Shadows at Sunset: Sunset Trilogy ~ Book 1 (20 page)

Noah stepped behind me to slide my jacket off and hang it on the back of my chair. I shivered, not from being cold, but from his nearness and soft touch on my shoulders. He pulled out the chair, pushing it in as I sat down.

Then he quickly circled to the other side of the table and hung his jacket on the back of his chair. As he sat down, his eyes scanned the restaurant. “This is really nice. I’ve never been here before. It has that wilderness lodge feel. Very rugged.” He paused. “I mean rustic. That’s the word I was looking for.”

“You do realize you’ve moved to the end of the earth, right? Everything about our town and these mountains is rugged and rustic. Just wait until winter gets here. It can feel pretty remote up here when we get a snowstorm.”

He noticed the excitement in my eyes. “You really love it here, don’t you?”

“Yes. But I’ve lived here my whole life. I can’t imagine living in a city or someplace in the south where the seasons never change.” I opened my menu as I talked.

Noah followed suit. “So what’s good here?”

“Everything, from what I hear. I’ve only eaten here a few times.”

Before either one of us could say anything more, a waiter in a crisp white shirt and black dress slacks arrived at our table. He quickly took our drink order, a Diet Coke for me and an iced tea for Noah, and then headed back to the kitchen.

Silence came between us as we studied the entrée selections. Food was the farthest thing from my mind, but I decided on a meatless pasta, hoping my nerves wouldn’t prevent me from eating most of it. When the waiter returned with our drinks, we placed our orders and handed him our menus. As soon as he left, I quietly sipped my Diet Coke. Looking across the table at Noah, I couldn’t help wondering how I had captured his attention when he could have any girl in town, and not just the ones still in high school.

Finally, he broke the silence. “How’s Dakota?”

“Much better. His neck is healed, and he was up and about this morning like nothing happened. But he took off today and hasn’t come home yet. For all I know, he’s been hurt again.” I let out a worried sigh, almost wishing Noah hadn’t reminded me about him. And yet I was glad he did because it meant he remembered last weekend and cared.

“Why do you think it could happen again? Do you know what attacked him last week?”

“I’m not really sure. Dakota has roamed these mountains his whole life and nothing like this has ever happened.” I paused, debating on how much to tell him. “But I think whatever bit him is what bit the guy who took Ryder.”

“What? I mean I just figured Dakota had bitten him.”

“So does my dad. And I’ll admit I wondered about that too, at least until last Friday night.”

“What happened Friday night?”

“I saw another wolf in the woods at the party. It actually looked a lot like Dakota except for the eyes. They were gold.”

Noah frowned as concern came over his expression. “Have you told your father about this?”

I shook my head. “No, and you can’t either. If he knows, he’ll just worry about it.”

“Where was the party?”

“Up at the old abandoned campground at Matthews Pond.”

“Oh,” Noah said, smiling. “I’ve heard that’s a favorite party spot.”

“Okay, yes, I’ve heard that, too. But I’d never been there until last week. I only went because Brooke dragged me there. I wanted to be a good friend and give her some moral support, and a ride.”

“You don’t have to explain to me. You’re in high school and you’re supposed to go out to a party or two. As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”

“Well, I don’t drink if that’s what you mean. But if you mean straying away from the party to come face to face with a strange wolf that doesn’t belong here, we might have a problem.”

“Yes, we might. How far away from the party did you go?”

I looked at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. “Not very. I could still see and hear the other kids. You’re not going to tell my dad, are you?”

“About what?”

“All of it. Any of it. The party, the wolf. He can’t know. He has enough on his mind right now.”

Noah smiled warmly. “Of course not. But thank you for telling me. It means a lot that you trust me. Just promise me you’ll stay out of the woods for a while.”

“No problem. The last two times I tried to take a hike, Dakota wasn’t cooperative. Last weekend he chased me home. And this morning he took off without me. I’m not even sure I want to go out there anymore. At least not alone.” I remembered my nightmare and shivered. Taking a deep breath, I flashed him a smile. “Okay, enough about Dakota and wolves. You now know a secret about me, so it’s time for me to learn a little more about you.”

Noah leaned his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands. “What would you like to know?”

“Well, you said you’re from Pittsburgh. Did you grow up there?”

“Born and raised.”

“Was your dad a police officer, too?”

Noah’s enchanting smile instantly faded as he looked down at the table. “I never knew my father. My mom raised me all on her own.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”

He raised his eyes to meet my gaze. “It’s okay, don’t be sorry. My mom and I got by just fine.”

“But do you know who he was? Did she ever talk about him?”

“I learned long ago that subject was off limits with her. I asked her about him when I was eight years old, and I’ll never forget the way she told me there was nothing to tell. She said she barely knew him, but I’ve always thought there was more to the story.”

“Have you tried asking her about him since then?”

“Never.” He paused, as if searching for the right words to say. “I think he hurt her and the memories were just too painful. She did a lot for me over the years, made a lot of sacrifices. She doesn’t deserve to have painful memories dredged up from the past.”

“That’s really nice of you to protect her. Is she still in Pittsburgh?”

“Yeah, but we keep in touch. My move up here was a little hard on her.”

