Page 22 of Loan Wolf (Green Valley Shifters: Generations #1)

22

CLARA

C lara woke to a splitting headache and a worried stepmother, with dawn light streaming in the hotel windows. She must have slept several hours more than usual; she rarely set an alarm and always woke at five.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Patricia said, closing her laptop. “Did you…have fun last night?”

Fun didn’t really apply.

Clara remembered most of the night before through a haze of humiliation. She’d confessed all her doubts to Gabe and Gabe had been a complete gentleman when she’d tried to climb him like a tree. There was a walk in the dark with Gabe’s hand in his, and after a long, torturous climb of the hotel stairs, she’d blown off Patricia’s worry, devoured her leftover burger, and gone straight to bed.

“Nothing happened, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Clara said. Her voice felt rusty. And it was technically the truth. Nothing had happened last night.

“Did Gabe give you beer?”

“I’m old enough to drink,” Clara protested. “I can use my own ID at the liquor store. I’m not a kid, Mom. And you don’t have to worry. We just went to Eagle Lake and talked. That’s it.”

“Eagle Lake?”

Was telling her where they’d been a mistake? “We just talked. We didn’t even go swimming.”

“Look Clara, I know that you’re young, and?—”

“Oh, yay, it’s the actions have consequences talk. We have that twice a week, at least. I know how it goes.” Clara regretted the snark in her voice at once. “I’m sorry. It’s just— I’ve been under a lot of pressure. I wanted to cut loose a little. I’m not going to do anything stupid. You can trust me.” And she could trust Gabe .

She and Patricia stared at each other and Patricia finally sighed and looked away. “What are your plans for the day?” she asked, in a carefully neutral voice.

“I thought I’d go biking,” Clara said. “There’s a trail Gabe was telling me about that I’d like to try.”

Patricia winced at the sound of his name.

“What?”

“I just…I’m not sure you should be seen with Gabe.”

Clara felt a flare of defiance. “Why not? ”

“He’s slept around all of Green Valley. And he brought you home reeking of beer last night.”

“Yeah, he brought me home ,” Clara pointed out. “Instead of letting me go off and do something reckless and stupid.” She clearly remembered insisting that they tag the library, and Gabe sensibly talking her out of it. She remembered trying to get him to have sex with her, and how he’d toed the line no matter how she threw herself at him. “He’s not a bad guy!”

“He’s not a bad kid, he’s just…not very settled.”

“He owns a business,” Clara pointed out, barely refraining from adding that he was older than she was, and she was definitely not a kid anymore.

“He’s had a lot of help with it, though,” Patricia said reluctantly. “The Powells…”

Clara was outraged on his behalf. “Lots of places get startup loans,” she snapped. “It’s doing fine now.”

Patricia looked astonished by her defense. “It’s a bike shop, Clara. In Green Valley. I’m not trying to belittle him, I’m sure he’s worked very hard! But he’s not really going anywhere.”

“Not like me .”

“Is this about making principal of the company?” Patricia asked gently. “Everyone is very sure that you will.”

“I don’t want to be the principal,” Clara shouted. “I don’t even want to be a dancer ! But everyone is so very sure that this is my destiny , because of my mother , my real mother, and maybe it’s not. ”

Patricia winced and Clara felt terrible.

It wasn’t fair of her to yell at Patricia. Patricia hadn’t done anything but support Clara’s very clear wishes for her entire life, humoring her dedication to ballet from the age of five and acting as her real mother the whole time. Recognizing that only made Clara feel worse. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I…gotta go.”

She didn’t remember until she was unlocking her bike that she hadn’t grabbed her helmet from her bed, and by then, she didn’t care.