A Girl and Her Wolf (Howl, #7) (5 page)

“You’ll never know,” Bennett replied, shooting them a sinister grin. “Stay on my good side and maybe you’ll never have to find out.” Without saying another word, he disappeared into thin air.

Emma glanced over at Colby. “Well, that sucks.”

“I’m sure it will be no big deal. Don’t worry.” He yawned, stretching. “Are you tired? We need to get up for school in a few hours.”

She shrugged. “I guess.” Rising to her feet, she said, “Goodnight.” She gave him a small wave before heading back to her bedroom, feeling pleased about their conversation.

*

“So, are you two lovebirds thinking about getting divorced already?” Bennett asked now as he sat on the sofa next to her while she cradled Davenport, who was still sleeping in her arms.

“No . . . I don’t think so,” she replied. Then, quietly, she added, “I hope not, at least.”

Bennett seemed to soften a little. “Don’t worry. I’m sure that whatever’s going on, it will all work out in the end.”

“Thanks, Ben,” Emma replied, forcing a small smile. “I think I’m going to see if Colby can watch Davenport so I can go for a walk.”

“Davenport is quite the cutie, I must admit,” Bennett said, smiling down at the sleeping baby. When he glanced back up at Emma, he added, “I would like to volunteer my babysitting services anytime you need them.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “Can ghosts even babysit?”

Bennett shrugged. “I don’t see why not. I’ve protected your life more than once. I think I’d make just as fine a babysitter as any mortal or werewolf you know.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Emma replied, even though she couldn’t imagine any instance in which she would trust him to watch Samara’s son. “I’ll see you later, I’m sure.”

“Indeed,” Bennett agreed. He had that habit of popping up whenever he wanted to. No one ever really knew when he was watching them.

Chapter 8: Colby

Colby managed to close his eyes just before a pile of sweet potatoes hit against his nose. So far, Davenport had managed to fling baby food all over the kitchen floor and kitchen walls as he giggled from his high chair.

On the bright side, he actually wasn’t crying for once even though Emma had gone for a walk. And even Colby had to admit that his Godson had one hell of a swing on him. Maybe he would be the first werewolf in history to make it all the way to the MLB. Luke would have been really proud if his son was the next Babe Ruth or Jackie Robinson.

Daven started to eat what little was remaining of his sweet potatoes as Colby knelt on the tiled floor and began to clean up the mess he’d made.

“Is babysitting turning out to be more than you bargained for, Colby?” a voice asked from behind him.

Colby glanced over his shoulder to find Bennett hovering on the other side of the rectangular kitchen table. “No, it hasn’t been that bad,” he lied. Truthfully, though, the whole experience had been pretty intense so far. It actually sort of scared him that Emma really seemed to want a baby in the near future. Daven barely liked him. What if his own child didn’t, either?

“I’ve already let Emma know, but in case she hasn’t informed you—and I don’t believe she has,” Bennett began. “I’m willing to babysit Samara and Declan’s child at any time, day or night. All you need to do is call me—by name or by burning a candle.”

“Thanks, Ben,” Colby replied. “I don’t think that will be necessary, though. I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on this.”

“Oh? Like the good handle you had on Emma’s birthday party? I offered my help
then
, too.”

Colby’s mind drifted back to the surprise party he’d thrown for Emma that past April.

*

“Hey, Samara? What are you doing on Saturday night?” Colby asked into the phone.

“I’m supposed to go camping with Aunt Rae, Kyle, and Silas this weekend,” Samara replied. “I’m leaving Davenport with my parents for some grandparent bonding time. What makes you ask?”

“Oh.” Colby’s face fell. “It’s just that I was planning to throw Emma a surprise party. Her birthday’s on Sunday, so I figured it would be cool to have everyone here just as it turned midnight on Saturday night.”

“I’m sorry we can’t make it. But if you were going to do this, you should have sent invitations out weeks ago,” Samara told him.

