Vince's Place

by Sandra R Neeley

  “We’re just right as rain,” she said, using tongs to take several items out of the display case and place them on a fancy plate. “I’ve got apple turnovers, almond wedding cookies and petite fours for you.”

  “Ohhh, you know how to make me happy,” he said, taking the plate from her.

  “I know they’re your favorite, so I kind of have a leg up on making you happy,” Joanne teased. “Coffee today? Or you want milk?”

  “Coffee, please. Had a late night,” Vince answered.

  Vince took his yummies and walked over to the table Brandi had chosen near the window. He took a seat and settled his plate on the table.

  Joanne was there almost immediately to place his coffee cup next to his plate and pour him a cup of strong, black coffee. “Anything else,” she asked.

  “Nope, I think this’ll do us,” Vince answered.

  He lifted the turnover and took a bite, closing his eyes to savor the flavor. He took another bite and sighed slowly as he chewed. He opened his eyes and looked across the table at Brandi, who was patiently waiting for him to open his eyes and talk to her.

  “So, you want to tell me why all your friends went silent the minute I stepped into the hospital room, and why the girl you were heading out with when I got there hurried out and didn’t come back?”

  Vince’s eyebrows shot up. He stopped chewing and stared at Brandi as she sipped her coffee.

  He swallowed and set his turnover down. “I’m sorry?” he asked, not sure how to answer.

  Brandi smiled at him. “Look, I’m nothing if not blunt. I’m not asking to be territorial or anything ridiculous like that. But I’d have to be blind to not have noticed. What’s going on, Vince?”

  Vince sat back in his chair and looked down at his plate. “I don’t know what to say, Brandi,” he finally offered.

  “How about the truth? We are not dating, not exactly. We’ve not slept together, nor have we made any promises. Sure, there’s attraction, but it’s nothing unusual, and we haven’t really acted on it,” she said.

  Vince’s eyes snapped up to hers. Nothing unusual, she’d said. Their attraction was nothing unusual.

  “We’re friends, Vince. Just be honest,” Brandi encouraged again.

  “I was going to ride with her to help her get pizza and bring it back,” he answered.

  “I know. She sent it back but didn’t return herself. What’s the rest of it?” Brandi asked, taking a huge bite out of her napoleon.

  Vince looked up to meet her eyes. “I thought you were my Mate.”

  “You mean the one you wanted to marry and spend your life with?” she asked.

  “Yeah, something like that,” he answered.

  “I’m not even single yet, Vince. And I have no idea where my life is going. I’m not sure I could give you what you want. I don’t even know if I want to,” she confessed.

  Vince decided to just go for it. “Natalie is her name. She really is my One. There’s no struggle to make it fit with us. We just do. I feel it, and so does she. Bam says that a Mate isn’t your soul mate, she is your soul, and you know when you meet her because you don’t feel lost anymore. You feel whole, it just happens. And that’s how it was with Natalie, she walked in the room, and it just happened.”

  “And does she feel this, too?” Brandi asked, licking the icing from her fingers, having finished her pastry.

  “I’m not sure. I’m pretty sure she does. She feels the pull toward me, just as I do toward her. But she thinks we’re together — you and I. And with my luck, she thinks I was giving her the impression that I was available, when in fact I had you waiting for me,” Vince explained.

  “Why didn’t you tell her?” Brandi asked.

  Vince shrugged. “Didn’t get a chance. You walked in and I felt like crap, and Natalie ran. I wanted to go after her, but I couldn’t. So I stayed, and decided to just deal with it and keep it to myself.”

  Brandi laughed, not unkindly, just a true laugh.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You didn’t do so well at the keeping it to yourself, Vince. Everyone there knew you were completely freaked out.”

  “I was not freaked out,” Vince said.

  “Yeah. You were,” Brandi insisted, grinning.

  Vince just looked at her for a second. “Yeah. I was,” he finally admitted.

  “Why did you feel like crap when I got there?” Brandi asked.

