“Of course you didn’t, yet the entire family is having fun at your expense.Did you know that you made her little girl cry?That’s not like you, is it?Not to mention, if she was in the store after you, she must not have known what you were about.”He said he didn’t put it past her that she was stalking him.“Now you’re just being paranoid.Or something anyway.I’m going to ask you again, what is your problem with finding a mate?It’s a done deal now.You’ve found her.What are your plans now that you have?”
“Nothing.I’m going to avoid her.She has a temper, too, did I tell you that?And she took it out on me.”She didn’t say anything, and that made him think that she was agreeing with him.“Did you also know that I have no idea what she does for a living?”
He thought about how she’d been dressed and realized that she was a postal worker.As soon as he knew that, he knew something else about her.She was pretty.Not setting well on his already damaged ego, he decided that he was going to stop his mail from coming to his house so that she’d not know anything about him.His mom asked him what he was thinking.He told her.
“Stalking you?I don’t think that’s how it works.Besides, she’d have to like you some if she decided that stalking you was her best way of getting to know you.I would think, from what you just said, that she’d be avoiding you like you plan to do to her.Sounds like a good solution for both of you.Just avoid each other, and that will make it all right.”He asked his mom if she thought that would work.“I don’t know Zeno.I’m just saying that you seem to want this not to work, and that’s the best way to do it.I don’t know that I’d want to have anything to do with you either if you’ve been spouting off at the mouth like you said you had.”
“I can’t talk to anyone about this.They all, including you, think that I’m wrong for wanting nothing to do with her, well, I know what I want, and I’m going to prove to you all that my way is going to work.You’ll see.She’ll be nothing but a faded memory in a few days, and I won’t have to have anything to do with her again.”
“If you say so.”He told his mom that he did say so and told her that he had to go.Just as he was hanging up the phone, his brother called.
“What the fuck did you do to her?She’s been sobbing since I picked her up from the grocery store.”Great, another person to be pissed at him.He told Alaric what had happened and his plan.“Yeah, that’s a good plan.Stay out of her life.”Then he slammed the phone down in his ear, and he wanted to call him back so that he could do the same to him.
Chapter 5
After sending Alaric on his way home, Anna sat in her living room and tried not to cry.What a terrible person Zeno was, and he thought that she was the bad person in all this?Since she’d not known what he was talking about—she did know what mates were, but not on his level of meanness—when he said she was going to listen to him.He’d spouted off other things as well, but none of them made sense to her since she’d met him.She’d been pissed at him since last night when he’d made Harri cry.
“Are you all right, mommy?”She cuddled up next to her daughter and told her that she’d had a bad day.“Was it that old, mean man?I wanted to sock him in the nose, he was so mean to me.”
“He’s not mad at you, honey.”Though in his mind, she didn’t know.“He didn’t get his way in something, and he’s taking it out on the world.We can handle him.We’ll just ignore him and go about our day.We won’t have to see him anymore after next week anyway.I’m going to go back to my regular route by then, and he’ll be nothing to us.”
“I don’t like him.”She didn’t either, but held her daughter.“Can we please go get a burger?We both had a bad day, and we need a treat.”
“All right.”She didn’t feel like cooking anyway, and this would mean that she didn’t have any clean up to do either.“You change into your comfy clothes, and we’ll hit the burger place in town.You can even have one of those pies they have.We really did have a bad day.”
After they got dressed in comfy things to go to town, she hoped her car would start.It was old, she knew that, but it would have to at least wait until her next day off, when she could get to town while Harri was at school and shop for a new car.She had decided that she was nervous about how it decided to just strand her and was worried it would do that again while she was out with Harri.
The drive into town was fun.Harri was making up jokes, what a four-year-old thought of a joke anyway, and telling them to her.Once they ordered their food, her daughter ordered her dessert first thing, so she’d allow her to have it before she changed her mind.They took a seat in the place.It was fairly busy in the restaurant while they were there, and she liked that.Not one that did well with crowds of people, the two of them enjoyed the talk going around the room about the melon festival.