“I know,” Colby agreed. “She only just started hinting a few days ago that it would be nice if someone would throw her a surprise birthday party. She’s never had one before.”

“Maybe the rest of the pack will be able to make it. And I’ll see if Declan feels up to going.”

“He’s not going camping with you?” Colby asked, feeling surprised but hopeful. He knew that Emma would be disappointed to have a birthday party without her best friend there, but at least her other best friend might be able to make it.

“No, he has to work on Saturday. He gets out of work by eight o’clock, though,” Samara replied. There was the sound of the baby crying in the background and then she said, “Hey, Colby? Davenport needs me, so I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, bye,” Colby replied as he ended the call. He marked Samara, Silas, and Kyle off his list of people to invite. The next people on the list were Chris, Kyana, and Steve.

Luckily, he didn’t need to go far to invite them to the party. He rose to his feet and headed down the hallway. Chris and Kyana were cuddling on the couch in the entertainment room watching Steve play Nintendo Wii.

“Hey, guys?” Colby asked. “I want you all to keep your schedules open on Saturday night, if you can. I’m throwing a surprise party for Emma.”

“We can’t,” Kyana replied, shaking her head. “We already made plans to hang out with the Koto pack in New Jersey for the weekend. It’s my best friend Skye’s birthday, too.”

“Oh.” Colby couldn’t hide the disappointment from his face. He turned to Steve. “How about you? Can you make it?”

Steve shook his head. “Nah, I’m sorry Colby. I have a date with Maya.” He grinned at the mention of the girl who he’d started seeing a few months earlier. “I wanna say I’m upset I won’t be able to make it, but let’s be real here. This is Emma and we all know that she cries at her parties if she wants to.”

Colby let out a low, defensive growl. “Are you calling my mate a crybaby?”

Steve shrugged. “All I’m sayin’ is that I know what types of drama she’s pulled in the past with her birthday parties. Last year, I gave her a really cute paw print charm for her Pandora bracelet, and she threw a hissy fit. I have exceptional taste in jewelry, but she thought I was calling her a dog, if you remember.”

“Which is ridiculous, considering she
is
a dog,” Chris chimed in.

“I’m just sayin’. My birthday presents always seem to go unappreciated anyway, so I doubt she’ll miss me,” Steve replied with a shrug. “No hard feelings, though. Emma helped me pick out some candy and flowers to give Maya tonight. The two of them really seem to be hitting it off, so maybe we can all plan a double date soon?”

“Yeah, sure,” Colby mumbled, as he turned away from him and left the room. He walked back down the hall to the bedroom he shared with Emma feeling crushed.

Samara was right. He probably should have sent out invitations weeks ago if he wanted to pull this thing off. But he was still determined to give Emma the surprise birthday party she’d always wanted.

At that moment, Bennett appeared in the room. “Don’t be upset, Colby. I know the perfect solution to Emma’s surprise party.”

Colby felt a little bit of hope spark within him. “What is it?”

“It’s simple, really. All you need to do is invite all the kids from school,” Bennett replied. “That way, there will be more people who come to the party, which will make up for the fact that all of her friends won’t be able to attend.”

Colby frowned. “That won’t really work. Emma doesn’t like her old friends anymore now that she’s a werewolf. She doesn’t think they have anything in common anymore.”

Bennett shrugged. “That’s so very Emma of her. Maybe she can get over it for one night, though. She’s the one who asked for this surprise party, isn’t she?”

“Well, yeah. . .” Colby thought about it for a moment, but then he shook his head. “No, I know my Emma. She wouldn’t want a bunch of random people here for her birthday. I’m going to try to make the most of the party with everyone who can make it.”

“
If
anyone can make it,” Bennett pointed out.

By the time Saturday came, it was pretty clear that no one was going to be coming to the party besides Colby and Declan. Seth and Penelope both had plans to meet up with her family in Ohio for the weekend. Seth would be meeting them for the first time since they’d ended up together. Apparently things had been shaky between them since she’d joined the Tala pack, but she was too excited for them to meet her mate to cancel the plans they’d made for Emma’s birthday party.