  “Because I’d promised you that I would always watch over you. I’d always protect you. I’d given you and everyone else the impression that you were mine, and I was doing everything I could to convince you to stay here no matter how much you pushed back.”

  Brandi nodded. “Didn’t that give you some indication that maybe I wasn’t this Mate you were looking for? The fact that I pushed back and refused to commit or even promise to stay here?”

  “I didn't even think about it, Brandi,” he said, toying with his turnover. “I wasn’t looking for a Mate. Wasn’t interested in one. Then you came in and I felt the pull right away, thought you were it. According to Bam, you could have been. He says there are all kinds of Mates, different levels. And if I’d mated you, then run into Natalie, I might have never known because we’d already be mated. But, there is only One Mate of the soul. And she’s mine.”

  “And we’re not mated, so you felt the pull for her?” Brandi finished for him.

  “Yes,” Vince answered, raising his eyes from the table to meet hers.

  “Then I only have one question,” she said.

  “What is it?” Vince asked.

  “Well, I’m lying. I have two. First, why do ya’ll call it mating, instead of married?”

  Vince looked at Brandi. He knew he could trust her. He just didn’t know if she was ready to hear the truth. He waited for her eyes to catch his. When she stared into his eyes, he let his Lion peek through.

  Brandi’s eyes got big and she scooted her chair back. “The fuck you say!” she said excitedly. “Do that again!”

  Vince allowed his Lion to look through again, before pushing him to the background once more.

  “Are you like, a werewolf, or something?” Brandi asked, a grin on her face.

  “Shhhhh,” he said, looking around to be sure no one heard her. “Something like that,” he confided.

  “That is so cool! And your friends are, too! That’s why you’re all so damn pretty!” she declared.

  Vince chuckled a bit, then became somber again. “Yeah. If you say so, that’s probably it.”

  Brandi reached over and picked up his almond wedding cookie and popped it into her mouth, crunching away happily. “Well, that certainly makes things a lot clearer.”

  Vince nodded, then leaned toward her. “I meant what I said, Brandi. I’ll always protect you. I’ll always take care of you. I never break my word, and I promised. I meant it when I promised and I mean it now.”

  Brandi leaned toward Vince her eyes a little glassy from unshed tears. She laid her hand on top of his. “You’re a good man, Vince. Probably the best I’ve ever met, but you don’t owe me a thing. No matter what kind of attraction you felt to me, or me to you, it wasn’t right for us, or I’d have hog-tied you and dragged you to a preacher the minute you said my name.”

  “I gave my word,” Vince reminded her.

  “I know. So now I have to add another question to the ones I had.”

  “Huh?” Vince asked, confused.

  “I told you I had two questions. Now I have three. I asked you one already, and thank you for your honesty by the way.”

  “You’re welcome,” Vince said, sincerely.

  “Now, my next question is, Why do you think you have to be mated, married or whatever you want to call it, to me in order to protect me? If we’re friends, wouldn’t you protect me anyway if I needed it? I mean, from being around you and all your other friends, ya’ll would fight the devil himself for each other. So, if I’m your friend, wouldn’t you be able to protect me, too, without being mated, I mean?”
>
  Vince sat back in his chair, his mouth agape. “Umm… I… Yeah!” he said, his thoughts beginning to spin again.

  “Awesome!” Brandi said. “Now, my third question…”

  Vince looked at her waiting for her to speak, hope beginning to flood his body at the thought that he could keep his word to Brandi and still have Natalie.

  “Why are you sitting here with me, when you could be running after your soul Mate?”

  Vince’s eyes rounded.

  “Go!” Brandi said loudly. “Go on! Natalie’s waiting, and you’re obviously hurting, and friends don’t want to see friends hurt. So, go on, explain it to her. She seemed really nice, I’m sure she’ll hear you out,” she finished a little quieter.

  Vince jumped up and dug in his pocket, dropping a twenty dollar bill onto the table.

  “I gotta go!” he told her.

  “Yes, you do!” Brandi agreed laughing.

  “I’ll see you later, you’re not leaving are you?” he asked, halfway to the door.

