George laughed. “Sam, we aren’t kicking you out. You can go on vacation anytime you want. Bigger decision is where do you want to go?” he said.
“Aw hell! I don’t know. Where would you go?” asked Sam.
“I don’t know, but we got you a bunch of brochures while we were out,” said Angie.
“You were damn sure I’d go for this cockamamie idea,” said Sam.
“No, but we figured if you wouldn’t let us buy into the B&B, that we could at least get you to go for a vacation,” admitted Angie.
“Alright. Let’s go get some papers signed,” said Sam.
Two hours later, Angie and George were partners in the business with Sam. Sam had tickets to Fiji and New Zealand for a three week vacation and a rush order in on a passport. While George went to the lumber yard to order supplies for the construction work, Angie and Sam headed back to the B&B to make a list of what Sam would need for the trip. Sam wasn’t due to leave for three weeks, but Angie knew they’d be heading to the city to get Sam something other than cowboy boots, jeans and flannel shirts.
*
Ginny sat the salad and bread down on the table and helped Meg find a seat. The picnic area had twenty tables with lots of people milling around. Luc brought Meg a glass of iced tea and then started bringing people over to introduce them to Meg. The smell of steaks, hot dogs and sausages floated in the breeze.
Another very pregnant woman came over and sat down next to Meg. “Hi, I’m Gina, my mate is Dave over there cooking at the barbecue,” she said.
“I’m Meg, Luc’s mate,” said Meg.
“When are you due?” Gina asked.
“Not soon enough. I’m having twins,” Meg said.
“I’m due next week. I’m so tired,” Gina said.
“Me too. Is this your first?” Meg asked.
“Nope. Third. Or, I should say second pregnancy, third child. I did the twins thing first time around. They’re over with the rest of the kids,” Gina said pointing to a large play area with probably sixty kids and fifteen adults watching them.
“Oh god. Did you deliver early or on time?” Meg asked.
“Late. Three days, but it felt like three months,” said Gina. “What I’m really looking forward to is shifting.”
“Oh… that’s right. You shouldn’t when you’re pregnant. I’m not a shifter,” said Meg.
“I know. I can smell the difference, but it doesn’t matter to me. I’m just hoping that they cook enough food before they all shift and go for a run. It’s been so hectic that even those of us not involved in that court case have been wary,” said Gina.
“And we’ve been at the center of it,” said Meg quietly.
“Oh Meg! I didn’t mean to make you feel bad,” said Gina quickly.
“No, but … does this sound dumb, I miss Luc’s wolfish side. I miss the furry warmth and even the sex,” said Meg thinking that she sounded really dumb. Sex should be sex, but sex with Luc shifted was different.
“That’s what my girlfriend says. She’s married to a shifter but is like you. I like sex, but furry or not, it seems the same to me,” said Gina.
They chatted for a few more minutes when Luc came up with a plate of food for both ladies. “Here you go,” he said with a smile and walked away.
“Thank god!” said Gina. “I think I could eat a whole cow at this point.”
“Where would you put it?” asked Meg thinking about how she was hungry, but didn’t have room for a big meal.
“I wouldn’t have room. But I’d gnaw on it all day long,” she said with a giggle as they started to eat.
Luc came back with his own plate and joined them. Forty minutes later, everyone had been fed. Jeff got up and started talking.
“Hey everyone! Glad to see you. This picnic should have happened ages ago, but as we all know this has been one hellish summer. A bower has been set up for the people to chill out in while the rest of us go for a run. As your doctor,” he started and had to pause because everyone started to laugh.
“As your doctor, I suggest waiting a few minutes before you go off running. There is plenty of food and dessert left. Some of the parents have opted to babysit so that others may run or relax. There is a tent off to one side with genealogy information with a new list of people related to Brian Davy, also known as Buster to some of us. He died a few months ago and shed some light on such families as Ginny’s and Luc’s. There are also plenty of baskets and bags for clothing on the other side of the pavilion. Enjoy yourselves and watch out for traffic!” Jeff finished.
People began to move. Some stripped off where they stood while others at least got out of sight. Within minutes, there were wolves everywhere. Nose bumps, tails wagging and hijinks.
“Meg, I’ll be back in just a bit,” said Luc as he pulled off his shirt.
“Luc, go run. Really run. It’s been way too long for you especially. I’ll be fine,” said Meg as she kissed him.
Luc smiled and dropped his jeans to the ground. He put them in a bag next to Meg’s feet and then shifted.
Wolf sniffed his mate. “Smells okay,” he thought. “Pups okay.” Wolf rubbed his head against his mate, licked her face and headed for the trees.
“Gaaaah! That is the only thing I don’t like,” said Meg to Gina as she wiped slobber off of her face.
Gina laughed. “I shift and I don’t like it in this form,” she giggled. That made both of them laugh. “Shall we move over to that bower Jeff talked about?” she suggested.
“Sounds good. I’ll be there right after I visit the little blue house in the forest,” said Meg heading for the porta potty.
*
Wolf ran hard. “Too long,” he thought. He ran up behind a pair of wolves. The female smelled of Ginny’s perfume, but he’d know her anywhere. He nipped at her heels. The bigger wolf running with her grinned as the she wolf tried to turn herself inside out to bite Wolf. The three of them tumbled in the undergrowth.