Chapter 2
Daniel never thought his boss would be into matchmaking. But as soon as Sheriff Peter Jorgenson learned Selena was applying to have a shop in town and that she was a single gray wolf who needed a background check, Peter made sure Daniel had the first chance to meet her.
That meant giving him a few days off once Daniel said the wolf was intriguing so he could help her set up her store.
The rest of her idea—him taking her to cemeteries at night, not something he would typically think of for a date night, but at least she was receptive to dinner.
He had every intention of taking her to lunch tomorrow also, if she was agreeable.
When a new she-wolf was in town, many bachelor males would be interested, and he had to show he was totally intrigued by her right off the bat.
A pretty brunette with amber eyes? A forensic anthropologist who worked with law enforcement piqued his interest. He could imagine all the tales she could tell.
He headed home and hurried to dress in something nice, his favorite fall sweater, a pair of blue jeans, and cowboy boots. He grabbed a jacket and hoped he wouldn’t arrive too early at the Silver Town Hotel to pick Selena up.
At the hotel, all the sisters greeted Selena, eager to hear how the shop was going. “Frank did such a wonderful job on the shelving. Even Daniel Hoffman came by to help.”
“Daniel did?” Laurel asked, a sparkle in her eyes.
“Yeah. The sheriff gave him some time off to assist me.”
The ladies shared conspiratorial looks and smiled.
“We just have a few things left to do, and I’m going to start ordering merchandise—fall, Halloween.
I’ll have a large red, howling wolf and a black one in the front window for fall and Halloween.
For winter, I’ll change it out to a white one.
New Year’s Eve, I’ll have the white and black ones on display.
A gray howling wolf will be out there for the rest of the year. ”
“That sounds lovely,” Ellie said.
“I love how your store title is the Howling Wolf and your theme will be too,” Meghan said. “It suits our wolf community.”
“I do too,” Laurel said. “If you need any assistance with decorating your shop, just let us know and we’ll help. We’ve already done all our fall decorating.”
“That would be great,” Selena said. “You’ve done a lovely job with yours.
” Fall flowers and leaf garlands wrapped around the banister going up the stairs to the guest rooms on the second floor of their Victorian hotel, and across their counter.
They had a lovely fall wreath on the door.
Bouquets were located throughout the lobby.
“For now, I just need to change my clothes to get ready for my date. What is the dress code for the tavern?”
“None really,” Meghan said. “Some dress up and others dress down. Wear what you feel like for the occasion.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“It’s a good thing that you’re not going alone. All the bachelor wolves would be trying to buy your drinks,” Ellie said.
Selena laughed. “No, Daniel is taking me.”
“Ha!” Laurel said. “He’s already staking his claim. The other wolves will be disappointed.”
Selena had never been to a wolf-run town, where the bachelor wolves would be flocking to get her attention. She was amused.
Once she was in her room, she dressed in a wool plaid skirt in pumpkin-and-olive green, a pumpkin sweater to match, and high-heeled boots. She grabbed a jacket and headed for the lobby.
She sat on one of the sofas in the lobby and began ordering items for her shop. She’d already found just the howling wolves she’d wanted, all hand-carved wood but stained or painted to simulate white, black, red, and gray wolves.
Then Daniel arrived ten minutes early to pick her up. She liked it when a date was early.
“You look lovely.” Daniel escorted her to his vehicle.
“So do you.” He was dressed in a pumpkin-orange sweater that was similar to hers, so it looked like they had dressed to match, which she thought was cute. His blue jeans and cowboy boots were charming. Dressy casual.
The last guy she dated, who had been in law enforcement, didn’t know how to dress once he wasn’t wearing a uniform.
Going out with a nicely dressed man made her feel special.
They drove over to the tavern, where the lights lit up the inside and outside of the building, which made it look festive. A few hardy males were seated outside in the chilly temperature.
She was worried the tavern would be packed, and they would have to wait for a long time to find a table. But when they walked inside, Silva greeted them with a big smile. “Your table is right this way.” She motioned in the direction.
They actually had a table just for two by the big windows, which made it really special.
“I made a reservation earlier to make sure we had a table for dinner,” Daniel said.
He got Brownie points for that too.
“Your place is charming,” she told Silva as she dropped off menus and water for them.
