Page 16 of Rejected Broken Mate

"Well, I come a lot. I prefer to buy locally rather than at a grocery store where I can."

"I didn't know that about you," she said. "Is this new? You didn't used to do that when we dated."

"It was hard to in college," I said. "We didn't exactly have that option."

She shrugged and looked at the next stand. "I guess that's true, but then again, you kept a lot from me."

I frowned, feeling my stomach tense up. "What is that supposed to mean?"

She made a face and glanced at me. "You didn't tell me you were a shifter."

I frowned. She had me on that. But in my defense, no one knew. There was only one other shifter at the college, and we didn't exactly get along. I wasn't going to tell her until later, but later never came.

"I didn't know how you would react."

She scowled. "That's not fair. We were sleeping together. The least you could have done was tell me. I shared stuff with you."

I smirked. "You being afraid of the dark is not the same as telling someone you have the ability to shift into a wolf. That's the kind of thing that ends a relationship."

She chuckled. "Fine. I'll give you that." We walked over to the picnic tables a little way from the market. "I still wish you would have told me."

There were a lot of things I wished I had told her. I wished I had told her that she was my mate, that I made a mistake, and that I shouldn’t have ended things.

"Since we are trying to be civil…what did you do after college?"

I thought about it. My return home, and then my hatred for the degree I got. I worked my ass off so I could work alongside my father, who was a business development representative. I quickly learned I hated it. I hated everything about it.

I hated my life, and I hated who I'd become. I was cruel and angry all the time.

"Not great," I said. "I actually hated my degree and ended up doing a couple of courses on fire science at the local college. I took a couple while I was up in Nevada, so it helped, and with my business degree, Ayden pretty much said I was a great addition when tax season came around."

She laughed. "Interesting how that all worked out."

I couldn't help but think about Nevada. She always asked why I was trying to get a business degree when I clearly had no interest in it. I always shut the conversation down.

"How about you?" I asked. I had wondered what she had done when I left. I always pictured her finding a man and getting married. She spoke about wanting a big family; I envisioned that for her.

She blew out some air and thought to herself for a moment. "I ended up getting an internship at an accountant's place for bookkeeping, and met Michael’s father, but it went under. I never really found anything else that allowed me to use my degree, and I had good hours, so I wasn't home too late."

"And your son? If you don’t mind me asking."

"He's good. He's smart and caring. I got lucky." She smiled, and I could tell she was proud.

"He’s a lot like his dad. He loves sports and space. He's in baseball and football, and he was in the space club, but I'm not sure if they have that here or not. I'm sure he will find something else if they don't."

It twisted me up inside and I was jealous of the man. "Has he been adjusting well?"

She nodded. "Yeah. He's made some friends at school, and he's enjoying everything."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you guys move?"

She frowned, and I could see a spark of sadness cross her eyes. "We didn't exactly have a picture-perfect life. Besides being in so many extracurricular activities, he was having a hard time fitting in at school, and I was unhappy with work. I figured a fresh start would do us both good."

I wanted to hear more, to know more about her life and all that happened. But she looked at her phone and scowled. "I should probably get going. I asked the neighbor if she could watch him for an hour or so, and I've been here a while."

"I can give you a ride," I offered, knowing I parked my car just down the street on the corner. "It will be quicker than walking."

She thought about it for a moment, and I smiled at her. "I promise it's just a ride. I'm your boss, remember."

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