Chapter Eleven #2
Kimberly looked out the window at Oakfield. “I didn’t think there was so much that went into it, but I guess that makes sense. Gage won’t have so much to worry about, with only three of us.”
The faintest of frowns touched Shane’s expression as he turned his attention back to the menu. “I assume you haven’t told him about our little escape?”
Kimberly set down the menu so hard it slapped against the lacquered tabletop. “Why should I?”
Right then, their server arrived. Finally, Kimberly found a youthful face, but the woman was still a decade older than them.
“Welcome to Ralph’s!” She set down two sets of silverware, two incredibly thick ceramic mugs, and a stack of napkins. “Have you eaten with us before?”
A deceptively cheerful mask dropped over Shane’s face, and he looked up to the brunette server with a grin. “Nope. First time. We’re new to Oakfield.”
The woman brightened. “Oh, that’s great! We love seeing new faces. I’m Carla. I’ve lived here for almost my whole life. You’re gonna love it.”
Kimberly could already tell Carla would be the chatty, overly friendly sort of server who would try to strike up a long conversation each time she visited the table. For Shane, perhaps that was a good thing. He could ask questions about the town for his pack and get some insider information.
But she also caught the way Shane said we instead of I as if Kimberly could be included amongst Oakfield’s potential newcomers. The thought made her cheeks warm. The idea of following Shane, of being in his pack, was just a fantasy. His choice of words had to be for the sake of simplicity.
Shane took the lead and made their introductions to Carla, giving a few phony details here and there about where they were originally from and why they came to Oakfield. It was so fluid that Kimberly suspected he had rehearsed this all on the way from Tolstone.
“Well, we are sure glad to have you! What can I get you to drink? Coffee?”
“Yes, please,” said Shane. “And an extra glass of water for me.”
“A glass of orange juice and can I try your strawberry Boba tea?”
Carla scribbled down the drink order. “Sure thing. Do we still need a minute on food?”
Shane then struck up a new thread of conversation, asking what their most popular breakfast dish was, but Kimberly barely paid attention. She already knew what she wanted and when Carla paused for a final answer, she slipped in.
“Can I get your Big Breakfast Feast with hashbrowns, raisin toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and an extra side of sausage patties?”
She went slow enough so Carla could jot it all down on her little notepad. Shane went for an order of their Out of the Park Hashbrowns that came fully loaded with so many toppings that Kimberly couldn’t imagine the size of the entree. Of course, Shane would get the heftiest item on the menu.
Carla grinned and promised their coffee and drinks soon, then hurried away to give the order to the kitchen.
“Think you’ll have room for lunch?” he asked.
“Depends. What’s on the schedule for today, anyway?”
Shane sat back in his booth and blinked hard to mentally review their itinerary.
“There’s an appointment at nine to meet with a daycare facility.
There are two apartment complexes that fit everyone’s budgets and have enough vacancies for the start of next month.
One of them looks pretty nice, but the other doesn’t have pictures on its website, so I wanted to check them both out in person.
The idea is that we would all get apartments for a few months until more permanent housing can be arranged.
Real homes for the families to rent anyway.
There are three grocery stores within a decent radius, so I want to visit each of them and take notes on the variety of products and pricing.
Not every grocery store is the same, apparently.
” Shane rolled his eyes and turned his gaze out the window to the parking lot.
“And there’s lunch and dinner between all of that.
I’m going to top off the day with a nice long nap and then tonight, a run.
Gotta check out the wildlife neighbors too and make sure there won’t be any … complications in that department.”
“You really have thought of everything,” she mused with pride.
Now, she knew for a fact that Shane would be nothing like Isaac. He was considerate, even if it was inconvenient. Isaac would have just picked a place that suited himself and let the rest figure it out. Not Shane. He was actually helpful. He actually cared.
Kimberly swallowed as another detail finally rose to her awareness. “And sleeping arrangements tonight?”
Shane turned back to her. “I had originally planned to sleep in my truck, but there are a few hotels. While we’re cruising around town, I thought you could look them up and book us a couple of rooms. On my tab, of course.”
Kimberly quirked a brow, ready to test him. “A couple of rooms?”
A sly smile split his face. “Would you rather have one?”
