Small Moments

by Kimberly Forrest

  Images of him meeting with dangerous thugs in some dark alley had shivers of apprehension running up and down her spine.

  No longer in the mood to workout, even if punching the heavy bag might relieve some of her tension and anxiety, Rin scooped up her bags and left the garage, locking up behind her.

  Mike Myers was a mystery – a very attractive mystery – one that she had every intention of getting to the bottom of. She just needed to figure out how.

  Chapter Fourteen

  When Rin arrived back at The Cedars, her emotions were in a jumble of disappointment at having her plans for the evening so thoroughly squashed, mixed with determination to solve this puzzle involving Mike. She had every intention of going straight up to her room and Googling Mike’s name. Of course she’d have to sift through all the references to the Saturday Night Live alumnus as well as the Halloween franchise, but hopefully she’d find something. She almost didn’t notice Tarvahl Pierce and his mate Sherry were waiting to speak with her. In fact, she would have walked right past them if the male hadn’t stepped forward to greet her. Tarvahl was pretty much the pack alpha, though from what she had heard, they long ago did away with that distinction in favor of a governing council. He was a nice male, firm but fair. His wife on the other hand was a bitch – no pun intended.

  Sherry Pierce had not been thrilled with Rin’s decision to stay on pack lands, was probably even now checking in to see if Rin had changed her mind and was ready to leave. Rin was positive that the older female would happily help Rin pack her bags, maybe even give her a ride. Sherry’s comment when they first met, “wolves, bears, felines – why not add a fox to the mix?” had been dripping with sarcasm. It was more than obvious that if Sherry Pierce had her way, Malsum Pass would once again be exclusively wolf territory.

  “Rin, how are you settling in?” Tarvahl asked with a kind smile.

  She wasn’t really in the mood to socialize, not after the day she had had coupled with so many questions rattling around in her brain, but Rin didn’t want to offend the male whose opinion held such weight in this town. She pasted on a bright smile she wasn’t feeling and hoped he didn’t notice. “Very well, thank you.”

  “And the new job?” He continued. “Are you and Ginny getting along?”

  This time Rin’s smile was genuine. “She’s wonderful.”

  Sherry Pierce cleared her throat. “If we’re done with the chit-chat, I’d like to get home and have dinner some time tonight.”

  Tarvahl looked at Rin and rolled his eyes which nearly set her sputtering with a giggle. Luckily, she was able to get it under control before Sherry noticed – that was one female Rin did not want to piss off. The older male bowed slightly, gestured to Rin and said, “By all means, my love.”

  Sherry sniffed, then eyed Rin with pursed lips. “The council has received inquiries about you from someone by the name of Makoto Nakamura. Do you recognize the name?”

  Rin just stood there with her mouth hanging open. “Oji,” she breathed and then cleared her throat. “He’s my uncle.”

  He must have found out where she was from Mrs. DeMarco, but why the sudden interest? He’d never been interested in her or the family. He hadn’t even bothered to come to the funeral for either of her parents, his own sister and brother-in-law, and she never would have considered contacting him to help her out after their deaths. They may be blood relations, but Makoto Nakamura was far from family. She hadn’t even seen him since she was a child.

  “The male is kin?” Sherry perked up, cutting through Rin’s confusion. “Shall we tell him to come fetch you home, then?”

  The words should have stung, or at least struck a nerve, but Rin felt numb. She only vaguely heard Tarvahl say his mate’s name with a growl of warning. More questions that needed answers. Shaking herself, she swallowed past the lump in her throat and addressed Sherry Pierce. “Did he leave a number?”

  Sherry handed her a piece of paper and Rin glanced down without actually seeing what was written. With a nod and a small, raspy “Thank you,” Rin stuffed the piece of paper in her pocket and walked out of the bed and breakfast without another word. She couldn’t care less right now about manners. Her skin felt too tight, her vision had gone amber, and her gums ached. Too many questions, too many doubts, too much stress – She was feeling overwhelmed and needed to shift. For now, the Google search could wait, the call to her uncle could wait. She needed to run. Right now.

