Page 20 of The Alien Reindeer's Bounty
The highway curved and the picturesque town on the western shore of the lake revealed itself, wedged between the water and the mountains. The sight soothed a place deep inside him. Mads had traveled all over Reilen, had been to several planets, many of which were astonishing wonders of natural beauty, but no place felt like home.
Earth was his home. This town surrounded by wilderness was his home.
Needing provisions, he stopped at the grocery store in town. If his mate happened to be working, all the better.
Odessa’s scent of rain and earth hit him the moment he entered the building. He fought back the instinct to march up to her and demand to know why she rejected him last night, but he knew his mate well enough to know that if he began the conversation like an argument, she’d deliver an argument.
He needed to be calm and gather information. What were her reasons for rejecting him? Did she have prior obligations or objections about him?
Mads randomly grabbed items off the shelf, his attention focused on Odessa one aisle over. A male spoke to her and she laughed, low and husky. Was that male the reason she rejected him? Had he missed his opportunity? Would he spend the rest of his life alone with a broken bond like his uncle?
Females couldn’t be trusted. They couldn’t think beyond themselves. Did Mads believe Odessa to be different? Human or reilendeer, they were all the same.
He gripped the container of tomato soup too hard and the cardboard packaging burst at the seams. Red soup gushed over his hands and onto the floor.
He shook his head to clear away the corrupt thoughts. Those were his father’s words, once spoken to ridicule and provoke Mads into anger. The old bull found still found ways to whisper poison in his ears.
“What did you do?” Odessa stood before him, with a frown on her face.
“I want to spend time with you.”
“That’s nice, but you spilled soup all over my floor.” She lifted a device and called for a mop and bucket.
“Have dinner with me tonight.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Thanks, but no thanks.”
“Give me one good reason why.”
Odessa
This fool right here.
In the soup section, standing in a puddle of tomato soup like he tore open the container with his bare hands.
She felt a flutter in her chest and didn’t want to think too hard on it, because Mads tearing open boxes of soup like a wild man was not hot and did not excite her.
Shut up.
Mostly it just made a mess and screwed up her inventory.
“You want a reason? I’ll give you three.” She held up one hand and raised her index finger. “One, I’m a grown-ass woman. I don’t have to explain anything to you. Two, because I’m a mom. I don’t have the ability to go swanning about town at the drop of a hat. I have to make plans, get a sitter, and all that jazz.” She had baking to do for Thanksgiving, otherwise known as tomorrow, but she didn’t have to explain all that to Mads. It wasn’t his business.
“Three, you broke my heart!”
Her words came out louder than she intended, echoing through the store. She felt the heat of a dozen heads turning in her direction, but she ignored them. So what if she made a scene? This was her store, dammit. Let them look.
He had the decency to looked pained.
“You were my best friend and you left, Mads, you left without saying goodbye. Do you have any idea how small that made me feel?”
“No,” he said.
The words kept coming in a restorative purge, like speaking her darkest pain cleansed her. It couldn’t hurt her anymore. Mads couldn’t hurt her. “You were the most important person in the world to me. I would have done anything for you. And you were able to walk away like it was nothing. Like I was nothing.”
Her hands balled into fists, her fingernails digging into her palms as she waited for him to give some explanation or apology. He said nothing, only looking at her with those damn puppy dog eyes. Last night, he walked up to her so cocky and confident in his charm and then asked her out like nothing happened. Like he hadn’t kissed her and then ditched her, like twelve years didn’t separate them, and the worst part was how easily she fell into their old patterns.
Screw him.
