Page 17 of Because You Rejected Me

He led me to the back of the building where the laundry room was. It was pretty big and since it only did wash two days out of the week, it was used for storage the rest of the time. The bike was parked there, the long battery on a charger had been hung on the wall. Sam showed me how to put it on the bike and back on the charger when I was done. He also warned me that it went over twenty miles per hour, so to be careful as I was going. All he had was a helmet, and while my werewolf healing would take care of the rest. It would still hurt like a motherfucker if I crashed, though.

“I need you to stop by the Chinese restaurant on the way out of town and pick up the second half of the delivery there. They already know you’re getting it instead of me.” He reached into his pocket, taking out a folded-up piece of paper. “These are the directions to where you’re taking everything.”

“Where am I going?”

“Just to drop off things to a friend of mine. Why don’t you take the bike outside and I’ll grab the rest of the stuff.”

I folded the paper back up, tucking it in my pocket. If Sam didn’t want to share the details with me, that was fine. I didn’t really care. In fact, I wanted to just get this delivery over with so I could ride around for a while. Sam said the bike had a forty-mile battery life, so I could pretty much go wherever I wanted and explore. And, considering the full moon was tonight, I thought I’d find a place to shift and let off some steam.

Outside the rear of the hotel, I waited until Sam returned carrying a small linen drawstring bag. He placed it gently in the basket on the back of the bike.

“That’s a bit fragile, but it should be fine. I wrapped it.”

“Okay.” I paused, rubbing my arms nervously. “Uh… so where do we go to shift?” I asked. “It’s a full moon tonight, and I don’t know if you want a wolf in your hotel room.”

Sam shook his head. “I completely forgot about that. I’m sorry. Some of us go to the park. Others just sort of drive out into the country and run around wherever.”

“Is it okay if I find someplace… and bring the bike back late?”

Sam lifted an eyebrow. “As long as the bike comes back, I’m fine with it.” He gave me a warm smile. “I trust you. Just don’t give me a reason not to, okay?”

I nodded. “Okay.”

“Oh! I forgot to mention. My friend may need some help from you when you get there. Is that okay?”

“Sure. Probably better than sitting in my room all day and being depressed anyway.”

“That’s the spirit!” Sam patted me on the shoulder, turning back to the hotel. “You’ll be fine, kid. I promise. It doesn’t feel like it now, but you will be.”

“Thanks.”

The door closed behind him and I blew out a long sigh. Did I believe him? Not really. Logic told me he was right, of course. Lots of people survived way worse situations than I’d been through and even ended up happy in the end. But I wasn’t ready to accept that just yet. I needed some time to wallow before I got to that point.

“First stop, the Chinese restaurant,” I said to myself as I swung a leg over the bike. “Then I get to pedal my skinny ass through the countryside with no idea of where I am. Perfect.” I took a deep breath, put my feet on the pedals, and gave the bike a shove. “Hopefully I don’t get hate crimed.”

Chapter Ten: Ace

After getting a little too much sun the past couple of days, I decided a pair of shorts and a T-shirt were a good idea in the garden. Granted, my werewolf healing should have taken care of it, but there was just something about sunburn that bypassed that natural ability. It was pretty irritating, but my skin was already feeling better from the comfrey baths. Best to keep it that way.

I’d been up since dawn again, as always. However, today was less about wandering the garden and enjoying the sights. Tomorrow was market day and I had to have everything ready to go. The first thing to get harvested in the morning was greens before the sun got too high and hot in the sky. I picked as much as I dared, leaving enough to make sure there’d be some for next week as well. Then they went into the kitchen to be washed, bagged, and taken to the spare refrigerator I kept in the shed. After that, it was onto green veggies, roots, and then any early summer squash that might be coming in. It was still far too early for tomatoes, but in a few weeks I’d have more than I knew what to do with.

Tomorrow morning, just before heading off to the market, I’d cut a couple dozen bouquets of flowers to bring with me. I never planted the flowers with the intention to make money. They were purely for the bees and other pollinators. But they grew so fast and so big that I had to keep thinning them out so they didn’t shade out my veggies. And the flowers seemed to thrive on being cut. So I made a few dollars, and they got even bigger with fresh blossoms for the bees. It was a win-win situation.

I was about halfway through picking the green vegetables and starting to think about breaking for lunch when I heard the tell-tale crunch of gravel from my driveway. Grabbing the nearly full crate I was using, I headed back toward the house. The moment I stepped out from behind the apple trees, my eyes fell upon the absolute last person I ever expected to see on my property.

It was Matt. And he hadn’t even noticed me yet. In fact, he’d parked his bike up against my picnic table and was currently face-first in my flower beds, sniffing and admiring all the vibrant blossoms. I watched for a long moment, reveling in his enjoyment. There was something wonderful about him finding joy in something I’d created. Well, something I planted. The flowers made themselves.

Eventually, I knew I had to approach. Clearing my throat, I tipped my hat up and headed his direction with my crate in tow. The moment my voice sounded, Matt sprang up. His gaze fell on me and the smile melted away from his face.

Apparently, I was also the last person he expected to see.

“Is that Sam’s bike?” I asked, nodding toward the picnic table.

“Yeah,” Matt replied shortly. “He wanted me to make a delivery.” He paused. “He didn’t say who it was for though…”

“I wasn’t expecting anything.” I walked past Matt, carrying the crate toward the shaded side of the house. “Let me rinse these off and get them out of the sun real quick.”

“Okay.”

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