  Rin barely felt the cold, and as soon as she hit the tree line of the woods behind the bed and breakfast, she made quick work of stripping off her clothes and shifting to fur. Relief was near instantaneous. Every muscle in her body seemed to relax as she bounded through the snow.

  Full dark was nearly upon her, but with her excellent night vision Rin had no problem navigating through the dense trees and underbrush. With a happy bark, she gave chase to a startled rabbit. Luckily for the rabbit, she was in the mood to play rather than eat, but the fluffy little guy gave her quite an exciting run.

  Rin had run for at least a mile when she scented the feline and slowed to get a better sense of her surroundings. The cat, however, wasn’t at all wary of Rin and jumped down from the branch on which it had been perched. The large cougar let out a roar that was eerily similar to a scream. Rin froze, not wanting to incite the cat to give chase, but the large feline sat back on its haunches and merely stared at Rin with those golden eyes, a rumbling purr rising up from its chest.

  That’s when Rin spotted the diagonal scars marring one side of the cat’s face. Claw marks. The same scars that Lily Oremun, a Florida panther as well as a waitress who worked at the diner, bore. Relieved, Rin let out a bark of greeting and then continued on her run. It took only a moment to realize that Lily had decided to join her, and a mere second after that for her to initiate a race.

  Rin lost the race, no surprise there, but it had been great fun, and when they reached the cabin where Lily lived, Rin, feeling so much more relaxed, happily followed the other female inside.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lily handed Rin a robe once they were inside the toasty warm little cabin, but declined the offer of coffee, not wanting the caffeine to keep her up all night. “I’m not taking you away from your patrol am I?”

  It was common knowledge that the pack had regular patrols of the area to keep poachers off their land, so Rin just assumed that Lily was part of the rotation. Lily quickly disabused her of that notion. The look of disgust on the scarred beauty’s face spoke volumes as well as the scoffing sound that came from her throat. “Didn’t you know that females need protecting?” The last word was said with so much derision that Rin winced.

  Lily pulled her long swath of blonde hair out from under her robe and then stood with hands on hips as she shook her head in disgust. “For such a forward thinking town, they are so backward sometimes when it comes to females.” She shot Rin a sly smile, “Not that I let that stop me.”

  Rin laughed. “I haven’t come up against that protective instinct yet, not that I’d be much use to them on patrol as small as I am, but you – you’re fierce.” Rin could hear the awe that had crept into her voice, and hoped she wasn’t fangirling too hard, but she had heard the story that Lily Oremun had taken on a male panther nearly twice her size and won. Rin wanted to be brave like that. She wanted to be strong – no matter which form she chose. Thus, why the boxing lessons felt like such a good idea.

  Thinking of those lessons quickly brought Mike to the forefront of her mind, and the questions still surrounding him. Had he concluded his business? Was he home now? Or was he laying in some dark corner of an alley bleeding to death from a gunshot wound after a shady deal gone wrong? A little shiver of fear had Rin squashing that thought before she went into a panic. Sometimes, it did not pay to have an active imagination. Rin took the seat being offered to her at the kitchen table and focused on what Lily was saying.

  “I may not be a wolf, but Malsum Pass is my home and I’ll protect it wh
ether they like it or not.”

  “Do you know Mike from the garage?” The question was out before Rin was even aware she had opened her mouth. Subtle, Rin. Real subtle.

  Lily looked confused for a moment, probably because of the abrupt change of subject, but she recovered quickly and smiled. “Sure. Turkey club on whole wheat, toasted, with fries. Good tipper.”

  Rin blinked and Lily laughed. “His usual. I’m not great with names but I have no problem remembering the food they order.”

  So he was a good tipper? Of course he was with all of that cash. Rin stomped on the thought, becoming annoyed with this new suspicious nature that kept hammering at her brain. Rin tried for a casual tone, “So you don’t know him well?” Her fingers were tapping an agitated rhythm on the table and she tucked them in her lap, now wishing she had taken up Lily on her offer of coffee just so that she’d have something to do with her hands.

