Laurel explained to him about the postcard. “In the basement in one of the maids’ rooms, a small letter C was carved into the baseboard, as if the maid claimed the room as her own. Maybe she’d been a maid.”
“So management lied about her working there.” He pondered that for a moment, then thought about what else she’d said. “So she was seeing someone? That’s what Stanton said. It sounded like a love triangle.” His father and Warren Wernicke maybe? CJ ground his teeth.
“Yes, but Aunt Clarinda didn’t give a name. My mother wondered if the man was a mated wolf, or if he was human and she didn’t want my mother to know.”
“If he was human, would your aunt have turned him if he had returned the affection?”
“My mother thought she would. Aunt Clarinda was often reckless. She hadn’t liked their father’s rule and had run off on her own when she was just a teen.”
“All I can say is that we’ll do everything we can to learn the truth. I wanted to tell you about my father’s previous crimes, but maybe in doing so, I’ve caused you to worry about more when there’s no reason to, and for that, I’m truly sorry.”
“No, thank you for telling me. Thanks for taking me skiing and for the run tonight. And”—she smiled a little—“for humoring me and helping me to track down the ghost wolf. I had fun, but I’m exhausted. The business with the Wernicke brothers is troubling too. It’s just a lot to absorb.”
He started to get out of the truck to walk her to the house, but she shook her head. “I’ll see myself inside. Thank you.”
She was out of the truck in a flash, stalking through the snow on the stone path that led to her front door. She waved good night, and he waited until she had gone inside and turned on a light.
He’d wanted this night to end differently. A kiss, maybe sharing a drink—and something more to eat because he was hungry again.
If his father had something to do with Laurel’s aunt’s disappearance, CJ didn’t think he would ever fully come to grips with what Sheridan Silver had done.
* * *
Later CJ stood in his kitchen, trying to decide what to make to eat, not really caring about the kind of food when all he wanted was to make the situation right with Laurel. He yanked out the leftover spaghetti and stuck it in the microwave. His cell phone rang and he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Brett. CJ thought he knew what his brother’s call was all about. “Hey, Brett…”
“Yeah, Brother. Are you free to share a meal with me? Or are you busy?”
CJ would have loved to have been busy in the way his brother meant. “I’m free.”
“I’m on my way.”
CJ suspected Brett had gotten word about the situation with the Wernicke brothers and the MacTires’ missing aunt. Knowing Brett, CJ thought his brother wanted to make sure things were all right.
Feeling a bit cheered that he’d have Brett to talk to, CJ thought again of Laurel and how she was all alone. He wished her sisters were home already. Better yet, he wished that he and she hadn’t ended the night on such a sour note. He took a deep breath, wishing he could say something that would make her feel better. But until they learned who had done what and resolved the issue with the Wernicke brothers, he didn’t feel he could say anything to her that would help.
He pulled the container of leftover spaghetti out of the microwave and put it back in the fridge.
Within twenty minutes, Brett was at CJ’s house. CJ swore his brother was over here more than he was at his own house. Though he loved Brett’s company and was glad for it, especially tonight.
“How’s it going with Laurel?” Brett asked as he brought in groceries—steaks, pumpkin pie, whipped cream, and a premade salad.
At least his brother always brought food. And it was good food. Though when CJ saw the pumpkin pie, he thought of how he had missed sharing some of that seven-layer chocolate cake with Laurel.
“I thought I’d come over tonight because you’ll be busy tomorrow night and for however long it will be before the Wernicke brothers give up their ploy to avenge their supposed aunt and uncle’s deaths and take over the property.”
“Even if the hotel had been willed to them, they lost the right to it when the family abandoned it and the pack had to pay the taxes on it,” CJ said.
“Unless they decide to lawyer up and fight, or use their TV program. They might still try to claim the hotel is haunted or do anything else they can to ruin it for the women. Post bad reviews, and so on. Hell, they might even air a segment on the theft of their hotel with speculation about the tryst that ended in their aunt and uncle’s murders. I don’t trust them.”
CJ didn’t want to worry about what-ifs, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Stanton Wernicke’s claims. CJ knew the sisters would be devastated if they had to give up the hotel due to bad publicity. Even if they planned to leave, he knew they hadn’t intended to uproot this soon. And for now, the hotel was their special endeavor, not the Wernickes’.
The rest of the pack members were delighted to have the sisters living here. He doubted anyone would feel the same way about the brothers. Taking the property from the MacTires would be an underhanded thing to do under any circumstances, after the women had worked so hard to renovate it.
He had to consider how he’d feel if he and his brothers had just learned the property was theirs and… Hell, he was certain his brothers would feel as he did. The hotel belonged to the sisters.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to deal with it if it comes to pass.”
“What would you do if you learned the hotel was ours?”
Brett started cooking the steaks and grinned at him. “Hell, that’s easy.”
CJ wondered what Brett had in mind, but he knew from his brother’s expression that he was not taking this seriously.
“Move in with them. I definitely wouldn’t take over or kick them out of the place.”
CJ shook his head. “If you moved in, they’d be moving out in a heartbeat.”
Brett laughed. “Besides, before they can do anything about anything, you’ll most likely be setting up housekeeping with Laurel. After that, her sisters are sure to fall for a couple of the rest of us lucky wolves. Even if they don’t have a hotel, they won’t be going anywhere.”
“You know they will leave,” CJ said gloomily. “This is their livelihood. Like writing for the newspaper has brought you lots of enjoyment, and solving crimes or keeping people safe has been the best thing for me. Take their business away from them and they’re sure to leave. There’s nothing we can do about what the ladies decide to do, but we can help them as much as possible and hope they stay.”
CJ pulled out plates and began to set the table.
Brett flipped the steaks. “I heard about the situation with the aunt.”
CJ tore off some paper towels for napkins and frowned. “That’s why they were being so standoffish with the pack for so long.”
“That changed today though,” said Brett.
“How?” CJ asked. After he had mentioned their father, Laurel had put on the brakes big-time with him.
“Hell, Brother. The news about you being on the slopes with Laurel and then running with her early this evening is all over the pack by now.”
“That was before we knew she and her sisters were here because of the disappearance of their aunt.”
“You didn’t have anything to do with it. She’s not going to blame you if one of our pack members had something to do with her aunt’s disappearance.”
“That was before I talked to her about Dad.”
Brett stared at him in disbelief, then let out his breath. “Ah, hell, CJ. You should have let sleeping dogs—”
CJ gave him an annoyed look.
“All right. I guess if I were in your shoes, I would have told her too. Just to clear the air and ensure that if she learned from someone else, it wouldn’t be a sticking point.”