Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Emily
The sound of a knock on the job site trailer’s door jars me from the half-sleep I’d fallen into at my desk while taking a break from the heat.
The air conditioner hums from the window as I straighten, my back protesting the awkward angle. “Come in.”
The trailer door swings open, allowing the sounds of the construction site to rush in. Tim, one of the drywall contractors, pokes his head inside.
“Hey, Em, we need approval on the—” His words cut short as he catches the expression on my face. “Sorry, are you still on break?”
“No, it’s fine.” I rub my eyes with my fingers. “What do you need?”
Tim shifts his weight. “The, uh, partition wall in the east wing. The framing doesn’t match the prints.”
I lock my phone, tuck it into my pocket, and grab my hard hat. “Show me.”
He retreats outside, holding the door as I collect my tablet and hard hat. The late afternoon heat hits me like a wall after the comfort of the air-conditioned trailer, and I loosen the top button on my work shirt.
Tim walks beside me across the dusty ground of the construction site, keeping an unusual distance between us. “Heard about what happened at the docks.”
My stride falters for half a second before I recover. “Did you.”
He kicks a small stone out of our path. “Nasty business. That Alpha who works the water taxi.”
“Jared,” I supply. “His name is Jared Masterson.”
“Right. Him.” Tim clears his throat. “Guys were talking about it in the break tent. Saying how he went after some Omega.”
“That’s not what happened.” I stop walking and turn to face him. “The security camera footage from the boat shows the whole incident. He was trying to help.”
Tim’s eyes drop to the ground. “Yeah, well. That’s not what people are saying.”
Before I can respond, we pass a cluster of electricians hunched over coffee cups near the materials storage. Their conversation halts as we approach, but I catch the end of a sentence.
“—never would have believed it. Taking up with someone so young—”
The back of my neck heats, but I square my shoulders and keep walking, my ears picking up their whispers as we pass.
“Wilson’s the one who bailed him out.”
“Figures. Alphas stick together.”
“Wonder what she sees in him. He’s half her age.”
“It’s disgraceful, an older woman chasing after someone so young.”
The insinuation stings more than it should. When Jared and I arrived early at the water taxi this morning, there had already been a crowd. He’d pulled his hoodie up to hide the bruises and scurried below deck, while I’d endured the speculation my crew aimed at me.
Beside me, Tim pretends not to listen to the gossip, but his face flushes red beneath his beard.
“Partition wall’s this way,” he mumbles, pointing toward the east wing, where we’re closing in on drywall and finishes.
We cross the site in uncomfortable silence, weaving between pallets of material and scaffolding. Workers call out stiff greetings as we pass, their expressions curious. News travels fast in small towns, faster on construction sites where boredom breeds gossip.
The phone in my pocket buzzes with new notifications. I ignore them, focusing instead on the job. Just need to keep moving.
At the east wing entrance, three laborers lean on stacked drywall sheets, phones out. They straighten as we approach, wearing expressions I can’t quite interpret.
“Afternoon, Em.” The oldest of them touches the brim of his hard hat. “Quite the excitement with your boy yesterday.”
My boy. The phrasing coils around my ribs, squeezing until breathing becomes difficult.
“Focus on the walls, Charlie, not rumors.” I gesture for Tim to lead me to the issue.
Charlie shrugs, unperturbed. “Not rumors when it’s on video. My wife showed me the clip this morning. Pretty clear what happened.”
My fingernails dig deeper into my palms. “Was your wife there? Did she see what happened before someone started filming? Or after?”
Charlie’s expression hardens. “Don’t need to be there to figure out what kind of Alpha he is.”
“Show me the framing issue,” I tell Tim, ignoring Charlie’s smug expression.
Tim points to where the metal studs deviate from the blueprint displayed on my tablet. I force my attention to the technical problem, measuring distances and comparing them to the specifications. The work calms me, gives my hands purpose beyond wanting to punch people.
“Move these two studs to match the print,” I instruct, marking the correction on my tablet. “And add blocking here for the cabinet installation.”
“Got it.” Tim takes notes on his clipboard, and the normalcy of the interaction anchors me, though the conversations around us have shifted to whispers.
