“The Kirkpatricks paid us a visit in Dallas last week and they asked about you. Brayden seemed especially keen.”
A sneer curled my lip as I got to my feet and leaned down to help him up. “I’ll bet.”
Lachlan took my hand but didn’t release it when he rose from the ground. “Is there something between you and Brayden Kirkpatrick?”
I felt my lip curl even further, this time in disgust. “Hell, no. I can’t stand that dick.”
He studied me. “Did he do something to you?”
I pulled my hand from Lachlan’s grasp and gestured for him to follow me to the cabin. “Yeah, he would drive in from Houston and pester the shit out of me the entire time I was in Austin. Kept saying I would make the perfect mate. It was creepy as hell. I was almost relieved when Jacob forbade me from looking into the murder of my parents because it gave me an excuse to get out of there and away from him.”
“Did he—”
“God, no. I mean, Brayden tried to kiss me a few times and got a little pushy when I told him no, but nothing more than that. He was never dangerous, just…annoying.”
I entered the cabin, Lachlan on my heels, and moved straight toward my clothes. Nudity wasn’t usually something that bothered me. As a shifter, I was accustomed to being naked in the presence of others before or after pack runs. However, being around Lachlan made me more aware than ever of my exposed skin and my body’s response to his proximity.
Once I was dressed, I faced him once again. Lachlan was looking around the cabin, his eyebrows lifted.
“This is an interesting place,” he commented.
I laughed. “Yeah, it’s a little on the rustic side.”
The cabin was finished inside, but barely. It was basically one large open room with a huge, overstuffed sofa and twenty year old television in one corner, a small dining table in the other, a tiny kitchen just behind that, and the bed in the final corner. Through a door at the back of the living space, there was a miniscule bathroom. It hadn’t been very clean when Darrell brought me out here, but I took care of that easily enough.
When I looked back at Lachlan, he was grinning at me. My heart turned over at the expression on his face because I hadn’t seen him smile like that in years. Not a genuine, amused smile or a real laugh.
I ignored that smile, and the effect it had on me, and put my hands on my hips. “Now, tell me why you’re really here, Lachlan.”
Chapter Six
Lachlan
Icouldn’t takemy eyes off of Chloe as she stood before me, her hands on her hips. It had only been three weeks since I last saw her, but she looked different.
Her hair was lighter, the dark gold streaked with brighter honey and caramel highlights, and her skin had a light tan all over. Probably from lying naked in the sun as she had been when I found her this afternoon.
It was as if I were seeing her with new eyes.
She moved, crossing her arms over her chest. “Answer me, Lachlan.”
“I told you. The Kirkpatricks came to see us last week and they asked about you. Calder and I are concerned.”
“What exactly did they say?”
“Brian asked about you. Where you were.”
She waited a beat. “And that’s it? Wow, you should have had him incarcerated.”
Frustration began to simmer within me. “It wasn’t what he said, Chloe,” I began. “It’s how they reacted. Especially Brayden. It wasn’t just mild curiosity. His body language wasn’t right and neither were his eyes.”
Chloe stared me down in silence for a moment, something I wasn’t accustomed to. In all my years as alpha of the MacIntire pack, very few of my subordinates would meet my gaze for such a long period. The wolf within me saw it as a challenge. Strangely, when Chloe did it, my wolf liked it. He wanted her to watch us.
“Okay, so Brayden’s behavior was strange. It’s not as if he knows where I am.” Her head tilted to the side. “Speaking of finding me, how did you?”
“We called your grandmother,” I admitted.
She grinned, her hazel eyes sparkling with mischief. “Oh, I bet that was fun. I’m kinda sorry I missed it.”
