Seal Wolf Hunting (9781402293832) by Terry Spear Page B

doesn’t wear face paint and scare you to death again, everything should be just fine. Got to run along. You two have fun while you’re at it.” She hugged the pair of them. Paul hugged her right back, making Emma smile. She took a deep breath and patted him on the shoulder. “If only I were a lot younger.” She paused, frowning a bit. “Did Catherine tell you about that doctor who is taking DNA samples of all the wolves he can find to see what’s causing the”—she glanced around, and seeing no one nearby, she finished—“change in their longevity?”
    â€œI heard he was making the rounds.”
    â€œWell, he’s already tested us, but you and Allan were gone when he came. I called him to let him know you and Allan are here for the next couple of weeks.”
    â€œThanks.” Paul wasn’t worried about it like some of his pack members were. If it was a sign of the times, so be it. As long as they didn’t face over-accelerated aging because they had lived so long. That would be the pits.
    Then Emma headed for her car. Paul recognized it as the black sedan that had been parked at Catherine’s house that morning. So she had gotten a new car too.
    â€œWe better get to it,” Lori warned. “I’ll pick up some groceries after we go to the hardware store, and then I’ll meet you at the cabin.”
    At the hardware store, she picked out a vivid, emerald-green paint that was brighter than what Paul would have selected. He was thinking more of a sage green for quiet, cool, and muted forest colors.
    When he mentioned that, she considered the color swatch again. “The cabin has a lot of dark oak wood, so I want to go with something a little brighter.”
    â€œWe could paint a couple of pink palm trees on the accent wall. The green flamingos probably would disappear in that color of paint.”
    â€œI couldn’t draw a straight line if I tried. What about you?”
    â€œThat and singing, no can do.”
    He looked over Emma’s to-do list while the paint manager was mixing the paint. “Emma wants a new sofa and chairs?”
    â€œYeah, the old ones were recycled castoffs from forty years ago, so it looks like she really wants to spruce up the place.”
    â€œThe furniture store is closed by now,” he said. He hadn’t expected to be picking out furniture too.
    â€œWhich is fine. Tomorrow, we can paint, then return to town after lunch and find something that might work nicely for the living room.”
    â€œOkay, sounds good.”
    When they finished picking out the paint supplies, she asked, “Would beef ribs, parmesan noodles, and turnip greens be all right tomorrow for lunch? Chicken wings for dinner?”
    â€œI’d love it.”
    She eyed the list. “I don’t know. It looks like it might take longer to do all this. Well, I can finish up whatever she wants done that we don’t complete by tomorrow.”
    â€œI’ll stay however long it takes.”
    Lori glanced up at him. “She didn’t pay for that much time.”
    It sounded like he was a bought man. “I’m willing to stay longer and help Emma with whatever she needs done. So we’ll need lunch for Sunday. How about salmon steaks? We probably won’t need dinner.”
    Her mouth parted and he was reminded of just how kissable it was. “Um, okay. Breakfast? Forget it. I know what you like. I’ll meet you up at the cabin in a little while.” She gave him a spare key to the place.
    He was going to ask if she needed any help, but he didn’t want to make her feel crowded. “Okay, good show. Meet you there. I’ve got to drop by the Rappaports’ place to get my bag.” Then he carried the paint out to his SUV and headed to the cabin. He’d decided that this wasn’t going to be a bad deal at all. He tended to be a workaholic, totally mission-oriented, so he’d work