Chapter Twelve

	“Jules?  Hayley?”
	The voice could be heard calling quietly from the hallway outside the room next
to them.  The spell was broken, and Hayley straightened and looked down at the front of
his shirt, blushing.  The voice came again, and Jules cursed softly under his breath.  Why
did Dolores have such bad timing!  He glanced back at the lips he had been about to kiss
and heaved a heavy sigh, then looked towards the door. 
	“I suppose we  have to go talk to them,” he said.
	“I suppose we do,” Hayley agreed, but she didn’t move. “I’m not looking forward
to it.”
	He looked at her again, and she could not read the look in his eyes. “I wasn’t 
finished.  There was more I wanted to say.  Much more.  We’ll have to finish this
conversation later, but whatever they have to say, Little One, rest assured I have no
intentions of sending you away.  Now, let’s go see what our guests have to say, shall we? 
As far as they’re concerned, Hayley, we’re still a married couple, don’t say anything to
make them think otherwise.”
	“But—“
	He lay a finger against her lips and shook his head. “No buts.  Now come with
me, and don’t be afraid, I’ll stand behind you one hundred percent. As far as I’m
concerned, you’re the best thing to happen to GreyWolf in years.”
	The lodge, Hayley thought. He had to mean the lodge. But she had
no time to ask, or even think about it, for at that moment he opened the door and walked
out into the hall, taking her hand and drawing her out behind her. 
	“We’re here, Dolores,” he said, closing the door firmly behind them. Dolores
looked at the door to Jules’ bedroom, then at the couple that had just stepped out of a
different room.  She opened her mouth, then closed it again, then sighed, and shook her
head.
	“Please, can we go down to the fire?  Hector and I have something to say to you
both.”  Her voice was controlled, as if she had practiced her speech, and Hayley could not
tell if she was angry or not.  She glanced up at Jules, concerned, and he  squeezed her
hand in support as they followed the other woman down the stairs.  Hector was still
sitting in the same chair, frowning, and Dolores perched herself on the edge of the other
chair. Jules drew Hayley down onto the sofa beside him and looked at the Shellingtons.
	“Dolores.  Hector.  I would like to say that —“
	“No, Jules. Please let me speak first.”  Dolores interrupted him, and he closed his
mouth and clenched his jaw.  He could feel Hayley shaking beside him as the other
woman turned to face her.  
	“Hayley, I —“  Dolores started, then paused, and looked at her husband. He said
nothing, but nodded ever so slightly.  She looked back towards the dark haired young
woman and sighed.  “Hayley, I’m so very sorry!” she blurted out.  “I was inconsiderate,
and thoughtless, and everything you said was absolutely true.  We should be concerned
about the quality of the man Carolyn married, not what he looks like.”  A hint of a grin
fleeted across her lips and she glanced towards her husband. “And he has turned into a
fine looking young man, I will say!”
	She giggled only a little, and Hayley smiled. This was another glimpse at the
Dolores who savoured delivery pizza, Hayley thought.  She smiled at the other woman
and shook her head.  “But I should not have reacted like I did, Dolores.  You’re our
guests.  I should have been more respectful, and said nothing.  This is between you and
your daughter, I had no right to butt in.”
	“Hogwash!” Dolores exclaimed. “If I wasn’t respectful, why should you have
been?”  Then she turned her attention to Jules for a moment.  “Hector and I would like
you to know that we consider you as more than just our host here at the GreyWolf Lodge. 
We’ve been here so often, we’d like to think of you as a friend.  Isn’t that right, Hector?” 
	She looked at her husband again, who nodded but still said nothing. “Please
forgive us for our insensitivities.  We would like to think that Hayley has shown us the
error of our ways. Isn’t that right, Hector?”
	Again she looked at her husband, who sighed. “Dolores, I told you, I won’t do
anything to jeopardize our daughter’s marriage, but I don’t have to like it.”  Dolores
cleared her throat loudly, and he sighed again. “Alright, I agree that I respect Hayley’s
viewpoint, and I know Tomas is a good man.  It will take some getting used to.”
	Dolores turned back to her hosts and smiled. “Now, if you will still have us, we
really would like to stay for the duration of our vacation. And we hope you’ll let us come
back again in the future?”
