“Okay, which room?” he asked, heading to the check-in counter.

  “Two-oh-two.”

  Landon got the skeleton key. “I’ll take care of this while you go to your room so you can get changed.”

  She glanced down at his bare legs.

  He smiled and shrugged. “Always on call in this business, no matter what I’m in the middle of doing.”

  “Unless you’re in the shower at home, right?” she asked as they headed up the carpeted stairs.

  “Then one of my siblings could take care of it. At least I’m not soaking wet from having been in the pool already.”

  “True.”

  They reached the second floor and headed in the direction of Gabrielle’s room. She was supposed to walk on past, but she whispered, “I’m a vet, and they might need looking after.”

  He nodded and figured she was just as curious as he was about the kittens and had to see them. He knocked on the door. “Management!”

  No one answered.

  Landon knocked again. He didn’t hear anyone in the room talking, a TV going, shower running, or anything else that indicated someone was in the room. “Management!”

  Still no answer. He unlocked the door and heard kittens meowing in the bathroom where the door was shut.

  He called out “Management” one last time, just in case someone was in the bathroom and hadn’t heard him.

  Gabrielle held the door to the room open. No one was in the room, unless they were in the bathroom hiding. Landon knocked on the bathroom door. No one responded. He turned the door handle, expecting it to be locked, but the door opened with ease.

  A calico momma cat with four kittens the same age as Princess Buttercup ran out of the bathroom, making their escape.

  Gabrielle quickly closed the door to the room so the kittens and their mother wouldn’t flee down the hall.

  Landon got on his phone and contacted Blake. “We found the cat and kittens.”

  “At the pool?” Blake asked, since that was where Landon and Gabrielle were supposed to be.

  “In a room close to Gabrielle’s. She heard the kittens crying.”

  “Oh, okay. Good. What’s the room number?” They could access the lodge computer with their own at their homes, thankfully, so Blake wouldn’t have to run in to check on it.

  Landon hoped he hadn’t interrupted anything going on between his brother and Nicole, but he figured their sisters were still at the tavern and wouldn’t be able to access the computer as quickly. “The room number is 202.”

  “Okay, I found the guest’s name. Mr. Adam Jeffries checked out half an hour ago.”

  Landon shook his head. “Well, he left a calico cat and four kittens behind. Can you call him on his cell phone and ask if he left the cat and kittens behind on purpose? We don’t want to find homes for them if he just made a mistake.”

  “I’ll do that, Landon. What are we going to do with them in the meantime?” Blake asked.

  “We’ll have to have Roxie and Kayla take them home to Rosco. Hopefully, the momma cat will be all right with Rosco watching over all of them at home.” Though not all cats were okay with dogs. The kitten didn’t seem to know any better, but the momma cat might take exception.

  They ended the call but Blake called Landon back a few minutes later while Gabrielle was checking the momma cat and kittens out, talking away to them as if they were her own babies. “Yeah, Blake.”

  “Mr. Jeffries won’t answer his phone. I’m afraid since we all have the name Wolff on our caller ID, if he left the cats on purpose, he might not answer our calls. All except for—”

  “Gabrielle.” Landon glanced at her.

  She looked up at Landon.

  “Can you text me his number, and I’ll see if Gabrielle can try calling him? Since she’s a vet, she could learn if they’ve had their vaccinations if he doesn’t intend to keep them,” Landon said to Blake.

  “I’ll do it.” Gabrielle was cuddling one of the kittens. She set it down with the other kittens, all of them rubbing up against both Landon’s and her legs.

  “Okay, she’s going to give it a try,” Landon said.

  “I texted Roxie and Kayla and they’re heading to the lodge, disappointed they had to free up their table but excited to pick up the cats. They will meet you at the room. Did he have a carrier for them? Or do we need to get one from someone?” Blake asked.

  “He has a cat carrier, litter, a litter box, cat food, and some toys.”

