Jingle Bell Wolf by Terry Spear

Chapter 22

The next day, Gabrielle had the worst time leaving the bed, Landon, and the house, but finally she managed to dress for work, and he made hash browns and sausage for them before she was out the door.

Despite all Landon’s help with packing, she was feeling inundated and hated that so much stuff was in boxes, though he was keeping the place as neat and orderly as possible. She was just ready to move, like, yesterday. “Thanks for all the help with doing the garage sale.” She hoped she sold a ton of stuff before the weekend even got here.

She was looking forward to seeing who was coming today for the vet interview. When Phillip Reddington arrived, interested in working at the co-op, she realized who he was. A former vet student, though he’d transferred the first year she was in school with him, which was why she hadn’t remembered his name.

“When I saw that you were one of the people who is part of the co-op,” Phillip said to Gabrielle, “I was ready to sign on the dotted line to join you.” He smiled broadly at her and then gave her a hug. “I’m so glad to see you.”

She was surprised he remembered her. He was always a charmer, more of a playboy than anything even just the year she’d known him. He’d been dating a college student at the time. Of course, Gabrielle hadn’t been interested in him in the least. He was strictly human.

“Thanks. It’s good seeing you too. But I’m one of the vets that is quitting.”

“No.”

She smiled. “Yes, I’m needed at a clinic in Colorado. As soon as we can hire a couple of vets to fill our vacancies, I’ll be leaving.” She’d never thought she would be so happy to leave.

Phillip’s mouth gaped. “Wow, here I thought we would be working together.”

“Please don’t change your mind about joining the clinic. We have a great staff and the part-time vets and the full-time one are wonderful to work with. I would never have left here if I hadn’t met someone who lives in Colorado.”

Phillip smiled. “The good ones are always taken. Can you show me around the clinic?”

“I sure can.” She was thrilled that he was interested in working there.

“I’ve always wanted to live in this area, but I’m disappointed that you won’t be staying.”

“You will have a great time. And if you’re looking for a home, I have one I’m putting up for sale that has a heated pool even and is close to the beach.” She figured she would throw that out, just in case he was interested.

“I’ll certainly take a look at it if you want to show it to me.”

Yes! “Do you want to drop by and see the house and have dinner with us tonight?”

“Sure. I would like that. Thanks.”

“Oh great.” She showed Phillip all the exam rooms, the surgery rooms, and the kennels, and then they met with the other vets, two who came in a couple of times a week and the full-time vet who was staying.

Phillip was a likable guy, so she hoped everyone would welcome him with open arms. In the meantime, between clients, she texted Landon: We are having a guest join us for dinner. I met him at vet school, and he’s interested in being part of the staff at the clinic.

Landon texted back: That’s great.

Gabrielle texted: Wait until I tell you all of it. Can you straighten the place up? He’s going to look at it with maybe hopes of buying the house. Fingers crossed.

She hadn’t meant for poor Landon to have to get her home ready for viewing by a potential buyer, but if it made a difference in a sale, she was sure he would want to help out.

Landon texted: Hot damn! It will be spotless. I’ll close up the garage sale around one to fix us lunch. What do you want me to make us for dinner?

She knew he was the wolf for her and texted: Barbecued ribs?

Landon texted: It will be my pleasure.

She texted: We’ll see you at 6:45 for dinner, but I’ll come home for lunch at 1.

Landon texted: See you then.

Her heart soared with hope that Phillip would buy her house. Since Doc Mitchell had given her a free home and clinic, she could afford to reduce the price on her home if Phillip could take it off her hands. Not for free, of course. He wasn’t a wolf, and she could easily sell it to someone else for the price. The list price for the four-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home was $392,000, but she’d paid considerably less for it when she bought it. And with inheritances and her own savings, it was paid off. So she could furnish her new home just the way… Ohmigosh, it really hadn’t sunk in that she and Landon were mated and would be living in the doc’s house…together. So she and Landon would set up housekeeping just the way the two of them liked it—which meant when they returned to Colorado, they were going to have to make some trips to the furniture stores. They could use the money from the proceeds of the sale of the house to buy whatever they needed. If they didn’t go through a Realtor, that would also be an expense she wouldn’t have.

Phillip had lunch with a couple of the vets while Gabrielle went home to see Landon and have a bite to eat. The place looked immaculate. He had moved the paintings to the sewing room, the garage sale signs too. He had cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen and had made them grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.

“So, what do you think?” he asked.

She wrapped her arms around Landon’s neck and pressed her body against his. “I’d think you’re a keeper, even if I hadn’t already mated you.”

He smiled. “I’m in it for the long run and I’m not giving you up for anything either, but I meant about the house. Do you need me to do anything more with it?”

