Chapter 10

"I can't believeJack is already looking at colleges," Hayden said wistfully, shaking his head. He sat on the couch at the firehouse, flipping through several brochures and booklets his son had given him. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining, especially since it wasn't all that long ago that I didn't even know if he was going to live. I'm just overwhelmed by how much there is to think about now that he's getting toward the end of high school."

Pierce drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. "He's a smart kid. He's going to do well."

"I'm hoping being on the track team will help him get some scholarship money. It'll only be a few years after he gets started that we'll be sending Paige off to college, too." Hayden set one booklet down and picked up another.

"She just turned fourteen," Pierce noted. "You've got time."

"It seems that way, but trust me. It really does fly when it comes to kids. She's in high school now, and her guidance counselor is asking what career path she's interested in."

"What does she have to say about that?" Pierce had to admire the way his brother treated his stepdaughter like his own. Paige still saw her father on a regular basis, so when her mother Jessica married Hayden, she just gained an extra parent and a couple of siblings. Their blended situation seemed to be working out well.

Though Pierce was happy for his brother, he couldn't help but dwell on his own situation. He got up and went to the fridge for a soda before moving to the window. He'd met the perfect woman. Holly was stunning and smart. He knew she was talented because it'd been easy to find some of her articles online. They had a spiritual and physical connection that left him feeling incredible. Now that it'd been pulled out from under him, Pierce felt like he was falling and would never stop. He'd just live the rest of his life waiting for the ground to come up and smack him.

"She put the class on her request form, so I hope she gets it. She might decide she's not interested in the medical field at all, but at least she'll have a chance to explore some opportunities. Pierce."

"Hm?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Sure. I was listening. Paige might want to go into something in the medical field."

"Okay, so you were. But I'm going to put you in the zoo if you want to keep pacing like a caged animal. Are you and Dad settling in okay?"

Pierce's already bruised heart sank a little lower as he glanced at the hallway where the fire chief's office was. He forced himself to sit back down. "Yeah, we're fine. My place isn't very big, but he doesn't take up much room. I moved a few things around to accommodate him, but then he just kept apologizing for it and made me wish I hadn't changed anything at all. He's worried about being a burden, even though he's the furthest thing from it."

"Well, Jessica and the girls will take him off your hands when they all go shopping tomorrow," Hayden promised. "They're looking forward to it."

"I think he is, too, but don't say it like that. It's really not a problem to have him there. Dad's done an awful lot for us over the years, so I'm glad I can help." Granted, it would've been much easier to help if his father just needed him to come pull the Christmas tree out of the attic or mow the lawn. Rick was just so damn sad, and Pierce didn't know how he could make that better.

Hayden shrugged. "He wouldn't want to inconvenience anyone, but it's probably a little more on his mind because of the timing."

Pierce had been picking at the tab on his soda, but he looked up. "What do you mean?"

"You know, with you and Holly. You hadn't seen anyone for a long time, and Dad moves in right as you're starting something new," his brother explained.

"I'm not starting anything new," Pierce replied bitterly.

"Sure, you are." Hayden reached over and playfully smacked his arm. "It's pretty obvious to anyone who has eyes. Don't be ashamed of it, especially if the two of you are having a good time while she's here. When is she supposed to go back to Massachusetts, anyway?"

"She already did," Pierce snapped. If things had happened differently, he wouldn't have both his father and brother all over him about Holly. Then again, that meant he would've been going through all this alone. The three of them had always been a support system for each other.

"What?" Hayden put the college brochure back on the coffee table.

"Yeah. She was just here for a few days for her annual meeting, and then she went back home. She left a few days ago." Just as she'd planned and just as she'd do every year. Pierce had allowed himself a small spark of hope that he'd get to see her when she returned to Eugene, but a few days once a year wasn't enough to build a relationship on. His wolf was disturbed all over again, knowing his mate had been right there, then vanished like a ghost. It almost made it seem like it hadn't really happened, but he knew it had.

Hayden sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and looked at his brother closely. "But I just saw her yesterday."

"Not unless you transported yourself to New England," Pierce retorted, wishing he could do that himself. "It must've just been someone who looked like her."

