Who's Your Alpha? (3 page)

“Would you mind coming to my place?”

Only as much as I’d mind winning the mega-lottery.
“Um, no. That would be fine.”

“We can take my car. Do you have any plans you need to be back for?”

“I’m supposed to meet up with Rommy sometime today, but nothing definite. And there’s the parade tonight.”

He laughed. “I promise you won’t miss the show. Rommy, I’m not sure about. You can call her from my place.”

“I’ve got my cell phone.”

“That’s good then. Come on. My car’s behind the hardware store.”

He led her to a big black truck with scratches showing through the caked-on mud. “Sorry. I should have run it through the car wash.”

“Why? This is the vehicle of someone who gets into his work.” She climbed into the passenger seat after he opened the door for her. The interior smelled like dogs and she smiled. Most people would find the odor offensive. She bit back the urge to sniff at the seat. He climbed into the driver’s seat and they were off. To her surprise, they headed into the mountain.

“Your place is upslope?”

“Yeah.” His cell phone howled, and he hit the talk button on his earpiece. She wasn’t totally surprised when the truck slowed to a stop.

“I’ll be there shortly.” He hung up and sighed, his head dropping to the steering wheel. “Sunny?”

She laughed. “Yeah, I know. Another emergency.”

“Actually, no. But the shepherd isn’t doing well. I need to go back. You want me to drop you at the hotel?”

“Can I go with you?”

His eyebrows raised and he shot her a grin. “You’d do that?”

“Of course. Go.” He whipped the truck around—an interesting feat on the narrow road. She grabbed the handgrip as they went down the mountain a lot faster than they’d gone up. He did slow down on their way through town, his hands tapping impatiently as they waited for the single light at the square to change. Then over the bridge and on to the river road. A few minutes later, they skidded to a stop next to a low, white brick building. Sunny spied wire enclosures at the back of the building; she assumed they were kennels and other holding pens.

“Welcome to my place.” David held the glass door open for her. The large lobby was split into three sections, dogs to the left, cats to the right, general pets in the center across from a welcoming receptionist’s desk.

“Nice.”

“Thanks. I shouldn’t be long. Feel free to look around.”

“Go. Take care of your patient. I’ll be fine.” He grasped her hand and she thought he was going to kiss it, but to her surprise, he merely sniffed. Who knew a sniff could be so sexy? So hot? After he left, she stepped back outside to cool off. The man created more steam than a sauna. She walked around the back to the holding pens. The open ones were empty, but she was sure there were other animals inside. The wire cages bothered her. To be so enclosed…how horrid.

She went back inside and wandered through the store area. Different types of food, bedding, grooming supplies, and more lined the neat shelves. She didn’t feel right wandering through the examining rooms and other private areas, so she stuck to the waiting areas. The designer had made the seating comfortable with padded chairs, but also practical in using easily cleaned fabrics and flooring, varying from industrial carpet to tile. Large windows let in ample amounts of light and green plants softened the corners. It was a professional office, but comfortable and easy on the eye.

Five magazines later, David emerged from the back offices. Deep fatigue lines marred his face, and her heart went out to him. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. That took longer than I thought it would. And I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to take you to my place. The shepherd took a turn for the worse. I may have to operate again. I can take you back to the hotel, but then I need to come back here.”

Her heart dropped, but she put on her best smile. “No worries. You sure you can leave now?”

“Yeah. The tech is keeping an eye on things.” He held open the door for her.

He was quiet all the way to the hotel, and she left him alone. She knew he needed to process what had gone wrong at the clinic. They pulled into the parking lot, and he just sat there, hands on the steering wheel. She climbed out of the cab. “See you later?”

“Huh? Oh. Yes. Later.” He was moving almost before she shut the door. She jumped back and stared after the truck. Had she seen what she thought? It couldn’t be. Could it? “Did he have fur? And claws?”

Head shaking, she strolled into the hotel. A dozen or so people stood around, some at the desk, others scattered around the lobby. She recognized most of them, though they’d changed in the ten years since she’d last seen them, but then, so had she.

“Dr. Clark?” The young man staffing the desk called her over.

“Yes?”

