Page 20

In the hours leading up to the date, I’m as nervous as if it’s my very first one—ever. As I stand in front of the mirror fiddling with my shirt collar, I try to remember the last time I was this nervous, and I can’t.

Not even leading the pack into hostile territory affects me this badly!

Of course, back in high school, I never took Clara on a date. I was too afraid someone would see us together and report it to my father. The other girls I asked out meant very little to me. I was never serious about a relationship, so there was no need for nerves.

And now I’m almost foaming at the mouth with anxiety. It looks like there’s something that scares the big, bad wolf after all!

Even as I fiddle with my collar again, I know that my worst fear really isn’t disappointing Clara.

It’s losing her.

I step back from the mirror and check myself out. I’m wearing a casual black suit with a white dress shirt, unbuttoned at the top. I was considering a tie, but I want the date to be more low-key. The only problem is, at the last moment, I decided I wanted to dress to impress, so I ended up in a suit.

Running a hand through my hair, I turn to the side to make sure my jacket is falling straight. I consider changing it for a second, then I berate myself.

I’ll be late if I keep screwing around, and I don’t think I’m going to be satisfied with how I look, no matter how long I stand here.

I grab my keys and phone, then go out to wait in front of the house. I told Clara and Nico to be ready at eight, and the clock ticks over just as I stop by the car.

When I hear the front door opening, I turn around slowly, waiting for Clara to come into view. When she steps out onto the porch, I’m mesmerized—there’s no other word for it.

She’s wearing a fitted black velvet dress with long sleeves and a V-shaped neckline, covered by a warm wool jacket in pale grey. Her dark brown hair is swept up behind her head, showing off her graceful neck and shoulders.

She moves towards me, the front porch light shimmering over her head and creating a soft, warm glow around her silhouette. My heart almost stops in my chest as I watch her walk towards me.

She truly is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

“Hey, Dad!” Nico yells, tearing around his mother and running towards me. “Mom said you had a fun night planned—where are we going?”

“Nothing too fancy, I hope,” Clara says, looking me up and down. “I wasn’t expecting you to be in a suit.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” I answer. “You look positively breathtaking.”

Clara ducks her head and blushes a little.

“Well, I wasn’t sure what to wear… this dress is nice enough for something formal but also warm and comfortable, so it was an easy choice. I couldn’t convince Nico to wear formal clothes, though.”

Nico blows a raspberry and does a little lap around the car. He’s wearing a smart turtleneck that looks a bit formal, but the effect is ruined by his casual jeans.

“It’s okay, no one is going to look at us funny for breaking the dress code,” I answer. Both Clara and Nico give me inquisitive looks.

“Come on, Dad, just tell us!” Nico pleads.

“Okay,” I answer, laughing. “We’re going to the observatory. I booked it just for us, so there won’t be anyone else there.”

“Wow!” Nico exclaims. “To see stars and stuff, with a big telescope?”

“You got it, kid.”

“Let’s go!” Nico yells, hurling himself into the back of the car.

“He’s a bit excited, Clara says, laughing. “Since I told him about it earlier, he hasn’t stopped talking about how Dad is taking us out.”

“Good,” I answer. “But I hope his mom is excited, too?”

“She sure is,” Clara replies. “But now I feel a little overdressed.”

“You look amazing,” I whisper as I open the car door for her. “You are beautiful every day, but you wear that gown like a queen.”

Clara’s cheeks color up again, and she looks away shyly as I close the door, then go over to the driver’s side. Before I get into the car, I stretch my senses out to check for any irregularities in the area.

After listening for a minute and scenting the air, I’m satisfied that all is quiet. I did a little digging into the young wolves, and it looks like they’re runaways, not originally from any pack in Wolfshade.

That’s strange enough. I don’t think we’ve ever had wolves just wander in.

I don’t mention it to Clara because I don’t want to worry her, and it seems the youngsters really aren’t up to any trouble. They seem to be ready to move on already, and Sherman and Kyra promised to keep an eye on the situation tonight so I could enjoy my time with Clara.

The drive up to the observatory doesn’t take long, and we get to see the scattered lights of Quartz Key twinkling beneath us as we head up to the rim of the canyon. Dark shadows of mountains fall away behind us as I drive out onto the outcrop where the massive telescope is mounted.

When we arrive, Frankie and Gemma are waiting for me at the front door.

