Chapter 26
Peyton spent the whole twenty-minute ride back to the lodge talking Abraham’s ear off. I spent it seething in the back. So, I was beyond relieved when we finally pulled onto his long driveway, and up to the lodge.
When we stopped, I slid across the backseat, and stepped onto the gravel drive as fast as I could. To my surprise, Abraham approached me immediately, using one hand to wrap around the back of my neck, fingers tangling in my thick hair.
“Hey,” he said simply.
I smiled. “Hey.”
“You hungry?”
My stomach took that opportunity to rumble. He must have heard because he smiled and directed me toward the massive house in front of us.
“I could eat!” Peyton piped up, coming around the other side of the truck to stand in our way.
I watched Abraham’s face to see how he’d handle this. If he invited her to eat with us, I was going to bed early, empty stomach or not. But, instead, he frowned.
“Don’t you and Paul have enough food? If not, I can gather whatever you want from the pantry.”
Peyton’s dark eyes dimmed. “No, we’ve got plenty of food,” she admitted.
Abraham smiled and patted her on the shoulder as he ushered me toward the door. “Great, then have a good night, Peyton,” he called as he left her seething in the driveway.
I held my tongue, but couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.
We got to the kitchen, and Abraham pulled out a stool for me at the large island in the middle of the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator door and stuck his head inside.
“Uh…” he began. I arched an eyebrow and waited for him to finish. He straightened up, holding a couple bags of deli meat. “Sandwiches?” he asked hopefully.
“That sounds perfect.”
He smiled his million dollar smile, and I swear I saw stars. How could this man be so beautiful, so kind, so gentle, and funny all at the same time? There had to be something I was missing. Some bad habit, or terrible skeleton in his closet. He couldn’t be this perfect.
“We got ham, turkey, or roast beef,” he interrupted my musings.
“Okay.”
His surprised eyes met mine. “Okay?”
“Yeah. I’ll have it all. Load it up.”
He smiled wide. “That’s my girl. An everything sandwich coming right up.”
I rolled my eyes, but smiled back. “Not your girl, McCoy.”
“Not yet,” he responded.
I scoffed, but didn’t deny it. Because if I had, it might have been a lie.
“How about some lettuce and tomato?” he asked.
“And mayo and mustard,” I added.
He nodded and went back to hunt down the extra ingredients. “Where can I find a cutting board and knife?” I asked.
“Um.”
I laughed. “That’s right. Your culinary expertise is a recent development. I’ll find them myself.”
“I was just thinking Ms. Smartypants. Now I remember the cutting boards are in the cabinet next to the sink, and the knives are in the drawer below that.” My eyebrows rose in surprise, and he rolled his eyes. “I’m not completely useless in the kitchen.”
I helped to slice up the tomato while he put our sandwiches together. We worked together in companionable silence, and it was nice and oddly familiar.
He placed the plates in front of two stools and returned to the fridge for a couple bottles of water. He pulled out a barstool for me and then took the seat next to mine.
Once I’d taken a few bites and a gulp of water, I turned to Abraham, and asked something that’d been on my mind for hours. “So, where are you taking me tomorrow?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“I don’t like surprises.”
“Why does that not surprise me?” He smiled behind his sandwich.
“Can I at least get a hint?” I asked sweetly, placing a hand on his thigh.
He froze in his seat, and turned wide eyes in my direction, first at my hand, and
then my eyes. His throat bobbed with a harsh swallow, and he took a long sip of water before answering. “Are you trying to use your womanly wiles to get me to spill my secrets?”
My head fell back with a loud bark of laughter. “My ‘womanly wiles’?” He nodded. “I wasn’t aware I had any ‘wiles’.”
He smirked. “Believe me, you’ve got wiles in spades.”
“Well is it working?”
He shook his head slowly as he finished chewing. “You have no idea.”
I waited for a few moments before I persisted. “Well?”
He assessed me for a few long seconds before scratching his stubbled cheek. “Okay, I’ll give you a hint.” I clapped my hands, my smile wide and expectant. “I’d do just about anything to make you smile that way,” he muttered. I had no time to respond to that because he kept speaking. “It’s somewhere you’ve never been before.”
I waited for more, but when it was clear he was done, I frowned. “Well, that wasn’t very helpful. How am I supposed to guess where we’re going with that?”
He laughed as he cleared our empty plates. “That’s the point, El. You’re not supposed to guess.”
I sighed dramatically which made him laugh again. “Okay fine. Can you tell me when at least?”
