Wild Cat (Alaska Wild Nights Book 2)

by Tiffinie Helmer

  Without slowing her step, she walked straight up to him, a smile on her face.

  He froze much like a moose caught in the high beams of a semi, frowning.

  Before he could say anything, she spoke. “Hello, Avery. I need to place an order.”

  He raised his hand to signal a waitress.

  “No need for that. I’m sure you can handle writing it down.”

  He stared at her, his brows furrowing, and slowly plucked a pencil free from behind his ear and grabbed a pad.

  She matter-of-factly ordered five different pizzas. “Could you have it ready, say, in about three hours?”

  “It’s not going to take Ryder and Dare three hours to knock down a wall.”

  “You heard about that, did you?”

  He made a grunt of agreement.

  “There’s a bit more work than just tearing down a wall,” she supplied.

  He looked like he wanted to ask what but then tightened his lips.

  “Three hours should be good. Oh, and any chance you could have it delivered? I’m sure once we get started you won’t want me coming back covered in debris. Thanks.” She didn’t give him a chance to object. “How much do I owe you?” She slipped her credit card out of her wallet and held it out to him.

  His hand covered hers. “It’s on me.” He seemed as surprised by his statement as she was.

  “I can’t let you do that.”

  “I insist. Since I can’t give you a hand, it’s the least I can do.”

  “You would have helped?” Cat asked, surprised.

  “I’m not a heartless bastard, and we help each other around here, you know that.”

  “But you don’t want me across the street.” She couldn’t help but give emphasis to the word want.

  “Friends help each other out.”

  “Friends? Are we friends?”

  It took him a moment to respond. “Yes, of course, we’re friends.” He raked a hand through his hair as though frustrated with this conversation. “Listen, Cat, about last night—”

  “Already forgotten. There’s no need to bring it up.” She slipped her hand out from under his, putting away her credit card. “Well, if you won’t take my money, I thank you for your generosity.”

  “Cat, wait—”

  “I’ve got to get to work. Thanks again, Dawson.” She called him by his surname, which she’d never done. Everyone else called him Dawson except for his family and her. He hadn’t corrected her when they were dating, seeming to like it.

  “Cat,” he growled her name, but she didn’t turn and just gave him a finger wave over her shoulder, heading for the exit at a fast, no-nonsense clip. She pushed open the door, thankful for the cold air washing over her, steadying her nerves.

  Before she made it a few more feet, Avery clamped a hand around her arm and pulled her around to the side of the building.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, stunned by his actions and more than a little unsettled by the heat in his eyes.

  “You called me Dawson.”

  “That’s your name.”

  “Not for you it isn’t. You’ve always called me Avery. I’m Avery to you, not Dawson.”

  “Your friends all call you Dawson.”

  A wolf-like snarl escaped him at her words. “Damn you, woman. We’re not friends.”

  “What are we then? Acquaintances? Colleagues? No, that’s not right. We’d have to work with each other for that. Familiars would require that we were Wiccan, so that doesn’t work either.”

  “God dammit, you drive me crazy.”

  “Well, if I drive you crazy, wouldn’t that put me more in the category of people you don’t like?”

  He hauled her flush against him. “I like you, all right? I more than like you.”

  “You just don’t want to more than like me.”

  “Yes,” he hissed out.

  “I guess that’s too bad for you then. Now if you would release me, I really need to get to work.”

  “You are the most obstinate, confounding, sexy woman I have ever met. Last night—”

  “We’re not talking about last night, remember?”

  “I want to talk about it. I want to see you climax in my arms again, scream out my name, have your kitten claws marking crescent moons in the skin of my back.”

  She gasped, her eyes going wide, and her mouth fell open. What did she say to that? The picture his words painted had her blood heating. “But you don’t want to be with me. You said so.”

  “I lied. I want to be with you more than I want my next breath. You are all I think about. But I won’t marry you.”