	“Of course you may stay, Dolores,” Jules said. “Hayley and I would never ask
otherwise.  And as far as the future goes, you are welcome here any time.”
	“Good!” Dolores looked pleased with herself. “Then, Carolyn or no Carolyn, we
must make the best of this evening! We have a New Years Eve to celebrate together
tonight, remember?”
	“I guess I should go put the plane back in the hanger,” Jules said, glancing at
Hayley.  “Then, when I come back in, I’d like to finish that talk we were having.”

	But that never happened.  Hector decided he wanted some more fresh air, and
followed Jules out to the plane, while Dolores drew Hayley into a lengthy discussion
about her parents.  When the men returned in what Hayley thought was exceptionally
good spirits, they disappeared into the office for a few minutes, and then when they
returned, Anna already had lunch on the table. 
	“Later,” Jules promised in a soft whisper next to Hayley’s ear as he sat down to
lunch, but when the meal was over,  Marty requested his boss’s help outside again, and
Jules gave Hayley an apologetic look.  “Later, I promise,” he said, then he pushed his
chair away from the table and followed Marty to the door. 
	When he returned, he called her name the minute he slipped out of his parka,  and
smiled brightly when she stepped out of the dining room with a cup of hot chocolate for
him. Taking it and holding it in both hands to warm them, he looked at her with a look in
his eyes that made her heart skip a beat. 
	“Thank you, Little One. Just let me warm up a bit, and we’ll have that talk,” he
said, lifting the cup to his lips while still holding her gaze over he brim of the cup.
	But once again the fates were against them.  As Jules downed the last of his drink
the sound of an engine could be heard outside.  “What the —?” Jules said, marching
towards the window. “That sounds like a snowmobile.”  Who on earth would be driving
in here on snowmobile at this time of day on New Years Eve, he thought, leaving the
window and walking towards the door. 
	“Are you expecting company, Jules?” Dolores asked, and he shook his head. 
	“Not expecting anyone at all,” he said. “But someone is obviously here.”  He shot
a cautious glance towards Hayley, who met his gaze with a look of panic in her eyes. 
Just as Jules reached the door, it opened, and a large figure in full snowsuit and helmet
walked through it.
	“Simon!”  Jules exclaimed in surprise, as the helmet was removed from the man’s
head, revealing a  rugged-faced man with long black hair.  The two hugged each other
and delivered what seemed like unending pats to each others shoulders and arms as the
other man greeted Jules by name and peeled off his outdoor wear.  
	“What on earth are you doing here?  When did you get back into this neck of the
woods?”  Jules asked, clearly excited to see the new arrival.  “I wasn’t expecting to see
you for a few weeks yet.”
	“Got in last night,” the man named Simon said. “Since I have no food in my
cabin, I thought I’d come by and celebrate New years Eve with you, and taste some of
Anna’s good home cooking to boot."  He grinned and winked at Jules, then continued. 
"Besides, it’s usually slow time around here, but I see you do have some guests after all.” 
As the man spoke, he had taken in the people in the room, nodding at Dolores, offering a
polite ‘Sir’ to Hector, then giving Hayley a complete blush-inducing inspection before
giving her a wide grin.  
	“Hello!”  he said, in obvious appreciation.
	Jules turned to face the others in the room.  “This is Hector and Dolores
Shellington, Simon,” he said, and before he had a chance to say any more, Simon was
shaking hands with Hector and politely complimenting Dolores.  Then he turned to face
Hayley, and looked her up and down from head to toe once again. 
	“And who have we here?” he asked, flashing her a killer smile, and holding out
his hand to her. 
	“This is Hayley,” Jules said, and from behind the man he gave her an apologetic
glance.   He’d promised she wouldn’t have to pretend to be his wife in front of anyone
but the Shellingtons, but he hadn’t counted on Simon showing up unannounced.  The last
he had heard, the man was supposed to be off in Alaska somewhere until the middle of
January, not standing there in the front room at the lodge complicating things! If he'd
showed up when expected, the Shellington's would have already flown back to Arizona
and the charade would be over. Now, there was no chance of explaining anything with
Dolores and Hector sitting there expectantly waiting for him to finish the introduction. 
