by Lynn Hagen
Sal couldn’t get rid of the nagging feeling in his gut. The careening car had been driven by an idiot, but…he just couldn’t shake the ominous feeling.
They exited the building and headed toward the fire station where Sal’s truck was parked. He looked down at his mate, who’d been awfully quiet since the coffee shop. “What exactly did Roberto say?”
Maybe Sal could get some clues from their conversation. He was a polar bear shifter and had a great sense of smell, but hunting down a loved relative wasn’t exactly his thing. Sal knew nothing about finding missing people. He put out fires and went on emergency calls.
“He said he had to clean up his own mess and not to look for him,” Renny replied. “But I’m not going to let him face this alone.”
The determined look in Renny’s green eyes said Sal would have his hands full keeping Renny from running off into danger. Aside from cuffing his mate to him, Sal would need to keep an eye on the guy.
They reached his truck, and Sal drove home, watching for the red sedan with the dented trunk. If he spotted it, he was gonna have a word with the dangerous driver. This time of year the cops got a lot of calls about drunken drivers celebrating the holiday.
Or trying to forget it. Not everyone enjoyed Christmas. A lot of lonely people used different means to drown their sorrows. This time last year Sal had been called to a home where a guy had tried to kill himself because he couldn't bear the thought of spending Christmas without his recently deceased wife.
But Sal enjoyed the festivities, even though he’d been single most holidays. That had changed. Sal had found his mate. This year he would wake up to Renny at his side, and Sal looked forward to that.
“What do you normally do at Christmas?” Sal asked as he drove.
Renny’s eyes seemed to light up, and when he spoke, his voice was filled with wonderment. “It feels magical this time of year for me. My family usually chops down our own tree, and then we have hot apple cider by the fire while we decorate it. We buy toys for those less fortunate and help out at the soup kitchen Christmas morning. I still wake up with excitement even though I’m an adult now.” Renny closed his eyes and exhaled. “I can smell the freshly brewed coffee and the scent of coffee cake that my mom just baked for us.”
“You still live with your folks?” Not that there was anything wrong with that. There were a lot of young people who struggled to make ends meet on their own. It was growing more and more common these days.
Renny opened his eyes and shook his head. “No, but Roberto and I go over there on Christmas Eve and spend the night. It’s been a tradition since we both moved out. It’s her way of making sure her single, gay sons aren’t lonely on Christmas morning.”
“She sounds like a great mom.” Sal was anxious to introduce Renny to his parents. His mom was gonna be thrilled, and his dad would be glad to gain another family member. Sal’s sisters were gonna eat Renny up.
Now all Sal had to do to make this a great Christmas was to pay the bank and get Molimo off Renny’s and Roberto’s backs.
Chapter Four
Renny wandered around Sal’s living room. The house was decorated with a masculine touch, but there was also a vase of flowers on the stand by the door. Pictures hung from walls, and there was a bookshelf in the corner lined thick with books.
The couch looked cozy, with an afghan blanket spread over the back. The walls had been painted in a neutral color, and there was a fireplace on the wall to his left. Renny tucked his hands behind his back as he looked at the picture frames. He saw a photo of an elderly couple smiling as if life had been very good to them. There were also pictures of young women that Renny assumed to be Sal’s sisters.
“You have a lovely family,” Renny said as Sal kicked off his boots.
“Thanks.” Sal waved a hand at Renny. “I’ll give you something to wear while I wash your clothes.”
“That’s not necessary.” Renny didn’t want to walk around in Sal’s robe. The thing would probably be too big, and he didn’t want to be almost naked in front of the guy. He didn’t know Sal, like, at all. The guy was a stranger to him, even though Roberto swore Sal would protect Renny with his life.
And even though the chief was huge, smoking hot, and had a voice that seemed to always soothe Renny’s worries, he didn’t know Sal and wasn’t sure he could truly trust him.
“Do you have a change of clothes?” Sal arched a brow.
“No.”
