The Firefighter's Mate

by Jayne Ripley

  Rick parked and got out of the truck. He hurried toward her and raised a hand, signaling for her to wait. She slowed, but didn’t stop walking. She wasn’t in the mood for small town gabbing.

  “Gabriela,” he said, falling in alongside her. His voice was surprisingly gentle, though he had a rough-edged look to him. He was a man who probably could’ve been cast as a pirate or a bad guy if he’d been in movies. “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

  “OK,” she replied, keeping her voice carefully neutral. She wanted to see if he’d fess up to who she suspected had sent him. “What’s up?”

  “Luke asked me—”

  She started walking again, no longer interested.

  He hurried after her and started talking faster. “Look, I know. The guy can be an ass. But he knows you don’t have a car and he’s worried. Let me give you a ride. Anywhere you want.” He halted and gave her a formal bow and a grin. “Pretend I’m your official chauffeur. Anywhere my lady wishes, I will be honored to transport her there.”

  She snorted, but she couldn’t help the small smile from forming on her face. “Well, if you put it that way… How about dropping me off at an affordable motel.”

  He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow. “I can…if you want. But I know plenty of folk in ResCo who would be happy to put you up for awhile.”

  “No. I don’t want to be any more trouble than I already am.”

  “No trouble. People really like you. They love to be neighborly. I can barely stand all the neighborliness myself, but I’m kind of a bastard.”

  She laughed. “I’m sure you’re exaggerating.”

  “Nope. People around here are way too nice for their own good.”

  “I meant you’re exaggerating about you being a bastard.”

  “No, that’s the God’s honest truth. I’m the grouchy wolf of the pack. Now, what do you say I take you somewhere without bedbugs where you can stay? Hey, how about Nicole? She’s staying with the Millers. The Millers love to have guests. I mean, they are crazy about it. If they owned a motel, they’d be handing out free nights left and right just so they could meet new people. Anyway, they actually built a guest house on their property. That’s where Nicole’s been staying since…you know.”

  “The fire.” She stared down at the sidewalk. She really would love to see Nicole again, have a shoulder to cry on…but that would be awkward, since Gabriela had just broken up with Nicole’s little brother. “No, I don’t think Nicole would appreciate me around.”

  Rick made a disgusted, disbelieving noise. “You don’t know Nicole half as well as you think if you believe that. If Luke’s being an ass—” He turned to look her directly in the eye. “—and he can be quite an ass, then she’s exactly the woman you need to talk to.”

  “I don’t know…”

  “Too late, I’m calling her.” Rick speed-dialed a number on his cell phone. “Hey, Nicole, it’s Rick. Yeah. Not yet. No, I haven’t been arrested, for God’s sake—stop getting your hopes up. But I got a little something to ask you. No, I don’t need bail money. Look, Gabriela needs a place to crash. I know the Millers would love to have her, but I wanted to know if you minded her staying with you in the guest house instead of at a motel.”

  Even from her seat in the truck, Gabriela could hear Nicole’s voice practically shouting over the cell phone speaker. “You tell that girl to get her butt over here with me, pronto. No scuzzy motels! If my brother did something to piss her off, we’ll both go kick his ass.”

  A wry smile crossed Rick’s lips. “I’ll be sure to tell her that, although they probably heard you the next county over. We’ll be by in a few.” He disconnected and looked at her. “See? Nothing doing.”

  The relief that flooded through her left her feeling weak in the chest. “All right. You win. Take me to Nicole, and thank you.”

  But as soon as she said the words, her anger flashed back into her mind. Anger both at Luke and at the disgustingly rich and powerful Roger Ainsworth. Throwing her a bone. Hinting at secrets with her dad…

  That was it. She wasn’t about to let sleeping dogs lie. She deserved answers, and she was in just the furious and empowered mood to get some, one way or the other. “Don’t take me to Nicole’s!”

  He threw a wary look her way. “Thought we had this settled.”

  “I mean don’t take me yet. This girl has her fire up. You know where Roger Ainsworth lives?”

