Free The Blessed Blend by Allison Shaw Page B

aye!” he exclaimed. “I like a’ the oother things He made ‘em for, too!”
    The other men shared in the laughter and finished the morning chores, with the children running around doing their share of ‘helping’. When they finished, they walked into the kitchen for coffee. Euan’s eyes fell upon the elderly couple sitting at the table with Darlene as his children ran up to hug them. There was no mistaking the affection between the children and their great-grandparents.
    And no mistaking the looks that they gave him - curiosity, wariness, reserve, knowing. The man motioned for Euan to sit down as Darlene set more coffee cups down on the table. Euan took his seat and waited.
    Papa looked the Scotsman over. Looks alone proved in his mind that this man was the daddy of Callie’s twins. Hell, Red Wolf looked just like him except for having Callie’s straight hair.
    But his eyes saw more than just the surface. In Euan’s eyes and gestures Papa saw clues of the man’s character. There was a bit of arrogance in the set of the mouth but remorse in that of the shoulders. The eyes were full of caution but lacking in deceit. The small movements of his hands showed thriftiness as well as a tendency to keep things to himself. There was a strong sense of stubbornness, too.
    This was a young man who had to learn things the hard way most of the time.
    Euan sat still as the older man looked him over and wondered just how lacking he would be found. He had no reason to think that Callie’s family would accept him or even like him, and he couldn’t blame them for that. It was another cross he had to bear.
    Callie hadn’t come down and he found himself worrying about her. He had not suspected that she could have ever been carrying so much grief inside of her that it would tear her apart and break her down like that. He felt like even more of a bloody bastard than before. Making things right with her might well take him until Judgment Day.
    Papa asked Euan and John, “Well, what do you’uns think of our place here?”
    John smiled. “Och, its verra bonny here,” he said. “I find it much tae me liking, except for the wolves howling in the middle o’ the night. D’ they oft come up sae close t’ the hoose?”
    Darlene explained, “Jim and the kids rehabilitate rescued wolves so that they can learn to live back out in the wild.”
    Euan asked, “What d’ye mean, rescued wolves? Were they trapped or injured?”
    “No, son,” Jim replied. “They were bred in captivity for pets, except that they can’t breed the wolfiness out of them and the people who buy them think they’re supposed to be like dogs. Trying to raise wolves like dogs causes a whole host of problems and many of these animals end up being destroyed or abandoned. A lot of times people drive them out into the countryside and dump them, figuring that since they’re wolves they can live in the wild. The ones that don’t starve to death usually end up getting shot when they attack livestock. We try to get them and teach them how to be wolves again.”
    He paused before saying, “Callie excels at working with them. Those wolves of hers are ones who chose to pack with her. They’d follow her to hell and back.”
    Euan felt a tingle of fear. “Does she have the bairns around them?”
    “The kids?” Jim asked. “Sure. They’ve raised those kids like their own cubs and protect them just as fiercely as she does. Hell, the kids learned to walk by holding onto a wolf and walking with it.”
    The startled looks on Euan’s and John’s faces made their hosts chuckle, which did little to allay Euan’s concerns. “Are ye sure it’s safe for the children t’ be in such close proximity wi’ the beasties?” he asked. “Wha’ if aen turns oon ‘em?”
    Jim finished his coffee. “They’re in much more danger from their fellow human beings the way people are these days,” he observed. “Wolves don’t prey on their own kind or kill for pleasure or sport.