me. He threatened Gary. He drove a red Camaro. I mean, I can’t be one hundred percent positive, but it looked like his car. I saw the guy’s camo cap. I really couldn’t get a good look at more than that, but I’m fairly certain it was him. My gut reaction when I saw the car was that it was him.”
“And he swerved his vehicle at yours, causing you to lose control?”
“Yeah. If I’d hit him, I probably would have totaled his car, but I automatically swerved to miss his vehicle and lost control.”
“Are you certain the driver’s car didn’t just slip on ice? When I was in the vicinity, my hatchback did.”
Franny took a deep breath and nodded. “It’s possible. But what if it is him?”
“I’ll definitely check into it. When was the last time you saw him?”
“Stalking me? Before we moved here, which was four months ago. I thought that was the end of seeing him.”
“And you came here from Boise, Idaho?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever meet his family?”
“No.”
“Friends?”
“Just one. Some guy who was a hunter like him. They’d been in the military and were best friends. The two of them loved playing paintball, and they both loved to hunt and fish.”
“Job?”
“He worked in a pawn shop. I don’t want Gary to know about it because he’d kill him. And then get himself into all kinds of hot water.”
“If this truly is a case of Cleveland Hawkins stalking you, then Gary and everyone in the pack needs to know—for your protection, Gary’s, and Stacy’s. We’ll talk to Gary. Make sure he knows how important it is for us to handle matters the best we can. But if this guy comes after you, Gary needs to be there to protect you and the baby too.”
Looking sad, Franny nodded.
“We’ll call a meeting between you, Gary, Paul, Lori, and me. We’ll all come up with some plans to handle different scenarios.”
“Okay.”
After reassuring Franny that they’d take care of this if the guy was still stalking her, Allan left the clinic and called Lori to tell her what was up.
“I’ll make arrangements for a meeting as soon as she and the baby are released from the clinic,” Lori said. “We need to get on this right away if what she suspects is true.”
“Agreed.” Allan couldn’t believe all the trouble their pack was having with the new members who had joined them, but he was glad he and the original pack members could help out.
He hoped Franny was wrong and the other driver had just slipped on ice and was an ass for not checking her and the baby’s welfare. But he was prepared to take harsher measures against the guy if what Franny suspected was really true.
* * *
When Debbie arrived at Rose’s house, she saw someone peek through the blinds. Debbie got out of the car and headed for the door.
Rose opened the front door with her mother, Catherine Rappaport, standing just behind her. Debbie was glad Rose’s mother was there for her. Rose’s face was so pale, she had to still be reeling from the frightening experience. “Hi, it’s me, Debbie Renaud. I came to see you after hearing what you witnessed. Can we talk?”
“Thanks for dropping by.” Rose quickly ushered Debbie inside.
Catherine looked just as shaken.
“Listen, I know Allan and Paul are here for you, but I want you to know that I’m also available to talk or assist with anything else. Whatever you need,” Debbie said as they led her into the living room. Sometimes women just needed other women to talk to.
“I was just fixing hot chocolate for us. Would you like some too?” Catherine asked.
“Um, sure. That would be really nice. Thank you,” Debbie said, glad they seemed to appreciate her dropping by.
Rose motioned for her to have a seat on a chair across from the couch where she sat.
“I’m so sorry about what happened to you. Allan didn’t tell me or I would have come sooner. I had to hear it from the homicide detective in charge of the case, who happens to be a friend. Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No, thank you for asking though,” Rose said.
Catherine brought in mugs of cocoa on a tray that she set on the glass-topped coffee table. She sat next to her daughter and motioned to the mugs. “Please, have one. And thanks for coming by. It was awful. Who would have done something so ugly?” She shook her head. “Too many sick people in the world.”
“I agree. From what Rowdy said, everybody’s looking into this around their own workloads.” D
ebbie wanted to mention how concerned everyone was, but she didn’t want to get into it any more than that. “How are you feeling, Rose?” Allan’s sister was petite, so carrying triplets made her look as though she was due any second.