“Hello, Galen,” Gemma says, taking my hands and kissing my cheek. “How is your mother?”

“She’s well. Taking a break from the pack business lately.”

“Good to hear it. This must be your mate, and your son?”

Gemma leans down to greet Nico, and I introduce Clara to Frankie.

“These are the town weirdos,” I say, with a straight face and a serious tone. “They live out here all alone, and rarely come to town. No one knows what they get up to out here, but there are whispers.”

Frankie chuckles. “Yeah, peace, quiet, all the stars in the sky, and the woman I love. Why would I ever leave this peak?”

“Sounds like I should have visited the observatory at some point while I was growing up,” Clara mutters. “Looks as if it might have been exactly what I needed.”

“You’d have been most welcome, sweet girl,” Gemma says. “We hold public events a few times a year and often open up for private visits, like tonight, but the door’s always open to someone who just wants to gaze at the sky for a bit.”

“I wish I’d met you sooner,” Clara says with a wide smile.

Gemma grins and squeezes Clara’s hand. “It’s alright—now we have all the time in the world to catch up!” Gemma answers, laughing. “Bring your young man up anytime you like, or just stop in on us for a cup of tea. You’re more than welcome.”

“Here she goes again,” Frankie mutters. “If you keep inviting people up here, I’m filing for divorce.”

“As if you could,” Gemma replies, teasing him. “Where would you live, and who would make your favorite ginger nut biscuits for you?”

“Got me again,” Frankie hangs his head woefully. “I’m trapped. Trapped, I tell you! The woman is keeping me a prisoner here.”

“Didn’t you just say you didn’t want to leave?” Clara asks, giggling.

“He’s getting old,” Gemma whispers, making a circling motion beside her temple. “Feeble. It’s very sad, really.”

“That’s it, woman!” Frankie announces, going over to Gemma and wrapping his hands around her waist before dipping her. “You’re going to be subjected to the horrendous torture of kisses and dancing under starlight until you learn your place!”

“Oh, no,” Gemma murmurs, relaxing in his arms. “How shall I cope?”

Frankie bends down and kisses her gently, and the two of them snuggle together as they begin to sway back and forth.

“We’ve been dismissed,” I say to Clara. “They’ve dropped out of reality now, and there’s no telling when they’ll come back.”

We leave Frankie and Gemma giggling and dancing in the garden and head inside. As much as I enjoy watching their antics, it’s left me feeling hollow.

Now I know that’s exactly what I want… with Clara. I don’t just want to be friends with her—I want her heart.

When we enter the main room, there is a table laid out with cakes, biscuits, soft drinks and coffee. Nico hurries over excitedly and loads up a plate.

“That’s an awful lot of sugar, young man,” Clara says.

“Since when are you worried about sugar?” Nico replies.

“Never. I want you to save me some.”

We all get some sweet treats and go and sit down under the main window. The view of the stars is unparalleled, with glittering trails swirling from one end of the sky to the other.

I watch Clara eat her cake, breaking off small pieces with her fingers and popping them into her mouth. The idea of tasting her lips when they’re smeared in cinnamon and honey makes heat rise in me, and I have to look away.

“Do you know the stars, Dad?” Nico asks.

“No, Nico, I don’t. There’s a leaflet here, and a poster for you to take home, as well. Let’s see which ones you can pick out, then we’ll go and look through the big telescope.”

“Cool! I’ve never looked through a telescope before. One of the kids at my old school had one, but he never showed it to me.”

“Well, this one’s a bit different. You’ll be able to see everything with it. Gemma and Frankie are very serious about their study of the sky.”

While Nico and I finish our cake, I go through the leaflet with him, pointing out the stars we can see with the naked eye. When I look over at Clara, she’s watching us with a soft expression. I smile at her, and when she smiles back, I feel something deep connect between us.

We both love Nico, and she knows that. She’s happy for me to be in his life, and maybe, if I can prove to her I’m a good father, she’ll think about letting me back into her heart.

When our cake and soda are all finished, I take Clara and Nico into the next room, where the giant telescope is aimed at the sky. Nico shouts with enthusiasm and jumps into the big chair under it, fiddling with the controls.

“Hang on there, kiddo,” I say, laughing. “You won’t get anywhere if you just spin around randomly. Here, Gemma and Frankie have left some coordinates for us to look at.”