	Before he had a chance to, however, Dolores spoke up.
	“Simon! You haven’t met Jules’ lovely bride yet?” She seemed surprised that
Simon didn't know of the wedding.
	Simon seemed to choke on something.  It seemed like laughter, then his face went
deadly serious and he looked from Hayley to Jules and back again.  “She’s joking, right?
She’s not serious!?” he asked, and Jules put on his best smile.
	“She’s very serious.”  Jules nodded, then turned to Dolores.  "Simon is often away
and unreachable for months at a time, so he has to catch up on news like this when he
returns."
	“Well I’ll be damned!”  Simon  looked at Hayley so closely now that she was sure
she blushed right down to her toes, in which case, Simon wouldn’t have missed it
because he was scrutinizing every inch of her. “Married! When did you go and to that,
Jules? You didn’t say anything about getting married before I left for Alaska.”
	“I’ll tell you about it later,” Jules said, attempting to instill a warning into his
voice without his guests hearing it. 
	“Tell me now,”  Simon encouraged, as he crossed his arms on his chest and
grinned, his eyes still on Hayley. 
	“C’mon, Simon, can’t you see you’re making the lady uncomfortable” Jules said,
but Simon only chuckled. 
	“Well, it’s not every day a guy finds out his cousin went and got married without
telling him.”
	Hayley’s eyes widened, and she shot a surprised look at Jules. “Your cousin? 
You mean this is Simon — Simon your cousin?”
	“In the flesh,” Simon agreed, with a nod, and Hayley remembered the last time a
man had said those words to her. Now that she looked at him again, there was something
about the man that did resemble Jules, although his skin was darker without the white
influence, and his features were just slightly rounder. But her assessment of their
similarities had to be put on hold when she realized Simon was talking to her. “So you’ve
heard of me, have you?”
	She looked at Jules, not knowing how much he wanted Simon to know he had
told her.  The last he had mentioned of his cousin they were separated in their childhood
after Jules and his father moved away. Even then, contact between the two boys had been
difficult. She’d had no idea they were still in touch with each other all these years later. 
	“A little bit,” Hayley said, and for a moment the three of them shared knowing
glances, then Simon nodded and let his arms fall to his sides.  
	“Well, welcome to the family then,” he said.  “Not that it’s much of a family to be
part of, but I like to think Jules and I started one of our own, so now you’re a part of
that.”
	Dolores, who didn’t like to be left out of any conversation for too long, broke in
at that point.  “Simon, please join us for New Years Eve. After all, I'm sure you and Jules
have a lot of catching up to do if you have been away so long."
	"Don't mind if I do," Simon agreed with a huge smile, and Hayley realized that at
least in that the two men were very similar.  She was certain Simon's smile had knocked
many women to their knees, just as Jules seemed to be able to do with her, a fact she was
still trying to come to terms with.
	Sauntering into the diningroom, Simon gave Anna a big hug which brought one of
her biggest smiles to her face, then he took the cup of coffee she offered him, agreed to
the meal the cook offered to make for him, and headed for the games room.  As Jules
passed her on his way to follow his cousin into the other room, Hayley rested her hand
gently on his arm to stop him, and he paused at her side. 
	“I had no idea Simon and you were still in contact!”  Hayley said, and he smiled
at her. 
	“Part of the story I haven’t told yet.”  He glanced through the door of the game
room, to where Simon was racking up for a game of pool. “We kept in touch. I’ll tell you
the rest later.”  Then he sighed.  “I know I’ve been telling you that all day, but I promise,
we will finish that talk.   In the meantime, I think it’s best we don’t let Simon in on our
little game right yet.  He can be quite the flirt with the single ladies, and that would never
do around Dolores and Hector.”
	Hayley laughed.  “Yes, I did notice that side of him!” 

	As the evening wore on Hector joined the other two men in the game room, and
Dolores suggested that she and Hayley take advantage of the time to change into their
New Years Eve dresses. 
	“I can’t wait to see you in your new dress, Hayley,” Dolores said, beaming at her.  
