We walked into the diner. It was full of regulars, everyone chatting like it was one big family meal, and Jack and I were greeted with warm smiles and shouted greetings. He was definitely the town’s golden boy.
We had just given our order and settled in, taking sips of our hot chocolate, when somebody was calling out his name.
“My boy! Just the man I wanted to speak with!”
Jack tensed next to me, apparently, tired of the interruptions, but he kept a smile on his face.
“Grady,” Jack greeted. “What can I do for you?”
“I’ve talked to everybody on the committee about the upcoming festival, but I’d love to hear your perspective. How you budgeted and why you chose these sponsors, just another little layer to the story I’m running.”
Before answering, Jack turned to me, offering a quick explanation. “He runs the Pine Ridge Gazette.”
“Oh, Cole’s told me about it. He speaks highly of you.”
My words had the alpha puffing his chest out.
“Cole has done incredible things. That’s high praise coming from him.”
“My girl here’s a journalist as well.” Jack sounded so proud that I couldn’t even be mad at him for blurting it out.
Grady’s eyes lit up with interest.
“Oh?” he questioned. “And what do you write?”
I couldn’t even hide the groan. It was a loaded question.
He chuckled and held up a hand. “Okay, nevermind, I think I need to ask a better question,” he clarified. “What do youwantto write?”
“I love working for Cole. He built an incredible company,” I said, unwilling to speak negatively about the job I did have, the one that carried me this far.
“I’m sure you do,” he conceded. “Cole is an incredible man. But my dear, that is not what I asked.”
I took a sip of my hot cocoa, trying to figure out how to even put into words what he was asking for.
“I’ve always preferred working directly with people, writing things that have a bit more story to them than lifestyle magazines,” I admitted. “I want to figure out what people are passionate about, to show the real stories that often get overlooked.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say Pine Ridge is full of juicy gossip and stories,” he mused. “And Cole may just kill me for offering this, but you should come check out the Gazette. See what you think of small-town journalism. You might just find a little more of what you’re looking for.”
“We’ll stop by after breakfast,” Jack answered as I gaped at Grady, who just chuckled.
“I’ll be there. I’m grabbing mine to go,” he said, giving us both a salute before walking off.
“We should call Cole,” I said.
“I was going to suggest the same thing,” Jack said. “Why don’t you do the honors?”
I took a bite of my chocolatey pancakes before pulling up my alpha’s number.
Cole answered it on the first ring, his voice still husky with sleep, sending a shiver through me. They had no right to be sexy all the time.
“I was wondering where you snuck off to,” he chastised. “I went to check on my omega and she was gone.”
“Jack and I snuck out for some breakfast. We couldn’t sleep.”
He let out a sigh that said he understood. I think the phone call yesterday had gotten to us all.
“But in news that’s a little lighter… I ran into Grady and he offered to let me come check out the Gazette. Jack and I are going to head there after breakfast. Do you want to join us?”
