No, Rindy. It isn’t jealousy. It’s annoyance.
“What can I get you to drink?” The waitress glanced quickly at Rindy, but soon turned back to stare at Brent.
He raised a brow at Rindy. Yeah, what she was feeling had to be annoyance, annoyance at the waitress acting as if she weren’t even there. She couldn’t really blame her for checking Brent out. He was gorgeous and had quite an impressive presence. Any breathing woman would do so, but it would be nice if she didn’t act as if Rindy weren’t in the room.
“I’ll take iced tea, please,” Rindy said before picking the menu up and ducking her head behind it to hide her irritation.
“Coffee for me,” Brent said.
“Would you like any cream or sugar with the coffee?” The waitress treated him to a sultry smile.
“No. Black.”
“ ’k. I’ll get it, but you let me know if you need anything else, anything at all, sugar.” She winked at him.
Rindy watched the waitress saunter off. “Yeah, don’t worry about me. I’ll take sweet or unsweet tea,” she muttered then rolled her eyes. “Good Lord.”
“What?”
“Let me know if you need anything else, anything at all, sugar.” Rindy mimicked the waitress’ Southern drawl, which seemed unusual for someone so far North.
“She was just being nice, Rindy.”
“Uh-huh. She was being way more than nice.”
“Jealous?” Brent smiled.
Her knees turned weak when he grinned at her. “Um, noooo. It just must get irritating if you have to put up with that everywhere you go. Which I’m sure you do. Not to mention that she treated me like the invisible woman.”
Damn it. She’d slipped up, and by the smirk on his face, he wasn’t going to let her slide either.
“Does that mean you think I’m good-looking?” He leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table.
“Don’t flatter yourself.” She itched to smack that smug grin right off his full lips.
He chuckled and went back to reading his menu. After a few moments, he laid it on the table. She peeked at him over her own menu, and he was watching her.
“I’m not embarrassed to admit that I think you are very good-looking—
beautiful in fact.” His eyes never left hers.
She could feel her cheeks burning and ducked her head back behind the menu. “Yeah, that’s because men are pigs,” she mumbled and had to tamp down the urge to throw her glass of water at him when he laughed at her.
They ordered, and Rindy’s annoyance with the waitress grew as she fawned all over Brent. A few times, she thought Brent would have to wipe the drool off him from the woman.
Ten minutes later, the waitress delivered their hamburgers and fries. The heaping plates of food looked and smelled mouth-watering. They both dug in.
“Do you have any family?” She stuck a fry in her mouth after she asked.
He paused for a moment. “Not any longer.”
“What happened to them?”
“I left my family years ago. They and I disagreed on things, and I felt it was time for me to move on.”
“You just left your family because of a disagreement?” She sat up straighter. How could someone do such a thing? She’d give an arm and a leg to have her family back.
“It wasn’t a simple disagreement. You have to understand that my family was not a family in the traditional sense that you are familiar with. My family was more of a pack. I was raised with several other males. Most were not my blood relatives. My mother died when I was young, and my father instilled certain values in us. Most of which I came to be unable to abide by once I got older.”
“Oh. Like what?” She sipped at her tea.
“One example is that he believed our mates were our property, that they were mere belongings that were supposed to do what we commanded. They were considered little more than a means to reproduce.” He took the last bite of his burger.
“That is horrible.” How could anyone think such a thing? And she felt her heart ache for any woman who was unfortunate enough to find herself in the hands of those monsters.
“Yes. I agree. I believe that a mate is to be cherished and loved. But I will not lie. I do believe it is my job to be the protector. It is my job to care and provide for my mate. But I also sincerely wish to make my mate happy. And I pray that my mate will come to love and respect me.”
Why was he staring at her so intently? She felt as if he was trying to convey more than just his feelings on the subject. She did admire him for having the strength to break from the barbaric thinking of his family. Maybe Brent Falls was a good man. Maybe he was nothing like the others she’d encountered. However, she couldn’t allow herself to forget that when it came down to bare bones, he was still a werewolf. And she could never allow herself to fully trust one. Could she?
“So, I take it you do not have a mate, then?”
He shook his head. “I have a mate. We all have a mate somewhere.”
“So, you haven’t found her yet?” She sat a little straighter, waiting for his answer.
“I think I’m very close to knowing her.”
“Oh.” Why did that seem to bother her so much? She should be happy that he was going to find a mate. “Well, I wish the best for you and her.”
“As do I. I have been lonely for many years. I cannot tell you how much I have longed to find her.” He reached across the table and briefly squeezed her hand.
The shock that surged through her at his touch nearly made her gasp. His eyes darkened, but also seemed to faintly glow. He’d felt it, too. My goodness, girl. He just told you he’s close to finding his mate, and you are getting hot and bothered over him touching your hand.
She took a sip of her nearly empty—unsweet, as it turned out—tea to soothe her suddenly parched throat, wiped her mouth with a napkin, and tossed the crumpled tissue on the table. “I’m ready when you are” squeaked from her.
He pulled enough money from his pocket to cover the bill and allow for a generous tip. He stood and held his hand out for her. Something inside her urged her to take it, but she didn’t. She walked past him, and he followed her to the truck. He made sure she was safely inside before closing the door and walking around to get behind the wheel.
He backed out of the parking lot, and within moments they were back on the highway. “Next stop, home.”
There was that word again. Home. How she wished she had one to call her own. She watched the mile markers fly by and the snow pick up as they got closer and closer to their destination. She missed the rain from the earlier part of the trip, but she couldn’t deny the beauty of the white blanket covering the land and the fluffy caps on the trees.
Chapter Six
Brent slowed and engaged the four-wheel drive on the truck before he turned off the main road and started down the driveway. The snow had gotten deeper and nearly reached the bottom of the doors.
“Hang on.” He waited until Rindy clutched the ‘oh shit’ handle by the top of the door and gave the truck some gas.
After about fifteen minutes of fishtailing in the truck, he finally guided it to a smooth stop in front of the cabin. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Is this it?” She peered out the front window.
He nodded and watched her reaction to seeing his—their—home for the first time. “It’s not much, but I think you will find it is comfortable.”
“It’s beautiful.”
He’d built the cabin himself, had cut each tree from his own land with his own two hands. It had taken him years, but it had been worth every second.
“Wait there.”