Wolf-Bound: Unfamiliar Territory (4 page)

18 Rachel Bo

school and all. I didn’t think it would be fair to either of us, and… Well, heck, I still had some wild oats to sow, and I couldn’t stomach the idea that I might be tempted to do something stupid while we were apart. I finally promised myself that after I’d passed the bar exam, the first thing I’d do when I got back to town was ask you out.”

He glanced away. “I kept in touch with friends, so I knew you weren’t seeing anyone seriously. But then I got an offer from Whitman and Whitman in Billings, and a job with that firm would seal my reputation if I could manage not to screw up, so I had to accept it. I had visions of becoming a big defense attorney, coming back to Alabaster, and sweeping you off your feet, but…time got away from me. One day I realized I’d been working my butt off for seven years in a job I wasn’t really happy with.” He turned his gaze back to her. “So I finally came back. I wanted to ask you out that very first day. I went to the diner for lunch, hoping to find a quiet moment to speak with you, but Rona was teasing you that day about never dating the same guy twice, and you told her you weren’t ready to settle down and didn’t know if you ever would be.”

Tara winced. “Oh, Marshall. And then I went off to New Orleans and came back pregnant.”

He nodded.

“And after all that, you still want to date me? Even though I’m pregnant with another man’s child?” Marshall’s interest was like a dream come true, so much like a dream that she was having a hard time convincing herself it could be real.

Marshall looked into her eyes. “Did you love him?”

Tara opened her mouth to correct him, to say “them,” but swallowed the word. She might regret it later, but at this moment, she did not want him to know she’d been the meat in a twin sandwich. Not that she felt it was wrong, but after everything he’d told her, she thought it might hurt him to know she’d been so free with her body. Though he’d admitted himself that he hadn’t exactly been celibate, this honest, good-looking, truly sweet guy that she’d had a crush on in the past was telling her she might just be the one for him, and she couldn’t bring herself to do anything that might frustrate the tentative steps they were taking toward building something new. So, instead, she gave his question some serious consideration, then answered him as best she could.

“Honestly, I don’t know. At the time, I felt an instant connection.” She tapped her chest with a finger. “Deep down, you know? Not just physical attraction. But, of course, we didn’t really get to know each other, not in just a few days, and…there seemed to be something going on with him, some kind of problem he didn’t want to discuss. Like he was in trouble or something.” She shook her head. “Anyway, it might have been that the relationship could have grown into love, but I haven’t heard from him since.” She didn’t add, Even though he knows I’m pregnant, though that’s what she was thinking, because Marshall wouldn’t be able to understand how this hypothetical “guy” could know if she hadn’t been in contact with him.

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“And you haven’t had any desire to try and contact him?”

Tara started. “Huh?” The realization hit her like a tone of bricks. She felt her eyes go wide. “You know, I haven’t. It didn’t even occur to me.” She couldn’t believe it. All this time, she’d been thinking that they’d come to her eventually and hadn’t even considered looking for them. “I guess…I guess that says a lot about how I really feel, doesn’t it?”

“Well, I hope it means I have a chance, at least.”

Tara scooted a little closer to him. He hesitated a moment, then let his arm rest across her shoulders. “You do, Marshall. As long as we take things slow.” She rested her head against him.

He tightened his arm for a moment in a quick hug. “No problem, Tara. I promise, you’re calling all the shots.”

She smiled to herself.

Grabbing the remote, she turned up the volume a bit, and they watched television for a couple of hours. To her surprise, she felt no need to force additional conversation. They were wrapped in a cocoon of companionable silence, and she allowed herself to simply enjoy his warmth next to her, the steady, reliable beat of his heart.

When she dozed off and he gently lowered her to the couch, rested her head on a pillow, and covered her up with the blanket, then kissed her forehead tenderly before he checked the lock on the front-door handle and pulled it quietly shut behind him, she was awake enough to be aware of it, and knew in that moment that something good was happening between them.

20 Rachel Bo

Unthinkable Discovery

Jacob hopped from the back of the truck and walked up to the driver’s window.

“Thanks for the ride. I really appreciate it.” He handed the grizzled old man a twenty.

