Tuesday Teaser 5/22/18: Gina’s Wolf Part 12

What a week!

I spent hours (like nine!) on Saturday trying to set my newsletter up to be GDPR compliant, and adding a pop up form to the website so people could easily sign up. Grr. I broke my website banner. I’m not sure how, but after a couple of hours I slapped a few book covers up so there would be SOMETHING there. I need to email the woman who designed my website and see if she can fix it. Sheesh. I am a Luddite. 🙁

Anyway, the old newsletter will be discontinued on May 31. I have set up a new one, so if you would still like to get the newsletter please

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What else is going on for me? I leave for The Annual Reader & Author Get Together in Ohio in two weeks. I am so excited by that! Amazon Kindle Worlds are being discontinued by Amazon. My two Kindle World books will be coming down in mid-July, and then with Paige Tyler’s kind permission, I will be re-publishing them on all platforms. That is Amazon,. Barnes & Noble, Kobi, iBooks, etc.  More info to come in on those things in the near future. On to Gina and Cole.

As always, this has not been edited or even reviewed. There are probably a ton of goofs that I will fix when I start revisions. Enjoy!

Five hours later Gina was in the mudroom, dressed in the same borrowed jeans, sweater and socks, plus a shabby winter coat that had once been brown and was now nondescript beige, and a brown wool hat that was a little too big. Gina didn’t mind at all. This trip to Omaha would be as cold as last night, but the addition of the winter gear would make her much more comfortable. Colby was wearing the ill-fitting jeans and a threadbare flannel shirt, but not shoes or coat. He said he would be fine. Wolf warriors didn’t feel the cold like humans did. Gina hid her doubts about this. Maybe if he got cold he would turn into his wolf again.

She gave Nikki a tight hug. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done. Remember to burn my dress right away.”

The older woman returned the hug. “It’s a shame to destroy it, but I will.”

Beside her, Cole nodded firmly. “If the Kansas-Missourians come and see that dress they’ll know you’ve helped us. I hate to think of what they would do to you.”

Mr. Andrews shuddered. “No worries. They’ve never crossed the river, and if they do, we haven’t seen you.”

Cole shook his hand. “The Pack owes you.”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Mr. Andrews smiled at his wife. “If it wasn’t for your kin saving Nikki I wouldn’t be the happy man I am today.”

Gina’s breath caught. The older man wasn’t handsome, but the tenderness on his face when he looked at his wife made him attractive. Her heart ached a little in longing. She wanted a man to look at her like that after more than twenty-five years of marriage. She flicked a glance at Cole. If she accepted him, would he look at her like that?

After one more hug and a round of handshakes, Cole led her out to the yard. They walked past the gate and down the road. When Gina turned around to look back at the house, she saw Nikki wave to her from the mudroom door.  She waved back.

“They were so nice,” she said, stuffing her hands in her coat pockets. “It’s a miracle that we took shelter with someone you knew.”

“Actually, I don’t know them. Nikki lived at the Plane Women’s House and knew my parents. When we get home, I’ll take you to the Plane Women’s Eatery for supper.”

Gina would settle for getting to Omaha. She would feel safer there. She dreaded this walk. “How long until we get to Omaha?”

“That depends on how fast we walk. If we keep at this pace, it will be about five hours. Maybe a little longer. If we slow down or get bogged down in mud, it will be around seven hours.” He tilted his head and looked up at the sky. “It’s ten o’clock now, so even if we move slowly we should get to the gates of Omaha before dawn.”

She lengthened her stride. Cole put a hand on her arm.

“Don’t rush. You’ll get tired faster. We’ll keep to the roads as much as possible. It’s easier walking and any tracks we leave will blend with other tracks, but we have to go cross country at one point.”

She wanted to deny being tired, but he would probably know she was lying. She was not as tired as she was last night, but they had been walking for only twenty minutes so far. “Okay.”

His hand slid down her arm into her pocket and clasped her hand. “Are you cold?”

“No.” It wasn’t a lie, but if he asked again in an hour she would probably have a different answer. “You can let go of my hand.”

His fingers tightened over hers. “No.”

She stopped on the road. His momentum carried her half a step further before she dug in her heels. “You want me to accept you? Then stop being so bossy. You don’t have the right to just grab my hand and then refuse to let go when I tell you to.”

The cold moonlight showed his eyes go from narrow to wide. His mouth dropped open, and then closed. “Your hands will be cold. Nikki didn’t have any mittens or gloves for you.”

“So you were holding my hand only to keep me warm?”

He blinked. She could see a struggle on his face. “Not completely.” He pulled his hand out of her pocket and bent a little to look into her face. “Sorry. I’m an alpha. I know I’m bossy. My sister complains about it all the time. I’ll try to do better, I promise.”

That was a pretty decent apology. “Okay. I can’t ask for more than that.”

She started walking again. She would try to learn to love him and he would try to not be bossy. They walked in near silence for two hours before Cole guided her into a field. Clouds had covered the moon, making it hard to Gina to see.

“Time for some harder walking,” he said apologetically.  “About two miles through some fields, and then we’re on the main road to Omaha.” He hesitated. “If you need help, let me know.”

She accepted his hand to climb down into a ditch and back up into a field, and then tucked her hands firmly back into the coat pockets. Gina couldn’t see five feet ahead. The road had been a hard surface, mostly clear of snow and mud, but the field was different. She tried to move briskly, but after only ten minutes she lost speed. Cole hadn’t touched her since he’d released her hand. Now, as she slogged through only half frozen mud and stumbled over ridges in the dirt, she knew it was time to ask for help.

She turned to look up at him. “Cole, can we slow down a little?”

His smile almost glowed. She narrowed her eyes, ready to slap down his gloating, but he didn’t look like he was gloating.  He looked … happy. Happy? She opened her mouth to say something, but her mud caked shoe caught on a branch half buried in the muddy slush, and with her hands buried in her pockets she couldn’t keep her balance. The only reason she didn’t pitch face first into the muck was Cole. He swooped and caught her before she hit the ground.

“Are you all right?” he asked, and she could have sworn he sounded honestly concerned.

Being held so close to his warm chest let her know just how cold she had gotten. “Yes.” She wiggled her foot, which was several inches above the ground. “No damage done.”

He didn’t let her down. “Would you― Could I ―” He blew a breath out. “It would be better if I could hold onto you, at least until we get back to a road.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You mean carry me?”

Even in the dark she could see how his eyes lit up. “Yes, that would be good.”

“No!”

“But then there would be only one set of footprints,” he coaxed.

She stared up at him, uncertain. “Even if they come after us, will they be able to see our tracks in the dark? You’re just want to hold me.”

“Maybe,” he admitted with a smile.

Still no gloating. It confused Gina. “I can walk.”

He sighed. “Okay.” He set her down. “But can I hold your hand? Just so you won’t fall?”

Her hand was cold. “Okay.”

His broad palm wrapped around hers seemed to warm her whole body. They didn’t speak much on their trek over the uneven ground, but she liked his hand tucked into her pocket. Holding hands with a man was another thing she hadn’t done before. It was strangely comfortable. She felt a connection between them, as if their joined hands were a bridge from her heart to his. No wonder lovers held hands.