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Charlene was so thrilled to get everything moved around so Ethan would feel welcome in her home.

She headed for her bedroom first to move her clothes and give Ethan equal space in her closet and dressers.

She had a great big master bedroom closet so she d just spread out all her clothes in there.

She would have to squeeze things up a bit, but it was easy to do and still left them plenty of room to both share the closet.

She was sure glad Noah had behaved himself at breakfast and kept the conversation on the mission. He seemed happy that the pack was taking him in and that he d made friends with some of the pack members already. She was thrilled Ethan had come into her life.

After she finished sorting through her drawers and cleaning out some of them, she heard a car pull up in her driveway. Ethan was back already. She figured he might talk to Noah for a while, but she guessed he just wanted to be with her instead, which pleased her to no end.

She opened the front door and headed outside to help him carry in his bags of clothes. You returned quickly.

Yeah, I just packed everything up while Noah was unpacking his stuff. He hadn t brought a whole lot of clothes. He said that he would stay in one of the guest bedrooms in case you needed to have your space and sent me packing. Then I would stay in the master bedroom again.

He didn t say that.

Yep. Ethan had a twinkle in his eye.

She laughed. I guess he s hoping it will be so. She carried some of the bags of clothes in and set them on the carpeted floor in her master bedroom suite.

Are you sure you want me to bring all my… He peeked into the closet. Oh, it looks like there will be plenty of room for the two of us.

There is. She began hanging up his suits that were already on hangers in the closet.

You can organize your clothes any way that you want, but I ll just hang them up for now so they don t get wrinkled.

Then she showed him the drawers he could use for the clothes he wanted to fold away.

I m going to move some of my toiletries out of the drawers in the bathroom to free up some space in there too.

Okay. He continued to put his clothes away until the bedroom was clean again.

While Noah is working here with you, I was thinking we might have him over for a meal occasionally, Charlene said from the adjacent bathroom.

Since he s on his own and doesn t have anyone to talk to, I thought it would be kind of nice.

Maybe he could even go for a wolf run with us, once you re healed up.

I thought of that too, but for now, I want to spend the time with you.

She smiled. You re still worried about him trying to get on my good side and win me over. You don t have to worry about it.

He called out, Hey, are these pictures of you and your family?

She returned to the bedroom and picked up one of her favorites off her dresser top. We were at the beach in Destin.

Beautiful. Your family, the beach, the water. I can see why your family loved it there.

But crowded. Do you see how many people are on the beach? As soon as it warmed up, tons of tourists invaded it.

He laughed. Can I help you hang it up?

She hesitated. Uh, sure. She went and got a hammer and a picture hanger, and then he held the picture up on different walls until she picked the place she wanted to hang it. A special place over an antique chest in the living room—her mother s favorite piece of furniture.

Thanks. She appreciated him for helping her to decide where the picture would go and that he understood how important her family was to her. After lunch, do you want to take a walk on the beach?

Yeah, I m all for it.

They checked the tide schedule, then dressed for the walk.

Ethan carried the backpack, and they headed down the stairs to the beach.

What was fun about her beach was that it was practically private, rocks jutting out into the ocean keeping other beach walkers from reaching the area below her home except maybe during low tide.

Ohmigod, look at these huge mussel shells filled with brightly colored, juvenile, ochre starfish and baby gooseneck barnacles that look almost pearl-like. They re beautiful. Charlene began taking pictures of them. Isn t that the most stunning thing you have ever seen?

Besides you and seeing your enthusiasm at seeing such a sight? Yeah, it is truly magnificent.

Coming down here with you and seeing this has made my day.

I can see living here will be a really great experience, Ethan said.

For sure. After taking a ton of pictures, she and Ethan began checking more tidal pools, but they didn t see anything as spectacular as the mussels filled with small starfish.

They spent a good two hours on the beach, just enjoying the water, listening to the sound of the breakers, and feeling the sun shining through the clouds. Then they headed back to the house.

Do you want to go to the Fort Stevens State Park and see the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale ? It s only an hour away from here, Charlene asked.

