by Roxie Ray
I squeezed past Maddox and Jury and opened the door. “I’m no good for Harley,” I said. “It’s better she realizes that now than get involved with me and find out later. I’m doing her a favor.”
The door clicked quietly behind me as I pulled it closed. The wood of the door between me and the people in the kitchen wasn’t enough to mask their words.
“That’s not true. Why does he think that?” Jury’s voice sounded sad and worried. He was a good friend.
“It’s not my place to say,” Maverick said. “But I know why he’s doing this. I disagree with his course of action, but I understand it. And we won’t interfere again.” I recognized the alpha weight in his voice.
“You can use that dragon magic on them, Maverick Kingston, but that shit doesn’t work on me.” I easily pictured Ava pointing at him based on her tone of voice. “I’ll interfere all I want to until that boy sees sense.”
“Me, too,” Charlotte chimed in.
I moaned. Now she would be on my case, too. I’d have to hide from both of them. Whatever they thought, I was in no mental or emotional state to have a mate. And it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Harley was better off moving on. If this continued, I’d have to move on myself to keep from hurting her more. I couldn’t stand the sound and feel of her tears.
She’d fallen asleep upstairs; I was pretty sure. When the sound of a soft snore reached my ears, I walked off the porch and into the woods.
We’d shifted and gone for a flight together earlier this evening, after dinner with his parents, starting and ending at the manor. Then, Maverick had invited us to his place for a beer and movie. Now it was simple enough for me to walk back to the manor and get my car. Time to go home.
Eros was silent on my walk through the woods, but he couldn’t mask his sadness. He disagreed, too, and thought we could keep her safe. I understood my clan more than he did, though. They’d never stop searching for me to punish me for my father’s death.
I am sad because you are starting to convince me of the truthfulness of your course of action.
Damn. That was a good reason to be sad. He was resigned to the fact that we couldn’t be with our mate.
I had to figure something out. If Eros continued being this sad, he’d fall into depression and there would be no way for that not to affect my mood and disposition. I didn’t want that to be our future. In hiding, without our mate, in a pit of darkness.
I’d do it if that meant sparing Harley further heartbreak or physical injury. I’d do anything, including die myself. But I wished there was another way. After our good flight, I’d been in high spirits. It had been one of the better nights I’d had since I finally admitted to myself that Harley was my mate.
My phone dinged as I walked out of the woods into the clearing where my car was parked.
One day you will realize your worth.
Maverick was a damn good man. For the hundredth time, I wished I’d been born into his clan and not my own. He was wrong, but I appreciated him for saying it.
My sadness and Eros’s deepened as we drove home. I didn’t know if mine fed his or vice versa, but I braced myself for the wave of emotions that was sure to come over the next few days as Eros came to terms with the fact that we’d found a rare fated mate and couldn’t have her.
7
Harley
“You’ve refused my invitations for lunch all week.” Ava reproached me as I fixed the nail she’d broken. “What gives?”
I sighed and gave her a flat look. “What do you think?”
She adjusted in her seat as I switched hands to put the topcoat on her polish. I’d repainted all her nails and glued the broken one, so they’d be the same length. “Don’t be upset about that.”
The girls’ night at her house when I’d drunk far too much wine had been exactly a week ago tonight, and I was no closer to getting over my embarrassment. “I’m over it,” I lied. “Don’t worry. But I did need some time to get myself in a better place.” I didn’t want everyone’s pity. I wanted to forget Stefan and pretend none of it had ever happened. Like I’d never met him. Stefan was nobody to me. There had never been any reason for me to develop feelings for him.
She reached out to grab my hand but remembered her nails at the last second. “I’m glad you’re better now. Can we plan another girls’ night soon?”
I nodded. “Of course. Maybe not at your house where Stefan seems to show up constantly, though.”
She giggled. “I was thinking, we should take Charlotte into the city for baby shopping. We could go together, make a weekend of it. Spa day, the works.”
