Defying Destiny (27 page)

his father. It made Nash miss Cort even

more. Lord was closer in temperament to

Nash. Lord offered a semi-smile before

returning his attention to his book.

“Did you get a bear?” Lark asked

eagerly.

I only had Carsha with me.
It took a

large

pack

of

Wolves

working

cooperatively to take down a bear.

“Oh, right!” Lark agreed. “Did Carsha

get anything?”

“She got a fine, fat rabbit,” Rella said.

She laid her sleeping pup on the floor near

the hearth, and then held up Carsha’s

rabbit for her older brother to see.

Lark whistled appreciatively.

“Keep it down, Lark,” Rella said.

“Your sister is sleeping.” She tousled his

stark white hair as she walked past him,

carrying the rabbit towards the kitchen to

be dressed.

“What did you get, Uncle Nash?” Lark

asked.

“Why don’t you go out on the porch

and look?” Rella said. “I swear between

you and Carsha, there is never a moment

of peace in this house.” She was smiling

to herself when she disappeared in the

kitchen.

Lark raced to the door and flung it

open. Lord set his book aside and

followed. They went out onto the porch,

leaving the front door wide open.

“A twelve point buck!” Lark said.

Nash trotted after them and closed the

front door behind him with his teeth.

“Nice buck, Uncle Nash,” Lord said.

“It’s awesome,” Lark said. “I wish I

would have been there.”

Next time.

“Oh yes!” Lark said, tightening his fist

and making a motion of victory. “We’ll

get an eighteen point buck and a grizzly

bear.”

Nash made a sound of humor, his Wolf

laugh.

“Don’t be an idiot, Lark,” Lord said.

“Uncle Nash is good, but he’s not that

good.”

“I’ll be with him. Don’t forget that,”

Lark said, patting Nash’s broad head.

“Like that would make a difference,”

Lord said, hiding a smile.

Lark scooped a large pile of snow

from the porch railing and hit Lord in the

face with a snowball. Lord’s mouth

dropped open. He scooped up some snow

for a retaliating blow. Lark ducked and the

snowball hit Nash in the side of the head.

Lord’s eyes widened. “Oh, sorry,

Uncle Nash.”

Nash growled, though his tail was

wagging, and knocked Lord backwards

with a solid nudge of his nose. Lord

stumbled and fell off the porch into the

foot of snow on the ground. Nash jumped

on top of him, his paws on the boy’s

shoulders. He licked Lord’s entire face,

while the boy giggled, wriggled and tried,

with spectacular failure, to get away.

“Cut it out, Uncle Nash.”

Lark, valiant savior of his older

brother by five minutes, leapt from the

porch onto Nash’s back. Nash moved just

enough to unsettle the boy. Lark tumbled

into the snow.

“It’s cold!” Lark cried.

Nash began to lick his face as well.

Lark giggled, but he didn’t try to get away.

He held Nash by the ears so he wouldn’t

stop. Rella came out onto the porch. She

had a knife in one had to dress the deer,

but paused to watch the three of them with

a sad, nostalgic smile on her face.

“You two are going to freeze,” she

said, when she noticed her sons’

shivering. “Come get out of those wet

clothes if you insist on playing in the

snow.”

Nash released the two boys. They

climbed to their feet, wiping their uncle’s

wet kisses from their faces.

“I’m going inside,” Lord said, rubbing

his hands briskly over his arms.

Lark was already taking off his

clothes. “You’re boring.”

Lark took his Wolf form and dashed

between the trees, kicking up snow as

white as his fur. Nash chased after him,

tumbling him when he caught up with him.

Lord watched them play-fight from the

porch.

“He’s hopeless,” Lord told his mother.

Rella smiled and pretended not to

notice when Lord started to remove his

clothes. Lord leapt from the porch as a

boy, but hit the ground with four paws. He

jumped into the brawl without hesitation,

growling his fiercest. The twins ganged up

on Nash, biting hard enough to hurt, but

not enough to break the skin.

Rella watched while she gutted the

deer. It wasn’t long before all three

Wolves were resting in front of the porch

with their tongues lolling. Rella tossed

them pieces of fresh liver and other organ

meats. They gobbled up the morsels,

growling over the tastiest bits, until the

pups began to grow sleepy. The snow was

still coming down heavily. The boys

cuddled up on either side of their uncle for

warmth.

“You two had better get in the house,”

Rella said, almost done with her task. She

had a large pile of steaks, roasts and other

cuts of meat heaped beside her. “As white

as you two are, if you fall asleep in the

snow, we won’t find you until spring

thaw.”

They climbed to their feet and headed

for the house, heads hanging low with

weariness. They shook the snow from

their fur, went inside and curled up with

their sister in front of the hearth. Nash

remained behind, watching Rella as she

finished her task.

Several moments passed before she

spoke. “Have you thought about what I

asked you before you left?”

He didn’t respond. He had thought

about it, almost as much as he had thought

about Maralee. He loved Lark, Lord and

Carsha as if they were his own pups. He

couldn’t imagine loving anyone more. He

wasn’t sure why he hesitated in becoming

a permanent part of their household.

I need more time to think about it.

She nodded, not looking at him. “Are

you going to stay in your Wolf form

forever?”

Yes.
He stood and headed for his own

home, across the way.