“I was told to watch for you and give you this.” He handed her an envelope. Sunny turned it over several times before finally slitting it open. “Damn.” The note was from Rommy. She and Sam would be tied up almost all day with family stuff. So much for them getting together until later. “So what do I do now?”

“Sunny?” A tall blond man approached her. He was tanned and wore expensive clothes tailored to fit his long frame. He seemed familiar, but she couldn’t put a name to the face.

“It’s me, Mack.” He grinned at her with a mouth full of teeth that probably cost more than her rent—for a year.

“Mack?” The name clicked. “Mack Gontz?”

The million-dollar grin again. “Yep. It’s good to see you. How are you doing?”

“I’m good. But look at you! You’ve changed.” She remembered him with bad skin, crooked teeth, and glasses that would rival a bank vault door for thickness. They’d been passing friends in school, both relegated to the “nerd” side of the lunchroom, envying those on the “other” side.

He spun around and laughed. “I made some money in the dot com field and got some work done.”

“Some? You look incredible.”

“Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself.”

They continued talking, which led to Sunny joining him for lunch in the hotel restaurant, on his tab. After their meal was delivered, she grinned at the tiny portion of fish atop a molded mound of rice pilaf and sautéed greens. The full entrée was barely large enough for an appetizer and the price was more than what David had paid for both their dinners last night.

She and Mack laughed and chatted until the dining hostess chased them out, claiming she had to get set up for the dinner crowd.

“Would you like to go for a walk?” Mack asked.

“Sure.”

As they headed for the exit, David was entering. “Sunny?”

“Oh, David. Hi.” Uh-oh. “You remember Mack?”

David glanced at him, and then stared, narrow-eyed. “Yeah. What are you doing here?”

“Um, reunion? If you’ll excuse us, Sunny and I are going for a walk.” He pushed past David, his grip on Sunny’s arm tight almost to the point of pain.

“Sunny? I thought we were going to my place,” David said.

She pulled Mack to a stop and moved his hand from her arm. She’d waited for this day for years, but why now? And what was with Mack? He was the least aggressive guy she’d ever known.

Some people really do change, inside and out.
She smiled at David. “You were gone so long…by the way, how’s the shepherd?”

“He’ll be fine. The surgery went well, and he’ll make a full recovery.”

“Good. Maybe we can take a rain check on the trip. How ’bout if we get together tomorrow? I’ll meet you for breakfast at the diner.”

“I’ll do better than that. I’ll pick you up at your room and make you breakfast at my place.” He glared past her at Mack and then looked back at her.

She laid her hand on his arm. “It’s a date. Thank you.”

“Good. Get some rest. I’ll see you then.” David stepped aside for her.

Mack held out his arm to her. “Shall we?”

She refused his arm. As they went through the doors, Sunny glanced back at David. His face took on the look of someone who’d taken a drink of lemonade but forgotten the sugar.

Chapter 3

David raced over the familiar paths, his paws making little sound on the soft leaves. He ran until he gasped and his ribs ached with the effort to breathe. Finally he stopped and lay panting, overlooking the river far below, watching the sun set, his cabin behind him. Where had Mack come from? Why was he here now? And with Sunny? Sunny was his. The growl started low in his throat and grew to a long howl that echoed through the forest. He shifted back to his human form, determined he wouldn’t lose Sunny again. He quickly dressed and headed back down the mountain.

* * * *

Sunny stared at the plate in front of her. Unlike the diner’s heavy, plain china, this one was so thin as to be nearly translucent and rimmed in a navy, maroon, and gold design. But it wasn’t so much the setting that caught her attention as the food. Or the lack thereof.

“Something wrong with your dinner?” Mack asked.

“Huh? Oh. No. It looks wonderful.” And about as filling as cotton candy. The ridiculously expensive entrée consisted of a filet mignon the size of a fifty-cent piece atop a tiny mound of couscous and three—and only three—snow peas. This followed an appetizer of four shrimp in cocktail sauce. She sliced into the steak. The bite melted in her mouth and was perfectly seasoned, but she felt like she could eat another one—or ten.

At least the company was filling. She and Mack talked and laughed, discussing their mutual past and the ensuing years.

