Seduced by a Shifter Page 9

  Willow simply looked at Tess as if the other woman suddenly grew a third eye. “Uh. For what?”

  “For my wedding, of course, silly.” Tess mirrored Willow’s look. “Now go take it off so I can buy it. The boys have been hinting at food for the past half-hour and I’m about to strangle them.”

  “No. Wait. What?” Willow didn’t know what to think, much less say, and her words came out in a stuttering fumble. “You can’t.” Not to mention that she may not even be in Woodcliff next Saturday.

  Tess arched a haughty brow. “Says who?”

  Looking into Tess’s face, Willow swallowed. “Me?” It might have been a bit more meek than she’d intended, but damn it, she wasn’t a charity case.

  But damn it twice, she really wanted the dress!

  Tess walked over and put her hands on Willow’s shoulders. Willow had to tilt her head back to look up at the taller woman, and was nearly floored by the warm glow in her eyes. “Think of it as a welcome gift, a thank you gift, and most importantly, a you’re-special-and-you-deserve-it gift, all in one.”

  Well. How could a person say no to that kind of generosity? Her throat too thick to speak, Willow nodded, her watery grin of thanks causing Tess to wrap her in a fierce hug.

  “Is this a private party or can anyone join in?” Scott said from behind Tess. “‘Cause I’m liking the idea of a Scott sandwich.”

  Tess released Willow and scowled at Scott. “What you’re going to get is a knuckle sandwich if you take one step closer.”

  “I don’t care what kind of sandwich he gets as long as I get one with two thick slices of bread a chunk of meat and tons of cheese in the middle of it,” Joe said from his position by the dressing room entrance. He lifted his chin to Willow. “You look very nice in that dress. You should let Tess buy it.”

  “Willow will buy it,” Tess snapped, the abrupt tone dimming Willow’s glow of pleasure at Joe’s approval. Confused, Willow slid her gaze from Tess’s stink eye to the twin blank faces of her bodyguards.

  “Well, of course she will. But hurry it up, darling,” Scott said after a moment, rubbing his flat belly. “I’m about to perish from hunger.”

  As if the death ray glare of five seconds ago never occurred, Tess flashed the men a blinding grin. “We’ll be ready in a few minutes. Do you know where you want to eat before we head back?”

  Willow’s tummy rumbled at the mention of food and, leaving the others to discuss what restaurant they wanted to eat at, she dashed back to the dressing room to change. While she might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, it was obvious Joe and Scott overhead Tess’s offer, and it was just as obvious that Tess didn’t want either man to speak of her generosity to anyone. Why, Willow had no clue.

  While Willow could appreciate how candid and open Tess was, it was the self-confidence that Tess exuded from the top of her streaked blond hair to the tips of her designer boots that Willow secretly admired. She imagined Tess would never demurely bend to another’s directive out of fear of losing their love or attention. No, Tess—and Kaylie and Ruth, for that matter—would all speak their mind. Loudly. It was that take-me-as-I-am-or-get-lost attitude they all possessed, and what Willow wanted. It wasn’t mean; it just was.

  In becoming what her mother wanted, Willow had lost herself. But no longer. Recalling the words Tess spoke, Willow straightened her shoulders and marched from the small cubicle. She was special, dammit, and she deserved to be appreciated, even loved, for who she was.

  Even by a certain sexy ski instructor, tracker, and all-around hottie. Realistically she knew her time in Woodcliff would be short. Willow would either be free to go back to New York or she’d be dead. So she’d make the most of the time she had. If Ben was interested in a fling, which his bone-melting kiss suggested, Willow would jump into one with both feet.

  She’d just have to guard her heart.

  * * * *

  Two hours later they crossed the outskirts of Woodcliff and Willow almost got whiplash trying to take everything in, just as she had on the outside trip.

  After several glances her way, Tess finally asked, “Have you actually seen the town or has Rome pretty much kept you up at the cabin?”

  Lips twisted in wry amusement, Willow answered, “Other than your mom’s house, I haven’t seen anything of the town.”

