Page 49 of Wolf Reborn

But neither of their parents would have wanted Gwen speaking to Gavin after he’d abandoned them, of that he had no doubt.

The young barista brought them drinks, and the next hour was spent in discussion of what they’d each been doing for the last decade. Gwen was still in their parents’ good graces. She was in graduate school, in fact, though Gavin doubted very much that their mother approved of biochemistry.

Business, law, medicine, or political science, that was the limit of what Lloyds were supposed to study. Exactly like Gavin’s mostly useless degree. It had secured his position as an officer, and then done very little else for him.

The whole time they sat there, Gwen kept checking her phone, so eventually he quirked a brow at her. “Is there somewhere you need to be?”

“Oh no, not at all,” she reassured, reaching out and grabbing his hand with an impressive grip. “I was just checking. They mentioned you, your shop, in one of those emails the resort sends out to local homeowners, you know. The new business in town that everyone loves, run by three fabulous ex-army entrepreneurs. Gavin Lloyd, ex-army entrepreneur. That’s why I came to stay at the cabin. I haven’t been skiing in years.”

He had known about the mention. It was unusual for the resort to talk about businesses they didn’t run, but with the thin snow early in the season, they’d been grasping at straws to draw people in. They’d asked permission to include a photo of the pack—or at least Gavin, Dez, and Ash. It had felt a little creepy to Gavin, but he’d figured an opportunity was an opportunity, even if it was a little weird.

On the other hand—“What does that have to do with your phone?”

“Oh, I’m expecting a call. The police said they’d go check on the cabin and call me afterward.”

Gavin met Dez’s eye over the counter, and Dez tossed his head toward the door. It wasn’t hard to read: if Gavin needed to leave, he ought to. “Why are the police checking on the cabin?”

Gwen sighed and frowned down at her drink. “We haven’t used it in over a year, and I think maybe someone is, you know”—she glanced around, leaned forward, and whispered—“squatting. I don’t want to be awful, but I couldn’t just go in if someone was there.”

Gavin scowled at the notion before remembering he and Miles had basically done the same just a mile or so away in the Carpenter’s cabin. Admittedly, whoever it was wasn’t stuck there, but it was hard to judge nonetheless.

Even if he had been in contact with Mrs. Carpenter, now Miss Jones, to explain the situation, he had broken in to begin with. The woman had been entirely understanding and only asked for the window to be replaced. When he’d offered to replace the soup and other food they’d eaten, she’d only laughed and told him she was glad it had all been there for them to use.

“What makes you think someone is in there?” he finally asked Gwen.

“The knob on the front door was broken. It looked like someone took a claw hammer to it or something. Just peeled the wood open.” She sighed and shook her head. “Maybe it was just a break-in and I should have gone in and checked, but I could see from the front door that a light was on in the kitchen, so I thought maybe they were still there.”

“So you went to the police,” he said. She nodded, and he squeezed her hand. “That was the right thing to do.”

Gavin couldn’t legally intercede on his parents’ behalf, but he could intercede quietly before they found out. Make sure no one hurt his sister and see if he could mitigate any problems for whoever was squatting. Well, assuming they weren’t an escaped convict or a burglar or something like that.

Either way, if the cops were the ones who went in, the squatter wouldn’t be let off easily even if they hadn’t done anything wrong.

He nodded to Dez, who didn’t look at all surprised and waved him off. “Why don’t we go down and check?”

Her eyes rounded. “Without the police?”

Reaching out a hand to pull her up, he gave her an easy smile. “Ex-army entrepreneur, remember? Besides, the cops in Kismet are pretty efficient. They might already be there.”

At the counter, Dez rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Lovestruck. Only possible explanation.”

Gavin turned a faux glare on him. “Hey now. The cops in Kismet are plenty good at their jobs.”

“One of them, anyway,” Dez agreed.

“The one I met was nice,” Gwen interjected. Then her whole face lit up. “Are you dating him? It was officer, um...”

“Officer too pretty for anyone’s good?” Dez asked her. “Curly dark hair and big brown eyes like goddamn Bambi?”

Gwen grinned wide at the description. “Youaredating him!”

Gavin glared at Dez as they walked out, one arm still wrapped around his sister. “Dating isn’t quite the right word.”

“Don’t know why not,” Dez called after them. “You can’t say ‘married’ till after one of you asks.”

Damn the man.

He wasn’t wrong, though.

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