They sat down to eat their grilled cheese sandwiches.

“No, just relax. We’ll have dinner with Phillip, and if he wants the house, he’ll buy it. If he doesn’t? No sweat. I’ll list it with a real estate agent and put it on the market when I’m ready,” she said. “How did the garage sale go?”

“You sold a couple hundred dollars’ worth of items. You had buyers for thrift stores come right after you left when I was just putting stuff out. They hung around to see what all you were selling.”

She smiled. “Good.”

“Is Phillip taking the job?”

“I sure hope so. We just need another taker and then I can leave. We have another vet coming in tomorrow who is checking out the clinic. When I can leave, if I still don’t have my Colorado state license, I might have to hang around the ski lodge and be a ski bum.” She arched a brow.

“I’ll keep you company.”

She laughed. “I’m sure your family would love that. Not.”

“They will be so happy it worked out between us that they will agree to anything where you’re concerned.”

She sighed. “Good. That’s partly why I mated you, you know. I gained your family too.”

“Speaking of which, it was too late last night to call them to give them the good news, and then you had to leave for work right after breakfast. So, if you think we have a moment…?”

“Absolutely. They’ll stop worrying about us then.”

They finished their sandwiches.

“The sandwich was really good. Now I know you can make us meals if I’m too tired to do it after work,” she said.

“You bet.” He pulled out his phone and called Roxie. “Hey, Sis, we have some news. We’re mated.” He put it on speakerphone.

“Yes!” Roxie yelled. “Wait, hold on. Blake! Kayla! Come here!”

“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Blake asked, his breathing heavy. She suspected he’d run from some distance, worried something was wrong.

“They mated! Landon and Gabrielle!” Roxie said.

“Woo-hoo,” Kayla said. “We need to celebrate when you come back.”

“Yeah, we’re so glad,” Blake said. “Nicole’s on a job so we’ll tell her when we end the call. Do you want to tell the pack leaders, or do you want us to?”

“Gabrielle has to go back to work. She was just on a lunch break. I’ll call them as soon as she goes in.”

“What about the job situation?” Blake asked.

“One vet appears to be interested. They have another coming in to check things out tomorrow,” Landon said.

“Okay, well, that sounds hopeful that you’ll be joining us soon,” Roxie said.

“This is all such great news,” Kayla added.

“I’ve got to run, but my first ski experience turned out to be the best ski experience I could have ever had,” Gabrielle said.

Everyone laughed.

Then Gabrielle gave Landon a hug and kiss and hurried back into work while Landon continued to talk to his family. She was feeling really hopeful that she could be moving with Landon soon. She spent the rest of the day working at the office, and that night, Phillip arrived to have dinner with Gabrielle and Landon.

She showed Phillip the house, and he looked through the Florida paintings. The way he was smiling at the size of the kitchen, the views of the swimming pool, and the layout of the open living room and dining room, she could tell he was impressed with the house. Then they sat down to have ribs and they were out of this world.

“These are great, Landon,” she said.

“Yeah, the best,” Phillip agreed.

Afterward, they sat poolside, having Christmas margaritas. Christmas lights sparkled in the pool, and she was so glad Landon had found the box of lights in her garage and hung them up on the trees and on her back patio. They made the pool and setting even more spectacular.

“This is sure a nice place. How much is the property going to be listed for?” Phillip asked.

She could envision him having a bevy of girls over to join him in the pool. “It’s valued at $392,000, but I was thinking if you would buy it, no Realtor—so no agent’s fee—and since you’re a friend and taking the job at the clinic so I can have a chance to leave, I would offer it for $370,000. It’s on a half-acre lot too.”

Phillip’s eyes widened.

She wasn’t sure if he wasn’t expecting it to cost that much, or if he was surprised that she would drop the price that low just for him. She would have to pay about $20,000 for a real estate agent’s fee otherwise, if she couldn’t sell it on her own. “But I would only offer that price to you. Once it goes on the market, my price is firm. It’s worth every penny.”

“And the furniture?”

Her lips parted. Now she was surprised. “The major pieces of furniture can go with the house.” She wouldn’t get that much for used furniture, she figured, and if it helped sell the house, she would give it to him.

“The Florida paintings?”

She smiled. “Those too.”

“Okay, let me think on it.” They finished their margaritas, and he looked longingly at the pool.

She would have invited him to swim, but she figured he didn’t have a bathing suit with him and she really didn’t want to see him swimming in her pool in his underwear.

Phillip took pictures of the house and the swimming pool, thanking them again for the wonderful meal.

When Phillip left, Landon smiled and grabbed a couple of the margarita glasses and took them into the house while Gabrielle grabbed hers and followed him inside. “Do you want to go for a swim?”

