A Pack of Love and Hate C38

Book:The Boulder Wolves Books Published:2024-6-3

I frowned.”Oh, I’m not here on behalf of Watt Enterprises,” August said. “Just came to get Ness set up.”
Jeb thought I’d hired August?
My uncle was still wiping his hands, arms a little tense, as though he felt threatened by August. I rolled my eyes. Even though Jeb wasn’t in wolf form, he was acting mighty territorial.
“Ness, can I grab the car keys? I wanted to go get some supplies.”
I dug them out of my bag and handed them over.
Once he’d driven away, I said, “Sorry about that.”
“‘Bout what?”
“Jeb’s strange behavior.”
August smiled as he lugged the sanders past the wisteria vines wrapped around the porch’s beams. “I’m used to people reacting that way. They see us coming and think we’re either going to steal their job or present them with a hefty bill.”
We carried the tools into the house that looked larger now that the furniture had been disposed of-Jeb had gotten some Boulders together over the weekend to clear the space. He’d asked me what I wanted to keep, and I said nothing. Not that there had been much left over from Mom and Dad; the previous owners had stripped the house.
As August set everything down, he stared around the bare space. “Never thought I’d come back here.”
“You and me both.”
He turned his attention to me. “You sure you want to live here?”
“I’m not really sure of much these days, but I don’t see myself staying in Jeb’s apartment forever. Besides, I want the forest on my doorstep. I want to be able to shift and come home without running into any humans.”
I gazed out at the woods cinching the property and at the grayed picnic table buried in overgrown grass. I could still picture the boisterous meals we’d shared, could still hear my mother debating the merits of medicinal plants with Isobel, and my dad discussing inventions that would revolutionize the timber industry with Nelson while I swung on the tire swing August had fashioned for me.
God . . . he really had been such an integral part of my life.
August touched my arm. “Dimples?”
I swallowed and pushed away the memory before it slicked my eyes. “When are you starting construction on your home?”
“When I have time.”
“Do you have a design in mind?”
He lowered his eyes to a dark knot in a floorboard. “I did. I’m not sure of it anymore.”
“If you need input, I’ll gladly offer my consulting services.”
He nodded as though filing my offer away in a drawer he was never planning on opening. I supposed he didn’t need the input of a girl with no experience or skill.
“Ready for your Parquet 101 class?” he asked after a moment.
I smiled. “I am.”
After quickly vacuuming a corner of the living room, he showed me how to work both sanders. Even though there shouldn’t have been anything remotely sexy about sanders, watching him operate the machines was mesmerizing.
“How old is Sienna?” The question popped out of my mouth before I could think better of bringing up his ex.
He flicked the big drum sander off. “What made you think of her?”
“You made me think of her.”
“I’d rather if I didn’t make you think of her.” He straightened and rubbed his palms against his jeans. “She turned twenty-one back in January. Why?”
I shrugged. “Just wondering.”
He eyed me. “You’re never just wondering anything.” He came a little closer, still skimming his hands over his jeans. “Age is just a number, Ness. I know some thirty-year-olds who act like teenagers and some teenagers who act like adults. What you’ve lived through, it made you mature faster.” In a voice so low goose bumps flourished on my bare arms, he added, “Not that it matters anymore, considering how you feel about me.”
For a moment, he didn’t move, and neither did I, but then his gaze dropped to my mouth, and he inclined his head, and I thought that if he bridged the distance, I’d toss Liam’s ban and Evelyn’s opinion to the wind and confess my lie.
A ringing erupted between us. He shut his eyes and took a step back.
Palming the nape of his neck, he slid his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll be right back,” he said, returning outside.
I glanced at him through the window, watched his tendons and muscles shift beneath his caramel skin, watched the perfect Vee of his back. If only I hadn’t missed him when the link had faded.
Sighing, I crouched and checked the floorboards for nails that would need to be removed. As I pried one loose, August’s heavy boots reappeared before me. I trailed my gaze up his legs that were set stiffly apart, at his knees that were locked as tight as his jaw.
“You told me nothing happened between you and Liam when you were out in the Rivers’ territory.” There was a sharpness to his tone that made me rock back onto my heels. “You two shared a cabin. A one-bedroom cabin.”
As I stood, I folded my arms. “Liam was worried about leaving me on my own in the enemy camp.”
“The Rivers aren’t our enemy,” August said through gritted teeth.
“I figured as much when Ingrid’s father asked Liam to arrange a wedding between you and his daughter.”
His face jerked back. “What? What are you talking about?”
“Ingrid wants to marry you, August. If you remain a Boulder, that is. If Liam and I fail, and you become a Creek, the proposal will be off the table.”
His eyebrows lost some of their slant.
“And I didn’t tell you about sharing a cabin with Liam, because I knew it would annoy you.”
“If nothing happened, why would it annoy me?”
“Nothing happened, and it’s bothering you now. And we’re not even . . . together.”
Silence stretched out like the ocean that had separated us after he’d reenlisted.
“Will you consider it?”
His chest rose and fell bumpily. “Consider what?”