Page 26 of The Runaway Mate

“Come into the house. I want to do a final exam if that’s okay with you? But it’s looking like everything has healed up nicely.”

I swung my arms back and forth, then hopped up and down on my bad leg.

I grinned at him. “As good as new.”

Chapter eighteen

Mai

Ifollowed Thomas into the house and let him do a quick exam, testing my muscles and bones.

Just as he was finishing, I heard the front door open and a man yell, “Thomas? You here?”

“He knows full well I’m here,” Thomas whispered to me. “He does that every time he smells I’m with someone new. He doesn’t want to spook them, you see. You’re not spooked, are you?”

“No,” I whispered back.

Thomas sighed. “Maybe he’s right, then, and it does help.”

“Of course, it helps,” said a voice from the doorway.

I turned to see a man there, almost the opposite of Thomas. Whereas Thomas loomed no matter how hard he tried not to, this man was skinny and small, though maybe he just seemed that way next to Thomas. He obviously took a lot of care in his appearance, with a crisp light-blue shirt, perfectly ironed black trousers, and polished leather shoes. His skin was light brown, his dark hair was combed back, and his bright eyes stared at me with a sparkle of mischief.

“Well, hello there. I’m Wally, Thomas’s mate.” He strode forward and offered me his hand.

“Hi, I’m Mai.”

“Mai?” He darted a questioning look at Thomas. “The Mai? The one who has been missing for years and is now back and making Ryan all hot and bothered? That Mai?”

“Um—”

“Leave her be, Wally. Now is not the time for your gossiping.”

“Shush! Don’t be silly. I hold the title of town gossip, so it is my duty, my darling. Therefore, it is always time for my gossiping.” Wally turned to me, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. “So, Mai, tell me everything! What brings you back?”

“Everything? To the self-declared town gossip?” I joked.

Wally put one hand on his hip. “Did you see the sign on your way in?”

I couldn’t remember any sign outside. “Um, no?” I said, not sure where he was going with this.

“Well, trust me, there is one. It says ‘Thomas Merdais, Doctor,’ then some letters afterward, but they’re not important.” He waved his hand as if to demonstrate how unimportant they were.

Thomas snorted.

“But that sign means that anything you say in here is covered by doctor-patient confidentiality.”

I opened my mouth to point out that Wally was not a doctor, but he continued, “And I take that oath seriously on behalf of my gorgeous hunk of a husband. So that means that anything you say here does not leave these fine lips of mine.”

I glanced at Thomas, and he nodded. “Wally won’t repeat a thing.”

I hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. But I had to talk to someone, and Thomas and Wally didn’t know me. They weren’t here when Ryan rejected me; they didn’t know the person I was before. They wouldn’t know just how idiotic I’d been to believe in Seth or how stupid I’d been in staying with him so long. Oh, Sofia and Jem would be sympathetic if I told them, but I’d see it in their eyes, that judgment of what a fool I’d been.

“After Ryan rejected me, I thought maybe I couldn’t be loved by anyone. I ran. I spent time bouncing from town to town, just wanting to put distance between me and the Pack. I used different names, took on temp jobs—waitressing, barkeeping, cleaning rooms. I slept in the streets, in back alleys, cheap motels, and bedsits.”

“That sounds tough.” Wally put his hand on my arm and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“I coped. I just wanted to escape from the heartbreak. I didn’t care what I did or where I stayed as long as I could keep busy and not think about Ryan or the Three Rivers. Then, in one town, I saw an advert for an online coding class. I fell in love with it. It was challenging but straightforward. I felt like maybe, just maybe, I could do something with my life. I worked to pay for more classes, and when I thought I was ready, I started my own web design business. It started small at first but then took off. I had my regular clients, whose sites I’d build then maintain, and new clients were calling me every week. It got so I started turning people away. The money was good, and I was able to rent a cute flat in the center of Cocrane.

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