Owen

by Barton, Kathi S.

  “You might be pleasantly surprised by what I’ve found. And no, I don’t want either of you hurt.” Mr. Winchester turned to Mr. Wayne. “I know that you’re very busy, Gilbert, and I thank you for your time, but I think I can talk to her now. Thank you very much for finding them and taking care to have them brought in.”

  “Are you sure, Owen? I mean, I can stay if you want.” Owen told him he was fine, and Gilbert got out at the next intersection. Clare asked him what the hell he was doing.

  “Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you both. I have a brother-in-law that has disabilities too. He’s a nonverbal autistic. Not that they’re the same, but I have some understanding of what Conrad might be feeling right now.” She told him he had no idea. “No, I don’t have, but I said that I might have some idea. Why don’t you rein it in a little and cut me some slack? I could have just ignored the fact that you were stressing out, but I didn’t. And I do have some of Mrs. Fenton’s things. But that’s—”

  “Who did you say it was?” He told her that it was Birdie J. Fenton. “We’re done. Let us out of the car. We’re not going to talk to you again. And don’t contact us. I don’t know what you know about my parents, but I want you to know that it’s all true. If they owe you money, just forget it. You’ll never see it again. Anything that’s bad, they did it. But leave Conrad and me out of this.”

  She was nearly leaping from the car when he grabbed her arm. Clare started to fight him off and Conrad started to scream. As soon as Owen let her go he stopped, but now he was having a breakdown. Telling him to pull over, she opened the door for her brother and got out with him as he sat on the sidewalk, rocking back and forth and crying loudly.

  “I’m sorry. What can I do?” Clare started crying and told him to just leave them alone. “I can’t do that. I’m very sorry that I’ve upset you both. Tell me what I can do to help you with your brother.”

  “He needs a distraction. Can you...I don’t know, can you go get him a dark pop? Not diet, but a cola. Please?”

  He hesitated for a moment then went into the store right by them. Clare sat on the sidewalk with Conrad but didn’t touch him. She knew that he’d hurt her if she did.

  The pop was handed to her, along with a candy bar and a bag of chips. When she looked up at the man, he shrugged and asked the crowd that was gathering to go on their way. She might have been grateful to him if she wasn’t so upset herself.

  “Conrad? I have you a pop. Do you want it? I know you’re not supposed to have it, but this is a treat for you. You got to ride in a limo. How did you like that? I did.” He just kept rocking, but was humming now. He didn’t look at her, but she knew that he was aware of her. “I’m sorry you were so upset. It was my fault for keeping you in that office for so long. I should have taken you outside to wait for our late meeting. I messed up your outing and your meeting. I’m so sorry about that. Here, you can have all of this if you’ll just come back to me for a moment. Then we’ll go home.”

  He continued to rock, and when Owen sat down beside him, she wondered at his suit. It more than likely cost more than she made in the last month. When he put out his hand for Conrad, she wasn’t surprised to see that he didn’t take it. But when he did, five minutes later, Clare asked him what he was doing.

  “I told you, I have some experience with this sort of situation. And when Harley needs some understanding, it might only be that he needs a connection.” She didn’t say anything as Conrad rocked. “He’s a nice man, your brother. Does he like his job?”

  Clare started to ask him how he knew about that, but remembered that Wayne said that he’d done some investigating. She told Owen that he loved it.

  “He’s very well liked. He doesn’t make a lot, but he loves it. He buys paints and things with his money.” He asked her if she painted as well. “You know that I do. I work as an artist for a firm— I did work for a firm that does murals that paid the bills. But I do paint when I can.”

  She’d lost her job yesterday. It was a hard blow, and that was, she supposed, what it was supposed to be when she didn’t want to blow her boss. What an asshole. Well, she wasn’t going to have her name associated with that sort of work. She realized that Owen was staring at her and asked him what he’d said.

  “My brother, Caleb, he’s a graphic artist and an ad campaign artist. He used to work for this ass too, but now he’s in business for himself. Caleb, he loves working for himself.” She said that someday she would as well. “I hope you’ll talk to Caleb. Maybe you could see about helping him out.”