With a sigh, I considered. It might’ve been pretty expensive, but had I not earned one small weekend vacation? I hadn’t been on a vacation since Nana took me to the beach when I was sixteen. Her health had begun to decline not long after that, and I’d put everything else on hold besides school, work, and Nana.
“Come on,” Ava urged. “We’ll make Mav pay for the hotel as a gift for Charlotte.”
I laughed and nodded. “Okay. But if he’s paying for the hotel, I’ll pay for the gas.”
She nodded. “Deal.”
Smiling, I inspected her nails, glad she didn’t argue. I needed to pay my part. It was important to me to not feel indebted to anyone. “Okay. As soon as I can get a weekend free with Nana’s nurses, we’ll go.”
“How’s your Nana doing?” she asked. I grabbed her purse and walked her over to the drying station.
The salon was empty during the after-lunch slump, so I sat with her to talk. “Okay. She needs lots of care, but she’s a trooper. I’ve been lucky to keep her with me this long.”
She couldn’t touch me, so she leaned over and bumped me with her shoulder. “If you ever need anything or need help with her, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I lost my Nana far too young, and I miss her so much.” Her face fell as she succumbed to memories of her beloved grandmother.
“You called your grandmother Nana?” I asked.
She brightened. “Yes. She originally wanted to be called Nanny, but when I was very small, I kept calling her Nanny Goat after a book with a nanny goat in it. She hated it, so she encouraged me to call her Nana instead.”
I laughed at her memory. “My Nana would’ve hated it, too.” I didn’t know what made her choose Nana as her grandma name. I needed to ask her before it was too late.
“Have they given you any kind of timeline?” she asked.
“Congestive heart failure has a strange timeline. She could be a trooper and carry on, with good medicine, for another couple of years. But sometimes CHF patients pass without warning.”
She nodded. “I’m sorry. I know it’s stressful, knowing it’s coming but not knowing when.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes. “Well,” she said brightly. “I’m off to get Hailey from the bus. I’ll look into our girls’ weekend and let you know when I’ve got more details.”
I never let her pay for her manicures, to Laura’s irritation. I used to do them free, but Laura started making me pay out of pocket for anyone I gave a free manicure to. I limited them to just a few people now. I supposed she wasn’t completely unreasonable to want me to charge for my work. I had too soft of a heart.
When I had my salon, I’d have free manicure cards to give to a select few people. I didn’t have anyone on the books for the rest of the day and only got a couple more walk-ins. I spent most of the afternoon thinking about what I’d do in my own salon and the merits of opening it in Black Claw or moving on somewhere else. By the end of the day, I was no closer to making a decision. I doubted I’d be able to choose until long after my grandmother was gone.
When the closer came in to relieve me, I warned her about the slow day and gave her a list of cleaning chores to work on in her boredom.
I had a long grocery list to take care of before going home. Nana and I liked to do large grocery orders. We felt like it kept us from spending so much on frivolous or impulse buys.
The supermarket was
only a few blocks down. My seat wasn’t even warm by the time I got there. I pulled out my list and made my way slowly down the aisles, browsing as I walked to make sure I didn’t forget anything.
In the produce section, I thumped a cantaloupe, then examined the stalk to see how ripe it might be.
“Does that work?” a strange voice asked.
I turned my head to see a handsome man smiling at me expectantly. He had dark red hair and appeared to be in his early forties or so. “What?” I asked, even though I knew he meant thumping.
“Does listening to the hollowness of a melon work?” He picked one up and gave it a strong tap with his large fingers.
I chuckled. “No, actually. Not really. The more foolproof method is to examine the stalk and the pale spot where the melon rested on the ground. The smaller the spot and the drier the stalk, the more likely it is to be ripe.”
His eyes lit up. “I’ve learned something new today.” He bent over in the bin and inspected the cantaloupes. “How about this one?” He held one out for me to look at.
