Racing Home (Dirt Track Dogs Book 3) (Paranormal Wolf-Shifter Romance) (3 page)

But then, how hard could it be to find a new tent?

Maybe… maybe she could offer him a solution. A mutual solution. He could stay here for a few days. With just her around, the house was always quiet. She could swear not to chatter his ears off, if that would make him feel better. It’d been easy enough to run out of things to say in the shelter. In return, he could help her clean up the storm damage. There was a metric ton of shattered glass to sweep up, among other things. She could use a helping hand.

Plan settled, she went downstairs to talk to him.

“Shit,” Punk muttered, her voice drifting in from the back of the house. “I’m never leaving her alone during a storm again, I swear.”

“We should’ve brought her to the club,” Ella agreed.

Beast’s voice was thoughtful. “It’ll take some work, but it’s definitely fixable. I’m glad she made it to the storm room in time.”

“Hey.” Annie pulled up behind them as they admired her new tree wall accessory. “Like the addition?” She waved her hand in a grand gesture. “I was growing tired of the boring old door.”

Punk gaped at her. “Are you seriously joking right now?”

Annie rolled her eyes. “I have to. It’s either that or cry, and I don’t do that anymore.” She glanced at the others. “Where’s Blister?”

The guys shrugged. Ella raised a suspicious eyebrow. Punk looked around as if he was hiding under the laundry basket or something.

“Looks like he took off,” Drake mumbled, distracted by the hole in the ceiling.

“What do you mean ‘took off?’”

He squinted at the dangling plaster. “It’s what Blister does. When he’s had enough of people, he disappears.”

“He just… left?” Without saying anything to her? Without so much as a “good luck with the disaster”?

All the air left her sails. Of course he did. He had his own troubles to deal with.

But then a grin slipped into place. Maybe when she got this mess straightened out, she’d go check on him. For now, she needed to get to Red Cap.

Chapter Four

Blister brought his own ladder and tools just in case Annie didn’t have what he needed. It was almost noon, and he intended to have the bad part of the roof covered with plastic before she returned.

Something changed in him last night. It was as simple as Annie falling asleep next to him. The trust it took for her to sleep with only him around, it humbled him. He’d stayed awake all night watching her. Not watching over her—though he did that too—but actually
seeing
her. It was just like he’d assumed. She was so pure, so innocent, giving freely of herself to the benefit of others. She was genuinely kind, and she expected others to be too.

He wanted to meet her expectations.

Fate had taken the kindest soul and given it to him as a mate. To make up for how cruel life had been. And even though he would never claim her, he wouldn’t abandon her. He’d had it all wrong in the beginning. Avoiding her was cruel and selfish. She needed him, and he was going to make sure she was taken care of.

But he wouldn’t be annoying. He nodded to himself, hammering a nail through the plastic sheet and into the roof. He would be sure she had what she needed but he’d do it while making himself scarce.

His phone buzzed and he hooked the hammer in his belt so he could answer it.

“Yeah.”

“It’s Ella. Drake wants to know why there’s a cat on our property. His words, not mine. Looks like a regular old guy to me, but Drake swears he’s a shifter and he’s, uh… not exactly happy.”

Damn, that was fast.

“I called ‘em. They’re here to help.”

“He says they’re here to help,” she called.

He heard an annoyed voice carry through the phone. “See? Told you, asshole.”

And then, “Help with what?” His alpha sounded like he was ready to skin the cat.

Blister sighed. He’d been in such a hurry to get the roof fixed he forgot to talk to Drake.

“They’re here to fix Annie’s house,” he grumbled. “I told them they could stay at the club while they were here.”

“Aw, that’s sweet, Blist—Oh!
Excuse
you
, mister. I was talking.”

“Give me the phone, Ella,” Drake growled.

She sighed into the receiver. “Fine. But you’ll pay for that later.”

There was a rustling and then Drake’s angry voice came down the line. “Tell me you didn’t invite the cats to hang at our club for the week.”

“They’re not here to hang. They’re going to fix Annie’s house. But they need a place to stay.”

A rumble came through, showing Drake’s frustration.

“You know the crew from Ouachita’s the best. Come on. She’s… she’s practically one of us now. We need to help her, and none of us know shit about construction.”

Drake’s answer was much quieter. So small in fact, that Blister had to strain to hear him above the tree removal happening down below.

“Is that what this is, Blister? She yours?”

Blister didn’t answer. He wouldn’t lie to his alpha, but he didn’t want anyone to know who Annie was to him.

Drake chuckled, his whole countenance changing. “I believe your words earlier were, ‘mated or not, if either of you look at her I’ll fucking shred you’. That sound about right?”

Blister felt his face go crimson. He had no right to be throwing out threats like that. He couldn’t let himself get possessive of her. She wasn’t his. Not really. Just because fate intended her for him didn’t mean it was going to happen. It was exactly what the name implied, an
intended
mate. The intention was there. Whether it happened or not depended solely on the people involved.

“I don’t care who looks at her. It was only a matter of preserving her dignity. Which doesn’t make me her mate. It makes me not an asshole. You wanna jump on the non-asshole train, and let those guys stay at the club or what?”

“Shit. You really put me in a position here, you know? There’s going to be a lot of clean up at the speedway. Waldo says it’s closed until further notice. We need to get in there and make that happen otherwise we’ll be driving down to Kerry County to race.”

“The cats can help. Let them stay.”

Drake let out a sigh that sounded like a chainsaw. “Fine. Fucking fine, okay? Why not? Cats and dogs get along swell. Oh, wait. No. No, they do not.”

The line clicked dead. Blister shoved the phone in this pocket and went back to work on the roof.

