Werewolf in Seattle: A Wild About You Novel (28 page)

“You’re sure? I said we were business associates.”

She laced her fingers through his as they started up a flagstone walkway. Ahead of them, a balcony on the second floor shaded the carved entry door. “If George has blabbed to them, he’s probably told them we’re more than associates.”

“True.” He gave her fingers a quick squeeze. “That blouse looks great on you.”

“So you said when we bought it yesterday.”

“But not because it matches your eyes.”

“It doesn’t match my eyes?” She knew he was making conversation to distract her, and she appreciated that.

“Oh, it does match your eyes, but that wasn’t the main reason I like it.”

“What was the reason, then?”

“When you tuck it into your jeans, your tits look amazing.”

“Colin!” She laughed, and that was probably what he’d hoped for.

As he reached for the doorbell, the large door swung open before he could push the button. Edwina and Jacques Reynaud were framed in the doorway. Edwina, dressed in a pale blue lightweight suit, her hair perfectly styled, stood in front. Jacques, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and looking considerably more casual, hovered behind her.

Edwina stared at Luna. Slowly her mouth opened, but nothing came out. She seemed dazed and disoriented, and her hand went to her heart. Finally she spoke. “Sophie?”

Luna squeezed Colin’s hand so hard she felt him wince. “No, Mrs. Reynaud. I’m her daughter.”

So they did know. Colin balanced on the balls of his feet, even though there would be no physical fight involving these two seventy-something Weres. But he wouldn’t mind fighting someone, if he only knew who deserved the blame for this cock-up.

He’d like to make George the culprit, but from the way Edwina had looked at Luna, there was no villain. Edwina would have recognized Luna as the reincarnation of Sophie no matter when and where they’d met. George might have planted the idea, but this mess had been created more than twenty-seven years ago.

Edwina’s face nearly matched the white exterior of her house, and she looked a little unsteady on her feet.

Colin stepped forward, drawing Luna with him, and cupped his free hand under Edwina’s elbow. “Maybe it would be best if we could all sit down,” he murmured.

“Yes,” Edwina said faintly. “Yes, it would.”

Jacques stumbled backward, and Colin hoped he wouldn’t have to hold him up, too, because he was running out of hands. He’d promised Luna he’d keep his
connection with her, and she’d maintained a death grip on him that might leave a mark.

Fortunately Jacques got his feet under him and led the way down a hallway with floorboards so highly polished that Colin worried about everyone’s footing. The hall was wide enough for him to walk between the two female Weres. With one hand locked through Luna’s fingers, and the other supporting a wobbly Edwina, Colin felt like the conduit between two sparking batteries. Either one could short out at any second.

Now that Jacques was moving, he looked taller and more in command. His stride was firm, his shoulders back. Once, when he ran a hand over his thinning hair, Colin detected a slight tremble, but that was to be expected. These two Weres had just met their dead son’s child, one they’d had no idea existed before.

Jacques reached the end of the hall and turned left into a sunroom furnished in cheerful yellow and white. Colin thought it was a fine place to settle these jumpy people and bring peace to all concerned. He hoped it worked out that way.

“You three sit there.” Jacques waved them to a plump couch as if he assumed they’d all stay connected like Tinkertoys. “I’ll tell Bethany to bring us… ” He paused and peered at them through his bifocals. “What would you all like?”

“Vodka,” Edwina said.

Jacques blinked. “Vodka?”

She waved a hand at him. “You know. Screwdrivers. Vodka and orange juice. Have Bethany mix up a big batch.”

“But, dearest, it’s eleven in the morning.” Jacques gave her a tentative smile.

“I don’t give a good goddamn what time it is, Jacques!
Byron’s daughter just arrived! That calls for something stronger than iced tea, don’t you think?”

Colin glanced over at Luna and she widened her eyes at him as if to ask,
What the hell?
He gave a little shrug. For now, he’d be the filling in the sandwich. He prayed he wouldn’t have to be the referee.

Edwina leaned forward, so Colin leaned back, allowing her to look at her granddaughter.

“Luna, is it?”

Luna edged forward a little and peered around Colin at her grandmother. “Luna Thisbe Reynaud. Although they never married, my mother took Byron’s name. She told me he was my father. But that’s… that’s all she told me.”

“She didn’t say he was Were?” Edwina flung the question as an accusation.

