Nate's Deputy (2019 Reissue)

by Lavinia Lewis

  “What did my brother say to you earlier?”

  The question had been casual enough but it was loaded and Nate didn’t have the first fucking clue how to answer it without revealing too much.

  What had Jared told Tristan about them?

  Did he know they were mates?

  A few of the throwaway comments Tristan had made got Nate to thinking that he and Jared weren’t as close as brothers should be. But it was the fact that Jared didn’t want to recognize their bond that made his mind up. There was no way the wolf would have told anyone, even his brother.

  Tristan didn’t know.

  “Nothing important,” he hedged. “Why do you ask?”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Nate saw Tristan shrug. “You only spoke for a minute, and when you left, you looked upset. That’s why I came after you.”

  Well, hell.

  What was Nate supposed to say to that?

  He didn’t want to lie to Tristan, but there wasn’t a lot he could say without mentioning the mating bond, and that was out of the question.

  It wasn’t his place.

  Nate met Tristan’s speculative gaze. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

  Tristan frowned but he let the subject drop, or at least Nate thought he had until a few moments later when Tristan spoke again.

  “I think Jared likes you.”

  Every muscle in Nate’s body grew taut. How the hell had the kid got that idea? He couldn’t be further from the truth.

  “What gives you that impression?”

  Tristan shrugged again. “I can tell. Jared’s my brother, I know him, and he acts…differently around you, kinda nervous and shy. And the way he looks at you… Well, I can see it in his eyes, ya know? Do you like him?”

  Bringing Tristan along for this ride was the worst fucking idea Nate had ever had. He squirmed in his saddle and looked out at the cattle grazing in a nearby pasture, trying to bide his time. He had to swallow down a lump that had formed in his throat before he could choke out a reply, and the answer he gave didn’t come close to the strength of his feelings for one Deputy Ambrose.

  “Sure, kid, I like him just fine.”

  When Nate turned back to Tristan, Jared tore his gaze away, but not before Nate saw what looked like a triumphant grin spread wide on his face. Nate sure hoped the kid wasn’t getting any ideas about him and Jared getting together. However much Nate might want that, it wasn’t going to happen.

  They rode for a time in companionable silence, and when Tristan did start speaking, it was mainly about Nate’s duties on the ranch. The kid seemed eager to know all the fine details of a cowboy’s job. He wanted to know what time Nate got up, what his chores were, how much time he got to spend with the horses…

  The questions went on and on, and Nate was grateful for them. The more Nate spoke about ranching, the less time he had to think about Jared. And the kid did lift Nate’s spirits, no doubt. The more they spoke, the more Tristan seemed to come out of himself. He smiled more and his eyes sparkled.

  It was a good look on him.

  Everything was going great until they brought the horses back in an hour later. The closer they got to the ranch, the more Nate’s stomach churned, the faster his heart beat. Sweat broke out on his brow and he chewed on his bottom lip so much he tasted blood. His emotions—his anxiety—ramped higher and higher until Nate was more on edge than he’d been before they’d set out.

  His body felt like a rubber band that had been stretched almost to breaking point, and he wondered how long it would take before he snapped.

  Conflicting thoughts ran through Nate’s mind as they rode in past the corral.

  He knew Tristan must have been wrong about Jared liking him. If that were true, Jared wouldn’t be going on a date with someone else, would he? Just the idea of Jared with another man made Nate feel sick to his stomach, and by the time they reached the barn, Nate thought he just might throw up for real.

  But what if Tristan had been right?

  Jared would have said something to him, surely…unless he thought Nate wasn’t interested, of course. Nate sighed and jumped down from his horse before leading him to the barn. All this thinking and thinking and Goddamn thinking was giving him a headache.

  Tristan de-mounted his horse and followed Nate to the barn. As they rounded the corner, Nate saw Jared in the yard talking to Pete. They were stood close together, Pete’s hand on Jared’s arm. Jared threw his head back and laughed at something Pete said and a fury that Nate had never known rose inside him.

