Chapter Two
Two Months Later
Astrid looked at the pumpkins and knew it was pointless buying any.
Lord grew his own pumpkins, and he’d been bringing them to the house for her to use.
She had carved a couple and left them outside the front door.
At first, Lord hadn’t liked it. Then, when he saw the trick-or-treaters coming, he changed his mind. It had been an interesting two months.
She rarely saw her boss. Lord was the first to leave the house, the last to arrive for breakfast, and the last to arrive for dinner.
He was never around after she did the dishes.
They lived completely separate lives. Even on Sundays, when everyone had a day off and there were no ranchers in sight, Lord was nowhere to be found.
Astrid kept herself busy by planning the weekly menus and checking the ingredients in the pantry.
Monday was always a busy day. She had no choice but to make breakfast out of whatever she had on hand, and then she would take a trip to the store to stock up.
She’d been growing Lord’s pantry, fridge, and freezer. He didn’t seem to mind her constantly bringing more food than she needed for the week, but she knew winter was fast approaching. When the snow hit, she didn’t want to worry about getting to town.
Also, some of the guys had turned their extra orders of food into a regular thing.
Their families even liked the way she cooked, and she was not going to complain about that.
She liked to keep busy. It was how she was able to distract herself from Lord’s lack of presence.
She expected to see him a little more, but she was starting to think she saw him more at the library than she did working for him and living with him.
Her parents hadn’t been pleased with her leaving.
They liked having her around, but they also understood her wanting to move on with her life.
Her brothers rarely returned home, and she just wanted to make something of her life.
Handing in her notice at the library had been a relief and felt freeing.
People thought she was nuts for wanting to work for Lord.
The last two months had been pretty amazing.
The hours were long, but she had always been an early riser.
Now, she got to do something with her time, and as she made her way through the aisles, filling her cart, she soon found herself feeling .
.. happy. Very happy. It was a strange feeling.
She’d never been unhappy, but this felt good, it felt complete.
Like this was where she was supposed to be in her life.
With her cart completely filled, she made her way outside to the truck Lord had given her to use for shopping. She loaded up the back with all her bags, climbed into the front, and made her way to Lord’s Ranch.
No Wolves Road was preparing to enjoy Halloween.
Carved pumpkins lined the streets, the shops were filled with spooky décor, and the coffee shop was advertising their annual delicious spooky drinks.
She loved October, November, and December.
The autumn through winter was the time of year she enjoyed. She couldn’t get enough of it.
Driving back to the ranch, she felt the chill in the air. The sun was shining, but it was crisp.
Arriving back home, she parked the truck next to the back door and began to carry the bags into the house.
“Let me help you with that,” Enzo, one of the ranchers, said. He was a wolf in one of the local packs, but liked to work at Lord’s.
“You really don’t have to help me,” she said.
“Please, I insist. A pretty lady should not be forced to carry all these bags.”
Astrid couldn’t help but blush. “Uh, thank you.” She was not used to being complimented.
Enzo helped her with the bags.
“So, there is this dance,” Enzo said.
She looked at him, pushing some of her hair out of her face.
“Get to work, Enzo,” Lord said, startling the two of them.
Enzo looked at her, and then toward Lord. Had he been about to ask her on a date? That couldn’t be right, could it? No, that had to be wrong. No one asked her out on a date. She didn’t even have a date to prom. No one wanted to date the fat girl. That was what she had been called. Fat Astrid.
“I don’t appreciate you flirting with my men,” Lord said.
Her mouth fell open. Normally, she would never dream of arguing back, certainly not with a boss, but that statement was rude.
“Flirting. What are you talking about?”
“You’re here to do a job, do it, and leave my men alone.”
She glared at him. “I was not flirting with your men. I don’t even know how to flirt. How dare you! He was being nice and helping me with these bags, not that I needed help. I did not ask for anything.”
She wanted to scream at him, but instead, she grabbed the nearest bags and went straight to the pantry.
How dare he! She was not flirting. She didn’t even know what flirting was, and if Enzo was going to invite her to the dance at the local bar, then she would never have said yes.
She couldn’t dance, and going out partying was not for her.
Astrid was a recluse. Years of not being invited to any parties had helped with that. Halloween, to her, was spent dressed up, answering the door, offering candy, and watching horror movies with her parents, or alone. If her parents got invited to parties, she house-sat. That was her life.
Lord was nowhere to be found when she made her way back into the kitchen, and she was thankful for that, because he would have gotten another piece of her mind.
****
Lord didn’t like how Enzo was looking at Astrid.
Over the past couple of months, he had seen the way the younger rancher stayed close to the house.
He was always the first one there at mealtimes and tended to be one of the last to leave.
He was not interested in creating a romantic environment for the two lovebirds.
Gripping the rope in his palms, he twisted it, hoping to feel the anger leave his body. There was no way he could be jealous. Astrid didn’t belong to him.
“Are you done strangling the rope?” Blake asked, coming into the barn.
“Fuck off.”
“You’re in a bad mood, and that can only mean one thing, Enzo has pissed you off again.”
Lord looked toward Blake, who lifted his hands up in surrender.
“Sorry, I’m not some kind of psychic. I just saw how pissed off Enzo was with you getting him to muck out stalls,” Blake said. “You don’t need to be a wolf to know you and he are butting heads.”
