He furrowed his eyebrows. “No.”
“No?”
“I’m coming with you.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
Barrett crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve been stuck in this house for days. Besides this morning and getting my car, I’ve hardly even set foot outside.”
“But…” I frowned.
He stepped closer to me, my entire body practically buzzing from the close proximity. I could feel his body heat, and it was hard to focus on anything else.
“Let me come with you, Eryne. Please. I need to see the town, too. Get a feel for what’s going on.”
“Fine,” I relented, letting out a sigh. “But you can’t get in my way.”
He raised his hand. “Scouts honor. I’ll just bring my laptop and stay at a table in the corner.”
“Were youactuallya Boy Scout?” I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest.
The man just hummed. “We had our own version in Walnut Ridge. Wolves only.” He winked. For some reason, I could picture little Barrett, dressed up in a uniform, running around with the other kids on a camping trip, and the thought made me smile.
“So… that’s where you’re from? Walnut Ridge?” I asked, wanting to know more about the mysterious man in front of me. I’d never heard of it before.
Barrett nodded. “Yeah. It’s up in Vermont. Just a few hours away from here, actually.”
Vermont.My heart sank. I knew he wasn’t fromhere,but something about knowing he was so far away just drove home the fact that at some point, he would leave. It wasn’t like Ireallyexpected him to be my knight in shining armor, here to sweep me off my feet, but I guess I’d just hoped that somehow…
I shook the thought away.Not the time, Eryne,I reminded myself.
“That’s great,” I said, turning my back to him as I grabbed my work bag from the spot I always left it. If I looked at him now, well… my face would betray my feelings.
And considering I hadn’t even known the man before this morning, it made no sense.
He’d been awolf,for goddess’s sake. A wolf I’d been taking care of, who had been sharing my bed and letting me snuggle with him, because I’d thought he was an animal. Maybe I still hadn’t fully processed that yet. He’d been stuck inside all along. A man who looked like he could bench my weight or run a four minute mile didn’t need to be treated like… well, a dog. Heat crept into my cheeks, thinking of the way I’d babied him, telling him how he was agood boy,plus of all the conversations I’d had with myself.
There were some things you just didn’t need a guy like that to know. Gods, I’d changed in front of him. What was wrong with me?
“Ready?” I asked, turning back to him. My broom was in the corner of my room, though on a day like today—the fog had burned off with the afternoon sun—I was perfectly content to walk to the shop.
He slung his bag over his shoulder. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
Barrett was sitting in the corner, just like he’d promised, though I noticed he seemed to be doing more staring at me than actually working. Though I wasn’t exactly sure what he was workingon.
I drummed my fingers against the countertop, aware that I was guilty of the same thing.
What was his job? Was he some sort ofparanormal investigator? I didn’t know why he had even been nearby, or what he was searching for by staying in town. I assumed he had a plan, but he hadn’t shared it with me.
I made another coffee order—a shaken espresso for one of our regulars, Olivia—and then turned back to the counter, finding a familiar looking man standing in front of me. Theproblem with living in such a small town—with such an involved community—is everyone knew everyone.
“Hi, Eryne.” He pushed his glasses up his nose as he stepped up to the counter.
“Hey, Simon.” I gave him a warm smile. “How’s it going?”
We’d gone to high school together, and he was harmless, but also a shameless flirt with the girls. Though I’d never really paid much attention to guys when I was younger.
Now… I looked over at Barrett.