  His wolf snarled within.

  It had never been as close to the surface and so ready to attack in such a short space of time.

  What the hell were they doing together looking so cozy? Was there something going on between them? Was Pete the man Jared was meeting for his date later? Each unwelcome thought made Nate’s anger more pronounced until he was practically vibrating, and before he could stop himself, he let out a long, loud, warning growl that ripped from his throat, surprising himself and everyone around him.

  He was dimly aware of Tristan’s gasp, but his wolf was so prominent and focused on Jared and the damn cowboy he was talking to that he couldn’t reassure Tristan everything was okay.

  Besides…it wasn’t.

  Everything was far from ‘okay’.

  Jared and Pete had clearly heard Nate’s growl because they both jerked their heads in his direction, with mirroring expressions of surprise, before quickly heading his way. Nate balled his hands into fists at his sides and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to try to curtail his rage.

  “Nate, you okay?” Jared asked.

  Nate nodded, but he waited a moment before he opened his eyes. When he did, all three men were eyeing him warily, but it was Jared that took a step forward and put his hand on Nate’s shoulder, and the simple touch calmed his nerves somewhat.

  How was Jared able to do that?

  Jared didn’t take his eyes from Nate when he next spoke. “Tristan, can you take the horses inside please?”

  “But—”

  “Come on, Tristan, I’ll help,” Pete said.

  Nate couldn’t look at either of them, couldn’t shift his gaze from Jared’s, and a moment later they were thankfully alone in the yard.

  “You want to talk about it?” Jared asked. “What’s got you so upset?”

  Now that Nate had calmed down enough to feel relatively human again, he felt pretty damn foolish. He dropped his gaze and shrugged off Jared’s hand.

  “I…uh…”

  Jesus.

  What the hell was he going to say?

  I was jealous?

  I wanted to rip Pete’s Goddamn head from his shoulders then tear him limb from limb?

  What?

  “It’s nothing.”

  “The hell it is. Talk to me, Nate.”

  Nate sighed. “Is there something going on between you and Pete?”

  Nate felt even more stupid when Jared’s eyes widened in surprise.

  “What? You mind telling me how you got that idea?”

  “You said you had a date, and when I saw you and Pete together, I—”

  “Put two and two together,” Jared finished for him.

  Nate nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. Sorry, I guess it’s none of my—”

  “I lied,” Jared interrupted.

  Nate jerked his head up and stared at Jared, unsure if he’d heard him right. “You did what?”

  “I lied,” Jared repeated quietly.

  “What do you mean, you lied?”

  Jared hung his head. “Just that. I lied about going on a date. I’m not.”

  If Nate hadn’t been holding his breath before, he was now. But he wasn’t sure he understood what Jared was trying to tell him.

  “Why would you do that?”

  “I don’t know.” Jared sighed. “You looked jealous before and it made me angry, I guess. I thought you had no right when you don’t… Well, when you don’t…”

  “When I don�
��t what?” Nate took a step closer to the deputy.

  “When you don’t want me.” Jared’s words left his mouth in a rush.

  Jared’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. He tore his gaze away then stared at the ground, all the blood in his body seeming to pool in his cheeks.

  Was that what he believed?

  “That’s not true,” Nate choked out, his voice sounding rough to his own ears. “Matter o’ fact, you couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s not that I don’t want you, not at all. It was never about that.”

  When Jared lifted his head, something that looked like hope filled his eyes and Nate couldn’t resist reaching his hand up and cupping the side of his mate’s face. Their eyes locked and the magnetic force that thrummed between them seemed to deepen, to grow in magnitude and intensity.

  Nate inched closer to Jared until their lips were a hair’s-breadth apart. The warm air Jared breathed out fanned over Nate’s lips, teasing and enticing. Nate’s heart soared in his chest. It felt like a flock of damn hummingbirds had taken up residence there. It was as if his whole life had been leading up to this very moment, to him and Jared alone, together.

