Reindeer Games

by Kristen Strassel

  Holiday Falls was a much-needed change of scenery. Coach sounded serious about courting me, which would end abruptly when I took the field. I hadn’t kicked in years. I hadn’t thought about kicking until Sebastian made the Bloodhounds. Nothing like seeing my best friend succeed to make me wonder what if.

  He gave everything up for that chance, my buck reminded me. Are you willing to do that?

  I wasn’t. I believed I could have it all. Even Delilah, who might be more of a long shot than making the team.

  Fool.

  My mate should’ve come from the herd. But as everyone else paired up, I found myself alone.

  My buck grumbled, hating that the most.

  The camera crew perched in the corner of the parking lot, waiting to strike. I didn’t get out of my truck right away. Delilah stood near the door, Jeremy circling her with his arms out like an airplane. She laughed and put her hand on his shoulder when a car came a little too close for comfort. My buck growled. She glanced at her phone, and then out at the parking lot. That look was in her eyes again, the one I wanted to make go away. It was time to start a new chapter.

  The one where the human side of me got what it needed.

  Maybe she needs you, my buck shocked the hell out of me. Even more than you need her.

  “Gunnar!” Jeremy stopped when he saw me, wrinkling his nose when he saw the flowers in my hand. “What are those for?”

  “You and I are going to have some serious guy talk and I thought your mom deserved something pretty for putting up with us.” I winked at Delilah and handed her the bouquet. “Alaskan wildflowers.”

  Our fingers brushed as she accepted them, the surge of energy passing between us my own sweet reward for risking everything to come to Holiday Falls. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. For that moment, there was no camera crew, no herd, and none of the shit that brought her to Alaska. It was just me and her.

  “They’re beautiful,” she said. “The crew made a reservation for us. After Sebastian and Naomi took off in the middle of their first date, production decided they had to take a little more control of the Werewife dates.”

  “Why am I not surprised?” I chuckled.

  Delilah didn’t think it was funny. She clutched Jeremy’s shoulder with her free hand. “They fled because Stefan showed up.”

  “It won’t happen tonight.” There were no guarantees, but I was familiar with Stefan’s work. “He wants me off the island. If he wants to stir up sh—trouble, he’ll make more of an impact on the island without me there.”

  “He wouldn’t do anything to...” She didn’t have to finish the thought.

  My buck was going crazy. You’ve left yourself exposed. This was a stupid idea.

  We were back to that. What happened to that sentimental stuff from a minute ago?

  She’s beautiful and I got distracted, he said. And that’s how you’ll get into trouble.

  I shook my head and put my hand on top of hers. The three of us were connected, and Jeremy peered up at me. “Did you bring any toys with you?” he asked.

  “Not tonight.” I wished I did. “But I hear this place makes some killer chicken fingers, so why don’t we go inside?”

  They’d been waiting for us. A few of the waitresses stood at the door and the diners turned when we entered. The hostess frowned at her seating chart. “We have a Werewife reservation for two.”

  Delilah glared at the camera crew. My buck was pretty pissed that Jeremy had been left out, too.

  “Table for three,” I said. “And a vase for the flowers.”

  Delilah pulled a pad of paper and a pack of colored pencils out of her bag as soon as we sat down, and pushed them across the table to Jeremy. He accepted them eagerly, and the pencil scratched the paper before he could possibly have a plan.

  “He loves to draw,” she said. Jeremy nodded beside me.

  “Do you take requests?” I asked.

  His face lit up. I liked this kid. “Sure.”

  “Draw the toys you want to make. We can’t make it happen until we get back to the shop. All my tools are there, but let’s come up with a plan so we know what we want to do.”

  His eyes widened. “When can we do that?”

  “Depends on what you come up with.” I tapped the paper. “I can’t wait to see what you’ve got.”

  Delilah watched her son get to work, her expression knotted with a mixture of pride and heartbreak. “He was really excited when I told him you called.”

