Faith walked in the open door of the motel office the next morning, and the man behind the counter gave her a figure a quick sweep of his eyes before giving her a big smile. He seemed nice enough, if a bit bland with his brown hair, brown eyes and pleasant features. And if she wasn’t mistaken, she was sure that he’d been trying to flirt with her when she’d checked in here the day before yesterday.

“Ms. Williams, it’s nice to see you again. Did you find Mr. Sawyer?”

“Yes I did.” He’d been the one who told her where Logan could be found, and hadn’t asked any questions about why she wanted to know. His eyes had darted to Connor when they’d checked in and she was sure that he could put two and two together.

“Are you here to check out?” He seemed a little disappointed, and she wondered what kind of business he did in a town so far off the beaten path.

“Actually no. I came here to see if I can keep the room for a little longer. I’m going to be staying here with my son for the summer, and until I find something to rent, we’ll need a place to stay.” She came forward, and gave him a smile. With Logan wanting to be involved in Connor’s life, she needed to extend her stay here for a little longer. When she’d checked in she hadn’t been sure how long she would be here. There had been every possibility in her mind that Logan would reject his son, but thank God he hadn’t.

“Well I don’t know if you’ll have much luck with rental accommodations. We don’t get many new residents here, and the ones that do move here tend to buy a piece of land and build new.”

“Well I’m sure I’ll sort something out.” Faith kept her smile on her face even though his words were a bit of a disappointment to her. She hadn’t considered that this town was so small that there wasn’t a rental market to speak of. She had no intention of buying or building a house here. Staying for the summer was one thing, but uprooting her life and moving here was quite another.

“So how long do you think you’ll need the room for then? If you wanted to stay in it for the summer, we can work out some kind of deal.”

A shadow fell across them from the door behind them, and when the motel owner looked up the smile on his face faltered for a moment.

Faith turned her head, and her body froze for a second when she saw it was Logan standing in the door. He looked rested and ready to take on the world this morning, and the contrast between him and the man behind the counter was startling. Logan was the kind of man who got noticed, with the combination of deep black hair and bright blue eyes.

“She doesn’t need the room, Bill.” Logan came forward, and he loomed beside her. Bill's face paled for a second and Faith noticed that he didn’t look at her for confirmation.

“I’ll just get the paperwork ready and you can check out Ms. Williams.”

“Why would you do that? I have no intention of checking out.” Faith darted a glance at Logan and saw the scowl he was delivering to the hapless motel owner. “I told you that I’m staying for the summer, and need to stay somewhere. Unless you’ve changed your mind about getting to know Connor.”

That was something she hadn’t considered. If he’d changed his mind about helping her son, she didn’t know what she was going to do. Or how she was going to break it to Connor. Already this morning he’d asked her about twenty times when he was going to see Logan again.

“Bill, do you think you can excuse us?” He still hadn’t looked at her, and Faith was sure that as soon as Bill left the room he was going to drop the bomb. She should have known that this was all too good to be true. She should not have brought her son here, because it was one thing to never know your father but something entirely different to be rejected by him upon meeting him.

“Yes, of course.” Bill darted around the corner and was out the door so fast that Faith was surprised there wasn’t smoke coming out of his shoes. As soon as he disappeared around the corner, she whipped around to face Logan and glared at him.

“I can’t believe you. If you were going to reject your son, why didn’t you say something yesterday? I could have prepared him for it. I told him that you wanted to be a part of his life, so how the hell can you pull the rug out from under him now?” Her anger took hold of her and before she could think she put her hands on him and tried to shove him. It was like pushing against a brick wall, and he moved quickly to grab her wrists.

“Would you calm down. I told you I wanted to be a father to my son, and that hasn’t changed. I will be a part of Connor’s life. I came here to tell you that you are moving in with me.”

Moving in with him? That was what this was about? She hadn’t considered that. It was one thing for him to need to get to know Connor and she had been prepared to see him when he came to spend time with him, but living in the same house with him was a whole different story. Faith tugged on her hands but he wouldn’t let them go.

“I realize that you need to spend time with him, but I’m not moving in with you.” She needed to keep herself separate from him. Already, after only being in his company twice now, he made her want things. She’d spent a restless sleep dreaming about the night they’d spent together, and her body had been aching for him when she’d woken up. A repeat of that night couldn’t happen again, she couldn’t handle it.

“You are moving in with me. Connor needs me, and I need to get to know him. Besides, where else are you going to stay? As far as I know there is nothing available for rent here, and you can’t pour all your money into a motel room.” He was still holding on to her, and his hands looked huge wrapped around her slender wrists. She could feel herself weakening. She had taken a leave of absence from her job at the accounting firm the summer. She had some savings but she had no idea how much it would cost to rent a hotel room for two months. She tugged her wrists again and this time he let her go.

