"Where were you all week? Will you read me a story? Where's my Christmas present?" she asked her.
Nelda looked down at her with annoyance. "Where's my Christmas present?" she asked sharply.
Teddy looked surprised, blinked hard, and turned and walked away without a word. That was a first for Teddy.
Valerie scowled at Nelda. "You know, that is a child with actual feelings, who for some reason I absolutely do not understand looks up to you, and you were just rude to her. Sometimes you're a lot like your son, and that isn't a compliment at this moment," she said, and hurried after Teddy.
Teddy headed outside the rec center, down the steps, and over to the covered pavilion, where her mother stood, drinking something steamy from a mug. Valerie could smell the alcohol fumes as she got closer to her.
Valerie quickly dug in her purse and came up with … a pen and notepad. Best she could do. She handed them to Teddy. "These are from Nelda, but she wanted it to be a surprise," she said. "Don't say anything to her; she'll just be embarrassed."
Teddy looked delighted. She hurried off toward a group of kids who were making a snowman, waving the notepad and pen. "I got a present, I got a present!" she crowed.
Liane was staring vacantly off into the distance.
Valerie tapped her on the shoulder, hard. Liane started.
"I didn't see you there," she said, her eyes unfocused. "Did you see me there?"
"Liane, how are things going with the springs? Are you noticing any improvement?" Valerie asked, trying to hide the tension in her voice.
"It'll get there, I expect," Liane said vaguely. She took a big sip from her mug. The smell of Liane's body odor mingled with the alcohol, and Valerie took a step back.
"Well … good luck. You know you can call me if you need me," Valerie said.
"Sure, sure." Liane's gaze swam back into focus. "What's your name again?"
"Valerie Dickinson," Valerie said for the dozenth time, and headed back into the rec center, wondering if she should have said Valerie Rosemont.
Probably not, she decided. It would be so easy to get used to … and too painful when she had to change it back again.
Chapter Fourteen
"We should take our own cars today," Morgan said to Valerie as they stood by the front door putting on their overcoats. "I have to go on site for a few hours. Is there anything you need?"
"Is there anything I need?" she said, staring at him. She needed him to stop being so polite and formal. She needed to know why he was shutting her out.
"Yes. Anything at all." He avoided her gaze.
"Nope." She bit the word out.
"All right, well, while I'm gone, I'd like you to get in touch with the city planning department to see where we are on the septic permits, and prepare an updated vendor list for-"
"No," she snapped.
"No?" He stopped buttoning his coat and turned to look at her, startled.
"I already know what I'm going to do today," she said, rigid with frustration and hurt. "I went into your desk and found that list of potential mates your mother had prepared for you. I'm going to go over the list and narrow it down to the most appropriate candidates. Then I'm going to draw up the rough draft of a mating contract for you, so that you can submit it to your attorneys for review. Your family is leaving December 26th. You can start contacting these mates on December 27th."
She glanced up at the stairwell and saw Honoria standing there watching them with a look of dismay. She let out a sigh. She'd miss Honoria and Homer. She liked them. She'd even miss sparring with Nelda. It was actually getting to be kind of amusing, most of the time.
But she couldn't go on like this. Being near Morgan, wanting to touch him, wanting him to look at her the way he had when they were out in the woods together … She felt as if he were a million miles away from her now. It hurt her heart. Being close to him felt lonelier than being alone.
"But … no. That's not what I need you to do for me." Morgan shook his head in confusion.
"It's what I need to do for me," Valerie said angrily, and she turned around and quickly walked out the front door, slamming it shut behind her.
She heard Morgan coming out the door behind her, but didn't look back.
"Valerie?" he called. She ignored him and walked faster.
Honoria rushed outside as Valerie and Morgan walked to their cars separately. "Valerie, can I speak to you?" she called.
Morgan and Valerie both turned around. "Not you, just Valerie," Honoria said to Morgan with annoyance. "You're an idiot. Alpha. You should just leave. And buy Valerie some flowers while you're at it."
"All right then, crazy younger sibling who is perilously close to being assigned toilet-scrubbing duty," Morgan said, giving her a bemused look, and he got into his car. Honoria and Valerie stood there in the snow, watching him drive off.
Then Honoria grabbed Valerie by the arm and pulled her back inside, into the great hall.
"Here are the two reasons you need to stick this out," she said to Valerie. "I like you, and I love my brother. And since my brother needs you, you should ignore the fact that he's being an ass right now."
"Honoria, it's kind of you to say so, but he wouldn't even notice if I left. He's barely even speaking to me," Valerie pointed out.
"That's not personal," Honoria said. "It's not just him who's in a mood. It's all of us. We're always like this at this time of year."
Valerie tried to remember if Morgan had been noticeably crabbier the last few holiday seasons she'd worked with him. Honestly, he was always such a grump that it was hard to tell.
"What is it about this time of year?" she asked.
Honoria stared down at the ground, hands shoved in her pockets. "It's not something we generally talk about. I'm just telling you so you'll understand why Morgan's being weird right now. Our father died on December 20th."
Valerie sucked in a sharp breath. To lose one's parent, and so close to Christmas, the time of year that was all about family and togetherness – how terrible that must have been.
"I'm so sorry. How did he die?" she asked gently. "Morgan never talks about it."
"Elmira's husband was a power-hungry buttwipe, and he death-challenged him. Camden Senior," Honoria said, with a look of disgust on her pretty face. "Our dad actually had the upper hand, but he didn't want to kill him, because of Camden's cubs. He let the doucheface get back up – and Camden caught him by surprise and killed him."
"What?" Valerie asked, in utter shock.
"Morgan was only seventeen, but he death-challenged Camden Senior on the spot, they fought the next day, and he ripped his guts out with his teeth." She looked around, then spoke in a lowered voice. "Mom just collapsed after that, for a few years. She drank a lot; that's why she never touches alcohol now. Morgan had to take care of Homer and me, and run the pack and run the business. Finally he put his foot down and forced her to quit, under threat of being expelled from the pack. Mom went to a fancy rehab for two months and came back stone-cold sober. Don't tell her I said that – she'd be mortified."
"I would never." Valerie felt the sharp sting of sympathy deep in her chest. "How can Nelda even stand to look at Elmira and her family?"
Honoria shrugged unhappily. "They mostly avoid each other, but it's a pack thing. Death challenges happen. That goes along with being Alpha. It's not a cause to throw them out of the pack."
"I'm sorry. I had no idea."
"Morgan can't stand to talk about it. He doesn't even have pictures of Dad up on the wall – I'm sure you've noticed that. We all kind of tiptoe around it, because it's so painful. But if you could just wait until after the Christmas season...I think you'll see him come around." Honoria looked at her with a hopeful expression.
"I'll think about it. I appreciate you telling me," Valerie said, nodding.
She headed out to her car, trudging slowly through the snow. Was Honoria right? Was that the reason Morgan was suddenly treating her like a stranger, or was he just plain sick of her? Because he wasn't being rude or angry, he was just doing everything he could to avoid contact and conversation with her. How could she talk to him, how could they work through this, when he'd erected a giant wall of stone between them?