4

4

She was in the back the next afternoon, grilling one of the first food orders of the day, since the bar/grill had only opened an hour or so ago, when the bell on the door tinkled. She looked up through the window that offered her a view of the front of house from the kitchen, groaning softly when she saw Bodie standing there. He eyed the room, perhaps looking for her, though maybe just deciding which seat to take.

He had his pick of them, and he chose a round booth in the corner that allowed him a view of the whole bar, both the front door and the kitchen. She was certain he was there to check on her, and she wished she’d left a note to thank him and somehow make it clear she didn’t require any more assistance from him.

She was startled as she placed the bratwurst on the plate less than a minute later, about to add the cabbage salad to the side, when Saul stuck his head through the swinging kitchen door and said, “Yo, get your butt out to the front, Dalton.”

“Why?” He could hardly need her to fill in as a waiter, but she supposed she knew why even before he explained.

“One of the customers is asking for you.” He gave her a bit of a glare, and it was intimidating in his large, jowly face. “He’d better not be a boyfriend.”

She scoffed before she could think better of it. “Do you think that’s likely, Saul?”

To her surprise, he nodded. “’Course it is, Dalton. I’m old, but I ain’t dead. Just like any man, I’m capable of appreciating a pretty woman.”

She was startled by the words, wondering from where they’d sprung. In the four years she’d worked for Saul, he hadn’t been effusive with his praise. He wasn’t overly harsh when it came to criticism either. He was just a blunt man with little patience for wasting time, and he didn’t care about the niceties of social interaction. That suited her well, because he wasn’t always back there in the kitchen expecting her to talk and open up to him. He was the ideal boss, but she was startled hear even faint personal praise come from him. “Thanks.” She sounded awkward, but that was because she felt that way.

He shrugged a shoulder. “Check in with the boy and see what he wants, but make sure you’re not slacking on the clock.”

Her lips twitched at the admonishment, which she hardly needed. She wasn’t the type to slack, and she’d never had any of her friends come visit her at work. That was probably because she’d lost touch with all of them after the accident, and she hadn’t tried overly hard to renew those bonds as she struggled to come to terms with who she was now, but she’d like to think she wouldn’t have been the kind to socialize during work anyway.

With a hint of reluctance, she finished plating the order and took it out with her, delivering it to the customer directly after ensuring her hair fell properly over her face so that they barely got a glimpse of the scars as she set it on the table before she walked across the room. She hovered in front of Bodie’s table for a moment, straightening her spine. “What can I do for you?”

“Sit down.”

She looked over at Saul, who was pointedly not looking at her, but perhaps it was because he was busy. Maybe he was giving her a moment. With a little reluctance, she pulled out a chair and sat down stiffly. “I can’t stay long since I’m working. Do you need something?”

“I wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine and appreciate your help, but I really don’t need it.” She kept her tone cool and tried to be distant with them.

He arched a brow, indicating perhaps he disagreed, but at least he was wise enough not to argue with her verbally. “As I was falling asleep last night, I remembered I used to know a Claire.”

Her stomach clenched, and her throat felt like it constricted at his words. “Oh?” It came out like a frog croaked the word.

“Claire Dalton. Her sister, Gracie, was friends with my brother, Owen. You remind me of her.”

Claire sneered. “I don’t see how. We barely saw each other back then, Bodie.” She groaned softly as she realized what she’d revealed, but she decided to stay the course. “Yes, I’m Claire Dalton.” His lips twitched, and for a moment, she was certain he was remembering the time when she fell on his lap. His arms had gone around her to keep her from falling into the sand by the lake, and instinctively, she’d puckered her lips.

She nearly groaned aloud now in embarrassment as she remembered back then. It took all the strength she had not to squirm in her seat at the humiliation of recalling the way he quickly ejected her off his lap. She couldn’t believe then that she had so blatantly made it obvious she wanted to kiss him, but she’d been unable to resist the pull of the compulsion. It was like the minute he touched her, something had ignited inside her, insisting she needed him.

It had been the same way last night as well, leaving her more unsettled when she thought about that. Her cheeks flushed as she recalled the kisses they’d shared when they barely knew each other, and he hadn’t even realized they knew each other at all.

“I’m sorry I didn’t check on you.”

She frowned. “I left pretty early this morning, so I don’t see how you could have.”

He shook his head. “I mean, I’m sorry I didn’t check on you after the accident. It didn’t really occur to me, to my shame. I was focused on Owen’s death, and I guess it didn’t really come to me that you had lost Gracie. I had no idea how injured you’d been, but since you were connected to Owen, I should have made it my business to find out.”

She managed a small smile. “You can let yourself off the hook for that. It wasn’t like we were friends, Bodie.”

