by Moxie North
“Actually, that’s what he would say. He loves my mom—like head over fucking heels loves her. He thinks being mated is the most important thing in a shifter’s life. I wasn’t so sure about that before.”
“And now?”
Maverick’s bright wolf eyes came to her. “Now I do. Fuck, Pru. I’m scared to be this happy. I don’t want to fuck this up with you.”
“What is there to fuck up? I know you are a shifter, although I haven’t seen your wolf. I’d really like to, by the way. I know about your leg, your time in the military, some of what you do here in the club. I’m not pushing for more information on that point. I’ll just take that as it comes. And I know about your family. I guess to me it seems like we just need to be together. We both work, we live, we spend time together. It doesn’t seem that complicated to me.”
“And when you see something you don’t like? Or hear something you don’t agree with?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea. I can’t tell you how I’ll react to something that hasn’t happened. I’m not an expert, but I’m pretty sure couples—human couples—deal with the unexpected all the time. Shit happens, people get angry, and secrets get revealed. It’s what makes life interesting. You think your life is weird? Wait until you meet my mother.”
“Your mom won’t like me?”
“If I was a betting woman I would guess my mom is going to faint when she meets you. I’ll just apologize here and now for anything she says or does. It’s really a crap shoot if she’ll be able to maintain her starched WASPy decorum. My dad probably won’t even notice you. He’ll shake your hand and banter some pleasantries before excusing himself for work.”
Pru hated explaining her family. They were just as lame as they sounded. She also knew that if her parents didn’t welcome Maverick into the family, she’d never talk to them again. They were never concerned with her happiness; just what kind of prestige she could bring to the family. When she didn’t bring any, they had practically written her off. Their relationship now could be best summed up by calling it civil.
“Does it matter if they don’t like me?”
“Not one bit,” she answered immediately.
Maverick reached over for her hands. She placed hers in his. “It may end up being just us. Is that going to be okay?”
“You know what they say. As long as we have each other, right?”
“Yeah, babe, that’s what they say.”
Prudence leaned down to place her mouth on his. Maverick brought a hand up to her cheek and kissed her back. Their world might be tiny, but it was theirs.
Chapter 28
It had been two days. Prudence had started out worried; now she was pissed. After their talk in the gazebo, they had met a few more members and then returned to Maverick’s house. They ordered pizza and made love all night long. She’d fallen asleep right before dawn and for the first time since she’d started, was late to work.
She rushed out after kissing Maverick on the cheek and telling him he should come to her house after she was off work and spend the night. He said maybe and gave her a two finger salute off his forehead.
Once she made it to the shop, she’d gotten a text from him saying Deacon needed him and they were heading to California. She’d been sad that he wasn’t coming over, but told him to be safe and she’d see him soon.
Apparently he forgot the part about how he should be calling or texting regularly so she knew he wasn’t dead in a ditch on the side of the road.
The first day she chalked up to traveling. The second day, she got worried and drove to the camp. Everyone she asked just shook their heads and gave her different versions of “Sorry, can’t tell ya.”
She wasn’t proud that she gave a few of them the finger as she drove away. She’d really need to apologize next time she was there.
Now it was the morning of the third day and she was standing at the counter of the Two Knotty Ladies. Her laptop was flipped open and she was searching the internet for anything to do with Maverick Hale. She didn’t find much, just an old article from a local paper about a state basketball championship. She couldn’t be sure that was him, so she grabbed her credit card and went to one of the websites that offered real information, if you paid of course.
She put in his name, his birth date and hoping to get lucky, the name of the town from the news article. It didn’t take long for a last known address in Garberville, California to pop up. There was also a last known phone number.
She took a chance and dialed the number.
Part of her wanted someone to answer the phone, the other part didn’t. She wanted Maverick to have his family back. She couldn’t imagine what his family must be feeling knowing their son was out there somewhere. Pru already knew that she couldn’t be away from Maverick anymore. It had only been a few days and she felt like she was detoxing from him. It wasn’t a good feeling: it hurt, her stomach was in knots, and she couldn’t sleep. His family had been going through that for years. All she could hope was that this wasn’t one of those things that would be a deal-breaker for Maverick. She was scared, but she couldn’t think of what else to do. What if something really was wrong with him?
The chance that he was just out on a bender with the guys didn’t seem like him. Didn’t seem like something he would do to her when they were so new in their relationship. When he called to tell her he was leaving, he said that he would see her soon and for her to be safe. That was not what you said if you didn’t expect to see someone again.
“Hello?”
“Oh, hi, I was looking for a Mrs. Hale?”
“This is Mrs. Hale, can I help you?
Pru was in shock that she might have gotten it right on the first try.
“I hope so. Do you know a Maverick Hale?”
There was a pause on the line then the woman’s shaky voice said, “Is he okay?”
Clearly the emotion in her voice said she knew that name.
“I—uh—don’t really know. My name is Prudence Boyer. I’m, well, I’m his mate?” She said this as a question because it sounded so strange to say it out loud.
“Oh. My. God! Allen, get over here!” the woman yelled.
