Chapter 6

Being an Alpha type, I couldn't loll around a hotel room fucking and getting fucked all day. After we proved to our mutual satisfaction that me fucking Rob was even better than it had been at seventeen, we stopped in the motel office to extend the room for another week, then drove around checking out the small town. Having worked up an appetite, it wasn't too long before we headed to the diner for lunch.

The bell on the door dinged as we entered, and the scents made my mouth water. The server looked our way from where she was passing tickets back to the kitchen and came over. "Hey, fellas, looks like you got your truck back."

"Yes, we did. It was just a misunderstanding."

"Sheriff's good at what he does."

Fuck, we should call him off the trail. I glanced at Rob and saw the recognition there. Well, there'd been a lot going on. I was going to cut myself some slack.

"You want a table?"

"Yes, please."

She led us over to where we'd sat before, as if we were regulars. "Menu, or burgers again?"

"We'll take a menu," I said. "What's good here?"

"Everything. We get folks coming from the city just for dinners. Got a reputation, you know."

The menu was limited but appealing, and once we'd ordered chicken and meatloaf, we sat back to wait for the food, scanning the room. There were a lot more customers than the last time, and several seemed to be snatching glances at us. A few stared openly.

If they got travelers coming through often enough, I wondered what made us so fascinating. Couldn't be the gayness unless they were psychic. We were sitting around the corner from each other, same as the first time back when Rob had never been in my ass… and that thought wouldn't help me relax. I sipped some water and murmured, "Have I got something on my face?"

Rob smirked. "So tempting to say yes."

Since I'd blown him to a mouth-filling, chin-smearing conclusion after losing myself in his body, I was glad he'd limited himself to the tease. "Jerk. We showered."

"And a good thing, too." He straightened and sobered, and I glanced over to where he was looking.

The sheriff came in the door, swiping his hat off his head as he entered. He paused by a table with two elderly ladies and stooped to talk to them, then turned aside to accept a fist bump from a young man at another table. But despite his progression from one apparent fan to another, it was pretty clear he was headed our way.

"Now what?" Rob murmured, not moving his lips.

I shrugged and took another faux-casual sip of my water.

"Gentlemen." The sheriff reached our table and stopped, eyeing us.

"Sheriff," I said. "I was just about to call you. My truck was returned. Apparently, it was a prank by an old friend who spotted me here. No harm done. Let me know if there are any forms I need to fill out."

"I'm glad to hear it," he said. "My department's busy enough. I'm happy to take a complaint off the books. I'll catch up to you sometime with the form."

That wasn't ominous or anything. After several seconds when he just stood there, I tried, "Can we help you with something else?"

"Just small-town curiosity." He tapped his hat lightly against his thigh, eyes not leaving my face. "Young McGinty down at the motel says you fellas reserved a full week, despite getting your truck back."

I faked a smile. "And people think the small-town grapevine's exaggerated."

"Works pretty well around here, for sure." That wasn't an apology.

"It's a nice little town. And this food smells incredible." I waved around the diner, including the people craning our way to listen in.

"This is a slow time for tourists. Leaf-peeping season won't start for a month yet. We don't have antelope up this way. Deer and elk season ain't for another two weeks. You folks don't seem like fishermen. Got no poles in that truck."

You were snooping into the truck? At least I'd locked it this time. My wolf had roused and was lurking, watching the sheriff like a strange Alpha, not yet a threat but a reason to be wary. "We're hikers," I said, which was true enough. "And we like what we've seen so far. Figured we'd stick around for a while, walk the hills and then get fat here on Miss Ellie's cooking."

The sheriff nodded slowly. "Not a bad plan. Wish I had a week off work to do the same." We waited each other out. Finally, he added, "I hope you enjoy your stay," and sauntered to the door, greeting a middle-aged couple as he went. As he stepped into the sunlight, he jammed his hat on his head, then was gone.

"At least he didn't say, ‘Be out of my town by sundown,'" Rob murmured.

"Our skin's not dark enough for that," I breathed back.

"Think he'll be some kind of problem?"

Before I could answer, the server bustled over. "Here's some rolls, guys, on the house. And fresh butter." She set them on the table. "Don't you mind Sheriff Frazer. He's takes the job real serious, likes to know everything that's going on in town, but he's a good man. Crime's real low in this county."

The sheriff's scent was a hundred percent human, but he was clearly the town equivalent of an Alpha. Probably the reason he was up in my business. Like notices like. "I'm pleased to hear that." Since the news would spread the moment we started looking at rental properties, I said, "We're thinking about maybe staying longer than a week. I'd love to know more about the town. Who should we ask?"

She looked conflicted. "I've got to work but…" Turning to a nearby table, she said, "Hey, Tasha, Lorraine, these guys want to hear about Millersbane. You could tell some stories."

"We sure can." The older of the two gray-haired ladies picked up her plate and cup and hurried to join us.

Her companion moved slower but looked no less eager. "What do you guys want to know?"

