Page 61 of Wolf's Providence

What now?I was tempted to keep walking and pretend we hadn’t heard her. But my good, sweet girl stopped and turned.

“Lorna wants to know who’s opening the store tomorrow. She’s turned hysterical, thinking she’s out of a job.” Lily rolled her eyes at the overly dramatic woman. Like she could speak? “How much liquor was in the tiramisu?” she snarked, leading Willow back into the restaurant.

I would face worse for her—Ijusttold her that—but the Goddess herself could not make me walk back inside that restaurant tonight.

“Willow?” I called after her.

She turned back, her hand on the door, understanding in her eyes. “Stay out here. I’ll be two minutes, once I’ve calmed her down.”

I could see inside the restaurant from out here. I could see everything and not have toheareverything; it was a win-win for me.

“I will make it up to you,” I promised, relishing her flushed look at my dark promise.

Looking around, I could still feel the sense of being watched. I couldn’t scent anyone out here though. There were a few pedestrians. It was a nice evening for the time of year, but there was no shifter in the air.

Cursing the lingering scent of garlic, I turned to look up the street. Nothing. Frowning, I turned to look back into the restaurant and saw the party of five all heading to the door and Lorna apologizing profusely for being overly emotional when she was tipsy.

She’d had one glass of wine. The thought made me smile despite her annoying traits. I could see why my girl loved her, and I knew she would probably grow on me. Whether I wanted her to or not.

Once outside, we grouped into our respective pairs, more hugs between the women were shared, and we finally,finallystarted the walk home.

Willow leaned into me as we walked, and I was ready for a pleasant walk and a long night of owning her body when a whisper on the wind made me falter.

“I know what you are.”

Turning to look over my shoulder, I met Raymond’s dark gaze as he held the passenger door open for his daughter, who wasn’t paying attention to where her father’s focus was.

He dipped his head in acknowledgment, and as I turned back, holding Willow closer to me, I made the mental note to make a house call to Raymond Summers when his daughter wasn’t home.

Standingoutside the large but modest, slightly weather-worn house, I shifted my weight, hearing the porch creaking as I listened for any signs of life inside. The street was quiet, no one around to witness my unannounced visit. I’d dropped Willow off at work, and then I’d watched Lily leave for work, her father conspicuously absent, but I didn’t know them well enough to know if they traveled to work together.

I suspected that Raymond Summers had opted to stay at home today. This would be a conversation that was best kept private.

Rapping my knuckle against the door again, I heard footsteps approach from inside. The door opened and Raymond stood there, his look one of expectation, and when he glanced at his watch as if to ask what had taken me so long, I snorted as I walked past him into his house.

“Come in, why don’t you,” he murmured, closing the door behind him.

“Thanks, don’t mind if I do,” I replied, failing to keep my own bite from my words. “Where do you want to have thistalk?”

Raymond looked me over from head to toe, weighing me up, and I got the impression he found me lacking.

I didn’t give a fuck.

He saw that very clearly, and I saw the ghost of a smirk before he gestured to a door behind me. “The study, I think.”

He led the way, and I followed him inside to a room with dark wood and dark navy walls. It was oppressive, and I knew what he’d been aiming for, but in an office this size, all he’d done was make it claustrophobic. Raymond took the seat behind the desk, a weak power move, but I let him have it. I opted to sit in one of the weathered leather chairs.

We sat in silence for a beat, the hum of the recessed lighting and the faint sounds of the road filled the space between us. Raymond leaned back in his chair, folding his hands, which were laid on the desk, as he waited for me to speak.

I’d played poker with my father, a notorious ball-breaker. Raymond Summers could kiss my ass if he thought I would break first.

“You’re not what I expected, Caleb Foster,” he started, his voice firm, and when I grinned at the small victory, he gave me a flat, unimpressed stare, but I could scent his irritation, and it made me grin wider. “My daughter, Lily, likes to talk, though, God’s mercy, not as much as that woman last night.”

The fact Raymond also struggled with Lorna made me decide right then and there Lorna was okay. This time, I saw his slight smirk, and I gave him that one for free.

Manipulative bastard. He was worth the watching.

“When Lily first mentioned the hot guy”—he looked affronted at having to say the phrase—“who was interested in Willow, I admit I didn’t pay her any mind. But then I heard you left. Then you came back. Then you left just as suddenly as youarrived in the first place. Then she got her home and business broken into on the same day.” He leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk, his fingers steepling in front of him. “That made me look a little closer. Maybe I put a few things together…”

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