Page 59 of Wolf's Providence

I knew it was going to be a long night. Reminding myself this was for Willow, I vowed I would get through it, but when the server came to the table to take drink orders, I ordered a beer before anyone else spoke. I felt Willow press her leg against mine, and my hand automatically dipped under the table, placing my hand over her thigh, letting the touch of her ground me.

She slipped her hand into mine, squeezing gently as she listened to her friends discuss the menu. I could feel her pulse as my finger soothingly traced over her wrist. It soothed me, at least.

She leaned in and whispered, “They’re just curious, don’t worry.”

I gave her a small nod, but my senses were on high alert, cataloging every voice and every movement in the restaurant. Icould feel their stares as they drew Willow into the conversation, their unspoken questions sitting impatiently on their lips, waiting for the right time to be asked.

“It’s so good to see you, Mr. Summers,” Willow spoke to Lily’s dad, and I picked up on the hint of shyness she had when she spoke to the older man. He was dark-skinned, darker than his daughter. Willow told me he had a timber mill on the outskirts of town, and the first thing I’d noticed when I shook his hand was that he’d never logged timber in his life. His hands were smooth and soft. “I don’t remember the last time we all went out,” she added.

“Well, this is the first time you’ve been out to dinner with me,” Lorna added in, making herself somehow the center of attention again.

Willow’s smile was warm and filled with affection, and I tried to banish the thoughts of never wanting to be in the woman’s presence again.

Good Goddess, she was grating. My hand was squeezed beneath the table, and I tried to relax my shoulders.

She had done a lot for Willow, and I was grateful for her. I needed to see the qualities that Willow would see in her. Maybe then I could see the good things in the woman.

Other than the need to smother her in her sleep.

Hiding my grin behind my bottle as I took a swig of beer, I caught her husband’s eye, and somehow, I saw my thoughts reflected in his eyes. He gave me the weary smile of someone who’d been there, done that, worked through it, and resigned themselves to the inevitable that this was his life.

I tipped my bottle to him slightly and saw a genuine smile before he took a drink of his own beer. He had chosen draught beer. It was cloudy and had a huge foamy head, and I knew I was happy I took a bottle.

“Okay, I’ve been patient enough,” Lorna declared suddenly, her eyes wide with excitement. “Tell me all about yourself, Caleb.”

Fuck. Was this what hell felt like?

EIGHTEEN

Caleb

I could feeltheir stares on me. Even Lily had twisted in her position at the end of our bench to somehow be drilling me with eyes.

“What do you want to know?” I asked, trying to fake a smile that looked open and genuine.

Willow jumped in. “Now, Lorna, I told you earlier not to pester Caleb with questions. I promised him you all would be kind andgentle.” Somehow, I didn’t need to see the look she gave Lily to know it was pointed. “Caleb’s staying with me for a while.”

For a while?I didn’t blame them for the unspoken questions. It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. It hardly said our relationship was a solid one. But how else did she explain me?

Lily’s dad, he was very easy to read. He’d been looking at me with suspicion since I first met him. “What do you do for work?”

I was guessingdrifterwasn’t going to win any favors. “I like to move around a lot,” I told him. I wasn’t going to lie, but I also wasn’t going to be completely truthful. “I pick up what work’s going as I move around.” His gaze flicked to Willow briefly, worry etching into the lines around his eyes.

“You have no trade?” he asked me, his tone taking on a slight edge.

“Did criminal justice at college, didn’t go to law school.” I preempted his next question. “Joined the army instead. Did two tours, came out, felt like my service wasn’t over, went back for one more tour.” Lorna’s husband and Lily’s dad were both watching me, and I saw the suspicion shift to respect, albeit in Lily’s dad’s case, it was grudgingly. “Got back after the third one, knew I’d seen too much, done too much to then face conflict every day at work, so the skills I learned in the army, I worked on them. While I’m no tradesman, I can fix things. Build things. It keeps me honest.”

“Hard work is the most honest,” Lorna’s husband said with a salute of his beer.

“Noel,” his wife admonished him, flicking a worried glance at Lily’s dad.

“I missed your name,” I told him bluntly, knowing damn well that Willow introduced him as “Lily’s dad.”

“Raymond.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, feeling Willow squeezing my hand.

“So, you have no job right now?” Lily asked, leaning forward.

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