“The wolf laid his head in her lap and let her pet him,” Ren said, his black eyes soft on Merrie’s face.
“Now I know you’ve got talents.” Delsey laughed. “Taming wolves. Painting beautiful pictures.” She shook her head. “And all I can do is cook.”
“Baloney,” Merrie scoffed. “You’re a wonderful cook! Cooking is an art. You just watch those shows on TV. You’ll see!”
“Delsey could win any competition she set her mind to,” Ren agreed. “Are you coming down? Artists need feeding, too, you know.”
“I’m coming!”
She put the sketchbook down and followed them downstairs.
*
DELSEY HAD OUTDONE HERSELF. Ham. Mashed potatoes. Green beans that she’d cooked and canned the previous summer. Homemade rolls. And to top it off, a chocolate pound cake.
“I’m so stuffed that I’ll never make it up the stairs!” Merrie laughed. “Oh, what a meal!”
“Thanks,” Delsey said. “I figured the two of you would be tired and cold after spending most of the day out in the wind.”
“It’s snowing again,” Ren said. “I guess we’ll take the Jag to the party. It’s got better traction in snow.”
“The party?” Merrie asked.
“It’s tomorrow night. Forgot the date, did we?” he teased.
“But, you never told me when it was going to be,” she protested softly. “You just said I could go with you.” She hesitated. “I can’t dance, you know,” she added worriedly. “Daddy wouldn’t let us have music in the house, if he was home. Is dancing hard?”
“No. Well, I take that back,” he amended. “Some dancing is hard. I can’t do those impossible strange dances that some people like.”
“Impossible strange dances?” she queried softly.
He almost got lost in her eyes. Then he smiled. “The newer ones. They show them in movies.”
“Oh, those. I don’t think I could do them. And some of them look quite vulgar,” she added uncomfortably. “I’m sure I wouldn’t feel comfortable dancing like that in public.”
Delsey was beaming. Ren was smiling, but he had reservations. Maybe she was honest. But she was still Randall’s girl.
“How has Randall been?” Ren asked suddenly as he finished his second cup of coffee.
“Randall? Well, I don’t know,” she said honestly. “I haven’t talked to him since he brought me here.”
He scowled. “Don’t you have a cell phone?”
“I have six, actually,” she said shyly. “Throwaway phones. Paul said they asked him if he was a drug dealer when he bought them for me at Best Buy. It was a joke. He knows the clerk,” she added, laughing. “Paul says drug dealers use that sort of phone, so it can’t be traced. He knew I’d want to talk to Sari,” she added. “We haven’t ever been apart, except when she went to the Bahamas and almost died.” She lifted her coffee cup. “And now, of course. I miss her.”
“You can call her on the house phone anytime you like,” Ren said.
“I know. But I wouldn’t dare. Paul said there are ways to trace a call without going into a house where the phone is. The man might have somebody monitoring Sari’s calls. If he sees a number he can check out...well, it might be bad.”
“I’d forgotten about your stalker,” Delsey said. “I hope they can stop him. It must be awful.”
“It really is,” she said. “The cake was wonderful, Delsey. I’m going to go work on my drawing for a while before I go to sleep. Ren,” she added, “thanks for taking me to see the wolf. It really was awesome.”
He smiled. “You’re welcome, Meredith. Sleep well.”
“You, too. And Delsey.”
She left them and went upstairs, already lost in her drawing and the changes she had to make.
*
“MEN WHO STALK women should be locked up,” Delsey muttered. “Especially a nice girl like Merrie.”
Ren almost told her the truth. But Meredith hadn’t corrected Delsey when she’d called the man a stalker. He wasn’t going to, either. It would just worry the older woman, who was like a surrogate mother to him. He’d tell her when he had to.
“Yes,” he agreed. “They should.”
She glanced at him. “Your mother called.”
He froze. “Did she?”
“I know you don’t communicate with her, but she’s had some sort of medical test, and she’s worried. She wanted to talk to you.”
His jaw was set in stone. “Did she?” he repeated.
She drew in a long breath. “After someone’s gone, there’re no more opportunities to mend broken fences. You know what I mean?”