Maddy Barone's Blog, page 21
October 23, 2015
CONTEST! Win a Paperback Book!
You know I just love to do these little impromptu contests. I just happen to have an extra copy of Tales of the Wolf Clan on hand. This is the paperback version of both Wolf’s Oath and Sherry’s Wolf in one volume. To celebrate the website being back up, I am going to give the extra copy to one lucky commenter. Yep, just leave a comment below before 6pm Central Time on Sunday, October 25. That’s the same time zone as Chicago IL USA or Mexico City, Mexico. I’ll mail the book Monday night to the winner. The contest is open world wide. If the winner lives in Australia or Africa it may take a little longer to get there, but it will get there eventually. 
So leave a comment on this post and I’ll draw a name on Sunday around 7pm. I’ll email the winner and post here.
Good luck!
October 20, 2015
Tuesday Teaser 10/13 and 10/20: Olivia’s Mate
My apologies for the delay in the Tuesday Teasers. The server was down for an upgrade that took longer than expected. No one’s fault, just one of those things. But we’re up again now, and to celebrate I’m going to give away a paperback copy of Tales of the Wolf Clan over the weekend. I’ll post about it again on Friday, with instructions about how to enter, so stay tuned.
Since it’s been so long, I’m giving you a double helping of Olivia and Kit! Enjoy!
Olivia gripped the edge the table so hard her fingers hurt. She swallowed. “That was quite a speech, Kit.”
“I practiced parts of it,” he confessed. “But that doesn’t make it less true.”
She stared at him. Victoria was right. It took guts for him to come all this way and face off against her menfolk. “Okay.” It was hardly more than a whisper, so she cleared her throat to speak louder. “You can court me. We’ll see how it goes.”
She wasn’t surprised to hear the growls coming from the men. “This is my choice,” she told them with a fierce tilt of her chin. “I won’t be stupid. I won’t be alone with him. But he deserves a chance to prove himself to me.”
Colby broke from his position against the wall to loom threateningly over Kit. “If he puts one toe over the line I’ll kill him.”
Kit rose to his feet and stared Colby dead in the eye. “That’s fair. I won’t do anything to hurt Olivia. I promise I want to do this right. I want her to be safe and happy, just like you do.”
The sound of derisive disgust came from more of the men than just Colby, but no one said anything. After a minute Uncle Des waved Colby back. He laid a heavy hand on Kit’s shoulder and it looked like he squeezed little more than necessary to get his attention. Olivia saw Kit’s slight flinch.
“Tomorrow,” he said, “you can come here and have lunch. 11:30. Don’t be late.”
Kit looked at Des and nodded. Olivia noticed that Kit was an inch or so taller than the Alpha, but more slender. He might be slender, but he hid great strength in his lithe body. She remembered him carrying her for hours at a run. She also remembered how angry and frightened she had been then. Was she still frightened? No, she was safe here with all the men of the Packs on hand.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Kit,” she said, smiling.
He smiled back. “I’m looking forward to it.”
He looked like a normal young man, the type she might meet at one of Aunt Carla’s concerts, all dressed up for the event. Just how deep did the civilization he’d acquired at his brother’s hands go? As a couple of the men herded him out she found herself forward to seeing him again.
****
Kit walked away from the house his mate lived in, feeling the eyes of at least two of her kin on him. Joy bubbled fiercely inside him. She’d agreed to his courtship. He wanted to lift his head and scream his elation. What did a civilized man do when he was this excited? He glanced up at the stars and began to count them to control his urge to yowl. The wolves ghosting behind him wouldn’t like him to scream his victory here in the middle of this town.
He never saw the wolves, but he was sure they followed him all the way to the place he was staying at. John Hudson, a townsman with a house on a large lot, had given him a bed in a sort of bunkhouse behind his house for a small amount of money. Kit walked past the house and entered the bunkhouse. It held six beds that Hudson rented out to men passing through Kearney. It wasn’t fancy. There was no electricity or running water, but for a man who had lived in caves until recently, it was perfectly acceptable shelter. The bed was clean and there was a chest at the foot of the bed where he could keep his few belongings. At the moment, Kit was the only one staying there.
He could see well enough in the dark, so he didn’t bother to light the lamp to open the chest at the foot of his bed. It had a lock, which was one of the things about civilization he hated. Why should anyone have to lock their possessions away? To keep other civilized people from stealing them? But he used the lock Hudson gave him because he had only a little money and couldn’t afford to have someone take it. He crouched now and carefully counted the coins and snips of gold. Justin had given him all he and Teresa could afford, but it wouldn’t last long. He might have to find work to earn more. How long would it take to court Olivia and gain her consent to their mating? He tucked the bag of money back into the chest.
He carefully took off the suit Kathy had made for him. He stroked the soft fabric, enjoying the plushness of it. Olivia had liked it. He remembered her quick expression of pleasure when she’d first seen him. She had instantly wiped it away, but he’d seen it, and he treasured it. As he neatly folded the suit coat and trousers into the chest, he folded the image of Olivia’s pleasure into the little box in his mind, where he kept all his best memories. He’s opened it often in the past year and a half, taking out precious memories of Olivia to comfort himself with when he struggled and failed to comprehend civilized behavior. The lessons Justin and Kathy had drummed into him were paying off. Olivia had smiled at him. Her male kin hadn’t tried to hurt him.
No, it was the others who had hurt him, those strange cats. They had followed him from the store this afternoon and dragged him into a snow-filled alley. He lifted a hand to his shoulder, feeling the bruises the cat named Marty had left. Although the two seemed to be the same age, Marty was clearly more dominant. Ray was aggressive, but followed the other’s lead.
“Who are you?” Marty demanded, a hand around Kit’s throat slamming him into the brick wall at his back.
“I’m Kit. I’m only here to find Olivia Stensrud. I don’t want your territory. I didn’t know there was a pride here.”
The two men exchanged a glance. Ray growled and Marty leaned close, eyes slitted. Had he been in his cat form his tail would have been lashing from side to side. “Where’s your pride?”
Kit hadn’t seen them in a year and a half. “New Mexico. Maybe Arizona. We winter down south and come north to Colorado in the summer. They’re not here. Just me.”
“Why are you here?” Ray bared his teeth. “What do you want?”
“My mate,” Kit answered simply. “Olivia Stensrud is my mate. I’ve come to court her.”
Marty and Ray exchanged another look. Marty released his throat with a chuff. “My mother will want to meet you. Come with us.”
They didn’t give him a choice. Marty’s hand clamped so tightly over his shoulder Kit could feel fingers pressing on bone. He didn’t struggle though. Of course the queen of this pride would need to give her consent to him being in her territory. How many cats did she rule over? And why hadn’t his pride ever heard of them? They walked to a part of town Kit hadn’t been to yet. It was surrounded by a stone wall guarded by armed men. They weren’t cats, though. They were let in and they walked to a grand house. It was a fit home for a queen. They went into a bedroom in the back of the house next to the kitchen.
When he saw the queen he was shocked. There was still fire in her faded blue eyes, but her body, lying in a bed loaded with blankets, was emaciated and weak. It was hard to tell her age, but if Marty were her son, she couldn’t be seventy yet. Marty bent over her, calling her Mom and kissing her cheek. He whispered in her ear so low that Kit couldn’t hear. The queen nodded a few times and beckoned to Ray to come closer. He called her Grandma. Finally the men straightened and the queen pointed at him.
