Page 70 of Scent of Home

I grumble, but he leads me back to Finn. The old ladies fawn over him. Asking him for help with this and that. He’s already promised to taste a stew, fix a fence, deliver some sewing, and paint a grandchild’s bedroom. Three of them look like they could be sisters with silver hair, blue eyes, and soft skin. They are all dressed modestly and have this ease with each other that makes me grind my teeth.

Shane they treat with a polite respectfulness.

But when Bray comes up in conversation, their tones get frosty.

“He’s upset Rooster, hasn’t got the car fixed,” Margot says with a snort, she’s the youngest and has a crown of tight, silver ringlets around her head and a thick waist. “Typical. I don’t know what kind of racket he’s trying to play, but it won’t fly here.”

I listen in growing irritation.

“Benny is picking up his habits now, too.” Neresse scowls into her slice of lemon cake. Her face has a pinched look like she does this scowling often, she’s thin and maybe as tall as my shoulder. “Such a bad role model.”

Finn stays silent.

I really like him, but I hate this side of him. But, like Shane said, I can’t even tell if he knows he’s doing it.

Locke bounces over with a huge pink and purple scarf wrapped around his neck.

“Oh, you look so sexy,” I purr at him.

Locke flutters his lashes coyly at me, and this time, I see a smoulder that knocks me on my heels. I lean into him and touch my lips to his.

“Gorgeous.” It’s heartfelt and conveys all the want inside me.

“Thank you, Alpha,” Locke whispers.

When I pull back, all those old ladies are smiling and nodding happily. It’s almost like I’ve just scored the approval of all of them. Our relationship is blessed.

And then Bray walks over to us and stands a foot and a half away from me. The distance irks me, and it irks Locke. Finn doesn’t pay attention to it.

“We’re so glad to see you’re all right after that slip yesterday with the beverage. It was such a scary thing. So lucky your young lover was paying attention.” This tiny blue-haired woman says. She’s got coke bottle glasses on, and I think all her clothes were made last century.

“I was very lucky.”

The ladies, the tiny little army that has ambushed Finn, don’t greet Bray. They ignore him like he’s not even there. He flexes his arms uncomfortably, and the black top stretches across his chest. It’s almost indecent.

I bite the inside of my cheek to stop from reaching out, but I notice a couple of people who do pay attention to him. Young women. They look at him like he’s meat, but they don’t say hello.

I’m starting to see the bigger picture here, and I hate it.

We wander all day, talking to people, and for the most part, everyone is lovely. I’d really like these people more if they weren’t being assholes to Bray. My temper is getting a fine edge to it.

Locke, Shane, and I stay silent and observe the toxic relationship between the town, Finn, and Bray. Over and over. It just keeps building with more and more examples. Until I’m ready to scream.

Finn gets more and more overwhelmed. His smile starts to break. I can see the desperate panic in his eyes. But Bray’s pain is something I can feel in the air.

“Would you excuse me? Finn and Bray promised to show me the stars.”

Lilliana Rose, who was instructing Finn on polishing her wood table, stops talking and looks between us.

“Oh, was I interrupting?” The middle-aged woman bites her thin bottom lip and takes a half a step back. She’s pretty and married to a very busy man who works in the city. He only gets back on the weekends.

“Yes,” Locke says bluntly. “But we like you, so it’s okay, but now we have to go.”

He’s so damn charming that she can’t even take offense to it. I should master that skill, but I prefer bluntness that I clobber people over the head with.

I reach for Bray’s hand, but he moves it away from me and walks to the door.

“Give me a moment,” I say to the others and stalk after the alpha.

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