Page 42 of A Little Red
“Mm-hmm,” said Diana. “You may find that it matters to the wolves.”
“I think his mom hates me,” said Scarlet, suddenly feeling depressed. “She said she didn’t want me around Liam.”
“Mmm,” said Diana.
“He was going to bring me home rabbits,” said Scarlet sadly. “And we were going to watch the ball drop from Maxim’s on New Year’s.”
“Well, I’m sure you can still do that,” said Diana. “Now hush while I concentrate.”
Diana lit a sage bundle and the smoke wavered up from the dry sticks and curled around Liam, clinging to the fur, particularly everywhere that Scarlet had rubbed the oil. She rubbed on more oil and tried not to worry that her Grandmother couldn’t fix him. She really didn’t want to move to Canada.
When Liam was wreathed in smoke, Diana gestured for Scarlet to step out of the ring of salt. When Scarlet was safely on the other side, Diana reached out and touched Liam’s forehead. Scarlet felt a deep sort of bounce like a spring coming back to its original position after being stretched out and the oil flew off his fur and lodged in the salt ring. Liam stood up and shook himself all over. More oil flew off, but again didn’t go any farther than the salt ring which was turning gray.
Liam blinked at them and then cocked his head to one side.
“Well, that ought to do it,” said Diana, clearing a path through the salt and gesturing to Liam.
“He’s still wolf-shaped.”
“As I said, it’ll take a little bit for his body chemistry to settle. A little nap and he’ll back in business. You look like you could do with some sleep yourself. Why don’t you two go up to bed and grab some shut eye?”
“That sounds good,” said Scarlet around a yawn. “Come on, Wolf. Bedtime.”
Paxton
Paxton parked his truck and jogged easily through the woods in human form. It had taken him the better part of the morning and into the afternoon to drive to Abingdon. After that, he’d had to give in and ask in town about Mrs. Lucas. He’d had to say he was a friend of Scarlet’s to make any headway with the locals. It was only after he’d said Scarlet was doing well in the city and dating his brother, and that he was delivering a present for her, that they volunteered directions out to Lucas farm.
He’d intended to simply drive up and ask for Scarlet politely, but as he’d gotten closer, he’d become less certain of that plan. So he’d parked out of sight of the white farm house and moved downwind. He made his way through the underbrush and found a hint of Liam coming toward him along with Scarlet and a strong smell of lavender, sage, and another person he didn’t know. There were also chickens, a goat, and a coyote out in the field somewhere.
As he watched, a woman dressed in jeans and rubber boots came out of the house and went to the barn. Guessing that this was his moment to find Liam without interference, he dashed forward and slid in the back door.
Episode 22
The Right Thing
Liam
Liam woke up warm and wrapped around Scarlet, which was always nice. He yawned and stretched and cracked an eyelid. Then he sat up with a frown. He had no idea where he was. It was a nice-looking room, with dainty white furniture, and cheerful blue curtains that were currently pulled tight against the encroaching sunlight. He rubbed his head and tried to pull up the last thing he remembered. His canines lengthened as he remembered the warlocks on the freeway. He took a deep breath and settled himself, inhaling for any scent of danger, but there wasn’t any—just too much lavender, evergreen, and sage. He smelled himself and winced. It smelled like he’d been rolling in essential oils. He had no idea what had happened, but he must be safe because Scarlet was here. He looked around the room again and then down at Scarlet. This time he almost laughed.
She sleepily opened her eyes and the smile that lit up her face hit him like an arrow from Cupid’s bow. He wanted to see that smile every morning of his life.
“Where’s the hat?” he whispered.
“What?”
“You need the frilly hat and you’ll look like the grandmother from Little Red Riding Hood.”
She giggled, but didn’t respond. Instead, she pulled him down and kissed him. He was fine with that. Her kiss became softer and more passionate and he was fine with that too. He reached down to find the edge of her nightgown, which was really too much fabric for any sensible kind of person, and worked it up, finally finding the soft skin of her thighs. He felt as if he hadn’t seen her in days. He really ought to ask her what had happened, but that would mean that he would have to stop kissing her. He nuzzled into her neck, loving the way she made little pleasure noises as he nibbled at her ear. His hand was all the way up under her nightgown and he’d found the sweet spot between her legs. She was wet and made a little moan as he caressed her.
Finally, he broke away and sat up. “Off,” he said, tugging at her nightgown. She made an agreeing noise and sat up, the covers falling away from her. He pulled the nightgown roughly over her head and tossed it on the floor. He was about to go back to kissing her when he caught a familiar whiff of something.
“Paxton?” he said, turning to the door in confusion.
“Liam?” barked his brother loudly, bursting through the door.
Scarlet shrieked and dove beneath the covers.
“Shit!” yelled Paxton and jumped back through the door, slamming it after him. “Sorry!” Paxton yelled through the door. “Uh… Sorry. I’ll be downstairs. Shit. Sorry, Scarlet!”