“Then I’m washing what you have on. Let me go get a robe.” Sal walked out of the living room, leaving Renny standing there.
This was his chance if he wanted to hightail it out of there. But where would he find Roberto? Renny hadn't the first clue where to look for his brother, and from the light taps on the window, he knew the freezing rain had started.
There wasn’t anything he could do right now but wait out the rain. Was Roberto safe and dry? Renny pulled out his phone and called, but the call went straight to voice mail.
Renny strolled over to the window and pulled the curtain aside. Sure enough the rain had started, and it was getting heavier. With the freezing cold everything would turn to ice.
“Here you go,” Sal said when he returned, a thick white robe in one hand. “You can use the bathroom to change.”
Sal had already changed. He was no longer wearing his uniform. Instead he had on a pair of relaxed denims and a T-shirt, the sleeves reaching his elbows. It fit nicely, showing off his impressive bulges. The soft-looking material even matched his stunning blue eyes.
Renny had a feeling he wasn’t going to win this argument, so he grabbed the robe and headed down the hallway, finding the bathroom on his first attempt.
He didn’t undress right away. Renny sat on the side of the tub and stared down at his wet shoes, wishing he heard Roberto’s voice. He just wanted to know if his brother was okay. For the first time in their lives, Renny was truly scared for him.
With a sigh, he stood and undressed, setting his sneakers by the heating vent to dry. He shucked his clothes but left his underwear on before he pulled the robe over him.
The hem reached his ankles, and the sleeves were a mile long. Renny wrestled with the sleeves, rolling the thick material back. Now he felt as though he had weights on his arms. The belt, which was sown into the robe, wasn’t around his waist. It was at his thighs. He felt as though he was a little kid dressing in his daddy’s clothing.
There was no way he was leaving the bathroom looking like a melting pile of whipped cream. He let the robe slide off his body then grabbed his undershirt and slid it back on. The undershirt hadn’t been splashed and was still clean.
After hanging the robe on the back of the bathroom door, Renny grabbed his wet clothes and walked back to the living room, but Sal wasn’t in the room. He smelled something wonderful wafting through the house. Renny followed the scent to the kitchen.
“Are you cooking?” His stomach rumbled. Renny hadn’t eaten all of his breakfast before he’d run out of the diner.
“Hand me your clothes so I can toss them in the washer, and I’m just heating up some chili I made.” Sal traded Renny a bowl for his clothes. “Let me know how it tastes. I’m entered into this year’s chili cook-off.”
“Really?” Maple Grove was much smaller than Falls Bend, but Renny wished they held festivities the way this town seemed to.
“Yep.” Sal dug through one of the kitchen drawers and handed Renny a spoon. “You got to be honest with me so I know where improvements need to be made. We’re having the cook-off in the local church. All the proceeds go to the new pride rec center for their after-school programs.”
Sal opened a set of folding doors. Behind them was a washer and dryer. He lifted the lid and tossed Renny’s clothes inside.
“That sounds like a worthy cause.” Renny took a seat at the table, folding one leg under him. “Is the rec center only for gay people?”
“No.” Sal shook his head as he made himself his own bowl of chili and sat across from Ren
ny. “Anyone can attend. The actual name of the center is Maple Grove Recreation Center, but most people are starting to just call it Pride. It’s a place where everyone can feel safe.”
“I wasn’t aware your town had become so progressive.” The last time Renny had been there, which had been last summer, he hadn’t seen any change. It was a typical small town with small-minded people. He’d even had one guy sneer at him when Renny had brought his ex-boyfriend, though Tad hadn’t been an ex at the time.
“It’s getting there.” Sal got up and grabbed some sodas from the fridge, handing one over to Renny.
Sitting there with nothing but his underclothes on was wreaking havoc with Renny’s senses. His gaze kept flickering from Sal’s eyes to his body. He tried not to be so obvious, but Renny couldn’t help himself. Sal was just too good-looking not to stare at.
