Page 29 of The Night Wolf
Gareth’s wolf sat up, clearly unhappy. It stalked to the front of Gareth’s mind and let loose a low growl.
Yes, I get it. You don’t want him away from you. God, and I thought I was possessive.
“If you’re looking for work, you can learn bookkeeping. I can always use someone to take that off my plate. I’ll pay you fifteen to start, and then we can negotiate after you learn our system.”
“Fifteen…. You mean a day, right?”
Gareth chortled. “An hour. I would never cheat anyone by giving them less than they deserve. The job isn’t easy. You’ve got to learn to balance the books so that our incoming and outgoing cash matches up. You also need to pay the bills for the pack, file our taxes. You’ll be putting in plenty of hours to learn things, but once you have it down, you could always offer your services to other people in the town. I’m sure Wolfgang would love help with his cash, and there are folks who need help with their taxes every year, and it’s always up to me to do it. Now it can be your job.”
The pack really did need someone, so it wasn’t that Gareth was making the offer lightly. With more people coming in soon, it would take a dedicated person to handle the books.
“I don’t know if I can. Never finished school, remember?”
“Then you’ll learn. Every wolf here has the opportunity to go to school. If you think you’re lacking in some area, we can ask Caleb to help you, or we can hire a tutor. Either way, you’ll learn what you need to know.”
The way Sean was looking at Gareth, you’d think he’d offered him a Lamborghini or something.
“I don’t know what to say.”
Gareth shrugged. “Don’t say anything other than yes.”
“Okay, yes. Sure. I’d love to.”
“All right. I’m going to go in and talk with Caleb. If you want, I’ll mention you might need some help with your classes.”
Sean’s cheeks flushed. “He won’t think I’m stupid, will he?”
It was written all over Sean’s face. What did his former pack do to him? “I guarantee you that thought will never cross his mind. He’s helped plenty of our adults who needed it, and he likes doing the tutoring.”
“If he thinks he can help me, then I’ll be happy for him to tutor me.” Sean’s expression said something different.
Gareth cupped his cheek and leaned in close. “There is nothing wrong with you. Get that thought out of your head. You couldn’t finish school because of your old pack. It has nothing to do with how smart you are, do you understand?”
Sean nodded sharply.
“Say the words, Sean.”
“Yes, Alpha, I understand.”
“Good. Now, I’m going to talk to Caleb. Did you need anything before I go?”
“No, I think I’m okay. I’ll do the dishes, if it’s okay with you.”
“Sure. One less thing Dani has to do. She works too hard as it is.” As he was about to go, Gareth had a thought. “You know, you’re welcome to use any computer in the house if you want to look up courses or do online testing.” He winked. “Try to limit the porn, though.”
With his beet-red cheeks and wide eyes, Sean looked thoroughly scandalized. “I wouldn’t—”
“Teasing, Sean.” Gareth ruffled Sean’s hair. “Okay, got to get in there so Caleb can get off to school.” He hurried down the hall and into his office to find Caleb staring out the big picture window that overlooked the bird feeders.
“Saw a blue jay and a cardinal. I’m thinking it’s going to be a rough winter.”
“You’re thinking?” Gareth sat down at his desk. “Or you’re sensing?”
Caleb shrugged. “A bit of both.” He moved from the window and over to the chair on the other side of the desk. “Okay, what’s up?”
“Where were you last night?”
“What? I was here, in bed, sleeping. Why would you think I wasn’t?”