Colby had even tried inviting Samara’s parents over for the night, but they wanted to stick to Daven’s sleep schedule instead of bringing him along (and Colby couldn’t blame them. Wolf babies didn’t do very well when they didn’t stick to the same routine).

Emma was supposed to get home from her job at the beauty salon, where she answered phones and put people in the tanning beds, at nine o’clock. Colby had gone to the grocery store earlier that day to buy a birthday cake, some frozen pizzas and hot wings, and birthday decorations. Streamers already covered the walls, and he’d bought some birthday hats, too—a princess crown for Emma and Sponge Bob-themed hats for him and Declan.

He knew that it all seemed immature, but what did it really matter? The surprise party wasn’t going to live up to what Emma had in mind, anyway. He would be in the dog house later, anyway (no pun intended).

Around eight o’clock, his phone rang. One glance at the caller ID told him it was Declan.

“Hey, what’s up, man?” Colby asked.

“I have bad news, Colby,” Declan replied. “I’m not going to be able to make it tonight.”

“You’re
not
?”

“No, unfortunately Daven’s come down with a cold. I called Dr. Mink and, luckily, his office is still open tonight. He said it’s probably nothing major, but he wants me to bring him in so he can take a look just in case,” Declan replied. “Tell Emma I said happy birthday, though, okay?”

“I will,” Colby replied. “I hope Daven feels better.”

“Thanks,” Declan said before hanging up the phone.

At that moment, Bennett appeared in the living room in front of him. “Declan can’t make it, either, huh?”

“No,” Colby replied, not meeting his gaze. He knew that Bennett was going to go off on an I-told-you-so rant, and he really wasn’t in the mood to hear it. He’d really wanted to make Emma’s birthday special for her, but it didn’t seem like that was going to happen.

He felt like a failure.

“It’s never too late to invite those people from your high school,” Bennett insisted. “They might not have time to buy Emma a present, but at least they’ll show up.”

“That’s okay. I’ll pass,” Colby replied, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly.

“Fine. Do as you wish,” Bennett replied before going invisible again.

Colby only hoped that he would s
tay
invisible for the rest of the night, but he doubted that would happen. He seemed to be popping up more than usual lately, each time more sarcastic than the last.

Around 8:45, Colby turned all of the lights off in the house and then hid underneath the dining room table. He was going to yell surprise when Emma came in. It would probably be the most disappointing surprise birthday party ever, but what could he do now?

Half an hour later, he finally heard the sound of the front door opening and Emma calling out to him. “Colby Jack! I’m home!”

He climbed out from underneath the table and yelled, “Surprise!”

She turned on the light and blinked. “What are you doing?”

“I threw you a surprise party,” he explained.

Emma glanced around. “So, where is everyone, then?”

“Well, that’s the thing. . .” Colby tried to decide on the best way to explain what had happened to her before he finally blurted, “No one was able to make it besides me. I’m so, so sorry, Emma. If I had known earlier that you wanted a surprise party, I would have made sure I threw one at a time when everyone could make it, but . . . it didn’t work out the way I planned for it to. I hope you’re not mad.”

A smile broke across her lips. “Why would I be
mad
?” she asked. “You were incredibly sweet by throwing me a surprise party at all. I don’t care if anyone was able to make it. Maybe next year you can throw me a bigger party—even if it’s not a surprise party—but all that matters is that you’re here.”

Colby grinned and knelt down to plant a small kiss on her lips. “Happy birthday.”

*

Glancing up at Bennett now, he said, “For your information, I think Emma’s birthday party went really well, even
without
your help.”

Bennett shrugged. “Perhaps, but maybe next year you should consider heeding my advice. Give her the party of her dreams.” He winked before disappearing, as usual, into thin air.