Page 12 of Midnight Whispers (Forbidden Entanglements #1)

Chapter Twelve

R iley didn’t mind helping Griffin fix things around the inn, but it wasn’t his favorite thing to do. He also didn’t comprehend the mechanics of certain things like Griffin did. Griffin seemed to know instinctively how a furnace worked.

He loved spending time with his brother, though.

Griffin sat at Zinnie’s kitchen table with a radio in pieces. The radio was older than Riley. According to Zinnie, it had stopped working that morning. Griffin had spent the afternoon fixing it, but so far hadn’t been able to figure out the problem.

Riley used Zinnie’s kitchen to make blueberry lemon muffins. She had bigger tins and muffin paper liners. She also shared her recipe with Riley and told him to go to town. Since baking was his happy place, it was the best way to spend his day.

Zinnie had five guests, plus she told Riley to make enough for the neighbors, which meant Riley could take a muffin to Cass later. But they’d be ready for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Riley had a batch in the oven already.

“Smells good in here.” Griffin smiled as he fiddled with the world’s smallest wire. He had a special tool ready. Griffin called it a soldering gun. Riley had never seen one before, but it reminded him of a glue gun.

Griffin used the soldering gun on the tiny wire. Then he blew on a small bit of what appeared to be liquid metal, but Riley didn’t know what the stuff really was. Griffin put the radio back together again, and it came to life.

Giffin fiddled with the dial until he came to a song he liked. Noah Kahan and Post Malone sang Dial Drunk. Griffin seemed to know all the words, so he sang aloud.

Riley would have teased him if he had sucked. Lucky for him, he didn’t.

Riley whipped the batter for his next batch of muffins, dancing to the beat at the same time. Riley didn’t take long to pick up the chorus, so he sang along, too. He sucked at singing. He knew it. But he didn’t care.

Until Cass and his dad came into the kitchen. Well, Riley didn’t care about Dad hearing him. It was Cass who made Riley blush.

When their gazes met, Cass’s expression held longing.

“I didn’t know you could cook,” Dad said as he came in for a hug.

Riley met Griffin’s gaze over his father’s shoulder. He mouthed the words, “What’s happening right now?”

Griffin shrugged and shook his head.

His dad wasn’t a tactile person. He’d hugged Riley upon first seeing him and told him it was good to see his face, but that was it—beyond a pat on the back or a touch on his shoulder.

When Riley tried to pull away, Dad held on and whispered, “Not yet.”

“There’s going to be flour transfer from my apron.” Riley smiled.

“I don’t care.”

It didn’t take long for Riley to relax. He even shut his eyes and rested his head on Dad’s shoulder.

“I love you, son.”

Riley kept his eyes closed when tears threatened. “I love you too, Dad.”

“What the hell happened?” Griffin asked. Riley wasn’t sure who Griffin asked, but he didn’t know what had gotten into his dad, so he didn’t answer.

Riley opened his eyes and lifted his head off his dad’s shoulder, meeting Cass’s gaze. Cass winked at him and smiled.

Dad finally ended the hug. “Nothing happened. I was told Riley needed a lot of hugs. Especially from me.”

“What about me? I need hugs.” Griffin smirked and opened his arms wide, beckoning Dad closer with his fingers. “Come on, Dad. Let it happen.”

Dad chuckled, but he let Riley go to hug Griffin. It wasn’t as long as the one Dad gave Riley, but it still seemed heartfelt. Dad was smiling when it ended.

And then, of course, Griffin turned his attention onto Riley.

Riley rolled his eyes but stepped into the hug.

“Cass set Dad straight,” Griffin spoke so quietly that Riley barely heard it. There was no way Dad or Cass heard it. But when they stepped away from each other, and Riley met Cass’s gaze, Cass nodded.

Riley cleared his throat and grabbed two paper sacks he’d packed for Cass and Dad. “I intended to bring it to you later, but since you’re here.”

“Wait a minute. You got one more hug to receive. Don’t worry about the partial shift. He gets that way when we’re on a case sometimes.” Dad took both bags with a smile.

Oh, Riley knew why Cass’s eyes had turned canine and his fangs had dropped. It wasn’t because of a case. But he couldn’t correct his dad’s assumption.

“Oh, I don’t think Cass wants to hug me.” The last thing Riley needed was to chub out in front of his brother and dad. And that was what would happen the second Cass touched him.

It didn’t help that Riley had been remembering their kiss all day. He couldn’t look at Cass without focusing on his mouth.

Cass pulled Riley into him. His arms were thicker than most. The strength in them was unmistakable, but he held Riley as if he were precious. “Thanks for whatever’s in the bag.”

“You don’t know what it is yet.” Riley could live in Cass’s arms for the rest of his life. He laid his head on Cass’s shoulder and shut his eyes. “Also, thank god for this apron.”

Cass chuckled. “I have the same problem. And it doesn’t matter what it is. I still appreciate it.”

Riley sighed. He didn’t want to end the hug but knew he should, so he pulled away. But he met Cass’s gaze. “It’s a muffin.”

“What flavor?”

“Blueberry lemon.”

Cass grinned. “I’ll love it.”

Riley cleared his throat and tried not to focus on how his face heated.

Cass kept a hand on his back as if he needed to touch Riley. The way his dad watched them, with speculation in his gaze, made Riley's instinct to step away from Cass kick in, as if his dad caught him with his hand in the cookie jar. But what he wanted was to lean against Cass.

Dad’s gaze went from Riley to Cass and back again.

Griffin shook his head and rolled his eyes at the same time. When he met Riley’s gaze, he held his hands out as if to say ‘what the hell are you doing’. But Riley didn’t understand Griffin’s reaction unless…they weren’t that obvious, were they?

Shit. What if they were?

Before they could do anything, Zinnie came in, carrying a rifle. “There’s a wolf in the forest. I’m not sure if they’re a shifter or an animal. Either way, they shouldn’t be in town.”

“You’re right. If it’s a shifter, they risk exposure. Especially this close to the inn.” Exposure must mean a shifter shouldn’t be in their wolf form, so close to unsuspecting people. Fortune Falls Inn had a steady number of visitors.

Even though she wasn’t talking to him, Riley started out of the room, untying his apron as he went.

“Oh no. You’re not leaving this room,” Cass said right before an arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him back.

Riley stiffened. He didn’t want to be angry at Cass, but he didn’t like being restricted. Riley hadn’t ever had someone protect him before. He’d always been the one who had to respond to everything, threat or not. It felt good to have someone else take charge of a situation.

Iven set the paper sacks on the counter. He raised his eyebrows at the way Cass held Riley but said nothing as he headed out. He waved a hand to Zinnie, asking her to follow him. “Tell me where you saw it.”

Cass kissed Riley’s temple before letting go.

“Lock the door,” he said as he left the room.

Griffin did as Cass said, flipping the lock on the door leading outside. And then he sat down again, turning off the radio. “Something is going on. It’s all connected to that murder, I bet.”

“What is? The wolf Zinnie saw? How could that be connected?”

Griffin shrugged. “No one sees an animal around here. They are always shifters. That wolf is watching Dad and Cass. It probably followed them here.”

“How do you know?”

“I don’t for sure, but that murder has something to do with the pack.” Griffin washed his hands before sitting at the table, tucking into a muffin. “I feel it in my gut.”

If the pack was involved, what did that mean for Cass?