The Shadows of Christmas Past

out."
    "Can I see her?" he asked, to make it sound like she was in charge and he was cooperating.
    He fully intended to have a look in on Marj, but he'd wait until he'd gotten Alice out of the house.
    "She needs to rest." Once again, she gave him a curious look. "What are you doing here?"
    He could tell she would have preferred it if the mild-mannered Reverend Muller had been the man standing protectively in Marj's kitchen. It made him wonder how well Alice really knew her, for if ever there was a woman who needed an alpha male, it was Marjorie Piper. Like called to like, and she called strongly to him.

    He made sure Alice was looking into his eyes, and bent all his will on making her believe him when he said, "Marj and I were—together—back when she lived in California."
    "She never told me about—"
    "Of course she told you about me. I'm the cop she dated for a long time. We broke up, then she moved back home before we could reconcile. I don't want to go through another Christmas without her." He willed her to believe that he was in Kennedyville solely to win Marj back.
    "But—I thought you were visiting your cousins…"
    "I am. One of the things Marj and I discovered we had in common is our connection to this area. I used the visit to Annette and Terry as an excuse to see Marj."
    She blinked slowly. "Oh." She sighed, and looked pleased. "That's so romantic. Marj has been so lonely since her father died. And—"Her expression grew a little suspicious again.
    "But why are you here now?"
    "To be with Marj, of course. She shouldn't be alone on this big place. She needs a man. She needs someone to take care of her." He said each word firmly, placing them into Alice's thoughts. "You want her to be happy. You know I'm the one who'll make her happy."
    After a short silence, Alice nodded. "You'll make her happy. I'm so pleased for her."
    "It's late," he said. "You're tired. I'll see to it that Marj gets to the clinic tomorrow." Give us privacy , he thought at her. Besides, Alice did look tired.
    Duty warred with his persuasiveness for a moment, then she said, "Okay."
    He could also tell that she was also eager to spread the word about Marj's newfound long lost love. He used that eagerness.
    "And now you want to go home." And you have calls to make . "It's late," he added. He took her arm and guided her to the door. "Good night, Alice. Merry Christmas."
    As soon as she was gone, Harry went to wake up Marj. After all, he had to tell her all about Taffy's heroically rescuing her—and make her believe it.

chapter 7
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    Maybe it had been a dream, but when she woke up Marj couldn't stop thinking about the wolf. She looked up at the ceiling as morning light poured in her bedroom window, and tried to ignore her aches and pains. She remembered that she'd been tackled and manhandled, and bumped her head when she fell—and that Taffy had come to the rescue.

    She could feel him lying next to her now, his big, warm body stretched out along her side. He was taking up more room than usual in the bed, but she figured her furry hero deserved a little more spoiling than usual. She fumbled a hand out from under the twisted covers, and reached over to pet his flank. All the while she was thinking about the wolf.
    In the dream, the wolf had blue eyes. Which proved that it was a dream, because wolves didn't have blue eyes. Maybe some Arctic wolves did, but she didn't think so.
    Well, she couldn't lie abed much longer. A shower would help the aches, and she had chores to do. Besides, Taffy was scratching on the door to get in, so—
    So, if Taffy wasn't in her bed… who—or what—was?
    Marj cautiously patted the body lying next to her again.
    "That feels good," Harry Blethyin said, his lips close to her ear.
    Marj would have shot up off the bed if his hand hadn't held her down.
    "Careful, you might have a concussion. I'm here to make sure you're okay," he added. "Don't worry; Alice knows I'm here to look after you and that my intentions are mostly honorable."
    If Alice knew it, everybody knew it. She glared at him. "Mostly?"
    Even as she spoke, she noticed that he was lying on top of the covers, fully dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans. Only his shoes were off. She was wearing plaid pajamas, and remembered Alice helping her into them the night before. It was all very—chaste. She slapped away a feeling of disappointment. A smug glint in his blue eyes told her he was aware of it, anyway. He kissed her on the cheek,