A Highland Wolf Christmas by Terry Spear
“And do you?” Guthrie asked.
She had the feeling he wasn’t asking just to teach his students something, or because he was the financial manager of the pack. This was more personal.
“If you consider making ninety-five a good income for the year, aye.”
“Ninety-five pounds?” Logan asked, looking as though she was crazy.
“Thousand. Ninety-five thousand pounds. Which, for anyone who knows anything about U.S. dollars, is close to one hundred and fifty thousand.”
That got everyone’s attention, even Guthrie’s. He gave her a small smile.
She gave them all kinds of suggestions for how they could start their own businesses, save money, and even invest it. Then she had an idea. But she couldn’t propose it to Guthrie since he wasn’t in charge of the pack.
“That’s all I have. Any questions?” she asked.
Guthrie looked like he was dying to question her about something, but the kids didn’t have anything else to ask. “Thanks to everyone for listening to me.”
She moved to the back of the class and saw by the clock that the class was about over. She’d fully intended to pay attention to Guthrie while he taught his class and not take it over herself.
Guthrie said to his students, “You have homework on page 131, the first thirty problems.”
She was glad she was no longer learning this stuff. Her father had been a real taskmaster.
Groans followed, and then Guthrie dismissed the class.
Before she could leave, Guthrie said, “You were smiling so brightly that I wondered what you were thinking of.”
“That you give great math classes.” She smiled when she said it. “See you in a few minutes for Christmas shopping.”
She hurried out of the room, but before she went to get her purse and jacket, she dropped by Ian’s office. She had to know something about Guthrie. “Come on in,” Ian said. “Shut the door if you’d like.”
She shut the door and took a seat in front of Ian’s desk. “If it’s not too personal, I was curious as to why Guthrie seems to always be obsessed with money. Not that we shouldn’t keep costs down. But he appears overly concerned about it.”
She thought that the way she earned her money might be a sticking point with Guthrie. If so, there was no sense in even considering trying to make something of a more…permanent type of relationship with him. It would always be a sticking point between them.
Ian leaned back and said, “You know Elaine’s uncles were…privateers in the eighteenth century, aye?”
“Right. Or pirates, depending who was on the business end of their swords,” Calla said.
“Aye. How well I know that. But since Elaine joined us, we refer to them only as privateers. One year, her uncles stole our ship and merchandise. We had to make do with very little food that winter. All of us were concerned, but Guthrie took the whole business more to heart than most and ensured that all food was rationed out so that no one starved that winter. You understand we were only sixteen at the time.
“Since then, he has taken over the finances and done a fine job of it. He’s always been very conscientious about costs and expenditures. A short while ago, we had a big mess with stolen investments. He’s always been one to forgo anything but necessities when disaster strikes. And he’s good at coming up with ways to bring money into the clan to help us make do.”
“And now?”
“After securing our stolen funds, we’re doing well or we couldn’t have hired you to help in preparing a grand celebration for Christmas Eve, which as you know, isn’t as big a deal for the Scots as it is for the Americans. So this is important to me—for Julia’s sake, and the others who are of Scottish heritage but have lived for so many years in America.”
Calla sighed. “I wish Guthrie would enjoy some of the festivities. He’s much too serious.” Except for last night. She was still surprised at herself—and him—for taking it that far. She’d never done that before with any man she was only just getting to know.
Ian gave her a small smile. “I’m sure he’s enjoying himself even if he isn’t letting on.”
“How would you know that?” She was hoping Ian hadn’t realized… Oh, brother, Julia had probably told him what she and Guthrie were up to in the garden room—and it hadn’t all been just talking about Baird.
“He’s asked to be put on permanent detail to watch over you.”
She closed her gaping mouth.
“I can’t imagine any other reason he wishes to, unless he wants to enjoy himself for a change.”
She…couldn’t believe it. “Okay. Um, well, you know I have that masquerade ball to go to and I…” She wanted Guthrie to go with her—not as a bodyguard, but as a date. She had intended to ask Guthrie, since he seemed more cheerful this morning. But what if Ian had already put him in charge of her bodyguard detail?
“Aye,” Ian said, his dark eyes watching her. “Is there a problem?”
“I was supposed to go with Baird. We would have been mated wolves by then.”
“I see.”
She wasn’t sure Ian did.
“We’ll have extra guards watching out for you in case he shows up.”
“Okay, but…”
Ian was frowning, probably figuring something was really wrong with the situation. She let out her breath. “Well, it’s just that I needed an escort.”
“All right. Cearnach, Duncan, and Oran will go as your bodyguard detail.”
“And…Guthrie?”
“He’ll be free to be your escort.” Ian smiled at her.
She rose from the chair. “Thanks so much, Ian. I’ll…give him the good news a little later.”
“Aye, lass. I’m sure he will be delighted.”
“Only if he dances,” she said, then smiled again and said her good-byes. She was only taking a wolf who would dance with her, so she really, really hoped Guthrie loved to dance.
