“Well…” Hunter didn’t have time to finish. Chelsea was on her feet, grabbing her cell to call Amber.
Hunter heaved a weary sigh as he tugged the duffel bag from the back of the pickup. How he had allowed Chelsea to talk him into this, he just didn’t know! Then again he was realizing she could probably talk him into most anything.
Chelsea was waiting at the door, her hair freshly washed like the first night he had left and come back. She was wearing some kind of pajama shorts set. It looked like satin.
Give me strength.
Amber was sitting in the living room when he walked in, her face simultaneously fighting a smile and a sneer.
“I still don’t understand why you’re not staying in her room.”
“I don’t just randomly invite men to my bed.”
Amber smiled tightly. “Yes, Jude was your only bedroom conquer.”
Hunter felt a blush creep up his neck. Only one man? Almost as good as a virgin.
“Thank you for the use of the couch.”
Amber stood and made a dismissive gesture with her hands. “Whatever. It’s fine. Just keep the bathroom clean. I don’t want to find the toilet up, or pee on the floor.”
Chelsea shook her head, looking at Hunter helplessly as Amber left the room.
“She means well.”
Hunter barked a laugh. “She does?”
Chapter 4
Hunter hardly slept an hour the whole night. He was conscious of every move the two women made. He felt vulnerable sleeping on the couch, but didn’t know why. The next morning he realized it was his conscious telling him something. A knock sounded lightly on the door.
Hunter waited for one of the women to get up and answer it, but when no one came, he heaved a sigh and walked to the door. Kamden and Tommy stood there frowning.
“Have you moved in?” Tommy asked.
“No, Tommy. Chelsea just wanted me to stay here for a few days. I was running out of money.”
“And she doesn’t want you to leave to go home yet?”
Hunter nodded. He glanced at Kamden. So, far he hadn’t said a word. He just watched Hunter with the same steady stare he had given him at his house.
“Well, put a shirt on over all that muscle. You’re giving me a complex.”
“Do you want me to wake Chelsea?”
“No, we’re here for you.”
Hunter hesitated. “Alright.” He held the door open for them.
Kamden nudged Tommy and tilted his head towards the couch. Tommy smiled lightly as he watched Hunter fold the sheet and blanket from his makeshift bed. He stacked everything on the floor next to the couch, and grabbed a shirt from his duffle. All three men looked at the end of the hall, as Chelsea came yawning into the room, her slippered feet shuffling along the floor.
She froze as her eyes opened from the yawn. She looked at each man individually.
“What’s going on here?”
Tommy sidled up to her and kissed her cheek. “We’re taking Hunter out for breakfast.”
“Why?”
Kamden crossed his arms and grinned. “Man to man talks.”
“Right.” Chelsea said doubtfully.
“Don’t worry.” Tommy said, as he went to the front door. “We’ll bring him back.”
Hunter kissed Chelsea with the other two men watching. His eyes told them one thing and one thing only: She’s mine now.
Kamden nodded his head once, Tommy seemed unaware.
The sun beat down on them with furnace like heat as they drove away in Kamden’s pickup truck. It was an ancient relic that should have been in a museum, and the three of them were scrunched along the front seat like sardines.
“Where are we going?”
“Nervous?”
“No.”
The older men exchanged a look. Hunter couldn’t decide what passed between them. It could have been amusement, but there was a definite darker taint, whatever it was. Either way, he was pleased when they pulled into the parking lot of the same pancake house Chelsea had taken him to.
“I met my sweetheart here.” Kamden said proudly.
Hunter nodded. “Chelsea told me.”
The three men walked into the busy restaurant and were seated towards the back. Silverware and dishes clanked with the mingled sounds of voices and children’s delight.
A frazzled waitress took their drink orders and hurried away.
Hunter calmly looked at the menu, ignoring the other men’s stares.
When the waitress returned Hunter ordered a platter with eggs, bacon, toast, and a side of pancakes. The other two said they were content with their coffee.
