Wild (36 page)

“You're right.” He felt like such an ass. “I need her more than I like to admit. I didn't want her to think I was a neurotic weakling.”

Trak grinned at him and shook his head, laughing. “Idiot. You were afraid to tell her the truth. You are a weakling. Not so sure about the neurotic part, but man up, Zachary.”

Zach didn't get pissed, but he didn't laugh, either. Inside he was laughing at himself, and it wasn't a pleasant feeling. Trak was right on all counts. He stood, reached out, and shook the man's hand. “Thank you. It appears I have some groveling to do.”

“It appears you do.”

Trak was still chuckling as Zach took the trail to Meg's cabin.

*   *   *

Dar glanced up as Lawz pulled into the parking lot in his shiny red pickup truck. It was flashy, like something you'd see a good old boy driving down the freeway with an American flag flapping from the back, except he wasn't a flashy guy. One day, if they ended up together, she'd have to ask him about it.

She thought he'd go straight to the lodge to check in with Trak, but instead, he cut across the lawn and walked over to her and her spot under an umbrella by the pool. “Hey!” She pulled off her dark glasses and smiled at him. “I wondered when you'd get back.”

He shrugged. “Had some things to take care of.”

“Did you get them done?”

“I did.” He grabbed a chair at another table, dragged it over to a spot directly across her small table, and sat facing her. He took both her hands in his and looked at her so directly she felt as if he could read the small print inside her. “Darian, I've been doing some checking with a TV station in Eureka. It's a network affiliate and covers a lot of the North Coast. I mean, it's not huge, not Portland huge, anyway, but I asked if they might have a spot for a talented newscaster from the Portland area. I told them who you were, and the station manager jumped on the idea as soon as I mentioned your name. Said he's heard only good things about you.”

She didn't say anything, but there had to be a damned good reason why he'd been checking on something like that behind her back. Maybe she wouldn't have to ask him that commitment question after all.

“The thing is, Dar, I want you to stay with me. I mean, I know I have to let you go for a week—that dumb rule we all agreed to—but I want you to want to come back here with me. To live with me as my mate. I spend most of my time in Eureka and parts north, and I've got a nice house over there, but this will always be my home.” He shrugged, but because he knew structure was important to women, he added, “I've got a sturdy little place here, too, though I don't live here much. Do you think you could love me, Dar? Because I'm already almost there with you. I just want to know you better, but we'd have all the time in the world ahead of us.”

She stood, leaned over the table, and kissed him. “I am so glad you asked, silly. I've been sitting here wondering if I needed to ask you, because there's no way in hell I'm letting you go. I can easily see spending the next sixty or so years beside you.”

She did like that smile of his, though she wasn't quite sure what he meant when he chuckled softly, glanced away, and then focused those sparkling brown eyes on hers.

“Well, Dar.” He actually laughed harder. “That sixty years? That's something else we probably need to discuss…”

*   *   *

Zach opened the door to Meg's cabin quietly, in case she'd fallen asleep. She was lying on the bed, still dressed in the long skirt and tank top she'd had on, but she wasn't sleeping. No, even though her back was to him, it appeared she was crying.

Traker must have nailed it, and Zach was an absolute ass.

He walked around the bed and sat on the edge beside her. He didn't look at her. He couldn't, because Trak was right about something else. Call it a hangover from his father's brand of parenting or pure cowardice on his part, but he couldn't face Meggie while he confessed what a jerk he was. How afraid he was to tell her the truth.

Instead, he reached for the box of tissues beside the bed and handed it to her. She blew her nose and got herself under control. He only knew it from the sounds, because he still couldn't look at her. Didn't want to see how miserable he'd made her because he was such a fucking coward. Finally, he heard her draw a shaky breath, and knew he'd run out of time.

“Meggie, do you have any idea how much you mean to me? No.” He shook his head. “Don't answer that, because it's obvious you don't, and that's my fault. You probably don't even know why I had that stupid accident.”

“Because a bear ran in front of your car?”

