Two days later, the day before Thanksgiving, Kris pulled into the driveway to drop off Morgan at Kevin’s house after a full day of shopping.
“That’s odd; Kevin’s car isn’t here,” Morgan commented.
“You have a key, right? I mean, I would hope so, since he asked you to move in!”
“Yeah, I have a key. But it’s ok. I want to get dinner started anyway and he’ll only be in the way, wanting to steal food!” Morgan laughed, getting out of the car. “I’ll see you & Howie in the morning.”
“Sure thing! See ya tomorrow!” Kris said as Morgan closed the door.
Morgan walked into the house and walked into the bedroom to put her packages in the closet. Diana came up to her as she walked into the living room, nudging & play biting her hand for attention. “Come here, ‘a cuishle’, and tell me all about your day,” she laughed, sitting down in front of the fireplace, Diana rolling onto her back so Morgan could scratch her belly.
Kevin watched quietly from the doorway, watching Morgan play with her wolf. It still amazed him how gentle the large creature was. He had never dreamed that he would ever have a tame, though very large, wolf in his home.
“ ‘A cuishle’, that’s a new one, I don’t think you’ve taught me that one yet,” he said quietly.
Without looking up, Morgan answered him. “It means ‘my blood’; a relative, usually, though it could mean ‘blood of my heart’ also. Diana may not be my child, but she’s very dear to me; I got her from a man in Texas who found her after his son-in-law killed her mother. She was only about 8 weeks old at the time; she’s never known the wild, only humans, and she recognizes me as the alpha female of her pack.”
While she spoke, Kevin built a small fire in the fireplace behind her; it was mid-November and it was getting cool in the evenings. He sat beside Morgan, smiling when Diana put her large head in his lap, looking up at him with her big golden eyes. He gently scratched behind Diana’s ears, asking Morgan, “So, did you have fun shopping today?”
“Yes, I did! I was able to get the last of my Yule gifts, so I don’t have to worry about THAT this year!” she laughed. “Did you have a good day? You weren’t home when Kris dropped me off.”
He smiled slightly, knowing that Morgan was excited about her day: her Scots accent always became more prominent when she became upset or excited. “I had a good day. I also got the last of my Christmas presents bought; I decided to tag along with AJ & Howie on a shopping spree.”
“Sounds like you had fun,” she smiled.
“We did; we are also invited to meet the others for dinner, if that’s ok with you?” he said as he leaned over to kiss her.
“That sounds ok,” she smiled, meeting his kiss. “At least I won’t have to cook tonight.”
“But you’re still gonna cook Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow, right?” he asked.
“Of course, with a little help from Tessa & Kris,” Morgan said, a small smile playing across her lips & her eyes shining. She couldn’t wait to see the Boy’s faces tomorrow when they saw the extra guests that would be joining them for Thanksgiving lunch.