“Thanks. I decorated it myself. Sam, my mate, isn’t interested in that sort of thing, though he hangs the lights I ask him to and anything else I need done.”
That made her mate a hero, Selena was thinking.
The tavern was decorated with fall flowers and pumpkins, not for sale, but purely decorative. No competition for her merchandise here.
“What can I get you to drink?”
“This pumpkin spice drink looks good,” Selena said.
“I’ll have the same,” Daniel said.
She liked that he was joining her for a cocktail. Her last boyfriend always drank beer and didn’t care for wine, cocktails, or even champagne.
“So what do you do, other than keep the peace and help Frank build shelves and the like for new shopkeepers?”
“I love to ski and hike. I even do a little bit of gardening in the spring—some herbs, tomatoes, and onions. It’s just me, so I don’t need a lot.”
“But you cook, or you wouldn’t need to grow anything to eat.”
He smiled. “Yeah, I love to cook.”
“I like the same kind of things. I love cooking too. I’m not a great skier, but I can manage the intermediate slopes.”
“Living here, you’ll end up on the advanced slopes, guaranteed, once the slopes are open.”
If she had time. She imagined that with her research at night and taking care of the shop during the day, she wouldn’t have much spare time to go skiing.
“Will you hire additional staff to help you out at the store?”
“Once it gets busy.”
Silva returned with their drinks. “Have you decided on what you want to order, or do you need more time?”
“Oh, I would love the prime rib, mashed potatoes, and broccoli,” Selena said.
“I’ll have the prime rib, a baked potato, and spinach,” Daniel said.
“I’ll bring them right out.”
“Do Darien and Lelandi and his brothers and their mates often eat here?” Selena asked Silva before she placed the order.
“Yeah. The table in the back is reserved for them.” Silva pointed to the table. “No one eats there unless they are a special guest. Mostly their cousins and their mates also eat at that table in the corner.”
“So they have a large extended family.”
Silva nodded. “They do.”
Just then, three rowdy men entered the tavern. They’d been drinking alcohol by the looks of it as they stumbled into the entryway.
Daniel stood up from the table, stalked toward the entryway, and stopped them at the entrance from going any further. “You have to have reservations to eat here.” He handed them a business card for the tavern. “You can call this number.”
“Hey, come on, man. They threw us out of the ski lodge restaurant, and we’re hungry,” one of the men said.
They were big, bearded guys, and Selena didn’t believe Daniel could manage the three men on his own.
Suddenly, Sam was there with Daniel. He was the size of a grizzly bear, black-bearded, black-haired, eyes narrowed. “I own the Silver Town Tavern, and that’s the rules.”
“Look, there’s an open table over there,” one of the other men said.
“It’s reserved,” Sam said.
Jake and Tom Silver joined them at the door. “Do as Sam said. Make a reservation or get something to eat out of town,” Jake said.
Several other men were eyeing the newcomers, looking like they were ready to use some muscle if the party of three didn’t leave.
The three finally stomped off, throwing the business card Daniel had given them onto the floor. He picked it up and pocketed it.
When he rejoined Selena, she was sipping on her drink. “That was impressive. Is that table really reserved?”
“It has a card on it. But even if it wasn’t, this is an establishment that doesn’t cater to humans.
Only shifters are allowed. First, it was only for wolves, but then we had an unexpected visit from jaguars.
Since then, a grizzly bear couple from Minnesota, and two couples on vacation from Yuma Town—cougar shifters—have visited.
So it’s become an exclusive shifter establishment, but predominantly wolves eat and drink here. ”
“Cougars and jaguars? Never met any.”
“But you’ve met bears?”
“In Minnesota. I wonder if I had met the bear couple who visited here.”
“I never knew their names. Everyone’s been super friendly, just like we have been to them. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of their kind might end up settling here someday,” Daniel said.
“They’ll be welcome?”
“As long as they follow our pack rules. I’ve heard the polars bears have a governing council that rules over the sleuth of bears. The jaguars and cougars are on their own, so they would all have to learn to take direction from wolves.”
“Fascinating.” She hoped she would meet some of them while she lived here.
“So you want me to take you to one of the cemeteries tonight still?”
“Yeah, I would like to do that after dinner, if it’s not too inconvenient for you.”
“Sure, we can do that.”
Then she thought about the men making reservations at the restaurant. “You gave the men the tavern's business card. What if the men had made a reservation?”