He laughed, but the sound was torn out of him. “Well, that and the reason why I was headed down here, driving like a bat out of hell. See, I'd slept okay the first night you were gone, but Monday night slid into Tuesday morning, and when I was still awake at three and missing you so much it was like an amputation because part of me was just gone, I threw some stuff in my backpack and hit the road. I even turned my phone off so, on the off chance you called me, I couldn't answer, because I can't lie to you, Meggie.”

He turned then and took her hands in his. “I can't lie to you, and I was scared to death if you called and I told you I was coming to see you, you'd tell me to go home. That you didn't want me here. And you shouldn't have, because it's your fucking bachelorette party, which means no men, but I kept thinking you were using this time to convince yourself I didn't love you when I love you so much it scares me. You have so much power over me. You could destroy me so easily. You're my anchor, Meggie. The one person in the whole world I know will love me no matter what. I've never had that before, not from my parents, not from friends, and never from a girlfriend. I've never had anyone like you in my life, but you're the one person I've hoped for all along. If I ever lose you, I lose everything that's important.”

“Zach? I don't understand. You're everything I've ever wanted in a man. You're absolutely perfect, but…” She turned her face away, wouldn't look at him.

The truth hit him, then. So damned simple he'd been an idiot not to see it. “No, Meggie. I'm not perfect. I'm so far from it, but maybe I'm perfect for you. And no matter what you think of yourself, I know you're exactly the woman I want. The one I need. The one I love beyond measure. Can we let it go at that, accept the fact we're both probably neurotic as hell but lucky enough that each of us has found exactly the right person to love?”

“Yes,” she said, covering her mouth with one hand, blinking away tears. “I can do that.” She was laughing and crying at the same time, so that it was hard to understand her, except he knew exactly what she meant.

“Good,” he said, nuzzling that sweet spot behind her ear. Breathing a deep sigh of relief. “Me, too.”

 

CHAPTER 13

Friday

The guys were down at Growl for a morning meeting. In spite of all the drama this past week, they had guests showing up on Sunday. Cherry was upstairs in her home office, catching up on work she'd missed while on her honeymoon.

Elle and the rest of the gang of four, along with Zach, huddled around a small table in the dining room. “So, ladies.” She smiled at Zach. “And token gentleman.” He saluted with his cup of coffee. “This is our last full day here, but I wanted to let you know that I'm not leaving.”

“What? You're shittin' me!” Dar's bark of laughter had everyone cracking wise.

“Nope. I'm not a child, and until Tuck bites me, I'm not subject to Trak's rule as alpha. I talked to Tuck about it last night. That stupid one-week rule was set up for women who didn't know what they were getting into. I know. So do you, Jules, and you, too, Darian. Tuck likes having me as his assistant almost as much as he loves me in his bed. And that works both ways. I'm staying with Tuck, and I suggest that if you're sure about your feelings for your guys, you two do the same.”

Dar nodded agreement. “Lawz and I talked about this last night, too. I need to go back to give notice at the station and clean out my apartment, but I don't want to stay away. My contract is actually up for renewal this month, but I wanted to do it after this trip.”

“Good plan!” Meg high-fived her.

“Yeah, by accident. I sure didn't plan on Lawz! I was thinking of holding out for more money. Never dreamed it would leave me free to quit. Lawz wants to make the trip with me so we can go to the station in Eureka first and get me locked in there for the job before I give notice in Portland, then figure out what stuff I need to keep and what I can dump. What about you, Jules?”

She merely shrugged. “I don't have a job to quit, and my apartment lease is up next month. That'll give me time to move, but I don't want to leave here at all. I'm ready to start life with two men I'm definitely falling for, and fast. It's almost scary how much they mean to me.”

Elle stood. “I say we make a short walk to Growl and present our case to the gentlemen in question. Trak's still not entirely recovered—Cain took him down to Growl in the truck. Maybe he won't have the energy to argue.”

“One can hope.” Jules stood and glanced at the others. “Meg? You don't have to come, but I wish you would. You too, Zach, though I don't want to interfere with your man standing with the guys.”