  “I do. But look, that’s not a good idea—”

  “I didn’t say it was. But that man has been ruining my life for years and he owes me an explanation. And he’s not going to ignore me, even if I have to burn down his house.”

  Rick winced. “As a professional firefighter, I don’t recommend incinerating structures to make a point.”

  “Point taken,” she said, grinning fiercely. “But I’m going to get some answers all the same. Now why are we driving this slow? Get the lead out!”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Rick stomped on the accelerator.

  * * *

  Roger Ainsworth’s mansion was even bigger than she’d expected...and she’d expected a palace. It sat near the top of one of the hills forming the ridge around Cadillac Falls. Three floors. Marble pillars. Marble stairs. A freaking tower. Plenty of huge windows that looked out over forest and the valley where the town lay. The place was so big it might as well have been a castle.

  “Is he compensating for something?” she murmured as Rick pulled up the wide cobblestone circular drive in front of the mansion.

  Rick laughed. “He’s compensating for being filthy rich.” He shook his head. “You could probably house the entire ResCo pack in that place.”

  Gabriela took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “All right. I have this. You wait in the truck. Keep the engine running in case I come out with an entire wolf pack after me.”

  “Like your quip about pyromania, that’s just not funny.”

  “I know.” She reached for the door handle, but Rick stopped her.

  “I should come with you,” he said. “Strength in numbers.”

  She hesitated. Part of her would’ve loved to have him—or better yet, Luke—at her side to face down this alpha. Isn’t that what lovers did? Stood by one another? But what she’d had with Luke had exploded into ashes...and this wasn’t Rick’s fight. It was hers and her family’s. She had to be strong here. It was part of her new independence.

  “Thank you for the offer, but no. This has to be me. It’s my past, and I want to know the truth.” She risked a smile. “And besides, with a place like this, he has to be at least a little bit civilized.”

  “Alphas are never a hundred percent civilized,” Rick warned. “But I’ll be right out here waiting for you and listening for trouble. Good luck.”

  She climbed out of the truck and marched up the wide marble stairs to the ornate double-door entrance. She pushed the doorbell and listened to resonant chiming echo through the house.

  A man answered the door. He was pear-shaped and bald, wearing some kind of butler uniform. He looked her up and down with cold eyes. He was a werewolf as well. She could smell the wolf on him.

  “May I help you?” he nearly snarled.

  “I’m Gabriela Acosta. I’m here to see Roger Ainsworth.”

  “Are you expected?”

  She gave him an icy smile. “I think you’ll find Mr. Ainsworth wants to talk to me.”

  The butler nodded curtly and opened the door for her. The foyer was impressive. Lots more marble, ornate mirrors, high-hanging ceiling lights, knick-knacks that looked more expensive than most people’s houses. The butler asked her to wait and vanished deeper into the house like a grumpy ghost.

  She stood there awkwardly, with nothing to do but stare at all the pretty things. Her anger started to drain away, replaced with uncertainty and second thoughts. What the hell she was doing here? This was a mistake—

  “Gabriela?” a woman said from one of the side halls as she stepped into the grand foyer. “Is that you?” />
  Gabriela recognized her at once. Patricia Ainsworth. Roger Ainsworth’s oldest daughter. She looked almost exactly the same as she had in high school. A few years older, yes, but still with her flawless creamy skin straight out of some model shoot. Wide blue eyes. Blond hair. Perfect shape, highlighted by the stylish light dress she wore. Gabriela didn’t know how a man as dark as Roger Ainsworth had produced offspring so fair-haired, but that wasn’t her problem. Maybe Patricia was adopted. All Gabriela knew was that she and Patricia had never been friends.

  “I’m here to see your father,” she said. “Business.”

  “I’d heard you were back in town. Welcome! I meant to have my assistant call you and invite you to tea.” She flapped a hand dismissively. “But you know, things kept coming up. So busy-busy.”

  Gabriela raised an eyebrow. “Oh I know about busy-busy.”

