car.
âYour mom,â Paul said.
Allan shook his head. âSheâs just as much your mom as sheâs mine. I bet you anything that was why Mom was so reluctant to let us know what theyâd been discussing before we barged in on them.â
They finished loading the groceries and drove back to the mountain cabin.
âNot to mention that Michael nearly spilled the beans by mentioning a painting for the auction, donât you think?â
âYeah, it clears up the whole mystery.â Allan made a call and put it on speaker. âMom, when were you going to tell us about the auction? What if we had hot dates for tomorrow night?â
Paul smiled at thatâthinking he wouldnât mind one with Lori.
âWho told you⦠Oh, you stopped by the grocery store. You donât have hot dates for the night. You never have hot dates when you come here. Besides, itâs for a good cause. You know Mike OâKeefe. Heâs a nice boy and heâs got two little ones to take care of. So he and his wife need all the help they can get. Besides, heâs a military man like the two of you.â
Allan frowned. âYou could have asked.â
âYou would have said yes anyway.â
Paul believed she must have had some doubts, or she would have asked them before they arrived home.
âThatâs what you were discussing with the other ladies this morning in private?â
âI was going to have you come by for lunch and discuss it,â she said.
âHow long have the wolves been in town?â Paul abruptly asked, not liking that the troublesome men were hanging around the area. He wanted the situation addressed right away.
âThe Cooper brothers? And their friend? They showed up a couple of days after the two of you went into the jungle. Though we didnât really know about it for about a month. They were hired at the Somervillesâ ranch and stayed there the whole time, I suspect. Anyway, I couldnât get hold of you while you were on this last assignment or I would have let you know right away. After thatâ¦â Catherine paused. âYou would be home and could deal with it. I wasnât thinking about them when you came here this morningânot when you charged in, looking ready to terrorize someone.â
Paul was about to say something about being there to protect and save, not to terrorize anyone, but Catherine spoke again.
âThere wasnât anything we could do about them coming here, and they havenâtâ¦â Catherine hesitated to speak. âWell, Iâm certain theyâve grown up now and arenât causing the kind of trouble they did for their pack in the old days.â
She was always willing to give others a chance and had a gentle spirit, which had earned her the name Running Deer as a term of endearment by Emmaâs husband, Lee Greypaw. Catherine didnât believe she was all that sweet and innocentâwhich was the deer spirit guideâs messageâbut she was constantly looking for causes and helping others.
Paul had always thought Lee was right. He wasnât certain about the men not causing trouble for the pack though. Some people did grow up. Others were problems no matter how many years they lived. It just seemed to be their nature. âWhat time is lunch?â
âMake it noon. The auction is tomorrow night, and whoever buys your services has you for four to five hours over the weekend, depending on how much they pay for you. You still have two full weeks to spend on your vacation having fun, longer if you donât pick up another assignment right away. Isnât that so?â
âTrue,â Paul said. They had purposely not put their names in the pool for any assignment so their vacation wouldnât be cut short.
âWhat exactly are we required to do?â Allan asked.
âOdd jobs. Whatever your buyer needs you to do.â
Allan grinned. âHope sheâs my age