by Rayna Tyler
“I understand she’s your mate. Congratulations.”
My irritation notched higher, and I gripped the chair’s armrests tighter. “How did you find out? Who told you?” I hadn’t said anything to anyone. I didn’t know anything about Jac, but since she was refusing to accept me, I didn’t think she’d tell anyone about our connection.
“Your sister mentioned that it might be possible, but you just confirmed it.” Preston straightened his shoulders, proud of his assumption.
Since I couldn’t throttle my sister for sharing her observations, I was leaning heavily toward taking my frustration out on my friend.
Preston furrowed his brows. “Am I missing something? Why don’t you seem excited about finding your match?”
“I am, it’s just...” I leaned forward and rubbed the dull ache building along my forehead. I’d hoped to avoid having this conversation with the members of my family. Since he’d deduced there was a problem between Jac and me, I knew he wouldn’t let it go until I’d given him an answer.
He was exceptional at reading people and studied me with his speculative gaze. “Is there something about her you don’t like? Is it because she’s not a wolf?”
“You know I don’t care if she’s a feline, though I am curious about what kind.” Generally all it took was one whiff of a nearby shifter for me to recognize their animal. With Jac, it had been difficult. I’d determined she was a cat, but there were oddities in her scent that confused me. It kept me from singling out a specific breed.
Preston gave me another one of his annoying grins. Maybe having Berkley angry with me might not be so bad.
“You know, don’t you?”
He leaned back in the chair and clasped his hands behind his head. “I have a good idea.”
“And,” I growled, ready to lunge across the desk and smack the smirk off his face.
“And, you’ll have to ask her.”
I slumped back in my seat. “I would, except she’s made it clear she doesn’t want anything to do with me.” Being rejected had been bad enough, but saying it out loud made it worse.
“What? Why not?” He dropped his arms, the smile fading from his face as he straightened in his seat.
“Apparently, she doesn’t approve of military males. She also thinks I’m a perfectionist workaholic who doesn’t know how to enjoy myself.”
He glanced around the room. “She might have a point...about the perfectionist part, anyway.”
I was proud of the pristine and well-maintained condition in which I kept the office. “Okay, so I like things a certain way. There’s nothing wrong with being organized.”
“Never said there was.” He shrugged, his sympathetic smile not making me feel any better. “You could always ask Mandy and Berkley for some pointers.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” I was used to doing things myself. I was the one in charge, the person everyone depended on whenever there was a crisis. My self-esteem had already taken a hit. Did I really want to add needing help from my sister and my brother’s mate to the list of my shortcomings?
“Why not? If it hadn’t been for Mandy, I’d still be trying to convince Berkley to let me claim her,” he said.
I might not want to agree, but my friend made a valid point. Mandy and Berkley were close, had been best friends since they were teenagers. She knew my sister better than anyone, including me. That insider knowledge had gone a long way toward helping Preston get past the wall Berkley had constructed around her heart.
In this case, it was Berkley who knew Jac. My sister didn’t have the same close relationship she had with Mandy, but she’d been friends with Jac for several years. I only had one mate, one chance at gaining the happiness I watched my siblings enjoy every day. Was I willing to give that up without a fight because of my need to be in control?
My internal analysis of the situation was interrupted by a static crackle from the radio attached to Preston’s belt. The noise was closely followed by a deep male voice. “Boss, you there?”
Bryson was a burly bear shifter and a member of the resort’s security team. He only checked in when there was a problem to report. My body immediately tensed, bracing for bad news.
Preston frowned and lifted his hip to unclip the radio. “I’m here, what’s up?”
“You might want to find Reese and bring him out to the construction site for cabin fifty-two.”
“He’s right here. We’ll be there shortly,” Preston replied.
He and I were both aware there was no point in asking Bryson for more information. He was a man of few words who believed visuals were best and didn’t waste his time with long explanations.
I was out of my chair and on Preston’s heels by the time he reached the door. Dealing with the day-to-day issues involved with running a resort was a normal part of my job. Some of the tasks were tedious and not as enjoyable as others. I preferred having things run smoothly, but in this instance, I welcomed the distraction. It would take my mind off the situation with Jac and keep Preston’s inability to stay out of my personal affairs focused elsewhere.
Chapter Six
REESE
All the roads on the resort’s property, except those leading to the new construction sites, were smoothly graded and graveled. After a jostling ride in Preston’s truck along the rutted surface caused by constant use and a recent storm, we arrived for our meeting with Bryson.
I’d hired West Mountain Construction, a contractor from the nearby city of Hanford, to build three new cabins. They managed all the sites, each in varying degrees of construction. They were also putting the finishing touches on Nick and Mandy’s new home and hoped to have it finished the week after the wedding.
A few of the males in the framing crew paused briefly to watch as we got out of the truck, then returned to their work. They knew who I was since I visited the sites daily to ensure they were on track with their assigned deadlines.