“You, come here. Tell me about yourself.”
He did, emphasizing that he was only here to court Olivia. She asked more questions about his pride, and it seemed as if she didn’t know how a pride worked. How could that be? He wanted to ask questions too, like how many cats were in her pride and where were the other queens. But he didn’t want to be disrespectful. In only a short time her eyes lost their fire and she fell asleep. Kit stared at her and then looked at the other men.
Marty led him out of the queen’s bedroom to the kitchen. Another man was there, older than Ray and Marty, but resembling both of them. He froze for a split second when he saw Kit, then his eyes shimmered cat gold.
Marty jerked a thumb. “Eddie, meet Kit. Kit, meet Eddie, my brother and the Mayor of Kearney. Kit is visiting while he tries to woo Olivia Stensrud. Mom is okay with him staying in town.”
Eddie relaxed a little. He even offered his hand in the human mode of greeting. “Nice to meet you. Sorry I have to run, but Jasper Packard’s mare is foaling. Look after him, Mart.”
That had been Kit’s introduction to the Kearney Pride. Marty and Ray had both walked with him back to Hudson’s house. They weren’t as friendly as Eddie, but other than warning him to watch himself, they made no threats. There was nothing now to prevent his courtship.
He lay on the narrow bed and pulled the sheet up to his waist. Tomorrow he would see Olivia again. He would begin his formal courtship.
Chapter Ten
Olivia checked the small round table one more time to be sure the tablecloth hung evenly. The usual beige tablecloth had been replaced with one of bright, Christmas red. She was surprised that uncle Des was allowing her and Kit to sit alone for their lunch date. Well, not really alone since there were a dozen other people already eating lunch in the restaurant. But at least they would be at the same table, and unlike last night, the table was small, so they could have at least the illusion of privacy. She stepped back and jumped when she bumped into somebody. Something prickly poked her shoulder.
“Hey.” Victoria’s voice was a growl. “Look what you did.”
Olivia brushed at her shoulder and admired the small arrangement of pine boughs and cinnamon sticks tied with cheerful red ribbon. One of the pine twigs was broken. “Sorry.”
Victoria carefully pulled the broken piece free and set the arrangements in the center of the small table. She stepped back, head tilted to the side to check the placement, and made a minute adjustment. “There. Festive, don’t you think?”
“It’s nice,” Olivia agreed. She glanced around the restaurant, noting that all the tables had cloths of red or green, but not centerpieces. “Did you make enough for all the tables to have an arrangement?”
Her cousin shot teasing look over her shoulder. “Nope. Just the one, for our special guest.” She put extra emphasis on the word ‘special’. “We want everything to be perfect for him, don’t we?”
Yes, she did. She glanced around the restaurant, noting Hawk was the only man of the Pack in the dining room, although she was sure some of her younger cousins were around, ready to bus tables and wash dishes. She was sure they would all be keeping an eye on this little table.
Victoria’s gaze shifted toward the entry and a slow smile curved her lips. “He is such a pretty boy.”
Olivia whirled around and saw Kit walking behind Mrs. O’Connor, the hostess. His face was pretty, but his wide shoulders and whipcord physique were all man. Mrs. O’Connor waved toward her and turned back to the hostess desk up front.
Victoria murmured, “Have fun.” Then she disappeared into the kitchen.
Olivia started forward to welcome Kit. She was relieved to see he was casually dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt. She had debated what to wear today. This was their first date, and last night he had dressed so nicely. She didn’t want to be under dressed. After wrestling with it, she had settled for wearing her usual jeans and a sweater.
“Good morning!” he said eagerly. The tip of his nose was red. He might be cold from the December air, but his smile was warm.
“Hi.” She waved at the table. “We’re sitting here.”
Kit stepped forward and eased a chair out, looking at her expectantly. It took her a minute, but she realized he was waiting to seat her. The heat of a blush surged into her cheeks. She gathered her composure and stepped in front of the chair. As she sat, he scooted the chair forward. It was as smooth and graceful as if they had done it a dozen times. When she looked up, she saw Aunt Renee in the kitchen door, nodding approval.
Kit sat across from her. The table was so small that with the centerpiece there would barely be room for their plates. It was strangely intimate. He leaned forward slightly to speak in a low voice.
“I dreamt of you last night,” he told her.
In anyone else that might have sounded flirtatious, but Kit was matter-of-fact.
“You did?”
“Yeah. It was a good dream. We were old and gray, with grandchildren—”
He broke off when Marissa came to their table and set a cup in front of each of them and poured hot, fragrant coffee into the cups. Marissa was Red Wing’s mate, a comfortably plump woman with smile lines on her pretty face.
“Good morning,” she said cheerfully. “How would you like your steaks done?”
Olivia stared. “Steak? I thought today’s lunch was Boston Baked Beans with a slice of ham, or a hamburger and fries.”
“For everyone else, that’s right.”
Kit patted his front pocket with a wrinkle between his brows. “Steak costs more, doesn’t it? I’m not sure I can afford steak.”
Marissa waved that away. “It’s on the house. Renee likes you, young man.”
Olivia’s mouth dropped open. “She does?”
“Yep, and she doesn’t like many people enough to offer them a free steak. So how would you like it done?”
“Medium rare for me,” Olivia said and looked at Kit.
He still had that wrinkle between his brows. “But a man is supposed to buy his date’s meal,” he protested.
Marissa gave him a warm smile. “If you try to pay for this, Renee will be unhappy. You don’t want to make Renee unhappy. If Renee is unhappy, her mate is unhappy, and her sons are unhappy. An unhappy Hawk is not a good thing. Believe me.”
Kit smiled, the line smoothing from his face. “Okay. I’d like my steak rare, please.”
Marissa went to the kitchen and returned immediately with a basket of dinner rolls and a small bowl of butter. “There you go. Your steaks will be out before long.”
Kit buttered a roll and handed it to Olivia before buttering one for himself. “So, Renee is mean?”
“Oh, no. She’s just a really good cook, and she expects people to appreciate her cooking.” Olivia took a bite of the roll and almost moaned. Fresh out of the oven, with butter melting over the edges, the roll was just a preview of the excellent lunch to come. “Aunt Renee is a wonderful person, but she isn’t the warm, fuzzy type. But if she likes you, then Uncle Hawk will like you. He’s the pack Beta, so his opinion carries a lot of weight.”
“That’s good then.” Kit leaned over the table. “But the most important thing to me is whether you like me.”
That stupid blush was back, but she gazed at him steadily. “That’s what we’re going to find out, right? That’s why we’re courting.”
He nodded with a slow smile. “Yeah. Do you like living here? You used to live on a ranch out west.”
“I like it well enough. My family lives on the ranch, but we travel a couple of times a year to visit other family. This isn’t a new place for me.”
“But you’ve been here a long time, not just a visit. Is it because of me?”
Olivia forced a bite of bread down, and picked up her coffee to drink. She wouldn’t lie to him. “My mom and dad thought it would be good for me to be away from the ranch for a while.”
