Midnight Moon: A Paranormal Werewolf Romance (Roadside Angels Motorcycle Club Book 2) (3 page)

Tamara’s voice brought him back to the present.  “Are we done here?”  She looked expectantly at Lex, who nodded and called to the others. 

“Maintain patrols, and call in to let me know what’s going on.  I have to get back.  Bret’s gonna need some help.” 

He waved at them as he walked off with Tamara, hoping he could squeeze Bret into the other things he had lined up to do.  The club paperwork, always a hassle on the best of days, demanded to be done, and that was his task.  There were reports to be submitted, calls to be made...and then there was Tamara.  She wasn’t a club issue, but she was becoming as significant as anything he’d had to do so far in the town, and he knew that would also change to where she would become the most important mission.  But for now, she had to wait her turn behind the other things.  Except for one thing.  He cast a critical eye over her attire, and shook his head.  She was going to be with him as he went around looking at places he knew, even if the chief didn’t, were going to be important to the investigation, and she didn’t look like someone ready for roughing it. 

As he drove back, he thought about how he would handle the issue of her attire.  Casting an eye over her boots, he smiled.  Definitely designer, and definitely impractical for hoofing it through the creek or in the brush. 

“So, wanna go shopping when we get back?”  He might as well broach the subject now.  He intended to win any argument she brought forward, but he needed to give himself time to get to the winning post.

“Shopping?  Why?”  Tamara looked at him with amusement lighting up her eyes.

He glanced down at her feet, and she followed his eyes.  “What’s wrong with my boots?  They’re boots!  Perfect for this country.”

Lex laughed, a long, hearty sound of pure amusement.  “Maybe if you were planning to go line dancing, honey, but not for what you’ll be needing them for.”

“What’s wrong with them?” she demanded again, turning one foot up to examine the fine leather boot, complete with spiked heels.

“They’re inappropriate wear for country lady reporters,” he answered, still chuckling.  “If you’re intent on investigating illegal wolf breeding, you’ll need more practical footwear.”

She put her foot back down.  “Well in that case, I have sneakers,” she huffed at him, her eyes triumphant.  When he rolled his eyes at that, she swatted him on the arm, and grinned, recognizing, no doubt, that he might just have a point.  “Okay, okay...maybe my sneakers aren’t tough enough for this terrain, either.”

He cocked a brow at her.  “Does that mean you’ll go shopping with me?”  He couldn’t believe he’d won that argument without more of a fight.

“Yes, Lex, it does.”  She snapped her mouth closed, but not before he saw the smile she hid.  And when she reached over to switch on the radio, he let his own smile slide over his face.  It amused him to no end that she refused to give in without a fight, and that she refused to acknowledge a loss in any way.  Gutsy gal, and he liked that about her. 

He drove past the exit that would have taken him back to Rojo Arroyo, and took her to the modest-sized shopping outlet close to the restaurant he had taken her to for dinner the night before.  The Sheplers there would have just what she needed, and if they didn’t there was always the Western Star superstore.  He wondered if she ever shopped in those stores, or even if those stores existed up where she was from.  Too bad if she didn’t.  There was a first time for everything.  Besides, he didn’t imagine she would be wearing them once she left Rojo Arroyo.  The thought of her leaving made him reel as though he had been sucker-punched.  His wolf wasn’t too happy about it, either.  He tamped down the growl that was rising in his chest, and parked the truck, going round to help her out, though this time she didn’t need any help because she wasn’t in a skirt.

“Western Star Superstore,” she read the huge sign.  “What do they sell, aside from boots?”

Lex smiled, leading her inside out of the raging heat of midday.  “Anything you want, you can find in here,” he said.  He snagged a cart and began to push his way to the back of the store, watching her stare around her.  She looked like a kid at Christmas, her eyes lighting up at everything she saw.  She seemed to like the moccasins they walked by, as well as the blanket ponchos and the saddlebags.

“So I could grocery shop in here?” she wanted to know. 

“No, not really.  We have food stores for that in town.  This is for ranchers who need bedding, things for their horses and cattle, saddles, work clothes...that sort of thing.”  He led her to the section he had just described, and walked her first over to the ladies’ boots. 

“See anything you like here?” he asked, standing back and letting her walk around the display.

She didn’t answer immediately, taking her time to look carefully at the ones she liked.  He noticed she didn’t pay too much attention to the boots with the longer shafts that would protect her legs from snake bites, but the ones she seemed interested in were good strong boots that would protect her ankles.  He supposed he owed it to her to point out the advantages of having a boot with a long leg shaft.

“You know, the longer boots are meant to protect not just your ankles but also your legs, in the event of snake bites.”  He watched her face, and noted the instant panic in her eyes.

“Snakes?  You mean like rattlers and such?”  The fear in her voice was almost palpable.  He had never seen her show fear till now, and it melted him just a bit more.  His mate was not as tough as she would like people to think she was. 

“Yes, like rattlers.  Have you ever seen one?” he inquired, leaning against the wall by the boot display.

She shuddered, and Lex took that as a no.  “Don’t worry, Tamara.  I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”  Deciding he needed to avert her attention from this new fear, he asked, “So, what have you decided?”  He wouldn’t push the long boots on her.  This was the way to keep her away from places he might not want her to go.  It was underhanded of him, but he would do anything to protect her, as long as it was legal.

