Legacy Found

Chapter Two

“Shelley!” A voice thundered. The kitchen door flew open, crashing against the wall, to reveal a huge man with large meaty hands clenched at his sides. He was totally bald, but his flaming red mustache was an indicator of his legendary temper.

His face was flushed as he lumbered forward. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? I’m not paying you to stand around doing nothing, you lazy bitch.” Gus himself was the reason that this diner didn’t have too much trouble. He was so big and volatile that most people walked softly around him.

“I’m sorry. I’ll get right to the cleaning.” She could feel James watching her, but didn’t care. She needed this job.

“Damn right you will. I’ll be docking an hour’s pay from your check. That will teach you to be lazy. I don’t pay good money for no work.”

Shelley tried to scurry out of his way, but it was too late. He shoved a table in front of her, cutting off her path to freedom. Her voice shook and her legs trembled.

“That’s fine. I’ll get right on the cleaning.”

“Shelley.” James said her name softly, but she didn’t dare look at him. He didn’t know Gus. The last thing she wanted was for him to get hurt on her behalf.

“You can stay later today too. I won’t put up with anyone who tries to cheat me.” He pointed his finger threateningly at her face. His large hand was only inches away. Shelley drew back. She didn’t think Gus would strike her, but she wasn’t taking any chances. Better to be safe.

A hand shot out in front of her, catching Gus’s wrist before his hand could move any closer. Gus’s face got redder and redder, sweat popping out on his brow as he tried to free himself. He swung his free hand, fisting it as it headed toward James. James caught it easily and now had both Gus’s hands trapped in his.

Shelley stared at James, who didn’t even seem to be exerting any effort.

“Don’t you know it’s not nice to threaten a lady?” James never raised his voice, but the sheer menace in it made her catch her breath. Even Gus swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple shifting up and down.

“This is my place and I’ll run it as I see fit,” Gus gritted out from between his clenched teeth. He swiveled his head around to her, his green eyes burning with anger. “You’re fired. You’ve got ten minutes to clear your stuff out of the apartment I rented you.”

“But—Gus?” Panic swelled inside her. She had nowhere to go and no way to get there.

“And I want your uniform back too.”

“Go and pack your things, Shelley.” James’s calm voice broke through her terror. “You’re coming with me.”

Gus gave a snide laugh. “She’s not much to look at, but you’re welcome to her.” Two seconds later, Gus was on his knees, crying out in agony as James’s fingers tightened around his wrists.

James leaned down until his face was only inches away from the other man. “One more word out of you and you won’t need to worry about who’ll be running your business. And if you call the cops or try and make trouble for either me or Shelley, I’ll be back.” He moved in even closer, baring his teeth and emitting a low growl. “And if I don’t come back, one of my friends will.”

Every speck of color drained from Gus’s face. “Sure. Whatever. You can have the lazy bitch. Just take her and go.”

Shelley could only stare at both men who were deciding her future without so much as a by your leave. Spinning around, she stalked out of the diner and around to the back of the building.

It was cold and the snow crunched under the soles of her canvas shoes. Wind flitted beneath her dress. She shivered, but it was more from fear than the cold. Where would she go? What would she do?

Climbing the rickety set of stairs, she hauled her key out of her pocket and jammed it into the flimsy lock. She could do this. It wasn’t the first time she’d had to start over and wouldn’t be the last. At least this time she was slightly better prepared.

Once she was inside, she pulled her tips out of her pocket and carefully added them to the money she’d managed to save. It wasn’t much, amounting to a little more than four hundred and twenty-five dollars, but it was hers.

Stripping off the hated pink uniform, she hauled on a faded long-sleeved dress that fell almost to her ankles. She hated the dress too, but hadn’t wanted to waste her money on clothing since Gus provided her work uniform. Besides which, she hadn’t been near any stores so she couldn’t have bought any new clothes even if she wanted to.

Grabbing her few changes of underwear, she stuffed them, a few pairs of socks and her spare dress into a paper grocery sack. Moving like someone in a trance, she walked into the miniscule bathroom and stared at herself in the tiny cracked mirror that hung over the sink.