  Tess rolled her eyes. “I know you’re under protection, but seriously? He’s making it more like a prison.” Then she let out a chuckle and grinned when Willow looked at her in question. “Let’s take the scenic route back.”

  The scenic route basically involved taking a tour through the town. Willow recognized Ruth’s house nestled in the middle of a long line of homes in a thick residential area. Taking a right, a quick left, and another right, Tess drove them down another road, this one sparse with homes. They passed the long dirt driveway that led to Kaylie and Dean’s home, the home Tess and Kaylie had grown up in, and where another generation of Gentries slumbered.

  “But don’t tell Dean I used Gentry instead of Kinigos.” Tess laughed. “He’s such a male, all possessive and protective.”

  Yeah, Willow had gotten that from her first night. She might have been nervous and exhausted, but one would have to be dead to miss the love and devotion he had for Kaylie and his newborn son.

  As they passed the impressive house Jackie and Zan owned, Tess’s cell went off.

  Willow tried not to listen in on the short conversation, but in the close quarters, it was difficult not to. Apparently Caleb was home from work, hungry and missing his bride-to-be. He must have said something naughty because Tess blushed to the roots of her hair, an expression of embarrassed delight on her gorgeous face. “Only if you call and order it.

  “I need to make a quick stop at Dolen’s,” Tess told her, hanging up her cell phone.

  “Okay.”

  “But first we’ll do the government loop before the commercial.”

  Staring out the windows as Tess drove down a circling road, Willow at once understood her comment. While many businesses lined the main highway, it seemed the hub of activity rested along one of two long, narrow, oval-shaped roads that bisected the main road. They each made a loop, the narrow center containing open land. Outside of winter it was probably a beautiful, grassy area, complete with a few scattered benches and a quaint white gazebo. The school, police office, town hall, community center, bank, and post office were situated on the government side.

  At the far back, where Tess made the curve, sat the school, and adjacent to that, across another expanse of land covered with a thick layer of snow so pristine that the reflecting sun nearly blinded Willow, was a large park with several baseball diamonds, swing sets, monkey bars, and slides.

  Willow sighed. “It must have been nice growing up here.”

  Tess nodded. “Thinking about it now, yeah, it was nice. But it also had its problems. Still does. But you take the good with the bad.”

  Willow’s eyes were glued to her window as she practically gawked at a huge white building with impressively thick columns holding up an equally impressive porch. “Like what?”

  “Gossip.”

  Willow turned to look at Tess. “Gossip?”

  Tess braked for the red light and let out an exaggerated groan. “Oh, yeah. Everyone is in everyone else’s business. Giving advice when it’s not wanted, contemplating with each other on who is sleeping with whom, and parents telling on each others’ kids.”

  At Willow’s open shock, Tess let out a chuckle and crossed the main road on the green light. “Yeah. Small communities aren’t real private, which makes your private time even more special.”

  “Wow.”

  “Now this is the commercial loop.” On this side of the street sat several shops, including a bookstore, a women’s clothing boutique, a salon, toy store, and Dolen’s Cafe.

  Tess pulled into the cafe parking lot. “I had to readjust when I came back, but I have to admit I’ll take the gossip over the harsh demands and anonymity of a big city
any day. It wore me out.”

  Willow raised a brow at the ex-model. “Please. You were never anonymous.”

  Tess turned in her seat, giving Willow her full attention. “Not that kind of anonymity, Willow. The kind where no one gives a damn if you’re feeling sad or lonely. The kind where, if you fell over on the street, people might very well just walk over you to get where they need to go. That’s what I mean.”

  Willow chewed on her lip a moment. “Huh. I never felt that in New York.”

  Tess rested her arm along steering wheel. “No?” She sounded dubious.

  Leaning back in her seat, Willow gave the question its due. Maybe she hadn’t felt that way in the city because she’d been one of those people too much in a hurry to get where she needed getting to think about what or whom she was walking over.

