Wolf at Her Door: BBW Paranormal Romance (11 page)

Although my father never admitted it, I always believed he had some kind of psychic ability when it came to people. It was something I didn't have, but I didn't need to to read my father. I knew him well enough.

"I know I've kept a lot from you throughout your life," he said, his face serious. "There are things that now I wish I had been more open about. But we live in this town where anything can and usually does happen. I know you can take care of yourself, but please trust me. Listen to me. You're special, never forget that. You're meant for much better than him. I've seen things, Heather. He's not the man for you. You know I'd do anything for you, that's what love is. You deserve a man who will do the same. Is Gavin that man?"

"It's just a date, Pop," I said, tired of arguing with him. "It doesn't mean anything.

"Promise me something. Promise you'll always trust your instincts. Listen to your gut, it'll never steer you wrong."

He walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room. As he made himself comfortable on the recliner again, Gavin looked at his watch and stood.

"If we don't leave now, we'll be late for the movie," Gavin said.

"Go on, Heather," Pop said. "If you don't mind, I'll stay here and catch up on some TV."

I shook my head, trying to hide my laughter. My father had never been the type of parent to wait up for me when I lived at home, but now he was going to sit in my apartment and do exactly that. I wanted to be mad at him, but I couldn't. I knew he was just doing what he felt was right. He was being a pain in my ass because he loved me.

"I won't be back until late, but if you feel like going home, I'll understand," I said as I bent down to kiss my father's cheek.

Before I straightened, my father grabbed my arm and looked deep into my eyes. He didn't say anything for a moment and I wondered if he was expecting me to magically read his mind.

"I love you, Heather," he said. "In love there are many sacrifices, but never any regret."

"Okay, Pop," I said, my brow wrinkling with confusion. "I love you, too. Are you sure you're okay?"

He smiled softly and nodded. For a brief moment I thought I saw tears in his eyes, but then they were gone. I thought about staying home with him. I didn't care anymore if Gavin got mad for sitting around waiting.

I'll miss you.

Pop's voice blasted in my head. I looked at Gavin but could tell he didn't hear anything. I grabbed my head, feeling dizzy from the sound, and lost my balance. As I stumbled, my father stood up to catch me.

"When you hear my voice, listen," he whispered before letting me go. "Be wary of the wolf at your door."

His words sunk deep, frightening me.
What did he mean?
As I reached out to grab my father's hand, Gavin stepped forward and touched my back. I cringed involuntarily.

"Everything okay? We should go," he said.

I nodded to him even though I didn't know the answer. I turned back to look at my father as he sat back in the recliner and wondered what was wrong. I could tell he was keeping something from me. His eyes carried a sadness I hadn't seen since my mother died. I wanted to stay and talk to him, to tell him everything would be alright, but Gavin was pushing me towards the door and I stupidly went along.

As I waved to my father, I blew him a kiss like I did since I was little. He smiled, lifted his hand up, and caught it. I always saw him as such a strong man, but at that moment, he looked weak. I kept thinking I should cancel the date, but I didn't have any reason to. Somewhere inside of me, in my gut as Pop called it, I knew I should have stayed at home with him.

***

We drove in silence on the dark road towards the movie theater. I was always a night person, but tonight the trees lining the road and the lack of a moon felt like they were closing in on me.

"Guess your father doesn't like me," Gavin said with a grin.

"No, you know how it goes. I'm sure he's not the first overprotective father you've met."

He shrugged. "Maybe he has a thing against his daughter dating a shifter."

"I don't think it's that. He's never been that guy."

"It wouldn't surprise me, you know. I'm sure you've heard how horny us wolf shifters are," he said as he wiggled his eyebrows at me.

Forcing a laugh, I turned away from him and tried to look busy looking out into the darkness. Gavin had never been anything other than a gentleman the couple of times we went out, and it was odd for him to say something like that. I was probably just being sensitive.

Gavin turned down an old abandoned road that once led to a processing plant. Since the plant closed, there was no use for the road. The trees were moving in closer and their roots had broken a lot of the pavement. The car jerked over the road until Gavin pulled over and turned off the engine.

"Did you make a wrong turn?" I asked.

"No, I wanted to talk. You know this place gets pretty active at night. I send my rookies over here to give the kids a hard time."

"But you said we were going to be late for the movie."

"There is no movie," he said.

He unbuckled his seatbelt and twisted towards me. Then he moved his arm in front of me, inches from my chest, and rested his hand against my door. I slid closer to the door, unsure what was going on but trying to move away from him.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"We've gone a few dates already, and I haven't gotten even a kiss from you."

"I didn't think this was anything serious, and I like to take things slow," I said, spitting out whatever came to mind.

"Well, I don't like to move slow."

As he leaned in to kiss me, I ducked and slid down my seat as much as I could.

"What are you doing?" he asked, annoyed.

"I...I don't know. I just don't want to."

"Are you seeing someone else?"

"No, I'm not."

