Page 11 of Bitter Discord

“Yeah, all of that,” he agreed, a smile forming. “Maybe if Hasan could stop indulging his need to hate werewolves, everything would be a lot easier.”

“Wow.” I snorted but didn’t have time to give him a proper reply. The werewolf on their way to the house was now turning onto my driveway and would be in sight any moment.

When I saw the truck, I had to remind myself of something important.

Dirk was right much more often than he was wrong.

Thinking back to our conversation, that worried the hell out of me.

5

CHAPTER FIVE

Ididn’t move and stopped Dirk from going to Ranger’s truck. At six months post-amputation, I had to be the one who enforced a difficult but necessary rule.

We couldn’t help Ranger with everything, especially not the simple stuff.

But I really wanted to.

I wonder what his mood is today.

Ranger was flying through the stages of grief on a daily basis. I was particularly aware of it at any point in time. He’d lost the woman he’d been in love with before I met him four years ago. He’d lost a leg, and that changed his entire life and how others looked at him, including his perception of himself. No matter what he was thinking about, he was grieving a loss.

So, I watched him fly through the stages of grief and was there for him when he needed it, and I stepped back when I knew he needed to stand on his own. It was a struggle to keep my feet planted on the porch when he opened the truck door and threw his cane out.

Today, he’s angry with his disability. Good to know.

It was an internal battle to see him get out and adjust how he stood to account for the prosthetic he wore most days. Heath had wanted to pay for the prosthetic, but it had been taken care of by the time he thought to ask Ranger for the amount to wire the money over. Neither of them knew who did it.

I had no intention of telling them it was me. I had no intention of telling anyone. Admittedly, I had been a bit underhanded and broke a few laws. I was certain he hated it some days, but I rarely saw him trying to use only the cane.

Part of my response was internal guilt. I had done it to him. I was the one who had destroyed the bones of his leg so badly that healing would have possibly failed if we had found someone who would attempt fixing it.

I stood still as he reached out and picked up his cane, struggling but figuring it out. If he didn’t want to have to pick it up, he knew better than to throw it.

Ranger looked at the house and finally noticed Dirk and me waiting there. His expression softened as his cheeks turned red.

“Hey, Ranger!” I called out, trying not to think about my laundry. “Something you need?”

“Well…” He walked closer, finally showing me how much he was adjusting to his prosthetic. “I heard Teagan was running to Dallas with the boys to help. Shamus took his kids to get groceries for the old pack house.” He gave me a look.

Heath had warned me months ago, but maybe I hadn’t taken him seriously enough. I was Ranger’s crutch, a woman he could feel useful to without threatening Sheila’s memory.

“I didn’t make either of those decisions. Heath did,” I quickly explained. “Come in and I’ll find you something to do. Dirk, get him something to drink.”

“Can do.” Dirk was in the house first, practically running.

I grabbed the door before Ranger could and held it open. From the look on his face, he didn’t fully appreciate being the one taken care of, but it was my house, and I would hold the door. He walked in silently, and I was grateful Ranger knew better than to argue with me.

Following him to the living room, I wondered what job I could give him today. Dirk brought out a soda for him as we sat down together. When Dirk didn’t immediately leave, I nodded for him to sit down.

A million things to worry about, and today I got the werewolf who barely knows what he’s doing and the one who uses me as an emotional crutch. Just what I had in mind for a Saturday.

“Sadly, Ranger, there’s not much I have for you to do,” I said, sighing as I admitted I was stumped.

“I’ll help with anything. I’m a jack of all trades.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Ranger. The only things left to do were small, and Heath handled them for me. He didn’t like how early I woke up this morning and went straight into my office.”

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