Mist on the Meadow (19 page)

Max stepped into the room. “I’m not riding
home with them alone.”

“What are you talking about?” Marissa
asked.

“Like you don’t know.”

Marissa rolled her eyes. She curled her hand
around an imaginary hammer and motioned as if to hit him over the
head. “Bang, bang.”

“Why else would
he
be here?” Max
asked.

Marissa heaved a sigh. “Are you going to tell
me what you’re talking about?”

“Your new boyfriend.”

Marissa’s heart skipped a beat. “I assume
you’re referring to Wolf? Why would he be here?”

“Because you invited him?”

“I didn’t—” She set her coffee down and
walked back into the parlor. And there he was, clean shaven, so
handsome in a suit, talking with her father. Marissa closed her
eyes and inhaled.
Cinnamon
. Barely discernible, but there,
nonetheless. But how did he—? And then she understood how he must
have felt when she told him about his uncle. About Harper
Electronics. Wolf might possess a legacy similar to what she’d
inherited.

She needed air.

Marissa stepped outside, into the cold
Wisconsin night, and wrapped her arms around herself. Where was
that quiet moment? This was Wisconsin, for heaven’s sake. There
ought to be dozens of places to find a peaceful setting.

This was downtown Milwaukee.

And then arms wrapped her coat around her
from behind.

“You’ll freeze out here.” Wolf held her coat
while she slipped her arms into the sleeves.

“I needed a breath of air,” she told him, not
meeting his eyes. How had he snuck up behind her? And then the
breeze shifted and she caught a strong whiff of cinnamon.

He didn’t say anything. Wolf stood beside
her, his arm across her shoulders. Finally she turned to face
him.

“How did you know the wake was tonight?
Here?”

“Don’t have to be psychic to look up an
obituary,” he replied.

“It was nice of you to come.”

“Have you had enough air? It’s freezing out
here.”

Marissa laughed. “You don’t have to stay out
here with me.”

Wolf hugged her shoulder closer. “Yeah, I
think I do.”

“People already think you’re my
boyfriend.”

“I’m okay with that.”

Marissa turned her head to the sky, wishing
for one more moment with Uncle Balt. Stars winked back at her
against the clear midnight blue. She shivered. “We should go—” and
then she stopped. A five-point buck wandered the sidewalks and
empty lots. Deer don’t wander city streets, and yet, there it
was.

“Uncle Balt,” Marissa whispered.

The air was still, even the stars stopped
twinkling.

The buck stood across the street showing full
face. It huffed and nodded before it leapt over a fence and off
into the night.

Damndest thing Wolf had ever seen. He
imagined the buck was Marissa’s great-uncle boldly stepping beyond
the boundaries of the afterlife to make sure she was safe. Wolf
silently promised the misplaced beast he would do his best to keep
Marissa out of harm’s way.

He pulled her into his warmth. Her scent, a
mixture of vanilla and sugar, was as addictive as the real
thing.

Wolf couldn’t help but think of his
grandmother. His grief was as raw as Marissa’s, coupled now with
his desire to protect Marissa from what was left of his degenerate
family. The only way Elliot could have known about Marissa would be
through Uncle Pete. So much for misguided loyalty. The family ties
were now well and surely severed.

“You’re shivering,” he whispered into
Marissa’s hair. “We need to go back inside.”

She nodded against his chest and Wolf led her
into the funeral home. While he helped her out of her coat,
Marissa’s brother shot him a glance that was probably meant to be
protective in its own right, but the strawberry blond fringe Max
brushed out of his eyes diminished the effect.

Mr. Maitland approached. He glanced from one
to the other of them before he spoke. “You okay, baby girl?”

Marissa nodded and lifted her head, a sad
smile on her face. “I saw a buck outside. In the middle of the
city.”

“He’s not coming this time,” her father said
gently.

“No,” she said, “but maybe he sent the buck
to let us know everything’s okay.”

Marissa’s father shot a sideways glance at
Wolf, then raised his arms as if to hug her, but instead her father
squeezed Marissa’s shoulder and walked away with a nod in Wolf’s
direction.

As if he’d handed Marissa’s care to Wolf.

Was he up to the task? Wolf pulled his
shoulders back, determined to keep Marissa safe.

