Page 26 of The Crimson Wolf
“Of course, it’syou.”I scowl at him and grab his hand, ignoring the static electricity that jolts through me and lugging myself up.
“Are you just going to repeat everything I say now?” He steps closer, his fingers grazing across the throbbing spot on my head where the ball landed. “Maybe you got hit harder than I thought.”
I’m frozen for a moment, his warm touch seeping into my pores, but then I jerk back and swat his hand away.
“I’m fine.” I look down, straightening my shirt and wiping leaves from my backside. Seeing Cameron in his dry-fit grey shirt and athletic shorts sobers me from the pain in my head. He’s just as handsome as I remembered, even in these dorky camp counselor clothes. “Why did you throw a soccer ball at me?” I ask, looking around the field. Next to me, a co-ed team of kids have their eyes glued to us.
He laughs and throws the ball to the group of children, bringing a silver whistle to his lips and blows. A boy runs up to the ball and kicks it to the group. All eyes turn away from us and back to the children running around the green field.
“I didn’t throw a soccer ball at you. One of the kids just gained superhuman strength and kicked it over here instead of into the net.”
My eyes trail up and down his body. “Is one of them your kid?” I can’t imagine this dark and dangerous man fathering a child, but seeing him in these more casual clothes, the image starts to materialize in my mind.
He laughs again. “God, no. I’m just a volunteer coach.”
“Why?”
He scrunched his face. “Why? Why not?”
I shake my head. Of course, that was a stupid question. The ball may have done more damage to my frontal lobe than I thought. “Sorry, you just don’t seem the type of guyto volunteer to coach soccer out of the kindness of your heart.” Yep, didn’t make it any better.
He arches his neck back. “Shit, you really think poorly of me from our short meeting. May I remind you that I’m a park ranger? Coaching a community soccer team is exactly the kind of activity someone like me would do in my spare time.”
I shake my head. “Right. I’m sorry. I’ve just had a confusing day and am not feeling myself.”
The crowd watching the soccer game next to us erupts in boisterous cheers.
We turn our attention to the kids crowding around one child pumping his fists in the air. The goalie of the opposite team swoops up the ball from the net.
Cameron smiles, his dark eyes crinkling as he watches.
The edges of my heart start to melt watching him.
He turns back to me, and I steel my expression, feeling caught. He looks down at my empty paper coffee cup on the ground before leaning to pick it up. “Looks like I owe you a coffee. Stay for a few minutes, and I’ll take you somewhere with a decent drip.”
“Uhhh…” but before I can answer, he runs back to the field, turning to wink at me before he joins the celebrating team.
It looks like I can’t really say no. I should get back to Granny and start figuring out this mess, but then an ideapops into my mind. Cameron is a Park Ranger who seems to have a history with Jack. If anyone knows about the magical woods, it’s him.
18
Devilish Smile
“I’m sorry, Granny. I promise my phone just came back to life.” I rest my elbow against my car door as I stare outside my window, looking at the log cabin coffee shop Cameron insisted we meet at. Technically, I could have called Granny after plugging my phone in and before wandering around the park, but I needed to clear my head first.
“I promise I’m fine. I told you, I got stuck at Jack’s house when the storm blew through, and the power went out,so I couldn’t call.”
Granny clucks her disapproving worries in my ear, and I hold the phone away, rolling my eyes.
“I know, I know. I love you. I’ll be home in a few hours, and we can talk more. Okay, love you, bu-bye.”
She’s still grumbling as I hang up.
I sigh, feeling shitty. Of course, Granny’s worried about me. I’m here to investigate mysterious attacks and then go radio silence for over twenty-four hours. If I were my granddaughter, I’d be notifying the FBI, but Granny isn’t a normal Granny. Well, that may or may not be true. I can’t help the sliver of doubt nagging at the back of my head that Jack has gone completely nuts and made up an entire werewolf tale to get in my pants. Yeah, that would be a weird plan, but hey, it kind of worked.
Cameron has to know more than he’s letting on. If just one more person can confirm what he’s saying, maybe I’ll completely believe it and discover my past.
Before I leave my car and head inside, I pull up my email on my phone and type a message to Angela, letting her know there’s a family emergency that I’ll be handling for the next few weeks. After our last phone call, it didn’t sound like taking time off would be an issue. Normally, I’d put everything aside to focus on my work, but this is too big, and I know it will take a while to sort through. Even if Jack is crazy, I still need some time to figure shit out.