Yeah, I would love to. I figure when we can t do our surveillance, we can enjoy some trips close by.

Okay, let s go.

He loved that about Charlene. She was eager and ready to do things at a moment s notice, just like he would be. Flexible. Fun-loving. Do you have an ice chest? We can take some cold bottles of water and snacks in case—

We get lost in the woods?

He laughed. In case we get hungry or thirsty.

I have an ice chest and we can take backpacks in case we get lost in the woods—but together.

He smiled. It s a deal.

They were already dressed for hiking, so they gathered some snacks, bottled waters, and the ice chest filled with ice, then drove to the park. He enjoyed every moment he was spending with Charlene. It was like taking a mini-vacation with her every day.

When they finally reached the park, they didn t have too far walk to see the shipwreck. It was just beyond the parking lot and the tide was still low so they could walk out to it. They looked up the description and discovered it had been a four-masted steel sailing vessel from England.

Charlene gave Ethan an abbreviated account of it.

A sudden squall forced the Peter Iredale onto the beach on a foggy morning.

The ship has been rusting on the shore for almost 120 years.

She looked at the rusty frame of the hull.

After all that time and with the salty water washing over it, it s amazing that any of it is still here.

I know. It s iconic. I m glad they didn t remove it.

Yeah, me too. Though there were several parties who wanted it for salvage. Coming here makes for the perfect date, Charlene said.

Ethan had her stand in front of the vessel and took a picture of her and it, but then he took one of them together.

After taking several more pictures of the vessel, they walked to a Civil War military installation that had been guarding the mouth of the Columbia River up through World War II.

Then they hiked two miles around Coffenbury Lake and saw the South Jetty observation tower where visitors used to see views of the Columbia River.

This is just so neat, she said, holding Ethan s hand.

Yeah, this is great. With Charlene especially.

They walked another trail through the park and then finally got into his car and headed back to the house. He was glad he hadn t been shot in the leg! He wished he could go running with her as a wolf again. Maybe tonight.

Ribs for dinner? Ethan carried the ice chest into the house and then emptied it.

Yeah, that would be good.

I was thinking we could run as wolves after dinner.

She set their backpacks on the table and gave him a serious look. Your arm needs to heal up more. Besides, we got lots of exercise today. I was thinking of watching a movie. Since you have to leave at two in the morning for your stakeout, we ll go to bed early.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her soundly. You just want to go to bed early because—

Hmm, yeah. You caught me.

He chuckled and they kissed each other again.

Then they made dinner and sat outside to eat. I love your view, he said.

It s like having the most special seat at a restaurant, though when it s chillier out, we can enjoy indoor seating and we ll have the same great view.

And we won t have to tip the hostess to get the best seats in the house.

She laughed. You re right.

They ate their meal, then went inside to have hot cocoa and enjoy the movie, settling down in the living room together on one of the couches, snuggling, watching a science-fiction thriller where a teen could make others see things that weren t there.

Now that would be a cool power to have, Charlene said.

Especially for criminal pursuits.

Yeah, you could take down criminals. What if you could make them think that you were one of the bad guys so they would spill the beans to you, and then you could just arrest them without anyone shooting you.

He smiled. That would come in handy.

You could make the bad guys think they were armed with bananas instead of guns.

Ethan laughed. You would be a handful if you had a power like that.

You had better believe it. She kissed him and sighed. I love that we can pick this up whenever we want to.

Hmm?

She began kissing his mouth. Let s finish the movie sometime later. I m thoroughly enjoying it, but I just keep thinking of something I would rather do with you right now. You have to get up early and we need to make our own kind of magic together.

I m always up for that.

I noticed.

He turned off the TV, she raced off down the hallway, and he chased her into the bedroom to make love.

***

Ethan had set his phone alarm to go off twenty minutes before Noah was to arrive at two in the morning. When the time came, he kissed a sleepy Charlene. She kissed him back and wrapped her arms around him. Good luck on your surveillance and don t let Noah give you any guff.