Barlow grabbed a beer out of the cooler. His wolf prowled, angry with him.
But what could he do? His mystery woman had shown up out of the blue. He had stared at her, dumbfounded and she turned tail and ran.
How the hell was she so fast? She was human!
But she was already in her squad car and zipping away by the time Barlow made it outside.
Why did she run from him? Why did she ditch him after their night together? Why did he care so much? He always kept things casual with women – he never wanted a long term or committed relationship. So, why would it bother him that obviously Susie didn’t want that either?
Maybe she was married. His beast stirred uneasily. Maybe. She didn’t act like it, no ring, no ring tan line, but it would explain why she didn’t want to see him again.
Maybe the sex had been bad. His beast snorted. The sex was magnificent – and he wasn’t just talking about his performance.
Everything had been right between them, in a way it never had with any other woman.
He had marched on over to the Sheriff’s station and found out from Delilah that her name was Susie, but in spite of his entreaties, she would only pass on a message for Susie to call him.
She hadn’t – yet. But this was a small town – she could not run for long, and he knew she was a deputy – she would have to turn up at the station eventually.
It was only a matter of time he placated his beast.
In the meantime – food. He waved a finger at his uncle, and he started burning a couple of burgers for him, just the way he liked them.
Had to keep his energy up for when he found Susie. He grinned. Yep, he would definitely find her.
*
“You are such a coward,” Susie told her reflection.
Yep, how did she act when she met her one-night stand again? With dignity? With grace? Like a grown up? Nope, she turned tail and ran like the lily-livered coward she was.
It had been a surprise – of all the places for him to turn up, she never thought it would be her tiny town. But there he had been in the dizzyingly tall flesh, and when the word ‘Hi’ rumbled out of his devilish lips, she turned on her heel and made a break for it.
What was he doing there? Was he a contractor? Had he been paid to renovate the house? All appealing thoughts – she very much liked watching him work. The only thing that would have improved it would have been if he was shirtless. Yes, that would have been nice. Idly, she realized she was rubbing her bottom lip and quickly stopped.
How did he happen to be in her town?
“Everything okay in there, Susie?” called Terri Tanner.
“Fine, out in a moment.”
The Tanners were holding a barbeque, and given that Susie had become friendly with Terri, she had been invited. Actually, Terri insisted. Terri knew all about Allen and was trying to cheer her at a place where Susie wouldn’t have to put up with any guys hitting on her. Just nice, family fun.
Attending the barbeque would be Henry and Ellie Tanner, along with their four boys – one of which was Terri’s mate, Mal. Also, Henry’s brother, Greyson and his new mate Violet – who happened to be the mother of the alpha’s mate. That was the thing about packs, they were all close-knit and intertwined.
Of course, Terri wasn’t aware that Mal’s younger brother Eric was already kind of sweet on Susie. Given that he was only sixteen, nothing would ever happen between them, but like all Tanner males, he was an insufferable flirt. Not that she minded. It was kind of flattering and non-threatening – kind of a pick me up for her trampled ego.
All the Tanners knew her, so she hadn’t exactly made a huge effort when getting dressed – just pulled her hair into a messy knot and threw on a pair of jeans and a green sweatshirt that proclaimed ‘lettuce be friends.’ It was cute and silly, and she had about fifty of them with similar silly slogans. She’d never been much of a sexy dresser. Perhaps that was why she hadn’t been able to hang onto Allen. She wondered how her mystery wolf felt about her funny sweatshirts. Her cheeks flamed red – maybe she would find out soon. Given that he was in town.
Hmmm, two days until she was due to drive up to the lodge and still no sign of a debilitating illness. Oh, well.
She fumbled her way out of the bathroom. Jiggling the sticky lock until it finally opened, and she managed to careen into a very large hard body.
“Oh, sorry, Susie,” exclaimed Terri, “that lock always sticks.”
“I keep telling Hank to fix it,” complained Ellie, passing through carrying a bowl of salad. “Yet, he does nothing. I’m beginning to wonder why I keep him around.”
“You know why you keep me,” rumbled Hank, flashing his mate a saucy grin. Ellie giggled and pinched his butt as he passed her.
Two large hands steadied her, and she looked up expecting to find one of the Tanner males holding her. But no, it wasn’t. She inhaled as she realized it was her mystery wolf, staring down at her intently.
“Oh, Susie, this is Barlow – Greyson’s son. Barlow, this is Susie – she’s a deputy in town.” Terri introduced them.
“You’re a Tanner? You’re a member of the pack?” squeaked Susie.
Slowly, Barlow’s lips curled into a grin as he nodded. “How nice to meet you… Susie.”