Hunter lifted his eyes to them. “So, what do you want to know?”
“Kamden here has a funny idea about you.”
“Such as?”
“He seems to think you’re some kind of shifter.”
Hunter looked at Kamden flatly. “And why does he think that?”
“Does Chelsea know what you are?” Kamden challenged, not answering the question.
“She does.”
Tommy let out a low whistle. “What in the hell are you doing fooling with my little girl?”
“I didn’t intend on fooling with her, Tommy, as you put it.” He lowered his eyes and ran a hand over his head. “I saved her.”
Tommy’s mouth opened, then shut. His lips pursed. “The man in the alley?”
Hunter nodded. “I hung around…just to be sure…I’m glad I did.”
“Did she know that night?”
Hunter shook his head. “No. She didn’t know until I took her home the next night when she was feeling sick.” He turned his attention back to Kamden. “How did you know? You certainly aren’t a shifter.”
Kamden’s dark eyes hardened. “No, but I’m native. We see things the white man can’t.”
Tommy huffed, folding his arms one over the other on the table.
Kamden toyed with a fork. “Why are you here really?”
“I’m an Alpha.”
Kamden’s face changed slightly. Hunter could see admiration.
“I’m an Alpha with a pack of mainly men. They want me to find a mate, so that eventually they can have mates.”
Tommy’s eyes boggled. Kamden seemed to accept what he was saying, as if it made perfect sense.
Tommy leaned in closer. “Does Chelsea know this?”
“She does.”
“And you think…you think you’re going to take her there to be some…some sex slave?”
Hunter laughed robustly. “Sex slave? No, Tommy. I want her to be with me, no one else.”
“Then how…”
Kamden broke in, his face serious. “Shifters live a long time. His pack will wait for offspring to grow up.”
Tommy looked from one man to the other, as the waitress slid Hunter’s food in front of him.
“That’s sick.”
Hunter shrugged, pouring syrup over the pancakes. “I thought so a little too, but it’s just the way of it. I didn’t want a mate.”
“Are you gay?”
Hunter gave Tommy a patient look. “No.”
“My people revere your kind.” Kamden said solemnly. He glanced at Tommy. “An Alpha for Chelsea would be a good thing.”
“How?”
“He’ll take care of her. Always.”
Hunter bit off an end of a slice of bacon, keeping his eyes on Tommy. He could only imagine how hard all of this was to hear. Father’s wanted what was best for their daughters. They wanted knights in shining armor to ride in and sweep them off their feet. The bottom line was; fathers didn’t want to worry about their daughters.
“Do you love her?” Tommy’s eyes pleaded for something normal, something concrete.
“Let’s put it this way. I’ll die before anything harms her. I’ll sacrifice whatever I need to for her well being and happiness. Yes, Tommy, I love her.”
Tommy relaxed slightly. He nodded his head once.
“If she goes with you,” Kamden
began “will the pack accept her?”
Hunter sighed. “Not right away, I don’t think. There are two married couples within the pack. I think the two females will.”
Kamden sipped his coffee. “If they refuse?”
Hunter smiled sardonically. “I’ll be an Alpha without a pack.”
“But you just said you didn’t even want a mate.” Tommy said weakly.
“That was before I met Chelsea.”
The men talked for another hour. It was a back and forth kind of conversation that to a passerby would have sounded more like a negotiation. In the end, Tommy was left with the certainty that his oldest daughter would be cared for.
“It’s still up to Chelsea.” Hunter said as they squeezed back into Kamden’s pickup.
“She won’t refuse you.” Kamden said plainly.
Tommy glanced at Hunter, his jaw set. “If she goes, make sure she doesn’t come home broken-hearted.”
Hunter recognized it was a plea as well as a weak threat. “She won’t be broken-hearted, Tommy. You have my word.”
“Well, my gosh it took the three of you long enough!”
“We just wanted to get to know Hunter a little better.” Tommy smiled.
Chelsea picked up on the slight sadness in her father’s eyes. “What’s wrong, Daddy?”
