Wolf Protector's Secret Baby

by Scarlett Ray

  “Don’t think this is an easy decision for us. We’ve been thinking over all our options. We’re still thinking, in fact. But if things don’t get better sometime soon, leaving might be our only choice,” Jared pushed to his feet and took a few steps closer, trying to catch my eye. “We ain’t the bad guys, son. That girl ain’t our blood, so she ain’t our concern. Nothing else to it.”

  “Right,” I shoved my hands into my pockets and turned to leave. “Thanks for listening.”

  “Don’t you hurt that Hawthorne boy,” he called after me. “You’ll be hurting the whole pack. Don’t do that to us.”

  “I understand.” I understand exactly how powerless I am right now. I don’t need to be reminded.

  Chapter Twenty-One: Dani

  When I went into the office on Monday, of course, there was more bad news waiting. Maggie was in my office when I got there, wringing her hands and looking like she might burst into tears. Part of me wanted to be angry with her for telling Noah what should’ve been my secret to tell, but another part said there was no point. What good would that anger do me?

  “Something wrong?” I came over to gingerly touch her shoulder, and she didn’t push me away. Maybe she agreed holding grudges wouldn’t help anything.

  “Yes. I don’t know what happened. Some kind of problem in Finance or maybe just some lost information, I don’t know—”

  “Maggie. Just calm down and tell me what’s going on.”

  “The money from the gala…” she shook her head. “It’s gone.”

  “What? How is that possible?” We’d raised over $200,000 that night! That money was supposed to go toward advertising, paychecks, overtime for the rangers who had searched the place. We could not afford for it to be gone.

  “We don’t know yet. And there’s this…” she led me around to look at my computer, where she had a news article pulled up. The headline read: “Some things don’t belong to us.” – Vasquez Preserve Owner Blames Victim of Wolf Attack. There was a photo of me giving my speech, and of course, they’d chosen one where I looked angry.

  “What in God’s name…” How could anyone hear the speech I had given and get that out of it? “Who in the hell wrote this? I never said Miguel was to blame!”

  “There are lots of them out there saying the same things, that you care more about keeping your preserve the way you want than you do about the safety of your visitors. I think… I think someone might be paying for these articles, Dani. Someone who doesn’t like you.” More than worried now, she looked afraid, “What if someone is trying to hurt you? Was there anyone at the gala who seemed like they didn’t like you?”

  “I mean, one or two, but why would they go to all this trouble to sabotage me just because they don’t like me? Why sabotage our nonprofit that only exists to help the goddamn planet and preserve some fucking wildlife?!” Maggie flinched from my shouting, so I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down for her sake, “I’m sorry. None of that’s directed at you. I just don’t understand people.”

  “We’ll figure it out, sugar. We’ll find out who’s doing this and see what we can do to put a stop to it. Whatever happened with the donation money, we’ll figure that out too. It’s nothing that can’t be fixed.” She wrapped her arms around me and gave me a squeeze, “Now I told Tina to email you whatever she finds out about the money. I’m gonna work on getting this”—she gestured to the article on my computer—“sorted out. Don’t you go reading those; they’ll just make you angry. I’ll be right next door if you need me.” And she bustled out of my office to get back to work.

  Collapsing into my desk chair, I dropped my head into my hands. Here I had just started to be hopeful that things would improve for the preserve, that I had finally done something right. Maybe I should’ve known better. With these articles coming out labeling me careless and selfish, people were even less likely to visit. There were plenty of other parks, after all. Ones with better press.

  And what did that mean for the rest of the town? We were never exactly rolling in cash to begin with, so without more coming in from outside sources, things were just going to get worse. I’d already seen plenty of businesses hurting for money. Nearly everyone in town depended on the preserve one way or another, and there I was running it into the damn ground. My eyes started to prickle with tears, but I quickly rubbed them away. Crying wouldn’t do anyone any good, and besides, I didn’t have any right to pity myself.