  Jeremy’s pencil stopped scratching the paper. “Mom.”

  “Never apologize about what makes you happy.” I winked at Jeremy and he went back to work, but the red didn’t fade from his cheeks. I turned my attention back to his mother. “Were you excited that I called?”

  Blushing ran in the family. “Yes.”

  I wanted to make that color blossom all over her body just from running my fingers over her skin. I felt it, too. The exhilaration of having no idea what could happen if I took a chance. If I let go of all the shit holding me back.

  My buck huffed.

  “I called Sebastian, because I couldn’t get this guy out of my head.” I nudged Jeremy. “A lot of people come into the store and they appreciate what I do, but it’s not often I get to watch someone fall in love.”

  Delilah nodded. I was playing a dangerous game of hide and seek. Jeremy wasn’t the only one who fell that day. But I couldn’t tell her that. Yet.

  “He reminds me of myself at that age. But he’s not the only reason I wanted to see you again.”

  She ran her fingers over one of the silky petals in the middle of the table. A forget-me-not. “What was the other reason?”

  “Because his mother is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen on Faraway Island.” Our gazes caught. “The kind of woman I didn’t dare dream about.”

  “Gunnar—”

  “I know, it sounds crazy. There’s a thousand reasons why I should’ve let you walk out of the shop without a second thought.” I wouldn’t let her doubt herself. I shook my head, chuckling at the rumbling of my buck. “But everything in my life has led me to you.”

  She dipped her head, suppressing a chuckle that was anything but happy. She thinks you’re feeding her a line of bullshit, my buck said. I’d never been more honest in my life. It was like standing on ice and watching it crack.

  “I was thinking about that while I was getting ready for tonight.” She sighed, her gaze far away. “What I’m doing here. I probably look like a cleat-chaser so desperate to land a baller that I got my kid involved.”

  “No, you don’t.” My buck growled in warning. Whether he’d admit it or not, he liked it when she was near him. “I think you’re looking for a second chance.”

  “I am, but not because I didn’t get it right the first time.” The pain in her eyes was a tangible thing. I could reach out and touch it, but it would break me and I’d fall into the oblivion with her. “I nailed it the first time. I married my soulmate. We were married for twelve amazing years. No relationship is perfect, but ours was pretty close.”

  Yet, it was over. “What happened?”

  What did that bastard do to her? my buck demanded. Whatever it was, he broke Delilah’s heart.

  The waiter came, shattering the bubble that had formed around us. I’d forgotten about everything but Delilah, including the camera crew.

  Delilah glanced at Jeremy when the waiter left. He was deep into the drawing now, shading the top of the page to show clouds. The kid had some serious talent. He was so engrossed in the drawing he hadn’t stopped when the waiter came. His mother ordered chicken fingers for him.

  “Jon loved the outdoors—exploring, and any sort of extreme sport. That’s what brought us together.” She took a deep breath. “We used to camp, go whitewater rafting, and hiking. The more out of the way, the better. He went without us one weekend. We had some birthday parties to go to. It didn’t alarm me that I hadn’t heard from him. A lot of those places had no reception. So I had no idea somet
hing had gone terribly wrong until he didn’t come home that Sunday night.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “He had a heart issue that was never detected. The high altitude triggered the heart attack. I noticed he’d been more tired, but we were busy. I’ve been tired for a decade.” She pressed her lips together. “We didn’t find him right away, and I always wondered if things could’ve been different if I was with him that weekend.”

  I put my hand over hers. I craved the physical reaction it caused, but there was no way to prepare for it. “You can’t blame yourself for that.”

  “I know. But love’s a funny thing. I want it to be forever.” She flicked her gaze up to me. “It’s just how I am. Tonight, as I was getting ready, I realized how much Jon would get a kick out of me being on a reality show. Extreme dating, as we used to call these shows. I have to keep reminding myself it’s going to be different this time.”

  She’s setting herself up for disappointment, my buck said. Make a note of it. “Sounds like your husband set the bar pretty high.”

