Truth or Wolf: A Small Town Shifter Romantic Comedy (Wolf Brothers Book 1)

Chapter 17

Seventeen

Oh, for goodness’ sake, he’s a werewolf, and he likes to fight. Is it so wrong to suggest he might, oh I don’t know, fight for her?

— GAIL CARRIGER

Iwas not a happy wolf when Atticus and I pulled up in front of Wheels of Good Fortune at eight o’clock. My conversation with Alice played in my head on a loop and I was in no mood to be around people.

Despite the late hour, the car lot was a beehive of activity. Deelie Sue kept extended hours in the summer to accommodate all her would-be car buyers. I was not one of that number, having had the same truck since I’d first got a driver’s license, but Atticus was a car fiend, and he always came here.

The big glass-windowed showroom was full of the newest model trucks and cars. Salesmen and women in matching polo shirts waited by the doors to pounce. I recognized one older couple looking at a fancy truck. Mrs. Dillworthy had apparently decided to fill her garage with something new now that she was raccoon-free.

Best truckin’ idea ever!

I ignored my wolf’s bad pun, the new car smell, the shiny truck accessories, and even the Corvette that sat in pride of place in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. I was a wolf on a mission, one that I wanted to finish fast.

My mind kept replaying snapshots of my time with Alice. Our kiss in my truck, the night she fell out of the deer blind and into my arms. Our hike to my secret waterfalls. Cozying up in the Little Love Den.

I could call up her face so easily—the corners of her plush, pink mouth quirking up as she called me on my bullshit, the warm twinkle of her eyes, the trail of freckles on her collarbone.

Once I’d taken care of the Iron Wolves, I was shucking my human skin and shifting into my wolf form. Maybe I’d stay like that for days. At least a week.

I would go up into the Smoky Mountains and run and run. Surely, if I ran long enough, I could outrun my memories of Alice.

“…you have to give her some sugar.”

I snapped back into the present. Atticus was staring at me, waiting for my response. “What?”

“With Deelie Sue. You’re going to have to show that woman some sugar. Be sweet. Flirt a little. She’s not interested in me—she’d sooner run me over with that Corvette out there—but she likes you, always has. She’ll do anything for you if you ask nicely.”

Deelie Sue was a proud, independent businesswoman. “She would not.”

Atticus smirked. “Would, too. Yeah, she’ll put her career first, but you’re running in second. She likes you as much as she could like anyone—and you need to remind her of that if you want her to help us out.”

I swiped a hand down my face. “This is not a good idea. I’m no good at being charming.”

“Then don’t charm her. Tell her the truth—that you need her help and you can’t do this without her. She’ll enjoy that. Deelie Sue likes to feel important.”

This was because her family had spent her childhood making her feel unimportant. I did not want to use this as leverage. Before I could tell Atticus this, however, Deelie Sue’s assistant manager spotted us.

She handed off the older couple to one of her associates and came over to meet us. She was Deelie Sue’s gatekeeper, kind of a human moat who kept out Tennesseans who didn’t actually intend to buy a vehicle. She beamed cautiously at us.

“Are you boys looking for a new truck?” She shook my hand, then turned and all but clutched at Atticus’s big paw when we shook our heads about the truck-buying. “Atticus, do you have a moment to help me with a software issue?”

“You bet.” Atticus grinned at her. “I’ll be right there, darling.”

He steered her toward the giant bank of computers on her desk as she chattered away at him. There wasn’t a computer that Atticus couldn’t fix or an employee here he couldn’t charm.

I, on the other hand, had no smiles left in me at all because I was missing Alice. Nevertheless, I was relieved to have my way made smooth before me, thanks to Atticus’s mild flirtation. I strolled right on up to Deelie Sue’s office and rapped my knuckles on the door.

As soon as she looked up and saw me, a smile lit up her face. She appeared surprised, but pleased. Atticus wasn’t wrong about her feelings for me. I stepped inside, shutting the door behind me.

She stood up and came around her desk, holding out both hands to me. “Ford!”

“Deelie Sue.” I took her hands and squeezed, trying to sound like I was as happy to see her as she was to see me. It was hard, though. There was too much baggage between us.

She held onto my hands, searching my face for something. I had no idea what, but she sighed and gave me another squeeze before letting go.

“What can I do for you?”

I studied her for a long moment. She looked real nice, in a pair of expensive jeans that hugged her legs, and a fitted, white T-shirt.

Because she was the owner/operator of Wheels of Good Fortune, she had a khaki blazer with the emporium’s name embroidered over her right boob. With her sky-high heels, she was almost on eye level with me. She looked classy, sexy, and confident. This was not a woman I could or should bullshit.

“I need your help,” I said, putting my cards on the table.

“And here I thought you were here to buy a truck.” Surprise replaced the easy confidence on her face.

“No truck.”

Her next look was assessing, but that was Deelie Sue for you. She was always thinking, and she was practical to a fault. She smiled slowly, and I wasn’t sure I’d be leaving without a new truck after all. “Is this a wolf thing? Have you finally decided to take a mate?”

I sucked in a breath. “No.”

“No?” She blinked, surprised. “You know our mating has come up with the Wolf Council. We’d make an excellent breeding pair.”

I was not surprised she had inside intel on what the Wolf Council thought, but it did not change my answer.

“No. I’m not marrying on demand, Deelie Sue. We would not be good together.”

Her lips tightened. “We’ve been plenty good together before, Ford. I heard no complaints from you.”

“I am not having sex with you again.” This came out balder than it should have, but I needed to be clear.

I might not be getting the future I’d dreamed of with Alice, but I would not betray her with another woman (or wolf). Not now, not ever.

“There aren’t so many wolves in the world,” she pointed out. “You need to pick a shifter as your mate unless you’re planning on being a bachelor the rest of your life.”

“Not happening,” I said again.

This was not one of those end-of-the-world books Knox left stacked up in the bathroom, where there were just two people in the whole world and breeding was more important than liking.

“Then what do you need from me if you don’t want sex or a truck?”

I frowned. “There’s more to you than that.”

She laughed. “Sure, but those are the only two sides of me you’ve ever paid attention to.”

“Can we sit down and talk? Honestly?” I gestured at the chairs in front of her desk. These were where she reeled in her customers and convinced them they needed a fifty-thousand-dollar truck. I didn’t mean to imply that Deelie Sue was a liar or a cheat, but sometimes she did get creative with the truth.

She stood there with her back to the door, thinking about my question. Apparently, it was a hard one, after all. Eventually, the words tumbled out of her in a rush. “Sure we can, Ford. You know you can trust me—we’re on the same team, after all.”

She meant the werewolf team.

“And we have a history together,” she continued. “A good one. It counts for a lot.”

I motioned to the chair next to me. “Will you sit with me? Please? I have something I need to say.”

Deelie Sue shot me a smile that made me think she might be seeing wolf babies when she looked at me. It was not a comfortable feeling.

She walked over, hips swaying, and perched on the edge of her desk. Her legs bumped my arm playfully. I couldn’t play her flirty what-if game or have casual sex with her, no matter how beautiful she was.

I had given my heart away and there were no take-backs.

But I could be honest and direct, and I could definitely admire Deelie Sue for her drive and talent. She was a good person, a good wolf.

I told her that.

And then I explained our situation to Deelie Sue in precise—but not abundant—detail.

I told her the truth.

That was the only decision I could make. My family needed her help, and I would do anything for my family.