Chapter 816 Chapter 816
Jake stepped outside. He’d finally gotten some sleep. When he woke up, he took the time to look around the bunkhouse. It was close to empty. It was just Gary and him now. Coop stayed at Noah’s. Blair and Noah were moved out. Maybe a few of the men training would be moving in. He’d had a melancholy moment or two when he was standing there, remembering all the times they’d had within those walls. Of course, they got themselves into hot water more than once, but the good times outweighed the bad.
If he moved on, it wasn’t right that no one filled the empty spaces. That Weston guy from Noah’s was quiet like Gary. They’d get along well. Of course, there would be a lot of silent moments with them, but that was okay, too.
He saw Coop coming from the driving shed. He was shaking his head. For once, Jake didn’t panic because he hadn’t been here, so it wasn’t anything he’d done. He grinned, that wasn’t going to stop him from being nosy and finding out who was the recipient of Cooper’s deep-thought look. “Everything good?”
Coop paused and looked at him. “Just checking, she’s not going to burn the place down, is all.”
Jake looked at the shed and then back to Cooper. “Who?”
Coop grinned. It was a genuine one. “Mari. She’s got a distillery set up in there. Damnedest thing I’ve ever seen.”
Jake jerked his head and looked back at the shed. “She said something about a drink, but I didn’t put the pieces together.”
Cooper scoffed. “Well, making moonshine isn’t something we’ve ever dealt with before.” He grinned again. “She says it puts life into perspective and fixes all the wrong.”
Jake nodded. It sounded like a fancy way of saying ‘drunk’ to him.
Jake zipped his jacket up and looked at the sky. It felt like snow was coming, but there weren’t any clouds. He looked back at Coop. Now that he’d slept, he should talk to him about Rory. “How’s Rory doing?” Coward, he thought. “Yesterday was a rough one for her.”
Cooper started walking toward the house. “I was just going to check on her. Kelsey, Mari, and her took off into town on some secret mission first thing this morning.”
“Oh yeah?” Jake grinned. “I think I’ll tag along and see what that’s about.”
Copper gave him a long side-eye. “You’re just hoping to sniff out some breakfast.”
Jake drugged. “Bunkhouse kitchen is pretty sparse right now.”
Cooper took off his hat and rubbed his hand over his head. “It’s just been Gary in there, but there’s talk of a few of those from over at Noah’s moving in.”
“I guess they’re working out all right at the shop.” He had no idea how to broach the subject of the man’s niece being his mate.
“You all right? You’re acting funnier than usual.” Cooper put his hat back on and wiped his boots off on the mat by the steps.
Tracking mud into Beth’s house resulted in growls and a look that transported you back to adolescence. He wasn’t going there today. Jake rubbed his boots on the thick bristles. “Yeah. Just doing a lot of thinking about what’s next.”
Copper opened the door and glanced back at him. “You thinking usually results in broken things.”
Jake sent him a blank look.
They stepped into the house, and both of them froze.
“What is that stench?” Cooper whispered. “Smells rotten, and my eyes are watering.”
Jake nodded. It was worse than bleach, and to a shifter’s sensitive olfactory, that was as bad as it got, but this smell was worse. Kicking off his boots, he followed him into the kitchen. He had to put his hand over his mouth and nose it was that strong.
Beth and Kelsey were by the sink, with Mari sitting in a chair. Rory sat at the table. She was smiling.
“Oh no, you don’t.” Mari got up and hurried toward Cooper. She was waving her hands back and forth in front of her head. “You go on and get out of here. You’re ruining my surprise.”
Cooper was grinning. “With the stench, we were afraid you all were trying to dissolve a body in here.”
Beth laughed. “You men go play with a machine or something.”
Cooper backed into Jake. “All right. We’ll go.”
Jake watched Mari hurry back over and sit down.
“I got me a tiger by the tail.” She laughed.
It dawned on him that her hair wasn’t green. Little tufts were sticking up all over her head. Some were bright orange, others were black.
Cooper knocked on Jake’s chest. Jake looked at him and realized he wanted him to move. He glanced at Rory. She was still smiling. That made him feel better. They put their boots back on and went outside.
