Eddie’s Prize (33 page)

Faced with a dozen bristling wolves on two feet, plus more on four feet, Eddie had to leave the den. He couldn’t do anything else with the quarantine in effect. At least he had seen Lisa and she looked well. All the way home, he wondered what he had said to make her so angry. She had told him not to come back, but that was ridiculous. He had to go to the den every day on his rounds, anyway. He decided each morning he would head north first and stop at the den to drop off the newssheets on his way to Dane’s place. Then on his way back from Dane’s, he would stop again to see if Lisa would speak to him. He would do that every day until she agreed to see him.

That night, after he had completed his rounds, he went to his parents’ house for supper. His mother sat at the foot of the table, her face showing her exhaustion. Eddie took the chair he had eaten meals in for twenty-six years. It should feel comfortable and familiar, but it didn’t. He missed Lisa.

Bree brought in the meatloaf and potatoes and went back for the beans and gravy. She looked tired too. Eddie stood up to take the gravy boat from her. “Sit down. We can serve ourselves.”

After all the dishes had been passed around, his dad broke tradition by talking during the meal. “Eddie, what news from up north? Anyone sick up that-a-way?”

Eddie swallowed his bite of meatloaf. “No, Dad. Dane says no one around his place is sick, and none of Taye Wolfe’s people is sick either.”

“That’s good. We might brush through this pretty well after all. Only six people altogether got sick so far. Only three dead.”

His mother spoke in a tired, colorless voice. “It’s only been a few days. Too soon to celebrate yet.”

Eddie saw his father’s concern when he looked at his wife’s gray face. “Dar, you need to rest more. I’m getting worried about you.”

“Don’t fuss. I’m fine.”

“You’re not sleeping,” his father argued. “I know ’cause I lay awake beside you.”

“Enough, Ray.” His mother’s tone held a sharp note. “I’m fine.”

Bree’s lips tightened, but she kept her face down as she ate. Eddie took a deep breath and spoke casually. “Mom, I saw Lisa today. She asked after you and Bree, said she hoped you were doing well.”

Now Bree looked up, face shining. “How is she? I sure miss her.”

Not as much as Eddie did. His mom ate mechanically with a frown wrinkling her forehead. “I’m glad to know she’s well. When you see her again, give her my regards.”

They all seemed to think he’d see her again. He would. Eventually, she’d give in and agree to see him. She had to. He didn’t think he could live without her.

When supper was over, he offered to help Bree with the dishes while their father coddled their mother in the living room. He dreaded going back to his lonely house, and he wanted to talk to his sister. She knew Lisa better than anyone. Maybe she could tell him what to do to convince Lisa to come back. Maybe she could tell him why Lisa went so quickly from warm to cold this morning at the den too.

“Well, what did you say to her?” Bree demanded.

Eddie tried to remember exactly what he’d said. “We argued at first. I said something pretty stupid about her pouting because I don’t confide every little thing to her. Then she accused me of pouting because … because I stay out pretty late sometimes.”

Bree paused in washing a plate, her eyes looking sideways at him. “You stay out all night sometimes. And the week before the Gala you were pretty pissed off about something. I could tell because you were never home. Never, Eddie. How do you think Lisa felt about that?”

He opened his mouth, and when nothing came to mind, he closed it and dried the plate Bree handed him.

“Eddie, tell me the truth. Why were you avoiding Lisa?”

The truth. Bree was the only one besides his mother who knew the truth. “She knows there is something wrong with me. She wanted me to tell her what it was.”

Bree waited. “And?”

“And?” he echoed, confused.

“And did you tell her?”

“Of course not!”

The suds squished between Bree’s fingers when she wrung the dishrag out with excessive force. “Why not?”

“Because,” he said stupidly, trying to remember. “Because Mom said not to. Lisa could accidentally let something slip.”

Bree dunked the crusted pan the meatloaf had baked in and attacked it with vigor. “So could I,” she remarked.

“No, you wouldn’t. You’ve known most of your life, and you never have. Besides, you’re my sister.”

“Lisa’s your wife.” The pan thudded to the bottom of the dishwater when Bree let go of it to reach wet hands to his face. “She
was
your wife. I love Mom, and I know she has her reasons to want to keep the secret, but she’s wrong about this. Lisa probably feels shut out.”

