Reaching for the faded navy baseball cap she kept tucked behind her visor, she shook it out, put it on, and pulled her hair through the opening in back. Without makeup and wearing old clothes, she didn’t look much like the internationally famous wood-carver from Alaska’s interior. The baseball cap finished off what she hoped was a successful disguise.
Opening the screen door, she set off the jangling bells that Ted had hung there as a cheap alert system. Ted was behind the counter talking to an attractive middle-aged couple. They were both tall and athletic looking, with good bone structure.
Rachel had been in contact with enough wealthy people in her new career to recognize that these folks had money. That could mean they were collectors searching for her. Although they seemed harmless enough, she couldn’t trust them not to brag to others and give away her exact location.
Tugging her baseball cap lower, she headed down the aisle toward the coffee. Ted wouldn’t announce her presence, and she could wait until they left to approach the counter and pay.
Then Ted called her name. “Hey, Rachel!”
She froze in place. What in the hell was Ted doing, indentifying her like that? Cautiously she turned around.
“These folks are looking for Jake.” Ted gave her a reassuring smile as if to say that all was well. The visitors didn’t want her, after all.
“Oh?” Alarms went off in her head. Idaho.
“They knew his folks and wanted to stop and say hello, but they didn’t find him at home. I thought you might have some idea where he is. Weren’t you two going hiking today?”
“Um, yeah.” She thought fast as she tried not to stare at what had to be a mated pair of werewolves. And they looked so completely normal, too. But then, so did Jake. “Jake, um, hurt himself on the trail, so he’s over at my place.” She could feel the couple studying her. They knew she wasn’t Were. Jake had said werewolves could smell the difference.
“I hope it’s nothing serious,” the woman said.
But this visitor wasn’t a woman, Rachel reminded herself. She was a female werewolf. Rachel began to sweat. “No, not too bad. Took a fall, has a bit of a sprain, but he’ll be fine. How long are you here for?”
“We’re staying at a place about an hour back down the road,” the male said. “We tried to call his cell, but it just went to voice mail, so we thought it would be fun to surprise him.”
They must have tried to call while Jake’s phone had been turned off at the bottom of her backpack. “I’m sure he’d love to see you.” Rachel did her best to sound enthusiastic. God, she didn’t want to get Jake in trouble. For all she knew, these two belonged to his anti-human-mating group.
Even if they weren’t part of that group, they were certainly from his pack. They had to be wondering why he was laid up since he had the ability to heal himself through shifting. Maybe they assumed he was trapped with her, a human, and couldn’t shift. But why not? She’d left him to go shopping, so by all rights, he’d be fine when she returned.
All this complication for a pound of coffee! If only she’d bought some last week. “I don’t think he’s up to company tonight,” she said. “But tomorrow would probably work. Do you want to leave me your phone number so I can give it to him?”
The female hesitated. “If you’re sure he can’t see us tonight, we can do that.”
“It’s been a long day for him.” Now, there was an understatement. “Tomorrow would be much better.” She sounded like a protective girlfriend and couldn’t help that. She wasn’t about to invite these werewolves to her house. Something about them gave her the creeps, and she hoped it wasn’t a newly discovered prejudice.
Then she realized that if anyone was displaying prejudice, it was these two werewolves. When they looked at her, there was no warmth. Apparently they judged her as unworthy simply because she was human. Unfortunately for them, she controlled access to Jake, and they’d come to see him.
“Then let me give you our information,” the female said. Opening her designer purse, she pulled out a small notepad and a jeweled pen. “I’ll write our names down, too.”
“It’s been years,” the male said. “But he’ll remember who we are.”
“I’m sure he will.” Rachel took the slip of paper. Above the number, the female had written Ann and Bruce Hunter. Rachel could have predicted that the last name would be Hunter.
“Give him our best,” the female said. “We’ll wait to hear from him.”
“I’ll be sure to. Have a good night.”
“Thanks for stopping by!” Ted called after them. Then he glanced at Rachel. “Did I screw that up? They weren’t looking for you, just Jake. And they seemed to know him really well. They had his address and cell phone number, so I thought—”
“It’s okay, Ted.”
“Is he really hurt? Or are you two enjoying some alone time?”
“Both. He did have a small accident, but he’ll be right as rain in the morning.” Especially if he shifted once more while she was running errands. “But we . . . I guess you could say we hit it off better than I thought we would.”
Ted beamed. “That’s wonderful. Here I thought you two were destined to be bitter enemies.”
“No.” Rachel blew out a breath. “Not enemies. Hey, I came in for coffee, so I should probably buy it so you can close up.”
“Don’t be silly. Take your time.” His eyebrows rose. “I’m a nosy old man, but you blush every time you talk about Jake, and it sounds as if he’s settled in at your place instead of his . . .”
“He’ll be staying over.” Even though she’d known Ted for years and shouldn’t care if he knew she was getting cozy with someone, she felt shy admitting it.
“Ah. No wonder you don’t want those people barging in on your private evening. I’m glad you held them off.”
They’re not people, Ted. They’re shape-shifters. But she couldn’t tell this sweet man that, not now and not ever. If she’d needed a demonstration of what her life would be like if she hooked up with Jake, she was in luck. Ann and Bruce Hunter were testing her ability to deal with two different realities.
She wasn’t crazy about the maneuvering, but if the reward was Jake Hunter, who was presently preparing food in her kitchen wearing only a skimpy towel, she could deal. He, on the other hand, probably would be horrified to find out she’d had a conversation with Ann and Bruce of Idaho.
Getting back to her cabin took on greater urgency. “Let me get my coffee.”
“Need more candy bars?”
“Oh, sure, why not?” After grabbing a bag of fresh-roasted coffee beans, she detoured past the candy aisle and scooped up several of her favorites. Chocolate was a known mood elevator, and she might require a little mood enhancer in the near future.