  They closed the distance and…

  “There you are!” Gregory’s voice broke the spell that had been cast between them and Nate tore his hand away from Jared’s cheek and stepped back. The disappointment evident on Jared’s face made Nate’s heart stutter.

  “What is it, Gregory?” Nate practically growled.

  “The party’s winding down. I came to see if you’re both ready for our meeting.”

  Nate nodded. “We’ll be right in.”

  “Kelan wanted to know if it was okay to use the bunkhouse, as the main house is still full of people.”

  “Tell him that’s fine.”

  Gregory nodded then headed on back to the house. Nate took a deep breath then once again met Jared’s gaze. “Do you want to—?”

  “Jared?”

  This time it was Jared that sighed and slumped his shoulders at his brother’s interruption.

  “What’s up, Tristan?”

  Tristan stood next to Nate, a huge grin spread across his face. “Pete just said he’d help us with the move on Wednesday before he goes to work. That was good of him, wasn’t it, Nate?”

  No, it wasn’t fucking good of him.

  He’d better stay the hell away from Jared or Nate wouldn’t be responsible for his actions.

  Wait a minute, what move?

  What was the kid talking about? Nate frowned and watched Pete exit the barn and stand behind Tristan. Nate couldn’t be certain but it looked as if the wolf was reluctant to meet his gaze.

  What the hell was up with that?

  Jared smiled at the cowboy and the expression set Nate’s teeth on edge.

  “That’s great, thanks for the offer of help, Pete.”

  Pete shrugged. “‘S no trouble.”

  “You’re moving?” Nate asked.

  “Yeah,” Tristan said. “I forgot to tell you earlier. We got ourselves a ranch, which means we’ll finally be out of that damn guesthouse.”

  “Watch your mouth, kid,” Nate chastised.

  “Right, sorry.”

  “Tristan and I have been staying at Marnie’s Guesthouse until we could buy a place in town,” Jared said. “We were real lucky. Got an offer accepted on a place not far from here.”

  “That’s great news,” Nate said, genuinely pleased for them both. If Jared had bought a place nearby then that meant he intended to stick around, and Nate liked the idea of that a lot, maybe more than he should. “Where is this house you bought? Whose place was it?”

  Jared shrugged. “Don’t know the family, think their name was Stanford.”

  Nate drew in a deep breath, unable to find any words, as he stared at Jared, his mate…who was now the proud new owner of his family’s farm. Pete rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze shifting from side to side.

  No wonder he couldn’t look Nate in the eye.

  He’d known where Jared and Tristan were moving to.

  “Oh, um…well, that’s…uh…yeah, great,” Nate stuttered.

  “I know,” Tristan enthused. “Jared and I are finally gonna have a proper home. Hey look, there’s Kelan. Who is that guy he’s with? He’s huge!”

  “I think it’s a friend of Kelan’s from the wolf council,” Pete supplied. “Guess the meeting is about to start.”

  Nate looked over Tristan’s shoulder and saw Kelan stride in their direction with a man he hadn’t seen before. Tristan was right—the guy was huge, and not just tall. Even from twenty feet away Nate could see the muscles stretching out his shirt.

  “Oh, okay,” Tristan said. “Well, I guess I’ll go back in the house to talk to Aaron and Cary until the meeting is over. See you all later.”

  “Don’t cause any trouble,” Jared teased.

  Pete chuckled when Tristan rolled his eyes and let out a heavy and much put upon sigh. Tristan started walking towards the house when a thought occurred to Nate, and before he had a chance to process it properly, he called out to the kid.

  “Hey Tristan! You need any more help with the move?”

  The kid’s smile was so bright and so infectious, Nate couldn’t help but return it. It didn’t seem to matter how down he was feeling, Tristan always made him feel better.

  “Yeah, we can use more help. Why? You offering?”

  Nate nodded. “Count me in.”

