8. Dom
8
DOM
I ’m a man on a mission, and that mission starts at Lacey’s Lemon Bar.
Kira is doing her best to hide her nerves as I drive us to town, but my wolf can smell her fear. I want to assure her that no one will hurt her. My wolf wouldn’t stand for it. The only problem with that is I’d have to tell her the reason she has nothing to fear is because I’m not human.
So instead of telling her that my wolf would rip the throat out of anyone who looked at her wrong, I give her a quick rundown of the businesses as we pass them, and that Wylder, population under ten thousand, is a friendly, warm-hearted place to live.
Town is, as usual, busier than it is in the evenings. Which is to say, five trucks parked up, a couple of locals chatting outside the library who lift their hands to wave as I round the front of my car to open Kira’s door for her.
I walk fast, so she’s still reaching for the door after having unbuckled her seatbelt. “I’ve got it.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she says, sliding her legs out and giving me a brief glimpse of pretty, freckled legs.
Opening the door is the least I can do for my mate. I step aside, giving her room to climb out, though she’s not as tense around me as she was this morning.
Nick, who usually does the cooking, leaned a little closer to her than she was probably comfortable with as he placed a plate of bacon on the table.
Maybe Nick missed the way she leaned out of the way, her gaze wary, but I didn’t.
It’s why I gave Nick a subtle look of warning, so the next time he needed to place something on the table, he did it away from Kira.
“Lacey is usually busy in the mornings, but if you grab a table, I can see if she has five minutes.” I slam the car door shut and walk over to the diner to open that one for Kira.
“Okay.”
The delicious sweet scents of baking almost drowns out my mate’s scent. A good half of the tables are full of couples, families, or workers stopping in to grab coffee before work.
It’s ten, and Kira and I both had a decent breakfast, but I guide her over to a corner table with a cream leather booth on one side, and two matching chairs on the other.
I wait until Kira has slid in, but I make no move to sit. “I might as well order something for us while I’m at the counter. Coffee all right?”
Her lips compress and she frowns, a prelude to refusing.
“My treat,” I say. “It’s just a coffee. You can pay me back with your first paycheck if you insist.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
I leave her in the booth and make my way to the front counter, nodding a welcome at the locals I recognize, and smiling at others. Noel, the jeweler, is in a corner booth with Melissa, his wife. He smiles and I return it.
Things were a little tense for want of a better word when he found Galen’s bloody truck after enforcers from Galen’s former pack abducted him months before. With the amount of blood in the truck, Noel had believed Galen was dead. He was right to be concerned. If Galen hadn’t been a shifter, he’d have been dead.
Sierra and I had lied to Shawn, hiding the full extent of Galen’s injury as well as his abduction. All so we could rescue him and no one in town would know the people who lived in the remote farmhouse on the edge of town were not human.
When Galen reappeared, seemingly unharmed, Noel had accepted that he might have overreacted about the amount of blood he’d seen.
I rest my hands on the edge of the counter as Nina, Lacey’s full-time waitress lets me know that she’ll be on her way as she finishes taking an order from someone on the far side of the counter.
My gaze returns to Kira. She’s picked up one of the plastic coated menus from the table, and is busy scanning it. Since the drink side is pointing in my direction, she’s looking at the food menu and the cakes Lacey is famous for.
Is she hungry or is she trying to memorize the menu in case I get her a job here?
“What can I get you, Dom?” Nina calls out behind me.
I turn to face her, returning her smile as she fishes a small white notepad from the front pocket of her apron.
“Two coffees and a couple of slices of Lacey’s finest.”
“Two of Lacey’s finest coming up.” She returns the notepad to the pocket and, within a minute, is sliding two black coffees across the counter toward me. “I’ll bring the cake right over. Go grab your seat.”
I pick up the coffee. “One thing.”
“Yeah?” She pauses before she can reach into the refrigerated section filled with cakes.
“You’re still quiet, right?”
She makes a face. “It’s low season. Come mid-day it’s like a ghost town here. Lacey was thinking of having me finish earlier since there’s no point paying me to just stand around.”
“That’s what I thought.” I carry the cups over to Kira, and take a seat beside her, nodding at the cream and sugar in small white pots on the table. “Help yourself.”
Her expression is hopeful as her eyes bounce from me to the counter and back again. “What did she say about a job?”
“It’s low season,” I explain. “The tourists we get from New York are back in the city, so there aren’t enough hours to justify taking on new staff.”
I’d known beforehand, and I wasn’t lying when I said I would see what I would do. But that isn’t the only reason, or even the main reason, we’re in town.
Her face falls. “Oh, well. Thanks anyway.”
When Nina walks over and sets two thick slices of cake with a pale yellow buttercream frosting down in front of us, Kira’s brow wrinkles in confusion.
“We’re in Lacey’s Lemon Bar,” I explain, nodding my thanks at Nina, who leaves with a smile. “There’s no stepping foot in here without having a taste of the cake that made her world-famous.”
Interest stirs in Kira’s blue gaze. “World-famous?”
