A SEAL Wolf Christmas (7 page)

Bjornolf chuckled. “Hell, if I have to have a mate, I want someone like you who can take anyone down.”

She fought smiling at him, but she wasn’t successful.

“You really never had a tree?” he asked, not liking that she’d missed out.

She shrugged and looked out the window. “First time for everything, I guess.” Then she considered him again. “
Don’t
expect me to do anything with it.”

“You mean decorate it? Nathan and I’ll set it in water and all.” He hadn’t thought a whole lot about what went on the tree. He hadn’t helped decorate one in years.

Anna didn’t say anything.

“We’ll figure out something. We don’t have any stored ornaments from last year like we would if this had been for real. We’ll have to go shopping for some.”

“Actually, you should take Tessa. If you have a fight over an ornament with another customer, Tessa will win the confrontation with a growl.”

“She nearly gave Hunter heart failure. He thought she was ready to strip and shift. I’d rather go with you. You’re a known commodity.”

She cocked a brow at that.

“As far as the shifting part goes. The rest of you I’m still trying to figure out.”

“Shopping is not my thing.”

“Now there’s a woman after my own heart.”

***

When they arrived at the tree farm, Bjornolf drove into the parking lot next to a building all lit up with white twinkling lights and a green and red sign that said “Everton’s Christmas Tree Farm and Gift Shop.” Five other vehicles were parked out front, making it look like business was fairly good.

Nathan shoved the gift-shop door open and hurried out to greet them. Bjornolf swore the teen had grown another inch or two since the last time he’d seen him, his hair blond and naturally curly. He wore a heavy navy wool sweater, blue jeans, and hiking boots. Bjornolf got out of the car while Anna hesitated.

Nathan was watching Anna, looking hopeful. She pushed open her car door and Nathan rushed forward. She’d barely stood before the tall, lanky kid enveloped her in a heart-warming bear hug and said, “Aunt Anna, I’m so glad you’re here.”

Bjornolf closed his gaping mouth and waited for the explosion. Instead, Anna gave Nathan a hug back and whispered, “Are we being watched?”

Nathan grinned, and that wasn’t faked at all. Neither was his exuberant hug, Bjornolf noted, and he wondered if the kid had a crush on Anna.

“Uncle Bjornolf.” Nathan shook his hand, then took hold of Anna’s hand as if he was afraid she was ready to flee. From the expression on her face, she looked like that’s what she had in mind. “Let’s go inside and we can have a cup of hot chocolate first. All the customers are treated to that. I made you both some ham sandwiches so you could eat out in the woods when you go to pick out our tree.”

Bjornolf thought Nathan was going to hand Anna over to him, but instead he walked between them, keeping a firm grip on Anna’s hand. Her cheeks actually turned a little rosy.

He smiled at Nathan, following along with the game for now. He decided the kid was sure good at playing people.

“Did you want me to cut the tree down for you? Or do you want to do it?” Nathan asked.

Anna was looking over her shoulder at the tree farm, taking a deep breath. Bjornolf was also trying to smell any odor of decay.

“Maybe you can show us where the best trees are,” she suggested.

“Oh absolutely! I hope you want a big tree. They’re the coolest.”

Anna cleared her throat.

Bjornolf figured she wanted one that was as little as possible. Something small enough that it wouldn’t take long to decorate, take up too much room, or be noticeable. “As tall as we can fit into the cottage, Nathan,” he said. “We have to make sure we can put a star on top.”

“Angel,” Anna said, contradicting him.

Bjornolf stared at her, then smiled a little. “Yeah, an angel.”

“Angel. I like that.” Nathan led them inside the shop where the smell of coffee and hot chocolate, cinnamon and spices scented the air and a fire burned in a cheery fireplace. Christmas wreaths were hung up all over the gift shop.

“You can see red deer, elk, red-tailed hawks, squirrels, and tons of birds in the trees out there,” Nathan said, pouring Anna a mug of hot chocolate.

Anna sipped the chocolate slowly, and Bjornolf indicated that he wanted a mug, too.

“If you’ll show us where the best trees are,” Bjornolf said, drinking the chocolate, then putting the empty mug down on the table, “we’ll be good to go.”

