The girl appeared in shock for a moment and then licked her lips. “I’m Rennia. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Can I give you a hand?”
She looked down at the pool table and seemed to be thinking about his offer. “Yeah, that’d be great if you have the time.”
Ray smiled. “I have plenty of time. I was driving around trying to figure out something to do.” He walked to one end of the table and placed his hands on the felt-covered edge. “How’d you get stuck moving this stuff by yourself?”
She blushed. “The idiot delivery men left everything here when they found out I didn’t have anybody here to help unload.”
“You should have your boss make a complaint to the company. Maybe he can get a partial refund for your trouble.” Ray almost took a step back when her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared.
“I’m the boss, and believe me. They’re going to hear plenty when I get things settled.”
Ray chuckled. “You ready?”
Rennia nodded and picked up her end. Slowly, they moved the table through the wide double doors. Working together, they had the rest of the items inside the building in a little over an hour.
Winded, Ray sank onto one of the cushioned barstools. “Girl, you have more stamina than I do. You look like you’re just getting started, and I’m beginning to feel like I’ll need a nap soon.”
She laughed. “Can I get you something to drink?”
“I’d love a bottled water if you got it.”
“Coming right up.” She pulled a bottle from a small fridge behind the bar and set it in front of him.
Ray twisted off the top. “What kind of place is this? I haven’t seen any signs.”
“You’re the first customer of Wyoming Wildlife’s Bar & Grill.”
“Nice name. When are you gonna open?”
“If all goes well, and I get all this equipment up and running, in two days.” She walked around and sat on the stool at the end of the bar. “Haven’t seen you before. Are you visiting someone?”
Ray nodded. “Yeah, my sister moved here recently. She’s getting married in a few weeks, and she wanted me and my father to spend some time here getting to know her new family.” Ray felt a chill as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He wasn’t supposed to reveal anything about the shifters to the humans that lived in the town. “You, um, you don’t live on the mountain, do you?” He knew if she lived on the mountain she was definitely a shifter.
“No, not me. I’ve got a small house not too far from here.”
Ray studied her as she drank from the plastic bottle. She could still be a shifter and live in town, but there wasn’t any way to know for sure. He sure as hell couldn’t ask her. “I’m gonna have a lot of free time on my hands as my sister and her friends do whatever it is that women do to get ready for their big day. If you’d like some help getting this place up and running, I’d be glad to help.”
Rennia watched him for a moment and then smiled. “If you’re sure it wouldn’t be an imposition, I’d love the help. I’d be happy to pay you.”
Ray shook his head. “I don’t want any money, but you could take pity on a poor, traveling stranger.”
She grinned. “Take pity how?”
“Have dinner with me, and we’ll see where we go from there.” He watched the emotions race across her face and wondered what was making her so solemn. He held out his hand. “Do we have a deal?”
Rennia bit her lip and then slowly placed her hand in his. He was surprised when a small jolt of electricity ran up his arm.
When she glanced at their clasped hands he knew she’d felt it, too. She took a deep breath. “You have a deal.”
Chapter 4
Maddie looked around the table at her family and wanted to scream. They’d been arguing over the menu for the reception for over an hour. “Ladies, I think—” She jumped, knocking over her teacup, when Ariane let loose with a whistle that could probably be heard in the next county. Immediately all five women quieted down.
“I think we’re all forgetting one little fact,” said Ariane.
“What’s that, Mom?” asked Kilana.
“It’s Kati’s wedding, so I’m pretty sure her wishes for the menu are the ones we ought to be listening to.”
Kati sighed. “Thank you. We just want to keep it simple. Nothing too fancy or elaborate. More like a backyard cookout with the family than a formal dinner.”
Maddie cleared her throat. “So you want more like a buffet, where the folks can wander through the line at their leisure and fill their plates in between the songs and dancing.”
“Exactly. Make everything finger food so they don’t have to find a chair to get something to eat unless they want to sit down. Synia told me that you do a killer hot chicken bites that he wants, and Kinnith told me to ask about your spicy meatballs.”
Maddie laughed. “That’s pretty simple. We can pull together some—”
Aurelia came barreling through the door waving an envelope with Zack right behind her. “Stop the presses, ladies. Houston, we’ve got a problem.”
“What’s wrong now?” Maddie asked.
Aurelia threw the envelope on the table in front of Kati. “Who proofed your invitations before they went to the printer?”
Kati looked at Maddie and then back at Aurelia. “I did. Why?”
Aurelia nodded toward the envelope. “That came in the mail today. You’d better take a look for yourself.”
Kati pulled a single white card from the open envelope and looked at it. Gradually her eyes widened and her brow furrowed. Then, she groaned. “No! Damn, damn, damn.”
“What is it?” asked Maddie. She reached out and took the card when Kati handed it to her. She studied it for a moment. “Oh, fudge!”
Kitania laughed. “Would somebody please fill the rest of us in?”
Kati groaned. “They printed the date wrong. We’re supposed to be getting married in four weeks on the twenty-eighth. This says we’re getting married on the tenth.”
Maddie looked up. “And they’ve all been mailed.”
