Chapter Eight

Paige woke the next morning feeling hung over. She was also confused as if she were still drunk. The light shining in from the edges of the window shade was bright, indicating she’d slept late. She didn’t have specific requirements with regard for time while she was in Silvertip, but she also wasn’t the sort of person to sleep all day.

Voices caught her attention. Whispering. She inhaled slowly, wondering who was speaking and then taking a deep breath to discern the scents were from Gavin and the reporter, Kelly. This woman was going to be the bane of her existence. Although, she was going to have to get in line behind Wyatt.

Blessedly, he had let her vent silently in bear form and then didn’t say a word as she worked her way back down the mountain, transitioned next to her car, and left him standing in the driveway. Small favors.

She knew it was hard for him to let her go. In a way, it made things worse for her that he insisted on being so damn nice. If he would just be more of an asshole, it would be easier to rebuff him.

Kelly on the other hand. Something about that woman made Paige cringe. She was persistent, seeing as she had once again shown up at the apartment unannounced, and from Paige’s bedroom, it would seem the woman was far too bubbly and chipper for this time of morning.

It also sounded like Gavin was trying to dissuade her and failing.

Paige groaned and pulled herself out of bed, grabbing a pair of yoga pants from the floor and shrugging them on. She pulled a U of C sweatshirt over her tank top next, and not bothering to look in the mirror, she ran her fingers through her hair and left the room.

“Oh, there you are,” Kelly declared as if there was some doubt about Paige’s location until that moment. “Did I wake you?” she asked, her voice too cheery, her smile too fake. She didn’t give a shit if she woke Paige. She seemed to believe if she was awake, the rest of the world should be also.

Today she rubbed Paige worse than yesterday. “I was sleeping. Yes.”

“I thought, since it’s a Wednesday, you’d be working already.” She tucked a lock of her stringy brown hair behind her ear and pushed her glasses higher on her nose. The skirt and blouse she wore were too large for her skinny frame and inappropriate. They weren’t working in an office for God’s sake. At least she had on flats, but she looked like she was heading to a job interview for a minimum-wage position she wasn’t even close to qualified for.

“I don’t have a set schedule, Kelly. It’s not imperative that I work certain hours as long as I get the research done.” Paige headed straight for the coffee pot, shooting a glare at Gavin, who didn’t look as contrite as she thought he should. In fact, he didn’t look anything. He ignored both of them and headed for the bedroom he’d claimed, shutting the door behind him.

“So, where shall we start today? How much time do you need to get ready?” Kelly’s chipperness was getting on Paige’s last nerve.

She spun around after filling her mug and faced the annoying reporter. “How about you go find something to occupy your time while I caffeinate and then take a shower. I’ll call you in an hour.”

“An hour?” Her voice rose. She glanced at her watch. “That’s like ten. Half the day will be gone.”

“Not if the day starts at ten. And today, my day starts at ten.” Paige nearly stomped across the room and opened the apartment door. She held it, making her point without words.

“Okay. Okay.” Kelly shoulders dropped. “But can we possibly set a schedule for the future so I’ll know what time we’re starting?”

“Are you planning to follow me everywhere I go for the entire summer?” Hell to the no.

“Well, yes.”

“How many hours do you need for school? How about you join me two days a week for a few hours. And we’ll see how it goes?”

“Two days a week?” Her voice squeaked this time. She shook her head, not stepping into the hall. “That will never work. I told my professor I would shadow you and report on the way of life in Silvertip. He’ll flip out if he thinks I’m only working a few hours a week.”

“I’ll call him.”

“You can’t do that. I’ll look like a fool.”

“Kelly.”

“Yes?”

“Get out of my apartment before I lose my mind. I need coffee and a shower. I don’t want to speak to you again for an hour. Got it?” Kelly might have a point about the hours she needed, but it wasn’t fair to Paige to have to babysit the woman with no warning. She really should get in touch with her own department at U of C and find out exactly what the arrangement was. Hopefully, her professor had emailed her back.

“Fine. You don’t have to be snippy. I’ll meet you downstairs.” She pursed her lips and stomped from the apartment.

