Page 26 of Sweeter Than Honey
“Here I thought I was being your errand boy.”
“Yeah, that too. Thanks for the groceries. The apples better be organic.”
“Whoops. My bad.”
Jett kept his back to everyone as he cracked a dozen eggs into a cast iron pan and scrambled them. Cara’s stomach growled. The scents of food and the banter made her forget her discomfort over the awkwardness of her situation for a moment. Dax pulled out a chair for his wife and helped her sit. She groaned as she settled into the chair.
“You really need to use that donut thing the doctor gave you.”
She waved him off. “I make donuts. I don’t need to sit on one.”
“Dax, I need your help getting the word out to our pack. We need extra security, not just on the mountain, but in town and the surrounding areas.”
Jett met Cara’s eyes. Her heart tumbled at the intensity there.
Dax’s face went serious as he held his mate’s hand lightly in his. “What’s going on?”
“Cara’s in trouble. And it’s going to take all of us to keep her safe.”
The absolute conviction was back in his voice, as if it were his sole purpose to look out for her. Hot and cold.
Really, what did it matter? She wasn’t here for a love match. She was here to protect her baby. Getting yanked around by Jett Mitchell was an unfortunate side effect.
Like a blistering rash.
“Tell me everything, Cara.” Dax leaned forward. “I promise, whatever it is, you’ll be safe.”
She realized she was still staring at Jett and despite her inner turmoil over his harsh words, had no desire to look away. Maybe this Estes Park pack would protect her from rogue shifters.
But who was going to protect her from Jett?
Chapter Twelve
Carasatstifflyinthe passenger seat of Jett’s truck, holding onto the box with her new laptop while she stared out the window. She’d invested in a loaded hotspot, wireless printer, mouse, and some other accessories and blatantly ignored Jett’s curiosity when she whipped out a wad of cash to pay for it all.
After she’d spilled her story to Dax and Allie, then endured a longer than necessary, and kind of nice, hug from her bakery friend, Cara relaxed a little knowing the Estes Park pack was going to be rallied around her. And then they’d left her alone with Jett and a hefty dose of awkward silence. He’d quickly made an excuse of checking on his bees but returned before she could breathe and said it was time to go. Then proceeded to hover over her at the electronics store like some hulking, mouth breathing bodyguard. The kid who’d been trying to upsell her on an expensive computer she didn’t need got the hint when Jett wedged himself in between them and crossed his arms.
“He was trying to get me to buy a three-thousand-dollar computer, not kidnap me,” she’d huffed. Not that it had deterred Jett in the least.
“He was standing too close. Can’t be too careful.”
“He’s like eighteen.”
“If I say he’s too close, he’s too close.”
Cara had quietly mocked him behind his back and followed him out of the store, not bothering to say thank you as he held the door for her or opened the door to his truck for her. Not that she didn’t notice. The thoughtfulness was nice. But he was being a crabass, plus he’d hurt her feelings this morning and she was still licking that wound.
If she wasn’t attracted to him, none of this would be a damn problem. But her hormones were out of control and so were her, uh, needs, so she was taking things personally. Living alone so long without any close friendships or romantic relationships had taken a toll on her ability to navigate someone else’s motives and feelings. She’d been so focused on her business that she’d lost sight of how to consider how someone else was feeling. Now that she’d been thrown together with Jett, well, she probably should give the man some grace. It’s not like he’d expected her to pop into his life and if he wanted to keep her at arm’s length, who was she to argue?
Bouncing up the road back to his home was wreaking havoc on her bladder, but at least the scenery was pretty. Everything around here was visually attractive. Estes Park was full of rustic charm. The mountain ranges were breathtaking. And the herd of elk that crossed the street at the stop walk when they’d turned into the electronics store had been amazingly unexpected. She remembered similar scenes from being here as a child.
“What kind of business do you have?”
Jett slowed for a curve as the road faded from blacktop to gravel.
Cara didn’t pull her gaze from the window. “Jewelry.”
There was a pause. “You must sell a lot of it.”
