Authors: J.E. Clymer
Chapter 3
The sweet summer air floated around the dark haired little girl as she swung higher and higher on the park swings. She pumped her legs harder with each fall back. She loved the feel of flying which is why she often snuck away down the street to the local park.
Tamika often wondered if she tried hard enough if she could make it all the way around. Just go right up and over the swing set. The mere thought made her giggle with excitement and pump her little legs a little bit harder.
Suddenly a hard push from behind her sent her even higher in the air. She laughed as she swung higher. The little boy who had helped push her stepped the side of the swing set and smiled up at her. He had crystal blue eyes and hair the color of spring strawberries. She let herself swing to a slow stop.
“Hello,” she said sweetly. Her hazel eyes sparkled with color as she smiled wide at the boy.
“Where’s your mommy?” he asked.
Tamika shrugged and said with a smile, “She would have said she didn’t have time, so I came by myself. Where’s yours?”
“I don’t need an adult watching me,” the little boy said proudly.
“Thank you for pushing me,” she said.
He nodded, but didn’t say anything.
“My name is Tamika. What’s yours?” she asked with that giddy bounce in her body that happy children often have.
“Bryan. I should really be getting back,” the boy said with an uncomfortable fidget.
Tamika grabbed his hand and held it tightly as she asked, “Please come back, Bryan. Everybody is older than me. They don’t want to play. Please, please be my friend. I’ll push you in the swing next time!”
The little boy looked into her watery eyes and sighed. “I’ll be here tomorrow around now if you want to play,” he said. It sounded more like a death sentence than a play date. Moreover, he sounded so much older than the ten or eleven years that he had to be.
Tamika almost bounced as she leaned forward quickly and kissed his cheek.
“I can’t wait! Oh!! We are going to have so much fun!” she said in bubbly happiness.
“Yeah,” Bryan said in a tone that was laced with confusion. “Yeah…”
###
It was ten in the morning and Lisa flitted around the bar like a honeybee in the middle of wildflower field. She had sent Lance home the minute she walked through the door an hour before. He argued, but she won.
Now she just watched the five hottest dancers in the world practice. She had already tackled all of the paperwork that had to be done, washed and dried every glass in the place, and washed the windows. Well, she washed the windows that looked dirty near the door.
She just relaxed and watched the guys dance. While she waited for them to finish she made each of them a glass of water and sat it on the counter. When they finally made their way down off of the stage they all came and sat at the bar. It took almost everything Lisa had not to lick her lips.
Ken looked her up and down with a blatantly hungry look in his eyes and said, “You look like a million bucks, Lisa.”
Mac nodded and said, “You do look like you feel better.”
“I do. In fact, I owe Conner a thank you. He took me to see his brother yesterday and he gave me some medicine to help me sleep,” Lisa said with a warm smile.
Jared’s eyes snapped onto her and he said in a low voice, “Why didn’t you say you weren’t sleeping?”
“It was my business, Jared. You can ask Conner—I did not appreciate being called out on it. I owe both him and Lance for doing it though,” Lisa said with a wink at Conner.
“It should have never gotten to the point that someone had to call you out,” Jared fumed. His anger was palpable. Lisa could feel goosebumps forming on her arms in response to the acrid smell of anger that had mingled with the salty smoke smell of his scent.
The other men in the room barely breathed which told Lisa they knew exactly how angry he was. She on the other hand was not going to cower to his temper. She put her hands on her hips and stared him down.
“Jared, I don’t have time for your temper tantrum,” Lisa said flatly.
He vaulted across the counter so fast it was hard to follow that he was even out of his seat. He pushed her hard into the counter. Lisa could see the subtle shift in his eyes from human to animal. Jared was literally declaring dominance over her as he settled his hips over hers.
“That was not a temper tantrum, this is a temper tantrum,” he said coldly.
“Jared if you ever want to step foot on this property again, you are going to step away from me this instant. Then you’re going to go take an ice cold shower and when you come back tonight, you
will
apologize to me. Are we clear?” she said in a tone that was just as frigid as his.
“You can’t keep me from coming here,” he said through heavy breaths.
“I own this place and if you don’t step away from me in the next ten seconds, so help me, I will shoot you myself the next time you try to darken my door step,” Lisa promised.
Jared seemed to weigh his options and step back. He stalked out of the bar and every person in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Ken looked at her like she was a goddess incarnate. The other two men didn’t seem to quite know what to make of her.
“Marry me,” Ken whispered.
Lisa rounded on him shook her head as she said, “Now, don’t you start. You’re just a kid and I am not going to rob from anybody’s cradle. Especially not from one with a big brother as grouchy as the ass that just walked out of this bar.”
Mac was the first one to burst out laughing. He laughed so hard he was doubled over on the bar. After a few moments Ken and Conner both joined in. The three of them laughed until they cried. Even Lisa couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Who would believe it?” Mac finally choke out.
“Jared being run off by woman,” Conner chimed in.
That all set off a second round of laughter.
Lisa threw a towel at Mac and said, “Y’all get, you need to rest before you work tonight.”
All three men couldn’t stop laughing long enough to say goodbye. They went back to the dressing rooms to get some clothes on before they left. Lisa waited until she heard the last one leave the building. She was all alone when picked up the phone and dialed Dean’s number.
