by Linda Palmer
“If I knew I’d tell you, but I honestly don’t. And maybe it’s best not to know. Now if you don’t mind, could we—”
He cut me off. “Fairies might be cool and elves, too, if they look like Cate Blanchett or Liv Tyler. I’d love to meet a witch or wizard. Ditto a dragon, but I’ll pass on trolls. By all accounts they stink. As for vampires��� They’ve got to be myth, right? I mean someone somewhere would’ve spilled the beans by now if they weren’t.”
Did the guy read too much crappy fiction or not? “Hello? Freezing here.”
“Not that I’d pass up a chance to meet Bella Swan, well, after Edward turned her. Those red eyes of hers were wicked sweet.”
“Oh-em-gee! I’m one big goose bump. Got a T-shirt?”
He startled. “Oh, um, yeah. Sure.” Still mumbling to himself, Erik walked right around me and my bare backside, apparently en route to his bedroom. He came back a second later, still looking a little dazed and confused. I reached for the maroon shirt; he handed it over, belatedly realizing we were face-to-face with me wearing nothing but freckles.
“Shit!” He pivoted so he had his back to me. “Sorry.”
I just sighed and looked over the shirt, which had Sasparilla Sam’s written on it in gold saloon style letters. “I could use some jeans, too. And shoes. I need to go get my things out of that stupid log.”
Erik peeked over his shoulder and seeing that I was fairly decent in a shirt that came halfway to my knees, slowly turned. “No jeans of mine will fit you.”
“Hm.” I picked soggy grass out of my ginger curls as I thought. “Are you sure? I mean, don’t you have a belt or something that would keep them up at least long enough for me to find my bag?”
“I have some sweats with a drawstring waist.” He clearly didn’t think I’d go for it.
But that worked for me. “Perfect!”
“And some rubber boots. Maybe if you wore a lot of socks.”
I glanced down at his size twelves. Not in a million, but I wasn’t going to admit it. “Great. Would you get them, please?”
Looking doubtful, he left me again, but soon returned with the sweats. I took my time pulling them on, tightening the drawstring, and then rolling up the hems about ten inches. I next took the socks he held, or tried to.
He wouldn’t let them go. “Are you for real?”
I flicked his ear with my finger.
“Ouch!”
“Real enough for you? Now give me the freakin’ socks.” Though the boots were still huge on my feet once I tried them on, they would just have to do until I reclaimed my Nike’s. Hoping the sweats I’d stuffed into the tops would help them stay on, I tied the laces really tight and clomped toward the door.
“Where’re you going?”
“To get my things.”
“I meant where, exactly, are they?”
“About five feet from that stupid trap.”
“Okay. I’ll come with you.”
“There’s no need. I know you have stuff to do.”
He shook his head and took the lead. “Nah. I’m in. Just gotta find my knit cap, which is what I came back for.”
I think the walk back through the woods was even worse than the previous one to his house. Though Erik had loaned me a sweatshirt, I quickly chilled. He tried to give me his coat. I wouldn’t take it.
The snow that was just a spitting flake or two when we left the house became a blinding flurry before we reached the halfway mark. I fell twice, the last time taking Erik down with me. Then I had to put on the boot that had done the tripping before he could pull me, moaning and groaning, to my feet.
But we finally found my log. Erik watched with interest while I dragged my backpack out and opened it, quickly digging around for my hoodie, which I pulled on over his shirt. I gratefully ditched the boots and then his sweats, slipping on my own things, while Erik stood by in silence. Lastly, I put on my Nikes only to take them off again and remove a couple of pairs of the socks so they wouldn’t be too tight.
I crammed the sweats into the bag, but the boots wouldn’t begin to fit. Erik wordlessly took them from me, knotted the strings, and draped them over his shoulder. I zipped up and started to hoist the backpack.
He nixed that, too, taking it from me and slinging one strap over his shoulder. “Where’s this truck of yours?”
I looked around and then pointed. “That way, I think. I was a little confused, and it was dark.”
