I rub the back of my neck and grimace. I was hoping she wouldn’t ask.
“Listen, Zeke has been very insistent that your feelings and inner workings are your own,” I begin, and her eyes go wide. “He felt you getting stressed. Overwhelmed, actually.” She opens her mouth, but I cut her off, which makes me cringe, but I need to say all this before she passes judgment. “Zeke really didn’t want to tell me, but I could tell he was distracted by it, and I forced him to tell me. He and the others were busy, so I volunteered to come.”
She takes a deep breath in through her nose.
“Busy?” is all she says as she starts bustling around the shop, righting things. I grab a cleaning cloth from under the front counter and start wiping surfaces.
“Yeah. We’re pretty well known as tattoo artists. We do pop -ups. The clientele at Bee Haven heard we were staying there. Apparently there were so many requests at the front desk that the owner caved and asked if we wanted to do a pop-up.”
Her eyes widen as she straightens a display of sloth-shaped cheese graters. It’s clear she’s holding in a smile. “I bet Cole loved that.”
“He looked like someone had raked him over hot flames, but we put him out of his misery and accepted. The guys are running it now.I left and they stayed because Zeke, Eli, and Gage were in the middle of a tattoo, and I’d just finished.”
“Do you guys all do different tattoos?” she asks.
"Yeah." I hold out my hand so she can take a closer look. Flowers flow along my palms and over my fingers, but it's not the ink that makes the flowers. It's my skin. The ink covers everything else. "It's called blackwork. That’s where the ink covers the rest of the skin, but the shapes and pictures are made out of my untouched skincolor." She touches one of the flower petals and I hold very still.
The door opens. I’m about to bark at the person to go back to school and learn to read. The sign clearly says CLOSED. But I catch a familiar alpha scent. Corbin stands in the doorway. Light tapping follows, and a moment later a dog bounds into the shop.
“Deputy!” Winnie squeals, dropping to her knees and letting the little beast lick her face. For a moment, Corbin and I both stare, transfixed by the beautiful angel on her knees. I shake my head and glance at him. He meets my look.
“How’re you doing, Rafe?” he asks. I shrug, though the gesture doesn’t match the racing thoughts or hollow pit in my stomach. I’m not mad. Not like Gage, who has his own reasons. I’m just sad. I understand why Corbin left, to an extent. But I missed my friend. I really did.
“You know, living my best life. What about you, Sheriff? Living yours?”
A darkness flickers across his face, and I instantly regret the question. It was a dick thing to say. He glances toward Winnie, who I realize has turned her attention to us.
“Getting there,” Corbin replies and I feel the implication in my very soul.
Winnie’s phone rings and she steps aside to answer it, leaving uncomfortable silence stretching between us. After a few quick words she hangs up.
“Who was that, Dulzura?” I ask.
“My mom. She’s been bothering me to come to family dinner two weeks from now. I keep making excuses, but I’m not sure how long I can reasonably hold off.”
I frown. “Why are you holding off?” She gives me a faintly incredulous look and gestures to her bite. “Ah.”
“Yeah. She’s an omega,” Winnie explains, “and my father’s an alpha, so they’re going to know pretty quick what happened.”
I nod.
“We should go,” I say, firm and decisive. Both Winnie and Corbin stare at me.
“Why?” Winnie asks slowly.
“Because they’re going to find out eventually. Let’s rip the bandage off, as they say.”
“As who says?” Corbin asks.
“They,” I snap. He snorts. “Anyways,” I continue, “we can go with you and help explain.”
She looks from me to Corbin.
“Are you sure? My family’s kind of… big.”
I picture Winnie in a home full of siblings, all noise and chaos, and I know instantly I have to see that.
“Oh, I’m sure.”