“Uh, though not for the reason you think. When she first opened this diner, everything was lemon.”
Kira stares at me. “ Everything ?”
“The tea, the cupcakes, the sliced cakes, the cushions on the chairs…” My voice trails off at her beautiful smile. It’s so distracting, I lose my train of thought. “Anyway, reporters came and did a story on the only all-lemon diner in the country, maybe in the world, so…”
“Ah. World-famous.” Her eyes dart to the cake, and I know I’m not imagining the flare of hunger in her gaze. I wonder about that, and the hollowness in her cheeks. “So this is lemon?”
I nod. “Lacey got fed up with all things lemon years ago, so did the locals. There would’ve been a riot if she got rid of the best tasting lemon cake anyone had ever tasted. Try it. I’d like to know what you think.”
She looks tempted. “But shouldn’t we…”
“Errands can wait, and this is Wylder. It’s a slower pace of life around here.” I pick up the fork from the table and offer it to her. “We’re here in town for errands. Might as well enjoy a slice of cake while we’re here.”
After a moment, she takes the fork. “Okay.”
Low season means Wylder is quiet. But we’re not in town to look for a job. We’re here so I can show Kira around and have her fall in love with the town the way I did.
I hadn’t known what it would do to me to watch my mate lick frosting off a fork, but I soon find out.
My wolf has no interest in sweet. His preference is for bloody steak, or a still kicking rabbit. The man sees the yellow frosting dotting the corner of Kira’s lush lips and wants nothing more than to lean over and lick it.
But I wrench my eyes from temptation and dig into a slice of cake I have no interest in.
Twenty minutes later, I hold the door open and Kira walks out, peering one way, then the other. “So, where now?”
“The boutique.” I grip her elbow and try to ignore the tingle of awareness touching her provokes, steering her in the right direction. “We don’t have a lot of shops here. A bank, jeweler, hairdresser, ice cream parlor, grocery store, the diner, a restaurant that only opens on the weekend, and the boutique.”
“So, will we try all of them?” She’s overwhelmed, but is trying hard to hide it.
“Not quite. The grocery store is a one man operation. A husband and wife team runs the jeweler, and working at the bank would require training. Same with the hairdresser.”
She looks at me, surprised. “You sound like you’ve really thought this through.”
I’ve done little else but think of how to get you to stay, Kira.
“A little.” I nod at the squat white building with a glass front we’re fast approaching. “We’ll try the boutique and maybe the ice creamery. You won’t need any training to work in places like that.”
If they were hiring, and in low season Wylder, no one is hiring.
Still, I pull the door open and the bell over it jangles. Tricia, the slim blonde owner of the store, wearing a white shift dress, straightens from behind the glass counter.
“Good morning,” she calls out.
“Morning,” Kira responds, and beelines right for her.
I stop Kira before she can approach Tricia and ask her about the job she will not have. “While we’re here, maybe you could help me with my errand while I speak with Tricia about a job.”
Kira nods. “Sure. What’s the errand?”
“Rose, my friend you met at breakfast has a birthday coming up.” Next year. “And she’s been saying she wants a wardrobe refresh, whatever that means. You’re roughly the same size. Do you think you could put together about five outfits she might like?”
Kira’s brow furrows. “ Me ! I don’t know what she likes.”
“So pick what you like.” Her mouth opens, but I keep talking. “Because I promise you, it will be a hell of a lot closer to what she likes than I would pick out.”
Her eyes dart to the clothes racks lining one wall and her frown deepens. “Are you sure? Some of this stuff in here is kind of pricy. I wouldn’t want to pick out a bunch of expensive clothes she won’t wear.”
She won’t wear them, because I’m not buying clothes for her.
I meet her gaze steadily. “Whatever you pick out will be perfect.”
But she still doesn’t move. “I don’t know that I’m the best person for this. I haven’t gone clothes shopping in a while.”
She always dressed modestly in Missouri. Long skirts, blouses buttoned up to her throat, and no heels. Now she’s left Bryce, I can’t help but wonder how much that was her and how much that was the husband.
“Then think of this as an excuse to put together something you would wear. I’d pick out T-shirts and jeans and Rose would kill me for getting her something so basic.”
She winces. “Okay. I think I can do better than T-shirt and jeans.”
“Go for it and take your time. I’ll be speaking to Tricia.”
I leave her to search through the clothes racks as I wander to the front of the store, lean my back to the counter and angle my head toward the boutique owner. “You’re not hiring, are you, Tricia?”
“ Hiring ?” Her smooth brow wrinkles. “In low season? No.”
Not everyone was born and raised in Wylder. Tricia is a relatively new transplant. She gave up her corporate job in New York three years ago to work on building her dream boutique business. She’s been happy here, and has no intention of leaving.
There’s something about Wylder that makes a person want to stay. I hope to infect Kira with whatever that special something is.
Like most businesses, it’s about riding out the quiet times, taking advantage of the big shoppers from the city to earn big in the peak spring and summer season.
I cross my arms as I prepare to wait for however long Kira needs to pick out new clothes for herself. “That’s what I thought. When my friend is ready, if she happens to mention something about me buying clothes for someone else as a birthday present, please play along.”