“He was about to ask Astrid to the dance,” Lord said.
“And?”
“That is not appropriate.”
Blake laughed. “Is there some kind of rule out that says the ranch hands can’t ask Astrid out?”
“No.”
“You know the guys all adore her, and if Enzo or anyone sent her on her merry way, and she took all her food and baked goods with her, the men would be pissed,” Blake said.
“Which is why I have warned Astrid she should not be flirting with my men,” Lord said.
Blake instantly winced. “Ouch, tell me you didn’t.”
Lord stared at him.
“You know, Lord, when a guy likes a girl, there are two approaches. There’s the whole, ‘treat ’em mean and keep ’em keen.
’ Personally, I don’t know how that one works, because it makes the guys sound like utter dicks.
The other way is talking to them. Being nice.
Like my wife, Nancy. I talked to her, got to know her.
I found out what she liked, then I used that to my advantage and she loves me now. ” Blake smiled.
Blake was a happily married man and a father of three. Lord adored his kids. Not that they came out to the ranch that often, unless it was summer break. They were a busy family. Three boys Blake liked to tire out and keep busy so they stayed out of trouble.
“Your point?” Lord asked.
Blake let out a growl. “Are you being a pain on purpose? You clearly like Astrid. Stop being a dick to her, and try being nice.”
“I don’t like Astrid.”
“You been to the library lately?” Blake asked.
Lord glared at him.
“See, the only reason you go is for Astrid. I never believed the bullshit about wanting to be well-read. You were so full of shit.”
Lord put the rope back into place and turned toward Blake. “She works for me.”
“And? You don’t think bosses and employees haven’t fallen for each other in the past?” Blake asked.
“She’s human.”
“As if you give a shit about that. Wolves and humans mate. We’re seeing it more and more in town.
We’re all starting to live happily together.
Don’t be a dick just because you don’t think it is going to work.
” Blake rolled his eyes. “You know, there will be more guys like Enzo out there, and they are going to see a gem like Astrid. You might want to snap her up and claim her for yourself, before someone else does.” And with that, he was gone.
Lord glanced down to see it was getting close to six. Dinner would be served soon. He didn’t like the thought of Enzo being there with Astrid, helping her set the large table. It was getting cold, so the table indoors would have to be set.
Lord took a step toward the barn door and stopped himself. It was not his place to help. Yet, for some odd reason, one foot moved in front of the other, then the next, and the next, and he found himself in the kitchen. Astrid was alone.
The scent of beef filled the air, and he was about to let his presence known when Astrid turned and jumped, letting out a squeal. The wolf inside him was not happy with how startled she was, and his first instinct was to attack. He wanted to protect her.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
There was nothing to protect as he was the one who startled her.
“It’s fine. Honestly, I was not expecting anyone, and you just took me by surprise, but it’s all good.” She offered him a smile. “I’m just getting everything on the table. It’s beef Stroganoff for tonight.”
“Sounds delicious.” And it smelled even more so. His stomach started to growl, but Astrid was already making her way around the dining room table, putting out the knives and forks.
Plates were already lined up at one end of the table. This seemed to work. Astrid served, passing around the plates, and the men ate.
He grabbed several cans of soda and put them at the places on the table. All the time, he tried not to admire the rounded curves of her ass. Those cheeks were so plump, so inviting, and he wanted to reach out, cup them within his palm, and give them a delightful slap.
He didn’t do that. Touching Astrid would be wrong.
It was strange, because he could smell her sweet vanilla scent, even among the scent of beef. Her natural smell was so strong, but not so overwhelming he couldn’t breathe. She was intoxicating.
“You know, if Enzo did ask me to the dance, I would have said no,” Astrid said. “I don’t flirt. I don’t know how to flirt, and there is no way I am going to any kind of dance.”
“Why not?”
Her glare was adorable. “I can’t dance and I will never make a fool of myself at a dance.” She stormed back into the kitchen.
“I like handing out candy to kids, and dressing up in some freaky costume, but I don’t party. I have never been invited to a party, and I think it is highly insulting the way you treated me earlier,” Astrid said. Her face was flushed.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
What the fuck was the matter with him? He found himself stepping closer to her, and it was like his wolf had to reach out, touch her, tell her it was going to be okay.
But there was also something else, something he didn’t want to control.
An urge to mark her. To rub his scent all over her, so any wolf that got close would know she was taken.
Lord stopped himself. It took every ounce of strength. Astrid was not his, and this was not his place to mark her, or to make her belong to him.
She was human. His employee.
The struggle was real.
Fuck. He wanted her so damn badly.
He stared at her as she worked at the stove.
She wore a dress that fell to her knees, and with it getting chilly, she wore a pair of novelty tights.
Orange and black stripes curled up her leg, and he wanted to run the tip of his claw up those tights, to remove them from her body, so he could touch her without anything getting in the way.
This was not good. He was not some horny teenager. He was a full-grown man. An adult wolf. He was not at the mercy of his hormones. He was the one in charge of them. And yet, he felt that need to be with her consume him in a way it never had before.
Just as he was about to reach out, the rest of the ranch hands arrived, breaking the spell he’d been under, and he was able to pull back without crossing that line.