  “Excuse me?” She shook her head as if that would help her follow his line of thought. “Did I ever say anything about marriage?”

  “You’re the marrying kind.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I know.”

  “You’re mistaken then.” Of course, she was the marrying kind, but she wouldn’t admit that under the threat of torture at this point. A thought came to her. “Is that why you never called? Why we stopped seeing each other, because you thought I wanted to marry you? Wow, talk about an inflated ego. How do you walk around with that huge thing on your shoulders? Just for your information, a lot of men have wanted to marry me and I turned them down.” There take that you inflated porcupine.

  “Who asked you to marry them?” The blue flames were back in his hazel eyes.

  “None of your business. Now let go of me before my knee gets intimate with your balls.”

  He choked out a laugh. “You never warn a guy—oomph.”

  He suddenly released her to cover his privates. She hadn’t kicked him in the balls, just raised her knee and connected close enough to have him leap back and protect the family jewels.

  “Now if you will excuse me, I have better things to do than freeze my ass off out here arguing with the likes of you.” She shifted to move past him.

  “This isn’t over, Cat,” he hollered after her.

  “Yes, it is,” she returned, not looking back as she crossed to her side of the street.

  Chapter 13

  She hadn’t stopped shaking by the time she entered the warmth of Second Chance soon to be Mystic Heart to find the men of her family standing in front of the plate-glass window where they’d had a clear view of her exchange with Avery.

  “That was quite the show you and Dawson were putting on out there,” Ryder said. Jack stood next to him, all smiles.

  “What are you smiling at?” she demanded.

  “Just watching my girl handle herself. You’ve got that boy tied up in knots over you.”

  “I think we have another wedding on the horizon,” Dare said.

  “Enough, all of you. I will never marry that man.”

  “You know what they say about never saying never,” Ryder teased.

  Dare started humming the wedding march and held his hammer like it was a bouquet of flowers. Ryder linked arms with Dare’s and they did the wedding march around the front room.

  “Heads are going to roll if you two don’t stop right now,” Catriona said.

  “I do think the woman doth protest too much,” Ash joined in, entering the room with Sorene from the direction of the kitchen.

  “All right, you two,” Sorene said, using her mom voice. “Leave her alone.”

  “Come on, boys, let’s get that wall down.” Jack led the way upstairs.

  “You okay?” Sorene asked Cat when they were alone.

  “I’d be better if I had actually kicked Avery in the balls,” she muttered.

  “But then you would have felt guilty about it afterward.”

  “Doubtful. Where’s Zoe? I thought she was coming to help too.”

  “That girl is never on time for anything.”

  Bells rang over the door as Kennadee entered. “Hey, guys.”

  They both gasped when they saw her with her arm in a sling. “What the hell happened to you?” Cat asked.

  “Nothing really, just disl
ocated my shoulder. I’ll be fine in a few days.”

  “A dislocated shoulder?” Sorene asked. “How did you do that?”

  “Missed a step on the ladder.”

  “You fell off a ladder?” Sorene’s mother bear bared its teeth. “Why didn’t you call me or Dad?”

  “Or me?” Catriona asked.

  “What could you do? I was in North Pole fighting a three-alarm fire, and we had two teams of EMTs there.”

  “One of us could have driven up there so you didn’t have to drive home. Besides, I thought you were working in Nenana this week.”

  “It’s not like I’m handicapped,” Kennadee scoffed. “I can drive. And I was in Nenana, then an opportunity presented itself in North Pole.” Which meant there wasn’t enough going on in Nenana to fulfill Kennadee’s need for a thrill fix.

  “Well, you certainly can’t do anything to help out here,” Catriona pointed out. “Not with your wing clipped.” The sound of a Sawzall fired from upstairs. She wanted to be there helping to tear down that wall.

  “What’s the recovery time?” Sorene demanded, and Cat could see the wheels turning in her head over what would need to be done to care for Kennadee. “You aren’t going to need surgery, are you?”