He slipped his arm around her waist as they
returned to the room full of people. A couple of weeks ago the
picture at the front of the room had been his grandmother’s. His
heart mourned with Marissa, wishing he could take away Marissa’s
grief. Wishing his own wasn’t quite so fresh.

A minister cleared his throat. He offered a
short eulogy and led the crowd in prayer. Wolf took Marissa’s hand
and closed his eyes. They stood side by side, and it was like
standing at the edge of the sea with his toes in the sand. Grief
hovered over them like a heavy, purple cloud but as long as they
maintained contact, the sun grew brighter and broke holes through
the gloom.

Wolf’s hands tingled with his hunger for her,
but as with any sugary temptation, he tamped down the desire. He
opened his eyes and Marissa raised long, copper eyelashes to meet
his gaze. Lost in pools of clear, sapphire blue, the rest of the
world could have stopped and he wouldn’t have noticed. Nothing else
mattered.

The minister’s voice melted into the subdued
hum of the crowd. The eulogy had ended. People rose from their
seats to leave. Wolf wasn’t going anywhere.

“Are you staying in Milwaukee?” he asked.

Marissa shook her head. “No. We’re going home
tonight and then back tomorrow for the funeral.”

“We could get a room here,” he suggested.
“Saves the back and forth.”

Again, she shook her head. “I didn’t bring
clothes.”

She wouldn’t need clothes.
But he
wouldn’t take advantage of her grief. “Then I’ll drive you
back.”

She smiled this time. “I should go with my
family.”

He didn’t understand what was happening
between them, how she could turn him into a panting puppy, but he
wasn’t going to take the chance that something would happen to her
on the drive back, the same way he’d lost his family on the road to
Harness Road Mall.

“We’ll be okay,” she reassured him, and let
go of his hands.

But she didn’t know about Elliot.

He couldn’t let her go, and yet he had to.
“I’ll be back tomorrow,” Wolf said, a break in his voice.

“I know,” she said.

Wolf glanced around the room. Most everyone
had left. He saw her family in the adjoining room. Would they
object if he kissed her goodbye? Then again, he wasn’t sure a kiss
would be enough. Wolf rolled his eyes. Surely he could control
himself. He put a hand on one side of her face and bent to touch
her lips with his. And like tasting his favorite dessert, he wanted
more.

“Tomorrow,” she whispered.

He nodded against her forehead and let her
pull away.

* * *

Wolf’s Mercedes was parked in front of her
parent’s house. Was he going to sleep in his car? A memory of Gary
Kinsey’s backseat flashed through her mind, a memory that paled in
comparison to Wolf Harper in the café.

Max rapped lightly on her bedroom doorframe.
Marissa released the mini blind slats and turned to face her
brother.

He wore a pained expression. “I thought you
weren’t dating him.”

Marissa cocked her head to one side. “I
wasn’t.”

“But now you are?”

Was she? She shrugged.

Max stepped into her room. “Of all the guys,
why him?”

Marissa huffed a short laugh. “All the guys?
They aren’t exactly beating down the front door.”

“So you figure he’s your only shot? Marissa,
the guy’s got a bad rep.”

Marissa put her hands to her hips. “No, I
don’t figure he’s my only shot.”

Max immediately back-pedaled and held up his
hands. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“Didn’t you?”

“Noah said he gave you the scoop. He’s
worried about you, too, in case you didn’t know it.”

She couldn’t tell her brother about the link
between her and Wolf. She didn’t know how to explain it, even if
she could. More confounding was the fact that the link with Wolf
didn’t produce pain, as long as they were in physical contact.

“A little human kindness never hurt anyone,”
Marissa said. “Have you thought of that? He’s grieving the loss of
his grandmother.”
And his parents, all over again
.
“Sometimes it’s nice to be able to share that.”

Max winced. “Marissa, I’m not trying to be
mean or anything, but have you seen the women Wolf Harper goes out
with?”

Marissa straightened her back. “I can’t say I
have. I’ve only known him a week.”

“Well I have. They’re the stuck-up, snooty
type with stick-figure bodies and artificial enhancements.”

“And how long have you known Wolf Harper?”
she asked.

Max rolled his eyes. “Okay, I don’t know him
any better than you do, but Noah said . . .”

“And you trust Noah more than you trust
me?”

“Marissa . . .”

