Chapter 7 #2
Holy moly! Red alert!
I zipped around the bar in a flash, squatted at the end, and peered around the corner.
When the man walked in my direction with a playful swing in his step, I panicked and crawled behind the bar.
Eyes wide, I struggled to muffle my lingering cough while flattening my back against the safe, my knees tucked against my chest.
Calvin looked down at me but didn’t say anything.
“Hey there. How’s it going?” the man I knew as Scott asked. “I’m looking for someone.”
Calvin leaned against the bar. “Me too. I’m looking for someone who walks up to my bar and orders a drink. Have you seen anyone who fits that description?”
The man laughed nervously. Scott had an amiable voice and the personality of a salesman. He hadn’t changed a bit. Still the same short blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, and ruddy cheeks.
“I see you have Shifter-brewed beer. I’ll have a glass of that.”
“Coming up.” Calvin stepped over me to fill Scott’s glass.
Mortified Calvin had to witness this, I flattened my hand against my chest as if that could slow down my racing heart. Scott’s presence had caught me off guard, and somehow gluing myself to the sticky floor behind the bar seemed like the sanest reaction.
Calvin brought him his drink. “Anything else?”
“Yeah, actually. Have you seen this girl?” A stretch of silence followed after what I presumed was Calvin looking at a photograph of me that was a permanent fixture in Scott’s wallet. “Her name is Quinn Ruble.”
“Are you a bounty hunter?”
Scott laughed. “Nah. Just looking for an old friend. Have you seen her?”
“Can’t say I have. Try the next town over. A pretty girl like that probably headed to Austin. Lots of places to go around there. Storybook is a shithole.”
I poked him in the leg. While Storybook was definitely rural, it was not a terrible place to live at all.
He nudged me with his boot. “If I see her, who should I say is looking for her?”
“Uh, no one. I want to surprise her.”
Calvin slapped the bar and laughed. “That’s some surprise if you don’t even know where the hell she is.”
“Thanks for the beer.”
After a beat, Calvin crooked his fingers at me. “Come on.”
I waddled behind him to the end of the bar. Calvin stood by the swing doors to the kitchen, staring at the crowd, before waving me inside.
I flung myself into the kitchen and did a dramatic spin before catching myself on a counter. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m sorry you had to lie.”
“I’m not. It’s my bar, and I’ll lie if I want to.”
Bear blinked at me from the stove. He had on an apron with the bar name across it and a spatula in his hand.
Calvin shared a look with Bear I couldn’t discern.
“Keep an eye on her. Someone’s out there who’s too goddamn nosy for his own good.
” Then he cast his gaze my way. “You can eat in here if you want. Slip out the back door when you’re done.
If you change your mind and come out, just yell if he gives you any trouble. ”
“If who gives me trouble?” I asked, playing innocent.
He chuckled before strutting out. “It’s none of my business.”
Buzzing from the beer, I leaned against the kitchen island and admired the room. It had everything.
Bear suddenly remembered he was supposed to be cooking and turned around to flip the hamburger patty. “Damn, I overcooked it.”
“No biggie. I like it charred. Sorry for the trouble. Salem dropped me off so I could grab a bite before going home. I’m Quinn.”
He gave me a curt nod. “Bear.”
“I’ve seen you around. I guess you’ll be seeing more of me.”
He assembled my burger on a white plate. “Why’s that?”
“Tak hired me to design one of your windows.”
He set the plate in front of me. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks. I’m so excited, and when I’m excited, I get hungry.” I lifted the bun. “Do you have any cheese? I love cheeseburgers.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Bear took the entire plate from me, removed the meat, and set it back on the stovetop. When he smiled warmly, I knew he was a perfectionist at his craft and enjoyed making people happy.
Bear placed a slice of cheese on the meat and covered it with a silver dome. “You said Salem gave you a ride? Is he here?”