Super.

Just what Paige needed. Now she not only had a fake gay boyfriend, a shifter who wanted to bite her and make her permanently his, but also a pain-in-the-ass reporter who wouldn’t take no for an answer and was going to make the task of compiling information about people who weren’t fully human incrementally more challenging than it already was.

Super.

Forty-five minutes later, when Paige stepped from the bathroom, she found Gavin sitting at the table staring at his phone. He was so engrossed that he jumped, dropping the cell on the table with a clatter as she approached. “Geez, Gavin. The place isn’t large enough for someone to be able to sneak up on you.”

“Yeah. Sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“You’re acting weird.”

“What?” His back straightened. Two seconds later, he pushed to standing and stuffed his phone in his pocket. “I’m not acting weird. How did things go last night? Did that Wyatt guy wear you down?”

“Fine. Change the subject. Deflect.” She poured a second cup of coffee, stirred in a spoonful of sugar and a dash of non-dairy creamer, and took a sip.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I stayed up kinda late working on my thesis, but other than that, I’m totally myself.”

“Who are you trying to convince?”

“Now who’s deflecting? How did it go last night?”

“Fine.” She sighed. “Okay, maybe not fine. Wyatt is relentless. He won’t take no for an answer.”

“Can you blame him?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She leaned against the counter. Even a cup and a half of coffee wasn’t enough to face twenty questions this morning.

“Have you looked in a mirror lately? I mean, other than earlier this morning.” He held his hand over his mouth to hide the grin.

“You’re talking in riddles.”

He groaned, dropping his arms to his sides. “Paige, you’re like a freaking cover model, honey. You know this. I’ve told you your entire life. You never listen to me.”

“That’s because you’re insane.”

“But I’m not. And Wyatt can see it just like every other guy who has twisted his neck to watch you walk by for the last, let’s see, fifteen years.”

“We were nine fifteen years ago.”

“Yep. And that’s when guys started to notice your looks.” He reached for a lock of her hair. “Natural blonde. Deep blue eyes. Perfect smooth skin. Even without makeup, you look like you stepped off a shoot.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

“I’m just saying, don’t blame Wyatt for noticing. He can’t help it. Now tell me about last night.”

“What’s to tell? His parents are wonderful. His mom’s a great cook. Their house is perfect. And Wyatt is too pushy.”

“What did he do?”

“He pried.”

“What did you tell him?”

She groaned. “Probably too much. He has a way of pulling shit out of me I never meant to say.”

“Did you tell him?”

“No.”

“Maybe you should.”

She shook her head vehemently. “No way. And we have a deal. You better not go behind my back.”

“You know me better than that. I’m only suggesting you talk to him. Give him a chance. He seems like a standup guy.”

“Which you deduced from the time we were in the entrance to the grocery store? Or was it the other day when you wandered through his house and left me inside so you could ogle his contractor.”

Gavin flinched. His face turned dark red. “That was low.”

Paige was shocked by his reaction. She often teased him about other guys. Why was he so defensive this time? “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I’d hit a nerve.”

Gavin turned away from her. “Well, you did. Maybe think before you speak next time.”

“Okay,” she told his back as he entered his room and shut the door a bit too hard.

Great. Way to start the day. The crazy reporter was downstairs waiting on her, undoubtedly ready to spend the day yapping until Paige went insane, and now Gavin was pissed at her for some unknown reason. Oh, and don’t forget Wyatt. He’ll probably play a role in the complete destruction of your sanity before lunch also.

»»•««

Sure enough, Paige’s phone vibrated in her pocket at eleven thirty, and she retrieved it to find a text from Wyatt.

Hope your day is going well.

That was it. One line. One line that was too nice. Too perfect. Too everything.

She stuffed the phone back in her jeans and shook thoughts of Wyatt from her mind as best she could.