“Nothing. Call me later, ok? Especially if you need to tell or ask me anything.”
Chelsea’s eyebrows drew together. She watched Kamden and her father leave the apartment, then turned to Hunter.
“What was that?” She stretched an arm towards the closed door.
Hunter hooked his thumbs in two belt loops. “Kamden knows what I am and told Tommy.”
Chelsea felt her knees go weak. She sat down shakily. “How?”
Hunter shrugged, joining her on the couch. “Some kind of native hoodoo. I don’t know.”
Chelsea set her jaw in a way that reminded Hunter of Tommy’s expressions from the morning he had just spent with him.
“Well, they can’t choose for me! This is my decision!”
“They understand. They just wanted to check out what my intentions were.” Hunter looked deep into her eyes, his voice became soft. “Now it’s up to you.”
Chelsea spent the majority of the day in her room, alone and thinking. She made pros and cons lists, she paced, she even exercised, just to make sure Hunter wasn’t something she could purge from her body through sweat. The bottom line was that she would rather gnaw off her arm than be without him.
Chelsea emerged from her room at dark. Hunter was sitting in the living room watching old Andy Griffith reruns in the dark. He looked up at her with a grin, which slowly faded as he saw her still face in the flickering light of the television set.
“You’ve made a decision?”
Chelsea nodded. She clasped her hands in front of her, eyes moving upward as Hunter stood.
Hunter felt like his stomach was caving in. “I want you to know that if the answer is no, I’ll return here again and again until you say yes.”
“That’s a lot of wear and tear on your truck. Guess it’s a good thing that my answer is yes.”
Chelsea thought it quaint and sweet that Hunter refused to take her home with him without marrying her first, but it also gave her a feeling of permanence. He couldn’t easily get rid of her if the pack rebelled.
The marriage license wasn’t any problem, the people in her life were a whole other story.
“I don’t think it’s fair that Dad is letting you marry a man you just met!” Karlee’s brow furrowed in a furious manner and her lips pouted angrily.
“You’re just mad I won’t be here to work at the restaurant.”
“Well…yeah!”
Chelsea folded the last of her clothes, and shoved them into her already full suitcase. She knew part of the problem was the fact that her baby sister would miss her. Chelsea stopped her packing and stood before Karlee, rubbing the upper halves of her stubbornly crossed arms.
“You can visit anytime you want…Billie too.”
“Ugh…I don’t even know if I’ll still be dating him!”
“And Hunter and I will come visit too.”
Karlee wiped a stray tear away, walking away before Chelsea could see anymore. Chelsea sighed and looked around her near bare room. Amber knocked on the door frame.
“Hey.” She said quietly.
“Hey yourself.”
Amber hugged Chelsea tightly. “I’m sure going to miss you!”
“We’ll visit.” Chelsea fought another wave of heavy emotion. Everything was moving so fast! It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.
“I got the job in New York.”
Chelsea backed out of her embrace, a grin splitting her face.
“Amber, that’s wonderful!”
“I just found out this morning. I don’t have to feel guilty now for leaving you hanging.” She looked at her friend, words trying to push their way past her lips. “Are you sure about this? You’ve only known him for a week.”
“I’m sure. I know it’s crazy.” She laughed. “I’m always the stable predictable one, but yes, I’m sure.”
“You can always come home…or come to New York if it doesn’t work out.”
“Amber, I’m getting married. This isn’t something I’ll easily walk away from.”
“That’s why you need to be absolutely certain before tomorrow morning.”
Chelsea allowed Amber’s words to play through her mind over and over again. Was she sure? Her gut told her yes. Her heart told her yes. Her brain was another matter. None the less, her wedding day dawned cool in the morning, the sun hiding behind thick clouds. A cool day in August was a rare gift. She would just ignore the clouds.
Isabela and Kamden picked her up just before nine. Karlee and her father would already be at the justice of the peace with Hunter. Amber had already said her goodbyes after the two of them had spent her final night a single woman holed up alone in the apartment watching sappy movies and gorging on popcorn.
