The Werewolf's Christmas Wish (Nocturne Falls) by Kristen Painter Page A

not.”
    The spot between Bridget’s eyes began to ache. “You’re sure? Maybe your grandmother moved it.” A strange thing to say, but considering that the woman was a vampire, not out of the realm of possibility that a woman of her age could lift such a thing.
    Julian snorted. “Didi doesn’t do manual labor.”
    “No, I suppose not.” Bridget’s stomach soured as reality set in. Lenny had screwed her more than once. “Lenny didn’t show up for his shift today either.”
    “You think he stole the Dom?”
    “I don’t know. Maybe. I hope not.”
    “I hope not too. That’s about five large in bubbles.”
    “I’m aware.” She sighed. “I keep a couple of bottles on hand. I’ll gather up what I have and bring them over. I’m about to close up anyway.”
    “I feel bad that you have to do this on Christmas Eve.”
    “Lenny’s going to feel worse if I ever get a hold of him. I’ll be over as soon as I can.”
    He made an odd sound. “Have you looked outside?”
    “I know it’s snowing.”
    “Yes, but have you seen the roads?”
    “Not really. Are you trying to tell me my Vette isn’t going to cut it?”
    “I don’t want this to turn into a rescue mission. Neither of your brothers would appreciate my stranding their sister in the middle of the Georgia hills in the name of champagne.”
    “Don’t sweat it. Titus usually has a truck I can borrow for stuff like this. The firehouse isn’t far. I can walk over and pick it up as soon as I close. I’ll be up at the estate in no time.”
    “All right then. We’ll see you soon. I’ll smooth things out with Didi.”
    “Much appreciated.” Bridget hung up.
    What a mess. Lenny was about to move to the top of the sheriff’s most wanted list. Just as soon as she told Hank. She got the Trevors checked out and on their way, then locked the front door behind them and turned off the main lights.
    Julian had been right about the snow. White blanketed everything and the snowplows had yet to make an appearance. The snow was pretty though, and perfect for Christmas Eve. She stood for a moment watching it come down. Charlie must be ecstatic. He’d probably wished for this. Kids loved snow anytime, but at Christmas it was even better.
    The snow would make the family run later that evening a lot of fun. Jumping into the drifts and rolling around in the stuff was a ball when you were wearing a natural fur coat. In fact, in her wolf form, cold wasn’t a big deal. Right now, however, she wouldn’t mind a cup of hot chocolate. Well, she’d have that soon enough at Hank’s.
    She went back to the storeroom to see what she had in the way of Dom. She flipped on the lights and stared in disbelief. “You have got to be kidding me.”
    The case of champagne that was supposed to be at the Ellingham estate sat right in the middle of the floor. Several empty boxes sat on top of it, flattened like they were ready to be hauled out to the recycling bin. She leaned the flattened boxes against the wall out of the way. Yep, that was the Elenora’s champagne.
    Had Lenny not seen the case? Or just forgotten it? Or more likely been too lazy to haul it out? Either way, she was happy it was there but not thrilled that she now had an entire case to deliver. She found two more bottles and put them on top of the case. They’d go a long way toward smoothing out the error. The Ellinghams ran the town, and while they were always fair, Elenora wasn’t someone whose bad side you wanted to get on.
    Champagne sorted, she went to her office to call Titus.
    He answered quicker than she’d expected. “Hey, you on your way over?”
    “I wish, but not yet. Long story short, I need to make a last-minute delivery.”
    “In this snow? You’ll be lucky to make it this far in that fancy-pants car of yours.”
    “I know that, dipstick. That’s why I’m calling you. You have a truck over at the firehouse I can borrow?”
    “Oh. Um…” He thought a second. “Yeah, I can work something