Carl’s glazed eyes had brightened while he watched Archibald talk. He thumped the screen with the side of his hand in his attempt at a wave.
Archibald waved back. “Hello, Sir Carl! Aren’t you a fetching fellow? Come soon to visit, won’t you? I shall make you a broccoli soufflé so light and airy, you’ll surely float.”
Carl grunted his approval, but swiftly became distracted. He stood still for a moment, his head cocked at an awkward angle as though realization had just hit him, then began to hop around in his stilted fashion.
He grabbed a handful of Mara’s hair and tugged at it. Due to his stiff limbs, what Mara was certain was meant to be just a tug turned into a full-on wrenching. “Ow! Easy, Carl. It’s attached to my head,” she reminded him with a smile.
But Carl wouldn’t let go. He clutched her hair tighter, drawing her to his chest.
“Carl!” Nina jumped up with a shout. “No hair pulling, buddy. Do you remember our list of rules and personal space?”
Carl began to make new sounds, anxious and frantic. He loosened his grip, but refused to let go.
Mara’s ears twitched. “I think he’s trying to tell us something,” she said on a wince when he lifted the rope of her hair higher and shook it.
Carl bounced once more, spewing forth short, excited grunts.
Harry rose from the table and put his hand on Carl’s. “Carl, easy, pal,” he soothed, easing the thick strands from Carl’s grip. “First, are you trying to tell us something you think is important?”
Carl hopped again, snorting and huffing with a wheeze.
Harry smiled his encouragement. “Okay, good. So, obviously, it has something to do with Mara’s hair?”
Carl went straight for her head again, but this time Mara ducked him. “My hair, right, Carl?”
“Wait!” Wanda yelled from the laptop screen. “Archibald just said Mimi mentioned the woman who took them had swingy hair like Mara! Is that what you mean, Carl?”
Carl thumped the counter with the side of his hand.
“Good job, pal,” Harry complimented with a gentle pat on the back and a warm grin. “Now, what about Mara’s hair? I don’t get it, but I will, okay? Just give me a minute, and if you understand what I’m saying, bang the counter, okay?”
Carl banged the counter, his grunts becoming more expressive.
Mara squeezed his arm and grinned. “Oh, Carl, you’re so smart! So, does my hair have to do with something you know?”
Carl whacked the countertop so hard that he knocked one of his fingers off. It rolled to the end of the counter and dropped to the floor with a light thud.
“Shit,” Nina muttered. “I’ll get the duct tape.”
“Easy, Carl,” Mara coaxed with a smile. “Don’t hurt yourself. So you know something that we need to know to help us find out what that note you had means?”
Carl thumped, only this time, with less vigor.
“Did you know the person who took you, Carl? Was it Guido?”
Carl stood stock-still.
Not Guido. Hold on. Her hair. She twisted the length of it, her eyes widening. “My hair . . . do you think the person who took Mimi and Fletcher was the same person that took you, Carl? Did she say something about the kids to you?”
“Christ, this is like goddamn zombie charades,” Nina muttered, reentering the room with silver duct tape. She began to wrap Carl’s finger back on, while Carl thumped his other hand in answer to Mara’s question.
Harry sat back in his chair, his shoulders sagging. “So the person who took Carl is probably the same person who took the kids.”
Carl thumped once more.
“Do you know this person, Carl? Have you ever seen this person before?” Mara asked, pressing the edges of the duct tape on his finger to secure it.
Carl didn’t move.
No. Damn. “Did she talk about me and Harry, Carl? Did she talk about the kids?”
Carl thumped once more.
“Maybe we should be more direct rather than generalize? My gut says whoever this is, even though she took Carl, she wouldn’t let slip much that was important. Not if she’s a smart kidnapper, anyway, even with Carl unable to speak,” Harry suggested. “Did the lady say anything else but our names, Carl?” Harry asked.
Carl played statue.
Damn, damn, damn.
