“A teardrop by his eye and a scorpion tattoo on his… I can’t talk about this right now. I’m sorry—I’m still shaken up.”
I relished the feel of Reno’s powerful body, the sound of his breath, and the smell of his skin. It felt comforting to lie next to a man like him. Safe. I stroked his stubbly chin and he kissed my fingertips as we listened to the rain falling outside.
“Is there anything you lost that can’t be replaced?” he finally asked.
Hope? It’s what I wanted to say. Reno’s family might have brought me in, but I’d never felt so lost. “Just the snow globes and my fish, Hermie. The snow globes were sentimental, you know? I love what you gave me, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the same.”
“Why not?”
“Because my dad gave them to me. They were special because he chose each one for a reason, and he actually made them himself.”
“Talented.”
“He was. Are your parents still alive?”
Reno’s mouth pressed against my temple, and then he resumed staring at the ceiling. “They move around a lot. Last I heard, they found a pack up in South Dakota that might take them in. It’s harder the older you get to be taken in by a Packmaster. They carefully consider every candidate’s worth and what they can offer the pack. Most will turn down an aging couple. But our parents have wisdom and experience that would be an asset to any damn pack.”
“Why is it so important for you to have packs instead of living alone?”
“There’s safety in numbers for wolves—we have family to look after. It’s instinctual; I don’t know how to explain it. Some of our animal traits bleed into our human ones, I guess.”
“How come you guys don’t let them live with you?”
“It’s not our way. The parents can’t live under the same roof if the Packmaster is their son. I’ve only seen it happen once and the entire pack was dismantled. When our children become adults and go through the change, they have to leave the pack. They’re not allowed to mate within the pack and stay.”
“Why not?”
“More than one male might have feelings for a female and if she chooses one over another, it becomes problematic. It’s also how new blood is maintained so that inbreeding never occurs. The men want to go out and find their own family, just as the women do.”
“Do your parents visit?”
I felt his smile stretch across my temple. “Are you asking to meet my parents?”
“No,” I blurted out.
Kind of lying. Kind of not.
He turned on his side and his voice softened around the edges. “Sounds like you are. You sure you don’t want to meet my mom? You’d love her. She can shoot a bow and arrow and cook a mean chili. I can call her to fly down on a moment’s notice.”
“Don’t you dare,” I whispered, looking up at his amused eyes.
“You’re right. I don’t know what she’d think about her son dating a woman with a poster of another man at the foot of her bed.”
A laugh pealed out of me and Reno perched up on his elbow, smiling wide. A rumbling laugh rolled through his chest and he looked at me in a way that gave me second thoughts about decisions that were rattling around in my head.
Then his hand smoothed down the cotton sweats Ivy had lent me, and I released a shallow breath.
“Is your foot bothering you?” he asked, lightly stroking his finger between my legs.
“Not anymore.”
Chapter 22
Over the course of the next month, Reno’s visits to the house had become more infrequent. He’d moved to their second home so he could focus on hunting down Sanchez. That’s how long I’d been living in the Weston house. Weston was the name of Lexi’s brother who’d died years ago, someone she had never spoken of before, but Lexi opened up to me about her life during my stay. Since she wanted to spend more time with me, she offered the part-timers at the store a few extra shifts, which they eagerly accepted.
Lexi began pursuing her vision for Sweet Treats and Austin loaned her the money to expand. I told her I didn’t feel right going back after what I’d done, but she adamantly refused to let me go. I helped her review inventory to determine what wasn’t moving, and we reevaluated her strategy as a business owner.
“So here’s what I’m thinking,” Lexi began, propping her feet on an ottoman while fishing around in a bag of Doritos. “Austin wants me to move my business to the Breed side of town, but I’m concerned about the risk. We have regular customers and the store is in a prime location. What if we relocate and nothing sells? I’m going to scout the area and check out some of our competition to see what’s going on. Seventy percent of our sales come from children, and not all Breeds can have children. I’m just not sure if there will be enough to keep the business afloat.”
I reached down and scratched the bandage on my foot. After the last X-ray, the doctor had said it was healing remarkably well and told me to keep using the crutches.