For the next hour, Kelly followed Paige around while she spoke to several businesses in town. The grocery store manager agreed to let her set up a table to survey people anytime she wanted. The pharmacy let her put up a flyer. The library also set a stack of her handouts on the counter. She was hoping many citizens would contact her or at least not be blindsided when she went door-to-door eventually. She would need the participation of nearly everyone in town for her research. She’d found herself feeling a lot less pessimistic about the internship since Wyatt pointed out there were some legitimate aspects to the notion that the local citizens were in better health than other surrounding communities.

“Where are we going next?” Kelly asked as they paused on the sidewalk in the center of town. The woman looked bored. She even cocked her hip out. She hadn’t been excited about this morning’s plan, and even less excited when Paige had suggested they walk instead of taking a car. The center of town was only blocks from the apartment. It would have been absurd to drive.

Paige took a deep breath and wondered how she was going to survive this mousy creature. “I’m going to lunch. You can go do whatever you want while I eat.”

“We could get lunch together?” She stuck out her lower lip in a fake pout. “I don’t even know anyone in this town.”

“Me neither,” Paige lied. They were on the sidewalk outside the courthouse. “Listen, Kelly. I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m an introvert.”

She smiled. “I think I figured that out. And it’s perfect. We balance each other out.”

Paige shook her head. “No. We don’t. It might seem like we do, but I need downtime. Alone. Lots of it.”

“Oh.” Her face fell. She had so many damn faces it was easy to read her by the second. “Fine. So you want to eat lunch alone? Meet back here in thirty?”

“I was thinking more along the lines of not meeting back up today. You can’t follow me everywhere, Kelly. It’s not going to work. I’ll end up biting your head off. I don’t get along well with others.” Especially not annoying others.

Kelly pouted again, cocking one hip to the side and crossing her arms. “I have a job to do.”

“I get that, but you don’t need to shadow me eight hours a day to get your story. I mean, part of the day you surely need to compile your notes or whatever and work alone, right?” Paige hoped she was onto something. “I need time to gather my data too, enter it into the computer, play with the numbers. We both have separate parts to work on.”

That was the moment Paige realized Wyatt was approaching from behind. For the first time since she met him, she had never been so glad to sense someone in her life. When he reached her side and set a hand on her lower back, he was all smiles. “Hey, you must be Kelly.” He extended a hand.

Kelly’s jaw dropped open as she took his hand limply as if she’d lost muscle memory in her fingers. “Who are you?”

“Wyatt Arthur. My family lives here in Silvertip. We’re helping Paige with her research.”

“You’re helping me with my research?” She asked into his mind, her gaze still on Kelly’s face, which was slowly turning from shock to flirty.

Unbelievable. The woman was literally batting her eyes.

“Yep,” Wyatt responded into Paige’s head. “Right now I’m helping you ditch the reporter.”

“I could kiss you,” she returned, realizing too late what she’d communicated.

“There is a God.” He focused his attention on Kelly. “Mind if I steal your researcher for the afternoon? I need her for something personal. I promise to return her to you in one piece tomorrow.”

“That’s how you’re going to help me? By insinuating we’re about to go fuck in the nearest alley?” she shouted into his head.

“Hey, I’m just trying to get you an afternoon off. How you want to spend it is up to you. I’m not opposed to the fucking, but remember it was your idea.”

“Grrr.”

“Your silent growl is sexy as hell, babe.”

Kelly narrowed her gaze. “She has a boyfriend,” she stated smugly as if she were telling Wyatt something he didn’t know and thereby giving herself brownie points.

Wyatt shrugged. Shrugged. “I’ve met Gavin. I’m well aware. He’s a great guy. Did I give you the impression I was trying to steal Paige from him?” He widened his eyes as if he were shocked by the insinuation.

Kelly’s mouth fell open again. She shook her head. “I didn’t mean…”

“So, you’re good? You’ll call Paige tomorrow?” Before Kelly could answer, Wyatt had Paige spun around and facing the other direction. He kept his hand on her lower back and moved quickly down the sidewalk.

The spot where his hand met her jacket lit her on fire. She couldn’t concentrate on anything but how good it felt. Protected. Cherished.

She couldn’t breathe. Her jeans seemed too tight. The temperature was mild for late spring, but Paige felt overheated all of the sudden.