  Nate supposed he should have cleared his offer with Jared first, but what if Jared had turned him down? And he definitely didn’t like the idea of Pete spending too much time with Jared, even if there really was nothing going on between them. Pete might be his friend but he was a damn dog. He’d be all over Jared like a rash, given half the chance.

  “Cool, well then, I guess we’ll see you Wednesday,” Tristan marched toward the house with a renewed spring in his step.

  “I need to have a word with Kelan,” Pete said. “I’ll see you both inside.”

  “Sure, Pete,” Jared said. “And thanks again.”

  Nate tipped his hat. “Pete.”

  Jared waited until they were alone again before he began to speak. “Thanks for the offer. You didn’t have to do that, you know.”

  Nate shrugged. “Figured you could use the extra help.”

  “We can. So? Are you going to tell me what got your cage so rattled just then?”

  “Huh?”

  “When Tristan and I told you about our move, you got this weird look on your face…kinda sad. What is it? I heard the man that used to live there, Rick, was killed earlier this year. Did you know him?”

  Nate pulled in a deep, calming breath and took a moment to gather his thoughts before answering. The wretched lump rose in his throat and he had to swallow it down before he spoke. He was getting damn used to that lump, but it never got any easier to swallow.

  “Rick was my brother. We grew up in that house. My family used to rent the spread…for a long time, actually.”

  Jared scrunched his eyebrows together. “What? You didn’t want to live there anymore? Didn’t you consider buying the place when the owners put it up for sale?”

  Nate took off his hat and scratched the top of his head. Nate wasn’t even as upset as he would have expected to be which was weird.

  He was glad Jared and Tristan were moving into his old home.

  He couldn’t think of two better people to live there, and he didn’t want to upset Jared by telling him the truth, but neither could he lie.

  “Yeah,” he said at last, holding Jared’s gaze. “I did—put several offers in, actually—but I was outbid.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Okay before we start, for those of you who don’t know him, this is a friend of mine, Dean White. Dean holds a position on the Supernatural Council,” Kelan said, gesturing to the man in question.

  Introductions were made and pleasantries exchanged.

  Jared took a seat at the kitchen table and rubbed at his palm, w
hich still tingled from where Dean had squeezed it when they’d shaken hands. Describing it as a firm grip would be somewhat of an understatement—the man’s hands were like shovels…large shovels. But they were by no means out of place on his enormous body.

  Jared was damn near six foot but he felt dwarfed by this giant of a wolf. It was impossible to guess his age, though. While he was certainly older than anyone in the room, his face had a timeless quality to it.

  “You have some powerful friends,” Gregory said, eyeing the man warily. “Mr. White has an influential position in the council.”

  Dean shook his head. “Not so much anymore, I’m afraid. Since the numbers within the council increased to satisfy the needs of the shifter population boom in recent years, my responsibility has decreased.

  “I’ve always been very outspoken about my views on keeping our identities secret, so whether or not that has hindered my standing in the council, I’m not sure.

  “The jury is out, but one would assume my bluntness about the matter hasn’t helped my cause.”

  Nate, who had taken the seat next to Jared, remained quiet, but he didn’t need to speak for Jared to be aware of his presence. They were so close together that Jared could feel the heat radiating from the wolf’s slightly larger body. His scent permeated Jared’s senses, too, making it damn near impossible to concentrate on a single word that was being spoken in the meeting.

  Jared still couldn’t believe what Nate had told him earlier.

  Of all the houses he could have bought in Wolf Creek, he’d purchased Nate’s home—his mate’s.

  What were the odds?

  The worst part was that Nate had been fighting to keep his family home, and he’d lost it. He must have been heartbroken. Jared felt sick about that, and he didn’t know what to do about it.

  Should he offer to sell the property back to Nate?

  “You make it sound as if there is some sort of conspiracy against you,” Nate said, tearing Jared from his thoughts.

  “I believe there is,” Dean replied. “As a matter of fact, I’m certain of it. I’ve been investigating a number of members within the council for months now who I believe to have been conspiring against me, and I’m quite sure there is some type of subversion afoot.”