I wandered around and eyed the gigantic meat cleaver on the wall. “He had an emergency. Do you cook with that thing? It’s humongous.”
His cheeks flushed. “Not exactly.”
I opened the door to a freezer. “Look at all the ice cream!”
He laughed warmly. “All homemade. We serve it when I make pie. Do you want a bowl?”
Boy, did I. But the burger was filling enough, and I didn’t want to take advantage of Calvin’s leniency on my bill. “Maybe next time.” I returned to the counter when Bear served my cheeseburger. It wasn’t dry like some places made them. “What’s that flavor?”
“I put arugula in there with an olive oil dressing. Good?”
“Mm-hmm,” I said around a mouthful.
While Bear cleaned up his workstation, I slowly ate my cheeseburger and thought about when Tak and I caught Salem’s wolf harassing Virgil.
When he noticed me, he stopped what he was doing to approach.
Tak didn’t realize we’d briefly met earlier and stepped between us to protect me, but then Salem whipped around him and guarded me like he was a shield.
While he didn’t growl at his alpha, he bared his teeth.
Tak seemed surprised by his behavior since wolves were unpredictable around strangers, but I wasn’t scared of him. Not one bit.
Tak wanted me to meet his packmates and said he’d lay out privacy rules since I’d be working there occasionally. While he gave me the tour, Salem’s wolf remained vigilantly at my side. It left me wondering if he was still awake in there.
I drank the glass of water Bear offered. The beer from earlier was definitely working its magic. Because I hadn’t eaten much all day, that one beer combined with a surge of adrenaline had me buzzed.
“Does Salem ever date?” I asked.
Bear removed his beard net and tossed it into the trash can. “Not to my knowledge, but he’s a private man who doesn’t discuss his personal life.”
I rested my elbows on the counter and savored another bite. “I have a huge crush on him. I probably shouldn’t admit that, but he’s so nice… and funny.”
Bear cast a gaze over his shoulder. “Funny? Are we talking about Salem Lockwood?”
“He is. In his own way. Quiet men have a different way of observing the world. He goes around saving people and doesn’t get the thanks he deserves.
I’ve never saved a life, and he does every single day.
” I licked the juices running down my thumb and realized I was talking way too much for my own good.
Bear took out a mop, soaked it in a yellow bucket, and slapped it on the floor.
“You might want to think twice. Salem isn’t the relationship type.
He’s a good man, but not real…” Bear propped his hand on the end of the mop and lolled his head back, searching for words.
“He’s private. A few women tried and gave up. ”
“Maybe they didn’t try hard enough.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I choked on my burger.
Bear rushed over and patted my back, but I wasn’t really choking on anything but embarrassment.
Once I collected myself, I glanced up at the giant and forced a smile. “Please don’t tell him I said that.”
“Said what?” He stuffed his pinky finger into his ear and gave it a twist. “I need to clean my ears out.”
“Thanks again for dinner. And by the way, you and Mercy make a cute couple.”
His cheeks flushed, and the light danced in his dark eyes. “I’m mighty lucky.”
The devotion in his eyes pinched my heart with an unexpected pang of regret that I would never know love like theirs. “How did you know she was the one?”
“Easy. I couldn’t stop thinkin’ about her. I wanted to know everything about her life and fix her problems. Each time she looked at me a certain way, I thought my heart would stop. My wolf knew before I did.”
“How do you know?”
“Deep down, you feel it. They sing for their chosen. It’s not something I can explain, but she’s always been the one.”
“I think Mercy’s the sweetest lady, so I can see why you make the perfect couple. I guess she always knew, huh?”
He chuckled quietly. “It took her longer. I’m shy.”
“Opposites attract.”
“Sometimes they do.” Bear canted his head. “You know what? Forget what I said about Salem and thinking twice. I’d be mighty sad if someone had ever said that to Mercy about me.”
“Promise you won’t tell him?”
He nodded. “I promise I won’t tell. But… maybe you should.”