Tuesday Truth 5/1/18
I am very, very, very sorry indeed to not have a new bit from Cole and Gina for you again this week. I know it’s been a few weeks since you saw anything new. I have reasons…
The move is complete. That amazes me. About 2.5 weeks ago I think I got the flu again. My temp was 101.8 and I had the usual chills and body aches. But after a few days I felt a lot better. That was a huge relief, considering that I was packing for the move to the storage unit. But then the fever was back, and even higher, and my chest burned. Then when I drew a deep breath I felt like I was being stabbed in the back. I went to the doc and after a chest Xray and a blood test she told me I had pneumonia. Again? I asked. I just had that in December! Yes, again. But last time it was viral pneumonia and this was bacterial pneumonia. She gave me a prescription for an antibiotic and told me to rest.
Rest. When I still needed to pack and clean the old place? Right.
Somehow I did manage to get everything done. It wasn’t easy. I honestly don’t know how I did it. All that carrying things down three flights, and scrubbing, and trying to breathe? Amazing. I am still paying for it, but I did get through a full day of work yesterday and today. This weekend I am doing NOTHING. Nothing except sleep, knit and write. I promise a new snip next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, I found new inspirations for Cole. I can’t decide which I like better. What do you think?
Tuesday Teaser 4/17/18: Gina’s Wolf Part 9
The move is progressing. I wish it was DONE but it’s coming along. On Saturday 90% of the stuff was moved to the storage unit. I still have the stuff for donating and a few more things to move either to my mom’s house or the storage unit. My goal is to have all that out and have the apartment completely empty by supper time next Saturday. Then it is CLEANING time. Oy! I’m so tired. The check out at the old place is April 27th at 4pm. So one way or another, this will be over in less than two weeks. Then I’ll be able to concentrate on poor Gina and Cole. They are due a little snuggle time, don’t you think? Chapter 5. They get to -er- know each other better in Chapter 5. Promise.
I did manage some writing this weekend. I’m not completely happy with the last bit of Chapter 4. It is very dialogue heavy. But the great thing about rough drafts is that you can get the general ideas out and then go back later to re-write and polish. So, here is a scene between Nikki and Gina while Cole is off running his patrol to be sure the Kansas-Missouri people haven’t followed them.
Cole’s breath stirred her hair. His arms tightened for a moment, then relaxed. He raised her chin with his fingers. “I’ll be back soon, mate.”
“Be careful,” she whispered.
His smile was a bold slash of white in his dark face. “Always.”
With complete unconcern, he stepped away, unbuttoned the shirt and let it drop, and then unfastened the jeans and stepped out of them. Gina gawked at the male perfection of his naked body. His broad shoulders tapered to a hard, narrow waist and long legs. She got a glimpse of his sculpted chest and belly before he turned to the door, showing her a hard, round behind. Dang it, she thought, he’d turned away too soon.
He opened the door and paused to glance back at her. His wicked smile said he knew she liked what she saw. “All yours, Gina. All of me belongs to only you,” he said.
Then he blurred into gray fur and was gone, the door swinging shut behind him.
Behind her, Nikki cleared her throat. Gina was sure her cheeks were beet red, but she composed her face and turned to the older woman.
“Would you like some help cleaning up from breakfast?” she asked.
“Sure. The wash water will be ready any second.”
For a moment, Gina looked at the crumpled shirt and jeans on the floor. “He could have folded them, instead of just leaving them on the floor,” she muttered, bending to pick them up.
Nikki laughed. “Just like a wolf. You can put the clothes on the stool there. He can find them there when he gets back.”
In a few minutes the two women were at the kitchen sink, washing, rinsing, and putting away the breakfast dishes. Gina, scrubbing a dishrag over a plate, cast a sidelong glance at Nikki.
“What did you mean when you said you were from the Plane Women’s House?”
“Ah.” Nikki paused in drying a plate to smile at Gina. “Have you and Colby been mated long?”
“Um.” Gina looked down at the soap suds floating on top of the water. “Not, er, no. That is, I barely know him.”
Nikki put the dried plate in the cabinet before focusing on Gina. “Have you accepted his mate claim?”
“No. I don’t know. I don’t think so?”
Nikki’s brows drew slightly together as she dried her hands on the dish towel she held. “Have you made love?”
“No!”
“Then you haven’t.” Nikki sounded very sure. Her tone sent a wave of relief crashing through Gina. “It is always the woman’s choice whether or not to accept the claim. No wolf would force his mate to accept him.” A small smile lit Nikki’s face. “But a wolf bent of winning his mate can be stubborn. Don’t expect Colby to give up. I remember how patient Stag was with Sherry, right up to the moment he decided desperate measures were called for.” She laughed, her eyes softening at some memory. “Poor Sherry. It worked out for them though.”
“Who is Sherry?”
Nikki’s eyes shifted back into focus, though the smile lingered. “Sherry was one of the women on the plane with me. So was Colby’s mother.”
“Plane?” Gina echoed blankly.
“You wash while I talk,” Nikki said. “I’ll start at the beginning. Way back in 2014 I boarded a plane. Only an hour after takeoff, the plane crashed. There weren’t that many survivors, and most of us were hurt. We didn’t know it at first, but we had travelled forward in time and found ourselves in 2064, fifty years after terrorists nuked most of the world.”
Gina stared, open-mouthed. She had a vague idea of what a plane was because her stepfather was obsessed with re-creating the technology from the Times Before. This woman had actually ridden on one. She had lived in the Times Before. “That must have been terrifying.”
“It was. We were rescued by the Lakota Wolf Clan. They took us in and helped us get back on our feet. Some survivors were mated to wolves. The rest of us were given a large apartment building to live in That was called The Plane Women’s House, and they turned it into a very successful restaurant.”
Gina nodded, absorbing this. She knew of the Plane Women’s Eatery.
“Connie was the pilot of the plane. She mated Des, and other wolves came to live there, and now that group is called the Plane Women’s House Pack. Des and Connie are in charge there.”
“Is that where Cole is from?” Gina rinsed a glass, but her attention was on Nikki. “He said something about it. Or is he from the Clan? I’m confused.”
“I don’t blame you. The Clan lives on the prairie in tents during the summer and in the Black Hills in the winter. Until about forty years ago the Clan was the only werewolf pack. But they don’t like to be called werewolves. Taye’s mother ―that would be Colby’s grandmother― separated from the Clan and went to live near her family near Kearney. Several of the men of the Clan went with her. They became the Pack. Now they are sometimes called Taye’s Pack or the Kearney Pack.”
“So there are three groups of wer… I mean, wolves.”
“Right.” Nikki took the glass and dried it. “One important thing to remember about wolves is that they are fanatical about keeping women safe. Any woman, but one they are responsible for? They will do anything for her.” Nikki turned from the cabinet to look at Gina very seriously. “Colby won’t hurt you. He might be a little high handed about how to keep you safe.” She laughed at Gina’s snort. “Well, I bet he is as much of an Alpha as his father. Taye acts all laid back and even-tempered until some guy gets too close to Carla. Then watch out.”
“Ha. Is he as bossy as Cole?”
Nikki seemed to think. “I don’t know. I think Carla learned to manage him pretty early. Like you did at breakfast. Yes, I noticed how you touched him and asked him to wait to go to Omaha. That was good. No pleading, no tears, no yelling. You have the knack of controlling yourself and getting your way without drama.”
Gina started on the frying pan. A need for self-preservation had taught her how to gauge a mood and act in the way most likely to keep her from trouble. Yelling and throwing tantrums had achieved nothing but vigorous spankings and days without food. Keeping her rebellion hidden deep inside had been much safer. “I don’t want to control him,” she said in a low voice.
“Controlling and managing are two very different things. Here, give me that skillet. I’ll finish it after I’ve put you to bed. You are practically asleep on your feet.”
She really wasn’t. Nikki had given her a lot to think about. Her mind was going over and over the story of the plane and the wolves and the packs until they were muddled in her brain. Maybe she was tired. She was suddenly aware of how her feet and back ached.
Nikki handed her the dish towel. “Dry your hands. I’ll get you one of my nighties. You can sleep in my daughter’s room. She married a few years ago, but she lives only a mile away and was home last weekend for a couple of nights. I just changed the sheets on her bed. Come on.”