“I can’t believe you haven’t been back in all this time,” Mack said.

“The opportunity never came up.”

“It’s a four hour drive from Pittsburgh. That’s not exactly a huge journey.”

“It’s not the distance in miles…”

“It’s the distance in person.”

“You’re not exactly a hometown boy anymore, either,” she pointed out.

“But I manage to come back to visit every year, sometimes two or three times.”

“That’s because your folks still live here. I have nothing to come back for.”

“You don’t? I disagree.” He reached across the table and grasped her hand. “There’s more here for you than you know. Things are changing. The old guard isn’t so high on the power scale any more.”

“You mean Ruby.”

“Ruby. In case you hadn’t noticed, she’s not quite the force she once was. You are so much more than she ever was. And everyone knows it. You should too.”

Sunny wondered if he’d be insulted if she pulled her hand back. Things were getting a little intense. What was going on here? It wasn’t like she’d changed that much. A week ago, her date had left her standing at her door with a brief handshake and no doubts whatsoever he never wanted to see her again.

But this—this was too much. Too soon. And too weird. As she sat there, she heard something—or rather felt the sound—like a low rumble deep in her bones. She looked around, but nobody else seemed to notice it.

“Is something wrong?”

The sound stopped. She resisted the urge to shake her head. “No. I thought I heard something.”

“Would you like to go to the movies or for a walk?” Mack asked.

She wanted to, but not with him. Or anyone. She needed to be alone. To think. So much was happening in too short a time. The psychologist in her told her she needed to back off and regroup. “Would you mind terribly if I begged off? It’s been a long day and I’d like to get some rest.”

A fleeting frown crossed his face but was quickly replaced with a smile—a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Sure. Maybe we can hook up later at the parade. If nothing else, I’ll see you at the banquet tomorrow night.”

“Thanks.” Though she had been excited about the parade earlier, she had no intention of going now. She rose to leave and he stood with her.

“I’ll walk you to your room.”

“Oh, that’s not necessary. I’m on the fourth floor.”

“What a coincidence. So am I. Come on.”

The smile on her face needed an entire bottle of paste to stay there. All she wanted was to be alone. “Sure.”

Ants crawled over her skin as she waited for the elevator to come to a stop and the doors to open. She hated small, enclosed spaces, but making Mack climb the stairs hadn’t seemed like a good idea.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes. I guess elevators make me a little nervous.”

He laughed. “Me too. You’re the psychologist. Why is that?”

Before she could answer, the doors opened and she stepped out of the elevator. “Here I am.”

He stared at her. “What? This isn’t even a room. It’s not fit for…for you.”

“It’s fine, Mack. And it’s only for four nights.”

“It is not okay. This is ridiculous. I’ve told her we only use this room if no others are available. I’m going to take care of this.”

He took off down the steps before she could stop him. She wasn’t sure, but she thought he’d muttered something about owning the place. That couldn’t be right, could it?

“Damn. Damn. Double damn.” She jammed her keycard into the slot and opened the door. And stopped. Her first thought was a freak tornado had targeted her room. Her things were scattered all over, her dress for tomorrow night as well as most of her other clothes in shreds. A deep sniff told her much—not only by the perfume, but also the underlying smell. She knew exactly who had been in her room.

“Ruby.”

“What? I told Mack we don’t have any other rooms. We’re full up.”

Sunny spun around. The bland mask on Ruby’s face didn’t hide the smirk lurking in her eyes.

“My, my. Not much for housekeeping, are you?”

“Sunny?” Mack stared at the room.

“Someone broke into my room while we were out.”

Mack whipped out his cell phone, a top-of-the-line model.
Figures
, Sunny thought as she fingered her own bottom-of-the-line device in her pocket. She listened as he called the local police and told them what had happened.

“That wasn’t necessary,” Ruby said after he hung up. “What are the police going to be able to do?”

“Filing a report will allow her to collect on insurance. And I know the hotel will replace what was destroyed—and comp her room.” He glared at Ruby until she lowered her head.

“Yes, sir. We’ll comp her room. And replace any articles that have been destroyed.”