She heard the click and a quick, “Hello.”
“Dean? I…how familiar are you with current pack laws?” she asked.
“Lisa? Every pack member is required to know them inside and out. Why?” he asked.
“I pushed Jared. He challenged me in my own bar, and I couldn’t help it. I’m fine because I’m in neutral territory, right?” she asked quietly.
“Wrong,” a deep voice behind her said.
“I will see you tomorrow, Dean,” she said and hung up the phone. Turning around she met Jared’s eyes and said, “You left.”
“Only until I was sure the boys would be gone and because that was one hell of a push, Lisa,” he said with complete honesty.
“I am batting a million this week. I’ve lived here for almost a decade without a problem, then in a two day period I’ve let slip to Conner I know about the packs and pushed you,” she said while leaning back against the bar.
“You did not just push me, Lisa. You pushed me hard enough that I had to get outside. I am the strongest of the next generation of alphas and you stand on equal ground with me,” he said.
“Glad to see you have some humility about it,” she asked sweetly.
Jared sighed and let the barb go, then he said, “Lisa, you’re right. You’ve lived her almost a decade and don’t slip up, but now you have. I might know why, but I need an honest answer from you. Are you connected to any of the five territories?”
Lisa’s eyes narrowed as she chose her words carefully, “No, Jared, I am in no way connected to any of the five existing packs.”
“You’re lying, I can hear it in your heart beat,” Jared said simply.
“The tie is old and no longer valid. Let it go, Jared,” she said.
“Ties do not just break, Lisa,” he said.
“Sometimes they do, Jared. Why is this important anyway?” she asked with a small groan.
“If you had a connection to a pack territory you would be sensing…” he started.
“I’m not sensing anything,” Lisa interrupted a little too quickly.
“Sure, you aren’t,” Jared said with a knowing smile.
“I am serious, Jared. If there are hunters involved I don’t want to be. I have my own hunter problems,” she said firmly.
“Fine, but I have to have your word you won’t push me like that again,” he said.
“You have a deal as long as you don’t try to scare the hell out of me when you don’t get your own way,
and
if you keep it to yourself that I’m a wolf. I know you’re not interested in women, but your brother, Mac and Conner are. Our kind don’t throw that many females and I’d prefer not to be harassed,” Lisa said.
“I don’t know if I can keep that secret, Lisa. Don’t you know how important you are to our kind?” he asked.
“I know my aging slowed to crawl about the same time I got cheek bones, so I have time to choose my own fate. I’m not a pack kind of girl, Jared. If you try to push I will run and not look back. I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again,” she said with unwavering certainty.
Jared looked at her and with a tired groan he nodded and said, “Fine, but I am keeping an eye on you. Our race can’t afford for even one of our women to be hurt, especially not an alpha.”
“I can accept that,” Lisa conceded.
Jared relaxed against the bar beside her and said, “I don’t suppose you want to share why you don’t want a pack.”
“Did you miss the part where I’m in therapy now? I’ve got issues,” she answered with a shrug.
Jared reached for her hand where it rested on the counter, but stopped himself.
“I need to go. I…uh…don’t want to be tired for tonight’s performance,” he said.
“Well, get then,” she said with a warm smile.
Jared’s tanned skin heated at her smile and his blush made Lisa hold her breath. If she didn’t she was afraid her heart might jump out of her chest. He nodded and walked out of the bar reluctantly. Lisa breathed a sigh of relief when he was finally out the door.
Lisa cleaned the bar from top to bottom that afternoon and the place practically sparkled when Lance walked in at three in the afternoon. He looked around with wide eyes and a pleased smile.
“Baby girl, you’ve been busy,” he praised her.
“Why, yes, I have. How would you like to be in charge at night?” she asked.
“You know I am happy to cover for you whenever you need it, baby girl,” he said, while pouring himself some beer.
“I was thinking on a more permanent basis. Of course, you’d have to hire yourself a bartender,” she said casually.
Lance walked over beside her and sat the half-filled beer on the counter and looked at her in disbelief. When he did finally find his voice he asked, “Are you promoting me?”
“Not really. You said it yourself, you are already make a good manager. I just need to get on the ball and pay you for it,” she said with a wide smile.
Lance scooped her up into a bear hug and he gave her an exaggerated kiss on the cheek. The kiss made her skin crawl, but she still managed a wide smile for him. Pulling a hundred dollar bill out of her back pocket she handed it to him.
“Consider that your first bonus and a thank you. If you hadn’t been complaining to the boys incessantly then Conner would have never insisted I see his brother. I had no idea how tired I really was until I actually slept,” she said.
“Then you are going to start sleeping at night like a normal person. I worry about you, Lisa. You ain’t got nobody. So, now that you’re done trying kill yourself we need to find you a man,” Lance said with a conspiratorial smile.
“No thank you,” Lisa said with emphasis on the thank you.
“A woman then? Lord, knows I don’t judge, baby girl,” Lance teased.
“I—no, none of the above. I don’t do relationships,” she said despite laughing.
“In my experience, when people say that they really mean that they haven’t found anyone worth having a relationship with. There are a lot of good men in this area. You just have to open yourself up enough to get to know them,” he said.