Bryson stepped out of a trailer on the opposite side of the site. It was a much smaller version of a mobile home, with metal siding and a window on each of the long rectangular sides. The interior was sparsely furnished with a desk, a couple of chairs, and a slanted table braced against one wall and used to display architectural plans. The trailer was primarily used by the foreman for daily paperwork and to meet with subcontractors.
He headed toward us, his dark eyes filled with concern. I knew by his serious expression that whatever he wanted to show us wasn’t going to be good. Most of the time, he was solemn and rarely smiled. At least he used to be until he’d met his mate, Leah. She was the sister of our neighbor Mitch, who was also the local vet. Now, unless there were troubling issues on the job, he was constantly grinning. Hell, every now and then, I was able to engage him in a lengthy conversation. A rarity for the bear who normally didn’t have much to say, and when he did, the conversation was short and straight to the point.
Contemplating the reason for Bryson’s happiness led to thoughts of my siblings and how finding their mates had changed their lives for the better. It also made me think of Jac, and the tightness in my chest that I’d been ignoring since we’d gotten the call from Bryson returned with the power of a sledgehammer.
From the information Berkley had shared with me about her friend, I knew she held a lot of respect for Jac. The human side of Jac could refuse to accept me as her mate all she wanted, but I’d scented her arousal, knew she was attracted to me. It led me to believe the only thing keeping her from leaving was the commitment she’d made to photograph the wedding.
She might be adamant our mating would be a mistake, but her cat would be drawn to me on a level that would be hard to ignore. I had no doubt that once the wedding was over, she’d turn down the permanent photographer job Berkley offered her, then leave as quickly as possible.
It tore at me to consider the possibility. Was I so set in my ways, so determined to stay in control of my surroundings, that I’d be willing to let her walk out of my life forever without a fight?
Preston tapped my shoulder to get my attention, then nodded in the direction of the workers. It wasn’t hard to grasp his silent communication. Several males in the crew were shifters, which meant they had exceptional hearing. Gossip was gossip no matter who you were dealing with. I preferred not to have whatever issue Bryson had called us about working its way through the local rumor mill.
I gave him an understanding nod, then signaled Bryson to head toward a spot that was far enough away for us to talk without everyone in the general vicinity overhearing us.
Bryson grunted a greeting, then said, “Sorry to pull you both out of the office.”
“Not a problem. Why don’t you tell us what’s going on,” Preston said. Since he was in charge of the security team, I generally relied on him to run point until making a decision required my input.
“This way.” Bryson glanced at the crew, then motioned for us to follow him. He led us behind the trailer toward an area where several pallets of lumber had been delivered at the end of the previous day.
The metal bands securing the lumber in place had been cut, and a majority of the boards from each stack were missing. From what I glimpsed of the morning’s work, there was no way the crew had used that many boards to frame the cabin. “It looks like the boards were stolen sometime during the night.”
Having thefts at the resort wasn’t something new. I’d dealt with it before when Desmond Bishop, the previous owner of a fancy hotel over in Hanford, had tried to force us to sign the deed to the resort over to him. One of the nonpersuasive methods he utilized at the time was to have a couple of his men vandalize our property. When that hadn’t worked, he’d resorted to kidnapping Mandy. My family and I, along with some of my grandfather’s friends, had gone after him. Bishop had disappeared during the rescue, and no one had heard from him since.
It happened over a year ago, and because of our security team and their regular patrols, we hadn’t had any similar problems. I hoped this incident wasn’t a precursor to his return. “Was anything else taken?”
Bryson frowned and scratched the back of his head. “Not that anyone has reported.”
“Who notified you about the theft?” Preston asked.
“That would be Sid.” Bryson tipped his head toward the young guy holding up a board and wielding a hammer. “He was the first one here this morning.”
Sid was human, in his early twenties, and from what I’d seen, a good worker. “We can talk to him when they take their next break. In the meantime, I need to speak with Shane.” Shane Davis was the foreman in charge of running all the construction crews. I wanted to find out if there’d been any issues with the other sites. I also needed to know if more lumber had been ordered and how badly the loss of supplies would impact his expected completion date.
“He’s meeting with an inspector at one of the other sites and should be arriving shortly,” Bryson said.
“I assume you already checked the area for scents from anyone who doesn’t belong here?” I knew from speaking with Shane that he used the same guys on all his crews, both human and shifter. Since Bryson spent quite a bit of his time working this area, he’d be the first one who could tell us if we had any uninvited visitors.
Bryson shook his head, disappointed. “I did and there wasn’t anything I didn’t recognize.”
“Do you think it’s possible we’re looking at an inside job?” Preston voiced what I’d been thinking.
The contractor and his men weren’t the only ones whose scents Bryson would have detected. Several of my employees, males who were part of the security team, would also be included in that list. I hated to think that someone I’d hired, someone I trusted, was responsible for stealing from my family. “It’s starting to look that way.”
JAC
“So, what do you think?” Berkley gazed through the windshield of the truck, her focus on maneuvering around the weathered holes in the road winding between walls of trees.
“It’s really beautiful out here,” I said, knowing her question referred to the scenery and the parts of the resort she’d already shown me. Silently, my thoughts returned to Reese, and how walking away after I’d told him I couldn’t be his mate had been the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life.
