Joy to the Wolves (Red Wolf #1) - Terry Spear Page 0,134

her and set it on the counter, then took the money for it and thanked the woman before she left.

No one in the pack had envisioned the shop would be such a success when it first began, though Julia, a well-known romance author, had written about it in some of her stories and had intrigued visitors who read her books to check out the pie shop while on vacation to the area. Even the locals who lived nearby loved it.

The shop had started to get party requests for medieval meals, and it looked like they were going to be expanding their staff and building to accommodate the orders. Not only that, but her shop was contracted to help cater the main meals during the shoot. Heather was thrilled at the opportunity.

“We’ve heard so much about your shop, we had to come and check it out,” Robert said, leaning against her counter.

She didn’t believe him for an instant. Her phone was sitting on the ledge below the high counter and out of his sight, so she started to text Ian to see if he could send some backup—other than her three brothers, Oran, Jaime, and Callum, who would just as soon kill the Kilpatricks and ask questions afterward—if she needed help keeping the peace.

The doorbell jingled again, and she looked up, afraid it would be more of the Kilpatrick’s kin. Instead, Enrick MacQuarrie pulled the door closed behind him and a bit of relief washed over her. Now he was a welcome sight. Not for his supposed interest in dating her. That was so farfetched, she couldn’t believe Lana would even think that. But Heather knew he was protective when it came to her or any other she-wolf of the MacNeill wolf pack.

She didn’t send the text message to Ian, figuring Enrick could deal with the clansmen if they gave her any trouble.

Enrick looked so much like the man with the New York T-shirt sitting with the other at a table, waiting for their steak pies, that he could have been his double. Ever since Guy McNab had made it big as a film star in America, Enrick had been mistaken for him whenever he ventured out of the area.

He was the middle triplet brother of Grant and Lachlan MacQuarrie, tawny-haired and good-natured—except if he was defending the pack members or his friends, then watch out. He had a warrior’s heart, yet she’d seen a real softy side to him too—playing tug-of-war with the Irish wolfhound pups, chasing the kids around the inner bailey in a game of tag, growling as if he were a wolf in his fur coat, making the kids squeal in delight. She’d seen him playing with his brothers as wolves and he was totally aggressive, not wanting either of his brothers to win the battle between them. And in a snowball fight, he was the fastest snowball maker and thrower she’d ever seen. If they played on teams, she wanted him on hers.

So he did let his hair down, so to speak, with the kids and with his brothers and others. With her? He clearly thought she was trouble.

But he was a wolf with a pack friendly to her own and she smiled brightly at him, glad he was here in case she needed him.

There was no smile for her; his look instead was dark and imposing as he glanced from her to the Kilpatrick brothers, who were apparently still trying to figure out what they wanted to buy. They hadn’t noticed Enrick’s arrival and she hoped he wouldn’t start a fight when the other men were behaving…for the moment. There were so many customers in the shop, she didn’t want to see a brawl break out in front of them. It surely wouldn’t help business.

Robert pointed to the sign on the wall listing the kind of pies they sold. “We’ll take a couple of the steak and kidney pies to go.”

Okay, so they weren’t causing trouble. Yet. Enrick was observing them with a do-anything-I-don’t-like-and-you’ll-die look.

Robert leaned against the oak countertop. “We hear there’s supposed to be a movie filmed at one of the castles nearby.”

Her heartbeat quickening, Heather’s gaze darted to Enrick’s and he raised his brows at her. Man, she really wasn’t supposed to give away the secret yet. She knew he would question her next, once the Kilpatricks had left. He could probably hear her heart suddenly beating way too fast.

“We had that movie filmed at our castle a few years back, but