  “Will you stop mothering me. It’s a dislocated shoulder. A few days in the sling, a few weeks taking it easy, a bit of physical therapy and I’ll be good as new.”

  “Are you in any pain?” Sorene asked, worry clouding her voice.

  “Just from this conversation,” Kennadee muttered.

  “Seriously, Kennadee.” Sorene planted her hands on her hips.

  “It aches, but keeping it stationary helps, okay?”

  “Did they give you pain pills?” Catriona asked. “You should be home resting, not here.” Hammering joined the buzz of the saw.

  “I said no to the pain meds. I can handle this with Tylenol if I feel like I need it.”

  “You and your superhuman pain tolerance,” Cat mumbled, wishing she had some of that.

  Kennadee could withstand more than most without flinching, while Cat had been known to cry over having a sliver removed.

  Zoe breezed in, dressed in clothes not intended for work—at least not the kind that would get her dirty. A long dress coat, paired with high heeled boots, accentuated with a silk blouse, and designer jeans. Where the hell had she found designer jeans in Heartbreak? And why would anyone wear them in Alaska?

  “Where have you been?” Sorene demanded.

  “On a job interview.”

  “Where?” Cat, Kennadee, and Sorene said at once.

  They’d all taken a part in raising Zoe, and all three of them didn’t like the choices she was currently making. She needed to return to college, but after one semester, she’d shown up at home stating that college wasn’t for her. She’d yet to find any direction.

  “I don’t want to jinx it,” Zoe said. “I’ll let you know if they offer me the job.” Another thing about Zoe was her superstitious nature. Catriona believed in the law of attraction, while Zoe believed in four-leaf clovers and rabbit foots.

  “I hope you brought clothes to change into,” Cat said.

  Zoe glanced down at her outfit, realization dawning. “Uh, no. I didn’t even think of it.” She noticed Kennadee’s arm in a sling. “What happened to you?”

  “She can tell you on the drive home,” Sorene said. “You can’t help us here wearing that outfit, and she can’t help restrained. So, drive Kennadee home and make sure she rests.”

  “I don’t need to go home and rest,” Kennadee objected. “I want to be part of the action. This is exciting.” Kennadee had a constant need for change and thrill. Her chosen profession as a firefighter fit the bill as she never knew from one day to the next what she’d be doing or facing.

  “Don’t argue with me or do I need to tell Dad that you fell off a ladder while fighting a fire?” Sorene threatened.

  Kennadee’s face blanched.

  “Yeah, I didn’t think so.” Sorene folded her arms. “He worries enough about you as it is.”

  “All right, I’ll go. But let me tell Dad what happened.”

  “As long as you tell him the truth and not lie and say that you slipped on the ice,” Sorene said. “Yeah, I do know you better than you think I do. Zoe, after you get Kennadee settled and change your clothes, come back and help.”

  “Seriously?” Zoe whined, proving that she had planned on getting out of helping by showing up in the fancy duds.

  “Yes, I’m serious. We help each other out in this family. And I wasn’t born yesterday, young lady.”

  “Fine.” Zoe dragged the word out, sounding much like she had at thirteen.

  After Kennadee and Zoe left, Cat turned to Sorene. “Damn, but you are going to make a formidable mom.”

  “I should. I’ve been in training for the last ten years with you bunch.”

  “That you have, and if I haven’t said it before, thank you. I love you, sis.”

  Sorene’s face softened and she hugged Catriona. “You’re welcome.” A loud crashing sounded from upstairs. “Come on, sounds like they are making progress. I can’t wait to see how the room looks with the wall down.”

  Chapter 14

  Avery’s thoughts seethed like salmon fighting for a place to spawn in a crowded stream.

  Who the hell had asked Cat to marry him? And not just one man, but many?

  Many?

  Staying away from her wasn’t working, and it was no longer possible to deny his desire for her. Maybe they could be together without needing a judge and marriage license. He could handle a dalliance, and when it naturally ended, they could both go their separate ways.

