When a Pack Dies (22 page)

She shot him a look then returned to her research on the profit margins and availability of angora yarn. “Please. Start-up companies and looking for fresh opportunities are required projects in every applied business course. Besides, I grew up on this stuff. My father had the keenest eye for business of anyone I ever knew.” Her fingers faltered on the keys. “I miss him,” she added quietly.

Cutler kissed her head and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “What was he like?”

“Smart. No, not smart, brilliant. Focused. Stubborn, bossy and demanding.” She lay her cheek on Cutler’s forearm and sighed. “I was his baby girl and he loved me like crazy.”

When a tear landed on his arm, Cutler ran his thumb gently over her eyelids.

They stayed like that for awhile.

“Hey, Cutler.” Ryan raced into the room. “I put my plate in the dishwasher. Can we go over to Mr. Pike’s and ride the horses now?”

Cutler pressed a kiss to Fina’s hair and straightened. “You bet, buddy. Dorothea said she’d baked a pie today and we can have some for dessert after.”

“
Yesss
.” Ryan pumped his fist in the air. “Oh hey Fina...Koby’s mom took him shopping for school clothes. Am I gonna go to school here too? I’m going into grade one you know.”

She forced a smile, waved him over and tucked his t-shirt into his shorts. “I know,” she enthused. “How about I make an appointment for us to visit the school? You can check out your classroom and meet your teacher.”

“Okay. Yeah,” Ryan said, pushed her hands away and headed for the door. “Come
on
,” he groaned and rolled his eyes. “Daylight’s wastin’.”

Cutler and Fina shared a look then obediently marched out in Ryan’s wake.

*
   
*
   
*

“Whatcha doin’, Fina?” Ryan ran into the Pikes’ living room. He launched himself at the sofa and got up on his knees beside Fina, staring at her hands.

“I am looking at yarn,” Fina explained. She grinned at the six-year-old then up at Cutler and Dorothea Pike’s husband as they entered. Even though they smelled of horse, both Ryan and Cutler’s face, neck and hands were freshly washed. “Thank you for bringing him back clean.”

“No problem,” Cutler nodded. “I didn’t know you could knit.”

“I can’t. Dorothea, however, is a master at it. I was just asking her how many women in the pack were good enough to produce items of saleable quality and what sort of production we could expect.”

The corner of his mouth quirked up.

“Local, hand worked goods, made with the finest materials available—the hair from organically raised mohair goats and angora rabbits.” She held up one of the balls of yarn. “Come Christmas, we won’t be able to keep up with the orders.”

“That optimistic, are you?” Dorothea’s husband, Gil, asked. He headed for the kitchen at the other end of the long room, lifted the cover off a raspberry pie and grabbed a container of vanilla ice cream out of the freezer.

“Yes,” Fina answered firmly. “It’s a natural tie in, given Green Mountain Eco Tours’ mandate. Minimal initial investment, considering the raw materials are walking around and eating hay in fields all over the county.” She moved her hand in a vague circle. “And a skilled work force that won’t see the work
as
work. It’s a win-win proposition.”

“Your mate here would make a fine business manager, Cutler.” Gil licked a smear of raspberry off his knuckle and continued sliding slices of pie onto plates. “She’s got a better head for it than you. No offense.”

“None taken,” Cutler acknowledged absently. “She does, doesn’t she?”

Ryan jumped into the conversation. “My Mom likes to knit. She made me a sweater for first day of school
and
Christmas. Fina do you think she’d...”

One by one, the adults in the room looked away from Ryan, hiding pained, cautious expressions. He moved to the end of the sofa and his expression became strangely blank. Producing a small, electronic game from his pant pocket, he pressed buttons with one hand while he stuck the thumb from his other in his mouth.

*
   
*
   
*

Later that evening, while Cutler was listening to Ryan read before bedtime, Fina sat in the office in front of her laptop. Her finger moved over the screen slowly. It was the first time she’d logged onto the Whitesage Nursery Intranet since her pack had been murdered. She was bringing up customer lists. It was time to broadcast that Whitesage Nursery was going out of business. Talking with Dorothea Pike today and making plans for Ryan to go to school had made her realize she was starting to put down roots here. They were baby steps of course and nothing that couldn’t be reversed. That made her feel a little better, like she still had an out—if she wanted. Despite that, she was starting to think of this place, this pack and this community as hers. It wasn’t much and she was still a fraud for making them think she was vested, but it was something.

