Chapter 9
“Thank you very much for dinner.” Rick pushed back from the table and stretched his arms out to either side. “The two of you are going to have to stop feeding me so well. I’ll have to start hitting the gym more.”
“Yeah, right.” Pierce leaned over and thumped Rick’s solid stomach. “And you don’t have to thank us for dinner. You live here. You’re part of the family.”
“I know, but I’m grateful for that, too. It’s been nice.”
Holly retrieved the sippy cup that Ruby had just knocked off her highchair. “Been? You act like you think you’re wearing out your welcome. Is there something we should know?”
Rick glanced at his daughter-in-law. He knew she was fishing for information about Carol, but he didn’t have any of it to give. Not really. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind lately, and I think it’s important to be grateful for everything we’re given in life. Isn’t that right, Ruby Tuesday?”
She giggled when he tickled her under the chin.
“I think I’ll head out for a walk.” Rick stood and took his plate to the sink. “I’ll help wash the dishes when I get back, though.”
“No, you won’t. You’ve done enough of that this week, and I know you and Pierce have both been extra busy at work. I’ve got this,” Holly insisted.
“And I’ve got you, you little monster.” Pierce unstrapped Ruby from her seat. He gently pulled her out and held her at arm’s length, studying the smattering of food she’d smeared over her clothes and in her hair. “I think it’s bathtime.”
“Careful, honey. She’s figured out how much she enjoys her baths when she’s in her bear form,” Holly warned her mate.
“That little baby tub doesn’t hold her anymore, not when she’s like that.
She got so much water on the floor the other day, I thought we might have to see if we have flood insurance. ”
Rick stepped out the back door. His mind really had been heavy, but being with his family always made it a bit lighter.
It was gratifying to see what good parents Holly and Pierce were, not to mention how well they worked together as a team.
They reminded him a lot of himself and Linda way back when, always checking in with each other, never quitting until the work was done.
He stepped out toward the beach, happy in knowing he’d raised his sons right.
The water had turned chilly, and the nighttime beach was quiet, save for the gentle rush of the tide as it washed over the sand.
Most nights, he’d wanted to unleash his wolf and go all out, feeling the spray of sand fly out from his paws as he charged along the shore.
Tonight was different. Tonight, he just needed the time and space to think.
Not that he hadn’t been thinking plenty, anyway. The stars followed him as he made his way aimlessly along the water’s edge.
No, not aimlessly at all, he realized as a figure came into view further down the beach.
There was only one direction he’d ever thought of heading.
Even if he hadn’t let his wolf out to play, it’d still lead him there.
The light made it hard to distinguish her features from this far away, but he knew it was Carol.
His vision sharpened as he focused on her, picking up the way the silver in her hair reflected the starlight.
She had a gorgeous structure to her face, the kind of thing only one of the great historic sculptors could’ve captured.
She relaxed in a wooden Adirondack chair, her feet stretched out in the sand.
As she lifted a glass of wine to her lips, Rick was reminded of the way those same lips had felt against his just a few days ago.
They were gloriously soft, and the urgency behind her kiss had let him know that her eyes hadn’t been sparkling at him over their dinner just because of Hart’s margaritas.
She turned her head as he approached. “Hello, neighbor. Fancy meeting you here.”
“I was just out for a walk, doing a little thinking.”
Carol’s slim fingers slid along the armrest of the empty seat next to her. “These are excellent thinking chairs if you’d like to join me.”
“I would.” Rick sat, wishing Carol would run her fingertips over him that way.
“Life is strange, don’t you think?” she asked softly.
Rick wasn’t certain if she was addressing him or the stars, but he still knew the answer. “Definitely. We just have to figure out how to navigate all the oddities we’re presented with.”
“Mm. Yes, but what I’ve noticed lately is that even when you think you’ve already dealt with them, you might find that they’re still hanging around years later.” She laughed, tenting her fingers over her mouth. “That sounds like it’s the wine talking, but it’s not. I promise.”
“It’s all right, even if it is.”
She rested her head against the chair back, looking up at the sky. “I was actually just thinking about you before you came along.”
His heart jumped, making him feel like a teenager whose crush had finally looked at him. “Funny. I was thinking about you, too.”
“We certainly have some differences between us, but we’ve got some things in common, too.
I suppose it’s not fun that one of those things is losing our spouses, but there it is.
It’s an experience no one can really understand unless they’ve been through it.
” She moved her hand the few inches it took to rest her fingers on the back of his.
A sweet sensation of comfort moved through his body. “You’re right. Everyone tells you how sorry they are and asks how you’re doing, but they can’t really know what it’s like. And that’s okay. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone just so they could tell me they get it.”
“No, but here we are. Both of us knowing. I’ve thought a bit lately about my late husband.
Stacey had a near-death experience a while back, and she saw him.
I certainly can’t say whether or not any of that was true or accurate, but she said he was happy.
I like that, and I like to think that he’d want me to be happy. ”
Rick pulled in a deep breath. “I guess we’ll never have any way of knowing for certain. What I do know is that if I’d been the one to pass early, I would’ve wanted Linda to move on in whatever way she needed to so she could live a satisfying life.”
“Between the two of us, it sounds like we have a pretty good data set.” She took another sip of her wine.
Rick turned his hand over so his fingers wound through hers. “Carol, when I saw you at the bakery yesterday, I meant to ask you out again.”
“Did you?”
Something in her voice, in just those two words, made him feel like he was losing her already.
It was time to lay everything out. That was precisely what his wolf had asked him to do right from the beginning, but wolves didn’t usually understand much about polite society.
“You know about fated mates. It surprised me when you told me that, but it also pleased me. It meant it wouldn’t be quite as hard to tell you that I believe you’re my second chance at having my fated mate at my side.
