Page 3 of Wild in the Woods
Lulu thrust her hand into his. He pulled her up with a swift tug of his muscular arm. Pressing three fingers to her temple, she struggled against a well of defeat that threatened to choke her. She’d been here five minutes and it was already a disaster. Wouldn’t Rudd get a kick out of this. He’d probably set up this little prank somehow, too.
“This is unacceptable. I’m here on business. If you’re supposed to clean up the shit after the caribou take a morning stroll through the neighborhood so customers don’t fall in it, then perhaps that should be a first priority. Do you understand what I’m saying? This is… this is unheard of. Unsanitary! Can I get a disease from this?”
The man put his hands out in supplication and shook his head. “No, ma’am. Again, I’m very sorry. Can I offer you a free coffee for your trouble? I’ll throw in a few donuts.”
A stunted huff broke in her throat. “How about I send a bill for my ruined coat, and we’ll call it even.”
He dug his wallet out of his back pocket and opened it. “Look, my brother and his wife own the bakery and they just had twins. It’s my fault the droppings weren’t cleaned up, so let me settle with you. How much for the coat?”
Lulu arched a brow. She’d expected backlash. “That’s noble of you. Forget it.”
“My brother doesn’t need any trouble. I said I’ll pay—”
Shrugging out of her coat, she leveled him with a stare. “Are you from here?”
“Yeah. Grew up here.”
Bingo. “Do you know Fox Mitchell?”
His eyes shone with interest. “Why are you asking?”
Lulu didn’t flinch at the hesitation in his voice. She was used to it.
“I’m a reporter. I’d like to talk to him about his business, but the man is a ghost. Line me up with his number and I won’t bother anyone about the six hundred it’s going to take to replace my coat.”
His expression skewed disbelievingly. This guy was handsome—and married according to the gold band on his left hand. It was very hard not to notice his looks as he pegged her with piercing eyes.
One corner of his lips pulled tight. “Six hundred dollars for a coat? Christ. Sure. I’ll give you his number.”
Lulu took out her cell and opened her contact list. “Go ahead. I’m ready.”
He recited it off from memory, watched as she typed it in.
“If there’s nothing else, I should get back to it.”
“Wait!” Lulu snapped. She might be fresh out of college, but she wasn’t stupid. Who remembered a cell phone number from memory these days? She dialed, watching the man for any reaction that he’d been caught giving her a fake number.
A voice mail clicked on.Leave a message for Fox. Beep.
Huh. Seems legit. Her chest swelled with excitement. Take that, Rudd!
“Thanks,” she said absently as she went to the trunk and tossed her soiled coat inside. Without another look at the man, she got behind the wheel and pulled away from the curb.
Things were looking up. This was going to be great.
She was going to crush this assignment and make it a huge success, and finally leave the disappointments of her past behind.
Chapter Two
“Tellmethisisa joke.”
“Good luck, buddy. You’re going to need it.”
“You did not give that woman my phone number.” Fox Mitchell glared at his cousin Jett, who’d just sauntered in and announced the caribou mess had been cleaned and the angry woman from the sidewalk was the proud new owner of Fox’s phone number. He then tried to grab a box of sticky buns from the counter and bolt.
Fox grabbed Jett by the arm and forced their glares together. Jett was huge but they were the same height and nearly the same build. They hadn’t always been evenly matched. Growing up, Jett frequently had the upper hand thanks to a crazy growth spurt at like twelve that made even full-grown bear shifters jealous.
“Do you think I’d be that stupid?” Jett broke Fox’s hold. “I gave her your dummy number.”
