Fox Revenge (Madison Wolves #5) (3 page)

I grinned. "Let the rest of the pack use
the kayaks when we aren't. Please?"

"Oh honey, of course," she said. "That's an excellent idea.
Was that all?"

"No," I said. "Um."

"Spit it out."

"Elisabeth thinks I should take flying lessons."

Lara grinned. "So do I."

I brightened. "Really?"

"Yes. I think it's such a good idea that there is a old but well-maintained addition in our hangar."

"What?" I asked with excitement.

"A trainer airplane. The Mooney's are a little too much to use for training." The two airplanes Lara currently owned were built by a company called Mooney.

I frowned. "But I know how to fly them already," I said.

"Trust me on this one, Michaela."

I settled against her. "I trust you, Lara. You're really going to let me learn to fly?"

"You will coordinate with Elisabeth. You will agree to never sneak off to fly. You will accept any restrictions Elisabeth or June give you. Are we agreed?"

"I presume those restrictions are related to my flying and not the rest of my life," I stated firmly.

Lara sighed dramatically. "You can't blame me for trying. Yes, they are related to flying."

I kissed her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said. "Are you done spending money yet?"

"Um-"

Lara laughed. "What else?"

"Elisabeth thinks Angel should learn to fly
as well. And I think if Angel is going to learn, Scarlett should too."

Lara laughed. "Not while they're supposed to be going to school. Otherwise it's an excellent suggestion. What else?"

"How do you know there is more?" I asked.

"I know you, Little Fox," she said. "More importantly, I know your body." She caressed my side. "This is not the body of a relaxed fox waiting for her virile wolf lover to consume her."

"Is that what you're going to do?"

"Oh yes," she said. "Most definitely. The sooner I give in to all your
demands, the sooner I can slake my thirst for your body."

"Maybe I should wait until you are more deeply in the throes of passion before I tell you what else Elisabeth thinks."

"I think you should tell me now," she said. "Unless you want me to bring up promises to behave again."

"Elisabeth thinks you should buy more aircraft."

"Oh, does she?"

"She does. She thinks you should buy another airplane. Or maybe two airplanes. She wasn't c
lear. She mentioned a six-seat airplane. Or maybe two."

"Oh she does, does she?"

I nodded.

"And what do you think, Little Fox?"

"I think that you can't keep our babies in your tummy forever. I think car seats and baby supplies consume a lot of space. I think I want our baby sitters to be able to join us when we go places. I think I want to know we will always have as many enforcers as we need. And I think this all represents a problem to be solved. But I don't know what the proper solution is."

Lara laughed at referring to Angel and Scarlett as our baby sitters.

"If we buy one more airplane," Lara said. "June and Angel can each fly one. You and I can take the third."

"What about when Angel isn't coming?"
I asked.

"Then you fly one, I fly one," she said.

"I like flying with you," I told her. "I don't think that is going to change."

Lara considered the problem quietly for a minute.

"Is this spending too much money?" I asked her.

"Not hardly," she said. "You wouldn't be up to piloting a six-seater for a while."

"Are you?"

"It depends on the airplane," she said. "But if I'm not ready now, I can be made ready." She smiled. "
I'll get June looking for the right airplane." Lara pulled me into a kiss, then pushed me away.

"Good lord, you still aren't done spending money!"

"It's not me! It's Elisabeth!"

"I am starting to understand why you took more than ten minutes," Lara said, but she was still smiling. "How many more of these are there?"

"Just one."

"What?"

"Elisabeth thinks I would make a good helicopter pilot and points out the pack doesn't have one."

Lara began roaring with laughter.

"Is it that ridiculous an idea?" I asked, a little hurt.

"No, honey, it's not ridiculous at all. She's been trying to get me to agree to take helicopter lessons for years."

"Why haven't you?"

She grinned. "Mostly just to vex my sister."

"Why doesn't she just do it herself?"

"She tried to learn to fly an airplane," Lara said. "She kept getting sick."

"I can't imagine she'll want to ride in a helicopter with me. She hates letting me fly the airplane."

"She wants a heliport across the road," Lara said.

"Make her pay for it."

Lara laughed. "The pack would pay for the heliport. I would have to buy the helicopter. Probably two helicopters."

"One a trainer?"

"Yes."

"That sounds expensive," I said.

"It is," Lara agreed.

"So tell her 'no'."

"I don't think so," Lara said. "There would be advantages."

"I think whether or not I learn to fly helicopters, I should learn to fly airplanes first. We can come back to this next year."

"I agree," Lara said.
"Are you done now? May I please ravish your delectable body?"

I lay back against my pillow, putting a wrist against my forehead. "If you must," I
sighed.

So she did.

* * * *

I called June in the morning before school. She laughed and told me
she had been expecting the call; Elisabeth had called her last night.

"If she wants it, and the weather holds, I can get Angel her license before her classes start. Ground school begins tonight, seven PM in the school. Three hours a night."

"We're flying up to Bayfield Friday afternoon."

"Good. Your first flight is this afternoon at four."

I laughed. "So soon?"

"Yes."
She paused. "Alpha?"

"Enforcer?"

"May I teach Benny to fly?" Benny was a human June was dating. He ran the boathouse in Bayfield where we rented kayaks. He and I had been friends for years. Years ago, Benny had caught me wistfully eyeing the kayaks leaving his boathouse.

"Did you want to try it?" he had asked.