Nathan took Anna’s hand again, and she glanced at Bjornolf. He raised his brows, not sure what to do.

Nathan seemed to miss the interaction—either that or he was ignoring the looks they’d given each other—and started giving his sales pitch as they walked outside. “We’ve got noble fir, Nordmann’s fir, grand fir, Fraser fir, Scotch pine, white pine, and blue spruce trees either left wild or moderately trimmed.”

“What do you think, honey?” Bjornolf asked, drawing close to her free side and wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Nathan grinned at Bjornolf but did not release Anna’s hand.

“It’s up to the two of you,” Anna said. “How many acres of trees do they have here?”

“Five hundred,” Nathan said.

“How did you find… what you found?” Anna asked, being careful since customers were shopping for trees somewhere in the vicinity.

“I was looking over the tree farm with Jessica—she’s the owners’ daughter. We were working way out there, and we smelled a hint of something dead.”

“Hunter told me she’s human,” Anna said.

“Yeah, but anyone can smell dead stuff when the odor is so strong. It’s just that only we can tell what died if there’s no sign of a body.”

Anna and Bjornolf kept smelling the air, but all he could get were strong whiffs of the pine and fir trees.

“So you smelled a human…” Anna said.

“Wolf,” Nathan corrected.

“And?” Anna prompted.

“I called Tessa and told her what I’d smelled—I pretended she’s my aunt.”

“So are any of the men who work for the owner wolves?”

Nathan shook his head.

“Any other scents in the area where you smelled the dead wolf?” she asked.

“No. You know how strongly the smell of dead things lingers. If anyone had moved the body, and someone had to have, their smells were washed away.”

“How far out had you gone?” Anna asked. “I feel as though we’ve already walked a mile or two.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Bjornolf said, squeezing her shoulder. “She just navigated miles of dense jungle, fought kidnappers, you name it, so this is a walk in the park for her.”

Nathan grinned at her.

“Yeah, but it’s a lot colder out here. Why were you so far away from the gift shop, Nathan?” she asked.

Nathan flushed a little and squared his shoulders. “I was just taking Jessica for a walk.”

To make out, Bjornolf suspected. The smell of a dead body had to have put a real damper on things.

“She’s human,” Anna said, as if she was playing the role of Nathan’s mother.

He nodded and Bjornolf thought he looked a little sad.

“Aren’t there any girls in the pack you’re interested in?” Bjornolf asked.

He shook his head. “Too young or too old.”

“You can’t turn her,” Anna said. Bjornolf glanced at her and saw her fierce expression.

Nathan frowned. “Hunter turned Rourke and… and Tessa even.”

“Rourke by
accident
,” Anna said. “Not on purpose. With Tessa, it was a different story. Neither had family, so it wasn’t an astronomical problem. But this girl has parents. You can’t do it.”

“Tessa had a brother and…”

Anna said, “No. Hunter’s the pack leader. He had to take care of the
consequences
.”

Hell, Bjornolf hadn’t even realized the boy was thinking along those lines. More than ever, Bjornolf knew Anna was perfect for this job.

For a long time, they walked in silence. Bjornolf knew Anna was right. He knew too that Nathan understood, even if he didn’t want to accept it. The knowledge that Hunter had changed three humans would muddy the water a bit as to what was acceptable
lupus
garou
behavior. Some turned humans ended up being a real liability to a pack. Hunter was more than fortunate everything had worked out all right—for the most part.

“If you are calling Hunter your uncle, why didn’t you stay with him and Tessa?” Anna asked.

“Are you kidding?” Nathan said, his voice full of disbelief. “They’re newlyweds!”

Not exactly, though they still acted like it. But they were about to be new parents.

Anna shot back, “Bjornolf and I are, too! And lots newer, like as of today, I might add!”

Nathan and Bjornolf stared at her for a moment, then Nathan grinned and Bjornolf couldn’t help but smile, really wanting to get into this role.

“Yeah, well, I’ll try to give you two as much privacy as I can,” Nathan said, still smirking.

Anna rolled her eyes.

“Besides, I couldn’t stay with our pack leaders. They’d watch every move I made.”

“
We’ll
watch every move you make,” Anna promised, as if that was payback for his helping to set up this arrangement in the first place.

