Page 14 of Same One
“I know. Logically, I know. I’ll sit up at nights feeling like this is the stupidest silent treatment in the world. I know I’m wrong. Doesn’t change the instinct to protect myself. We’ve been through so much war since we’ve been kicked out of the Coeur d’Alene Lake Pack, and we’ve come so close to losing people. It can happen at any time. I guess somewhere along the way, I got weak about it.”
“Or you grew a heart about it,” she said.
Smart little human.
“Yeah, maybe. I hate it. Having a heart when you’re a werewolf is the worst.”
She giggled and took the phone with her as she slid the pan of cheap hotdog buns into the oven to toast them.
He set the phone on the wall so she could see him dragging in the couch. “I don’t know how to arrange this.” His voice echoed through the nearly empty living room and kitchen space.
“Uuuuh, come pick me up and show me the whole living room.”
“Yeah?” he asked, his heartrate kicking into a faster pace. “Where do you live?”
“No, no, I don’t mean pick me up. I mean pick the phone up.”
“Oh. Right.” He frowned. “I knew that.” Damn, why had he gotten so excited there for a second?
He picked up the phone and panned it slowly around the living room.
“Probably television above the mantle of the fireplace, and the couch on that back wall,” she said, pointing.
Tabian nodded. Sounded good enough for him. He set her back down and picked up the couch, so he didn’t scuff the wood floors.
“Dear Lord, you make that look like it weighs nothing,” she said.
He chuckled and set it down gently. “It doesn’t weigh much to me. Have you ever been around werewolves before?”
“Um, hang on, I’ve got to finish dinner. Bayen is almost home.”
“Okay, I’ve got to go get the kitchen table from the shed. I’ll be right back.”
He left the phone there with the intention of returning immediately with the table, but when he did roll it through the front door, angling carefully to work around the legs of the table, Tru had hung up on him.
Dang. Bayen must’ve returned home. He didn’t really understand. She’d told him yesterday that her stepson was interested in meeting a werewolf, but now she was keeping them carefully separate. Strange.
A text came through from her as he stared at the blank screen of his phone.
The kiddo is home. About to eat dinner. Want to call me later? He’s going camping tonight, and he doesn’t like me hanging around for it. He just told me. I’ll have a messy bun and pajama night, with perhaps a glass of wine.
He read the text twice with this stupid smile on his face. Instead of answering,Of coursethough, he texted her his address and left it at that. She could make her decision for how her night would go from here.
On second thought, he texted a follow-up.I can track down some red wine. I know you’re a proper human, so I’ll be clear, this isn’t a booty call. This is friends hanging out only. There won’t be pressure on you. Except I will pressure you to show up in your messy bun and pajamas. That shit is my jam.Send.
She didn’t respond, and he knew he’d pushed too far too fast. He also wasn’t taking it back. His mom had taught him that women appreciated bold men who made plans, and his texts to Tru felt right.
But as an hour passed, he started second-guessing it. Had she blocked him? He checked his phone for the tenth time to still no response from Tru. Crap. He had tried to stay busy bringing in furniture while he waited for a text from her. He’d left most of it wrapped up and was to the part where he needed to build the bed frame, dresser, and the kitchen table chairs, which had been delivered in pieces.
So, Bayen liked to solo-camp? That was cool. Tabian knew all about camping. Should he tell her what he did for a living? Should he offer to send Bayen some gear? He had a ridiculous amount of camping gear, and some of it was still in boxes.
He tried to remember himself at sixteen. He was partying a lot, and drinking, and getting into trouble in the Pack he’d grown up in, but he wasn’t into camping. That love hadn’t hit him until later in life, when his wolf needed more and more solitude around big Changes.
He checked his phone again. Nothing.
Shit.
He puffed out a long breath. The Pack was beginning to return home. He could hear the truck engines.
