Chapter 12 Rey
REY
On the drive into town, Rey listened to Carter humming in appreciation over the coffee he’d given him. The sparkle in Carter’s gorgeous hazel eyes made the threat of Hurricane Carter worth it, though. He couldn’t imagine anyone reacting as badly to caffeine as Nick had given the impression of.
When they passed Seth’s veterinary clinic, Carter bounced in his seat a fraction, pure excitement radiating from him. “Look at the puppy!”
Rey grinned, glancing out the window to see Daisy Longtree walking her mastiff through the front door.
No one could ever call that massive dog a puppy, but it amused him Carter thought so.
The whole thing reminded him of Carter’s words from the previous evening about never having a dog but wanting one so badly.
He knew a golden retriever belonging to one of the pack had had puppies and made a mental note to call to see if any remained unclaimed.
It was going to be too easy to spoil Carter.
Especially since his fierce little mate didn’t seem to want to be spoiled.
“I think Diesel is a little big to be called a puppy, sweetheart,” Rey teased.
“All dogs are puppies!” Carter swung his head around to stare at Rey, horrified.
“They’re just big puppies, is all. They’re soft and sweet and beautiful.
Dogs are one of the most loyal creatures on the planet with the biggest personalities.
I knew this one girl in high school, she used to bring her dog to the football games, and he would do the funniest things! ”
Rey listened with amusement as Carter went over everything the dog would do.
No doubt about it, he’d be getting Carter that puppy.
If it made his mate so happy just to talk about a dog, it would send him to the heavens to have his own.
Carter was still chatting away when Rey pulled into a space in front of Wild Eats Diner.
He shut the truck off and turned partway in his seat to face Carter, one wrist draped over the steering wheel.
But he didn’t interrupt Carter; he just listened with affection as Carter talked.
When Carter stopped to take a breath, Rey saw him glance out the window, sudden apprehension dominating his face. “What’s wrong?” Rey asked.
“What if they don’t like me?” Carter whispered.
“Not possible,” Rey said. He clasped Carter’s hand in his, squeezing gently. “They’re going to love you.”
Carter nibbled his lower lip. “They’re your pack. If they don’t like me, it will be bad for you.”
Rey frowned. “I don’t really give a shit what anyone thinks, sweetheart. No one here would dare have the balls to say anything.”
“But they could stop coming to your auto shop. That would hurt your business.” Carter fidgeted, wringing his hands together.
The worry Carter expressed for him and his livelihood warmed Rey’s heart, but it also broke it in two.
Carter should never have to worry about something like that.
Rey set his hand on top of Carter’s, stopping the nervous motion.
“My shop is the only one within fifty miles of here. No one is going to take their vehicle so far out of town to have it serviced. That aside, you matter more to me, Carter. If they don’t want to use my business because they’re ignorant enough to not love and adore you, that’s their problem, not ours, and I’d rather they go elsewhere. ”
Carter sniffled. “Really?”
Tightening his hold on Carter’s hands in a quick gesture of support, Rey nodded. “Really, sweetheart. Now let’s get in there. I’ve got an incredible mate to show off. Plus, I’m starving.”
Carter’s nervousness dulled, but didn’t completely fade. He took a deep breath, gave Rey a bright smile, and nodded. “Let’s go.”
They got out of the truck. Rey waited at the front end for Carter, holding his hand out immediately.
Carter took it with a grateful glance. They walked toward the diner’s entrance, where Rey opened the door and coaxed Carter to enter first. The place was busy, with most tables occupied, but Rey spotted one near the back.
“Rey, honey! Good morning!” Bridget called out from behind the counter, where she refilled someone’s mug.
“Mornin’, Bridget,” Rey greeted, stopping at the counter. He took a quick glance around and saw the people within earshot were all pack members. “This is Carter. My mate.”
Bridget’s expression brightened further than her usual perkiness. “Nice to meet you, Carter!” Carter mumbled a hello, holding on to Rey tighter. “Congratulations, you two! Oh, wow! I’m so jealous. I need to ask Kasey if I can go to the summit next time. Everyone keeps bringing home someone!”
Rey nodded and chuckled. “I certainly didn’t expect to meet mine.” He felt Carter tense a fraction, but Rey gazed down at him. “But I couldn’t be happier. He’s amazing.”
“Aww! So cute!” Bridget squealed, grinning wider, and her bright blonde hair, which was pulled back in a high ponytail, bobbed in her excitement.
Her dark-green eyes shone with happiness for them.
