Chasing Seth (10 page)

He hated himself for being so weak, for not being able to control these emotions. Just the thought of that man could send him to his knees, cowering like a beaten puppy. A bitter smile twisted his lips. Hadn’t he been? Just a stupid, stupid puppy who’d been so happy to find others that he ignored the signs, allowing himself to be treated like a battered wife.

The screams, the smoke-hazed room, the fire burning out of control, and the thought that he was finally going to be granted release replayed in his mind as clearly as the night he’d lived through it. Sometimes he could still smell it, still hear it, even while awake. He’d only escaped the blaze because of Nick. Nick had saved his life. It’d been during one of Nick’s infrequent impromptu visits that it all ended. The one man who knew him better than the entire world ever could had seen something was wrong, questioned it, and finally helped end it.

Seth managed to grab enough control to look at the clock. The urge to hear Nick’s voice overpowered him. He gripped the counter and pulled himself to his feet. Even though it would be extremely late in Japan, he knew Nick wouldn’t mind. The phone rang in his ear, but it sounded hollow. “’Lo,” a sleep-roughened voice answered.

“Nick,” Seth managed to get out.

Nick Cartwright pulled himself up in the hotel bed, instantly alert, disturbing the hotel receptionist sleeping next to him. “Seth? What’s wrong?”

A choked sob escaped Seth, and the whole story came spilling out. Kasey, the other pack of wolves, and his fear, his desire to run. “I don’t know what to do, Nick.”

Fury consumed Nick. Seth had almost died because of someone else claiming to be his mate. Someone Seth had trusted immediately to be telling the truth. Nick scowled as he listened to his friend practically hyperventilating on the other end of the phone. “Listen, Seth, I’m catching the first flight out of here. I’ll be there in less than two days. Whatever you do, just be careful with this guy. Remember how Taggart claimed the same thing.”

A whimper issued from Seth at the bastard’s name spoken aloud. “I… I kn-know,” he stumbled out. “I… it feels different this time, Nick. When… when he touches me, it feels so… right.”

Fingers tightening on the cell phone, Nick bit out, “Just don’t do anything until I get there, Seth. Okay? I’m coming.”

Seth gave a whispered acknowledgement and hung up. He shivered at the echo of Taggart’s name in his mind. He felt ashamed of clinging to Nick as a lifeline, but only Nick knew the truth of the shattered mess he’d become. It’d taken him two years to recover even a semblance of himself. Every little thing made him cringe and cower.

It took all of his strength to stand up and finish getting ready for work. The dinner date weighed heavily on his mind.

He found Chessie as bright and cheerful as ever when he arrived to work. The day moved way too quickly for Seth’s taste. Before he knew it, the clock struck closing time. He winced when Chessie called him on the intercom to let him know she was leaving for the evening. “Are you okay, Doc? You’ve been edgy all day,” she asked hesitantly.

Thankfully, she couldn’t see his face. He could feel the lines of strain around his eyes and the tension in his forehead. “I’m fine, Chessie. Just exhausted. The last few days have been pretty eventful. Have a good night.”

“Thanks. You too, Doc.”

Seth distracted himself by finishing up some of the paperwork from the day’s appointments. Right at seven on the dot, he heard Kasey’s sure-footed boots scraping across the wooden floor of his clinic. Seth’s fingers clenched on the pen in nervousness and, he reluctantly admitted to himself, anticipation. A part of him wanted to believe in Kasey, to believe Kasey was telling the truth about being his mate and wasn’t just another Taggart.

Kasey stopped in the doorway to his office and leaned one broad shoulder against the door. “Evenin’, Seth.”

“Good evening, Ka-Kasey.” He flushed as he stumbled over the man’s name.

“Ready to go?” Kasey asked.

Taking a deep breath, Seth nodded and stood, closing the file he’d been working on and setting it in his outbox for Chessie to put away in the morning. “Where are we going?” he asked as he followed the big Cheyenne from the clinic.

“I thought since we’re trying to get to know one another, we could have dinner at my house. I have most of it prepared already. If that’s all right,” Kasey drawled as he opened the passenger door of his truck for Seth.

Dipping his head to hide his smile at the chivalrous act, Seth replied, “That’s fine.”

