Page 36 of Midlife Wolf Captured My Heart

“That’s right,” Talia said. “Remember that girl in our math class our senior year? I think her name was Melissa. She did everything she possibly could to win back her boyfriend, even though he started dating Sharon.”

“Didn’t Melissa try to run Sharon over with her new car?”

Talia held up her hand. “That’s right. Melissa chased Sharon all over the parking lot. That poor girl barely made it back inside the building.”

They walked in silence for a minute and then Sadie spoke up. “What makes people like that? They get so possessive over other people and unable to let go.”

Talia considered for a second. “Low self-esteem and the fear of being alone.”

“Plus, some people’s identity gets caught up in the relationship. When the relationship ends, the person feels as though they’ve lost a part of themselves. That could be the case with Billy. When he was here, part of his identity was Sadie’s boyfriend. Since I won’t get back together with him, I’m threatening his Angel’s Creek identity.”

“Yep.”

They reached their vehicles. Sadie and Talia were parked next to each other.

Talia hugged Sadie tightly. “Girl, you aren’t alone in any of this. I’m here if you need me. I have advice if you want it and an ear if you just need me to listen.”

“I appreciate you.”

Dakota had a meeting in Albuquerque with Lydia, so she wouldn’t have any company. She missed him as she rummaged through the refrigerator for something quick she could make for dinner.

She found some leftover chicken and a salad and sat at the table with her book. The words swam in front of her eyes. Hermind wandered to Dakota. Laying the book on the table, she gave up on any pretense of reading.

Sadie spent the evening cleaning the house. She turned on a podcast so she could try to focus on anything but the man who held her heart in his hands. Once everything was vacuumed, dusted, washed, and mopped, she headed for the shower and dressed in her T-shirt and panties. She slipped between the cool, soft sheets. As she drifted off to sleep, her last thoughts were on Dakota.

In her dream, Sadie saw herself standing in the front yard of her house. Dakota walked up to her, holding out his arms. As she rushed into his arms, he whispered in her ear. “I’m home to stay this time.”

“Really? You mean it?”

He smoothed her hair and looked deeply into her eyes. “I mean it. You mean more to me than anything else in the world. I’m in love with you. Sadie. Would you do me the honor of going through the mating ceremony with me?”

“Yes.”

The dream shifted. A small bear cup and wolf pup were playing outside, throwing a ball back and forth to each other, giggling. Dakota pulled into the driveway and walked into the yard. The kids ran over to him, hugging him, yelling “Daddy, you’re home.”

They went inside the house and ate dinner as a family. She read a bedtime story to the kids and they both kissed the kids goodnight and then headed to their bedroom where they made sweet love.

The shrill beep of the alarm jolted Sadie awake. She sat up straight in bed, startled. As the residual images of the dream faded away, Sadie felt her heart breaking.

16

Dakota

Dakota grinned as he drove to Albuquerque. He was listening to the episodes ofSerial Killersbefore Greg Polcyn left the show. “Most people probably think that the only thing I listen to is nature shows. They would be shocked to find out that I have a hefty knowledge of true crime, too.”

Three episodes later and he pulled into the parking lot of the gallery. Lydia greeted him at the door.

“How did you know I was here?”

She pointed to a small box attached to the front of the building. “Security cameras. I have an alert when someone pulls into the parking lot so I know when someone is here.”

“Makes sense.”

Lydia looked at him speculatively. “What do you think about another show in six months?”

“Wouldn’t that be too soon? We wouldn’t want the market to become saturated.”

They spent the next couple of hours talking about the pros and cons of another exhibit so soon after this one. On one hand, he was reluctant to do another one so quickly, but on the otherhand, it would give him a reason to come back to Angel’s Creek – besides Sadie.

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