Chapter 7

Fisher

I showup at the Wolf Sanctuary first thing the next morning. I've got a picnic basket in the backseat, and I grab it before heading for the front door. I knock a few times and wait, but no one comes to answer the door.

She must be out with the wolves already,I think, when the sound of a motor roars to life nearby.

I round the house right as Vera comes by, and she skids to a stop next to me.

"Fisher? What are you doing here?" She asks, turning off the four-wheeler.

"I'm here for our second date."

"Um, did we make plans for that?"

"Not exactly, but I told you I'd see you today. I thought you could show me around this place. We can hang out and have lunch," I tell her, holding up the picnic basket.

"Is this your way of viewing the property before you try to buy it?" She asks, and I shake my head.

"No, I swear."

She frowns but finally relents.

"I need to get started with everything. Why don't you put that basket in the house?"

"So, you can drive off as soon as I'm gone?" I ask, and she blushes.

"No," she lies, and I laugh.

"Come with me. You can show me where to put it."

She sighs but climbs off and leads me over to the house. We head inside, and I look over. The house is a bit dated, but it's clean and everything seems well taken care of.

There are some framed photos on the wall of Vera when she was younger, with two people who can only be her parents. A lot of the photos have wolves in the background, and I smile. I remember how she told me that the wolves were the only family that she had left. At the time, I assumed that she was just trying to be funny or lighten the mood, but it's obvious that it's the truth.

"I think that can fit in the fridge," Vera says and I hurry to catch up to her. The kitchen is clean except for a plate with some crumbs next to the sink.

Vera opens the fridge, and I step up next to her and slide the basket onto the top shelf. Her fridge is pretty empty, and I frown at the few things in there.

"What do you eat?" I ask her, and she huffs out a little laugh.

"Cereal and sandwiches mostly. By the time I'm done for the day, I'm usually too tired to bother."

Our fingers brush as I reach for the fridge door and close it. She inhales sharply, and I glance at her. Our eyes lock, and I know then that she can feel this thing between us. It's right there in her eyes.

How do I get her to give in to those feelings though?

"We should get going," she says, and I nod.

I follow her outside to the four-wheeler and climb on after her. She takes off, and I smile as I wrap my arms around her. She doesn't tense and I take that as a good sign. We cruise down a trail and through the woods. I look around, spotting a few squirrels and some other wildlife. This place seems so peaceful. I can see why she loves it here and why my location scout was so excited about this place.

We reach a fork in the trail and she takes the left path. We pass some kind of training ring and then enter a field, and my breath catches as I see the pack.

Vera stops the four-wheeler, and I let her climb off first. I hesitate before I follow after her. The wolves spot us and a few of them come over.

"They're friendly," Vera tells me, and I nod.

She pets one of them, and I reach out, running my fingers along the wolf closest to me and feeling their soft fur. They're so much taller than I was expecting them to be. I thought that they would be like oversized dogs, but they're so much bigger than that.

"Okay, come on guys! Stormy, Thunder, Rosie, you're with me!"

"Where are we going?" I ask her as she takes off down the path the way we came.

"To the training ring. I try to do at least two groups a day. It helps with their mental stimulation and helps build a bond between us," she explains.

"It's cool that you can do all of this."

"You could too, if you wanted to."

"Yeah?"

"Sure. I'll teach you."

She wants to teach me something that she loves. That has to be a good sign, right?

"Come on," she yells to the few wolves behind us as she enters the training ring.

I notice that the rest of the pack is close behind, but she makes sure that only a few wolves come into the ring with us.

I stand off to the side as she calls to get them in order. I watch as she starts the session and smile. She's so calm and at ease here. She's in her element. She's amazing and absolutely mesmerizing to watch. She has control over the wolves, and you can see the love and trust between them.

I lean against the fence and watch as she has the wolves jump up onto podiums or run across bridges. She rewards each of them with some praise and a piece of meat. She smiles as she finishes up with the first group and lets them out to join the pack.

"Now what?" I ask her.

"Now I check the property for anything that could hurt them. Then I need to check on the pack and make sure that each of them is doing okay and acting normally."

"Then what?"

"Then we eat," she says with a wide grin.

"Lead the way."

I follow her over to the pack and watch as she goes up to some. She walks through the wolves, her eyes scanning over them. She crouches next to one, running her hands down the wolf's legs.

"Everything okay?" I call, and she nods.

"Yeah, she was acting strange the other day, but she seems to be back to normal today."

