nowhere.”
She wasn’t willing to accept his
words. She felt like he was trying to
convince himself they would be better off
apart.
“Nash, what are you saying?” she
forced herself to ask him.
He gave her a reassuring smile. “That
I think too much for my own good. Let’s
live impulsively together for as long as
we are able.”
The book slid off her lap and onto the
floor as she stood up. “It doesn’t matter
where,” she said. “I want to be with you
forever.”
“I can’t see beyond tomorrow at this
point,” he murmured, lowering his eyes so
he didn’t have to see the hope radiating off
her. She was still so young and optimistic.
She tended to forget how merciless the
world could be.
“I can see it,” she said. She moved to
his side, tilting his face up so he was
forced to look at her. “Yes, there it is,”
she said. “It’s forever I see in your eyes.”
He rose from his chair to kiss her,
because no matter what life threw his
way, she always seemed to make him
believe everything would turn out for the
best in the end. The end of his torment,
however, was nowhere in sight.
CHAPTER 40
Because their supplies were running
low, Maralee and Nash headed towards
Sarbough the following morning. The
weather was uncommonly warm for
March. It wasn’t long before Maralee was
carrying her cloak draped over one arm
and Nash had removed his long coat. As
the ground was saturated from the rapid
snowmelt, their boots were caked with
mud. Maralee tilted her face towards the
gentle rays of sun filtering through the bare
branches above and smiled. Just the
thought of warm weather and spring’s
renewal of life made her happy. Even
Nash’s dark mood didn’t dampen her
spirits.
“We should have asked Carsha and the
twins to come along,” Maralee said,
thinking that they could have made an
adventure out of their simple shopping
excursion.
“They weren’t home.”
“Oh, where did they go?”
“To visit the Northwood pack,” he
said. “My mother came and told me this
morning while you were getting dressed.”
“Northwood pack?”
He nodded. “Our pack is referred to as
the Southwood pack. We separated from
the Northwood Wolves about two hundred
years ago during the time when my
grandfather was the alpha male. We’ve
been flourishing, but the Northwood isn’t
doing so well. That’s why they are so
eager to welcome Rella and the children
into their pack.”
“Oh,” Maralee said flatly, realizing
that they were probably visiting Rella’s
potential new mate. “I wonder why she
decided to go visit him all of a sudden.
She seemed to want some time to consider
her options yesterday.”
“Was that before or after she kissed
him?”
Maralee glanced at him, surprised by
his level of distress. “If I didn’t know
better, I’d think that you were jealous.”
He paused and looked down at her, his
temper flaring. His temper had been on a
short fuse since he’d seen Rella with that
man the day before. “Why would I be
jealous? I’m just worried about her, about
the children and about…about me.”
He didn’t have to explain any further.
Maralee knew that the very idea of not
seeing his nephews and niece was eating
him up inside. Perhaps the thought of
losing Rella was distressful to him as
well. He didn’t explain his feelings to
Maralee, so she could only guess what
was going through his mind. “There has to
be a way to keep her with our pack.”
Nash grinned at her. “Our pack?”
“I
mean your pack,” she said,
flustered. “Isn’t there anyone in your pack
who would take her and the children?”
“The problem is she’ll always be
thought of as Cort’s mate. No one would
want to disrespect his memory by taking
her as a mate. This is what usually
happens in the rare occurrence that a
young Wolf’s mate is killed. We have
taken in a lot of widows and widowers,
but I can’t remember the last time it’s been
the other way around.” He didn’t feel the
need to remind her that the Hunters had
been the ones to make Wolves widows
and widowers.
“So no one in your pack will take them
in?”
“Sometimes…”
he
murmured.
“Sometimes another member of the same
family will take in a widow, such as…
such as a surviving brother.”
Maralee’s heart skipped a beat.
“You?”
His arm slipped around her waist as
they walked together and he kissed her
forehead. “Don’t worry, Maralee, Rella
and I talked about this and I decided I
wouldn’t ever be able to think of her that
way.”
“Even if it means keeping your family
together?” she blurted. She felt as if he
was slipping away from her even though
he was holding her tightly.
He nodded tersely and as she looked
up at him. She could see the regret in his
eyes as he stared into the distance. It’s
because of me, she realized. I destroyed
their family and now I’m the one that’s
continuing to push them apart. She
hadn’t realized she stopped walking until
Nash stumbled against her.
