Chapter 9

Mike could hardly take his eyes away from Jamie long enough to get them both in his truck and out of the driveway. Just looking at her made him salivate. And that kiss! Damn. It was the kiss he might expect from a mate, but not from a human.

Unless that human is his mate.

He blinked, stunned at the echo of his father's voice in his head. It took him back to a discussion they'd had just before the attack that killed his parents. During a long night before the fireplace his father had shared a lot of shifter wisdom with him, almost as if he knew tragedy was about to strike. That it might be the last time they shared a moment like that.

Mike was shocked to learn that his father would approve mating with a human if it was the right relationship. Unfortunately he hadn't given him any advice on how to go about it. The other human females he'd been with had been for nothing more than sex, the chance to relieve the constant hunger that roiled inside him.

The book will tell you all.

Only if he got his hands on the damn thing. He'd thought about taking it with him last night but that would have been a bad idea. Jamie would be going nuts looking for it and right now he didn't want her distracted from what he had in mind for later. No, the best thing was to solidify the bond he'd established last night and see if he could convince her to find the answers in the book with him.

His worries as to whether she'd remember last night disappeared once he looked in her eyes this morning. Saw the expression on her face, especially when he kissed her. He was sure she was confused at the moment, trying to figure out how the whole thing happened. That would take some explaining, too.

"You have to tell me where to go," he reminded her. "I'm the newcomer here, remember?"

"That's right, I forgot. It's not that far." She directed him to the park-like plaza in the center of town. "It's pumpkin central today," she joked.

"I'll bet Halloween being on a Saturday this year will ramp up the excitement." He turned onto Main Street, slowing down as he merged into traffic. "The kids will have all day to get charged up and they'll all probably go to bed with a sugar high."

"You're right. It's happened before." She chuckled. "They're all so busy being ghosts and goblins and vampires and werewolves and stuffing all that candy in their mouths. I don't envy their parents."

Mike managed to score a parking place just as someone pulled out. He turned off the ignition and glanced over at Jamie. "Did you give your parents fits when you were that age? I'll bet you were the good little librarian even then." He grinned. "But with a devil hiding inside. Right?"

"I'll never tell. What about you? Did you give your parents fits?"

He tensed, visibly, silent for a long moment. Jamie wondered what that was all about. "Mike?"

"Halloween was a little different at our house." He opened his car door. "Come on. All the little hellions are getting the best pumpkins."

Well. Obviously he wasn't going to answer anything now. But she tucked the question into the back of her mind for later. Jamie climbed out of the car and followed him into the park. He was right about the crowd. The entire grassy area was a sea of orange, peppered with kids racing around them and distraught parents trying to corral them.

"Let's make a plan." Mike reached for her hand. It felt so comfortable and so right she wove her fingers with his.

"What kind?"

"Okay, how many of these things do you usually get?"

"Four. One for each side of the front porch, one for the living room window and one for the back porch."

He stopped. "Seriously? That's a lot of carving to leave for the last minute."

She shrugged. "When Halloween falls during the week I buy the stuff early and do them at night. But since this year it's on Saturday I decided to do it all in one day."

"Then you're lucky you're with the best pumpkin spotter in the world."

"Is that a fact?" She laughed. "We'll see."

In the end, though, she had to admit he had a great eye. The pumpkins they loaded into his car were the perfect size, round and fat and with almost no blemishes or misshapen in any way.

"So?" he asked as they headed back to her house. "Do I get the medal or not?"

"Obviously your ego doesn't need a boost," she teased. "But, okay. Yes. You get the glory today."

"Wait until you see my carving skills."

"I need to make a quick stop to get my candy supply, if you don't mind, I meant to run out and do it last night but...other things got in the way."

Other things? Was he thinking of the same thing she was? Had it actually happened? Damn. Jamie wished she had the guts to come right out and ask him, of course if it had all been her imagination she'd feel like a bigger idiot than usual. She chewed over it while she helped him pick out treats and all the way back to her house. Then, with a deliberate effort, she tucked it away in a mental corner or she'd never be able to get anything done.

Jamie couldn't believe how quickly the day went by. They worked side by side in her kitchen, with a rhythm they soon established. Mike would slice the tops off with an even swipe of the knife, Jamie would scoop the seeds out while Mike drew the cutouts. Unlike her face carving, his results were nice and even, almost symmetrical.

"Did you take pumpkin carving in school, by any chance?"

He grinned. "I think it's a natural skill."

"Let's put them on the table over there until its time to set the candles inside and put then in place."

"How about I run to the deli in town," he suggested, "and get us some sandwiches before we start on the decorations?"

"Oh, no," she protested. "You don't need to - "

He held up a hand. "I insist. I'm hungry. I'll bet you are, too. It's been a long time since the coffee and muffins and we still have all those decorations to put up."

He was going to stay and help her? Spend the day with her? He's just being neighborly, she told herself, even while a major part of her hoped it meant something more.

Are you crazy? You just met him yesterday.

Uh huh. But there's something going on here and I think it has to do with that book.

Really? Are you nuts?

Okay, maybe she was. But for the first time in her well-ordered life she was going to go with the flow, no matter where it took her.