She suddenly stopped and sniffed the air. “Was this where you’d smelled one of the dead wolves?”

“This was where the body had to have been.” Nathan waved his hands in the general area between two rows of Douglas firs as he explained to Bjornolf and Anna what he’d found. “The odor of decay was here. As soon as I smelled it, I got hold of Tessa and she contacted one of our police officers in the pack. He and several of our pack members came by to purchase trees for Christmas. Nobody recognized the scents.”

Still firmly holding Anna’s hand, he headed in another direction. “Over here is where I smelled a second body.” Nathan pointed to an area between rows of Colorado spruce. “Right in here.”

Bjornolf frowned, recognizing the odor and not liking this scenario. “It smells like Montoya Sanchez, a SEAL I knew about six or seven years ago.”

“A SEAL?” Anna asked, looking up at him with inquisitive, worried eyes. “What about the other man?”

Bjornolf shook his head. “I don’t recognize the other.”

“How well did you know him?” Anna asked.

“About as well as I do anyone I’m serving with during only one mission. He was a good guy. Family man. Kept talking about housebreaking a puppy. I can’t imagine how he could have gotten himself killed here.”

“I’m sorry,” Anna said with real regret.

“A SEAL.” Nathan shuddered. “Damn, if someone could kill one of
you
guys…” He glanced back in the direction of the gift shop, though they couldn’t see it for the trees. “I should be heading back to work. Any of these trees look all right for our house?”

“Do you have a favorite?” Anna asked.

Nathan’s amber eyes lit up. “Yeah.” He hurried them back in the direction of the gift shop.

Bjornolf admired Anna for thinking so quickly on her feet. He would never have thought to ask the boy if he’d already made a selection.

“This one,” Nathan said, pointing with his free hand. “A blue spruce. Isn’t it beautiful? I kept hoping no one would buy it—not that there aren’t a million trees out here. But all its sides are perfect, and we don’t have to hide a bad spot against a wall. It’s still short enough to fit in the house, isn’t it?” Nathan looked at Bjornolf for his take on it.

He opened his mouth to agree but Anna said, “Sold. Deliver it after you get off work, and tomorrow the two of you can decorate it.”

Nathan looked at Bjornolf.

“She never had a Christmas tree before,” he explained. “She doesn’t know the first thing about decorating one.”

“We’ll show you how,” Nathan said undeterred, tugging at her hand. “It’s easy. I’m off tomorrow until later in the afternoon. We can go to the store and buy decorations.”

“Is Hunter paying expenses?” she asked Bjornolf.

“
I’m
paying for it,” Bjornolf said. “This is my first Christmas in years, and I’m going to enjoy it.”

Anna looked like she wasn’t sure if he was teasing or telling the truth. Then she sighed and looked as though she was finally willing to play along. A little.

After Bjornolf paid for the tree, Nathan slapped his forehead. “I forgot to give you the ham sandwiches to eat while you were walking through the woods.”

“That’s okay,” Bjornolf said. “You bring them home and we’ll have them for dinner tonight, if you’d like.”

Nathan glanced at Anna, wondering if she was going to fix home-cooked meals the way his mother used to. Anna was looking back in the direction of the trees where they had smelled the scent of the dead men.

“See you later,” Nathan said and gave Anna a hug before he headed back into the gift shop.

“It’s going to snow,” Anna said as she and Bjornolf got into the Land Rover, and he drove out of the parking lot.

“Lightly, maybe an inch or two.” He glanced over at her, meaning to ask if she had gotten anything out of the situation with the dead bodies, but she had closed her eyes, her head leaning against the window.

Ten miles down the road, he pulled into the drive-through of a fast-food restaurant, ordered burgers, fries, and bottled waters, and they continued on their way. Anna hadn’t stirred.

Light snow was falling by the time Bjornolf drove into the driveway of the cottage, and everything was dusted in white powder. Anna had napped all the way back. He guessed she hadn’t had that much time to recuperate from their jungle mission.

“Are you hungry?” Bjornolf asked as he parked the Land Rover.

She lifted her head and sniffed the air in the car. “You picked up hamburgers and french fries?” She sat up a little taller.

