by Mac Flynn
"They have nothing to tie me to his disappearance other than our disagreement at the Rodney house," he reminded me.
"And we were near the Rodney house the afternoon he disappeared," I added.
"All substantial. They can't even prove he's dead," Adam insisted. He used my hands to pull me close to his chest. I leaned my side against him and kept my gaze averted from his face. He leaned down and the wisps of his words flowed over my cheek. "I can understand your worry, but I've been through far worse than this situation. If an investigation does arise it will be handled quickly and cleanly, and I will be cleared of any suspicion."
"Yeah, well, it won't look good for me being part of a missing person's investigation," I mumbled.
He chuckled. "You want to keep your reputation spotless for your neighbors?" he teased.
I rolled my eyes and glared up at him. "I need to keep it spotless for my job, especially with my boss coming this afternoon."
"Your reputation will remain as spotless as your house now is. I promise." He leaned down and pecked a light kiss on my lips. "Besides, if you do lose your job there is always my biography to write."
I snorted. "You know, people aren't supposed to become that involved in their story."
"Think of it as a first-hand account. Now what about that breakfast?"
Chapter 6
Breakfast was prepared, and I had ample time to admire the gravel work performed by Clemens and his dump truck. There was a nice spread along my driveway. Not enough to ruin the natural aesthetic of the road, but enough that I didn't have to worry about driving my car and sinking into quicksand. My perusing didn't last long before Adam took hold of my shoulders and turned me back toward my house.
"It's best you stay indoors until that fever is gone," he advised me.
I dug my heels into the ground and tilted my head back to glare at him. "I've been keeping care of myself for a few years now. I think I can handle a little-achoo!" My head whipped forward and my nose felt like it blasted off into the woods, never to be seen again. I sheepishly grinned up at him and shrugged. "See? Just fine."
He snorted. "I very much doubt that, so let's get you inside," he insisted. I was marched into the house where he stoked a nice, blazing fire in the hearth. I took a spot on the couch and he plopped down beside me when his job was finished. "So what is your boss like?" he asked me.
I shrugged. "Oh, the usual. A little overbearing and a lot wrong, but he knows the business enough to keep his news company in the business."
"But what sort of man is he?" Adam rephrased.
I cringed. "Well, kind of loud and likes to keep all his employees on a short leash."
Adam raised an eyebrow. "He must be quite strict with his wife," he mused.
I snorted and shook my head. "No, actually, she's the one who's got him on a short leash and wrapped around her pinky. If she committed murder he'd help her get the best lawyer. That is, unless she murdered him, and then his estate money would help her."
"I'm very confused. You seem to be describing two different men," Adam commented.
"I guess you could call him a bulldog by day and a whipped dog by night," I suggested.
"I see. And the wife, this Bunny, you described her as a young woman who was fond of men?" he wondered.
I had to snerk at that. "She's not that young, or at least not as young as you're thinking, but it's hard to tell her age from all the plastic surgery she's had. Her face is-" Adam straightened and tilted his head to one side. "What is it? You hear something?" I asked him.
Adam nodded. "Yes, the sound of car tires on the gravel. Weren't your guests supposed to arrive in the afternoon?"
"Yeah, or at least that's what the email on my-laptop!" My face paled and I whipped my head to Adam. "I left my laptop at your house!"
He jumped to his feet and in the blink of an eye he was by the door with his coat in hand. "I'll fetch it," he offered as he opened the door.
I turned and leaned over the arm of the chair that lay nearest the door. "But what about the wolf's bane smell?" I argued.
"I doubt much remains of it, and what little there is won't effect me. I'll return in five minutes." He sped out the open entrance and slammed the door behind him.
I frowned and leaned back onto my feet. "What a stubborn, unselfish, suicidal man, and damn him for being so cute about it," I mumbled.