Eddie pushed his sister’s wet hands away and wiped his face with the towel. “Never mind that now. After that, we talked some more, and it looked like she was softening, but then she froze up and walked away. She said not to come back.”

Bree rolled her eyes. “Okay, tell me what you said.”

“I said I missed her. I told her how empty our house was without her and how lonely it was to sleep alone.”

Bree considered it while she rinsed the loaf pan and handed it to him to dry. “That doesn’t sound so bad. What were your exact words?”

Eddie tried to remember. “Um … I can’t remember exactly. Something about how lonely it is at home without her.” The comment she’d flipped over her shoulder came back to him. “She told me to let Ruth keep me company and cook my meals.”

Bree shook her head as she handed him the last pan to dry. “Big brother, you need to throw yourself down in front of Lisa and tell her you love her and you can’t live without her. Tell her everything. Get on your knees and beg her to take you back. Above all, tell her where you go when you leave her alone all night. She probably thinks you’re cozying up to Ruth.”

He recoiled. “I would never do that!”

“Well, how would she know that? You practically accused her of cheating on you. Why wouldn’t she think you were cheating on her?”

Eddie took the dishpan from her to dump it outside while his sister wiped down the kitchen counters. Lisa couldn’t think that of him, could she? And he hadn’t thought that of her, not really. It was his stupid beast that made him act like a raving maniac.

His sister took the pan from him and hung it up. She turned back to him and gripped his shoulders in forceful hands. “Mom is wrong in this. Lisa deserves to know. You should tell her,” she said again.

How could he? What would his mother say? Maybe Bree was right, but going against his mother was something he’d never dreamed of doing. The wolves had alphas to run things, and their word was law. The Madisons had Darlene. “Would Lisa want to be married to a man who isn’t really a man?” he murmured.

Bree shrugged. “I don‘t see why not. Right now she’s living with dozens of men who aren’t really men. You’re such an idiot. Tell her the truth.”

Eddie returned to his cold, empty house and pondered Bree’s words. He wanted his wife back. He missed the look of happy pride on her face when he complimented the supper she’d prepared. Every supper she put in front of him had told him she loved him, as much as the words she murmured to him in bed had. His world was crumbling about him. Without her arms to hold it together, it would shatter.

That night he fell into another of those weird dreams where the cat, still dressed like Mr. Gray, came and sat on the edge of the bed.

“So, brother,” he said conversationally, and his voice was less polished than it had been in the previous dream, rougher, with a hint of a rumble in it, as if he were purring underneath. “You’ve decided at last to be a man.”

“I’ve always been a man,” Eddie countered indignantly, struggling up to a sitting position. Talking to the beast lying down put him at a disadvantage.

The cat shook his head. His hair was wild, the rough, tawny curls jumbled as if he hadn’t combed it. In spite of the worn cardigan sweater that aped Mr. Gray’s comfortable, cultured style, he seemed more like what Eddie thought his beast was—wild and untamed.

“There doesn’t have to be an advantage or disadvantage between us,” the cat said. “We’re one person, just different parts of the same person. I meant you’re going to speak to Lisa and tell her the truth about me.”

Eddie hesitated, but wondered why he bothered. The damn cat knew what he thought without him saying it.

“That’s true,” the cat purred. “And if you try, you can know what’s in my mind too. You just have to stop thinking of me as something alien. Hide me from the rest of the world if you want, but don’t hide me from yourself. Or our mate.”

“She might not accept you,” Eddie said.

“If she doesn’t accept me, then she doesn’t accept you. We’re one. You’ve been careful to build a wall between us, but it’s wrong. When you let me out, don’t you love running? You love the speed and the feel of the ground beneath our paws. And the chase! But then you’re ashamed, and when you change back to human, you hate me. Eddie, how can Lisa accept me if you don’t accept me?”

The cat was right. All his life he’d tried to keep the beast stuffed deep inside, yet the freedom in running on four paws was exhilarating. The triumph he felt when he brought down a meal was a thrill. And, yes, he was ashamed when he changed back.

“I don’t know how to be different,” Eddie confessed.

“Your mother taught you to hate me.” The cat sighed. “That was wrong of her.”

“It’s hard to disobey her.” Eddie shivered with dread of her anger.