By the time he was finished, the guys he’d paid to cut up the fallen tree were gone, and he went to work covering the door opening with plywood. Next, he boarded up the broken windows. He was on the very last one when he heard the soft fall of feminine footsteps approaching.

Damn it. He didn’t work fast enough.

“Blister?” His name on her lips, even with her voice tired and worn, was the stuff that fed his dreams.

“Yeah,” he answered, finishing up his job.

“What… what is this?” Her tone was uneasy. Maybe he hadn’t thought this through.

“I covered the roof and windows so you’d be safe until tomorrow when the crew gets here.” He avoided her gaze at all costs, adding a few extra nails to make it seem like he was too busy to talk.

But she didn’t go away.

“What crew?”

“I called in some builders from the Ouachitas. They do good work. They’ll fix your place up.”

Silence stretched between them with only his hammer to break it up.

“You…”

Her voice sounded broken, but he didn’t want to look up and find her angry. Or worse, disturbed. He’d overstepped his bounds, no doubt about that. But he hoped she could see that it came from a place of concern and not because he was strange.

Blister chewed his lip, banging home another nail.

“You did all this for me?” Her breathed words sliced through him.

So she wasn’t mad, but she sounded as if it was a foreign concept. Like she couldn’t believe someone would help her.

Blister nodded, still avoiding her gaze. “It’s no big thing.” He shrugged. “A little plastic, a little wood. A phone call or two.”

“It’s a big thing to me.” Her hand landed gently on his forearm and he jumped. “Thank you.”

She touched him.

It was an innocent thing that probably didn’t matter to her, but… no one had touched him since he was a young. Not unless you count fighting. And he didn’t. But this, the sweetest touch from the softest soul… it made his wolf crave her rabidly. The faintest brush of her skin against his, it destroyed him.

Finally the inside matched the outside, but he hardly minded. Let her ruin him. Let her, because who the fuck cared. He’d trade this feeling for anything he’d had up to this point. None of it mattered.

Not even the dreams. His angel’s touch in reality, though innocent, was better than any sexual thing his mind could conjure.

Mine.
Mine, Mine, Min
—

No
.

No.

“You’re welcome,” he whispered, grappling for control of his animal.

She pulled her hand back. “Guess what?”

Blister turned his head to look at her, hoping she couldn’t see the blatant longing in his eyes. And she was smiling, her cheeks going round. The expression was so fucking precious. His heart thundered in his chest hard enough he was afraid she’d hear it.

“I got you something.”

He was too busy staring at her smile for the words to actually register. She clapped her hands together giddy with excitement, her grin growing even larger.

“Come with me. I’ll show you.”

He followed her through the yard, helpless to do anything else. On the front porch was a long rectangular box.

“Look! I got you a new one,” she blurted. “I hated the idea of your home being destroyed, so I wanted to make sure you had something to replace it.”

Blister stared at the box in shock, his heart twisting in his fucking chest. His throat burned with humiliation. His gaze went back and forth between her expectant face and the tent. It was obvious she was trying to help, but all it did was drive home how different he was. How he had to hide away from people when truly he wished he could just live.

But the fire had done more than damage his body. It damaged his soul.

He’d burned in his bed, while he slept. The idea of being in one again made him physically ill.

He’d gone back into his burning house over and over again, trying to save his family. No house had felt comfortable since.

The staring, the curiosity, the general sense of unease he got from others kept him separated from the masses whether he wanted to be or not.

He cleared the lump from his throat. “You really shouldn’t have.”

She rocked on her feet like a four-year-old at Christmas. “Well, you needed a place to sleep right? Or, actually, I thought this out. I wasn’t sure if it was the right kind or not, but I knew you wouldn’t want to stay in the big house. I remembered you said you liked to be alone.”

Goddamn it. She’d put so much thought into this. It broke his heart. He both hated and loved her gift. Hated it for what it represented. Loved it because she’d put such effort into it. Because it came from a place in her heart that genuinely cared about others.

A gift. When was the last time anyone had done something like that for him?

“So if the tent doesn’t work, I thought… I thought if you wanted, you could just stay here.”

Blister froze. The air around them grew tense with warning but Annie charged ahead with her plan.

“There are plenty of bedrooms for you to choose from. And I wouldn’t, you know, talk your ears off or anything.
Or
if you want something even quieter, you could um, stay in the storm shelter.” She hesitated. “It’s sorta like a tent but more… solid. It... well… I mean, it sounded like a better idea in my head.”

Stay here? With her. Whether it was the shelter or a bedroom, it was too close. Too dangerous. He couldn’t get close to her. He had to help from a distance. If he wasn’t careful, she’d feel the mating bond. And there was no way he was sentencing her to a lifetime with someone like him. Someone with his kind of baggage. Someone who couldn’t make her happy. She deserved more than what he could ever offer.

“I can’t be here with you. It isn’t right.” He lifted the box, hefting it up on his shoulder.

He caught the way her gaze fluttered to the ground, and it bothered him. Her expression had no name. Or at least none he wanted to claim. He stared at her. The corners of her mouth curved upward enough to be a small grin, but she didn’t look happy.

“Thank you for the tent,” he tried, hoping it would change whatever that look was on her face. “It’s… real nice.”

“Sure.” She nodded, taking a deep breath and giving him a fake smile. “No problem. Hope it helps.”

Blister frowned. But before he could say something stupid, he turned and stalked to his truck, throwing the tent in the bed. Without looking back, he started the engine and drove away from the awkward exchange. Just once he wished he could be around someone and not feel like every word or action was wrong. Just once. And maybe even with her.

It would make his fucking year.