It had a small spot and dry stalk. “I would buy that one.”
He nodded his head and bent in a small bow. “I’m in your debt. My name is Tyler.”
When he held his hand out for a shake, I took it and gave him a warm look. He certainly was charming. “Harley.”
“What an interesting name. Is there a story behind it?” He put the melon in his cart and turned back to me with an interested smirk that showed his dimples.
“Not that I know of,” I said. My mother and father hadn’t seen the need of informing my grandmother the reason behind my name, so Nana hadn’t been able to tell me. “It was nice talking to you.” I turned to finish selecting my own melon. Tyler’s shopping cart rattled as he walked away.
When I put my melon in my cart, I looked up to find Tyler had abandoned his cart and was headed back toward me.
“If I may be so bold...” He clasped his hands behind his back. “Would you like to have coffee with me?”
I hesitated with the word ‘no’ on my lips, but then I remembered I had no reason to say no. I was unattached, young, and eligible. Plus, I’d promised myself I’d be more daring and put myself out there more. Why not? “That sounds nice,” I said. “When?”
He rocked on his feet and pursed his lips. I took a second to give him a once-over. Trim figure, strong jaw. Not the handsomest man I’d ever seen—Stefan’s face flashed through my mind—but he was attractive.
“Tomorrow? I’m free all day. When is it good for you?”
“I work the later shift tomorrow,” I said. “How about breakfast?”
He beamed and nodded. “There’s only one coffee shop in town, is that okay with you?”
For a second, I considered asking him to go out of town to avoid stares and gossip. But this was my home, and I wouldn’t be run off. “That’s lovely. Nine-thirty?”
He nodded and walked backward toward his cart, grinning the whole way. I chuckled and shook my head, which made him smile all the bigger.
I couldn’t keep my mind on my shopping, so I stuck to the list and headed home. I wanted to think about Tyler, but my mind kept going back to damn Stefan. By the time I put the food away, said goodbye to the nurse, and made me and Nana a late dinner, I was yelling at myself internally. Stefan was not my boyfriend. He was not even my friend. At this point, he bordered on being my enemy. I had no reason to be distracted from a coffee date with an eligible man by a man who wasn’t anything to me at all.
Nana didn’t mention my father again, for which I was thankful. I didn’t want to have to get into that argument for the hundredth time. Our dinner was pleasant if a bit somber.
“I have a coffee date tomorrow,” I said. At least knowing I was going on a date would settle her mind. She worried about me being alone.
She perked up and took another bite of her chicken. “Oh? With whom?”
We spent the evening talking about Tyler and men picking up women in grocery stores. By the time I settled her in to sleep, she’d been giggling and teasing with me. I loved hearing her laugh.
The next morning, I got up early and took extra care with my hair and makeup. I always told myself I wouldn’t fuss before going on a date, but then I fussed. Every time. Oh, well. I couldn’t help being excited and flattered that an attractive man had wanted to have a date with me after just a cantaloupe picking session.
The coffee shop was full when I walked in, five minutes early.
Tyler had a table in a quiet corner, and I noticed a mug already in front of him. He stood and waved. I stopped at the counter and put in my order, paying before joining him. That way it was Dutch whether he liked it or not. I didn’t want a situation like I’d had with Micah, where he’d expected something for the money and time he’d spent on our dates.
He stood again as I walked up to the table. “Good morning,” I said. Placing my cup on the table, I took off my jacket and joined him. “Nice to see you again.”
“You look lovely.” His eyes raked over my body in a much more personal way than he had the day before. It was almost a little erotic, but he’d been perfectly charming the day before, so I ignored it. He probably hadn’t meant to leer.
“Thank you.” At a loss for words, I sipped my hot latte. First dates were always so damn awkward. “Ah, tell me something about yourself? I haven’t seen you around town before yesterday.”
