I set Dallas to the job of making breakfast. Packing would go much faster and easier if I wasn't turning around every thirty seconds to catch his eyes on me. And I knew he was bothered by the scene I had made while he was gone, even if he didn't know what had upset me. There was no way I was going to tell him that when I discovered he wasn't in my bed when I woke that I'd assumed the worst, that he had decided all these shenanigans with me and the baby just wasn't worth it, and he'd decided to hightail it. And logically, I wouldn't have blamed him. He hadn't asked for this. But my reaction was hormone fueled and completely out of proportion.

I'd been completely unreasonable, and I knew it. I had pushed Kit to the edge of her patience and then shoved her off the cliff. 

I'm sorry, I said to her while I was packing. I was being a little ridiculous.

A little? I could hear the quirk of her smile in her tone. I knew you had it bad, Nick, but damn.

She was right. I was completely head over heels for this man I'd had one night with—albeit an extremely hot night. Two nights if you included last night, and that had been heart-meltingly sweet. Each new facet intrigued and confused me even more. Was he the shy bumbling hottie from the bar? Was he the commanding sex god of the first night? Was he the sweet father from last night? What was a facade, and what was real? My fox loved the mystery. No other man had turned my head around with so many questions.

I blame the pregnancy hormones, I responded. I was out of control. Are we okay?

Kit's response was slow in coming. We're okay, Nick, but don't get too attached to this guy too soon, okay? He's not a puppy you can take home just because he's cute.

I held back the comment that that was kind of what I had done... I knew what she meant, but I didn't agree. As crazy as it seemed, Dallas seemed exactly like the kind of guy I could take home and keep. Or maybe I was the puppy, since he was taking me home? Whatever, it was a terrible analogy.

"Omelets are done," Dallas called. I zipped up my suitcase. It was just a week. I didn't need much.

I rolled the small suitcase out of the room behind. me. "Thanks, Dallas."

He set the plates with the eggs on the table. "I'm no cook, not like my friend Ryan, but I can handle the basics. Can I get you something to drink?"

I noticed the styrofoam cup next to his plate. That's why he'd left the apartment! "You didn't have to go out for coffee."

"I looked, but I couldn't find any filters." 

Ah. I hadn't been drinking coffee since I found out I was pregnant, so I wouldn't have noticed if I'd run out. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's not a problem. The walk was nice. Drink?"

"Just water for me, thank you."

"I'll grab mine," Kit said. 

"You said it's about a two hour drive?" I asked as I dug into the omelet. 

Dallas nodded. "Give or take. If we had to drive through evening rush hour, we'd be talking three hours, just to get south of Spring Hill, but in the morning, it should be a straight shot."

"Are you originally from that area?" I didn't want to sound like I was grilling the guy, but Kit wasn't helping with conversation flow, and I genuinely was interested.

"No, I'm originally from Cosby, Tennessee. I traveled around for a few years, hooked up with Asher on this bounty hunting gig, and I've been working for him ever since. When he found his mate and his pack kicked him out, it just felt natural to follow him."

My fork clattered to my plate. "You're a bounty hunter?"

"Well, 'bail retrieval agent,' technically. Ash doesn't like us using the term bounty hunter. But when you say 'bail retrieval agent' no one knows what the fuck you're talking about. Everyone knows what a bounty hunter is."

"So that guy you were asking about that first time... he didn't owe you a debt, did he?"

Dallas's eyes fell, and he hummed, flustered. "I'm sorry I lied about that. It's just standard operating procedure. You never know who is going to squeal on you, who's going to balk at talking to a bounty hunter."

I didn't like that Dallas had lied to me, but I could understand it. "Can you promise you haven't lied to me about anything else?"

He met me square in the eyes. "That I can promise. And I can promise I will never lie to you again."

Hot damn, that sent shivers up and down my spine. Dallas was so... so...

He's intense, Kat said without looking up from her plate.

Exactly. That was the perfect word. Intense. Breakfast wrapped up quickly after that, and once everything was washed and set to dry, we locked up the apartment and hit the road. I took shotgun while Kit stuffed the backseat full of blankets and pillows and went straight back to sleep, grumbling in mindspeak about someone getting her up too early. I'd intended to use the opportunity to talk to Dallas more, but I was asleep before we got on the interstate.