He watched Kasey jog around the front of the truck before sliding into the driver’s seat. The sun cast a warm orange glow across the sky as it sank slowly below the horizon slowly. Seth leaned back against the seat and sighed tiredly. “I hope you like Italian,” Kasey said, noting the strain around Seth’s face.

“Actually, Italian is my favorite,” Seth admitted slowly.

Kasey smiled, totally stealing Seth’s breath away. “Good. Italian is also my favorite.”

Seth bit his lip at the way his heart jumped at the brilliant smile on the sheriff’s face. He turned his head to gaze out the window.

The rest of the short ride was made in silence. Seth didn’t wait for Kasey to open his door and merely slid down to the ground easily. Because of his height, he’d always been grateful he had the abilities he did as a wolf. Agility and being able to move swiftly had saved him from making a fool of himself on more than one occasion. This moment being one of them, when his feet almost went out from under him at the impact with the ground.

“How’s the horse and foal?” he asked as Kasey opened the front door.

“Doing fine. The foal is already getting bigger.” Kasey motioned Seth in ahead of him.

The fragrant smell of spaghetti sauce made his mouth water, and for the first time, Seth realized how hungry he truly was. He’d skipped lunch because of nerves, and his stomach growled loudly. He blushed. “Sorry, I missed lunch.”

Kasey frowned at him. “You need to eat,” he admonished gently. “We can start on the salad while the pasta finishes.”

Again, Kasey did the unexpected and held his chair out for him. Seth swallowed back a smile as he slipped into the seat. “Wine or soda?” Kasey’s voice sounded close to his ear, startling him.

It took him clearing his throat to be able to respond. “Soda is fine.” He needed to keep a clear head, just in case.

Kasey moved away from him, allowing him to breathe again. Seth looked around at the kitchen. Surprisingly, all of the cherrywood cabinet doors were hand-carved with burnished brass handles. A small island counter made of the same type of wood graced the center of the kitchen, complementing the granite countertops and stainless kitchen appliances. Stainless steel pots hung from a rack over the island counter, complementing the whole look of the kitchen. “Your kitchen is amazing,” he complimented.

Kasey set a glass of soda in front of Seth. “Thanks. I carved all of the doors and made the island and table myself.”

Seth widened his eyes in awe. “You made all of this? It’s beautiful.” He swallowed as he noticed the laugh lines around Kasey’s eyes and mouth deepen with mirth.

“I like working with my hands,” he murmured huskily as he winked at Seth, laughing aloud when Seth flushed for the third time that night. “I also like to cook, and I like having the proper facilities to do so.”

Seth took a sip of his Coke before asking, “Where did you learn to cook?”

“My mother. She says it shouldn’t be just a woman’s job to cook. Luckily for her, I like to cook. Although my brother Thayne isn’t into it so much. He does more takeout than anything,” Kasey said wryly.

“You have a brother?” Seth watched as Kasey took a large bowl of salad from the fridge and set it in the center of the table. He placed a white ceramic salad bowl in front of Seth and one at his own seat.

“Yeah. He’s younger than me by five years. Currently out discovering himself by traveling around and sleeping his way through half the population.” Kasey handed Seth a small gravy boat with Italian dressing in it. “Come, eat. Then we can start on the main dish.”

Seth dished some of the salad out for himself, spooned a little bit of dressing on it, and began to eat. Kasey did the same while asking, “You said it was just you and your parents?”

“Yes,” Seth replied after he’d swallowed the mouthful he had. “Mom couldn’t have any more kids after me. They said it was because of the difficult pregnancy she had with me. She started hemorrhaging while in labor.” He would have loved to have had a brother or even sister. Maybe things would have been different and he wouldn’t have been so afraid to accept Kasey as his true mate. He wouldn’t have felt so alone that he leapt at the thought of Taggart being his mate.

Kasey watched Seth’s eyes darken, the essence of memories flitting through them. He didn’t want his mate thinking of things that made him sad. He wanted to take him in his arms and make the sadness go away, but he restrained himself, knowing it wouldn’t help the situation. “Well, sometimes having a sibling can be great, but other times not so much.” He launched into all of the embarrassing things his brother had put him through, including catching him making out with a girlfriend and running to tell his mother.

Seth was laughing hysterically by the time Kasey had finished and got up to serve the pasta. Seth’s blue eyes twinkled merrily. “He sounds like a handful.”