Prudence could hear some crashing noises and Maverick’s mom whispering to someone. “Mrs. Hale?”
“Oh honey, you can call me Tina. That little turd hasn’t talked to his family in years. We’ve been worried sick. All we get is a postcard every now and then from him. If it didn’t have his scent I wouldn’t even think it was him. Why has he stayed away so long? Was it something we did?”
“I really can’t speak to that. Sorry, but he hasn’t called you, has he?”
“No dear, we haven’t heard from him in years.”
“Oh, I was just hoping since he was in California that he might have contacted you. I know he was thinking about you recently and was talking about how long it’s been.”
There was the sound of sniffling and Prudence knew the woman was crying. “He’s here?”
“I don’t know where exactly, just that he was going to California.”
“Honey, why don’t you know where he is? How long have you been together?”
“Well, I met him about a week ago, give or take a few days?”
“And he left you alone?!”
The screech at which she said this implied that she thought this was a grievous affront.
“No, it’s okay, I mean I live here so it’s fine. I’m just worried about him. His friends aren’t giving me any information, and I’m scared something is wrong.”
“You don’t live with him?”
Prudence really wasn’t expecting twenty questions with this woman. She was honestly hoping for the best case scenario that he’d stopped by his parents to reconnect and forgot to call her.
“No, ma’am. I have my own place. See like I said, we only met a week ago. We’ve been getting to know one another.”
“You’re not a shifter?”
Prude felt really awkward saying, “No, human.”
“Oh honey, I don’t care. I’m just thrilled my absentee son has found his mate. Still, I’m going to kick his ass when I see him for leaving you alone! He’s lucky he doesn’t have older brothers or they’d kick his ass too.”
“I’m sorry if this causes any problems between you two. I’m kind of in panic mode.”
Prudence wasn’t going to tell her about the motorcycle club or what he might be doing in California. She’d already breached more lines than she was comfortable with.
“I understand. I’d be a mess too. Have you two bonded yet?”
“Excuse me?”
“Have you bonded. Has he bit you yet?”
Prudence felt like she was telling her mom that she had sex for the first time. Gawd, this was uncomfortable.
“Erm, no. We are waiting.”
There was silence on the other end again.
“Seriously, I’m going to kick his ass,” Tina muttered.
“It’s okay, we’re working through some things. We are together—just taking it slow.” Prudence felt like she needed to protect Maverick from the wrath she’d unleashed on him.
“We’ll see. Where are you calling from dear?”
Before she could think it through she said, “Port May in Oregon.”
The words left her mouth and the wheels in her head started turning at what she’d just said. She just told them where to find their son. What were the chances they were going to wait in California to hear from him again?
“Oregon?! Allen, he’s been in Oregon. One state away, that little shit.”
That part of the conversation wasn’t for Prudence, so she just stayed quiet.
“Tina? Can I get back to you? I’m going to go run by his house and see if he’s there. I’ll call you when I hear from him. And Tina? Don’t be too hard on him. He’s had his reasons.”
There was sigh. “I’m sure there was. I just wish he’d let us help him with whatever it was he was going through.”
“I’ll call you,” Pru said.
“We can’t wait to meet you, honey.”
She hung up the phone and tapped on the counter.
“No luck?”
Prudence looked up to see Ethel and Claire both staring at her. They weren’t even pretending to knit.
“What’s this about mates?”
“Oh, he’s kind of old-fashioned. He likes that term for finding the right one.” Prudence had forgotten she had an audience.
“Isn’t that sweet. I wouldn’t worry too much. I had a beau that would go off for weeks then show back up like he’d never left,” Ethel said.
“That’s because he had a wife and kids in Seattle! You never did believe me when I told you.” Claire shook her head at her sister.
“Rumors and gossip was all that was,” Ethel said.
“If he does come back, I’m afraid I opened a can of whoop ass on him in the form of his mother. His reasons for staying away were pretty lame. His club president agrees with me, so hopefully he’ll have my back.”
“Sometimes we have to do things for our men that they don’t want, but need. They aren’t smart enough to figure out things sometimes. Especially when it’s matters of the heart. He must love his family a lot if he thought staying away from them was best for them. That must have been lonely for him,” Claire said sadly.
Prudence never thought of how lonely it could be. He was surrounded by people, but they weren’t family. She didn’t ever feel lonely because her friends were her family. They were closer than blood and she never felt like she was missing anything. In fact, maybe she needed a friend to come with her to Maverick’s.
“I’m going to go run by his house. I’ll be in tomorrow if you don’t hear from me.”
“That’s fine dear, go find your man,” Ethel said as she went back to her knitting.
“If you do find him, don’t give him any nookie until he apologizes and begs. That will remind him to not be a jackass,” Claire added.
Wise words if she ever heard them. Pru gave the women a sad smile and left. She was really going to have to consider buying a car if she was going to keep going back and forth to Maverick’s.
The last two nights in her apartment were so quiet and scary she’d lain on her hand-me-down couch and watched infomercials late into the night. She’d occasionally dose off only to awake with a start, her heart pounding and her body shaking.
