Chapter Five

Tom ran the sink water on high in the upstairs bathroom, glad that the ruckus of faucet water could hide his frustrated groan. He mentally kicked himself for agreeing to have dinner with Jo; she’d had some odd fixation with him all day since Savannah had arrived, no doubt because of some misguided idea that he might feel some attraction for her. He should have known that Jo would try something sly, and that Nick would go right along with it, but he hadn’t thought that far ahead at the time. Now he was shut in the cabin with Savannah right downstairs while Jo and Nick ran off to get Chinese.

“Why even invite her to dinner?” Tom grumbled. “We only just met her.”

His bear growled, shifting uneasily inside, but it didn’t seem on edge. It almost felt… nervous? It was a new emotion that Tom didn’t agree with or like in the slightest. Escorting her around earlier in the day had been fine enough; he knew Jo and Nick were nearby, too close to slip up, but he wasn’t a fool. He recognized how attracted he was to her, how aware of her he was. From the moment Jo and Nick had gone, tension had begun to build within him when he was around Savannah, wound up by her very presence. He didn’t know what it meant. He only knew that he needed some space. The bathroom was his only refuge.

The distant sound of a car pulling up caught Tom’s attention, prompting him to bolt out of the bathroom and down the stairs in panic. He threw open the front door with a sigh of relief.

“Chinese,” Nick greeted, shoving a full plastic bag into Tom’s hands before walking inside.

Jo gave him a quick smile. “Did you and Savannah get along okay?”

Shaking his head in mild incredulity, Tom turned to walk inside. He didn’t have words for what had or hadn’t happened while they were gone, and even if he did, he wouldn’t want to entertain Jo’s weird human amusement anyway.

“Why don’t you have Savannah help you set out the food? I’m sure she’d be delighted to help,” Jo prompted.

Tom chewed the inside of his cheek, willing himself to remain silent. He wouldn’t ask anything of her, but there was no harm in simply letting her know dinner was here, right? Satisfied with the justification, he wandered easily to the book corner where he knew she’d sought refuge after they were left alone. She wasn’t reading; she wasn’t doing much of anything. As he rounded the corner, she stared up at him with big honey-brown eyes, and for a moment, he could sense a hint of fear and something like loneliness before she locked her emotions down. Before he could stop himself, he felt a bit of sympathy slip past his façade, empathy rising in his chest. Immediately, he forced it away. He didn’t need this. He didn’t know her; she didn’t deserve his compassion. Sure, he could tolerate her, and maybe even be cordial, but despite the affirmative rattles his bear was letting out, he’d offer her nothing more. She was an employee at best now, a complete stranger at worst. That was it.

With a carefully blank expression, he held up the bag in his hands. “Food’s here if you want to join us?”

Savannah gave him one nod, and he could tell she was corralling come weird emotions of her own. She opened her mouth slightly to speak, but nothing came out.

He shrugged, a tingling sensation manifesting itself on the back of his neck. The way she looked at him made it hard for him to think clearly. “I, um, hope you like Chinese takeout,” he continued. “It’s the best food in town, though it never really had much competition to begin with.” He tried to smile, but it was wobbly and fleeting.

He watched as she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she stood. He took a step back, beckoning her past with a light gesture and trying with all his might to let off an affable vibe. He didn’t want her to think he hated her—he didn’t. He just didn’t trust her.

She shuffled by, moving quickly as if she’d expected him to reach out and touch her. “Thanks,” she mumbled. A shiver rumbled softly through Tom’s body at the word, and his bear raised its head in curiosity. He fought to ignore it as they met back with Jo and Nick at the dining table. His bear let out a low, angry growl, restless and eager for more control. Tom stayed his ground, silently promising the bear a run through the woods later to try and relieve some of the stress.

The bear quieted, but Tom still found himself watching the bend of Savannah’s arm as she served herself some food, the curve of her slender waist as she leaned over the table. She looked tired and maybe even a bit upset. He wasn’t sure what was plaguing her, but even strictly as her boss, he should at least try to help, right?

“Why don’t you sit,” he murmured. “I’ll go grab the drinks.” He caught the mild surprise in her eyes and his bear growled contentedly. He shooed the emotion away, ignoring the look Jo was shooting at him as he walked into the kitchen. Whatever was going through Jo’s mind, it was false.

“Excuse me, I need to wash my hands,” he heard Savannah murmur to Jo as he reentered the dining area, watching too intently as she slipped nimbly up the stairs to the bathroom.

“You don’t mind escorting her to the store tomorrow, do you?” Jo asked, a smug look in her eyes telling him that his staring had been obvious.

“The store?”

