Lost Library: An Urban Fantasy Romance (19 page)

“Do you really mean everyone? Like Max and
Kenna, too?” Lizzie had perked up even more at this point of the conversation.

“Possibly.
It’s one theory.”

Lizzie looked thoughtful.
“Interesting.” She looked out the window for a moment, then asked, “Why do you think Texas hasn’t had a Record Keeper for a while? Or a healer?”

“Like a lot of immigrating groups, there was pressure to assimilate into the predominate society. In our case, the pressure was even greater to appear as American and not “other
.” Since you’re not a pack member…yet, you don’t know how much members can sometimes rely on the pack. The first few founders to our pack didn’t have that ready-made infrastructure. They had to create it.”

“I get they’d want to fit in. How does that impact
Record Keepers, healers, and other magical groups? I’d think you guys would all kind of glom together in rough times. You have a shared knowledge and experience that mainstream humans don’t have.” Lizzie’s brow was wrinkled in confusion.

“To a certain degree that’s true. I suspect assimilating was more important than retaining old traditions. Fear of discovery limited interaction between the groups. And the role of
Record Keepers and healers lost some value. Either the skills were lost through the generations, or the people themselves left to join other packs.”

John shifted a little in his seat, paused,
then said, “Clark may be a manipulative bastard, but he wouldn’t have been lying to say Record Keepers in his pack have always been valued. More so than in Texas.” He looked at Lizzie to gauge her reaction.

She shrugged. “I get that. I
may have only met one Texas Pack member, but trust me – Texas is well ahead of Idaho in that race. You guys haven’t locked me in the trunk of a car lately.”

John wished it was that simple. Lizzie didn’t have just a choice between Idaho and Texas. She could choose another pack entirely; she could choose no pack. And while it had previously been his preference for her to join Texas, he now had a personal stake. He wanted her safe. He wanted her somewhere where he could keep an eye on her. Hell, he’d
chase off a kidnapper a week if he had to.

Which brought a whole host of other questions.
Why his interest in her? Why now? He didn’t know. The clench in his chest every time he thought of her wandering around in his world, trusting, vulnerable, and unprotected, was enough to convince him it didn’t matter.

Northwest Colorado
was as far as they’d both been willing to travel without stopping for the night. A few rough nights without much sleep, added to John’s insistence on driving the whole way himself—true, Lizzie had no experience towing—meant they were limited in the distance they could safely drive. Apparently, even Lycan got tired when they didn’t get enough sleep. So they’d checked in at the park while there was still just a hint of daylight.

John had backed the camper into their assigned spot like a pro. Then he disconnected the truck and parked. Everything had gone very smoothly. Up until it was time to pop out the camper. John circled the camper with a quizzical look.

Lizzie was standing with hands on hips, head tilted.

“You know how to get this all worked out?” She eye
d the camper hookups with some doubt.

“Never done it before, but I got very detailed instructions and a demo when we picked it up,” was his reply.

“Huh. Okay.”

“It’s not complicated. You’re going to make me feel inadequate if you keep that up.” Then he winked at her.

Winked. At her. What in the world? It was hard to see the ass who originally knocked on her door in the man—Lycan, whatever—standing in front of her.

“Need any help?” She
felt she should at least offer.

Now it was his turn to look doubtful.
“Hmm. No. I’ll holler if I need a hand. By the way, I was planning a quick run, if you’ll do me a favor.” He was avoiding her eye, fiddling with the water hose.

“Of course.
What can I do?” Yes, she was
that
person. The one who said yes before she had any idea what she was being asked to do.

“Can you…ah…walk me?”

Before he could explain, she busted out laughing. When she finally got control of herself, she said, “I’m sorry!”

He tried to explain. “I have a collar
—”

She interrupted. “I’m
really, really sorry. I totally get it. That way you can run and keep an eye on me. Ingenious, actually. And I appreciate your diligence, even out here in the boonies. I assume we’ll be breaking leash laws?” At his curt nod, she said, “You’re paying if I get a ticket.”

He might have cracked a small smile at that.

A surprisingly short time later, the pop-up camper was popped, hookups hooked, and she and John were both ready to head out. John handed her a flashlight and a large, red dog collar. With tags.

“Whose number?” she asked, jingling the tags.

“Mine,” John responded as he handed her his cell. “Don’t answer unless I’m lost.” And he gave her a critical look. “Really. Only if I’m lost.”

“Okay, okay.” Lizzie crossed her fingers over her heart. “
I promise. A girl shows a little curiosity and suddenly she’s untrustworthy?”

John laughed.
“When it comes to my phone, which holds a good bit of my life on it, maybe a little. But only because your curiosity is epic.”

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “
Do you do this a lot? Run around with a collar on? It seems a little…um…” She faltered.

“
Undignified? No, I don’t.” After a few seconds, he added, “I appreciate it. I’m not at my best after being stuck in a car all day.”

“
No problem, at all. I’m glad to stretch my legs a little.” She looked at him questioningly and asked, “Down the road and back is all you want to do, right?” He nodded, then went into the camper…and came back out furry.

It was hard for her to process
—one minute a man, the next wolf. When he nosed his way out of the camper, she started ever so slightly. Even though she was absolutely expecting a wolf to exit.

He must have seen her startled movement, because he sat and looked at her.

Damn.
She didn’t want him to think she was afraid of him. It was, however, going to take her awhile to get used to the whole change thing. “What? Am I supposed to call you?” He sat calmly and kept looking at her. “Here, boy!” And she jingled the collar at him.

He sneezed.
Hmm—a wolf laugh, maybe? Then he trotted toward her. Interesting. He looked happy enough, almost grinning, but his tail hung really low. She’d have to Google wolves when she got home. There were serious differences between the 200 pounds of dense fur and muscle in front of her and her dogs.