“But who is this woman? How are Carl and the children connected in her mind other than to both of you?” Wanda chirped from the laptop, straightening in her seat. “I go back to my original theory, Harry. Do you have any ex-girlfriends with the potential to do harm? Whatever this is about, part of it is about you and Mara being together. That much is obvious.”
Harry shook his head. “I’ve only had a couple of serious girlfriends, and I think I can quite honestly say with no disrespect intended, they wouldn’t go to these lengths to catch my attention. I don’t think they’re capable of putting something like this together.”
Mara’s heart sang a stupid song, giddy over the fact that if nothing else, she won the biggest brains contest. Knock that off, Mara. It’s catty and petty. “So for now we rule out a jealous ex and focus on what? None of this makes sense. I certainly don’t know anyone who cares one way or the other about our pretend relationship.”
“Astrid,” Harry dropped the word like a bomb.
Mara’s head swung upward. She was definitely smart enough, and she’d certainly expressed her displeasure about her and Harry dating. “She doesn’t have swingy hair like me.”
“A wig?” Wanda suggested.
Mara shook her head. “Astrid’s quirky and even sometimes possessive, but she’s not—”
“Nutty as squirrel shit, Short-Shot? I’m here to tell ya, I’ve met that wingnut a time or two at some of Pack’s company picnics. Bitch is one screw shy of coming unhinged, and I’m not just talkin’ brainy kinda wingnut like you two. I’m talkin’ full-on, all in her head, crazy-ass nutcase. I did the potato sack race with her. You learn a lot about a whack when your ankles are tied the fuck together like drumsticks on a roast chicken.” Nina nodded her dark head to confirm her statement.
Mara was quick to defend her friend. “But she’s known all along about my crush on Harry. She supported it. I would daydream all the time with her . . .” Oh. Oh, God, why, why, why were her emotions suddenly like a babbling brook?
Harry’s eyes found hers, but his words didn’t belie his feelings on the subject, nor did they mock. He was All Business Harry. “So you’ve talked with Astrid about this—I mean, me? She knows how you feel, felt . . . whatever?”
Nina’s mouth began to open, but even from the distance Skype created, Wanda was on watch. Her finger flew upward before tapping the screen. “Nina! Do not. I’m warning you. Do not open your big mouth, or I’ll drive over there tonight and stuff one of Fletcher’s dirty socks in it.”
Nina smirked, using her fingers to indicate she was zipping her lip and throwing away the key.
Mara looked down at her hands and swallowed. How could she admit she’d fantasized loud and proud over many a lunch with Astrid as her compadre in lust. How could she divulge that all her secret desires had been shared out loud? But she had to. If Astrid was suspect, and she’d had anything to do with taking the children or Carl, they needed to look into all aspects of her—even the most unbearably uncomfortable. “Yes. Astrid knew.”
Harry lifted her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his, his gaze intent. “Then we need to investigate, okay?”
Mara clenched her eyes shut, hoping her utter humiliation would go away if she just willed it gone. When she popped them open, Harry was still gazing at her. No such luck. “Okay. But please let me talk to her first? Astrid’s an odd bird, and I know that. I’ve always known that, but I don’t want her to feel cornered if she had nothing to do with this. She’s already low in the self-esteem department. She thinks no
one likes her no matter how openly we say we do. It could really hurt her if she’s not responsible.”
Harry gave her chin a gentle squeeze. “Deal.”
“All right, ladies and gentleman,” Wanda interrupted with a warm smile. “It’s late, and I have children to get up with in the morning. So I’ll say goodnight, but we’ll see you on Friday night for sledding. Oh, and the kids miss you, Harry. They said so just tonight after snack and bath time. I’m really enjoying them. Thank you for sharing them with me,” she said with a warm smile.
Harry’s expression went humble. “Good to know. Thank you, Wanda, for watching out for them. You, too, Arch. I don’t know what I would’ve done without all of you.”
You just don’t want to be one of us. Ugh. Why did that trouble her so?
Wanda and Arch signed off with the promise they’d give the children Harry’s love.
