Page 39 of Fastlander Phoenix

He spoke of the Fastlanders and his feelings about them. He admitted he’d already submitted a plea to Damon to release him from the Fastlanders as soon as the Holland War was done. He admitted to his discomfort here and his struggle to connect with people.

He exposed so much of himself, but she found it impossible to judge him. The things he dealt with in his daily life were intensified because he was a shifter and lived by shifter law, but it was understandable on a human level.

Her phone was on ten percent battery when she checked the time. It was four-thirty in the morning. The sun would be rising soon.

“Are you getting tired?” he asked.

“Yes, but I’m not ready to leave.” She drew her knees up, wrapped her arms around them, and rested her chin on her wrist. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten to know more about a person in one night. I don’t want it to end.”

The flames of the hearth fire threw his face into gold highlights and deep shadows. He canted his head. “My mother would like you.”

“That would make one mother,” she teased. “My own does not feel that way.”

“She’s missing out.”

“If you met her, you would instantly realize that she does not feel that way.”

“I’ll meet her.” He’d said it off the cuff. Just easy as you like.

“My mother is a battle-axe.”

A slow, dark smile curved his lips. “I bet I’m worse.”

She didn’t know why, but that actually made her feel better. It was fun to think about having someone on her side. Sure, Sasha stuck up for her from time to time, but she stayed fairly neutral. Even stuck up for her parents’ actions when it didn’t make sense for her to do so.

Sometimes, Timber thought it would feel so damn good just to have one person have her back entirely. To validate her feelings of hurt and anger.

Wreck was offering just that.

“I don’t think I can explain how much that means to me,” she said quietly.

He nodded, eyes on her. “There are tents outside, and charging stations. Do you want me to set you up in the bedroom here, and I can take one of those? I can charge your phone.”

“You wouldn’t mind me staying here?”

Wreck shrugged. “My bedroom wasn’t damaged.”

“Why haven’t you decorated this place?” she asked out of curiosity.

“Because I don’t know how long I will be staying here. What’s the point in that effort?”

“But you have clearly made new floors in here. There is still sawdust in the corners, and a box of nails over there. I saw a pile of laminate flooring you’ve pulled up. You care in some ways.”

Another shrug, and the fire in the hearth captured his attention. “I was tired of falling through the rotted floors.”

“Um, do you have an extra toothbrush?”

He rocked upward, stood, and offered his hand. “I sure do. Come on.”

She slid her hand against his palm, and no flames appeared. Just a soothing, warm, tingling sensation.

She let him lead her into the bathroom, where he found an extra toothbrush out of the box, toothpaste, and a dark purple washrag to wash her face. As she prepared for bed, he disappeared, and reappeared with a giant shirt of his. He handed it over. “You can wear this to bed if you want.”

She unfolded the black T-shirt and read the band name, then recited the lyrics, “Have you ever heard the name…the name that brings you back to the day…”

His eyebrows arched up in surprise. “You know Still Too Far?”

“I saw them a couple years ago when they played in Cheyenne.”

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