“There has to be some other solution beside us moving in with you. I’m not sure it will send the right message to Connor.” It was a weak argument and she knew it. But her attraction to him showed no signs of waning and she needed to protect herself. She couldn’t fall for him and have him reject her like he had the last time.

“The message it will send to Connor is that his father wants to be involved in his life and his mother is supportive of it. What are you afraid of Faith?”

“I’m not afraid of anything.” She looked away from him so he wouldn’t see the lie in her words. The truth was she was terrified of what seeing him again was stirring up inside her. Looking at him was a potent reminder of just how much she’d wanted him then and how much she wanted him now. It had devastated her when she’d woken that morning and he hadn’t been there. If she’d had more experience, maybe she would have gotten over it, but he’d been her first. The hurt over his rejection had only been compounded when he hadn’t contacted her when she’d told his father that she was pregnant.

“Then I don’t see what the problem is. You need a place to stay and I have a place for you to stay. Connor needs me and I would think that what our son needs is more important than whatever it is you’re trying to prove. Are you disagreeing with me for a legitimate reason or is this some sort of payback for me not being there for you?” He crossed his arms over his chest and the resentment that simmered just under the surface in her boiled over.

“Don't you dare play that card with me. I have done nothing but put my son first for the past twelve years and that isn’t going to change now. So don’t think you can waltz in here and I’ll jump when you snap your fingers. Maybe I wanted to be consulted before you came in here and told Bill that I was checking out. I’m glad that you want to be a part of his life, but you aren’t going to run mine.” She stepped up and glared up at him. She expected him to argue back, but he gave a little laugh and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “What’s so funny?”

“You’re cute when you get mad.” A growl escaped her and he put his hands up. “Okay, I’ll be serious. I want to spend time with my son, and the best way to do that is if you are staying with me. It will save you the expense of renting a room as well. So I’m asking you, will you and Connor please come and stay with me for the summer?”

His words mollified her anger, and took the reason she had to object to them moving in with him away. Her true reason was still there, but she couldn’t very well tell him. He’d boxed her in to saying yes by being so reasonable, and if she said no now she’d look like an argumentative bitch. She’d just have to shore up her defenses against him, and remember all the reasons why she couldn’t give in to the attraction pulling her to him.

“Fine. I’ll check out and Connor and I will stay with you.”

“I’ll settle up with Bill. Go and get your stuff together. You can follow me out to the house once that’s done.”

She turned away and went to the door before she realized that he was giving her orders again. It wasn’t worth fighting over, since she needed to marshal her reserves for being in the same house with him. And that thought made her turn back and blurt out exactly what was in her head.

“I’m not going to sleep with you.” As soon as the words were out, she could have kicked herself. He turned to look at her, and the corner of his mouth kicked up.

“I don’t recall asking sweetheart, but I’ll keep it in mind.”

* * *

Logan didn’t know quite how to feel now that Faith and Connor were in his home. Seeing his son walking around his house stirred paternal feelings inside him that he had never known he had. In his head he’d known that he needed to have children to continue his blood line, but the reality of seeing his eyes in his child’s face was a completely different feeling. He had to get this right. His father had let him down when his mother left and he’d locked himself away with a bottle. Logan made a vow to himself that he wasn’t going to let anything like that happen to Connor.

“Connor do you want to go for a hike in the woods? Or maybe hang out and watch a movie?”

Connor had been quiet when they’d gotten to the house, and when he turned to look at Logan, there was hesitation there. Was he pushing the boy too hard? This was all so new to him, and he didn’t want to screw this up.

“Can I just set my room up?” Connor bit his lip and Logan knew that he had to slow down. He was a stranger to his son, even though it wasn’t his fault. He couldn’t rush him. Connor wasn’t going anywhere and he had time to be the father he wanted to be for his son.

“Of course. You get settled in and maybe we can hang out later.” Logan walked out of the room and pulled the door shut behind him. Was he going to be able to handle this? He could face down a pack of angry wolves and know he would come out on top, but throw a woman and a young boy at him and he was at a loss.

He walked into the kitchen where Faith sat at the table reading a book. She flipped it face down to save her place and looked up at him.

“Where’s Connor?” Her eyes darted behind him as if to see if her son was coming in after him, but once Connor failed to turn up she brought her eyes back up to him.

“He wants to get settled in.” He tried to put up a confident front with her, but he was out of his depth. She knew the boy, and maybe he should talk to her about how best to approach this. He came over to the table and sat across from her. “What do I need to do? I don’t want to push him, but don’t want to ignore him and make him think that I don’t want to have a relationship with him.”

