New Beginnings (8 page)

She considered moving closer to maybe catch
both sides.

“Ha, nice try. Not going there either.” She
sighed heavily. “Sure, you got me off. You want a medal for it?
Because I have news for you, I do a better job of that on my own.”
She slammed the phone down and marched into her bedroom, forgetting
whatever she was doing in the kitchen.

She smelled the sharp tang of Liam.
Something wasn’t right with him, but Slater wouldn’t listen. She
stayed hidden in the trees, watching as Liam flittered along the
edges of the forest. It looked as if he were considering paying
Jess a visit.

As much as she hated using the darker tricks
in her repertoire, she knew she had to do something to protect the
woman, whether or not she needed it. She melded into the shadows
and closed the distance. She was weightless and formless but knew
the perfect way to freak the bastard out.

She swirled up around him like a black
whirlwind, whispering, “Run, Liam, run for your life. She is
protected. You are no match. Run.”

His dark beady eyes darted around, searching
for her. He broke out into a sweat and began to tremble. She almost
felt bad when he started mumbling incoherently, but at least he ran
for the road this time, and not the cabin.

She dropped the shadows and ran after him to
make sure he indeed went home. Something was very wrong with that
wolf, and she wished she knew what.

* * * *

Jess sat in a booth at Edenton’s Best Diner,
which was the only diner in town. Instead of the white Formica and
red vinyl booths, it felt more like a country inn. She took a deep
breath and savored the aroma of fresh ingredients and home
cooking.

A young man with dark hair brought her a
menu. He gave her a shy smile. “Evening Ma’am.”

“Just Jess.” She answered pleasantly.

Even with his coffee and cream skin, he
blushed. “I’m Lincoln.” He shoved his hands in his back pockets and
ducked his head. Thick dark lashes framed his pale green eyes and
freckles were scattered across his face. He was long and lean and
almost too pretty. Maybe it was his shy demeanor. “I hear you’re
the one getting ready to reopen the bar?”

She nodded. “I am, just as soon as I finish
remodeling.”

“Let me know when you’re ready to order.” He
walked over to help a couple in another booth.

Dropping her eyes, she looked through the
menu for a few minutes.

She settled on what she wanted and looked up
in time to find Lincoln stepping up to the end of the table. He was
quick and efficient. Hmm, maybe she could convince him to leave the
diner and work at the bar.

Lincoln looked young, but she was willing to
bet he was older than he appeared. She could scent something
different about him, but she couldn’t place it.

“How old are you Lincoln?”

“Twenty-five.”

“What are you?”

He glanced at the empty seat next to her.
“May I?”

She nodded.

Lincoln sat. His eyes scanned the room
though his head never moved, and then he leaned in close to whisper
in her ear, “Nephalim, but no one knows. Please don’t tell
anyone.”

Her eyes opened wide and she blinked a few
times. She never knew anyone with angel blood, and was a little
surprised that he trusted her with the secret. She would honor it
to her dying day. “I won’t tell a soul.” Aww, he was blushing
again.

“Thank you.”

“So, do you like working here?”

His gaze darted to the kitchen and back
before he barely shook his head no.

“Think I might be able to steal you away
from here, and you could work at the bar?”

He nodded slowly. “I think I’d like that.
Mom is too protective of me and.” He took another look around and
whispered, “I’m tired of her always watching over me.”

She struggled not to widen her eyes.
Twenty-five and working under mom’s ever watchful gaze. No wonder
the young man was shy. “Come by the bar tomorrow and we can discuss
it.”

“Alright,” his eyes sparkled when he smiled.
“I need to get back to work.”

* * * *

Liam stepped into the diner and watched as
Jess charmed Lincoln. Not that it ever took much to charm sissy
boy. That kid was always dazzled.

The smile Jess gave the girly-man pissed
Liam off. Why was she so friendly to every damned person but him?
He had tried several times to go help put the bar together, but she
was always leaving when he came by, no matter what she was working
on.

He slipped onto the bench opposite her, and
her expression soured when he asked, “Would you like some
company?”

“No.”