  “Why would he even care about me?” He looked at Conrad, who was staring at them both. “How you doing, honey? You okay now? Want to go home still?”

  “Can we eat? I’m really hungry, Clare.” She said that if that’s what he wanted, they could pick something up on the way home. “No, please? I want to eat with Owen. He’s my new friend, and I want to have dinner with him.”

  “Dinner would be great. I know of a couple of places around here, but I don’t usually come into town enough to know of all the good places. Where did you want to go, Conrad? My treat, of course, since I made you so late getting in to see me.” He said that he wanted fish and chips. “That I can help you with.”

  The three of them got back into the limo, which had waited for them where he’d dropped them off. Clare wondered what Mr. Wayne would think about having his car gone for so long and asked Owen to tell him she was sorry about that.

  “It’s mine. Well, my family’s. We didn’t buy it right away, just rented it when we needed to be taken somewhere, like downtown. None of us wanted to find a parking place and then remember where it was when we’re ready to go home. But once my brother, Tyler, started figuring out how much we were spending on that, we thought it would be cheaper to just outright buy one.” Clare wondered at the amount of money that someone would need to buy a limo. “You’re thinking very hard. What is it that you’re thinking?”

  “You’re rich.” He nodded. “And you own a house that you found some of my grandmother’s things in. Well, she was my great great grandmother, I think. But anyway, we won’t be able to help you with that.”

  “Why not? And why did you get so upset when I mentioned her name?” She looked at Conrad, who was looking out the window and seemingly not paying attention to them. “You want to talk about this later, I can understand that.”

  “My father is Michael Conrad Macintosh, the fourth.” He nodded. “That doesn’t ring a bell with you?”

  “No. Should it? The name Michael Macintosh does—his name is on some reports and canceled checks that I was able to find. But I don’t know him, or the fourth.” She nodded and said nothing. “You have to tell me now. You’ve gotten my attention.”

  There wasn’t any way that she was going to talk about this in front of Conrad. Their parents had done enough to him and her in their lifetime. Enough was enough, as far as she was concerned. Instead of talking to him again, she looked to her brother.

  “Conrad, do you still want to go get some fish and chips? Or do you want a hamburger? It’s up to you.” He said fish and chips. “All right then. Then we go home, okay?”

  “Yes, okay. It’s been fun, but I’m tired, Clare.” He looked at her and smiled. “I have some pretty pictures from the park yesterday, and I want to finish up on Sprout.”

