January was just as white as her sister. She stood over by the window, hugging her arms around her middle tightly. “I’m sorry. It’s so silly to be scared of something like that. But we were. Both of us. Terrified.”

  “It’s not that silly. They do carry disease sometimes.” He was reaching here, but for some reason, he didn’t want to embarrass either of the women further. He was trying to be a gentleman.

  “Let me pay you,” June offered. She walked across the cabin to the small kitchen and grabbed her purse off the counter.

  Tavish shook his head. He rubbed his hand at the back of his neck, his cold fingers tingling against the warmer skin. “I can’t accept any money for that. I was free at the moment. Just volunteering at the clinic today because my other job got cancelled.”

  “Oh. We caught you at a good time, then.”

  “At a remarkably good time,” June agreed, smiling broadly. “If you won’t accept money, then stay for dinner. It’s just about time. I have steaks I can throw on the grill out there now that we can actually go outside.” There was the attempt at matchmaking. “And January seriously needs to pee.”

  Tavish dropped his eyes down to the floor. He worked at a clinic, and he’d seen and heard the worst of the worst when it came to bodily functions, but he couldn’t look at January. She’d be mortified and he didn’t want to make it worse.

  “Oh my god! June!” She sounded embarrassed. Annoyed too.

  “She still doesn’t have her boots. I’ll get it!” June rushed out past him, got the lone boot he’d left outside like an oaf, and rushed back into the cabin. She grabbed some disinfectant wipes and gave the inside a good scouring before passing it over to her sister.

  January threw them on and stomped out of the cabin. She walked past the windows and that was all Tavish could see until she disappeared around the corner.

  “I really should be getting back.”

  “Let me cook you a steak. It’s the least we can do. You drove all this way and you have to drive back. You saved us from the killer mouse of mousey destruction. We should definitely feed you as payment.”

  “He did have a mousy overlord look about him.”

  June paled again. “He was big?”

  “Probably one of the biggest I’ve seen. Looking for a warm place to spend the winter, no doubt.”

  She shuddered. “I have no idea how it got in the boot or why. It should have picked a more secure hiding place, although we’re only here for a few more days and then I’ll have to go back to Seattle and January will be going back to Phoenix. She wanted to come at Christmas, but everyone was too busy. Her namesake month made more sense. We all hate that, by the way. Jokes about our names. Our brother’s name is August. I don’t know why my parents loved the calendar so much. It’s pretty unoriginal.”

  “I’ve heard worse.”

  “Oh, for sure, me too. It was just silly when they told me I should name the boys after months as well. Keep the tradition going.”

  “But you didn’t?”

  “I most certainly did not. My husband thought it would be hilarious, but after more than a few dirty looks he got the memo that I wasn’t into it.”

  “January lives in Phoenix, you said?” He was immediately disappointed beyond anything that was rational. He felt like his gut had been filled with stones.

  “Yes.” June searched his face, and he knew that she knew his game. Did he have any game? This wasn’t a game, but was he playing at something? Digging for information? “She’s going to come back to Seattle with me after we’re done here and see the boys for a few days, but then she has to drive back. She has her own place. She does work from home, though, and she’s divorced and single, so she doesn’t have any real tethers there anymore. She might be convinced to move here for the right reasons.”

  He cleared his throat awkwardly.

  June went right on smiling like he wasn’t dying on the spot. When he remained silent, she decided to stop beating around the bush and just make her point. “January doesn’t think she’s ready to date again, but it would be nice if she met someone who proved her wrong. She’s the nicest person I know. She has a wonderful heart. None of us really understand why she got divorced, but there must have been something. She wasn’t happy and that’s what counts, I guess. I’d like her to be happy. I’d love it if she was closer, but that’s not why I’m going to tell you to ask her out. I’m going to tell you to take her on a date because she deserves it. She deserves to be happy. And because as obnoxious as you might think I am, I know good chemistry when I see it, and you two had an immediate connection that was sending sparks all over that little exam room. I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve never seen my sister look like that, not in all the years she was dating or married, and certainly not after.”

  “It was probably the leg injury.”

  “It freaking wasn’t,” June insisted, in no mood to take no for an answer. “It wasn’t shock or pain or anything bad. My sister is insanely good at hiding what she’s thinking. She hasn’t even answered a single one of my questions honestly about how she’s doing, or about what went down with her marriage being over since she got here. She won’t because it’s not on her terms and she’s not ready to talk about it. She’s always been like that. She’s a great older sister. She’s always watching out for everyone else and putting them first and making them happy. That’s why she doubly deserves to be happy. If you’re even the slightest bit into it, and I think you are given that you’re here doing ridiculous things like saving us from a chonky mouse, then you should stay for dinner and ask my sister out afterwards. I know she’s only here for a few days, but who knows? Maybe something could happen.”

  His jaw locked up and he couldn’t make himself agree. He couldn’t make himself say no either. He was stuck between one determined sister and the other one, who he couldn’t get out of his head. June was right. January was the reason he was here. Anything she asked, he’d do it, without hesitation. What did that mean for him? He wasn’t quite sure. He didn’t know what was going on. He’d never been hit this hard by anything. It was like getting one of those stomach bugs Sam’s kid had and going down for the count. One minute you’re fine and then next your world is upended.