She grasped the edges of the porcelain and stared at the white face peering back at her. Her skin looked as if it were stretched too tight over her face. She was pale. Her eyes appeared huge and had a haunted look in them. Reality was setting in. She was jobless and homeless and she had less than five hundred dollars and a sack full of belongings to her name.

Stumbling to the toilet, she fell to her knees and lost what was left of the meager meal she’d eaten hours earlier. When she was done, she wiped her face with a washcloth and brushed her teeth. Gathering her few toiletries, she returned to the other room and stuffed them into the bag. That was it. She didn’t own anything else. The bedclothes and towels, such as they were, came with the room.

She tugged on an old gray sweater that the previous tenant had left behind. It hung almost to her knees and she had to roll the sleeves back twice. It wasn’t a coat, but it was warm. Knowing she had everything, she carefully rolled down the top of the bag and clasped it tight in her hand.

She gathered her uniform and room key and made her last trip down over the rickety stairs and back around to the diner.

Shelley had no idea what had gone on between the two men while she’d been gone and really didn’t care. At this moment, she hated them both equally. Gus for firing her and James for getting her fired.

Gus was seated at a table, still pale and sweaty, while James leaned back against the table next to him, his arms folded casually over his chest and his booted feet crossed as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Well, he didn’t, did he? He wasn’t the one who’d lost his job this morning.

Ignoring James, Shelley walked right up to Gus and dropped both the uniform and the key on the table in front of him. She did a quick calculation in her head, adding up the hours she’d worked since her last paycheck. “I’ve got fifty dollars coming to me. That’s the difference in what you owe me minus the rent on the room and the meals I’ve eaten.”

She’d expected him to protest and was shocked when he nodded in agreement. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a roll of bills and peeled off the fifty dollars. He hesitated for a moment and then handed it to her. She folded the notes and stuffed them deep in her pocket with her other money.

The paper sack made a crinkling sound as her fingers tightened around it. Still not looking at James, she turned her back on both men, marched out through the door of the diner and hurried toward the road. Her indignation carried her all the way to the road where she stopped. Her stomach roiled. “Not now,” she muttered. She glanced to the right and then to the left, not knowing which way to go.

A pair of hands gently clasped her shoulders. She startled but didn’t turn around. She’d known that James would follow her. A part of her was grateful not to be alone while another part of her wanted to shrug off his grasp and walk away. Before she could decide what to do, he began to speak.

“I know you’re angry.”

Now that was an understatement.

“I know you’re confused and hurt, but this is truly for the best.”

She spun around and poked him in the chest, surprised by her sheer audacity. “Better for who? You’re not the one who’s jobless and homeless.” Tears threatened, but she blinked them back. She hadn’t cried in about thirty years. It didn’t change a damn thing and many times it only made things worse.

James wrapped his hand around hers, bringing it to his mouth. He kissed the top of her hand and her knuckles. “You’re not homeless, Shelley. Your home is with your people. I’m taking you with me. Home to the Wolf Creek.”

Was he crazy? He was a complete stranger. There was no way she was going with him.

She stilled as a dim memory tried to push forward, but it was quickly lost as James began to tug her toward the only truck left in the parking lot. “We’ll talk more on the road. I don’t want to hang around here any longer just in case Gus has a gun and decides to use it.”

She hadn’t even thought of that. Gripping her belongings tight, she let him lead her to the vehicle. She could always bail somewhere down the road. She didn’t think he’d hurt her. Not that it mattered. She’d been hurt before and survived. She’d get a ride to the nearest town and make plans there. Surely there were other waitressing jobs to be had. She could wash dishes and clean houses too. You’re good at that, she thought bitterly.

The skirt of her dress was wide enough to allow her to get into the truck with little problem. Once she was settled inside, James went around the front and climbed into the driver’s seat. He quickly started the vehicle, put it into gear and eased it out of the lot and onto the highway. She glanced over her shoulder and watched the diner disappear before facing forward to whatever lay ahead.

