Chapter 3
Lisa didn’t know what was wrong with her inviting a man, a stranger, to her home without knowing a thing about him. She knew that he’d done a background check on her. The army let her know that someone had done it. She figured as much would happen since there was new ownership in the works.
She realized that after he went out to his car, she didn’t have any idea what his name was.
He knew her, but that was all. Lisa realized that he might well have known her from the stitches in her cheeks, but she didn’t care.
They’d be out soon enough, and she’d not have to mess with them.
They no longer hurt, but they were still there where people could see them.
After taking the bus tub to the kitchen, she set it down on the shelf with the other bus tubs.
The diner had been busy today, but nothing unusual for the morning crowd.
She’d been bussing tables for the last two days to let the restaurant run without her.
Even the new management seemed to be getting along better than it had before with Roman there.
She was ready to clock out when the girl running the bar told her about the tip she’d gotten.
“Fifty bucks. Do you suppose he’ll be in all the time?” She said that she didn’t know who it was, but knew his brother. “Oh, the owners. Well, that’s good to know. If they show up, I hope they tip that well every time. It’s really going to help me out in getting diapers.”
Most of the people who worked at the diner had children.
Some had them in school, but the rest seemed to have infants.
Lisa didn’t care much for children. Not that she’d avoid them if they were around, but she’d not go out of her way to be around them.
They were strangers in her world, and she didn’t know what to do with them.
Since she’d been an only child and she didn’t babysit when she was younger, she didn’t know what to do with them.
She supposed that was why she didn’t have anything to do with them now that she was older.
Lisa thought about the man in the car waiting for her and wondered if he’d demand that she have children with her.
She was going to put her foot down on that.
It was her body and her decisions to make when it came to having children.
Or at least she hoped that it would be like that.
She didn’t know what his demands would be.
After clocking out, she went to her car, which was parked a few spaces from the man.
She pulled out into the lot, and he did the same.
On her way home, she thought about how stupid she was being for inviting him to her house, but figured that she had a gun and knew how to use it, so she’d be all right.
Unless he shifted. Then she had no idea what she’d do.
He parked in the visitor parking spaces when she pulled up in front of her condo.
She didn’t much care for living in one, but it had been all that she could afford when she’d gotten out of the service.
And she didn’t want to rent anymore. At least with the condo, she could sell it when she moved out, and that was a good thing.
A rental meant that she was paying for a place to live and not ever owning it. She liked her way better.
Once she was inside, she decided that her place was just clean enough for him.
She’d been doing her laundry on her days off, and today was supposed to be her first day off from her job.
Putting a load in the washer and one in the dryer, she thought that the place looked good enough.
The man was knocking on the door almost as soon as she got changed.
“I almost lost you there. I should have gotten your address so that in the event that happened, I could still make it to your home.” She said that she should have thought of that, too.
“No big deal. Before I forget again, I’m Devlin Frazier.
I’m an attorney for the family for the most part. I do other things too when I want.”
“I’m Lisa Gunther. Today was my last day at the diner, so I’m officially unemployed.
I’ve done time in the service that I still get a payment from monthly, so I’ll be all right.
” He nodded and looked around. “I’m not thrilled about living here, but it was all I could do when I got out of the service to live in. ”
“I had a condo too. I know what you mean about living in one. It’s too noisy.” She said that there must be about a thousand kids around. “Or someone mowing their lawns. I don’t know if it’s a service or not, but it’s annoying.”
After offering him a seat, she sat across from him in her chair.
The couch had seen better days, but since she was looking to buy herself a house, she saw no reason to replace it just yet.
He finally made himself comfortable after a few moves, and she had to laugh.
He was taking things easy, she noticed, and not cursing about the couch.
It had a nasty spring in it that would get you if you weren’t careful.
“I wanted to talk to you about the rules you mentioned.” She said that she wanted to go over them as well.
“I don’t have any rules for you to follow.
If you do for me, that’s fine, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re a grown adult and know how to conduct yourself out in public.
” She asked him about children. “It’s your body.
I’ll be willing to have them when you’re ready.
What I mean is, if you want to have them. I’m all right either way.”
“You don’t want children?” He said that he didn’t, not right away. “I don’t either. Maybe not ever. I don’t know a great deal about them and haven’t any idea if I’d ever want any in my life.”
“I’m not sure about them either. I’m the youngest of my brothers, so I’ve never been around children until my brothers started having them.
Brandy has a little boy whom she and Lica raise together.
But he was planned, I think. My other brother, Ayden, and his wife, Summer, have two little girls; they’re about seven now.
They’re Selma and Harlequin. Something you should know about Selma is that she can see ghosts. ”
“Ghosts?” He nodded and told her how her father had shot her in the head, and if not for the magic of Brandy, she would have died. “Does she see them all the time? That would be exhausting.”
“I guess she does. Guy, my other brother, was hit in the head by a baseball bat, and he can see them too. I don’t know that he helps them, but he can see them, he told me.
Guy writes books. His pen name is Adam Sloan.
You might have heard of him.” She said that she didn’t get the chance to read all that much, but would look out for him now.
“Good. He’s been giving us copies of his books so that we can keep up.
Right now, he’s writing another murder/mystery about an unsolved death.
I think the ghosts tell him their story and he solves their murder. ”
“You have a very eclectic family.” He told her they were all wolf shifters too and that their oldest brother, Lica, and Brandy, his wife, were their Alphas. “What is it that you do for your family? I’m assuming that you all work in some outside job.”
“I’m an attorney for the family, as I said.
I can’t see ghosts, but I do help with research on the murders if there are any for the other two.
” She nodded. He was blasting her with information, but it wasn’t too bad.
She wondered how much he knew about her and asked.
“Just the surface stuff of a background check. I’ve done them on everyone who works at the Little Diner.
You’ve been in the service. I know that you have owned this condo as of three months ago.
You have an excellent credit score. I didn’t know that you drove a fourteen-year-old car.
I know nothing personal about you. As I said, just the personal stuff that you get in a background check. ”
“I’m glad to hear that I have an excellent credit rating. I want to buy myself a house.” He said that he was looking into houses as well. “Do you want us to live together? Or do you want to get separate houses so that we can do our own thing?”
“I’d rather we got a house together. But that’s up to you.
As a wolf, I’m going to want to be around you a great deal, so there is that.
” She asked him how much a great deal was.
“Right now, I just want to touch you. To make sure that you’re all right.
I have a feeling too that you’d knock my head off if I were to get too fresh with you. ”
“I don’t need you to be pawing me to death when we just met.” He nodded as if he understood. For some reason, she thought that he did. “I’m not going to have wolfee sex with you either. That’s a big fat no-no.”
“No. I don’t want that either.” When his face reddened, hers did as well.
She’d not meant to be so blunt, but did feel the need to get that out in the open with him.
“I don’t know what you’ve heard about from other shifters, but that isn’t something that is done in our pack.
At least I don’t think so. Not that it matters, it’s nothing I want to—”
“I get it.” He nodded once again and leaned back on the couch.
“There are other things we need to clear up. Mostly to do with living arrangements. I don’t want to have sex with you at all for a while.
We’ve only just gotten to know one another, like ten minutes ago, and I’m not going to be jumping into bed with you, no matter how charming you are.
And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t try to force me. I’ll hate you for that.”
“I have no intentions of having sex with you at all until you say so. And it will be on your word, too.” She nodded but didn’t believe him. “On the honor of your heart, I promise you I’d never force you into anything.”