  “I think you know you want to.”

  Considering he still couldn’t give rise to his doubts and head out the door, she must be right.

  The door opened and closed softly behind him. He whirled and there was January. The cold had flushed her cheeks and gusts of wind had mussed her long hair all over the place. She was beautiful before, but the outdoors had done something to her. And maybe it had done something to his memory too, because he remembered her being beautiful, but somehow she’d taken things up to another level in her jeans, rubber boots, huge parka, and wind-whipped, fresh-faced look.

  His heart started to beat faster than it should. He couldn’t feel the bear moving under his skin. It didn’t make itself known to him like that, although some shifters said they could feel it like a thrashing going on in their own bodies, another presence rattling around, trapped in there. He’d never felt his bear as something that he had to fight with to be let out. He was always pretty much at peace with that part of himself. He was a big man and he was a good guard, but he could also be gentle too. The clinic was just one of the many ways. Right now, though? Something surged inside him that was so primal it didn’t at all connect with his human side.

  It didn’t feel connected to his bear either.

  So what the hell was it? If he’d felt something like that the first time they’d met in the clinic, this was a double dose.

  “I should be going,” he bit out, but it felt like too little, too late, even if it was safer for him to leave. Safe, as in some things just weren’t meant to be and shouldn’t be meddled with and enough humans knew about shifters as it was. There really didn’t need to be any more. He was perfectly content with his life the way it was.

  He didn’t need dates. He didn’t need to consider taking a mate.

  His heart wasn’t in dire need of rescuing or saving. He wasn’t lonely. His life had tons of meaning.

  But he didn’t move. For one, January was blocking the door. She seemed as paralyzed as he was. Neither of them could move, so June took the lead. She walked calmly to the fridge and took out a pack of steaks. To her credit, she had one lean, mean neutral expression on. She wasn’t grinning widely anymore. “Great. Three for dinner it is.”

  Chapter 6

  January

  Sitting down to a steak dinner was something January rarely did. She lived alone now, and she didn’t bother with cooking steaks for herself. Her parents, for whatever reason, didn’t often opt for them either. Jotham had liked chicken so much better, or the chicken of the sea. His favorite thing on earth was tuna sandwiches. Nothing against the most delicious fish, but she’d be happy if she never had to eat another tuna sandwich or tuna steak again.

  June hadn’t asked them how they liked their steak. She’d done it the best she could out there on the grill, with the whipping wind that stole most of the heat and a propane tank that was just about empty.

  “I hope they’re not raw. I mean, rare is good, isn’t it?”

  January cut into her steak and gulped. Red juicy stuff that looked a lot like blood swirled on her plate around the meat and soaked into her rice. It smelled good, even if it didn’t appear all that appetizing. For her sister, because she looked so eager to please, January took a bite.

  “Actually… it’s pretty good.”

  June let out a huge sigh, like the fate of the world depended on her steak cooking skills. “Good. That’s good. I’m glad.”

  “Rare is perfect,” Tavish agreed, but only after January had rendered her opinion. She wondered if he liked it that way or if he was just saying so to be nice.

  He’d agreed to stay for dinner, but only because June had probably pressured him into it while she’d been in the outhouse. He’d taken a seat on the couch at June’s urging, and she’d cooked the rice and set the table. He hadn’t asked her repeatedly if he could help. He’d just looked out the window, appearing to be as uncomfortable as she was while June wasn’t in the room with them.

  It wasn’t the bad kind of tension between them that filled up the cabin. It was the kind of tension people felt when they wanted to do something and say something, when they were waiting to burst into action, but something was holding them back.

  Alright, there was probably a side order of sexual tension she felt as well. Raw attraction.

  She’d thought that the teenage, hormone swirling, ovary overwhelming, knee weakening feelings were long done with. She was pretty darn wrong, because she’d barely managed to cook rice while her body burned itself up internally.

  When she’d signed her divorce papers, the thought of dating made her a little bit sick.

  She didn’t feel sick now.

  That wasn’t why her stomach was clenched tighter than a shaking fist raised in the air.

  Dinner was a pretty silent and awkward affair. June scarfed her steak down and glanced through the front window. “Oh my gosh. I think I left the grill on. I better go check.”

  “I thought you said it was out of propane.”

  She had said that. She’d blamed the rawness of the steaks on the tank.

  June gave her one of those covert smiles of hers. January managed to hold in the massive sigh that wanted to tear loose. She’d beg her sister to stop plotting if Tavish wasn’t sitting right there.

  If she really wanted to tell June something, Tavish’s presence wouldn’t stop her. If she wanted to express her opinions, she’d just state them.

  Instead, she let June scamper out the door. She cut the buttery soft steak and popped another piece into her mouth. June had outdone herself with her grilling mishaps. It turned the steaks into something wonderful. Sometimes things happened that way. The good stuff came by accident.

  Like this man sitting across the table from her.

