Nate's Deputy (2019 Reissue)

by Lavinia Lewis

  Nate’s Deputy

  Lavinia Lewis

  Copyright Lavinia Lewis 2019

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. All characters, places, and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  License notes

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. The book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of Lavinia Lewis.

  Warning: This book contains material that some readers might find disturbing or objectionable and is intended for mature readers only.

  Back Cover Information

  Can these two stubborn men conquer their demons to come together as mates?

  Werewolf Nate Stanford is riddled with guilt over his brother Rick's death...so much so that when he meets his mate-Deputy Sheriff Jared Ambrose-he rejects him, believing he is not good enough for Jared and not worthy of being loved.

  The only thing that matters to him is buying his childhood home in honor of his brother's memory.

  Since their father died, Jared Ambrose has taken on responsibility for his younger brother, whose drinking binges are constantly getting him into trouble.

  Jared's only hope of saving his brother is finding them a place they can call home.

  Jared wants to make Sheriff but believes he'll never be elected if the residents of his new town find out he’s gay.

  When he realizes Nate is his mate, he knows it's not possible for them to be together.

  But trouble in their small town and unrest in the supernatural council force them together and make them question their decisions.

  Can these two stubborn men conquer their demons and overcome all obstacles to carve out a life together—a life that they both, so desperately need?

  Reader Advisory: The events in this series follow chronologically so each book is best read in sequence as part of the series.

  Chapter One

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Stanford, but there isn’t anything I can do. There was another bid on the property—a substantially higher bid than yours.”

  Nate lowered his gaze and twirled the Stetson in his hands. “My family has lived on that ranch for over four generations.”

  This couldn’t be fucking happening.

  If Nate had known the ranch was in trouble, he would have gladly handed over the money his brother Rick was short to buy the property when the owners had put it up for sale. When they hadn’t been able to pay the mortgage and the house hadn’t sold, the bank had foreclosed.

  Nate had waited six excruciatingly long months for the legalities of the foreclosure to be settled before the bank put the property back on the market. The good news was that the property was being offered at a fraction of the original cost, but the lower price had attracted new interest, and now Nate found himself in the middle of a bidding war.

  Why the hell hadn’t Rick contacted him?

  Nate would have helped.

  Okay, so Nate supposed he knew the reason Rick hadn’t got in touch. Before he was killed, it had been two years since they’d last spoken. Two goddamn long-ass years of them each holding a grudge after a stupid argument that never should have happened.

  Nate swallowed the lump in his throat that thoughts of his brother always produced.

  He hadn’t had time to tell Rick he was sorry for the things he’d said, and now he would never get the chance. His brother was gone, and Nate hadn’t even been able to say goodbye. By the time Kelan Morgan had tracked Nate down on a farm in Montana to inform him of Rick’s death, he’d already missed his brother’s funeral.

  What pissed Nate off most was that his own sister Lucy hadn’t even had the decency to let him know. Sure, she had a problem with Nate being queer, as she put it, but their baby brother had died.

  How could she be so heartless?

  To add insult to injury, it looked as though the house they’d grown up in was going to be sold out from under his nose. Fortunately, Kelan had seen fit to give Nate a job and a place to live on his ranch until he could buy his childhood home. It was damn good of Kelan to help him out, especially after what Rick had done to Kelan’s family.

  Nate still couldn’t believe Rick had kidnapped Luke Morgan and then handed him over to Ethan Walker like he was nothing more than a fucking commodity that he could make a few bucks from. When Kelan first told him what his brother had done, Nate hadn’t been able to believe it, even though he knew Kelan would never lie.

  To have done that to Luke for money was despicable.

  Rick had to have known Ethan wanted to harm Luke, so why had he gone through with it? That didn’t sound like something his brother would have done—not the brother Nate knew at any rate.

  The brother Nate remembered would never have stooped so low.

  Had Rick really changed that much in the two years Nate had been gone or had he merely been desperate enough to make a God-awful decision? It was pointless chewing it over because Nate would never know Rick’s motivation now that his brother was gone, and that ate him up inside.

  Something that continued to surprise Nate was the way that Kelan treated him like one of the family. He didn’t hold Nate responsible for his brother’s actions and he hadn’t once said a bad thing about Rick…not to Nate’s face anyhow, but he must have been thinking it.

  If only Nate could be as forgiving.

  He was so close to hating his brother for what he’d done, but mostly he hated himself. If he hadn’t distanced himself from Rick, if he had been there when his brother had needed him, then maybe Rick wouldn’t have done what he had—maybe he’d still be alive.

  “I’m afraid it’s out of my hands,” the Realtor said, dragging Nate out of his morose thoughts. “That is, of course, unless you can up your offer on the property?”

  A low growl started to form in Nate’s chest but he kept it inside.

