Six

Annie finished chopping the pepper and dumped it into the cast iron pot. She added the meat to start browning while she chopped the onion.

Blister had stayed all day, moving back and forth between the kitchen and outside. Why he stuck around, she wasn’t sure, but she thought it might have something to do with the cheesecake foodgasm she’d had when he first got here.

She blushed again just thinking about it. But she loved food, what could she say. Sometimes she vocalized it. So what.

He entered the kitchen through the back and even though she wasn’t looking, she knew it was him by how quietly he moved.

She smiled to herself. “Hey. How’s it looking out there?”

“Good,” he said.

She shook her head. He was a man of few words.

“You want to help me?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder.

Crap. What a mistake. He was the picture of sexy hotness with his hair disheveled and his black t-shirt stuck to his fine muscles.

“What do you need?” He walked behind the bar, taking all the extra space.

It was fine. Maybe he’d accidently touch her. She’d given him as many subliminal messages as she could but it wasn’t working. Apparently her flirting skills were nil.

“Know how to cut an onion?”

“I can manage. Let me wash my hands.”

Annie stirred the meat, peeking at him from the corner of her eye. His strong back muscles worked as he lathered his hands. Dear lord, she had to stop ogling him. He wasn’t a piece of meat, he was a person. One who wasn’t interested in her the way she was him. She needed to respect his boundaries.

Dragging her eyes away, she started pulling spices out of the cabinet. Chili powder, cumin, cinnamon.

Blister dried his hands and took up station beside her. Carefully, he chopped the onion into fine cubes.

“This good?” his voice was so soft she hardly recognized it. He seemed lost in his task. Like he’d forgotten to be harsh.

“Perfect,” she murmured.

She added the spices, and pulled a bottle of beer from the fridge, popping the cap and pouring half of it into the pot before taking a drink.

“Where do you want these?” Blister asked, setting the knife aside.

“Just toss ‘em in.”

He reached in front of her, adding the onions to the pot while she stirred.

“Chili?” he asked.

Annie grinned. “Mm hm. Do you like chili?”

He nodded.

“Good. You sticking around for dinner?” The hope in her tone was obvious and part of her wished he wouldn’t notice. There was a fine line between flirting and being pathetic.

“Actually…” He stepped away from her, going to stand over by the sink. “I thought I might take you up on your offer.”

Her offer. Did that mean what she thought it meant?

“To stay in your storm shelter. Just, you know, until the cleanup is finished and I have time to set up a new place for myself.”

“Sure, yeah.” She nodded, trying not to give away her excitement. “That won’t be a problem at all.”

“I’ll just need to go home and grab some clothes.”

“Okay.” She couldn’t look at him. If she did, he’d see her giddiness. And for sure, she needed to calm down. This didn’t mean anything. He needed a place to stay. She needed help cleaning up. It was quid pro quo.

But what if?

What if this was how they’d get to know each other better? Even if he just wanted to be friends. It’d be better than nothing.

He maneuvered past her, pausing at the door. “I’ll uh, I’ll be back in a while.”

She glanced at him, and it was mistake number two. His gaze was one she hadn’t seen from him before, full of emotion she couldn’t decipher. And it was impossible to look away. She wanted to run to him and hug him. He looked like he needed one. Or hold his hand, if a hug was too much. Or… maybe she could just smile at him like she always did and that would be enough.

Her lips curved on their own. “I’ll save you dinner.”

With a sharp nod, he escaped through the door.

When she’d set the chili to simmer, she started gathering pillows and blankets and other items Blister might need in the shelter.

Annie grinned to herself. She was going to make him feel so comfortable he wouldn’t even miss his tent.

***

As Blister pulled into DTD, he was still troubled by his decision to stay at Annie’s, but there was no way he’d leave her there alone right now. Besides, last night had been hell on his wolf.

He couldn’t bring himself to set up the tent she gave him. It was both a sad reminder of what he was, and special. Like a keepsake, he’d packed it away in the attic of the big house with all his other valuables. Later he’d get another one. For now, he’d take her offer.

He found Drake at the practice field and when he would’ve drove right by him, his alpha waved him over. Blister thought about ignoring him, but he’d skipped out on his brothers today and he felt bad about it.

Pulling to a park, he got out and sauntered over to where Drake leaned against the fence.

“Where have you been?” he asked, casually.

“Helping the cats.”