He launched into a short explanation about being an independent contractor, in town for a private job. Before I had a chance to ask him if I knew his employer, he asked me what I did for a living. He’d switched the attention off of himself so fast it made a little red flag go up in my brain. I explained I had a couple of cosmetology certificates, then as soon as I could, I focused on Tyler again.
“What sort of independent contracting work do you do?” I asked.
He chuckled and stirred his coffee. “Anything the client wants, really. Independent contractor is really just a fancy term for the boss’s slave.”
We both laughed, understanding what it was like to have someone to report to. But then again, he sent the focus back on me. “What made you want to be in cosmetology? Your perfectly youthful skin?”
It was a nice compliment, but the way he said it sent another red flag up. I couldn’t exactly put my finger on it. His voice, maybe. It was a little too smooth. And his eyes were a little too glued to me. What was it about this guy? He was just a little too much all around. No matter how many times I tried to wedge a question about him into the conversation, he managed to steer it back to me without giving me any real answers.
“Where’d you grow up?” I asked pointedly a few minutes later.
“Aurora. Did you grow up here?”
At least he’d actually answered that one. My phone dinged a few minutes later, and my instincts were shouting at me to end the date and get as far away from Tyler as I could, so I used the text from Laura with the next week’s schedule as an excuse. “Oh, I’m sorry. That’s my boss. Someone called out of work and she needs me. This was a lovely coffee, thank you so much for asking me.” I stood and grabbed my jacket, speaking in a rush as I went. “I hope you enjoy your time working here in Black Claw.”
Tyler stood and watched me back away with his mouth half-open. “Can I see you again?”
“I’m sure I’ll see you around,” I said. I tried to be as kind and warm in my tone as possible, but my warning flags had turned into warning bells during the date. His words and actions were perfectly reasonable, but his intensity and demeanor triggered something deep inside me. If I believed in such things, I’d think it was more of a supernatural or extra sense detecting danger. But that was ludicrous. “I do appreciate the coffee date. Have a wonderful day.”
I all but ran to my car with the weight of his gaze on my back. When I pulled out of the parking lot, I drove down Main Street and pulled straight into the police station parking lot, then drove around the building to park in the back where my car wouldn’t be vis
ible from the road.
If Tyler followed me from the coffee shop, he wouldn’t have pulled into the station lot. I wasn’t going to go in, just making sure he cleared out before I went to work. I did have to be there fairly soon, anyway.
I hadn’t told him where I did nails, but there was only one shop in town. It wouldn’t have been difficult for him to figure it out. Hopefully, though, I was just overreacting and paranoid after what had happened with Micah. Now I didn’t want anyone to be nice to me for fear they’d turn out to be a total asshole. Damn him.
A tap on my passenger window made me jump out of my skin. Maverick’s brother, Axel, bent over my car in his uniform and peered in with a curious look on his face.
I leaned over and unlocked the door so Axel could open it. “Hey,” I called.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I had a weird date and pulled in here to give him time to get away.”
“You had a date at ten-thirty on a Wednesday morning?” He sat in my passenger seat but left the door open.
“Nine-thirty, actually. He just set off warning bells for me. It was probably me being silly after my disastrous date with Micah.”
Axel furrowed his brow. “I haven’t known you to be an overreacting sort of person.” Then, he grinned and winked. “You haven’t had any wine, have you?”
My face flushed with embarrassment, but he said the words so lightly and with affection that it didn’t make me feel ashamed. “Stop it.”
With a chuckle, he held up his hands. “Okay, okay. Who was the guy?”
“He’s new in town. I never actually asked for his last name. First name Tyler.” I described his looks, which were very average. “Dark red hair, tall, slender build. Not too tall, not too skinny. Handsome, but not like the kind you call your girlfriends about.”
Axel scratched his chin. “I don’t recall seeing anyone like that. And he said he’s been in town a few months?”
I nodded and traced my hands on the steering wheel. “Yeah, he mentioned it in passing. He kept trying to deflect and talk about me, though.”