  The Realtor, Rodney, was human, and like the other humans in town, he didn’t know a thing about the wolves that lived among them, even though the wolves outnumbered the humans practically two to one. The last thing Nate needed was to expose their secret and send the guy screaming for the hills.

  Rising stiffly from the chair, Nate gave Rodney a sharp nod.

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “You need to move quickly. The person that made the offer is in a good position to move forward with the sale and time is running out. You only have another five days before the cut-off date for bidding.”

  Nate grunted and pulled open the office door. “I’ll be in touch.”

  It was gone noon when Nate stepped out of the Realtor’s office and strode across the street to his truck. The sun was already high in the azure, cloudless sky and about as hot as blue blazes.

  Nate squinted and slipped on his dark grey, felt Stetson, pulling it low to shield his eyes. Most other cowboys Nate knew wore straw cowboy hats, which were cooler in the heat, but Nate had never taken to them.

  He supposed he was old-fashioned at heart.

  The weather had been cooler in Montana, decidedly so. Although he’d got used to the lower temperatures, Nate had always loved the heat and stickiness of a Texan summer. He’d missed it—hell he’d miss
ed home—but if his bid on the ranch wasn’t successful, there would be nothing left for him in Wolf Creek to call home.

  No reason at all for him to stick around.

  “Nate, that you?”

  Nate stopped walking and turned to see who had addressed him.

  Pete Johnson, a cowboy Nate had spent some time with several years ago, stood grinning at him—his own cowboy hat tipped as low as Nate’s. Pete was one of Kelan’s betas. He had a few years on Nate but he’d kept himself in shape.

  He looked good.

  His dark hair was longer than Nate remembered and hanging loosely around his shoulders. His frame was the same as before though—large, muscular, and damn fine.

  “Well, I’ll be damned, I wondered when I was going to run into you. Howdy.” Pete dipped his hat in greeting, a warm smile playing on full lips. “It’s been a while.”

  Nate nodded. “Has. How you been?”

  “Good. I was sorry to hear about the trouble at the Crazy Horse. Kelan told me you were shot.”

  Nate frowned.

  Thinking about the night Cary had been kidnapped by those losers from town several weeks ago always made the fine hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

  “Cary is a good kid, been through a lot. He could have been killed that night.”

  Pete grinned, the action exposing his perfectly straight, white teeth.

  “You haven’t changed I see.”

  “Huh?”

  “Always putting other people first. I asked about you getting shot but your first thought was for that young panther shifter.”

  Nate felt a blush creep up his neck, but it was more from shame than embarrassment. If Pete knew the truth about him, about how he’d let his brother down, he might not be so quick to praise him.

  He waved a hand dismissively at his chest.

  “Was nothing. ‘S already healed. You still working as foreman for old man Walker?”

  “Naw, the old fool fired me about a year ago.”

  “Fired you?” That came as a surprise.

  Pete had always been a damn hard worker, one of the best.

  “Let’s just say he caught me in a compromising position with one of the hands.” Pete’s eyes sparkled with mirth and Nate couldn’t hold back his chuckle.

  That sounded exactly like the Pete he remembered.

  “Couldn’t keep it in your pants, eh?”

  Pete’s grin broadened, and he shrugged. “Something like that.”

  “So, where you working nowadays?”

  “You haven’t heard?”

  Nate shook his head. “Don’t listen to gossip, and don’t get into town much.”

  “I’m working at Jessie’s Dancehall. I manage the place now.”

  “You? Manage a honky-tonk?”

  Pete nodded. “I enjoy it—more than I thought I would.”

  “You don’t miss being a cowboy?”

  “I’ll always be a cowboy, but do I miss the animals or working the land? Can’t say as I do. I never was one for this damn heat, and ranching in the middle o’ summer just about killed me.

  “Jessie is thinking of selling, matter o’ fact, and I’ve a mind to buy him out. I’m headed there now to open up if you wanna come grab a beer.”

  Pete raised his eyebrows in query and his mouth curved up into a seductive smile. Interest flared in his dark brown eyes. Nate considered the offer. It had certainly been a long time since he’d socialized, but based on their history together he had a feeling Pete was offering more than a friendly drink for old time’s sake.

  With all of his worries over the ranch, the last thing on Nate’s mind was hooking up, so it wasn’t fair to lead Pete on, no matter how tempting the man was.

  And Nate was tempted.

  Pete’s rough and somewhat rugged exterior appealed to Nate. He’d always been attracted to strong men even though Nate was no puny little thing himself. But it didn’t matter how long it had been since Nate got any relief from a hand other than his own, he couldn’t bring himself to say yes.

  “Thanks,” he said at last. “But I’ve got to be getting back to the Crazy Horse. Got some work to finish for Kelan, and I’m already late.”

  “No worries. How’s it going there?”

