After her shower, Autumn ate the food Garrett brought for her and then brought the empty tray out of the room. She had never been the type to lie around in bed all day. The whole day had gone by while she was recovering. In another hour or so, the sun would go down again.

Something else was cooking in the kitchen. When she walked down the hall in search of Garrett, the savory smell of a home cooked meal brought comfort to her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed a home cooked meal. Most of the time, she grabbed something to eat from the tavern before and after her shifts. She missed all the times she spent together as a family over the dinner table. With Dad gone and Hope pursuing her dreams of going to college, there wasn’t anyone left to prepare meals for. Except herself. One of the plans she’d had for the tavern was to revamp the menu with some of her signature dishes, but that plan and many other expansion plans had been put on hold.

When she turned the corner, she wasn’t surprised to find Garrett in the small den near the fireplace. He stood there quietly, arms crossed, looking down at the hearth. No fire was lit. No wood was burning. He was deep in thought, so she felt hesitant about interrupting him. But then he turned around just before she could make a quick left turn in the direction of the kitchen area. His eyes lit up and his lips turned upward into a smile.

He came to her immediately and then took the tray from her hands. “Feeling any better?”

She nodded. “The aspirin and food helped.”

Still a little embarrassed by her actions in his bedroom, she tried to divert her attention away from his body. The memory of his arousal straining against his pants would not leave her.

“You didn’t have to get up,” he said. “I’ll bring you whatever you need.”

“‘I’m fine, really,” she replied, following him into the kitchen. “Besides, I was getting bored in there by myself.”

He cleared his throat. “About that…I needed to shift.”

“I know. You don’t have to explain.”

Her gaze fell on his shoulder where the bloodied bandage once was. The wound had almost healed completely.

She followed Garrett to the kitchen. He put the dirty dishes into the sink and began to wash them. She observed him as his strong, solid hands gripped the sponge, moving it back and forth over the plate. Hands that had just been all over her body.

She turned away from him, took a deep breath, and then released it slowly. “Is this your main home?” She walked about the kitchen, taking a look at everything from the various magnets and notes stuck on his refrigerator to the variety of canned goods in his pantry.

“Yep sure is. I haven’t been here in about three weeks.”

“And your family? Where are they?”

“My brothers? We’re all spread out over the place in Aspen Valley. Brock’s the closest to me. He lives about ten miles up the road. Dane has property on the other side of Tellevue County, and Raoulf just lays his head wherever. I can’t keep track of them.”

She smiled. “Sounds like you’re all really close and get along.”

“Close, yes.” He laughed. “Get along…only when we want to.”

She chuckled. “With four of you, I can only imagine the fights you get into. Dane’s the Alpha, right?”

“Right. He’s the calm one of the bunch, but we don’t let that fool us anymore. We keep our distance if he ever gets mad as hell. Brock’s outgoing and just about everyone around town know him. Raoulf’s a little reserved and keeps to himself.”

“And you?”

He paused for a minute as if in deep thought. “I’m just me. Nothing really stands out.”

“Give yourself a little credit, huh?” she told him. “You know what I think about you?”

He finished the dishes, turned around, and leaned against the counter. “I’m all ears.”

“You’re observant, brave, and attentive. You put other people’s needs before your own, don’t you?”

“Maybe, but that also sounds a lot like someone else I’ve just met.”

He winked.

Autumn smiled, only wishing she were as brave as him.

“You’ve given up a lot to make sure that your sister could attend school,” he said. “You two must have a very good relationship.”

“We do now, but it wasn’t always like that. My sister and I used to fight all the time. Innocent sibling rivalry. Fights about what we wanted to watch on television or where we wanted to go for a family vacation. That sort of stuff. She was a mama’s girl and I was daddy’s angel. That worked for us for a while. When mom died in the car crash, Hope went into deep depression and distanced herself. Flunked a year of school. Got involved with drugs. On top of that, our family’s personal and business debt were mounting. It wasn’t a very good time for our family. Sadly, the thing that brought me and my sister back together was Dad’s death. She’s all I’ve got. If we have any distant relatives anywhere, we’ve lost contact with them.”

“So with all that you went through, that just means you understand each other better now. Right?”

“That’s a good way of looking at it.”

“And you’re young enough, smart enough, and determined enough to work on a family of your own now,” he offered.

Her gaze fluttered downward. “I hope so. I’m not exactly free and clear yet. This whole thing with Simon is threatening to ruin my life. My dad valued Pack life and the idea of family, even if we weren’t blood-related, but I don’t think this is what he meant. He would never have given me away to Simon if he knew what he’d grow up to represent.”

Garrett placed an arm on her shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “Consider Simon out of the picture. I’m not going to let him get to you again or ruin your life. You have my word.”