He’d not only stolen from them, he’d shot Brock and left them for dead. The events of past few days, with her own grief over her father’s death and the struggles she’d been through, all made her mind very muddled.
Maybe she was going along with Brock because she was confused. When she checked her feelings, she didn’t think that was the case. She had every indication inside her heart that her feelings for Brock were genuine and not the byproduct of trauma.
Still, she knew that she was going through a lot, and the decision to live with someone wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Who knew what would happen in a few days once they’d gone to the police about Mr. Salvo?
She hadn’t answered Brock’s question.
The silence between them stretched on until Brock stood from the table and went to the coffee pot, filling both of their cups again and sitting back down.
“I called my cousin on the police force. He’s a state trooper and is organizing an arrest.” It seemed as if Brock was trying to change the subject. Ginger went along with it gratefully.
“When is it going to happen?” she asked him. She didn’t realize the confrontation would already be taking place.
“In just a few moments. The troopers are going to his office downtown.”
“Is he even there?”
“They don’t know yet.”
“Can we go?”
Brock looked her over. “Why would you want to do that?”
“I want to know why he did it,” Ginger said.
“I guess there would be no harm in going down there.”
They piled into the truck and drove downtown, where Brock pointed out his cousin, Shaw, and several other state troopers standing on the street by their SUVs and patrol cars.
Chapter Fourteen
Brock jumped out of the car and went to talk to his cousin, Shaw Montgomery. Unlike Brock and his brothers, who had green eyes and dark hair, his cousins, Shaw and Zane, had blond hair and blue eyes. They all had the muscled build of the Montgomery clan.
Shaw wore a dark blue trooper’s uniform and stared down Brock with his sharp blue eyes. “We’re about to approach the suspect. You and the other witness will have to stay out of the area.”
“She wants to know why he did it,” Brock said.
“I’m sure it will come out in questioning or at the hearing.”
“We’ll watch from the street,” Brock said.
“That’s fine. Just stand out of harm’s way and don’t approach him. We’ll have to take formal statements from both of you, so stick around.”
Brock backed off, leaving his cousin to do his work. Shaw had always been like that--organized, direct, take charge. Brock could be that way, but he preferred to be to be out on his own in the wilderness. Now that he was clan leader, he had to be responsible for everyone’s safety and security, including Shaw’s. That meant Shaw had to look out for him too.
He got back in the car with Ginger and took her hand in his. He knew how hard this was for her. Later they would have to go to the police station to make sure they were able to find justice. Ginger was already shaken up. The loss of her father, the desperation she’d felt trying to find a way to survive. Now this.
How could he expect her to accept him as her mate on top of that? Ginger was a human. Jumping into a relationship with another person was foreign and strange for humans, even if it was the way of things with shifters.
He knew from the bottom of his heart that she would fulfill every need he had. Once he had come to terms with the fact that she’d arrived at this particular moment in time, he was ready to commit to her. That didn’t mean that she was ready to commit to him.
“Shaw said it would be fine if we watched from the other side of the street.”
“I’m kind of scared,” she said, looking up at him with trusting eyes.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes,” she said, nodding her head.
He nodded in return and turned the key in the ignition. Brock drove out into the street and around the corner, parking in a lot. They got out onto the tourist street with cute little buildings painted in bright colors. Even in the foggy weather with overcast skies, visitors filled the streets, wearing rain jackets and fleece.
Brock and Ginger stood hand in hand, the docks right behind them beyond the parking lots. The troopers pulled up across the street and parked quickly outside the tax office. They filed in the front door. Brock waited. Five minutes later the troopers came out of the building again with the tax secretary and the other partners. James wasn’t there.
Brock put his hands on his hips. His cousin shook his head and glanced across the street at Brock. Looking around and squinting into the foggy streets, Brock thought about what their next move should be if James wasn’t at the office.
He looked up at the ramp leading onto a cruise ship out on the docks. It was just across a street and two parking lots. James Salvo, the man who’d shot him, scurried up the ramp with his bags in his hands.
Brock growled and turned all the way around. “Stay here,” he said to Ginger, grasping her shoulder affectionately before he bolted forward. Bursting into a dead run, his shifter strength propelling him forward, Brock made it across the parking lot before he burst into his bear form. He charged, in a feral haze, across the second lot and up the ramp of the cruise ship.
People screamed, but Brock burst forward and grabbed James Salvo by the scruff of the suit jacket. He pulled him back across the deck. James screamed and beat at him with his bags. When Brock pulled him back to the ramp, the troopers came in and surrounded them both.
They took James into custody. Ginger came up behind him, holding a blanket. He roared as he shifted back. Ginger handed him the blanket, and he wrapped it around his waist.
As they brought James by, Ginger took a deep breath. “Why did you do it?” she shouted at him.
