by Zoe Chant
"You're not even going to defend her?" Daryl asked as they left the bedroom. Mavis determined to make a quick sweep of the house, taking anything that was hers without question and could easily be stuck in a box, and wouldn't make her sad every time she looked at it.
It was surprisingly few items.
"And what about you?" Daryl turned his attack to Wilson, since Mavis had resolved not to rise to any of his taunts. "Do you know the truth? Her daughter is a monster. A shapeshifting beast."
"I do know the truth," Wilson said, in a calm tone that somehow still managed to sound incredibly menacing. "Nina is a lovely young woman who seems like she has a bright future ahead of her, despite the terrible treatment she experienced from her father."
Mavis went into the kitchen, her heart in her throat. Daryl had never cooked when they were together; Mavis was always in charge of the kitchen. If he’d somehow become a gourmet since they split, he might have found...
She looked for the stepstool. Wilson broke off his solid-steel stare at Daryl and asked her, “What do you need?”
She pointed to the cupboard above the refrigerator. “Could you look in there?”
Wilson reached easily up to the cupboard and opened it. Mavis snuck a glance at Daryl, who just looked perplexed. That gave her hope.
“An ice cream maker,” Wilson reported.
“Behind that,” Mavis said, her voice shaky.
Wilson reached behind the ice cream maker and pulled out a photo album. Mavis exhaled all at once and reached for it with trembling hands.
Daryl was staring at it with a betrayed look. “You said you threw that away.”
“I would never, ever throw away pictures of my daughter,” Mavis snapped, clutching the album to her chest and glaring at her ex.
After Nina had left, Daryl had wanted to destroy all of their pictures of her, any childhood memorabilia—any record she’d existed at all. Mavis had secreted away the album full of photos of Nina as a baby and a little girl, and lied to Daryl and said she’d thrown it away.
And now she had it back. She wanted to look through every picture as soon as she could.
Daryl took a step forward.
Mavis froze.
“There are pictures of me with her in there,” he snapped. “I don’t want those out in the world. She’s a devil creature, and I don’t want any association with her anymore.”
He snatched for the book.
Suddenly—too fast for Mavis to properly see what had happened—Wilson was standing between Mavis and Daryl.
Daryl started backwards in surprise, but his anger wasn’t letting up. After he collected himself, he just glared at Wilson.
“What do you think you’re doing? Getting between a man and his wife like that.”
Wilson’s face darkened in anger.
“You aren’t married any longer. And even if you were, you forfeited the right to any marital bond when you betrayed your family,” he gritted out. “You have no right to be near her. And you never had any right to lay hands on her without her permission. No man does.”
“How dare you tell me what I can and can’t do?” Daryl snarled. “Who do you think you are?”
“I apologize, Daryl.” Mavis summoned up her firmest tones. “I didn’t fully introduce you. This is Colonel Wilson Hanes of the Marine Corps. From now on, if you want to deal with me, you’ll be dealing with both of us.”
“That’s right,” said Wilson. Softly, but with a thrum of danger beneath the words.
Mavis felt like she was setting down the truth of her own words, even as she spoke. Any lingering doubts about what the future might hold were disappearing.
Because here, now, Daryl was opening and closing his mouth, surprised into silence, while Wilson stood solid as a rock between him and Mavis.
“You should stop hounding me about Nina,” Mavis told him. “I don’t believe she’s some kind of evil creature, and I never will. And if you had some kind of crazy idea about us getting back together—”
“You listen to me,” Daryl snarled, coming forward again.
This time, though, before he’d gone one step, Wilson’s form shivered, shifted, and changed.
And standing between them, right in the kitchen like some kind of magic had come out of nowhere into this old house, was a snow leopard.
Mavis’ first thought, completely removed from the situation, was that he was beautiful.
Powerful muscles rippled under a coat of silky-soft-looking fur, which was a shining silvery-white dappled with black spots. A thick, strong-looking tail lashed back and forth as he paced gracefully around Daryl.
