by E A Price
It was Jules who befriended her and Jules’ wonderful family who helped take care of her. Susie needed to be there for her, no matter what. She was maid of honor after all, and she had forked out a hundred dollars for her dress. That was how much she loved Jules.
She was just grateful that Jules’ dad had insisted on paying for her hotel room. The wedding was taking place at a swanky mountain resort – one that pack members often frequented so they got a discount. Susie had been there a couple of times with Allen, but Allen insisted he pay on those visits.
Susie wasn’t above accepting a helping hand, and the resort was a little out of the price range for a deputy in a small town. The dress she could manage. She managed to swing Vegas thanks discounted plane tickets from Jules’ dad. But a fancy lodge hotel room along with all the planned wedding activities would have been too much for her salary. Susie was one of a handful of deputies in the small town of Rose and…
“Are you listening to me?” snapped Mrs. Martin.
Susie put on a patient, professional look. “Of course.”
Mrs. Martin’s nostrils flared as she pursed her lips in disapproval. “What did I just say?”
“You were telling me that you wished to make a complaint against your neighbor because he keeps parking his car an inch over your property line.”
She had been listening; she was also just thinking of other things at the same time – she could multi-task. It was easy, especially with Mrs. Martin. The elderly human came in to complain at least once a week, and it was usually about nothing more important than the fact that she was convinced her paperboy was trying to get a look at her naked. Susie was glad she hadn’t taken the report on that one – she wasn’t entirely convinced she would have been able to keep a straight face. Mrs. Martin was a terrible gossip and generally disapproved of anything anyone ever did.
Mrs. Martin looked mildly taken aback by Susie’s response before the scowl returned. “No.”
Susie’s eyebrows raised. “No?” She could have sworn she was spot on.
“No. I said it was two inches and I said I wanted you to arrest him. Mr. Maguire owns the house, but he isn’t there. I don’t know where he is, but he has apparently left town and is allowing someone else to live in his house – without telling me!”
The nerve.
“And now some giant lout of a man is living there – I think he’s some kind of shifter. He certainly looks like one given the size of him and all those unsightly tattoos.”
Susie felt a twinge down below as she thought of another large man with tattoos. But those were not unsightly – no siree. In fact, she had enjoyed kissing every inch of them…
“I apologize,” said Susie, “but this really isn’t something I can arrest him for. Have you considered talking to him and asking him to be more careful?”
She sniffed. “I already have, but he won’t listen to reason.”
Yes, Susie could imagine the way in which she tried to be reasonable. It probably started with her shouting at him to move his damn car, and got worse from there.
“I will speak to him and ask him to be more careful,” said Susie.
Mrs. Martin pursed her lips. “Yes, I think that’s the least you can do.”
She gave one last sniff and left.
Susie leaned back in her chair and called, “She’s gone, you can come out.”
Cain lumbered into the room. The seven-foot bear shifter had not got off on the right foot with Mrs. Martin – by barging into her house and ransacking it in the misguided belief that she might be harboring his mate. Oddly, things had only gotten worse between them since then.
“Has anyone ever thought about just asking her to move?” grumbled Ford, entering behind Cain.
Susie glared at the two males – a bear and a wolf shifter, and they were afraid of an elderly human. Wussbags.
Ford was a member of the local wolf pack. Like her old town, it was predominantly a pack town. Jake, the sheriff was a member of the pack and so were most of the deputies, like Delilah, Ford, Gabe and Cain too - by mating a member of the pack. While Susie and a bobcat called Deanna were non-pack deputies. It was the same in her old town, though back there she had always been kind of an honorary member of the pack through Jules and because everyone thought she would eventually mate Allen. Now, she really was on the outside.
Susie grabbed her coat.
“Where are you going?” asked Ford.
“To talk to her neighbor.”
“No, stop, let me,” said Ford in a lazy voice. He sat down and raised his feet to the desk.
Susie rolled her eyes. “Thank you for the completely genuine offer, but I got this.”
Cain dragged his huge frame to his feet.
“Seriously, big guy, I don’t mind.”
Cain grinned. “Actually I was going to see my mate.”
Susie smiled indulgently while Ford made a whipping noise
“You’re right,” she said, “it’s only been an hour, I’m sure she’s getting withdrawal symptoms.”
Cain inflated his already considerable chest. “Just want to make sure my cub’s safe.”
Yep, it was very early days for his mate, Carly’s pregnancy, but Cain had already gone into overprotective overdrive. Luckily, little Carly was the sweetest wolf shifter on the planet who happily put up with her mate’s behavior no matter what
“Just bring me back a nata tart.”
Carly owned a cake shop and had started making Portuguese custard tarts – they were delicious beyond belief, and besides, she was guessing she would need one after this.
She waved goodbye to Delilah who was manning the front desk and set on her way.
Chapter Five
Barlow waved heartily at Mrs. Martin. She scowled and dropped the curtain.
She didn’t seem to recognize him. Sure it had been over ten years since he was last in town, but like his cousins, he’d had a fair few run-ins with her. He felt sure he would have been ingrained into her spiteful psyche. Guess he did look different to the eighteen-year-old who left town.