"Oh, I couldn't," I told him. I'd been embarrassed; I very much wanted to try it, but I couldn't afford it.

"Can you swim?" he had asked.

"Yes."

He had studied me for a moment then said, "Look, my employee is sick today. It's quiet right now but it will be busy later. I'll teach you to kayak now if you'll lend a hand later."

We'd been friends every since. He was a kind, decent man.

"You haven't been?" I was surprised.

"They aren't my aircraft," she said. "He flies when we're together, but it's similar to the lessons you have been getting. Not formal."

"I don't know how much of Lara's money you're asking to spend."

"None," she said. "Other than maintenance on the aircraft. I pay the fuel I use but Lara doesn't charge me anything to use the airplanes. It's a very good arrangement for me, and I am careful not to abuse it."

"Lara said she bought a trainer," I pointed out. "Are you going to start taking that to Bayfield?"

"No. It needs to be here for you, Angel and Scarlett. Benny would come down here and learn in that airplane when it isn't being used."

I thought about whether I needed to defer this decision to Lara. I decided I didn't. If I was out of line, I would apologize and offer to pay for it.

"All right," I said. "Yes, of course you should teach him to fly. And invite him to pack play night this weekend. We're doing something that should be human friendly. Will we have enough space in the aircraft?"

She laughed. "Probably not, but he and I can worry about that."

* * * *

At dinner that night, neither Angel nor Scarlett nor I could sit still. A lot of hugs were thrown around; Angel and Scarlett bussed Lara right on the lips twice, much to my amusement.

"Thank you! Thank you!" was the general sentiment.

Scarlett and I both had received our first formal flight lesson. Angel went on an intensive course designed to complete her license prior to the beginning of classes; Scarlett and I learned at a more leisurely pace, each getting a one-hour lesson daily from June. With the exception of the first night with June, our ground school was done on the computer, and all three of us worked on that in the evenings, studying together most nights.

We had a great deal of fun.

* * * *

Friday afternoon arrived. It was a beautiful autumn day. We piled into two airplanes, Lara flying one, June the other. I sat in the back seat behind Lara, Elisabeth in front and Rory next to me.

I quietly talked to Elisabeth and told her, "No races. Lara is too competitive, and I don't want her straining herself."

Elisabeth grinned at me and said, "Yes, Alpha."

It was a short visit, only one night, but we made the most of it, staying on the water until sunset, then having dinner at the Rittenhouse. I got everyone out of bed early on Saturday, and we spent the day on the water. We caught a bunch of fish, including two large lake trout.
When we got back to the marina, I eyed our catch critically. I had asked Elisabeth to tow me the last mile, which she thought was odd, but I'd cleaned the fish across the top of my kayak on the way back.

"There isn't enough for everyone tonight," I said. "But I want to share."

Lara chuckled. "I thought you might. You caught most of them-"

"I got one of the large trout!" Scarlett interjected.

"So you did," Lara said. "Will you share your trout with the pack tonight?"

She smiled. "Of course. As long as everyone knows which one is mine."

"That won't be hard," Karen said.

"It will be the fishy-tasting one," Elisabeth explained.

"Fish should taste like fish," Angel said in defense of her girlfriend. "Scarlett's fish will be the most flavorful." She turned to me. "Sorry, Michaela, but yours will have the most delicate flavor."

I laughed. "I'm sure you're right." I looked pointedly at my kayak. "I'm sorry I made a mess of my kayak. Thank you for cleaning it."

They both looked at me. "Whom were you talking to?" Angel asked.

"The two of you," I said. "I recall a certain wager lost."

"I think, Alpha," Scarlett said. "You seem to have lost track of the calendar. That wager was for a year."

I started swearing a blue streak. I never would have cleaned the fish across my kayak if I'd remembered; they weren't obligated to clean it anymore. The year had expired. Scarlett and Angel crowed at my discomfort.

"Mark this in your calendars," Lara said with a grin. "The fox out-foxed herself. Michaela, I believe this is a first."

I sighed. "Can
I at least get a couple of big strong wolves to carry it for me?"

Still laughing, Angel and Scarlett grabbed my kayak and carried it to the washing station next to Benny's boathouse. That was when I realized the boathouse was closed up. When I looked at June, she said, "He's driving down. We didn't have room in the plane, and he wanted to come. He closed at noon, so he'll be there in time for dinner."

I turned to Lara. "Fix this in the future."

She grinned. "I am
fixing it. Get your license."

Rory, Scarlett and Angel walked up to the house to pack the fish for travel. I spent the entire time they were gone sanitizing my abused kayak, grumbling
at my own stupidity. I was good-natured about the ribbing I got, especially when the wolves took turns pointing out fish scales I had missed.

"Just helping," Lara said sweetly.

When I was satisfied, Elisabeth and June put my kayak away for me. I watched after them, sliding underneath Lara's arm. "Did you ever think you would see that?"

"What?" she asked.

"Me asking anyone to help do something I was able to do myself." I could have put my kayak away myself. I was certainly strong enough, although my size made it awkward to handle alone. But to a wolf, a kayak weighs nothing, and I had grown increasingly accustomed to letting the wolves around me handle things I used to do myself.

Lara kissed the top of my head.

"You'll stop me if I start to take anyone for granted, won't you?"

"I can't imagine that will ever be a problem, but yes, if you promise not to scream at me when I do it."