  Lily tracked the movement with her vivid green cat eyes and raised a brow in question before she grinned knowingly. “Interested are we?”

  Before Rin could confirm or deny, Lily continued, “Let’s see. His best friend is bacon double cheeseburger, lettuce, onion, pickle, no tomato – or, at least they seem to be together pretty frequently.”

  It was Rin’s turn to look confused and Lily chuckled. “Sorry. I think his name is Tim, maybe Tom. Big guy, laughs loudly, good tipper as well. Paramedic and the fire chief I believe.”

  Rin nodded, recalling that Mike had mentioned a Tim when Rin had called Mike a sadist. Paramedic and fire chief? She filed that information for later. “Have you ever noticed anything weird about Mike? Suspicious, maybe?”

  Lily frowned. “Weird? Weird how?” Then her look turned considering. “Now that you mention it, he does seem to come in to the diner all bruised and battered at least once a month. Hm. I always felt like he might be lying when he said his sparring partner got a little carried away – wouldn’t look me in the eyes.” Another shrug, “I mean, if he’s sparring with Double Cheeseburger, you’d think, since the guy’s a paramedic, he’d be a little more careful with his punches.”

  Rin nodded thoughtfully, remembering Mike using that same excuse with her, but she had assumed it was a one-time mishap – no big deal. According to Lily, this was a monthly thing. And come to think of it, he hadn’t been able to look Rin in the eyes either. She had thought at the time that he was avoiding her gaze because he was upset with her, but now she had to wonder if he had been lying to her instead.

  Rin blew out a frustrated breath. Why did she feel like instead of getting any answers that she was simply falling further and further down the rabbit hole?

  Chapter Sixteen

  Mike swiped the steam from the shower off the mirror with his hand and then grimaced at his reflection. His face was remarkably free of damage but his torso was another story; swaths of deep purple bruising liberally peppered with red spots around his ribs and abdomen. Okay, so maybe it hadn’t been so smart to antagonize the big bastard about his chosen moniker, but come on – Mad Dog? Really?

  The guy had come in hot and heavy with the body shots. Mike may have even been impressed with the level of skill. Too bad Mad Dog had a glass jaw. As soon as Mike had been able to get free, he’d retaliated with a hard right and that was all she wrote for poor Mad Dog, who’d dropped like a ton of bricks. Unfortunately, Mike was pretty sure he had a couple of cracked ribs for the trouble, though Tim had assured him they were just bruised. Good thing he didn’t have any major repairs scheduled for today at the garage.

  Finished toweling off, he went to get dressed and wondered, not for the first time, if it was time to give it up. True, the money was damn nice, but feeling like he was in his eighties rather than his twenties? Not so much. Hell, just pulling a sweatshirt over his head had him hissing with pain.

  “Suck it up, buttercup,” he mumbled under his breath. “You’ve got a fox to impress.”

  With that thought firming his resolve, Mike glanced at the clock. Almost noon. Rin would be taking a lunch break soon and he had every intention of cajoling her into a picnic. The weather was fine – at least as fine as could be expected for Vermont in the winter – and he’d already called Lucy at the diner who was more than happy to get everything ready for him. He also had the perfect spot picked out, picturesque, romantic even, but not too far from her office so that she wouldn’t worry about getting back in time. Ginny had been more than accommodating when he’d called her to make sure he could steal Rin away for an hour. The older female had let out a giggle and a whoop before assuring him that she was happily on board to – in her words – help him, however she could, to woo and win his ladylove.

  Now, if he could just manage to move without flinching. He considered slathering on his miracle ointment for all of two seconds before discarding it; the stinky stuff didn’t exactly encourage proximity and he wanted Rin close, not running away from his stench. As long as he didn’t move too fast, or jerk his torso about, he should be fine.

  Twenty minutes later, Mike was just outside of Rin’s open office door and taking full advantage of her preoccupation with her work to just quietly observe her. Her thick black hair was loose today, left to fall over her shoulders instead of pulled back like she had been wearing it to work out. Her dark eyes were focused on the screen in front of her, and her brow scrunched slightly in a frown of concentration while she chewed absently on her plump lower lip.

