Page 22 of A Beta Protects

Low season means Wylder is quiet. But we’re not in town to look for a job. We’re here so I can show Kira around and have her fall in love with the town the way I did.

I hadn’t known what it would do to me to watch my mate lick frosting off a fork, but I soon find out.

My wolf has no interest in sweet. His preference is for bloody steak, or a still kicking rabbit. The man sees the yellow frosting dotting the corner of Kira’s lush lips and wants nothing more than to lean over and lick it.

But I wrench my eyes from temptation and dig into a slice of cake I have no interest in.

Twenty minutes later, I hold the door open and Kira walks out, peering one way, then the other. “So, where now?”

“The boutique.” I grip her elbow and try to ignore the tingle of awareness touching her provokes, steering her in the right direction. “We don’t have a lot of shops here. A bank, jeweler, hairdresser, ice cream parlor, grocery store, the diner, a restaurant that only opens on the weekend, and the boutique.”

“So, will we try all of them?” She’s overwhelmed, but is trying hard to hide it.

“Not quite. The grocery store is a one man operation. A husband and wife team runs the jeweler, and working at the bank would require training. Same with the hairdresser.”

She looks at me, surprised. “You sound like you’ve really thought this through.”

I’ve done little else but think of how to get you to stay, Kira.

“A little.” I nod at the squat white building with a glass front we’re fast approaching. “We’ll try the boutique and maybe the ice creamery. You won’t need any training to work in places like that.”

If they were hiring, and in low season Wylder, no one is hiring.

Still, I pull the door open and the bell over it jangles. Tricia, the slim blonde owner of the store, wearing a white shift dress, straightens from behind the glass counter.

“Good morning,” she calls out.

“Morning,” Kira responds, and beelines right for her.

I stop Kira before she can approach Tricia and ask her about the job she will not have. “While we’re here, maybe you could help me with my errand while I speak with Tricia about a job.”

Kira nods. “Sure. What’s the errand?”

“Rose, my friend you met at breakfast has a birthday coming up.” Next year. “And she’s been saying she wants a wardrobe refresh, whatever that means. You’re roughly the same size. Do you think you could put together about five outfits she might like?”

Kira’s brow furrows. “Me! I don’t know what she likes.”

“So pick what you like.” Her mouth opens, but I keep talking. “Because I promise you, it will be a hell of a lot closer to what she likes than I would pick out.”

Her eyes dart to the clothes racks lining one wall and her frown deepens. “Are you sure? Some of this stuff in here is kind of pricy. I wouldn’t want to pick out a bunch of expensive clothes she won’t wear.”

She won’t wear them, because I’m not buying clothes for her.

I meet her gaze steadily. “Whatever you pick out will be perfect.”

But she still doesn’t move. “I don’t know that I’m the best person for this. I haven’t gone clothes shopping in a while.”

She always dressed modestly in Missouri. Long skirts, blouses buttoned up to her throat, and no heels. Now she’s left Bryce, I can’t help but wonder how much that was her and how much that was the husband.

“Then think of this as an excuse to put together something you would wear. I’d pick out T-shirts and jeans and Rose would kill me for getting her something so basic.”

She winces. “Okay. I think I can do better than T-shirt and jeans.”

“Go for it and take your time. I’ll be speaking to Tricia.”

I leave her to search through the clothes racks as I wander to the front of the store, lean my back to the counter and angle my head toward the boutique owner. “You’re not hiring, are you, Tricia?”

“Hiring?” Her smooth brow wrinkles. “In low season? No.”

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