“Heard she’s letting him stay at her place.”
“Thought she had a more level head.”
My pen lands too hard on the screen, the stylus skidding across the glass.
I finish the inspection, signing off on the corrections with quick strokes.
With a pat on Tim’s arm, I head back downstairs to check on the progress of the lobby.
The framers finished the vaulted ceiling last week, and the exposed beams create a cathedral-like space to welcome guests to Misty Pines Resort.
I make a note on my tablet about the crown molding transition, satisfaction humming beneath my skin. At least this is going right.
“Emily.” Nathaniel cuts through my concentration.
I turn to find him standing near the temporary stairs, Blake a half-step behind him. Something in their expressions sends a prickle of warning down my spine.
“Afternoon.” I tuck my tablet under my arm. “The framing looks good. We should be ready by Thursday for electrical rough-in for the chandelier Dominic wants.”
“That’s great,” Nathaniel says without his usual enthusiasm for the progress. “We need to talk about Jared.”
I stiffen, while behind them, a crew member pretends not to listen as he measures a length of trim.
Blake clears his throat, his brown eyes flicking toward the workers. “Somewhere private?”
I follow them toward the eastern corner of the structure, where plywood creates a makeshift wall separating us from curious ears. Fresh-cut pine and sawdust cling to the air, the floor beneath our feet still bare subfloor waiting for tile.
Nathaniel stops once we’re alone, turning to face me with his hands clasped in front of him. “We had a sit-down with Kyle yesterday, and he filled us in on everything from last Friday.”
Blake shifts his weight, leaning against a nearby support beam. “And we’ve seen the videos circulating online.”
My shoulders stiffen. “Those videos don’t show what really happened.”
“We’re aware,” Nathaniel reassures me. “We went over the security footage with Kyle. We’ve watched the whole thing. We believe Jared’s account of the situation.”
A knot in my chest I hadn’t even noticed loosens. “Good. So you’ll put out a statement clarifying what happened.”
Blake and Nathaniel exchange a glance, and ice shoots through my veins.
“We will, along with releasing the full footage of what happened. We’ll even have our lawyers contact his accuser with defamation charges if he doesn’t retract his statement.” Blake scratches his thick beard. “We’ll do everything we can, but it’s going to be a social media circus.”
Disappointment weighs me down despite already knowing it wouldn’t be that easy.
“For now,” Nathaniel says, “we need to remove Jared from passenger duties.”
My shoulders snap back. “You’re punishing him for something he didn’t do.”
“Not punishing.” Blake’s next words come gentler. “Putting him back on the water taxi with passengers would only invite more trouble, more videos, and more accusations.”
Nathaniel steps closer, his boots scuffing on the plywood. “We hired him for maintenance work, anyway. It’s safer for him to stick to his role, away from the spotlight.”
“So your solution is to hide him?” The question comes out sharper than I intend, despite my effort to stay calm. “Doing so only feeds the rumors. People will take it as an admission of guilt.”
“Sometimes perception matters more than facts.” Nathaniel places a hand on my shoulder, his touch gentle but his words firm. “We can’t risk Jared’s safety.”
I step back, his hand falling away. “So we let the bullies win.”
“We’re not surrendering.” Blake crosses his arms. “We’re being strategic. Give it time for this to blow over. Let our lawyers handle the legal aspects. Once the full footage is released—”
“People will have moved on to the next outrage,” I finish for him. “And Jared still loses work.”
Blake sighs. “We’re doing what we think is best.”
The words sting more than they should. “He’s a good man without a pack to back him up.”
“We see that,” Nathaniel says gently. “No one is questioning his character. He did the best he could with the situation he was put in. And this has exposed a flaw in our system, which also needs attention. This hasn’t only affected Jared.”
“No, you’re right,” I sigh. “You have a lot riding on the success of this resort.”
“But this doesn’t mean we’ll leave one of our people hanging out to dry.” Blake fiddles with the rainbow-beaded necklace his niece made him. “It’s just going to take time.”
A shadow shifts at the edge of my vision, and I turn to find Jared standing in the gap between plywood sheets. Sunlight catches in his hair, turning the brown strands gold at the edges. His face, still mottled with bruises from Derek’s punch, holds a quiet shame.