“I sure do.” Landon set the glasses in the kitchen. “So what do you think? Will Phillip take the job? Will he buy your house?”

They went to her bedroom and started to strip out of their clothes. “I think he’ll take the job. He might not decide to take the house.”

“That would be unfortunate.” Landon tugged on his board shorts, and she quickly pulled on her bathing suit.

“Thanks for the nice touch with the Christmas lights. With them shining into the pool, it gives such a festive touch.”

“Anything to help sell it to a potential buyer.”

Then they headed to the pool. This time, they would swim their laps first, before they made love. She loved swimming and playing with him in a pool, whether it was his or hers. Then she and he were toweling off for the next part of their mated adventure.

* * *

The next day when Gabrielle went to work, Landon hoped the new vet would work out for them and he hoped Phillip would decide he wanted to work at the vet office too. He hadn’t actually confirmed it in writing.

When Gabrielle came home for lunch, she was all smiles and he assumed Phillip was a go on taking over the job.

“Well, the other vet has a family and they’re ready to move here because of the nearby beaches. Phillip dropped by to tell us he is taking the job. He was showing pictures of my home to the other vet.”

“Does Phillip want to buy your home?” Landon asked.

“The other vet wants my house.” Gabrielle smiled and gave Landon another hug. “It’s going to sell to one of them, I bet, but it’ll sell even if neither buys it. But you know, I was thinking, when we actually move into Doc Mitchell’s house, we’ll have to furnish it. How are you at furniture shopping?”

“Roxie and Kayla always do it.”

She laughed. “Well, it’s up to you. If you don’t want to shop with me for furniture that you would love, too, I’ll take your sisters with me.”

“Nicole too. She and my sisters also helped her furnish her and Blake’s home.”

“Okay, well, that works for me,” she said. “But maybe we could decide on the bedroom set?”

He smiled. “Of course. The bed especially. We want it to be just right for all our activities.”

She laughed. “Yes.” She got a call and saw it was from Phillip. She hoped he hadn’t decided to back out of the co-op. He had his state license and had been working in Orlando, so he was perfect for the job.

“I’m taking the house. The other vet wants it, too, and I didn’t even tell him how much it was. He was sold on the swimming pool, the other features of the house, and the close proximity to the clinic. I was afraid you would sell it to him first if I didn’t make an offer.”

Gabrielle laughed. “Yeah, in Florida, a swimming pool is wonderful to have, and no commute means you can come home for lunches. I’m glad you decided to get it. I can have the contract drawn up this afternoon.”

“I’ll give you your down payment this afternoon.”

“That will be great.” She was so excited about it. “Thanks so much. You will love it here.”

“I know I will. Okay, I’ll see you about three. And if you’re ready for me to start working, considering how short-staffed you are right now, I’ll begin on Monday. Since I don’t have any family, I’ll work the Christmas holidays.”

“Super. Thanks so much. I’ll see you back here in a little while then.” Gabrielle had a client coming in so she quickly called Landon. “Hey, I hadn’t thought I would need to draw up a by-owner contract to sell the house this quickly. Could you look up what it needs and write one up for me? Phillip’s coming over at three to give me a down payment and to sign a contract.”

“Great! I’ll get it done. I saw your printer in your office, and I’ll get a taxi to get me over to the clinic.”

“Okay, you’re a dream and my superhero.”

He laughed. “See you soon.”

As soon as Gabrielle was done checking over the client’s cat, Gabrielle got a call from the jaguar sisters. She’d been hoping they would tell her that they’d caught Melany’s husband.

“Hey, Odette, what’s happening?” Gabrielle asked.

“We haven’t discovered anything more on Melany’s husband, but we’re back in Florida on leads on another case and we wanted to see if you could take any time off to go to Orlando to the Clawed and Dangerous Kitty Cat Club for Christmas Eve. We want to celebrate that you’re mated—and that we are the reason it happened.”

Gabrielle laughed. She was glad that when she’d had a moment between clients, she’d texted the sisters to let them know that she and Landon had mated. They had been ecstatic. “I know you two. You want to see me finally dance at the club.”

“With the wolf of your dreams.”

“Christmas Eve it is!”

“Good. We’ll pick you up and drive you down there at four, get some dinner there, drinks, and dance. Oh, and we did pick up Melany’s best friend, Belinda Montgomery, for questioning. We told her we learned about the life insurance proceeds she got for Jim’s supposed death, that he’s alive and well, and if she doesn’t want him to pull the same thing with her—as in frame her for a murder because of his gambling addiction—she’d better come clean.”

“Ohmigod, did she talk?”

