Page 4 of Loan Wolf
Gabe unlocked his bike and slung his helmet over his head, buckling the strap beneath his chin.
Green Valley was quiet, with nearly all of the town gathered at the high school for Gran’s funeral, and Gabe took advantage of the empty streets to ride in the middle of the streets at nearly shifter speed. Although it wasn’t a strenuous ride, he was sweating by the time he got back to his shop. It was nearly a hundred degrees, and nearly a hundred percent humidity, because the picturesque little town was actually hell itself, and he couldn’t wait to get out.
In another town, maybe he could stop seeing himself the way his mother had, like a screwup with no future.
A black cat who looked like he’d picked one too many fights with lawn mowers was grooming himself on the stoop of the bike shop and he growled in warning when Gabe nudged him gently aside with his foot to get to the door.
“Go menace a mouse, asshole.”
Pinochle stretched slowly and hopped down the two steps to the sidewalk, sending a disgusted look back over his shoulder.
“Don’t expect wet food tonight, ingrate,” Gabe told him. “I’m not made of money.”
But he crouched down for a moment anyway, carefully facing away as he pretended to adjust his shoe.
Pinochle was independent, and he wouldn’t approach anyone who invited him, but if he thought it was his own idea…
Gabe was just ready to give up on his laces when Pinochle came to rub up against his leg and accept a few careful pets.
A warning growl told Gabe when the cat was done with affection and Pinochle stalked away with his tail in the air, but Gabe felt better for the fleeting liberty that had been allowed.
The shop was two degrees cooler than it was outside, if that, and Gabe took off his sole short-sleeved dress shirt and turned on the fans before going behind the counter to sit on the stool and bury his head in his hands.
His mate.
What was he supposed to do?
Lick her, his wolf said sensibly.
4
CLARA
Clara wasn’t sure why she felt so restless and at odds with herself. She wanted to prod Trevor or Aaron into a fight for no good reason, but she didn’t want them to argue. She wanted to point out how well she’d done for herself, but she wanted to stop talking about dancing forever. She wanted to be the center of attention, but she didn’t want anyone to look at her.
And if she heard ‘I remember when you were this tall!’ one more time, she was going to scream.
She shook hands with a hundred people, Trevor and Aaron trailing her and jostling over who got to introduce her to each one. Trevor was very ungracious about having to leave, but made her promise to meet for breakfast some morning.
Linda Powell had married the Fire Chief Turner, apparently. “Clara Montgomery! Of course, I’ve heard all about you, and you were a very memorable Mary in the Christmas pageant.”
Clara smiled the exact amount she had to. That story had been brought up almost as many times as her height. “Come back, baby Jesus,” she chuckled.
Linda’s laugh was a sparkling city-laugh, and she didn’t take long to get to business. “You’ve heard about our new theatre, I believe. We’re hosting a revue to end our season next weekend. Would you be willing to do a short dance number? It would be an absolute coup for the theatre! The perfect note to end on!”
Clara was intensely aware of how many people were around them. Some were distracted with their own conversations, but a lot of them—too many!—were shamelessly eavesdropping or lingering at the fringes. Dancing in Green Valley was the last thing she wanted to do, but she knew it would reflect poorly on her stepmother if she was rude, and she couldn’t think of a graceful excuse. It wasn’t like there was anything else to do here during their stay and it wasn’t like she could admit she’d been looking forward to seeing who she was when she wasn’t a famous dancer.
“I’d be delighted,” she lied reluctantly.
This sparked a flurry of excitement and speculation around them and Clara knew there was no way to back out now. She was well and truly backed into the corner.
At least it couldn’t possibly be worse than the Christmas pageant everyone remembered her for now!
5
GABE
Two days later, the garage door was open and Gabe had fans running full blast, so he didn’t hear the customer come in until they rang the bell at the counter.