In a minute a silver sedan came into view from the direction of my gate, and at the wheel was the familiar, albeit strained, face of my boss. Beside him, decked out in tall, wavy blond hair that contrasted sharply with her suntan-bed skin, was Bunny. Her tight shirt pushed her chest assets into view over the dashboard and something squirmed in her arms. The car cruised down the gravel driveway and stopped in front of the door with the passenger side near the edge of the porch. Bunny hopped out and I rolled my eyes when I noticed the yapping, squirming-um, dog in her arms. I wasn't sure if I was being kind calling it a dog, or insulting dogs for putting it in with the rest of them. The mutt was a golden, wire-haired chihuahua with large, pointed ears and a bark that hurt my eardrums.
I stepped onto the porch and smiled at the pair. "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Whinier."
Bunny let out a twittering laugh that sounded like a squeaky washing machine. "It's so wonderful to see you and your lovely home!" She stepped her high-heels onto the porch and engulfed me in a hug that included the yapping Mexican hors d'oeuvre in her arms.
"Glad to see you, too," I wheezed out. I separated us and turned to my boss. He stood at the open trunk and piled luggage after matching pink luggage into his arms. On his face was a frown deeper than the Grand Canyon and twice as terrifying. "Here, let me help you," I offered.
"I need it," he grumbled.
I gathered up half the luggage which filled the spacious interior of the trunk and led them into my abode. "The bedroom you'll be staying in is this way. It's a little rustic," I warned them as I directed them into the back room. I flipped on the switch and smiled. Adam had cleaned up the space and set out a beautiful old quilt on the bed. I would have to give him a kiss as a thank-you later, he seemed to enjoy those.
"What a quaint little place! And what a lovely quilt!" Bunny cooed. Mr. Whinier grumbled something as he set the luggage at the foot of the bed and I did likewise.
"I'm glad you like it. Did you want something to eat or drink?" I offered.
Bunny waved her hand at me and shook her head. "No, we ate before we left. My little Snookums insisted on food." She squished the dog against her-ahem, ample assets attached to her chest and kissed the air in front of the animal's face.
"You must have left early," I commented.
"Bunny insisted," Whinier grumbled.
"I just had to see this rustic place of yours! It's just so-well, rustic!" Bunny giggled.
"Yes, well, let's go sit on the couch and have some coffee or cocoa," I suggested.
Bunny clapped her hands and the dog jiggled against her. "Oh goody!" She hopped from the room.
Mr. Whinier sidled up next to me and lowered his voice. "You have something strong I can put in that drink?" he asked me.
"I could dig something up," I whispered.
"Good. Do it," he ordered me. He followed his loud wife into the living room.
A few moments later I stood at the sink preparing Whinier's pick-me-up juice of black coffee and whiskey left over from Johnson's hunting parties when Adam returned. He stepped inside and tucked under one arm was my laptop. I looked up from the sink and my smile faltered when I noticed his face was more pale than when he'd left.
Bunny stood at the opposite end of the couch, and when Adam stepped inside her eyes widened and one corner of her mouth tilted up into a curvaceous smile. Her little dog yapped louder and with more energy than before. "My goodness, who do we have here?" she wondered. She glared down at her noisy dog in her arms. "Snookums, quiet! Quiet, Snookums!" Snookums didn't quiet, and she plopped the dog on the couch beside her husband.
Snookums jumped
off the couch and stood before Adam with hackles raised and teeth bared. Adam stared indifferently at the little monster, but with each bark Mr. Whinier flinched. Finally he could take no more and turned to the yapping mutt.
"Shut up!" he shouted. Snookums yipped and raced for the room. I heard him collide with the luggage. He no doubt buried himself deep within the bowels of Bunny's clothes.
Bunny glared at her husband. "That wasn't nice," she scolded him.
"That dog was too loud," Whinier argued.
Adam shut the door behind himself and the attention returned to him. He smiled and kindly bowed his head to my two guests. "My name is Adam Smith. I'm a neighbor of Christina's," he introduced himself.
Bunny's ire at her husband and her concern for her dog flew out of the room as quickly as her pet had done. "Adam Smith! What a quaint name!" she cooed. She flew over to Adam and looked him over with an eye that made my blood boil. It startled me how much jealousy I felt as this other woman eyed my boyfriend like he was a rich stack of meat ready to appease her appetites. "My name is Bunny Whinier, and the man over there is Mr. Whinier."
