“Oh, sure,” Kia nodded. Her smile grew bigger as she reached her hand out towards him. “Hopefully we’ll see each other around.”
Rutley stared at her hand for a full five seconds before hesitantly reaching out to obligate the handshake, “It’s a small town. I’m sure we will.”
By the time he made it out to the car, his pants were way too tight and his heart felt like it was about to leap out of his chest. He opened the passenger door and climbed in, staring at the dashboard in silence.
“Did you have fun?” Dimitri asked in a tone that suggested he actually didn’t care for a response.
Rutley wrinkled his nose, turning his head to stare at him, “Not really, no,” he replied. “I didn’t know anything about kerosene heaters.”
Dimitri scoffed, turning the key over in the ignition of Liam’s Mustang before he shifted it into reverse. Rutley didn’t mind riding around in his dead friend’s vehicle. In fact, he took comfort in being able to smell Liam on the seats. Since his car was out of commission, and Dimitri didn’t have a vehicle of his own, Mr. Bamey had been kind enough to lend them Liam’s pride and joy.
“Ain’t anybody getting any use out of it anyways.” Mr. Bamey had said when he handed over the keys. “Be good to it.”
Rutley liked to think they were being good to the car Liam had worked so hard to get. Hell, he remembered Liam saving up for it in high school. It was his main goal throughout two summer jobs and a part-time job after school. Rutley knew how much this car had once meant to his friend.
Dimitri was unusually quiet as they drove in the direction of Lorcan and Presley’s house. Rutley couldn’t help but feel that the wolf was still irritated with him-which sucked. He didn’t want to do anything to piss off Dimitri, like, ever.
Rutley leaned over, his fingertips and thumb gripping the dial for the volume of the radio. He turned it up a few notches before glancing at Dimitri. The wolf didn’t seem to have any qualms with listening to music. Good.
As Copperhead Road, one of Rutley’s favorite songs, blasted within the confines of the small vehicle, he tried to relax despite the tension surrounding him. Why wouldn’t Dimitri just say something? Anything would be good at this point. Rutley couldn’t stand the silence between them.
“Are you mad at me?” He finally asked, turning his head to stare at him.
Dimitri’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. His jawline visibly tensed as he shook his head, “No.”
“Then why are you being like this towards me?” Rutley asked. “Come on, Dim. I’ve known you long enough now to know when you’re upset. Are you mad that I talked to her?”
“No,” Dimitri repeated with a roll of his eyes. “It’s not a big deal.”
“Well, obviously it is,” Rutley argued with a frown. “You’re making that face.”
“What face?” Dimitri scowled.
“That face,” Rutley pointed at him. “Dude, I’m sorry, okay? I’m still getting used to all of this. It’s not like I was going to sleep with her or something.”
Even if the thought had crossed his mind, why did Dimitri care so much? They’d already had this discussion. They were friends-just friends. Dimitri was his alpha, and Rutley was the beta. He knew how it worked. They agreed it would be wrong for anything more to happen. They had to respect Liam.
“I don’t give a damn about it, okay?” Dimitri snapped, glaring at him before focusing his eyes on the road again. “She’s just some little bitch in heat, Rutley. I’m sure she’s got a pack and she’s probably already back with them. Don’t waste your time.”
Rutley huffed, sinking back in his seat as he crossed his arms over his chest. For someone who didn’t give a damn, he sure was being awfully touchy over the subject.
He decided to drop it, settling for the music serving as the only sound in the car as they arrived at the new Bamey residence. As they pulled into the driveway, Rutley spotted Lorcan and Mr. Bamey busily at work on the porch. Damn, this was a fixer-upper if he’d ever seen one. But home was where ever the honey was, right?
Four
Life was finally getting easier for Natalie. Since returning to the ursithrope clan in Kadenburg, she was noticeably happier. She’d turned over a new leaf, mended her friendship with Charlotte, and finally received the chance at having a relationship with her niece.
She easily landed a job at Nana Hettie’s, serving as a Jane of all trades for whatever shift was open. She didn’t mind. In fact, she appreciated working different hours throughout the week and on most days she could avoid him.
