Jingle Bell Wolf, page 2
“Are you going to go swimming, Landon, or just drip water all over the restaurant?” the other man asked the one in the board shorts.
Gabrielle hid a smile.
Landon smiled at him a little evilly. “I’m swimming. See you in the morning, Blake.” Then Landon, who must have actually swum after her in the pool since he was all wet—but thankfully missed catching her—left the restaurant, and the one named Blake grabbed a cup of hot chocolate, smiled at her, and left too.
Gabrielle sighed, relaxed, and enjoyed her delicious meal. After she finished her dinner, she was about to head up to her room when she got a text. Her jaguar friends were running late on a JAG mission they were working. They would see her tomorrow afternoon instead of tonight.
Great. They were the reason she was here at all!
Oh well, Gabrielle would run tonight as a wolf and then swim tomorrow, doing the things she loved anyway, and she wouldn’t have to snow ski for a while. Normally, she wasn’t afraid of anything…but falling down mountains in the cold, wet snow? It didn’t appeal. She couldn’t imagine how her friends had gotten into snow skiing, since they were jaguar shifters, but they loved the snow. Then again, with their catlike actions, she could imagine they would do well on the slopes.
She sighed, paid her dinner bill, and walked up the carpeted stairs to her room on the second floor to ditch her wet bathing suit and dress in other warm, dry clothes. She carried a bottle of water for after her run and a backpack to stuff her clothes into when she was ready to shift in the woods. The backpack was white and would blend in with the snow. But she would bury it too, just in case, not wanting anyone to find it and steal it or worry about a missing person. She could find the buried backpack with her enhanced sense of smell as a lupus garou.
Once she was ready to go, Gabrielle headed downstairs past the pool, though she glanced through the entryway to see Landon swimming with muscular strokes, his back, arms, and shoulders well sculpted, and she smiled, glad he hadn’t caught her swimming.
Then she left the ski lodge and trudged through the snow past two beautiful two-story brick-and-stone homes, rustic but new, with white lights hanging from the eaves and around the trees out back. She headed for the tree line where she figured she could run safely through the woods on a snowy eve. She did briefly think about running into a frozen lake on her travels, but if she did, as a human or a wolf, she shouldn’t be able to break through the ice. Not as cold as it was and for as long as it had been cold in Colorado. A big Saint Bernard barked inside the first of the homes, peering out a glass door. It looked like the one that had been sleeping by the fire earlier tonight when she’d first checked in and had to stop and pet him, minus the barrel around his neck.
Gabrielle moved a little faster through the snowdrifts, worried she might be trespassing in the houses’ backyards, though there were no signs or fences, so she couldn’t be sure.
When she finally reached the woods, far away from any residence, she hurried to yank off her clothes, stuff them in her backpack, and bury the bag quickly before shifting. The shift warmed her body all the way through at once, and she felt better as soon as she was covered in fur, standing on four legs, and ready to run as a wolf. Then she tore off into the woods, wanting to howl her delight but stifled the urge. She didn’t want to alert any lupus garous in the area that she was running as a wolf in these parts if it wasn’t allowed, or if hunters were illegally hunting to rid the area of the wolf “menace.”
She was running along happily, the glorious, waning crescent moon peeking through the snow-bearing clouds, when she came into a clearing and saw four wolves—three females and one male—frolicking with each other in the powdery snow until the largest one caught sight of her and stood still. The others all turned to see what the male had seen. Two of the she-wolves were lighter-colored with brownish masks on their faces, their chests white. The second female was a little taller than the other. The third female was more reddish, her face a white mask, her chest light-red. The male had darker brown fur and more black guards on the saddle on his back.
But were they real wolves? Or lupus garous?
Maybe a whole pack of lupus garous lived here. Gabrielle had smelled wolves at the lodge. The waitress had been one and so had several of the staff members; was it a wolf-run lodge? Had to be and that’s why so many of the decorations throughout the lodge featured wolves.
Her friends had found this out-of-the-way ski resort in Colorado and thought they might even get some running in as shifters in the backcountry. Like she was doing now. But the lodge hadn’t been open to guests then, having recently been built when her friends came to Silver Town. Maybe the wolves at the lodge were all new to the area.
One of the she-wolves barked at her in greeting. Okay, Gabrielle thought, they were some of her kind and not a wild wolf pack that wouldn’t want her in their territory. She exhaled the air she’d been holding in and breathed out a frosty mist.
The other two female wolves barked at her, and she barked back to let them know she was safe to be around. The male didn’t respond, eyeing her, protective of the females in his harem, Gabrielle thought facetiously.
She wasn’t sure what to do. Should she turn around and return to her backpack, shift, dress, and head back into the lodge? But then the three females approached her, greeting her in a wolf way, telling her they were safe. One turned her head, indicating she wanted Gabrielle to follow her and the others.
Okay, so this could be fun. She hadn’t expected to come across any other lupus garous out here and she ran with them. The three female wolves began playing with her, and she hadn’t expected that. The male was a little aloof, but he might have been worried about making her feel uneasy. The way he had been running close to one of the females, Gabrielle thought he was with her, as in courting or mated. The other wolves seemed just as familiar with him, so maybe related? She couldn’t be sure.