Friend doesn’t come close to describing what Kira means to me, but calling her my mate isn’t an option. Girlfriend just seems tepid.
Tricia leans toward me. “Who is she buying clothes for?”
“ I am buying clothes for her .” I speak out of the side of my mouth, giving Kira a reassuring smile when she glances at me.
Tricia’s voice lowers. “How many outfits?”
“I said five or six. More if she could be encouraged to?—”
“Leave it with me.” Tricia straightens, determination in every line of her body. “Prepare to watch a master at work.” She takes a step, then pauses, tilting her head toward me. “Budget?”
I shake my head. “No budget. And she needs everything.”
Tricia doesn’t ask why Kira would need everything. She just nods to show she understands the mission I’ve set for her. She’ll cover all bases. Clothes, nightwear, and lingerie. Everything .
“Then prepare for maximum damage.” She steps around the counter and strides purposefully toward Kira, who’s reaching for a pretty floral blouse, looking like a deer caught in headlights at Tricia’s rapid approach.
An hour later, and true to Tricia’s word, she has delivered on maximum damage.
Maximum damage to the tune of six thousand dollars and more bags than I can carry. I have eight. Kira has two, and that’s only because the bags have thin handles that mean I can’t slide them up my arms and carry more.
“Come back soon,” Tricia says, holding the door open for us.
“Thanks.” I add in a quieter tone, “You truly were masterful.”
She preens, pleased. “Well, I have new stock coming in soon. Blue brings out your friend’s eyes and I can set aside a couple of dresses for her.”
Message delivered and understood.
“I’ll stop by,” I promise.
“That was a lot of clothes,” Kira says as we step outside, her eyes on the bags in my hands. “And money. The shop owner kept forgetting who the clothes were for. She had me try stuff on a ton of stuff.”
“I mentioned it was for Rose, and you’re about the same size, so I guess she wanted to make sure things would fit properly,” I lie, leading the way to my car.
I’d caught Kira smiling and laughing as she was sucked into the shopping experience. As I’d paid, I’d added a generous tip for Tricia as thanks for delivering on her promise because seeing my mate happy like that is priceless.
Popping open the trunk, we place the bags inside and I slam it shut. I turn to suggest asking for a job at the ice cream parlor, so I have an excuse to buy Kira an ice cream when my wolf snarls a warning.
I stumble into Kira, apologizing as a sharp pain pierces my side.
She blinks up at me. “Dom? Are you okay?”
I smile at her as I grip her elbow and lead her around the car to the passenger seat, using my body to shield her. “Fine. Just tripped. Are you ready to head back now?” I help her into the car, not giving her the option to say no.
The bleeding is slowing, healing shifter quick, as I slide into the driver’s seat and start the engine, but I need to get out of town before whoever shot me tries it again. I just hope no one saw the blood before I got in.
“I thought we were going to more shops?” Kira says, buckling her seatbelt.
I buckle my seatbelt as I pull away from town, my eyes darting to the rearview mirror to confirm no one is following. No one is, so I relax. “I’m a little wiped out from all that shopping. We can do this another time, if you want.”
She’s disappointed, but smiles as if it’s no big deal. “Okay. That was a really generous thing, buying all those outfits for your friend.”
“She’s worth it.”
I feel Kira studying me for the next couple of minutes. “So, uh, are you two close?”
It’s wrong that I should feel this much pleasure at what sounds like Kira’s jealousy. “We’re friends. I have no interest in Rose.”
“Oh.”
I dart a rapid glance at her. “There’s only one woman I have any interest in.”
Her cheeks turn pink, and she looks away. But she doesn’t ask who that woman is.
I wish she would.
Back at the house, I call for Galen as I climb out of the car, telling Kira, “I need a little help with the bags.”
Galen emerges, brow furrowed in confusion until his nose twitches as he jogs down the porch steps. “Dom. What’s up?”
He must smell my blood.
“Kira and I did a bit of damage in the boutique. Can you grab Sierra to give Kira a hand getting everything inside? I had an idea about that out-building renovation on our way home and wanted to check something out in the DIY store.”
Galen doesn’t hesitate. “ Sierra ! You think you could give Kira a hand carrying these bags into the house? Dom needs a hand with something.”
Sierra is out in seconds. She subtly sniffs and her gaze sharpens. “No problem. Don’t spend too long out there. It might not be safe.”
It’s clear she knows what we’re going to do with a warning like that.
“We won’t.” Galen drops a kiss on the top of Sierra’s head. “We’re just going to have a quick look.”
As Sierra helps Kira empty the shopping bags from the trunk of the car, I walk Galen around the side of the house, speaking quietly. “Someone shot me in town. If we move fast, we might just be able to track them.”
“Kira’s husband?”
“Maybe.”
His eyes dip to my side. “Are you okay?”
“It’s stopped bleeding. Let me change out of this shirt before Kira sees it and figures out what happens. We’ll take your truck and hope Kira doesn’t see us leave.”