“Not at first. Hard case, you know. We told her she would go to prison for receiving money for a dead man when she aided and abetted him in the ruse. We learned she rented a boat on the day Melany supposedly killed her husband. Belinda had to have picked Jim up to simulate he had been killed and thrown overboard. We had witnesses who confirmed Belinda had driven the boat in the direction that Melany and Jim’s boat was anchored. We had to get her to confess to what had happened and confirm Jim was alive—since we didn’t know for sure at that point—and that he orchestrated the whole thing.”

“And she talked?”

“Yes. Very chatty when she thought she was going to prison for a very long time. The jaguars could make it happen too. Anyway, she said she hadn’t been in contact with Jim… Both of them afraid they would get caught. She’s a receptionist at the dental clinic where Melany used to work as a hygienist. Belinda didn’t want to suddenly leave, in case anyone suspected her of wrongdoing. How would it look if she received a big insurance payout for Jim’s death and then she vanished? She was planning to leave the state after a couple of months, hoping Melany would be tried and convicted and then she and Jim would be in the clear.”

“Some friend. And the bank where he had an account that Melany hadn’t known about?” Gabrielle asked.

“He cleaned out the bank account.”

“Great. So he has still got money.”

“Yeah, but the way he pisses it away on gambling, he won’t have the money for long. Several jaguar agents and my sister and I have been watching all the gambling places for him to show up. So hopefully we’ll catch him before long. Belinda is up on charges for all that she was involved in, though she’ll get a reduced sentence for cooperating with us. We didn’t know for sure if Jim was the man we all saw on the security video at the bank’s ATM where he withdrew the money that one day, so she helped to add some nails to his coffin. We’ll see you and Landon in a few days then.”

“See you then!”

“Congratulations again,” Zelda said.

“Thanks! We’re very happy.”

“We knew you would be. See you soon.” Odette ended the call.

Landon arrived shortly after that with the contract for her and Phillip to sign. Thankfully, the clinic’s office manager was also a notary public. Gabrielle gave Landon the news about the sisters taking them to the jaguar club. Smiling, he pulled her into a hug and kissed her. “That will be fun. You know what that means, don’t you?”

“Yeah.” She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug back. “I’ll have my very own dance partner all night long.”

He chuckled. “It’s a good thing my sisters taught me how to dance.”

“Yes, it sure is. Steaks tonight to celebrate selling the house and Phillip joining the vet staff?”

“Absolutely.”

“Why don’t you take the car home. You can pick me up and we can have dinner then.”

“I’ll do that.” He kissed her again. “Soon, we’ll be home.”

* * *

Time was flying with all the work they had to do with packing, but they never stopped enjoying themselves, running on the beach late at night as wolves and swimming in the pool mornings and at night. Making love too, of course. The vet with the family had started the job and begun working. Which meant Gabrielle and Landon were finally set to move the day after Christmas.

Gabrielle was excited about being moved in by the first of the year. “I can’t wait to see how the pack celebrates the new year.”

“We’ll have a big dance and this time it will be perfect because I’ll have you to dance with. It will make for the best new year ever.”

“For me too. I think Phillip wants into his new home pronto. I told him as soon as the moving van pulls out, he can move right in.”

Landon laughed. “Sounds good to me. Burgers should be ready.”

“I’m going to miss you doing all this cooking and being a house husband when you begin working again.”

He smiled. “I will cook anything you want me to cook, and cleaning?” He shrugged. “Anything you want me to do, I’m game.”

She slid her hands up his shirt. “The same thing with me.”

“Good, then after we have burgers, we’re swimming, then going to bed.”

She laughed. “That sounds like a winner to me.”

Despite the fact that Gabrielle was working days, they had a blast every moment they could spare together. On Sunday, they spent the day in bed, then swimming in the pool, then to the beach, grabbing a couple of meals that Landon fixed—he insisted because barbecuing in the snowy cold wasn’t happening back home for a while—then in bed, then swimming. She’d even taken him to see the Magic of Lights at the Daytona International Speedway one night. They even managed to get some packing in! They’d had the garage sale, and everything she hadn’t wanted to take with her that hadn’t sold, she donated to the local women’s crisis center.

Then it was back to work and her last four days on the job. Christmas Eve, she would work a shorter day, then off to the jaguar club with her mate and friends, and then Christmas Day was for having some more downtime with her mate. The big moving day was on Saturday.

Rather than the wolves of Silver Town coming to move them over the holidays, Lelandi had arranged for a mover to pick up everything Gabrielle wanted to take with her on Saturday. She still couldn’t believe all they had done for her to help her move. She loved the pack for it.

She couldn’t wait to get settled into her new home.