He made his emotions clear through actions, he always said. Actually, he’d never admitted much of anything except that he liked me a lot and that I wasn’t horrible dinner company. He’d never once admitted any kind of feelings for me. “I just want to be able to have the woman I love around all the time and not have to worry about what a bunch of cranky old foxes and hedgehogs will think about it,” Erik said all in one breath.Īnd then he realized what he’d actually said. That was almost as crazy as when he apologized. Erik just stood there looking dejected for a second. That shut him down faster than anything I’d ever seen. “This is one time I’m actually serious about not wanting the distraction from you getting me all hot and excited.” He leaned in for a kiss but I twisted away at the last second. “Whoa, whoa, no one said that,” Erik said, holding me still. Some human stole a bunch of money years and years ago, and so all the people in Jamesburg are now literally incapable of ever trusting another person. I wasted two years of my life, and now because some undead bear shows up, everyone’s decided humans are evil again? Remind me why I’m still here?”Įrik moved closer and grabbed my shoulders. “You lasted a whole lot longer than the first guy. Honestly, it worked better than anyone thought,” he said. Town initiative, outreach program to open the place up and maybe get some fresh perspective on things. I wasn’t proud of it, but I also couldn’t stop myself. “So you’re saying I’m just stuck? I can’t possibly do anything that will make all these people, who by the way, all seem to like me fine, trust me? I’m just supposed to shrug my shoulders and give up? I mean, if they are just not going to trust me at all, ever, then why was I brought here in the first place? Why am I allowed to go to court meetings and hear all the town secrets if I’m just going to steal everything?”

I snorted ingloriously, and could hardly keep from bellowing I started laughing so hard.

To Catch a Wolf by Lynn Red