  It made her wince, recalling the few homeless people sitting in abandoned doorways she’d seen as she’d traversed from work to home and back again. At first she’d given a buck or two, some change from her pocket when she had it. But as time wore on and her life seemed to spin out of control, she started to avoid them, then flat-out ignore them.

  But would she have walked over them? The fact that she just didn’t know nearly brought her to tears.

  “Hey. Are you okay?

  Opening eyes she didn’t know she’d closed, Willow gazed out blindly past the crowded parking lot. “I’m fine. Just doing a little introspection and not liking what I see.”

  Instantly contrite, Tess leaned over to touch Willow’s arm. “Oh, honey. I’m sorry. I never meant...”

  “No, no. I’m okay. I’m just...” She paused. Not only because she wasn’t sure what she was, but because she suddenly noticed an old man sitting on one of the benches in the open area that divided the looped road. Alone, and to Willow’s thinking, not bundled up enough for the cold. Then again, few of the people she’d met in this town were, no doubt accustomed to the temperature changes.

  But it was the fact he sat there, so still and alone that caused Willow to make a snap decision to go speak with him.

  “That man. Who is he?” Her eyes remained fixed on her quarry.

  Tess dipped her head to follow Willow’s gaze. “Oh. That’s Henry Harkins. He’s the town recluse. Rarely comes out from his cabin, and when he does, most steer clear.”

  “Whatever for?” Willow glanced back at Tess.

  Tess rolled in her lips. “Well, to be blunt, he’s a crab. And a grouch. Barely says a word and when he does, it’s not anything nice.”

  Willow’s eyes drifted back to the bench. The man hadn’t moved. “Don’t you think he’s lonely?”

  Tess hesitated. “I think when the solitude gets too much he comes into town where he sits by himself and glowers at anyone who might dare come close. There are only a handful of people he will speak with.”

  Interest piqued, Willow asked, “Like who?”

  “Like my sister. And Dean, of course.”

  “Why ‘Dean, of course’?”

  “Uh.” The other woman appeared at a loss for words, which caused Willow to tilt her head in suspicious anticipation. “Yes?”

  “Because,” Tess said hesitantly before a “duh” look displaced the panic in her eyes. “Because Dean’s the mayor, of course.”

  Even though Tess said it with complete conviction, Willow knew it wasn’t the right answer, but decided to file it away along with all the other weird things she’d seen and heard since stepping foot in this town. Despite the friendliness of its natives, Willow had a feeling the inhabitants of Woodcliff were hiding something, which made Willow’s forced exile quite intriguing.

  Of course, nothing in this place captured her attention like Ben did. Just the thought of him made her tingle in places she’d tried to cap a lid on for years. Squeezing her thighs together only made the sensation worse. She needed to move, to expel the restless warmth that started to crawl through her veins. The cool air would do perfectly.

  Willow laid a hand on Tess’s arm before the woman could open her door. “If you don’t mind, I think I’d like to stay out here for a bit.”

  Lines marred the smooth finish of Tess’s forehead. “Whatever for?”

  Willow shrugged, not willing to tell the truth: that she was so pathetic in her crush that the mere thought of Ben made her hot and bothered. “I feel kinda warm, and while I don’t think I’m getting sick, if I am, I certainly don’t want to spread it around.”

  In a quick move, Tess lifted one cool hand to Willow’s forehead and placed her other on her own brow. “You do feel warmer than me, but I run cooler than most so that’s not saying much.” Then she did something odd. She took a deep breath through her nose. The eyes on that million-dollar face widened in stunned shock and Tess yanked her hand back as if she’d been burned. Then her lips twitched, as if she was holding back from laughing.

  Willow frowned at the strange reaction. “What is it?”

  “Ah, nothing. Just thought of something else I have to do before the wedding, that’s all.”

  Another wrong answer, but before Willow could comment on it, Joe stepped into her line of sight. “Are we eating again?” He raised his voice through the closed window.

  Tess opened her door. “I need to pick something up for Caleb for dinner. You might want to check with Rome, see if he wants anything before you head back.”

