“He’s heard of your exploits on the last mission here.”
“What exploits?”
Bjornolf shrugged. “I have no idea what rumors were spread in the pack about your mission when you were protecting Meara.”
“Nathan better not have heard about you tying me up in the hotel room and think he’ll get to see a repeat performance firsthand.” She closed her eyes and groaned. “That’s probably exactly what he’d heard about.”
Bjornolf chuckled. “Hell, if I have to have a mate, I want someone like you who can take anyone down.”
She fought smiling at him, but she wasn’t successful.
“You really never had a tree?” he asked, not liking that she’d missed out.
She shrugged and looked out the window. “First time for everything, I guess.” Then she considered him again. “Don’t expect me to do anything with it.”
“You mean decorate it? Nathan and I’ll set it in water and all.” He hadn’t thought a whole lot about what went on the tree. He hadn’t helped decorate one in years.
Anna didn’t say anything.
“We’ll figure out something. We don’t have any stored ornaments from last year like we would if this had been for real. We’ll have to go shopping for some.”
“Actually, you should take Tessa. If you have a fight over an ornament with another customer, Tessa will win the confrontation with a growl.”
“She nearly gave Hunter heart failure. He thought she was ready to strip and shift. I’d rather go with you. You’re a known commodity.”
She cocked a brow at that.
“As far as the shifting part goes. The rest of you I’m still trying to figure out.”
“Shopping is not my thing.”
“Now there’s a woman after my own heart.”
When they arrived at the tree farm, Bjornolf drove into the parking lot next to a building all lit up with white twinkling lights and a green and red sign that said “Everton’s Christmas Tree Farm and Gift Shop.” Five other vehicles were parked out front, making it look like business was fairly good.
Nathan shoved the gift-shop door open and hurried out to greet them. Bjornolf swore the teen had grown another inch or two since the last time he’d seen him, his hair blond and naturally curly. He wore a heavy navy wool sweater, blue jeans, and hiking boots. Bjornolf got out of the car while Anna hesitated.
Nathan was watching Anna, looking hopeful. She pushed open her car door and Nathan rushed forward. She’d barely stood before the tall, lanky kid enveloped her in a heart-warming bear hug and said, “Aunt Anna, I’m so glad you’re here.”
Bjornolf closed his gaping mouth and waited for the explosion. Instead, Anna gave Nathan a hug back and whispered, “Are we being watched?”
Nathan grinned, and that wasn’t faked at all. Neither was his exuberant hug, Bjornolf noted, and he wondered if the kid had a crush on Anna.
“Uncle Bjornolf.” Nathan shook his hand, then took hold of Anna’s hand as if he was afraid she was ready to flee. From the expression on her face, she looked like that’s what she had in mind. “Let’s go inside and we can have a cup of hot chocolate first. All the customers are treated to that. I made you both some ham sandwiches so you could eat out in the woods when you go to pick out our tree.”
Bjornolf thought Nathan was going to hand Anna over to him, but instead he walked between them, keeping a firm grip on Anna’s hand. Her cheeks actually turned a little rosy.
He smiled at Nathan, following along with the game for now. He decided the kid was sure good at playing people.
“Did you want me to cut the tree down for you? Or do you want to do it?” Nathan asked.
Anna was looking over her shoulder at the tree farm, taking a deep breath. Bjornolf was also trying to smell any odor of decay.
“Maybe you can show us where the best trees are,” she suggested.
“Oh absolutely! I hope you want a big tree. They’re the coolest.”
Anna cleared her throat.
Bjornolf figured she wanted one that was as little as possible. Something small enough that it wouldn’t take long to decorate, take up too much room, or be noticeable. “As tall as we can fit into the cottage, Nathan,” he said. “We have to make sure we can put a star on top.”
“Angel,” Anna said, contradicting him.
Bjornolf stared at her, then smiled a little. “Yeah, an angel.”
“Angel. I like that.” Nathan led them inside the shop where the smell of coffee and hot chocolate, cinnamon and spices scented the air and a fire burned in a cheery fireplace. Christmas wreaths were hung up all over the gift shop.
“You can see red deer, elk, red-tailed hawks, squirrels, and tons of birds in the trees out there,” Nathan said, pouring Anna a mug of hot chocolate.
Anna sipped the chocolate slowly, and Bjornolf indicated that he wanted a mug, too.
“If you’ll show us where the best trees are,” Bjornolf said, drinking the chocolate, then putting the empty mug down on the table, “we’ll be good to go.”
Nathan took Anna’s hand again, and she glanced at Bjornolf. He raised his brows, not sure what to do.
Nathan seemed to miss the interaction—either that or he was ignoring the looks they’d given each other—and started giving his sales pitch as they walked outside. “We’ve got noble fir, Nordmann’s fir, grand fir, Fraser fir, Scotch pine, white pine, and blue spruce trees either left wild or moderately trimmed.”
“What do you think, honey?” Bjornolf asked, drawing close to her free side and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.
Nathan grinned at Bjornolf but did not release Anna’s hand.
“It’s up to the two of you,” Anna said. “How many acres of trees do they have here?”
“Five hundred,” Nathan said.
“How did you find… what you found?” Anna asked, being careful since customers were shopping for trees somewhere in the vicinity.
“I was looking over the tree farm with Jessica—she’s the owners’ daughter. We were working way out there, and we smelled a hint of something dead.”
“Hunter told me she’s human,” Anna said.
“Yeah, but anyone can smell dead stuff when the odor is so strong. It’s just that only we can tell what died if there’s no sign of a body.”
Anna and Bjornolf kept smelling the air, but all he could get were strong whiffs of the pine and fir trees.
“So you smelled a human…” Anna said.
“Wolf,” Nathan corrected.
“And?” Anna prompted.
“I called Tessa and told her what I’d smelled—I pretended she’s my aunt.”
“So are any of the men who work for the owner wolves?”
Nathan shook his head.
“Any other scents in the area where you smelled the dead wolf?” she asked.
“No. You know how strongly the smell of dead things lingers. If anyone had moved the body, and someone had to have, their smells were washed away.”
“How far out had you gone?” Anna asked. “I feel as though we’ve already walked a mile or two.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Bjornolf said, squeezing her shoulder. “She just navigated miles of dense jungle, fought kidnappers, you name it, so this is a walk in the park for her.”
Nathan grinned at her.
“Yeah, but it’s a lot colder out here. Why were you so far away from the gift shop, Nathan?” she asked.
Nathan flushed a little and squared his shoulders. “I was just taking Jessica for a walk.”
To make out, Bjornolf suspected. The smell of a dead body had to have put a real damper on things.
“She’s human,” Anna said, as if she was playing the role of Nathan’s mother.
He nodded and Bjornolf thought he looked a little sad.
“Aren’t there any girls in the pack you’re interested in?” Bjornolf asked.