Page 11 of In Plain Sight

I smiled. “And here you are, living your dream.”

“Yes I am,” she said proudly.

There was an awkward silence that filled the cab. It was normal for a male to bring his mate back to his Pack to live. How would Ruby do back in Bulgaria in a small rebel Pack? In some ways I thought the fire within her would shine brightly if she came to believe in the fight my Pack was created for. On the other hand, that was no place for my mate.

Ruby

Chapter 6

Sometimes Bran got this dark look in his eyes and I’d give anything to know what he was thinking. He was doing that again now. I tried to keep my stories light and fun. It was clear something was weighing heavily on him, and I didn’t think that had anything to do with me.

I still had a million questions I wanted answers to, but I’d made good progress at least in getting to know him for only our first day together. I didn’t feel like I had a complete stranger sitting next to me anymore.

If we were going to stop by Clara’s tonight, I needed to give her the heads-up. At the next stop sign, I grabbed my phone and dialed her number before turning left and heading into town. So far I’d only shown him the country side of Collier.

“Hello?” Clara’s voice came through the phone.

“Hey, Clara. I have a big favor to ask,” I said, like there wasn’t anything truly important I needed to share.

“Hey, Ruby. Are you okay? Mom’s worried sick about you. The entire Pack is talking about some stranger you brought home. Thomas is livid knowing a foreign wolf was squatting on his land, but mostly he’s just really worried about you and Lily insists everyone needs to leave you alone.”

“She’s the best!” I exclaimed. “Go ahead and ask your questions quickly,” I said with a sigh, knowing we needed to get past that part so I could beg for clothes.

“You know what?” Clara said. “Lily told me he’s your true mate. And I know how insane that was for me and Gage. I can’t imagine having to deal with that under the scrutiny of not just the family, but the entire Pack. Take a few days, or weeks even, and get things sorted out. If you need someone to talk to or anything at all, you know I’m here for you.”

I felt the tension ease from my shoulders. I knew I could always count on Clara, that’s why I called her to begin with. “Actually there is something I need. Bran only has a few things with him, and he could really use some clothes to get through the next few days. I’m just not ready to stroll into town with him just yet, for all the reasons you just mentioned. He’s about Gage’s size so I was wondering if we could borrow a few things.”

“Of course you can. Gage literally had the clothes on his back when we met, so I totally get it. Do you want me to put together a few things and bring them over?”

“We’re actually out now. I’m giving him the grand tour of Collier. We’re about to head downtown and then I’m going to call in an order at Kate’s. Thought we could swing by while we’re over your way,” I said hopefully.

“Absolutely. Do we get to meet him?”

“Maybe. I think that will be okay.”

She gave a little squeal of excitement. “I’ll have a bag packed and ready for you.”

“Okay, give us about fifteen minutes.”

We drove down Collier and I stopped in front of my parents’ house. “That’s the Alpha House,” I told him.

“I’m going to have to go there soon and check in officially.’

“I know, just not tonight,” I said. I wasn’t ready to open that can of worms.

I circled around through the town, then drove over to Clara’s. Before I had the truck in park, she and Gage were standing on the porch excitedly watching.

“Should I come?” Bran asked.

“Yeah, you might as well. You’re going to have to meet everyone eventually anyway. Let me call in our dinner first. That will give us a get out of dodge excuse if they try to keep us too long,” I joked. In truth, we were here because I knew Clara respected boundaries better than any of my other siblings.

Peyton answered as I called Kate’s Diner. “Kate’s Diner, Peyton speaking. What can I do for you?”

“Hey Pey, it’s Ruby. I need to place an order for pick up.”

“Ruby? You’ve been the talk of the night around here. Give me your order, and then phone me when you get here, and I’ll run it out to you. You and that stranger of yours is the latest obsession right now.”

I groaned. “Thanks for the tip, Peyton. Give me the largest steak you have in house, rare, with a baked potato and green beans. Then I’ll take my usual,” I said.

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