Jake sucked air in through his nostrils, trying to get rid of the smell.
“That cleared the sinuses but good.” Coop was still grinning.
“So you and Mari are a thing now?” Jake shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket.
“A thing?” Coop chuckled. “If that’s what it’s called now, I guess we are. It’s refreshing having her around here.”
Jake looked at the door. At least Rory seemed better than she had yesterday.
“Want to tell me what’s on your mind?”
Jake jerked his head back and looked at him. “Nothing. I’m good.”
Cooper scoffed. “You haven’t made a single smart-mouthed comment, so I know there’s something eating away at that brain of yours.”
Jake opened his mouth, ready to deny it, and then sighed instead. “I do need to talk to you.”
“So, talk.” Cooper went down the steps.
Jake glanced once more at the house and then followed him. “I, um, what I need to talk to you about is—” He looked at the back of Coop’s head as he kept walking. It was probably easier not to say it to his face. “—with, not with.” He shook his head.
Cooper stopped, and Jake almost walked into him.
“Did you suffer a head injury while you were away?”
Jake backed up a few feet. “No.” He scowled and then didn’t want it to seem like he was pissed off, so he opened his eyes wide.
“What’s wrong with your face?”
Jake put both hands over his face, rubbed it, and then let them drop. “Nothing is wrong with my face. I need to talk to you about Rory.”
“What about her?” Now Coop was looking at him the way he did when he was about to put someone in their place or make them look stupid. It was usually both in Jake’s case.
“She’s – I’m—” Jake blew out a breath. “We’re mates.” He held his breath, waiting for his reaction.
Cooper took off his hat and rubbed his hand over his head before putting it back on. “Does she know?”
Jake nodded.
Copped nodded slowly. “Well, good luck with that, Jake.” He turned to go.
“Wait. That’s it?” That was not even close to what he’d pictured happening, but he’d take it.
Cooper sighed and turned back to look at him. “That’s it. She won’t even admit she has a striped tail.” He snorted. “A tail at all, so you have your work cut out for you, son.” He studied him. “Why are you standing there with that dumb look on your face?”
“I’m – I didn’t expect that is all.”
“Expect what?” He started walking away.
Jake followed. “I don’t know. No lecture or warning.”
Cooper slowed and looked at him. “Do I need to warn you?”
Jake shook his head.
He stopped and sighed. “She’s not going to be happy here, you know that, right?”
Jake nodded. “Yeah, she’s not fond of the remoteness. I picked up on that.”
Cooper chuckled. “What she’s not happy about is being around shifters. I imagine her cat is reminding her that she is there.”
Jake rubbed his hand across his forehead. “She doesn’t shift. I don’t get that.”
“Then we’re on the same page with that. I was close to killing someone when I couldn’t shift after I hurt my leg. People spend years trying to control their animal so they don’t shift when it’s not wanted, and she has hers on lockdown.”
“That can’t be easy.”
Cooper grinned. “Rory doesn’t do things the easy way.” He sighed again. “Look, I know she doesn’t want to be a shifter, but she is, and she can’t change that.” He looked back at the house. “You only get one shot with having a mate. There aren’t any backups if anything happens to them. If you don’t find that—” He shrugged. “There’s going to be a piece inside you that’s never complete. So figure it out and fill that piece inside both of you.” He walked away.
Jake watched him go. Coop had a mate? He had to have. The regret was on his face as he said it. What happened to her? Huffing out a breath, he hurried after him. “Hey, Coop, I was thinking I would volunteer to go to the US Headquarters and do vehicle maintenance.” He slid in the mud and took a moment to recover his balance. “Right now, the teams are going all the way from the factory.”
Cooper stopped and looked at him. “That’s a good idea. You should do that. Rory would be happier in a city.” He nodded once and walked away.
“Yeah,” Jake whispered. “Now I just have to tell Ed and talk to Rory.” Yesterday’s talk had been too emotional. He looked back in the direction of the house and then turned to the shop. Who did he talk to about going to Chicago? Pulling his phone out, he opened his contacts. Blair’s was at the top of the list. Mostly because he didn’t know anyone with a name that started with the letter A. Shrugging, he stabbed Blair’s name. “Tag, you’re it.”