18. Chapter Seventeen
Shifting out of his grizzly took longer than shifting into it. It always hurt more, too, especially if he tried to force the shift to hurry like he was right now.
The added pain was worth it if it meant he could be with Olive.
He was exhausted and everything hurt. But he was so thankful that he’d gotten here when he had.
They’d been heading back into town from the search and rescue when he knew, he just knew, something was wrong with Olive. He hollered at Fox to slow the truck as they drove past the bakery but didn’t wait for his brother to comply. Flinging open the passenger door, he bailed, hit the ground, got up, and ran three blocks to the boutique and found the rear door wide open.
He”d smelled the intruder before he saw him, and though he was primed to barge in and fuck shit up, the sounds of their voices stopped him. It sounded like a somewhat normal conversation at first. Realizing this was someone Olive knew; he didn’t want to disrupt unless she needed him to.
Then she said Kyle had assaulted her and it was game on. He’d never shifted so fast or been closer to tearing someone apart than with that asshole. Olive was safe now and he was so incredibly tired. The urgent shift had completely depleted him. He’d rest for a few minutes… just a few and then he was going to tell her—
“Ryker. Hey, Ryker.”
Olive’s voice sounded far away as his muscles gave out and he slumped to the floor. Dazed, he felt her fluttering around him, putting something soft beneath his head, and covering him with something warm. When he finally opened his eyes, ceiling lights shone down, confusing him until he remembered where he was.
“Olive!”
“I’m here. Are you okay?”
She looked down at him, the ends of her hair tickling his face. It took some effort, but he cupped her face and ran his thumb over her cheek.
“I’m fine. Are you fine?”
“Thanks to you.”
Groaning, he pushed into a sitting position and realized his lower half was covered with a plush pink blanket with white polka dots and sparkly fringe.
“You were naked, so I grabbed the first thing that I saw.”
“It’ll do.”
“Fox dropped off a red bag. Said it has everything you need inside.”
Hanging onto the blanket, he stood and slid it around his hips. Olive”s eyes swept over him with a mix of longing and concern.
“Can I get you anything? Water—”
“Olive.”
Crossing her arms, she diverted her gaze as if she couldn’t look at him. Was she nervous because of his shift? The process was shocking to someone seeing it for the first time, but she’d already experienced it when she was kidnapped. No, it was something else.
She seemed embarrassed.
“How did you know to come?”
“I can’t explain it. Something inside me said you needed help, so I jumped out of the truck and ran over here.”
She arched a brow. “You jumped out of a truck? A moving truck?”
“I’d jump out of an airplane if I thought you needed me.”
He moved closer, wanting so much to comfort her but she moved to her desk and out of reach.
“I felt your fear, Olive. I felt it like I was experiencing it myself.”
“That’s crazy.”
“I know.”
Her pupils dilated when she looked at his naked chest and tracked her gaze to his. Her throat moved slowly as she swallowed and then took a shuddering breath. The urge to wrap her in his arms nearly overwhelmed him, but he needed to take it slow and give her space, so she didn’t shut down completely.
“Will you talk to me about what happened? Who was that man?”
A long silence passed before she moved to her desk and sat on the edge. “My sister’s husband. He’s been sending me harassing texts since I visited them a month ago.” She swirled a finger on the top of the desk. “How long were you in the building before you shifted?”
“Not long.”
She hugged herself. “How much of our conversation did you overhear?”
In his fury, he hadn”t processed everything he”d overheard them talking about before he”d shifted. He’d only hung on to bits and pieces, but as he thought about it now, it was enough information to make his heart ache for her.
“I heard enough.”
Tears flashed in her eyes. “I understand that you’ll need to tell your family, but can you wait until I talk to Cara first, and have a chance to pack my things?”
Enough of this distance between them. Ryker hung onto the blanket as he strode to the desk. “What are you talking about?”
“She won’t want me working for her anymore. Who would? She’ll never trust me again.”
Tears rolled down her soft cheeks. It gutted him to feel her misery.
“From what I did hear, you were a child who was conned into helping that worthless piece of shit steal stuff in return for a literal roof over your head.” Jesus, and he’d thought his childhood had been tumultuous. “Did you really live on the streets?”
She nodded. “I didn’t want anyone to know. Lulu and Cara don’t know about any of it.”
Ryker moved in front of her and pulled her into his arms. She was completely still in his embrace, not hugging him back, not moving save for the sobs rising and falling in her chest.
“I won’t share your secrets with anyone. They’re not mine to tell. Everyone who knows you loves you. They love the person you are, and no one would judge the forced actions of a child. We can’t control what happened to us back then.”
At this rate, he, Cal, and Olive could start a support group.
One small hand pressed against his ribs and slid to his back.
“I’m happy here. I don’t want to leave Estes Park.”
Her panicked voice bruised his heart.
“Either do I.”
A moment passed before she looked up at him. “You decided to stay?”
“I’m not leaving you. This is our home.”
“What about just being friends?”
Ryker lifted her in his arms.
“You’re my mate and I’m not wasting another minute second-guessing that. Let me love you. Let me give you the home you always dreamed of and anything else you thought you’d never have.”
Her hands gripped the back of his neck as she leaned back to look at him, tears renewed.
“A kitten?”
No kittens.Isn’t that what she’d said when they’d kissed in the fire tower?
“You can have a whole litter. A dog, and a pony. As long as you’re happy, I don’t care.”
Her warm hands cupped his face as she leaned in and kissed him. A rush of longing swept through him with dizzying force. Crushing her to him, Ryker deepened the kiss until she was breathless and squirming against him. Her hands roamed his back, to the curve in his spine, her fingers leaving flutters of heat wherever she touched.
“Ryker?”
“Yeah?”
“You lost your blanket.”
Smiling against her lips, he kissed her again. “It wasn’t going to stay on long anyway.”
“In that case, better lock the front door and turn off the light.”
Lowering her to the floor, he grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around his hips, before pulling her in for one more kiss.
“Upstairs. Now.”
Hurrying to the door, Ryker was just about to turn the lock when the door flew open, and a blast of baby powder scent hit him in the face.
Agnes Kraft shuffled in on chunky white high heels and wearing a satin purple suit with a winged collar straight out of the nineteen seventies. Her giant floppy hat overflowed with colorful plastic flowers like she was off to the Kentucky Derby.
“Olive, I need–”
She stopped short, her thick black glasses slipping to the edge of her nose. Pushing them up, she gawked at him in the pink polka-dot blanket and nothing else.
He smiled. She slowly backed out of the doorway.
He’d never locked a door so fast in his life.