  “He did. But the worst part is seeing how much this one needs a father figure.” The dam that had been holding in all that pain broke, and tears spilled from her eyes. She picked up the cloth napkin and dabbed her cheeks. “Sorry. Don’t mean to be that date that unloads all her heavy crap before dinner.”

  “I’m glad you told me. I knew something had happened—”

  “That obvious, huh?”

  “Naomi said Jeremy lost his dad, so I knew you’d been hurt before,” I said. “And that you were trying hard to avoid it happening again.”

  That got her to smile. “Okay, enough about me. You must have some battle scars, too.”

  I’d dreaded this question, knowing it was coming ever since I laid eyes on Delilah. “Not really.”

  She narrowed her eyes, calling bullshit on that. “Come on.”

  “Nope.” The waiter came with our food. I got butternut squash ravioli, and Delilah got the crab salad. It wasn’t fair for me to not saying anything, after she’d bared her soul to me. I had no problem telling her about what I wanted, but one confession would have to do for the night.

  “We don’t have to talk about it now, with them here.” She jerked her head toward the crew. “But you can tell me what brought you to Holiday Falls.”

  “He came to see me.” Jeremy said as he dunked a chicken finger into honey mustard sauce.

  “I did.” I picked up the drawing. He’d drawn a mountain scene with a herd of deer. I wonder how much he understood about shifters. Most kept to themselves. “This is really good.”

  “Can we make that?” he asked.

  Deer were the first thing I’d learn to carve when I was about Jeremy’s age. “Sure can.”

  Delilah was beaming. “Is that the only reason?”

  “No. I called Sebastian so I could get in touch with you. I owe this guy some toy making lessons, but the truth is, I really wanted to see you.” She needed to know that. She needed someone to want her. “When I called, he said Coach Phelan wanted to talk to me. Their kicker got hurt. They need someone for this week’s game.”

  Her eyes widened. “Are you going to do it?”

  “Yeah, if Coach thinks I’m good enough.” Even though he might not have a whole hell of a lot of choice. “It’s not permanent, but it will be surreal to call myself a pro football player, even if it’s just for a week.”

  “That’s convenient.” Delilah grinned. “Because that means I’m contractually obligated to go on another date with you.”

  Trouble, my buck said, and it was getting tiresome. He kept warning me away without giving me a reason why. She’ll cause trouble. “Is that the only reason you’ll go on another date with me?”

  “Of course not.” The way she moved her fork against her bottom lip had a different part of me rumbling. “But don’t think that doesn’t mean you don’t have to work for it.”

  She likes the chase, my buck rumbled. “I plan on earning everything I get.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less,” she said.

  I liked this light in her eyes so much better. A little bit of mischief, beckoning me to follow her. And I would.

  Chase her, my buck rumbled, shocking the shit out of me. She loves the thrill of the chase.

  “Tomorrow night, we’ll celebrate you becoming an Alaska Bloodhound.”

  “WE’RE GOING TO PUT you through a basic workout with the team. I know it’s been a while since you played football, and I want to see what you can do.” Coach Phelan was a massive man, probably a bear shifter. Those guys had a tendency to lull other shifters into a false sense of security, but it was a good choice for a coach.

  The rest of the Bloodhounds were already out on the field when I joined them, running drills and warming up on bikes. The practice bubble was huge. I should’ve never said yes to this. My experience had been limited to backyards and the town green.

  You can do this. My buck was full of surprises since leaving Faraway Island. Like he’d been waiting the whole time to see there was more to the world than our pack, and now he was hungry for more.

  “Glad you’re here, man,” Sebastian said as he settled beside me for the warm up. “We need your energy on the team.”

  “Any issues I should be aware of?” Being the new guy was never easy.

  He shrugged as he stretched his legs. “Usual bullshit. Egos, guys who aren’t carrying their share of the load. They think they can coast through practice now that they’ve made the team. Problem is, it shows on game day.”