  “And I heard about the fire. So shocking. Are you okay? Not traumatized? I’d be an emotional wreck.”

  Gabriela shrugged. Patricia’s words sounded fake and forced. Something she knew she was supposed to say instead of how she really felt. That had always been one of the problems with her. Not only was she snooty, she always came across as condescending and fake.

  “I’m doing fine now,” Gabriela finally replied. “Thanks for asking.”

  They stood there in the foyer and the silence grew awkward.

  After a long moment, Patricia said, “Well, I guess I’ll be off. I have to see my masseuse about a kink in my neck. I’ll have my assistant call you, see if we can arrange a time to catch up. Ta ta.”

  “Toodles,” Gabriela said. “Tell your masseuse hi from me. I know all about pains in the neck.”

  Patricia gave her a tight, annoyed look. Gabriela caught the underlying expression of dislike before Patricia hid it with a polite mask. Patricia made her way into a great room that seemed as big as an auditorium.

  Just as Gabriela was beginning to think she needed to explore the house herself, Roger Ainsworth walked into the foyer. His alpha aura immediately slammed against her, seeking to dominate her inner wolf with its power. She forced herself calm and still, but her spark of anger began to burn hotter again.

  “Gabriela,” Roger said. “What an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Did you decide to take me up on my business venture offer?”

  “No. I’m here about my father.”

  He cocked his head as if he found her curious, but his tight-lipped smile was anything but pleased. “I see. Perhaps we should retire to my office—”

  “No. You can say what needs to be said right here. What went on between you and my father? Why did he go tearing out of Cadillac Falls all those years ago?”

  “I believe that is between me and your father—”

  “He’s dead. I’m his heir.” She leaned toward him, her lip curling back from her teeth. “Tell me.”

  His alpha power smashed into her harder than ever, like a blast of hurricane wind that ripped right through her. But she stood her ground. She didn’t drop her eyes. And her anger flared up even hotter. There was no way this entitled jerk was going to alpha-dom her down. She’d already had a terrible day. The pain of what had gone on between her and Luke still ate away at her. Instead of sadness and loss, she used all her hurt to feed her fire and make herself strong.

  Roger Ainsworth slowly frowned at her. No doubt he was angry she kept cutting him off with her demands and irritated at how she refused to cower to him.

  “Very well,” he finally said. “Your father borrowed money from me to start a business here in town. The man had no head for business, though he talked a smooth game. I blame myself for taking pity on him and taking the risk. His business went belly-up. Creditors came looking for the money he owed. He ran away.”

  “Your creditors,” she said coldly. “Your pack.”

  He shrugged. “There were no threats made, if that is what you’re implying.”

  She didn’t believe that for a second. A man as powerful as Roger Ainsworth didn’t need to make threats. The fact that he practically owned the town was threat enough.

  “So you terrified him into leaving.”

  “Not at all. The fear belonged to him. He couldn’t settle his debts like a man, so he fled.” Roger’s stare was intense, piercing. “I chose not to pursue the matter. Although I certainly kept tabs on your family through the network of North American wolf packs. If he ever tried another business venture, I would’ve been perfectly within my rights to collect what was owed.”

  Her father had never tried to start a business again. Instead they’d huddled down in a crappy neighborhood in Philly. Even if Ainsworth was telling the truth about not making threats and striking back against her father, it was clear her father had never recovered and lived out his life terrified that the alpha of the Cadillac Falls pack would one day come for him. The thought of all that fear made her furious. She would never know why her father’s business hadn’t succeeded. Maybe, like Ainsworth had said, he’d had no head for business. It didn’t matter, because she didn’t believe a man like Ainsworth wouldn’t lean on her father, choking off his ability to find work in the town. Retaliating. Oh, she knew how this game was played and that angered her all the way through.

  “How much did he owe you?” she asked, her words clipped.

  “Twenty-three thousand.”