“It won’t make you a better man,” she

called.

He paused and glanced at her over his

shoulder.

“There is nothing wrong with you,

Nash. If she couldn’t accept you as you

are, then she doesn’t deserve your love.”

No,
he thought.
She deserves better.

R e l l a continued, her voice barely

perceptible over the howl of the wind.

“And if you can’t accept yourself as you

are, then you don’t deserve hers.”

This gave Nash something to think

about the long hours he spent in solitude

while the blizzard confined him to his

house.

Jared entered the small dining room,

glasses fogged, disheveled hair damp with

melting snow. Maralee sat slurping

chicken soup while Phyllis watched with

an uncompromising look on her face. He

gazed at Maralee over the top of his

glasses and smiled.

“You’re finally eating something,” he

said.

Maralee scowled.

“You just have to have a firm hand

with this little miss,” Phyllis said. “Make

sure she knows who the boss is and she’s

right cooperative.”

More like harp and nag until she’s

willing to do anything for a moment’s

peace,
Maralee thought darkly, taking

another sip of the thick, rich soup.

“So that’s the secret,” Jared said,

pushing his glasses up the bridge of his

nose.

“Would you like a bowl of soup,

Doctor?” Phyllis asked him with a cheery

smile. “It’s got chicken, dumplings,

carrots, potatoes, and sweet onions. Me

mum’s best recipe.”

“That sounds delicious. I would like

some, thank you,” he said with a pleasant

nod. He took the vacant chair next to

Maralee.

Phyllis stood to retrieve another bowl

of soup. She winked at Jared as she

passed. Maralee wondered if there was

some sort of secret between them.

“When did you wake up?” Jared

asked, watching her stir her soup.

“Less than an hour ago,” she said,

taking another sip of soup from her spoon.

“Twelve solid hours,” he said

approvingly. “Was it a sound sleep? Did

you have any nightmares?”

“No nightmares. I slept very well,

thank you.” She watched the carrot she

was pressing down with her soup spoon

bob back to the surface.

“I’d ask you if you’re feeling better,

but I can tell you’re not. Perhaps if you

talk to me about—”

“No,” she interrupted and purposely

changed the subject. “Phyllis told me you

checked on me four times throughout the

day. Are you always such a devoted

doctor when there’s a blizzard raging

outside?”

Jared blushed and glanced down at his

hands. “Uh…”

Phyllis burst into the room, saving

Jared from having to respond. Maralee

glanced up. The woman had done nothing

but talk about Jared’s obvious attributes

while she’d been supervising Maralee’s

eating. What was she up to?

“Here you are, Dr. Sabin,” Phyllis

said, setting a large bowl of chicken and

dumpling soup in front of him.

“Thank you, Phyllis,” Jared said with

a smile. “This looks good. I’d say it

would be the perfect thing to warm me up

if I weren’t already hot for some reason.”

He put a finger under his collar and blew

out a breath.

Maralee ignored the both of them. “I

wonder if the storm will delay the post,”

she said distractedly.

“Most certainly,” Jared said, taking a

sip of his soup. “There are two feet of

snow on the ground already and it doesn’t

look like it will let up anytime soon.”

“So you should stay here tonight,

Doctor,” Phyllis said. “Your office is

closed now and I’d hate to think of you

having to go out in the storm again.”

“It’s not so bad,” Jared insisted. He

glanced at Maralee who was holding a

spoon of soup halfway to her mouth as she

stared into nothingness. “Of course, I am

still worried about my patient. Maralee?”

At the sound of her name, she started

and dropped her spoon into her bowl with

a splash. She ignored the droplets of

creamy broth that flecked her cheeks and

the front of her shirt. Jared reached for his

napkin and used the corner of it to collect

the stray droplets on her face.

“Oh.” Maralee turned away from him,

and reached for her own napkin to rectify

the damage. “How clumsy of me.”

Jared’s brow wrinkled with renewed

concern. “I will stay for tonight, Mrs.

Smithy, if you have a room available.”

Phyllis smiled. “Oh yes. I have a

perfect room for you, Dr. Sabin, right next

door to Maralee’s.”

Maralee looked from Phyllis to Jared,

confused. “What are you talking about?”

“I think I should keep an eye on you,”

Jared said. “You seem quite withdrawn

and preoccupied. It might be something

serious.”

“If you’re going to say I’m mentally

unbalanced, then I’d probably have to

agree.”

“I wasn’t going to say that,” Jared

said. His look of concern made her think

otherwise.

“Have you ever been in love, Dr.

Sabin?” Maralee asked him bluntly.

The man blushed. “I-I’m not sure.”

“If you have been, then you’d be sure,”

she said. “The man I’m in love with isn’t

who I thought he was. He’s a bitter enemy.

Our families have been pitted against each

other for centuries.”

“Sounds quite dramatic.”

“I love him with every fiber of my

being,” Maralee said, “but I hate him for

all I’m worth. If that doesn’t give a girl a

right to stare off into space without

everyone fussing over her like she’s some

fragile, broken, little bird, then I don’t

know what does.”

“So you want me to leave you alone,”

Jared said.

“Yes!” she said emphatically, happy

he was finally getting the message.

“I can’t do that in good conscience,

Maralee.”

Phyllis interjected, “What harm is