Sharp silver-gray eyes looked over at her, and Mavis knew somehow that he was checking to see if she was all right, if he needed to intimidate Daryl away from her.
Daryl, on the other hand, had frozen in place, his eyes wide enough to show white all around the pupil, his hands clenching and unclenching spasmodically.
"That—he—" he sputtered, and then pulled himself together enough to say, "That man's a creature too! Mavis, how could you possibly—I suppose I almost understand being loyal to Nina, even though I know you're wrong, but how could you let a monster like that touch you?" His face was twisted in disgust.
"That's enough," Mavis snapped.
She didn't know if she'd ever talked to Daryl quite like that before, and he stared at her, surprised.
"You need to stop talking.” For so many years, she’d wanted to say this to him. "Every time you open your mouth, hateful vitriol comes out. I had to listen because I wanted to be here in case Nina came back. But I don't have to any longer.”
“How dare you,” he started furiously, but she interrupted. Her voice sounded like steel to her own ears.
“No. I will not listen to another word. I'm going to finish collecting my things, and then I'm going to leave. Any future communication you have with me should come through my lawyer."
A growl rose in Wilson’s throat as she finished speaking, punctuating her words with a visceral threat. Daryl took a few steps back, and when the growl didn't stop, a few more.
"All—all right.” His bravado faded before her eyes. Was that all it had ever needed? A strong stand, something he couldn’t yell into silence? "All right."
Wilson's form seemed to shiver, and a second later, he transformed back into a human. Mavis marveled at the sight. She'd seen Nina and the other leopards change shape before, but somehow it never ceased to fill her with wonderment.
Daryl was so utterly wrong. The shifters weren't monsters. They were miracles.
"Let's go," she told Wilson. Her voice didn't want to tremble anymore. She could see Daryl's shrunken posture, the way his shoulders had curled in on themselves. He was beaten, and he knew it.
She and Wilson left him behind in the kitchen to get the last few things—a blanket Mavis had had since she first moved out of her parents' house, some more mementoes, her sewing equipment, a few other odds and ends that she found she did want to bring with her, rather than leave them here to be discarded or ignored by Daryl.
Finally, they were done, and she stepped back into the kitchen to say, "We're leaving. Remember what I said. I never want to hear directly from you again. Talk to my lawyer from now on."
Daryl nodded slowly, and together, Mavis and Wilson left the house.
Wilson quickly and efficiently loaded the boxes into their rental car, and held the door for Mavis. She slumped in the passenger's seat, suddenly exhausted.
Wilson got in the driver's seat and looked at her. Compassion filled his face. "All right?" he asked softly.
Mavis nodded. "Yes. Let's get out of here. And order room service for dinner."
"Sounds like a plan." Wilson turned the key and they left Daryl, and Mavis' old life, behind them.
***
Back at the hotel, they not only ordered a lavish meal, but also a bottle of wine. Mavis found herself relaxing for the first time since she'd gotten Daryl's message.
"May I ask you a fav
or?" Wilson said, after they'd eaten through most of the food, and the bottle of wine was almost empty.
"Of course." They were sitting on the couch together, and Mavis turned to look at him from where she'd been cuddled up to his side.
"Would you show me some of the pictures in the photo album?"
Mavis hadn't been expecting that. She blinked. "You want to see pictures of Nina as a kid?" Most people would run the other way when a proud parent mentioned photos of their child.
"I do," he said, heartfelt. "If I'm going to be a part of her life—a father figure, as much as she's willing to have me—I want to know her a little better." He smiled warmly. "And I love how you look when you talk about her. Like you're so full of love you can't contain it."
That was how it felt, Mavis thought. He'd hit the nail on the head.
"All right." She went to get the album, and came back to snuggle again, opening it up.
"Here she is right after we adopted her," she began, and Wilson's arm tightened around her as he leaned forward to look.