“Oh, he’s something, all right,” Kasey muttered, but he couldn’t keep the happiness out of his voice. Hearing Seth’s laugh was like a cool spring breeze on a hot summer day. It made his heart sing that he could make his mate laugh. He set a heaping plate of spaghetti in front of Seth.

“I can’t eat all this,” Seth protested.

“Just eat whatever you can,” he said calmly, grabbing a couple of napkins before taking his own seat. His mate was far too skinny. “So, when you aren’t fixing animals, Doc, what do you do in your free time?”

Seth shrugged. “Read, mostly. Anything and everything I can get my hands on. I had a lot of free time on my hands for a while, and I started collecting books. The second bedroom of my home is virtually a library. All of the walls have shelves along them, and they are pretty full.”

Kasey was dying to ask why he’d had free time on his hands, but he stuffed it down inside. Soon. Once Seth began to trust him. “I’m a bit of a movie buff myself,” he replied easily. “Although I don’t own quite so many movies as you do books, apparently.”

The conversation flowed easily, and the time disappeared faster than Seth could have imagined. After dinner, he found himself relaxing in the corner of the sofa with a glass of soda in one hand while Kasey regaled him with tales of his childhood. He told Seth of his first full change and about learning the ins and outs of being a wolf. As he talked, he drew Seth out as well by throwing in casual questions the man didn’t hesitate to answer. Kasey hungered to know everything about his mate, to know of his past, and his parents, to know what made his pup so distrustful.

The clock chimed midnight before Seth realized how long they had been talking. “I think it’s time for me to head home,” Seth said, yawning as he stood up. “Bullet probably needs to go out as well, since I didn’t keep my promise to him yet again. I usually take him to the clinic every day, but I forgot this morning.”

“All right, let me just put these glasses in the sink, and I’ll take you home, pup,” Kasey said, reaching out to pick up both their glasses.

Seth was too tired to protest the endearment and merely grunted while pulling his shoes back on. He waited patiently at the front door for Kasey and then followed him to his truck. The ride home went silently, and he had fallen almost completely asleep by the time the truck stopped in front of his porch. “You need help getting inside?” the smooth-as-melted-butter voice said, gliding over his skin and disrupting his descent into slumber.

“No, no. I’ll be fine.” Seth smothered another yawn.

“I’ll come pick you up in the morning to take you to your car, Seth,” Kasey told him quietly, reluctant for the date to come to an end. It’d been an enjoyable evening with his mate. Something he hoped he could repeat again, and perhaps without any clothing on, he thought wolfishly.

Seth’s easy agreement was a clear testament to how tired he really was. He was about to slide from the truck when Kasey touched his hand where it rested on the seat. He looked over at the sheriff questioningly.

“Have dinner with me and my parents tomorrow night, Seth?” Kasey held his breath while he waited for an answer, a breath that whooshed from his lungs when the dark-haired vet nodded in agreement.

“Good night, Kasey,” Seth bid just before closing the truck door.

“Good night, pup,” Kasey murmured, watching Seth walk up the stairs into his house. He restarted his truck and backed out of the drive slowly. Excitement twisted his stomach at how much ground he’d already gained. His lips were curled up in an almost permanent smile the entire ride home.

It surprised Seth when he woke the next morning and found he’d gone through the entire night without one of his usual nightmares. He moaned in pleasure as he stretched before rolling out of bed and heading into the bathroom for a quick shower. He tried not to overanalyze the evening he’d spent at Kasey’s or the fact he’d agreed without thinking to having dinner with the man’s parents. Nick would be there sometime in the next twenty-four hours, and then he could actually think.

Kasey sat on his front porch steps when he opened the door, leaning against a railing and sipping at a Styrofoam cup of coffee while holding out another one for him. Seth mentally shook his head at how well the other man seemed to understand him already. He took the cup gratefully as Bullet tore by them both, bounding across the grass. “Is it all right if he rides with us to the clinic?”

“Of course. But I think it might be a good idea for you to sit in the middle. Not real fond of dog drool on my uniform,” Kasey deadpanned.

Seth blinked owlishly before chuckling and sinking down onto the steps beside him. “I thought he’d ride in the back, if that’s all right with you.”

“Aw, damn. And here I was thinking I might get a chance to cop a feel,” Kasey said dramatically, letting his chin droop down to his chest before he glanced back up and gave a teasing wink at Seth.