“Christ, what kind of fucking beasts does Lupo keep in these woods?” He squinted into the darkness. “Not that it matters. They’ll all be roadkill once I get through with this land.”
Lynn’s growl went primal. She leapt from a patch of towering sunflowers, teeth bared. Cadwick’s girlish squeal deafened Maizie’s ears a split second before he pushed her into Lynn’s path.
It was too late for Lynn to stop. Her heavy furred body slammed into Maizie, chest to chest, knocking her off her feet, driving the air from her lungs. Maizie’s head smacked the patio brick, starbursts lit her eyes.
Lynn writhed on top of her, trying to find her footing. Her long wolf legs and sharp bones poked Maizie’s stomach as she launched into the chase. She followed Cadwick’s trail through the flowers in the opposite direction, her blonde-tipped fur disappearing in the thick foliage.
Shaking off the dizziness, Maizie followed, leaves and stems sticking to her clothes, smacking her face despite the shield of her hands. She broke through the edge of the garden at the corner of the house, already angling her body for the turn and nearly toppled over Gray before she could stop.
She threw her weight backward, landing hard on her ass, her feet sliding into Cadwick’s outstretched legs. He lay spread eagled on his back, Gray’s snarling face inches from his, one thick paw pressing his chest.
Maizie scrambled backward, got to her feet before Cadwick’s wide frightened eyes found her.
“Help me. Please. Help me.” His voice was breathy, panicked.
Lynn gave a hard snort from a few feet away, her tail snapping once against her rump. As if on cue, Ricky, Shelly, Joy and Shawn jogged around from the front of the house, forming a circle around Maizie, Gray and the pleading Cadwick.
Maizie threw a glance at Shawn, his darker fur and larger body a nice contrast with Lynn’s. He rubbed his muzzle along her neck, taking his place at her side. He was new to the pack, new to being a werewolf, but he seemed to fit seamlessly. Could it be that way for Maizie? Could she forgive and forget?
She stepped nearer to Gray, his low growl vibrating the silvery fur along his back. She dug her fingers in, closing her eyes at the luscious feel of his fleece. His scent filled her lungs, wild, earthy forest and the barest hint of sweet male cologne. Gray leaned into her touch, the shift almost imperceptible, but enough to send a warm shiver straight through Maizie, from her head to her toes.
She dropped her gaze to Cadwick. “Give me the deed.”
Chapter Fifteen
“You knew?” Maizie stared, dumbfounded by her grandmother’s cheek-pinching grin.
“Of course, dear,” Granny said. “How else would I know to crazy up my answers when the judge called?”
“Then why didn’t you go through with it?”
Granny gave a nod toward Gray beside her. “Lost his nerve.”
Gray’s stoic face flushed, the tightness around his eyes softening as well as the lines across his forehead. A smile flickered across his lips, but he spoke before it took control. “It was a last resort, and not a pleasant one.”
Maizie leaned back in her chair, folding her arms under her chest. “Especially if Granny decided she wanted to sell.”
Gray’s brows creased. “That was never her wish.”
“If it was? I mean, after you’d gotten control over everything. What if she decided she wanted to sell?” She wasn’t sure why she was testing him. She just had to be sure, had to hear it from his own lips.
Gray’s pale blue eyes narrowed, his expression questioning. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “The guardianship was a ruse, Maizie. A line of defense against rash decisions.”
“Doesn’t answer the question.”
“You’re really asking?” Gray shook his head and pushed back, his lean body tall in the chair. He looked away, talking more to himself than Maizie. “Of course you’re asking. She’s your grandmother. You should.”
His gaze darted out over the plush lawn of Green Acres backyard. Nearly an acre of manicured grass dotted with trees and flower gardens, and edged by the forest. They’d snagged a comfortable set of wicker chairs under a giant white ash. The limbs, thick with leaves, let the sun dapple through around them.
Gray’s handsome, sharp-boned face darkened, yet there was no anger in his eyes. He’d worn his normal Armani blazer and slacks, lightweight, dark charcoal gray, with a white crewneck shirt underneath, business casual, sexy as hell. His thick silver-gray hair matched perfectly, curling just below his collar, a striking contrast with the glacier blue of his eyes.
He looked back to her and it was all Maizie could do not to gasp at the impact of those eyes. “Had it come to it. Yes, I would’ve taken control of Ester’s holdings. I would’ve kept her from selling until I could be sure the decision was sound, sure she knew what she was doing, and why.”
“And if she was?”
His gaze locked with hers, his expression unflinching. “I would’ve followed her wishes.”
Was it enough? Maizie caught her bottom lip between her teeth, looked away. She couldn’t allow his sexy good looks, his sweet, wild aroma, or the memories of his hard body pressed to hers cloud her mind. She couldn’t let her hormones distract her again until she was sure.
“It was my idea, Little Red.” Granny reached her hand out to Maizie’s, so soft and frail Maizie hardly felt it. She relaxed the tight knot of her arms and took Granny’s hand.
“With my spells I can’t always be sure what’s real and what’s not,” Granny said. “I didn’t want to bother you. You were already so busy with the bakery. So I asked Gray to watch out for me, even though I knew it made him uncomfortable. He agreed. He’s a good man, dear.”
Maizie studied Granny’s adorable weathered face, sky blue eyes peering from beneath soft wrinkled lids, wisdom sparking in their depths. Granny trusted him, loved him even, it meant everything.
She swung her gaze back to Gray, his brow creased, worry glazing his pale eyes. She smiled. She couldn’t help it. “He’s a very good man.”
Relief washed over his face, relaxing the muscles along his brow, the stiffness of his mouth. He dropped his gaze, his cheeks turning a shade pinker.
He looked back to her, his eyes intense, earnest. “Ester is beloved to me. But you’re part of me, Maizie, a part of my soul. You have been since I held you in my arms that night. You were so young, and I was…a mess. But none of that mattered. The bond was made between us anyway. We’re helpless against it. Just took me twenty-one years to admit it.”
Maizie reached across the low glass coffee table and Gray took her hand in both of his. “We’ll have to work on that stubborn streak.”
He laughed and kissed her hand, his gaze sliding up to hers so the pale blue peered beneath long black lashes. “Sounds like fun.”
His low voice rumbled through her body, vibrating all the tiny hairs along her skin and sending a liquid hot flood to her sex. She exhaled, her breath shaky, leaning back in her chair when he released her hand. Oh yeah, it was definitely going to be fun.
“Now you’re sure that Cadwick fellow won’t be coming around anymore?” Granny said.
Gray nodded, still staring at Maizie, his head turning slowly toward Granny, his eyes the last to leave her face. “Yes,” he said. “I stopped by his office to see how he was, uh, handling last night’s events.”
Maizie took her glass of tea from the table, her mouth suddenly gone dry. “What’d he say?”
Gray glanced her way. “He’s convinced you’re a female Dr. Dolittle and now has a powerful desire to donate money to the Bad Wolf Wild Game Preserve. He said he wants to make sure the animals never have reason to wander from the forest.”
Granny laid her hand on his forearm. Her thin fingers squeezed. “Thank you, Gray. I know how difficult it’s been for you having to deal with him. I’m so sorry.”