She’d been half-expecting him to just want to see one or two pictures, but as it turned out, he hadn’t been kidding about really wanting to hear about Nina. He kept asking questions, or turning to the next page in the album, and Mavis found herself telling story after story of tiny Nina getting into scrapes, saying something adorable, or simply being the caring, loving girl that she’d always been, at heart.
Finally, they reached the last page of the photo album. Daryl had been in a lot of the pictures, and Mavis had thought about skipping those, or apologizing for them, or something—but Daryl was a part of both Nina and Mavis’ history, and that wasn’t going to change. She wouldn’t be afraid of talking about him.
After all, he didn’t have any power over her or Nina anymore. Nothing else bad could come of it, and she already knew that Wilson didn’t judge her at all for having chosen so wrongly in her first marriage.
First marriage.
She’d been picturing Nina up at the altar, when she’d been at Cal and Lillian’s wedding. Maybe she would be up there before long, herself.
The idea made her flush with joy.
“Thank you for sharing all of that with me,” Wilson was saying. He laid a hand on the closed album, a gesture of respect or even reverence. “I hope I can be a positive figure in her life from now on.”
“You will be,” Mavis assured him.
He was frowning a bit. “I never thought I’d be a stepfather. I never planned for any kind of fatherly...activities, or advice, or anything of the sort. But now I’m looking forward to it. I just hope that I don’t overstep my bounds, or remind her of Daryl in any way.”
“You could never do that,” Mavis said with force. “You’re nothing like him.”
The frown didn’t quite disappear, but he said, “I’m glad to hear it.”
“Just be yourself.” She found that this hint of insecurity, in what was otherwise such a confident, self-assured man, was endearing. “She’ll like you without any trouble, and I know she’ll come to love you.”
He kissed her. “I can’t wait.”
“Thank you for making this trip something more than that confrontation with Daryl,” Mavis said impulsively. “I was sure it was all going to be terrible. But this evening has been wonderful.”
He pulled her close, kissing the top of her head. “I love you.” The words rumbled in his chest, so that Mavis almost felt them more than she heard them.
She closed her eyes, filled with happiness. “I love you, too.”
***
They flew back the next day. Nina was working until later that evening, so Mavis restrained herself from rushing right over to the diner to give her a big hug, which was what she truly wanted to do, after all that.
“What would you say to going out to the Park?” Wilson asked her, after they’d unpacked the few things they’d brought, stopping first at Mavis’ place, and then at his hotel room.
“Oh,” Mavis said in surprise, “that sounds lovely.”
It did sound lovely. One more way to cleanse that acrimonious confrontation from her mind. To put something else beautiful between her and the memory of Daryl spouting vicious words about the people Mavis loved the most.
It was fading already, with Wilson’s love there to remind her of what was really important. But the memories piled on top of each other sometimes. It was hard to completely move past them.
But Wilson took her hand as they went out to his car, and held the door for her like he always did, and it was like one more step away. One more step into this new, wonderful life that she was starting to really believe might belong to her.
They drove out to the Park, and when they got out of the car and went in, the first person they saw was Nina’s mate, Joel.
“Mavis!” he said. And then straightened his posture a bit. “And Colonel Hanes. Hello, sir.”
“Hello, son,” said Wilson. “Good to see you again. Had a nice time out with you all the other night.”
“Glad to hear that, sir.” Joel’s eyes flicked back and forth between the two of them. “How are you, Mavis? Nina said you looked nervous at the wedding, and you said you had something to take care of today?”
“I’m just fine,” Mavis said firmly. “Nothing for you to worry about.”
Joel looked a little suspicious, but he nodded without questioning her.
Nina had told Mavis that Joel had lost his parents at a young age, and that he missed them very much. Mavis had instinctively responded by mothering Joel a bit—cautiously at first, because she didn’t want to bring up painful memories. Or, like Wilson had said, overstep her bounds.