“They thought I would try to take you again.”
“Uh-huh.”
He stared out the window on the far side of the room, showing her his perfect profile set in melancholy lines. “I wouldn’t have. I watched you and your family walk away from me on that mountain and I realized then that I had done wrong by stealing you. That’s when I decided to go to Justin and have him and his mate teach me how to behave.”
He had seated her like a perfect gentleman. He kept his elbows off the table and ate his roll in small, controlled bites. Which was more than most of the men in the Pack did. “You learned a lot.”
He flashed a smile at her. “Before I went to them I searched for you. Not to take you, but just to see you from a distance. I found your home, but I figured out you weren’t there. I heard your brothers talking about you, though. That’s how I learned you were in Kearney. I’m glad you are still here.”
She had missed the ranch, and being with her family, bitterly, but now she was glad she was here. “Did you like being with Justin? Was it hard to be away from your family?”
“Sometimes it was hard.” He looked down at the roll he crumbled. “I can’t go back to the pride. Tricia and Maria forbade it.”
The roll she’s so enjoyed turned to lead in her stomach. “You’ve been banished?”
He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Justin and his mate said I was always welcome. If you accept me, we will need to discuss where we will live.”
The kitchen door swung open and Marissa appeared carrying a tray. She set down plates loaded with steaks and baked potatoes and long green beans. “Here you go,” she said cheerfully. “Need more bread? Butter?”
Olivia inhaled the scent of perfectly seasoned and grilled beef. “I’m good. This is terrific. Please tell Renee thank you.”
Kit nodded enthusiastically and Marissa laughed. “Save room for dessert. We have apple pie and cinnamon vanilla ice cream.”
After she left Kit stared at Olivia so intensely that she shivered. “What?”
A faint wash of red swept into his face. “I know what I’d like for dessert,” he murmured. “But that’s not civilized.”
October 5, 2015
Tuesday Teaser 10/5/15: Olivia’s Mate
Today I had a dental appointment (OUCH!!!!-He put a post through my bridge into the tooth below. The anesthesia is wearing off now and I have to admit the root canal I had a year ago hurt less than this!) so now I am finished with all that nasty business for the year. I can go ahead and get back into my writing routine. I did try on Sunday night and I did get some writing done, but it’s sort of lackadaisical. Blah. Maybe I should have Colby try to throttle poor Kit… I’m sure I’ll be able to spark it up a bit later, but here it is for now. I’m going to sit for an hour in my flannel jammies and read for a while before bed. Enjoy!
That left her alone with Uncle Des and Uncle Hawk. Des wore his habitual grim expression, but it was just as little darker than usual. The light hanging above them glinted in the silver wings in the black hair at his temples.
“Olivia,” he said sternly. “You won’t be alone with him. If he does one thing to make you uncomfortable, just raise your hand and we’ll escort him out.”
Yes, but will he be alive when you do? She didn’t say it out loud, but knowing her male relatives it was a valid question. And really, who knew what Kit would do? He was practically a wild animal. “Thanks, Uncle Des,” she said. “I’m sure it will be okay, but I’m glad you’ll be there. Where are we meeting? In the kitchen? Or the family dining room?”
“In the restaurant. Renee is still in the kitchen and he’s not family, so he doesn’t come in to the family areas.”
She nodded. That was fair. And six of her menfolk as guards wasn’t too bad. Actually, everyone seemed to be behaving pretty reasonably. For wolves.
When she entered the restaurant she saw why they were being so unusually reasonable. Another dozen men of the House and Taye’s den were there, seated at the scattered tables and drinking coffee or hot cider. Colby raised his mug to her with a fierce smile.
“Oh, no,” she groaned. She turned to the men behind her. “Uncle Des, this is ridiculous.”
“It’s just caution,” he said mildly.
Colby stood with a scrape of his chair over the wood floor. “I don’t trust him,” he said flatly. “He stole you before. He’d like to do it again. He won’t get the chance.”
There was no sense trying to argue with them. “Fine,” she growled. She moved to a small table that seated two. Des took her arm in a gentle but firm grasp and led her to the longest table in the room, the one reserved for groups of twelve.
“You sit here on this side facing the door,” he said. “When the young man arrives, he’ll sit opposite you.”
“But we’ll be ten feet apart!”
“Exactly.” There was satisfaction in his growl. “You’ll be alone at the table, so that’s nice, right?”
Alone at a table, with eighteen of her dearest male relatives in the room. Great. She took the chair Uncle Des indicated. What did she expect? And maybe it didn’t matter anyway. Like Gray said, he might not even show up.
But he did, and with his silky caramel colored hair lying in shiny waves over the shoulders of a perfectly fitted dark brown corduroy suit coat, he was amazingly handsome. And he appeared unexpectedly civilized. She compared her memory of Kit, feral, living in a cave with snarled hair and wearing few clothes, to this almost elegant man.
He paused in the doorway for just a moment while his gaze swept quickly around the room before settling on her. When he looked at her, such joy filled his face that Olivia stared.
“Miss Stensrud,” he said formally, and hurried toward her. Uncle Des caught him and shoved him toward the chair at the other end of the table.
“You sit there,” the Alpha growled.
Kit twisted lithely away from Des’ grip, and stood looking down the table at her for a long moment before turning to extend his hand to Des.
“Christopher McQueen, sir,” he said.
Des looked at the long slender hand like it was a dead fish, but he gripped it and shook it twice. “Des Wolfe. I’m Alpha here. If you behave yourself we’ll let you live.”
“Thank you.” Kit’s tone was perfectly respectful.
After a moment, Des grunted. Approval? “Have a seat.”
Kit pulled out the indicated chair and sat down. Des took up his position a yard behind Kit, arms folded and mouth turned down in its usual scowl. She and Kit sat in silence, staring at one another. All she could see was awe and happiness on his face. He was well dressed and well groomed, looking like a civilized man, yet his expression retained something of the feral openness she had seen on it when she had been his captive. Hiding his emotions didn’t seem to come easily to him. Silence stretched. Olivia wondered if she should speak first. Was allowing a woman to speak first a will polite thing?
“Good evening, Kit,” she said. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been well, thank you. And you?”
“I’ve been good.” This was excruciating. Olivia flicked a glance at her male relatives lining the wall. At least half of them should go away. She tried to use her eyebrows to convey that thought to them, but they either missed it entirely or ignored it. She looked again at Kit. “You look very nice.”
The small smile that curved his lips grew. “Thank you. You are even more beautiful than I remembered you.”
She blushed. “Your suit is very nice. I don’t remember you having a suit.” Actually, most of her memories were of him nude, or covered with the light fur his cat form had. “Is it new?”
He smoothed a caressing hand down his arm, stroking the chocolate brown corduroy of his sleeve. “My brother’s wife made it for me. She said that I should dress my best when I go to court you.” His expression turned very serious and he leaned forward as if to lessen the distance between them. “I want to do it right. Last time I did everything wrong. You are my mate. I didn’t know any better than to take you home with me the minute I found you. But I was wrong. You said you wanted a civilized man, so I went to my brother Justin to learn how.”
One of the cats knew how to be civilized? Olivia couldn’t imagine it. “I don’t think I remember Justin.”