Even with me wearing shoes that fit, it took a good thirty minutes to get to the truck. I did not remember walking that long before I shifted the night before, which made it a miracle that we found it. In daylight, it looked as if a giant had wadded up the vehicle in his fist and thrown it like a piece of trash. When I realized how close to death I’d come, I almost hurled. I honestly couldn’t imagine anyone surviving to walk away.
“Wow,” said Erik, shaking his head in disbelief. “You’re one lucky girl.”
“Yeah. I can’t believe I’m alive.”
“Me, either. You must have a guardian angel. Or maybe it was that goddess you’re kin to. What was her name?”
“Danu.”
“That’s the one.”
Since I’d claimed more familiarity with that ancient deity than actually existed, I doubted his theory. All I knew about Danu was what I’d read on the internet. But I silently thanked her anyway just in case. Wondering if I’d left anything I wanted in the truck, I made myself kneel to peek inside. No wonder I’d been claustrophobic the night before. The cab was half as tall as it had once been. I saw nothing I needed and backed my body out, only then noticing all the footprints around the truck. They were everywhere. Had I made them? If so, I didn’t remember it. I placed my foot inside one to check. It was way huge.
Not my tracks, for sure. Not Erik’s, either.
Someone else had trampled the snow and after last night’s blizzard, as in that very morning. Erik watched as I tried to make sense of everything. His gaze followed mine as I visually trailed the tracks up the ravine. Who and why? The person who’d run me off the road, maybe? If so, he’d brought reinforcements with him. Two from the look of the tracks.
Suddenly scared, I shivered from head to toe.
“We should go back now.” Erik clearly thought I was cold.
And I was, but not necessarily because of the weather. The thought of strangers checking out a wreck no one could possibly see from the highway chilled me to the bone. They knew my truck had tipped into the ravine. They knew because one of them made it happen.
“Yeah. Let’s get out of here.” I didn’t waste any time heading back the way we’d come.
We walked in silence for a bit before Erik spoke again. “Someone must’ve seen where the truck went off the road and walked down here to check.”
“Maybe.”
“But you don’t believe it.”
“No.” I gave him the details of the wreck. “I thought the other driver was drunk or maybe just plain crazy. Now I’m wondering if he ran me off the road on purpose.”
“But why would anyone do that?”
“I’m clueless,” I told him, though I really wasn’t. I’d lived the last eighteen months in the presence of a heartless crime lord. And though I’d tried my best to stay in the dark and uninvolved, of necessity I’d learned details I wished I hadn’t. But no one knew this except Yarbrough, the man too dumb to keep his own records, but too wily and proud to admit it to anyone.
And that’s why the whole crook-runs-Bronte-off-the-road scenario didn’t work for me. The gangsters who knew I existed had no idea how much I’d done for Steve Yarbrough. Heck, they didn’t even know he was my Alpha. So they must’ve been after his truck. I suddenly wondered if he’d had drugs hidden in it. If so, they’d certainly found them this morning, which meant they’d never bother me again.
“Bronte? You okay?”
“Uh-huh. Just cold and tired. You are going to let me use your shower, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, sure. And I’ll
throw together some lunch while you’re cleaning up.”
“Something cooked?”
He flushed, no doubt remembering. “Sorry about that.”
“You didn’t know, and it probably wouldn’t have hurt me. I’ve just never eaten as a wolf.”
When we got to Erik’s, he set my backpack on the floor. I immediately dug through it for undies, clean jeans, and a shirt, as well as my toothbrush and makeup bag. Then I headed toward the back of the cabin. When I stepped into the short hallway, I saw two closed doors.
“Bathroom’s on the left.”
“Thanks.”
It felt so good to stand under a hot spray minutes later. My sore muscles began to feel better immediately. I borrowed some of his shampoo and his soap, which had a sporty guy smell. I also used his toothpaste. Though tempted to use his shave stuff, too, I didn’t. Nothing irritated my dad more than me dulling his razor by shaving my legs.