Arnold Goult was none too thrilled with Charlotte Bamey’s insistence on Natalie sticking around, but Natalie was determined to stay for Presley. Besides, why did she have to have his permission to stay in her hometown? Exactly. She didn’t have to have it. Screw him!
She was off for the day, and decided she would surprise Presley with a few items for the nursery. She was excited about becoming a great-aunt, and though it made her feel older than dirt, she wanted the chance to be a part of her niece’s life.
She only had a few small things. She couldn’t afford much on her salary, but she’d managed to get an adorable little changing table and a good sum of diapers for the tiny member of the Goult-Bamey clan. She knew that Presley would appreciate it, and she just wanted to show she could be a good aunt. She could be a good person.
Pulling into the driveway behind Liam Bamey’s old mustang, Natalie got out of her own car with the bag of diapers in tow. She smiled as Mr. Bamey waved her over and she hurried up the steps, which had recently been fixed.
“It’s coming together nicely,” she commented, pushing her hair away from her eyes with her free hand. “I see you’re still a damn good carpenter, Richie.”
“And I always will be,” he grinned, glancing up at her as he wiped the sweat from his brow. “What ya got there? Some diapers?”
“Yep,” she lifted the bag, examining it. “I figured they can’t have too many of these. At least that’s what I’ve heard.”
“You’re damn right about that,” he chuckled, leaning back and sighing. “The kids are inside. I reckon Presley’s got one of her cravings again. We can’t seem to keep her away from the honey.”
She noted the proud smile on Mr. Bamey’s face, and the way his eyes sparkled with happiness made her gush on the inside. She could see the excitement the man had over becoming a grandfather. Sometimes, she really hated that Arnold….
Nope. Not thinking about it. She told herself as she laughed.
“All good signs of a healthy little cub,” she commented before reaching for the screen door. “I’ll talk to you in a little bit.”
She barely heard Richard’s response as she stepped inside the cozy atmosphere of Lorcan and Presley’s new home. Though it was an older home and it still needed many things fixed, the two youngsters had most certainly made it feel welcoming.
“Presley!” She called out, making her way through the nearly naked living room before entering the dining room. “It’s Aunt Natty. Where are you?”
“In here!” Presley called out from down the hallway. The girl’s laughter soon followed and it made Natalie wonder if she should go any further. Though she hadn’t experienced it for herself, she knew a young romance could be the happiest time of a person’s life. Oh, what she wouldn’t give to experience a racing pulse and sweaty palms over a man. It had happened once before….
“Hey, Natalie,” Lorcan said with a cheesy grin as he exited the nursery. “Did you decide to come and help with painting? I hope so. Dimitri doesn’t have a damn clue as to what he’s doing.”
“I heard that.” Dimitri responded loudly.
“I’m sure he’s doing a fine job,” Natalie smiled, offering the bag of diapers to him. “These are for the baby. It’s never too early to stock up on things like this.”
Lorcan accepted the bag, opening it up to peer inside before he released a low whistle, “If my kid goes through this many diapers, I may need to invest in a nose plug
.”
“Well you better start investing now,” Presley interrupted as she appeared at his side. She wrapped her arms around his torso, kissing at his muscular chest before gazing at her aunt. “Hi, Aunt Natty.”
“Hi, Sweetie,” Natalie’s smile grew bigger as she stepped forward, eagerly pulling her niece into a tight hug. “I hope you don’t mind me dropping by. It seems you need the help, according to Lorcan.”
“Well, I definitely won’t turn it away.” Presley said excitedly as she pulled back to stare at the other female.
Natalie noticed how Presley was absolutely glowing. Her bright green eyes sparkled with happiness and the blush in her cheeks told Natalie that her niece was very much in love.
“You just point me in the direction, sweetie and I’ll do whatever you need.” Natalie offered, watching as Presley moved back to Lorcan. They were like a magnetic force field with one another. They couldn’t be apart for very long. Oh, how Natalie longed for that sort of connection…..
