Total pages in book: 254
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 240032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1200(@200wpm)___ 960(@250wpm)___ 800(@300wpm)
I’d also given him a tremendous amount of crap for not telling me about his Great Wolf relative, to which he’d sputtered and explained that it was something his dad had told him never to mention to anyone. Long lived beings have long memories, and the Great Wolf had done some things that certain beings would never forget. Enemies probably remained enemies forever. Apparently, Sienna knew about his family tree, but I didn’t get the story about how she’d found out. I let it go, figuring that if there was something my dad had asked me to keep a secret, I would do it in a heartbeat. And I knew dang well that Matti had loved his parents as much as I loved mine. Of course he’d do the same.
And when I’d asked Matti if anybody would ever call him by that term, he’d laughed his butt off. His “no” had been half a hoot. I didn’t understand why that had been so funny, but all right.
Who was I to give him too much crap about family secrets?
But he had seemed way too interested to find out Henri had shared that information with me.
Another text came through.
Sienna: But how are YOU?
I missed her, I was still a little lonely, and I was struggling with how fast my boy was sprouting up. But I didn’t tell her that over text. Maybe the next time we talked and I was far away from the ranch.
Me: I’m fine. Just getting used to this new normal. [thumbs-up emoji]
I cringed inside right after sending the text. What were my chances she was going to buy my BS with a thumbs-up emoji? It was like I’d forgotten she’d known me most of my life.
Her reply came through even faster than I’d expected.
Sienna: [flat eyes and flat mouth emoji]
Me: I’M FINE. I promise
It wasn’t a lie. I was healthy, work was fine, Duncan was good. What more could I ask for?
A lick at my ankle had me glancing down my leg at the puppy who was resting his chin on top of my foot, his toy wedged between his paws as he peered at me.
“I’m all right,” I promised. “Just texting Sienna. I miss her and your uncle Matti. That’s all.” Those bright red inquisitive eyes didn’t blink, and I booped the tip of his nose. “I love you, Dunky,” I said. “I’m good.”
“Yes,” he told me. “Love.”
I smiled, trying to push down the little bit of frustration that had caught his attention. He gave me another lick before his head suddenly turned to the left where the wall was. His tail rose straight up in the air a second before there was a knock.
“It’s time,” Henri’s voice carried through the door.
Duncan’s fluffy black tail swayed, making me smile. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Duncan really liked Henri, but it had been weeks since the last time he’d growled at him. Whether my donut had been won over by how often he made the puppies their breakfast, or that one game of tag, I didn’t know, but the Great Wolf had slowly but steadily been winning my boy over.
When we got to see him, at least, which still hadn’t been a whole lot.
It had been a week since Henri and I had visited Spencer, and over that time, we’d had breakfast with him twice and dinner once. Poor Henri had needed to leave early all three times after getting phone calls that had him squeezing his utensils so tight his knuckles had gone white, but it still counted. It was something.
“Okay, coming,” I called out, already rolling off the bed. “Let me put my shoes on, and then I’ll go drop you off,” I told Duncan, moving to the row of shoes lined up next to the door. I put on my hiking boots, fanny pack, and a thin jacket as he jumped down. With a touch to the top of his head, I opened the door to an empty hallway. “Matti said you’re going to have a lot of fun tonight. You get to run around with a few other members of the pack. Howl at the moon; that’ll be great. And don’t worry that yours isn’t very loud because you’re small, so it’s in proportion to your size, buddy. Your howl is my favorite howl I’ve ever heard.”
His tail brushed my calf as we took the stairs side by side.
He’d gained another two pounds and at least an inch in height over the course of the week.
I was okay with it. Just ecstatic.
“Henri will take care of you, and Randall said he would keep an eye on you too when you’re out there. Agnes is probably already waiting, too. I’ll stay outside the whole time until you’re back.”
He nudged my leg when we got to the bottom of the stairs, his “yes” strong.