James stared at the woman sitting silently next to him. It wasn’t just that she was quiet. There was a stillness about her that bespoke of someone used to fading into the background, not wanting to bring any unwanted attention her way. He’d given her space and time, but an hour had passed and she’d yet to speak. It was time to get some answers.

“Where are you from?”

Even though he’d kept his voice low and as unthreatening as possible, she jerked at the sound. She shrugged and stared out the window.

“You had to come from somewhere,” he continued patiently. “You said you’d only been working at the diner for about a few months.”

“About six.”

She was the least chatty woman he’d ever come across in his life. But he wasn’t worried. He knew he’d eventually get her entire story. She had to have family somewhere, and if she didn’t many packs would be glad to take her in. “Where were you before then?”

She stiffened and her breathing became shallower. “Here and there.”

He could smell the fear rolling off her. Reaching out his right hand, he captured her left one, which was lying limply by her side. He felt her flinch, but she didn’t pull away when he laced his fingers lightly though hers, not restraining her movement in any way, but just trying to reassure her. “Whatever or whoever it was, they can’t hurt you now.”

She gave a bark of bitter laughter as she rubbed her free hand across her forehead. “I’m not so sure about that.” She sighed and shifted her body so she was turned more toward him. “What does it matter to you where I was or what happened in my past? You’ve got no responsibility for me. You can just drop me off at the next decent-sized town and drive away.”

Everything inside him rebelled at the mere thought of leaving Shelley. Instincts he’d thought long dead, sprang instantly to life, and for the first time in decades, he felt the male wolf within him sit up and take interest. Not since Leda, his mate who’d died decades ago, had he felt this way.

No! He shook his head. He didn’t need that kind of pain again. But there was no way he was letting Shelley go off on her own. Just the fact that she was a female of his species meant he had to protect her.

“You know I can’t do that, Shelley. There’s no way I can abandon a female.”

She shook her head and sighed again as she continued to rub her forehead. “Of course you can. I want to go to a town. No, a city. It’s the least you can do considering you’re the reason I don’t have a home or a job.”

He ignored her accusation. It was true, but he wouldn’t change anything he’d done so it was a moot point. “Why don’t you let your hair down out of that tight bun? It might help your headache.”

She seemed surprised he’d even noticed she had one. But he’d seen the way she rubbed her forehead, the slight squint of pain around her eyes. She hesitated, but then a moment later she slid her hand from his, reached behind her head and began plucking out pins. She tucked them safely in her dress pocket and then ran her fingers through her hair.

It was thicker than James had expected and fell to just below her shoulders. The sun caught it, making the light brown strands shimmer. She gave him a tiny smile. She looked younger now and very, very beautiful. James swallowed and squirmed in his seat, trying to get comfortable. His jeans were suddenly very tight. For a man who’d had no problem with self-control for almost half a century, to say it was unsettling was an understatement.

Fortunately, the woman seemed to have no sense of her own appeal. His gut clenched. As soon as word got out of her existence, the males would be circling, fighting over her.

He didn’t like to think of what would happen to her if a decent sort of werewolf didn’t claim her. His culture was no different than humans in that respect. There were good males and bad ones, and these days too many of the males were desperate for a mate and had forgotten they needed to honor their females.

The wolf within him began to growl and the fine hair at his nape rose at the mere thought of another male touching her. Her skin was so fine he longed to reach out and stroke it. But his fingers were rough and calloused after years of hard labor. He was too harsh for such a soft, delicate creature.

He barely kept from jerking when her small hand slipped beneath his and, this time, it was she who joined their fingers together. Pleasure hummed within him, making his wolf settle.

James clenched his jaw to keep from swearing as he stared almost blindly out the front windshield. The asphalt was a slender ribbon that he followed automatically.

At his age and with his experience, he knew better than to fight his instincts. They’d saved his life too many times and had never led him astray. And at this moment, they were all clamoring that this female was special, that she belonged to him, with him. He might be a great believer in listening to his instincts, but he wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t about to do anything rash. He still needed answers.