“Mrs. Bamey’s coming to help me with the kitchen. She’s bringing over some extra dishes she had in storage and we’re going to go through them. Would you like to help us?” Presley asked.
Lorcan rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arm around Presley’s small shoulders, “She means that she’s packing up half of her kitchen to give to us.” He laughed.
“I’m sure your mama is thrilled about being a grandma,” Natalie nodded. “And yes, I would love to help. As long as I won’t be in the way…..”
“What? No!” Presley shook her head, frowning a little. “You would never be in the way, Natalie. In fact, will you stay for dinner tonight? I’m cooking.”
“Oh, god.” Rutley groaned from the nursery.
“Nobody asked for your opinion!” Presley shouted playfully.
As her niece led the way into the kitchen, Natalie couldn’t help but to feel happy. Everything was exactly how it should’ve been so many years ago.
But like all good things, it would soon come to an end.
———————————
What am I doing? What am I doing? Louisa repeated the question over and over again as her legs carried her towards the recently re-opened ice cream shop that was right in the middle of town. There weren’t many options when it came to fast food, and she could’ve gone to Nana Hettie’s for a quick meal…but no, she was heading directly for the one place she definitely didn’t need to be. He was there. He was working. He would see her.
As the small bell chimed, signaling her arrival, Louisa’s eyes fell upon the small woman standing at the counter. Their gazes met and Louisa felt the color draining from her face.
That’s his mom, she affirmed as she licked her lips quickly. Well, duh. Of course it was his mom. They’d met last month when Mrs. Kress arrived with her husband and their daughter. They’d returned to Kadenburg under the impression that their son was dead, but low and behold……
“Louisa, hello!” Mrs. Kress said excitedly as she rounded the counter and approached her.
Louisa was taken aback by the sudden bear hug, but she also took comfort in it. She wasn’t really used to such affections, but she welcomed these small moments from Mrs. Kress and Mrs. Bamey. Getting hugs made her feel the tiniest instances of love and family; how could she not like that?
“Hello, Mrs. Kress,” Louisa said, pulling away from her and smiling. “Are you open today?”
“Of course we are,” Mrs. Kress nodded eagerly. “We’ve been open for three days now. I thought you would’ve come by sooner….did you get the invitation for our re-opening party?”
“I did,” Louisa admitted with a small blush. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it. I was helping Beau move furniture into our new place.”
That was not a lie. She did help Beau move in a new couch and recliner. Her cousin had taken out some of their funds to make a down payment on an apartment. Beau said that if they were planning to stay in Kadenburg for an extended period of time, he didn’t want to do so while sleeping on the Bamey couch.
It was a lovely little apartment. Two bedrooms, one and a half bath, and Beau could walk to work. It was a win-win. Of course, that also meant that Louisa could walk to town, and she’d somehow managed to end up here.
“Don’t fret,” Mrs. Kress argued gently. “We’re happy to see you. Are you hungry? Let me get a menu for you.”
Before Louisa had time to get a word in edge-wise, Mrs. Kress was already making her way back to the counter. Louisa pursed her lips together, glancing around at the decorations. That was a really cool Elvis Presley poster…..
“Louisa?”
Her heart dropped into her stomach when she heard his voice. Her face immediately heated up to the temperature of the sun as she turned her head to see Greg standing in the doorway that led to the kitchen. He was holding a large box of something, and his eyes were on her.
“H-hi, Greg.” She managed in a small voice. Urseth, could she be any more obvious? He looked so gorgeous and she couldn’t help herself. It was very wrong to think of him in that way. It was disrespectful to her dead mate-to-be, and she felt guilty that such feelings were appearing so soon.
“Hey,” he grinned. “What are you doing here?”
Louisa’s eyes followed him, watching as he placed the box onto the countertop. The muscles in his arms rippled and danced beneath taut skin, disappearing beneath the sleeves of his shirt as his eyes met hers once more.
“I thought I would come see how the re-opening went for you.” She replied, though that was hardly her intentions at all. Truth be told, she wanted to see him.
