Turning down the familiar dirt road, I actually began to get butterflies. And I don’t get butterflies. Ever. What the hell? Was I nervous? No, I couldn’t be nervous. This was going to be a piece of cake. Luke would be eating out of my hand by tonight. What did I have to be worried about?
Absolutely nothing. Except, oh I don’t know, failing miserably, disappointing my father, having Drew, Mr. My-shit-don’t-stink, rub it in my face if I couldn’t manage to lure Luke under my spell!
No, I can do this. I’m Scarlett Reed. Hottest werewolf this side of the Mississippi. This may be my first official pack assignment, but I am ready, and I will not disappoint.
My little pep-talk was rudely interrupted by Drew’s own words of encouragement. “We are almost there, Scarlett. Smile and don’t screw this up.”
I bit my tongue—a special talent I’d acquired after years and years of being berated by my father for doing things I didn’t even do half the time. It might have taken me longer than it should have, but I finally realized that sometimes it was best to just keep my mouth shut. Now would be one of those times. I needed Drew on my side, which he sort of was, but his cockiness was obnoxious. If I could have Gavin here by my side instead, I wouldn’t be so damn nervous.
Shit! Maybe I am nervous.
But there was no time to be nervous because Marcus, Noel, and my father came into view, and I needed to slap a sweet little smile on my face pronto. I could do this. Without a second thought, I pushed aside the butterflies fluttering inside of me, lifted my hand, and waved at the Red Ridge alpha and his scary-beautiful wife. They smiled warmly, and as we pulled up behind my dad’s car, they strolled over to greet us.
My father opened my car door and kissed my cheek, apparently already playing the world’s-best-father role. He turned to Marcus and Noel and said, “Marcus, Noel, you remember my daughter Scarlett.”
The alpha shook my hand, but Noel greeted me with a hug. As she pulled away, she took my hands into hers and said, “Scarlett, we are so pleased to have you here. I think you will be really happy here. Some time away is probably just what you need. If you need anything, you just let me know.”
It wasn’t until that moment that I remembered our excuse for being here. The story was that I had been depressed and withdrawn ever since my mother passed away, and my father just didn’t know what to do with me anymore. He thought a change of scenery might do me some good, and apparently when he divulged his little sob story to the Walkers, Noel jumped at the chance to help him out.
Without missing a beat, my father walked around the car, threw his arm around Drew’s shoulder, and continued his introductions. “And this is my son, Gavin. Gavin, this is Mr. and Mrs. Walker.”
Marcus gave Drew a solid, two-handed shake and said, “No need for formalities, Brian. Gavin, please call me Marcus.”
Drew played his part perfectly, of course. He greeted Marcus with, “Nice to finally meet you, sir,” and then turned to Noel, took her hand in his, and added, “And you too, Mrs. Walker. Thank you so much for having us. I’m sure we will have a lovely time while we are here. And please let me know if I can help out around the estate. I’ll be glad to be of assistance.”
Noel practically melted. Gross!
Noel gushed, “Oh, thank you, Gavin. How kind of you. Please make yourself at home. We are so glad to have your family here. And none of that ‘Mrs. Walker’ stuff.” Then Noel turned her attention to the rest of us and continued, “We have set up the guest house for you all while you’re here. You are more than welcome to stay as long as you’d like. Marcus and I will show you inside if you’d like.”
Noel motioned toward the house next door, and Marcus led the way to its front door. He unlocked it, opened it, and then handed the keys to my father.
Pleasantries were exchanged as Marcus and Noel led us around, pointing out the living room, dining room, family room, and kitchen. This was one mother of a guest house. The quick tour didn’t even include the master suite or the three other bedrooms, which we were told were all upstairs. It wasn’t as if our house at home was any less lovely, but it was still kind of shocking that they reserved this massive house just for guests. I found myself trying to recall if our pack even had a guest house.
Finally, after reminding my father about a pack meeting that would take place in a couple of hours, Marcus and Noel decided to let us get settled in. Just as they were heading out, my phone vibrated in my back pocket. I waited for the front door to close before I pulled it out to see who had texted me. I had a feeling it was Luke, and I was right.
Look who’s here. We are all meeting down by the lake tonight. See u there?
Before I could respond, my father asked, “Who’s that? Better be the Stanton kid. Time to get to work on that one, Scarlett. No time to waste.”
Then Drew had to add his two cents. “Yep, you have your work cut out for you. I hear he’s quite the ladies’ man. You sure you’re up to the task?”
How the hell was I supposed to respond to that? Having my own father tell me to “get to work” when referring to a guy just felt all kinds of wrong. Maybe Gavin was right after all. But I wasn’t about to turn down the one chance to prove my worth. Thank God Luke is hot.
With my phone in hand, I turned on my heels, headed toward the stairs, and said, “Someone want to grab my luggage? And no worries, I got this under control. In fact, we are meeting down by the lake tonight.”
Surprisingly, my father and Drew each grabbed a suitcase and followed me up the stairs. Honestly I had figured I’d be lugging my own bags up to my room. Interesting.
But from behind me, I heard my father say quietly to Drew, “Perfect time for her to cozy up to Luke. Keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t screw anything up.”
I wanted to say thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad, but as usual, I kept my mouth shut and pretended not to hear. They dropped my luggage off at my bedroom door and headed back downstairs. I ignored the urge to tell them both to screw off and texted Luke instead.
Absolutely! Can’t wait to see u.
I’d just have to prove to them both that I could handle this. And I planned to start tonight.