Chapter 11
Guthrie was still smiling about Calla’s comment that he gave a great math class, not quite sure how to take her. He was feeling much better since he’d had the talk with Julia last night. He’d stubbornly resisted the notion that she had been right about his actions since Tenell had gone. But after giving it a lot of thought that evening, he had to admit Julia had been correct—about a lot of things.
He’d caught Julia’s eye this morning, and she’d smiled at him as if she could tell he’d changed. Hell, he hadn’t thought he was that transparent. Good thing he didn’t play card games.
Just coming to grips with his feelings about breaking up with Tenell had made him feel so much more lighthearted, and he really was ready to move on. At least he thought he was. The talk had made him aware of some rebound relationship pitfalls to avoid, like comparing Calla to Tenell or to the Irish lass before that. The key to the situation was determining whether one of them wasn’t ready for a real commitment to a relationship. Not in a mating, as it was for their kind, but in wanting to see just each other, forget their pasts, and move forward. Start anew. Fresh.
He could do that. Could Calla?
Calla had sweetness and spiciness, a sense of humor, and intelligence that he liked. In the future, they might even have something. If, in the meantime, he could keep his hands off her. If he couldn’t, he knew he’d just want more. She was too appealing for his own good.
No matter how much Guthrie told himself he needed to take it easy with Calla, every time he saw her, his damn heart started beating faster, and his pheromones kicked in. He immediately took note of what she was wearing and tried to capture her scent.
If anyone had asked him what anyone else was wearing, he’d have been hard pressed to answer. But Calla? A pale blue sweater that set off her strawberry blond curls and a pair of dark blue pants and snow boots. Even so, he envisioned her still wearing the white toga…and after, when she wasn’t wearing it.
She might need more time to come to grips with her relationship with Baird. Or even to see if she was interested in more
Guthrie had even made the effort to find seating away from Calla this morning at breakfast. But as soon as he had taken the seat next to Duncan, Heather vacated the seat on the other side of him and Calla took her place. It had to be a conspiracy to test his resolve.
If he didn’t know better, he’d think the lass was attempting to court him. When he was trying to maintain some distance.
***
Guthrie drove Calla, Julie, Elaine, Heather, Shelley, his Aunt Agnes, and his mother into the town of Druie in their minibus that could seat as many as fifteen pack members, and they all chatted away about the places where they wanted to go. All but Calla. She was as quiet as she’d been at breakfast, but she caught his eye in the rearview mirror and gave him another of her elusive smiles.
Hell, if she kept it up, they were going back to the garden room or, better yet, her guest room or his bedchamber for a repeat of last night’s extracurricular activities.
He parked a way out so they could stroll along the sidewalks and search for the presents they wanted to pick up for Christmas. He stuck close to the group while four other pack members kept eyes on them from strategic points as the group moved to see the sights. He half listened to their conversation while keeping an eye out for Baird or any of his kin.
He and the ladies paused to watch a heavily tattooed man with a shaved head as he demonstrated swallowing a sword. Despite the chilly winter breeze, the sword-swallower was dressed in a kilt and no shirt.
Guthrie observed the feat, thinking the man had to be damn cold but could not be a wolf—no wolf would risk being found in wolf form with tattoos and raising dangerous speculation. In any event, Guthrie thought the man should have had more respect for both his sword and where he placed it.
His mother said, “If anyone in our family did that, Ian would make him leave the pack.”
Agreeing, Guthrie smiled at her. The ladies went into shops of all sorts while Ethan caught his eye every so often and gave him a nod from across the street. A man dressed in a ten-foot-tall reindeer costume walked on stilts in the crowded street as shoppers huddled together, talking or sauntering into the next store, several carrying packages.
Six reindeer pulled a sled carrying the jolly old elf himself to his Christmas throne where some of his helpers waited for him. Women and kids were already queued up to see him, including some of the MacNeill wolf pack’s younger children waiting with their mothers to see Santa and receive a small toy from him.
When the ladies came out of another shop, Calla got a call. “This is Calla Stewart’s Party and Wedding Planning Service, Calla speaking. How may I help you?”
She got the calls all the time from prospective clients, but as soon as her forehead wrinkled, Guthrie drew closer to see what the matter was.
The other ladies waited with her, but she waved them on and they entered the next shop. Calla stopped walking and Guthrie stayed with her. He reminded himself it could be nothing, like a bride changing the colors of her flowers again.
Until Calla said in an annoyed way to the caller, “Baird.”
***
Calla often received calls from unknown numbers that led to party dates, so she hadn’t hesitated to answer the call. But when she heard Baird’s voice on the other end of the line, her heart beat faster. He’d never tried using an unknown number before. Now every time she got a call like that, she’d suspect it was him and wouldn’t want to answer it. Damn him.
“Calla, don’t hang up on me,” Baird said, his voice gruff, not conciliatory. She wasn’t sure if it was because he had to get the words out before she did hang up on him, or if he was still angry with her for not getting back together with him.
