Chapter 16

Owen knew Candice was feeling the strain of meeting her uncle the next day and keeping from shifting, which could prove disastrous. Actually, he was too. At least when he made love to her, she’d seemed focused on their lovemaking, and not on the events of the next day.

They had the morning to chill, so instead of joining Everett for breakfast, they had room service while Everett had breakfast in the hotel restaurant with Rowdy. Candice didn’t need to leave the hotel for another five hours to meet with Strom and the judge, so for now, Owen wanted her to be relaxed and not worry about anything. They had made love in the shower, dressed, and had just finished having bowls of oatmeal and blueberries when he asked, “Do you want to watch something on TV?”

Maybe that would help get her mind off the meeting.

“Sure, an on-the-edge-of-our-seats thriller.”

“You got it.”

They settled onto the bed together, pillows and spare pillows propped behind them as he wrapped his arm around her and found a good thriller—Red Eye.

They’d watched the movie and started another. They had barely gotten started when Candice’s cell phone rang. She tensed as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID.

“Uncle Strom,” she whispered, as if he could hear her words. “Now what?”

“Probably nothing.” But Owen didn’t think her uncle would bother her if it was nothing.

* * *

Candice loved Owen for trying his hardest to help her not to think about the signing. When Owen had been making love to her, she hadn’t given the pending meeting a thought. She’d hoped the thriller would take her mind off it, and she figured they’d just watch movies until they had to leave. She felt bad that they weren’t doing something with Everett since he’d brought them here, but the jaguar shifter had assured them he wanted Candice to be completely unstressed before they left for the meeting.

And then, right as she was snuggling with Owen, blanking out the business with her uncle and the judge, her phone rang. Sure enough, her uncle was calling, bringing the worry of what would happen next to the forefront again.

Owen muted the TV.

She answered the phone and put it on speaker. “Hello?”

“I want you to come over now,” Uncle Strom said.

“But the—”

“The signing of the paperwork isn’t until four this afternoon. I want to see you for a bit before then. I want to apologize for what I said to you and Owen in person.”

This was so not good. She had really planned only to meet him, sign the paperwork, and that was it. She hadn’t thought he would want to see any more of her than that. She was really surprised he wanted to spend some time with her. Unless he still didn’t believe who she was and was pretending he meant to apologize to her. Then again, he was worth billions. So why would he play games with her? Wouldn’t he be more professional than that?

“I insist.”

She wasn’t sure if he meant because he really didn’t trust who she was or he really wanted to see her.

“Okay. We’ll be there in an hour, as long as the traffic permits us.”

“All right. Plan to have lunch with me at noon and dinner with me after the signing.”

Could she last? Candice was so afraid she wouldn’t be able to. What then? She would have to bite him. Make him one of their pack. He could build a billionaire mansion on the lake in Minnesota. He might raise their property taxes though. Was she crazy, thinking he would be all right with her biting him? She would though. Then he’d know why she made up the book-signing story and couldn’t come home. He could be real family, now that she’d lost her parents. He could have family too, since he’d never married or had children of his own.

“I can have a car sent for you.”

To make sure she really came? No way. She didn’t want to have to bite his driver too, if she should have the urge to shift and couldn’t control it. “No, that’s okay. Our friend Everett, who lives in Dallas, brought us to Houston. He’ll drive us there, if that’s okay with you.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.”

“Okay, we’re headed out. See you in about an hour.”

They ended the call, and Candice felt her skin crawling with unease.

“I’ll let Rowdy and Everett know.” Owen got right on the phone and called Everett first, putting it on speaker. “Strom Hart wants us to have lunch and dinner with him at his house. He wants us there now so he can apologize to Candice and me. He said it’s fine for you to come with us.”

“I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

“Okay, Everett, thanks.” Owen called Rowdy next.

“I’ll meet you at his house with the police officers to arrest the impostor and her accomplice, the PI. I’ve already made arrangements with Mr. Hart concerning the matter.”

“Okay, good show.” When Owen ended the call, he squeezed Candice’s hand. “We can do this.”

“And if it doesn’t work out, I’m biting him.”

Owen smiled and kissed her cheek.

She was a little surprised. She thought maybe he would say no to that, or try to talk her out of it or something. But nope. Owen either didn’t believe she’d do it, or he also thought it was the only option.

When they met Everett in the lobby, he said to Candice, “I hope you don’t have to turn your uncle, should the situation get out of hand.”

“I agree. I just don’t see any other way around it.”

