Chapter 16
Ford
Ilean over the workbench, the scent of wood and sawdust filling my lungs, but my mind’s a thousand miles away. The steady scrape of my chisel on the wood doesn’t help, yet it’s all I can do to keep my hands moving. My fingers are steady, unlike my thoughts.
The fire.
Arson.
What the hell is going on?
Honeysuckle Grove has never forgiven the Marsh family for what they did all those years ago, but… arson? Who the hell would go that far? Who would burn down a house in their own town?
I stop the chisel mid-slice and lean back, taking a breath.
Lo’s the one who tried to fix things. She was the one who tried to expose the corruption, who tried to take down her own family, when they were hurting others. But that’s the thing with a small town: when you come from bad, people assume you are also bad.
Still, that doesn’t change the facts. She came with the proof. She outed her family. And outside of all that, no one should be scared in their own home. This is worse, though, because Lo is mine. Whether she realizes it or not, her body was made for me.
I have to draw in a deep breath to keep my cock at bay. I can’t stop thinking about what happened between us at the bar. How desperate she was for me. How she begged for me to fill her. How her walls pulsed around me until my vision sizzled white.
All of this is more than the fire. It’s more than just a building burning.
It’s what it means. Someone tried to hurt her.
Someone wanted to make her fear the place that should have been her sanctuary.
And I can’t stand the idea of her being terrified and alone in a house that’s supposed to be a safe haven.
“Ford, you got a minute?”
Toby’s voice cuts through the air, and I turn just in time to see him wiping sweat from his brow.
“Yeah?” I grunt, barely looking up.
Toby’s got that eager energy in him today, as if he’s carrying a secret. He steps closer, rubbing the back of his neck with a look in his eyes that makes me worry he’s about to drop a bomb. “So, uh… I’ve been thinking about asking Lo out.”
I don’t blink. Don’t even breathe for a second. Lo?
Is he fucking serious?
My blood goes cold, and I can feel my grip tightening on the chisel so hard it might snap in my hands. I don’t let my anger get the better of me, though.
I stay still.
Toby keeps talking, oblivious to the storm brewing in my chest. “I’ve always liked her, you know?
Lo’s… she’s different. She’s got that fire, that spark.
People around here—they’re so damn uptight.
But Lo? She never let any of that bullshit slow her down.
She deserves someone good at her side, you know? ”
He laughs a little, like it’s some inside joke.
I swallow.
The words are rocks in my throat. I don’t want to hear this. But it’s not like I can shut him up. Not without exposing myself.
“You should leave it alone,” I grunt out in a much more possessive tone than I meant to use.
At least I kept my growl at bay. He should be thanking me for that.
Toby looks at me, brow furrowing. “What, you don’t think she’d be into it?”
I feel the snarl trying to crawl its way up my chest, my teeth grinding as the protective instinct spikes inside me. A warning, my Alpha side snarls deep within me. It’s territorial. And it doesn’t like hearing another man talk about her like she’s some prize to be claimed.
I swallow the anger down, biting my tongue so hard I can taste blood. “Haven’t you seen that she’s having a hard time? I don’t know if it’s a good idea to pile on more.”
Toby’s confused, blinking at me. I don’t think he gets it. “You don’t think she might like to have someone show interest?”
Toby’s words hang above us. He’s standing there, completely oblivious, talking about asking Lo out as if she belongs to him.
But she doesn’t. She never will.
I feel the heat of the blood rushing through my veins, my grip on the chisel tightening so hard that my fingers are starting to ache. It’s all I can do to keep my damn hands from shaking. I don’t want to show him anything. I don’t want him to see what a mess I am.
Toby shifts, his brow furrowing. He doesn’t understand.
He never will. He likes the idea of Lo, but he doesn’t know what it means to be close to her.
To feel that pull, that bond that comes with being scent-matched.
He doesn’t get how hard it is to see someone you’ve never been able to forget, someone you’ve spent years silently aching for, suddenly walking around in your world again.
And he wants to ask her out like it’s no big deal?
I can’t… no, I won’t let that happen. Not when everything in me is screaming to keep her close to me.
Toby shifts his weight, still looking at me suspiciously. “What’s your problem? You good, Ford?”
I inhale sharply, my mind racing as my Alpha instincts claw at me like a goddamn beast, but I shove it down. The last thing I need is for him to see how badly I want to rip him apart right now, how much I want to tell him to back the hell off.
But I can’t. I won’t. Not without blowing everything up. Not without risking it all.
Besides, we don’t even know if Lo is staying. And if her track record is any indication…
I swallow the urge to snarl. I’m not Beck, the guy who can step in and take charge, the one with a smile and a perfect line for those who want to hear it. I’m not him. I’m just me. Quiet, steady Ford. The guy who’s been in the shadows long enough to use them to his advantage.
Toby’s still looking at me, trying to read me, and that only makes it worse.
“You’re really making a big deal out of this,” he says, scratching his chin. “I’m just saying, I like her. I’ve liked her for a long time, and now she’s back. She’s not the same Lo, you know? I think she’s ready for someone to show her a little care.”
My jaw clenches, teeth grinding as the words cut into me with a knife. I want to tell him everything. I want to rip the damn chisel out of his hands and just scream it out: “Lo’s already taken, you dumbass.”
But I don’t.
Because she isn’t taken. Just because we had sex, it doesn’t mean a thing.
I suck in a deep breath, doing everything I can to calm myself down. “I don’t know, Toby, I just don’t think it’s a good idea. That’s all.”
He snorts and offers me a one-shouldered shrug. “Whatever, we’ll see.”
I straighten up from the workbench, my teeth clenched.
“I’m going out for lunch,” I say abruptly, cutting the conversation off before it can continue.
My tone is sharp and causes Toby to keep staring at me weirdly, but I can’t care right now.