“Oh, just fine. The babies are kicking away, especially at night. Thankfully, Everett gives the best foot and back massages. What I can’t get used to is my protruding belly.” Rose rubbed her hand over her stomach. “I keep forgetting it’s there despite how big it is, and when I go to open doors, especially the fridge door, it’s in the way.”
Debbie laughed. She was glad to hear Rose seemed to be all right. It was good she had such a supportive network to help her through this, and she seemed to be in good spirits, if a little pale. Her mother still looked anxious.
They talked about the recent snow, and Rose wanted to know all about the baby Allan had saved earlier from the flooded SUV in the culvert. He had said Debbie played a major part in the rescue, which was sweet of him. She wanted to deny it was true, but didn’t want to contradict him.
“How do you like working with Allan?” Catherine suddenly asked.
Debbie couldn’t help her reaction. Her cheeks heated with embarrassment. Did his mom know how much she loved working with Allan? That she hoped more than a friendship could develop?
“He’s great to work with. He treats me like a partner should.” Though all the men on the diving team were really great sports.
Rose and Catherine exchanged glances, but Debbie—despite all her police training—couldn’t read their feelings in that shared instant.
“Well, I’d better be getting back to the office. I still need to write up that report, dig a little more into another case, and then share a pizza with Allan later.”
“You’re having a pizza,” Catherine said, frowning.
“Oh sure, I know it’s not the most nutritious food, but I’ve been craving one ever since he mentioned going out to have one.” Not that Debbie believed his mother was concerned about nutrition. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but his family seemed to be acting a little oddly about the fact that she and Allan were now partners.
“Allan did?” Catherine said, as if she had thought it was all Debbie’s idea to go out together.
Debbie sighed dramatically, then rose from her seat. “Yeah. Before my previous partner retired, we used to go out every Friday night for pizza. He was a widower, a fatherly type, and we enjoyed letting our hair down after work. I haven’t done that in about a year. So I mentioned it to Allan, and he suggested we go out for pizza. We meant to do it for lunch, but…” She stopped speaking. She didn’t want to bring up the murder again.
The ladies really didn’t need to know all her and Allan’s business, especially if they didn’t approve for whatever reason. But some small part of her did care what his family thought about her. Since the family was so close knit, she thought they’d probably want to approve of her if things between her and Allan got serious. Maybe they were worried that she might hurt Allan if things didn’t work out.
She wasn’t even sure if she could handle being that close with family. She’d never had anything like that growing up. Not that there was anything going on between her and Allan, but…
“Thanks so much for dropping by. Some of the other police officers said they’d drive by here at different times, just to ensure there’s no trouble,” Catherine said.
“Good. I’m glad to hear it.”
“Thanks, Debbie,” Rose added. “I really appreciate you coming by.”
“It was good to see you again,” Catherine said, and both ladies walked her to the door.
“I hope my coming here wasn’t too much of an intrusion. I just wanted to offer my services. Call me anytime if you need anything at all.”
With final thanks and good-byes, Debbie headed back to the office, wishing she’d further clarified that she and Allan were not dating.
As she always did when she was driving, she watched traffic around her, behind her, in front of her, and pulling out of roads on either side of the main one she was driving on. She did so because of her police training, watching for any misdeeds, but when she glanced at her rearview mirror again, she swore a black sedan had followed her from somewhere close to Rose’s house all the way to the town where Debbie worked. That was forty miles away.
When she parked at the sheriff’s office, the vehicle turned off on a street two blocks away. She had planned to get the driver’s license plate number when he went past her. She admitted she was probably being paranoid. But on the other hand, if she saw a car like that following her again, she’d call in his license plate to have him checked out—just in case she wasn’t being paranoid.
Chapter 5
Allan got a call from Rose and picked up immediately, concerned that something was seriously wrong. He’d been worried his sister or Lori might go into premature labor over this whole murder business.
“Allan, just a quick heads-up. We had an unexpected visitor,” Rose said. “Debbie Renaud came by the house to offer assistance if I needed it.”