“If you have to shift and your uncle learns of it, just talk to him about it. Maybe he can accept us for what we are, like Rowdy does,” Owen said.

“Do you think Rowdy has a hidden agenda?”

“I suspect anyone who’s not one of us has an agenda, but in a different case, the man seems to be fine,” Everett said as they reached his car in the parking tower.

Candice frowned. “There are more who know about us?”

“One other man we know of. He works for a zoo in Portland, Oregon. He’s been quiet about it, so we’re good. But we still worry when anyone knows anything about us.”

“I feel the same way,” Candice said. Owen agreed.

They climbed into the car, and Everett headed out to the country.

“Rowdy just texted me and asked if he should come earlier. I told him no. That if we have trouble, we’ll have to deal with it the way we see fit.” Owen settled into the backseat.

“Have you ever been out to your uncle’s place?” Everett asked Candice.

“No. I’m really interested to see the kind of place he has. My parents’ home was pretty extravagant, though much more modest when I was younger.”

“I’ve never been to a mansion before,” Owen said.

Everett shook his head. “Me neither. What’s the deal with the impostor then? Is she coming at the same time? Or closer to the time of the signing?”

“I don’t know. I thought from what Rowdy said, they planned to arrest them at the house. It sounds to me like they’re not going to meet him at the signing. Or go there even,” Owen said. “Which would be the best for all concerned.”

“Sounds good. I would think it would confuse the issue if you both showed up to sign for the money and properties.” Everett turned off the highway and headed onto another.

“I agree. And I think my uncle would prefer to keep this in the family, not make frontline news if he can help it. At least I would think so.” Candice couldn’t believe how nervous she was about seeing her uncle. It wasn’t about proving who she was to him, but feeling guilty all over again about not being there for her mother and father when they needed her most. She wondered if her uncle had gone to see them when she couldn’t.

Forty minutes later, they entered the gated property, started down the long drive, and finally saw the four-story home in the distance, a round tower on each corner making it look like a medieval manor. It was a palatial, ivory brick mansion, way out of the city and surrounded by forests. It was beautiful, and Candice thought that if it wasn’t for her wolf shifting problems, she would have liked to have visited him here, just to see the estate, if nothing more.

She was already thinking of a billionaire wolf story set here as they drove up the long drive to the mansion. It had a large circle drive in front of it and a six-car unattached garage off the side—with the doors all shut, which made her wonder if he really had that many vehicles. A large pond sat off to one side of the property, with a rock waterfall built into a man-made hill and a fountain spouting water in the center. A gazebo was perched above, overlooking the picturesque pond where a couple of black swans were swimming. She wondered if koi were swimming in it too.

“Can we stop over there for a moment?” Candice asked, wanting to see for herself.

Everett parked the Suburban.

“Setting for a story,” Owen said, guessing.

“My story. Not yours.”

Everett laughed. “You’re writing a book too?”

“New writer,” Owen quickly said. “But yeah, Candice thinks it has possibility. And she’s more the expert than me.”

“More than possibility. It’s great. I think I’m the heroine in the story. No faults at all.”

Everett laughed.

“Does she need to have faults? I can add some.”

Smiling, Candice shook her head and pulled out her phone, capturing shots of the gazebo, the fountain, the colorful orange-and-gold koi, and the swans for future reference.

Once she was done, they got back into the car and headed the rest of the way to the house. She felt a little better, having taken the time to stop for a few minutes. She hoped the guys didn’t think she was nuts for wanting to take pictures and see the fish. But it was more than that. She’d wanted to breathe in the fresh air for a second and fortify herself before she had to face what came next.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of her uncle or what he might say or do, but about what might happen in the time they had to stay there if she or Owen—or horrors, both of them—had to shift.

The place was so big that she couldn’t imagine her uncle living in the house all by himself. He probably had gala social events though. Maybe visiting guests a lot of the time. She hoped he didn’t invite her and Owen and Everett to stay for any longer than this. They’d have to decline.

Everett parked the car next to the brick walkway that led to the front door of the mansion, two giant bronze lion statues guarding the entrance.

With her stomach flip-flopping all over the place, Candice climbed out of the Suburban. She wondered if her uncle was watching them get out of the car.

She’d barely rung the doorbell when a man answered. He was blond-haired and green-eyed, wearing cargo pants, a sporty blue shirt, and cowboy boots. What she didn’t expect was for him to look over her shoulder at Everett and say, “Son-of-a-gun, Everett Anderson…” But then he switched his attention back to Candice and Owen. “What the hell.”

Which was just what she was thinking as she caught his scent. He smelled like a jaguar.