How long has he been standing there? Long enough, judging by the slump of his shoulders and the way his eyes drop to the floor.
“Afternoon.” The greeting comes out quieter than usual, with none of his typical enthusiasm present. “Sorry to interrupt. Kyle said you wanted to talk to me?”
Nathaniel steps forward, professional composure sliding into place. “Jared, we were just discussing your situation.”
“I heard.” He forces a smile. “It’s fine. I understand.”
Nathaniel clears his throat. “We’ve got a second water taxi coming in that we bought second-hand. We’ll need you to make sure it’s in tip-top shape.”
“Of course.” A careful mask slips over Jared’s face. “Whatever you need.”
The docile acceptance reminds me of myself, of all the times I swallowed objections and smiled through frustration. Of all the times I let Auren reshape my boundaries because it was easier than fighting.
“This isn’t right,” I say, the words coming out before I can stop them.
They all turn to me.
Jared’s expression shifts first to surprise, then to something warmer. “It’s really okay. I came to Misty Pines for work. Doesn’t matter what kind.”
“It does matter.” I step toward him, away from Nathaniel and Blake. “Taking him off the taxi runs will cut his hours. And he was kicked out of the Fairwind—”
“Jared’s on a salary, same as Kyle,” Nathaniel interrupts. “He’s not going to lose money for having a slower pace at work. As for the housing, we’ll find him somewhere else to stay. These were all things we were going to discuss with him.”
Hurt flashes across Jared’s face before his head drops again. “I can sleep on the floor in Kyle’s cabin—”
“No,” I snap, and relief washes over his face. “There’s no reason to put anyone out when I have a spare bedroom you can use.”
“We appreciate it,” Nathaniel says. “We’ll compensate you for putting you out.”
“I’m not worried about it.” I cross my arms over my chest. “What matters is you sidelining Jared for something that wasn’t his fault.”
Blake sighs. “Emily, we’ve explained—”
My chest aches, and I rub it. “Jared tried to help an Omega who was being harassed by two other Alphas. That’s the story. The whole story.”
Jared shifts beside me, his scent warming with hope.
Nathaniel studies my face, his expression unreadable. “You care about this a great deal.”
“I care about what’s right.” The half-truth burns my tongue. This isn’t abstract justice I’m fighting for. It’s personal in ways I’m not ready to examine.
“Just give us a few days,” Blake says at last. “Let us handle this our way first.”
Jared touches my arm, his fingers warm through my shirt sleeve. “It’s okay, Emily. Honest.”
But it’s not okay. The defeat in his eyes, the way he accepts this injustice without a hint of resistance, cuts deep. I’ve been there, too, pushed aside, treated like what matters to me doesn’t matter at all.
“Fine,” I tell Blake and Nathaniel. “But I’m calling a meeting with the crew today. I can’t have my own people continue to spread false rumors.”
Nathaniel’s eyebrows rise. “We’ll set up a projector in the break tent and be there to show our support.”
Nathaniel gestures for Jared to follow him to discuss his new duties.
As they walk away, Blake remains beside me, both of us watching Jared’s retreating form. “Something you want to tell me about what’s going on between you two?”
I think of Jared standing on my porch with Mixie’s carrier in his hand, determined to right someone else’s wrong. Of his fumbling eagerness as he helps me with breakfast. Of his righteous anger on my behalf.
I let out a long breath. “I think I’m screwed.”
Blake chuckles and claps me on the back. “About time you moved on. Can’t say it’s the best timing, but these kinds of things never are.”
“Fuck.” I hang my head. “He’s so young, and in a vulnerable spot. People are already talking.”
“A wise woman once told me not to let unfavorable circumstances stop me from grabbing a chance for happiness.” Blake squeezes my shoulder. “And he hasn’t been quiet about his crush. This new situation doesn’t change how he already had heart-eyes every time he looked your way.”
“He’s got no pack to look out for his best interests,” I grumble.
Blake smirks at me. “Doesn’t he?”
With a wink, he walks off, leaving me rooted among the half-finished walls, wondering when protecting Jared stopped being about justice and started being about him.