No, he doesn’t live with the Pride anymore. A few years ago he met his mate and left us to live with her human family. After your father and brothers took you home I went to find them. I spent the last year living with them and learning how to be the man you want. Please let me court you.” His eyes gleamed as tears welled in them. Even across the table she could see them. “Please don’t send me away without giving me a chance.”
Olivia gripped the edge the table so hard her fingers hurt. She swallowed. “That was quite a speech, Kit.”
“I practiced parts of it,” he confessed. “But that doesn’t make it less true.”
She stared at him. Victoria was right. It took guts for him to come all this way face off against her menfolk. “Okay.” It was hardly more than a whisper, so she cleared her throat to speak louder. “You can court me. We’ll see how it goes.”
She wasn’t surprised to hear the growls coming from the men. “This is my choice,” she told them with a fierce tilt of her chin. “I won’t be stupid. I won’t be alone with him. But he deserves a chance to prove himself to me.”
Colby broke from his position against the wall to loom threateningly over Kit. “If he puts one toe over the line I’ll kill him.”
Kit rose to his feet and stared Colby dead in the eye. “That’s fair. I won’t do anything to hurt Olivia. I promise I want to do this right. I want her to be safe and happy, just like you do.”
The sound of derisive disgust came from more of the men than just Colby, but no one said anything. After a minute Uncle Des waved Colby back. He laid a heavy hand on Kit’s shoulder and it looked like he squeezed little more than necessary to get his attention.
“Tomorrow,” he said, “you can come here and have lunch. 11:30. Don’t be late.”
October 1, 2015
My Aspirin Desensitization At The Mayo Clinic
First of all, why did I do it? I have AERD, or Aspirin-Exacerbated Respiratory Disease. This is also called Samter’s Triad and Aspirin Triad. It means I have nasal polyps, asthma, and I am allergic or sensitive to aspirin. Sinus infections are a regular event for me. I have had multiple sinus surgeries to remove the polyps, but they come right back within a few months. I have no sense of smell due to severe inflammation and polyps blocking the air’s path to the olfactory nerve. It’s been decades since I took any aspirin or Advil, but the last time I accidentally ingested aspirin (Alka-Seltzer Plus. I didn’t read the label carefully) I ended up in the ER. My chest was so tight and my throat so swollen that I couldn’t get air in or out. Mega scary, and I’ve been very careful since then to only take Tylenol for pain.
I had my last sinus surgery on April 16, 2015. I developed a sinus infection in mid-May. I was put on antibiotics for 3 weeks. In late June the polyps were beginning to return. By the end of July they were back in force. The ENT put me on a very high steroid regimen and recommended Aspirin Desensitization. She explained that I would be carefully fed small amounts of aspirin in increasing doses until I had a reaction. By the end of it I would not be allergic anymore and would take aspirin every day for the rest of my life. The very thought of the process scared me senseless. All I could remember was the horrible sensation of not being able to breathe twenty years ago. She also explained that salicylates, the main item in the aspirin that made me so sick, were also in many other foods and products. Even though I didn’t react to them the way I did to aspirin, their effect may be cumulative and could be adding to the inflammation in my nose and sinuses. If I could be made to tolerate aspirin, I had a good shot at taming the inflammation and keeping the polyps small. After thinking about it, I decided it was worth the risk.
The nearest place to my home in Fargo, North Dakota, USA that would perform the Aspirin Desensitization was the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA. It’s about a six hour drive for me. Several friends who live in Rochester offered to put me up so I wouldn’t have to spend money on a lonely hotel room. James and Becky Littlefield, Garret and Gayle Bitker, and Jason and Liz Coltom all offered me a guestroom. I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends! These are all people I know from the SCA, my historical recreation group. I decided to stay with Jason and Liz because I looooove all their beautiful kitties!
In mid-September I went down to Rochester believing I would have the procedure then. My first appointment was the afternoon of Tuesday, September 15 with Dr. John Hagan. I thought Tuesday would be the general assessment and maybe some tests, and then Wednesday and Thursday would be the actual procedure, but it turned out that my polyps were too large. Dr. Hagan wanted them smaller, before the “aspirin challenge”. I guess the larger the polyps the larger the risk. But that is my guess, not a stated fact. So on Wednesday and Thursday I had some tests (breathing tests and blood work) and he wrote prescriptions for prednisone, flovent, singulair and budesonide rinse. Luckily, I’ve met my insurance cap for the year, because the budesonide rinse is nearly $500.00 for a month’s supply! A new date, September 29-30, 2015 was set for the actual desensitization.
The instruction sheet they sent me told me to not eat or drink anything after 11:00pm, and to check in at 7:45. I was to bring food and water, and any games or books I wanted to keep myself occupied with for the 8 to 9 hours I would be there. I arrived at the Desk 15L in the Mayo Building at the Mayo Clinic promptly at 7:30am, with my kindle, knitting, and lunchbox attached to my shoulder. I was a little nervous, to be honest, and being made to wait until nearly 8:30 made me even more nervous. Two nurses led me to a small room and took my vitals, and administered a quick breathing test to establish a baseline. They would do the same thing throughout the day, each time they gave me aspirin. An IV port was put into my arm, just to be on the safe side, so any meds could be instantly administered in the case of a rare severe reaction. All the nurses and techs were deft and professional. I barely felt the IV going in.
The first aspirin came not in a pill, but a nasal spray. I’d never heard of that, but I had one sniff in my right nostril around 8:30. No reaction. Then at 9:00 I had one sniff in each nostril. The nurse, Kelly, said they expected any reaction to be light, and usually it occurred before noon. Probably sneezing and congestion. Rarely, she explained, did anyone have a severe reaction, although the longer I went without a reaction, the more severe it was likely to be. 30 minutes went by with no reaction. She then gave me two sprays per nostril at 9:30. Still no reaction. No reason to worry yet, she assured me cheerily.
Then at 10:30 she gave me three sprays per nostril. About ten minutes later I began sneezing, my nose clogged, and my eyes got scratchy. Yay! A reaction! Hardly anything, really, more like getting a cold. They called Dr. Hagan to come look at me. Everything was going according to plan. The symptoms died down in less than a half-hour. At 11:30 I was finally given aspirin in pill form. 60 mg (which is less than a baby aspirin) in a gelcap-like white capsule. Oh, boy, a little wheezing. Nothing bad. If I were home I would have used my albuterol, but it wasn’t scary. More congestion and sneezing. The doctor came again and listened to my lungs, ordered a hit of albuterol for me, said he was satisfied, and went away again. I asked to go to the bathroom (they escort you down the hall and back, I suppose so you aren’t alone if you suddenly have a bad reaction) and I noticed spots on my face in the mirror. I pointed them out to my nurse escort, and she walked me back to my little room and called the doc again. He came and looked at my face and agreed that yes, I was having hives. Hives apparently is an unusual reaction, but nothing to worry about. I was given Allegra and albuterol and told to sit quietly. There was a break in the action once the reaction was gone, and I was allowed to eat my lunch. At last! I was pretty hungry after not eating for 14 hours.