He rinsed the plates and placed them in the dishwasher. “I’ve cleared my afternoon, so I thought we could leave around one? Have lunch there?”
I smiled. “My day’s wide open.”
His expression turned serious, and he slowly walked around the island until he was right in front of me. “You know, the last time you were in my house, you didn’t do much smiling.”
I gulped. He was so close, his scent overwhelming my senses. “I didn’t have much to smile about then.”
He took a step closer, nudging my knees apart to make room for his hips. “And, now?”
I was trapped in his gaze. “Now it’s different.”
He scanned my face. “You’re different.”
I could only nod.
He leaned in close until his lips brushed against my ear. “I like seeing you happy. I want to keep making you happy.”
My eyes fell closed as a shuddering breath left my lungs. His warm lips traveled from the shell of my ear to my cheek where he pressed a slow, tender kiss that was far too brief.
He leaned back, and fire burned in his bright blue eyes. “You ready for bed?” he asked gruffly.
My mouth went dry, my eyes wide as I read between the lines.
Was he asking me to sleep with him?! We haven’t even kissed yet!
My heart picked up to an almost painful pace as my palms sweat. Mind racing, I tried to remember the last time I shaved, but couldn’t.
I’m not ready!
Abraham watched my reaction with shrewd eyes. Suddenly, his expression cleared, and his head tipped back with a hearty laugh. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me from the stool. Still laughing, he placed a kiss on top of my head, arm still wrapped around me as he lead us out of the kitchen.
“What I meant was ‘are you ready for your own bed’.”
My face heated painfully as I prayed for a sinkhole or flash flood to take me away.
How could I have been so stupid and presumptuous?
He leaned down until his lips were against the side of my face. “Don’t get me wrong, El. I’d love to wake up next to you tomorrow morning, but the time isn’t right. And, I’m not that kinda’ guy.”
I regained enough of my composure to ask, “What kind of guy are you?”
We’d made it up the first flight of stairs already, and Abraham didn’t miss a beat before responding. “The kinda’ guy who takes a beautiful woman on a few dates and makes her some kind of promise for the future before he makes love to her.”
The burning in my face had subsided slightly until now. I’m sure I resembled an overripe tomato at this point.
Part of me was a little disappointed I wouldn’t be spending the night wrapped in Abraham’s arms. The other was immensely relieved. I wasn’t ready. Not even close. Thankfully Abraham’s hormones weren’t overriding his common sense like mine seemed to be.
We made it to the third floor landing, and Abraham led me to the bedroom that had become mine. With embarrassment still burning my cheeks, I kept my gaze averted. His calloused fingers grasped my chin and tilted my face until I met his eyes.
“That all right with you?” He asked, his expression soft, but with a bit of cockiness.
I straightened and pulled my chin out of his fingers. “We’ll see.”
He smirked, a twinkle of mirth in his denim blue eyes. “That’s my girl,” he said before placing a chaste kiss on my forehead.
“I’m not your girl, McCoy,” I reminded him, trying to hide the smile on my lips.
He ignored me. “Night, El. I’ll come get you for breakfast.”
I nodded and retreated behind my borrowed bedroom door.
Who would have thought a midnight snack could be so sexually charged?
The next morning, I was dressed and ready for Abraham when I heard a knock at the door. I bounded over, and whipped it open, only to find Evey there instead of the man I couldn’t stop thinking about. The disappointment must have shown on my face, because Evey laughed, and pushed her way inside.
“Expectin’ someone else?” she asked with a knowing look.
My face heated. “Um. Well. No. Uh. Kind of?”
She laughed again. “I won’t take it personally.” I smiled gratefully. “Abey sent me to get you for breakfast. He said he had somethin’ come up, and couldn’t make it.”
My face fell along with my heart. I’d really been looking forward to that... outing later.
I would not call it a date.
Evey laughed again and linked her thin arm through mine. “Don’t worry, he said he’d still make it to your date later this afternoon.”
“It’s not a date.”
She shot me a sideways look. “Well then, why were you so glum about a second ago?”
I floundered for a response, and she laughed again, her wind-chime voice ringing through my ears, and reminding me to replace the plugs I’d taken out last night. I scooped them off the nightstand and returned to Evey’s side. “I’m just excited to go to this special place of his. I’m curious.”
“Uh-huh. Keep tryin’ to convince yourself of that, honey.”