"Adam is also my boyfriend," I added.
That didn't faze Bunny. She let out her twittering laugh and turned to me. "You make that sound like it's a bad thing. He is very handsome, isn't he?" She was so excited by his appearance she could hardly keep her sentences in the same thought.
Mr. Whinier sat glumly on the couch and ignored his wife's antics. He turned around to face me. "Monet, we have some business to discuss," he informed me.
"Business? Already? We only just got here," Bunny protested. She swooped in on her husband and plopped herself into his lap. He let out a little wisp of air and his face softened when she slid a finger down his cheek. "Couldn't we talk business later and go for a hike now? I'm dying to try out my designer boots you bought me."
"I could show you the trails," Adam offered. I cringed and slashed my finger across my neck. Whinier wasn't one for nature hikes. Adam got the hint. "Or perhaps that isn't the best idea. It rained quite well last night and the trails will be slippery."
Bunny waved a hand at Adam and laughed. "Don't be silly! A little water never hurt anyone!"
"I'm staying here," Whinier insisted.
"Oh, come on, my wittle baby-kins, you want to go for a little walk," she argued.
"Not when I have work to do. Monet, you're staying, too. I want to talk to you about your article output and quality," he ordered me.
I cringed. It was a double-whammy of seeing Bunny walk off with my boyfriend and being left behind with my boss. This day just got a hell of a lot longer.
"Then Adam here can take me, and we'll have a wonderful time without you," Bunny replied. She hopped to her feet and smiled coyly at Adam. "You just wait there and I'll be ready in a few minutes." She hurried into the bedroom and shut the door behind her.
Adam sidled up to me and handed me my laptop. "What have I gotten myself into?" he whispered to me.
"A date with the ever-horny Bunny," I told him. He cringed and I noticed his hands shook by his side. "You okay? You don't look so good."
"The hike up the hill was more than I anticipated for my weakened body," he explained.
"You sure you can take her for a hike? You look half-exhausted already," I pointed out.
He gave a nod. "I will take her along the easy trails and stay nearer to the cabin than she suspects. If anything does go amiss it will be a quick return to the cabin."
I pursed my lips and sighed. "All right, but be careful." He turned away, but I grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back. I stood on my tiptoes and planted a chaste kiss on his lips. "And don't do anything stupid," I repeated.
Adam smiled and brushed his hand against my cheek. "I'll be fine. Trust me."
Those were famous last words.
Chapter 7
A few minutes later the door to the bedroom flung open and Bunny hopped out with her arms over her head. She wore an outfit I can only describe as a mockery to outdoorsmen. Her baggy pants and shirt had the pattern of camo gear, but the bright pink color of the Easter Bunny. Her boots were shiny and had velcro instead of shoelaces, and around her waist was a belt that had fishing hooks, short leaders, and small, silver balls of weights attached to it. My first thought was to find a lake and throw her in for bait.
"I'm ready!" she shouted.
The corners of Adam's mouth twitched as he tried to keep from laughing. I turned away and choked on my fit of amusement over the kitchen sink. "That's a very interesting outfit," Adam commented.
Bunny jingled the fishing supplies in her well-manicured hands. "Isn't it? I had it specially made with all these pretty things I saw on the fishing channel."
"Well, if you're ready we'll go for the hike, but it won't be for very long. There are bears in these woods that are very dangerous," Adam told her.
Bunny skipped over to him and attached herself to one of his arms. She pressed her cheek against his captured arm and tilted her head up to batter her eyes at him. "I feel safe already."
Adam coughed and slid from her grasp. "Yes, well, we'll be back in a few minutes," he told us couch potatoes. Whinier made a gruff sound and I waved to them.
"Good luck," I called as they left. I turned from the door and lowered my voice. "You'll need it. . ."
"All right, Monet, down to business," Whinier spoke up. "Bring your laptop over here and show me the newest articles you've got."