The cat laid a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “I know. She is your Alpha, like Taye Wolfe is for his Pack. You have to decide which is more important, your mother or your mate.”

Eddie woke with a start. The bedroom was cold. No young man in an old cardigan sat on the bed. Greatly daring, he tried to search inside himself. Could he mentally touch the cat?

“I’ll tell Lisa tomorrow,” he said out loud, and also inwardly. “Let’s try to work together to bring her back to us.”

Alone, between cold sheets on the bed he’d made love to his wife in, he gave in to tears. He needed Lisa. He needed her love even more than he needed his mother’s approval.

Since she was crocheting with single-minded focus, Lisa was making great progress on her afghan. By supper time it was big enough to cover her lap. With every loop she hooked, she reminded herself Eddie was in the past. It was over. Tears occasionally plopped onto the afghan, but Lisa tried to not worry about them. Tears were normal while a girl was recovering from a broken heart.

Of course, the tears alarmed the wolves. Snake very earnestly offered to bite anyone she’d like. Jay squirmed helplessly and put more food on her plate at supper. Jelly reminded her plaintively she’d said she wasn’t crying anymore. After supper, Lobo tried to get his dog to play fetch with her. The Beagle was having none of it, which made her laugh. It was plain that everyone was doing their best to cheer her up, so she tried to smile and act happy.

It was The Grandmother who came up with the best way to cheer her up. She told the men it was girls’ night and shepherded all the women into the room she shared with Rose, where she brought out some bottles of home-brewed whiskey. Carla and Tami sat on The Grandmother’s bed, while the elderly lady took a comfortable chair. Lisa sat cross-legged on Rose’s bed with a full glass in her hand. Rose perched beside her with a glass that had only an inch of liquor in it. The teenager sipped cautiously and infrequently.

Lisa frowned. “Are you old enough to drink?”

“I’m sixteen. That’s old enough here.” She shrugged. “I don’t really like it, but it’s nice to be included.”

“Good.” Lisa lowered the glass she had raised to her lips without drinking. “I mean it’s good you don’t like it. My mom was an alcoholic. Growing up with her was no picnic. Don’t do that to your kids.”

Rose took a tiny sip and snorted. “What kids? First I’d have to have a husband, and that’s not likely.”

Lisa was about to laugh at her when she remembered Rose had been claimed as mate by one of the wolves, Sky. After they’d had a fight, the young man had left to work in Omaha. “You’re only sixteen. A lot can change in a few years.”

Rose choked on a deeper sip. “I feel a lot older than sixteen. Everybody is older than me, even my new BFF, Ellie. She’s getting married in a few months.”

“Married.” Lisa drained her glass. “Ellie. I saw her at the Gala. I hope her husband will make her happy. She’s cute and sweet.”

Carla held out her left hand to show off a wedding ring. “She is sweet. This ring belonged to her grandmother. Taye’s grandmother too. She gave it to us at Christmas.”

Lisa held out her glass for a refill. “Eddie gave me a horse for Christmas. His name is Alexander. I named him after the little boy on the plane. Do you remember him? About four years old, with red hair?”

In the lamplight, Carla was a sad Madonna with her long, brown hair framing her still face. “When the plane finally stopped moving, his mom was dead, so you picked him up and got him out. He died. I remember.”

Lisa remembered how terrified she had been while the plane had dropped through the air. Through the screams and prayers and curses, little Alexander’s thin wail could barely be heard. After the horrendous roar and metallic screeching of the crash had died, there had been momentary silence followed by more screams and groans.

What a horrible memory. Lisa swallowed a gulp of the fiery liquor. “I was there when Eddie delivered the colt, and the owner asked me to name him, so I called him Alexander. I wonder what Eddie will do with him now?”

Tami, sitting on the end of The Grandmother’s bed, put her feet on the floor and leaned forward. “If you want him, I bet Taye and Snake could get him for you.”

Lisa tucked her glass between her legs and spread her hands. “What would I do with a baby horse? I don’t know anything about them.”

The Grandmother smiled an evil, almost toothless grin. “I’m sure your next husband will be glad to train him for you.”

Lisa stared. “Next husband? I don’t want another husband!”

“Tough,” said the old lady. “A woman of fertile age won’t be single long. You can do better than Eddie.”