	“Are you sure we won’t make Simon feel under dressed? He had arrived in jeans,
after all.”  
	Although Hayley was looking for an excuse not to let Jules see her in the dress,
Dolores would have none of it. “Nonsense,” she insisted. “We planned to dress and we
shall. We’re not coming down here in ball gowns, after all, just cocktail dresses.  Simon
looks perfectly fine as he is. “
	“I — “  Hayley glanced through the door at the men.  Suddenly she needed to put
off the time before she would shyly present herself in the new dress Dolores had given
her.   It was a beautiful garment, and she was certain she did not do it justice.  “I think I’ll
take a shower first, since the men seem to be having a good time and won’t miss me.”
	Hayley prolonged the inevitable as long as she could.  At last she stood looking at
herself in the mirror.  The dress fit her perfectly,   with just enough skin showing over 
the soft curve of her breasts, then flowing flateringly over her hips, accenting her curves. 
The off-white fabric was perfect against her skin tone, and so soft to the touch. She was
just about to lift the wolf tooth necklace from it’s bed of cotton when there was a soft
knock on her door followed by Dolores’ voice. 
	“Are you ready dear?”  Ever since Hayley had lectured Dolores, and the other
woman had apologized to her, Dolores had been treating Hayley almost like a daughter.
Hayley was just glad things hadn't been much, much worse, as they could very well have
been, after her silly outburst earlier that morning.  She was sure it was just a miracle that
the Shellington’s had taken everything so well, and not caused anguish to Jules because
of her. 
	“Come in, Dolores,” she called, then stood there feeling self conscious as the
older woman entered the room.
	“It looks beautiful on you!” Dolores assured her.  “Just as I knew it would the
minute I saw it in the store.”
	“The dress is beautiful,”  Hayley said. “I don’t know about the girl inside it.”
	“Nonsense!” Dolores said. “You are a beautiful girl, Hayley, no matter what you
wear.  You just need the right touch and you will be ravishing.  Now, what are you doing
about shoes?  And your make-up?”
	“This is it,”  Hayley held her arms out and shrugged, and Dolores frowned.
	“Come with me.”
	Hayley followed the woman down the hall, where Dolores sat her down and
preceded to apply her make-up for her.  After trying several different hair styles they
decided to leave her long, sleek black hair loose.  Then Hayley slipped her feet into a pair
of Dolores's dress sandals and stood looking at herself in the mirror.  The transformation
surprised even her, and she let out a soft gasp.  She hardly recognized herself!
	“There, now shall we make our entrance?  It is nearly nine o’clock.” Dolores said
with a smile. “The men will be wondering what has become of us.”
	Hayley had had no idea so much time had passed. At this rate, it would take no
time at all for the midnight hour to arrive. Then, if she was lucky, she could feign a
headache and slip away to bed, and try to forget the disastrous beginning to this day!
	“Oh!  I almost forgot!”  She rested a hand on Dolores’ shoulder at the top of the
stairs, her other hand on her throat. “The necklace.  I left it in my room when you came
to get me, I’ll be right down.” 
	And so it was that, a few minutes later, Hayley descended the wide pine stairs by
herself.  As she reached the midway point she could see that things looked different. 
Everyone had already gathered by the fire, and to her surprise, the men had all changed
their clothes as well.  Hector sat in what had now become his favourite chair, to the left
of the fireplace, dressed in dark pants and a tweed sport coat over a crisp white shirt.  He
was laughing and carrying on a conversation with another man who had pulled up a chair
from the dining room to sit at the older man’s side, and they both seemed to be enjoying
themselves very much.  In fact, Hayley had rarely seen Hector laugh as much as he was
right now. 
	She knew, by the long wavy black hair that fell just below the man’s shoulders,
that it  had to be Simon, but to her surprise he was no longer dressed in the faded denims
and plaid shirt he had been wearing on his arrival.  He now wore black jeans and a white
dress shirt, with a black sport jacket over top, as he sat bent over with his elbows on his
knees leaning in to hear what Hector was saying.  He looked just as at home in these
clothes as he had when he had arrived. She hadn’t heard the engine of his snowmobile, so
she knew he hadn’t gone anywhere and she wondered where he had gotten them from in
the short time she had been upstairs.  
