Jingle Bell Wolf, page 6
“I’m Lelandi, and this is Darien Silver, my mate,” the woman said, shaking Gabrielle’s hand. “We’re the pack leaders of Silver Town and wanted to officially welcome you.” She smiled brightly at Gabrielle. “And we understand not only that you, Landon, and Rosco helped save one of the ski resort’s avalanche victims, but also that you’re a vet.”
Gabrielle guessed the pack leaders wanted to know about all the shifters who came into the town in case they had any trouble with a rogue wolf. But still, how had they known she was a veterinarian? Had they checked her background completely? That was kind of unsettling. “Uh, yes.”
“Do you have a sole proprietorship?” Lelandi asked.
“Four of us work at the vet clinic, and we have two others who come in once a week but also work at other clinics. It’s a nice arrangement so we can cover for each other and take off if we need or want to.” That question kind of ruled out that they had thoroughly investigated her background.
“Oh, how interesting. Doc Mitchell is our vet, but he wants to retire when we can find someone suitable for the pack who could take over his practice. Landon probably told you all our businesses are run by wolves. So if you ever think you might like a change of location and a friendly pack to join, we would be happy to have you,” Lelandi said.
Darien agreed. “We have a lot to offer you that other areas can’t for wolves.”
Gabrielle was really surprised she was getting a job offer, of all the things that could happen to her on vacation in Silver Town.
“Thanks. I don’t have any plans to move, but if I ever do, I’ll sure give your offer serious consideration.” Gabrielle had been born in Florida and had rarely left the state except to take a few beach-location trips with her jaguar friends. Certainly, after the situation with her parents, she hadn’t ever considered moving to any place that had snow.
Though for Christmas it was fun. She could imagine how pretty the area would be in the fall. In Florida, they had no fall colors. Relief from the heat and humidity would be welcome too.
She hoped the pack leaders hadn’t had the wrong impression that she was looking to move to Colorado, and that she was planning on or already courting Landon and they were ready to tell the whole pack the news. She had to admit she felt something deeper for Landon than she’d ever felt for a bachelor male wolf though. She really, truly liked him, but the thought of giving up her practice and moving to another state seemed too monumental.
Gabrielle loved her practice, her clients, the staff, and where she lived. Yet in beginning to get to know Landon, and seeing the other wolves in happy mated relationships, she realized she was missing out on a whole lot more in life by living a lone wolf’s existence. If anyone could yank her out of the rut she was in, that wolf would certainly be one as hot and intriguing as Landon, who was so determined to be with her and show her a good time. Even so, there was more to the feelings she was experiencing than just having fun. Increasingly intense biological and physical needs were signaling her to change her notion of maintaining the status quo.
When they finished talking to Lelandi and Darien, the pack leaders welcomed Gabrielle to Silver Town again, and then they left the bar and grill. Gabrielle raised her brows at Landon, feeling a little blindsided.
He held his hands up in a defensive posture. “It wasn’t my idea. I was as surprised as you to see them come to our table and talk to you.”
“One of your sisters or your brother must have told them I’m a vet.” Gabrielle drank some of her hot Earl Grey tea. “No one else here but you knew, unless you told the pack leaders.”
Landon pondered that for a moment, then lifted his cup of coffee off the table. “I…don’t know, then. Roxie asked you at breakfast what you do for a living, but I was eager to have her leave so she didn’t hear your answer. I haven’t told her or the rest of my family what you do back home. I do know the pack leaders have been looking for a qualified—as in also a wolf—vet for a while. Doc Mitchell wants to retire. Our regular doctor, Dr. Weber, is a red wolf and he’s retiring, too, now that we have a family physician and pediatrician who can replace him. When Doc Mitchell learned Doc Weber had a replacement for his position, I think that made our vet want to retire all the more.”
“Okay.” Gabrielle still wondered if Landon had anything to do with it, which only meant he wanted to see more of her. That was a good thing, if she’d wanted to stay. Truly, she had felt honored that the pack leaders had come here to offer her the position if she’d wanted to move.
“Believe me, they don’t welcome all new wolves who come through Silver Town.”
“Really?” Now that was a shocker. She thought they truly did personally check out new wolves, just in case they might give them some trouble.
“Yeah, really.” He smiled. “The only other time they checked out one of our new wolf guests was when Nicole arrived after the new year. She was from Denver, and we wanted her to stay. All of us did, but especially Blake. He would have done anything for her, even move to Denver, since she was a PI with an office there and her brother and parents lived there. They have wolves there, but no one she was interested in dating, and all of us were eager to do whatever we could to make her feel at home here so she wouldn’t leave. She couldn’t be happier living here with us. Her brother and parents are just as happy to be here. Her parents moved their stationery store to Silver Town, and Nate, her brother, ended up in the private investigator business with her.”
“Was she a private investigator”—Gabrielle forked up more of her linguini—“on a job here or just on vacation here like me?”
“On a job. She was trying to catch someone who was staying as a guest at the lodge.”
“And she figured she would have enough work to keep busy if she moved to Silver Town?”
“Yeah, Nicole and her brother still go to Denver when they have a case that clients want them to handle there. But here is where Nicole’s heart is.”
