packets for something that looked like morning fare. “Scrambled eggs?”
“Hold it right there! Back away from that instant crap!” Josh walked up the knoll to the campsite, whipping the packet out of Kenzie’s hand, flinging it into the bushes.
“Hey—” She clapped her hands over her mouth when she saw the big rabbit hanging from his belt. Josh had been up early this morning.
He knelt in front of the cub. “Okay, kiddo—this is what wolves eat. This is all for you.” He laid the rabbit at its feet. “But whenever you feel like being human again, I can make pancak Kn mThies for you. Real ones with syrup. Kenzie can’t cook—”
“I can too!”
“—but I can, so I’ll make pancakes for you anytime you’re ready.” He dropped his voice to a stage whisper. “Even for supper .”
“Josh!”
“Bet I’m in trouble now, eh?” He winked at the cub and turned to Kenzie.
She played along and put her hands on her hips in a classic exasperated mother position but spoiled the effect by laughing at him. “You’re a completely bad influence, you know that?”
“I know. And now this bad influence is going to fly back to base and see what I can find out, okay? I got things to do so I’ll be two or three days. Anything I can bring you on the flip trip?”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
He leaned in a little then. “You’re very fine,” he whispered. He cupped the back of her neck and placed a gentle lingering kiss on her forehead.... The next moment he was heading back down the trail.
Kenzie stood where she was for a long time. She barely heard the throb of rotors from down by the river, hardly noticed the shift in sound as the helicopter lifted off and headed away over the valley. All she could think about was the pleasant thrum in her blood and the realization that she wanted Josh to kiss her again, this time on her lips. And everywhere else....
“Stop that right now,” she ordered herself through gritted teeth. Exasperated, she shook off the spell and sternly told her inner wolf to settle down as well. The last thing on the planet she needed was to get involved with a human. It was just hormones—had to be. After all, it had been a helluva long time since she’d had sex, so of course Josh looked good to her. Almost any guy would, right? Case closed.
Before she could banish it from her mind, however, a little rebellious thought pointed out that neither her hormones nor her inner wolf had responded in the slightest to her former Changeling lover, Nate Richardson.
Chapter Seven
W hen Josh arrived in Glennallen, he discovered that his best hope for information was out of town for two days. While he waited, he pulled in favors right and left with friends in the state troopers but came up empty. There were no recent reports of a missing girl of the right age in the region. He even phoned Mamie Dalkins, praised her home-cured bacon to the skies and sat through two and a half hours of the latest gossip from several communities. He came away with no useful information (other than some things he’d rather not know) and the promise of a jar of smoked bear meat the next time he was in Gakona. Ugh.
He put the waiting time to good use, catching up on all the paperwork in his cramped office and answering phone messages—and damn, somebody was keeping a very young moose as a frickin’ pet in their backyard. He dealt with that, and referred a call about hunting deer out of season to the troopers in that area. Finally, thankfully, his best contact returned to town. Surely Josh would get some answers now.
After all, Bygood Stanton was a Changeling.
It wasn’t hard to find the old vet at The Caribou. He was the one with his table covered with papers and file folders.
“Christ, did you chair a meeting in here?” Josh counted five N covercoffee cups lurking under the documents, and those were just the ones he could see. He checked his watch but he wasn’t late.
“Hey, Tark. Sit yourself down, boy,
“Hold it right there! Back away from that instant crap!” Josh walked up the knoll to the campsite, whipping the packet out of Kenzie’s hand, flinging it into the bushes.
“Hey—” She clapped her hands over her mouth when she saw the big rabbit hanging from his belt. Josh had been up early this morning.
He knelt in front of the cub. “Okay, kiddo—this is what wolves eat. This is all for you.” He laid the rabbit at its feet. “But whenever you feel like being human again, I can make pancak Kn mThies for you. Real ones with syrup. Kenzie can’t cook—”
“I can too!”
“—but I can, so I’ll make pancakes for you anytime you’re ready.” He dropped his voice to a stage whisper. “Even for supper .”
“Josh!”
“Bet I’m in trouble now, eh?” He winked at the cub and turned to Kenzie.
She played along and put her hands on her hips in a classic exasperated mother position but spoiled the effect by laughing at him. “You’re a completely bad influence, you know that?”
“I know. And now this bad influence is going to fly back to base and see what I can find out, okay? I got things to do so I’ll be two or three days. Anything I can bring you on the flip trip?”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
He leaned in a little then. “You’re very fine,” he whispered. He cupped the back of her neck and placed a gentle lingering kiss on her forehead.... The next moment he was heading back down the trail.
Kenzie stood where she was for a long time. She barely heard the throb of rotors from down by the river, hardly noticed the shift in sound as the helicopter lifted off and headed away over the valley. All she could think about was the pleasant thrum in her blood and the realization that she wanted Josh to kiss her again, this time on her lips. And everywhere else....
“Stop that right now,” she ordered herself through gritted teeth. Exasperated, she shook off the spell and sternly told her inner wolf to settle down as well. The last thing on the planet she needed was to get involved with a human. It was just hormones—had to be. After all, it had been a helluva long time since she’d had sex, so of course Josh looked good to her. Almost any guy would, right? Case closed.
Before she could banish it from her mind, however, a little rebellious thought pointed out that neither her hormones nor her inner wolf had responded in the slightest to her former Changeling lover, Nate Richardson.
Chapter Seven
W hen Josh arrived in Glennallen, he discovered that his best hope for information was out of town for two days. While he waited, he pulled in favors right and left with friends in the state troopers but came up empty. There were no recent reports of a missing girl of the right age in the region. He even phoned Mamie Dalkins, praised her home-cured bacon to the skies and sat through two and a half hours of the latest gossip from several communities. He came away with no useful information (other than some things he’d rather not know) and the promise of a jar of smoked bear meat the next time he was in Gakona. Ugh.
He put the waiting time to good use, catching up on all the paperwork in his cramped office and answering phone messages—and damn, somebody was keeping a very young moose as a frickin’ pet in their backyard. He dealt with that, and referred a call about hunting deer out of season to the troopers in that area. Finally, thankfully, his best contact returned to town. Surely Josh would get some answers now.
After all, Bygood Stanton was a Changeling.
It wasn’t hard to find the old vet at The Caribou. He was the one with his table covered with papers and file folders.
“Christ, did you chair a meeting in here?” Josh counted five N covercoffee cups lurking under the documents, and those were just the ones he could see. He checked his watch but he wasn’t late.
“Hey, Tark. Sit yourself down, boy,
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