In a few minutes Gina was wearing a long flannel nightgown and the warm socks, curled up in a narrow twin bed under a comforting mound of quilts. “Thank you,” she murmured and was asleep before Mrs. Andrews had closed the door and tiptoed back to the kitchen. She was still asleep when Cole returned from his patrol and stepped into the dim room. She didn’t see the way his mouth softened with wonder as he looked at her, or the longing on his face when he reached a trembling finger to touch her hair. She didn’t see him strip or feel the bed sag under his weight. When he curved his larger body around hers she only mumbled wordlessly and snuggled in to his chest. It wasn’t until she woke several hours later that she realized the warmth came from the naked body of a man who stared at her with dark, hungry eyes.
Tuesday Truth 4/10/18-My early writing career
Hey, in case you hadn’t guessed, there is no teaser today. My apartment is about half packed, and the moving truck arrives on Saturday. I have two more evenings to pack. Man, I hate moving.
Have you ever wondered how some writers began writing? Well, I started in High School. I have dozens of hand scribbled stories in spiral bound notebooks. In college I moved up to using a typewriter and lots and LOTS of correction tape. I created cheesy covers for them and put them in clear plastic folders. And here they are, 35 years later.
As I was going through a box to see if its contents should be thrown away or packed, I found a series that I had laboriously typed (on a typewriter!) back in 198… *mumble, mumble* Wow! Talk about a blast from the past! I am glad to report that I have improved immensely as a writer since then. Yet, the stories themselves are good. It takes place in west Texas in the 1870s. Book 1 features a Mexican ranch owner of good family who was raised by the Comanche from the age 3 to 15. Now 25, Ricky Ybarra pretends to be a respectable land holder, but in reality is a bandit. He kidnaps a beautiful woman during a train robbery. Her love redeems him.
Book 2 is Ricky’s younger Comanche half brother who, after his band is forced onto the reservation and he realizes he needs to learn to read and write, falls in love with the school teacher.
Okay, I admit that is pretty formulaic and cheesy. But these guys are to die for. Really, I love them. Maybe I’ll do some re-writing. Someday, after I write my Gryphon Lords series, I might write and publish this series. Maybe.
Tuesday Teaser 4/3/18: Gina’s Wolf Part 8
Happy April! I hope you can find April where you’re at. Here it is buried beneath a lot of snow. The morning low was 2 F today and our high was 18. I don’t WANT to have to shovel any more but we are expecting snow on Thursday and over the weekend. Gah, even I am sick of winter!
I have a fairly long snip for you today, because I decided to take the story in a different direction than originally planned. So although the barebones of this will be familiar, I think a lot will be new too. Enjoy!
Chapter Four
Gina barely heard what the woman said. The aroma of ham sizzling on the stove pushed everything else out of her mind. But she noticed Cole’s arms stiffening around her and immediately relaxing, so she forced herself to pay attention to what was going on around her. The woman was not young, but her face had the timeless beauty that perfect bone structure preserved. Her soft brown hair was frosted with silver, the corners of her blue eyes edged with crow’s feet wrinkles, but her expression was lively and warm.
“Come in,” the woman urged. She put out one hand to push her husband back and lightly touched Gina’s shoulder with the other. “Oh, my dear, you’re frozen.” She looked up at Colby again. “Please, bring your mate in from the cold. I’ll take her into the kitchen while you get dressed.”
How did this stranger know that Cole thought of Gina as his ‘mate’? Cole stood silent a moment, and then gently put Gina on her feet. “Thank you.”
Gina’s feet almost failed to hold her up. She clutched Cole’s arm for balance. He steadied her until the farmwife hooked an arm around her waist and guided her into a short hallway that led to a roomy kitchen. The woman’s arm was warm and steady, but Gina was aware of a sense of loss. Cole was warmer and steadier.
Cole didn’t smell like ham and potatoes, though, and the kitchen did. Gina was suddenly ravenous. The woman pulled a chair over to the stove and pushed Gina into it. The stove was blessedly warm. In a few seconds the woman brought a wet washcloth and applied it gently to Gina’s forehead. The pain from the bump flared back to life.
“Sorry,” the woman murmured. “We need to get this cleaned up.”
Gina tried to distract herself from the pain. “Do you know Colby?” she asked, trying to remember what the woman had said.
“Colby.” The woman paused, obviously thinking. “No, the name is familiar, but I don’t think I ever met him. He would have been just a baby when I married John and left the House to move here. There were so many babies born around that time.”
She said the word ‘house’ as if Gina should know which house. Gina didn’t. Cole came into the kitchen, dressed in threadbare jeans too wide in the waist and too short at the ankle, and a button up summer weight cotton shirt a bit too narrow in the shoulders. His feet were still bare. The farmer followed him in, still holding his shotgun, but no longer looking threatening.
“I don’t remember you,” Cole confirmed. “My dad is Taye, from the pack north of Kearney.”
“Oh, sure, Carla is your mom. We were on the plane together. I’m still in contact with Connie and Kathy. We exchange a couple of letters a year.”
Gina was completely lost by this conversation.
“John,” the woman said, wringing out the washrag, “get the extra blanket from the closet.”
Cole came directly to Gina and crouched in front of her. “Are you okay?”
“Sure.” The pain in her head was better now, but her feet and hands were being stabbed by a million red hot needles. That was good. Sit meant she was still alive. “How about you?”
“Fine.”
The man came back with the blanket but not the shotgun. Cole helped the woman drape it around Gina. She clutched it tightly under her chin, so grateful for its comfort that tears stung her eyes. Cole looked alarmed.
“Are you okay?” he asked again.
“Yes.” She scrubbed the tears away and told a fib. “It’s just the, uh, smoke. Breakfast is burning.”
“I’ll finish breakfast, Nikki,” the man said quietly. “You take Mrs. Wolfe to the bedroom and get her some warm clothes. I’ll finish chores after we get things settled.”
It took Gina a moment to realize that she was Mrs. Wolfe, but Nikki helped her up and led the way out of the kitchen. They passed through a living room to a hallway with three doors. Nikki went past the first two doors and opened the third one to reveal a bedroom crowded with a large, neatly made bed and two wooden bureaus. Nikki guided Gina to the bed and turned to rummage through a drawer. She pulled out a pair of jeans, a bright red sweater, and two pairs of wool socks.
“I’m a little taller than you,” Nikki said with a smile, “but we’re about the same size so these should fit.”
Nikki said nothing about the party dress as she helped Gina out of it, but her brow furrowed briefly as she set it aside. Gina wondered what she should say if she was asked why she was outside in a dinner dress and nothing else. She groped for a believalbe lie in vain. Nothing could explain this bizarre situation. Even the truth was ludicrous.
Nikki didn’t ask. She carefully examined Gina’s toes, fingers, nose, and ears as she helped her dress. “No frostbite,” she said with relief. “Let’s go back out to the kitchen. You need to sit close to the stove to thoroughly warm up.”
Heaven would have thick wool socks. Gina was sure of it. She followed the woman back to the kitchen, each step driving pins and needles through her feet, but by the time she came in the kitchen, the pins and needles were fading. Cole visibly relaxed when he saw her. He took her hand and gently tugged her back to the chair by the stove.
“I want to sit at the table,” she protested.
In answer, he went to the large wooden table, slid one hand under it and lifted it. With no sign of effort, he carried it three yards and set it down in front of her so gently that nothing on it was disturbed. Gina gaped at the sugar bowl and the two place settings before raising her gaze to him. No wonder he could carry her for miles without panting.
The farmer was staring too, but his wife calmly brought more tableware and made two more place settings. “Coffee?” she asked placidly.
Gina giggled. It was a nervous, half-hysterical giggle, but Cole smiled at her and brought the chairs over. He put one chair next to her and sat in it. Somehow, he was just as warm as the stove. Between the stove at her back and Cole at her side, Gina could literally feel herself thawing.
Nikki served them. She apologized for the potatoes, which were a bit scorched, but the ham was perfect, and the eggs plentiful. The bread was toasted, and the butter was rich and thick. It reminded Gina of her stepfather’s dinner party last night.
Gina froze. That was just last night?
“What is it?” Cole asked.
“Nothing.”
The farmer paused in shoveling in eggs. “We should introduce ourselves. I’m John Andrews. My wife, Nikki. I met Nikki in Kearney, when she was working at the Eatery in the Plane Women’s House. We married three months later, after I proved to Des and Connie Wolfe that I would be good to her.”