The troopers tried to take him but he struggled against them and stared at Ginger. “I knew there was gold on that land. I was going to sell the claim and take it all. Your dad’s been useless for years. He didn’t deserve it and neither did you.” James turned his sneer on Brock. “You were supposed to bleed out on that mountain, damn shifter.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Ginger sapped. Brock put his arms around her protectively. The troopers pushed James forward.
“You should talk, little girl,” James said.
Ginger hid her face in Brock’s chest. The troopers pushed James down the ramp and out of sight. “I’m sorry you had to see that,” Brock whispered.
“I wanted to know. Now I do. Greedy, bitter man. So senseless.”
She shook her head against his chest. He walked with her down the ramp and back to the car.
Later, after they’d given their statements, Brock took Ginger back to his house. The bag of gold had been recovered from the cases James had in his possession and was estimated at being worth half a million dollars.
Ginger sat in his living room, staring blankly at the television with her legs pressed up under her. He could tell she was tired and confused. He handed her a cup of tea mixed from herbs grown in the greenhouses and gardens of the Montgomery homestead.
She cupped it in her hands and sniffed the steam. Brock slid into the couch beside her, not knowing what to do or say. In a few days, most likely the authorities would return her gold and her property to her. Then what would she do? Would she still want him?
What they’d shared had been deeply special to him. Even if his bear hadn’t been roaring in his head most of the time he’d known her, she was still the sweetest, sexiest woman he’d ever known.
“What do you think you’ll do when they return your money?” he asked her.
“I don’t know. There really isn’t anything for me back in Seattle. I guess, pay off my student loans. Pay the taxes on my dad’s land. With that kind of money in the bank, I won’t have to sell it.”
“What do you think you’ll do with the land?”
&n
bsp; “I have no idea. I can’t live out there. No way.”
“Winter is coming. Being up on the mountain would be a bad idea for someone without experience.”
“There’s no way I’m doing that.”
“You can stay here,” he said, his heart beating more quickly.
“I know, Brock. I understand what it means to be a shifter’s mate. I’ve heard the stories, and you’ve explained it. It’s just… humans don’t have an equivalent. We don’t just fall in love like that.”
“We can take all the time you need, sweetheart.”
“I don’t want to be the one to hold you back,” she said, looking up into his eyes. Hers were shining with unshed tears. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over her cheek and kissed her forehead.
“You could never hold me back. I don’t need anyone or anything but you. Do you understand?”
“I guess. It’s just a little scary. You just met me. How could you possibly know you want to spend the rest of your life with me?”
“For a shifter, mating is instinct. We know the one by sight and scent. Plus, Babs Bula sent you to me. There’s no better recommendation than that.”
A smile broke over her worried face and she giggled. “I still don’t understand how she could have known.”
He threaded his fingers through hers and held her hand, both of them laughing softly. “I don’t understand it either. Some things in life are better left alone.”
“Do you think she’s really a fairy godmother?”
“There are no such things,” he said, shaking his head. The thought had crossed his mind a few times, but stuff like that didn’t exist. He knew all the shifter races in the world. He also knew there were no other supernatural creatures anywhere on the planet, let alone fairies.
“Before shifters came out sixty-five years ago, no one believed they were real either,” she teased.
“I’m pretty sure Babs is just a human or a shifter with too much time on her manicured hands,” he countered.
“And an incredible intuition about finding people’s mates.”
“This is true. She did send you to me.”
Ginger sighed and put her teacup down, leaning against his chest. He enfolded her in his arms, feeling her close to him. It filled him with pride and a desire to protect and provide for her that was so strong, he had to take a deep breath and let it out.
“I never expected for something like this to happen,” Ginger whispered. “When my dad died, I was alone. I don’t have any other family. I don’t have anyone. All my friends in school I left two years ago to take care of my dad. Everyone I knew before I left for New York has moved on with their lives. When I came up here, I had no idea if I’d even be able to make it back to Seattle. It was my last ditch effort to salvage something of my life. And it wasn’t particularly well planned out.”
“Are you glad you met me?” he asked, not sure where she was going with all this.
“Of course I am. I’m just so confused. Everything moved so fast. Now I have a man. A man like you.” She looked up into his face, her eyes dripping tears. “It’s better than the money. It’s better than catching the bad guy. It’s everything. I just don’t know if I deserve it. I don’t know how to make it make sense in my mind.”
“It doesn’t have to make sense.”
“You’re too good to be true, Brock. Girls like me don’t end up with men like you.”
“What are you talking about?” he said with a chuckle. He cupped her chin in his hand and stared into her bright blue eyes. “You are perfect. I’m the one who doesn’t deserve you.”
She shook her head, freeing herself from his grasp. She looked away and dipped her head back into his chest. “I’m broken and alone,” she said, her voice muffled in his chest.
“You aren’t alone anymore. All that’s left for you to do is accept it.”
Chapter Fifteen
After James’s hearing, the authorities returned to Ginger the gold from her father’s cabin. She sold it to a local gold company and, after paying off some of her bills, put the money in the bank.