"I'd agree with you if I only saw her when you pulled her out of the water, but don't forget that you brought her around a second time. This was definitely her. She was at Stella's Slice with some guy."

Pierce's wolf instantly turned possessive, flailing inside him at this new tidbit of information. He calmed himself, knowing that Hayden was probably wrong. "What guy?"

"I don't know. I was just dropping off Ellie and Paige, so I wasn't in there long. He was kind of tall and slim, with short hair and a narrow face. Dark eyes and hair, but no one I knew. He was talking a lot, gesturing with his hands and getting all excited." Hayden shrugged again. "Maybe it was someone she worked with."

"Yeah, it probably was. A coworker of hers showed up the night I took her to Selene's. She introduced me to him." And Pierce had felt an instant dislike for him the moment he laid eyes on him. There was something disingenuous about the guy that got under his skin, but Pierce hadn't thought to ask Holly any more about him later. Even she seemed like she was only putting up with him because they worked for the same company, so why would she go out for pizza with him?

"What do you think this is all about?" Hayden asked slowly.

"I don't know," Pierce admitted. He only knew he didn't like it. "I went to her place to say goodbye the day before she left. She hadn't packed yet and said it was because she'd gotten caught up in her writing. She was going to do it the next morning instead."

Hayden pursed his lips. "I hate to say it, but it sounds like maybe she never packed at all."

"I don't understand why." Pierce ran his hands through his hair, feeling frustration build inside him. "There was something between us. She and I both knew it, and that was why she was so upfront with me about having to go back home. It doesn't make sense that she would throw that out there and then just not leave. Why wouldn't she tell me she was staying?"

"There must've been a miscommunication somewhere," Hayden replied, his voice soft and gentle.

Pierce gave his older brother a look. "Are you actually trying to do that same thing Dad does? Getting all subtle while indirectly telling me what to do?"

Hayden put his hands up. "Hey, all I can say is it works on the kids. You do what you want."

"That's easy for you to say now," Pierce grumbled. "I'm taking an extended lunch hour. I'll let you tell the chief, or maybe you can just drop an understated hint."

"I'll do that," Hayden promised.

Pierce got in his truck and headed across town. He wasn't actually mad at Hayden for trying to give him advice, and he couldn't blame either him or Rick for being light-handed with it. That was just how the three of them were. They didn't feel the need to boss each other around when being a little more laid back about things worked so well. No, the irritation in Pierce came from a completely different situation, one he hoped he could do something about.

Numerous thoughts raced across his mind, each dismissed as quickly as it came. Could Holly have lied to him because she wanted to date Kyle instead? No, there was no way. Pierce could tell Holly had the same dislike for Kyle that he did. Even if she had to put up with him, she wouldn't have stayed there for him.

Had Pierce done anything wrong to chase her away? If he had, it would've made more sense for her to just go back to Cape Cod and never speak to him again. It wouldn't explain her presence in Eugene.

She was a gifted writer. Perhaps her boss had seen that and had asked her to stay longer for some important meeting. Holly wouldn't have told him because they'd already said their goodbyes, and dragging things out after that would only make it harder. That was at least as close as Pierce felt he could get on his own. With a little luck, he'd known the truth in a few minutes when he got to her place.

He just hoped she wasstill staying there. How far out of her way would she have gone to avoid him?

His wolf leaped up when he saw the same beige rental car sitting in the driveway as he came around the corner. So she was still there, and he'd have his chance to see what was happening. He'd already told himself several days ago that he wasn't going to try to make her stay, and she'd told him she had her own life to go back to. Pierce understood they could probably never work things out, so he wasn't there to change her mind. He was just there to find out why. He pulled in a deep breath and knocked on the door.

He waited, then knocked again. He looked for a doorbell, but there was none. Rubbing his teeth over his lips, he stepped back down into the driveway and laid his hand on the hood of her car. The metal was cold under his hand where the shadow of the house fell across it, so she likely hadn't driven anywhere that day, yet she wasn't there. Pierce went back up to the door and knocked again, just in case she'd been busy.

Why was she hiding from him, and why would she spend any time with that creep Kyle? What the hell was happening?