It was a black-and-white shot of Luciano‟s favorite horse, one he‟d raised from a foal and taken special pains to care for and train. “I think you should give it to him,” Nick whispered. “Say it‟s from both of us if you want, but I know he‟d love it.”
Michelle‟s fingers hovered over the frame for a moment, and she nodded.
“From the Peytons, then. We all have plenty of reason to thank him.”
“Yeah, we do.” Nick eased onto the edge of the table. “I bought part of Luciano‟s ranch.”
Her sister froze. “You—you did what?”
“I bought a few acres down by the creek, and I had Derek‟s friend Andrew draft a design for me. A house plan. It‟s Derek‟s Christmas present.”
Tears filled Michelle‟s eyes, and she blinked them away as she drew in a ragged breath. “You‟re staying with us.”
“We‟re staying.” It hadn‟t been a quick decision, and certainly not a unilateral one—though she hadn‟t talked to Derek about building a house. She hadn‟t needed to, not after he and Luciano had begun discussing additions to the main ranch house. “At least for the next year or two.”
“Thank you, Nicky.” Michelle twisted and wrapped her arms around Nick.
“Just...thank you. To both of you.”
Much more, and the gratitude Michelle imagined she owed everyone would break her. “It‟s as much for us as it is for you,” Nick insisted, hugging her sister tight. “Derek, too. He‟s kind of fond of you, you know.”
Michelle eased away and wiped at her cheeks. “He‟s wonderful. You found a good man.”
“Yeah, I did.” Life with Derek was better than she‟d dreamed, and all because it was real. Fantasy could never measure up. “And I have it on good authority he‟ll make a protective but doting uncle.”
“So I‟ve heard,” her sister murmured. “Kat‟s already issued her warnings.
To be perfectly honest, I find that comforting.”
Yes, she probably would. Nick made a show of rolling her eyes. “God help me if I get pregnant. Will you protect me when I’m the one he‟s fussing over?”
“Not a chance. Not with the way all of you hover over me.”
“Hey, I‟ve been behaving myself.”
“Mostly.”
“You should take it.” Nick grinned. “„Mostly behaved‟ is as good as it gets with me, or have you forgotten?”
“Uh-huh.” Michelle pointed to the chair. “Sit down. I‟m teaching you how to use the wrapping paper cutter.”
“Yes, ma‟am.” Anything to keep the hint of sparkle in Michelle‟s eyes, to hold sadness at bay for a little while longer.
Derek handed Mahalia a cup of eggnog. “If we stay in the corner, maybe Kat won‟t make us wear Santa hats.”
She laughed. “You keep clinging to that impossible optimism, but your cousin‟s putting a hat on your head before the night‟s out.”
Since she‟d just coaxed Luciano into donning a cheerful red stocking cap, Derek thought Mahalia was probably correct. “Who am I kidding? If she‟ll keep laughing, I‟ll wear anything she puts on my head.”
Mahalia‟s amusement softened into a smile. “Of course you will. And you‟re lucky you found a lady who needs to take care of family just as much as you do.”
“I know I am.” Across the room, Nick had coaxed her sister to her feet and into a reeling swing dance that Michelle navigated with effortless grace.
Knowledge imparted by tutors, Michelle had confessed, because the Conclave had never allowed her to attend the dance lessons she‟d wanted as a girl.
John Peyton had done everything in his power to carve out a life for both of his daughters, in spite of the obstacles. It wasn‟t hard to see where Nick‟s devotion to her family had been learned.
“That‟s what matters.” Mahalia patted his leg. “I‟m glad I convinced Kat to bring you to my bar. Though I have to admit, I didn‟t think it‟d take you and Nicole so damn long to get it right.”
Derek laughed. “That‟s what happens when you meddle. Us thick-skulled fools get it wrong and ruin all your plans.”
“Mm-hmm, and I‟ve learned my lesson.”
“Say it isn‟t so. You‟re retiring before you marry Alec off?”
“Fate,” she declared, “will take care of Alec Jacobson. Just you watch.”
Fate had its hands full with Alec. Then again, who could have traced the wild path of events that had taken him from human to shapeshifter, from a man with a crush on Nick to a man who would kill for her? “Fate‟s sure got a funny way of doing things.”
“That it does.” Mahalia flashed him one last smile and rose, heading to the kitchen.
Nick stumbled over and dropped into the spot the woman had vacated with a giggle. “Pregnant and barfy, and Michelle can still dance circles around me.
What‟s wrong with that picture?”
Derek dropped his arm across Nick‟s shoulders and nestled her closer against his side. “Don‟t worry, baby. I bet you could still kick her ass at target shooting.”
She brightened. “That‟s true.”
“‟Course it is. We all have our strengths, and I like yours just fine.”
An unusual blush colored her cheeks. “Yeah, you do.” Then she reached under the end table by the couch and pulled out a flat, square box with a ribbon tied around it. “You haven‟t opened your present yet.”
The box was even lighter than it looked, as if there was hardly anything inside. Derek frowned in concentration as he eased the ribbon free. “The mysterious package I picked up at the post office?”
“Part of it.” The paper fell away to reveal a folio stamped with the construction company‟s logo. Nick reached over and eased open the leather folder. “Call it an artist‟s rendering, courtesy of our architect.”
He recognized Andrew‟s work. Precise lines and neat handwriting, all of it combined to paint a picture of a gorgeous... “A farmhouse?”
“Our house,” she whispered. “If you don‟t like the layout, Andrew said you two can work together to modify the plans. And Luciano agreed to sell me a few acres. I was thinking something by the creek...” She tucked her hair behind her ear.
Nick had been thinking about building a house. For them. He traced the edge of the top sketch with one finger and tried to think past the design to what it would mean.
A home.
“It‟s beautiful, baby,” he murmured. “And the creek is perfect.”
Nick made a soft noise and curled closer to his side. “I know you‟ve been talking to Luciano about building additions to the house here. Maybe, in the spring, you can do this instead.”
Close enough that they‟d be on hand whenever Michelle needed them, but far enough away to have a little bit of privacy. And it would be their place, a place where Kat could have her own room, where he wouldn‟t feel awkward about inviting guests into another man‟s home. “Andrew did a good job.”
“He was the only architect I could think of who knew you well enough to take on this project.”
Nick could be sneaky, but this time he didn‟t have much trouble reading between the lines. “And one you think I should be talking to more often than I am?”
She shrugged one shoulder and flashed him a sheepish smile. “He‟s your best friend.”
Across the room, Kat fiddled with her new digital camera, trying to line up a shot of Michelle and John. She was smiling, damn near laughing, but he‟d known his cousin her whole life. Pain lingered in the quiet moments, when her smile faded and her eyes lost focus. She‟d loved Andrew from the first moment Derek had introduced them, helpless puppy love that had grown up as she did.
Shattered, now. Andrew would never be that man again, any more than Derek could go back to being human, and Kat would never understand any more than Nick could. Nick had been born a wolf. She didn‟t know what it was like to wake up in a body beyond your control, in a world that wouldn‟t fit and instincts that wouldn‟t be quieted.