Chapter 7 Wolf
Wolf
Iwasn’t avoiding the truth anymore.
Not after today.
Not after the way Nora looked at me when I fixed that damn door.
Not after she whispered “okay” like it cost her something.
Not after I walked out of her library feeling as if someone had reached into my chest and turned on a light that hadn’t worked in years.
I liked her.
Hell, maybe I more than liked her.
Setting that thought aside was like trying to push back the ocean with my bare hands.
Trigger was the one who said it out loud an hour later.
“You’re in love,” he announced, chewing on a cinnamon roll like he was reading my obituary. “It’s over for you.”
Saint laughed. “It’s a crush, Trigger. Calm down.”
Havoc tossed a rag into a bucket. “Feels like love. He’s got that look.”
“What look?” I snapped.
Saint leaned on the counter and pointed at me. “The look of a man who’d fight a bear for a librarian.”
Trigger nodded sagely. “A sexy bear.”
Havoc glared. “Why would the bear be sexy?”
“Why wouldn’t the bear be sexy?” Trigger shot back.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “All of you shut up.”
Saint patted my shoulder. “It’s okay, Wolf. You’ve been emotionally dead inside for so long that this is actually encouraging.”
Trigger added, “We’re proud of you, buddy. Growth.”
“I regret this entire team,” I muttered.
They just grinned at me like idiots.
Later that afternoon
We were working on the back storage room when Riley Tate reentered our lives like a hurricane.
She swaggered through the door with a milkshake in one hand and trouble in the other.
“Hi, boys,” she purred.
Trigger inhaled his own breath and started coughing.
Havoc muttered, “Oh for f—”
“Language,” Saint said automatically.
Riley hopped onto a crate. “Guess what?”
“No,” I said.
“No thank you,” Saint added.
“Hard pass,” Havoc said.
Trigger whispered, “Say anything you want.”
Riley smiled. “Dad says there’s been break-ins at the old mining access roads up north. Someone’s been poking around where they shouldn’t be.”
I stilled.
Trigger frowned. “Break-ins of what? There’s nothing up there.”
Riley shrugged. “That’s the problem. Whoever’s messing around is doing it late at night. Dad’s pissed. Says he’ll call in reinforcements if it gets worse.”
Reinforcements.
My jaw ticked.
I didn’t like reinforcements. They were unpredictable. Untrained. Uncontrolled.
And Eagle River was not built for trouble.
Riley eyed me. “Dad also said you boys are… how did he put it… ‘loud, messy, probably illegal, and definitely suspicious.’”
Saint laughed. “That sounds right.”
Trigger gasped. “Illegal? ME?!”
Havoc arched a brow. “You stole a traffic cone last week.”
Trigger pointed dramatically. “We needed that cone on our front steps!”
Riley slid off the crate, winked at me, and said, “Be careful, Wolf. Not everyone in this town likes outsiders.”
Then she left.
Trigger waited three beats. “Do you think she likes me?”
“No,” I said.
Havoc said, “God, no.”
Saint added, “She absolutely does.”
Trigger perked up. “SEE?”
Saint nodded. “That lady is going to eat you alive.”
Trigger beamed. “Awesome.”
Evening
By the time the sun dipped low behind the mountains, the tavern emptied into a warm orange glow. The guys were downstairs arguing about what color the barstools should be.
Saint wanted mahogany.
Havoc wanted black.
Trigger wanted “whatever Riley thinks is sexy.”
I ignored them.
I was standing upstairs by the window, sanding the last board for the railing, when my eyes drifted across the street.
Nora was locking up the library.
Golden light poured over her.
Her hair was loose tonight, gently brushing her shoulders. She wore simple jeans and a pale blue sweater, her look like the calm before a storm.
She stepped out, turned the sign to CLOSED, and slipped her key into her sweater pocket.
Then she paused.
Looked both ways.
And lifted her face to the sunset.
Something in me stopped.
She didn’t know I was watching.
Didn’t know how beautiful she looked standing there with the wind tugging her hair and her eyes closed like she was making a wish.
Saint’s voice drifted up the stairs. “Wolf? You good?”
“Yeah,” I said quietly. “Fine.”
I wasn’t fine.
Not even close.
Nora started walking across the street — not toward the tavern, but toward home. She lived four blocks down, near the bakery. But tonight…
She kept glancing over her shoulder.
Not at us.
Not at the tavern.
Behind her.
I straightened.
Something in her body language prickled at my instincts — the way her shoulders tightened, the way her hand hovered near her bag strap, the way her pace quickened.
Someone was behind her.
I moved.
Fast.
I was down the stairs in seconds, ignoring Trigger yelling, “HEY, WHAT HAPPENED??”
Out the door.
Onto the street.
“Nora,” I called.
She stopped abruptly and turned.
Her face relaxed when she saw me. “Wolf. Oh. Hi.”
“You okay?”
Her brows pulled together. “I think so. I just—felt like someone was behind me.”
My pulse kicked. “Did you see anyone?”
She hesitated. “No. Probably just… nerves.”
I scanned the road behind her.
Shadows. Nothing else. But my gut didn’t calm.
“Walk with me?” I asked.
Her lips parted in surprise. “You… want to walk me home?”
“I want to make sure you get home safe.”
She exhaled slowly. “Okay.”
We fell into step side by side, quiet except for the crunch of gravel under our boots.
“That break-in Riley mentioned,” Nora said softly. “Do you think it’s connected?”
I looked at her sharply. “You heard about that?”
She shrugged. “Agnes told the cashier at the donut shop, who told my friend Marcy, who told her kid, who told all the kindergarteners, who told me.”
“Small towns,” I muttered.
“Small towns,” she echoed.
We walked until we reached her driveway. Porch lights glowed warm and inviting.
She turned to me. “Thank you. For walking me home.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“I do.” Her voice softened. “You make me feel… safe.”
Something in my chest cracked open.
I stepped closer, brushing my fingers lightly along her elbow. “You are safe. As long as I’m here.”
Her breath hitched.
Then she whispered, “Wolf?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you going to check on me tomorrow?”
My heart thudded. “Probably gonna check on you every day.”
She smiled — small, shy, but bright enough to level me.
“Goodnight, Wyatt.”
“Goodnight, Nora.”
I waited until she was inside. Locked the door. Turned on a lamp.
Then I walked back into the deepening dusk…
And saw a set of footprints in the mud near her yard.
Fresh ones.
Not hers.
Not mine.
Something cold slid through my spine.
Trouble wasn’t coming to Eagle River.
It was already here.