“I don’t know anything either, but if he’s not there and she’s doing it, he could just say that he didn’t know, and that would be the end of his part in it.Unless you know that he’s part of it too.”She told him that she didn’t, but he was right about him not being there.“He’s suddenly has reservations in a hotel right now, he’s supposed to stay in when he gets out of jail.Which might be sooner than expected.Do you suppose that she sent him money to live off of?And why steal a credit card or cash if she has so much of it?It’s sounding more and more like he has nothing to do with the ring, and it’s all on her.I mean, I don’t know, but if you use your logic onit, it sounds like he’s just some guy who lets his girlfriend do whatever she wants while he’s away.”
It was time for him to go in, and he didn’t want to.He was having too much fun speculating on things with Cass.As he made his way into the back door of the restaurant, he talked to her more about this supposed job that his girlfriend had.
“Even if you are right and it sounds like you’ve given this a great deal of thought, how would you get someone to go there and figure it out?Call it in?I would imagine that they have plenty to do in New York with this sort of thing.”He put on his apron and looked at the night’s specials.He was going to need a lot of carved-up veggies tonight and some steaks.He got the people working with him to get on that right away.“This is the most fun I’ve had in a while.I wonder where your mind went when you thought this up, but I’m also not sure if I want to know.You have a very strange way of thinking of things.”
“That’s why, because I think outside the box.”He said that was good of her and laughed.People turned and looked at him, and he waved them off.“This is really thinking right outside of the box, isn’t it?I do wonder at times if I should have been a detective or something.I love looking for clues and getting to the bottom of things.”
“Yes, but thinking about them and actually doing something about them is different.One will give you a headache, the other might well get you killed.”She told him she was being careful, and he believed her.With her breeding, Conri would make sure she was being extra careful as well.He did wonder if his brother knew about what Cass was doing and decided that he wasn’t going to say anything.He liked his head right where it was.
For the rest of the evening, the two of them talked about it off and on.It made his evening go better, and he wasn’t in such a terrible mood when something went wrong.He knew it wouldn’t be his fault when it did, but somehow it always came back to being his fault in some form or another.By the time he was ready to go home for the day, they’d decided to see if Conri could get another pack member to watch over the place and see if what they were talking about was true.It might not get as much jail time for Dick as they hoped, but it might also get him out of the way for a while.It was worth looking into.
While driving home, he thought about Dick and what he was doing to Sharon.He couldn’t believe the greed of some people and was sorry that she had to go through all this.He’d experienced some greed when he’d taken a couple of different women out.They had it in their heads that since he had money, he should want to spend it on them.He did to a point, but not like they wanted and expected.
As he was getting on the highway to go home, he thought of his job and how much he hated doing it anymore.He used to love cooking, but now it was nothing more than another chore that he had to do.It was about time he changed his career and did something that he liked and couldn’t for the life of him remember doing anything but cooking since he was old enough to reach the stove.What he needed to do was find himself a mate so that she could shake things up for him like the other two had done for his brothers.
Not that he was actively looking for a mate.But then neither had his brothers.They just appeared.But he was more on his toes than they’d been and thought that if she came along, he’d be more in tune with her than his brothers did like Kendrick.He seemed to not have any idea what he was doing most of the time, and he blamed that on not having sex with his partner.Or that could be just him.Yanick didn’t know much about mates, but he did know that he wanted one in his life.
The last time he’d moved, he thought it was a house that he could live in for the rest of his life.It had everything that he needed in the way of places to use.It was larger than he thought that a couple starting out needed, but he thought that spare rooms were just that spare.He wasn’t under any kind of obligation to fill them out with children.He didn’t even know if he ever wanted little ones running around.He would like a mate that he could travel with and have fun with.
He knew, too, that if a mate came along, he was going to have to be in a better mood all the time.She might well make it so that he was, but worrying about his job wasn’t going to set well with either of them if he didn’t get himself into something that was better than he had right now.Yanick worriedtoo much to let a job take over his life like this one was doing.He either needed to get over the little problems that were going on at the place daily or find himself a better job.The better job might not come, but he knew that he needed different more than he needed better.He was bored with cooking where he was.
Pulling into the gas station that was open when he went by it, he filled up his tank and decided that his personal tank needed filling as well.He’d eaten at the little restaurant before that the station had on its premises.The food wasn’t fancy, but it was filling and good.Something that he’d make for himself if he were at home at the time.
Ordering breakfast, he was brought his tea and biscuits when his menu was taken away.The soft butter was good, and he enjoyed one of the warmed biscuits even as he was putting honey in his tea.He had just put his spoon down when someone sat down across from him.It was just a kid, so he didn’t say anything at first.
