Tuesday Teaser 12/18/18 Gina’s Wolf Part 30

Christmas is only ONE WEEK away!!!  I have so much to do to get ready, and I’m working extra at the day job. I am horribly afraid I will have to wrap presents that I am quilting and knitting, and then immediately take them back to I can finish them. And since I am hosting the Christmas Eve dinner and present opening, I really ought to at least run the vacuum in the living room and hall, and  dust the furniture. Oh, and maybe clean the toilet?  Oy! Anyone else getting down to the wire with holiday preparations? Even so, I love Christmas. I’ve tried to squeeze in a couple of Christmas movies and novellas. I watched Dear Santa. It was corny and sweet, and made me happy. And I’m reading The Christmas Bus right now. 

Do you enjoy Christmas books and movies? Any suggestions for me?

Word Weavers is continuing with the writing sprints format for our meetings. Last night I presented them with some questions I had about the ending for Gina’s Wolf. I knew what I wanted to happen, but I wasn’t sure how to make it believable. We batted around some ideas for about 15 minutes, and now I know how to proceed. I don’t know what I’d do without those gals! Tonight’s snip isn’t very long again, and it may or may not actually show up in the book, but i’m posting it anyway. Since Tuesday is Christmas I probably won’t post a snip that day. We’ll see how things go, but I am going to  concentrate on getting that quilt and shawl done so I can actually GIVE them on Christmas and not just lend them long enough to be opened 😉 

I’m actually not sure if this is Part 30 or Part 31. Whichever, here it is. Enjoy!

Gina passed through the opening the other women made for her. Ms. Mary handed her the towel with a wink. Gina’s cheeks were brightly pink, but she was smiling. From the very first moment he’d seen her pouring hot chocolate in that coffee shop downtown, Cole had thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Her face didn’t have the perfect lines of Mrs. Madison’s, and her body wasn’t the classic voluptuous hourglass like Aunt Amanda’s, but the color in her cheeks was enchanting, and the hint of a naughty smile on her lips as she came to him made him smile back. She was the loveliest and most precious of women.

Mine, said the wolf fiercely.

“Mine,” agreed the man happily.

Gina’s smile broadened as she handed him the towel. She poked her finger into the center of his breastbone. “Mine,” she said.

He wrapped the towel around his waist. “Yours,” he agreed, already planning what he would do to her upstairs. His mother’s Lupa voice made him reluctantly shelve those plans for the moment.

“Colby, what is happening out there?”

All the women hovering in the doorway between the kitchen and mudroom looked anxious. Aunt Rose shook her head. “Let’s go sit down in the dining room. It’s too cold out here.”

Cole sent Gina a quick glance. He wasn’t cold, but she might be. He followed the women into the dining room. He didn’t have much to report, so this wouldn’t take long. Then he would take his mate upstairs and keep her warm all night. Just a couple of minutes and then they would be alone.

It didn’t take long to tell his mom and the other women that the Kansas-Missourians had withdrawn into their camp across the river and not done anything more than send out occasional patrols. So far no sign of their army had been seen on this side of the river. His dad was directing the Clan and Pack in working with Mayor McGrath and Captain Erickson to keep constant watch on the streets and walls of Omaha. They were making hourly patrols in wolf form outside the wall to be sure the city wouldn’t be surprised by an attack.

“Do you think parading in and out is a good idea?” his mother asked. “Todd and his gang have to be watching. What if they come charging in while the gate is open?”

“There are four small gates hidden. We use those to go out on patrols.”

His mother’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Oh, right. I’m sure your father has those little gates guarded.”

“Every second,” he assured her. “And we only go in and out when it’s dark so the enemy won’t see us. So far, we’ve seen nothing.”

“I wonder what he’s waiting for?” Gina said, wrapping her arms around herself as if she were cold.

Cole tightened his arm around her waist. “I don’t know. But it will be okay. We won’t let him win.”

Gina didn’t quite look convinced. “Yeah, I know you won’t let him win.”

In spite of her words, she didn’t quite sound convinced either. Cole would fix that. He gave her a gentle tug to the stairs that led to their room. “Goodnight, Mom.”

He heard his mother sigh, and Ms. Mary titter. “Newlyweds,” the old lady said happily. “So sweet!”

Thirty minutes later, his mate sprawled, sated, by his side. Her finger drew light circles over his pectoral just below where her cheek lay against him. He was a happy man, relaxed in the dark with the scent of his mate and their loving all around him. “Cole?”

He opened his eyes with a sleepy smile. He didn’t like his name, but it was fine coming from her. “Hmm?”

“I’m learning how to kill a man with a knife.”

He brushed his lips over her forehead. “That’s wonderful, darling.”

She snorted a laugh. “I can’t think of another man who would say that.”

“Every man in the Clan and Pack would say that.”

She chortled again and then sobered. Her hand stopped doodling and pressed flat against him. “How long can we hold out if he never attacks? I mean, how are we for food and water?”

Cole turned her face up and kissed her lips. “We’re fine. McGrath thought of that months ago when Todd sent his first message to Omaha. He’s been saving food and water ever since.”

“That’s good.”

There was relief in her voice, so he didn’t tell her that Todd’s threats hadn’t come until February, when a lot of the winter stores had already been used up. No longer relaxed, he held his sleeping mate and stared up into the dark and tried to figure out just how long Omaha’s food and water would hold out.