I remembered the trek down the corridor afterward and how it had seemed as if I’d walked for miles. I’d heard him step into the hallway, sensed him watching me, and had struggled not to glance over my shoulder, knowing I’d get another glimpse of his pained expression.
I’d spent the last few hours telling myself that this was for the best, that we weren’t right for each other, that we’d only end up hurting each other if I accepted our mating. If I was so darned convinced my assessment was right, then why couldn’t I shake the nauseously tight feeling in my stomach?
We wouldn’t have had the conversation at all if Berkley and I hadn’t been in the employees’ kitchen when she’d gotten called to the reception desk to handle a guest emergency. After making myself comfortable and munching on two of her home-baked cookies, I decided to wait outside, which was where Reese found me.
Maybe now that we’d had our talk and I’d bruised, more like annihilated, his ego, he’d avoid me for the remainder of my stay. I hated seeing the confusion and disappointment in those beautiful eyes and knowing I was the one who’d caused it. The guilt of what I’d done weighed heavy on my chest, but I hoped in time he’d realize I’d been right about our match.
The road expanded into a clearing, which turned out to be a construction site. She headed for an empty spot between two other trucks, then parked. “I was hoping you wouldn’t mind taking some pictures for the resort’s website.” Her request sounded more like a stated fact and the sweet, coated-with-excess-sugar tone of her voice made my cat’s fur bristle.
“No, I don’t mind.” I glanced at her warily, searching for a smirk, a sneer, or any sign to confirm my steadily growing suspicion that she was up to something.
“Great, because I’d like to add some shots of the construction.” Berkley had informed me during our drive that her family was building more cabins. We’d already been to one of the three construction sites. The progress appeared to be the same as this one. I found it strange that she hadn’t said something about pictures while we were there. What was so special about this site that she’d waited until we’d arrived to say anything?
After grabbing my camera and following her toward a beat-up metal trailer, I thought I had my answer. Preston had his hand on the open door and was stepping outside. I’d met Berkley’s mate earlier, knew he was in charge of security, and wasn’t surprised by his presence.
I was, however, shocked to see Reese exiting the trailer right behind him. I faltered and came to a stop. “What is he... I thought Reese was working at the lodge.”
“He usually spends most of the day in his office, but he also does a daily inspection of the sites to make sure everything stays on track for completion.” Berkley tucked her arm through mine, her grip tight, as if she thought I might try to escape.
She wasn’t wrong. I’d already calculated the odds of making it to the truck before her brother saw me. It was too bad I lacked the coward gene or the intelligence to walk away from a situation when I knew it had the potential for trouble. Otherwise, I would have clawed my arm free and made a run for it.
Reluctantly, with a little foot dragging and some silent cursing, I let her lead me toward the two males. Berkley had a devious nature. I’d bet anything she was purposely trying to make sure Reese and I ended up in the same place together.
“Hey, sweetness.” Preston pulled Berkley into a hug the second she released me.
“Hey back.” She slipped her arms around his neck and gave him a lingering kiss.
My friend had scored a coveted prize when it came to mates. Fate had done a fabulous job on their match. Their personalities complemented each other perfectly. Anyone who spent more than a minute with the couple could see how much they cared about each other.
Thankfully, Preston had relinquished his claim on Berkley’s lips. “What brings you two out here?”
Berkley moved to his side so she was facing Reese and me. “I was giving Jac a tour of the resort. She’s agreed to take some pictures of the construction progress for the website.”
If I thought it would make a difference, I’d point out that I hadn’t readily agreed, I’d been manipulated.
“That sounds like a great idea,” Preston replied enthusiastically and gave Berkley a conspiratorial wink.
Berkley spoke to Reese. “I know how much you like to show off what you’ve accomplished, so I thought you’d be willing to give Jac a tour. That is if you’re not too busy.”
Reese’s apprehensive smile turned into a wide-toothed grin. “Not busy at all.”
I tugged the strap of my camera bag higher on my shoulder. Did his eagerness mean he’d misinterpreted Berkley’s request, that he believed I’d asked to take the photos so I could spend more time with him? Would he see it as a challenge to initiate pursuit? Seriously, what had I expected? Alphas, especially those who enjoyed being in control, never gave up on anything.
“Great, because I promised Abby I’d help her bake some desserts for the dinner crowd. If you wouldn’t mind giving Jac a ride back to the lodge when she’s done, I’d really appreciate it,” Berkley said.
“Wouldn’t mind at all. I promise I’ll take good care of her.”
I’d been so busy glaring at Berkley that when she nudged me in Reese’s direction, I stumbled. I would have landed on the ground if he hadn’t reached a hand out to stop me. The brief contact sent shivers across my already heated skin.
“Thanks.” I was torn between frustration and the urge to strangle my friend. I couldn’t refuse his offer, not unless I wanted to explain our nonmate situation to everyone in the group, along with the handful of workers who pretended they weren’t listening to our conversation. Most of all, I wanted to smack Reese for grasping my hand and using the situation to his advantage.