I reluctantly seated myself on a couch cushion beside him and he scoured my latest internet masterpieces, an oxymoron if there ever was one, and corrected every typo and grammatical error with all the mercy of a Gulag prison guard. I winced and cringed as every word was changed or struck out.
After watching him for twenty minutes he finally put my articles to rest and placed my laptop on the coffee table. "Not bad, but needs some work. It all seemed a little rushed and boring. This place isn't exciting enough for you?" Before I could stop myself I snorted. He whipped his head to me and his eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?" Here was the boss I knew and feared.
"It means I've had a fun time here, but there's been a lot of work to do around the home that's distracted me from my work. It won't happen anymore," I explained.
Whinier gave a curt nod. "Good, I don't mind accommodating some of my better writers when they live away from the office, but I won't tolerate any slacking off on the job. Don't just sit in your pajamas all day twiddling your thumbs. Get outside! Meet the people around here! Search the internet for the latest news! Anything but being a slacker." He punctuated his grand speech with a knock of his fist against the table.
I jumped when there came an echo of the pound, but it originated from outside on the porch. It was followed quickly by a yelp and then horrible silence. After a few tense moments the door opened and Bunny sauntered inside. Her face was bright red and her eyes were aflame with passion. Behind her was-well, no one.
I jumped to my feet and looked for Adam, but he didn't come. "Where's Adam?" I questioned her.
She coyly smiled and waved her hand toward the door. "Just out there. We had a nice, long walk and the finish was a little too rough for him." I noticed there was a red mark on the left side of her long, slender neck. It almost looked like a hickey. Bunny flung off her coat and plopped herself down on the couch beside her hubby. "You missed a great walk, Honey-Buns."
"I doubt it," he grunted.
I walked around the back of the couch and hurried outside to the porch. I turned my head to the right and no one was there. A look to the left and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Adam right beside me. His skin was pale and he violently shook. I closed the door behind me and caught hold of his shoulders.
"What happened? Are you okay?" I asked him. He ground his teeth together and shook his head. His eyes were scrunched shut and I studied his stiff, tense form. My eyes traveled down his arms and I noticed his balled fists had thick bunches of hair on their backs. His teeth were also slighter longer than they sh
ould have been if he were fully human, and his shirt was tight in my hands. I tilted my head to one side and blinked. "You didn't transform in front of her, did you?"
He shook his head. "No, but nearly so," he growled.
I tugged him away from the wall and off the porch so we wouldn't be overheard. "What happened?" I pleaded with him.
He took a few deep breaths and relaxed his muscles. His fur and fangs retreated back into his body, and he opened his eyes. They were his normal color again. He nodded at the woods in front of the cabin. "I led her through the woods close to the cabin for ten minutes until I suggested we turn back. She-well, returning so quickly wasn't her intention."
I frowned. "I can imagine, so what happened next?"
"I insisted we not follow her carnal desires and return to the cabin. We reached the cars when she-well, she performed as her namesake suggests and hopped onto my shoulders. In my weakened state the woman was impossible to pull off and I stumbled forward onto the porch and against the cabin's front wall." He ran a hand through his hair and shuddered. "She was as much an animal as Ashton. Her hands and lips were-"
I pressed one of my fingers against his. "I get the picture. Then what?"
"I panicked and my wolf senses told me to attack my attacker. She slid off my back and I faced her. I nipped at her neck to scare her away. She took it as a sign of affection and victory, and broke off the contact to enter the cabin." He sighed and shook his head. "In my long life I have never met a human female as wild as that."
"Yeah, I'm surprised she hasn't killed anybody in bed, but you're okay?" I leaned toward him and he tried to lean away.
"Please don't come to near. I don't want to bite you," he told me.
I frowned and pressed my chest against his. "There's going to be none of that I'll-protect-you-from-me-by-keeping-us-apart bullshit."
"But-"
"But nothing. Are we boyfriend and girlfriend, or not?" I questioned him.
"We are, but-"
"Stop using that word. There will be no 'buts' in this relationship except the kind I can admire. Since mine isn't that great to look at yours will have to be the one I can admire. Preferably uncovered, but I like you in tight pants, too," I told him.