I ignored her and changed the subject. We chatted about the night before at the bar and the cute guy Evey’d danced with as we walked down to breakfast. When we got to the kitchen, it was full of sunlight, boisterous laughter, and muscled men. If there wasn’t one in particular I couldn't stop thinking about, this room full of man meat might have tempted me. But, I was having lunch with the sexiest of them all.
As I stood there observing the activity in the kitchen, it was hard not to let my mind drift to more sinister thoughts. Was one of these men the killer we were looking for? Could one of them be plotting their next attack even now? There was just no way to know, and I had a bad feeling he was hiding in plain sight.
Evey grabbed us two plates, and we filled them to the brim before grabbing mugs full of steaming coffee. We found a couple seats down by Ms. Elsie, and I was glad. The elderly woman had spunk, and I’d immediately liked her, but hadn’t had any time to get to know her better.
“Hey there, Elizabeth, it’s nice to see you here again, sweetheart. Looks like the leg healed up nicely,” Ms. Elsie commented as Evey and I took our seats.
“Yes, ma’am it did. Hasn’t bothered me in a while.” I tucked into my eggs as Ms. Elsie prattled on.
“I can’t even count for you the amount of broken bones I’ve seen from these young wolves in my time. It’s a good thing Doc Kyle joined this pack when he did. We had a tough time explainin’ ourselves at the local hospital when we were there so often.”
“How long ago did he join?” I asked around a mouthful of bacon, using my hand to shield my poor manners.
Ms. Elsie looked up to the ceiling, squinting her eyes in thought. “Oh it’s been at least five years now, hasn’t it Evelyn?”
Evey nodded, her own mouth full of food. “Gotta’ be at least.”
“Yeah, Kyle was a great addition to this pack. And that mate of his is just an angel. She gave me this hush puppy recipe that is so good, it gives my mamaw’s a run for its money. And that woman could cook, I’ll tell you.”
“You’re a great cook Ms. Elsie. Did you learn from your mamaw?”
Ms. Elsie nodded. “Sure did. I was stuck to that woman’s hip from the time I could walk.”
Evey swallowed and spoke up. “Ms. Elsie, did you hear Abey’s been cookin’ for Ellie here?” she asked with a giggle.
Ms. Elsie’s eyes went wide. “Our Abraham? Cookin’?” Evey nodded with a wide grin and mischief in her blue eyes. Ms. Elsie shook her head. “Has it tasted all right, dear?” She asked me, her voice full of real concern.
I laughed loudly. “It’s mostly been easy stuff like sandwiches. Don’t worry about me.”
“Speakin’ of sandwiches, have you heard about the special ones Abraham used to make when he was just a pup?” Ms. Elsie asked, eliciting a loud hoot of laughter from Evey. I shook my head with a smile, eager for the story. “Well, they were real simple, see, as they only had two ingredients: bread and syrup.”
My mouth fell open. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Ms. Elsie shook her head. “I’m tellin’ you the truth. He’d make himself syrup sandwiches every afternoon. He was too short to reach the counter, so he’d slap the bread right on the floor, and stand there with the syrup, and just drip it all over the place.”
Evey was howling with laughter, and I was having trouble not joining her. “He thought he was such a culinary genius,” Evey wheezed, wiping a tear from her eye.
“I’ve never heard of anyone making a syrup sandwich. It couldn’t have tasted very good.”
“Oh, they’re delicious, you should try one sometime,” Abraham’s voice came from behind, startling me. He snagged a piece of bacon off my plate and took the seat next to mine. My heart stuttered a few beats and took off running at his unexpected arrival.
“I think I’ll pass,” I answered drily.
“You been givin’ away all my secrets, Ms. Elsie?” Abraham asked in mock seriousness, smiling wide at the older lady.
“Oh just the one, honey. And, it’s not much of a secret. It’s almost like pack knowledge at this point, and if our Elizabeth here’s gonna’ be a part of us, she needs to know these kinds of things,” Ms. Elsie reasoned.
“Yeah, I’m hopin’ we can get her to stick around for a bit,” Abraham answered, eyes locked on mine, their blue depths drowning me. “I’m finishing up some work, but should be ready to leave soon. That good with you?”
I nodded. “I’ve cleared my schedule for you today,” I reminded him with a smile.
He nodded, and took my hand, grazing his lips across my knuckles. “I’m a lucky man.”
I raised a brow at him. “Don’t forget it.”
His smile turned sincere. “Never,” he promised.
With that, he left the table, and the room dimmed without his light in it.