  Just find a solution. Whatever it takes. Fix this.

  * * *

  After the morning’s stress and a none-too-promising report from Maggie about our financial situation (in a word, “bad”), I forced myself out of the office to get lunch from Rosie’s. When I got there, the place was practically deserted. It looked like Camilla was the only waitress working. She saw me come in and managed a tight smile.

  “Hey, you. Been a while,” she said, coming over to my table.

  “Yeah. I’ve had a lot going on at work.”

  “Must be nice,” she muttered, looking around the nearly-empty room, and I winced at my careless wording.

  “Has it been like this a lot lately?”

  “Mm-hm. And not just here. Hardly anyone’s getting any business. Which means they don’t have money to go spend other places and so on. Whole town’s just a mess.” It was strange seeing her like that, so hopeless and deflated. Well, it should’ve been strange, but she’d been in this depressed, short-tempered mood for the past month or so, not at all like her usual peppy self. “So, what can I get you?”

  “The usual, I guess.”

  Camilla gave me a cool half-smile, “You’ll have to remind me what that is, hon.” Had it really been that long since I’d come in? I almost felt like I shouldn’t even be there, like I was intruding somehow. How had it gotten to this point? To the point where I felt like a trespasser in places that used to feel like home? How had I gotten so out of touch with my own town?

  I gave my order properly and went silent as Camilla wandered off to the kitchen. This visit wasn’t having the de-stressing effect that I’d hoped it would. If anything, I felt worse now. I got another text from Will, probably the fourth one since that morning, but I didn’t look at it. I didn’t have the energy to deal with him at the moment. My relationship situation was a whole ‘nother terrible can of worms to deal with.

  When Camilla brought over my food, I tried talking to her again, “So, uh, how are the boys? Luke still working with his parents? They probably haven’t had any troubles lately, huh?”

  “They’re fine, Dani,” she sounded tired. “They’re all fine.”

  “Good,” I muttered, stirring my tea with my straw, unable to look at her. She must have noticed how miserable I was, though.

  “I’m sorry, honey,” she said, sitting down in front of me and running a hand through her hair. “I know I’m being ugly, and I don’t mean to. We’re just going through a lot of changes right now, and it’s been a little rough. Eleanor’s even thinking about closing the place down.”

  “You mean for good?” The idea was almost impossible to imagine; Rosie’s had been in business nearly as long as Palo Verde itself had existed, and Eleanor was just the latest of Rosie’s descendants to take over.

  “Look around. The tiny bit of business we’re doing is hardly enough to keep the lights on. If no one’s going to come in, there’s no point wasting money to keep the doors open, is there?”

  “God,” I muttered, shaking my head. “I’m so sorry. Have you thought about finding a new job, or…?”

  “Welllll,” she seemed reluctant all of a sudden, nervously avoiding my eyes, “I’m not sure that’s going to be a problem.”

  “What do you mean?”

  After a few seconds of tense silence, she admitted, “Luke’s been talking about moving.”

  “You’re leaving town?” I couldn’t contain the shock in my voice. If any of the Wrights were going to stay, surely it would be Luke and his family.

  “Not just us. Jared a
nd Mel too. A lot of the family, actually.” She almost seemed apologetic, like they were doing something wrong, “There’s just not much here for us. We’re all hurting for money, and some of us are scared that…well, that the town won’t be here much longer.”

  “Good Lord!” I said, shocked nearly beyond words. What else was I supposed to say? Did they all think of this as my fault too? And suddenly I wondered if Noah was part of the group thinking about leaving. Was that why he couldn’t be with me? Because he was leaving town with the rest of his family?

  “I’m sorry, Dani,” getting up from her seat, Camilla patted my shoulder gently. “We don’t want to leave, but it feels like we don’t have much choice. Let me know if you need anything else, okay?” I nodded silently as she walked away.