  “I’m gonna move my things into your sister’s apartment, so you can have yours all to yourself again. Other than that, I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Good!” he said, pointing at her. “Good idea! I’ll see you later!” Vince ran outside, opened the door of his truck. Slammed it closed again and ran back inside. He grabbed Brandi, who was busy eating his leftover apple turnover, and hugged her to him tightly. “Thank you, Brandi,” he said, kissing her soundly on the cheek.

  “For what? Telling the truth?”

  “For understanding. For being such a good friend. And for resisting me when you knew it wasn’t quite right though I wasn’t ready to hear it.”

  “You’re welcome. Now go on so I can finish your leftovers,” she grinned, taking a bite of his apple turnover.

  Vince kissed her cheek again, then ran back outside, jumped into his truck and sped away leaving a dust trail behind him.

  “Ms. Joanne?” Brandi called.

  “Yeah, hon?” Joanne answered.

  “Could I get a little more coffee?” Brandi asked.

  “You certainly can. And I have some blueberry hand pies right out of the oven, too,” Joanne offered.

  “Ooooo, yeah, I’ll take one of those, too.” Brandi got up and started up stairs toward the shelves of secondhand books Joanne had available for her patrons to browse through and/or buy. “I’m going to find me a good romance to read while I enjoy the rest of my goodies. Do you have any with shifters in them?” she asked.

  “Lots! Here, let me show you where they are.”

  Chapter 8

  Vince hurried back to the hospital to find Natalie. He jogged down the hallway to the nurses’ station. “Hey, how ya’ll? My name is Vince Nobles. I’m looking for Natalie. Would she be around?” He asked the two nurses behind the counter.

  The elder of the two nurses looked up at him. “I’m sorry, sir. She’s off today. Is there something we can help you with?”

  “But I saw her here this morning,” he objected.

  “Yes, she worked the night shift. When her shift ended, she left. Can I help you?” she asked again.

  Vince remembered her telling Delilah that she’d be off for a few days, but she could call her if she needed anything before she came back. She’d given Delilah her number. “No, thank you!” he shouted over his shoulder as he ran from the station and turned down the hallway that led to Delilah’s room.

  Vince came to a screeching halt at the closed door. There was a sign taped to it. “Quiet Please — Mother and baby sleeping.” It had a picture of a little lamb dressed in blue pajamas curled up and napping on a cloud below that. Vince sighed. He paced back and forth in front of the door before finally deciding that he’d just open it real quiet like, and maybe Kaid would be awake and he could get the card he needed out of Delilah’s purse.

  Vince turned the doorknob very slowly and eased the door open. He tip-toed inside the room and seeing no one sitting in any of the chairs that had been moved back against the walls, he peeked over at the bed. He stopped in his tracks, a slow smile curving his lips. Delilah was sleeping, Barron cuddled on her chest asleep as well, and they leaned back against Kaid, who had them in his arms and was asleep himself. The Christmas lights framing the window behind them bathed them in a soft pastel glow as the lights twinkled in the darkened room.

  I want this, he thought to himself. He reached into his back pocket and withdrew his phone. He snapped a picture and slid his phone back into his pocket. He’d send it to Kaid and Delilah later. This was the kind of moment anyone would love a record of. His eyes wandered over to the storage locker Delilah’s things were stored in and he pursed his lips. The card was there, in her purse. But he wasn’t going to betray his friends’ trust by rummaging through their things. Not to mention the fact that if he startled Delilah while she slept with her new baby in her arms, she might just call on her Dragon to freeze his ass, and he most certainly didn’t want that.

  He quietly retreated and left the room. He’d just have to wait until later to get Natalie’s number from them. He closed the door behind himself and stood there, wondering what to do next. He grinned. Pizza! He hadn’t had any pizza earlier because he’d been so upset. And he knew just where to find some. He jogged down the hallway toward the exit sign, the pizza place that belonged to Natalie’s parents his focus.

  “My Bear?” Delilah said softly.