He felt the prickle on his skin, and his wolf grumbled. Yep, she was watching him again.
Hell, she was nosey. No wonder her neighbor wanted to get away from her. Maguire was spending a month in Florida scouting out a new house – preferably one where the neighbors were a fair distance away from him. In the meantime, Barlow would be living in his house redecorating and getting it ready to sell.
Maguire was a friend of Barlow’s dad, and his dad had put his name forward for the job. Barely back in town two days and he was already put to work. Not that he minded – it was just a natural instinct to resent his dad, but he’d rather keep busy, and it meant he could live there and start looking for another job.
Plus, he didn’t really want to move back to his dad’s house. His dad had a new mate, and well, it was odd seeing him with another woman. Yeah his mom died years ago, and his dad had dated since then, but he’d never been serious about a woman. Not like this.
He honestly never thought his dad would mate again. Not that he had any real objection – at least not one he could put into words. Barlow thought he would mate first – and he had no damn plans to ever mate anyone.
Susie crooned his beast, interrupting his thoughts. Barlow inwardly growled. Susie had nothing to do with mating. He wanted company, so he found it. Well, technically, she found him. They had a night together, and that was it. That was all he wanted, right? So that’s what he got.
But, he’d certainly been thinking about her over the past few days. He wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was that damn thank you note, it amused and irked him in equal measure. No one had ever thanked him for sex. Should he be annoyed or pleased? Who was he kidding – definitely pleased.
In spite of his desire for just one night of fun, he had still tried to find out Susie’s last name, just in case… well, he wasn’t sure what he needed it for, but he felt like he should get it… just in case. Not that his reasons really mattered �
� he hadn’t been able to get her last name out of the snooty hotel receptionist no matter how much he threatened. All he had was Susie. Sweet Susie. Sexy Susie. Susie who screamed when she came.
Idiot grumbled his beast.
Hey, he didn’t honestly think she was the type to skip out in the morning. That was more like the kind of thing he used to do when he was a young pup.
Damn her.
His wolf was hounding him to find her, but how? Or should that be why? Yeah, she was gorgeous and incredible in bed but… he didn’t know where he was going with that thought. All he knew was he liked her, she was fun, and he wouldn’t mind a little more fun with her.
It didn’t matter anyway. She could be anywhere by now, anywhere at all.
*
Susie dragged her feet up the porch steps and rapped on the door. She was very aware of Mrs. Martin peering at her through the curtains. The woman had zero shame about her nosiness. No one could belch on this street without her knowing about it.
Susie tapped her foot and leaned in to listen through the door. The house was pretty well insulated – she knew because the owner had it done after all the noise complaints from Mrs. Martin. He just had to cough loudly, and she was on the warpath. But Susie could make out some music inside the house - fairly loud music too.
She knocked again, and on no answer, tried the handle. It was unlocked.
Susie leaned through the doorway and called out, “Hello, it’s Deputy Connors, may I come in?”
Apart from the music, there were some loud bangs. Whoever was making them probably would not hear her over them and the music. Slowly, she made her way into the house.
She found him at the back of the house, taking a sledgehammer to kitchen floor. Something inside her tingled, something rearing up and waking in joy.
She watched the man’s tall form, watched his muscles ripple as he worked, and her throat went dry. The way he moved, the lines of his large, gorgeous body were breathtaking and achingly familiar
She switched off the music, and it wasn’t until she caught sight of the tattoo on his right arm as he turned, that she finally recognized him. It was her mystery wolf!
Chapter Six
Barlow grabbed a beer out of the cooler. His wolf prowled, angry with him.
But what could he do? His mystery woman had shown up out of the blue. He had stared at her, dumbfounded and she turned tail and ran.
How the hell was she so fast? She was human!
But she was already in her squad car and zipping away by the time Barlow made it outside.
Why did she run from him? Why did she ditch him after their night together? Why did he care so much? He always kept things casual with women – he never wanted a long term or committed relationship. So, why would it bother him that obviously Susie didn’t want that either?
Maybe she was married. His beast stirred uneasily. Maybe. She didn’t act like it, no ring, no ring tan line, but it would explain why she didn’t want to see him again.
Maybe the sex had been bad. His beast snorted. The sex was magnificent – and he wasn’t just talking about his performance.
Everything had been right between them, in a way it never had with any other woman.
He had marched on over to the Sheriff’s station and found out from Delilah that her name was Susie, but in spite of his entreaties, she would only pass on a message for Susie to call him.
She hadn’t – yet. But this was a small town – she could not run for long, and he knew she was a deputy – she would have to turn up at the station eventually.
It was only a matter of time he placated his beast.
In the meantime – food. He waved a finger at his uncle, and he started burning a couple of burgers for him, just the way he liked them.
Had to keep his energy up for when he found Susie. He grinned. Yep, he would definitely find her.
*
“You are such a coward,” Susie told her reflection.
Yep, how did she act when she met her one-night stand again? With dignity? With grace? Like a grown up? Nope, she turned tail and ran like the lily-livered coward she was.
It had been a surprise – of all the places for him to turn up, she never thought it would be her tiny town. But there he had been in the dizzyingly tall flesh, and when the word ‘Hi’ rumbled out of his devilish lips, she turned on her heel and made a break for it.
