“She left him,” Cantrell said.
Laurel laughed.
“But obviously she returned,” Robert said. “We knew that would happen.”
“We have to get back to ski rescue. If you need rescuing from CJ, just let me know,” Cantrell said.
“But call me when you do.” Robert slapped CJ on the shoulder. “See you later, man.”
“Yeah, see you.” CJ waved to a waitress. Then looking a little worried, he asked Laurel, “Are you okay with the pictures? I can ask Darien to have everyone take them down, if you want.”
“I’m okay with it. I’m just not used to pack dynamics, and I wouldn’t want everyone to think…” She hesitated. She didn’t want to say their kissing didn’t mean anything to her, because it sure did.
“I understand,” CJ said quickly, as if he didn’t want her to say she wasn’t interested in him the way she knew he was interested in her.
The waitress hurried over to the table. “What would you like to drink?”
They both ended up having hot rum toddies before they left the lodge and dropped by a liquor store. When CJ picked up a bottle of champagne to see if she was agreeable, she raised her brows at his selection. She suspected this had to do with something other than just some holiday cheer.
He was officially declaring he wanted to court her.
Chapter 7
“To celebrate your first lesson on the slopes,” CJ said to Laurel as he paid for the champagne. And their first kiss and, as far as he was concerned, their first date. After that kiss on the slopes, he was moving this courtship business along.
Her wicked smile indicated that she knew he meant a lot more by the gesture than he was letting on.
Afterward, they dropped by the grocery store, and she picked out a seven-layer chocolate cake. She wasn’t kidding when she said she loved chocolate. He’d had to smile when she first saw the cake and her eyes lit up.
When they arrived at her house, it was still only four in the afternoon. She excused herself to run up and change out of her ski clothes. He ditched his ski jacket and pants on the arm of the couch.
She came downstairs wearing jeans, her peach sweater, and a pair of suede slipper boots. Something about the way she was so casually dressed made him feel right at home.
“Do you want me to open the bottle of champagne now?” he asked while she started to roast slices of beef, tomatoes, and garlic in a pan.
“Do you want me to do something extra special with it? Make it a Christmas drink?” she asked.
“Sure.” He opened the bottle for her.
“This will be poinsettia champagne. Just mix a little orange liqueur and cranberry juice, then add the champagne.” She mixed it up, poured them each a glass, and offered one to him.
He clinked his glass against hers. “To first lessons and much more.” He wanted her to know that this wasn’t just another day, but an important beginning for them.
She smiled and sipped her champagne. “And to kissing on the slopes—without an audience next time.”
He laughed and drank to that. He was glad she was all for it. “Still on for a run tonight?”
“I sure am. It’ll be the last time before the hotel is open. Do you want to look at this stuff again? See if we find anything that might tell us who was there about the time of the owners’ disappearance?” She motioned with her glass to the photos and other items that Brett had gathered for them.
“Yeah, sure.” He really just wanted to enjoy the time with her. But since learning what had happened to the owners seemed important to her, he’d do whatever it took to help her learn the truth as quickly as possible.
“I don’t see anyone labeled as Warren Wernicke’s sister in these pictures. Unless she was a mated wolf and took her husband’s name. Is there any way that we can get some of these photos blown up in size but still be able to keep the detail?” She turned her attention from the photos to CJ.
“We can certainly ask Jake to give it a shot.” CJ still didn’t see anything that he thought would help with learning the truth about the siblings.
Laurel finally sighed, stacked all the items at the end of the table, and began to set the table.
He helped her serve the meal, and then they sat down to eat. “I’m glad you had fun skiing.”
“It was great. I’ll probably be a little sore tomorrow with all the spills I took, but otherwise, I had a ball. I can’t wait to do it again when I have the chance. I imagine my sisters would love to try it too.”
“I’m sure any number of our ski instructors would be willing to give lessons.”
“Private lessons, right?” She lifted her poinsettia champagne and toasted him.
“Absolutely, but I’m only giving you private lessons.” He didn’t want her thinking he did this all the time. He ate another bite of the roast. “By the way, this is delicious. I love it.”
“Thanks. Just something really simple to make that tastes great.”
After they ate and put everything away, he hoped she wasn’t too tired or sore from skiing to run. He was really looking forward to it.
“Are you ready?” she asked as he put the champagne flutes in the dishwasher. “I thought we could have the chocolate cake when we get back. I’m too full to eat a slice now.”
“Sounds like a great idea.” He was thrilled she wasn’t going to bow out tonight and wanted to spend even more time with him after the run.
After she pulled on her snow boots, coat, and gloves, he drove her out to the woods on Darien’s property, rather than to the now-closed ski resort, and parked. “I wanted to show you a different place that we run.” He wanted to show her everything that was great for their kind here, now that she was willing to take the time to see the sights with him.
“We often run as wolves out here. This is Darien’s property—several thousand acres of forest, no hunting allowed. The title to the land is in Darien and Lelandi’s names, but it’s for the use of all pack members. There’s a river back there where we boat, fish, and swim.” He pointed in the direction. “Any of us who want to take a run out here can. It’s like the ski resort at night. Our safe haven for wolves.”
“That’s really nice. I have to say that while we were living in Florida, we were on our own. We had to be extra careful to avoid being seen. No gray wolves exist in Florida. Lots of forests though. We always ran at night.” She smiled. “This truly has been a nice change of pace.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. We have a great place here. Great for raising wolf families, and you can’t say that about a lot of locations. I’ll take you down to see the river.” To give Laurel some privacy, he left the truck, shut the door, and removed his clothes, then opened the door and tossed them inside.
She had stayed in where it was warmer, removed her clothes, and shifted. She leaped out of the truck. She probably wasn’t used to shifting in the cold that much. She looked nice and warm now in her gray fur coat, her chest and face tan, her pretty green eyes alight with excitement as she looked him over. He was freezing in his naked human form, so he quickly locked the door, then shifted.
They ran side by side, enjoying the snowy breeze ruffling their fur as they made their way to the river. He could smell the sexy she-wolf, the snow, the pine trees, and fresh water. He always loved running as a wolf, but running with a she-wolf he was interested in courting? He hadn’t realized it would feel so different. Like he couldn’t be himself because he wanted to impress her. With his brothers or cousins, he could run with them, tackle them, and just do whatever he was used to doing. He had loved watching Laurel take her sister Ellie down. And then when her sister Meghan tackled her next.
They were cute, but he didn’t feel that he could play with Laurel like that. Not yet, anyway. He’d love to when they got to know each other better. With humans, it was easier—take her out to dinner, to a movie, a ball game, anything that the man thought would interest the woman. With wolves, courtship was much more physical. It had to be. They didn’t have any other options. Yet he definitely didn’t want to come on too aggressive and push her away. On the other hand, he didn’t want her to think he was a beta wolf since she obviously was not a beta herself.