Embracing the Wolf (Ritter Werewolves #2)(23)
Author: Catherine Bybee

“What’s the matter?” Janet put down her bag, concern etched in her face.

“A woman was just here quizzing Joey about school.”

Seemingly unconcerned, Janet asked, “What woman?”

“She walked off that way.” Kate pointed to the retreating woman’s path.

Hearing their conversation, James left their side in search of the stranger.

“Most kids are in school, Kate. I’m sure it was nothing.”

She stood up, taking Joey’s hand in hers. “I don’t think so.” Less assured of being outside the safety of the house, all Kate wanted to do was get back.

Someone’s watching us. All around them, women and the occasional bored husband shopped the store.

No one watched them. Still, Kate felt the weight of someone’s eyes.

“I think we should leave.” The fun in the shopping trip was over. Fear of losing her son returned like the first day after the shooting.

Perhaps if Richard were at her side she wouldn’t be so anxious. Without him, she felt wide open.

Vulnerable.

Chapter Ten

Max flipped his phone closed and tossed it on the dash. “They’re on their way home.”

“Why, what happened?”

“Kate got spooked. Janet didn’t think there was a problem, but Kate wigged out when a strange woman started asking Joey about why he wasn’t in school.”

“Maybe we should head back.”

Folding up the useless map in his lap, Max tossed it next to his phone. “It’s not like this is getting us anywhere.”

“I could use a break anyway. Maybe I should take Kate and Joey to my place for a few days. Give you and Janet a few days of peace before the baby comes.”

“You guys aren’t a bother. If anything, Kate and Joey have been a blessing. I would never have been able to talk Janet into taking her maternity leave if it wasn’t for them being at the house.” Richard merged onto the Golden State Freeway and left the Santa Clarita Valley. Their leads were coming up cold.

Both men talked of throwing in the towel until the next full moon. With the light of the full moon, and the changing of their human form to wolf, tracking would be much easier.

“I’d like to show Kate where I live.”

“You just want to get her alone.”

“Since the boys upgraded my system, my security is almost as good as yours.”

“Not to mention you won’t leave her side.” Max sat back and closed his eyes.

Richard concentrated on the road for a while, keeping his thoughts to himself.

He wanted her alone there was no denying that.

He also wanted to show her his life. Not his brother’s. He wanted to pull out the boogie boards and hit the beach with Joey. Build a sand castle or two and have a bonfire on the beach. Then curl up next to Kate and watch the sunset.

Plainly put, he wanted Kate Davis and all she brought with her. He enjoyed tossing Joey around in the pool and coloring crazy pictures of pirates and maps.

He even snuck out and bought a pair of Nintendo DS’s with a half a dozen games for Joey’s birthday. The gift was burning a hole in his pocket, and the big day wasn’t for another three weeks.

Richard could hardly wait to see his face when he gave it to him. Buying two meant he could play with him.

Kate gave him a reason to come home. And it wasn’t only about the mind-blowing sex, although he wasn’t complaining. Just the thought of her shot heat to his groin. Since the change, his will power to ignore his urges was nil. Max was right about his libido. Lucky for him, Kate proved as explosive in bed as him.

Merging onto the 405, Richard thought of Kate’s dingy apartment as he crossed the valley. Streets, overrun with the crimes of drug dealers and addicts, weren’t where Kate belonged. He didn’t want her going back. Ever. She didn’t belong there anymore, and Joey deserved better.

Was he falling in love, or was it the change?

Trying his best to ignore the nagging voice in his head, Richard straightened behind the wheel and went around a slow moving SUV in a rush to get to Kate.

“Why the frown?” Max asked from the passenger seat.

Cursing his brother’s ability to read him, Richard tried his best to relax his shoulders and sink into his seat. “Nothing.”

Max grunted.

“Tell me…” Richard rubbed the stubble on his cheek, unable to form the question he had for his brother. Not completely sure he was ready to hear the answer.

“Tell you what?”

“About that soul mate thing. You know, when a werewolf meets their soul mate they know it. How did you know with Janet?”

Max lifted his brows and pulled his sunglasses from his eyes. “I think I knew the minute I laid eyes on her. With our first kiss, I knew.”

“How did you know?”

“I don’t know, I just did.”

“Well, thank you very much for all the details.”

“Geez, give me a break. I just knew. I couldn’t be apart from her without feeling it, even for a few hours. Imagining life without her to come home to hurt, you know?”

He did know. That’s what scared him. He was getting a very clear picture of what Max described.

“You think Kate is the one, don’t you?” Richard wasn’t ready to admit it to himself, let alone his brother. “I don’t know.”

“Well, if she is… take it from me; tell her sooner rather than later about the wolf thing. Janet wasn’t too happy to find out about it the way she did.” Max had changed in front of Janet before she knew he was a werewolf.

She left the next day and refused to see or talk to him for over a week. Richard remembered his brother’s obsession during those days. He didn’t sleep, didn’t eat. Max reached stalking status and cornered his father-in-law to get Janet to come around. According to Max, Janet wasn’t upset about the werewolf deal as much as she was the lies.

If Kate was the one, Richard knew he would have to tell her soon. Keeping your identity from your mate was impossible, and even dangerous.

If she wasn’t the one—he dismissed the thought.

He couldn’t even go there in his own mind.

What did that mean?

****

“Pack up.” Richard tossed a suitcase on Kate’s bed and turned to open her drawers. “What?”

The alarm in her voice had him spinning toward her and gathering her in his arms. “We need to get out of here for a few days. You and Joey will love my place on the beach.”

She sagged against him in relief. “Sounds good.”