  “I have work to do too.” She looked at Owen. “If you’d be so kind as drop us off at the place you thought of, we’d really appreciate it.”

  ~~~

  Owen didn’t want to drop her off anywhere. Nor did he want her to be upset with him. He had a feeling that she was going to be pissy about being his mate, and he was having a good time with her and her brother. Honestly, he didn’t know what to do. He figured the truth, in this case, might be the best bet.

  “I know that you know a few shifters.” She said that she did—not that she liked them, but she knew them. “One of them your boss, perhaps?”

  “Yes. How did you know that?” He didn’t say anything, an
d she seemed to understand. “You looked me up. Okay, yes, my boss is a shifter. And an asshole. He got mad, more than he usually is when I didn’t want to.... When I didn’t want to take him in my mouth.”

  “A dollar, Clare.” She nodded at Conrad and Owen growled low. Clare wasn’t even sure that Conrad heard him. “She is the only one putting money in the jar. We use it for our fun time. Clare has a potty mouth.”

  “My brothers curse as well, but not around our mom. She whops us in the back of the head if we do.” Conrad asked if it hurt. “No, but we hurt in that we disappointed her. She’s the best mom I could have ever been paired with.”

  “Mine is dead.” He knew that too. And when he looked at Clare, he saw what he’d bet most people didn’t about her. She was terrified. “They put me away when I hurt Clare. I’m not allowed to say that I’m a dummy or that I’m a retard. Clare hates them words.”

  “I do as well. They’re cruel words that should never be said by anyone. To anyone.” Owen looked at Clare. “I’m a wolf. I tell you that because there are things that you need to know. Like, yes, I’m rich. I wasn’t always, but I am now. I’m one of six sons to my parents, who are all wolves. And you’re my mate.”

  When she didn’t say anything, he didn’t either. Conrad talked, however. About this and that, things that he’d seen as well as what his plans were for when he got home. Owen didn’t know what Sprout was, but he seemed really excited about getting to work on it. He figured that it was a painting when he said that he’d gotten the green just right.

  “I have so much shit going on right now. You have no idea.” He didn’t point out that he did know and was going to help her with it, but waited. “My boss, he’s an idiot, and I’m sick of his crap. Not that it matters anymore. He got mad at me and fired me for no other reason than I wouldn’t allow him to have sex with me. Like I said, not that it matters to anyone but me. And Conrad.”

  “He’s a wolf as well, and someone has reported him to the Wolf Council.” She glared at him. “I had nothing to do with it. I’m only telling you this so that you’re aware that it’s not going unnoticed what he’s doing to his employees. The Wolf Council, the WC, they’re looking into complaints about him that have been coming in. Not just from other paranormals, but also humans. And that’s a big no-no. However, I don’t think anyone mentioned that you were treated like that. I’ll take care of it.”

  “And you didn’t tell on him?” He said that it had been ongoing even before he had someone look for them. “Then why the hell haven’t they done anything about him? He’s been terrorizing us for years. You have no idea the amount of shit that we’ve gone through just to get a paycheck from him.”

  “I do know. Now I do, anyway. And it’s going to stop. They’re going to see him today, according to my brother.” She looked at Conrad and he did as well. “I’m sorry about your job.”

  “I am too.”

  Leaning back on the seat, he thought that she looked dejected. Owen wanted to offer to help her out, have her come and live with him, but he also knew that she was very prideful about things.

  “My brother, Dominic, is in the process of taking over this amazing camp that specializes in people with disabilities. They’ve been able to get more staff, as well as some goats and a horse or two. Another brother, Caleb, goes out there once a week to help with arts and crafts. Some of them are very talented. I was wondering if Conrad would like to go there.” She glared at him and said that he didn’t need someone to teach him crafts. “Why are you so prickly? I was thinking that he could teach some of his skills he’s learned from you about photography and painting. He’d be a natural at it.”

  “Why are you being so nice to me? Is it because you have to? I know that some sort of inner wired thing in your head requires you to be nice, but I don’t care to be coddled, nor treated like a helpless female.” He jerked her toward him, sitting her across his lap. When she settled down, he pulled her face to him. “Now you’re going to prove to me that you’re bigger and stronger than me?”

  “Did he do this to you? Your boss, Lane Kirby? Is he the one that has given you this chip you carry around on your shoulder, like it’s your job to make people want to knock it off and knock you around?” She struggled again. “Sit still. You’re making me hard.”

  That stopped her. When she moved again, he knew that she was feeling his erection. And when she glanced at her brother, he did as well. Conrad was watching them, but he wasn’t upset. He was smiling at them.

  “I’m sorry.” He nodded. “Look, can you let me go? I understand that you’re needy and all, but I’m not going to do anything with you now. Not ever if I can help it.”