“Hear me out. I’ve only been trying to see you because the”—Baird paused as if he was biting back a curse word—“MacNeills won’t let me speak with you. I just want to talk and clear the air between us. I’m sorry about what happened to Cearnach and Elaine. I really believed, and still do, that Cearnach was trying to break us up. I thought he had the hots for you. So I was wrong about that. I realized that as soon as he mated with Elaine. But he was still trying to break us up. You’ve got to see where I’m coming from.”
“Baird…” Elaine noticed Guthrie moving closer to her and looking like he was ready to give Baird a piece of his mind—or more, if he could reach through the phone and connect physically. “I already said I wanted to end this business between us amicably. We’re not getting back together. Cearnach’s been my friend for longer than I’ve known you.
“Despite his concern that you weren’t right for me, he came to the wedding to congratulate me on the marriage, and he behaved himself. I told you I had invited him. You and your brothers and cousins had to retaliate by destroying his vehicle, stealing Elaine’s rental car, and leaving them to fend for themselves as wolves in the light of day as they made their way back to the castle. Both Cearnach and Elaine could have been injured or killed. So no, we can’t work things out between us. You’d never let me have any friends who weren’t of your choosing.”
“Calla…”
“Nay, Baird. Find someone else. It’s over between us. Just…let it go and quit following me everywhere.”
“They won’t always be watching you,” he warned and ended the call.
Her skin crawling with unease, Calla glanced around at the crowded street and sidewalks, looking for any sign of Baird, phone to her ear as if he was still there. She knew the MacNeills would not like what Baird had said to her.
She finally slipped her phone into her pocket, forced a smile at Guthrie, and said, “Got to catch up to the other ladies.” Before Guthrie could question her about Baird, she quickly stepped into the shop to join Julia.
“Another engagement or one that you’re already handling?” Julia asked, but then she frowned at Calla. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Calla said.
“Don’t tell me that. Your face has lost most of its color and you’re upset. Who called?”
Calla should have figured she couldn’t get anything past another wolf. “Baird. I’m so sick of this, Julia. But I have no idea how to get him to stop bothering me.”
“Did he threaten you?”
“He said that I wouldn’t have the MacNeills to watch over me always. Just an idle threat. I mean, what can he do about anything? He can’t force me to marry him.”
No longer in the mood for shopping, Calla hated that Baird did have the power to upset her like that. She really didn’t think he would do anything more than keep trying to make up to her once she left Argent Castle. But still, she’d been having fun, and now her thoughts were centered on him. And she hated it.
Julia patted her arm. “What do you think about this color for Ian?”
She loved how Julia knew she was distressed and tried to get her mind off Baird. “The blue sweater would be perfect for him.”
Despite the distraction, Calla kept trying unsuccessfully to think of a way to resolve this issue with Baird. As she and the other ladies headed outside, Guthrie’s eyes were focused on her. He looked so concerned for her and she so appreciated him.
No matter how much she told herself that she had to wait to court someone again, damn it all, she didn’t want to wait! So what if Guthrie and she weren’t meant for each other? Life meant taking chances. And if he was still hung up a little on an old girlfriend? She could take his mind right off her and she would, she thought.
She walked over to him. He was looking sternly at her, like he expected her to tell him what Baird had said. She took Guthrie’s arm and wrapped it around her waist, looking up at him and raising her brows. Did he want to do this, or not?
He was frowning, but he tightened his hold on her, so she assumed he did want the closeness. “Life’s too short,” she said and smiled up at Guthrie.
She was going to enjoy her outing with t
They weren’t. They were all smiling at her and Guthrie.
“What?” she asked as innocently as she could. “Are you finished shopping?”
There was a collective shake of heads and the ladies continued smiling as they turned and considered the next shop they planned to go to.
Guthrie leaned down a little and said with a rough and interested voice for Calla’s ears only, “Does this mean what I think it does?”
She smiled wickedly up at him. “That…we’re courting? Aye.”
He gave her the most devilish look back, and she thought it meant that he was seriously considering returning to the garden room tonight. But they needed to start slow, she thought, to ensure they were really ready for this dating business. Nice and slow and easy.
She strolled along with him, trying to window-shop and enjoy all the Christmas decorations. While before she had wanted to listen to the ladies’ conversation, all she was truly aware of now was Guthrie’s arm wrapped around her, his warm body heating hers in the cold winter breeze, and how much she loved being close to him like this.
She noticed that Guthrie was still watching people, looking for any sign of trouble and playing his bodyguard role even though the other men were also, yet he seemed relaxed with her, his hand firmly on her waist just beneath her jacket. As much as a wolf as he was, she shouldn’t have been surprised.
“Was your hand cold?” she asked him.
He grinned down at her. “Yeah, but you’re heating it right up.”
She smiled. The ladies motioned to the Wee Highland Tearoom for lunch. Guthrie began to pull away as if he was going to let the ladies have their luncheon together without joining them, but Calla wasn’t having any of it. If they were going to court, this was their first unofficial date. She took his hand and led him inside the dining facility, with its antique furniture and porcelain teacups and teapots of every kind either on display or in use. The baked goods and sweet treats scented the air with strawberries, toffee, and lemon, making Calla’s mouth water and her stomach grumble.