Nina dropped off the stool, holding out her hand to Carl. “You two keep the screeching during the sexy times down, would ya? Carl’s fucking freaked out with all the stimuli. All that ‘do that to me one more time’ shit’s bound to rile him.” She cackled at her joke, taking Carl off to the lone guest room.
Mara’s face went red, her cheeks burning, but Harry scooped her up from behind, nuzzling her neck. “Don’t listen to the cranky vampire. ‘Do that to me one more time’ is perfectly acceptable bedroom talk. Succinct, yet super seductive and sexy. And a song, I think, right?”
Mara stifled a giggle, allowing Harry to lead her into the bedroom.
Tomorrow she’d talk to Astrid. Tonight she’d try to forget that Harry didn’t want to be a part of the pack, and that it bugged the hell out of her.
Tonight was for living in the moment.
The moment with Harry in it.
* * *
“MARA!” Astrid flagged her down in the hallway as she approached the lab. Mara fought a visible cringe. She’d spent all morning trying to find the words to cobble together in order to avoid coming off confrontational, but still get some answers from Astrid.
She sucked at confrontation. Hard. The last thing she wanted to do was accuse Astrid of something so horrible without sound reasons behind it.
Sucking in a breath, she plastered a smile on her face and waved as Astrid approached.
Astrid was all smiles today. If she was upset that she’d missed their usual morning coffee break together, she didn’t show it. “Hey! Missed you at morning break.”
Mara fought a look of confusion. What? No interrogation. No wisecracks about her and Harry in the janitor’s closet? Who was this cheerful, friendly soul? “Sorry about that. I’ve been so backed up in the lab, I totally lost track of time.” Liar!
Astrid smiled again, brilliant and wide. Two times in as many seconds? “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something. Got a sec?”
And here it came. Mara braced herself for Astrid’s anger. “You bet. Bathroom?”
Astrid led the way, her white Crocs following a precise pattern on the floor, her soft counting just above a whisper. She propped the door open and smiled again, letting Mara enter first.
Mara leaned against the ceramic row of sinks, forcing herself to look Astrid in the eye. “What’s up?”
Her return gaze was contrite. “Look, I know I behaved badly about Harry and you. I kinda took all the fun out of your announcement, didn’t I? I suck, and I feel like shit about it. I know I’m insecure and moody and difficult, but I acted like a total jerk. There’s no excuse for it. I can only say I’m sorry.”
Mara frowned, readjusting her position against the sink. She opened her mouth to speak, then snapped it shut while Astrid waited for her response. Yesterday Astrid had behaved like they were in grammar school, but today she was an adult? Maybe she’d just had a bad day? But Astrid always had bad days. More often than not.
Mara’s voice was tentative when she finally replied. “So you’re okay with it?” She couldn’t believe she was asking her friend if she was okay with her dating Harry. Like Astrid was her mother and she needed permission. But here she was, not rocking the friendship boat.
Astrid gave her a sheepish look from behind the glasses she wore for no other reason than to hide her eyes from the world. “It’s not for me to decide, Mara. And of course I’m okay,” she said with warm conviction, reaching out to squeeze Mara’s arm. “I think it’s great that your dreams suddenly came true. I guess I was just caught off guard by it. I felt like we spent so much time talking about it that when it happened, and when you didn’t tell me, I was really hurt. It was like planning a wedding with your friend and then not being invited, ya know? You know how lame I can be about stuff like that. I’m stupid insecure. You know it. I know it. Everyone knows it. So I was a bitch because of it.”
This was more like the Astrid she’d learned to appreciate early on in their friendship before they’d teamed up with Leah and Ying. Mara let out a breath. “I’m so relieved. I worried about it all night. I didn’t call or text because I didn’t want to push you.” Mostly true. She had worried Astrid would hack off her limbs and use them to make a Mara marionette. Relief flooded her from head to toe, almost making her shaky.
Astrid waved a dismissive hand and smiled. “I’m really happy and excited for you. All the time invested finally paid off. So, if you don’t mind me asking, when did this happen? How did I miss it? Was I being selfish again?”
