Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 23

Carter

I tossed Rosie an extra egg off my plate and she caught it mid air without warning. Briar giggled and it was like music to my soul. I took her empty plate, my heart aching, as I turned over the events of this morning and last night, and came to the conclusion that the person who had done this to her was the man who was supposed to protect her in every way. He had devastatingly failed her. The signs were there, her sweet scent, laced with the sour scent of his, her aversion to basic necessities, like eating, and the haphazard bed she had made on the worn and uncomfortable couch, the jerky wrappers piled neatly on the counter. It all pointed to a wolf undergoing a one sided rejection. How could a male do this to his mate?  

Staring into the horizon, eating Jake’s prescribed Sunday breakfast, I willed the old man’s wisdom to settle within me. I didn’t know what to do with this information. I imagined he would take it in stride and so would I. This woman scented human, but she was extraordinary, to me, at least. I wasn’t ready for him to meet her. I didn’t want to hear what he would say about this. She was someone to Jake, and even without what my soul and my wolf knew, that alone put her in a position of receiving protection.

“I see you’ve cleaned up the place a bit,” I observed, when we stepped back inside. She just shrugged and took me through the house briefly pointing out what she thought she had yet to do.

“You should be taking it easy,” I pointed out. 

She shrugged. “Staying busy helps,” was her only reply. 

How did I get this woman to slow down? I knew how I wanted to do it but something told me I was miles away from that ever happening. I had to wait her out and slow her down on my own terms.

“Let me take a look at the truck, we can drain the tank and put some fresh gas in it and see what happens,” I offered, knowing it was futile. That truck needed an alternator, possibly a starter and a fresh battery I was sure. I wasn’t going to tell her that yet. I wanted to drag out her needing me for as long  as I could. Unfortunately, she was probably smart enough to figure it out on her own, eventually, so there wasn’t much time for that. I would savor what I could get. Her not wanting to be around people worked in my favor right now, and I’d be taking advantage of that until the power came on, and we had to go for groceries again; but I wouldn’t be able to pay for them again. I had to stick with her terms.

A few hours later and ‘surprise’ the truck didn’t start. We were eating bologna and cheese sandwiches with our legs swinging as we sat on the tailgate when my phone began chirping. I ignored it and she eyed me from under the brim of her hat.

“Aren’t you gonna answer that?”

I shook my head no, her forehead wrinkling adorably under the brim of her hat. She was so damn beautiful. I shrugged, “It’s probably just my sister wanting the tea. Newcomers around here are rare, she’s nosey,” was all I said, taking another bite of my sandwich. I counted myself fortunate she was eating for a second time. Every bite she took seemed like a war she was fighting on the inside…could I make it a third? Everyone else could wait as far as I was concerned.

“You could come over to my place for dinner? Take a hot shower if you want. You should really wrap up your ribs. If they are broken, it will limit the movement and help you heal faster,” I said, before holding my breath and glancing at her out of the corner of my eye. I didn’t want to react to her answer, acting like it was just a soft suggestion, even though I wanted to force her to come over even if it was just for food and medical attention.

“I don’t know”—she stammered— “I don’t have anything to do that here but you’ve been kind enough as it is. I wouldn’t want to intrude,” she tried to brush me off.

“Come on, I don’t have anything better to do, you’d be saving me from going to eat at the diner and having my sister grill me, the whole town is gonna want to know who you are. I won’t be able to eat in peace,” I practically begged.

“Aren’t you just delaying the inevitable?”

“Of course, I am, wouldn’t you?”

She snorted, and was quiet for a few moments, and to my surprise, she nodded. “Okay,”