  “Might take the edge off his snarl factor.” Scott nodded his approval at Joe’s side, already dialing. “Especially if they have any of those apple pies.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Leaving Tess and Scott to pick up food, Willow donned her coat and made her way across the street, Joe trailing several feet behind, his dark eyes flat as he scanned the area for any danger. She wanted to sigh in exasperation, but considering how high the stakes were, she kept her mouth shut. It could be worse. She could be stuck in the cabin, day and night, slowly going out of her mind with boredom.

  The old man looked up when she stopped, his eyes clear and steady on hers. He didn’t smile in welcome, nor did he snarl in disgust. He just watched her. Silent.

  “May I sit?” Willow asked, all polite pleasantry.

  A bushy white brow shot high and he cocked his head, as if studying a new species of insect pinned to a board. She refused to be intimidated and merely returned his look with an innocent expression. Sometimes the eyes she thought too big for her face came in handy.

  An eternity later the man grunted. “You may.”

  The bench might be free from snow, but the wood was hard as a rock and so cold she barely refrained from hopping back up when her butt hit it. She inched to the edge in an attempt to keep the minimum amount of cold from seeping into her jeans. “Tess told me you’re Henry Hawkins. My name is Willow.”

  “I know who you are.”

  “Oh.” The gruff tone was far from friendly—she had been warned, after all—but the words were a surprise. Did everyone in town know who she was and why she was here? How wierd.

  Silence reigned and Willow struggled to think of something to say other than some lame comment on the weather. The overcast skies and dying sun only made it seem much colder than it was and despite the soft breeze that teased the short tendrils of her hair, it was actually nice out. Even so, she shoved her hands between her thighs, more to keep from fidgeting than for warmth.

  Remaining quiet, she craned her neck to see Joe make his way to the window display of a hardware store. She wondered what had caught his attention when Henry spoke, his voice rough and broken, as if he didn’t use it much.

  “I knew a dancer once. Beautiful, so frail looking, yet with a spine of steel. Graceful, every step she took. So easy on the eyes.”

  Willow’s heart melted. Maybe a love lost, and that was why he was alone?

  Until his next comment caused her to sputter in protest. “You’re the same, but not graceful. Nope. You’re too stiff.”

  Her back went ramrod straight. “I am too graceful.” At his unwavering look, her shoulders slumped
just a little. “Well, I was once.”

  Henry gave a sharp nod. “Will again.” Then he cackled, the course sound grating on Willow’s hears. “Willow. Will. Will again.”

  Okaaay. Maybe it was time to leave. Tess hadn’t said anything about the man’s elevator not reaching the top floor.

  She was about to get off the bench and run for Joe when footsteps crunched in the snow behind her. From the way the little hairs on her body stood up in awareness and the flash of heat that churned low in her belly, Willow had a pretty good idea to whom those steps belonged. It was unnerving, the way her senses become increasingly acute when Ben was near.

  A warm hand cupped her nape, the intimate touch sending tongues of fire to lick at her core. Though on the opposite side of the bench, his body, and his other hand which rested prominently on the top rail of the bench, filled her peripheral vision. The possessive act subtly yet firmly placed a barrier between her and Henry.

  “Hey,” Ben said very softly.

  She’d gone utterly still, all the better to absorb the feel of his skin on hers, the hold a stamp of ownership. She should rebel, shrug free, claim her independence.

  Then again, maybe she was overreacting. It was just a simple touch.

  “Hey, yourself.” Tilting her head up and to the side exposed her throat, and Ben took advantage, stroking the uneven pulse that picked up speed with every pass of his thumb. Liquid heat pooled in her belly under the caress and her nipples pebbled, as if begging for the same attention.

  Okay. Maybe it wasn’t just a simple touch.

  “You have a nice time in Togan?”

  “I did, yes. How did you know?” Struggling to keep her suddenly heavy eyelids open, she took in his appearance. He had on an untucked button-up blue-on-white flannel that was partially open to reveal a dark blue shirt underneath. The material stretched over his shoulders yet fell loose at his abs. The fit of his jeans was a little loose as well and his hair was tousled, as if he’d repeatedly run a hand through it.