  “Hmmm,?” Kaid answered.

  “Did Vince just take a picture of us?” she asked.

  “Yep.”

  “Why?” Delilah asked.

  “Don’t know. But he seemed in a hurry.”

  “He did. Do you think he’s fixing things?”

  “I’m sure he’s trying. He’s a good male. He’ll figure it out,” Kaid answered.

  “Most likely. Otherwise, Maverik-Ass and I may have to step in.”

  Kaid laughed quietly. “Lord help him. If he knows what’s good for him, he’ll make things right quick as he can.”

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  Vince pulled open the door to the only pizzeria in town. It’d been years since he’d been inside it — he usually just had pizza delivered whenever he wanted it. It looked like Christmas had thrown up in the small eaterie. There were poinsettias, garland, a real Christmas tree and a small television mounted on a wall that had Christmas classics on replay. He looked around at the red and white checkered tablecloths and curtains over the windows that were also framed in blinking lights with fake snow sprayed in their corners. He inhaled and his nose twitched and his mouth watered at all the scents wafting on the air from the kitchen.

  “Sit anywhere you like,” a pleasant female voice called out.

  He took a seat at a table about halfway to the kitchen where he could see the employees coming and going through the swinging door, and the bathroom as well as the front doors and the huge plate glass windows at the front of the place. A few minutes later a pretty, older woman, a perfect representation of what Natalie would look like when she got older, came out of the kitchen, wiping her flour-covered hands on her red apron.

  “Welcome!” she said happily. “What can I get you to drink?” she asked.

  “Sweet tea?” he answered with a question.

  “Sure thing. You know what you want or you need a minute?” she asked.

  He thought about it, hadn’t considered it. “Meatlovers, do you have that?” he asked.

  “We make our own version of it,” she said.

  “Can you put some mushrooms on it and extra cheese?”

  “I can. Do you want a deep dish?”

  “No, ma’am, just hand-tossed is good.”

  “Coming right up.”

  “Thank you,” he said, straining to get a look inside the kitchen when the door swung open and closed after she went through it. He didn’t see Natalie back there, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t there.

  The door swung again, and the woman came back carrying his tea. “Help yourself to the salad bar if
you want it.”

  “Can I put some blue-cheese in a bowl to dip my pizza in?” he asked.

  The woman stopped and looked at him, a funny smile on her face. “That is so strange. My daughter does that, and I’ve never known anyone else to.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yeah. Anyway, of course you can. Help yourself,” the woman said, laying extra napkins on the table beside his tea. “Shouldn’t be long and I’ll bring your pizza out to you.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Vince said respectfully. This woman was his Mate’s mother; she deserved all the respect in the world. They’d be his family one day, and he wanted them to like him.

  “Angie! Honey! A little help?” a male’s voice called from the kitchen.

  “Excuse me,” she said smiling and thumbing over her shoulder. “I’m being paged.” Then she hurried back to the kitchen.

  Vince got up and scooped some of the blue-cheese dressing from the salad bar into a bowl and took it back to his table. He noticed several women having lunch across from him. They were watching him and talking to one another — about him. He could clearly hear them. Everyone in the place could hear them, they were taking no care to lower their voices. They were wondering how he’d respond if they both offered to sleep with him — at the same time. He pointedly ignored them — they were nothing compared to his Mate. Absolutely nothing.

  Not much longer, Angie — Natalie’s mother — came back from the kitchen with his pizza. She placed it on a stand on his table and slid a serving spatula under one of the slices. She placed a plate in front of him and held another in her hand. “Anyone joining you?” she asked, indicating the plate in her hand.

  “We’ll join you,” one of the women was bold enough to say aloud.

  Vince looked over at the women with a cold glare, then he got up, moved to a chair at his table that would allow him to put his back to the women, and sat back down. “No ma’am, I’m alone today,” he said, smiling up at Angie.

  Angie smiled warmly at him. “Well, enjoy your meal.” She walked away, her eyes shooting disapproving glances at the young women at the table he was pointedly ignoring.