She gave it some serious thought, then shook her head. “Two is fine. Unless you got it fixed, I know you snore like a tractor.”
He laughed. “I will deny that I snore until my dying day.”
“You so do snore!” Kimberly teased. “All those times you fell asleep on the couch during a movie, I had to turn the volume up so I could hear better.”
He stuck up his chin. “You have no proof.”
Kimberly snapped her fingers. “Darn the luck. I did take a video six phones ago, but it got lost in the data transfers.”
Shane pumped a fist. “Saved by the fallacies of technology.” After they shared a laugh, he continued, “But seriously, if that would make you more comfortable, a two-room arrangement is fine with me.”
Kimberly gave him an appreciative smile.
Maybe it wasn’t so bad, him knowing about the attack.
It made him more understanding and less eager to ask questions or begrudgingly brush the matter under the rug.
It only showed just how wrong she had been from the start by not telling him.
So far, letting him see the dark and messy side of her hadn’t ended in disaster.
“So, I take it you’re not going to tell him?”
Kimberly looked down at her lap, where she fiddled with a loose thread at the end of her long-sleeved blouse. “Tell who what?”
“You know who and what.”
Kimberly pursed her lips. “Gage is just my alpha. He’s not my keeper.”
“If he or Declan tries to drop in for a visit and you’re not there, and they know I left Tolstone for the weekend, it may not end well. People might talk. Gage might challenge me, however stupid that would be.”
She gave a disbelieving laugh and looked at the ceiling, anywhere but in his icy blue eyes that could demand just about anything from her. “This isn’t like some Romeo and Juliet deal, Shane. We’re consenting adults. If we want to go away somewhere, we can. What’s the harm?”
Carla came back with their drinks and a carafe of coffee.
It looked clean enough, contrary to Kimberly’s initial assumptions.
The coffee certainly smelled fresh. Carla filled their mugs, dropped off packets of powdered creamer and sugar, told them their orders were on the grill, and then left to give them privacy again.
“The problem isn’t that we can or can’t,” Shane muttered, “but Gage is convinced we shouldn’t.”
Kimberly greedily grabbed for the Boba tea. “Then Gage can go fuck himself.” She took a big slurp from the straw and groaned with foodie ecstasy. “Oh, Boba tea, how I’ve missed you!”
Shane gave a husky, rolling chuckle that magnified her giddiness. “If that stuff will make you make those noises, I like it already.”
Kimberly eagerly pushed the cup across the table. “Try it!”
Shane picked it up and swirled the thick, pink drink, making the darker red bubbles at the bottom rub against the sides of the cup. “What are those little things at the bottom?”
“That’s the magic of Boba tea.”
“But what are they?”
“Just take a big, long sip and you’ll find out.”
“It’s going to be super sweet, isn’t it?”
“Quit being a baby and try it.”
He did and Kimberly grinned when his hesitation morphed into satisfaction, then absolute shock. He jerked the straw out of his mouth and a few drops of the drink spilled onto the table.
“What the hell?” he mumbled through half a mouthful of bursting strawberry bubbles.
“Boba tea! I think those bubbles are technically called tapioca pearls.”
Shane closed his mouth and worked through the surprise until every last pearl burst and was gone. “Holy shit. I mean, it’s good, but who the hell thought of this?”
Kimberly took back her drink. “I don’t know, but I love them for it.” She took a big sip and relished the fun pop of the bubbles between her tongue and the roof of her mouth. “You really like letting me bully you, huh?”
Shane chased the Boba tea with the strong black coffee. “What do you mean?”
“I just remember when we were dating back in Warrington, I pushed you to try things you weren’t always comfortable with.
And now, it feels like we’re falling into the same pattern.
Movie night was something I came up with when we were younger.
It was never your thing. I dragged you to the gym.
I acted like a total bitch last night and forced you to take me on this trip, complicating your plans.
And just now, I pressured you into drinking this.
” She winced at the memories resurfacing.
“I always came up with the date ideas and you just kind of went along with it. I think we only ever did stuff you liked a handful of times. There was that one time you took me hunting at o-dark-thirty, and we went to a couple of varsity football games. That’s it.
Makes me think you just want me to walk all over you.
It’s not very alpha-like and I’m sure none of your past girlfriends would have done that to you. ”