Chapter Four – Jacob

It took all his strength to keep his ass in the chair as she walked out of the coffee shop. The thought of her walking past Mike’s store, of his eyes on her…not to mention what his thoughts might be.

Jacob gripped the edge of the table. He wanted to tear Mike’s head from his body.

He inhaled deeply and let it go. That wasn’t going to help Avery.

Looking at his watch, he concentrated on the seconds passing by, then the minutes. It was unbearably slow. After three minutes, he got up, waved at Chloe behind the counter, and left to fetch his own truck. His plan was to follow some distance behind Avery, and check that she was not being tailed. He’d sent her to his house. It was situated on a narrow road, ending in a dead end; if anyone had followed her, he hoped to back them into a corner. A corner from which they would not escape.

His bear rumbled his agreement. Whether on four wheels, or four paws, they would chase down anyone who threatened Avery.

Jacob left the coffee shop and headed back toward Brad’s office. He glanced sideways at Mike’s store, but there was no sign of movement. The temptation to go across the street and try to get any information out of Mike was a compelling one. The desire to protect his newfound mate was overwhelming: anything that threatened her, needed to be neutralized. Immediately.

Jacob clenched and unclenched his fists. He needed to let go of his temper. The mountain was no place to be if your mind wasn’t fixed on the job. Countless times people got into difficulty because they let their emotions take over, and they lost their respect for the dangers.

Pushing Mike to the back of his mind, he walked on at a steady pace. Ahead of him, he could see the roof of his truck, and that was what he focused on. Until Avery drove by.

He could sense her presence as her car neared him; it was as if they were attached by an invisible thread. Swallowing, he fought the need to release his bear and run after her. But it wasn’t easy. None of this was easy.

For so long he’d dreamed about finding his mate, a woman who liked the outdoors, who would climb the mountain with him and swim in the ice-cold lakes. In his dreams, their meeting had always been casual, two people passing on a mountain pass and instantly recognizing the other for who they were.

Life didn’t work like that. But it was good to dream.

Reaching his truck, he pulled the door open and got in. Inserting the key in the ignition, he started the engine, and then swung around to head back out of town. He kept his speed within the limits, but only just. Maybe he should have insisted Avery come with him. But the idea had been to make it seem as if she were leaving on her own, maybe leaving town for good. If Mike, or anyone else watching, saw her leave with the local ranger, they would know she was planning to go into the mountains.

He conjured up an image of Mike, and then went over all the information he had on the guy. Not a lot. Taking over a business in Bear Creek was not unusual, and it also wasn’t unusual for a newcomer to keep to himself. Jacob gave a short laugh: a lot of townsfolk who had lived here for years kept to themselves. Shifters could be a secretive breed.

Which gave him an idea. There was a wolf shifter who lived in a cabin halfway up the mountain. Wyatt was his name. He’d lived there for years, after leaving Wolf Valley at the height of the trouble over there. Even with the town back under control, he had chosen to stay put in the home he’d built high above Bear Creek.

Jacob often stopped there for a cup of his dandelion coffee, or nettle tea. It was a good way to catch up on what was going on over on the mountain. Wyatt spent his days roaming the mountain in his wolf form, and heard and saw things no one else did.

Maybe he knew something about where Manny Maxwell and Joe Hislop went. He might even have some knowledge on the drug dealers themselves. If they existed. Jacob still wanted to believe it was a mistake. But Avery was certain, he could read it in her expression.

The road ahead of him narrowed; he’d nearly made it home on autopilot, as he often did. Nothing had jumped out as unusual, and he’d passed no other cars. That didn’t mean there wasn’t someone ahead of him. Keeping his mind on the road, he slowed his truck and made the last part of the climb to his cabin in low gear, ready for anything.

But there was nothing, only empty road, and then the gravel track leading to his home, where his mate was waiting.

“This your place?” Avery asked as he got out of the truck.

“It is. I’ve lived here since I left home. It was a ruin, but my brothers helped me fix it up.” He looked at his cabin proudly.

“A fixer-upper. Nice.” She gave him a look that made him wonder if he classed as a fixer-upper too. He had to admit, he usually let his hair grow to shoulder length, and in the winter, he happily grew a beard, which he shaved off when the weather warmed.

“There’s a barn around back, I store feed for the local wildlife in there during the cold months, but it’s empty right now. Let’s get your car inside.” He walked around the side of the cabin, and Avery got in her car and followed behind him.

Flinging the barn doors open, he stood back while she drove her car inside and got out. “Do you really think we need this kind of precaution?”

“You’re the cop. But I think the less anyone knows about what’s happening, the better.” He shut the barn door and pushed the bolt home.

“Do you get many people passing this way? It looks kind of remote.” Avery looked around at the trees surrounding the house and then at the view below. “Isolated.”

“I like the isolation,” Jacob admitted. “But to answer your question, yes, I do get people passing by. There’s a trail along the southern ridge of the mountain, you can see the front of the house from there.” He pointed toward the mountain ridge to the north.

She nodded. “Attention to detail, I like that.” She shouldered the pack she’d taken from the car. “Are we ready to go?”

“First, we should grab some more supplies. Or did you pack trail rations?” Jacob assumed his role as a ranger. They had to be prepared, especially with a possible storm heading their way in three days’ time.

“No trail rations,” Avery admitted. “But the grocery store was going to be my next stop.”

Jacob surveyed her pack. “Let’s go inside, I’ll make coffee and we can empty your pack and discard what we don’t need.”

“Hey, why empty my pack?” Avery sounded offended, which was not his intent.

“There’s no point doubling up in stuff,” he explained. “The lighter we can travel, the faster we catch up with your dealers.”

“Sounds reasonable.” Then Avery asked, “What if we get separated?”

“We won’t.” Jacob opened the front door of his cabin and went inside. Avery hesitated before following.

“How can you be so sure? It’s a big mountain.”

“I’ll find you, if you get lost.” He placed his own pack down on the kitchen table and turned around to fill the coffee pot. Jacob needed to do something; having his mate here in his home was almost too much. The scent of her filled his mind with images of them in bed. His primal need to claim her was overwhelming.

“If I get lost? What if we have to split up for other reasons?” She set her pack down on the table. Avery had no idea how impossible it would be for him to lose her. His inner radar was trained on her constantly. However, she was right, they might have to split up for any number of reasons.

“We split the packs so we both have what we need to survive alone. Food, matches, and water.” He let the aroma of fresh coffee fill the room before he continued. “Look, you have your job, and I have mine. Plus, I have a couple of two-way radios. Even if we get split up, we can keep in contact. I have done this before.”

She nodded, looking happier about the situation. “OK, I won’t tell you how to be a ranger, you don’t tell me how to be a police officer. I can live with that.”

“Although, technically, you aren’t a police officer, since you are on vacation.” He cracked a grin, which she returned. His heart contracted with longing, while a certain other part of his anatomy hardened. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen: blonde hair, blue eyes, with curves to die for. His mouth watered for one taste of her full lips, which hinted of a passion she kept hidden away.

There was no way he was going to treat her with anything other than respect. She might be an incredible woman, but to Avery their relationship was cop and ranger. He was going to have to find a subtler way to introduce the shifter and his mate relationship to her.

“Great, a mountain ranger who also thinks he’s a comedian.” But Avery’s hostility had ebbed. He was making progress. One step at a time.