Full Moon Mating [Wolf Creek Pack 1] (4 page)

“I usually have family coming or going, so I try to keep these rooms ready in case anyone needs to stay over.” Joe led the way down the hallway to the last door at the end. “This is the official guest room as I haven’t gotten the other rooms finished yet. You can take this room or any of the others. Whichever one makes you most comfortable.”

Nate looked around as he followed Joe into the room. A queen-sized bed sat against the far wall between two large windows, another old quilt covering it. Again, there were nightstands on each side of the bed.

There was a closet on the right side of the room with a dresser next to it. But what really had Nate’s attention was the small door in the corner. It led out to a small balcony that overlooked the front of the house. Nate could see nearly everything from there. It was beautiful.

Joe handed Nate a towel and pointed towards the bathroom. “Why don’t you go take a shower while I get us something to eat? I’ll grab you a pair of bottoms you can change into. Sound like a plan?”

Nate took the towel and nodded his head, following Joe out of the bedroom and down the hallway to the bathroom. Joe disappeared into his room briefly, returning with a set of pajama bottoms.

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“Here, these should fit. They belong to my little brother, Tommy.

He’s constantly leaving his stuff over here. Go get cleaned up and meet me downstairs. Okay?”

Nate nodded, heading into the bathroom. He closed the door to just a crack, watching Joe walk down the hallway, then down the stairs. Once Joe was out of sight, Nate closed the bathroom door and locked it.

He turned on the shower and began slowly taking his clothes off, folding them carefully and setting them on the counter. Once he was naked, he climbed into the shower, letting the hot spray of water fall over his head and shoulders.

It seemed like so long since he had enjoyed a long, hot shower, since he had even had a shower to himself. Usually he showered in the facility locker room right along with everyone else.

To have his own room to sleep in, not the facility dorm room with its many bunk beds, was something of a novelty. Nate didn’t even know if he remembered a time when he had his own room. Even when the Teacher took him on a trip, he had had to share a room with someone else.

Nate held his head under the shower spray a few more moments before quickly washing his hair and scrubbing up. It would be rude to keep Joe waiting after he had been so nice to let Nate sleep in his house and fix him food.

He climbed out of the shower and dried off, putting on the pajama pants Joe had given him. He had to roll up the feet to keep from tripping on them. Nate quickly cleaned up the bathroom then he carried his clothes out and down the hallway to the room Joe said he could have. He set them on the end of the bed.

He began walking down the hallway when he heard the sounds of a vehicle. Nate quickly ran to the window in Joe’s room, only to see a truck driving on the road. His heart beating rapidly, he watched as the truck drove right on by.

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The view from Joe’s window was mesmerizing. Joe’s house was settled on the edge of a large green valley, tree-covered mountains behind the house. To the side of the house was an orchard. Nate absently wondered what kind of trees Joe grew.

To the back of the house were pastures fenced in with faded white fences and a large barn. But the view from the front of the house Nate could look at it for hours. A large green valley was laid out in front of the house. In the distance, he could see a river flowing. Here and there the landscape was dotted with small farms and fenced pastures. It was beautiful.

Nate jumped when two hands settled suddenly on his bare shoulders. He turned only to realize that it was Joe. He let out a deeply relieved breath. It was only Joe.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I called, but you didn’t answer. I just wanted to let you know that the food is ready. You hungry?”

Nate tilted his head back to look up into Joe’s smiling eyes. Even standing directly behind him, Nate could still tilt his head straight back and look up into Joe’s face. God, he was so tall…and so damn sexy.

Joe patted him on the shoulders before reaching down with one hand to grab Nate’s. “Come on, let’s go eat. I imagine you’re pretty hungry right about now.”

Nate nodded and followed Joe out of the bedroom and down the hallway. When Joe went to let his hand free, Nate refused to let go, holding on tighter. Joe just smiled and led him down the stairs to the kitchen.

“I just kind of threw something together. Hope you don’t mind.

I’m not much of a cook.”

