Almost Midnight (Shadow Falls: After Dark #3.5)(104)

“For a quick one,” she said, remembering that just yesterday she’d had her head filled with dreams of what they would have soon. Funny how the loss of that dream hadn’t cost her that much.

“What I said about your dad came out all wrong. Forgive me?”

She inhaled and when she was about to exonerate him, she stopped herself. “It’s not just what you said, Cary. It’s that … I think I’m a lot more into you than you are me. And that doesn’t feel right.”

“Is this about my trip to Europe? I had planned that trip before you and I ever liked each other. I know it got canceled but still—”

“It’s about everything,” she said.

“What’s everything?” He reached up to brush a strand of her hair off her cheek. His touch was sweet, but for some reason she recalled a stronger sweetness earlier—when she’d bumped into Brandon.

“What do you know about me?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Just that, Cary. What do you know about me?”

He paused and she could tell he was searching for something he could tell her. But he came up empty. “You don’t talk about yourself.”

“Neither do you. Well, not about the personal stuff. But I asked questions. I know where you were born, about your parents and your sister. I know you like mustard on your hot dogs.”

“That’s not fair,” he said.

“What’s not fair?” She held her chin up.

“I’ve purposely kept my distance, trying to … If I got to know more about you I’d want…” He leaned in. “This.” He kissed her. She didn’t respond at first, but then she did—wanting to experience the magic of it. To feel like somebody’s girl. It had been so long since she’d been kissed.

Then she felt it. The soft purr of a male were. He wanted her. Wanted more than just a kiss. That should make her feel good, and it did, just not as much as she thought it would. She pulled back.

“Don’t give up on us,” he said.

She looked at him. On the tip of her tongue were the words, I won’t. But those weren’t the words that slipped out. “I don’t think there is an ‘us.’”

Right then she knew the reason, too. The mystery that awaited her in Brandon Hart. Oh, hell, was she nuts? Cary was full were and a perfect mate for her. For all she knew, Brandon could just be human.

And getting emotionally involved with a human would be crazy. Even thinking about it was crazy considering she didn’t even know if he liked her. Just because she’d caught Brandon eyeing her butt didn’t mean anything.

“Don’t play games,” he said, his eyes growing bright with anger. Then he grabbed her arm, the one with scars, and his hand buried into her flesh.

“I don’t play games. Now leave, or do I have to escort you out?” And she would have.

He walked out, but something warned her that she hadn’t heard the last from him. Obviously, Cary Cannon didn’t like not getting his way. Too bad.

She’d let people bully her for the first ten years of her life—she had the scars to prove it—but no one, no one manhandled her now.

*

At ten the next morning Fredericka pulled up in front of the soon-to-be gallery ready to work. Ready to uncover some answers about Brandon Hart. Ready to find something else besides her past to consume her and gnaw away at her sanity.

She’d spent half the night remembering her father, grieving for a man who had thought so little of her that he’d left her with people he barely knew. And then spent the other half angry that she had to do it all over again. That she still cared.

But I’m sure you have questions. And the answers might be in here. Holiday’s words played in her head like a broken record. While temptation pulled at her head and heart, she couldn’t think of one reason her father might give that would make abandoning her okay. Not one.

So why subject herself to the pain of even reading it?

Taking a deep breath, and pushing her thoughts from her issues, she focused on the house—the soon-to-be gallery. Trying to come up with ideas to make it … more inviting. Some paint. Maybe a bright color. A sign. Yes, he needed a sign hanging from the eaves. The flower beds needed to be replanted.

In the morning sun, the house looked sleepy, as if it hadn’t woken up yet. No lights on. The blinds were still closed. Was he waiting on her? Was he even awake?

Still holding onto the steering wheel, she imagined him in bed, shirtless. Her heart started to race, and she gave herself a mental kick in the butt. Letting the crazy attraction blossom was all kinds of wrong. On top of him probably being human, she’d be working with him. Any kind of a relationship outside of a common friendship would complicate things.

And her life was complicated enough.

She got out of the car, slipped her phone into her back pocket, and went to start her day. The cool air brushed her hair back and she remembered that in four days the moon would be full and she could find solace in her run in the woods. Whatever problems weighed on her heart at a full moon, they became lighter when she shifted and could just let her inner wolf run and romp in the night. It was almost like having a great dream, it made for a little escape that hung on for a few days.

The door stood slightly ajar as it had yesterday. She leaned close and peered inside, half expecting to see his sister again. She wasn’t around. The chimes hanging from the ceiling, in what looked like it had once been the dining room, played a soft song as if welcoming her inside.