Chapter 8 #2
“In nature, they’re rare and originated in South America.
I’m not sure if that’s where the Shifters come from since I can only trace my family back several generations.
But who knows? Maybe way up there in the line, I’ve got a little Bolivian in me.
My wolf looks like a fox, only with really long legs and a mane.
There’s not many of us left. I guess that sort of thing goes hand in hand with nature.
” I sprang from my seat. “Did you hear that?”
I cocked my head, certain I’d heard someone moving outside. Not a second later, someone knocked on the front door.
“Are you expecting anyone?” Salem asked quietly.
I shook my head. “Stay here.”
Creeping toward the edge of the kitchen, I peered through the living room at the open front door. On the other side of the screen, Scott was smiling at me under the glow of the porch light. He must’ve parked farther behind Salem’s car, so I hadn’t heard him driving up.
I dipped back behind the wall. “Swell.”
“I see you in there, Quinn. It’s me, Scotty.”
“Beam me up,” I muttered.
Salem looked at me for guidance.
“I know him,” I whispered. “Don’t come out.”
He stood and backed away in acquiescence.
After straightening my robe and running my fingers through my damp tresses, I marched through the house to greet an old friend I’d prayed I would never see again.
“Scott? What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
He leaned his arm against the doorjamb and watched me through the screen.
“When you skipped town, I never thought I’d see you again.
Then I happened to go to someone’s house and noticed one of your pieces hanging in their window, one I’d never seen before.
She said she purchased it in a general store outside of Storybook, Texas.
I’d recognize your style anywhere. I went to the store and saw your art, but when I asked the guy about the artist, he clammed up.
Everyone here seems to not know you.” He swatted at a bug.
People were highly suspicious of interlopers, especially since it could be a bounty hunter. It was usually in everyone’s best interest to play dumb. Obviously, someone snitched.
He scratched his fingernail on the screen. “Is this how you greet an old friend?”
I opened the door and gave him a hug. Despite how we left things, Scott was a kind person. Always in a good mood, always helpful.
Perhaps… too helpful.
He hitched up his jeans and switched on a floor lamp near the door.
As he walked inside the living room and admired my work, I stared at the wrinkle on the back of his blue polo shirt.
Even though he wore jeans, Scott was meticulous about ironing his clothes.
All of them. Shirts, jeans, socks, even his underwear.
Almost to a ridiculous degree. I teased him about it when we first met, though it never bothered him.
“Why did you run away?” he asked, his back still to me, hands in his pockets. “We were friends.”
“Yes… but I needed to get away and start over.”
He cast a scrutinizing gaze over his shoulder. “Start over? You abandoned your mother so you could hide from me. Why?”
“Because…” I played with the lamp chain.
Scott turned around. “Look, we both know why. I don’t see what the big deal is.”
“The big deal? You don’t think forcing me to marry you is a big deal? Okay.”
“Jesus. You act like it’s a terrible thing. We get along. I care about you, Quinn. I even love you. Look at everything I’ve done for you.”
“I know. And I appreciate it.”
“Do you? Because when I showed up at the jail to pick you up, you were long gone.”
“If you really care about me, you’ll ask for a different favor.”
He closed the distance between us and clutched my shoulders. “I’m asking to be your husband because I care about you. I know you don’t want a relationship, but you don’t know what’s best for you. I can take care of you, and you’re going to need it.”
“Scott, you’re wasting your time,” I said, moving far away from him. “You’ve wasted years that were better spent looking for the real love of your life. And don’t say it’s me, because we both know that’s a lie.”
Scott dated women. Lots of women. But he always said that whenever I was ready, we would settle down.
It used to be a running joke I didn’t take seriously—not until the day he bailed me out of Breed jail and collected a favor in return.
When I realized what he was going to ask for, I skipped out of there as fast as I could, leaving behind my life, my work, my clients, and my mother.
“All this trouble because you don’t want to get married?” He scoffed. “You abandoned your mom.”
“Stop saying that! She agreed with me. In fact, she’s the one who picked me up at the jail and gave me enough cash to get out of town.”
He gave me an incredulous look and threw his hands up in the air. “Why? Am I such a bad guy? Am I really the worst thing that could happen?”
“No, but it’s not fair.”
“To who?”
“Either of us. Especially me since I don’t want it.”
He anchored his hands on his hips. “You don’t exactly make the best decisions in life. You exposed us to a group of humans.”
“To save my father,” I fired back.
“Quinn, I spent five weeks interrogating witnesses while my associate scrubbed their memories. We scoured cell phones and computers to erase data and messages. Then we searched phone records to see who they might’ve called and shared information with, and that’s not what I do for a living.
But I didn’t trust anyone else. We visited every single one of those people and were meticulous about cleaning up the mess.
You’re lucky it didn’t get leaked. That’s the only reason the higher authority released you.
I put my good name on the line to get you out of there.
” He paced to the left and regarded a panel of uncut glass against the wall.
“I’m still not in the clear. If I overlooked anyone and that information leaks, they’ll arrest me.
” He pivoted and met my eyes. “And you’ll have a bounty on your head. ”
Disappointed he wasn’t going to drop this ridiculous crusade, I crossed my arms.
“Quinn, you don’t have to make this difficult. Just pack your things and we’ll go home.”
“What home?”
“Mine. I’ll take good care of you.”
“I said no.”
His shoulders sagged.