Now the lying began—again. She turned to wash her hands in the sink, letting the disinfectant soap pile into her hand until it looked like soft-serve ice cream. “Just two days ago. Harry asked me out, actually kind of suddenly. I never picked up the vibe from him. Well, you know that because we talked about it so much. So I was surprised, but I said yes, of course, and we just sort of clicked. It’s nothing official yet. But we figured it would be stupid to try and hide it.”
Astrid nodded her consent, a smile still fastened to her face. “Definitely not easy with the kind of gossip that goes on here. How are you going to handle that, by the way? The human and werewolf thing? I mean, the humans won’t think anything of it, but the werewolves will be curious. I know the rule no longer applies to us dating humans, but you know, the old order still exists in some narrow minds. Everyone knows you’re my friend, so I want to give the kind of answers you’re comfortable with. Just say the word.”
Mara paused for a moment, trying to pick up any sign Astrid was just giving good face, but there was nothing. Not a hint of dissent. She turned to face her to find Astrid smiling. “For now, we’re just trying to see what happens. Day by day thing. So maybe just say we’re taking it slow and that’s all you know?”
“You got it. And I’m still sorry I kind of ruined the intro bit.”
Mara gave her a sudden, grateful hug, partially out of relief that she was pretty sure Astrid wasn’t the one who was snatching people out of their lives, and partially because when she tried, she was a really good friend. “It’s all good. Forget it and come have lunch with Harry and me today, okay?”
Astrid smiled again, holding the door of the bathroom open for Mara. “You bet. Save me a seat.”
On another sigh, Mara waved to her and skipped off to her beloved lab, happy in the knowledge she had Astrid’s support of her new relationship with her pretend boyfriend.
She ran right into Leah on her way back down the hall. “Hey? You okay?” her friend asked.
Mara forced herself to look her directly in the eye. “Yeah. I’m good. Why do you ask?”
Leah rolled her eyes, brushing her sandy hair away from her face. “I just saw you leave the bathroom with Astrid. Is she giving you shit about you and Harry? Because I know what she’s like, and she’ll suck the life out of all the fun. Just like she does with everything else that even remotely smells like happiness.”
Mara squeezed her arm. “Actually, this might surprise you, but she apologized for being so awful to Harry yesterday. Said sh
e was happy for us, and that she was just upset because I didn’t tell her about us first.”
Leah made a face. “She’s a nut, Mara. You be careful around her. Who says she should have been the first to know anyway? Is she like your mother now? That’s why we stopped indulging you at lunch when you talked about Harry—because Astrid always acted like it was just a secret between you two instead of all of us. She got mad at Ying once because she mentioned something you’d said about Harry, and Astrid didn’t know about it. It made Ying and me uncomfortable. It’s like she wants to wear your skin or something.”
Mara made a face, taken aback by this new information. “Grim.”
Leah snorted. “No kidding. But anyway, as long as you’re okay—just know we’re happy for you. He’s hot. So, so hot. I’d be jealous if not for the fact that you’ve been crushing on him forever.”
Yeah. Forever. And now here she was. At the end of forever. Instead of divulging that, she smiled at Leah, grateful for her support. “Thanks, Leah. Thank Ying, too.”
Leah squeezed her arm. “Will do. Gotta run—see you tomorrow. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do with your hot new boyfriend, huh?” She chuckled as she turned to leave.
If only he was really her hot boyfriend.
A big hell yeah for all things fake.
* * *
HARRY fought to concentrate, loosening his tie and ruffling invoices needing approval on his desk. He was still working at blocking out the overwhelming buzz of voices in the office, but it was distracting and took all of his effort to focus on the task.
Add in the effort to work the numbers swimming before his eyes and his mind’s eye straying to Mara, naked and supple on top of him, and he was losing the fight.
His eyes fell on the oval-shaped, silver-framed picture of Fletcher and Mimi with his sister—smiling, laughing, happy, making his heart feel like a heavy weight in his chest. For all the hardships they’d endured as they attempted to bond, he loved them, wanted to understand how he could help them heal.
The Accidental Werewolf 2: Something About Harry (Accidentally Paranormal Novel) Page 19