I’d like to spend more time with you so we can explore this.
I would say it’s so we can see if I’m right, but I know I am.
It’s not the kind of thing a shifter can really question once they know what it feels like. ”
“I know I feel something for you, too, Rick.” Carol turned toward him, her cheek still resting on the back of the chair.
“You’re handsome. You’re charming in just the right way, without being too forward or arrogant.
You love your family and your job. I don’t understand why, but I’ve been having a bit of a hard time with my feelings, even with all of that.
It surprises me because I tend to act on instinct instead of sitting down and pondering things to death.
I’m conflicted. I haven’t let myself get into an actual relationship in a long time. ”
“I think it’s all a bit harder when you’ve had some experience under your belt, when you know how much it would hurt if you hit a rough patch again.
” Rick rubbed his thumb along the side of her finger.
“I don’t know if this will make it harder or easier for you, but I think it’s only fair to tell you that the pack I belonged to for decades before moving here has a tradition of marking their mate. ”
“Marking?” She sat up a little but still kept her hand entwined with his.
He wanted to be as honest with her as possible.
He was too old to mess around with anything else.
If they could sit here and talk frankly about their feelings, he’d have to tell her about the whole package he came with.
“It’s an older tradition among wolves, and it’s not one that most packs practice these days.
It means a bite—a wolf bite with wolf teeth—right at the base of your neck. ”
“So you like to get a little kinky?” she asked, her eyes glittering.
Rick smiled at her comment. He had a feeling this one was only because she was uncertain about exactly what he was trying to tell her.
Having never had to explain it to anyone before, Rick wasn’t sure he was doing a good job.
“It’s intense, yes, but it also brings the two mates closer together both in mind and in body.
It enhances their connection, especially because a human who’s marked would no longer be human. ”
For a change, Carol had no quick retort. “So the woman in this scenario would be…” She trailed off, unable to finish the words.
“A wolf. Just like me. Just like the rest of my pack.” The mere thought of marking her and making her his mate made his wolf reel with excitement, but he did his best to bury it.
He couldn’t celebrate the idea if it wasn’t one she liked.
“You’d be able to shift, and we’d have a telepathic link when in our animal forms.”
She looked out over the water, her brow heavy. Her hand was still in his, but it lay still as a stone. “And here I was thinking I was hip because I already knew about shifters and mates. But I’ve never heard of that.”
“It’s a lot, I know.” He pushed himself forward so that he sat on the edge of the seat.
He wanted to be as close to her as he could, to make sure she understood everything he was trying to tell her.
“I’d like for you to think about it, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to give any sort of answer right now. ”
Her eyes were curious, almost hard. “Are you asking me?”
“Yeah.” He pulled their hands down onto his lap and squeezed hers. “Yeah, I guess I am. I guess I’m asking you a lot of things, but I wanted you to know about all of it. I wanted to be candid because I understand that it might change the way you feel.”
“I appreciate that.” She paused for a moment. Carol seemed to be thinking or searching for something, and Rick gave her the space to do so. “If we’re going to be truly straightforward with each other, then what do you think of Lorelei?”
“Lorelei?” His wolf and his human had been so intent on Carol that the question came as a shock.
His mind had been concentrating on their possible future together, and he struggled for a moment to get it onto the track that Carol asked of him.
“I know you’ve taken her under your wing, so I don’t want to offend you, but I feel like there’s something off about her. ”
She pursed her lips. “You seemed more than happy to talk to her yesterday at The Biscuit Box. I thought maybe you were just as interested in her as all the other men in town seem to be.”
“No, I—wait a second. You think I’m attracted to her?
” Carol didn’t answer, but her silence told him he’d hit the nail on the head.
“No. There’s nothing like that going on.
I’m concerned for her, and I worry that the men who did that awful thing to her might still be in the area. That’s as far as it goes.”
Carol nodded. “I just needed to know.”
Rick looked down at their hands, still sitting on top of his knee.
He didn’t know how to explain what’d happened between him and Lorelei the previous day.
It was true that he’d been unable to look away from her for a time, that he’d noticed the way her hair lay on her shoulder and by the shape of her eyes, but it was no comparison to the physical attraction he felt for Carol.
Not at all. So then, what was it? Without knowing, he couldn’t possibly describe it without sounding like he was making it all up to look good.
“Something about her doesn’t sit right with me.
Have you noticed anything strange about her? ”
She shrugged. “Lorelei is a true starving artist, someone who would rather have the opportunity to showcase her music than have a roof over her head. I think that’s pretty strange by our society’s standards, so yes.”
A silence fell between them, but it wasn’t the easy silence he’d experienced when they’d gone to Captain’s Quarters.
This was different, and he swore he could feel Carol pulling away from him emotionally, even if not physically.
They’d had a chance to get a few things out, but the whole conversation must not have been sitting well with her.
Rick wasn’t sure it was sitting right with him, either.
“I should head home.” He let go of her hand and stood. “If you want to talk or need me for anything, you know where I am.”
“Yes.” There was a small smile on her face as she looked up at him, almost a sad one. “I do. Goodnight, Rick.”
“Goodnight.”
He walked slowly back home, his wolf’s frustration increasing with every step.
Everything inside him told him he should be with Carol, but it wasn’t that simple.
Her status as a human would be a hurdle for both of them.
She would have to accept his mark, and Rick would have to accept the burden of changing her into a shifter.
He’d never done anything like that before. Could he handle it?
The part about Lorelei bothered him, too.
What was it about that girl that’d made him act like a fool?
He could be a fool about Carol, but he understood that completely.
He thought about her night and day. She was in the background of everything he did.
But not Lorelei. No, it was only Carol who lived inside him like that.