  “All right, sounds good. Roxie and Kayla will be up in a few minutes.”

  “Thanks, Blake. At least we know now where Princess Buttercup came from. Though not how she became separated from the others. We’ll talk later.” Landon ended the call with his brother and sent a text with the number of the guest to Gabrielle. At least Princess Buttercup had to be from this batch. He couldn’t imagine more of them running loose in the lodge.

  * * *

  Gabrielle got out her phone and sat on the floor to let the kittens climb on her lap. “They’re not wild at least.” She was glad for that. They were adorable, and hopefully they could find homes with the wolf community. She called the number and an older man answered.

  “Hello?” He sounded like he was in his vehicle and on Bluetooth from the noise in the background—tires slushing through snow, wind whipping about the vehicle, engine rumbling, and the heater blowing on high.

  “Hi, I’m Gabrielle Lowell, a veterinarian in Silver Town”—not a lie since she was a vet and in Silver Town currently—“and I’m checking on the situation with the momma cat and kittens you left in your room at the ski lodge when you checked out. Room 202? Did you leave them behind on purpose or accidentally forget them?”

  She noticed the room had been cleaned out. No clothes in the closet. All the dresser drawers were open and empty, all but one that was still closed. The bed was unmade, and two damp bath towels were lying on the floor of the bathroom. It looked like he’d left the cats there on purpose, unless he’d forgotten to check the bathroom for anything he might have left behind. But she doubted anyone would forget a passel of cats in the room when he wasn’t supposed to have them there in the first place.

  Since Mr. Jeffries didn’t answer her, she continued, “I need to know if the cat and her kittens had their vaccinations and wellness checks. How old is the momma cat? How old are the kittens? Mr. Jeffries? We’ll find good homes for them. We believe you lost one of your calico kittens earlier, and we have a good home for her already. But we need to know if you’re returning for them so we don’t find homes for them and have to give them back.”

  He was human. She suspected if he’d been a wolf, the pack leaders would have taken him to task.

  “All”—he choked up—“of their records are in a drawer in the chest of drawers. I’m sorry. My wife and I just adopted a little boy. We didn’t know it when we adopted him, but he’s deathly allergic to cats. We’ve been on a trip in an enclosed car for a couple of days, and his condition has been worsening. We had to take him to the emergency room in Green Valley. We couldn’t take the cats with us. Find good homes for them. Please. Ambrosia is the momma cat and she’s two years old. The kittens are eight weeks old and weaned. I had all their shots taken care of. I…I’m sorry. We didn’t have any choice. If it wasn’t for our son, we would never have given them up.”

  “We’ll take good care of them and find them good homes. I hope your son recovers quickly. How did the one kitten get away from you?” she asked.

  “I opened the door to the hall to bring in a bag, and they all took off running. The escaped kitten ran down the stairs while I was catching the other kittens and Ambrosia. After I had put them back in the cat carrier, I went looking for the lost kitten but couldn’t find her. We’d stopped late last night at the lodge, hoping to give our son some fresh air to breathe, but he’s just really sick. This morning, we made the difficult choice to leave them as we took him to the emergency room.”

  “You should have told us,” Gabrielle said to Mr. Jeffries, her voice stern.

  Landon was sitting on the floor next to Gabrielle and playing with one of the kittens with a cat toy he had found in the cat carrier. All the other kittens began chasing after it. Gabrielle thought Landon was cute. The momma cat went over to the window, jumped onto the windowsill, and sat there to watch passersby. Great. Now if anyone saw the cat in the window, they would think it was okay to have pets here.

  Roxie opened the door to the room and she and Kayla came inside. Their eyes widened and they both beamed at the sight of the kittens and their momma as Roxie quickly shut the door to keep any of them from escaping.

  “Ohmigod, they’re so adorable,” Kayla said. “Can we keep all of them?”