What was he doing there? Was he a contractor? Had he been paid to renovate the house? All appealing thoughts – she very much liked watching him work. The only thing that would have improved it would have been if he was shirtless. Yes, that would have been nice. Idly, she realized she was rubbing her bottom lip and quickly stopped.
How did he happen to be in her town?
“Everything okay in there, Susie?” called Terri Tanner.
“Fine, out in a moment.”
The Tanners were holding a barbeque, and given that Susie had become friendly with Terri, she had been invited. Actually, Terri insisted. Terri knew all about Allen and was trying to cheer her at a place where Susie wouldn’t have to put up with any guys hitting on her. Just nice, family fun.
Attending the barbeque would be Henry and Ellie Tanner, along with their four boys – one of which was Terri’s mate, Mal. Also, Henry’s brother, Greyson and his new mate Violet – who happened to be the mother of the alpha’s mate. That was the thing about packs, they were all close-knit and intertwined.
Of course, Terri wasn’t aware that Mal’s younger brother Eric was already kind of sweet on Susie. Given that he was only sixteen, nothing would ever happen between them, but like all Tanner males, he was an insufferable flirt. Not that she minded. It was kind of flattering and non-threatening – kind of a pick me up for her trampled ego.
All the Tanners knew her, so she hadn’t exactly made a huge effort when getting dressed – just pulled her hair into a messy knot and threw on a pair of jeans and a green sweatshirt that proclaimed ‘lettuce be friends.’ It was cute and silly, and she had about fifty of them with similar silly slogans. She’d never been much of a sexy dresser. Perhaps that was why she hadn’t been able to hang onto Allen. She wondered how her mystery wolf felt about her funny sweatshirts. Her cheeks flamed red – maybe she would find out soon. Given that he was in town.
Hmmm, two days until she was due to drive up to the lodge and still no sign of a debilitating illness. Oh, well.
She fumbled her way out of the bathroom. Jiggling the sticky lock until it finally opened, and she managed to careen into a very large hard body.
“Oh, sorry, Susie,” exclaimed Terri, “that lock always sticks.”
“I keep telling Hank to fix it,” complained Ellie, passing through carrying a bowl of salad. “Yet, he does nothing. I’m beginning to wonder why I keep him around.”
“You know why you keep me,” rumbled Hank, flashing his mate a saucy grin. Ellie giggled and pinched his butt as he passed her.
Two large hands steadied her, and she looked up expecting to find one of the Tanner males holding her. But no, it wasn’t. She inhaled as she realized it was her mystery wolf, staring down at her intently.
“Oh, Susie, this is Barlow – Greyson’s son. Barlow, this is Susie – she’s a deputy in town.” Terri introduced them.
“You’re a Tanner? You’re a member of the pack?” squeaked Susie.
Slowly, Barlow’s lips curled into a grin as he nodded. “How nice to meet you… Susie.”
Chapter Seven
Susie gulped her glass of wine. She wasn’t driving – she could have as much as she wanted, and she wanted a lot.
Why was she even surprised? Of course, he was a member of the pack, and he would have to be a member of her friend’s family!
Maybe she shouldn’t drink. The last time she did, she managed to seduce a sexy, giant wolf. She still wasn’t entirely sure how she managed it, but she did. Getting drunk again may result in another seduction, and she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted that. After all, she was supposed to
be staying away from male wolves.
“Hey, there, Susie.”
Susie smiled. “Hello, Eric.”
She turned to find the young wolf leaning against the counter and giving her a smoldering look – it was too cute! As adorable as she found his attention, she knew that soon he would be breaking female hearts left, right and center – if he wasn’t already.
“Couldn’t stay away, huh?”
Eric flexed one of his biceps, which while it was impressive for a boy his age, it wasn’t anything compared to Barlow’s. One of Barlow’s biceps was almost as thick as her waist – and she was hardly slender.
“Take it down a notch, sweetie.”
Eric smirked. “You know it’s only fifteen months until I turn eighteen… so, you know.” He winked, and Susie giggled.
“And then you’ll still be too young for me.”
“Hey, the males in my family are good with older women – it’s genetic.”
They both turned as they heard a growl and Britt Lucas stormed through the kitchen, closely followed by Eric’s younger brother, Craig. It was a well-known fact that Craig panted after Britt, despite the fact that he was only fourteen and she was seventeen.
“For heaven’s sake, Craig, you are driving me insane!”
“I don’t like you talking to other males!” growled the older than his year's wolf.
“Craig, that was your father!” howled Britt.
As the warring teenagers argued all the way to the dining room, the kitchen was once again under attack from Mal and Terri. Not that it made any difference to their relationship, but Terri was older than Mal by nearly a decade.
“Mal,” snapped Terri, “I thought we agreed to wait.”
Mal huffed. “Why shouldn’t I tell everyone about my cub?”
“Our cub! Fine!” Terri rounded on Susie and Eric. “I’m pregnant! Again! We were planning on telling everyone after my first scan, but big mouth here couldn’t keep his trap shut!”
“Baby…”
