Kristal Hollis - Charmed By The Wolf

“Someone is in a really good mood today.” Cassie leaned against the doorway. “I haven’t actually seen you in a bad mood, but you seem more engaged.”

“The gunk from the city is sloughing off.” Penelope placed the extra construction paper on the supply shelf, returned the scissors to the plastic bin and secured the glue bottle in a drawer. “Or it could be the invigorating moonlit stroll I had Friday night.”

“How can a stroll be invigorating? A run, yeah. But a stroll?” Shane folded the ladder.

“Would you do me a favor?” Cassie looked at Shane. “The light in my office is out. I put in a call to maintenance, but they’re searching high and low for the ladder.”

“No problem.” He hoisted the missing ladder onto his shoulder.

“Thanks.” Smiling warmly, Cassie touched his arm. “The bulbs are on my desk.”

“Holler if you need me again.” He nodded toward Nel and left.

“Sweet kid.”

“You’re right, but Shane wouldn’t take that as a compliment.” Cassie glanced around the room. “Looks great in here. All set for tomorrow morning?”

“As ready as I can be.” Penelope gave one last look. “Thanks for providing the big round table. I think it will be more fun for the kids to sit in a circle and help each other rather than sitting alone at individual desks.”

“You’re going to be great at this.”

“I hope so.” After Penelope turned out the lights and locked up the room, she and Cassie walked down the spiral stairs to the main lobby. “Where’s Brenna?”

“Sundays are daddy days. She’s with her father, and her godfather and his two-month-old twins.”

“Sounds like a handful. Where’s the babies’ mother?”

“Oh, Grace is on her way here to meet me for lunch and an afternoon at the spa. Would you like to join us?”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

They stopped in the middle of the quiet lobby.

“If you were an intrusion, I wouldn’t invite you.” Cassie withdrew a cell phone from her purse. “Should I confirm three?”

“Yes, please.” Penelope’s fingertips and palms warmed and her nerves prickled nearly to the point of discomfort.

“Something wrong?”

“Um...” Penelope’s breathing hitched. She glanced in all directions, but when the lobby doors swung open, her gaze locked on the uniformed lawman coming inside. Tristan stopped suddenly and looked directly at Penelope. Some of the tension drained from his shoulders. A tired smile disrupted his firmly set mouth.

Was he glad to see her?

Every feminine cell in her body danced.

“Penelope?” Cassie tapped Nel’s arm. “Are you feeling okay?”

Okay didn’t begin to describe the feeling of standing on a cliff, toes gripping the edge a second before leaping, or the rush of wind stinging her skin during the free fall right before she opened her wings to fly.

Not that she’d ever experienced those things, but Penelope couldn’t think of any other way to describe how she felt in that moment.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I’m good.”

Noticing Tristan, Cassie giggled.

“I’ve never met a man who could steal my breath with a simple look.” Men as gorgeous as Tristan never took notice of Nel. Their gazes simply swept right over her without a moment’s pause.

“He’s headed this way,” Cassie said.

“What?” Penelope’s heart kicked into high gear, beating fast and furious, and flooding her body with so much giddy adrenaline that she nearly swayed from a wave of light-headedness.

Breathe, just breathe.

Halfway across the lobby, Tristan stopped, slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. His smile turned downward as he held the device to his ear. While talking, he tipped his head back and ran his fingers through his hair.

Penelope figured the conversation was over when the hand holding the phone dropped to Tristan’s side. His gaze returned to her.

Maybe next time, sweet cheeks.

He nodded in her direction, took a few steps backward, then turned on his heel and headed toward the corridor to Gavin’s office.

“Did you hear that?”

Tristan had been too far away for Nel to actually hear anything he said, but his deep, Southern drawl hummed in her head.

“Hear what?” Cassie looked around.

“Someone called me sweet cheeks, just now.” And when she’d been frightened by the wolf in the woods.

“Sorry, I didn’t hear anything.”

Maybe the higher altitude and fresh mountain air had induced some sort of auditory hallucination.

More likely it was her hormones running amuck.

“Why is Tristan here? Is there a problem with one of the guests?”

“Everything is fine. He’s a member of the Walker’s Run Cooperative and helps manage the resort’s security as well as the wolf sanctuary.” Cassie pointed to a corner nook. “We can wait for Grace over there.”

“Does he patrol the area around the rental cabins?” Penelope sat in a cozy overstuffed chair next to Cassie.

“Sometimes. Why?”

“Friday night, I walked one of the trails from the cabin and thought I heard his voice.”

“He was on duty so it could’ve been him. What did he say?”

“Basically, he told me to sit up.”

“Sit up?” Cassie’s nose wrinkled and her brows drew together. “That’s weird. Were you lying down?”

“Hunkered down. I fell trying to get away from an animal making terrible noise in the woods. Scared the daylights out of me.”

“It was probably Cybil. The old sow sounds like an elephant stampede whenever she gets out of her pen. Her owner lives on the border of the wolf sanctuary. Usually the sentinels round her up before she makes it this far.”

“Sentinels?”

“The Co-op’s security team.”

“Ah.” Penelope picked at the drop of glue stuck to the front of her blouse. “Well, I didn’t see a pig, but I did encounter a huge wolf.”

Cassie’s friendly expression blanked. “Can you describe him?”

“His coat looked like burnished gold, but really was a mix of warm, rich colors.” Penelope’s voice rose with excitement. “And his ears were absolutely delightful, like chocolate brownies with the edges dusted in white sugar. He was the sweetest thing. Didn’t growl or bark at me, and he followed me back to the cabin to make sure I got in safe.”

“He did, did he?” One of Cassie’s red brows arched.

“He won’t get into trouble, will he?” If the poor thing was put in heavy chains, forced to wear a muzzle or locked in a cage, Penelope would be heartbroken.

“No.” A smile broke the serious mask that had formed over Cassie’s features. “Our wolves aren’t punished for being curious or for helping someone, but I’ll need to talk with Tristan about the incident.”

“Why?”

Cassie tucked an errant curl behind her ear. “From your description, the wolf you described matches Tristan’s wolf.”

“So, Tristan was nearby?”

“Oh, yeah.” Cassie’s curls bounced with her little head nod.

“Why didn’t he answer when I called him? I could’ve been hurt and he didn’t come.”

“The wolf would’ve alerted him if you were in any danger. I can speak from a similar experience with my husband’s wolf.”

“I would’ve appreciated Tristan giving me a quick heads-up before sending his wolf to check on me. I nearly had a stroke before I realized the cutie wasn’t going to bite me.”

“Tristan probably had his hands full with Cybil.” Cassie brushed her hand across her lap, as if wiping away invisible crumbs. “I think he would’ve given you an explanation if that phone call had come two minutes later.”

“I wouldn’t mind meeting up with him again. I haven’t forgotten your warning, but he seems like a nice guy and someone fun to know. I could use some fun.”