Page 21 of Warrick (Rocky Mountain Pack #1)
Warrick
Fuck, fuck, fuck. I don’t think she is going to hear me out, but I really need to tell her that it isn’t what she thinks it is. Pushing open the door to the bookstore, my way is blocked by none other than Chase.
“She doesn’t want to see you, Warrick.” His arms are crossed over his chest as he glares at me.
“Get out of my way, Chase. This has nothing to do with you.” A growl rumbles out of me as I attempt to step around him, but he shifts to stand in front of me again.
“I know she is your mate, but this has to stop.”
A growl comes out of me. “She is my mate and not your concern.” I shove past him, making sure to knock my shoulder into his.
“Doesn’t it bother you? Hurting your mate all the time? Have you ever considered that with everything you have done to her?”
My head whips around to him as I turn to face him. “You don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Rose,” I yell out, hoping wherever she is in the store, she will hear the desperation in my voice.
He shrugs his shoulders. “Maybe. Maybe not. But I do know that, of the two of us, I’m the one that she has been confiding in.
I’m the shoulder she cries on when you fuck up, yet again.
At this point, I think it would be best if you just left.
You are doing far more damage than good at this rate.
” I take a step toward him, ready to give him a piece of my mind, when he delivers the final punch to my gut.
“If she was my mate, and goddess knows I wish she was, I would worship at her feet, because she is an amazing woman who deserves it. I would never dream of doing the painful, heartbreaking things you’ve done to her, like fucking any woman other than the one fated for me.
But alas, I haven’t found my mates. Instead, I found someone who I can love, cherish, and respect. ”
My shoulders drop and all the anger rushes out of me. He’s right, and I hate him for it. Turning, I set the coffee for her down on the table and head to the door. Before I leave, I look over my shoulder and say, “You’re right,” before walking out and letting the door shut behind me.
The coffee in my hand doesn’t even sound tempting, and the book that has been my escape for weeks holds no appeal today. Discarding the coffee, I briskly walk down the sidewalk toward the pack house.
I don’t know how I will win Aspen over now.
Even though what she saw isn’t what she thinks, I’ve burned that bridge already.
If I hadn’t fucked around so much in our life, then she wouldn’t have assumed anything when she saw Selene talking to me.
She didn’t even see who it was, just that another girl was sitting with me.
It’s going to take one hell of a gesture to win Aspen over this time. Nothing short of something from a romance book or Hallmark movie. I just don’t know what it would be.
My office is exactly as I left it: a total mess.
There are papers everywhere and at least an inch of dust on top of the furniture.
Honestly, I rarely come in here. What does a Beta need an office for?
Most of the time, I’m moving around the pack land and mingling with other wolves.
But Silas insisted and, today, I’m grateful for a place to hide that nobody would think to look for me.
Deciding that a messy office isn’t a great place to think, I begin clearing the desk of all the papers strewn about. I shuffle the papers into piles, clearing all the trash off the desk, and neatly putting the pens into the cup that Nova got me that says “#1 Pain in the Ass.”
It doesn’t take long for the office to be cleaned and look like I’ve never seen it before. I’ve just sat down at my desk with a notebook when there is a knock at the door. Inhaling, I know immediately that it’s Gail. Shaking my head, I say, “Come in.”
Gail’s weathered face with her gray curls framing it peeks around my door. “Do you have a moment, dear?”
“For you, I always have a moment.” I gesture with my hand to my lone chair in front of my desk. It’s not the best, but I clearly don’t exactly use the office much.
Her face lights with a warm smile as she makes her way to my chair. After she is settled and adjusted, she looks at me. “Seems you have a lot of work ahead of you, and I’m not talking about the pack life.” Her eyebrow raises with a knowing glint in her eye.
“Should I just pretend it’s normal that you already know what I’ve been thinking this morning and somehow know of the conversation I had with Chase?”
“Don’t sass me, boy. Do you want my help or not? I’m not the one who is floundering at claiming my mate.”
Sighing, I run my hand down my face. “I’m sorry, Gail. I didn’t do anything wrong this time. It doesn’t make up for all the other times, but Selene was just showing me pictures she took of the pack. I didn’t even think anything of it until I saw Aspen’s face.”
“You can’t fault Aspen for assuming it was like every other time. Especially since the first time it happened, you had invited her to be there, too.” She gives me a look of disappointment.
I slam my fist slams down on the desktop. “I know, alright? I’m trying to make it right, but it’s like nothing I’m doing is working!”
Gail reaches across my desktop to lay her hand across mine. “Be patient. You have years of pain to work through. Nothing you do is going to be a quick fix, but I may have an idea that would certainly be the grand gesture that you are looking for.”
We spend the next few hours going over her idea and planning out how to do it, without word getting around about what I’m doing. Gail even suggested that I give Aspen space while I am working on it.
We call in the carpenter to go over the plans that we have created. He promises to have the drawn up plans to me by the end of the week, after he has the measurements and a feel for the layout.
The sun is setting as our meeting wraps up. It was a productive day with a plan that will hopefully work.
Bill, our carpenter, claps a hand on my shoulder. “It’s going to be beautiful when it's completed. Thanks for trusting me with the project.”
A smile stretches across my face. “I can’t imagine anyone else working on it, man. Your work is always stunning. I’ve been jealous of that cabinet in Silas’s office for a while now.”
He blushes. “Thank you. I’ll shoot you a message when I have the plans done. You alright with me dropping by tomorrow to measure everything?”
“Yeah, it sounds good. See you then.”
He walks out of my office as Gail turns back to me in her chair. “This is going to work, Warrick. Have faith in yourself and fate.” She pulls herself up from the chair before she leans in closer to me. “Fate never gets it wrong. Some people just have to work a little harder at it than others.”
She cups my face with her hand as she lifts my chin slightly. “You are a wonderful man who has just made poor decisions along the way. You will get there one day.” She pats my cheek before walking out of my office.
Sighing, I drop my shoulders before my back slams into the chair. A little harder, she says. I feel as though I have a mountain the size of Everest to climb to earn Aspen’s heart. It’s nobody’s fault but my own, but the feat is still the same.
I gather my jacket and cell phone before flipping the light off in my office. Sliding the lock in place, I head back home.
Hours later, long past the time that I should have gone to bed, I’m standing inside the empty room that will hopefully show Aspen how committed I am to us. It’s plain now, but after Bill is done, the room will be magical.
The ice chinks against the side of the glass as I whirl around the bourbon. I think it’s going to take around three months for it to be completed. Right around when Silas and Nova are to be wed. Maybe, just maybe, I will be there with Aspen on my arm, too.