  The Wrights had been in town for as long as my family. They were supposed to be inseparable from Palo Verde, a permanent fixture. And they were going to leave? “A lot” of them? If I had any doubts that the town was dying, this had banished them completely. If even the Wright family was giving up on us, our situation must be pretty hopeless.

  * * *

  I went back to the office in even worse spirits than when I’d left. I wasn’t the kind of person who gave up when things got hard, but the more I thought about all the problems we were facing, the harder it was to believe I could solve them by myself.

  “Hey.” Will’s voice made me jump, and I cussed under my breath. He winced as he came into the office. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you. I just hadn’t heard from you since yesterday, so…I was starting to worry.”

  “I wasn’t ignoring you on purpose,” I lied. “Just been busy. A lot’s been going on, and I’m having a hard time juggling all of it.”

  Of course, my relationship with Will was on the list of issues cluttering my head. I had more or less decided I was going to end things with him. Even if I couldn’t be with the man I wanted, there was no point trying so hard to replace him. Will would never be able to fill Noah’s place in my life—or in Nicky’s. But at the moment, I was too focused on keeping the town afloat to deal with a breakup too.

  “I thought the gala was supposed to make work easier for you. What’s going on now?”

  With a heavy sigh, I explained what Maggie had told me that morning, how the gala had basically backfired and blown up in my face, how I might have made things even worse with my speech. Then I added on my worries about the town’s livelihood, what Camilla had told me during my visit to Rosie’s, the fact that everyone’s misfortune was basically my fault. Detailing all of it out loud only made me feel worse about the whole situation; when I listed all our problems at once, the situation sounded pretty hopeless.

  “So unless I can find some miracle fix for all the damage I’ve done to the preserve’s reputation, Palo Verde is pretty much dead in the water,” I concluded, exhausted from addressing all that discomfort at once.

  “Dani, none of this is your fault,” Will came around my desk to kneel in front of my chair and take my hands in his. “The wolf attack wasn’t your fault. The drop in attendance wasn’t your fault. It’s admirable that you want to make this right for everyone, but it isn’t your responsibility.”

  “Who else is going to do it? The preserve has been providing for people ever since it opened, and now that I’ve taken over, it’s suddenly tanking. You think that’s a coincidence? You think that’s not my fault?” I demanded. “It is my responsibility. This town and the people in it are everything to me. I would do anything—I will do whatever I have to to make sure they’re secure.” If only I had any idea of what I needed to do.

  “I understand,” Will’s thumb ran over the back of my hand, and I forced myself not to pull away from him. “I can see how much this means to you. If you’re that serious about it, and if you’re willing to accept my help, I think…I may have an idea that could work.”

  “I’m too desperate to be proud,” I said plainly. “And I’ll take all the help I can get. What do you have in mind?”

  He reached up to my cheek, leading me to look him in the eye, “Marry me.”

  “What?” I recoiled at the thought, yanking my hands back and staring at him like he’d lost his mind. “Are you serious?”

  “Absolutely. With my family’s name attached to the preserve, no one would even think of criticizing it. We could repair its reputation and encourage people to visit again. That would help the rest of the town, wouldn’t it?”

  “I…guess.”

  “And if I stayed here, I could set up an office, a new branch of our corporation,” he went on. “That would definitely bring in more revenue. I could even help you with managing the preserve.” When I didn’t answer, too shocked to even process what he was saying, Will let out a sigh, “I know this is sudden. I know we haven’t been together long. But I care about you, Dani. I want to make sure you, your son, and this town you love so much are all taken care of. I understand if you’d rather not, but I needed to make the offer at least.”

  When I finally managed to force out an answer, my voice was weak, shaking, “I…I don’t know, Will. Can I have some time to think about it?”

  “Of course. As much time as you need,” he got to his feet and kissed my cheek softly. “Whatever you decide, I’ll still be here for you.” With a hesitant smile, he left me alone in my office to work my body out of shock.