“No.” She took a step toward her little
brother. “Look. I appreciate your concern. Wolf Harper isn’t all
that different from you and me, in fact we have a lot in common.
Whether or not I’m his type, it doesn’t hurt to console someone
who’s been through the same thing. And if it doesn’t work out, then
it doesn’t work out. Don’t you think I have a right to find out by
myself?”

“You and Uncle Balt,” Max’s voice wavered,
“I’m not jealous or anything like that, but you and him, you had
something special. You might be a little more vulnerable right now,
now that he’s gone.” Max’s eyes glistened as they filled with
tears. He sniffed once and wiped at his eyes.

“He was special to all of us,” Marissa
replied. She hugged Max and a fresh stab of grief poked her.

Max wiped his nose with the back of his hand.
“It’s scary, don’t you think? That your new boyfriend is parked
outside the house? Like a stalker or something.”

What she and Wolf had shared was deeply
intimate, something she’d never experienced before. If she wasn’t
with her family, Marissa wouldn’t have hesitated to spend the night
with Wolf. Even now, her nose twitched for a whiff of cinnamon.
“Trust me,” she whispered.

Max scowled and left for his own bedroom.

He was right, of course. To all outward
appearances, Wolf’s behavior did appear obsessive. But Marissa had
seen inside Wolf’s mind. She understood what everyone judged him
for. The car accident had been only the beginning. Wolf didn’t
understand the attraction any better than she did, or Max, or
anyone else. They’d each been able to calm the other’s mind, in a
way no one else could.

She was a
Kundigerin
. She could find
things that were lost. Did that include Wolf’s soul?

Hex purred and arched his back beneath her
hand. Marissa picked him up and scratched behind his ears. The cat
closed his eyes and purred more loudly.

Marissa crossed to the window once more and
raised one of the slats to look out. The Mercedes was gone.

Wolf was losing his mind. That had to be the
answer. How could he be this tied up in knots over a woman?

He stormed into Harper Manor and slammed the
door in his wake. Chuck flinched in his seat at the kitchen table,
where he and Ralph played cards.

“Do you have to be so dramatic?” Chuck
asked.

His cousin was the last person Wolf wanted to
see tonight. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“You think I’m going back home after today?”
Chuck asked.

Wolf folded his arms. “And why wouldn’t you?
You’re lucky they didn’t throw your ass in jail.”

“I suppose I should thank you for finding me
that lawyer,” Chuck said.

Ethan Wilder, III, Esquire. As much as he’d
hated to call the weasel, Marshall had to concentrate on the
business end of things. “And how did that go?” Wolf asked.

“While I was there giving my statement, some
cop comes in and says they can’t locate Elliot. He’s gone off grid,
Wolf.”

Wolf grimaced. “Again, why are you here?”

“I can’t go home. Not safe there, and I can’t
face them.” Chuck wrapped his arms around himself.

“But you can face me?”

“I sorta already have, haven’t I?”

The idiot was trouble, and now he was
bringing it right to his grandmother’s doorstep. Wolf lurched
across the table and grabbed Chuck by the collar.

Ralph took Wolf’s arm and gave him a push,
signaling him to let go. “I was only gone a couple of days. How did
I manage to miss so much excitement?”

Chuck held up his hands. “I swear, I’ll make
it up to you. I’ll do whatever you want. You know as well as I do
that this goes a lot deeper than just me. I’m on your side,
Cuz.”

“That’s not very reassuring,” Wolf said, and
yet he knew his uncle had been the one to implicate Marissa. Chuck
might not pass more information to Uncle Pete, but it didn’t
absolve him of his guilt. “How do you think you’re going to make
this up to me?” he shouted.

Ralph rose from the table and rested his
hands on Wolf’s shoulders. “Easy. It’s a lot to take in all in one
day.”

Wolf’s eyebrows rose. “One day? Try eleven
years.”

Ralph commanded Wolf’s attention. “And your
cousin has been living with his frightening secret all those years.
You can see he’s still scared.”

“He should be scared. He should be scared I’m
going to kick his ass from here to Toledo.”

Chuck pushed away from the table and took a
step backward. “C’mon, Wolf. I thought we’d covered all this.” His
lips quivered and his nose twitched like a frightened rabbit. “I’m
trying to fix it.”