“The cat’s huh?”

Blister nodded, unwilling to add anything.

“You’ve been hanging out with Annie, right? Is that it?”

Blister stiffened. “It’s not what you think.”

“It isn’t? Because what I think is that you’ve found your mate and you don’t know what to do with her.”

Blister shook his head. “You’re wrong. I know exactly what to do with her.”

Drake smiled wide, a laugh bursting forth. “Well, alright then,” he said, clapping Blister on the shoulder. “Look, I’m happy for you, man. You deserve everything this sweet mated life has to offer.”

Blister jerked his head back to look at his alpha. “I told you, it’s not like that. I’m not claiming her. I’d never…”

Drake frowned. “Wait, what? What do you mean you aren’t claiming her? Of course you’ll claim her.”

Blister shook his head, growing frustrated. “No. I won’t do that to her. She deserves better than… me.”

“Wait a second. So, you plan on watching your mate find happiness in another?”

Once again, the idea stole the breath from him, but it was the right thing to do. “Yes.” Blister’s voice was small and choked.

“Bullshit,” Drake cursed. “Your wolf will never stand for it.”

“My wolf is damaged. It won’t be easy, but I’ll control my animal. Whatever she needs. That’s what I’ll do.”

Drake was quiet, staring out at the dirt covered oval. “And what if the thing she needs is her mate? Huh? What will you do then?”

“Nothing good can come of it.”

“You didn’t answer my question, Blister. What if what she needs is you?”

Blister stared at the faint scars on his hands. “I’m the last fucking thing she needs and you know it.”

“No. I don’t. Listen, don’t miss out on the best thing to come your way just because you have a few problems. I’m willing to bet she has a few of her own if you were to dig a little. Wouldn’t you like to help her fix them? Doesn’t the idea pull at that internal possessive instinct?”

Blister lifted his head to look at his alpha.

“She’d feel the same way. She’s as much for you as you are for her. You should give her a chance.”

It wasn’t that simple. It really wasn’t. Even if Annie would be able to handle his shadows, he wasn’t ready to let anyone in there. It was a sad, shitty place full of pain and past mistakes. An internal scar nobody could begin to understand.

Especially her. Her and her sunny disposition. Her and her sweet smiles. Her encouraging eyes. Her tender touch, which he’d only felt once. The idea that she might touch him again sometime was basically the only reason he wasn’t neck deep in a pit of despair over this whole thing.

“I’m afraid of hurting her. Scaring her. I dunno. I’m afraid of changing her. Of fucking up so bad I can never come back from it. I can’t… you know, sleep in a bed. How can I have any kind of relationship with her when she’s so perfectly normal?”

“Things aren’t always as they appear,” Drake muttered cryptically.

Blister’s brow furled. “What does that mean?”

Alpha pushed off the fence. “It means… get to know your mate, asshole. How can you figure this out if you don’t even know the first thing about her?”

“I do know the first thing about her.” His tone was defensive, but he didn’t care.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you know her twin brother left her after their parents died, to run everything by herself. The family business. Their parent’s home. Bank accounts, etc. He just… left her on her own. Been gone five years and never looked back.”

Shit. She’d mentioned her brother in the shelter. “How do you know this?”

Drake shrugged. “Ella.”

Blister squinted into the setting sun. “Fucker.”

“Yeah.”

“It explains some things.”

Drake raised an eyebrow.

“She’s probably lonely as hell now that her friends are busy.”

“So be there for her. Now’s your chance.”

“It’s not that easy. She has a business she needs to think about. Appearances to keep up.”

“So?”

Blister shrugged. “So. Away from the track, people don’t like me much. They find out she’s been talking to me, they might take it out on her business.”

Drake shook his head.

“What would people say about a pretty girl like her being with me, huh? You know this town would light up the gossip line. I just don’t want any of that for her. I want her to live a normal happy life like she deserves.”

“You mean you don’t want any of that for you.”

Blister kicked at the dirt with one booted foot. Damn it. “Yeah, okay? Is that so bad? I don’t want to hear what people will say about us. I don’t want to be the reason her business fails. I don’t want to be the one who brings bad things to her life. It’s real simple.”

“Quit this. Stop trying to talk yourself out of happiness. It’s stupid and I’m not going to let you do it.”

Blister shook his head. Drake didn’t understand. But one thing was true: Blister needed to know more about his little blond angel.