Apparently Rafe’s senses were skewed since he hadn’t heard or scented Gavin’s approach. He blamed Grace for mucking up his nose and filling his head with distracting thoughts.
He’d hoped the nursery project would keep him too busy to think about how yesterday, he’d almost drowned in the rich green depth of her eyes, or dwell on the rush of excitement he felt whenever she gifted him with a smile.
“Are you all right?” Gavin’s gaze narrowed on him.
“Peachy.” Rafe shook out his injured hand and picked up the wood screw that had fallen out of the precut hole.
“You were supposed to see me after safely delivering Grace to the resort. Maybe it slipped your mind.”
It hadn’t. Rafe simply didn’t want to hear another lecture on being reckless and putting the past behind him. The pack needed to mind their own damn business and leave him the hell alone.
“I heard Grace went home with you after her accident. How did that go?”
Rafe fumbled the screw again.
Gavin was baiting him and Rafe wasn’t interested in playing the Alpha’s games, particularly if it involved Grace. “Your experience must’ve been pleasant, considering your butterfingers at my mention of her.”
Gavin entered the room and sat in the rocker. He rested his hands across his waist and laced his fingers over his belt buckle. “Grace. A lovely woman, don’t you think?”
Awareness flared in Rafe’s body. He recalled the sweet musk of her true scent, the dimples produced by a real smile and the golden sheen of her shoulder-length hair.
Suddenly, he sensed the inexplicable gentleness of her presence and knew at that exact moment she was happy and safe.
Gavin’s laughter disrupted the fragile connection that Rafe discounted as a figment of imagination. After all, how could he possibly know what Grace was feeling?
“With all due respect—”
“I doubt that.” After all these years, the old wolf still had a burr in his paw about the time Rafe and Brice had painted Gavin’s entire office in silly string. As boys, they’d faced a grueling inquisition. Neither of them had confessed culpability. Likely, they never would.
Rafe smiled, remembering the abject horror on Gavin’s face when he saw their handiwork. A few remnants still remained on the exposed wood beams in the ceiling above his desk.
“Ask your question or make your point,” Rafe said. “You wouldn’t want your granddaughter’s crib to fall apart because you distracted me while putting it together.”
Gavin’s thumb tapped his buckle in an aggravated cadence. “The sheriff’s office is involved with Grace’s accident.”
“Tristan said he would file a clean report.” Most notably, he promised to omit the detail of Rafe’s nudity at the scene.
“The new sheriff isn’t Co-op friendly. Tristan mediates Co-op issues when he can, but it’s putting him in an uncomfortable position with his employer. He thinks the sheriff is looking for a reason to investigate us.”
“The pack has been good to the people of Maico.”
“Humans are fickle. They can be swayed by bad press, especially when it preys on primal fears.” Gavin’s dark brows, a contrast to his snowy-white hair and short-cropped beard, slashed over his eyes. “I imposed the curfew to reduce friction between us and the sheriff’s department. I will not allow rule breakers to jeopardize the safety of my pack.”
“Alex wasn’t the only wolfling to break curfew.”
“I’m not only talking about the wolflings, Rafe. You shouldn’t have been out as a wolf. The curfew also applies to you.”
“Running the woods keeps me from drinking.”
“Find another distraction.” Gavin rocked forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Better yet, find a mate.”
“We’re not having this discussion again.”
“You need a mate, Rafe. A woman you can hold in your arms and make love to. A real woman. Not a memory. Let go of the past. Grab onto your future. If you don’t—”
“Stop.” Rafe held up his hand. The shattering of the mate-bond that he’d shared with Lexi had unleashed a maelstrom within him. She had been a balm to his restless nature. Now, he had to learn to manage without her. “I have let go, Gavin. I’ll decide if or when I take another mate, not you.”
Gavin gave a slight nod. “In the meantime, here’s what I do expect from you. Stop working around the clock. You don’t need the money.”
True. After the demise of his birth pack, Rafe inherited everything belonging to his former pack mates. It wasn’t a lot in the beginning, but Doc had wisely invested the funds for him. Now Rafe had enough money that he could retire, three or four times over.
“Establish reasonable business hours,” Gavin continued, “and stick to them.”
“I have a lot of work.” Rafe liked to stay busy. Idle hands reached for bottles.
“Hire help, or refer customers to some of your trusted competitors.”
Rafe wasn’t inclined to do either. He’d turned a lot of business away during his drinking days. When he got sober most of his customers returned. He didn’t want to reward their loyalty by handing them over to someone else.
“I’ll let the pack know I’ve ordered you to cut back. If you don’t, I’ll shut you down. Understood?”
Rafe reluctantly nodded. Technically, the Co-op owned his business and every pack member’s business.
Members tithed thirty percent of their income to the Co-op. In return, they received free housing, paid college expenses, free health care, and if they wanted to open their own business the Co-op paid to have it built and provided the start-up income.
“Good. With your workload reduced you’ll have more time to devote to Alex. Start by picking him up before and after school. He’s been truant. I want it stopped. He’s also struggling with his schoolwork. Find him a tutor. Ronni’s working toward her GED and I don’t want Alex’s shenanigans to derail her efforts.”
Stunned, Rafe ran his hand across his chin, feeling the stubble he’d forgotten to shave. Other than Alex breaking curfew, Rafe had thought the boy was doing well. And, Ronni had never mentioned not having a high school diploma or working toward her GED.
As Alpha, Gavin knew everyone’s business, but Rafe didn’t like being caught unaware of his family’s situation.
“I’ll take care of Alex and help Ronni with whatever she needs.”
“Now that’s settled, let’s talk about Grace.”
“I’d rather not.”
“She presents us with a delicate dilemma,” Gavin began, as if Rafe had no objection to the topic. “She and Cassie have become close over the last year. Close enough that it’s inevitable for Grace to discover what we are.”
“Tell her before it becomes a problem. She seems trustworthy.” A woman who would give up her life to move cross-country to care for her disabled brother knew a thing or two about loyalty.
“I would prefer Grace to bond with one of our pack’s eligible males. A mateship is the easiest and most expedient way to introduce her into our world, but she’s proven quite difficult—”
Good for you, sweetheart.
“—in the matchmaking arena.”
Rafe chuckled.
“Did you say something?”
Rafe stayed silent, his ears tuning into the soft, limping footsteps coming down