Page 7 of Rugged Hearts: Part One
Most of us don’t want to sell that property for varying reasons. It’s not going to happen but I say, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“Who rented it? Anyone we know?” Parker asks.
“A couple of us know her, Thea Fera. She was hired as the head housekeeper at the lodge.” I pointedly look at Ben. Everyone, even Jake, looks over at him.
“What? I didn’t know she was meeting with Eli to rent the house. It was a coincidence,” he rushes out, sounding flustered. Maybe hedidscent her too.
I look around the table and a few reactions surprise me. Parker looks excited and Keelan is looking at him with a thoughtful expression.Thea, who in my pack have you met already?Jake, of course, is entirely unbothered and goes back to eating. Micah, well, looks like Micah, the grumpy bastard. Though I’d almost say he looks suspicious.
Parker being him brings up something completely off topic and Thea is soon forgotten about. So now I need to talk to Ben, see if he scented her, possibly talk to Parker and see why he was excited and then finally ask Liam about scent matches. Easy.
“Who’s on dish duty tonight?” I ask, interrupting whatever conversation is currently going on.
Liam looks at me, annoyed. It must’ve been him that was talking. Oh well, he’ll get over it. We’re all pack, brothers in nearlyevery sense—well Parker and Keelan are literal brothers, but that’s beside the point—and we work our issues out and move on. That’s especially true since Amber happened.
“You and I are,” Ben says.
Yes, I got lucky. Now I just patiently wait for everyone to finish.Come on people, it’s a Friday night. Don’t any of you have anything better to do?My knee is bouncing up and down as I listen to my pack talk. I love them, I really do but there’s a major development happening and I don’t really care about Liam’s latest medical gizmo he bought for his office.
“Before we break, I just wanted to let you all know I’m planning to take some extra shifts the next couple weeks so I may not be at dinner much,” Jake says, his dark blue eyes looking down at his plate nonchalantly.
That breaks me out of my thoughts. He’s doing the thing where he pulls away and acts like he’s not a member of the pack. He started doing it more in the last year. I curse that woman for coming into our lives. I’m really not a person who likes to hate or be negative but that woman was awful. Even more reason I know I need to tread carefully on the news surrounding Thea.
“No, you’re not. We all agreed to prioritize pack dinners as much as possible throughout the week,” Micah says sternly.
Jake rolls his eyes. “It’s only for a couple weeks. I’ll be sure to make at least one dinner.”
“Why?” Keelan asks, surprising me. Jake even looks surprised he was the one to ask.
Sighing, Jake says, “It’s a work anniversary from my time in the bureau. Well, more like the anniversary of the case that made me leave and finally move up here. Just need to be busy the next couple weeks.” We all know how much working at the FBI drained him. He was so burnt out when he came up here. It was clear whatever his last assignment was, it was rough. He doesn’t talk much about that time in his life. It used to be because it was all confidential but now I think it’s more like picking at an old wound. When he joined the forest rangers it seemed like he founda purpose again. Plus, he loves being outdoors. He’d probably love to go live off the land somewhere. The thought makes me laugh since he was born and raised in and around New York City. His accent has been watered down over the years. His own doing, I think.
“Let us know when your shifts will be and we’ll make sure to send leftovers to the station,” Parker says, breaking some of the tension. He’s always been good at that.
With that we all begin to clear the table. Ben and I go to the sink as everyone brings in the dishes. I start cleaning as I hear everyone leave to their respective areas of the house, while Ben puts the food in containers for lunches tomorrow. Double checking it’s just us, I ask, “So, what do you think of Thea?” I hold back a laugh as he nearly drops the bowl he’s holding.
He looks over at me nervously. “Rebecca was impressed when she interviewed her. I only met her once during her tour of the lodge. She seemed nice.”
“Ben, come on you’re the one pushing us to share our feelings. You obviously have more to say than that.” I feel slightly guilty pulling an honesty card when I’m not but it’s for the pack’s best interest.
He sighs. “It’s nothing I just think she’s…” He mumbles something under his breath.
“She’s what? I can’t hear you.”
“She’s gorgeous okay?” he nearly shouts. My smile must be so big, because he looks more annoyed at my reaction. He takes his glasses off and cleans them with his sweater. He’s definitely flustered by the situation.
“Did you scent her?”
He looks offended. “Of course not. I can be professional. I’m her boss, I can’t be attracted to her.”
Ahh that’s why he’s freaking out. It’s a good thing he’s attracted to her. I know she will be a scent match for all of us. The universe would not be so cruel as to have her matched with some and not all. Not after last time. Granted it wasn’t a scentmatch, just scent compatible but it still did a lot of damage to our pack.
“There’s no law saying you can’t be attracted to her.”
“Actually there is. Many, in fact.”
“No those are about abusing power and harassment. Consenting adults who work at the same place can have relationships.”
He goes to say something then shuts his mouth. I smile a tad smugly as I go back to doing the dishes. After a couple minutes Ben comes to stand next to me. “What did you think of her?”