“And bottled water. Before we arrived, Hunter said Tessa and Meara bought some groceries for us and stocked the pantry and fridge. For now, I figured we’d just grab some fast food so we wouldn’t have to wait to cook a meal.”

“Sounds good.” She seized the bag of food.

Bjornolf got the front door. “Nathan’s hurting, you know.”

“I know.” She sighed, then changed the subject as Bjornolf closed the front door. “Nathan wasn’t trying to make you jealous, by the way.”

Bjornolf followed her into the kitchen and pulled blue-and-white floral plates out of the cupboard. “You mean when he held your hand and wouldn’t let go?”

She placed the foil-wrapped hamburgers on the plates. “Yeah. You didn’t need to put your arm around me to show ownership.”

He dumped the fries onto the plates, pulled a bottle of ketchup out of the fridge, and poured some on his plate. After taking a seat, he dipped a fry into the ketchup and met her darkened gaze. “He was afraid you wanted to run away. He was trying to make you feel needed.”

She shook her head. “
He
was feeling needy. You didn’t have to act so possessive.”

He laughed. “Part of the honeymoon, Anna. You didn’t think I was going to let our nephew hold your hand while I stood in the wings watching, did you?”

She shook her head as if she couldn’t believe he’d say that. She took a bite of her hamburger and made the sexiest sound. “Hmm, you know just how I like it.”

“I know a lot about you,” he said with a smirk. In fact, he knew practically everything about her. Well, nearly everything.

“Really? You know which movies that I love to watch?”

“Yeah, when you were sleeping on the plane, I asked if Hunter knew. Adventure, historical, epic, lots of fighting, swords, martial arts, that sort of thing.”

“Did you get us some movies?”

“I asked if he’d drop a few by the cottage. He was going to have someone do that when they filled up the fridge and pantry. We’ll need to get ready for the pack open house.”

She didn’t say anything, her expression saying she stubbornly resisted the idea.

“Anna, Nathan’s putting on a show, pretending that everything’s all right. That he’s happy to take part in Christmas. That everything’s normal. But it isn’t. I imagine he’d like nothing better than to run away.”

Having finished her meal, Anna stood up, trying to look as though what he said didn’t bother her. But his words hit her like an iron fist to the jaw. “I know. All right, Bjornolf? I’ve been there, okay?”

Bjornolf stared at her, saw the same wounded look in her eyes that he’d seen in Nathan’s, and felt horrible for not recognizing she had some real issues. He skirted the kitchen table, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her like he had at the jungle-village cabana. Just like he knew she had wanted him to.

At first she stiffened at his brushing kiss, his mouth sweeping gently over hers, willing her to give in, just a bit.

Enough
, her body language said as she started to pull away.

“No,” he whispered against her lips. “Let me in, Anna. Don’t push me away.”

Her eyes were bright with tears as she looked up at him, confused and unsure.

“Hell,” he said and clasped her to his chest, holding her tight. He wanted to destroy every chink in her armor and give her whatever solace she needed. He tried kissing her again, and this time she lifted her face to his, cupped the back of his head, and pulled him closer.

That about undid him—made him forget who he was, who she was, what they were doing here.

Their tongues tangled as he pressed his body against hers, his cock instantly springing to life. He pressed his knee between her legs, wanting to get inside her, to feel every inch of her against his body. She slid her hand up his shirt and ran her warm fingers over his abdomen. “Hard,” she whispered.

Hell, yeah. All over.

That’s when he heard the truck pull into the drive, and before he could disengage from Anna, the front door opened. Wishing they could have prolonged the intimacy, he fought scowling at the intrusion.

Anna jumped away from him. She wiped tears away and quickly said, “I’ve got to unpack.” Then she hurried off down the hall.

Nathan stood in the doorway, shifted his shocked gaze from Anna to Bjornolf, then glowered at him. “Why was she crying?”

***

After setting up the tree and settling on the couch to watch one of the movies, Nathan set the plate of ham sandwiches on the coffee table. He had already found Bjornolf’s bags in the guest room, so he knew something was up between Bjornolf and Anna.

Bjornolf had started a movie, but Nathan still wanted to know what was going on. “I thought you said you were both going to be sharing the master bedroom.”

