Page 16 of Alpha’s Conquest

More time around Adam. Marshall was asking me to throw myself into a fire and not get burned. But he was unaware of the flames already licking my body, and it had to stay that way. I could do this. I just had to keep my distance from Adam until whatever this was faded away.

That man had the power to destroy my entire life, and I would be damned if I let him do it.

TEN

Adam

Adam

I don’t know what I was thinking. As soon as Marshall asked if they could stay longer, I said yes, knowing this was the worst idea ever. Was that yes for his benefit, or for mine? As much as I loved my son, I couldn’t ignore the knot in my gut. I was being selfish. I was keeping Casey close for my own motives: stealing him from my son.

Seriously, Adam? Is this what you’ve stooped to?

I barely noticed I’d run my third stop sign when a car almost rammed into me at the intersection. Old Mrs. Bandle in her ancient cream Plymouth. I think it was older than both of my sons. Something had to be broken in the engine because she never went over 15 mph, but it somehow still ran enough for her to get to the grocery store and back. She drove past me at a glacial speed, and I wondered if her car was even running or if this was just inertia. I gave her a friendly finger wave from the steering wheel, along with a smile that felt as fake as plastic fruit. She didn’t return it, she just kept petering by slower than a snail.

Once I was free, I drove as fast as the speed limit would allow until I was at my latest work site. Burnie’s Pharmacy wanted new landscaping on their small lot. Some trees, bushes, and flowers. Business wasn’t always booming in a town this small, but being the only landscaper in Oakridge had its perks.

Lane and the rest of my team were still finishing up Ms. Caitlyn’s yard, so I had this job all to myself. I needed the distraction. The mind numbing repetition. The ache in my muscles after a long day's work. And that’s exactly what I got. I unloaded my truck bed and started the most backbreaking part of any job: digging up grass and weeds before plotting out where everything would go.

An hour later, my hands were sore. My legs and back ached. But the burn felt so good. It dulled my senses, and made my raging libido a faint whisper inside my mind. It’s how I’d survived for twenty years without someone in my bed, and that’s exactly how I would survive my attraction to Casey. I would work until I felt nothing.

Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I rubbed my filthy hands across my pant legs and went to the truck for a drink. I kept a cooler inside the cabin, loaded with cold water and something to eat. The water cooled my heated body almost instantly, making me forget how hot the sun was. I poured some of it on my hair, shaking my head like a dog, the droplets trickling down my face.

I enjoyed being alone like this, with just the burning sun and long work ahead of me. But for the first time in I don’t know how long, all of my focus was back home, with Casey. I downed more of the cold water and patted my neck dry with an old cloth. Not enough work, it seemed. Back to digging.

“Adam!” A car pulled up to the pharmacy, and a familiar face poked out from the window. Father Oscar, the church’s priest, and one of my oldest friends. He parked and got out, walking over to the tree I stood under. He’d traded his church robes for a pair of jeans and a black button-up shirt with a white priest collar. His long white hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and the short tendrils around his face waving in the breeze. Even this close to him, I could barely smell his pheromones. While the papacy didn’t require chastity from its priests, they were expected to keep their scent under control. “It’s nice to see you. I heard Marshall is back in town.” Of course, he knew. Everyone knew. It was hardly a surprise when everyone knew everyone’s business in Oakridge.

Ignoring the unasked question, I tossed my empty water bottle into the truck cabin and slammed the door shut. That was more an answer to his inquiry than actually talking.

“I see. You and Marshall left things on bad terms when he moved away. Did you have another falling out with him?”

I picked at the dirt under my fingernails, enough that my skin stung. Anything to keep myself distracted. When I closed my eyes, Casey consumed me. “We didn’t… fight,” I admitted.

“Yet,” he added with a smirk. “Your sons are exactly like you, Marshall especially. It was only a matter of time before you butted heads with him again.”

I wished this was only about a fight with my son. That would be easier to deal with. “I wasn’t angry with him for leaving.”

“I know that.” Oscar paused, leaning against the shade tree while I grabbed a shovel. “You should’ve come to see me. I’m always here for you to talk to.”

“Do I have to have problems to see my friend?”

The way he stared down at me, like a schoolmarm about to scold someone, almost made me laugh. “Adam. Seriously. How long have we known each other? You don’t even come to church on Easter like everyone else.”

He had me there.

His head tilted to watch the leaves wave in the breeze. The way the sunlight fell over his face, highlighting his features with a soft glow, might’ve entranced me at one time. Before Laura, and before he became a priest, we used to know each other on… different terms. It was never serious, and neither of us felt truly fulfilled with the other, but he was a faithful companion. Our lasting friendship after we ended things only proved that.

“So? What’s on your mind?”

I trusted Oscar with my secrets, more than I did anyone else, and not just because he was a priest and therefore obligated to keep our conversations private. But… could I really admit to him what was truly plaguing me? How could I tell my best friend I was lusting after my son’s mate? No, I couldn’t say that, not even to him. I had to make something up.

“It’s nothing. Just some… unresolved… it’s nothing.” Oscar’s eyebrows rose so high they almost disappeared into his hairline, but he waited for me to continue before saying anything. “There’s someone I… never mind.”

Oscar’s surprise turned into glee, a wide grin stretching across his features. “Adam.”

I slammed the shovel into the ground, gripping it until my hands hurt. “Calm down. I didn’t mean that.”

“You haven’t been interested in a single soul since you lost Laura, beta, omega, or Alpha.” I raised an eyebrow at him, and he held his hand up to stop me. “I don’t judge. We both know David prefers other Alphas. Some people don’t really approve of that, but scripture tells us to be accepting of everyone, no matter who they love. Plus… he’s happy with Dina. I saw him last week at the courthouse. He’s never smiled like that before.”