“Then she should come to visit. Fall is just around the corner and you wouldn’t believe how beautiful the leaves will be. People come here from all over the world for the fall colors. It would be a great time for her to visit.”

“Maybe next year. I’m still settling in and I want to know the area a little bit better first.”

I shrugged. “Okay. But at least send her some pictures.”

Noah grinned. “You know, the leaves change colors in Pittsburgh, too. But maybe I should send her some pictures of things we don’t have in Pittsburgh, like you.”

I gasped. It seemed awfully soon for that. “You wouldn’t!”

He laughed. “I’m only teasing. I wanted to see your reaction.”

I smiled with relief, gazing at him and savoring the moment. But my focus on Noah was suddenly interrupted when two loud rowdy boys stumbled in through the entry way and headed straight for the half-empty bar. I recognized them from my class. They both played on the football team, their green and gold letterman jackets evidence of their school spirit.

My smile quickly faded as the unruly scene unfolded before us.

The boys approached the bar, the rhythm of their footsteps uneven and their movements wobbly. As they settled onto the bar stools, they whistled, hailing the bartender’s attention.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Eric, the dark-haired boy slurred to the blonde, white-shirted bartender. “How ’bout a couple shots o’ tequila for me an’ my friend?” His voice rang out loudly against the hushed voices in the room.

“Do you boys have some ID?” the bartender asked in a steady voice, remaining calm and stoic.

The sandy-blond-haired boy, Mark, sputtered out a laugh. “Do you know who we are?” He turned to Eric. “I don’t think she realizes that our families practically own this town.” Then he leaned over the bar, grabbing her wrist and clamping her arm down against the surface. “My father runs the ski resort and his dad is president of the town bank. We get what we want when we want unless you, darlin’, want to be unemployed. So I suggest you pour us those shots.”

I sucked in a quick breath as I looked at Noah. He couldn’t sit by and let some spoiled rich kids bully the bartender into serving them alcohol, especially when they were obviously already drunk. He caught my gaze, shaking his head apologetically before jumping up.

He rushed over to the empty stool beside Mark. “I suggest you let go of the lady. She’s only doing her job.” His confident posture and authoritative tone reminded me of my father.

Mark slowly uncurled his fingers around the bartender’s wrist as his gaze shifted to Noah in disbelief. “Who the hell are you?”

Noah was ready and waiting with his badge pulled out of his pocket. “Noah Lawson, town deputy. And quite frankly, I don’t care who either one of you are. It’s very simple, no ID, no tequila.”

Mark slapped his friend on the back. “Did you hear that? He wants to lose his job, too!” When he spun around to face Noah, anger sparked from his green eyes. “This is none of your business, so why don’t you get lost?”

“It is my business. I won’t let you harass the bartender. She’s not going to serve you, so I think it’s time you both leave.”

He stared at Mark, his eyes bold and unwavering. He wasn’t backing down, and even though I hoped this would end quickly so that we could get back to our date, I enjoyed seeing someone stand up to Mark and Eric.

Mark looked at his friend. “You ready to leave, Eric?”

The dark-haired boy shook his head slowly. He was obviously much drunker than Mark. “Naw. We jus’ got here. I wanna drink.”

“I’m with you.” Mark turned back to Noah. “We’re not leaving until we get what we ordered.”

Noah sighed, realizing it was going to take more than simple reasoning to get the boys to leave. “Then I’ll have to take you out of here.” He grabbed Mark’s upper arm to lead him away, but the younger boy wiggled out of his grasp. Curling his hand into a fist, he swung it at Noah.

With lightning reflexes, Noah blocked the punch and caught Mark’s arm with one hand. He spun the boy around, wrapping his arms around Mark’s frame and locking the boy’s arms against his sides. “That’s assaulting a police officer,” Noah gritted out in his ear.

While Noah kept a hold on Mark, Eric jumped out of his seat. I gasped, watching in horror as Eric lifted his fist and aimed it at Noah’s jaw. “Noah!” I cried as I brought a hand up to my mouth in shock.

Before Eric could swing his arm, a man at the end of the bar launched out of his seat and grabbed Eric from behind, pulling the boy back a few steps and out of reach of Noah. I didn’t recognize the stranger who had been quietly sitting at the bar with an amber colored drink since we had arrived. He appeared to be in his late forties. His jet black hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, and he wore a brown blazer with a pair of jeans. His black eyes narrowed as he held Eric back. “Easy there, son. It’s not worth it. You need to get out of here and sleep it off.”

Noah smiled in appreciation at the stranger. “Thanks, man.”

Both boys seemed to realize their defeat. Their struggling against Noah and the man ceased. Noah shifted his hold on Mark to one arm while he pulled his phone out of his back pocket. After swiping the screen, he held it up to his ear. “Hi, sheriff.” He grinned, listening to my father. “Oh, no, sir, sorry to worry you. Yes, Laken is fine. But we’ve had some trouble down here at Fireside. A couple of drunk kids tried to get served and then took a swing at me.” He paused. “Everything’s fine now, but I can’t let them drive home.” As he paused again, his eyes moved across the restaurant to settle on me.