“Because of Blake.” Gabrielle believed in happily ever after. But she had been certain her dream mate would be swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, leaving the water, then using a beach towel to wipe off the water beaded up on his skin when he saw her walking along the sand, and then he would sweep her right off her feet. She had never envisioned finding the wolf of her dreams at a ski resort. Though she had to admit she had met Landon when he was getting ready to swim and she was already swimming. Who said the dream would have to be perfectly accurate in real life?
Still, coming here to live was another thing. She finished her lunch and saw that Landon was already done. “That was delicious. Are you ready to ski?”
“You bet. Do you think you can manage the cold?”
“Sure, as long as we have a hot chocolate topped with whipped cream when I get too cold.”
After lunch, they skied for some time. She had graduated to the intermediate slopes, narrower and longer and steeper than the easy slopes, and had done really well. When they finally stopped for a hot chocolate break to warm up, several men and women came by their table at the bar and grill, praising her for helping to save the snowboarder’s life.
Gabrielle felt like a real heroine. Though she felt like that from time to time when she saved someone’s pet’s life, it was never to this extent. The family would be thrilled, but a whole wolf pack?
Landon was smiling at her.
At first, she kept saying if it hadn’t been for Rosco, they would never have found the snowboarder in time. But everyone wanted her to know she was the reason they were coming by to thank her.
“Do you feel a little neglected? I mean, you were as much a hero as Rosco.” Gabrielle rose from her seat and began to pull on her ski jacket.
Landon pulled on his ski jacket too. “Not at all. They are just so thrilled to—”
“See me. I know.”
“Several were bachelor males, if you didn’t realize it.”
She laughed. “I should have known.”
“But the thanks were sincerely given.”
“They want me to join the pack.” She put her hat on but carried her gloves.
“Do you blame them?”
She smiled. “No. I never envisioned a wolf pack would be this nice.”
“They are. Not to say we never have problems, but for the most part, they’re a great group to be with.”
Before they could leave the lodge, a young man chased after them. “The dude at the check-in counter said you saved my friend’s life. I want to thank you. I told Mick he was an idiot for going off slope. I guess he learned that lesson pretty well today.” He ran his hands through his dark hair. “That’s the end of snowboarding with him this trip. I just wanted to thank you again.”
“And Rosco,” Gabrielle said, pointing to the dog.
“Hell yeah. My friend and I ordered him a big box of doggy treats online. They should be coming in a few days.”
Landon chuckled. “Thanks. We were glad we could help.”
“I’m just glad Mick’s okay.” Then the young man shook their hands and took off for the parking lot.
Gabrielle was so glad she had gone with Landon to help him look for Rosco. She was relieved the snowboarder hadn’t suffered any injuries. It would be one of the most memorable good experiences with a snow emergency she’d ever had.
The rest of the afternoon, Gabrielle and Landon went down the intermediate slopes. She did really great too. She wanted to ski on the slopes until they closed for the night so that she would be in good shape by tomorrow morning when she skied with her friends. But on the last run down, she fell twice. Her muscles had been used in ways they weren’t used to, not to mention all the trudging through snow on snowshoes and digging out a buried snowboarder. She was tired. Happily so, though.
After she and Landon ditched their poles and skis and ski shoes for their snow boots in the supply room, they had dinner together at the bar and grill. Gabrielle wanted to order a pizza that came in the shape of a Christmas wreath, and he wanted the same. She took a picture of it when the server delivered it and texted that to her friends. And then she began eating it. “Your food is excellent here.” She took another bite of her double-cheese pizza, topped with red bell pepper strips pieced together to resemble a red bow, green peppers, sausage slices, dried tomatoes, and basil leaves. Not only was it beautiful, but it sure tasted great.
Odette texted back: Save a slice for us.
Gabrielle smiled.
Odette texted again: Melany Williams, the woman we’re trying to chase down, supposedly killed her husband and is on the run. I’m sure you saw it in the news. We tried to keep it quiet—given what we are.
Odette sent her a picture of Melany and Gabrielle frowned and texted: But?
Odette replied: Zelda and I think it might be a setup. Enjoy your meal!
Gabrielle studied the woman’s photo. She was a pretty brunette with blue eyes and a lovely smile, and just from appearances, she didn’t look like anyone who could kill anyone. But what did Gabrielle know?
“Is something wrong?” Landon asked.
“No, just my friends told me they were looking for a woman who might or might not have murdered her mate.”
“Oh, not good.”
“She might have been set up, they said.”
“That’s awful.”
“It is. Sorry, I didn’t mean to go on a tangent. The pizza is great,” Gabrielle said.
“Only the best for our guests and for anyone else who wants to eat here, whether they live in town or are passing through. We take pride in making food that everyone raves about. You can leave five-star reviews anytime.” Landon grabbed another slice. “So, did you want to go for a wolf run before we swim in the pool, or do you feel you’ve had enough exercise for the day?”
“Your family is going to fire you for neglecting your work.”
“I’m doing my work—making sure that my guests are happy with the accommodations.”
She chuckled. “Only one guest.”