Taking his time, he folded his hands in
front of him and smiled sweetly. “Look, I want to apologize.”

Her eyes flashed. “I seem to be hearing that
a lot lately. Look, unless someone forgot to mention some rule
about being buddy-buddy with the Alpha and his second, I’m happy to
be a participating member of the pack without socializing with the
top tier.”

“No rule, and I’ll leave you alone if that’s
truly what you want, but hear me out for just a moment.”

She sighed, “Hurry it up then.”

He fought back a snarl and took a deep
breath, refusing to let his anger show. “I want to get to know you.
Is there a reason we can’t get together and have a meal, maybe a
drink?”

“I’m not interested. You can go now.”

Once again, he had the sudden urge to leave,
but he fought it. She shouldn’t be able to do that. Only the alpha
should have that kind of power of suggestion, and it didn’t seem
like she was trying. “Can I ask why?”

“You just did, but I don’t feel the need to
answer.”

Lincoln brought her tea and she took a long
sip. The waiter walked away and her gaze slid to Liam and then out
of the booth to shoo him off.

Liam took the hint and left her there. He
stormed out of the diner and slammed his truck door. She wasn’t
going to give him a chance when he knew good and well she was
willing to hang out with Brody every day. If she wasn’t banging
him, why the hell else would he spend so much time with the
cunt.

Maybe she was taking the slow road to
seducing Brody. Every other woman in town seemed to want him. She
would be no different.

The chink of the staple gun broke up the
silence. Brody was helping Jess reupholster the booths in the bar.
His gaze kept sliding over to her like he wanted to ask
something.

She finally stopped and turned to him with a
raised brow. “What the hell is it?”

One corner of his mouth tipped up. “Slater
says you’re avoiding him.”

“Avoiding him?” She snorted. “Why? Because
I’m not hanging out with my neighbor every second I’m home?”

He shrugged, “Says you’re never home. That
you don’t return his calls. Oh, and you always have an excuse to
leave when he shows up to help.”

“Fuck, is it mandatory I call him back when
he doesn’t actually ask anything? He just calls like he wants to
chat and I don’t chat with my Alpha without a reason. Or am I
expected to?”

“Whoa now, I didn’t mean anything by that.”
He held his hands up in apology. “I was just curious what was going
on.”

She sighed and sat down on the floor. “Well,
after the meet and greet, I let him come over for a steak dinner.
He said something about not dating his wolves, which is great
because I don’t want to date a wolf. Then he got all pissy because
I…,” she frowned, wondering if she should tell him about their
conversation.

“He told me. He says he wasn’t jealous, but
he sure sounded it. It’s funny. For as long as I’ve known him, he’s
never hooked up with a wolf. He doesn’t. Something about his first
mate. He’s over her, it’s been a hundred plus years, but he won’t
go there again.”

“So why is he freaking? I was just curious
because you’re a great big teddy bear, and I didn’t want to hurt
you by bringing up something painful. It’s obvious you’re still
hurting. And I’m sure you’re not in my future.”

Brody glanced over with a light in his deep
blue eyes. “No offense, but I think I’m glad.”

She laughed. “Why do you say that?”

He sat down and pulled over his basket full
of sub’s he had brought with him. “Want one?”

“Sure, but I told you I’d feed you.” She
smiled though. He was going to make Fallon a very happy woman.

They sat on the floor between two benches,
but the tables weren’t in yet. The place was really coming along.
He shook his head, “You feed me every evening, and any day I that I
don’t have a motorcycle to work on. It’s the least I can do.”

“Well, thank you. You’re a good guy.”

“So, what I mean is, I feel like I found a
good friend. I’m nowhere near ready for a romantic relationship.
You’re just easy to get along with, and you don’t come on to me
like a lot of women around town do.” A shadow crept onto his
face.

“And there’s one in particular who’s awfully
persistent.”

“Yeah, unfortunately.” He pulled out two
bottles of tea and passed her one. “So, why don’t you do
wolves?”

“Uh, can you keep a secret?” She
frowned.

“Yeah.”

“I left my last pack because I managed to
drink too much moonshine brewed for us weres and slept with my
Alpha.”