At 1:00 we repeated the 60mg capsule of aspirin. No reaction. At 2:45 or so they wrapped the IV port in gauze to keep it from getting snagged, and I was released from Mayo. Day One of the Aspirin Desensitization was complete, and had gone as expected. I drove back to my friends’ house. Jason, Liz and I went out to supper that night and had a great time walking around the mall in Rochester. I felt fine.
The next day I returned to the little room at Mayo and the nurse, this time Michelle, took my vitals and gave me the usual air flow test. At 8:30 she gave me a capsule of 150mg of aspirin. That is about half the amount in one adult aspirin. We waited three hours. No reaction at all. At 11:00 I was allowed to eat the lunch I brought. At 12:30, she gave me a 325mg aspirin. That is the amount of a regular adult aspirin. I still had no reaction. Dr. Hagan came in to talk with me. The aspirin challenge went exactly as it should have, with me having a mild reaction to aspirin at around 60mg, and then no more reactions even at a higher dose. He has put me on 650mg of aspirin twice a day for life. That is two regular adult aspirin in the morning, and two at night. I am on the Singulair for another month. He wants me to continue with the budesonide rinses twice a day. I plan to do that for as long as I can afford them. We’ll see what happens when January comes around and I’m starting all over with my insurance.
And in January I need to travel back to the Mayo for a follow up. Possibly he’ll reduce me to 325mg of aspirin a day at that point. If I miss taking the aspirin for 2 consecutive days I’ll need to completely stop taking aspirin and come back for another desensitization procedure.
That was only yesterday and this afternoon I was able to smell the laundry detergent in the grocery store. The scent wasn’t sharp or clear, but it was definitely there. I was seriously nervous about going through the Aspirin Desensitization, but it turned out to be very easy. If you are like me and have suffered for years with nasal polyps, sinus infections, asthma, and aspirin sensitivity, maybe this aspirin desensitization could help you. It’s only been a day, so I can’t speak for the long term, but right now I’m feeling hopeful. And I haven’t felt that way about my sinuses in decades.
Feel free to leave a question in the comments, or share your own experiences. Knowledge is power, and I would have liked to know what to expect before I did this.
September 21, 2015
Tuesday Teaser 9/22/15: Olivia’s Mate
There, was that TMI? I didn’t even tell you about the urine samples I have to collect over the next 36 hours and mail back to Mayo. No, we definitely don’t need to discuss that! Instead, let me crow for a minute about Wolf’s Princess! It got a Top Pick from Night Owl Reviews! You can read it here
And now, here is the snip from Olivia’s story.
At ten minutes before eight o’clock, Olivia finished her work in the Eatery. She rushed upstairs to wash her face and comb her hair. When she had first come to the Plane Women’s House, Hawk and Renee had put both their adult sons into one bedroom and offering her the newly vacant one. They had become her surrogate parents. By the way he’d treated Kit, Uncle Hawk was taking his position far too seriously. She hoped he wouldn’t round up every man in the pack to guard her while Kit visited.
She had just finished combing her hair when Victoria poked her head in. Her older cousin watched with a knowing eye. Olivia wished she could tell her to go away, but this was Victoria’s room too. She lifted an eyebrow at her older cousin.
Vic laughed. “Getting all dolled up for your date?”
“Don’t start,” she warned.
The laugh gentled to a smile. “Okay, sorry. I like him.”
Olivia’s eyebrows pulled together in dubious questioning.
“No, really,” Vic insisted. “I like your cat. He has guts. And he must think of a lot of you. He came all this way to find you, and he stood up to Uncle Hawk, but not arrogantly. His little speech was precious.”
“Precious? He’s not a puppy.”
“No. Miaow.” Victoria curled her fingers into claws and slashed at the air. “He’s a yummy little kitty.”
Instead of replying —and what she would have said, she wasn’t sure—Olivia pushed past her cousin to hall to the living room. As she went by, Vic murmured, “Prepare for the gauntlet.”
As soon as Olivia entered the living room she understood Vic’s comment. Uncle Hawk stood in before the apartment’s front door with his arms crossed. His elder son, Sharp Tooth, was on his right, and his younger son, He Charges, was on his left. All three men stood in identical stances of spread legs and arms folded over their chests. She sighed and walked to the door, only pausing when Hawk placed his hand on the door to keep her from opening it.
“We won’t stop this man from seeing you,” he said in his low, slow voice. “But you will be careful.”
“Of course I will,” she said with patience. They were only doing what all the men of the Clan did, and at least they weren’t forcing her to stay in her room while they sent Kit away. And only the three of them standing guard over her wasn’t too bad. “I promise.”
He opened the door and led the way out. Charges and Sharp followed behind her. At the foot of the stairs stood Uncle Des, the Alpha of the House, with his two sons behind him. She faltered when Des nodded at Hawk and said the thief hadn’t arrived yet.
“Maybe he won’t show up,” Des’ younger son, Gray Shirt, suggested in a hopeful tone.
His brother, Broken Rock, gave him a glare. “We should be so lucky.”
Des raised one hand. “Boys, go down and make sure there’s wood enough for the stoves. We don’t want our guest to be cold.” His voice suggested the opposite. Rock and Gray turned and went toward the restaurant. “Charges, you take your brother and keep watch at the door for the caller.”
That left her alone with Uncle Des and Uncle Hawk. Des wore his habitual grim expression, but it was just as little darker than usual. The light hanging above them glinted in the silver wings at his temples in his long black hair.
“Olivia,” he said sternly. “You won’t be alone with him. If he does one thing to make you uncomfortable, just raise your hand and we’ll escort him out.”
Yes, but will he be alive when you do? She didn’t say it out loud, but knowing her male relatives it was a valid question. And really, who knew what Kit would do? He was practically a wild animal. “Thanks, Uncle Des,” she said. “I’m sure it will be okay, but I’m glad you’ll be there. Where are we meeting? In the kitchen? Or the family dining room?”
“In the restaurant. Renee is still in the kitchen and he’s not family, so he doesn’t come in to the family areas.”
She nodded. That was fair. And six of her menfolk as guards wasn’t too bad. Actually, everyone seemed to be behaving pretty reasonably. For wolves.
When she entered the restaurant she saw why they were being so unusually reasonable. Another dozen men of the House and Taye’s den were there, seated at the scattered tables and drinking coffee or hot cider. Colby raised his mug to her with a fierce smile.
“Oh, no,” she groaned. She turned to the men behind her. “Uncle Des, this is ridiculous.”
“It’s just caution,” he said mildly.
Colby stood with a scrape of his chair over the wood floor. “I don’t trust him,” he said flatly. “He stole you before. He’d like to do it again. He won’t get the chance.”
There was no sense trying to argue with them. “Fine,” she growled. She moved to a small table that seated two. Des took her arm in a gentle but firm grasp and led her to the longest table in the room, the one reserved for groups of twelve.
“You sit here on this side facing the door,” he said. “When the young man arrives. He’ll sit opposite you.”
“But we’ll be ten feet apart!”
“Exactly.” There was satisfaction in his growl. “You’ll be alone at the table, so that’s nice, right?”
Alone at a table with eighteen of her dearest male relatives in the room. Lovely. She took the chair Des indicated. What did she expect? And maybe it didn’t matter anyway. Like Gray said, he might not even show up.
