Wolf's Fake Bride (Shifter Marriage Service Book 1)

“I’m not sure. I need to find a job, so maybe a week or two, until I can get something and get a little money under my belt?”

“I tell you what. It’s in a bit of a state. If you’re willing to do a bit of cleaning up while you’re there, we’ll call it an even deal.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, relieved at her good luck.

“No, but we’ll go with that unless you give me reason enough to change my mind.”

“I won’t,” she told him, following him to the patrol car that sat out front.

“You’ll have to sit in the back like a perp. Sorry about that, but rules, you know?”

“A ride’s a ride,” she laughed, waiting while he opened the back door.

Jocelyn slid into the back seat and sighed as he walked around and climbed behind the wheel. Ten minutes later, they were pulling into a large shopping center where he waited outside for her to get her shopping done. When she returned, with a few bags containing some essentials, he helped her put them in the trunk and opened the back door for her again.

“My wife said to bring you to the house for dinner,” he said.

“Oh, you’re already doing me such a huge favor, I couldn’t impose.”

He let out a deep laugh and shook his head back and forth.

“You don’t understand, it wasn’t a request of you or me. She told me I’m bringing you up for dinner. She’s a good woman, but she can’t have a stranger staying on the property without meeting them first. She doesn’t mean anything by it. Just small town principles, ya know?”

“Fair enough,” Jocelyn replied.

Patty Timmons was a good match for her husband. If he was six four, which he easily was, she was all of six one herself. Compared to Jocelyn’s petite five two frame, they were giants. Though they were older, she guessed mid-sixties, at least, they were still attractive. She had spotted one of their wedding photos on the wall as they entered the house and was mesmerized by their youthful, smiling faces.

After dinner, Hank had taken her out the back of the house and down a pathway leading to the dock to which the boat was moored. It was a lot bigger than she expected, but very much rundown looking, as he had warned her. The framework seemed solid enough, but it was badly in need of a coat of paint. Inside, it was dusty and drab, but it was dry and a place to lay her head, without having to worry so much about money or safety like she would in some fleabag hotel.

“All right, here you go. I’ll let you settle in,” he told her, after showing her where everything was and how to work it all.

He started to walk away and then turned around, pulling something from his pocket. He handed her a small white card. Jo flipped it over in her hand, noting that it was a business card for the sheriff’s office. It had his office and mobile number on it.

“If you have any troubles down here, give me a call,” he told her.

“Thank you,” she said, then added, “for everything.”

“No problem. We’ve all been there, one way or another.”

Jocelyn nodded, watching him leave before she turned back toward her new temporary home. She decided the first order of business was to clean, which is what she did for most of the evening, finally putting her things away and settling down in the small sitting area with her phone and a glass of the wine she had brought from the shop.

Opening the paper, she scanned the local job ads. Smaller places like this tended to still post some of the lesser jobs in the town newspaper. There were lots of places looking for servers or housekeepers, but the one that caught her eye was one in a promoted box to one side of the regular ads.

Female actress needed for long-term gig. No experience needed other than an ability to act the part given. Details will be provided to the right candidate. Above average pay and benefits.

It seemed a bit cryptic and she was no actress, but she circled it and laid it aside. She would call in the morning when it was a decent hour. Pouring herself another glass of wine, she made her way up to the top deck of the boat and looked around. Hank had been right about the view. The water shimmered beneath the moon shining across it from a cloudless sky. Stars danced above her, twinkling their own sort of code to let her know she would be okay. She sipped the wine and looked up at them. Eugene, Oregon. So far, not so bad.

Eventually, she stretched out on the bed, half dozing, half daydreaming about what she had missed out on in life with Carter. He had once been the energy that surged through her veins, but he had become more like a poison that eroded her from the inside. What must it be like to find a man she could truly be with.