“Looks like a horror movie set. You know the kind where they tell the woman not to go alone into the woods.”
“You’re safe with me.” I start to get out. “Oh, but, uh, if asked, we’re engaged.”
“What? No!” Cat hisses, as if I just suggested she run down Main Street in her robe and bunny slippers.
24
CONNOR
Still sitting in the Jeep, I say, “Okay, fine. We’re married. Pretend to be my wife.” I’m practically pleading with Cateline to go along with a little scheme I came up with mere seconds ago.
Because Cain and I have waged a lifetime war, why stop now? He somehow convinced a woman he’s marriable material and not a scaly beast that lurks in sewers. Why not me too? I never considered marriage, but I could be a good fake husband. No, a great one.
“Mr. Wolfe, I most certainly will not pretend to be married to you,” Cat retorts, affronted.
“Oh, right, you’re my coach. Blah, blah, blah. Then we’ll go with fiancée. I’ll even settle for girlfriend.”
“No, I do not want to get caught up in your rivalry with your brother. Also, I’m a terrible liar. Don’t you have a pool of women you can draw from?”
I link my pinky in hers and swing it between us. “Just you, Kitty Cat.”
Her mouth opens and closes like she’s not sure what to say, then settles on, “The answer is no.”
I wince, hoping for the best as I get out and round to the passenger side to open the door for her.
“Thank you,” she says, hopping down.
Despite our surroundings and the shift between us in the last thirty-six hours, I’m still being evaluated as her pupil. Then again, I would’ve opened the door for her anyway. I want to show her that I’m a gentleman. Then my thoughts turn dark. If I were a true gentleman, I wouldn’t have taken her to the camp, er, place where I grew up. Instead, we’d go to a luxury hotel. I’d lavish her with the finest chocolates and bouquets of flowers, we’d visit museums, have long dinners, and stroll along a private beach somewhere far from here.
However, the Blancbourg program rules state that wherever I go, she goes, so here we are.
If Cateline can make it through the next week with me, anything is possible. Maybe even a visit to that little pocket of paradise.
“What is this place?” she asks, falling into step beside me.
A rickety screen door opens and slaps the exterior wall of the cottage. Six feet of aggression steps outside with his arms crossed and wearing the meanest scowl in the mountains. “Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in.”
I glance at Cat and give my head a little shake. I never mentioned my pet name for her. Never mentioned her period. I make it a habit of talking to Cain as little as possible.
“Come to tell me the competition continues? I thought we were over that. Grown up now.”
“I’d like to think so.”
“But what do you got here? You getting married, too, little brother? If that’s the case, this little lady ought to know what she’s getting into.” Cain eyes Cateline like a meal. But he’s the kind of wolf that likes to torment its prey first.
I roll my shoulders, watching for the slightest indication he’ll make a move—the coil of muscle, the grit of teeth, or the change in the direction of the wind. Anything and nothing could cause Cain to strike. And I will come back with a hundred tons, multiplied by nearly thirty years, of what could politely be called frustration.
“Nope. Just here for your wedding.”
“You wanted to see this old place before I level it to the ground?” His laugh is as dark as ever.
“That’s your plan?”
“Or torch it. See, the new Mrs. Wolfe and I are going to build us a home here.”
“You sound so much like Dad.” The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. He looks like our father, too, but I won’t go so far as to point that out.
We had a complicated relationship with Dennis Wolfe. I learned early on to steer clear of him. Cain would warm up when Dad was in one of his good moods. But there was no telling when he’d turn sour, making us wish we had somewhere else to go, anywhere. Even if we retreated to the woods, he’d track us like animals.