But Joel was clearly hungry for a mother-figure in his life. He tried to play it cool, like he was a big stoic man, but he was always happy to see her, eager for her to come over and bake with them or other mom-like activities.
Mavis wondered suddenly if he’d be happy to have a father-figure in his life, too.
Also...“When were you out with the pack?” she asked Wilson.
“The other night,” Wilson said, “after I’d experienced a disappointment. The pack helped me out some. Good solid group you have here.”
After Mavis had been too afraid to accept that they were mates, she interpreted. He’d gone and asked some of the other leopards for advice.
Wasn’t that...sweet. “I think so, too.” She smiled at Joel.
There was a hint of a blush on the young man’s cheeks, and he quickly changed the subject. “Are you two out here to see anyone, or are you just going on a hike? It’s a beautiful day for it.”
“A hike,” Mavis said. “Can you recommend somewhere that’s likely to be open and empty? I’d rather not be walking shoulder-to-shoulder with a bunch of tourists, today.”
Joel smiled. “No problem. It’s too early in the season for big crowds, anyway. Here,” and he pulled a map of the Park from his back pocket and found a pen somewhere, marking off a trail. “Head up this way. It’s a beautiful route, full of early flowers, not strenuous at all, and there’s no one at all up that way, I just checked it over.”
Mavis smiled gratefully at him. “Thanks, honey.”
The blush deepened a little at the endearment. “No problem.” His radio crackled then, and he said, “I gotta go. Nice to see you, Mavis. Sir.” He nodded at Wilson, and jogged off.
“That’s a nice young man,” Wilson observed.
Mavis nodded. “He’s wonderful for Nina. Just wants to be the best man he can be, wants everything that’s best for her. So sweet, although don’t tell him I said it like that, he’ll be embarrassed.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.” Wilson was looking thoughtfully after Joel. “I didn’t think about this—Nina isn’t alone, is she? She comes with a whole family of her own.”
“Yes,” Mavis said on a happy sigh. “I’m so grateful. Because it’s not just Joel—Joel’s very close with his brother Zach, and Zach’s mated to Teri, and Teri is Lillian’s sister, of course. Nina
’s connected to the whole pack, that way, and it’s so good for her. After being alone for so long...I’m just happy she’s got such a close group of family and friends.”
Wilson nodded, still looking after Joel. Mavis wondered suddenly if Wilson had ever wished he had a son.
Well, a stepson-in-law might be just the thing for him, then. Mavis smiled to herself, and then looked up at him. “Shall we hike?”
“We shall.” Wilson held his arm out to her like they were at some nineteenth-century ball, and Mavis laughed a little as she took it. They started off towards the trail.
Joel had been right: the trail was absolutely gorgeous. The mountains stretched up into the distance, but they were in a little valley, so it felt like they were being held by the cupped hands of the earth. The grass was verdantly green, the trees just getting their leaves, and the sun shone warmly over it all.
It was a beautiful day—one of those late April days that felt more like mid-May, with the temperature climbing up through the sixties as they walked. Mavis inhaled the sweet, sweet scent of wildflowers and pine, wanting nothing more than for this moment to last forever. Her fingers were twined with Wilson’s, and she felt like they were of one mind, taking in all of the gorgeous natural beauty around them, breathing in the mountain air, and just being together.
They walked for close to an hour, only speaking to point out some beautiful plant or bird. It was a revelation, being able to be comfortable with a man in silence like this. Daryl had always had to make his opinion known, and most of Mavis’ memories of them being quiet together were chilly, when one or both of them was upset.
The years that Nina had been missing had been almost entirely silent.
But this—it was like she was rewriting the past. Relearning what could be, in the future. She could almost sense Wilson’s love and affection; she could feel the warmth of his hand, and see the deep feeling in his eyes when she looked at him. They didn’t need to speak. They only needed to be here together.
Eventually, they reached a point where the path either continued up into a more strenuous hike into the mountains, or looped back around on itself to go back to the visitor’s center. Wilson looked around with a frown.