“You sure you don’t want me to bring you breakfast?” he asked, leaning out the window. His truck rattled loudly as though it resented being stalled, the equipment in the back clanging together. “I can grab something from the deli and be back in ten, fifteen tops.”
“I’ll be okay,” Holly said, adjusting her bag over her shoulder. “Thank you.”
“Alright.” Jacob leaned out the window and Holly pressed a kiss to his mouth. The scruff on his chin tickled her face and, in the sober light of day, this felt different. Alone, protected in the shadows of their bedroom, Holly felt at ease, completely herself. The sex was good, mind-blowing. She felt confident in bed with him, something she’d never felt with Chris. However, getting dropped off at school to teach her classes by a rancher bear-man in a pickup truck felt—
Different. Not bad, Holly reminded herself. Different.
“Take care of yourself,” Jacob told her and gave her a wink. “Don’t let those kids boss you around too much.”
“You too,” Holly said and then walked to the school and tried to hide her grin.
There were butterflies the first day. Always were, starting a new school. Didn’t matter that she was a teacher now, Holly would always get wracked with nerves the first time she stepped onto campus. And what a campus it was—Elmswood University was comprised of a smattering of one-story buildings with roofs the color of rust, all tucked away in the fishbowl curve underneath the looming Marble Mountains. She watched students filter in and out of the main buildings, not the beach-tanned, bleached-blond, sandals-all-year-around students she was used to teaching on her old campus. These wore durable clothes, fleece and plaid, hand-knitted scarves, pointed boots and worn jeans. A couple looked like they’d rolled right out of bed—probably had—and shuffled to the building still clad in their pajamas.
One stood out. Looked like he would have been much more at home at Sacramento U than he was at Elmswood’s working college. Ghostly white, unlike all the other sun-kissed students, with sharply blond hair to match, combed forward, deliberately wild. A black shirt to accentuate his sleek, toned form underneath, pre-ripped jeans. His eyes met Holly’s—ice blue—and Holly felt a shiver run down her spine, something repulsive about the conventionally handsome twenty-year-old.
Ignore it, Holly thought. Don’t judge a book by its cover.
She was projecting, and yet, the way he looked at her, she could have sworn—
“Dr. Holly Harper?” Holly twisted around and saw a seasoned professor smiling at her, the corners of her eyes crinkling.
“Holly Westmore,” she corrected and fumbled to stick her hand out for a handshake, but her papers slid to the ground. Humiliated, Holly felt her face grow hot as she scrambled for her papers. She chanced a glance over—the blond boy had vanished.
“I’m so sorry,” Holly said as the other teacher crouched down to help her scoop up her papers.
“First day jitters.” The woman smiled. “We all get them. We can make first impressions later. Let’s get you settled in.”
Chapter 19
The hammer thumped loudly as Jacob nailed the hardwood floors down. Westmore Works got all kinds of odd jobs—some days, it was drilling around a doghouse; other days, it was planting trees in someone’s backyard. Today, it was installing new hardwood floors into the MacLeans’ living room. Good people—Jacob knew them from on-and-off jobs and Sundays at church. He’d give them a discount.
Besides, he needed to do this job as much as they needed someone to do it. The swing of the hammer calmed his nerves and the act of lifting heavy planks one by one eased some of the tension off the energy bouncing around inside of him.
After Holly left for work, his hands started shaking again. Now, with a little elbow grease and pure, physical strain, he could push the Beast back again. Tame the moon sickness. Just until Holly got back, at least.
“Hey, boss!” Jacob glanced up and saw Brent—his brother and working partner for the day—step around the pile of wooden slabs to get to him. Brent crouched down and raked his fingers through his gelled-back hair. “Listen, might be we got a problem on our hands.”
Didn’t like the sound of that. “What is it?”
Brent perched his arms over his knees, hands dangling down. “There was a bear sighting yesterday in one of our spots. Hollow Creek.”
“One of ours?” Jacob asked.
Brent shook his head. “Nope. Sounds like we’re dealing with the Davos clan.”
“Alright.” Already, Jacob could feel that itch inside him, like a tickling cough. The Beast knocking on his insides. He cleared his throat and then said, “Let’s finish up here, then we’ll pay Davos a visit.”