	Not so short, she reminded herself, when her gaze slid across the room and fell on
the man standing with his back to her.  She had been upstairs for over two hours,
including her shower and  the time spent with Dolores, and somewhere during that time
she had obviously been out of the bedroom long enough for Jules to have gone upstairs
and changed, for it could be no one else but him.  He stood beside Simon, his back to the
stairs, in a black suit, the rim of a white shirt just showing above the collar and touching
the bottom of the hair that curled slightly at the collar’s edge. Dark black hair, that
matched the colour of the eyes that she knew would be looking at her the moment he
turned around.  Eyes that she knew she could easily drown in if she let herself.  And even
if she resisted!
	Dolores, in her slim line pale peach dress with accenting one-button jacket, was
standing by the fire. Hayley only noticed her because at that moment, in the corner of her
eye, she saw the woman turn towards her.  It wasn’t a great movement, but it was done
with just enough purpose to alert the others that someone was approaching.  As if as one,
Hector and Simon turned their heads to face her, and Hayley allowed herself one fleeting
glance towards them to notice their expressions.  Hector smiled up at her with a look that
one might have mistaken for fatherly pride, had they not known there was no ties
between these two at all.  Simon’s expression was one of complete, unbridled male
appreciation, complete with raised eyebrows and slight nod, and  almost accompanied by
a whistle!
	And then Jules turned to face her.  It seemed to Hayley as if it happened in slow
motion.  First his shoulders began to move, then his head, and when he could no longer
twist further, one foot slid around, until he stood there with his eyes lifted up towards her. 
She could see that he wore  a black string tie around his neck, held closed with what
looked to her like an imitation of a dream catcher honed in silver, with a small
milky-blue stone at the center.  She knew this because when he turned, she refused to
allow herself to look at his face, but concentrated on the front of his shirt, his tie, and his
hand, which was holding a glass at mid chest level.  And then she slowly raised her eyes,
because she knew she had to, smiling before she reached his face, because she knew it
was proper to do so.  And because,  if she didn’t smile before her eyes found his, she
could not guarantee what expression might be frozen on her face when they did.  
	Though it felt like it lasted hours, the span between Jules realizing she was there
and turning to look at her, and her eyes meeting his, took barely two seconds.  And then
she heard the gasp.  It was quick, and almost silent, but she heard it.  It was her own, but
had she been standing where Simon was sitting, she would have heard the same reaction
from Jules.
	Hayley’s knees felt weak as she stood looking down into the darkest eyes she had
ever seen.  The rest of the people in the room ceased to exist as she and Jules stood
transfixed.  Standing motionless half way down the stairs, Hayley began to feel
conspicuous, but she felt certain that her legs would fail her if she tried to make the rest
of the distance down the stairs. 
	“Hayley!”  It was barely a whisper, riding on the crest of a throaty groan, but she
heard it echo to her ears. It was her cue, and she took a deep breath, and took one more
step.
	Jules was at the bottom of the stairs long before she made her next step.  He had
crossed the distance without her even seeing him move, and he stood with his hand
outstretched to help her the rest of the way.  Much as she did not want to feel the touch of
his skin against hers, she was glad of the support in her state of emotional turmoil, and
rested her hand in his.  He curled his fingers around hers possessively, protectively, and
looked deep into her eyes. 
	“You look beautiful, Little One,”  he said softly.
	She tried a weak smile as she looked up at him.  “You don’t look so bad
yourself,” she said, and when he smiled at her remark she thought for sure she knew
exactly what a Victorian novelist meant by a swoon.
	“Damn, Jules, why do you always get to everything first?” Simon’s voice broke
into her consciousness, and she saw a glint of amusement flicker through Jules’ eyes, and
his fingers tightened around hers.  He had warned her that Simon was a lady’s man, and
not to let him know they weren’t really married.  She guessed, and correctly so, that had
he not thought she was his cousin’s wife, Simon would have been standing at her other
side, ready to duel for her attentions.  That they even considered her worth fighting over
brought a chuckle, and eased some of her tensions.  She took a deep breath, and turned
towards the rest of the group.  If she just kept her head, she could do this!