He looked regretful for a moment but didn’t argue. “Anyway, it’s good to see you again.”

“You too.” She caught Saul looking at her, and she pushed back the chair. “I’ve got to get back to work.” Without another word, she returned to the kitchen, hoping he would leave soon after. Instead, he seemed to make it his mission to linger there. As the afternoon ticked past, he ordered a steady stream of drinks and food, though she noted only an occasional alcoholic drink was in the lineup.

As the afternoon faded into early evening, she was surprised to see people joining him. She immediately recognized Jalen and Liam from the old days. They were both his cousins, and if she recalled pack hierarchy right, Jalen would now be his future Beta. She didn’t think Liam had any involvement in the pack business at all, or at least in running it, so she couldn’t help wondering why they were all in Caliper.

It wasn’t exactly typical for shifters to hang out there. They tended to come to Caliper, which was nearly twice the size of Northstar, for the immediate essentials and conveniences they couldn’t get in their shifter town. Otherwise, they were looking at nearly a two-hour drive in all directions to either reach one of the bigger cities in Washington or Idaho surrounding their home in northern Idaho. They did have shifters stop occasionally for a drink, and she only recognized most of them as shifters because of the time she’d spent in Owen’s circle. They didn’t tend to linger for hours as he was though.

She couldn’t help feeling paranoid it had something to do with her, and she was determined to find the answer. When it was finally time for her dinner break, she took off her apron, gathered her courage, and approached their table. It took a lot of strength to stand there before them, especially since she had to endure Jalen and Liam both seeing her face for the first time, though she was careful to keep her hair obscuring most of it.

“Are you on a break?” asked Bodie.

“I am.” She hovered for a moment, not waiting for an invitation before she pulled out a chair and sat down. “What are you doing here? It’s not usual for your kind to hang out in Caliper for long.”

Liam looked startled. “You know what we are?”

He obviously didn’t remember her. “I do.” She kept her tone low, not wanting to draw attention to them. “Is there some reason you’re hanging around, Bodie?” She decided it was better to be direct.

Before he could answer, Sharon, one of the night servers, stopped by the table. “Can I get you guys something else?”

“Bring them all a beer on my tab,” said Claire, wanting to soften them up a bit so they’d be honest with her why they were there.

“Sure thing, but would you like some food or anything?”

“No, just the beers,” said Bodie, his gaze not leaving Claire’s the entire time. He hesitated for a moment before saying, “I would rather talk to you about it after your shift ends. Is that okay?”

She huffed out a sigh. “I guess that depends.”

“On what?”

“Are you planning to lurk here the whole evening?”

He gave her a slow nod, and then his grin seemed faintly predatory. “I do indeed, darlin’.”

His words sent a thrill through her, making her feel overly warm for a moment. She was certain he was there for her, but she couldn’t explain why, or why he would have any reason to take up the post. It was obvious he wasn’t going to explain right now though, so with another sigh, she said, “Fine. We’ll talk after my shift ends. I have another three hours,” she said with a hint of warning.

“We’ll still be here,” said Bodie sanguinely, and he seemed to take pleasure in ruffling her feathers. He grinned at her without repentance, and his cousins adopted similar expressions as they nodded.

“All night if we have to,” said Liam with a wink.

Since she was nowhere closer to having an idea why they were there, and it was obvious they weren’t going to cooperate, she pushed back from the table. “You are all frustrating.”

“Where are you going, darlin’?” asked Liam, adopting the same tone and endearment his cousin had just used.

“I need to get something to eat before I get back to work.” She didn’t miss the way Bodie had stiffened at Liam using the words, and he seemed suddenly more serious and territorial. She was almost surprised not to hear him growling, and she couldn’t help wondering if he was feeling territorial about her.

It would make sense in light of that kiss they’d shared the night before, but it was also completely ridiculous, because she couldn’t help recalling how quickly he’d pushed her away when they’d shared a brief moment in the past. Back then, she’d still been young and pretty, without the scars, both emotional and physical, that she bore now. It made no sense that Bodie would be attracted to her as she was now if he hadn’t found her attractive when she was still pretty.

She shook her head in confusion, determined to get to the bottom of it, but first, she had to eat something and finish her shift. It felt like the longest three hours of her life, and she couldn’t help staring at the shifter table every chance she got, which was infrequent, since they were having a busy night, and everyone seemed determined to order food along with their alcohol.

That was typical, especially since people seemed to love Saul’s honey barbecue ribs, which inspired the name of his bar, The Honey Trap, but she resented work that evening, and how it kept her from getting answers from Bodie. She told herself it was only answers that made her impatient to get back in his proximity, and there was nothing more to it than that.