When he’d said they were modern, that was a matter of opinion. The desktop he left me to was at least a decade old, maybe even older, but it did connect right to the internet. My experience with computers was also a matter of opinion. Thepack had a few, but omegas got little if any access to them, so it took me a while to figure out how to find the information I wanted.
The towns that came up as a result of my search terms were varied, but all had lots of reviews—who knew towns got reviews?—many of which glowed. They were cute, quaint, and charming. I set my limits as five hundred miles away and narrowed it down to a half dozen towns that at first glance seemed to meet my requirements. They had affordable housing and likely job prospects, among other things. Some were located in scenic areas and might be perfect for me. So, why did I feel no desire to visit any of them, much less move to them? Our pack didn’t have a vehicle well maintained enough to reach that far even if they decided I was worth that level of effort.
I’d be safe.
After asking the owl librarian for a piece of paper and a pen, I made some notes and then shut down the computer as he instructed me to do and thanked him for his help.
“You are most welcome, Miss Karissa. Hopefully we will see one another around town before you have to leave.”
“I would like that.” Unfortunately, it would be a disaster. He was the only one in town who knew my real name.
The cozy library with its rows and rows of enticing books and seating area for people who wanted to curl up on a couch or chair to read as well as a children’s area that had just begun to fill with parents and their young for an advertised story hour was one more thing I loved about Pleasant.
I might have to leave, but I would never forget the first place I found a measure of happiness and kind people.
At the diner, I tied my apron around my waist and pulled my hair up into a high ponytail. The scents of dinner were different from the bacon and sausage of morning and grilling burgers of lunchtime. Oh, we still served burgers until closing, I’d beeninformed, but we also offered a few different dinner specials each night.
Henry called me over to fill me in on tonight’s and told me to check with him if I had any questions or forgot something. “And don’t let that weasel try to trick you into double portions.”
I didn’t ask who the weasel was, assuming anyone who tried to trick me into extra food would also be subject to a firm refusal. Emerging into the dining room, my gaze immediately lit on a table by the window where Holt and his friend Poe sat with another alpha. Equally hot, the third male did not look nearly as comfortable as the others, his gaze flicking left and right. He wore his longish hair tied back and a blond scruff dusted his chin. I wondered what he did that gave him that golden tan. Unlike humans, shifters did not have to worry as much about sun damage. When I approached to clear their empty dinner plates, I caught his gaze, the bluest eyes I’d ever encountered, before he looked away.
“Hello, gentlemen. Can I bring you some dessert?”
“Katie,” Poe said, a warm smile lifting his lips. “You haven’t met our friend Vaughn. Vaugh, Katie.”
“Welcome to Pleasant,” he said. “And I’d like dessert.”
Chapter Eight
Holt
“Someone say something,” Poe said once we’d polished off three pieces of triple chocolate cake and multiple mugs of coffee. We didn’t usually caffeinate at night, but we would’ve done anything to get a refill from our mate. We’d been about to leave when Katie showed up, and Vaughn, who’d been ready to go the whole time we were there, surprised us by wanting to order dessert.
He’d jumped right on the Katie train. We were kind of obsessed. Hooked. Desperate.
“She’s ours,” Vaughn confirmed with two words. Nothing more to say.
“Okay,” I replied. “Let’s ask her out, but first I have a confession.”
Poe cocked his head. “Go on. We’re wasting time.”
“I scented her days ago when her truck broke down on the highway and I called Darryl and had her towed into his mechanic’s shop. Got her to the motel. Made sure she was safe.”
Two legs kicked me under the table. Right in the fucking shins.
I kind of deserved it.
“Okay. Anyone else have any confessions before we act like a pack and get our girl?” Vaughn held his hands out.
“No,” Poe responded.
“Me either,” I said.
Vaughn nodded. “Good. Then let’s get a whole pie to go and ask her out while we’re here. No time like the present, and if she’s supposed to leave when her truck gets fixed, then we have no time to waste. Darryl is pretty damned good, unfortunately.”
“Good plan. Let’s get her over here.”
I raised my hand to signal Katie and after refilling some drinks, she headed over with our check in her hand. Bold assumption. She thought some burgers, fries, milkshakes, and cake could fill wolf shifters up? We were just getting started. “Can you box up one of the cherry pies and one of the clementine cakes for us to bring home, please? Add it to our check?”