Cole nodded. “I’m Cole Wolfe. I’m a member of the Pack north of Kearney. This is my mate, Gina.”
Gina made herself small, bracing herself for their disgust when he told them who her stepfather was. But he didn’t.
“I came to Omaha with kin for the spring legislative session. That’s where I met Gina.” he went on. “I need to go to back to Omaha. Will you look after Gina for a day?”
“Of course,” Nikki began.
Gina cut her off. “You’re going to Omaha now? Without me?”
“Yes,” he said. “You need to rest.”
“You need to rest, too,” she countered.
“You worry about me?” There was something tender in his dark eyes when he looked at her. That look melted her insides. The melting froze when the tenderness was drowned by arrogance. “Don’t. I am a wolf warrior. You are not. When did you last sleep? I can travel faster without you. I will find my cousins and we will bring you safely home to the den.”
She opened her mouth to argue, drew a breath, and closed it to consider the right words to use. If she let him have his way in everything, she would end up just like her mother. Gina refused to be an obedient doormat. She put her fingers lightly on his wrist and waited for his eyes to turn to her. They did with alacrity.
“Cole, I’d rather go with you.” She nodded to their hosts. “The Andrewses have been very generous to us, but I don’t want to cause them any trouble.” Like having the Kansas-Missouri army come knocking on their door and find them hiding the President’s fugitive stepdaughter. She tried to convey that to Cole with her eyebrows. “We could go together this afternoon after we get some rest.”
He looked dubious. “It would be safer for you to wait here while I bring my cousins to escort you to Omaha.”
His tone was so carefully reasonable that Gina almost smiled. He was probably trying to figure out why her eyebrows were wiggling like that and wondering if this woman he barely knew were insane. “We could compromise,” she suggested. “You and I can go after dark. We wouldn’t be seen as easily then.”
He seemed to consider that, chewing his ham thoughtfully. “I suppose we could do that. But you need to rest while I run a patrol. I need to know if we were followed.”
John Andrews’ head came up. “Followed?” He swallowed potatoes. “Are you in trouble?”
Gina looked from John to Nikki to Cole, wondering how much to admit. “It’s possible. Cole, uh rescued me from the Kansas Missouri camp last night. They might want to get me back.” There. She’d told the truth.
John’s mouth tightened and he muttered something that sounded like, “Those encroaching good for nothings need to clear out.”
Nikki’s hand when to her mouth. “They stole a wolf’s mate?” Horrified disbelief threaded her voice.
Gina didn’t answer that. “If they do come this way I don’t want them to find me here with you. I know how they operate. They would punish you, so we need to leave as soon as possible.”
John pushed back from the table. “They haven’t crossed the river this way yet. Do you know what their plans are?”
“I don’t know everything. The president wants to take his family back to Kansas City. They should be leaving within the week. Maybe.” How long would her stepfather search for her? Guilt swirled in the pool of anxiety lodged in her stomach. “But he’ll be back. He wants Omaha.”
Nikki must have seen her anxiety. She leaned over to give her a quick hug. “Don’t you worry. The Clan and the Packs will protect you. That sleazy president might have an army, but he hasn’t run up against the Clan yet.”
Gina wanted to believe her. No one had succeeded in standing against her stepfather.
“That’s right,” John said. “Omaha isn’t defenseless, and neither is the rest of Nebraska. Even this farm isn’t defenseless. Eat your breakfast. You are welcome here.”
Gina ate with a sense of wonder. These people were like Lachlan and Ceara. They were good and caring. They looked after other people, even strangers. Gina had known too few good people in Kansas City. It was like her stepfather had sucked all the caring out of them. She couldn’t go back to that. If Cole hadn’t showed up last night, what would she be doing right now? Probably eating breakfast with Tanner and Jon on either side of her, poking and pinching her, showing her a hopeless future as their wife. What her future now held she wasn’t sure, but compared to Jon and Tanner, Cole was a prince.
Beside her, Cole’s hand brushed over her arm, almost like it was an accident, but when she glanced at him she saw he was watching her with a small, warm smile. Was he reading her mind? “Finish your breakfast,” he ordered. “Then come out with me to say good bye.”
“Bossy,” she muttered, but continued to eat. She noticed Nikki’s lips were pressed together as if suppressing a smile.
They finished breakfast quickly and Nikki collected the plates and stacked them in the sink while water heated to wash them. John went back to the barn to continue his interrupted chores. Cole led Gina out to the mudroom.
It was cooler here than in the kitchen, so she didn’t object when he put his arms around her. He smelled like lavender and cedar, probably from his borrowed shirt, and something else, something that just him. She buried her nose into his chest.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he whispered into her hair. “Will you miss me?”
She snorted and leaned back to look into his face. “Maybe.”
“My sweet mate.”
He leaned down as if he would kiss her. Gina swallowed irrational panic. “So, what’s with this Plane Women’s House Mrs. Andrews is from?” she blurted. “And how does she know you’re a wolf?”
He was even more handsome when he laughed silently. “Ask her to explain it. Now hold still. I need something to keep me warm on my patrol.”
He was going to kiss her! He bent his head slowly, watching her closely. She realized he was giving her time to tell him no. That fact erased her reluctance, giving curiosity room to grow. She lifted her face, waiting to feel his lips touch hers.
They did, so lightly and softly that it was hardly a kiss. His nose pressed into her hair behind her ear was unexpectedly erotic. She awkwardly lifted her arms to put her hands on his shoulders. The strength she felt in the thick muscles under her fingers was foreign. She’d never embraced a man. Well, she had, but never such a handsome man, and never one who seemed to think she belonged to him. No, that wasn’t it either. Cole was bossy, but he honestly seemed willing to do anything to protect her. If Jon embraced her she wouldn’t feel this mix of trepidation and wonder. His touch would be loathsome.
Cole’s breath stirred her hair and warmed the tender place behind her ear. His arms tightened for a moment, then relaxed. He leaned away and raised her chin with his fingers. “I’ll be back soon, mate.”
“Be careful,” she whispered.
His smile was a bold slash of white in his dark face. “Always.”
With complete unconcern, he stepped away, unbuttoned the shirt and let it drop, and then unfastened the jeans and stepped out of them. Gina gawked at the male perfection of his naked body. His broad shoulders tapered to a hard, narrow waist and long legs. She got a glimpse of his sculpted chest and belly before he turned to the door, showing her a hard, round behind. Dang it, she thought, she had missed the main attraction!
He opened the door and paused to glance back at her. His wicked smile said he knew she liked what she saw. “All yours, Gina. All of me belongs to only you,” he said.
Then he blurred into gray fur and was gone, the door swinging shut behind him.
Tuesday Teaser 3/27/18 Stone & Sara
Happy Tuesday!
I have been very busy trying to get moving stuff done, working the day job, taking care of my mom, and polishing, formatting and uploading the books I got back from the publisher. So far I have gotten Wolf Tracker, Eddie’s Prize, and Ellie’s Wolf up at most of the online book stores. That means something has to give, and this week it was writing.
You probably can tell by the title of this blog post that there is no new snip from Gina’s Wolf. Sorry! Right now I am going through Wolf’s Vengeance and it amazes me what a brat Sara is. I mean, I knew she was a brat. I wrote her, after all. But … Wow. Just wow.
When I wrote Wolf’s Princess, I tried to show that Sara had grown up a little. It was a very long book, so the editor suggested removing a few thousand words. There were two scenes about Sara and Stone, and when I write for a publisher I usually agree with whatever the editor suggests. Now that I am self publishing these, I’m wondering if I should add these two scenes back in. Or would they drag the Sky/Rose story down?
What do you say? Add them or leave them out? Let me know what you think.
Sara & Stone Excerpt One
Stone sat on the bottom step of the dormitory beside Snow, offering him silent support. Inside the women’s dorm the doctor was speaking quietly, so quietly that even wolf hearing couldn’t distinguish the words, as he worked on Odell Graham, Snow’s newly found mate. She had been beaten. Who would do something like that to a woman? Every time he remembered Odell’s battered body and bloody face he wanted to kill something. He didn’t know how Snow was controlling himself. Sometimes they could hear her groan, and her breathing alternated between hoarse and rough, and so soft they were afraid she’d stopped breathing altogether. Every now and then Stone heard his mate’s voice answering the doctor in calm tones.
