Once Mated Twice Shy(24)

Lettie woke to the smell of coffee. She got up and showered then found her breakfast waiting on the table. He was already gone. She found him splitting wood again. How much did he need? His muscles bunched and flexed as he swung the axe. She watched while she ate but he never looked up. He was amazing. The toned muscles in his legs worked when he bent to pick up a new log to split. She cleaned her dished then went outside. “Jordan?”

“Yeah.” He answered without looking at her.

“What did they decide?” She watched him hoping for a conversation but he didn’t seem to be in a chatty mood.

“They put me on six months probation. If I can’t get my priorities straight then I will have to leave.” He swung the axe, thwack! The two pieces of wood fell off of the stump. “Anything else?” She shook her head. “Good, there’s laundry and the bathroom then.” Jordan turned for another piece of wood to split.

“Are you mad at me?” Lettie asked.

“Nope. Just got stuff to do.” Jordan swung the axe. Thwack! He picked up a few of them and stacked them on the long row behind him. Lettie went inside. Jordan was ignoring her. He ignored her the night that he’d rejected her. He’d been so attentive since the night at the store. Lettie’s lip trembled. It seemed as though things were going back to the way they were before he left. Well he couldn’t reject her now because he didn’t carry his mark. Lettie decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. She decided instead that he had a lot on his mind and went about her duties. She made sandwiches then went to the patio door to call him to lunch. She sat and ate her sandwich watching him through the door. He kept working until she finished her meal. He was doing this on purpose! He was purposely avoiding her just when he’d become interesting.

***

Lettie put her favorite short red dress on for dinner then came to the kitchen where he was cooking. “Good evening Jordan.” She said perching up on a barstool.

“Lettie.” He turned the steak over on the indoor grill and went into the pantry. The smile split his face. His plan was working. She’d pulled out the big guns. She knew that he loved that dress on her. He got hard every time she wore it. Jordan talked his midsection down and drew his face into a serious one. He salted the food and put it on plates. She was giving him her most pleasant and most attentive look. Once he’d set her plate in front of her he carried his to the office and shut the door. Her chest felt like it had a hole in it. He really wasn’t interested in her anymore after all. She’d demanded too much. He’d almost lost alpha because of her, her selfishness, after he’d worked so hard at it. This was it. There was nothing left. She was his guest and may as well be a stranger to him. Well that would not do. Where had the man that proclaimed his love at the meeting gone? He was willing to move away with her but he couldn’t sit across the dinner table? This was not right. Lettie pushed her plate away, went to her bedroom, and slammed the door. Jordan came back to the kitchen with his plate to sit at the dinner table. Her food sat untouched and that disturbed him, not because it was a waste but because she didn’t eat. The last thing he wanted was for her to go hungry. Jordan huffed out a breath. Maybe this wasn’t the best tactic after all. “Lettie!” He heard her mumbled ‘what’ from the bedroom. “Come and eat your dinner.” She came back in her shorts and tank tee. They were her bedclothes. “Tired? It’s early for bed but you should eat, regardless.” She nodded and sat. Taking small bites and chewing thoroughly, her eyes stayed on her plate. He heard her sniffle a second before she got up and went back to her room. Okay, this was the wrong tactic. Jordan followed her and knocked softly on her door, no answer. He opened it to look inside. She was packing. Definitely the wrong tactic. “Where are you going?”

“Somewhere that you’re not.” His growl grumbled through his chest.

“Why?” Jordan leaned against the door jamb.

“Because, you obviously don’t want me to stay here. You’re cold and indifferent. You ignore me and you can’t even sit down to a meal with me. I can’t live like this.” She stuffed the bag as full as it would go.

“I was respecting your wishes. You said that you…”

“I know what I said Jordan. Did you ever consider that maybe I don’t know everything? Maybe I need you to be my alpha, not the pack alpha, but mine? Maybe I need you to be in charge. Maybe I don’t know what I want but I know it’s not this. I can’t do this. I can’t live with a man that looks through me anymore.” A smile played about his face. “What?”