But he did, and with his silky caramel colored hair lying in shiny waves over the shoulders of a perfectly fitted dark brown corduroy suit coat, he was amazingly handsome.
September 7, 2015
Tuesday Teaser 9/8/15: Olivia’s Mate
The teaser is pretty short this week. Sorry about that! I am submitting a short, short snip to a Halloween anthology and it took me much longer to do that than I expected it to. That will be coming out in mid-October and I’;ll share details with you when I get them.
I did settle on a name for the story and it is Daughters of the Wolf Clan 1: Olivia’s Mate. That means, as I’m sure you guessed, that there very well might be more stories in the Daughters series. Victoria? Patia? Maybe. And here is the cover art. As I said, the snip is short, but I hope you can enjoy it anyway.
Uncle Hawk nodded to Nathan and told him to follow Kit, but Marty waved him back. “I’ll go,” he said.
Victoria stiffened in protest. “But lunch,” she began.
Marty glanced regretfully at the workroom. “Hate to miss that good food. And I especially hate missing time with you, but sometimes a man has to do what he has to do. Ray?”
“Yeah,” Ray grumbled. “Right behind you.”
The two Madison men went to the workroom to collect their coats and came back out and left the store, leaving Patia and Victoria looking miffed. Uncle Hawk and told them all his gravelly low voice to hurry up and get their drinks before the food got cold.
Olivia selected a root beer and took it back to the workroom. She grabbed a seat at the end of a table. As she expected all the girls wanted to sit beside her and pump her for information.
Kit was here. Olivia had a hard time believing it. Had he really been searching for her, or was this meeting accident?
Predictably, Victoria secured the seat beside her. Aunt Carla and Patia sat across the table from her. The inquisition was coming, but Olivia hoped food would delay it. Uncle Hawk was eating standing up, leaning a shoulder on the wall behind Olivia. Nathan was at one side of the door, with his dad Red Wing at the other. All three of the wolf warriors exuded an air of watchfulness. No, watchdog-edness. If a stranger passed through that door, he might not live to go back out. Olivia felt like her shoulders were weighed down with lead. They were going to ask her questions that she didn’t want to answer, maybe couldn’t answer.
Victoria’s bowl of spaghetti was heaped full, and two garlic breadsticks balanced over the edge of the bowl. She twirled pasta masterfully around her fork and ate it with a hum of appreciation. After devouring half the bowl and one breadstick, she slowed down enough to nudge Olivia’s shoulder.
“So, that’s the crazy feline who stole you?”
Olivia took her time chewing her breadstick. “Yep.”
Her cousin looked at her for a long minute, her fork unmoving. “He doesn’t look all that scary,” she said with a thoughtful tone.
Olivia remembered when she’d first woken up in his cave. He had tried to rape her. He thought she wanted to have sex, and that her struggles were just a game. That had been scary. He did look young and boyish and handsome, but he was a mountain cat who didn’t understand the way civilized people lived. But she couldn’t say any of that. Uncle Hawk and Uncle Red Wing and Nathan could hear every word they said, and she knew they were already itching to kill Kit.
“It was scary when he first took me,” she admitted carefully. “But he didn’t hurt me.”
Aunt Carla tapped a finger on the table to get her attention. “You be careful with him. He’s already shown what he is willing to do.”
“Yes, Aunt Carla,” Olivia replied respectfully. But she was remembering what he had said to Uncle Hawk. He had admitted he was wrong to steal her but he loved her and wanted to court her. Was that truth, or was he just saying what he thought they wanted to hear. Uncle Stone would be here in a few days. If Kit was still here, Stone could tell her if Kit was lying.
“Don’t worry, Aunt Carla,” Nathan said darkly. “Olivia won’t be alone for a minute with him.”
September 4, 2015
Winner!
CENDI
Congrats, Cendi!
Thank you all so much for your helpful comments and suggestions. I am going to read every comment and make notes, and then try to put together a cover for the story. I think I’m going to go with OLIVIA’S MATE Daughters of the Wolf Clan 1. I’m not sure when, but I will write Victoria’s story. She’s a lot like her mom, and I loved writing Glory.
September 1, 2015
Tuesday Teaser 9/1/15: Kit
Chapter Nine
Kit immediately winced. That wasn’t what he was supposed to say when he found his mate! Justin had told him over and over that when he found his mate he should first approach her father. Swallowing, Kit forced his gaze from his beautiful mate and looked around her father. He remembered that man. Tall, lanky, with a hard, narrow face and long white hair. Not white with age alone, although the man was probably sixty years old, but the blond so light in color that it appeared white. His gaze strayed again to Olivia, whose hair was nearly the same color, but much more beautiful. She was pressed against the clear glass of a door, half hidden behind a large man who scowled ferociously.
Again, he tore his attention from his mate and glanced around. Two young men stood near his mate. He tilted his head, studying them. He was sure he didn’t know them, but they were strangely familiar. Their faces were distorted into snarls that were almost cat-like. No, not almost. Could they be part of a pride here? He stared hard at them for a moment.
But they weren’t his mate’s kin. None of the men here were the ones he had seen that night so long ago. The one standing in front of Olivia was older than the others, his thick black braids streaked with gray. He must be the man in charge. Kit inhaled, preparing to deliver his memorized speech, but paused, trying to puzzle out which greeting was most appropriate for this time of day. Good morning wasn’t right, since it was noon, and good afternoon wasn’t right either, since it wasn’t after the noon hour yet. But he couldn’t stand here like an idiot. Several men had moved to surround him. He took another breath and spoke to the elder man.
“Good noon, sir. I am Christopher McQueen. I would like permission to court Olivia Stensrud. I would be greatly honored to win her for my wife.”
He didn’t take his gaze away from the man he addressed, but he heard several feminine gasps. He was sure one of them came from his mate. The man stared back, eyes narrowed.
“Olivia?” he ground out. “Do you know this pup?”
“I— I— Well, I…”
Since she was only a step behind the man, Kit risked a quick glance at his stuttering mate. Her face was pale, her eyes huge as they stared at him.
“Yes or no, Olivia?” the man demanded.
“Well, Uncle Hawk, um, I … No…Um,” she managed. “Sort of?”
Kit rushed to the next portion of his memorized speech. It wasn’t time for it yet, but his poor mate couldn’t seem to speak. “Sir, I met Miss Stensrud a year ago in Colorado. I must confess to you that I was young and since I was raised in strict seclusion, I was inexperienced with societal expectations.” Kit had practiced that tongue twisting sentence over and over so he could speak it clearly. He wasn’t sure exactly what it meant, but Justin had convinced him it was the proper thing to say. “In my ignorance, I made a terrible error. I took Olivia, I mean Miss Stensrud, home with me without courting her or obtaining her father’s permission first. I deeply regret that, and I hope that you will forgive my blunder.”
To one side, a very tall woman, as tall as he was himself, lifted one brow. “My, my,” she drawled. “You never said he was so handsome, Liv.”
The man slashed one hand out, eyes still glaring at Kit. “No.” The syllable was harsh and flat.
“No?” Kit echoed, heart sinking. “She’s my mate,” he insisted in a low, quiet voice.
