Tallulah practically glowed at the compliment.
“By the way, you look very nice. I see you’ve finally started taking my advice and you’re putting on some makeup. Just in time for your ridealong,” Marigold said smugly. “I look forward to hearing all the details of your hot date.”
“How many times do I have to tell you, he doesn’t like me in that way? And the feeling’s mutual. He’s bossy and smug.”
“If he didn’t like you in that way, he wouldn’t have you riding along in his car with him all day long; he’d stick you in the office doing paperwork and answering phones. As for his personality, when he was waiting for you to get ready yesterday he was absolutely charming. I think you’re the one with personality issues.”
“You know, a lapful of hot coffee would severely cramp your style with the local boys,” Ginger said threateningly, nudging her mug with her elbow. “It would leave blisters.”
“I ain’t a-scaired of you,” Marigold said, but she scooted her chair away so she was out of Ginger’s reach.
“So are things going well on the dig?” Ginger asked the professor. “The sheriff mentioned that the Panther Nation have been giving you some grief.”
“Unfortunately, that’s true,” the professor nodded. “But we’re not going to let them scare us off. Are we, girls?” He beamed at his students.
They all shook their heads fervently, staring at him with adoring eyes.
“Why do they think that you’re after their artifacts?”
“Oh, just paranoia and suspicion of outsiders.” He waved his hand dismissively. “They’re trying to claim we’re here to steal their tribal artifacts, but we’re not. We’re working a very promising fossil bed from the paleolithic area. We’ve found mastodon bones and teeth. We’ve very clearly demonstrated the legitimacy of our dig.” He shrugged, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
The floorboards creaked as the new handyman walked in. Ginger saw Marigold’s eyes flick appreciatively at him. He was a good looking specimen. A panther shifter, he was muscular and had long black hair tied back in a ponytail, and he wore tight jeans and a tank top. He carried a tool box with him.
“Everything okay in here, folks?” he asked. “I just need to measure these windows so I can put in new frames, if it’s not a bother.”
“That is a fascinating regional dialect,” Winifred said. “Is your original pack domicile located in regions Northwest of here?”
“Uhhhh….” He stared at her, baffled.
“She’s saying she loves your accent and asking where you from,” Marigold jumped in helpfully.
“Oh! Thank you, ma’am. My folks hail from Alabama,” he nodded politely and walked to the end of the room with his toolbox. Winifred’s gaze briefly followed him and then she quickly turned back to her plate of eggs. Ginger thought that Winifred’s interest, for once, did not seem purely academic. In fact if she didn’t know better, she could swear that Winifred was checking out the handyman’s ass.
A car horn blared out front, making Ginger jump.
“Lover boy’s here!” Marigold trilled.
“Watch yourself, or I swear I’ll…I swear I’ll…”
“You’ll what?”
“I’ll make empty threats of violent retribution which I have no intention of actually carrying out,” Ginger snapped.
“Yeah, I thought so. Enjoy. Especially when he asks you out on a date. And you’re not allowed to say no because you promised,” Marigold said smugly.
When she got outside, the sheriff was standing outside the cruiser holding her door open for her. Ginger grudgingly had to admit that, even if the sheriff was the biggest flirt in Blue Moon County, at least he was a gentleman. She tried to remember if Ashmont had ever opened doors for her. Ashmont was big on women’s lib, which was usually nice, but every once in a while, a woman just wants to be treated like a lady, Ginger thought.
“You look nice today,” Loch said, giving her an appreciative once-over.
Ginger blushed. “Why, thank you,” she said. “Just something I threw on.” After half a dozen outfit changes. “What’s on the agenda for today?”
“This morning we’ll just cruise around town for a little while. I thought you might like to go for a run later. I could show you some of the sights.”
“A run? In the woods?” Ginger asked, startled.
He gave her that smile again, the slow, amused curl of his lips that made her heart beat faster and heat pool between her legs. That smile should be registered as a lethal weapon, she thought. It was just unfair.
“That’s where we usually do it out here. We can run through the center of town, if you want.”
“You mean, like, a run…without our clothes on?” a blush crept over her cheek and up her throat.
“Well, darlin’, I’ve never shifted and run in my clothes. Have you?”