I briskly rubbed my hair and body with a towel that I draped over the shower curtain rod and put on my bikini panties and matching bra. I looked in the mirror before I continued dressing, checking out the bruises. The seatbelt had caused a long red stripe that started at my neck and stretched down and across my body. I saw purple spots here and there, with the worst being on my poor wrist. Since I’d removed the gauze bandage before we left the house, I could see it better. I decided I definitely needed some tape so I wouldn’t have a huge scar there.
With a sigh, I scooped up my jeans. A sweatshirt that said MSU on it came next. I also put on some warm socks, the fuzzy kind that were more for warmth than wearing under shoes. I didn’t know what to do about my hair, which hadn’t been trimmed by anyone but me in over a year. Apparently I hadn’t packed my pick or detangler in the rush of leaving Houston. Clean and wet, my curly copper locks were in a tangle that no comb, especially a guy comb with tiny teeth, could deal with. I decided to let it dry completely before I tackled it, saving myself some pain and lots of broken ends.
I stole a minute to check out the only room I hadn’t seen yet—Erik’s bedroom. I saw there were twin beds in there, plus a cedar dresser and matching side table. By the time I got back to the kitchen, I felt like a human again. Must’ve looked like one, too. At any rate, when Erik spotted me, his jaw dropped. Wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I deliberately sniffed the air. “Mmm.”
“Grilled cheese sandwiches.”
“Can’t beat the smell of melted butter and hot cheese.”
He grinned, an expression that didn’t match the vibe I was getting. Naturally I wondered what was wrong. “Have a seat. I’m almost done here.”
I sat at the table, which now had two paper plates, a couple of empty glasses and a bag of potato chips on it. “Do you have a washing machine?”
“Yeah, but the pump’s out. I bought a new one, but I’m not that good at stuff like that, so I’ve been taking everything to the Laundromat in town while I work up the nerve to try installing it.” He gave me a sheepish grin.
Some bad memories instantly slammed me.
Erik’s grin vanished. “What?”
“Nothing.” I faked a smile. “I’m actually pretty good with a wrench. In fact, I installed a garbage disposal all by myself last year.” Or the year before. I’d lost some time, thanks to a sadistic Alpha.
“I might take you up on that.” With an iron skillet in his hand, he moved to the table and transferred a toasty cheese sandwich to my plate with a spatula.
Savory steam tickled my nose and made my mouth water. “Thanks.”
“My pleasure.” He gave himself one, too, got rid of the skillet, and sat down across from me. “Dig in.”
I did. The first bite was pure heaven; the next was even better. I actually ate half the sandwich before I poured some chips on my plate to go with it.
“I forgot the drinks.” Erik started to get up.
I waved to keep him in his seat. “I’ll do it. In there?” At his nod, I walked to the fridge and opened it. “What do you want?”
“If there’s still milk, I’ll take that.”
I reached for the carton, sniffing the contents out of habit. “It’s bad.” I stepped to the sink and poured it out.
“Figures. Any sodas?”
“A root beer and a ginger ale,” I told him.
“I’ll take whatever you don’t want.”
Was the guy a jewel or what? I handed him the root beer since I didn’t care for that particular flavor. Sitting, I popped the top of my can and sipped it. I quickly finished my lunch, only then realizing that Erik had stopped eating awhile back and was just sitting there, apparently hypnotized by me.
I squirmed a little. “Have I got crumbs on my face?”
He came to life. “Oh, um, no.”
“Then what are you looking at?” I raised my soda can to sip from it.
He winced. “Sorry for staring. It’s just���I’ve never been this close to a goddess before.”
Chapter Four
I spewed my drink. Cough. Cough. Choke. “Believe me, I’m no goddess.” Grabbing a napkin, I mopped up the tabletop.
“You’re descended from one.”
I couldn’t deny that. “Yeah, well, she’s very distant kin, and we’ve never met, so���”
“Doesn’t make you any less gorgeous.”
He thought I was gorgeous? Wow. No guy had ever thought I was gorgeous, at least to my face. What was he seeing that no one else had seen, including me? Suddenly self-conscious, I changed the subject. “Did you build this cabin?”