I stayed pressed against the door as far from him as I could. His eyes narrowed as he searched my face and read my eyes. I imagined this was how he interrogated suspects, and I didn't like it.

He smiled sweetly at me then turned the key in the ignition, starting the car. As he pulled his seatbelt around him again, I felt more at ease. Maybe I was overreacting. I had definitely kissed worse in my time, why couldn't I just kiss him?

The headlights came on, lighting the abandoned road in front of us. He turned towards me, the same smile as he had on his face before, but I could see in his eyes that he wasn't feeling it.

"Get out," he said.

He pressed the unlock button and the locks clicked open. He had to be kidding. I looked at him, unsure what to do.

"I said get out. Do you need help?"

He reached down and pressed the button releasing my seatbelt, then reached across me like he did before. I couldn't help myself. I moved away from him again. He scoffed as he pulled the door handle and my door open.

"Out!"

My eyes widened, still unsure what was going on. All I could think of was my dad's words to me earlier.
Be wary of the wolf at your door.
Yeah, I had a wolf at my door all right, and he was being an ass.

"You can't just leave me here," I said as I stepped out of the car.

"I can do whatever I want," he said. "What are you going to do? Call the police? I am the police."

He grabbed my door and yanked it shut before putting the car in reverse and driving back out to the main road. The car sat at the end of the road and I saw his eyes flash amber at me before he hit the gas, making his wheels squeal as he drove away.

"Asshole," I said under my breath.

I stood in the darkness for a minute wondering if this was all a joke and he'd come back, but I really didn't want him to. I felt safer being alone than back in the car with him.

I pulled my cell phone out and tapped the button to bring it to life. The glow from my phone was comforting until I noticed there weren't any bars.

"Dammit! That fucking dick!" I yelled as I kicked a rock along what was left of the asphalt.

A wolf howled, sounding closer than I was used to.

"Great, more wolves," I said. "And apparently I've started talking to myself."

"Sometimes you're your own best company," a deep voice in the trees said.

"Shit."

I looked towards the woods, trying to see where the voice came from. I stopped walking, figuring I was safer where I was than accidentally walking closer to this voice. I had enough problems for one night.

"Relax," he said. "I don't mean you any harm. I was patrolling the woods when I heard the car. I figured I'd check to make sure everything was okay."

"Then why don't you come out where I can see you?" I asked.

"Because that would be rude. I'm naked."

I laughed and he laughed, too. I didn't mind knowing there was a naked man in the woods. I started walking back towards the road again.

"So are you a shifter or some crazy person who roams the woods naked?" I asked.

"Depends on whom you talk to," he said with a laugh.

For a second, I saw eyes flash amber in the trees, giving me my answer.

"Any chance you know where I can get a signal around here?" I asked, waving my cell phone.

"The trees are too dense here. But if you go up the main road a bit, you'll see an old firehouse at the intersection. Go in there, tell them Caleb Overstreet sent you. I'm Alpha in these parts, they'll let you use the phone and anything else you want."

"Thank you, Caleb. I'm Heather."

"Nice to meet you, Heather. I'll be keeping an eye on you until you get there."

As I reached the road, I checked my phone again and saw I finally had a bar. It might be enough to get a call through. I called my apartment figuring my dad was still there, but he didn't answer. He had a habit of turning off his cell phone so I didn't bother trying that. Instead I called Viv, my closest friend.

"Viv, I need you to pick me up."

"Pick you up? I thought you had a date with Gavin tonight," she said.

"Yeah, I did. He kicked me out of the car."

"What!"

"I'll tell you everything once you get here. You know the old cranberry plant? I'm near there."

"I'm on my way."

***

"I can't believe that guy," Viv said. "I knew he was bad news. He was too good on paper."

"Yeah, whatever. I should have known better," I said.

As she turned onto my street, I noticed flashing lights up ahead. I strained my eyes to see if they were coming from the apartment building I lived in and sure enough, they were.

"What's going on?" I said.

"There's police tape and an ambulance," Viv said.

The area around the building was blocked off by the police so Viv pulled her car as close as she could. I got out and ran towards the nearest officer as I scanned the area looking for my father.

"I'm sorry, miss," he said "You can't go in there, it's a crime scene."

"But I live here. Where's my father?"

"What's your name?"

"Heather Mather, I live in 3A."

"I'm sorry, Miss Mather. Chief wants to speak with you."

The officer let me under the yellow tape, then he went to find their Chief. I didn't want to speak him. I spoke to him enough earlier.

As I walked towards the building, I noticed the EMTs pulling a stretcher out the front door. My dad's car was still in the driveway and I suddenly felt sick. I looked up towards my apartment where the blinds were still open. The young officer I spoke to appeared in the window, and then Gavin followed him.

"No," I whispered.

I ran over to the moving stretcher and pushed aside one of the men guiding it.

"I have to see. Please don't let it be him. Please let me look," I said as I reached for the sheet.