“Did they not go over the details when you delivered the copy?” asked Aurelia.
Kati glanced at Lyssa. “I didn’t deliver them. Lyssa offered to take them over. Did they say anything when you gave the copy to them?”
Lyssa crossed her arms belligerently. “I only dropped off what you gave me. I didn’t open it up and look at it. I assumed you knew what you were doing.”
“Oh, Lyssa.” Elyne sighed. “Nobody is accusing you of anything. Why are you being so defensive?”
“Maybe we ought to go by the printers and ask to see the original copy,” said Kilana.
Lyssa stood, her face flushing red, her arms flailing as she raised her voice. “You’re always blaming every little thing on me. Maybe you just aren’t as perfect as you think you are, and you made the mistake yourself. Hell, maybe it’s an omen that this marriage shouldn’t take place. We’ve polluted this pack with enough humans already.”
Maddie growled. “Enough!” She flinched and the women squealed as three of the lightbulbs in the ceiling fixture over the table exploded. Only the immediate pack and several special friends knew of her telekinetic abilities. Maddie stomped her foot. “Damn, damn, damn. I’ll personally take a hickory switch to the first person who mentions this to Remus.” She took a deep breath and tried to calm her breathing. After a moment, she felt more peaceful. “We can get everyone to start making calls and get in touch with everyone we sent invitations to, or we can pull ourselves together and have this wedding in ten days.”
Kati looked at Elyne. “Can you get the dress finished that fast?”
“No problem, honey.” Elyne smiled. “Since you picked a pattern I already had, it’ll be a piece of cake. We just need to get into Casper today and pick up the material.”
Maddie nodded. “You should take Kilana and Lyssa with you, and get the bridesmaid dresses while you’re there. You might not find identical dresses, but I
’ll bet you can get dresses that complement each other if you try.”
Kati got to her feet. “Sounds like a plan. I’m willing to get hitched sooner rather than later.”
Maddie watched the girls start comparing notes on the dresses they wanted and saw Lyssa turn to head for the back door. She quickly walked over and took her firmly by the arm. “I want to have a word with you before you go.”
Lyssa narrowed her eyes. “What do you want?”
Maddie growled softly and pulled the reluctant girl down the hall, propelling her into Remus’s office and shutting the door. “I’m only going to ask you this once, Lyssa. Did you change the date on Kati’s wedding invitation?”
“No, I did not. Why in the hell would I change her invitation? I couldn’t care any less for this wedding than I do now. I don’t understand why all of you are so anxious to add more weak humans to the pack. All they do is bring us down.”
“It’s not like we can choose our mates, Lyssa. You’ll understand some day when you meet yours. You won’t be able to turn away from him no matter what he is.”
Lyssa walked over and peered out the window. She was quiet for a moment. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was some way to turn the humans into shifters so they blended into the pack better?” She turned and looked at Maddie over her shoulder. “Nothing as drastic as biting them like in the movies or in books. What if we had just a simple injection that could be given to start altering their DNA until they were one of us? Wouldn’t that be so much better for the pack?”
Maddie felt the hairs on the back of her neck tingle, and she took an involuntary step back from the madness she could see in the young woman’s eyes. “Lyssa, I think—” She broke off when her mate walked into the room.
“Is something wrong?” asked Remus.
Lyssa smiled and moved toward the door. “No, Alpha Remus. We were just talking about what-ifs.” She looked at Maddie. “Can I go now? I’ve got to let my mom know we’re heading to Casper this afternoon.”
Maddie stared at her for a moment and then nodded reluctantly.
Lyssa’s smile became wider. “See you guys tomorrow.” She left, closing the door behind her.
“What was that all about?” asked Remus.
“I wish I knew. I’m worried about her trying to sabotage the wedding, but I don’t have any real proof.” Maddie walked over and sank down into the leather chair facing Remus’s desk. “Something’s not right, Remus. I can’t sense her emotions or thoughts like I used to. Apparently she’s learned to shield them, and I don’t see how that’s possible for her. She’s talking strange and was really giving me the willies when you showed up.”
Remus walked over and pulled her up and into his arms. “I can feel you shaking, woman. What happened?”
Maddie buried her face in his chest and inhaled his masculine scent. “She’s talking about wishing we had a way to turn humans into shifters so we didn’t have to accept inferior beings in our pack.”
“She what!”
Maddie looked up into his eyes. “She thinks it would be cool to have a shot you could give them that would change their DNA.”
“I don’t like the sound of that. She’s acting so strange, maybe we should have Tehran take a look at her and see what he thinks.”
“Let’s hold off until after the wedding. I don’t think she’s in any danger, and I don’t want to ruin Kati, Synia, and Kinnith’s special day.”
“That’s a month away, love. I don’t think we should wait that long.”
Maddie snorted. “Not anymore. The printing company put the wrong date on the invitations, and nobody caught it before they mailed them out. That was really what I was talking to Lyssa about. She was the one who delivered the copy to the printers, and I was worried she might have changed the date on purpose.”