“Nah. Inherited it. From my granddad. He died last year.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “It’s okay. Sometimes death is better than suffering through a disease that’s going to get you anyway.”
I nodded. “Cancer?”
“Yeah.”
“My mom, too. Ovarian. When I was nine.”
“Do you miss her?”
“Every minute of every day.”
“I know the feeling. Pops died of lung cancer, but not the smoking kind. It was asbestos that got him.”
I didn’t know what to say. “Did he build the cabin?”
“Yeah. He was in construction and did a dang good job on it, too. It’ll be here long after I am.”
“You said something about your Uncle Greger earlier. Did he think he was going to get it?”
Erik smirked a little. “Yeah. He and his sons were going to turn the land into a deer camp or something. But Pops had too much respect for the wild to shoot anything. He loved the deer around here. Fed them, even. Same for the squirrels, raccoons, and rabbits. So he wasn’t about to leave this place to hunters.”
“Were they pissed?”
“Oh yeah.”
“At you?”
“I think so. Must’ve thought I’d talked him into it, though I didn’t. Anyway, things got a little uncomfortable between us, and since I was living with them at the time, it was a big relief to have somewhere else to go.”
Though I wondered why Erik was staying with relatives he didn’t like, I didn’t ask and he didn’t elaborate. “Are your parents living?”
“Yes. Mom and her second husband live in Santa Fe. Dad and his third wife have a place in Gulf Shores.”
“Any brothers and sisters?”
“Two stepbrothers and three stepsisters.”
“Do you get along with everyone?”
“Now I do.”
So he hadn’t always? “My dad’s in Lake Village near Springfield. He just remarried.”
“So what do you think of your stepmom?”
“I haven’t actually—” I caught myself. “I mean, I haven’t spent that much time with her, but I’m thinking she fits right in.” After all, she taught at MSU, just as Dad did. So that was a pretty safe guess.
“You were on your way to see them when you had the wreck?”
“Not exactly.” I drummed my fingers on the table. “See, this whole shapeshifting thing, well, it’s
pretty recent, and I think my dad might freak if I told him. So I haven’t been home in quite a while.”
Erik seemed a little surprised. “But you inherited the gene from him.”
“Not true. I definitely got it from my mom. Dad’s half German, half Scottish. Mom was the child of Eire.”
“Ah.” He sat in silence for a moment. “Guess that would be a shock. The whole shapeshifting thing has sure weirded me out, and I don’t even know you that well. Where do you call home?” His gaze dropped to my sweatshirt. “MSU?”
“I haven’t been enrolled there in over a year. I’ve actually been working in Texas for the past year and a half.” I didn’t tell him why.
“Oh.” He suddenly seemed very thoughtful. “And you’re in Missouri because���?”
“Just taking a little break. There’s, um, no prettier state.”
Erik didn’t seem to be buying my story. “You’re this close and you aren’t dropping by your Dad’s?”
“I told you it’s complicated.”
“You are staying in touch, aren’t you? I mean even if you don’t go home.”
“I��� Not really.” Was I actually squirming?
“Did you guys have a fight or something?”
“Nosy much?”
His gaze nailed me to my chair. “You’re right. This isn’t any of my business, but speaking from experience, you’ll only regret it if you cut ties. He’s probably thinking he did something to alienate you.”
With my lips in a tight line of anger, I got up and threw my plate in the trash. “I’m doing what I have to do. He’d never believe me or be able handle this if he did.”
“So lie a little.” He sighed. “At least think about it. I accidentally hurt my dad once upon a time without knowing I did it. He imagined all kinds of things, none of which were true. I was just caught up in my own life. Mending fences took forever.”
I just looked at him, unconvinced.
“For what it’s worth, I’ll go with you if it’ll help.”
Really? With a doubtful slight shake of my head, I tossed Erik’s plate, too, and changed the subject. “Lunch was delicious.”
“Thanks.” He got up and stretched, looking out the window the whole time. “I really need to take some more photos of the snow. We don’t get blizzards like this all that often.”