“Not a problem, son. Glad to help.” Gus, of Gus’s Tree Service, as the stitching on his shirt proclaimed, waved a hand as he drove away.

Jake slung his backpack over one shoulder and took stock of the town. Alabaster, Wyoming, didn’t amount to much, unless you counted the backdrop of gorgeous September foliage -- trees dripping with gold, bronze, and burgundy leaves. Nestled on the lower flank of a mountain in the Absaioka Range, the town boasted a stretch of wooden storefronts along one side of the street that housed a real estate office, an attorney, a doctor, and Wayne’s Western Wear. The other side of Main Street consisted of a café, a small two-story apartment complex, a gas station, and Quinn’s Country Market and Drug Emporium. He shook his head slightly. You could always tell when you were in a small town -- every business owner had a tendency to proudly include their name in the business’s moniker. He shrugged. Savvy, he supposed. If you knew everybody in town, letting them know a business belonged to you probably made good marketing sense.

He crossed the street and pushed open the door to Times Past Café, his lips quirking at the name. Apparently, someone in this town did have a bit of imagination.

The bell on the handle jangled. A plump, flushed woman, her flyaway brown hair pulled back into a haphazard bun, bustled out from behind the counter, menu in hand.

“Right this way,” she said cheerfully, leading him to a booth next to the window. “I’m Rona.

Welcome to Alabaster, handsome. Can I get you a drink?”

“Dr. Pepper,” he said, nodding.

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“One DP, comin’ right up.” She flashed a smile, one that lit up her kind brown eyes, and he couldn’t help smiling back. The expression felt strange, but good, on his face. He hadn’t smiled much, since…since Johnathan had died, but her good cheer was infectious.

He shook himself and opened the menu. Rona’s -- his lips quirked again; okay, so the woman with imagination wasn’t completely immune to the small-town influence -- World Famous Chicken-Fried Steak sounded good. When she returned, he ordered the ten-ouncer, along with mashed potatoes and gravy, homestyle green beans, and a platter of beer batter biscuits.

“Honey, you just made my day!” Rona beamed at him. “I love a man who knows how to eat -- not like them boys on that Atcherson’s diet or whatever. Some guys are worse than gals nowadays when it comes to watchin’ their figures.” She wiggled her eyebrows, looking him up and down. “Especially when all it takes is a little hard work to turn all those calories into prime muscle. I can see you’re a man who’s not afraid to break a sweat.”

Jake tried to suppress a wide grin, but failed. “Why, ma’am, I do believe you’re flirting with me!”

“Damn right. Have to show the youngsters how it’s done.” She smiled and winked, then hurried back to the kitchen.

Jake sipped the soda, feeling his tension begin to drain. He’d taken a couple of months to lay a series of false trails all across the southwestern portion of the United States, even into Mexico. Only when he felt sure he’d given any possible pursuit the slip had he gone to ground, traveling only at night, as a wolf, for another month.

Today, though, he was nearing his goal. He’d traveled in human form for the last week, still keeping to the woods for the most part, but hitching the occasional ride, slowly reacquainting himself with the human race. It felt good to be civilized again.

Rona returned with his food and, after a little more banter, left him to enjoy his meal.

He gulped it down in record time -- it really was the best chicken-fried steak he’d ever tasted. The whole meal was wonderful, and he sat back with a contented sigh when he was done. Between the friendly reception and the home cooking, he was beginning to feel like a real person again, instead of a ghost trying to fade into the shadows.

Plus, Rona hadn’t said a word about his being Irish. He’d worked hard the last few weeks to eliminate the accent. Just one more way to lose his enemies. Of course, he knew it wasn’t completely gone, but it was nice to know he’d pared it down enough that it wasn’t something people would immediately comment on.

He turned toward the window, his eyes searching the street. His stomach gave a little flutter. He’d almost reached his destination. Tara was somewhere close, his weyr senses insisted. He inhaled deeply. She must frequent the diner pretty regularly, because even though he hadn’t seen her in six months, he remembered her scent, and it was everywhere.

So, this was it. She lived in this town; he was sure of it.