  “Listen to me, you son of a bitch. Someday I’ll walk in here and pay off everything he owed. Every last penny, with interest. But until then, you can shove every offer you made to me up your ass. I know your type. You want a piece of everything. Well, you can’t have a piece of me.”

  She flapped her hand dismissively as her words scorched the air. Then she remembered she was in Ainsworth’s mansion, so she couldn’t throw him out. She spun on her heel and marched to the door.

  “I look forward to it,” he said from behind her.

  Her hand was on the door handle, but she turned around anyway and glared at him with narrowed eyes.

  His smile was surprisingly gentle. “I like your spark. Tell your firefighter he’s a lucky man. I wish you all the best.”

  She didn’t reply. She didn’t know what to say. Damn him for stealing her anger at the end there. It took her a moment to spark it to life again. The words about her firefighter had hit her like a punch she hadn’t seen coming. He couldn’t have known about their fight...and yet thinking about her relationship going up in flames was enough to bring tears to her eyes and a tightness to her throat. Instead of crying, she stormed out, keeping her head high.

  Rick was still waiting for her in the truck. He looked relieved when he spotted her walking out the door and down the steps. She was glad to be out of that mansion. It had been beautiful, sure, but the entire place had been full of the scent of strange wolves. It had her and her wolf on edge.

  Rick clambered out and hurried to open the truck door for her.

  She gave him a shaky smile. “What impeccable service. Thank you.”

  He grinned and bowed. “Anything for the lady.” After she was seated inside, he gently shut the door. When he was back behind the wheel, he cranked over the engine and peeled out on the cobblestone circular driveway, roaring off toward the gates.

  Gabriela laughed. Sure it was juvenile, but it felt right. The only thing that would’ve made the moment better was if it had been Luke behind the wheel burning rubber instead of Rick.

  Rick glanced at her as they passed through the automatic gates and back onto the main road. “Everything all right?”

  “Not really,” she said. “But it will be. Let’s head to where Nicole is staying. I miss her.”

  She could use a friend right now after learning a secret that had haunted her all her life, and she couldn’t go to Luke. So her father had been scared out of town because his business had failed. She wished he had told her what had happened instead of keeping it a secret. Businesses failed all the time. So she was certain her father had been terrified of Ainsworth and his pack, no matter what Ainsworth cla
imed. But she was determined to pay back every penny and clear her father’s name.

  Of course, first she had to start her business and be wildly successful.

  Together they drove out of town to a large farm-style house up in the hills. The land around the house had been cleared for a few hundred feet before turning back into forest. He rolled on up the driveway, past mulberry and oak trees, and stopped at a quaint little guest house at the back of the property. Nicole’s car was parked there.

  Rick climbed out of the truck, opened the door for her again, and helped her step down. That made her think of Luke again, both men were so gentlemanly, and her heart felt like a wrung-out old dishtowel. She had to blink back the tears.

  Rick was good enough to pretend not to notice. “I’ll just go on and talk to the Millers and let them know you’re here. They’ll be inviting you to dinner and whatever. If you haven’t had western hospitality yet, you’re in for a shock—I mean a treat.” He tipped his cowboy hat and made his way toward the main house, moving in a kind of slouchy-walk that made her smile.

  Nicole flew out of the front door, ran down the steps, and grabbed her in a fierce hug. “What did that idiot brother of mine do to you? You tell me everything. Wait…is that rum? Puerto Rican rum! You are the best. I’ll get some glasses! Follow me!” And she tugged Gabriela up the steps with her.

  Seeing Nicole eased her pain a little, and she was so grateful that her fight with Luke hadn’t seemed to cost her Nicole as a friend. Look at that, she was blinking back tears again.

  It was hours after their dinner with the Millers and their big family (who were all very amusing and loving and a little loco—but in a good way—from what she could tell) that Gabriela had finally cried herself dry. The rum had helped too, getting them both laughing over silly things again. And Gabriela had vented about how much taking care of animals meant to her, and her dreams for her own business, and how disappointed she’d been when Luke hadn’t supported her.