Wilson didn’t think he’d ever felt better in his life.
It was as though he was just...suffused with a sense of well-being. The rush of joy he felt every time he looked at Mavis seemed to be building up inside him, adding layers and layers of happiness that stayed warm in his chest after he looked away.
Although he didn’t look away much.
Mavis seemed to be feeling the same, if the smile that lingered at the corners of her mouth was any indication. They walked back along the path hand-in-hand, and their eyes kept catching on each other, their fingers squeezing, their shoulders brushing.
Wilson was a middle-aged Marine Colonel. He’d never thought he’d feel like a giddy teenager again, but apparently he’d been wrong.
They were meeting Nina for dinner at Oliver’s, and so they drove back into town; Wilson was amazed that he didn’t crash them right into a tree, the way he kept getting distracted by how beautiful Mavis’ smile was, the graceful bend of her wrist, the gorgeous curve of her shoulder.
He wanted to take some serious time and learn every single inch of her better than he knew himself.
“Wilson,” Mavis murmured, when they were about halfway back to town.
“Hm?” Wilson asked.
“What are you going to do about your job? Your home in Washington?” She turned to look at him, and Wilson was gratified to see that she didn’t look anxious, or upset, like she had when she’d brought it up before. Just curious.
No longer was she wondering how this was going to end, worrying that there was no way he could choose her over anything else. Somewhere in there, she’d gotten the confidence in their relationship to look at this as a problem for them to solve together.
Fortunately, it wasn’t much of a problem. Wilson wasn’t sure when he’d made up his mind about this—the possibility had been there, and he’d turned it over in his mind several times already, but it had always seemed dubious. Self-indulgent. Risky.
Now, though, it was clearly the only option. He didn’t know when he’d made that decision. Maybe around the same time Mavis had stopped worrying.
“I’m retiring,” he told her. “I’m leaving Washington, and I’m going to move up here to Glacier.”
Her lips parted. “Oh,” she breathed. “But—you shouldn’t have to leave your home for me.”
“First,” he said firmly, “if that’s what’s best for both of us, that’s exactly what I should do. Secondly...I haven’t been happy with my job for a long time. The only reason I haven’t retired yet is that I didn’t know what I would do otherwise, where I would go. My life seemed like a wasteland, apart from the Marines. Now,” and he reached over and squeezed her hand, “my life is full. Full of love.”
Mavis squeezed back. He loved the feeling of her strong hand in his; smaller than his own, of course, but still capable, with power in its grip as well as gentleness.
“I would love to have you here with me in Glacier,” she said quietly. “I can’t think of anything that would make me happier.”
He smiled. “Good. And I’m looking forward to making up for years and years of lost time in the city. The idea of having all of these mountains and forests to explore, the whole Park to learn...I think I could spend my days re-learning what it is to be a shifter out in nature, like I was meant to be.”
Mavis smiled. But was there a hint of wistfulness to it? Wilson wondered if she felt left out, since her daughter and most of her friends here were shifters.
Would she want...?
But they were coming up to the town, and that was a question for another time. Besides, Mavis was thinking. “Are you going to join Cal’s pack?” she asked.
Wilson hesitated. “I think I’ll keep myself a loner for a bit longer,” he said finally. “Maybe I could be an associate member. A satellite member. I won’t usurp Cal’s authority, but I’m afraid that he’d be uncomfortable leading his former commanding officer.”
“Maybe you could find a different pack, up here,” Mavis suggested. “There’s a lot of different shifters around. Or do you all have to be the same type?”
“That’s usually how it works out in shifter communities,” Wilson said, “but in the military, everyone’s thrown together, and we make it work. I almost prefer it that way, because then there’s a multitude of experiences of what be
ing a shifter means. You learn more that way.”
Mavis smiled. “I’m sure you’ll make it all work out.”
They pulled up to Oliver’s, and Wilson parked, then leaned over to kiss Mavis’ delicious lips. “We’ll make it work out together,” he murmured.
She kissed him back, and then squeezed his hand one more time, before they got out and headed into the diner.
Nina was waiting for them at a booth. Mavis and Wilson took the other side, and after the usual greetings, Mavis took a breath. “Nina,” she said, “I have something to tell you.”