Renny grimaced and looked down at his bowl, surprised when he noticed it was empty. He hadn’t recalled eating all his chili. He needed to get his head out of Sal’s pants and think about where Roberto could be hiding.
“How was it?”
“Huh?”
“The chili.” Sal nodded toward Renny’s bowl. “It must’ve been good because you ate it all.”
Renny had been so engaged in Sal’s physique that he couldn’t tell the guy what the food had tasted like. “It was good.”
His gaze dropped to Sal’s bulging arms when the guy lifted his spoon for another bite of his food. “Are you an exceptional cook?”
Renny was just trying to make small talk so he would stop thinking of Sal’s body.
“Opposite. Chili is the only good thing I can make. I mean I get by with soup and sandwiches and other easy things. But most of the time I’m ordering from the diner or grabbing bar food at Tilted.”
“A guy your size?” Renny’s gaze once again slid over Sal’s gorgeous physique. “I would think you’d know how to cook since you look like you could eat a whole cow for dinner.”
Sal chuckled. “My mom tried to pass on her cooking skills to me, but it never happened.”
“How big is your family?”
Sal pushed his bowl away from him. “Parents and three sisters. All three are mated, and two have cubs.”
Sal’s words hit home the fact that he wasn’t human, reminding Renny of the mess he was in and how desperately he wanted Roberto back.
And how Roberto and Sal had said that Renny was the chief’s mate. Renny still wasn’t clear on what that meant. Handpicked for Sal? That seemed ridiculous, but then again, Renny truly believed that his mom and dad were soul mates. They’d dated in high school but had known each other since they were kids. After graduating, his dad had married his mom before joining the service. They’d been married for thirty-five years now.
Renny was pretty sure that kind of love was rare.
As Renny thought about his parents, Sal grabbed the bowls and took them to the sink, where he washed them and put them in the drying rack.
Renny slowly spun his soda can, but he still looked toward Sal’s backside every few seconds as the guy stood at the sink. Renny envied his parents’ fairy-tale romance and wondered if he could find that kind of love with Sal. He might not know the guy, but if fate had brought them together, didn’t that mean they could have the same?
His attention was drawn to a set of bi-fold doors when he heard a buzzer.
Sal crossed the kitchen and opened the doors. He switched loads before crossing the room and taking Renny’s hand. “We can watch some TV while we wait for your clothes to dry. After that, I need to head back to the station.”
When they entered the living room, Renny saw the rain was still falling. The cars parked at the curb appeared shiny, as if they’d been encased in glass. “Isn’t it too dangerous to drive in this weather?”
“I guess it is,” Sal said as he grabbed the remote, “but life still goes on, including emergencies. There are people out there counting on my department’s help if tragedy strikes.”
Renny couldn’t imagine driving a huge fire truck on slick roads in order to get to someone who needed help. He’d piss his pants the first time the truck started to slide.
They settled in to watch some TV show that Renny wasn’t paying any attention to. Sal had sat beside him, their bodies touching. Sal tossed his arm over the back of the couch, making Renny’s body slide even closer.
He didn’t try to push away. Renny liked being cuddled next to such a big, strong guy. He liked the way Sal smelled—dark and masculine—and the way his body looked hard, but felt soft as Renny molded against him.
Sal’s hand lowered, and he brushed his fingers over Renny’s shoulder. Renny wanted to laugh. It was as though they were teenagers too afraid to make out, though he doubted Sal was afraid of most things. The guy was a bear shifter who ran an entire fire department. He raced into fires while others ran away.
The man’s bravery was a huge turn-on.
Even so, Renny still felt guilty for getting Sal involved in his problems. He didn’t want the guy facing off with some demon just because Renny and Roberto had been dumb enough to gamble with Molimo in the first place.
It was their mistake, and Sal shouldn’t have to come to their rescue. Renny excused himself and went to the bathroom. He’d left his phone in there when he’d stripped out of his clothes. He tried once more to call Roberto, but again, the call went straight to voice mail.
“Where are you?” Renny whispered to himself as he sat on the closed lid of the toilet and prayed Roberto was safe.