Luna tensed. “Why would she? She didn’t know which I would be, Were or human.”

“And which are you?” Edwina’s voice shook.

“I’m Were,” Luna said quietly. “But I’m a half-breed.”

Edwina sank back against the cushions. “Byron’s child,” she muttered, almost as if speaking to herself. “Byron’s child.” Then she popped back up to stare at Luna. “Change places with this fellow so I can have a better look at you.”

Colin glanced at Luna, who nodded. He stood, and she scooted over next to Edwina. When he sat down again, Luna reached for his other hand. He offered it freely. She could mangle that one, too, if she needed to.

Edwina adjusted her position, turning her body slightly so she could study Luna. “You have his chin, which was like mine. Pull back your hair.”

Colin expected Luna to start objecting to this series of commands, but she pulled her hair back as instructed.

“You have his ears, too.” Edwina’s voice caught. “He had the most beautiful ears, just like Jacques.”

Jacques bustled back into the room. “What’s this about my ears?”

“Luna has Byron’s ears, which are your ears, too,” Edwina said.

Jacques edged closer and crouched down to gaze at Luna. “Huh. So she does.” He looked Luna up and down, but then his attention returned to her feet. “And Byron’s toes.”

“Toes?” Luna lifted her feet off the floor. The sandals she wore displayed toes painted with pink nail polish.

Edwina leaned over to examine Luna’s toes. “You are so right, Jacques! Her second toe is bigger than her first toe, like mine, and like Byron had.” She pulled off one of her low-heeled shoes. “Damn. I’m wearing panty hose. You can’t see as well, but my second toe is longer, Luna, just like yours. You’ll have to take my word for it.”

“I believe y’all,” Luna said.

“Did you hear that, Jacques? She talks just like Sophie did. I swear it’s like Sophie walked in here, except for the ears, and the chin, and the toes.”

Whatever Colin had expected out of this meeting, it hadn’t been a comparison of ears and chins and toes. He’d prepared for wailing and gnashing of teeth, icy coldness, cutting remarks. Not a discussion of body parts.

Bethany, a plump redhead, arrived with a tray of drinks and a pitcher for refilling once the first round was gone. “Good morning, everyone. I understand we have an honored visitor.” She picked up two goblets and handed one to Edwina and one to Luna. “Welcome, Luna Reynaud.”

“Thank you.”

“What an exciting day.” Bethany took the second pair of goblets and gave the first one to Colin. “Isn’t it amazing?”

“Yes, it is,” Colin said. And surprisingly calm, all things considered.

“I can’t believe our granddaughter is sitting here,” Jacques said in a bewildered voice as he accepted a goblet from Bethany.

“Risen from the dead.” Edwina took a hefty swallow of her screwdriver.

“No, dearest, that’s not quite true,” Jacques said. “She was always
alive.
We just didn’t
know
about her. That’s a big difference.”

Edwina flapped her hand dismissively. “Whatever. The question is, where is this Sophie person?”

Colin winced, expecting a heated response from Luna. He’d guessed wrong, though.

Her voice was gentle as she turned to her grandmother. “She died when I was eight, Mrs. Reynaud. But I can tell y’all without a shadow of a doubt that she was true to your son.”

“I didn’t know she was pregnant, so I didn’t realize they’d mated,” Edwina said. “But now… now it’s obvious they did.”

“Yes.” Luna’s voice was husky. “They were truly mated.”

“Yet she left.”

“She was human, Mrs. Reynaud, in every sense of that word. She told me she didn’t belong here, so I guess she couldn’t accept living in a community of Weres. But she was in love with Byron Reynaud, her mate, to the end.”

Colin squeezed Luna’s hand.
Nicely done, lass.
He wished they could communicate telepathically, but he thought she got the message.

“Well.” Edwina patted the arm of the sofa and stared off into space. “Well.”

No one said anything for a while, as if each of them wanted to give Edwina a chance to collect herself.

Finally she cleared her throat and raised her glass. “To the startling discovery of our granddaughter, Luna Thisbe Reynaud, although I can’t say I approve of that middle name. We might have to do something about that. Anyway, cheers.”

“Cheers,” everyone chorused, and took a sip from their goblets.