Placing the coffee and candy on the counter, she dug in her purse for the small mesh bag she always carried for impulse buys. A random thought crossed her mind. She’d had several rounds of mind-blowing sex with Jake, but she didn’t even know if he recycled.
He’d said werewolves were protectors, so she figured he would include the Earth under that umbrella. After all, a wolf couldn’t run through the woods if someone cut down all the trees. A wolf couldn’t drink from a stream that had been polluted with chemicals. Being wild would seem to focus a creature on sustainability.
But she didn’t know that, and she was curious. She should make a list of all the questions she had so that she could ask them while there was still time. When Ann and Bruce came to call tomorrow, he’d want to distance himself from her. It might be the end of her acquaintance with Jake.
Ted put her candy and coffee in the bag she handed him. “Did you ever find out why Jake was so hell-bent on giving away that carving?”
Well, yes, she had. She gave Ted a piece of the truth. “He’s been attracted to me for a long time, but he didn’t think we were right for each other. The carving was a reminder of me, and so he wanted it gone.” That story would play nicely into their inevitable breakup. Jake’s belief that they weren’t right for each other would prove to be true.
“Huh.” Ted rubbed a hand over his balding head. “Guess he was wrong about that.”
She smiled at him. “Time will tell. It’s early days, yet.” She handed over the cash for her purchase.
“Good point. My advice—go slow. Margie and I met and decided to get married in a matter of weeks. We should have waited a while to make sure getting married was the right decision.”
“Do you miss her, Ted?”
A hint of vulnerability shadowed his blue eyes. Even the glare from his thick glasses didn’t hide it. “Sometimes. The winter nights can be long.”
“Then for your sake, I hope a nice woman shows up one of these days, Ted. You deserve that.”
He laughed. “That would be great, but I’m not counting on it. It takes a special kind of person to want to live in Polecat, Alaska.” He gazed at her. “Like you. And Jake, for that matter. I hope it works out for the two of you.”
“Thanks.” Her heart ached with the knowledge that her chances of that were slim to none. “We’ll see. Have a good night, Ted.” Grabbing her bag, she left the store. She heard the lock click behind her. Ted would go home, but no one would be waiting. Maybe in a few days she’d suggest that she and Ted check out the Internet dating scene together.
Moments later, she parked in front of Jake’s cabin. He’d told her the back slider was open as usual, so she walked around to the deck. This was where it had all started. The first time she’d set foot on this deck, she’d thought she was tracking Jake’s pet wolf.
Glancing around, she remembered the meal they’d shared sitting at his elevated table. That reminded her that she was extremely hungry and Jake was cooking another fabulous meal on the other side of the lake. Gazing across the water, she imagined him inside, the small towel flipping back and forth as he moved around her kitchen. Mm. So she was hungry for more than food.
Opening his slider, she stepped into his living room, closed the glass door, and headed directly for his bedroom. Previously she’d rummaged through his house uninvited while she looked for clues, but this time she had permission to open drawers and closets. He’d given her instructions as to where everything was kept.
She piled things on his bed and tried not to get wrapped up in the memories the bed evoked. Chances were she wouldn’t share this bed with him again, so she might as well shut down that train of thought. She chose two of everything with the hope that he might stay more than another twenty-four hours.
But she didn’t really think that would happen now that Ann and Bruce were in the neighborhood. The timing of their visit couldn’t have been worse from her standpoint, but she believed things happened for a reason. She’d have to go with it.
Once she had everything gathered, she took his duffel bag from the closet and piled it all in there. Before they’d left this morning he’d unpacked from his San Francisco trip, so the duffel was available. She started to zip it and paused.
One more thing in this bedroom called to her. She wouldn’t keep it, of course. But as long as she was transporting items from here to her cabin, she might as well include Duncan MacDowell’s book.
Jake wouldn’t appreciate her bringing it over, of course. But Duncan was on her side, and she would give anything to talk to him. After all, he’d converted Kate Stillman to the cause. Rachel wanted to know how he’d done it.
Tucking the book into the bag and zipping it up, she was about to leave Jake’s bedroom when her cell phone rang. When she answered, she found herself talking to Jake himself.
“Where are you?” He sounded uneasy.
“Sitting on your bed in your bedroom. Why?”
“You need to leave ASAP. I just checked my messages, and damned if some old friends of my parents aren’t headed to Polecat. What are the chances?”
“I’ve met them.”
“Oh, boy.”
“I stopped by the store for coffee and they were there, asking Ted if he knew where you were. Naturally, because he thinks we’re hanging out together these days, he turned to me for information.”
“What did you say?”
She took a breath and rolled her shoulders. “I did the best I could under the circumstances, Jake.”
“I’m sure you did. I’m sure you handled it well. But I need to know my lines for when I talk with them.”
“I said you’d been laid up following a small accident on the hiking trail. A minor sprain.”
He greeted that with silence.
“I wanted to stall them off. I didn’t want them coming to my house, Jake.”
“Were they rude to you? Because if they were, I’ll let them know that I don’t appreciate—”
“No, they weren’t rude. I could tell they were a little suspicious of me, but they were polite.”
“Unless they’ve changed, they’re conservatives like my folks were. They probably suspect a relationship and don’t approve of it.”
“I think you’re right. And it was weird, Jake. I’m not used to being judged as not good enough because of something I can’t change.”
“I’m sorry, Rachel. They probably are prejudiced against you for being human.”
“And it’s pretty obvious you and I have been spending quality time together.” She sighed. “I know you didn’t want anyone in the werewolf community to know about us. I hope I haven’t compromised you in some way.”
His warm chuckle soothed her. “You’ve compromised me in every way possible, and I’ve loved it. Don’t worry about them. I can smooth it over.”