Sara. He dropped his head into his hands. This could happen to her. If she wasn’t married in the next few weeks she would have to go to work in a house, and one of her customers could beat her up. Picturing her soft, pretty face black and swollen, with blood dripping from torn lips and a broken nose, made him spring up from the step. He couldn’t let that happen. Imagining her with other men twisted his guts up, but that was jealous hurt. When he imagined her broken like Odell, a black rage bubbled inside him, fighting to get out and find a victim.
“Stone!”
One of the Omaha men Sky hired to guard the gate to the Limit ran toward them. Snow gripped Stone’s arm in a painful clutch. “Make him shut up!” he snarled. “He’ll disturb my mate.”
Stone sprinted to the man. “What?”
“There’s a man at the gate,” he said, panting. “He’s asking for you.”
Without responding, Stone ran to the gate. He didn’t know what else could go wrong today. But it didn’t look like trouble. The man standing outside the gates holding a fabric bag in one work worn hand was Sara’s uncle.
Mr. Nelson lifted the bag. “I brought Sara a change of clothes and some other things. I figured she might be here for a while.” His lined face wore a look of concern. “How is the lady?”
Stone stood with one hand clenching a bar of the gate. “The doctor thinks she’ll be okay. He’s here with her right now for the second time today.” Sky’s orders were to not open the gate for anyone except one of them or the doctor, but he didn’t think the bag would fit through the bars of the gate. He opened the gate just wide enough for the bag to pass through. “Thanks for bringing this. I’ll see that Sara gets it.”
Mr. Nelson didn’t release the bag. “That’s not the only reason I came. I think it’s time we talked.”
The words whipped through Stone like a cold wind over water. He was pretty sure he knew what his mate’s uncle wanted to talk about. Only a coward would jerk the bag free and turn his back on the older man, and Stone wasn’t a coward. He nodded at Nelson. Maybe it was a good time to walk around the fence to be sure no one was trying to get inside.
“Okay. I’ll come out. We can walk and talk.”
Mr. Nelson let go of the bag and waited for Stone to set it inside the gate. They walked side by side in silence for a few minutes. Stone divided his attention between the brick fence that surrounded the Limit and the man he walked with. The afternoon air was brisk and clean, not obscuring Nelson’s scent, but Stone wasn’t sure what his emotions were. Perhaps nervous, but determined.
“When Sara first came to live with me,” he said in a slow, measured tone, “she was a wreck. She spent at least twelve hours a day crying. If you would have come after her then, I would have done my darnedest to kill you.”
He turned his head to look at Stone, and somehow that lined tired face was deadly. Inside, Stone’s wolf rolled over and exposed his belly. Stone refused to show his throat, but he kept a respectful silence as the man went on.
“I’ve never seen anyone as miserable as Sara those first few months. Every time she’d get to being almost normal, one of your letters would come and the tears would start again.” Exasperation crept into his voice. “If you were only going to write once every four months, couldn’t you have written more than two sentences? Did you like punishing her?”
That was more than he could take. “Punishing her? I wasn’t!”
Nelson’s grunt was loaded with disbelief. “And then when Amanda went to live out west with you all, you stopped writing.”
Stone clenched his jaw. He’d written now and then to let his mate know he was still alive. Amanda was her cousin. She could tell Sara he was still alive. “I didn’t have anything to say.”
Nelson stopped. “Yeah. That’s the whole problem, isn’t it? Instead of talking to her like a man, you just packed her off like a sulky little boy who didn’t want to play with a toy because it had a tiny chip.”
Tiny ch— Sulky boy? Stone unclenched his teeth enough to say, “Do you know what she did?”
“Of course I do. She told me every day and twice on Sundays! She kissed some other man in front of you. Yeah, she told me the whole story. Over and over. Did she ever blame you? Nope, not once. She took all the blame. Said she was stupid, and selfish, and silly.”
“She was stupid and selfish!”
“Yeah.” The older man began walking again. “She was. Seems to me she did it to get back at you for something you did that she didn’t like.”
Stone didn’t stomp as he walked, but he felt like it. Just like a sulky boy. That realization nearly made him stumble. “I went somewhere without her. She couldn’t come. It would have been impractical. And to get back at me she kissed another man. That’s wrong.”
“She knows it. She’s told me so about two million times. Son, she’s sorry. She’s grown up a lot since she’s come to Omaha. Isn’t it time you grew up too?”
Stone walked for a while in silence, wrestling with feelings he didn’t want to admit. “Words are easy to say,” he finally managed to get out. “What happens the next time she gets mad at me?”
“I think she’s grown up enough that it won’t happen. Oh, I’m sure she’ll get mad at you again. Probably lots of times. But she won’t try to get back at you like that.” Nelson thrust his hands in his coat pockets and looked at Stone. “Maybe I’m not an expert on women’s feelings, but I had a sister, and a wife, and a daughter, as well as a niece, and I’m telling you that girl loves you.”
Misery thickened his voice. “I wish I could tell what she feels.”
“Oh yeah. Sara told me you can tell if someone is lying, except for her.”
“I can’t feel her like that at all. It’s like being blind.”
“Can you tell if I’m lying? When I say that Sara loves you, am I lying?”
Stone felt his eyes widen. “No,” he breathed. “That’s true.”
“Darned right it is. Now you listen.” The alpha-like tone was back in Nelson’s voice. “Sara will be eighteen soon. I can’t pay to keep her home. She’ll have to go to work in house, maybe the same house that poor woman was beat near to death in. Is that what you want for Sara?”
“No.” Stone grasped the other man’s arm. “She loves me? You’re sure?”
“Yes, she loves you. You thick headed idiot. You should be ashamed. If she says she loves you, you should believe her, not rely on the word of another man.”
The clean scent of truth swept around Stone. Sara loved him, truly loved him! Elation filled him, making him feel as if he could fly. “I’ll believe her next time. Thank you,” he said fervently. “We better hurry back.”
“Uh-huh.” Mr. Nelson shook his head. “You kids make me tired. But congratulations on finally growing up.”
Sara & Stone Excerpt Two
Sara’s lower back ached from hours of nursing Odell, but she ignored that when Odell struggled to sit up. “I’ve got you,” she told the injured woman in the calmly encouraging tone the nuns had taught her. She braced Odell with one arm while the other hand re-arranged pillows to support her. “Water?”
“Snow.”
The name was a moan slurred by swollen lips, but Sara understood. “I’ll get him,” she said.
But of course she didn’t need to. When she stepped into the hall, the front door of the dorm was already opening. Snow walked down the hall with long, silent strides. She stepped back and he gave her a distracted smile as he passed her. He went to one knee beside the bed and took Odell’s hand gently. Sara watched him stroke his mate’s fingers as tenderly as he would a newborn kitten.
She was over tired. That must be why she felt like crying. Why didn’t Stone show her that kind of tenderness? Blinking to keep back the tears, she turned to bedside table and poured water.
“See if you can get her to take some water,” she said to Snow.
He smiled at her as he took the glass. “Sure. Why don’t you go lie down for an hour? I’ll sit with her.”
“Thanks.”
She quietly closed the door behind her. During their trip to Mel’s ranch a couple years ago, Snow had always been nice to her. He was that kind of guy. Why wasn’t Stone more like him? Sweet, kind, and tender, instead of cold, judgmental and bossy? Even before she had ruined everything by kissing Mord, Stone was often surly. She paused at the dorm’s front door to lean her forehead on the cool wood. Maybe, she admitted privately, he would have been nicer to her if she had been nicer to him. When he made eager protestations of devotion she had laughed at him. And worse. She lifted her head from the door with a weary sigh. She was such an idiot. How could she ever make him believe she had changed?
Sara & Stone Excerpt Three
“Sara!”
At the tiny table in the equally tiny breakfast nook in the women’s dormitory, Sara jerked awake and blinked. She stared blankly down at the remains of her lunch and shook her head to clear her mind. She stood up and crab-walked around the table to the door.
“Stone. What’s wrong?” She looked down the narrow hall towards the door of Odell’s room. It was closed. She looked back at Stone. “Is Odell okay?”
“Sure, she’s fine.” His eyes, the color of raw honey, held excitement. She loved his eyes. “I want to talk to you. You have time to talk right now?”
She’d already wasted half of her sleep break at the little table in the nook, but if Stone wanted to talk to her, she wanted to hear what he had to say. “I’d love to talk to you.”