“Since you have no school tomorrow, we’ll head down to the river and see what’s going on.I heard from someone that I work with that the tractor pulling is the best thing to watch.”Harri ate her meal and wanted more fries.Since she’d already eaten hers, she got her another order and shared them with her.“We do all right together, don’t you think, baby girl?I mean, I’m not messing you up too bad, am I?”
“You make me perfect.”That was wonderful to hear, and when they were ready to go, dessert eaten too, she headed out to her car and tried to start it.The stupid thing decided that it wasn’t going to go, and she was ready to walk home when she thought of Alaric.He’d told her that if she decided to call him, he was going to be in town.Maybe he was still there.“Are we going to get home, mommy?The car won’t start.”
“I know, baby.I’m going to call Mr.Dresden and see if he’s still in town.Maybe we’ll have him drop us off at the dealership, and we’ll get us a new one.I know what I want.”She cheered her on while she was pulling out her cell phone.When he answered, she launched right into what she’d called him for.“I was wondering if you’re still in town.My car broke down again.You won’t have to take us home if you could just drop me off at the dealership here close to us, and we’ll get that car I’ve been searching for.”
“I’m with my brother.”She said that it would be all right, she’d call an Uber driver.“No, I can get you.My brother Aaron said we could be late.It won’t take but a minute for me to get to you.Where are you anyway?”She told him.
“It’s not that far from the car I’ve been searching for online.I’m sick of depending on a car that’s older than I am.”He said that she should be able to see him now.“I do see you.You look just like your brothers.I’m sure you’ve been told that before.”
“We all look like our dad.Mom is all right with that.She said that as boys, we’d be too pretty to look like her.”She put her phone away when they pulled into the restaurant.“I know nothing about cars, even enough to help you out.This is my brother Aaron.He works with us at the stationhouse.”
After shaking his hand, she felt a jolt of something race up her arm.He didn’t say anything, and she didn’t either.Whatever had happened must have been her imagination, so she let it go.After getting permission to leave her car there for a couple of hours, true to his word, Alaric picked them up and dropped them off at the dealership.The two of them hung around with them to make sure that they were able to go off the lot with a new car rather than being stuck somewhere else.
She knew just what car she wanted and didn’t need a salesperson to try to talk her into something else.Aaron was very helpful with Harri, and she wondered why Zeno wasn’t more like the rest of his family.Deciding not to think about him anymore today, she smiled at the salesman and told him just what she wanted.If they didn’t have it, she would go someplace else.
“We do have that one in stock.However, it’s not green but blue.I hope that’s all right?”She said it would be so long as he didn’t try to pressure her into something more.“No, I wouldn’t do that.Besides, Aaron and I go way back, and with him here, I know better than to upsell you.”
The paperwork was filled out, and they were going to pick up her old car for her.In a matter of a couple of hours, not only did she have the car that she wanted, but Aaron made sure she got a discount on it, too.Yes, she wondered why Zeno wasn’t more like his brothers.They seemed stable.
“I’m sorry about my brother.”She said that she would be gone in another week and he’d be on his own.“If you have anymore trouble with him, just let one of us know.There is no point in his treating you the way he has been.Even if you are his mate.”
“I didn’t pick him out to be anything to me.”He said that he knew that.“I just want to get on with my life and avoid him as much as possible.Like I said, just another week on this route and I’ll be on my own again.I only picked this up because we traded vacation times.Harri and I are going to go on vacation as soon as school lets out and take the entire two weeks.”
“That sounds like fun.”She said she was sure that it was going to be and smiled.Aaron grinned back and asked her where they were going.“I’m sure wherever it is you have it planned out to the minute.”
“I do, and we’ll be going to the happiest place on earth.Don’t tell Harri.She’d be bothering me something terrible if she knew where we were going.”He promised he wouldn’t say a word.“Thank you for going out of your way to help me out.I shouldn’t have any more trouble from now on.At least not with the car.”
“It was our pleasure, and I’m glad to meet you.You’re nothing like I thought you’d be.”She asked him if he thought she was some bitch who didn’t get her way and took it out on others.When his face turned red, she felt bad.“No, I just thought of you as a woman.I didn’t know you’d be so beautiful.”