Following the toast, Edwina leaned forward to scrutinize Colin. “And what have you to do with all this? Our secretary said you were a laird of something or other. Glenbugle or some such.”

“Glenbarra. A small village north of Glasgow.”

“Never heard of it, but that doesn’t matter. George called this morning, but I confess once he started talking about Luna and how she might be Byron’s daughter, I lost track of everything else. So why are you here?”

“I’m Geraldine and Harry Whittier’s nephew. She left Whittier House to me.”

“Oh!” Edwina put a hand to her chest and almost spilled her drink. “That’s where Byron used to work as a teenager. He
loved
it out there. He didn’t see much of the Whittiers, but he was very close to the groundskeeper. If memory serves, his name was Hector.”

“Hector’s still the groundskeeper,” Colin said. “At least for now. Luna and I plan to open the house as an exclusive inn for Weres, and I’m not sure how Hector will adapt to that. He likes a more secluded environment.”

Edwina nodded. “That’s because he never got over losing his mate, Althea. I knew Althea better than I knew Hector. We were in school together. When Byron started working out there, I told him about Althea dying soon after she and Hector were mated, and how Hector became something of a hermit. Byron treated everyone with compassion, but he gave extra consideration to Hector.” Edwina took another long swallow of
her screwdriver. “God, I still miss that son of mine so much.”

Jacques came over to lay a hand on her shoulder. “We all do, Ed.”

She glanced up at him. “Not
all
, Jacques. This laird never laid eyes on Byron, and obviously Luna didn’t have the chance to know her father.” She turned to Luna. “But you would have loved him.”

“I’m sure.” Luna sounded very subdued, and she’d barely touched her drink. “I wonder if Hector remembers him. He didn’t react to my last name at all.”

“That was a long time ago. Although it hurts to think that anyone would forget Byron, Hector might have by now. Or maybe he’d recall the first name but not the last. He’s had lots of teenagers working for him over the years. I’m sure they run together after a while.”

Jacques looked more animated than he had since they arrived. “We should talk to him and show him a picture. I’d love to pay a visit to that island. Byron said he felt more at home there than anywhere.”

Luna glanced up eagerly. “He did?”

“Oh, yes, and it made perfect sense. He was never a city boy. He loved the woods, and the sea. Watching a pod of orcas play along the shore was his idea of heaven.”

Luna made a small sound deep in her throat, one that Colin didn’t think anyone noticed but him. But he could imagine the intensity of her reaction to all of this. She might look like Sophie, but in so many ways, she was her father’s daughter.

He sensed that she was on emotional overload. The Reynauds had been different than he’d expected, but welcoming in their own way. It was more than he could have hoped for. Yet Luna might need time to process what she’d discovered so far.

He turned to Edwina. “Thank you for agreeing to meet
with us, but we have a helicopter to catch, and I’ll be leaving for Scotland tomorrow, so there are plenty of loose ends to tie up before then. We should probably get going.”

Next to him, Luna sagged in relief. He’d made the right call.

Jacques frowned. “But there was something about a benefit for the foundation, wasn’t there?”

“Yes.” Luna straightened. “I’m managing the inn, because Colin will be in Scotland a good bit of the time. I considered setting up opening weekend as a benefit for the Byron Reynaud Foundation, if you would agree.”

Jacques nodded enthusiastically. “I think that’s a very—”

“Problematic idea,” Edwina finished for him. “It’s not your fault, Luna, but some of the older Weres in the Trevelyan pack remember the circumstances of Byron’s death. If they discover Sophie was pregnant when she left, well, they might not be…
happy
… to support her daughter’s enterprise.”

That was Colin’s cue to get Luna the hell out of there before things got ugly. He stood and drew her up with him. “Maybe involving the foundation isn’t such a wonderful idea. As owner of the inn, I won’t advocate anything that would make my manager uncomfortable.”

“We need to talk about this some more,” Jacques said. “Let us digest everything. Take stock, as it were.”

“And talk to George,” Edwina added. “He’s been one of our chief advisers for the foundation. I’m sure he’ll have some good advice.”

Now Colin knew they really needed to leave. “We’ll be in touch,” he said. “Luna, the cab is waiting.”

Edwina stood. “Before you go, Luna, let me take another good look at you. Turn loose of this Colin person for one minute. I swear you two act the way Sophie and Byron did, like you can’t bear to be parted.”