22 Rachel Bo

He frowned, though. He wanted to find her, for the babies’ sakes and to fulfill the promise he’d made to Johnathan, but he had mixed feelings about where all this might lead.

Johnny had been convinced Tara was meant to be their mate, but Jake had never experienced the same certainty. Oh, he’d enjoyed her company and appreciated the chemistry between the three of them. The fact that she knew their true natures and accepted them anyway had been pretty special, too, in a full human.

But in retrospect, after they’d left New Orleans while attempting to throw off their pursuers, Jake had decided they were pretty damned irresponsible. To mate with anyone while there was still such danger… He shook his head. They should never have placed Tara or their children in such a position.

He wished Johnathan were still here. His twin had been occasionally precognizant, and he’d seemed utterly confident that Tara, specifically, was meant to bear their children. He’d know what to say to her, what to do next. Johnny would have been a phenomenal father, an exemplary husband. Jake’s eyes teared up. His younger twin had been a far better person than he was, in every way.

But he wasn’t here, and Jake realized he was simply delaying, using his daydreaming as an excuse to put off the encounter with Tara. He blinked away the tears and turned his head to find Rona standing over him, tab in hand. “Care for dessert?”

Jake shook his head and patted his stomach. “I’m stuffed. You’re a damn fine cook, Rona. If I were half the man you deserve, I’d ask you to marry me.”

Her hearty laugh startled him. “Honey, I’m beginnin’ to suspect you’re more man than I can handle! You come back anytime, you hear? And dessert’s on me.”

“I may just take you up on that.”

He paid the tab, leaving the woman a generous tip. Stepping outside, he stretched, enjoying the sun’s warmth. It felt good to be interacting with people again. Rona was the kind of person that lifted your spirits just being in the same room. Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to survive without Johnny.

A door slammed off to his right, and he glanced that way. A woman walked across the apartment complex’s parking lot, her hair an auburn cascade that shimmered in the sun.

Jacob drew in a sharp breath. It was her. Tara. He watched her look both ways, then start across the street. Her hair was longer and curlier than he remembered, and of course the rounded bulge of her pregnancy was new to him, but it was definitely her.

He strode swiftly across the street, stepping up onto the wooden porch that ran the length of the four shop fronts. Tara stepped onto the porch a moment after, pausing in front of the attorney’s office. She began flipping through the sheaf of papers in her hand, her eyes skimming each page.

Jacob approached slowly, still unsure quite what to say to her. When he was just a step away, she nodded to herself, looked up, and their eyes locked.

Wolf-Bound: Unfamiliar Territory

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Startled, she took a step back. Her eyelids fluttered with uncertainty, then flew open in dawning recognition.

“Jacob?”

He nodded.

She turned her head, her green eyes searching the porch, the street. “Where’s Johnathan?”

Jake swallowed. “He…he had an accident.”

Tara’s gaze swiveled back, locking onto his. “What?”

“H-he’s gone.”

“You mean…” She clutched the papers to her chest. “Gone as in…passed away?”

“That’s too pretty a phrase for it.”

“Oh, Jake. I’m so sorry. I --” She broke off, catching her bottom lip between her teeth.

“Are…are you all right?”

He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

She seemed uneasy, which was understandable. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said.

She shifted her weight from foot to foot, and he mentally slapped his head. “You’re pregnant -- I shouldn’t be keeping you on your feet.”

Tara gestured toward the attorney’s office. “I was just coming back from lunch. Would you like to come in?”

He hesitated.

She seemed to understand his reluctance. “Marshall’s in court today. He won’t be back until late. We can talk privately.”

“Oh. Then, yeah, that would be fine.”

She unlocked the door and preceded him into the office, taking her place in a comfortable-looking chair behind a battered wooden desk. Jake sank into one of the two wingback chairs in front of it.

Tara set her papers on the desk and clasped her fingers together. They stared at each other awkwardly for several moments. Tara appeared almost frightened, her lips trembling so faintly that only his enhanced senses picked out the motion. But she abruptly squared her shoulders. “Why are you here, Jake?”

Taken aback, he looked from her face to the top of her rounded tummy, just visible past the edge of the desk, and back to her face. “I came about the twins, of course.”