“Don’t tell him nothing.”He wanted to correct the kid, but decided now wasn’t the time.Almost as soon as the boy, he could see now, took off his jacket and hat, someone walked into the diner and looked around.“He’s looking for me, but he won’t find me if you play along.He thinks I’m a boy.”
Well, that changed his mind, and when the girl pulled her hair back from her face, he could indeed see that it was a little girl.She must have been about ten years old, but since he’d not been around kids much in his life, he was only guessing.The man came to his table and asked him if he’d seen a little boy.
“Boy?No.I’ve just been sitting here with my daughter since we came in, and you’re the first person I’ve seen since then.”He nodded and moved to the next table.When his food was brought to him, the girl took his pancakes and started dressing them up for herself.When a glass of milk appeared, too, he had a feeling that he was being had somehow and was going to end up in jail before the night was over.“What’s the deal?I just want to have something to eat that doesn’t involve me going to prison for it.”
“Margaret knows who I am.She covers for me when I’m in trouble.”He asked what sort of trouble she was in and how much was it going to cost him.“Just your pancakes.Margaret will take them off your bill when you’re ready to leave.Chill your jets, why don’t you?I’m not hurting you.”
She wasn’t, and he should have been relieved.But he wasn’t.Just having her in the booth with him was making his wolf a little antsy, too.But since he was hungry and she wasn’t causing him any grief, he ate his eggs and bacon, sharing his ham with her when she asked for it.By the time they were finished eating off their plates, the man had left, and he’d had a refill of his tea and she another glass of milk.She looked at him when his empty plates were taken away.
“Thank you.”He said it was his pleasure, but she owed him an explanation.“He thinks I’m a boy and wants me to travel with him.”
It took his mind a few seconds to catch up to what she was telling him.When his face heated up, hers did as well.As soon as he was brought his check, minus the pancakes that she’d eaten, the girl had moved out of his booth and was on her way out of the place.He barely caught up with her when she was headed for the outdoor restroom for ladies.She asked him what he wanted.
“Should you be out here alone?I mean, the next guy that comes in to have a nice quiet meal might not be so nice.What would you have done had I not kept your secret?He might have gotten you, too, while you were out here?”She said that she had it handled.“I want to help you.Tell me what I can do, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get you off the streets.”
“I’m not really in trouble other than I don’t have a home to go to.I’ve been hanging out around here for the past month and have been on my toes since to keep myself safe.I don’t know what you could do to help me other than do what you just did and keep me from getting caught by perverts.”He asked her how old she was.“Sixteen.Listen, you did me a good deed, and I’m sure that once you get to the pearly gates, you’ll have enough bonus points that you can get in without any trouble.”
“Where are your parents?”She told him that her mother was in the hospital and her dad was in prison.“Nice family you’ve got there.Well, I can’t leave you alone out here.Why don’t I pay for you ahotel room that you can stay in until your mother gets out of the hospital?”
“Sure, and you’ll just stay in the room to make sure that I’m all right, too.No thanks.”He said that he was serious and wouldn’t bother her.“That’s what the man said who thought I was a boy that he could fondle.No thanks.I’m not going to a hotel with you, mister.Like I said, you did me something good, and I’m grateful.But I’m not going to be staying with you indefinitely.”
There really wasn’t anything he could do for her that wouldn’t involve the police, and he didn’t want her to run off, never to return, just because he had a burr up his ass.But he really didn’t want to leave her there all on her own.He decided to talk to Margaret.She might know something that he didn’t, which was saying a lot since he didn’t know shit about what was going on.
~*~
Kendrick went home and laid down on the couch.There wasn’t anyone home, so he thought he’d enjoy a nice nap before dinner.It had been a long day today, and he was exhausted.Of course, he wasn’t getting any sleep either, and that was his fault entirely.He was having bad dreams about Dick getting out of jail and coming after Sharon.He just couldn’t shake the feeling that she was going to be hurt, and he didn’t know how to make sure it didn’t happen.
“There you are.”He sat up, just dozing off when he heard the front door open.“I was trying to call you, but I kept getting your service.She said she’d put me through, but I thought you might be busy and didn’t want to be bothered.”
“For you, I want to be bothered.It’s just been a long day, and I needed just a little bit of a snooze before dinner.What are we having anyway?”She told him that they were having dinner with Cass and Conri tonight, and that she had some news about her father.“Good.The longer he stays in jail, the better.I’m hoping forever, but I’ll take what I can get.”
“How about sex?”He just stared at her, not really sure what she meant.“I want to have sex with you.Cass told me I’d be stronger for it, but that’s not the reason why.I’m so in desperate need of you that I find myself waking up in the middle of the night, reaching for you.You’re not there for me.”