Without waiting for a response, I turn on my heel and march out of the workshop, the door slamming shut behind me. The breeze feels colder, harsher, the smell of snow on the horizon, and my mind’s running a mile a minute. I don’t even think about where I’m going; I just need to move.
I head toward Tansy’s bakery, the scent of bread and sugar already wafting into my nose as I get closer. I could use something warm and simple.
As soon as I push the door open, the familiar chime of the bell rings out, and I immediately spot her.
Lo.
She’s sitting at the counter, laughing at something Tansy just said. I freeze, my stomach flipping. Her scent smacks me in the face, sinking straight into my bones. My pulse kicks up, my skin tingling in response, and for a second, I forget how to breathe.
My entire body is awake, hyperaware of her, and all I can think about is the way her presence fills the room, pulling me toward her without a single word. I should be angry, I should be cold, but all I can feel is this deep, instinctual pull, and it hurts to fight it.
I suck in a sharp breath, trying to keep my body from locking up in place. There’s no going back now. She’s here, and I have to face what happened.
Tansy spots me first, and I can see the amusement flicker in her eyes. “Well, look what the cat dragged in. How’s it going, Ford?”
I force a smile, though it’s probably more of a grimace.
“Hey, Tansy,” I mutter, my eyes flicking toward Lo. “All good, thanks.”
She turns, and her gaze meets mine. My chest tightens as I try to swallow back the words that are threatening to spill out. But I don’t know how to keep it cool.
“Ford,” Lo half-whispers with a nod of her head, her attempt at politely acknowledging me. I don’t want her to politely acknowledge me, though. I want her to run, jump, spread her legs, and stake herself right onto my knot where she belongs.
I watch her eyes flicker with memory. The same thoughts hit me, too. The way we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. The heat of her skin and the way her breath hitched when I touched her.
The way her pussy clamped around me when my knot swelled inside of her.
I manage to nod my head. “Good to see you.”
I shove my hands into my pockets, trying to act casual, even though nothing about this feels casual.
“What’s good today?” I ask as I turn my attention back to Tansy, trying to focus on something, anything other than the fact that Lo’s so painfully within my reach again.
Tansy raises an eyebrow at me, clearly noticing the tension.
“Well, we’ve got fresh apple cinnamon rolls,” she says, tossing a cheeky glance at Lo. “Best thing you’ll have all day, if you ask me.”
I nod absently, glancing down at the counter, anything to avoid staring at Lo too long. But my mind keeps spiraling. Toby. Lo. Beck. Hayes. The fire. This whole damn town. And the fact that I don’t know how to be around her anymore without wanting to tear the world apart to make her mine.
To keep her safe.
I can’t let Toby ask her out.
I can’t even stand the thought of it.
Lo’s voice cuts through the haze. “You’re looking a little tense, Ford. Everything okay?”
She sounds concerned. Too concerned. Her peachy scent is tinged with burnt brown sugar. It’s like her Omega side is reacting to the vulnerability she doesn’t want to show. And I don’t want her to worry about me. Not when I’m the Alpha, the one who’s supposed to be looking out for her.
“I’m fine. Just busy with work, you know?”
Tansy glances back and forth between us, waiting for something. I can feel her eyes on me, sharp and knowing. She doesn’t say anything, but I know she’s got it all figured out. She always does.
Lo, on the other hand, seems to shrug off my mood. “Yeah, I’m sure. There’s always a lot of carpentry work in town, right?”
I struggle not to react to that. But then, as if everything in me breaks all at once, I look at her, and the words fall out before I can stop them.
“Lo…” I start, the tension in my chest building again. Her scent, so sweet and familiar, is swirling around me, pulling at something deep inside. It’s all I can smell now.
All my mind wants to focus on is the heat of her body and the memory of the way she felt against me that night. She deserved more than a hard fuck against a dirty brick wall.
My pulse hammers so loud I can feel it in my ears, and my Alpha surges up my throat, clawing at the edges of my control, desperate to claim. I have to do this. I have to ask her.
I have to do right by my pack.
I slide my hands into my pockets. “I… I was thinking. Maybe we could grab dinner sometime.”
I don’t even know why I’m saying it. Well, I do, but my thoughts are jumbled, and the emotions inside of me are linked together so tightly that it feels like my chest is about to cave in.
Maybe it’s the pressure of Toby’s words still in my head.
Maybe it’s the way I’ve always been jealous that Beck could always have her, and I was stuck with crumbs from the shadows.
Maybe it’s nothing more than my selfish wants and whims convincing me that I’m tired of being alone. Or maybe it’s everything building up to this point, this moment between the two of us, where I have to finally do something about how I feel or risk losing her for good.
But I know she belongs with me. And if she belongs with me, then there’s a chance she belongs with us.
My pack.
The second the words leave my mouth, I’m not sure what I’m expecting. Shock? Laughter? A flat-out rejection? But what I get instead is Lo blinking at me, eyes wide and surprised. And for the briefest moment, I think she might just say no.
But then, everything shifts.
And she smiles.
“Dinner, huh?” she says softly, a small laugh escaping her lips. “With me?”
I feel the heat rise in my chest. She’s teasing me. I want to laugh. I want to run.
But she doesn’t stop there.
“Okay,” she says, surprising me completely. “Sure, yeah. I think I’d like that.”
I freeze. My heart stops for a beat, then starts again, faster than I can keep up. I don’t know what just happened, but she just said yes. She agreed.
I don’t say anything at first; I just nod. I don’t trust myself to speak.
I don’t trust myself not to ruin this moment.
“Alright,” I finally manage, trying to sound like I have my shit together. “How about I pick you up Friday, at seven?”
She nods, and I swear, that smile could knock the sun out of the sky. “Perfect.”