She’d been playing with them for about an hour, and it was getting to be about eleven when she felt really tired. She hadn’t gotten used to the time difference yet, and it was two hours later for her back home. She barked at them, telling them she was leaving.
They barked and followed her until she reached her backpack and woofed at them to let them know she was fine.
They woofed and she barked back and they hurried off to give her privacy, which she was glad for. She tugged her clothes out of her backpack with her wolf teeth, shifted, and hurried to dress. Cold, cold, cold. This was nothing like shifting after a run in Florida at night, even on the coldest winter days. Certainly, there wasn’t any snow to stand in.
She finally finished dressing and trudged through the woods, past the two houses where the outdoor Christmas lights were still on. She could see the trail left behind by two wolves, the male and female she thought were mated. The other two females had left tracks to the house closest to the lodge.
So they weren’t guests at the lodge, but owned the homes here in Silver Town.
Just then she saw the man called Landon heading toward the first house, and he glanced in her direction.
She mumbled “Hi” and hurried off as fast as she could through the deepening snow to the lodge. She glanced over her shoulder and found him still watching her.
He had to be a wolf like the others. Was one of the females his mate? He seemed wary. She hoped he wasn’t putting two and two together and realizing she was the one who had been swimming in the pool, if he’d seen her face at all.
She kept going and finally made it inside the toasty-warm lodge, where she saw a new night staff working the front desk and a man polishing the floor. Gabrielle stood at the entrance to the pool and eyed it for a moment. Tomorrow, before it was open and before the restaurant opened, she would go for another swim when no one would be watching the pool.
She headed up to her room, eager to take a hot shower and climb into bed and sleep.
The funny thing was that she never broke the rules anywhere, so why now? She hadn’t planned to do that until she realized the pool was closed because she’d arrived so late. But now, the business with Landon trying to locate her made her want to do it at least once more, to challenge him, to see if he would give up the search or if he would catch her—and then what? He had to be a wolf since so many of the staff were.
She smiled. He’d brought the devil out in her, and only the jaguar sisters had ever done that!
Chapter 2
When he reached his back door, Landon was still thinking about the pretty blond who had greeted him in an almost reluctant way in the snow behind his house. As soon as he went inside, he saw Roxie and Kayla straightening up the living room where they’d been putting together a wolf-pack puzzle. They had just finished making beef stew for a late dinner. He was curious about the woman who had been trespassing in their backyard, though since they hadn’t put the fence up yet, anyone who wasn’t from Silver Town wouldn’t know that. “Did you happen to see the woman who just passed through our backyard, earlier while you were running as wolves?”
She had been coming from the same direction as his family, since that was the way they always went running when they were out in the snow as wolves. Plus that’s where all the wolf tracks were coming from.
“She was probably the woman we met when we went for a run. We didn’t see her shift. We were all playing as wolves when we saw her.” Roxie served up bowls of stew.
“She was a wolf?”
“Yeah. She witnessed us playing and we all stopped what we were doing, surprised to see a new wolf watching us. We greeted her to let her know we weren’t a danger to her, and she ran and played with us. She was a lot of fun. She’s not from here, so she might be one of the guests at our lodge.” Kayla smiled. “She was all alone, about our age, maybe an eligible she-wolf? You missed out on going with us when you could have played with her yourself.”
“I was swimming.” If he’d known his family had hooked up with a single she-wolf, he would have been there to check her out and forgotten about watching for someone else showing up at the pool. Though he had hoped to catch sight of the woman in the string bikini again. Still, someone just passing through Silver Town wouldn’t have made for a permanent friendship—as in courting.
Kayla served the rolls and they sat down to eat.
Roxie smiled. “I know you. You were making sure no one else showed up to swim when the pool is closed, after what happened earlier.”
Landon smiled at his sisters.
After dinner, he carried the dishes into the kitchen to clean up. “Dinner was delicious. Thanks for making it.”
“You’re welcome,” Roxie said.
He finished cleaning up the dishes and told his sisters, “I’m off to bed. See you in the morning.” But he couldn’t quit thinking about the woman in the candy-striped string bikini. He wanted in the worst way to find her in the pool—not only by sight, but to actually catch her. He was a wolf at heart, but hell, when did he lose sight of his mission that fast?
After he’d showered and gone to bed, all he could think of was the woman diving under the water like a mermaid and then slipping under the glass divider and vanishing. As if she had escaped to the sea. He had desperately wanted to reach her while swimming—and he might have, if Blake hadn’t interrupted him! But if she was human, that wouldn’t be half as grand as if she were a wolf. And that’s what he had to know. Was she or wasn’t she?
* * *
The next morning, Landon was at the lodge early, taking care of guests who were looking for directions to town, gift shops in the area, eating places nearby. He gave them the brochures that Nicole’s parents had made up for them at their stationery store.
While he spoke to the last guest about the Wolffs’ gift shop and shipping policy for purchases, Roxie came over to speak with him, wearing a big smile, and arched her brows. “You know the pool’s not open yet. But I heard a swimmer swimming across the length. Do you want me to tell the swimmer it’s closed for two more hours?”
