Chapter Seventeen

Van

Our trip to the waterfall was a bust. Well, not completely, but something had changed since we woke up this morning. Despite the fact that he was my mate, he did not know about my other life, and I had no idea how to go about telling him. It would have been much easier if I’d been open at the start, but when I showed up exhausted and cranky, I couldn’t see past my mood. How long had that been my modus operandi?

Years.

We sat beside that waterfall for a couple of hours, and the warm sun on my shoulders encouraged me to undress and go in. Maybe even shift for a bit, but there was something off about Jamie’s reaction.

Did he regret what had happened between us? Was he sorry about the night we spent together in bed? And the shower this morning… He looked at me so funny over breakfast.

The picnic was delicious as I’d learned to expect from Franklin. Simple, fresh, yummy ingredients that anyone would enjoy. “How can ham and cheese be this good?” I spread my napkin over my lap, feet still in the water, and laid out my lunch.

“I don’t know. He is supposed to be somewhat magical, you know?” He unwrapped a pickle and took a bite, the crunch loud over the splashing water. “Wow.”

“Magical?” I laughed, but I could kind of see it. “He does run a sweet inn, and inviting people here to share it? How does he do it without charging. Maybe we’re the exception? Or…am I assuming?”

“No, you’re not. I was invited as well. And I don’t think he has any other kind of guests. After his mate died, he decided to do things this way in his honor.”

“That’s incredibly kind. I hate to take all of this from him though. I can afford to pay.”

Jamie shook his head and set his pickle down on his napkin he’d also spread on his lap. There were a couple of feet between us, and it felt like miles. “Don’t insult him. He is doing this because it makes him happy to make others happy.”

“There aren’t a whole lot like him out there,” I mused. “At least not in my experience.” Sure I knew good people but not those who put others first and derived their own happiness in that way.

Jamie’s gaze shot up to meet mine. “You don’t meet nice people?”

“Well, I do. But he’s special.” I finished my sandwich and opened the little container of potato salad. “This looks good.”

“It’s great.” Jamie scooped up another bite. “Homemade last night while we were waiting for you.”

“You were?” I blinked at him, the spoon halfway to my mouth. “How come?”

“For dinner?” But his expression was odd. “And you were late.”

“Yeah, I didn’t realize that it would be just the three of us having a sit-down meal. Or I would have called Franklin to let him know. I’m used to more impersonal lodgings.”

“Are you about done?” Jamie gathered his wrappings and stood up.

“I haven’t eaten the apple yet, and you don’t want to go for a swim?” I reached for his hand, but he shifted away from me.

He wavered; I could see it in his eyes. But then he shook his head. “I don’t really feel like it. But you can if you want to.”

“No.” How would it be fun without him? I had a whole vision of us in the water, clinging to one another and maybe even making love…but he was definitely not into it at the moment. “Did I do something to upset you?”

“No.” He held his apple up. “Let’s eat them while we walk back. Okay?” Without waiting for me, he headed off, shoes in his other hand and lunch wrappings stuffed in the bag.

I scrambled to follow, my heart pounding hard. I’d done something bad. But I had no idea what it was, and for some reason, he did not want to tell me. Of course, who was I to complain about holding things back.

He still didn’t know who I was, and until he did, there was no way to tell how that might affect him. It could go either way, positive or negative. I’d experienced before where someone who was really pleasant to talk to learned my other identity and got completely weird.

That couldn’t happen with mates, could it? Could I take the chance?

But it wasn’t a secret I could keep forever.

The afternoon was waning as we made our way out of the woods and toward the house. Franklin stood on the porch, waiting for us, but as we neared, his smile faltered. “How was the picnic?”

“The food was great.” I could say that in complete honesty.

“It sure was,” Jamie agreed. “And the waterfall is beautiful.”

“Did you swim?” Franklin looked from one of us to the other, probably wondering what was wrong but not wanting to interfere.

“We dangled our feet in the water while we ate your lunch. And I know you said you didn’t need us to pick you apples, but we brought you one.” We’d picked three, and actually had eaten two on the way back. It was better than silence without an excuse.

“How nice of you. Now, if you’re not too tired, I have dinner reservations made for you…”

I wasn’t giving up a minute of time with my mate, even if he did decide he never wanted to see me again. Maybe he would tell me what I did wrong. “I think that sounds wonderful. Very considerate of you, Franklin, isn’t it, Jamie?”

“Umm, yes. Thanks.”

Maybe I snored all night? Or maybe the sex was bad…nobody ever said that before, but then they were having sex with Van Galaxis. Even if I was awful, they would probably not have said so. Shit.