She wasn’t Cheyenne or wolf, but her mother had mated into the pack when Bridget was two years old, and Bridget had grown up around shifters.
She knew about true mates and what the summit meant.
“Why don’t you two go grab that booth in the back there?
I’ll be over to get your orders in a second. ”
Several others stopped to congratulate Rey on the way to the booth. Every one of them greeted Carter and welcomed him to Senaka. Once Rey and Carter reached the booth, they slid into the seats opposite each other. “Wow, everyone is so nice!” Carter exclaimed.
“See? You have nothing to worry about, sweetheart. What do you want to eat?” Rey asked. He didn’t even need to look at the menu, as he knew it by heart.
Carter grabbed one menu out of the holder, frowning. “I don’t know. Maybe just a bowl of cereal.”
Rey scowled. “You need to eat more than just cereal, Carter.”
“I’m not really that hungry first thing in the mornings, though,” Carter said.
Rey didn’t push him about it. When they’d been at the summit, he hadn’t really paid close attention to what Carter ate in the morning, so it was possible his mate really wasn’t a big eater first thing.
It was after Bridget took their order that Rey noticed Carter fidgeting, his hands shaking, and his gaze darting around the diner. “Something wrong?” he asked.
“Nope,” Carter said. His lips popped on the letter P.
“Why are you shaking so much?” Rey studied Carter, noticing the way his pupils dilated and his leg bounced. “What is going on with you?”
Bridget came over with Carter’s cereal, a small container of milk, and a glass of orange juice. “Here ya go, sweetie. Rey, your omelet will be right out. Anything else I can get you, Carter?”
Carter shook his head. “Nope. I’m good, fantastic. Superb, amazing, wonderful.”
Rey’s brows flew up, and Bridget’s lips parted in surprise. “Uh, ok. Well, you let me know if I can get you anything else. Okay?”
Before Rey could ask Carter what was going on again, Carter got up from the booth and darted through the diner and out the door. What the fuck? Rey stood to follow. “Bridget, we’ll be right back, okay?”
“Sure thing, honey. I’ll keep your eggs warm for ya.”
Rey hurried out of the diner and out onto the sidewalk.
Turning his head from side to side, he looked for Carter, but he didn’t see his mate right away.
Then the flash of blue as Carter dashed into the pharmacy store caught his attention.
He jogged down the sidewalk to the pharmacy, entering it to find Carter running through the aisles with a cart and tossing random things into it.
A startled laugh caught in Rey’s throat when he saw the tampons Carter had thrown into the cart.
Rey grabbed the end of it and halted Carter’s movements. “Carter, what is going on?”
“Nothing. What would be going on?” Carter frowned at him. “I just needed to get some things.”
“You needed tampons?” Rey asked, confused as hell.
Carter stared at him. “No, of course not. Why would I need those?”
Rey glanced down into the cart pointedly. Carter followed his gaze, frowning when he saw the box sitting on top of the other stuff he’d already put in there. “Well, how did those get in there?”
Grabbing the box, Carter shoved it back onto the nearby shelf.
Then, to Rey’s utter shock, Carter walked away from the cart and out of the pharmacy.
Rey gave Polly Redfern an apologetic glance and took off out of the store after his erratic mate.
It wasn’t until he found Carter doing jumping jacks in an alley that it struck Rey what was wrong with him.
He couldn’t halt the burst of laughter when he realized Nick hadn’t been lying.
Carter truly reacted strangely to coffee.
“Okay, little wolf,” Rey said, approaching him and stopping his movements. “No more coffee for you.”
“What? But why? I like coffee.” Carter pouted so adorably, but Rey wouldn’t let that sway him.
“Then you can have the decaffeinated kind if you like coffee so much.” Rey slipped his arm around Carter’s shoulders and guided him out of the alley. “Let’s get back to the diner to eat our breakfast. I still need to show you around town before we head to my shop.”
Carter bobbed his head as if it were on a spring, grinning at Rey. “Okay. That sounds fun! Can we go to Seth’s clinic so I can pet the puppies and the kitties? They’re so cute and cuddly. I just wanna gobble them up sometimes.”
Rey stifled a chuckle. “Sweetheart, Seth’s clinic isn’t a petting zoo. I don’t think the pets’ owners would take to a stranger handling their pets.”
“But why?” Carter asked, lower lip jutting out a fraction. “I wouldn’t hurt them. At all. I know what it’s like to be hurt. It’s not fun. It’s the worst thing really. That’s something I’d never do.”