“Sunny and warm, perfect for us to go swimming,” David said. “We will take the canoe out, paddle to the island. We can shift and have a nice run through the woods.”
“Hmm, it sounds delightful. And I’d make brownies for dessert.”
“Yes, I love your brownies and the way you always made extras for me.”
“You were always so grateful for them.”
“And for you for freeing Owen and me and for coming with us.”
“I miss that. I wish I was with you now.”
“I don’t miss the danger, but I sure miss you.”
“Yeah. Hopefully, we can do it this time without the chase scenes and all. Okay, I need to speak with you about something else. I know we talked about not getting anyone else involved—especially from my pack. But my childhood friend has offered to help me with Grandmother when she passes. I didn’t talk to her about it, I swear. She just knows me too well.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment, and Elizabeth continued. “It might give me a chance to slip away. It might give me a little bit of a head start.”
“Would she say anything to anyone about it?”
“No.”
“But they would learn soon enough that she had helped you with your grandmother.”
“Yeah. They would.”
“Can you get someone else to do it? Someone you trust? Someone human, instead of a pack member?”
“It would be hard to explain why I had to ask someone else to do it. And even if I said something about having an emergency I had to attend to, I wouldn’t want to leave Grandmother’s ashes to a total stranger to take care of.”
“I understand.”
“You know they’re going to be watching me all the time anyway. As soon as I start leaving the house for more than a trip to the grocery store, they’re going to know something’s up.” Then Elizabeth had another idea. “Wait, maybe we’ve been thinking about this all wrong. What if we let it be known that you have a mate already and there’s no way you’re ever coming for me, or that I’m ever going to join you either?”
A long silence followed her suggestion. His face went still, but his eyes spoke volumes. Finally, he said, “It’s a good idea. That could be our answer. I’ll start working on it.”
She was so relieved they might have finally figured out a way for her to leave without anyone being the wiser. “I’ll call Sheri with a sob story, make it sound as realistic as I can.”
“But we keep on with our weekly chats.” He sounded like he couldn’t do without them, just as much as she couldn’t.
“Oh, absolutely. I’ll let my grandmother know what’s going on.” This would work. It had to. “I can’t wait to be with you, David.”
“I can’t wait to be with you either. I love you.”
“I love you too.” They ended the call, but Elizabeth didn’t feel the same sense of letdown she usually did when they hung up. They had a plan! She checked David’s Facebook page and saw right away that he had posted a picture of a woman who didn’t look anything like Elizabeth. Fast worker! She hoped that would be the first step in getting everyone in her pack to believe he had wanted someone new in his life. Someone not Elizabeth.
Another update popped up. “Candy” was listed as his wife. Candy?
Half an hour later, she checked his Facebook page again and found all kinds of pictures featuring David and the blond—Candy—hugging and being together at the lake, swimming, eating a meal together. It wasn’t real. But it would be someday, with her.
Then she smiled, realizing who the woman was. She’d only seen her once; she’d dropped by while David was sitting on his deck at the lake doing a Skype session with Elizabeth, and the woman had to come over to say hi. She was Owen’s mate, Candice-now-Candy, a romance author.
David must have contacted her the moment they hung up to come and help him with the deception. Elizabeth was so thankful for David’s pack; she couldn’t wait to be part of it. She loved all of them. She just wished her grandmother had wanted to go with her and be with them. She would have loved them too.
Speaking of, she heard a bell ring, and she went to see what her grandma needed and to tell her the good news.
“My hot tea?” Grandma asked. “You finished your talk with David, I hear.” She still had the best hearing.
“Oh right.” Elizabeth turned on her heel and headed to the kitchen. She heated the water in the teapot, then brought in a cup of hot Earl Grey, her aunt’s favorite. “Okay, I have to tell you the great news. David found a mate.”
Grandma looked puzzled, but she was a crafty old wolf, and it didn’t take her long to smile. “Aww, I’m so angry with him.”
“Yeah, so am I.” Elizabeth left again, then returned with her laptop. She popped open the lid and showed her the pictures of David’s mate.
Her grandmother frowned. “Photoshopped?”
“No. That’s Owen Nottingham’s mate, Candice, wearing a wig. She’s the romance writer. She makes a great actress, doesn’t she?”
“I’ll say. I would have believed it.”
“In his posts, David doesn’t call her by her real name, though, just Candy, so no one will really know who she is. And the wig looks real. I saw her once on a Skype call, and she doesn’t look at all the same.”
“Does she have her photo anywhere else? A Facebook page that shows her and her real mate or something?”
Elizabeth checked Candice’s account. “She shows Owen is her mate, but see? She doesn’t look anything like the pictures David uploaded.”
“You’re right. Between the makeup and hair, she really doesn’t. And she doesn’t look anything like you either.”
“Exactly, like he was going for someone completely different.”
“When are you going to tell Sheri?”
“After I cry a bit.”
Her grandmother laughed. “Make me some roast-beef hash from last night’s leftovers, and then you can cry over cutting up the onions.”
Elizabeth laughed too. “It’s a deal.” She went into the kitchen and started making the hash. While it was cooking, she FaceTimed Sheri, tears in her eyes from all the onion chopping. “David found a mate.”
“Oh, no, Elizabeth, I’m so sorry. I’ll be right over.”
Elizabeth hated lying to her best friend. “No, it’s”—sniffle, sniffle—“time for Grandma and me to eat dinner. She’s upset about it too. I just had to tell you.”