“Is this all of it?” Kamden asked doubtfully as he looked at one suitcase, a book bag, three boxes, and Chelsea’s fishing gear.
“Yeah. Amber is donating my furniture.” She lugged one last box out. “This is for Karlee. She’s upset, so give it to her after I’m gone.”
“What’s in there, honey?” Isabela’s voice was already quavering with the flood that would undoubtedly come later.
“One of my favorite cookbooks. A few items of clothing. A few things I had stashed that her Mom left behind. I was waiting for her to grow up a little before giving them to her.”
Isabela touched her arm gently. “You did a good job with her, Chelsea. You were just a kid yourself.”
Chelsea nodded. “Water under the bridge.”
“That’s right.”
The justice of the peace was a short balding man, a retired judge from Albemarle County who had retired to Williamsburg three years before. He smiled warmly at the assembled group.
“Nice weather today!”
Everyone nodded. The group looked like they were witnessing a shotgun wedding instead of a joyous one. He hoped it wasn’t a shotgun wedding, as he looked anxiously towards his foyer. The bride was there somewhere getting ready.
Hunter glanced at Tommy. Tommy looked tired and sad, but he gave Hunter a thumbs up anyway. Hunter just wanted this to be over. He just wanted to have Chelsea by his side as they drove the highways heading home.
Chelsea was having similar feelings. Karlee zipped the back of Chelsea’s new dress; a light cream cotton with tiny blue flowers. It tied in the back and had little buttons down the front that were there for show. Karlee thought it ridiculously old fashioned, but after seeing Chelsea in it with the cream heels on her feet, her hair glossy and shining, she knew it was the perfect dress for her sister.
“Here.” Karlee said gruffly, shoving a homemade bouquet of wildflowers in Chelsea’s hands. The stems were wrapped in a dark blue satin ribbon and k
notted perfectly in a bow just below the buds. “If you hang it upside down, the flowers will dry and you can keep the bouquet.”
“You did this?”
Karlee nodded.
“It’s very good. You could be a florist.”
Karlee’s eyes lit up. “Thanks.”
“Ladies? Are we about ready?”
“Yes.” Chelsea said and took a deep breath before entering the next room.
Hunter looked up as Chelsea entered behind Karlee. His new button down shirt and black jeans didn’t feel scratchy anymore. He didn’t notice the knowing looks between Isabela, Kamden, and Tommy as his face changed. He didn’t notice when the justice of the peace began his monologue. Everything was just fine. She was the most beautiful thing in the world, and within moments, she would be his. For good.
The tearful goodbyes were hard, and Hunter left Chelsea alone for the first hour of their drive, content to just hold her hand. Once her sniffling had subsided he ventured his next plan to her.
“I thought we could stop off somewhere for the night.”
“Where?”
“Well, we could stay in Fredericksburg. We’ll be there soon, or we could stay on Skyline Drive. There’s a place called Graves Mountain Lodge that’s in the mountains not too far from my…from our home.”
“I would like that.”
“Good! I just need to call and make sure a room is available.”
Hunter took the next exit and found a gas station. He waited for Chelsea to go inside before calling about the room. He still needed to call Oscar, and hoped he would have time to do both.
“Hey, it’s me.”
“How’s it going?”
“Good. I’m coming home.”
“Did you…”
Hunter interrupted Oscar. “Yes, I did. I’m married.”
“Married? Wow, that’s even bigger than just mate status. What’s her name?”
“Chelsea.”
“Nice. Ok, can’t wait to see you both!”
“Yeah, we’ll be there some time tomorrow.”
Hunter quickly used the bathroom in the gas station and asked for a phone book to see if he could get the number for the Lodge. When he couldn’t, he told Chelsea they would just have to hope for the best.
She Wolf and The Detective: (Suspense, Crime, Thriller, Mystery, Fantasy) (Book 1-3) Page 16