“What do you think?” Colby’s blue eyes twinkled at me. I kissed his cheek.
“I love it!”
“Wait until you see inside,” Hunting Wolf said.
The doors were wide open, and Kohanu waved at me from inside. Several people were hammering away, and others were carrying bales of hay in and up to a loft. I started having fantasies involving the loft.
“Bark! Bark!” The puppies ran to us and jumped on Colby’s legs, trying to get to me.
“Hey, babies! I missed you.” I saw something out of the corner of my eye and heard a gurgling sound, like water swishing around in a washing machine. “Maytag! My horse is here!”
Colby said, “Yes, he is. He almost took a chunk out of my shoulder before Sam warned me to give him a beer. I told him we could board him here. He won’t be lonely for long. Ben is bringing my horses over in the morning.” He carried me over so I could scratch Maytag behind his ears.
“Moo….”
I turned my head to see from where the sound had originated. Sam cleared his throat. “Ralston brought those two over. She keeps trying to come over here anyway, so you might as well keep them both. They’re your early Christmas presents from him and Henry.”
“Oh.” I wiped at my eyes. The baby calf who had survived the Chenoo attack was in a stall with the heifer who was always wandering over to my land. “Thank you all so much. You couldn’t have made me any happier.”
The wolves took up a playful howl around the barn, and Puck and Macduff joined in which had me cracking up all over again.
They took me inside and got back to work. With a smile on my face at seeing them all getting along, I made a pot of coffee and then paid a visit to the bathroom. When I saw the hamper, I shrieked. Colby, Sam, Hunting Wolf, and Holden all came running. “What the hell?” I pointed at the tower of dirty laundry.
Holden shook his head, grinned, and went back outside.
Colby ran a hand through his blond hair. “About that. Baby, Holden explained it to me. This is my den.”
I stared at him, not comprehending why I had at least six loads of dirty laundry falling out of my hamper.
He said, “Whenever my pack shifts, their clothes show up here.”
I groaned.
As the sun began to set, Holden came inside and gave me a kiss. “It’s getting late. I guess I’d better be going.”
A sadness filled me, and he either saw it in my eyes or sensed it. It seemed to give him hope. “Do you have to go? I know we don’t have a lot of room, but you can stay. I’d like for you to stay. Unless you’d prefer to have your space. I know it’s cramped.” He silenced me with a passionate kiss.
The five of us ate dinner around the kitchen table. Colby’s men, Avonaco, Growling Bear, Silver Star, and Mato were outside cooking for themselves on a grill. They were laughing and enjoying themselves. Kohanu had gone to Four Bears to spend the night with Aponi. After dinner, we went to the living room where I had them hang from the mantle all of the stockings I’d made. I could have been imagining things, but I could have sworn Holden teared up when I handed him his.
“Since we’re all here, I’d like to discuss something. I know it’s up to me, but I’d like to hear your input.”
Puck and Macduff were sleeping under the tree. Macduff’s back paws twitched in his sleep like he was chasing something in his dreams.
“What is it?” Hunting Wolf asked.
I told them about Cecil’s offer. Hunting Wolf got the same expression of pride on his face that Sam had gotten when he’d heard. “It is a great honor, Rozene. You would learn much about healing as well as protecting those you love from harm.”
“What about my work at the Sheriff’s Office?”
Hunting Wolf shrugged. “We had a few people from New Mexico come in looking for work. Both of them have experience in law enforcement.”
“So, I’m replaceable.” I frowned at him.
“Neither of them is pretty. They are both older men and need the income.”
“Oh.” It made me feel a little better. I wouldn’t be leaving them in a bind if I left. “So, what do you think?”
“What would you like to do?” Colby asked.
“I’m curious. I’d like to learn what to do if one of you gets hurt. I’d also like to know about the strange and unusual myths and legends which keep turning up in our reality. Having Cecil bossing me around worries me, though.”
Holden smiled. “I think you’ve got your answer.” I followed the path of his eyes down to the coffee table where the yellow tulip he had given me was starting to bloom.
Colby said, “Look up.”
Lifting my eyes to the ceiling, I saw a bunch of mistletoe. Colby and Sam kissed my cheeks at the same time. Laughing, I spotted more of the little festive bunches above every doorway in the house.
Curled up on the couch between Colby and Sam, I nodded. Changing up the course of my life wasn’t something I had planned when I’d moved to Silver Springs, but all of the changes had made my life far richer and more rewarding than I ever could have imagined. I was nervous about the change but excited at the same time. My future was like one of the presents under our tree, and I was eager to find out what was inside. I looked around the room at the faces of the men I had grown to love and smiled. Whatever was in store for us next, we’d face it together.
The End
A personal note from Wendie:
Thank you for reading Wendigo Conjuring! If you enjoyed Rozene’s story and want to see more, please take a moment to show your support by leaving a review on the product page where you made your purchase. Your reviews are important and help other readers discover these books.
Please, keep in touch!
You can visit my website at www.wendienordgren.com or join my Facebook group, Omnes Videntes, where you can discuss books with other readers and get information about new releases.
Books by Wendie Nordgren:
The Wendigo Redemption Series
Wendigo Uprising Book One
Wendigo Hunting Book Two
Wendigo Conjuring Book Three
The Space Merchants Series
The Space Merchants Book One
The Space Merchants of Arachne Book Two
The Parvac Emperor’s Daughter Book Three
Omnes Videntes Book Four
The Spider Queen Book Five
The Inquisitors Book Six
Thunderdrop A Space Merchants Novella
Materfamilias Book Seven
Omnes Videntes Series
Xavier
Jazon
Clue Taylor Series
Clue and The Shrine of the Widowed Bride Book One
Clue and the Sea Dragon Book Two
Clue and the Tree Spirits Book Three
Novella
Death’s Providence
Cookbook
Hungry for More: A Harem of Recipes
Wendigo Conjuring Page 23