The man leaned a little closer and sniffed deeply. “You don’t have a wolf. She’s not your mate.”
Kit put his shoulders back. “She is my mate. I’m not a wolf. I am mountain cat.”
One of the men beside Olivia spat, “I knew it!”
Kit went on to another bit of his memorized speech, and put as much humble sincerity into his voice as he could. “I know I did wrong. I’m sorry for it. I want Olivia to be my wife. I will love her for the rest of my life.”
“That’s gonna be short,” the man growled. “If you walk out that door right now, I’ll let you.”
His mate poked the man in the back. “Uncle Hawk, we live in the modern world! This is 2091, not 2021. It’s up to me who I marry. Within reason, of course,” she hurried to add. She glanced at him and his heart froze for a long moment while their gazes met and held.
“I don’t know about courting,” she said, still staring at him. “But I’d like to talk to him.”
The man she called uncle scowled even more darkly. “After supper is served and the kitchen and seating floor are cleaned,” he said, reluctantly.
Olivia’s smile trembled a bit. It did something to his stomach that Kit didn’t really understand, but it made him smile back. “The Plane Women’s Eatery,” she told him. “Supper is served from five o’clock until seven o’clock. Clean up takes about an hour. If you come at 8:15 we can sit and talk until nine o’clock.”
“And not a minute longer,” he uncle warned him. “And you won’t be alone either.”
“Yes, sir,” he said respectfully. He would see his mate tonight. They would talk then. He smiled at her, trying to keep the joy bubbling up inside him from taking him over. “Until tonight, Miss Stensrud.”
August 31, 2015
Tuesday Truth 9/1/15: Enter To Win an Amazon Gift Card!
#1 Olivia’s Mate
#2 Kit’s Mate
#3 Daughter of the Wolf Clan
Tomorrow there will be a teaser from Kit’s Point of View. But for today, I think it’s time I settled on a title for Kit and Olivia. I am not a graphic artist, and just trying to make a cover brings me to tears of frustration. But I’ve slapped together 3 mock ups of a cover for this story, with the three titles. These are only mock ups and I’ll fine tune whichever one we settle on. This will be a freebie available through Wattpad and here on my website. I want it to be as good as it can be, but I am really just an amateur. I don’t want to spend money for a freebie because I’m cheap like that
Anyway, leave a comment below to vote for which cover is your favorite and why, and on Friday September 4th I will draw a name to win a $10.00 Amazon gift card. The drawing will be at 6:00pm central daylight time and I will email the winner to let them know they have $10 (or the equivalent thereof in the currency of their country) to spend. Labor Day weekend + book money = Happy Reader!
Oh, and just so you know, if none of these titles and/or covers appeals to you, feel free to nominate something else.
Good Luck!
August 24, 2015
Tuesday Teaser 8/25/2015: Daughter of the Wolf Clan
Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Part II
Fourteen Months Later
Kearney, Nebraska
Chapter 8
Olivia shifted her sewing basket to a more comfortable position on her hip and waited for Red Wing and Nathan to finish their quick sweep of the Martins’ Trading Post before stepping into the store. Behind her were some of the other single women from the Plane Women’s House, but she paused in just inside to inhale the spicy scent of the Christmas potpourri Hannah Martin had sitting in bowls around the store. Olivia loved Christmas. She loved the little conspiracies of making gifts in secret to surprise her family, she loved baking and eating the Christmas goodies, and she loved having everyone she loved gathered all together in one place. Last year had been difficult, because her family hadn’t been with her. It was her first Christmas ever without her family. Her parents and brothers had stayed at the ranch, and although she loved her cousins and friends in Kearney, it hadn’t been the same. But this year everyone was coming to the den to celebrate. Christmas Day was only three weeks off, and her parents would be here on the 22nd.
“Do you mind?” groused her cousin Victoria from behind her.
“Oh, sorry.”
Olivia stepped further into the store and to the side, to let the other women enter. Red Wing nodded and gave his daughter Kendra a sharp look. “You be good today.”
Seventeen-year-old Kendra sighed. “I’m always good, Dad.”
He smiled. “I know. Well, have fun sewing. We’ll bring the lunch at noon.”
Hannah Martin waved to them from behind the counter.
“Go on back to the workroom, ladies,” she called. “We’ll be getting started in a few minutes.”
Olivia led Vic, Nikki, Sammie, and Kendra through the store to the room in the back that had been made into a workplace where the Lisa & Hannah clothing line was created. The Lupa from the den and her daughter Patia were already there, along with Paisley, the daughter of Snake and Mel, and Angela, Quill and Ellie’s daughter. Lisa Madison, her daughter Emily, and her son Ray and her brother-in-law Marty were there too. Patia and Ray were standing close together, whispering to each other. Olivia stopped for a moment, wondering how they were getting away with it. She looked around quickly. None of Patia’s brothers were here, which explained it. Uncle Taye had –amazingly—given permission for Ray and Patia to court, but normally the boys would have forced them to maintain a chaste distance. Aunt Carla didn’t seem to notice that her daughter and her beau were practically leaning on each other.
Victoria cleared her throat. “Mart,” she purred, pushing past Olivia to saunter toward the mayor’s younger brother like a wolf stalking prey.
Marty smiled at her. “Good morning, Miss Victoria. It’s nice to see you again.”
“Call me Vic,” she invited. “All my friends do.”
Olivia walked over to a long work table and put the sewing basket down. Not only was the spicy scent of Christmas potpourri in the air, she reflected, but so was love. For everyone but her. Her earlier happy mood began to slip, and she doggedly grabbed hold of it to keep it from disappearing.
“Good morning,” said Mrs. Madison with a smile. “Thank you so much for coming to help us out.”
She smiled at back Mrs. Madison. “Good morning. I’ll do my best to help, but I’m not much of a seamstress.”
Mrs. Madison, wife of the mayor of Omaha and the Lisa half of Lisa & Hannah Originals, waved that off. “We have so many orders to get out for Christmas that we’re happy to take any help. If you can press a seam or sew on a button, you’ll be a godsend. Even someone to sweep the floor and collect pins will be needed.”
“I think I can manage that part.”
Olivia turned to survey the work room. There were four long tables, each with a sewing machine on one end and a padded pressing surface on the other. Dressmaker dummies in a variety of sizes stood along the walls in various stages of undress. Bolts of fabric leaned drunkenly in corners. It was completely foreign to Olivia. She could rope a calf and slap a brand on it, but sewing was not her forte.
“Run along now, boys,” Lisa said sternly to her son and brother-in-law. “Marty, your mom needs you at home this morning. Her wood box is getting low. Ray, your dad is expecting you at the stables.”
“OK, Mom. We’ll be back for lunch,” Ray said agreeably. “We don’t want to miss the food Miz Renee is sending over.”
Lisa muttered, “Of course not.”
Marty gave Vic one last smile. Olivia didn’t think he was anywhere near as handsome as Ray, but she admitted that smile completely made up for it. She waited until the men had left and then gave Vic a raised brow.
“How serious are you about him?”
Victoria smirked like a cat in the cream. “More serious all the time.”
“Really? Do you think Uncle Shadow will approve?”
