Page 16 of Midnight Mate
Easton
The moment I stepped inside The Bearded Barrel, I realized my mistake. The place was crowded for a weeknight, thanks to tourists, but my awareness cut through them all. My eyes landed immediately on the hunched set of shoulders at the end of the bar. In the next breath, my wolf had scented him, confirming it.
Shit.
I hesitated, debating whether to turn around and walk out again. But leaving town was one thing. Running from the old man was another.
I slid onto the stool, two seats over from him, and focused on the bartender.
“What’ll you have?”
I didn’t recognize the hipster in flannel behind the bar, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know me. I kept my hat pulled low.
“Dirty Dog,” I said, naming one of the brewery’s signature beers.
“Comin’ up.”
The bartender moved off, and my senses prickled as I realized I’d been spotted.
“Easton, my boy, how the hell are ya?”
I braced myself as I turned and looked into the sparkling—glassy—eyes of my old man.
“Dad.”
“Well, it’s been a minute or two since you been home. Lemme look at ya.” He gave me a once-over that made me tense. “Handsome as ever, ain’t ya?” He winked. “Lookin’ like your old man more every day.”
Ten years had taken its toll on him. Dark bags under his eyes. A beer gut. But his ability to pretend like he wasn’t a shitbag was clearly as strong as ever.
The bartender returned with my beer. I grabbed for it, a little desperate.
My knee twinged.
I ignored it and drank deeply.
By the time I came up for air, Dad was chatting again. He was always chatty at this stage of the night.
“Didn’t see your truck at the house last night. Or this morning.”
“I’m not staying at the house.”
His brows crinkled. “Why the hell not? Your old room is still made up.”
“I’m staying at Nicole’s.”
Dad grunted and reached for his beer.
Fuck, why was he even here? My entire life, I’d known his usual haunts as well as I’d known my own name. Luna Sea was his go-to. Maybe the occasional stop at Cheetah’s to mix things up. I’d driven halfway to the next town because I thought I could avoid him. Of course, I wasn’t that lucky.
“You still teaching little rugrats how to ski up at that fancy resort?”
My stomach clenched with a temper that never quite cooled where he was concerned. “Snowboarding. And yes.”
The front door opened behind us.
My nose twitched with a familiar scent. I turned and spotted a face that actually made me smile.
“Angus.”
