Debbie Herbert - Bayou Wolf

Reluctantly, she placed her hand in his and then quickly tried to pull back.

Payton maintained a tight grip. “I’m still interested in that date we talked about, if your social calendar happens to be free.”

Someone in the crowd snickered.

Tallulah seethed. He made it sound like they were already an item. Well, she had kissed him, but she hadn’t agreed to a date.

Payton let go of her hand and smiled genially at Tombi. “Maybe we could all get together for dinner sometime and talk.”

“I’d like that,” Tombi agreed at once. “Matter of fact, if you’re free tonight, my wife and I would love to have you over to our place for supper. About seven?”

“Great, thanks.” Payton gave her a triumphant wave. “Pick you up about quarter ’til the hour. I remember the way.”

Tallulah rounded on her brother. “I can’t believe you just did that.”

“I think it’s time we all took our leave,” Chulah said. “I’ve worked on Hank’s motorcycle a time or two and know him fairly well. I’ll see if I can talk to him about the land. Find out for sure what’s going on.”

“We’ll just stay a bit longer,” one of the protestors said. “Make a general nuisance of ourselves and see if we can stop their cutting for the rest of the day.”

“Why did you invite him to dinner?” she continued. “I don’t want to see him.”

Tombi raised a brow. “You sure about that? I saw the way you looked at him when he walked over to you.”

A telling warmth flooded her cheeks. “Yeah, well, that doesn’t have anything to do with the issue. The fact is, he’s destroying our land and—”

Tombi raised a hand. “Did you or did you not go over to their farmhouse without permission?”

“Yes, but—”

“We’ll talk about it at dinner tonight. Okay? I’ve got a busy day scheduled with work.” His face softened. “Listen, sis. I think it’s terrific you’re interested in seeing someone again. I know how tough it’s been on you with Bo’s death and then that mess with Hanan. This Payton seems like a nice enough guy. Give him a chance.”

With that, he strode away and left her standing, mouth ajar. What had just happened here? The roar of a machine erupted nearby and she glanced toward the sound.

Payton raised a hand and waved at her, a grin splitting his face.

* * *

Jillian slanted Payton a long, assessing look as she stood by the stove, stirring soup made with fresh vegetables from the local market. The lone female of their pack, she kept their various residencies running smoothly and was indispensable in keeping them organized.

Inwardly, he groaned. Since she’d already seen him headed for the fridge, he continued on, brushing past her. A musky pheromone scent, a harbinger of desire, hovered close to her body like a horny aura.

He pretended not to notice as he poured a glass of iced tea and returned the pitcher to the refrigerator.

Jillian smiled tentatively. “Haven’t seen much of you since we arrived in Alabama,” she said.

“Been busy,” he mumbled, knowing the excuse was lame.

Her smile faltered. “Are you upset with me about anything? Have I done something wrong?”

“’Course not. Been busy settling in with the new job. That’s all.”

Damn. How was he going to get out of this without hurting her feelings? Sure, they’d shared a few experimental kisses and more over the last couple months, but she didn’t excite him. Not like Tallulah. Damn it to hell. He desperately wished he desired Jillian. After all, she was the alpha’s sister. Mating with her would be acceptable within the pack. As she was the only female wolf in the group, several of the males would jump at the chance to mate with Jillian.

He was a fool.

Payton took a long swallow of tea. He needed to find a tactful way to break it off, but he wasn’t sure which would be worse—Jillian’s hurt or Matt’s anger.

“I made that stew you like and homemade bread to go with it,” she said.

“Sorry, I’ve got plans for supper tonight.”

“Plans?” she asked, her mouth slightly downturned. “What kind of plans?”

He suppressed a sigh. “With a couple of friends.” Not a lie, but not the whole story, either. It was easier to avoid a confrontation. He kept hoping she’d get the message he wasn’t interested, but Jillian was persistent.

“We’ve only been here a week. You sure make friends fast.”

Did he imagine the disapproving note in her voice? He left every conversation with her feeling vaguely guilty.

“I’m a friendly kind of guy,” he mumbled.

Russell winked at him from the hallway, and Payton scowled at his best friend. Nothing funny about the situation—just pure awkwardness. With another wink, his friend strolled into the kitchen.

“We’ve got a couple hours free this afternoon before you have to get ready for your date,” Russell offered. “Let’s take a stroll and go exploring.”

“Date?” Jillian asked sharply. “I thought you said it was dinner with friends.”

“A date with friends,” he said grimly. Payton hurried out of the kitchen, rolling his eyes at Russell, but still thankful for the diversionary tactic he’d provided. Perfect opportunity to bail out of the heavy talk with Jillian.

“A walk sounds great,” he replied, trying to keep the relief out of his voice. “Later, Jillian.”

They beat a hasty exit out the back door. Heat slammed into every pore of his body, and he sighed. “Thanks, man. Although you didn’t have to mention the date part.”

Russell chuckled. “Thought I’d give her a little wake-up call. Been in that situation before. You want her to get the message, but at the same time you have to tread easy with her feelings or risk Matt’s wrath.”

“Like I didn’t know that,” he muttered. How the hell was he supposed to manage that?

Guilt twisted his gut. He’d never meant to encourage Jillian. He hadn’t discouraged her, either, if he was being honest. He’d hoped that one day his feelings would change, or that he’d want to settle down with an acceptable mate. Which was totally unfair to Jillian. A beautiful woman, and a shapeshifter like himself, shouldn’t have to wait for anyone. She deserved more.

Payton followed Russell across the cotton field. His friend was more familiar with the new place since Payton hadn’t had much time for exploring.

“This job is turning out to be a pain in the ass,” Russell said. “For such a small town, they’ve had lots of people show up protesting our work.”

Payton hid a grin. Tallulah had shown up that morning with almost a dozen people, peacefully protesting the tree clearing. And by peaceful, he didn’t mean pleasant. It was as if the momentary closeness of last night had never happened. Tallulah had been as abrasive as at their first meeting, frowning, snapping and making a general nuisance of herself at every opportunity. Work had slowed to a snail’s pace, and Matt had decided they might as well take off early. “They’ll get tired of protesting after a few days,” Matt had predicted.

Payton wasn’t so sure. The others might tire, but he guessed Tallulah was made of sterner stuff.

“Do you ever feel bad about the work we do? I mean, we do destroy the land.”

If he couldn’t talk about this with his best friend, who could he talk to?

Russell shrugged. “Nah. If we don’t do it, someone else will.”

That reasoning didn’t entirely soothe his conscience, even though he’d used that excuse as well. Plenty of wrongs had been committed throughout history with the same justification.

“What about vet school? You used to dream of being a veterinarian when we were in high school.”

“Idle dreams. I didn’t have the grades to cut it,” Russell said. “You know me.”