Brock had offered to help her rent a room in town so that she could take her time to think things through. She knew he was disappointed that she didn’t want to move in with him right away, but she just couldn’t do it. It was all too sudden and unexpected. Now that she had something of her own and could move on with her life, she was more certain than ever that she had to start making good choices.
Part of that was not jumping into a relationship with a man she’d only met a few days ago. No matter how perfect Brock seemed or how much she felt for him, she knew she had to get to know him better before she threw herself into his world.
A few days after she’d gotten her money back and settled some debts, she sat in the fish and chips restaurant where she’d ended up the first day she’d come to town. The food there was delicious, and it had become one of her favorite stops in town. With the weather cooling more every day, she chose to sit inside while she had her lunch. The tourists crowding the streets had thinned in the last week, and the fog had rolled in off the ocean.
She’d bought herself a computer and sat in the corner by the window researching her possibilities on the free wifi in the restaurant. With almost half a million dollars in the bank, she could do anything with her life now.
Part of her considered going back to school. She’d left her education in good standing, and might be able to get back into school. Nevertheless, her hand had still been crushed, and playing violin at a high level would never be possible for her, no matter how much money she had.
If she left town, she’d be leaving Brock, a man who was sure she was his one and only. They’d been seeing each other, going on dates, since she moved into her own place. Every day with Brock was lovely and sweet. Each experience was better than the last.
But she couldn’t believe he wanted her. It wasn’t just that she had been broke and desperate when they met. They were totally different people. He was tall and handsome, perfect. She was short and curvy with too much red hair and too pale skin, covered in freckles.
If their looks didn’t separate them, their backgrounds certainly did. Brock was a shifter cowboy from the woods. He was a survivalist with a huge family. A hearty Alaskan who knew how to live in the backcountry with nothing but his wits.
Ginger was a failed violinist from Seattle with no family left to her name. She knew her way around a pair of hiking boots, but the idea of spending much more time out in the wilderness gave her a minor panic attack.
How could she and Brock really fit together?
Just as she was musing over these things, a familiar face dropped into the chair across from her. Ginger looked up over her computer and closed the screen.
“Hello, dear,” Babs said, fluffing up her white curls.
“Hi Babs. How are things?” Ginger asked.
Babs pointed a perfect pink fingernail at Ginger and closed one eye. “I heard you and Brock Montgomery were seeing each other.”
“Yes. He says I’m his mate.”
“I knew it. I knew it the moment I saw you,” Babs said, congratulating herself. She clapped her hands together and then set them back on the table, leaning forward slightly. “Has he claimed you yet? Has he turned you? When’s the wedding?”
“We haven’t decided what we’re going to do,” Ginger said, lifting her water glass to her lips.
“Haven’t decided what you’re going to do?! You’re kidding, right?”
“No. I’m a human. Just because I’m supposedly his mate, doesn’t mean any of it makes any sense to me. I just lost everything. My dad, my home. I was held up at gunpoint. I want to make sure I make good decisions now that I have some choices. I’m trying to be smart.”
“Who is smart when love is involved?”
“That’s what gets people into trouble.”
“You do love him, right?” Babs asked, her gray eyes sparkling.
Ginger sighed and stared out the window. A cru
ise ship was in the harbor, and another load of tourists was getting off.
“I don’t know, Babs. I feel like I do. But can I trust my feelings?”
“Girl. You have no idea what a shifter man can be like. What are you afraid of?”
“I’m not afraid.”
“Yes, dear. You are.”
Ginger sighed and played with the paper straw wrapper on the table. “I’m afraid of my own heart. I’m not used to just being handed everything Brock has to offer. It’s hard for me to trust it.”
“Okay. Let me get this straight. You’ve had a hard life. Right?”
“Well, yeah.”
“So this fabulous, sexy, strong, loyal man professes his undying love to you and you do what? Hesitate? And it’s because you’ve never had anything that good before? I’m sorry, but that doesn’t sound very logical.”
“Maybe it’s not,” Ginger said.
“Reach out and grab what life has to offer you before you let it slip through your hands.”
“I know this is hard for Brock.”
“If I know shifter men, which I do, I’m sure he’s just waiting patiently with a seven hundred pound grizzly roaring in his head every minute of every day.”
Ginger pursed her lips. Was Babs trying to make her feel guilty? Maybe she was. But the fact was, either way, Ginger was stringing him along. It wasn’t actually fair of her. Brock had been so kind and sweet about everything, even renting her a room without any expectation of her returning the favor or the money to pay for it.
“You’re right,” she murmured. “Brock doesn’t deserve this. But I want to make sure I’m ready. For both of our sakes.”
“Okay, dear,” Babs said, patting Ginger’s injured hand. “I’m sure you’ll make the right decision. You’re a smart girl. And, you’re Brock’s mate, so you can’t be a complete idiot.”
Babs rose from the table with a sly smile on her face.
“Well, thanks,” Ginger grumbled.