“Pretty good, I think,” Greg nodded as he raked his fingers through his short, spiky blond hair. “We won’t really get too much business until spring, I imagine. Not many folks want ice cream when it’s this cold.” He chuckled.
They did sell more than ice cream, though. Louisa knew that from just one glance at the menu. Mrs. Kress disappeared into the back for something, leaving the incredibly shy panda-shifter alone with a very handsome ursi-lycan. They didn’t know what else to call him, really…..
“See anything that you’d like to have?” Greg asked.
His question pulled her out of her deep concentration and Louisa’s eyes widened. She nearly dropped the menu when she realized he was standing right in front of her.
“Oh, um….” The blush crept back into her cheeks as she lowered her gaze to the pictures of food. Did she even want food? “What do you recommend?”
“Anything, really.” He laughed, and it was a laugh that Louisa found to be pleasant. It was a deep rumble that started in his chest and worked its way between his perfectly kissable lips.
Wait. What?
“My dad is an excellent cook,” Greg nodded. “I help sometimes, but he’s really picky about who gets to be in the kitchen with him. He just made some fresh meatloaf and there’s a special recipe in it. No pepper, I promise. We don’t do pepper.”
Louisa’s eyes wandered to the counter. She could see the small packets of pepper in a bowl and that made her lift a brow.
“Well, except for that,” he chuckled. “We don’t touch it ourselves and if customers want it, they have to get a packet. We say it’s because my dad suffers from a mild allergy.”
“Mild?” Louisa blinked. “Well that’s putting it lightly, now isn’t it?” She couldn’t recall an ursithrope to date who wouldn’t blister up due to the pestilent spice. Yuck!
“So, would you like some meatloaf? It comes with homemade mashed potatoes, green beans, and a roll. Everything’s fresh, I promise.”
“That sounds great,” Louisa smiled. “Thank you.”
After Greg disappeared into the kitchen, Louisa let out a sigh of relief. Why did she have to act this way around him? He was a year younger than her, and she needed to remember that her mate-to-be had been gone for only a short while. It would seem terrible on her behalf if she allowed herself to care about another so soon, wouldn’t it? Yes.
Easing down onto one
of the stools by the counter, Louisa allowed her eyes –and her mind-to wander.
“Hi, Louisa!”
Her head turned in the direction of the kitchen entrance and she was delighted to see Greg’s little sister Gabby standing there. It was easy to tell they were siblings; Gabby possessed the same blue eyes as Greg, and they shared the same nose. It was a cute nose, if Louisa had anything to say about it.
“Hey, Gabby,” Louisa’s smile broadened as she turned around on the stool top, facing the younger female as she got closer. “How was school?”
“Boring,” Gabby rolled her eyes. “It’s hard to make friends when you’re the new girl. I didn’t really have anyone to talk to aside from my English teacher. She’s really nice.”
“Just give it time,” Louisa offered with a small nod. “I’m sure they will come around soon enough.”
“I hope so,” Gabby sighed, tapping her fingers against the countertop. “Well, I need to go get my homework done. Maybe we can hang out sometime?”
Gabby was only a few years younger than Louisa, and it couldn’t hurt to spend time with her, could it? Unlike Beau, Louisa was open to the idea of getting close to others….just not Greg. She couldn’t let that happen. There wasn’t any harm in getting to know his little sister, right?
“Sure,” Louisa smiled again. “I would love that.”
“Great!” Gabby giggled as she made her way towards the front door. “See you later, Lou!”
The bell dinged once again as the young ursithrope left, and Louisa released a low breath. Gabby really was nice. Everyone was nice around here. Even the humans were overly hospitable, but wasn’t that to be expected in a small southern town?
Louisa bit her bottom lip and glanced up when Greg reappeared.
“Here we go.” He slid a plate onto the counter before her, and her mouth instantly watered. The scent of sizzling meatloaf, buttered mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans infiltrated her nostrils. Her stomach growled in protest as she examined the food.
The Siege of Kadenburg Page 3
