On the left was Wyatt Campbell, sheriff of nearby Skeeter Bite. He was also well-regarded by the folks in Alienn and was often mistaken for an Alpha when he visited the Big Bang Truck Stop because of his large stature.
Cam cut the loud engine before rolling the bike between the two vehicles. He pulled his helmet off, tucked it under one arm and nodded once at each of the men. They nodded back.
“What are you two doing out here? Hiding from the public?” Cam asked, making conversation, hoping he could keep it quick.
“Nope. Just shootin’ the bull, is all,” Wyatt said, his gaze going over Cam’s shoulder to Ria. “So, who’s that ridin’ with you, Cam?”
Cam pointed his thumb over one shoulder and said, “This is Ria. We’re just taking the bike out for a scenic ride.” Ria waved, but didn’t remove her helmet, for which he was very grateful.
Wyatt and Hunter looked at each other with knowing grins and then back at him. “Ria? Is she from Alienn?”
“No,” Cam said quickly. “She’s from out of town.”
“Is that so? Did you meet her at the Smokin’ Hog Saloon last night by any chance?”
“How do you know that?” Cam had always felt rather inconspicuous during karaoke night. Now he knew he’d been wrong.
“Come on, Cam. How do we know anything? There is a wide and active grapevine weaving tales all through the local towns. I know you’re aware of it.”
Cam ignored what he may or may not know about the local grapevine, asking, “Who was gossiping?”
Wyatt lifted one shoulder and smirked. “I also heard tell that some pretty lady sang a karaoke song directly at you. Two songs, in fact, and that you were obviously smitten the entire time.”
Hunter added, “There are also rampant rumors that you promptly took three months off work at the truck stop to go elope, build a cabin on some land, settle down and have a dozen babies.”
“Oh, yeah? Was it my aunt Dixie or did my mother call in from her travels with that fantastical gossip?” he asked, not hiding his eye roll. He was glad Ria couldn’t see his face, since he could feel the heat of an unmanly blush spreading over his cheekbones.
“I don’t rightly remember,” Wyatt said with a wink and a grin.
Cam didn’t want to deny his feelings, or shoot down the elopement theory—especially since that notion had actually crossed his mind—in front of Ria.
“Don’t believe all the rumors you hear or you’ll end up knee deep in swamp water looking for a bogus bigfoot in the middle of the night that turns out to be a huge, mangy dog that smells really bad. Trust me on this one.” Cam referred to an incident recently in Alienn where an angry Alpha-Prime creature—some Alpha’s exotic, illegal pet—got loose and had to be subdued. Only a few Alphas knew therealstory, and it wasn’t a mangy dog, huge or otherwise.
The feral, disobedient gaze of that beast right before Cam slapped the shackle sticker on its neck lived in his nightmares. It had been his idea to pass the whole incident off as fake and trot out a filthy, grungy mutt of indeterminate breeding to show the reporters and keep Alienn’s secrets.
“Good point,” Wyatt said.
Hunter asked, “Are your folks still traveling around the country in that RV?”
Cam smiled, grateful for the change in subject from both the false rumors of his elopement and the recent creature capture. “Oh, yeah. They’ll be back in a month or so for Diesel’s wedding. That’s the only marriage I’m aware of, by the way.”
“That’s right, I heard about that. So your big brother is getting married, is he? I can’t believe you didn’t try to stop him.”
“I did try. He just didn’t listen.” They all traded a few more caustic bites of humor over the demise of Diesel’s bachelorhood even though Cam figured his brother was really lucky to have found his soul mate. He was surprised Ria wasn’t poking him in the ribs for his views on marriage and bachelorhood. Maybe he should soften his attitude.
“Seriously, though, it turned out for the best. Juliana loves him and he’s stupid over her, so I’m sure they’ll be good for each other and live happily ever after,” Cam said.
“High praise,” Wyatt said.
“Does this mean you might be next on the bachelor chopping block?” Hunter nodded once at Ria. “Maybe the gossip following you now will be true one day very soon. My favorite, of course, is the one that has you planning a dozen babies. I’d pay good money to see that show.”
“Funny.” He was about to add the words “big, fat no” to that, but couldn’t seem to get the negative phrase past his lips. Instead, he waggled his eyebrows and said, “You just never know.”
The sheriffs laughed. Ria squeezed his waist once. It was long past time to go.
He went through the typical ritual of goodbyes—which in the South often took some time—and finally said, “See you all around.”
Cam put his helmet back on, started his engine and revved it for effect. He and Ria both waved goodbye and soon they were zipping along a winding country road past the turnoff for the bauxite mine his family managed and racing further north.
