Leave? She was nuts for even thinking that? The mere thought of her getting up and walking out of the door was simply unacceptable. Now that she was in his home, there was no way he was letting her go that quickly, especially not because of a stupid mix-up. No way in hell. “No! I don’t want you to leave.”
Calder quickly adjusted his tone. “Sorry, it’s just that I was expecting you tomorrow, not today. So when I came in and found someone here, I was on high alert. I guess all the adrenaline is still rushing through me.” The lie burned his tongue as he spoke it, but he wasn’t about to tell her the truth, fearing he’d come off too intense and scare her away. “Gerri told me you’d be here on Thursday.”
He watched as Daisy cocked her head to the side and quickly opened her mouth then closed it, deciding on if she should speak or not. “Umm—it is Thursday. I think your days might be a bit off.”
Calder stomped over to the fridge to look at the calendar, the sole item hanging there by one lone magnet. Stunned by the fact that he’d somehow walked around all day thinking it was Wednesday, it was his turn to feel like an idiot. “Huh. How about that, it is. Well, now I feel like an ass.” He turned back to Daisy, who busted into a full-on belly laugh.
“We make quite the pair already, don’t we?” she managed to chuckle between laughing fits.
“We sure do.” Finding her laugh contagious, Calder gave in and laughed with her, something he hadn’t done since he’d moved to Twisted Tail. Maybe the old saying—‘laughter is the best medicine’—was right, because in that one tiny moment with a girl he barely knew, he’d felt the weight of the stress he’d been buried under since taking over as Alpha rise and lift slowly away from his shoulders.
When the laughing finally faded away, Calder was the first to speak. “I’d planned on taking you out for dinner tonight, but”—he motioned to the crock pot—“that smells amazing, and I can’t even begin to remember the last time I ate something homemade.”
“Really? You don’t like to cook?” She looked shocked at his admission.
“I wish I knew how to cook, God knows I do, but somehow I end up burning everything I try to make. Even a simple pan of boiling water ends up as a smoking pot.”
“I don’t mind cooking while I’m here. Granted, we’ll need to hit up a grocery store, but it’ll be fun. I find the whole process of making new creations very relaxing, probably because of the repetitive motions.”
His mind went straight to the gutter, as did his wolf’s. “I’ll give her some repetitive motions.”
“There I go assuming again. I should have said, if it’s okay with you.”
He gave a nod and an agreeable grin. “Only if you’re comfortable doing so, and not every meal. I’d like to take you out as well. We don’t have a huge selection of restaurants here in town, but the few we have are good.”
“I’d like that. I can’t wait to see more of the area. I kind of had tunnel vision on the drive in, just wanting to make sure I found the right place.”
He wanted to lay it all out for Daisy, to let her know exactly what she’d be getting into by becoming his mate.
“I have to warn you, the pack is undergoing a lot of changes right now. I’m the new Alpha and I haven’t been here long, so please excuse the mess with all the construction going on. The last Alpha left the pack in pretty rough shape, but I have high hopes that I can pull it all together and get everyone back on their feet.”
“I grew up in an itty-bitty town in rural Wisconsin, so small-town life isn’t a problem for me. It’s quaint and quiet, a lifestyle that I find myself missing more and more. I thought city life would be neat, that a country girl like me could handle it, but yeah—it’s pretty hard to get used to, and talk about serious culture shock. I miss walking outside and seeing grass, and trees instead of concrete and traffic. And stars. Oh, how I’ve missed actually being able to see the stars in the sky! I’ve been in the city now for a few years and I still feel like I’m stumbling my way through everything. My life has been a series of trials and errors when it comes to big city living. Sorry, I’m babbling—I tend to do that when I’m nervous.”
“I like hearing about your life. Since I moved here I’ve been pretty isolated, and I definitely haven’t had anyone to just sit and shoot the shit with. But I have to ask, why are you nervous?”
Calder sucked in a deep breath, scenting the air around him. His wolf didn’t pick up even the slightest hint of fear—curiosity, yes; fear, no. He pulled up a seat next to her at the table, realizing that, imposing as he was, his size may have been part of the problem.
He bit back a groan as she twirled a long lock of hair around in her fingertips, looking as if she were trying to work out a complicated problem.
“It’s embarrassing really. I’m sure you knew the second you met me that I’m not like you. Er—what I mean is that I’m not a shifter, I’m human. Anyway, until I met Gerri, I’d never been around someone like her… or you.”
Calder loved the blush that covered her cheeks as she tried to spit out her brave admission that she’d never been around shifters. “I’m an open book; ask me any questions you’d like. I promise not to be offended.”