Remus groaned. “I knew it was a mistake to pay them a little extra to address and mail the envelopes. When are we having the wedding now?”
“In ten days.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Can you get a wedding together in just ten days?”
Maddie looked up and arched her brows.
Remus chuckled and pulled her closer. “Sorry. I forgot who I was talking to for a minute. You could put together a coronation in less than a week if you had to.”
Maddie laughed. “This should be easier than that. Kati wants things simple with just a buffet with finger foods, beer, wine, and some live music. I’ll need to check with Rennia and make sure her place will be open in time, but the party should be fairly simple. The big thing now is getting dresses for all the girls and tuxes for the men.”
Remus kissed the top of Maddie’s head. “Don’t worry, love. I’ll help all I can, and we will get this wedding off the ground.”
Any word from our patrols? Have they spotted any sign of the intruders that Aurelia sensed?”
“No, not today. Zander and his men will be here in the morning and we’ll be able to cover a wider range then.”
“Things were so much simpler when we were young and starting out.”
Remus laughed. “Yeah, simpler. Crazed scientists wanting to experiment on us, your brother wanted to kill me, and a certain member of my pack wanted to take your place. Things were really simple back in the old days.”
“Do you ever regret our life together?”
Remus grabbed her chin and raised her gaze to his. “I would not trade one minute of our time together for anything. You’re my heart and soul, Maddie Wind River, and I’ll love you until my dying day.” He leaned down and sealed his lips over hers, his breath filling her mouth. After a moment he pulled back just far enough to look into her eyes. “Now that I’ve got you in such a mellow mood I’d like to know why all the bulbs in the kitchen light are broken.”
* * * *
Rennia looked up at the sign above the door and yelled, “Hit it!” A few seconds later the sign sprang to life. The tall yellow letters stood out bold against the midnight blue background. What set it off, made it one of a kind, were the small images surrounding the clubs’s name. Bears, wolves, and cougars happily chased each other around the Wyoming Wildlife’s Bar & Grill name. In a couple of days, a much larger version of the sign would sit near the entrance to the parking lot. She’d worked side by side with Ray and Jonah all day, and their efforts had more than paid off. She was ready to open on schedule. Hopefully, in approximately fifty hours, the place would be packed.
Jonah walked out the door and looked up. “Now that really rocks!”
Ray followed him out. “It looks great. What else do we need to do?”
“Sorry, boss,” said Jonah. “I’ve got to head over and pick up Jeff. The doc let him stick around so he could introduce him to some of the boys that attend the school, but I told him I’d pick him up in time for dinner. If you need me, I could come back tonight, but I’ll have to bring my boy with me. I haven’t really made friends with anyone I’d feel comfortable leaving him with at night.” The doctor had given Jeff a clean bill of health and was unable to explain the signs of him shifting early. He’d advised Jonah to watch him closely and promised that he’d get in touch with the closest bear group to see if they could shed some light on his condition.
“Don’t worry about it, man,” said Ray. “My schedule is totally clear. I can help her with any last minute chores.”
Rennia smiled at Jonah and gave him a small, barely there nod. She wanted him to remember not to say anything about the pack in front of Ray. She was feeling just a bit guilty, keeping such a big secret about herself, but she couldn’t deny what a great day she’d had, working side by side, getting to know her mate. They’d been sharing a fast food lunch of burgers when she finally realized what a mistake she’d made. The longer she waited, the more difficult it would be to slip the truth into the conversation. Oh, hey. Did I forget to mention that I can change into a couple different animals? Yeah, that would go over really well. He’d leave the property so fast there’d be skid marks on the pavement.
&n
bsp; “Then I’ll be off,” said Jonah. “What time do you want me here tomorrow?”
Rennia shook her head. “There’s nothing to be done tomorrow. You’ll need to be here early on Friday for the produce delivery and to get everything ready to go for the opening. Take tomorrow off and spend some time getting little Jeff situated in school and getting to know his teacher. Is everything working out in your new place?”
Jonah grinned. “It’s great. We’ve both been sleeping better with four walls and a roof over our head.”
Ray frowned. “You’ve been living without a roof over your head?”
“It’s not what you think. We moved here from out-of-state after I got out of the service. For a while, we lived in an RV. It was a little crowded and sometimes challenging to find a place to hook up the generator and empty the chemical toilet. I used to have to lasso Jeff to get him to take a shower in the little stall. Now, I have to practically pry him out of the tub at night. He’s discovered the joy of soaking in a bubble bath.” He laughed. “Just don’t tell him I told you that. The vision of him lounging in all those white, fluffy bubbles would ruin his reputation.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.” Rennia laughed. “I’ll see you guys day after tomorrow. If you need anything, you have my number.”
Jonah nodded and turned to Ray. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you. I hope you’ll come back for the opening. It’s gonna be quite the party.”
“I wouldn’t miss it. I’ll be here.” Ray watched Jonah walk around the side of the building and then turned to Rennia. “Well, boss lady. What else do you want me to do tonight?”
“There isn’t anything else to do. Everything’s ready for me to open the doors on Friday.”
Do You Take This Cat [Wind River Pack 4] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 5