  The Bloodhounds had a strong showing in the first half of their first game, but blew a lead in the fourth quarter. I’d been at the game as a fan, on the sideline. It was easy to see the main issue—conditioning.

  We ran sprints before doing a scrimmage. Coach called me over. “Wanted you to meet the rest of the kicking unit. This is Colin, the punter, and Jonas, the long snapper. They can catch you up on some of the playbook basics. We study film after lunch.”

  I was getting baptized by fire—no kicking drills, no time to study. The offense drove down the field. Sebastian and Landon Fox, the quarterback, were on the same page, systematically shredding the defense. Of course, it would be a different story at full speed with an unfamiliar defense out for blood.

  “You gonna be ready to go, man?” Jonas asked. “Coach is making this easy for you. You can kick an extra point, right?”

  It was a gimme shot in the CFA. An automatic point. And I couldn’t make any guarantees.

  “Of course I can.” My answer got lost in the celebration as Sebastian smashed through the defense to score.

  “Give me the signal when you’re ready.” Jonas said before jogging to the huddle.

  Time moved differently on the field. Every second had meaning. The defensive line snarled, letting their animals come close to the surface. My buck growled. You can do this.

  I made the hand signal and Jonas sent the ball hurling my way. It moved in slow motion. Colin positioned it.

  All I had to do was kick. Yeah right. I had to combine power and accuracy and drown out the animals who were ready to rip my throat out.

  The ball bounced off the upright, and my dream flashed before my eyes. Fuck. I did not want to go back to Faraway Island a failure.

  But it went through.

  This time, I got lucky. If I’d learned anything by being pack alpha, it was that luck didn’t last.

  Chapter Seven

  DELILAH

  “Auntie Naomi, can you babysit?” I’d been floating between dreamland and reality ever since my date with Gunnar last night. “Jeremy will be pissed I’m making plans with Gunnar without him, but today was his first day practicing with the Bloodhounds and I promised him a celebration.”

  “A little sexy time might be a nice reward.” Naomi waggled her eyebrows at me.

  “No.” I smacked her arm. “Well, maybe. He says all the right stuff and he does all the right stuff, but I haven’t been alone with him yet. I’
m not sure if I’m smitten with the fact Jeremy likes him so much or—”

  “Because he’s a smokin’ hot buck who just became a professional football player?”

  “I don’t care about any of that.” It didn’t hurt, but I was interested in the thing that made him good at being both of those things. “He’s got a good heart.”

  “I don’t doubt that for a second. Sebastian risked his life over this guy.” She took a sip of her coffee. “It’s okay to admit you want a little sexy time, Delilah. For no other reason than you want to feel good.”

  The last few times, it hadn’t. Not since Jon. If Gunnar could be patient enough to teach Jeremy a skill as detailed as woodworking, he’d probably have a little patience with me, too. I didn’t know how to explain that I was afraid of getting what I wanted, because I knew what it felt like to lose it.

  “To answer your question, of course I can babysit,” Naomi said when reality pulled me into a place I didn’t want to go. “How about Jeremy sleeps over? That way, he can get settled in with us and it won’t be weird when you come back from the date. I’ll bring him to school in the morning.”

  “Thank you. You’re the best.”

  “Not gonna lie, I’m excited to have someone come over who will eat hot dogs and ice cream with me. Sebastian works with a nutritionist. After that last game, he’s not having any cheat nights.” Naomi stuck her tongue out. “I’m hungry, Delilah. It’s taking every ounce of self-discipline I have not to go roll around in the bake case.”

  I laughed. “You should do it. It would be great for the show.”

  “I never thought I’d fantasize about licking powdered sugar off a wolf, but here I am.” She sighed, giving the bake case a longing look. “But enough about me, what’s your plan for the night?”

  “Depends on if we’re celebrating.” I was only operating under the assumption he made the team. “We didn’t make any real plans. Hopefully, it won’t be a mellow night.”