Page 53 of Shifting Winds
“How long?” Caelan asked.
I thought about it. “Two hours?”
“No,” Garrett growled.
“An hour,” Caelan bargained.
“An hour and a half. Final offer. If you say no, I’m growing a new vine and trussing up your Second and going anyway.”
“I’d like to see you try,” Garrett muttered.
“Take the girl shopping and do not let her out of your sight.”
“You got it,” I agreed.
“Bye, Evie.”
My stomach lurched. He sounded odd. “Everything okay?”
Another too long pause. “Everything is fine.”
I knew he was lying to me. “Alright then. Take care.”
I turned to see Garrett watching me, an odd expression on his lean face. Ignoring the knowing look in his eyes, I smiled at Thalia. “We have an hour and a half.”
The young woman clapped her hands together. “Awesome! Is there a discount store around here?”
Moira popped out from the back. “There’s a shopping strip right outside town. You’ll find plenty of stuff there.”
Thalia gave me a hopeful look. I shrugged. “She’s right. Ready to go?”
And that was how I ended up taking a perfect stranger on a shopping spree with a pissed off wolf pretending he wasn’t following us.
An hour and a half to the dot we were back at the shop. Garrett leaned against the passenger door of his pickup truck, a blank expression on his face, but I could almost feel the burning fury beating from him when our gazes met.
“Uh oh,” Thalia breathed from the passenger seat. “Why doesn’t he like you?”
“Honestly? I have no idea. He’s always been like this.” I opened the door. “I’ll help you carry your stuff over to his truck.”
Thalia groaned. “Do I have to go back?”
“I can only push the Lord so far.”
At Thalia’s disgruntled look, I laughed. “Besides, Garrett is just doing his job.” I didn’t like the man, but I knew how hard he worked to keep Caelan and the Pack running efficiently.
“Yes, but he’s being super annoying about it.” Thalia rolled her eyes and grabbed a few bags. “Thanks for taking me. It was nice to hang out with someone who isn’t worried about what I can do.”
My hands stilled. “What can you do?”
Thalia blinked. “No one told you about me?” A bright grin creased her face. “This goes against everything I’d heard about small towns.”
“Let’s go,” Garrett demanded, reaching over and plucking the bags from Thalia’s hands. The shifter didn’t bother to take any from mine.
I rolled my eyes and walked over to Garrett’s truck to dump her bags in the backseat.
When I turned, Thalia stood there. She threw open her arms and brought me in for a tight hug. “Thank you, Evie. I’m so glad I met you.”
Blinking in surprise, I pulled away and smiled at her. “Enjoy the new clothing. If you ever want to go shopping again, drop by the shop or give me a call.”