  “Fair enough. But if I let you go, will you please stop snapping at me? I’m trying my very best not to take over your life. I’m trying to work with you and not against you, but you’re not making it the least bit easy. Just back up and take a breath.” She said she was sorry again and he let her go to sit beside him. “This school I was telling you about, it’s a good place for him to work. The restaurant where he works now, they’re going to be closing down in a month due to lack of money. And again, I had nothing to do with that.”

  “I know. They called me just yesterday, on my way home from work.” He nodded. “I don’t have any savings. Not a single dime to pay for a paper. When I was let go, he even took my pens and pencils. All my things that I had in my desk, like he owned them. I even taped all my receipts to the things so that, in the event he did get a burr up his butt about something, I could legally take my things home. Some of those things, they were very expensive.”

  She started to tear up again, and Owen would bet anything that she didn’t show her emotions often. Owen hurt all the way to his inner beast to see her so abused and upset. He had to take care of this man and do it so that she didn’t get hurt or madder in the process.

  “I can get them for you.” She looked at him so hopefully that Owen wanted to do it right now. Knocking on the glass between them and the driver, he asked him to take them to Kirby Murals.

  “Right now? You’re going there now?” He said that he was. “And then what? You’re going to show him that your big bad wolf is bigger than his? How does that work for you?”

  “You’re being prickly again, Clare.” He laughed when Conrad patted her on the hand as he continued. “You should be nice to him. He’s been nice to you. What am I going to do with you?”

  Owen got out of the car when it stopped. He wanted his brother there; he knew that Caleb was in town for this thing, and wanted him close to him if the shit hit the fan. So, reaching out to him, he let him know what had happened and what he was doing right now.

  You certainly don’t waste any time, do you? I’m on my way there now. The WC is right behind me about a block away. Also, you might want to mention to her that they’re looking for someone to run the place, if she’s interested. I doubt it, but I’m not in any position to make decisions for your mate. You do know, by the way, that Mom and Dad are in town as well, don’t you? This might be a good time to let her meet everyone. He told him about her brother too. Yes, I read about him. And I’ve also come to appreciate his art. He’s very talented. Not as talented as his sister, but he’s pretty good.

  When Owen opened the door, Clare slipped between him and the open door. He smiled. This was going to be epic, he knew it. Just before she went to the front desk, he pulled her body back to his and whispered in her ear that the WC was hot on their tail, that whatever she said or did, it needed to be done quickly.

  He wanted to bite her. Take a small nip of her ear so that he could taste her. Owen thought that if he did that, he’d be happy, and his wolf would be as well, but Clare would not. She’d tear him apart, and they only had a few minutes. Letting her go to do her battle was the hardest thing he’d ever done. Conrad came in just as he was going to follow her.

  “She’s really mad, huh?” Owen said she had a right to be. “Yeah, she was mad the other day at the phone people. Clare is trying
so hard, but she keeps crying all the time. It hurts me to hear her crying, Owen. Can you fix her?”

  “If she’ll let me. I’d love to fix this for her, and for you as well.” Conrad nodded and held onto his phone. “Shall we go see what she’s done to her former boss? Or wait for the ambulance to come and take him away.”

  “She won’t get hurt, will she? She can’t be hurt. They’ll send me away again.” He held the man as he sobbed on his chest. “I didn’t mean to hurt her, Owen. I was just hugging her too tight and I hurt her bad. My daddy said that I’d made her all purple. I didn’t even know that I was hugging her legs like that. Please? Don’t let them take me away. Please? I love Clare with all my heart.”

  “No one will take you away. I promise.” He saw his brother coming down the street, and hot on his heels were his parents. “Come on, buddy. Let’s go and help Clare. Not that I think she needs it, but we can be her backup if she needs us.”

  “Okay.”

  They moved down the hallway and heard the screaming even before they were close to the crowd that had gathered. Owen had to smile. It wasn’t Clare that was screaming for mercy, but a male voice. And he’d bet anything that his little human mate was taking on the big bad wolf all on her own.

  Chapter 2

  Caleb had never had so much fun in his life as he was having right at the moment. His mom was laughing too, and trying very hard to be stern at the same time. His dad had given up ten minutes ago and was sitting on one of the desks, rolling with it. It was the funniest sight he’d ever came upon, and he didn’t even know all the circumstances right now.

  “You will not take anyone’s things when they leave here. That is a shitty thing to do.” And that was funny too—every time Clare said a bad word, Conrad, her brother, would give a running total of them. Caleb thought he was up to about fourteen so far. “I’m going to get my things and you’re not going to say a word to me, do I make myself clear?”