Page 52 of Secret Pucking Unicorn

And he shrugs. “The woods here are great to run in. A river runs at the back of the property. My family owns most of the land around here, it’s not a problem. The farm across the street is vacant. The kids are looking to sell, I think. It’s not listed yet.”

What kind of farm is it? I know Carter’s extended family has a Christmas tree farm and some produce farms growing blueberries, corn, and other stuff. Is it big enough for horses? A family? I’ll have to ask him about it, maybe I can make an offer to the family before it goes on the market. My horse farm was always a future thing but now that I know Miranda loves me too, it’s a now thing. The plan was to go back to Ireland, but New Jersey is fine too. If this is where Miranda wants to put down roots, I will find us a farm. I was hoping to save more money before buying something, but I can get a mortgage. My wolf is ready to find us a den.

Soph shrugs and I refocus.

“Okay, let’s go,” she says. “My wolf hasn’t been out to play in a while. She’ll be happy to stretch her legs. And I need to see what your wolf looks like and how you move, since at least one dance will require us to incorporate your ‘wild side.’ If you don’t screw up and get us kicked off before then.”

Carter’s spine straightens and he plants his hands on his hips. His nostrils flare and he sucks in his top lip. This is the first time I’ve seen my happy-go-lucky landlord lose his temper.

“You don’t have to worry about me being the reason we get kicked off. Make sure you choreograph good enough dances and I’ll dance them. You do your job, I’ll do mine, sweetheart.”

Oh no. This is going to be ugly. You don’t challenge Sophie and expect to escape unscathed. And she hates being called sweetheart like that. He’s my friend. I should save him.

“Great,” I say with faux cheer. “Carter, go see if Coach and Stone want to join us. We’ll meet you out back.”

He can be a fool, but he’s not stupid. He nods and leaves the studio to go upstairs.

“I wouldn’t have hurt him, Declan. I need him to be healthy enough to dance,” Sophie says.

“And I need him to be healthy enough to play hockey. Please don’t hurt him. He is silly sometimes, but he’s a good man. He’s not stupid, and he cares more than he shows.”

“Whatever. I need to put up with him for two months. I can endure anything for that long, even your idiot teammate.”

“Where are you staying? We’re a full house here.”

“I’m staying at Devil’s Den. It’s enough I have to dance with the man. No way would I want to live with him too. I don’t know how you can stand living with people you work with.”

I shrug. “I like them, and the rent is insanely reasonable. I can save more of my salary for a farm. It’s good for me to live with people. It’s too easy for me to be alone.”

“If you lived alone, I couldn’t have busted in on you this morning.”

“If I lived alone, I wouldn’t be with Miranda.”

Her sigh betrays her exasperation. “Miranda, Miranda, Miranda. She’s all you talk about. Trevor too. Are you sure there isn’t something going on with those two? She seems more into him than you.”

“She loves me,” I say, barely restraining a growl. “They are friends. That’s it. They were cheerleaders together in college.”

“He was a cheerleader? Like shaking pompoms?” There is a touch of scorn in her voice that raises my hackles.

“Have you seen what they do? It’s incredible. The strength and balance required by both of them is amazing. And the trust. Miranda put her safety and her life in his hands. The way she’d be tossed in the air and the flips she did and then get caught securely. It’s an incredible amount of trust and connection to have with someone. But nothing romantic.”

“Whatever,” she says, reminding me of the moody teenager she was not too long ago.

“Come on. Let’s get outside.”

She picks up her phone and walks into the tumble gym. “Be right there,” she calls over her shoulder.

I exit the door in the weight room to the backyard of the barn. Carter joins us with Coach and Stone.

“Run back to the river?” Coach asks.

“It’s a few miles round trip,” I tell Soph when she walks up.

“Sounds good,” she says.

We shift into our animals—me, Carter, and Sophie as our wolves, Coach is a tawny cougar, and Stone is a gigantic bull moose with a massive rack of antlers—and start running toward the tree line. Carter gives a happy yip and Sophie howls. Howls reach our ears from the surrounding farms. Carter’s family is celebrating too.

Stone slows down as we enter the woods and I realize with his antlers he needs to go more slowly to make sure they aren’t knocking into the pine and oak trees. He gestures with his massive moose muzzle to go ahead at my own speed. I race ahead and catch up easily. We’re individual but together, our strengths filling in for others’ weaknesses like when we’re on the ice. What Coach said in the video about us being a family is true. And I want Miranda to be a part of it. But will she? Alone and asleep and scared…will she ever be able to join us?

---