“I changed my mind for the time being.”

Nathan lifted his can of soda off the table. “You mean
she
changed your mind for you.”

The kid was too bright for his own good.

“Did she fight you for it?” Nathan asked, sitting a little taller.

Unable to contain his amusement, Bjornolf shook his head. “Some battles are not worth fighting… right away.”

“Wait until I’m around when you decide to change her mind. You said you’d teach me everything you knew about fighting.”

That wasn’t exactly what Bjornolf had in mind.

While Nathan ate both of the sandwiches, Bjornolf drank a cup of coffee.

“Anna is… kind of upset,” Bjornolf said quietly.

“Yeah,” Nathan said, folding his arms over his chest. “I could see that much.”

Bjornolf let out his breath in exasperation. “Not because of me.”

Nathan turned his attention to focus on Bjornolf and waited to hear the truth of the matter.

“Christmas isn’t her thing.”

Nathan’s eyes widened. “Who doesn’t like Christmas?”

Bjornolf shrugged. “Anna, apparently. Maybe something happened when she was a kid. I don’t know. Sometimes adults lose the spirit of Christmas.”

“Anna’s alone,” Nathan said, finally getting the picture. “So she never celebrates Christmas.” He frowned at Bjornolf. “What about you?”

“Sometimes. When you get older, sometimes it’s just not as important as it used to be. If there’s no one to share it with…” He shrugged.

Nathan was frowning at him again. “I’m not going to give it up, ever.”

Bjornolf managed a smile. “Good.”

Nathan ran his hand over his pant leg. “We’re still going to have Christmas, aren’t we? I don’t want Anna to be sad. Can we… help her somehow?”

“We can’t fix others.” As much as Bjornolf would like to make Anna feel wonderful, he knew he couldn’t. She would have to reach within herself to find that which would make her whole. “But I sure as hell want to do anything I can to make her feel better about the holidays.”

Nathan looked skeptical. “Then don’t kiss her anymore. You made her cry.” He turned his attention back to the movie, and that was the end of the discussion.

***

Anna tried, but was damned if she couldn’t sleep. She flopped this way, then that. She’d napped too much during the day. She tried not to think of the kiss. Or how she’d encouraged it. Or how she would have liked to take it further if Nathan hadn’t arrived when he did.

The fighting in the movie had been so loud that she couldn’t hear what Nathan and Bjornolf were saying, but she guessed it had been about her.

Nathan had looked so shocked to see her crying that she was certain he would be angry with Bjornolf for making her cry. Yet he hadn’t. She wasn’t even sure why she was in such a funk.

After the guys went to bed and the house had been quiet for a while, she got up, slipped on a pair of black jeans with same color turtleneck, socks, and boots. She grabbed her weapons belt, a black ski hat, and a jacket.

She intended to check out the Christmas tree farm while everyone was gone, and she wanted to be alone, with no distraction in the form of one sexy SEAL.

While walking quietly toward the living room, she saw the blue spruce. It was beautiful, even without decorations, making her feel as though some of the woods had made a home here. She breathed in the smell of it and couldn’t help but love it. She felt bad that she might ruin Nathan’s Christmas after he had just lost his parents, so she dropped her gear on the couch and walked into the kitchen. After rummaging through the cabinets, she found packages of microwaveable popcorn. She returned to the bedroom where she found a sewing kit, and with it in hand, she walked back to the kitchen.

After popping two bags—no way could she smell the mouthwatering popcorn aroma and not eat some of it—she sat down on the couch. She began stringing the popcorn together, inserting the needle and thread in the center of one kernel and then the next. When she’d finished the last of the popcorn in the bowl, she tied off the string, got up from the couch, and went over to the tree. She began to wind the garland around the fragrant branches. Once she was done, she stepped back and admired her handiwork. Perfect, she thought, a smile curving her mouth. Her part in decorating the tree. It hadn’t even killed her.

Now it was time to do some murder investigation work and put aside all thoughts of the holidays.

Gun tucked in her holster, she closed the door behind her, locked it, then hurried to her vehicle, hoping Bjornolf wouldn’t hear her leave. He’d follow her in short order if he did.

Like she often did on the job, she wanted to concentrate on this part of the work
alone
.