Nate shook his head and settled down into the chair Joe held out for him. He watched Joe sit down across from him and start to serve up the food. It looked pretty good…a plate of cold cuts, some cheese, hoagie rolls, and fixings. Joe had also included a plate of fruit and some chips.

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He waited until Joe had his plate filled before making himself a sandwich and adding some fruit to his own plate. Picking up his sandwich, he ate. He watched Joe nearly the entire time.

“So, what do you think of my little farmhouse?” Joe asked after a few moments.

Nate held his thumb up.

Joe looked around the kitchen, a soft smile on his lips. “Yeah, I like it too. I can’t wait until it’s all done. But that’s going to be a while. Most of the woodwork still has to be stripped down and refinished. And some of the wallpaper is really…out there. I’d prefer just simple painted walls…off-white, maybe. Not much into the whole wallpaper thing.”

Nate nodded that he agreed.

“Once I get this place done, though, it’s gonna be a beauty. I’ve already finished the office and the two bedrooms upstairs plus the bathrooms. I still need to get the other bedrooms finished, the kitchen, dining room, and some things in the living room. I haven’t even started on the outside yet.”

Nate shrugged his shoulders, gesturing around the room.

“Why?” Joe asked.

Nate nodded.

“Not a lot of free time, really. Being sheriff takes a lot of work. I have evenings and weekends, but there just never seems to be enough time in the day, and I want to do it myself, no contractors or outside workers. It just wouldn’t be the same.”

Nate nodded. He could understand that. Seeing something that you made with your own hands, your own sweat, there was something satisfying in that. You couldn’t get that feeling by having someone else do the work or buying it.

He nearly jumped out of his chair when the phone rang.

Joe chuckled as he wiped his hands and stood up. He reached for the phone hanging on the wall. “It’s okay. It’s just the phone. Hello?”

Nate watched Joe nod several times, his eyes straying to his.

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“Okay, thanks, Ben. Yeah, I’ll call you in the morning.” Joe hung up the phone and sat back down, smiling over at Nate as he did.

“Well, that solves one of my problems. That was Ben, my deputy.

He just called to let me know that Old Man Garner is finally out of surgery and talking. He told my deputy nearly the same thing you did…two perps, both white, in a late-model white Ford two-door.

Garner also said that you saved his life.”

Nate nodded again, picking up his sandwich to take another bite.

Joe smiled as he watched. “And you were right. Old Man Garner did take a swing at one of the perps and broke his nose. We have an APB

out on them now and hope to catch up with them pretty soon. So, guess that means you’re off the hook.”

Nate looked up in surprise, raising an eyebrow. Joe looked down at his plate, fiddling with the napkin next to it. “So, I guess you’re free to go whenever you want to. Charlie has your bike down behind the station. I can have him bring it over in the morning.”

The food in Nate’s stomach suddenly felt like a brick. He set the rest of his sandwich down on his plate, no longer hungry. He was free to go, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to stay here with Joe and never leave.

However, he knew, realistically, that staying in one place for any extended amount of time was not an option for him. The longer he stayed, the more chance the Teacher had of finding him and capturing him again.

Nate stood up and grabbed his plate, disposing of his leftover food in the garbage before rinsing his plate and putting it in the dish drain.

He went to the table and started cleaning up the leftover food, putting it in the refrigerator before grabbing Joe’s plate and cleaning it up too.

“You did a nice job cleaning up, Nate. Can you cook too?”

Nate stopped wiping down the table to glance over at Joe quizzically, slowly nodding his head. Yeah, he could cook. He didn’t have any practical experience, but he had read a lot. Whatever he didn’t know, he could always find in a book.

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“Great,” Joe said as he stood up and patted Nate on the back.

“Then you’re on kitchen duty. I can’t cook for shit. Mom’s tried to teach me, but it’s just not something I understand. Maybe you can talk to her about some recipes or something. She’s a great cook.”

Nate just stared at Joe like he had suddenly grown two heads. He was on kitchen duty? Did that mean Joe wanted him to stay? Why?

