“Wait. Can you wait, just slow down and listen for a minute?” Joel caught her arm, and the contact made her slow her feet down, almost involuntarily.
It felt like sparks were flying under her skin where he touched her. She couldn’t make herself pull away, even though she knew she should.
Joel let her go the second she slowed, though. She tried not to be disappointed.
“Normally, with my brother and with the other leopards here at Glacier, I’m the one who wants to get away, be a loner. I don’t want to be a big happy family.” Joel wiggled his fingers in a look-it’s-magic kind of a gesture. “I’d rather everyone just settle down together and leave me to live in the mountains by myself.”
“So?” Nina said impatiently. “What are you doing with me, then? Trying to get me to come and settle down?” She wiggled her fingers like he had. Look, it’s magic.
Because after seven years, that’s probably what it would take.
“I just—God.” Joel rubbed his forehead. “I remember what it was like, back before Zach and I came here, when we were hiding all the time. We were all alone, and we didn’t know where any other shifters were, so it was just the two of us. And it was a nightmare.”
His voice went ragged at the end, and she could hear the pain in it. So Joel had been hurt like she had. Nina’s heart ached for him despite herself.
“I don’t like everything about being part of a pack,” Joel continued. “I can’t spend too much time close up with other people. But it’s so much better than being really alone. Alone without the choice to ever be something else.”
“I might still not have a choice,” Nina pointed out. She didn’t want to think about this too hard. She didn’t want to hope. “You said you’re a park ranger. Does your pack take in random strangers who drift into town? I don’t have a degree in anything. I never even graduated high school. I can’t get a good job like yours. Will they still accept me?”
That had been a problem in one town. A pack of wolves, long ago. She’d thought they might let her in. After all, they were also big predators, they weren’t afraid of a lone sn
ow leopard. But she hadn’t been able to find a job there—there hadn’t been any waitressing positions open. And the pack alpha had looked down his nose and said, We don’t take feral, ignorant, freeloading cats like you. Get out of town.
So she’d gotten.
Joel had said this morning that everyone in the pack was a ranger or a ranger’s mate. It was easy to see what the pattern was there. Random women without even a high school diploma to their names probably weren’t going to be welcome.
Joel took her hand. She started at the touch, but instinctively closed her hand on his when he tried to pull back. His grip was gentle but firm, and his hand was big and warm. “Nina. Just stick around long enough to talk to Cal. All right? I’ll schedule a meeting with him, I’ll come with you and we can all sit down together and talk about the options. What’ve you got to lose?”
Nina could think of a few things. “In public.”
“What?” Joel frowned.
“The meeting. We’ll have it in public. Somewhere with humans around.” Even if her dumb instincts had decided that Joel was trustworthy, Nina still didn’t trust this Cal as far as she could throw him. Especially if he was surrounded by his own pack, who presumably would have to do whatever he said.
“Absolutely,” Joel said immediately. “How about at Oliver’s? Would you feel safe there?”
Feel safe? “Sure.” It was safe enough, probably. “Tomorrow night.” She wasn’t working tomorrow, and it would be busy on a Saturday night. Plenty of witnesses.
Joel nodded. “Okay. I’ll give him a call and set it up.” He looked down and seemed to realize for the first time that they were still holding hands. He let her go immediately.
Nina hadn’t realized it either. It was weird, actually.
She felt so wary of what might happen with this pack. She was sure she wouldn’t have a chance, sure that this man Cal was going to run her out of town or worse.
But she felt none of that about Joel. Joel made her feel safe.
If only Joel was alone, like she was. If only it could just be the two of them. Nina thought that might work out. She might be able to stay here if it was just him, and they might be able to...
To something. To be together? What would that even look like?
Joel had taken a step back, putting some distance between them. “For tonight,” he was saying, “I was wondering if you wanted to go for a run.”
Nina looked down at herself. “I’m not really wearing workout clothes.”
Joel laughed. “No, I meant shifted. Sort of like last night.”
Nina blinked. Last night had been strangely...fun. She didn’t hate the idea of doing it again.