She put her hand on his arm, and there was a soft look on her face.

God he thought she was sexy when she was pissed at him, but now when she looked at him like that when he was feeling vulnerable, it made him want to pull her to him. He couldn’t of course. She’d made it abundantly clear when they were in the hotel office that she wasn’t interested in getting physical with him. And he wasn’t in a place where he needed the complication. He’d just have to tamp down on the desire for her that was flowing through his veins and get on with his life.

“Change is hard for him. It always has been. Every September at the start of the new school year he’s out of sorts for about two weeks, and this is such a bigger change for him than anything he’s gone through. He’ll come to you, and sooner than you think. He was asking this morning when he was going to get to see you again. I think he just needs some time to cope with all the changes that have been thrown at him over the past few days.”

Relief went through Logan. He had to keep reminding himself that if he was feeling unsure about himself it had to be ten times worse for Connor. He just needed to be patient with him and be there for him.

Without thinking, Logan put his hand on Faith’s hand, and ran it over her skin. His intention was to thank her for helping him to understand, but she gasped and pulled her hand away as if burned. He cleared his throat.

“There is something I wanted to ask you, and since we are alone for the moment it seems like a good time.” Faith looked down at the table and drew a circle on the wood with her index finger. Had she changed her mind about wanting to sleep with him? He had to admit that his body tightened at the thought before he pushed the notion aside. Even if she did want him, he couldn’t have her. He was committed to his pack, and that commitment obligated him to mate with someone else.

“What is it?” He folded his hands together in front of him to keep them to himself. A few strands of her fiery hair brushed against her cheek and his fingers itched to push them away from her skin. She looked up at him and he could read the worry in her eyes and it made it that much harder to keep his hands to himself. He wanted to take that look away forom her, but unless he knew what was on her mind, he didn’t know where to start to fix it.

“Is he going to be alright? I didn’t ask this yesterday because everything was just so overwhelming. You said you knew what was wrong with him, that you’d gone through it yourself. Please tell me that my baby is going to be okay.”

As she sat across from him with her hands knotted together and worry crinkling her forehead, Logan knew that he could not keep the truth about himself from her. She needed to know everything, but how the hell was he going to tell her that he was a werewolf and that her son was one as well?

“He’ll be fine. What he’s going through is perfectly natural. I won’t let anything happen to him.” He hoped that she would take his word for it, because he didn’t know if he was prepared to go it alone with Connor if it came to that. The boy had twelve years with her, and if she rejected him because of what he was, Logan knew exactly what it would feel like for him. He’d gone through the same thing when his mother left and he’d never heard from her again.

“But what is it? How can you know for sure that he will get through this okay?” In her worry for her son, she must have forgotten to keep her distance from him and she reached out and grasped his hand. “I’m so scared Logan. I’ve been so scared for months now that I’m going to lose him.”

“You aren’t going to lose him.” He could see the deep love she had for their son in her eyes, and it gave him hope that she wouldn’t push him away just because he was different. Maybe her love for Connor was unconditional. There was only one way to find out. “I know that he is going to come out of this, he will be okay because I came out of it. If you want to know what has caused this change in himn, you need to know about me.”

“What about you? Is there some sort of genetic component to this, is it more than just a behavioral phase he’s going through?” She squeezed his hand and he could see that this talk with her was doing the opposite of what he wanted it to. He’d meant to reassure her that Connor would be fine, that he wouldn’t let anything happen to their son. The only way she would know that would be if she knew the truth, but how did you tell someone like her that there were things in this world that were too fantastical to believe?

“I’ll show you tonight. Once Connor goes to bed, I’ll show you what I really am and you’ll know that he’ll be okay. That I would never let any harm come to him.” He knew he was being vague, and he wasn’t surprised when she didn’t look reassured by what he said.

“Logan, what is this all about? Can’t you just tell me what it is? Why do you have to show me?”

He couldn’t tell her because if he sat across from her and claimed to be a werewolf, she’d pack her things and drag his son out of here because she would think he was crazy. His true nature was something that needed to be seen, and he only hoped that she could get over the shock of it long enough to accept him. To accept Connor needed him to be a permanent part of his life.

“It will be better if I show you. Don’t worry Faith, after tonight you’ll understand everything.” Logan hoped that what he’d said was true. That she would understand everything and that she wouldn’t reject their son. But he needed to prepare himself for the opposite. He didn’t think he was mistaken about the love he saw in her eyes for her son, but he’d seen love in his mother’s eyes too and it hadn’t stopped her from leaving.