“Where were you born?” James figured if he kept asking questions he might eventually get some answers.

This time there was no mistaking her fear. She jerked her hand away from his and all but huddled against the door, getting as far away from him as possible. Well hell. What could be so bad about asking her that?

“It’s a simple question, Shelley.” He kept glancing over at her, keeping one eye on the road. Her face had lost every bit of color. Not that she’d had much to begin with. But now, she looked positively ill. “Do you need me to stop?”

“No!” she shouted. She was trembling now, her entire body shaking.

“Talk to me, honey, or I’m going to pull this truck off the road and we’re not going anywhere until I get some answers.”

“Bully,” she muttered.

“Whatever it takes.” He really didn’t care what she thought of him at this point. His only concern was for her well-being. He was pleased that her slight show of temper had brought some of the color back to her cheeks. They were flushed now, her eyes glaring at him. “Come on, Shelley. I won’t stop asking until you tell me.”

He eased his foot off the fuel pedal and the vehicle began to slow.

“I don’t know,” she cried. Burying her face in her hands, she hunched her shoulders forward as if to protect herself. “I don’t remember. I don’t remember.” She was sobbing now, her entire body heaving. “I don’t remember.” Her voice was little more than a tortured whisper and James quickly pulled the truck off onto the shoulder of the road.

Undoing his own seatbelt and then hers, he slid to the center of the seat, gently lifted her into his arms and cradled her close against his body. Her tears shook him to the core. He hated them. Hated to see her cry.

“Shh,” he crooned. “It’s all right. Whatever it is, it’s all right.” She weighed little more than a child, but it certainly wasn’t a child’s body resting against him. It was all woman. From her soft, slight curves to the pliant mound of her full breast as it pressed against him.

His erection pushed tight against the front of his jeans, but he ignored his discomfort. He held her until she was cried out, until her breathing had leveled out again and only the occasional hiccup shook her as she slowly calmed. Tilting her head back against his arm, he pushed a lock of hair out of her face, tucking it behind the shell of her ear. “Better?”

She gave a watery laugh and sniffed. “Not really. Tears don’t solve anything. I haven’t cried in…” She shook her head. “I don’t really remember the last time. Years, I guess.”

“Then I’d say that you were due.”

“You’re a very unusual man, James Riley.” She was so serious, her large chocolate-brown eyes luminous. He thought she looked good enough to eat.

He shrugged. “I don’t know any other way to be.” She started to shift away from him and his arms tightened reflexively around her. He only relaxed when he felt her settle back into his embrace. He wasn’t ready for her to leave yet. She felt incredibly right wrapped in his arms. “Tell me what you do remember.”

She rubbed her fingers against her temples as if her head still pained her. He waited while she seemed to gather her thoughts. Patience was the key to getting Shelley to open up to him and he suddenly found himself filled with boundless amounts of it where she was concerned. He knew they had to be back on the road soon, but there was time for this.

“Not much.” She dropped her hands back into her lap and clasped them together. “Snippets of other people and places. People I don’t really recognize.” She glanced up at him and then away, and the sadness he glimpsed in her face almost brought tears to his eyes. He’d never seen anyone so sad. “I feel as if I should know them, but I can never quite reach for the knowledge.” She shook her head. “Maybe I don’t want to remember.”

“Why wouldn’t you want to remember?” He rubbed his hand over her arm, cuddling her closer.

“I couldn’t go back to them even if I’d wanted to.”

James stilled, his entire body going on alert. Whatever she was about to reveal to him, it wasn’t going to be good. “What do you mean, you couldn’t go back?”

Her hands were clenched so hard in her lap that her knuckles were completely white. “I…” She shook her head, curling tighter into herself.

“It’s all right,” he promised. “You can tell me.” He continued to keep his voice low and soothing as he started to stroke her arm again.

She shook her head and her lips pursed together. He’d gotten as much as he was going to. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.