Wyatt either didn’t notice or chose to ignore her physical reaction. He whispered conspiratorially. “She’s still standing there. I can feel her gaze penetrating my jeans.”

“Your jeans? Why your jeans?”

He shrugged. “She likes my ass. What can I say?”

Paige swatted at him, her hand reaching across before she could stop it to land on his chest.

Wyatt caught her fingers in his and held them tight for several seconds, releasing her at the exact right moment just before she freaked way the fuck out. Did he know?

He angled her around a corner and down the street without saying a word, and then she spotted his truck. The next thing she knew she was inside the cab. The coat she’d left at his parents’ house last night was resting against the console. He was annoyingly thoughtful. “Where are we going?” she asked when he climbed behind the wheel.

“The Tarbens.”

“Alton’s family’s home?”

“Yes.”

“Now?”

He nodded as he started the truck. “Yep. You’ll be working with his family as much as mine, and I didn’t figure you’d want to bring along that reporter.” He shivered. “You’re right about her. She gives me the creeps.”

Paige put on her seat belt and sat on her hands. “That’s the truth. I can’t put my finger on it, but she’s not right. She showed up at my apartment this morning before I was out of bed. I wanted to throttle her.”

“What time was that?”

“Nine.” She bit her lip, realizing how stupid that sounded.

Wyatt chuckled. “Duly noted.”

“What?” She hated to ask.

“You’re not a morning person.”

“Not true. I can be a morning person when the situation calls for it. But today did not call for it. I’m not on a particular schedule for this internship. As long as I get the research done, no one cares what hours I keep. And you and I both know I don’t need three months to do this job.”

“Except Kelly doesn’t know that.”

“Right. Nevertheless, she acts like she’s my boss or I report to her. Or worse, it seems like she’s reporting to someone higher up about me.” She shuddered. “I swear if that woman…”

Wyatt stopped at a light, reached across the console, and grabbed Paige’s hand, tugging it out from under her thigh. He threaded their fingers together and settled their entwined hands on the console between them.

Paige stared at the connection, hyper-aware of two things—she had not wigged out, and the contact felt soothing. Her heart rate calmed. Crazy weird. She couldn’t decide if she should jerk her fingers free or let him touch her. For the first time in her life, she opted for number two. “Why aren’t you at work?”

“Took a half day.”

“For me?”

He shot her a grin. “Yes.”

“Oh.”

He shrugged. “When Beth called me this morning about meeting you, I thought this was the easiest arrangement.”

“Beth?”

“Tarben. Alton’s mom.”

“Right.”

“Her mate’s name is Allister. Alton has four sibling. None of them will be home. I thought you might like to meet Beth and Allister alone first.” He squeezed her hand, hesitating a moment and then continuing. “If I’m reading you correctly, it seems like you’re overwhelmed by crowds or at least having all the attention focused on you. I thought you might like to meet fewer people at a time.”

She stared at him, unable to speak or breathe. How did he know her so well? A warmth spread through her at his thoughtfulness and sensitivity and how observant he was.

He shot her a furrowed brow after a second. “What?”

“Nothing,” she whispered.

His face changed to a smile as he turned the corner. “Anyway, you’ll love Allister and Beth. I admit I didn’t know them well until recently when our families started healing their century-old rift, but I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time with them in the past several months since my sister bound to Alton and I found out my brother has had a long friendship with Austin.”

“There are so many of them. I’m not sure I’ll ever have it straight.”

“Yeah, and it doesn’t help that the kids’ names all start with A.”

He pulled off the main road, and she turned her gaze to the windshield to take in the dense copses of evergreens on both sides of the road. There were small patches of snow thawing in some places, but with spring in full swing, the city had probably seen the last of the snow for a few months at the lower elevations. She loved how blue the sky was this far from Calgary, emphasizing the effects of smog.

But mostly, she concentrated on the way it felt for Wyatt to hold her hand, subtly grazing his thumb over her knuckles, perhaps intentionally, perhaps absentmindedly. She knew in her mind she should pull away, put some distance between them, reassert herself as unwilling to give him a chance. But she couldn’t do it. It felt too good.