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“That’s true.” Annie stood from behind the computer, and Jacques padded out from under the desk, lifted his tiny rear into a downward dog stretch and yawned. “We’ve been booked solid for at least the past month with no end in sight. It’s not leaving us room for emergencies.”
“I know. That concerns me, and I think we’ll need to figure out what times we can block out to allow for that. We’ll discuss it in the morning, though. I’m beat. Do you want to come over for dinner tonight? Bennett said he was smoking a pork butt for sandwiches, so I know there’ll be plenty.” No matter how much her workday had taken out of her, Stephanie was always excited to get home. Bennett was proving to be more of a domesticated wolf than she’d ever imagined, working hard on his cooking skills, and his delicious meals gave her that much more to look forward to.
“No, thanks. I’m actually having dinner with Dad tonight.” As Annie reached up to get her jacket off the hook, she looked back at Stephanie and wiggled her shoulders. “I get to meet his new boyfriend.”
“Well, that’s exciting! How long have they been dating?” Stephanie clipped leashes to each of the dogs.
Annie turned off the lights in the lobby. “I’m not sure. A month? Maybe more? Dad’s been pretty secretive about the whole thing because he didn’t want to introduce me to someone until he knew there was a chance it was going somewhere. I told him I’m not a little kid and don’t mind, but it’s a matter of principle for him. Anyway, he’s really excited about it. It’s adorable.”
“Good for him.” Stephanie smiled as she, Annie, and the dogs headed out the back door to their vehicles. The dogs loaded up quickly in Stephanie’s truck, knowing the routine. “Have fun with your dad tonight.”
“I will. Tell Bennett I said hi.” Annie hopped in her car and fired up the engine.
Stephanie watched her drive away before she pulled out of her spot. Her little girl had really grown up. She could see it now more than ever. Was her wolf giving her a new glow of life? Stephanie thought she saw it in herself when she looked in the mirror, knowing her beast was thriving inside her.
Rambo came flying out to the garage as soon as she pulled up, jumping and yapping as he greeted her and his new packmates. He scampered back and forth between her truck and the door to the kitchen, so excited he could barely handle himself.
Stephanie could feel his mind without even trying these days, and his elation filled her own body with joy. “Hi, buddy. I’m happy to see you, too.” She might understand much of what was going on in their brains, but she couldn’t help her old habit of talking to them out loud. From what she could tell, they liked it.
Bennett was standing in the kitchen, shredding a huge pork butt with a pair of plastic claws. He leaned over as she came in, keeping his hands over the cutting board as he kissed her. “Good day?”
“Even better now. It smells absolutely heavenly in here. These guys are enjoying it, too.” Sherlock, Penelope, and Jacques all had their noses in the air. Their natural desire for meat was definitely at the forefront of their minds. “Looks like we’ll have plenty for a few days.”
“It’s a good thing, too, because I’ll probably be out all evening tomorrow.” Bennett nodded toward the thick file folder on the kitchen table.
“More surveillance work?” Stephanie washed her hands and found the whole wheat buns in the bread basket. She popped a few of them under the broiler to toast.
“Yeah. I was going to ask if you could take Rambo to work with you. He was always used to being here alone when it was just him and me, but now I feel bad if he’s waiting here for one of us to return.”
“I was actually planning to ask you about that.” The dogs were exchanging the various smells they’d picked up during the day. The younger three had all sorts of information about people and animals who’d come into the clinic. Rambo really only had cooking smells or a faint whiff of a rabbit, but he was just as enthused about them. “It might be nice for him to get out a bit.”
Bennett tossed the shredded meat with a bit of his homemade sauce in a big bowl. They piled their sandwiches high, topped them with coleslaw, and then added steamed vegetables on the side before they carried their plates to the table.
“How does your new line of work feel so far?” Stephanie asked, poking a finger at the file folder. Her curiosity made her want to look inside, but this was Bennett’s business. She wouldn’t interfere.
He chewed thoughtfully. “You know, it’s a lot better than I thought it’d be. I was worried I’d only be taking photos of people’s spouses cheating on them, but it hasn’t really been like that at all. I helped a woman track down her birth parents so she could finally meet them. I’ve also had a few attorneys contact me about gathering evidence for court cases. Not as heartwarming, but easy enough. Oh, and I’ve got a guy who wants me to help him with his family tree.”
Stephanie nearly choked on her pulled pork. “Seriously? That’s a surprise.”
“It was to me, too, but then I realized how much sense it made. I’m used to sifting through facts, finding the truth, and checking public records. Who better than a former detective to help someone sort out who’s who in their ancestry?” Bennett polished off his sandwich.
“I’m glad you’ve found something that’s working out so well for you.” Though Stephanie hadn’t been thrilled with the idea of what he did for a living when they’d finally found each other again, she’d never try to talk him out of it. Bennett, however, had wanted to make a change that would be better for their future and keep them safer. He’d even taken down a few of the security devices around his place, but he’d left most of them around for good measure.
“I have, but my favorite part is when I’m off work.” After rinsing his plate, he came around behind her chair and took her empty one. “I thought I’d see if you wanted to go for a run tonight.”
She grinned up at him. “You read my mind. I thought I was the one who was supposed to do that.”
“It’s only fair that I get a chance every once in a while.”
They stepped out the back door with the dogs right on their heels. Stephanie had already had a bit of a lesson in how to do this before Bennett had marked her, but it was nothing compared to the actual experience. She’d been pleased to find that after a few iterations, she had it down. She steadied her breath and called up her inner wolf. It was right there below the surface, just as it always was, waiting and ready. With an exhale, she let it out. Her fingers shortened into paws with thick nails extending from the ends. Her hearing and sense of smell improved dramatically as her skull reconfigured to allow for this form. The deep stretch of her spine had hurt the first few times, but now it was better than a good massage.
Where do you want to go tonight? Bennett’s voice was in her mind as he appeared at her side, his massive gray body just as appealing as his human one. I cleared out some old tripwires on a trail to the west that you haven’t had a chance to see yet.
Sounds good to me. Hang on. As Stephanie and Bennett had started loping across the backyard, Sherlock was heading south. His nose was to the ground, his mind thrilled with the possibility of what he might find.
Though they didn’t speak the same language and she couldn’t truly communicate with them any better than she could with her patients at the clinic, Stephanie had learned these dogs well enough that she could interpret their thoughts into close approximations of what their dialog would be if they were capable of the English language.
There’s something out there. Sherlock’s nose covered swaths of ground as he slowly moved forward, absorbing all the information his sharp nose could pick up. It could be that rabbit that got away from us last night.
