We both stomped the snow off our boots and went inside, shutting the door behind us. I showed him where he could hang his coat and put his boots, quelling a smile at seeing them lined up next to mine.
Like they belonged there.
“You, um, you like Christmas?” he asked.
I tried to see my home from a stranger’s point of view. To me, it looked lovely. Decked out, of course, but tasteful and natural. “I do.”
“And you haven’t taken your decorations down?”
Laughing, I shook my head. He really was a grump. “Well, Christmas was only yesterday. I usuallydon’t take everything down until the new year. The bathroom is at the end of the hall and the guest room is the bedroom to the right. My bedroom is to the left and my office is in the loft upstairs. Make yourself at home. I’ll get you some food.”
Ripley stomped down the hall, and he put his bag on the bed. He used the restroom and I heard the water running in the sink, so he washed his hands afterward. I gave him points in my head for doing that. I’d once dated a man who didn’t. I scooped out some chili, making sure to get a little bit of everything, including the masa dumplings. He got two large servings of cornbread, and I put the butter dish on the table.
“Here you go,” I said as he came back into the living room. “What would you like to drink?”
He sat down, and his shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit. “Just water, please. Um, do you happen to have the number of the mechanic’s shop? I just want to check. Maybe there’s a chance he’s open or would take a chance if I paid him extra.”
So eager to get out of here. My wolf must’ve been wrong about the mate thing. A mate would not want toleave so soon. This alpha couldn’t wait to get out of here.
Such a shame. He was handsome and sexy and just my type.
“Sure. Let me get the directory.”
I pulled out a trifold brochure from the drawer near the silverware drawer and slid it across my dining table for two. “Here you go. Oliver Creek is growing, but they still put out a phone book of sorts once a year.”
He huffed out a laugh. “I saw that when I passed through.”
I filled a second bowl of chili, sat across from him, and began eating while he dialed and waited for it to ring. Only two rings later, the voicemail picked up, telling the caller that they would be closed until the new year.
I didn’t mutter “I told you so.” The alpha was irritated enough. Poor guy. He was clearly traveling to something or from something, and this had put a major wrench in his plans.
“I’ve never heard of a mechanic closing for a whole week.”
“That’s Oliver Creek for you. We love our holidays. Besides, everyone needs time off. It’s good for the soul.”
Ripley regarded me with a cocked brow. He hadn’t heard of time off? He took a bite of the chili, and I held my breath, waiting. I had hundreds of customers both locally and online, but what this man thought about my thrown-together chili…it might throw me off if he didn’t like it.
It might wreck my whole world.
I watched him chew then swallow, tracing the movement of his Adam’s apple.
“This is so good, Jude. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Chapter Seven
Ripley
After we ate lunch, the omega suggested I take a rest. In fact, he said that I looked like I hadn’t slept in days. “You were probably driving too long.”
I, in fact, had not slept through the night in over a week, and not especially well since Thanksgiving. My brother’s death on Christmas colored the whole holiday season, and not in red and green and gold and sparkles. He’d been the better of us, and I’d many times thought it should have been me. He would have done something huge and great and made the world a better place. And if I had been with him, I might have saved him. Or found that weak spot on the ice myself. Unhealthy thoughts. I knew that. But it didn’t help when I missed him so much.
For the better part of the year, I coped, but as the days grew shorter and the holidays approached, it got harder. Sleeping, eating…nothing was right.
Survivor guilt, the elder called it, but the worst part was the loneliness.
“Ripley?” The omega’s voice cut through my musings. “Are you going to take a nap?”
