Marilu Mann - Changing Focus

Suddenly he pulled on the leads and called the dogs to a halt. He anchored the sled securely in the snow. Some of the dogs started barking again while others curled up to rest, covering their noses with their tails. Olivia could just tell the ones still barking were ready to run some more.

“I want to take you somewhere.” Micah helped Talia then Olivia out of the sled. Olivia watched as he spoke quietly to the dogs, patting some of them on the head, speaking to all of them as he passed them. “Follow me.”

Trees pressed in on them as they navigated a narrow path that Olivia knew she would have never seen. With Talia between them, she drank in the intoxicating scent of balsam mingled with what she now knew was Micah. How did he know I could do that though? Gotta pin him down when we get back and ask him about that.

“Oh!” A puff of white air accompanied her gasp of delight as she stepped into a huge clearing. On the far edge a large white wolf stood its ground. Olivia knew she’d have to write about how secure these animals were in showing themselves to humans. All this time she thought they’d be difficult to spot and now she was seeing her third one.

Talia glanced up at Micah who held a finger to his mouth while he shook his head. She nodded then reached for Olivia’s hand. The simple gesture brought tears to Olivia’s eyes and the knowledge that she needed to make sure Talia didn’t come to depend on her. This was just a working vacation and her editor needed her back at her desk at the end of it.

Movement caught her attention and she looked at the wolf who still paced restlessly at the edge of the clearing. It seemed uncaring of their presence as it raised its nose to sniff in the air. Olivia squinted. Did that wolf have an injured eye? She saw that the right eye seemed glazed over and there were marks on its face like some sort of scarring. That’s odd. It looks a bit like Gareth.

“Time to head back.” Micah’s voice snapped her out of her reverie and Olivia took one last look at the animal. Foolish, Olivia, just foolish. It’s just some weird similarity, that’s all. She followed Micah and Talia back to the sled.

“Hop in the basket.” Micah waved toward the sled so Olivia assumed that was what he meant. Climbing in, she nestled into the soft blankets and held her arms out for Talia to join her. The trip home seemed shorter because the lodge showed up too soon for Olivia’s liking.

“That was amazing, Micah. Thank you.” She pressed a kiss to the small bit of skin she could see on his cheek then hurried into the lodge with Talia. As soon as she unraveled herself and Talia from the tangle of layers he’d insisted on, she put a kettle on the stove. Micah’s smile when he came in after taking care of the dogs rewarded her efforts.

“I thought we’d need some hot chocolate after that.” Talia danced around the kitchen in agreement.

“What’s this?” Gareth’s voice sounded as he came in from the hallway. “Micah, who is this beauty? Surely she isn’t related to your ugly self.”

Talia screeched when she saw Gareth and buried her head in Olivia’s side. “It’s the boogeyman!”

Micah shook his head wryly. “Talia, this is Gareth. He’s my friend and he works here. Don’t be afraid of him, honey. Gareth, this is Talia. She’s Shelly’s daughter.”

Shaking her head violently, Talia wrapped her arms around Olivia. “No. He’s mean. He’s glaring at me!”

Pulling the little arms off her waist, Olivia picked Talia up. “Honey, Gareth is a good person. He just has a scar on his face. Look at him again. Your Uncle Micah and I both like Gareth a lot. I think you will too if you give him a chance.”

Gareth had stopped in the door, fiddling with the patch over his eye, letting his hair fall forward and turning the scarred side of his face away from them. “It’s okay, Olivia. I’m sorry, Talia. I forgot I might scare you. I’ll go away so you aren’t frightened, okay?”

Pain radiated from the man and Olivia could smell a bitterness in the air that hadn’t been there before. Talia squirmed until Olivia set her down.

Approaching slowly, Talia tilted her head to gaze up at Gareth. “Mr. Gareth, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

The sweetness of the child’s apology caused Olivia to rapidly blink back tears. She moved the kettle off the burner and pulled cups down from the cabinet. She turned to see Gareth going to his knees in front of Talia who stood straight and tall, looking right at him.

“Will you marry me? You are the prettiest thing I’ve seen in my life.” The grin that split his face only made it halfway across because of the scarring, but Talia’s shyness melted away at Gareth’s teasing. Apparently all she’d needed was the go-ahead from Micah and Olivia.

“No! I’m not old ’nough to be mated. Uncle Micah, can I ask him if he is one of us?”

Micah’s wince puzzled Olivia. She spoke then. “Talia, of course he’s one of you. He lives here just like you and your uncle. Now come help me serve everyone, will you?”

Gareth soon had everyone laughing as he told stories he’d heard from Micah’s brother Kajika on one of his visits to the lodge. Apparently Kaj loved telling tales about Micah in his youth.

“And Kaj said their grandfather threatened to skin Micah and use him for a rug when he found out how that pony got into the elders’ meeting.” When Olivia and Talia stopped laughing, Gareth pushed back from the table.

“I’d better get back to work. Micah, can you give me a hand unloading the hay? And Talia?” Gareth reached out to tickle her. “Are you sure you won’t change your mind about marrying me?”

Olivia saw Micah say something to Gareth but couldn’t hear it because of Talia’s giggling response to the proposal.

“Why don’t we go take a nap, Talia?” Olivia stood up and held her hand out to Talia. She didn’t know much about kids, but she knew naps were good. And since the dogsled ride had tired her out, she felt pretty sure Talia was also feeling tired.

“Go on, Talia. I’ll come up later and if you are still awake, I’ll tell you a story about Gareth and a motorcycle.” Micah smiled as he left the kitchen with Gareth on his heels.

Olivia went up the stairs after Talia who trudged up them like her doom awaited her. The room in Micah’s apartment that had Talia’s things in it was cozy with a country charm. As she tucked the child into bed, Olivia brushed some stray hair back from Talia’s face.

“You like Uncle Micah, don’t you? You smell just like Aunt Jane does when she’s looking at her mate.” Earnest eyes stared up at Olivia making her squirm in the intensity.

“Husband. You mean Aunt Jane’s husband, honey. Mate isn’t the right word.” Olivia stood up to go.

“Husband or mate, we call them both. Does your Pack say it different?”

Olivia shivered. Was this some weird cult? “Go to sleep, honey. We can talk about it after your nap. You can help make dinner if you like.”

Closing the door, Olivia headed for her room and her computer. She had to get her impressions about the ride down while they were fresh.

Micah caught the bale that Gareth tossed and pitched it into place by the tack room. He knew his help wasn’t necessary-Gareth had done this particular task alone many times before-so he broke the silence.

“What did you want to talk to me about, Gareth?”

Gareth set down the bale he had in his hands and perched on it. The seriousness of his gaze told Micah he’d been thinking about whatever it was for some time. Rolling his shoulders relieved some of the stiffness in Micah’s shoulders from tossing the hay but not all. Gareth’s voice cracked as he started to speak.