  “I left a couple hundred dollars with the shot records to pay for extra cleaning of the room and any fees you might incur for caring for them initially. I also left their food, cat litter, and the cat carrier so you could transport them safely,” Mr. Jeffries said to Gabrielle. “What else can I do to rectify what I did?”

  “Just don’t do it again. And like I said, I hope your son gets better quickly. We’ll take good care of the cat and her kittens,” Gabrielle said.

  With the network the pack had and because of how much everyone in the Wolff family loved them, Gabrielle knew the kittens and momma cat would find homes for Christmas.

  Then Gabrielle and Mr. Jeffries ended the call and she explained to Landon and his sisters what had happened. She went to the one drawer that was still shut in the dresser and found the money and shot records Mr. Jeffries said he’d left behind.

  “He left $200 for incidentals and their shot and health records.” Gabrielle looked over the shot records, and it was as Mr. Jeffries said. The cats were all set.

  At the window Kayla was petting the momma cat which was purring up a storm. “At least that means we get to keep Princess Buttercup. What about the rest of them?”

  “We can send word to the pack about the rest needing adoption. A couple of pictures should do the trick. In the meantime, we’ll take them to our house until they find homes,” Landon said. “Several will love to have them, and we have enough to take care of as it is now. Not that we don’t love pets, but I mean with managing the lodge and restaurant.”

  “True,” Roxie said, cuddling one of the kittens, looking as though she didn’t mean it.

  She and Kayla gathered up the cat and kittens and put them in the carrier. Roxie took the cat carrier, Kayla grabbed the litter box, and Landon gathered up the money, vet records, cat food, and bagged cat litter.

  “I’ll meet you down in the lobby once you’re dressed for the pool?” Landon asked Gabrielle.

  “Yes. I’ll be down shortly.” She took off for her room while the others left with all the cats and their things. She was so glad they had resolved the business with Princess Buttercup and the Wolffs could keep her, and that the cats had all been taken care of, vet-wise.

  Chapter 12

  In her room, Gabrielle stripped out of her warm clothes and put on her string bikini and her cover-up, grabbed her beach towel and key card, and headed out the door. She was glad she’d heard the kittens meowing or it would have been tomorrow when they finally had maid service clean the vacated—or mostly vacated—room and learned of them.

  She saw the same dark-haired woman she’d seen when Brando first sidetracked her, but the woman was in a rush to leave the lodge this time. Gabrielle still couldn’t recall where she’d seen her before.

  Gabrielle saw Landon stalking across the floor to meet up with her. “My sisters are elated you found the kittens and their mother. I think they would have felt bad if they couldn’t have kept Princess Buttercup. Kayla texted me and said the momma cat and the kittens adore Rosco. He could have been a momma dog, it seems.” He led Gabrielle to the pool.

  She laughed. “I’m so glad we have that mystery resolved and that they can stay at the house with Rosco for now.”

  “Yeah, Blake and Nicole would have taken in the cats otherwise, but everything worked out just fine.”

  They put their things on a chaise lounge, and before he could get much of a look at her string bikini, Gabrielle dove into the pool.

  “Hot damn,” Landon said and jumped in after her. He soon caught up to her, even though she was planning to do laps first.

  No matter how much she told herself not to panic, she couldn’t swim fast enough away from him, and when he caught her leg and pulled her into his arms, she squealed in delight and laughed.

  He kissed her. “You know we don’t want you to leave at the end of your vacation. I don’t want you to leave.”

  She wrapped her arms around him. “I have to tell you I’m really not good with change.”

  “You’ve met all of us so it’s not like you won’t already have friends here. Not to mention you already have a client here waiting for you to take over the practice. And a vet who also wants you to take over the practice.”

  She smiled. “I have to admit the idea of leaving the wolf pack to return to a place that doesn’t have wolves doesn’t appeal very much now, despite being the only home I’ve ever known. The notion of running and playing with wolves when I have time to do it sounds much better. And I think it’s great you have so many pack functions to enjoy.”

  “Not to mention me, right?”