“Yeah,” Nick said. “Nothing big, just a few things for the office.”

He rounded on his brother. “Why can’t you take her?”

“Because I’m busy doing important boss things.”

“That’s a weak excuse,” Tom growled. Nick shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips. With a frustrated groan, Tom turned to Jo. “What about you?”

Jo shook her head. “No can do. Have you seen that office? I have a lot of work to do, myself.”

Tom tensed, knowing she wasn’t being entirely truthful. A rattle rumbled in his chest.

“Don’t you start that growling with me,” Jo tutted. “Gathering supplies was your thing before I came along wasn’t it? You know what to do and where to go—you’re obviously the person most equipped to train her and get her settled. So just do it. The sooner she’s set, the sooner you’re done.”

Tom frowned. “It’s not exactly hard, Jo. There’s one store in town. One. It’s kind of hard to miss. I’m sure she’s at least seen it a few times.”

Nick clapped him on the shoulder. “Oh, come on, Tom. Surely this isn’t too difficult a task for you?” His brother grinned, but Tom could hardly stop his scowl from deepening. “At least pretend to be nice like you normally do and stop complaining.” Before Tom could protest further, Savannah descended the stairs.

Jo clapped her hands together. “Time to eat!”

***

Savannah couldn’t help but feel a bit of surprise at how mildly the evening had gone. Tom had largely avoided any form of communication with her, which was fine with her. Things had been tense between them since Jo had escorted them to the cabin, and she’d been worried about things getting worse. Jo and Nick filled the empty space between her and Tom easily enough, making idle chat easily with her as they explained life in Woodhaven. Occasionally she’d feel a tingling of nerves deep within and she could tell Tom was looking her way, but otherwise she was able to keep up conversation easily enough without raising any eyebrows.

“I know it’s getting late, but I’m making some coffee if you want a mug?” Jo asked.

Savannah stood. “Oh no, you treated me to dinner. Let me get coffee for everyone.”

“You sure?”

Savannah nodded, the urge to help rising. Her words had been sincere; their kindness went to lengths she had never expected. The least she could do was grab a couple mugs of coffee as thanks. Plus, a small gesture like this went a long way to gaining their trust.

“Thank you,” Jo smiled, throwing a glance at Tom. “Tom could you show her how everything works?”

“Oh, no thank you,” Savannah reassured quickly. “Surely, I know how to work a simple coffee maker.”

“I don’t know, ours can be pretty tricky,” Nick rebutted. “Plus, as thanks for dinner, my brother is on dish duty anyway. I’m sure he was headed in that direction any moment now.”

She saw Tom’s eyes flash, but in nothing more than sibling anger. She was surprised to not see any challenge between the two brothers. It was as if they treated each other as equals, something she’d never expected to see from a leader, let alone two leader-destined alpha shifters. More shocking than that, even Jo seemed equal to them. A human! She threw out suggestions and they were considered fairly. This odd pack was different, to be sure, and Savannah found herself envious of the rapport they shared. Why couldn’t she have something like this with the Northern Wind?

“Oh behave,” Jo chided lightly with a smile.

“Dishes?” Tom growled. “On top of everything else, dishes, too?”

Nick shrugged. “Consider it recompense for giving Savannah a hard time all day.”

Tom opened his mouth to retort, but he caught Savannah’s gaze and fell quiet. “Fine,” he conceded grumpily, stalking toward the kitchen and beckoning impatiently for her to follow.

She was tense and awkward as he pointed out the various nobs and dials on the coffee maker. Nick was right, it was quite advanced. She reached for a dial as Tom pressed a button to start the percolating, their fingers brushing in brief contact as he pulled away. Sparks suddenly sizzled down Savannah’s arm, her senses snapping to high alert as she snatched her hand backward. Their eyes met, locking in a panicked embrace, and Savannah wasn’t sure she was calm enough to hide the flurry of emotions that were stampeding about within her.

After what seemed like an hour, Tom let out a small, taut breath. “I’ll take a coffee too, if you don’t mind.” His voice was soft and careful, unlike anything she’d expected from him.

She could only nod, merely picking up another mug by way of response. He turned abruptly and began busying himself with the dirty dishware before things got too awkward. She noticed she was holding her breath, waiting for Tom to run the faucet water on high before letting the air out in a hoarse, mortified sigh.

Savannah knew he didn’t trust her, but what they’d just exchanged wasn’t distrust. It was something deep and intimate… and completely terrifying.

What exactly was it? Could she use it to manipulate his trust?

I think so, she thought as she poured coffee into the mugs, but as the fragrant scent of caffeine wafted around her, she found herself wondering if she even wanted to.