  “Good. Kelan’s a fair boss.”

  “Yeah, he’s a good man that one and a good leader, one of the best.”

  “You still one of his betas? I haven’t seen you around the ranch.”

  Pete nodded. “Yeah. He calls on me from time to time, but I’ve been so busy managing Jessie’s and some other things I have going on, I haven’t been as involved as I should have been.

  “I told him he might want to look for someone who can fully commit.”

  “Bet he’ll be sorry to lose you.”

  Pete shrugged.

  He shuffled his feet uncomfortably then looked up and met Nate’s gaze.

  “You know, I was real sorry about what happened to Rick.”

  Nate lowered his head to stare at the ground and felt the familiar lump begin to form in the back of his throat. He didn’t talk about his brother—ever. Hadn’t since he’d learned of Rick’s death. Cary had tried to talk to him about Rick a few times, but Nate always managed to change the subject and the kid hadn’t pushed.

  “Thanks. I’d better get going. Good seeing you again, Pete.”

  “You too, and Nate…?”

  Nate reluctantly lifted his head to meet Pete’s gaze.

  “If you ever want to stop by for a drink, or anything else, you’d be more than welcome.”

  Nate tipped his hat then strode back to his truck without another word to his old friend.

  Chapter Two

  “Have you been drinking again?” Jared grabbed hold of his brother’s arm and waited for him to meet his gaze.

  After a moment, Tristan raised his head.

  His pale blue eyes were bloodshot and he seemed to have trouble focusing.

  “No. Christ, will you give it a rest? I’m tired of your nagging.”

  “Don’t lie to me, Tristan.”

  Jared tried to keep his anger in check.

  He was sick and tired of having the same damn argument with his brother.

  “I can smell it on you.”

  “Jesus, I had one beer…one.”

  Jared narrowed his eyes and pressed his lips together. “It’s the middle of the day.”

  “Will you give a guy a break? I’m going out.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Out!”

  Tristan pulled out of Jared’s grip, grabbed his wallet from the nightstand then strode out the door.

  “Don’t wait up!” he called over his shoulder.

  Jared jumped when the bedroom door slammed shut, and he bit back a growl. Tristan’s drinking was getting out of control. He wished he could do something to help his brother, but sometimes there was only so much you could do. A person had to want to help themselves, but Tristan refused to admit he had a problem.

  Jared sighed and scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. Their father dying had hit Tristan hard, Jared knew that. Hell, he was struggling to hold it together himself. But if his brother wasn’t careful, he was going to wind up in jail…or worse.

  It wasn’t only the drinking that was the problem—it was Tristan’s anger. Jared had been called over to Jessie’s dancehall on three separate occasions when his brother had shot his mouth off to some locals and they’d retaliated.

  One of these days Tristan was going to mess with the wrong person, and Jared didn’t want to think about what could happen then. He already had nightmares of finding Tristan in a ditch somewhere, and he didn’t want his waking hours to be consumed with such thoughts too—not if there was something he could do about it.

  He sat down heavily on the twin bed by the window and gazed around the sparsely decorated room. Their living arrangements certainly weren’t helping matters—if anything, they were making things worse.

  The small bedroom he and Tri
stan shared at Marnie’s Guesthouse was basic, but until Jared was able to buy them a house in the area, they would have to make do. He’d be the first to admit how stressful it was living in such close quarters, but he seemed to be coping with the situation far better than his brother.

  Most of their belongings were still in storage in Lubbock. Jared knew that was only a small issue, but he suspected his brother would feel more at home in Wolf Creek when he had his possessions around him.

  Tristan had to be tired of living out of a suitcase.

  Jared sure was.

  The drinking binges had started back in Lubbock but the problem had become exacerbated when they’d moved to Wolf Creek. Jared knew Tristan wasn’t happy about the move, but there was no way he could have turned down the job as a deputy in the sheriff’s office when they’d offered him the position. He’d applied to practically every office in the state when he’d got his business degree, and Wolf Creek was the only place he’d been successful.

  In just a few months Sheriff Ferguson would be up for retirement, and if Jared could put down roots and build some support within the community, then there was no reason he wouldn’t get elected when the position became available…as long as he could keep his sexuality a secret, of course.

  If people around town found out that Jared was gay then he likely wouldn’t have a hope in hell of becoming sheriff. Not that Jared had anything to worry about on that score. It had been months since his last sexual encounter and he didn’t envisage that situation changing anytime soon.

  Getting laid was the last thing on Jared’s mind.

  His brother had to be his top priority, as well as finding them a place they could call home. When they were settled, Jared hoped Tristan would quit his drinking and maybe think some more about his future.

  Tristan was great with his hands—always fixing things, especially cars—and there had been a time in the not so distant past in which he’d talked about becoming a mechanic.