“I’ve got it.” Landon hoped it was the woman he had seen last night in the pool. No way did he want anyone else to get involved. Despite his need to tell the woman she couldn’t swim at this hour, he wanted to see her in the string bikini again. What could he say? He was a bachelor male wolf, and if she was a single she-wolf, he was going to have to rethink his notion that a guest couldn’t swim when the pool was closed. But just for her. And someone, like him, would have to be there swimming with her to make it officially all right. He figured his family would rib him mercilessly about it if that happened.
He was wearing a sweater, pants, and boots, not ready for a swim, but if it happened to be the same woman, he was ready to ditch his clothes, wearing only his boxer briefs, and swim after her.
As soon as he reached the pool, he saw her heading for the glass divider to the outside part of the pool, wearing a red, green, and white bikini. She still looked like a sexy, sweet candy cane, but the swimsuit was not nearly as revealing as the string bikini. This time, her hair was floating around her, long and blond. Before he lost her again, since he couldn’t swim after her, he called out to her, “Hey, what’s your name?”
Not at all like what he should have said to the woman: The pool’s closed! You have to leave now!
He suspected she might just ignore him and keep on swimming.
She turned, her smile radiant. He was a sucker for a pretty smile, yet the notion flitted through his mind that she was just like his ex, doing what she shouldn’t because she thought she could get away with it with a pretty smile. And yet, he wondered, was she the woman he’d seen in the snow last night, walking past his and his sisters’ house? It was hard to tell because the woman had been buried in clothes, a ski hat covering her head and her blond hair swept up in the chilly breeze, but a lighter color than this woman’s wet blond hair.
“Gabrielle Lowell,” she said, treading water.
“The—” He meant to say the pool was closed, but she interrupted him.
“Sorry. I’ll be right out.”
“You’re a guest, right?” He wondered if she was staying at the Victorian Inn or Hastings Bed and Breakfast in town and wasn’t even a guest here.
“Yes. My friends are late in arriving at the lodge, and nothing’s open at this hour.” She motioned to the outdoor area of the pool. “I have to go that way. That’s where my clothes are.”
He glanced around the pool and realized that’s why he hadn’t smelled her scent here before. She must have sneaked into the pool from the outside and left the same way so she didn’t leave any clothes on one of the chaise lounges. Very clever. He would never have guessed it.
Now what? He hurried as fast as he could to the outside so he could reach her before she disappeared again. Though he could look her up on the computer and learn what room she was staying in, her car tags, where she was from. But he would much prefer talking to her first.
When he finally exited the lodge, having to take the long way around to reach a door, he found her sitting on a lounge chair, pulling on a pair of candy-cane socks and then snow boots with fluffy fur around the tops. Her parka was bright pink with a fur collar on the hood, and she was wearing black skintight ski pants. The same clothes he saw the woman in the snow wearing last night. She was a gray wolf like him. He smiled.
She gave him more of a precocious smile this time. Despite her saying she’d been sorry about swimming in the pool, he knew she wasn’t really.
“So you are the lodge’s security officer?” she asked, heading toward the restaurant as he hoofed it around the other side of the pool to join her.
“Part owner, along with my brother, his mate, and my two sisters. I’m Landon Wolff.”
Her kissable mouth hung agape. “Wolff Timberline Lodge. And you’re gray wolves.”
He smiled and he was sure his look was on the predatory side. “Yeah, and so are you. You ran with my family last night. You passed by me when you were trespassing in our backyard.”
Her enticing lips parted again. “Uh, if they live in the two homes next to the lodge, yes. Where were you? Wait, still swimming? Trying to catch me breaking the rules again?”
He chuckled darkly and led her to the restaurant, but the Saint Bernard came running after them to greet her.
“What’s this, Rosco?” Landon asked, reaching over to pet the dog.
But Rosco quickly licked Gabrielle’s hand and she gave him a hug. “You’re such a good boy, aren’t you?”
Landon smiled down at the two of them. They looked like they were the best of friends. “You’ve been holding out on us, Rosco.”
The dog nuzzled his hand as if to say they were still friends.
“Come on, Gabrielle. Let’s eat. He will want you to pet him for the rest of the day, if you encourage him.”
“I’ll pet you more later, Rosco.” She frowned as she read the sign stating the bar and grill’s hours of operation. “It says it’s not open for another half hour.”
“I’m one of the owners, remember?” He unlocked the door and let her in, then locked it back up so that no one would get the idea the bar and grill was now open for business. Breakfasts were being made for those who ordered room service, but he could have their breakfast made now.
“Wow. I call this royal treatment.” She smiled at him. “What if I had a boyfriend?”
“He would be here with you now, and last night, I suspect.” Landon couldn’t imagine being her boyfriend and not being with her every minute of the day while on vacation.
She nodded. “You’re right. What about you?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend either.”
She laughed and he brought her a menu, then they sat down in a booth. He got a call while she was looking over the menu and he said, “Yeah, Roxie?”