He smiled.
She loved how he was making her feel welcome when her friends weren’t here. He probably could afford to take off a day while she was alone, but tomorrow, she would be spending the time with her friends. Though she wouldn’t mind running with Landon as a wolf—and swimming—all week long when they were done skiing.
“Are you still up for a wolf run?” She was tired, but she knew if she ran, she would have a blast anyway.
“Yeah. And then we can break the rules and swim in the pool after hours?” Landon left a tip on the table.
“That’s the only way to go, isn’t it? Fewer people, no kids in the pool?”
He laughed. “You can strip out of your clothes and shift in the downstairs guest bedroom at our house to run as a wolf, if you would like, rather than in the woods. It’s the first house after the lodge. The house after that is Blake’s and Nicole’s. Roxie mentioned you had shifted in the woods before.”
“Yeah. I couldn’t very well shift at the lodge and run out of there as a wolf. I did worry someone would see my backpack and sound an alarm that someone was lost or steal it. I guess when I passed your house I heard Rosco barking, warning that an intruder was in your yard.”
“Yeah, that was Rosco.”
“Okay, well, going to your place to shift works for me. Thanks a lot.”
“You’re certainly welcome.”
After they pulled on their ski jackets, hats, gloves, and scarves, they left the restaurant and headed through the snow to the house. White Christmas lights trimmed both of the homes and a couple of trees out back, just like at the lodge. The lights reflected off the snow. So pretty.
When she walked into the house, Rosco greeted her as if she were family. Gabrielle laughed at the dog. “You look like you have recuperated just fine.”
She glanced around at all the Christmas decorations—the beautiful Christmas tree filled with lights and ornaments all done up in blues and silver. Stockings hung from the mantel, and evergreens and red candles trimmed the top. But there was no fire going at the moment.
“Did you have someone professionally decorate the lodge and your home?” Gabrielle loved everything they had done.
“No, we did it all as a family. As soon as Blake and Nicole tied the knot, they began making plans to build their own home. We own the property up to the tree line, so we’ll keep building homes along that way when a couple more of us are mated. The last one to mate will remain in this house.”
“Wow, that’s so nice to have a family like that.”
“We are lucky. We all get along great. Not to say we don’t have our squabbles from time to time, but we work out our differences easily enough. It’s the same with the pack. To have a new business in Silver Town, you have to have the pack leaders’ approval and every pack member gets a say in the matter. Sure, new owners have to be wolves, but the pack doesn’t want to ruin the economy for the business owners who have been here for years. Or bring too many humans to the area, even just for sport.”
“Oh, I totally understand.”
“In your case, should you want to take over Doc Mitchell’s clinic, it’s already well established and you’ll have all his clientele. In our case, I really believe they agreed for us to open the lodge not only because there was a need for it, but because we have two unmated sisters. There’s a shortage of eligible she-wolves for mating in the pack.”
Gabrielle would never have guessed it. “Was that also the reason Lelandi and Darien offered me a job? Just because I’m a woman?” She hoped she didn’t sound as annoyed as she felt.
“You’re a wolf and a vet, and you’re young so you probably won’t want to retire for a long time, at least to their way of thinking. I’m sure if you were a male vet, they would have been just as eager to meet you and make the offer for you to stay.” He motioned to a room down the hall. “You can strip out of your clothes in the guest bedroom. I’ll meet you downstairs in a minute.”
That made her feel better. Once she had changed and shifted, she headed into the living room. Rosco was wagging his tail as he greeted her again, even though she was a wolf this time. He could smell her same scent. She nuzzled his face in greeting.
She listened for any sign Landon’s sisters were here. She’d had fun playing with them and Blake and Nicole last night, and hoped they would all join in again in the wolf scuffle.
Then Landon came down the stairs as a big wolf, his mask a darker brown than Blake’s, very striking black lines of fur above his eyes giving him the adorable look of having black eyebrows. His back was a mixture of black guard hairs and brown, blond, and gray, his chest mostly white. He smiled at her in a wolf way and nuzzled her face in greeting. She enjoyed the camaraderie as wolves, something that she didn’t get to experience back home.
Rosco wagged his tail hard upon seeing Landon too. She wondered if they ever took him running with them when they were wolves. Then she and Landon headed outside through a wolf door.
She saw his family members gathered in the backyard of the other home, and they all woofed in greeting. Gabrielle relaxed. She was worried Landon had set this up to be a wolf-run date, trying to convince her to stay in the area. She did like that there seemed to be a number of eligible bachelors, if she ever had the notion of moving to Silver Town. That sure wasn’t the case back home. But she just wanted to have fun with a group of wolves for now, no pressure. Not when she didn’t live here and couldn’t really consider courting a wolf.
They all ran off through the woods for about a mile and then they began playing. She was just as aggressive with the she-wolves as they were with her. She was glad they weren’t giving her an inch just because she was not part of the family. Wolves had to show they had the mettle to take on other wolves. Landon and Blake just watched the four she-wolves playing as if they were putting on a show for them. Then Nicole tackled her mate, as if to tell him he had to participate or else, and the whole bunch of them began to play.