  There I was thinking about breaking things off with him, and now he wanted to get married. Sure, it was mostly for the sake of helping me help the town, but that didn’t change all the other implications that came with it. I knew already that I didn’t love Will. But the man I loved wasn’t available to me, so what point was there in holding out for him? And maybe I could learn to love Will in time. Maybe Nicky could get used to him too.

  Didn’t I just say I would do anything for this town?

  Chapter Twenty-Two: Noah

  I was in the stables at Jared and Mel’s farm, trying to talk Luke out of moving, when I got a call from Maggie. There was badly-hidden panic in her voice, and I could picture her face all red and screwed up with worry, “Noah? I need your help with something. Dani needs your help.”

  I was still sore from my fight with Dani the day before, but if she needed me, there was no question about whether I’d go to her, “What’s wrong? Is everyone okay?”

  Luke was brushing out one of the horses and paused to steal a suspicious look at me. He had probably heard Dani’s name mentioned and immediately assumed I was getting involved in something I shouldn’t.

  “Yes and no. She’s in a bad way, worrying herself sick over the preserve and the town,” Maggie was speaking quietly, probably in her office and trying not to be overheard by Dani. “We had even more bad news this morning, and she’s not taking it well. And then that Hawthorne boy came in, and…Lord have mercy, I think she might marry him, Noah.”

  “What?” I shouted without meaning to, spooking some of the horses. I couldn’t even manage an apology to Luke as I rushed out of the stables, holding my phone so tight I thought I might crush it. “Where the hell did that come from? Why would she even consider doing something like that?”

  “She’s scared! And he has her convinced he can make everything better with all his money and his family name, et cetera. I don’t know what she’s thinking, and I don’t know how to talk to her about it without her getting all defensive. I think it needs to be you.”

  “…you might be disappointed there, Maggie,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair. “It seems like every time I try talking to her, things just get worse and worse between us. I want to help, but I’m not sure—”

  “Noah,” Her tone was surprisingly sharp. “This is no time for you to be ‘not sure.’ This is important. You and I both know that boy doesn’t really care anything about her. Or about Nicky or this town. But she’s scared and desperate enough to not see that.”

  “I’ve tried telling her that already! She won’t listen to me. And after the argument we had yesterday, she thinks I don�
��t care about her either.” Not enough, at least. She thought I cared about something else more.

  “Is she right?”

  “Of course not!”

  “Then come down here and tell her that,” Maggie hissed.

  That was really easy for her to demand when she didn’t understand the whole story. She didn’t know any more about my family’s rules than Dani did. “You have no idea how bad I want to.”

  “Well that should be all there is to it!” she sounded frustrated, exasperated. “I’ll never understand how the two of y’all didn’t get this sorted out years ago. Do you love her?”

  There had never been any question about that in my mind. “Yes.”

  “Then there is nothing, and I mean nothing that should come before that! This woman is the mother of your child, your child who obviously needs you to be a part of his life. Now how can you possibly justify letting some other man take them from you?”

  Hell. When she put it that way, I couldn’t, and I felt like an idiot for trying. But I hadn’t been looking at it right. I’d thought my wanting to be with them was purely selfish. Keeping my distance was to protect them. I didn’t consider that they needed me around. But they did. Nicky needed me to teach him how to be a shifter. To say there was nothing wrong with him, even if other people didn’t understand him. Dani needed me to support her while she was struggling. Not to “save” her like Will was trying to do, but to remind her she could find a solution her own damn self.

  “Okay.” Why couldn’t I have made this decision weeks ago? Maybe it took a threat like this for me to get my priorities straight. “I’ll talk to her. I’ll head over there right now.”

  “Now that’s what I was hoping to hear,” Maggie sighed with relief. “Come on, then. You can’t get here too soon.”

  As I was putting my phone back in my pocket, Luke’s voice came from behind me, “She’s a nosy old hen, isn’t she?” He was standing in the stable doorway, arms crossed, probably eavesdropping on my call.