We head back to the four-wheeler, and I climb on behind her. She takes off down the trail, and I hold onto her. Feeling her soft curves pressed against me is a sweet kind of torture. My brain starts to imagine a different way for us to be pressed together and I have to shake my head and put some distance between our bodies so she doesn't feel my arousal.

She drives around the property, and I just try to enjoy the ride and the views. Soon enough, we're pulling up next to the house again, and I'm following her inside.

Vera washes her hands and I join her at the sink.

"What did you pack for lunch?" She asks me as she pulls out the picnic basket.

"I picked up some wraps and sandwiches from the market. Oh, and some salads and stuff."

She opens the basket and starts to pull out the food while I wash my hands.

"Oh, dibs on the spicy club," she says, and I smile.

"Do you like spicy foods?"

"Love them. I think I ate Flaming Hot Cheetos like every day growing up."

We take our seats at the table, and I pass her the spicy club wrap and grab the BLT for myself. She stands and grabs us a couple of plates and some forks.

"I love this pasta salad," she says, and I nudge that towards her.

"What about the potato salad?" I ask, and she shrugs.

"I've never had it before, but it looks good."

We eat and spend the next half-hour asking each other questions. It's easy stuff like favorite weather and least favorite condiment. I can see Vera starting to open up and relax around me.

My phone starts to ring and I pull it out, silencing it when I see my assistant's name on the screen.

"Need to get that?" Vera asks, and I shake my head.

"No, I'm all yours today."

We finish lunch and head back outside and to the training ring. I watch her with the next set of wolves, and towards the end, she turns to me.

"Want to give it a try?" She calls to me, and I nod.

"Sure."

"Come stand here," she instructs, and I do as she says.

She shows me how to call out to the wolves and use the riding crop to direct them. They don't respond to me as well as they do her, but she assures me that it's just because they don't know and trust me well yet.

Just like her,I think.

"What now?" I ask as we head back to the four-wheeler.

"I need to get their food ready," she says a second before she takes off.

We head to the barn behind her house, and I follow her inside. There's a kitchen off to the right, and she heads there.

"What can I do to help?" I ask her, and she smiles.

"Nothing. I just need to go put this out for them, and then I'm going to call it a night. I'm beat."

I can tell that she's trying to get rid of me. I'm not sure what went wrong. Maybe she's just getting sick of me, or maybe she realized that her guard was dropping and is scared.

I decide to give her the space she's asking for and nod.

"Are you sure? I don't mind sticking around and helping out."

"No, I've got it."

She gives me a tight smile, her eyes darting to me and then away, and I nod.

"Alright."

"I'll uh, I'll walk you to your car."

We turn and head out of the barn. Vera falls into step beside me, and I smile down at her.

"Thanks for today. I had fun," I say as we walk over to my car.

"Yeah, me too," she admits softly.

"Good. I'm glad."

I turn to her, smiling down at her and she gives me a quick smile in return.

"Fisher," she starts. "I, uh…"

I wait for her to go on, but she doesn't. After a moment, her mouth snaps shut and she looks away from me.

"Hey," I say softly, gripping her chin and forcing her to look at me. "You can tell me anything. I'm never going to hurt you."

I can see the war in her eyes. She wants to believe me, but some part of her still doesn't trust me.

"Alright," she whispers, and I smile.

My thumb brushes back and forth along her bottom lip and she sticks her tongue out, running it along her lip. When it brushes against my thumb, tingles erupt all over my body.

"Fuck, Vera," I murmur, and she nods.

It's a small nod, barely perceptible, but I see it and know what that means.

I lower my mouth towards her, and her lips part slightly as I close the gap between us. My mouth claims hers, and I tighten my grip on her, worried that she'll get away from me. She leans against me, though, and I smile.

That definitely has to be a good sign.

She pulls away a moment later before I can deepen the kiss, and I lick my lips, wanting to taste her there.

"One more date," she says, and I nod.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

She nods, turns, and heads back to the barn. I watch her until she disappears and then I get into my car and head back to the motel. I pull my phone out of my pocket as I go and dial my assistant. She picks up on the second ring.

"Mr. Collins, I tried to reach you."

"I know, I was busy here. I need you to do something for me," I tell her before she can start talking about work stuff.

"Of course."

"I need you to get me in touch with a jeweler. I need an engagement ring."

"A ring?" She asks, sounding shocked, and I grin.

"Yeah, a ring and a wedding planner."

My assistant is surprised, and I don't blame her. I've never so much as talked about a girlfriend before and now I'm talking about getting married.

I know that Vera isn't officially mine yet, but I know that she will be. I always close the deal and this thing with her is the most important deal of my life. I won't stop until Vera is mine.

And she will be mine.