Her comfy oasis of used furniture, sewing projects, and half-alive houseplants no longer felt secure and relaxing. It felt chaotic and unstable without Maverick there to tether her down. He was her anchor. But it wasn’t that he weighed her down. Instead, he gave her the freedom to move and be herself while providing a safe place to rest when she needed it. With this thought, she realized she’d never look at boats or anchors the same way again.
She pulled out her phone and stared at it. She could call her friend Libby, but she wasn’t sure how to explain the situation to her. She might also not like that she was dating someone from Redemption. The chance of her having to lie to her friend was pretty high, and that wasn’t something she wanted to do.
Deciding to face it on her own, she put the car in gear and headed to Maverick’s. She held her breath as she turned into the driveway, hoping to see his bike or truck. It was still empty. She stopped in front of the garage and peeked through the window on the side door. She could see the truck, but not the bike. He’d left on his motorcycle the other morning, so she had to assume he hadn’t been home and left again. She went into the house and looked around. She didn’t call out because the echoing silence would have made her cry, she was sure of it.
When she was sure he wasn’t there, she rang the number to the club. A voice came on that said they were Ranger and to leave a message for Redemption Motorcycle Club.
When it beeped, Pru wasn’t sure what to say. “Hi, this is Prudence Boyer. Could someone give me a call back at this number. I’m looking for Maverick.”
She hung the phone up knowing that she wasn’t going to get a call back, and leaving a message was probably pretty desperate. If she wasn’t so sure how he felt about her, she’d think he was dumping her the hard way.
Walking up the stairs, she looked into the rooms to find them just as she remembered. In his room, the bed was made from the other morning. Prudence took the necessary steps to make it to the bed and threw herself on it. She let the tears fall because she was overwhelmed with emotions. She was sad, scared, angry as hell, and confused.
Chapter 29
“Stupid bitch,” Stitch said, staring at the phone. He’d started to pick it up until he heard who it was.
“Hey!” a voice behind him said.
Looking over his shoulder he said, “Not you, Myra. You’re a dumb bitch, but you’re not stupid.”
“Asshole,” she said, parking her ass on the desk. They were in the counselor’s office that now served as an office for the shipping company. It wasn’t exactly functional with just a phone and ancient computer and ass-piles of paperwork lying around.
“It’s Maverick’s bitch causing problems. Like we are supposed to be rushing to call her back to tell her shit that is none of her business.”
“Why does she get you so riled up? Fuck her.”
Stitch did want to fuck her. The piece of ass in front of him was no challenge. She’d spread for any man that paid her a little attention. Stitch wanted what he couldn’t have. Another man’s mate sounded like something to brag about. Why the hell should someone like Maverick get it so goddamn easy? He had the good pack place, the good club job, and now he’d found a mate before any of them.
“Because I don’t like change. She’s changing things. I’m going on fucking runs when it’s pissing rain, when it’s Maverick’s job. I’m babysitting the newbies and that fucking dog, just because he says so. I have skills, and instead I’m a nanny to a bunch of shitheads and a dog.”
“Lulu ain’t that bad,” Myra said, snapping her gum. “How about I take your mind off that cunt, huh?”
“Really? You think you sucking me off is going to make me forget this shit?”
“Geezus, it’s not that big a deal. The chick’s been here a couple times. She hasn’t even stayed. I’m mean, I met her the other day with Ink. She tried to be all proper and shit. You should have seen what she was wearing. Like she got dressed in the dark,” she said with a snicker.
“Oh and your scraps of clothing that reek of cigarettes and old beer are so great? Seriously, you put the skank in skanky whore.”
Myra tried to bring her hand up to slap him and he had it grabbed in his fist and twisted behind her back in a blink.
“Ow! Fuck, Stitch, that hurts!”
“You like a little hurt don’t you, Myra? All the other guys around here follow Deacon’s rules about you girls. Treat you nice, don’t knock you around. You like getting knocked around, don’t you? Only thing that makes you feel. Did your daddy beat you up, Myra? Is that it? You want me to be your daddy and smack you around before I fuck you?”
Myra tried to twist out of his grasp which just caused her more pain. “I could tell Deacon,” she threatened.”
Stitch let his eyes slide to yellow, showing his wolf. “You think you’d be safe doing that?”
“I, I k-know what you are. I’ve been watching,” she whispered.
“And what do you think will happen if you open that big mouth of yours, huh? Nobody will miss you, Myra. Lost girls leave all the time. No one, and I mean no one, chases after them. You won’t even be a memory around here. In fact, I could squeeze the life out of you right now or snap your neck and they wouldn’t ever find the body.”
Stitch brought his free hand up to her throat and gave it a mean squeeze. Myra squeaked but didn’t make any other noise.
Leaning close to her ear, Stitch whispered, “Here is what you are going to do, Myra. You are going to help me get little Miss Prudence to the club. You are going to tell her you overheard the guys saying the crew was back and down partying by the lake. That’s all you have to do, got it? After that keep your fucking mouth shut or I’ll make you disappear.”