She came across Samantha Wells’ files and smiled, picturing the fifty-something woman’s puffy gray-blonde hair and the way she’d talk more with her hands than her mouth. A perpetual ball of fire in motion, Samantha had been her father’s sales and marketing manager. Fina had learned a lot from her. Impatiently, she wiped her eyes, blinked and opened up a document Samantha had labeled as Pack Contacts. She scrolled down the list. More tears welled in her eyes. The list read like an obituary for her pack and, mentally, she repeated the word “dead” after each name. That is until she came to one she barely recognized.

Owen Wells. Fina blinked.

It had been so long ago she’d forgotten Samantha had a son. Fina had been eight when Owen had challenged her father for leadership of their pack. He’d been eighteen at the time, tall, muscular but still no challenge for a powerful Alpha in his prime. She remembered hearing the adults talk about it, how Owen had lost the challenge then left. He’d be thirty now. His address was an American military installation in Iraq. Fina wondered if he knew the pack was dead but doubted it. He would have attempted to contact her...someone...through the website. She placed her fingers on the keyboard and started composing an email.

“I
told
you I did!”

Her head snapped up when Ryan’s strident voice echoed through the house, high pitched and ringing with indignation. She was already halfway down the hallway when Ryan yelled again.

“
You’re not my father.
”

By the time she rushed into his bedroom, Ryan was standing in the middle of his bed, red faced and shaking. He glared at Cutler who was standing a few feet away, staring back at the six-year old with his arms crossed over his chest and his back unnaturally straight.

“He never believes me,” Ryan wailed, pointing an accusing finger at Cutler. His hand shook. “I brush my teeth every night like I’m supposed to and he never believes me.”

“Ryan...” Fina walked towards him, holding out her hands.

“You don’t believe me either,” Ryan screamed and started flailing his fists, aiming for her face.

“
Enough
,” Cutler bellowed. He rushed at the boy, picked Ryan up and pressed his back into the wall behind his bed. He held him there by laying one massive hand over Ryan’s chest. When Cutler roared, Ryan whimpered and fell silent. “Men don’t hit women,” Cutler said slowly and ominously. “The men of my pack take care of our women. We don’t accuse them of things that aren’t true.” He snarled, once, then fell silent like he was waiting for Ryan to compose himself before responding. “Now,” he said after a moment and his voice was quiet but no less authoritative. “Can you talk to us politely?”

Ryan nodded.

“All right then.” Cutler removed his hand, slowly picked Ryan up beneath the arms and stood him up in the middle of the bed. “I should have had this talk with you before but I’m going to have it now. Fina is my mate. Do you understand what that means?”

Ryan hesitated then nodded. “It’s like you’re married.”

“Right. And we
will
get married. Soon. Right now, Fina’s still very sad that her family, her old pack is dead. I guess you’re sad too.”

Ryan looked away. He looked everywhere except directly at Cutler.

The heat rose in Fina’s face as she stared at the back of Cutler’s head. “
Pompous, presumptive ass
,” she thought.

“You’re going to be sad for awhile. Sad
and
angry. Sometimes you’re going to make believe that your parents are still alive.” Cutler glanced over his shoulder. “Fina’ll do the same thing,” he added then returned his focus to Ryan. “All those things will happen but you cannot lash out at her like that.”

“B-because men don’t hit women.”

Nodding, Cutler pulled up the hem of his shirt and wiped Ryan’s face with it. “That’s right. You’re part of my pack. I love you and I love Fina. Nath loves both of you too.”

Ryan’s mouth twitched. “Nath is her mate too,” he added slowly.

“He is. Koby’s mom has one mate. Your mother had one mate. Fina’s different. Her heart is so big she’s got room in it for all of us.”

Ryan seemed to accept Cutler’s explanation and his thin shoulders went down. He held him arms out and Cutler helped him down off the bed.

“Come on, buddy. I’ll get you a drink of water then get you tucked in.” He held Ryan’s hand as he led him into the bathroom.

