Page 32 of Valentine's Day Treasure

Everything was quiet and still. They all stared spellbound at the big mound of snow under the affronted tree.

Trevor stopped running, sliding to a halt in the snow. “Mac?” he called, with something sounding suspiciously like worry in his voice.

Mac burst out of the mound, face covered in powdery snow, yelling, “I’ll save you Bruin!”

He dropped to his knees and dug, both arms flying, but then the snowmobile’s engine burst to life and it and Bruin emerged from the snow like a submarine breaching the ocean. Bruin took off across the yard at high speed, then turned and looped a wide circle around Mac. They were both covered head to toe in snow and grinning like lunatics.

“Climb on, Mac, I’m itching to go!” Bruin shouted, still moving.

Mac grabbed Bruin around the shoulders and flung himself into the second seat and they zoomed off into the forest.

Trevor watched until they were out of sight. He turned, shaking his head. “On second thought,” he said, “you three stay just outside the tree line, and we’ll stay just inside. We’ll deal with crossing the highway when we get there.” He patted the bags strapped to Ella’s snowmobile. “All the essentials are here.” Ella smiled at him, and he moved in close to touch her belly, giving her a questioning look. She nodded slightly, and he bent to give her a kiss.

Beckett pointed at the cargo sled. It held an oversized bag labeled, ‘pop-up tent’, plus two duffel bags, and a metal stockpot with the lid duct taped on.

“They forgot the stew.”

The noise of the snowmobile had faded, but now it was back and increasing. Dahlia giggled as Bruin and Mac drove slowly past, sheepish and snow-covered, with Trevor, Crew, Trent, and Beckett glaring at them. Troy was lying on the ground, his fur starkly black against the bright white snow, and his big body shaking as he laughed his ass off. Bruin stopped the snowmobile near the cargo sled, he and Mac hooked it up, then they drove off without saying a word.

“Alright, time to head out,” Trevor said. He took off his boots and socks and put them in a bag strapped to Ella’s snowmobile, then walked barefoot through the snow onto the porch and into his house. Crew and Beckett both took their boots off and put them in the bag, then they went into the house, too.

A short time later, three wolves came out. Trevor was first, a big black wolf with a boomerang shape in white on his left shoulder. He looked almost exactly like Trent and Troy except he had sprays of silver and gray fur around his face and neck. Next was Beckett, who was always interesting to look at, because of his black ‘boots’, but the only one Dahlia really cared about was Crew. He exited last, then pulled the door closed with the wolf-friendly handle, and came down the steps. He was big, silver and black, with amber eyes and a dark starburst pattern on each shoulder. He moved with a simple grace that fascinated Dahlia and she could not look away. He loped right over to her and pressed his nose to her face. She hugged him.

Ready?He asked in her mind.

Yeah. She kissed his furry cheek, then released him. He loped across the yard to the forest and Beckett followed. Cerise started the snowmobile and Ella started hers. The three of them put their helmets on, and then they were on the move, leaving the property and heading for the resort.

17—Serenity Falls Resort

Beckett bounded through the forest, bringing up the rear of the team. Trevor was in front, Trent and Troy were just behind him, while Crew and Beckett lagged a bit behind them. They were on a forest trail, heading due east, within a mile of the resort. The three snowmobiles were moving on the side of the road just outside the forest. They’d met up with Mac and Bruin at the edge of Trevor’s property, and since then, the pair had been behaving.

Beckett was enjoying himself. He didn’t run as a wolf near enough, and every time he caught a glimpse of Cerise driving the snowmobile, he imagined she was having the time of her life, and he liked that. She loved to drive anything with a motor.

The sound of the snowmobile engines changed and Beckett stepped off the path to see what was going on. Bruin and Mac had left the others and cut into the forest, driving straight across Beckett’s path, making him stop short.

“Sorry about that, Boots,” Mac called out as they crossed Beckett’s trail.

They went around some trees, then cut out of the forest, then back in, and it pissed Beckett off. Those two assholes were going to get stuck and have to be dug out.

The two dumbasses went past some evergreen trees and then the engine cut off. Beckett headed that way to see what was up. He made his way around a large evergreen tree, then another, then he could hear them talking from behind a third.

“This is what we’re gonna do,” Mac was saying. “We knock the stew over, spill some of it in the snow, then we tell everyone it was all spilled… and then we can finish it off, just the two of us.”

“Good plan,” Bruin said.

Beckett heard the clang and slosh of a full stockpot being moved around and his irritation spiked.What the fuck was wrong with those two?

He rounded the tree good and pissed, shifting into a man as he went, saying, “That’s a fucking stupid pl—”

He stopped short. Mac and Bruin were in their seats on the snowmobile and the stew was still duct-taped shut and strapped down.

Mac laughed, and Bruin grinned. Mac hit Bruin on the shoulder. “Go, go!”

Bruin started the snowmobile and zoomed out of there, with Mac yelling, “See ya later, No-Boots!”

Beckett shifted back into a wolf, shaking his head. He returned to the team, not saying a word to anyone. He should have known they were baiting him.

Within a few more minutes of trotting, Trevor and the others stopped at the edge of the forest. Beckett caught up with them and saw they had arrived at the resort. Across the road was the turn-off, and the snowmobilers had driven halfway down it, then parked near the resort sign. Beckett was the only one who couldn’t speakruhi, but he knew the plan and it didn’t involve him just yet, so he waited.

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