He took her hand and led her out to the small entryway of the dormitory. “Let’s talk outside, so we don’t disturb anyone. Is it too cold for you? The sun is out and there’s no wind.”
She didn’t want to take her hand out of his and so she reached one-handed for her coat hanging on a hook. Drat. She would need both hands free to put it on. Stone seem to feel the same way, but he let go of her hand and helped her put her coat on. He stood close behind her smoothing her collar down with a hand that seemed… gentle. She felt his breath warm on the back of her neck. For a moment she stopped breathing, wondering if he were going to brush his lips over her nape. She waited for a moment but he stepped around and began fastening the buttons up the front of her coat. He paused for a moment looking down into her eyes. She gazed back up at him, knowing her eyes were wide and her lips dry.
The moment passed. Stone took her hand and put it in the crook of his elbow covering it with his other hand. “Sara, I’ve been thinking…” He trailed off and opened the door to the outdoors. “Let’s walk. I think better when I walk.”
Sara allowed him to lead her down the step to the backyard. Butterflies were doing their very best to create a whirlwind in her stomach. They strolled for several minutes without speaking. She began to wonder if he would ever open his mouth.
“It’s a nice day,” she ventured. “Odell is doing better today.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s good,” he muttered. Suddenly, he stopped walking and looked down at her. “Sara, I know I’ve been mean to you.”
“No, you haven’t. At least, not more than I deserve.”
“Yeah, I have. I accused you of being a bratty little girl, but I haven’t been so grown up either.” His hand tightened over hers where it lay on his arm. “I never gave you a chance to explain or apologize.”
No, he hadn’t. “I wish you had. What I did was stupid. I was sorry for it right away. But you know what? Until a year ago I didn’t really realize just how stupid it was. So maybe if you would have given me a chance to apologize it wouldn’t have meant as much as it does now. If that makes any sense.”
“I guess it does. Maybe both of us were too young then.”
He didn’t return her trembling smile. His free hand, warm in spite of the cold October air, lifted to cup her cheek. She savored the connection, awed by its sweetness. “Stone, I am so sorry,” she whispered.
His other hand lifted to caress her other cheek. “Sara, tell me one thing. If you say it, I’ll believe it.” His eyes gleamed in the week sunlight, burnished by a shimmer of tears. “Sara, do you love me?”
Tears rushed to her own eyes and spilled over. “Yes, Stone,” she said as clearly as tears permitted. “I love you.”
He lowered his head until their foreheads touched. “Sara, will you be my mate?”
A giggle choked its way out of her tight throat. “We’re already married.”
He didn’t laugh. “Will you accept me as your mate?”
Sara swallowed. Her cousin Amanda had written to her about this. To Stone and his kinsmen, mating was much more than marriage. “Yes, Stone, I accept you. Do you accept me?”
“With my whole heart.” His face was solemn for a long minute before a wide smile broke through. “If it wasn’t for Odell needing quiet, I’d howl loud enough for Taye to hear me way out by Kearney! Can I kiss you?”
She looped her arms around his neck and dragged him down to her lips. The kiss started out hesitant, gentle, even awkward, but the tenderness of his lips made her want to cry until heat flushed trough her body and made her want something else. When he lifted his head she found herself panting.
“Oh,” she said weakly.
“Bad?” he asked, anxiously.
Pure joy made her laugh. “No, good!”
His smile bloomed again, wide and full of the same joy she felt. Something must have caught his eye. She quickly looked around, and saw Katelyn waving from the step of the dorm. “What is she saying?” she asked. “Is Odell worse?”
Stone, with his superb hearing, shook his head. “Odell wants you to come help her with something, but it doesn’t sound dire.” He smiled down at her. “I want a wedding night.”
“Me too!” she said instantly. “But when? Where?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out.”
“Okay. I better go.”
He walked her back to the dorm. With a quick touch of his hand on her arm, he whispered, “I love you.”
She went inside with his words held tightly to her heart. He loved her.
Tuesday Teaser 3/20/18 Gina’s Wolf Part 7
Happy Spring!
Today is the first day of spring here in my part of the world. Not that you’d think so from the weather. humph. But the snow will be gone soon. Even I, who loathe summer heat with a passion, am excited by spring. How about you?
Here is the teaser for this week. I am going add more dialogue between Cole and Gina as he is carrying her so he will be caught up on what happened after he was shot. Right now they are at the farm house, with Nikki, who was on the plane, and her husband. As always this is not edited or even read through for typos. Enjoy anyway!
Chapter Four
Gina barely heard what the woman said. The aroma of ham sizzling on the stove pushed everything else out of her mind. But she noticed Cole’s arms stiffening around her and immediately relaxing, so she forced herself to pay attention to what was going on around her. The woman was not young, but her face had the timeless beauty that perfect bone structure preserved. Her soft brown hair was frosted with silver, the corners of her blue eyes edged with crow’s feet wrinkles, but her expression was lively and warm.
“Come in,” the woman urged. She put out one hand to push her husband back and lightly touched Gina’s shoulder with the other. “Oh, my dear, you’re frozen.” She looked up at Colby again. “Please, bring your mate in from the cold. I’ll take her into the kitchen while you get dressed.”
How did this stranger know that Cole thought of Gina as his ‘mate’? Cole stood silent a moment, and then gently put Gina on her feet. “Thank you.”
Gina’s feet almost failed to hold her up. She clutched Cole’s arm for balance. He steadied her until the farmwife hooked an arm around her waist and guided her into a short hallway that led to a roomy kitchen. The woman’s arm was warm and steady, but Gina was aware of a sense of loss. Cole was warmer and steadier.
Cole didn’t smell like ham and potatoes, though, and the kitchen did. Gina was suddenly ravenous. The woman pulled a chair over to the stove and pushed Gina into it. The stove was blessedly warm. In a few seconds the woman brought a wet washcloth and applied it gently to Gina’s forehead. The pain from the bump flared back to life.
“Sorry,” the woman murmured. “We need to get this cleaned up.”
Gina tried to distract herself from the pain. “Do you know Cole?” she asked, trying to remember what the woman had said. “His name is actually Colby, but he told me to call him Cole.”
“Colby.” The woman paused, obviously thinking. “No, the name is familiar, but I don’t think I ever met him. He would have been just a baby when I married John and left the House to move here. There were many babies born around that time.”
She said the word ‘house’ as if Gina should know which house. Gina didn’t. Cole came into the kitchen, dressed in threadbare jeans too wide in the waist and too short at the ankle, and a button up summer weight cotton shirt a bit too narrow in the shoulders. His feet were still bare. The farmer followed him in, still holding his shotgun, but no longer looking threatening.
“I don’t remember you,” Cole confirmed. “My dad is Taye, from the pack north of Kearney.”
“Oh, sure, Carla is your mom. We were on the plane together. I’m still in contact with Connie and Kathy. We exchange a couple of letters a year.”
Gina was completely lost by this conversation.
“John,” the woman said, wringing out the washrag, “get the extra blanket from the closet.”
Cole came directly to Gina and crouched in front of her. “Are you okay?”
“Sure.” The pain in her head was better now, but her feet and hands were being stabbed by a million red hot needles. That was good. She was still alive. “How about you?”
“Fine.”
The man came back with the blanket but not the shotgun. Cole helped the woman drape it around Gina. She clutched it tightly under her chin, so grateful for its comfort that tears stung her eyes. Cole looked alarmed.
“Are you okay?” he asked again.
“Yes.” She scrubbed the tears away and told a fib. “It’s just the, uh, smoke. Breakfast is burning.”
“I’ll finish breakfast, Nikki,” the man said quietly. “You take Mrs. Wolfe to the bedroom and get her some warm clothes. I’ll finish chores after we get things settled.”
The small bedroom was crowded with a large, neatly made bed and two wooden bureaus. Nikki guided Gina to the bed and turned to rummage through a drawer. She pulled out a pair of jeans, a bright red sweater, and two pairs of wool socks.
“I’m a little taller than you,” Nikki said with a smile, “but we’re about the same size so these should fit.”
Nikki said nothing about the party dress as she helped Gina out of it, but her brow furrowed briefly as she set it aside. Gina wondered what she should say if she was asked why she was outside in a dinner dress and nothing else. She groped for a logical lie in vain. Nothing could explain this bizarre situation. Even the truth was ludicrous.