“I don’t know what you’re going through, Nate, but I’d like to help. I know it’s something that has you very scared, but you’re safe here. You know you can stay here as long as you need to.”

Nate dropped his head, trying to hide the tears suddenly forming in his eyes. No one had ever offered him a safe haven before. If they found out about him, what he was and why he was being hunted, they usually turned him in for the reward the Teacher had set on him. He had learned not to trust many people for his own safety.

So now why was he considering trusting Joe? Being the sheriff of a small country town made him twice as dangerous. The Teacher had official credentials and government agencies backing him. How could Nate expect Joe to believe him over the Teacher and all of his resources?

On the other hand, if he stayed quiet and kept out of the way, maybe Joe would never learn about the Teacher, and maybe he could stay for just a little while, at least long enough to regroup and plan his next escape.

“Nate?” Joe said, coming over to stand in front of him. He gently placed his hand under Nate’s chin and lifted his face up to meet his.

“Do you want to stay? I promise to do everything in my power to keep you safe…and I can be pretty powerful when I want to be.” He said with assurance.

Nate searched his eyes for the truth, because he certainly couldn’t tell if he was being truthful by touching him as he usually could with most people. That really confused him about Joe. Why couldn’t he tell what Joe was feeling?

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He was a
sempath
. He had always been able to tell what other people were feeling by touching them, another reason he didn’t like touching people. It could be a little overwhelming when someone didn’t know how to guard their emotions, even painful. Nate nodded.

“Come on, let’s head up. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had a pretty full day. I could use a little shut-eye.”

Joe grabbed Nate’s hand and pulled him out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He paused briefly outside of the bathroom. “Need to use the facilities?”

When Nate shook his head, Joe led him down the hallway to the guestroom. He walked inside and flipped on the bedside lamp before leaning down to pull the covers back. He looked at Nate curiously.

“You do remember which room I’m in, right?” he continued after Nate nodded his head. “Okay, then, if you need anything, you know where I am, and I do mean anything, Nate. Now come on, climb in.”

Nate walked across the room and climbed into the bed. Joe pulled the covers up over him. He tucked the blankets around Nate then leaned down to place a light kiss on his forehead.

“Goodnight, Nate. Sleep well, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

Nate watched Joe turn the lamp off and walk out of the room, the soft glow of the hallway light shining down on the tall man as he went into his room. Once Joe was out of sight, Nate turned on his side and huddled deeper under the covers, trying to get his active mind to shut down enough that he could sleep.

Unfortunately, it looked like it was going to be a long night.

* * * *

Nate padded down the hallway to Joe’s room. He eased the door opened and glanced towards the bed where he could just make out Joe’s body in the moonlight shinning through the window.

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He clutched his pillow tightly to his chest as Joe jerked awake and sat up. Nate blinked his eyes at the sudden light when Joe flipped on the lamp on the nightstand.

“Nate?” Joe asked quietly. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“Can I stay in here with you?” Nate asked, wishing his voice didn’t sound like he was pleading.

“Of course you can, baby. Climb in.” Joe flipped back the edge of the covers on the other side of the bed so that Nate could climb in.

Nate quickly crossed the room and got into the bed, Joe covering him with the blankets. Nate snuggled into the covers, pressing his body up close against Joe. He stifled a deep sigh when Joe’s arms came around him and pulled him close.

Nate had just settled down and closed his eyes when Joe suddenly sat up and turned the lamp back on before looking down at Nate in astonishment.

“You can talk?”

Nate chuckled. “Of course I can talk.”

“Then why haven’t you said anything before now? Why the big show with the notepad?”

Nate shrugged his shoulders lightly. “I didn’t have anything important to say before now. Besides, you wouldn’t believe how many questions people don’t ask when you have to write all the answers down.”

Joe stared at him for so long that Nate started to worry that he had made him angry. Then Joe chuckled. “Okay, I guess I can see that.

But from now on, unless you absolutely have to, I’d prefer that you just talked to me. I only have so many notepads.”