“Sorry,” he murmured, steadying her
with his hands. “Why did you stop?”
She looked up at him, her heart
thudding heavily in her chest. What if
loving him and making him happy meant
letting him go? Freeing him so that he
could be where he belonged, not with her,
but with his family.
“Maralee?” he asked. “What’s going
on in that head of yours?”
She grinned and hugged him. “I was
just trying to think things through for a
change.”
“And what are you thinking through?”
he asked, rubbing her back as he drew her
closer.
“What I should have for breakfast.”
He chuckled, and touched her face so
that she would look up at him. When she
did, he kissed her gently. “That seemed to
be taking an awful lot of concentration,”
he commented with a crooked grin.
She groaned and pulled his head down
for another kiss, this one deep and
lingering. When she broke away, flushed
and panting, s
he said, “You know what
that smile does to me.”
“What?” he teased. “This smile?”
He smiled at her crookedly again and
she shuddered with her sudden need for
him.
“I think I just decided what I want for
breakfast,” she said, grabbing him for
another kiss.
He chuckled again. “It’s nice to be
wanted,” he said. “We’ll have to take a
room at the inn.”
“Really?” she asked him breathlessly.
He hadn’t made love to her the night
before or that morning. She’d been
concerned about his sudden lack of desire.
He nodded, smiling at her obvious
delight. “If you’d like.”
Her answer was to take him by the
hand and tug him at a brisk walk towards
Sarbough. There were two inns in the
village, but when they reached the
outskirts of the town, Maralee headed
directly for the Smithy’s.
“Are you sure about this?” Nash
asked. “They’ll know what we’re up to.”
“Will that bother you?” she asked,
pausing and looking up at him. Perhaps he
regretted his offer. Maybe he hadn’t been
serious about taking a hotel room.
He laughed. “I was just thinking of
your potential embarrassment. I’ll mate
with you in the middle of the road if you
want.” His amber eyes were narrowed
dangerously, the feral look that made her
weak with need.
She pictured the pair of them making
love in the middle of the muddy road and
flushed. “We’d be arrested.”
“Better not then,” he teased, smiling
his irresistible crooked grin.
She moved forward again, pulling him
along by his hand. He was offering no
resistance. “Hurry,” she urged, “before my
impulsiveness gets the better of me at risk
of arrest.”
“Ah, Maralee,” he murmured behind
her. “What would I do without you?”
She didn’t want to think about that.
They entered the inn hand in hand and
paused at the front counter, waiting to be
greeted by the proprietor. Gordon Smithy
appeared behind the counter and looked at
her in surprise.
“Miss Decatur! Back already?”
She nodded. “We need a room.”
“Two rooms?” Smithy questioned,
looking from the young lady to the
dangerous looking man she had in tow.
“One room,” Nash entered and
Maralee felt her face redden with
embarrassment.
So
this
was
the
humiliation Nash had been trying to
protect her from.
“We…we just got married,” she said.
Smithy looked from Nash to Maralee,
not looking surprised by her news, but
rather suspicious. “Is that so?” he asked,
his tone condescending.
“Are you calling my wife a liar?”
Nash asked him, his hand circling
Maralee’s waist possessively.
Smithy looked from Maralee to Nash
and shook his head. “Of course not. One
room then. Will you be checking in now?”
he asked.
“Yes, right now,” Nash said, in that
low growl that always made Maralee’s
nipples harden with anticipation. She
shuddered, clinging to his thigh with one
hand.
“Do you have any luggage?” Mr.
Smithy asked.
“N-no,” Maralee admitted.
Smithy shook his head again. Their
story was rapidly falling apart.
“We came to get supplies from the
store,” Nash explained, “and became so
weary from the journey that we decided
we needed a rest before we make the long
trip home.”
Smithy handed over the key to a room
and the pair of them headed for the stairs
without further hesitation. “Kids! ” the old
man bellowed, not realizing that Nash was
almost twice his age.
Maralee fumbled with the lock while
Nash began to fill his hands with her
always eager flesh. “Wait,” she gasped,
when his hands covered both breasts and
he placed an open-mouthed kiss on the
side of her neck. They were at the top of
the stairs in plain sight of the foyer below.