Nikki didn’t ask. She carefully examined Gina’s toes, fingers, nose, and ears as she helped her dress. “No frostbite,” she said with relief. “Let’s go back out to the kitchen. You need to sit close to the stove to thoroughly warm up.”
Heaven would have thick wool socks. Gina was sure of it. She followed the woman back to the kitchen, each step driving pins and needles through her feet, but by the time she came in the kitchen, the pins and needles were fading. Cole visibly relaxed when he saw her. He took her hand and gently tugged her back to the chair by the stove.
“I want to sit at the table,” she protested.
In answer, he went to the large wooden table, slid one hand under it and lifted it. With no sign of effort, he carried it three yards and set it down in front of her so gently that nothing on it was disturbed. Gina gaped at the sugar bowl and the two place settings before raising her gaze to him. No wonder he could carry her for miles without panting.
The farmer was staring too, but his wife calmly brought more tableware and made two more place settings. “Coffee?” she asked placidly.
Gina giggled. It was a nervous, half-hysterical giggle, but Cole smiled at her and brought the chairs over. He put one chair next to her and sat in it. Somehow, he was just as warm as the stove. Between the stove at her back and Cole at her side, Gina could literally feel herself thawing.
Nikki served them. She apologized for the potatoes, which were a bit scorched, but the ham was perfect, and the eggs plentiful. The bread was toasted, and the butter was rich and thick. It reminded Gina of her stepfather’s dinner party last night.
Gina froze. That was just last night?
“What is it?” Cole asked.
“Nothing.”
The farmer paused in shoveling in eggs. “We should introduce ourselves. I’m John Andrews. My wife, Nikki. I met Nikki in Kearney, when she was working at the Eatery in the Plane Women’s House. We married three months later, after I proved to Des and Connie Wolfe that I would be good to her.”
Cole nodded. “Cole Wolfe. I’m a member of the Pack north of Kearney. This is my mate, Gina.”
Gina made herself small, bracing herself for their disgust when he told them who she was. But he didn’t.
“I came to Omaha with kin for the spring legislative session. That’s where I met Gina. I need to go to back to Omaha,” he went on. “Will you look after Gina for a day?”
“Of course,” Nikki began.
Gina cut her off. “You’re going to Omaha now? Without me?”
“Yes,” he said. “You need to rest.”
“You need to rest, too,” she countered.
“You worry about me?” There was something tender in his dark eyes when he looked at her. That look melted her insides. The melting froze when the tenderness was drowned by arrogance. “Don’t. I am a wolf warrior. You are not. When did you last sleep? I can travel faster without you. I will find my cousins and we will bring you safely home to the den.”
She opened her mouth to argue, drew a breath, and closed it. Why argue? Now that she warm, she was so tired she could hardly sit at the table. “Be careful,” she told him.
His eyes warmed again. “I’ll be careful,” he promised. “Finish your breakfast.”
“Bossy,” she muttered, but continued to eat. She noticed Nikki’s lips were pressed together as if suppressing a smile.
They finished breakfast quickly and Nikki collected the plates and stacked them in the sink while water heated to wash them. John went back to the barn to continue his interrupted chores. Cole led Gina out to the mudroom.
It was cooler here than in the kitchen, so she didn’t object when he put his arms around her. He smelled like lavender and cedar, probably from his borrowed shirt, and something else, something that just him. She buried her nose into his chest.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he whispered into her hair. “Will you miss me?”
She snorted and leaned back to look into his face. “Maybe.”
“My sweet mate.”
He leaned down as if he would kiss her. Gina swallowed irrational panic. “So, what’s with this Plane Women’s House Mrs. Andrews is from?” she blurted “And how does she know you’re a wolf?”
He was even more handsome when he laughed silently. “Ask her to explain it. Now hold still. I need something to keep me warm on the run to Omaha.”
He was going to kiss her! He bent his head slowly, watching her closely. She realized he was giving her time to tell him no. That fact erased her reluctance, giving curiosity room to grow. She lifted her face up and waited for his lips to touch hers.
Tuesday Truth 3/13/18
Sorry! No Teaser tonight. Instead you get a Truth!
On March 1 my contracts with Liquid Silver Books were done and the rights to Wolf Tracker, Eddie’s Prize, Ellie’s Wolf, Wolf’s Vengeance, and Wolf’s Princess reverted back to me. Those books were removed from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. I want them to get back up for sale as quickly as possible, so on top of packing and hauling tons of crap up and down stairs I have been busy formatting and polishing books to self publish them. And I commissioned new art for Wolf’s Princess! Here is the new paperback cover for that. Art by Lyn Taylor.
Tuesday Teaser 3/6/18 Gina’s Wolf Part 6
Ack!! I’m sorry this is so late. Two books that’ I’ve been dying to read came out today and I got sucked in so deep I forgot to post the teaser. Sorry!
The move has kept me very busy, so I haven’t written lately. In fact, last night was the first writing I’ve done in more than two weeks. This isn’t very long, but at least I’ve added a few hundred more words to the file. Off to bed now!
Gina stifled a laugh. “OK. Cole. Are you the wolf? Or is the wolf you? It’s kind of confusing.”
He thought about how to explain it to her. “The wolf and I are two different people. In the Lakota Wolf Clan many boys are born with the spirit of a wolf within them. When the boy hits puberty, the wolf sort of wakes up. He forces the boy to let him out, and then the spirit wolf because a real wolf and the boy is a spirit inside the wolf. The boy has to learn to control the wolf. If he can’t control the wolf, he can’t force the wolf to go back to being a spirit. Then the boy isn’t human anymore. Do you understand?”
She gently shook her head. “Not really.”
He wasn’t surprised. Lots of women who mated wolves didn’t completely comprehend something they had never experienced. “Let’s not worry about that now.” He had no memory of the past week. The wolf had been in control and it chilled him how close he had come to losing himself to the wolf. “I’ll try to explain more when you are warm and rested. Look, the farm house is less than a mile ahead of us.”
“Oh, hurry.”
He ran. With his wolf’s speed, it took only a few minutes to arrive at the fence that circled the yard around the house. The wind his pace created caused his mate to turn her face into his throat. Her breath on his skin was the most wonderful sensation he had ever experienced. Tenderness flooded him, followed swiftly by a fierce desire to protect her. If she hadn’t been in desperate need of more warmth than he could provide, he would have run with her in his arms for hours.
As soon as Cole stopped at the fence, a pack of dogs tore out of two sheds, howling an alert that strangers were approaching. The fence was made of wood and wire, obviously more to keep the farm animals in than to keep intruders out. Although he wanted to leap the fence and rush his mate to the warmth of the kitchen, Cole stood with Gina in his arms waiting for the farmer to make an appearance. Better to wait than have Gina shot.
The farmer came out of the barn in less than ten seconds. His gray-streaked brown hair and lined face made Cole estimate his age to be around sixty. As expected, he held a shotgun at the ready and shielded himself half behind the barn door. Cole approved the farmer’s caution.
“Who is it?” he shouted over the dogs’ barking. “What do you want?”
“I’m Cole Wolfe,” he shouted back. “My wife is freezing. Please, can I bring her inside to get warm?”
The farmer didn’t answer immediately. After a pause, he said, “She’s freezing? You’re buck naked, boy, and it ain’t August, you know.”
Cole considered making up a story about thieves who had stolen his clothes but discarded the idea. Gina’s arm was tight around his neck, so he focused on what was important. “That doesn’t matter. Please, let her in. I can stay out here if it would make you feel better.”
There was another long pause before the farmer stepped away from the door and approached them. He stopped a wary distance away. Cole noted the shotgun wasn’t aimed at them but it would take only a tiny move to lift the barrel in their direction. His eyes matched the gray streaks in his hair as he looked them over thoroughly. Cole found himself tensing when the stranger looked at his mate. His wolf didn’t like another man looking at their mate. The chattering of Gina’s teeth seemed to decide the man.
“You folks better come in.” He gestured with the shotgun toward the house. “You go on to the door at the left. Stop there. I’ll follow you until then, but I’ll go in first to let my wife know you’re guests.”
