Allison stood so close our arms touched. She nudged me with her shoulder. “Hopefully, you won’t have to take off this time.”
“We’ll be here,” Pete told her.
“I saw your Mustang in the driveway,” Allison said to me. “Paul told us you restored her yourself. Maybe you could take me for a ride in it while I’m here.”
Before I could come up with a polite excuse not to let her in my car, we were joined by two more girls. They didn’t look familiar, so this was probably their first pack gathering. Some wolves didn’t attend unless they had business to take care of or were in the market for a mate. I had a sinking feeling I knew which category these two fell into.
My suspicions were confirmed when the taller one, a curvaceous brunette who looked to be my age, came right for me. She wore tight jeans and a small top, and if she’d been human, she would have snagged my interest right away.
“Hi,” she said huskily, sidling up to me and nudging Allison out of her way. “Alexandria Waters. You can call me Lex.”
“Roland,” I replied, glancing at Pete for help. But he’d been set upon by Lex’s friend, a pretty raven-haired girl.
Lex smiled. “I know who you are. We heard about your little cross country adventure from our friend Dell. Julie and I have been looking forward to meeting you and Peter.”
“Great,” was all I could say.
She leaned closer, and her breast brushed my arm. “Dell told us about a small lake just past the Knolls that’s great for swimming. Why don’t we all go there later during the pack run? I bet you look as good in your fur as you do in your skin.”
I swallowed. Aggressive girls were usually a turn-on, but not when they were looking for a lot more than a hookup. The gleam in Lex’s eyes told me she was mate hunting, and she had me in her sights.
“Sorry, I can’t,” I said. “Paul and I have some business to take care of at the garage tonight.”
Paul frowned at me. “We do?”
“Yeah.” I gave him a meaningful stare. “You know, that Chevelle job we were talking about.” Right now seemed like the perfect time to tell him I was going to work on the car.
Lex pouted. “Work? That can wait until tomorrow.”
“I have to work at the yard tomorrow.” I’d never been so grateful to work for Maxwell. “This is a big job Paul asked me to help him with. Unless he doesn’t need me for it anymore.” I shot my cousin a hard look, and he shook his head.
“No, I still need you. What time are we supposed to meet?”
“Eight.” That would give us plenty of time to eat and be seen here. Maxwell wouldn’t say anything about us leaving for work.
“But that’s so early,” complained Julie, who was practically hanging on Pete’s arm. “You don’t have to go too, do you, Peter?”
“I’m sure Pete would love to go for a swim with you,” I said slyly. Panic flashed in his eyes, and I tossed him a lifeline. “Though we really could use his help at the garage. If he’s not too busy, that is.”
“Yeah, sure,” he said quickly.
My mother waved and called us over to eat. The four girls started over, and I hung back with Pete and Paul.
“Damn, those two are something else,” Pete said in a low voice.
I grinned. “You can always stay and go for that swim with them.”
He made a face. “No, thanks.”
“Didn’t you just say if it happens, it happens?”
“Don’t remind me.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “Is this what we have to look forward to for the next month?”
Paul chuckled. “Better get used to it, boys, because it’s only going to get worse.”
I stared at him. “Worse?”
“Pete is Maxwell’s son and you’re his nephew, which means you both have Alpha blood. You could be butt-ugly – which you’re not – and the females would want you.” He nodded at the girls standing in a group with several others. “You’ve also built up a bit of a reputation over the last year, not good if you want to stay off their radar. I think you’re both going to be very popular at the gathering this year.”
“Shit.” I rubbed my jaw. “You really know how to ruin a guy’s appetite.”
Paul smiled. “Look on the bright side.”
I scoffed. “There’s a bright side to all of this?”
It was easy for him to joke about it. He and I were cousins on my dad’s side, which meant he wasn’t directly related to Maxwell. His lack of Alpha blood made him less of a catch to some females. Not that he cared.
“Yeah. You’ll spend so much time hiding out at the garage, you’ll get the Chevelle done in half the time. And make some good money to boot.”
I wasn’t sure if hanging around a garage was enough to dissuade a bunch of unmated female wolves, but it was all I had.
“You still have that cot in the back room?” I asked him glumly. “I might need that, too.”
Emma
“I’ve shown you the marina, the Hub, the mall, and my house. That pretty much covers the most exciting places to go here,” Scott said as we pulled away from the mall. “Where to now?”
“Are you sure you don’t have anything better to do with your Saturday than chauffeur me around town?” We’d spent the morning driving around New Hastings, and Scott had proven to be an entertaining guide. But I didn’t want to hog all of his day off.
He shrugged one shoulder. “I could call up some of my old school buddies, but you have a much prettier face.”
I didn’t respond, unsure if he was flirting with me or just being sweet. I liked hanging out with him as friends, but I didn’t want anything more than that.
He tapped the steering wheel. “I could show you the lighthouse if you want to see it.”
“I’d love to.”
The Signal Point lighthouse was one of the places Sara had told me I had to visit. She thought it would appeal to the painter in me. I’d been in town two weeks, and I still hadn’t seen it.
My stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, and I let out a small laugh. “Sorry, I forgot to eat breakfast this morning.”
“I have just the thing for that.” He drove for a minute and then pulled up beside a small deli. “The sandwiches here are pretty good. Why don’t we get some to take with us?”
Five minutes later, we set off for the lighthouse with our food. Signal Point was on the north end of town, and there were no houses or businesses close to it. Scott told me it was a great spot for parties in the summer and fall because they didn’t bother anyone with the noise.
“It’s beautiful,” I said when we pulled up to the white tower surrounded by a low white picket fence. Tall grass waved in the wind, and the air was filled with the sounds of seagulls and crashing waves.
I grabbed my messenger bag, and Scott took the food. We walked through the grass to the edge of the bluff where I could see nothing but blue sky and ocean for miles.
It was no wonder Sara had insisted I come here. She was right; it was an artist’s dream. To my right was a line of small cliffs and bluffs, much like this one. On my left, it was heavily wooded and a rocky beach led into what looked like a small cove a quarter of a mile away.
The old lighthouse itself inspired me. Its paint was peeling and the signal light no longer worked, but that only added to its beauty. Framed against the blue sky and ocean with waist-high grass around its base, it had a wildness that called to me. I could stay here for hours.
I turned to Scott. “I love it. Thanks for bringing me here.”
He smiled. “My friends and I used to ride our bikes up here when we were kids. We wanted to bring tents and camp here, but our parents wouldn’t let us.”
I pulled my Nikon camera from my bag and snapped a picture of the lighthouse. “I can see why you’d want to camp here.”
Walking around the building, I took shots of it from every angle. I liked to paint at night and the pictures would fill in all the details I wouldn’t remember. I couldn’t wait to get started on this one when I got home.