  When he cleared his throat, January just about jumped out of her seat. “I was wondering…”

  She dropped her knife and fork and swallowed so loudly that she wanted to laugh at herself. Tavish looked straight ahead, right at her. He wasn’t blinking. He swallowed hard too. He hadn’t even jumped when she dropped her fork.

  “I was wondering if you’d like to go out to dinner. Greenacre doesn’t have a restaurant. It did, but it closed, and we haven’t had anyone reopen it. But maybe… I could cook.”

  Go to his house? In the middle of nowhere? In some small town or worse, the woods? That didn’t seem very safe. It didn’t seem smart. He wasn’t a stranger, but people could be something other than what they seemed.

  “I-I don’t know that I can do that.”

  Tavish blinked. “Right. That makes sense. Your sister said you were going to be in Seattle for some time. Maybe I could take you out there.”

  Would there be harm in going out for a night with this man who seemed so perfectly nice? He was beautiful. Beyond beautiful. And yet he was interested in her. What made her so special? She was over forty, divorced, and probably on the hotness scale only a solid six. Tavish didn’t even register on that scale. He freaking shattered it. It just didn’t make sense.

  January put her elbows on the table and clutched her hands together. Her eyes flicked to the window, and she could see June lifting up the propane tank and inspecting it, like that would help anything.

  “I appreciate the offer, but I know that my sister put you up to this. We’ll just say that it was me. I’ll take the blame. You don’t have to take me to dinner. You don’t even have to ask.”

  The relief she expected to see on his face never came. Instead, he frowned. “Your sister was quite insistent that I take you out and she did press, but she didn’t force me. This invitation is just me extending it because I want to. I know I don’t have to.”

  “You’re just being nice. You don’t have to do that. June can be a lot, I know. She can be hard to resist. She asked you about being single when you changed that tire and she’s probably been plotting ever since. The mouse thing was just a handy excuse. Which, thank you for saving its life, by the way. It can’t help that it was born gross and scary, and also extremely cute in a horrifying way.”

  “It didn’t need to be killed.”

  “No. No, it didn’t. I’m glad you didn’t.”

  Tavish smiled slowly, almost hesitantly. In some state somewhere, it was probably illegal to be that hot. That smile was flames to her insides. “I’d like to take you out, January. If you’ll let me.”

  “No!” She shook her head, suddenly close to tears. “No, thank you. I’m good.”

  “Okay. But you’re good because you don’t want to go on a date with me, or because you don’t want to go on a date with anyone since you’re not ready, or because of something else, or you’re not really good at all?”

  She was so confused. Her head hurt. Her brain felt sluggish. “Because… because you don’t really want to go out with someone like me.”

  “I’m not sure what that means, but I think that I do.”

  “I’m okay. No matter what my sister said, I don’t need you to go out with me to boost my ego. I’m doing fine. I’m not in a rut or having a mid-life crisis.”

  “Fair enough.” Those dark eyes softened a notch. He wasn’t angry. He seemed almost amused. What about this was funny?

  Instead of getting annoyed by that, it only made January more determined to dissuade him. “I’m not your type, Tavish. You’re way too good looking for me. I’ll just say it. We’re not a good match physically.”

  Something else flared to life in his eyes and it hit her straight in the belly. Her heart slammed into her ribs. It felt like it had done some damage to itself, careening around like that because she was out of breath as soon as the words went out and she saw that look on his face.

  A look that said that he thought the exact opposite. That he thought that they’d be a very good match physically.

  “Are you emotionally ready to date again? Because if you’re not, that’s fair enough. But I can tell you right now, January, that I’m very attracted to you. I think you’re beyond beautiful. You’re doing yourself an extreme disservice to think otherwise.”

  All she had to say was that she needed more time. That her last experience sucked. That she’d just gotten a divorce and didn’t want to jump into something new. That she thought it was pointless given that they lived in different places. It would be so simple. So. Freaking. Easy.

  June thumped the propane tank down outside and the echo of it striking the ground seemed to reverberate through the cabin. She banged the grill lid a second later. It was her noisy way of letting January know she was coming back in.

  She could just say no. She could very easily and politely decline, and she’d never see Tavish again after tonight. Her life would continue to go on in an uncomplicated way. She had no urge to be with anyone ever again. Dating or even just sex was just not for her at the moment.

  And then she’d nearly taken her leg off and, clearly, it had some wild and adverse side effects she’d never planned for.

  Hormonally.

  She should bow out of this before it even started, but instead she looked into Tavish’s dark velvet brown eyes and found those sparks of golden light she’d wondered about before. “I’ve had this craving for a chicken burger for days now. If you think you could find a good place in Seattle that has the to die for kind of chicken, maybe… I just… maybe.”

  He looked like he was going to make it his personal mission in life to find the world’s best chicken. Her heart bruised itself again, smashing into the underside of her ribs. “Maybe isn’t no, so that’s a great start.”

  Chapter 7

  Tavish

  He wasn’t much of a five-star, fine dining kind of guy. Give him a little mom-and-pop restaurant and he’d believe any one of those thousand reviews that said they made the best chicken in all of Washington and maybe even the whole country. If the smells from the kitchen were any indication, he could easily agree.

 

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