When he reached for my arm, I reeled back, panicked he would read my emotions. “Don’t touch me!”
Salem’s wolf shot into the room and threw himself between us. He snarled at Scott, who slowly retreated.
Scott held up his hands defensively. “Tell your friend to chill out.”
“You should leave.”
He shook his head. “I’m not going anywhere without you.
I’ve searched for a long time, and you can’t back out of this.
We favor traded, and you’re bound to that promise.
The law’s on my side, but this isn’t about the law.
It’s about us. We’re good for each other.
” He stared at me for a beat and tacked on, “Your mom misses you.”
“I can’t marry you, Scott.”
He put his hands down. “Why not?”
I blinked and decided to lean all the way into my impulsive thoughts. “Because I’m already mated.”
He tilted his head to the side and arched his eyebrows, quietly implying that he knew I was lying. “To who?”
I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arm around the wolf’s neck. “Meet Salem Lockwood, my mate.”
Salem’s wolf glanced back at me and whined, so I kissed his furry face—smooched it all over until he sneezed.
I glanced up, hoping Scott bought the act. “So you see, I can’t marry you. It doesn’t mean I won’t honor our favor trade. I’ll give you money instead.”
“I don’t want money.”
“Well, you can’t ask me to divorce my husband.
That goes above and beyond the favor, and I could take it to the Council,” I said, lying through my teeth.
As I rose to my feet, I caught his gaze and softened my own.
“We were always good friends. You’re a handsome guy, so why pretend the only woman you could possibly marry is me? We both know you’re a ladies’ man.”
His lips twitched with a little ego bursting free.
“There’s nothing special about me. I know all your secrets and bad habits, and I guess that feels comfortable, but it doesn’t mean someone else won’t see past your love for spray starch, anime cards, and your weird obsession with graveyards.”
“I like old tombstones.”
Recognizing that Salem wasn’t behaving aggressively anymore, I walked up to Scott and gave him a hug. “I’m sorry about leaving like that, but I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice. You still do,” he said softly against my ear. When his arms encircled my waist, Salem’s wolf growled.
Then I backed up. “I need to visit my mom. It’s not the same talking to her over the phone. Maybe you and I can get together and catch up when I visit.”
His blue eyes narrowed. “Your husband isn’t coming to meet your mother?”
“Of course he is. I meant when we visit.” I patted Salem’s head. “The favor’s still valid. Maybe I can design a nice window for you.”
“A window? For setting you free after receiving a twenty-year sentence? For putting my good name on the line?”
“Fine. I’ll do all the windows.”
Scott’s quiet stare spoke volumes.
“We’ll figure something out, something fair,” I promised him.
Scott had a lifetime to claim the favor, but I didn’t want to dangle that carrot out there or he just might hold out for my imaginary divorce. Doubtful, but not worth risking.
After I saw him to the door, we exchanged an awkward goodbye before he ambled back to his white convertible. I used to hate riding in that thing because it messed up my hair, but Scott loved the attention.
I waved one last time before slamming the door. When I turned, I glimpsed Salem’s bare ass as he strode around the wall and into the kitchen. My face flushed at the visual. I couldn’t recall how I’d painted him in my mind without clothes, but it stirred my libido wide awake.
I tightened the belt on my robe and gave him a minute to dress before I returned to the kitchen. “Sorry. I had no idea he would show up like that.”
Salem was tying the laces on his shoes from his chair. “Was that your ex?”
“No. God no! Scott’s just an old friend.”
He glanced over his shoulder at me. “It sounded like more than friends.”
“We have some personal issues to work through. I’m sorry for dragging you into it, but thanks for playing along.”
He finally straightened up. “Favor trades are serious business. If you refuse to pay him back, it’ll ruin your reputation for the rest of your life. He could report it to the higher authority for their records. If anyone else tries to do a favor with you and calls them to check for complaints—”
“I know, I know. But I’m still not marrying him. Anyhow, Scott would never report me.”
“People talk. It could damage your business.”
Salem was right about that. Scott and I needed to come to an amicable agreement someday that we could both live with, just not marital bliss.
I’d thought hiding in a small town for a few years would do the trick.
That eventually, he’d give up or marry someone else.
I’d never imagined he would spend all that time looking for me.
When Salem stood up, my heart did a quickstep.
His soft brown hair was no longer tied up in a knot but unbound and draped messily across his shoulders.
I quietly admired his handsome face and soulful brown eyes.
His straight nose was slightly curved on the bridge, and though he was the same compassionate man from moments earlier, Salem looked like a different person with his hair down. A little wild, a little sexy.
He threaded his locks away from his eyes. “I lost my elastic band.”
Hopefully forever.
“I won’t tell anyone.”
His gaze flicked down to my robe for a split second before he averted his eyes. When his cheeks bloomed red, he abruptly stalked out of the room.
I’d been thinking so much about Scott’s unexpected visit that I had completely forgotten about the bathtub incident.
“Salem? Wait.” Before he reached the door, I removed the redbird from the window and carefully wrapped it in tissue paper. “Something to remember me by.”
He looked at the gift in his hands.
“If I ever need a watermelon taster or a husband, I know who to call.”
Salem released a quiet breath through his nose that I was certain was a laugh, but it was hard to tell without a smile. When he met my eyes, he inclined his head, his voice barely a rumble. “Good evening.”
While he walked out to his car, I lingered at the door and whispered, “Good night, Salem Lockwood” before blowing him a kiss.