  She laughed. “And your family. What…” She looked up at him. “What if I can’t manage the clinic by myself? I’ve never had my own clinic.” She did worry about that. She knew what she was doing but she was afraid she would get overwhelmed.

  “You have a whole pack to help you out, and trained assistants. Believe me, you’ll be fine.”

  With vet matters? She wasn’t sure about that. “I’ve never lived anywhere else. It’s hard to think of moving to somewhere out of state. What if I didn’t like it after a while? I would have left my practice behind and someone would have taken over from me, so where would I be?”

  “Here with us, a pack. Wolves. If it’s something you’re really interested in, you can do it. It won’t take you long before you’ll feel right at home. Believe me, it’s not the same as living among humans. We had never lived anywhere else but Vermont before we moved here this past year. It didn’t take us long to enjoy being with this wolf pack and part of a wolf-run town. If you need more time to think about it, you could return here next year to ski with your friends and see if you missed us enough that you want to stay for good then—if Doc Mitchell can hold out that long.”

  She smiled and kissed Landon on the cheek. “But Vermont is similar to Colorado in that you had snow and cold. And you still have your family with you.” She paused. “I have to admit it’s really nice having a pack to stick up for you if wolves, or humans, hassle you. I hadn’t expected that. Humans would mind their own business for the most part, I figure. They wouldn’t want to get involved and would let you deal with the trouble on your own. It’s nice to think you have someone, or a lot of someones, to call on if you need help.”

  “Several of us are deputized, including me. So we even have the law behind us.”

  “That’s good to know.” She ran her hands over his perfectly muscled shoulders. “So what do you think? Do you like this bathing suit better than the other?”

  “I love anything you wear.” He kissed her on the nose. “But this one is really hot—because you make it really hot.”

  “Thank you.”

  He kissed her mouth and she hugged him close. This was what she was going to miss the most. Landon, his protectiveness, his helpfulness, his playfulness. And this—his hotness.

  His arousal pressed against his board shorts and against her, and she welcomed his sexy touch. His mouth was hot on hers, seeking connection, the promise of more, and she parted her lips to give him openmouthed kisses. Then she inserted her tongue into his mouth and started stroking his. She wanted more. Wanted unconsummated but passionate foreplay in her bed tonight.

  “Hmm, I guess we ought to get on with swimming before someone complains about our public display of affection, even though it seems quiet everywhere.”

  He sighed. “Yeah, I agree. Let’s get our laps done. After that, we can plan our day out for tomorrow.”

  They swam back and forth, and like before, he kept pace with her. She enjoyed the companionship. She was used to always swimming alone, but this was really nice. After they finished their laps, they played in the water, diving under, capturing each other. This was just as fun as playing as wolves. They came up for air and hugged each other.

  “You are so addictive,” she said to him.

  “So are you.” He treaded water, his arms wrapped around her. “I was thinking that we could swim first thing in the morning, have breakfast at the bar and grill, then take Rosco in for his vaccinations. After that we would ski, have lunch, and build our snowmen in the afternoon instead of skiing. Then we could ski that night.”

  “Oh, that would be fun. I keep thinking how pretty the ski runs are at night with the lanterns lighting the way, the illumination reflecting off the snow.”

  “They are. You have to experience this while you’re here.”

  “I do. Thanks.” Of course her friends might have taken her up at night, but going with Landon was a different kind of fun—much more romantic. “Let’s go up to my room and we can talk about it some more.”

  She had no intention of talking about anything more, but she wanted to continue kissing him and more in the privacy of her suite.

  He looked a little surprised, then he smiled rather wolfishly, getting the gist of it. “Yeah, sure. You don’t mind if I grab my clothes from the storage room first, do you?”

  “No, we’ll drop by there first.”

  After they got out of the pool, she dried off and pulled on her cover-up, and he dried himself off, pulled on his shirt, and wrapped his towel around his waist. They put on their shoes and headed for the lobby and the storage room.