“Can’t wait,” he growled into her ear.
She dropped the key.
“Damn,” she muttered, kneeling down
to retrieve the key. Nash followed her to
the floor, hands running down her ribcage,
waist. She pressed her forehead against
the door, grasping the key, but unable to
think well enough to stand up and use it.
“Uh…um…e-excuse me, please,” a
timid, feminine voice said.
It seemed that they were blocking the
passageway from the other rooms to the
stairs. Nash stood up, removing his
distracting hands and lips from Maralee’s
person, before helping her climb to her
feet. The young woman sidled past them,
eyes downcast, face scarlet.
“Don’t mind us,” Maralee called after
her. An immaculate, coiled bun of
chocolate brown hair disappeared from
view as the young lady vanished into the
dining room below. “I don’t think we
made a very good impression,” she told
Nash.
“I’ve never been one to make good
first impressions,” he said, retrieving the
key from the floor and attempting to
It finally swung open, but before he
could usher Maralee inside, the front door
of the inn opened and a man stepped into
the foyer. He glanced up the narrow
staircase and Maralee paused. She
recognized the visitor at once.
“Maralee,” Jared called in greeting,
his gentle blue eye brightening with
pleasure at seeing her.
“Jared,” Maralee greeted in return.
“What are you doing here?”
“Interviewing,” he said.
“Interviewing?”
“For the nurse’s position at my
practice.”
“Oh,” she called down to him. “I’d
forgotten about that.”
“Perhaps we should go downstairs so
you don’t have to shout,” Nash murmured
in her ear.
She turned to glance at him. Her
insatiable need for him had vanished, but
she was certain it wouldn’t take much for
it to return.
“It seems that you’ve changed your
mind,” Nash commented, while Jared and
Gordon’s voices echoed up the stairs as
they exchanged greetings. “What is it
about that man that makes you turn cold all
of a sudden?”
“I don’t know,” she said flustered.
“Looking at him is a total turn off for some
reason.”
Nash c
huckled. “For the first time
since knowing you, I’m happy you’re
turned off.”
“Hey, Maralee,” Jared called up to her
again. “Why don’t you come down and
join me for breakfast? This interview
shouldn’t take long. Bring your…er…
friend.”
“Do you mind, Nash?”
Nash shrugged and she smiled at him.
“We’ll have more energy for later,”
she whispered.
“I suppose.” He sighed.
She took his hand and led him
downstairs towards the dining room.
Gordon watched them as they passed
through the foyer with a wary look on his
face. Jared was already seated in the
dining room across from the young lady
who they’d met upstairs. Her back was to
the entrance. Jared smiled at Maralee
when she entered the dining room. She
smiled back and Jared’s gaze moved to
Nash. The young doctor’s uncharacteristic
glare of contempt was unmistakable.
“Who is this?” Jared asked.
“This is…this is…” She couldn’t very
well say that this was Nash, since he knew
that she had a “dog” by the same name.
“I’m her husband,” Nash cut in.
“Husband?” Jared echoed.
Maralee smiled nervously. “Didn’t I
tell you that I was married?”
“No,” Jared said flatly. “I think I
would have remembered that.”
“This is my husband…uh…”
“Nash,” Nash supplied.
“Nash?” Jared echoed, looking at
Maralee, obviously stunned. “Isn’t that
your dog’s name?”
Maralee’s palms were sweating. She
hated to lie. She wasn’t good at it. “Um…
yeah…I named my dog after him.”
Jared gave her an appraising look,
before his trusting nature allowed him to
accept her lies. “I only have a few
questions for Miss Jewel. Would you
mind waiting just a few minutes and we’ll
join you for breakfast?”
“Sure. Is that all right with you,
Nash?” she asked.
He shrugged, looking more out of sorts
than she’d ever seen him.
“Just have a seat at the next table and
we’ll join you in a moment,” Jared told
her in a polite tone. He glared at Nash
when he thought Maralee wasn’t looking.
Nash and Maralee sat down beside
each other at the next table.
“So, Miss Jewel,” Jared was saying to
his prospective employee, “what made
you decide to go into nursing?”
“Well,” she answered, her voice soft
and timid, “I have always had the desire