She pointed to a pair of brown lace-up work boots, with high ankles and decorative stitching.  It was pricey, but as he was paying for it, he didn’t care.  He took it down, making sure she didn’t see the price.  The last thing he needed before he was done shopping for her was another argument.  His Tamara was stubborn, of that he was certain, and she would fight him to the bitter end if she knew he intended to pay for everything she chose today.  Now to get her to pick out tougher jeans, and maybe a plaid shirt to finish the outfit. 

“Let’s go look at jeans and shirts,” he suggested mildly, and walked off before she could voice any objection. 

She was female, and even if she had no intention of buying anything else, once they were standing in front of the displays, she would be more likely to give in to subtle pressure.  He just hoped he could be subtle enough.  The jeans display was large and varied, and before he had stopped, Tamara was standing over a pile of black jeans, boot cut, sorting through them for her size.  He hid a smile.  Maybe he didn’t even have to bother to try for subtlety. 

“Not that I’m going to buy these,” she said, looking up, as though she knew what he was thinking and was determined to win this round.  “But I like black jeans.  They’re my second favorite, after dark blue ones.  And these are so heavy...they’d be good for winter.”

“Why not put it in the cart, then?  And buy a plaid shirt to go with it.  Complete the cowgirl look,” Lex encouraged her.  “You’ll be able to wear that as well, up there, over a nice T-shirt, when the weather’s chilly.”

“Lex, I don’t need any more clothes, and really I don’t even have the money to buy these boots, which I suspect are expensive.”  She began to move towards the cart, as though to check the price but Lex moved away.

“Come check out these shirts, and see which ones would go with those jeans you like.”  He stopped before a display of colorful plaids, and waited while she bit her lip and looked suspiciously at him.

“What are you up to?” she demanded, going to stand squarely in front of him. 

Lex put his hands up in a gesture of surrender, palms out. 

“Me?  Up to something?  Perish the thought!  I’m out shopping with Miss I-Won’t-Be-Bamboozled here.  How could I even hope to get away with anything?”  He chuckled at her disbelieving look and added, “I just thought that if you’re going to come with me, some of the places we’ll visit won’t treat your fancy threads too well.  But it’s up to you.  I wouldn’t presume to try to persuade you to buy anything you don’t want to buy.”

He gave her a moment to think about his suggestion, and to realize that she wanted to be where he was more than she wanted to save money.  He could see her going over, in her mind, what would make giving in to him acceptable.  

“I suppose I could chalk it up to business expenses.  After all, I will need to go into some property with rather unexpectedly rough places.  I hadn’t packed for that.  Since I’m sure there will be lots of press on this story I’m about to break on an unsuspecting world, I’m sure Ray will reimburse me.”

Lex smiled at her.  He loved how she gave herself reasons for her behavior she could live with.  Now the only hurdle remained paying for the items.  He fully intended to pay for them.  How he would win that battle he still didn’t know, but he would win, one way or another.  By the time they were walking past the cowboy hats, which he could not persuade her to add to the items in the cart -- “Really, Lex?  I need a cowboy hat to investigate wolf attacks?  In whose reality?  Ray would roll his eyes at me, much like I’m doing now at you!” -- Lex had decided he would begin by suggesting they were a gift.  He suspected that wouldn’t fly, but it was a starting point.  If push came to shove, he’d pay for them before she could, and then she’d just have to deal with it.   

With that in mind, he took his wallet out while she was distracted by the beef jerky and other snacks, and handed it to the cashier even before he started to unload the cart.  By the time she turned back around, the items were being scanned, and she reached for her pocketbook.

“It’s all taken care of,” Lex said smoothly, accepting his card back from the cashier, who smiled sympathetically at Tamara as she sputtered and glared at him.  He signed the receipt, prepared to have his parts handed to him verbally as soon as they were out of earshot of anyone.  One more thing he had learned about her in these last few days is that Tamara hated making a scene.  For which he was grateful.

“Lex, I told you I’d pay for those things!” she began, when they were once again seated in the truck.  “Why did you pay for them?”

“A gift?” he began, going with his plan. 

“I can’t accept anything from you, Lex!”  She was vehement in her objections, but he bore her anger and frustration because he had done what he set out to do and there really wasn’t anything she could do about it.  “How am I supposed to be reimbursed from work if I tell Ray it was a gift?”

“So don’t tell him it was a gift, and don’t ask for reimbursement.”  Lex used his most reasonable tone.  It didn’t help.

“This wasn’t the arrangement...wait a second.  This is what you were up to, isn’t it?  All along, you were planning to pay for the things I picked up,” she fumed.

Lex could almost see steam shooting out of her ears, and he had to struggle not to pull over and take her mouth in the kiss he’d been wanting since he’d seen her walk into the station house.  When she was angry, she was hot as hell.  Instead of acting on his baser desires, however, he told her calmly, “Okay, if it’s such a terrible thing to accept a gift from me, you can pay me back later, all right?”

She glared at him, clearly not satisfied, and rather ungraciously agreed, as though she suspected he was still tricking her.  Which he was, but she would never know that, as he knew things were going to get sufficiently busy and she would forget.  Or at least, he hoped she would.  Which brought him back to the business at hand.

“We can go see Dave this evening, before dinner, and share the pictures with him.  Or do you just want to send them to him by e-mail?”

She thought about that as he drove, and decided she would send them to him by e-mail first, and if he had any questions, she would meet him then.  Lex got the impression she had other things on her mind, other plans she was not sharing with him, and he sincerely hoped she wasn’t going to test him by going off by herself to investigate anything.  He would have to pull rank, something she didn’t know anything about, nor would care for when she knew, but he would do anyway if she were ever in danger.  She was his mate, and that made her top of his need-to-keep-safe list.