Now that was one scenario he’d never expected. “Hell, I told her everything was fine when she asked me. What did she say?” Allan didn’t want Debbie having anything to do with the family, in the event some nutcase was looking to take down werewolves and thought she might be one too.
“She didn’t say anything about the case, and we just let on that it was awful, which it was. Then we talked about other subjects. What could Mom and I tell her? No, we couldn’t talk to her? She was really sweet and making sure I was okay. She also assured me she’d help us out anytime we wanted her to. But what’s this business with you taking her out for pizza?”
“That’s what this call is all about? It’s not a date. We’re partners, remember?”
“You’re not a widowed, fatherly type, unlike the retired partner she used to have pizza with on Friday nights,” Rose told him.
“Hell, Rose, it’s not a date. She’s been missing her old partner. He was her mentor, and I do things a little differently so it’s taken some getting used to. I just thought it would be a nice thing to do.”
“If you say so.”
“She’s human. I have no intention of being anything more than her dive partner on the job.” And why was he explaining himself to his sister?
“You haven’t dated any of the single wolves in our pack.” Rose had brought that fact up more times than he cared to think about. Some of it was because the women thought that if they talked to his sister, she could convince him to start dating one of them.
He hadn’t wanted to. The truth of the matter was that he really liked Debbie, even though he knew nothing could come of it. She and he loved to dive, for one thing. And with the criminal investigations and rescue missions, they both were really into their jobs. As for any of the new she-wolves in the pack, he had no real connection with any of them, except that they were lupus garous like him. There had to be more to a relationship that would last a lifetime if they mated.
“Got to go, Sis.”
“All right. But remember… If this maniac comes after us, and he sees her with you too much, he might also go after her.”
“We work together. She’s a police diver. And we’re fairly new partners. So if he knows about the family, that’s one thing. If he’s watching us, I don’t want her around the rest of the family.”
“I know. I’m just saying this business with you taking her out for pizza…”
He let out his breath, annoyed with this discussion, but then remembered what a shock she and Lori had had earlier today. “Are you really all right?”
“Yeah, Everett’s here. Mom’s here too. We’re fine. Just…be careful with her.”
Like Rose had been careful with Everett? Even though Everett was a wolf, she’d gotten into a mess with him all on her own, so Allan really didn’t think she should be offering him
advice on relationships. “Talk to you later.”
When he arrived at the pizzeria, the parking lot was packed. He spied Debbie’s blue Ford Escort parked out front. Allan also recognized Rowdy’s bright red sedan parked nearby. Frowning, but not wanting to make anything of Rowdy’s presence—it was a Friday and the pizza place was really popular with locals—Allan headed inside the busy restaurant.
The jukebox was playing golden oldies and the lights were dimmed. Three cooks stood at butcher-block tables behind glass windows, tossing pizzas in the air as they put on a show while making them.
Allan loved the atmosphere in the place. Long, dark wooden tables and benches filled the center of the restaurant. A mix of booths, some small for more intimate parties and others larger for family and friend gatherings, were situated along three of the walls. A long bar accommodated a dozen patrons as they sat on red vinyl seats, drinking and conversing. The place was a mix of old world, mountain view, and rustic. The ceiling fans, green crystal lanterns, and drink glasses lining the dark, smoky mirror all added to the ambience.
He glanced around the room to see if he could locate Debbie and spotted her talking to Rowdy, who was standing next to the jukebox and making a selection. Allan shouldn’t have cared, but he didn’t like that Rowdy was talking to Debbie, smiling and laughing along with her as if they were on a date.
“Only You” by the Platters began to play.
Why should it matter that the two of them were enjoying each other’s company? They all worked for law enforcement in some capacity. Allan couldn’t get involved with Debbie. Yet he felt all growly in that instant, wanting to show his alpha posturing and let Rowdy know to back off. What would Debbie think of that? And Rowdy? He’d probably get a kick out of it.
But the warier side of his nature kicked in. What were the odds Rowdy just happened to be here alone at the same time as Debbie was here? Allan thought back to how Rowdy just happened to drop in at the clinic at the same time Debbie was there. Hell, was he stalking her?