  No harm, no foul.

  Yet, the thought of Cat taking up with another man—hell, marrying one someday—caused his heartburn to flare. He needed some damn antacids, that’s all.

  Drew walked by carrying five large pizza boxes.

  “Hey, where are you going with those?” Avery already knew they were Cat’s order.

  “Leif said to deliver them across the street for Catriona.”

  “I’m going with you.”

  “Why? I can handle it.”

  Needing something to explain why he wanted to accompany Drew on a simple pizza run, Avery held up his hand for Drew to stay. He hollered into the kitchen for Honoree to man the bar and grabbed two cases of microbrew from the walk-in refrigerator.

  He joined Drew, holding up the beer. “There was more to the order.”

  “Why didn’t you say so?” Drew turned toward the exit, pushing the door open with his back and held it for Avery.

  The cold hit him with slicing fingers as it had when he’d chased Catriona out of the bar earlier. Once again, he’d forgotten his coat. The temp had to be hovering near ten below, the sun having set hours ago. When would winter finally release her talons on the landscape and allow spring to break through her icy surface?

  The house across the street was ablaze in lights, and the sounds of construction filled the night air. Four pickups were backed up to the door, their beds full of broken pieces of sheetrock, discarded two-by-fours, a mess of wires and Lord knew what else.

  Drew knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

  “They can’t hear us over the racket,” Avery said. “Just walk in.”

  Drew turned the knob and held the door for Avery as his hands were loaded down with beer.

  “Hello!” he hollered.

  The hammering paused. “Up here,” someone yelled. Avery thought it might be Ryder, but it could have easily been Dare. They not only looked alike, but they also sounded the same.

  He set the beer on the floor and gestured for Drew to leave the pizza on the display table where he’d thrown the offered food from the night before, before backing Catriona up against the wall and kissing her, and then doing a lot more than kissing her.

  He led the way upstairs, Drew falling into step behind him. “You can head back to the Pump House.”

 
“I want to see what they are doing too. Besides, I’m on my break.”

  “Fine.”

  The upstairs looked like a bomb had detonated. Jack, Ryder, Dare, and Ash stood regarding their work. Each wore a tool belt, leather gloves, and safety glasses.

  “Sure, show up when the bulk of the work is done.” Hank appeared from the doorway of another room.

  “Dad?” Avery said. “What are you doing here?”

  “What does it look like? You should be helping out your neighbor too.”

  “I brought food and beer.”

  “Now that’s the best help of all.” Dare wiped his brow. “I’m more than ready for a break.”

  “Amen to that,” Ryder said, hooking his hammer in the loop of his tool belt.

  Avery looked around trying not to make it obvious he was searching out Catriona.

  “She’s in there.” Hank gestured to the room he’d exited with a knowing smile.

  “Who’s in there?” Drew asked at the sound of women’s voices.

  “Cat and her sisters,” Hank supplied.

  “Is Zoe here?” Drew’s eyes went wide, and he brushed at his clothes.

  “You’re a little young for her,” Avery pointed out.

  “Age means nothing when it comes to love.” Drew cocked a smile and sauntered off into the room.

  “Now there’s a man not afraid to go after what he wants,” Hank said low enough for only Avery to hear.

  “Drop it, Dad.” He wanted to follow Drew into the room, but there were too many people crowding the place to have a private word with Cat. He’d have to wait until later. Maybe by then he’d know what he wanted to say. “Pizza and beer are downstairs. I need to get back. Tell Drew his break’s almost over.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice.” Ryder headed for the stairs.

  “Me either,” Ash said, following Dare and Ryder.

  “You’re not staying?” Hank asked.

  “I have a business to run.”

  “There’s more to life than work, son.”

  Says the man who escaped his family to head to the office every chance he got when Avery was a kid.

  “Don’t do what I did,” Hank said, reading Avery’s mind.