Almost half an hour later, Cutler tracked her down in the office. She’d picked up on their muffled conversation...Cutler’s rumbling baritone and Ryan’s quiet, higher-pitched murmurs...but hadn’t listened close enough to hear what they were saying.

“Look at this. Please,” she said when he walked in the room.

Cutler’s brow furrowed as he scanned the email. “Owen Wells. He’s—?”

“Other than Ryan and I, the only surviving member of our pack. He left when I was young and never came back. I’d forgotten he existed.”

“I’m sorry you have to be the one to tell him.” He rubbed her shoulders gently and watched as she hit the “send” button. “Wanna put a movie on?”

“No. I think I’ll work some more.”

Cutler kissed her head. “You don’t have to think when you work,” he said, gave her shoulders a final squeeze and headed out of the room. “Sometimes it’s good to take a rest from your head, honey.”

Fina heard the television turn on then tuned it out. She didn’t expect a reply anytime soon from Owen. Soldiers were busy, right?

An hour later she was merging a customer contact list when her computer chirped an incoming-message alert. It was from a personal but generic military address. Fina opened it immediately.

“
Are you safe?
”

She blinked as she re-read the three, stark words. Her reply was less stilted and flowed easier than her first message. Typing as fast as she could, she told Owen that she and Ryan had been taken in by a large pack in Wyoming. They were making a place for themselves and were well provided for. She hit “send”.

A reply came back in minutes. It was an invitation to join him in a live chat. As soon as she agreed, the little light beside the webcam built into her laptop screen lit up.

“
You really look like him.
”

Fina’s fingers hesitated on the keys. Owen Wells wasn’t what she expected. He still looked big, even bigger than he had at eighteen and his face was all hard edges and stark intensity. He was terrifyingly handsome because of it. There was a crease between his eyes that looked like it had become permanent. His dark-blond hair was cut very short. He had the same nose as Ryan which caught her off guard. She’d forgotten they were second cousins.

“
I’m sorry I didn’t know. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to take care of you and Ryan. Are you sure you’re OK?
”

She smiled and watched his big hand move over the screen, like he was tracing the outline of her cheek. Without thinking, she tipped her head into his imaginary hand.

“I’m sorry I forgot about you.”

“
You were just a little kid. I can petition for compassionate leave. Be stateside maybe day after tomorrow.
”

It took her a moment to think through her reply. “If it’ll help you, come.”

His image on the screen smiled quirkily as he read her post. “
So you’re saying you don’t need me.
”

“Men...always fishing,” she teased then glanced guiltily over her shoulder before hitting “send”.

“
Funny. Give me time to absorb this. Computer time here is limited and there’s a line-up of guys behind me. It’s oh-five-thirty here. I can log back on in a couple of hours when everybody’s at chow.
”

He touched the screen once more then logged off.

By the time Cutler switched off the game, Fina was again engrossed in an on-line chat with Staff-Sergeant Owen Wells. Cutler leaned over her, kissed her forehead and left her to mourn with this pack mate she didn’t know anything about while he ambled off to bed.

Chapter Nine

“Have you met Wally’s parents?” Cutler cut up the breakfast sausage on Ryan’s plate, poured him some juice then drizzled maple syrup over a toaster waffle. Officer Wally Pierce’s parents would be watching over the cubs tonight during the pack’s mating run.

Ryan shook his head. Holding his utensils upright, his small body humming with impatience, he watched Cutler with a suspicious eye. Cutler suppressed a grin, amused by Ryan’s hyper-vigilance, even though Cutler had yet to mess up his breakfast and always added enough syrup.

Ryan nodded his thanks when Fina added some hunks of melon to his plate.

“Wally’s mother is fun like Wally is,” Cutler said. “She said she’d make mini pizzas for bedtime snack and you could roast marshmallows outside over a fire.”

Closing his mouth around a forkful of waffle, Ryan raised his eyebrows, clearly pleased. Anybody who fed him pizza was all right in his book. He looked down and focused on his breakfast.

“Nath’ll be back before noon?” Cutler asked Fina when she topped up his coffee cup then hers.

“Yes.” She toyed with the food on her plate and stopped only when Cutler lay his hand over hers.

“We don’t have to go,” he offered and his thumb moved over her fingers. “We can skip this one,” he added with a nonchalant shrug.