* * * *
Sal cleared his throat as he drove to the station. “I know this must be strange for you.” He waved a hand between them. “You know…the whole mate thing. I just want you to know there’s no pressure. We have time to get to know each other. I don’t expect us to jump into bed right away.”
“Why not?” Renny had asked the question so nonchalantly, as if they were talking about dinner plans instead of soldering their souls.
Sal shrugged. “I know most humans don’t jump into bed with people they just met, let alone commit to them.”
Renny snorted. “You don’t get around much, do you? Humans do that all the time.”
Sal didn’t like sounding so unsure, but he wanted Renny to feel comfortable around him, not pressured. This was it for them, so why not make things between them as smooth as possible? “I guess not.”
Renny looked over at him. “Does that mean I can’t date hot guys anymore?”
Sal nearly wrecked his truck at the very thought of Renny with another guy, but he braked just in time.
“Holy crap!” Renny strangled his seatbelt as he stared wide-eyed at Sal. “Are you insane? You almost ran into that parked car.”
Sal took in several deep breaths to control his anger and to settle his nerves from nearly rear-ending the sedan. “You can’t say that kind of stuff while I’m driving.” He squinted at Renny. “You were kidding, right?”
“Yeah…sure.” Renny pointed at the parked car they’d almost smacked into. “Isn’t that the car that tried to run us over?”
Sal tore his gaze away from his mate, still unsure if Renny had been teasing or serious about dating other people. Sure enough, the red sedan with the dented trunk was sitting right there. Sal snapped a picture of the plate with the camera on his phone.
He couldn’t prove if the near-miss had been accidental or done purposely, but it didn’t hurt to have the information handy.
After easing his truck back into the light traffic, Sal forced himself not to think of Renny’s question, but it seemed his mate wasn’t finished with their conversation.
“Just so I’m clear, I can’t date other guys?”
Sal gritted his teeth. “No, you can’t date other guys.”
Renny looked out of the passenger window, appearing deep in thought.
Did his mate really want to see other men? There was no way Sal could handle that. He was too possessive and selfish when it came to his mate. Already his bear was snarling at
the idea that anyone would even think of coming near Renny.
“Hey, Sal?”
With a clenched jaw, Sal looked at his mate. “What?”
“You just passed the station.”
Sal slammed on the brakes. Big mistake. The ass end of his truck fishtailed as he tried to get the vehicle back under control. They stopped inches away from a fire hydrant.
“What is wrong with you?” Renny demanded. “Are you seriously trying to kill us?”
“We wouldn’t have died hitting a fire hydrant.” Sal reversed and straightened his pickup. “There’s something you need to understand. When it comes to mates, nonhumans will kill anyone who even thinks of poaching.”
“I wasn’t serious about cheating,” Renny argued. “You haven’t even properly asked me.”
“Asked you what?”
“To go steady with you,” Renny replied. “Roberto said you were my mate. You said it, too. A statement doesn’t count as asking me to be your boyfriend.”
Was Renny for real? Humans were so damn confusing sometimes. “Renny…” Sal frowned. “What’s your last name?”
“And you call yourself my boyfriend,” Renny grumbled. “It’s Fenton, Mr. Monroe.”
Sal growled. “Point taken. Mr. Renny Fenton, will you be my boyfriend?”
He felt silly asking the question. They weren’t technically boyfriends. They were mates, but asking Renny to be his mate would’ve sounded even more ridiculous.
Renny crossed his arms. “I’ll think about it.”
“You’ll what?” Sal gripped the steering wheel a bit harder as he turned around and pulled into the station driveway. He started to get out, but Renny put a hand on his arm.
“You’re too easy.” Renny grinned. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help myself.”
When his mate chuckled, Sal rolled his eyes. “So you don’t want to date other men?”
Renny waved a hand at Sal. “Are you kidding? Look what I have sitting next to me. You’re hot, all muscly, and where can I find another guy who can change into a polar bear?”