His head tilted and his brow wrinkled.
“Okay.”

Jess shook her head. “He was one of those
Alpha’s who thought he should be able to sleep with whichever
female wolf was in his pack whenever he wanted. He left me alone
because I ran everything about his bar, but he wouldn’t sell it to
me. At least until I slept with him. That was when the hounding
began. I needed to get out of there before I considered strangling
the prick.”

“Well hell, that is kind of funny.” He even
chuckled.

“Why is that?” She sipped the tea, realizing
the tale sounded pretty moronic.

“Let’s see. Slater’s freaking because you
might be interested in me, and you aren’t. You’re not going after
any wolf.” A grin broke free on his face.

“Why? You think he’s interested in me?” She
laughed out loud.

“Oh, I wouldn’t doubt that. He watches you
like a hawk when you aren’t paying attention. He won’t admit it
though.” Brody shook his head. “He doesn’t want to get involved
with a wolf because of his past, but somewhere in the back of his
mind it’s a possibility for him.”

That one vision led her to believe they’d
wind up sexing at some point, but she didn’t really want to think
about that.

“Well, I won’t go there. I don’t do long
term relationships. I have this nasty habit of knowing how it’s
going to end. And since I’m the only one who pays attention to my
visions, I will avoid any that would end badly.”

His gaze popped back up to her. “Have you
had visions about Slater?”

“Not like that. I’ve avoided touching him.
It keeps most of them at bay.”

“So why don’t people listen?” He asked with
real curiosity.

“Take my best friend for instance. I’ve told
her a million times whenever her current flavor was going to screw
up. She won’t listen at all anymore because she’s convinced she’ll
prove me wrong.”

“Why won’t she listen if she knows you’re
right?”

“She always makes bad choices.” Jess laid
her head back. “She’s with a man who is cheating on her and will
continue to over and over again until she finally catches him in a
year or two.”

“What? And she won’t listen?”

“No. The bastard deserves an Oscar. He’s
always the perfect gentleman around Fallon.” Jess shuddered. “I’d
rather not think about that though.”

Neither of them said anything as she thought
about Fallon’s mess.

At least Slater apologized when he fucked
up, and he wasn’t trying to get in her pants. She owed him the
chance to at least talk. Maybe even an apology, but she wasn’t very
good at those.

“You know, full moon is in a couple nights.
Slater’s going to expect you to be there for the hunt, especially
your first time. You are joining the pack officially then, aren’t
you?”

“Well yeah. It’s not like I’m totally
avoiding him. I just haven’t had a reason to call.”

“I call bullshit on that.” Brody
challenged.

She shrugged and finished her sandwich.
“Thank you again, but I’m getting back to work. I want to finish
the bar by the weekend. And I have to say, I appreciate all of your
help.”

“Thanks. It’s nothing, and it’s kept my mind
off… things.”

“Well, anytime you need a distraction,
you’re welcome to come hang with me. I won’t push or pry. I’ll just
offer you a home-cooked meal or a beer.”

“I know. You’ve been great. I can actually
relax around you,” he nudged her shoulder before getting up. “As
for me. I need to head out.”

She watched him go, and thought about the
last couple of weeks. Time and time again Slater showed up to help,
and attempt to apologize. Every time, she shut him down, but he
didn’t argue, didn’t insist, just turned around and left her
alone.

It was time to suck it up and be an adult
about the situation.

* * * *

Liam watched as Brody drove away. Jess was
still moving around the bar, but the blinds were closed so he
couldn’t see what she was doing.

He walked up to the front bar and
knocked.

She threw the door open, her purse slung
over her shoulder. “Hi Liam, I’m just on my way out. Is there
something you need?” Her haughty tone was a slap in the face.

He forced a pleasant smile and said, “I
wanted to offer my services. Need any help around here?”

“No thanks. Like I said, I’m taking off.
Thank you though.” She eyed him until he stepped back out of the
way. “Maybe another time.” It came out cold but she seemed to be
making an effort.

So he tried harder. “Why don’t I take you to
dinner?”