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“It’s over this way I think.” Brandy led Parker through the woods on the sanctuary. They’d been in her driveway after The Blind Date from Hell when a pained howl echoed in the darkness. She’d immediately grabbed the flashlight and medical kit she kept by the door of her cabin, and Parker hadn’t hesitated to follow her.
“That howl didn’t sound like one of our furry friends.” Parker held a tranquilizer gun in his hands, ready to point it in any direction Brandy needed him to.
She smiled over Parker having her back just as he had tonight. Chella’s cousin, Marshall, was… was… what was he? Shit, she didn’t have the right words to describe him. At 5’6”, he was shorter than she was and skinny as a rail. With light brown hair and large brown eyes magnified a little by thick glasses, he reminded Brandy of a deer. Tentative, skittish, apt to bound accidentally in front of a logging truck. She’d taken one look at Marshall then slid her gaze to Parker, an apology already radiating from his facial expression. She then narrowed her eyes at Chella who was draped alongside Parker with a smug grin on her bright red lips.
What the hell was she hoping to accomplish by setting Brandy up with Marshall? No matter how nice a guy Chella’s cousin may have been, Brandy lived a rugged life intricately tied to the woods and the wolves. She spent most of her time working outside no matter the weather and her leisure activities included mountain and rock climbing, skiing, snowboarding, ATVing, snowmobiling… all things Marshall did not look interested in at all. Hell, a case of chapped lips would most likely crush him.
Give him a try.
She’d reminded herself of what Meredith was always telling her. “Love comes in all sorts of packages, Brandy. You’ve got to be willing to peel off the layers of wrapping paper and be open to the surprise waiting inside.”
Brandy’s parents had met in an airport in Colorado when their flights were cancelled and they were both waiting around at the mercy of the airlines and the weather. Fletcher Wendon was in no way the man Meredith had expected to steal her heart. He was a redhead. She never liked redheads. He had a beard. She hated beards. He had the gunk of a mechanic caked under his fingernails. She despised gunk and didn’t know shit about cars.
All that slipped by the wayside as they shared a meal at a tiny diner near the airport. Fletcher had charmed Meredith, obliterating her predetermined qualifications for a potential spouse. The two were married about six months after their initial encounter and had enjoyed their marriage on a daily basis right up until Fletcher passed away from a heart attack a few years ago. Brandy could only hope to find a love like her parents had shared.
But she definitely wasnotfinding that love with Marshall.
He’d asked a hundred questions about food on the menu where they’d dined, causing the waiter to send her sympathetic glances. He’d spilled his wine in her lap then made no move to help clean it. His laugh was akin to the squawking of an agitated crow. Actually, no. That wasn’t fair to crows. He also didn’t want to order dessert after dinner. Now, as eager as Brandy was to end the date, she still had dessert in mind. What kind of guy didn’t want dessert? No kind of guy for her.
The killing blow, however, was when Parker and Brandy had a conversation about the wolves at the sanctuary and Marshall said, “Wolves are portrayed as big and bad in literature for a reason.”
Brandy had blinked at him for a solid ten-count before signaling to the waiter to bring their check. She’d paid for her dinner after Marshall hadn’t offered and driven home, equal parts relieved the date was done and depressed the evening hadn’t turned up her soul mate.
Soul mate.What a dumb notion.
Parker had apparently dropped Chella and Marshall off at Chella’s house then zipped to Brandy’s place to check on her. Too bad she and Parker didn’t have the necessary chemistry. He could be such a knight in shining armor sometimes.
Such a knight that he was willing to trudge through the dark woods to investigate an unfamiliar howl.
“Listen, B,” Parker said as they climbed up a small hill. “I’m sorry I forced you into the Marshall situation.”
She bumped shoulders with him. “No problem, buddy.”
“Just don’t do it ever again?”
“Never ever.”
“Got it.” He puffed out a breath. “I figured he’d be like Chella.”
Even more reason to never ever.
“I think I see something over here.” She led Parker to the fence that ran along the perimeter of the sanctuary. Sure enough, when she swung the flashlight beam from the left to the right, a pair of eyes reflected back to them.
“Hold the flashlight steady and I’ll hop the fence,” Parker said, looping the strap on the tranq gun over his shoulder.
“Are you giving me the ‘I’ll handle this, little lady’ speech?” She directed the flashlight beam onto Parker’s face.
He scrunched up his cheeks, his eyes becoming mere slits as his hands blocked the harsh light. “I’m guessing you don’t want to hear that speech.”
“Good guess, genius.” She pushed the flashlight and medical kit into his hands and in a move Parker didn’t have time to stop, she’d scaled the chain-link fence, landing softly on the other side. “Give me that stuff and come over.” She squeezed her hand through the links and took the flashlight then reached for the gun and medical kit over the top of the fence.
A few seconds later, Parker stood beside her and took the tranq gun back. “I think Marshall would have loved this portion of the evening.”
“Yeah, if by ‘loved’ you mean hated.” Brandy shined the light in the direction where she’d seen the eyes and once again caught them in the beam. She moved the flashlight from side to side. “Wow. This guy is big.”
“And very much caught in a trap.” Parker nudged Brandy’s hand down so the light shined on the wolf’s hindquarters.
