“I have a problem,” he admitted, watching his mother prepare the evening meal.
“I’ve been telling you this for a while, but you decided to be a hard head and ignore me.” She lifted a knife and waved it in his direction. “You should have realized this long ago. Karla has walls. You need to knock them down.”
He scrubbed a hand over the back of his neck. Exhaustion pulled at his muscles. He’d been hunting all day. Through it all, he hadn’t been able to get the issue with Karla out of his mind.
“I have to find a way to get her to trust me. To trust us.” He growled in frustration.
Barbara slapped the knife on the counter. “Are you deaf? I already told you what to do.”
He frowned. They’d talked about Karla, but she hadn’t given him specific information on how to handle their problems. “When?”
She mumbled about kids never listening to their parents and then threw the vegetables she’d been cutting up into a skillet. “I told you to treat her as your equal. Shower her with communication. That’s one of the most vital things you can do for her. Sure, romance is great, but the reality is that if she had to choose between a gift and time with you, just getting to know each other better, I’d bet you she’d pick time. Talk to her about your business.”
“Thirsty Wolfe?”
“Why the heck did you pick that name, anyway?” She pointed a large cooking spoon toward him. “You all have some strange sense of humor with naming your businesses.”
“Mom…” He sighed in frustration, not wanting to upset his mother but wanting to bring the conversation back to the problem at hand. His mate.
“Anyway, yes. Tell her how it operates. Heck, ask if she has ideas on how to run it better. I heard she has a minor in business along with education. Why not help her feel more part of your life by really allowing her to make decisions along with you.”
“I invited her to the bar. She’s coming by tonight.”
“Great. Use that time to incorporate her into the business and get her opinion on things that matter to you.”
She was right. He could say whatever he wanted, but the truth was that until he gave Karla the opportunity to be the woman he needed, she’d feel like a part-time girlfriend.
“You’re a genius, Mom.”
She grinned. “I know. Took your father all of thirty seconds tied to my bed to acknowledge it.”
“Mom! I don’t want to hear that kind of stuff!” He tugged a handful of grapes from the fruit bowl in the center of the table.
“Alright! Alright! Go do your thing. Aric and your dad should be back in a few days, and I need to help Karla prepare the bridal shower. Poor Nicole has been busy with half her class being sick, I think she’s been making house calls daily. And the way she’s been sniffling, I think she’s got the bug too.”
He popped a grape in his mouth. “You sure she doesn’t have the same ‘bug’ Karla has?”
She sighed. “No. I’d be happy if that were the case, but she seems to have a summer cold.”
“Don’t worry, Mom. Your dream to see a bunch of grandbabies will come true sooner or later.”
Barbara smiled. A smile that said she was up to something. “Oh, I know. And it will be sooner rather than later.”
Karla sat inside her car outside of Nate’s bar. Her phone buzzed. She had two text messages. One from Kel asking if she was okay, and one from Emma begging her to tell her what was going on with the bridal shower. She grinned and answered her brother that she was fine. Then she sent Emma a smiley face sticking its tongue out with the word “no” in caps and three exclamation points.
She glanced back up at Nate’s bar. The building was new with an old pub feel and look to it. Emerald-green paint covered the outside along with dark-brown accents. A giant, blinking sign showed off the bar name next to a howling wolf.
The Thirsty Wolfe. It fit his style.
Nate had asked her to come to the bar and get a better feel for it. She hadn’t believed him serious at first, but he’d sent multiple texts and left her a voicemail reminding her he’d be waiting for her.
She hopped out of the car with trepidation licking at her heels. The hum and clatter of conversation and laughter grew in volume as she neared the front door. A couple bounced out at the same time she headed inside. They smiled at her and held the door open for her to enter.
The place was packed, every table filled with couples and groups of people eating, drinking and being generally boisterous.
She noticed a group of men surrounding the bar, laughing and urging someone to hurry up because they didn’t have all night. Nate’s dark head popped up from below the counter and glanced at the entrance where she stood. He smiled and jumped over the counter toward her.