Cole waited for the man to open the gate and step back, shotgun held casually ready, before walking through and following the path through the snow to the house. The man might be overreacting. Gina was clearly no threat, and he was obviously not hiding any weapons, but he respected a man who took his wife’s safety seriously. He obediently paused below the three shallow steps leading to the door and let the man slip past him. The farmer closed the door, but Cole could hear him speaking inside, explaining to his wife that they had odd visitors and one of them needed pants to be decent enough to come into her kitchen. Cole glanced down at himself, but his mate blocked the view of his nakedness. He hauled her closer to his warmth.
“Soon,” he told her softly. “Soon you’ll be warm.”
“Can’t wait,” she said. “You can put me down now.”
He held her tighter. “No, not yet.”
The door swung open. The scent of frying ham poured out of the warm house. The farmer stood there, a wad of blue fabric in one hand. He held the fabric out to Cole. “You get dressed before you come in. I’ll take your wife.”
A snarl burst from Cole’s throat. The man stepped back, revealing a woman. She resolutely kept her eyes on his face. Her expression went from coolly polite to shocked. She clapped her hand over her mouth.
“John,” she said quickly, “don’t touch her.” She turned appealing eyes to Cole. “We won’t take your mate away from you. Please put her down here in the mudroom and put the jeans on.”
Her husband gave her a suspicious look. “You know him?”
“No, but I know who he is. What he is.” She gave Cole a smile. “I’m Nikki from the Plane Women’s House.”
Tuesday Teaser 2/20/18 Gina’s Wolf Part 5
Moving is such a lot of fun, isn’t it? Yeah. My immediate move has been changed to this weekend. By immediate I mean my bed, TV, desk, computers (one for me and my writing and one for the day job) toiletries, etc. This week is devoted to cleaning my old room at my mom’s and sorting through my stuff here to see what I want to bring to mom’s, what I want to store, what I want to donate and what I want to throw away. I spent about 3 hours tonight going through about half of my craft stuff. This is hard!
It also means I’m too tired to do any writing. I’m afraid there may not be a Tuesday Teaser next week. Maybe you’ll get a Tuesday Truth instead 😉 Or maybe i’ll post a few of the vintage family photos that my brother unearthed when he was clearing out the storage room to make room for some of my stuff. My grandparents were married in 1919. That’s almost 100 years ago! I love that stuff.
While I’m busy sorting and packing, you can read the next little bit from Gina and Colby’s story. Oh, and from now on he wants to be called Cole. He said colby is a kind of cheese. Not cool. LOL
“Colby!” she shrieked. “I’m freezing. I’m tired of following a stupid wolf who won’t even talk to me. Are you in there?”
The wolf trotted on. She ground her teeth to keep them from chattering. You wanted to escape, she reminded herself. Don’t be a baby. Freezing to death was preferable to marrying Jon, Tanner, and whoever else in Falls City. Colby would take care of her as soon as he decided they were safe. She just had to be patient and keep moving. At least he has a thick fur coat to wear. That envious sarcasm was her last thought before she tripped over something and tumbled into the comfort of darkness.
Chapter Three
The wolf heard the woman fall from the lip of the hill he led her along. In a single bound, he leaped to the edge of the slope. She rolled and bounced several body lengths to the narrow stream at the bottom of the hill, and then lay still on the ice, her arms and legs splayed. A whine rose in the wolf, driven by terror. His terror? The man’s? The wolf wasn’t sure. He dashed down the slope. Before he reached her, he caught the scent of her blood. Injured. His mate was injured. The wolf didn’t like that. His mate should never know pain.
She slept. Like the man within him, she wouldn’t wake. He nosed at her face. No response. He pawed her shoulder. Nothing. Blood oozed from a cut on her forehead. He licked it to stop the bleeding. He licked it and licked it, and the bleeding slowed, but she didn’t wake. The man could pick her up and carry her to safety, if he would just wake up. This was their mate who needed help. He blasted all his fear and anger in one internal shriek: Wake up!
There was a sluggish response, more of a groan than a word.
Our mate is dying! the wolf screamed at the man inside. If you don’t help her, we’ll lose her forever. Wake up!
Deep inside, the man stirred. The wolf felt his growing alarm and urged him forward by shoving images of their mate: her unconscious body lying over the crusty ice, her blood welling from the cut at her hairline to stain the ice beneath her, the blue tinge to her lips. That galvanized the man. Like a mighty wind blowing over the prairie, he rose and shoved the wolf back. Relieved, the wolf retreated.
Colby fell to his knees as pain crashed over him. He didn’t know where he was. This empty bit of scrubby land was completely unknown to him. He didn’t know why he was here or how he had gotten here. The place where his memories should be was a gaping black hole. He caught himself with one hand on the ice and put his other hand over his head to try to still the pain. A scent came to him that even a black hole couldn’t wash from his memory. Gina. Mate.
She lay before him in a bedraggled party dress. Where was her coat? He let go of his head to lay a hand over her cheek. Cold. She was so cold. He gathered her close.
“Miss Gina?”
His voice was a hoarse croak. He coughed and tried again. “Miss Gina!”
He eyelashes fluttered. “C-co-cold.”
“Yes, darling.” Gently he propped her against his chest and guided her hands into his armpits. Wrapping his arms around her to enclose as much of her as possible in his warmth, he looked around. There was nothing to see but snow, ice-crusted dead grass, and some scrubby trees. The position of the stars told him it was a few hours after midnight, but did nothing to pinpoint their location. Why were they out in the middle of nowhere?
“Where are we?” he asked her.
“How would I know?” Her voice squeaked with outrage. “You made me follow you out here. Don’t you know?”
He didn’t reply. “Is this Nebraska?”
“Probably.” She pushed her face more deeply into his chest and flinched. “My head hurts.”
“Mine, too. We can’t stay here. We need to get you warm.”
As she whimpered agreement, he carefully stood, balancing her in his arms like a mother with a baby. Flattened grass and scattered snow showed where they had come from. Climbing the steep, ten foot slope made his head jangle with pain. Once on top he searched the landscape for a camp, or a house, or anything that would help his mate. He read the tracks on the top of the hill well enough. His wolf had been leading the way when his mate fell down the slope. He looked in the direction the tracks led. Where had the wolf been going? He tried to remember. There was nothing in his mind. He took deep breaths to calm his panic. Since no better plan came to him, he continued in the wolf’s direction.
“Where are we going?” his mate demanded.
“There is a farmhouse ahead.”
That was only a guess, but a good one. To their left were straight furrows under the snow, indications that this land was under cultivation. The stream on their right would provide water to irrigate crops. Dawn was only a couple of hours away. Soon the farmwife would light the stove to cook breakfast. He would scent the smoke and find the house.
“Thank God. I’m so cold, Colby.” The stars gleamed in her pale blue eyes. He stared down at her, captivated by her beauty. Her eyes frowned slightly as she pulled a hand from under his arm and raised it to the side of his head, but she tucked it back without touching him. “Colby, are you alright? You were shot. I could see the gash on the wolf, but you don’t have a scar.”
He had been shot? Blurred, shadowy memories tried to form, but faded away before he could grasp them. “What has happened in the past week?” he inquired.
She drew a quivery breath. “Nothing much. Not until today. My stepfather probably made me wait that long to torture me.”
A growl vibrated in his chest. “Your stepfather tortures you?”
“Not physically. Mentally. He called for me this afternoon. Or maybe it was yesterday afternoon. He told me I was going to marry the Allersens. They’re from Falls City—”
“You can’t,” he interrupted fiercely. “You are my mate.”
She laughed bitterly. “Tell him that.”
His voice came out flat. “I will.”
She laughed again. “Hopefully we’ll never see him again.”
He silently swore she never would. “Tell me more.”
“Well, my wedding date was set for the first of May, and I would go immediately to the Brotherhood Commune in Falls City.”
“And? How did we end up out here?”
She lifted her head from his throat to look at him. “You really don’t know?”
He shook his head and regretted it. “No, I don’t remember. Normally I remember everything when the wolf is out, but I have no recent memories in my head right now.”
His mate put her face down again. “After supper I went to the outhouse. When I came out the soldier who escorted me was bleeding on the ground and you, that is, the wolf made me leave camp with him. We walked all night.”
“Where’s your coat?” He rubbed his hand along her bare arm. His body heat was something, but not enough. “You’re very cold.”
“The president gave orders that I couldn’t wear a coat. He probably thought that would keep me from running away. I guess he was wrong.” She paused. “Um, Colby?”
Hearing her speak his name made him forget the pain in his head. “Call me Cole. My mom named me Colby, but that is a cheese. I like Cole better.”