We started slow, asking about the burned-out house at the end of Main Street— "Now that was a tragedy. Bad wiring, they say, and the son who inherited is off in Chicago and doesn't want to bother with fixing it back up." From there, it was easy to ask about what there was to do around town, and then segue into the kind of jobs locals found to work.

A fantastic meal and two slices of pie later, the women hadn't run out of words. We'd fended off curiosity about us with a few truths and a lot of evasions and redirections. "Lost my wife and decided to move on," got coos of sympathy and shut down their nosiness well. Melody would be happy to let me use her as a buffer, I was sure. The ache was still there, but so was the tap of Rob's foot against mine.

When we headed out to Wilde's, we had a good-news, bad-news look at the situation. Good news, lots of housing. Bad news, not a lot of jobs. Most of the local economy came from tourism, with a few cattle ranches over the nearest range of hills, and a natural gas field the other way that some locals worked at. One faint hope was a local custom woodworking firm. The ladies didn't think they were hiring, but with my carpentry experience, I could at least put my name on their horizon. Oh, and the local school's janitor just passed away unexpectedly. Tasha had said, "There'll be lots of competition for that job, though. Nice steady work."

I couldn't imagine they'd pick a strange man my size over someone local to work around their kids, but I'd check it out.

"Good thing I can support us in the manner to which you're accustomed, huh, Alpha?" my smartass Second said from the passenger seat.

I refused to let it rile me. "I look forward to being a kept man."

"That'll be the day," Rob muttered.

"You don't think I can sit back and let someone else work?"

"I'd love to see it."

"I'm hoping you don't have to." Still, I wasn't discouraged. The town sounded stable, unlike a lot of smaller places. Not growing, but not shrinking. In another two weeks, there'd be an influx of bow hunters, with the gun folks behind them. The motel would fill up, but with luck, we'd be out by then. Apparently, there were tourists in town now, fishermen and hikers staying at several B&Bs that beat out the motel. Which made the sheriff's attitude harder to fathom. I said as much.

Rob laughed. "I think he's used to being the big dog in town, and he got a whiff of your Alpha attitude and it set his back up."

"How? I was nothing but polite."

"It's a state of mind and dick size." Rob fake-patted my shoulder. "There'll be new folks arriving and you'll drop off his radar."

"I hope so." Extra attention from humans was never a good thing. "Maybe I should run for sheriff." I laughed when Rob punched my arm hard. "Just kidding." A fair number of wolves went into law enforcement. It suited our talents and let us avoid jailing stupid wolves who got in trouble. But it'd never been an ambition of mine, even if there wasn't already a sheriff with an obvious lock on local support.

When we stepped into Wilde's cabin, Asher looked better than when we left. His hair was combed, he was dressed in a shirt and jeans that almost fit, and his mismatched eyes looked less haunted. Still, he dropped his gaze the instant he saw me and hunched his shoulders. "Alpha. Second."

"Third," I replied, because his rank still seemed to surprise and please him. "What have you been up to?"

"Wilde's been helping me use his computer, sir. Looked some things up, events, weather. We figured out it's been four years since… since…" He swallowed. "And probably at least two since I got free."

Up to two years of captivity in wolf form. Fuck. And then two lost in fur. "Two years fits what you remembered of your wolf time, then," I said mildly. "Good for you." I opened his bond to see what he was feeling. The black miasma of worry and fear that lurked behind him hadn't changed much. No doubt it'd take a while for his recovery to start sinking in. I pushed a feeling of protection and support at him, and his gaze flashed to mine before dropping again.

"I thought we'd take a drive," I suggested. "The four of us. Wilde can show us the countryside and you can enjoy the sunshine." The cabin felt cozy and dark, a safe den, but I didn't want him to fall into the habit of hiding. Probably he should talk to a real shrink. Sadly, the professionals he could tell "I was trapped as a wolf for two years" numbered zero. All I could do was go with my instincts to keep him busy and among company.

Sure enough, he said, "I can wait here."

"Nope. We need to do some shopping." His eyes widened and I felt a flash of alarm, so I added, "You can wait in the truck, though, if you want. Then I'll treat you both to a meal at the diner. Unless there's somewhere else Wilde can suggest?"

Wilde shrugged. "There's other places to eat in town— a pizza joint, a burger shack, and a Chinese place— but none are up to Ellie's standards. You'll want to go early or late, though, to get a seat at Ellie's."

"It was almost empty yesterday when we arrived."

"Three in the afternoon. There's a lull. Don't go at five."

"Late, then. I'm stuffed. Did Wilde feed you lunch, Third?"

Asher glanced away. "Yes, he did."

Wilde shook his head slightly, which I took to mean my wolf hadn't eaten well. At least he'd had a good breakfast.

"Right then, you folks ready to head out?"

"Used to being king, are you?" Wilde raised an eyebrow. "Let me close out the computer and clean up a bit. Half an hour, maybe forty minutes."

Asher flinched. "I could go right now. I could…" His voice trailed off.

With a member of my old pack, I might've stepped over and touched them to calm their fears, but Asher had known only pain from an Alpha's approach. I smiled instead, sat down, and laced my hands behind my head, stretching. "Forty minutes will be fine. We're in no hurry."