  Mike nearly groaned. What he wouldn’t give to be able to pull this incredible female into his arms and kiss her. Patience, he reminded himself. She’s been through an ordeal. She needs time to get her bearings. Let her come to you… It sounded good. His brain was completely on board with the plan – other parts of him… not so much.

  Determined to keep all his parts in line, Mike broke out his brightest smile and tapped on the doorframe to get Rin’s attention. When she looked up, her face was so adorably bemused that he felt his chest squeeze tight and knew it had nothing to do with his bruises. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” Rin shot back with a smile as she closed the folder in front of her and Mike felt his breath catch. That smile was so sincere. She was truly happy to see him and he couldn’t be more pleased. He knew he was now grinning like an idiot, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he rocked back on his heels and cleared his throat as he tried to muster some semblance of composure. “I thought you might like to join me for a picnic.”

  Rin frowned, looking at the stack of folders on her desk, and her teeth once again sunk down into that luscious bottom lip. “I’ll have you back in an hour.” Mike assured her.

  Ginny, proving that she had no qualms about eavesdropping, piped up from the next office over, “Go. Have fun you two. I’ll hold down the fort.”

  It was all the prompting that Rin needed. With an excited grin, she grabbed her coat.

  Once in Mike’s car, Rin chatted away, filling him in on her adventures at work the prior day, including her run in with Lulu the llama. He’d met Lulu, so he could sympathize. She sounded so adorably disgruntled while she told the tale, then disgusted, then resigned, while Mike listened with a goofy little love-sick smile on his face. If he could sit and listen to Rin talk for the rest of his days, he’d be a happy man. Boy, he had it bad.

  The spot Mike had picked for their picnic was beautiful. Boulders of various sizes butted up to the stream that cut through the backside of Malsum Pass. Water was still flowing rapidly down the center toward a small waterfall formed by large rocks, though the stream’s sides were heavily edged with ice. Rin took it all in with a smile of wonder, immediately wanting to climb those boulders and explore.

  As it turned out, she would get to climb at least one of those boulders. Mike laid a blanket down on one of the widest ones, its surface worn down by years of wind and water, so that it was nearly flat on top. It was about waist high for Rin, but with a little boost, she was up and sitting on the blanket, absorbing the scenery sur
rounding her. But she wasn’t so preoccupied that she didn’t catch Mike’s wince as he levered himself up onto the boulder to join her. She frowned but then mentally shrugged. Mike had a pretty labor intensive job as well as a physically demanding workout routine. Sore muscles were probably the norm for him.

  Rin cleared her throat, ready to take the plunge and see if she could satisfy at least some of her curiosity. “Your note last night said you had some business to take care of. Did everything go okay?”

  Mike was busy laying out the lunch containers from the diner and didn’t look at her when he nodded. “Yeah, everything went fine.”

  A totally unsatisfactory response for someone who was digging for answers. “Did you need to tow another car?” Rin asked carefully, watching Mike’s expression like a hawk. If he said yes, it would be game over as far as she was concerned. After all, she had seen his wrecker parked in the bay of his garage.

  Mike shook his head and shot her a quick grin before turning his attention back to their lunch and saying, “I do some odd jobs now and again to make some extra money.”

  Rin could feel her muscles ease with relief. Of course. That explained everything. An explanation that was so simple, it should have been the first path her brain had taken rather than the much darker path of assuming Mike was involved in criminal activity. She really needed to get a handle on this new found suspicious nature. She’d made herself practically sick with worry for nothing. Finally, she could relax and let whatever this was between them, grow. In fact, she was so relieved, so pleased by his answer, that before she even knew what she was doing, she threw herself against Mike and kissed him.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Mike’s hiss of pain had Rin’s eyes popping open in confusion and her body lurching awkwardly away from him. His complexion had gone gray, his eyes squeezed tightly closed, and his lips pressed together so hard, the surrounding skin was ringed with white. Rin let out a little squeak of dismay, “Did I hurt you?”