Vic swung out of her coat and hung it over the back of a chair. “Mom talked him into letting me come to Kearney for the winter to meet men. I’m only doing what I’m supposed to.” She made a face. “Besides, I’m twenty-six years old. How much longer do I need to wait to find a man my dad approves of? Much longer and my girl parts will forget what they’re for.”
Hannah came in then, and she and Lisa conferred briefly before assigning tasks to everyone. Kendra, the youngest of them, was the best at using a sewing machine, since she’d been working for Lisa and Hannah for two years. Olivia manned one of the irons while Victoria, Angela, and Paisley cut pattern pieces out of fabric at the same table.
Paisley slanted a glance at Victoria. “Are you really interested in Martin Madison? Or just playing?”
The shears sliced through fabric with a sound between a rasp and a crunch. Victoria arched both brows at her twenty-year-old cousin. “Why? Did you already stake a claim to him?”
“No.” Paisley made a face. “He’s too old for me.”
“Uh-huh. He’s all of what, twenty-six?” Victoria’s lips curved in amusement. “We were born in the same month in the same year. I remember meeting him a few times we were kids. Couldn’t stand him back then. But it’s been probably fifteen years, and he’s improved.”
From the table beside theirs, Patia said, “Ray is much better looking. He’s the handsomest man in Kearney.”
“Ray is good-looking,” Victoria admitted. “And he’s a good guy. But Marty’s the guy for me. I don’t know what it is about him, but I really like him. Some people might think he’s Kearney’s representative to the state assembly because he’s a son of the last mayor and the brother of the current mayor, but he’s a leader. He’s not an Alpha the way dad is Alpha. He’s quieter, gentler in his attitude, but he’s still an Alpha.”
Olivia laid a half constructed blouse over her ironing surface, and considered what she knew of Marty Madison. He spent a lot of time in Omaha, so she didn’t know him as well as she knew his nephew Ray. She thought Victoria was probably right. In his quiet, laid-back way, Marty was an Alpha. She handed pressed blouse back to Patia and smiled at Victoria. “And he has a killer smile.”
Victoria winked. “Yep, that smile doesn’t hurt his chances at landing me for a bride.” She looked across the table at Paisley. “So, if it’s not Marty that’s caught your eye, who has?”
Paisley had a fair complexion that showed her blush clearly. “I like Josh Gray,” she said softly.
Victoria whistled. “What does Uncle Snake think of that?”
“He says he likes Josh, but he’s too young to marry anyone yet.”
Olivia pictured Josh Gray in her mind. He was young, maybe twenty. He worked for his father Doug Gray in the power plant south of Kearney. The power generated by the collection of wind turbines, river water wheels, and the sun was what ran the lights, the iron, and the sewing machines in this workshop. It was an important job and guaranteed Josh a good living.
Angela said in a very small voice, “Lars Overdahl has invited me to join him and his family for Christmas dinner.”
“Well, you’re family.” Victoria smoothed the paper pattern over the blue wool fabric. “Your brothers are going too, right?”
Angela drew herself up to her full height, which was a foot less than Victoria’s. “My brother Connor is related to the Overdahls. My mother’s first husband was Mr. Overdahl’s brother. But I am not related to them. That’s not why I’m invited to Christmas dinner.”
All of them stared at Angela. Like her mother Ellie, she was petite and pretty, but her hair was like her father’s, golden brown curls cascading nearly to her waist. She lifted her chin and stared back at them.
Victoria flapped the hand that didn’t hold the scissors. “Seriously? You’re only nineteen! Uncle Quill won’t let anyone court you yet. No way.”
“Well, he is,” Angela said firmly. “I told him so.”
Victoria scowled around at all her young cousins and slapped her scissors into her other hand. “Why is every single father in the Clan more reasonable than mine?” she growled. She shot a glare at Olivia. “So who are you courting?”
Olivia froze. So did everyone else, including Victoria. The ghosts of the men she had flirted with since coming to Kearney a year and a half ago danced in the air between them. When each man had worked up the courage to ask Uncle Des for permission to call on her, she had told him to deny them. At the beginning of each courtship, she had thought she could love the man, but when it came right down to it, she knew she couldn’t. She plastered a smile onto her face.
“No one,” she said with false cheer. “You all have a clear field.”
Victoria growled out a curse. “That was awkward. Liv, I’m sorry.”
Paisley looked directly at Olivia. “Awkward,” she agreed. “But word is getting around that you’re a heart breaker. How many men have you turned down?”
Olivia wanted to shout that she hadn’t meant to hurt any of them. “Six,” she said defensively. “What? It just never worked out. And there hasn’t been anyone in months.”
“Maybe because everyone knows to steer clear of you now,” Paisley suggested.
That hurt. Olivia returned to pressing with fierce concentration until Victoria touched her shoulder lightly.
“Is it because of that damn cat who stole you?” she asked softly.
Of course it was because of Kit. She compared every man she flirted with to him. Every man who courted her was better than Kit in every way. They were civilized, with jobs, and manners, and decent morals, and comfortable homes. But somehow none of them was enough to banish him from her memory. She swallowed now. “Of course not. I just haven’t found the right man yet.”
Victoria raised a pale brow, but to Olivia’s relief, turned the subject. Talk turned to Christmas and what they were making for their fathers and their brothers. It helped Olivia relax, and the morning passed quickly. It didn’t seem like it could be noon when the door opened and the scent of Renee’s spaghetti and meatballs filled the air.
Red Wing and Hawk carried the insulated food boxes to the nearest table. Nathan carried a basket full of plates and flatware from the Eatery. “Renee says to eat it right away while it’s still hot,” Hawk called.
There was a flurry of activity while the fabric and clothing items were put away to keep them from collecting food stains, and the tables were covered by plain muslin. While that was going on, Ray and Marty came in, inhaling appreciatively.
“There are drinks in the store,” Mrs. Martin said. “Coffee, hot and cold cider, water, root beer. Help yourselves to whatever you like and bring it back here.”
Marty waited for Vic to join him, and Patia walked alongside Ray into the store. Olivia was right behind them. Pete was behind the counter ringing up a sale for a farmer from south of town. He was the only customer in the store. The rest of them spread through the one room store in search of beverages. Olivia was at the cold case with Marty and Vic on one side of her and Patia nd Ray on the other when the bell above the door jangled. She glanced away from the bottled drinks to see who the new customer was. So did Ray and Marty.
She frowned a little, not recognizing the newcomer. That was strange. By now she should be familiar with everyone in town. Her breath caught. No, he was familiar. The man was young, wearing a green knitted hat pulled over his forehead and a thick brown wool coat. Standing behind her, Uncle Hawk stiffened, inhaling deeply. He wheeled to take a step in front of her and fix a cold black stare on the newcomer. That wasn’t unusual; it was what happened anytime a strange man was in the vicinity of a woman of the Clan. Marty’s reaction was startling. His lip peeled back in a feral snarl and his eyes took on an odd green glow. He locked gazes with his nephew for one moment.
“Stranger cat,” he hissed.
The newcomer pulled off his hat, revealing golden brown hair that lay in neat waves along his head to a ponytail at his nape. He looked around the store and his green-gold eyes lit when they found her. He smiled in simple happiness and spoke the words that sealed his fate.
“My mate. At last I have found you.”