I show Nico how to move the telescope, and he starts looking up at the celestial clusters the others recommended to us. His bouncy excitement soon gives way to wide-eyed wonder as he gets a close-up look at stars, planets, comets and constellations.

“Nico is loving this,” Clara says. “Thank you, Galen.”

“I hope his mom is loving it, too?” I ask, gently taking her hand. She nods and smiles, but tactfully takes her hand back.

While Nico explores the sky, I take Clara over to a smaller one in the corner of the room. I adjust it carefully, then ask her to take a look.

“It’s pretty,” she says, her eye fixed on the lens. “What is it?”

“It’s a lesser-known binary formation,” I answer. “Two silver stars caught in each other’s gravity, spinning for eternity.”

Clara stands up, giving me an intense look. Before I can expand upon the moment, Nico calls us over to see a close-up of the rings on Saturn.

Even though I feel I missed a romantic moment, I’m always happy to spend more time with Nico. His enthusiasm gives me an incredibly warm, accomplished feeling, more fulfilling than anything I’ve ever known.

This is what it means to be a father. To admire my son, to help him grow.

A dark mood threatens to take me as the thought slips into my head that I may never have met Nico if it wasn’t for Iris Porter. I push the frustration and fear away, comforting myself that I have Nico with me now, and that’s all that matters.

And I have Clara by my side, too… just not as I’d hoped. How I wish I could take back my stupid, foolish actions—tell my old man right to his face what I think of him! All I can do is keep trying to convince Clara that she’s all I ever wanted.

When Nico starts to yawn, we decide to take him home, promising he can come back any time he likes. We wave goodbye to Gemma and Frankie, who are still happily dancing under the stars.

They are so lucky to have each other. If I can have anything close to that with Clara, I’ll call myself a happy man.

By the time we get back to town, Nico is already asleep. When we get home, I carry him inside and tuck him into bed, giving him a kiss goodnight before I move aside for Clara to do the same.

“Would you like to have a drink with me?” I ask as she closes Nico’s door behind her on the way out. “Or just straight to bed?”

“I’d love a drink, thank you, Galen. What are we having?”

“You can have whatever you like, but my choice was going to be sweet brandy.”

“Bring it on,” she says, smiling.

When she takes my hand and leads me out to the living room, my hopes soar. All I want is a chance to be close to her and talk. I’m determined to respect her boundaries and not let anything get sexual again, unless I’m sure she really wants it.

As we sit down, I pour two nips and give Clara a glass. She sighs with pleasure as she takes her first sip.

“This is good stuff.”

“Family recipe, actually. It started with my great-grandfather, and there’s a distillery outside of town.”

Clara nods in response, taking another sip.

“I want to thank you for tonight, Galen. Nico had such an amazing time. It was really thoughtful of you, and a great outing for him.”

“You had fun, too, I hope?”

“I sure did,” she says, smiling. “One of the most romantic things I’ve ever done.”

I knock back half my glass, feeling the burn of the brandy against the back of my throat.

“I’m glad,” I answer, not knowing what else to say. “I want you to know, anything you need, just name it, and it’s yours.”

Clara looks at me, her beautiful golden eyes very dark in the dim light. When she smiles, it feels to me like a gulp of air to a drowning man.

“Thank you, Galen. But now that Nico is doing better, I’ve pretty much got everything I need. I didn’t come here for anything else.”

Her words wound me a little. I feel like she’s telling me straight out that my dates and promises aren’t going to work, and she’s not going to change her mind.

That doesn’t mean I’ll stop trying!

“Okay,” I answer, trying to keep my voice even. “I understand. That’s why it’s important for you to ever tell me if you need something. I won’t intrude on your privacy or pry. I’ve done enough terrible things to you, so many that I can’t even apologize for them all—but dammit, Clara, I’m going to try!”

“Galen,” she says, leaning forward to stroke my cheek, “you don’t have to keep apologizing.”

“While I can still see that hurt deep in your eyes, yes, I do.”

“I didn’t realize I was walking around looking so wounded.”

“You don’t,” I answer, cupping her jaw and looking into her eyes. “But I can see it, because I’m the one who put it there.”

“Oh, Galen,” she shakes her head, putting her hands on my chest. At first, I think she’s going to push me away, but then she puts her arms around my waist and snuggles against me.

“Just hold me, Galen. That’s all I need for now.”

“Okay,” I answer, wrapping my arms around her. “That I can do.”

Now and forever, my love. I’ll hold you until the end of time.