She stifled a laugh. “OK. Cole. Are you the wolf? Or is the wolf you? It’s kind of confusing.”
He thought about how to explain it to her. “The wolf and I are two different people. In the Lakota Wolf Clan many boys are born with the spirit of a wolf within them. When the boy hits puberty, the wolf sort of wakes up. He forces the boy to let him out, and then the spirit wolf because a real wolf and the boy is a spirit inside the wolf. The boy has to learn to control the wolf. If he can’t control the wolf, he can’t force the wolf to go back to being a spirit. Then the boy isn’t human anymore. Do you understand?”
She gently shook her head. “Not really.”
He wasn’t surprised. Lots of women who mated wolves didn’t completely comprehend something they had never experienced. “Let’s not worry about that now.” He had no memory of the past week. The wolf had been in control and it chilled him how close he had come to losing himself to the wolf. “I’ll try to explain more when you are warm and rested. Look, the farmhouse is only a mile ahead of us.”
“Oh, hurry.”
He ran.
Tuesday Teaser 2/13/18: Gina’s Wolf Part 4
Happy Tuesday!
Yesterday was my mom’s birthday. She’s in her mid-80s, and she has dementia. She does pretty well, but she really can’t live on her own. My oldest brother lives with her but she doesn’t really want her son to wash her hair, etc, and she doesn’t want a stranger to come in and do it. And even if she’s known you for years, you’re a stranger to her. So at the end of March I will be putting my stuff in storage and moving home.
Frankly, I don’t want to. I like living on my own and it’s been decades since I lived at home. I don’t want to share a bathroom with my brother. 🙁 However, the next door neighbor’s infatuation with his subwoofer is changing my mind about that. Mom’s house will be relatively quiet. I think I’ll be able to write there. Here, I give up after about an hour and have only 100 words written. In the long run, I think this move is the best thing.
I did manage some words this week. Here is the second half of Chapter 2:
After the meal, the ladies were excused so the men could put their heads together and lay their plans. Gina would have loved to linger and listen, but her mother firmly ushered her out. At least she didn’t have to put up with Tanner and Jon anymore. As the cluster of women approached the harem tent, she turned away from them.
“Georgina?” her mother said sternly.
“I need to use the facilities,” she said airily.
One of the guards flanking the door flap halted her. “Beg pardon, Miss Todd,” he said diffidently. “The president has instructed us to escort you wherever you want to go.”
“I’m just going to the latrine.”
“Yes, Miss. I will escort you.” Even in the starlight she could see the blush that rose to his cheeks. “You’ll need to leave your wrap here, please.”
“But it’s cold.”
The blush darkened. “Yes, Miss. President’s orders.”
I won’t be likely to run away without something to keep me warm, she thought sarcastically. “Alright. Mom, will you take my shawl?”
Her mother took the wrap with a frown. “You have a chamber pot in the tent,” she began.
“I need some fresh air.”
With no wrap over her mostly bare shoulders, it really was cold. Gina hurried over the icy ground to the row of tents erected over the latrines. She wanted to escape. In fact, after dinner with Jon and Tanner, she was determined to escape. But running off with a guard hanging on her heels and without provisions or even a coat was impossible. And this young private –Carson? Carleton?—would be in big trouble if she ran away when he was guarding her. She would just be married off to a repulsive commune of misogynists; he would be executed.
She left him waiting a few respectful yards from the latrine tent and did her business as quickly as she could. When she came out of the tent she didn’t see him standing where she had left him. She glanced around, confused. On her second glance she focused on the ground, looking for tracks to show where he had gone, and that’s when she found him.
The gallant young private was a crumpled dark shape on the moonlit snow. A black shadow spilled over the snow around his head. She rushed forward. A large, dark animal sprung out of nowhere to block her path. It was a dog. No, not a dog. Gina squinted in the dim light, trying to ignore the leap of terror in her throat while identifying the animal. It was a wolf. A wolf? The huge head was level with her waist. Fangs gleamed ivory in a gaping maw. Gina froze, not even breathing. There were dark streaks on the teeth. Blood? Gina finally remembered to breathe.
Her scream died in her throat. The top of the broad head had no fur, only a raw place were blood had clotted. She had seen only one wolf up close in her life. She swallowed a shuddering breath.
“Colby?” she whispered.
The wolf moved to her, his eyes shining yellow in the dim light. She backed away. He kept coming. After a minute of retreating from his advance she realized he was herding her out of camp. She tried to side step. He moved with her, now using his heavy shoulder to force her to keep moving. It was too cold out here without a wrap. Her dress was thin, no protection from the wind. Her shoes were sturdier than her evening pumps, but still not warm enough She was sure the camp had guards around the perimeter. One of them would see her and … What? Rescue her? Send her back to Jon and Tanner? Shoot Colby? Ice that had nothing to do with the temperature slid down her spine. Or worse. They would capture Colby and turn him over to Major Ellis and her stepfather to torture.
Colby must have a camp. Hopefully he had something warm for her to put on there. This was her best chance of escape. She turned and allowed the wolf to push her out of camp.
Once it became clear she wouldn’t try to go back to camp, the wolf bounded a few steps in front and led her away from camp. Every few steps he turned his head to be sure she was still behind him. She turned her head too, to be sure no one was following them. It wouldn’t be long before she and the private were missed.
The private. Gina wrapped her arms around herself as she hurried behind the wolf. Was he dead? Cold seeped into her bones, the result of horror mixed with the frigid air around her. The private hadn’t done anything wrong, but the wolf murdered him. Maybe she was insane to be following this wolf through the dark. If she hadn’t seen him transform from a man to a wolf on the train with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed it. There really were werewolves, and Colby was one.
She tripped over a clod of frozen earth under the snow and hit her knees hard. The wolf dashed to her side and nipped her wrist.
“Hey!” She batted ineffectually at him. He responded by closing his mouth over her wrist and tugging. She could feel his teeth against the bones in her wrist but he didn’t bite down. “Okay, okay, let go. I’m coming.”
She would have sworn she walked for hours behind the wolf. She grew colder with every step. When they came to the river, she realized they had walked at least five miles. It really had been hours, then. The wolf growled low when she didn’t immediately slide down the bank. She held her arms close to her sides so he couldn’t nip her wrist again and cautiously went down to the river. The frozen river wouldn’t stop any pursuit, but it might slow them down. Where were the pursuers? She had expected them to catch up long before this. She made her way carefully over the river, the wolf trotting before her.
Without trees or hills, nothing blocked the wind on the surface of the frozen water. Her teeth chattered as she laboriously pulled herself up the opposite bank. At the top, she fell. The wolf was there, sticking his furry face into her hers and growling.
“Colby,” she croaked. “I can’t. I just can’t.”
The wolf didn’t accept that. He put his massive shoulder into her side and pushed. She dragged herself to her feet and stood wavering, staring at the wolf.
“How much farther?” she asked.
The wolf growled and stepped past her to lead the way.
She trudged behind him. How cold was it? Forty degrees? Above freezing, so she couldn’t actually freeze, could she? She couldn’t feel her feet, though, and that couldn’t be good. Her upper arms and face stung with cold. At least the wind was dying down. The skirt of her satin dress wouldn’t be much protection, but she flipped it up to cover her shoulders, not caring if the wolf could see her underwear. Modesty was the least of her problems right now. Besides, it was a wolf. Colby had yet to make an appearance.
On and on they went through the cold night. Gina stopped looking back to check for pursuit. If her stepfather’s men caught up with them she might be grateful. They would wrap her in blankets and give her something warm to drink. Just the thought of it brought the threat of tears.
“Colby,” she called.
The wolf didn’t pause, but one of his ears cocked back as if to hear her better.
“Colby, how much farther?”
He didn’t answer.
“Colby!” she shrieked. “I’m freezing. I’m tired of following a stupid wolf who won’t even talk to me. Are you in there?”
The wolf trotted on. She ground her teeth to keep them from chattering. You wanted to escape, she reminded herself. Don’t be a baby. Freezing to death was preferable to marrying Jon, Tanner, and whoever else in Falls City. Colby would take care of her as soon as he decided they were safe. She just had to be patient and keep moving. At least he has a thick fur coat to wear. That bit of envious sarcasm was her last thought before she tripped over something and tumbled into the comfort of darkness.
