“I know,” Jax said softly. “But Zack’s pretty good with Gabe. He knows how far he can push it with him before Gabe puts his foot down. Besides, I don’t think the alphas think of us as real wolves yet. Not like themselves.”
“Adapting to change has never been their strong suit.” Nicky gave Jax a rueful smile. “Damn, I have to get some new jokes now that I’m becoming one of them.” He put his feet up beside Jax’s. “So what time do Gabe and Zack get here?”
“After lunch, I guess. I came to see if you wanted to go over to Highlands to go shopping with me in the meantime. I’ve outgrown almost everything I own. I thought you’d probably be having similar problems, so…”
“Yeah, okay. Let me grab a quick shower and we’ll go. If I can find something that still fits.”
“Try something of Marco’s. It’ll still be too big, probably, but maybe it will do until you find something else.”
Nicky smiled. Marco was extremely picky about his clothes, not even letting Nicky send them down to be washed. They had their own apartment-sized washer and dryer stacked unit in their rooms so he could do them himself—or have Nicky do them. “It would really piss him off if I wore some of his things.”
“So business as usual with you two then, righ
t?” Jax said, flipping through one of the magazines Nicky used to read so voraciously.
“Pretty much,” Nicky agreed and was still smiling as he went into the bedroom.
* * * *
Three hours later, Jax flopped down on a bench outside the fudge shop on the little town square. His feet hurt, he was hungry, and he still hadn’t been able to persuade Nicky to come out of the men’s shop to get some pizza.
Jax had never been much of a shopper himself, not having had much money in the past. His idea of a big shopping spree was to buy a couple pairs of Wrangler jeans and a few T-shirts at the local Walmart. Even though he had access to as much money as he wanted now, he still didn’t see the sense in paying a hundred dollars for a damn shirt, and he couldn’t even think about some of the price tags he’d seen on the jeans in that expensive store Nicky had dragged him into.
Nicky, on the other hand, seemed to be right at home. He’d picked out four or five pairs of jeans with names Jax had never heard of, but which Nicky greeted as long-lost friends. He also exclaimed over some men’s briefs with names like Pistol Pete and Gregg Homme, and shirts that, in Jax’s opinion, were too tight and way too expensive. Jax had finally bought two pair of jeans at Nicky’s urging and one of the shirts, but he passed on the barely-there underwear. He told Nicky he’d wait outside for him to try his things on, and that’s where he was now, his sunglasses in place to filter out the strong sun, watching the tourists and shoppers as they meandered up and down the main street.
Finally, after some twenty minutes had passed, he saw Nicky come out loaded down with bags. He saw Nicky spot him sitting on the bench, and head his way. Then a fur shop on the square caught his eye. He headed determinedly for it, but Jax jumped to his feet to intercept him. “Oh no, you don’t,” he said, catching Nicky’s arm. “It’s too warm for fur, and what kind of wolf are you anyway that you condone wearing animal skins?”
Nicky smiled and Jax saw a flash of the old Nicky on his face. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed that Nicky until then. Since the incident on the mountain, which Jax had also been a part of, Nicky had been pretty different—moodier and much more subdued.
“Hell, I’ve fucked a lot of animals in my time. Is that any worse than wearing their skins? No, I know, don’t answer that. Besides, they’re not wolf skins, and I only wanted to go in and look. Believe me, Marco will skin me when he sees how much money I spent, and he won’t think twice about it.”
“Come on, let’s go get something to eat. There’s a great pizza place down the street.”
“What’s wrong with that place over there?” Nicky said, jerking his head toward a café on the square with tables out front. Several people were sitting at the tables eating lunch, drinking wine or just enjoying the nice weather. “It’s right here and my feet hurt. I think I might need to go up a shoe size after all.”
Jax groaned. “More shopping? But not until we eat, please. I’m starving to death.”
“Okay, okay,” Nicky said, taking his arm and leading him over to find a table. “Order me a big salad and some iced tea. I’m going to the bathroom, but I’ll be right back.”
Nicky left and Jax looked over the menu. A waitress showed up and took the drink orders and while she was there, Jax also ordered a hamburger for himself and a grilled chicken salad for Nicky. The waitress had just taken down the order and walked away when a man stepped up to Jax’s table.
He was tall and good-looking, from what Jax could see of him behind the oversized sunglasses and baseball cap pulled down low over his face. He was probably in his mid-thirties, and his clothes looked expensive. He bent down and put his hands on the table to avoid the low-hanging umbrella.
“Excuse me, but I was wondering, do you come here often?” He gave a soft laugh. “Sorry, that was pretty clichéd, wasn’t it? But I really was looking for a good place to have lunch. And maybe an interesting companion to share it with.”
Jax smiled back at him. The man’s tone was polite enough, though he was staring down at him a little too intensely. It made him vaguely nervous. “Sorry, but this is my first time here. My friend suggested it, so he might be able to tell you, but he’s in the rest room now.”
The charming smile never slipped. The handsome stranger straightened back up and lifted one elegant shoulder. “Your…friend? Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying. Sorry to bother you. I hope you enjoy your lunch.”
He turned and walked away down the length of the square towards the main street, leaving Jax staring after him. Odd—not to be propositioned, necessarily, though it usually didn’t happen in broad daylight on the streets of a little mountain town like Highlands. This was a tourist town, but despite its influx of visitors and reputation as a haven for the arts, it was still a place with roots firmly planted in the deep south. Nicky pulled out the chair next to him, startling Jax out of his thoughts. He’d never even heard him come up behind him.
“Who was that walking away as I came out?” Nicky said in an odd tone, staring after the man’s retreating back. The man had almost made it to the sidewalk on Main Street, some ten or twelve yards away and still had his back to them. “He looks a little like…”
“Hmm? Oh, I have no idea. I think he was trying to pick me up, but he left when I told him I was with a friend.”
“Pick you up?” Nicky stared after him thoughtfully and Jax followed his gaze. The man had reached the sidewalk and turned back to glance over his shoulder at the two of them. He saw them looking at him and stopped. He turned completely around, reached up to pull down his sunglasses and smiled. When he did, Nicky gasped aloud and fell back in his chair, his face draining of color.
“That’s Jeremy Tate,” he said, in a low, horrified voice. “I’d know him anywhere.”