Zach stood and held out a hand to Meg. “My man standing is with the ladies, because I agree with you. Strength in solidarity, right?”

They all clasped hands in the center of their impromptu circle. Elle felt like part of an uprising. It was a heady experience. Then the phone in the office rang.

Meg raised her hand. “Business calls. I told Brad I'd take any calls that came through. Back in a flash.”

*   *   *

“I don't want Elle to leave, Trak. She's slipped into place as my assistant, and she already feels like my mate. I love her. The week apart doesn't make sense when she already knows what she's getting into.”

“Same here.” Lawz glanced at the guys before speaking directly to Trak. “And we're dealing with a time issue. Dar's contract is up at the station in Portland, but she doesn't want to step away until she's legally locked into the job in Eureka. It's a huge switch for her, going from weathergirl to news desk with a path to anchor. It needs to be done as soon as possible.”

Manny and Drew looked at each other and laughed. “We just don't want Jules to leave, period.” Manny grabbed Drew's hand. “Once we got together and included Jules, hell, it's like our lives have opened up. Lots of possibilities ahead.”

“And laughter.” Drew shook his head. “She's brought an element of laughter to our lives that's been missing way too long.”

Trak had sort of expected this, but he still didn't know how to deal with it. Sometimes it felt as if this whole resort idea had been a fiasco, until he looked at Cain and Brad and the love they had for Cherry, at Wils and Ronan, two guys he never thought would find women willing to fit their four-way dynamic. But they had six new women showing up on Sunday and four guys who wanted to take off with their women.

So he said as much. “I have to agree with you on the issue of the week apart. This is, I hope, a unique set of cases, but the fact is, we have six women arriving Sunday afternoon, and I'm still not able to do much. Wils and Ronan won't be back until Wednesday, but that leaves just Brad, Cain, Evan, and me to man the fort.” He laughed. “And it appears Evan's the only one capable of offering extracurricular activities.”

“The rest of us are out of the loop as well.” Manny shrugged. “I know I'm not interested in spending time with another woman.”

Drew punched him in the shoulder. “You're not interested in Jules coming after you with a meat cleaver, you mean. I don't think she's willing to share.”

“You're right. I'm not.” Laughing, Jules led the women through the door to Growl, with Zach bringing up the rear.

Trak focused on Meg. “What's up?”

“Well, a couple of things. On behalf of Dar, Jules, and Elle, we're here to discuss abolishing your one-week rule for this particular group of candidates. They know what they're getting into, and going in with hearts and eyes wide open.” She took a small bow to the men's cheers and applause. “And on behalf of the Feral Passions Resort, I need to report that your group scheduled to arrive on Sunday has canceled due to a shared gastrointestinal illness from their cruise ship adventure last week. I told them you would follow up regarding rescheduling or refunding as per your contract with them.”

Trak grinned at Zach, standing behind Meg with his hands planted possessively on her shoulders. It appeared he'd made his case last night. “They'll get a full refund, because it solves the other problem. As far as the one-week rule, you're all adults, and I'm not about to stand in your way.”

He made eye contact with each of his men, all trustworthy guys he was proud to lead. They were men smart enough to know when to tell him he was wrong and brave enough to stand by him. “The thing is, we'll still need to figure out a work schedule to get us through the end of the season. Hopefully, Evan and I will meet someone, and if that's the case, we'll find another way to use what we've built.”

“We're planning our wedding here October 2,” Zach said. Standing behind her, hands still locked to her shoulders, he kissed Meg.

She covered his hands with hers. “Might be a good way to retool things, Trak. There's a huge demand for unique wedding venues.”

“Something to think about.” He glanced around the small bar.

Elle had grabbed Tuck, and the two were already off in a corner, making plans. Lawz had his arms around Dar, and if he didn't love his big brother so much, Trak might have been jealous, because she was certainly a fine-looking woman. Manny and Drew were the surprise of this bunch, but it was really special, seeing their longtime friendship blossom this way. Jules had brought them together, and she fit in like their own personal puzzle piece.