She attached the collar around his neck. “Is it super weird for me to touch you when you’re a wolf?”

He just looked calmly at her.

“Do you understand me?”
A delicate little sneeze, followed by a head dip. The bastard. He was totally laughing at her.

“Hush up, you ball of fluff.” She turned on her heel and started up the road.

Seconds later, she saw him disappear into shrub cover next to the road. Well, she shouldn’t be getting a ticket or an earful from the park rangers, because no one would see him. The road continued for miles and there were numerous trails, as well. They’d agreed she’d head out for ten minutes, then turn back around. He’d said twenty minutes was enough to clear the cobwebs and stretch his legs a little, and she wasn’t up for a proper hike. It was late and she was still tired.

She was making the return trip down the road, about halfway back to the camper
, when she heard the crackling sound of branches and shrubs being shoved to the side. She’d enjoyed the walk so far. The weather was beautiful, and she had the advantage of privacy without the worry of being alone. She knew John couldn’t be far. He was a dependable sort of guy. Outside of the fact that it wasn’t a good idea for her to be alone, he’d also promised to stick close. Her heart got a little mushy just thinking about what a decent guy he was.
Get a grip, girl.

A man stepped out from the trail. A second one followed right on
his heels. They were both laughing and drunk. She kept walking.

“Hey, honey. You want some company?”
Gah. Why now?

She answered, “Thanks, but not tonight guys,” hoping they’d head out before John decided they were hassling her. She suspected that wouldn’t go well.

“You’re welcome to join us for some beers and barbeque. And bring your girlfriends,” the second guy chimed in.

She was about to say her boyfriend was with her and wouldn’t appreciate it, when a growl interrupted the conversation.

“Shit!” and “What the fuck!” were the simultaneous responses from the drunk guys. She wanted to growl herself. They’d have been gone in another thirty seconds.

John had casually joined the three of them, appearing from behind the two guys. The low warning growl he’d vocalized on approach was the only sign he was pissed. He stood quietly next to her, calmly eyeing the two men.

They must have seen the collar, because the second guy said, “Holy shi
t, lady. That’s a big dog. He’s yours, right?”

“Um,
hmm.” She couldn’t quite get a yes out. It seemed weird to claim John as hers.

“Is he friendly? Can I
pet him?” the first guy, the one who called her honey, asked. “I love dogs.”

“He’s friendly, bu
t—” Before she could say don’t touch, he’d already stepped forward with his hand out. John stepped neatly backwards, away from the outstretched hand. A small curl of his right lip showed just a hint of canine.

Lizzie quickly stepped in between wolf and man. “Sorry. I was about to say, he’s a little shy. So
—oomph—um, don’t pet him.” Just as she said “shy,” she got a light muzzle punch in her lower back. She got the hint and stepped to the side.

The guy looked at her a little oddly. “That is not a friendly dog. Is he part wolf or something? You probably shouldn’t have him off a leash.”

“You’re right, I should have a leash on him. We’re heading straight back to the camper.” She put her hand lightly on his collar. “I’ll be more careful. Sorry, guys.”

She
tugged very gently on his collar. He sat down.

“I don’t think he wants to go.” The guys exchanged a look. The one that says the little woman doesn’t know what she’s doing. She just rolled her eyes.

Looking John squarely in the eye, she said, “Heel, Fluffy.” She figured that could go two ways.

Thankfully, she got a little huff and a sneeze. And he heeled next to her as she walked toward the camper. Once she thought the
drunk guys were out of earshot, she started her one-sided mini-rant.

“Really?
You couldn’t wait a whole thirty seconds for them to get the hint and leave? We’ll be lucky if they don’t report us to the park ranger. If we get a knock on the camper door in an hour or two, it’s all your fault. Shame. Bad wolf.”

He’d gotten
a little ahead of her, because he was moving in a jaunty little trot. Not covering a lot of ground, but animated. Apparently, he was in an excellent frame of mind. The run must have done him some good. At the words “bad wolf,” he stopped, turned to look over his shoulder, tongue lolling out the side, and grinned at her.

She was glad someone was amused by that mess. She really didn’t want a ticket for walking her wolf off-leash.

This was
Lizzie’s first experience in a camper. It was surprisingly comfortable, but tight enough on space that two people couldn’t be moving without brushing against the other. It was intimate in a way she wasn’t entirely sure she was comfortable with. She pulled two sets of sheets from a cupboard under the bed.

Holding the sheets against her stomach, she realized that was e
specially true when the other person was a guy who, she was starting to realize, was not only incredibly hot, but really funny. And nice. And dependable. And laughed at all the right things and none of the wrong. And definitely, she was 100% sure, wouldn’t humiliate her by getting drunk and then breaking up with her at a friend’s birthday party by screaming at her and telling her….
Damn
. She started unfolding the sheets, shaking them out over one of the beds. She told herself she’d put that behind her. Apparently she was more baggage-laden than she realized.

             
Were those accusations that her ex had made, that he probably hadn’t even meant given how drunk he was—were they the reason she assumed men weren’t interested? Because that was ridiculous. And not to be tolerated. She yanked on the top sheet she was tucking in with extra force.

She
thought about the feelings she had for John. He was completely crush-worthy. And, if she were sixteen, she’d say she had a full-blown crush. But she was thirty-six. So the feelings she had went well beyond crush. She didn’t look at John and see a masculine jawline, a six-pack, gorgeous blue eyes, broad shoulders…Well, that’s not
all
she saw. He was hot, and initially his looks and exceptional physique had attracted her. What woman wouldn’t look twice at him? He’d been an ass, so his sexy body and face must have been the initial draw. She couldn’t get around that. But that wasn’t why she had feelings for him now. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts of him, she’d sat on the made bed, clutching the remaining sheets to her chest.