Jeff nodded and went to look at the mess where George landed. After a moment, he found a long nail covered in blood. “This is what got him,” Jeff said. “At least it wasn’t a splinter. Metal is a far cleaner wound. It nicked muscle and his diaphragm. Good thing he’s so damned big. If it had been anyone smaller, we’d have punctured a lung.”
“Jeff, will we have to move him?” asked Luc.
“No way we can. If he shifts, he’ll rip open the wound. He will break the stairs in this form. Just look what he did to the floor. You must have some sort of rot or termite infestation there. My guess would be water damage though. He was just too damn big for your floor. He’s going to have to stay in your basement for a few days if you don’t mind Angie,” said Jeff.
“Oh, I don’t mind. I’ve got plenty of blankets. Just let me know what to do,” Angie said.
“I’ll leave you a list, and Jeff will have things to add to it I’m sure,” said Martha.
Angie nodded. She looked around and was trying to decide where to start. Then something crossed her mind. “We must not call Ginny. If she finds out, she’ll be back here so fast that Patrick won’t even have time to blink,” she said. “Oh, and the kids. They mustn’t know either. They’d spill the beans in a second,” Angie added.
“She’s right,” said Meg. “We have to get things organized as to why George isn’t home tonight. Have to do it fast and get the word to Ysabel.”
“Easy enough done. Just tell Ysabel that George is spending the night at Angie’s.” said Luc. “It won’t be a lie, and she’ll just assume that George is having a grand time. I’ll get Cal and Peter to go over and help with the construction work on the house. We’ll get them to fix your floor too. We can all just keep up the illusion that George and Angie are having a lovely time,” he finished.
“Um,” started Angie.
“Don’t worry Angie. No one will know a thing until we tell them. If they get too nosy, we tell them the truth. This is George we’re talking about and we can explain the deception,” said Jeff. “I know this isn’t how you wanted the evening to end, but it will give you two more time to decide how you really feel about each other.”
“But what is George going to think of this?” asked Angie. She was torn between being worried and upset and it showed on her face.
“Angie, from the way he was cuddled up with you even though he was injured, he likes you a lot more than you may be giving him credit for,” said Martha.
Angie took this all in and blinked. She was just about to say something when the wolf moved. She was down next to his head before anyone else could move. “You hold still. Don’t you move,” she said in a stern voice. She petted his head and put her hand down on his head right behind his ears. He stopped moving. She looked up to find all of them smiling at her. “What? I’ve had dogs before,” she said. That started them all laughing.
“You know, she almost has the sub-vocals right. Good hand position too,” remarked Luc.
“You’ll do just fine,” said Jeff. “Now tell us where the bedding is so we can make him comfortable.”
Angie gave directions and in less than an hour, the mess was cleaned up, the floor blocked off where George had fallen through and the wolf was in a nest made up of pillows, and blankets. Angie had made up a pallet for herself as well. Every time she moved too far away, the wolf whimpered.
“I’ll check on you in the morning,” said Jeff.
“Me too. I’ll be by before work,” said Meg. “I’ll sit with him while you shower and get some breakfast.”
Angie smiled. “That would be nice. At least I have a bathroom down here. My keys are in my handbag. Take the front door key so you can lock up,” she said.
“We’ll do that. If you need us, call,” said Luc.
After hugs and goodbyes, the four left Angie and George for the night.
Angie made herself comfortable and then reached out to touch the furry head. “You know, this isn’t the way I had intended to spend the night with you,” she said. “Now I know how Meg felt when Luc got all chewed up by that bear. Makes me want to thump you and hold you all at the same time.”
That said, Angie pulled her blanket up around her shoulders and cuddled next to the wolf’s back.
The wolf hurt. Each breath poked and pulled. He could smell the little female next to him. She’d tried to help him and got the others. He wanted to thank her, but all he could do was whimper. “Little female sweet, warm.” he thought as he drifted off to sleep.
*
“Patrick, I can’t seem to raise anyone at the house,” said Ginny.
“Maybe no one is home,” he said.
“No answering machine either,” said Ginny.
“They probably have it disconnected in order to paint or clean,” said Patrick. “Just stop worrying. If something had gone wrong, they would have called us.”
“Or, maybe not figuring that I’d head home,” said Ginny. She felt something was wrong and couldn’t get a handle on what it was. Maybe the run tonight would make her feel better. They’d had two long days where they’d fallen asleep before they could go out for a bit. Their vacation was half over and while they hadn’t exactly kept to the schedule, they had gotten a lot done. Patrick had opted for a mellow day so they wouldn’t be so tired. After breakfast they took a short drive and came back to have lunch at the Dog Bar. It had been great to see all the people there and the dogs. Most of them stayed out on the patio, but a few of the dogs knew just how to sneak into the main dining room. She and Patrick figured that they must be regulars, as they knew right where the kitchen was and how close they could get before being hustled out of the area. Pizza and beer for lunch had been good.