As hot as the guy was, he was beginning to annoy me, and if he still wouldn’t leave, I’d literally toss him out. I wasn’t his father or his nanny, and he wasn't my responsibility.
But he’s very cute. My bear was telling me I was a meanie, and I didn’t understand why he was insisting I let me stay. Those dazzling green eyes weren’t enough for me to take him in like an abandoned puppy, and the smell of gasoline was offputting.
Stop pushing me. We know nothing about him.
“I can offer you a tent, the shed, or the porch for one night, and then you have to be on your way.”
My bear was arguing that Ford had no money for food and we had to help him out. But I told him my cabin wasn’t a refuge for wayward travelers.
I can’t take in every straggler who begs for a bed. Not that I’d had any previously.
Ford stared at me, suggesting he knew I was arguing with my beast. Shifters got a certain dazed look on their face when they and their beast were communicating.
“Why don’t you shift and sleep in the woods?” Some shifters preferred human comforts at night while others like my polar bear could sleep in human or beast form.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
I absolutely did and was confused and irritated at his response. Oh, unless his beast was used to the tropics and couldn’t shift here, even though it was spring and the temperature was mild.
This wasn’t how I’d planned my day, and my second coffee had gone cold.
4
FORD
I stood there, trying not to panic. Zack wanted me to leave, going so far as to offer me a tent. A freaking tent. This wasn’t exactly the climate to live outside, not having grown up a city boy, and my dragon wasn’t going to agree to let me sleep in my scales.
Going back wasn’t an option. I had a job here. Besides, my old apartment already had new tenants.
How could the lease be fake? The freaking lawyer’s phone was disconnected. If he even was a lawyer. He probably saw a court show once and made everything else up.
My savings were gone, and that was my fault. It should’ve been a red flag that they wanted so much money up front, but I justified it saying they had a lawyer. When they offered me a discount to prepay, it sort of made sense.
I had no idea what I was going to do next.
Zack stood there watching me and then let out a sigh. “You reek so bad, I can’t even concentrate. Go clean up. Then we’ll figure this out.”
There was a softness I hadn’t seen before, despite his harsh words. I didn’t understand what he was thinking, but I was taking him up on the offer.
“Thank you.” If he had offered me the hose, I would’ve appreciated it, but he was letting me in his bathroom. A thousand times better.
I hurried back out to grab my duffle, and as I was getting it out from where I had wedged firmly in place, I looked back to the cabin. Zack was standing there in the doorway, still just as grumpy and… hot. Gods, why did he have to be so sexy?
“Leave them outside. They reek. I’ll give you clothes.”
I wasn’t going to argue. I needed this shower.
Keep him,my dragon said. It was the first time my beast had spoken since we got there.
That’s not how that works. You don’t just keep people.I dragged my stuff back out and toward the cabin.
It was the first time I really got to look around the place. It wasn’t fancy, but it was nicer than what I expected out of a “hunting” cabin. The furniture looked comfy, made for using, not for being a showpiece. Nothing matched, which made it feel homey, warm, and lived in. I liked it but didn’t say anything. I knew that I wasn’t really wanted, and it was best just to accept the help without giving him any reason to get annoyed. He gave me a plastic bag for my clothes and walked away.
I took a shower using the bar soap I got from Sampson and the alpha’s shampoo. I felt guilty about that but hadn’t brought any with me. It felt amazing, even if it was a lot of scrubbing and my skin would hate me for it later.
Despite all my efforts, I still had some of the gasoline smell clinging to me when I rinsed off. How long was that going to stay? I scrubbed my hair and my skin again to the point where it was tender. That jackass. How could he drive off like that? I knew the police had been looking for him but didn’t know if they ever found him. It hadn’t been my priority, but now I wondered. The way he kept driving had me guessing it wasn’t truly an accident. But why would someone do that?
Finally, I started to smell like myself again. I stayed in there, letting the water pour over me. I thought about the small town I gave up everything for, about my job at the store Sampson owned. If the lease had been real, this would be my new place, and I wouldn’t have to worry about Zack or finding someplace else. I’d have felt really good about Bramble Woods. Something about the town just screamed “home,” like maybe this was a place I could finally fit in.
