Jordan bumped along the road in his grandfather’s pick up. How did she drive this thing? The alignment was shit. He’d get it fixed. Once he arrived at the grocery store, he would make her hear reason. She could not live there, it was a ridiculous notion. Lettie belonged with him and she was coming home with him. He parked the truck and went inside. Jordan didn’t scent her or see her. He found Aiden stocking on the floor and got directions to her apartment. Aiden was young but a sweet pup. He was Lettie’s third cousin or something. His parents were good pack members. They attended meetings and pitched in when they weren’t working. They were among the few that continued to hold a job when Frank sold the cabinet business. Aiden’s dad was a master carpenter and it was surprising that Aiden didn’t follow his example. Aiden didn’t seem inclined to learn carpentry though. He did work though and that was more than Jordan could say for a lot of his pack.
“But she isn’t here sir.” Aiden said. “She left about ten minutes ago.”
“Where did she go?” Jordan was about to lose it. He needed to talk to her and convince her that she should come back to him before he lost it completely.
“I didn’t ask but I saw her leave in Mister Thompson’s car, she was headed in the direction of home sir.” Jordan nodded. He’d only passed one car on the way here, a gold Buick but he didn’t pay any attention to it or the driver. She’d borrowed a car to get the rest of her things he guessed. Jordan went back to the truck and hurried home. The Buick passed him in a blur a block from her house. That was it. She was gone. She probably came back for the pretentious China that her Grams left her. He hated those dishes. You had to be so damned careful when you touched them and she walked on egg shells if he got within five feet of them. They were all so damned fragile and too small for his big clumsy hands. He slammed his fist down on the cracked vinyl seat with the frustration of missing her. Jordan turned around in the first driveway that he came to. Lucas flagged him down. He rolled the window down so that Lucas could speak to him.
“I just saw Lettie sir. She was picking up a box. She just left in a gold Buick. If you hurry, you might catch her. Oh and she asked me to give you this key to the house.” Jordan nodded and said thanks as he backed out and turned back toward the grocery.
Jordan climbed the stairs to her apartment. He went over what he was going to say to her. He shook his head to clear it before knocking on her door. She had the dishes out. He could hear the newspaper crinkling and the radio playing. The door clicked then opened. When it opened, she’d looked young and happy but now she just looked bitter and angry. “Jordan.” She spat. She kept the door open only a crack but he pushed his way inside. Lettie skittered out of the way. She couldn’t stop him because he was so much bigger than her. All she could do was stay out of his way and hope that he didn’t hurt her. There was a time that she knew Jordan wouldn’t hurt her but those days were gone. Now he was twice that size and an alpha, she didn’t know what he was capable of anymore. “What do you want Jordan?” She stayed between him and the hundred year old dishes. He scoffed. They were still more important than anything else to her. Jordan closed the door quietly behind him.
“I want to talk to you.” He said calmly stepping inside the tiny apartment and closing the door. How could she breathe in here? Besides the musty smell, it was as big as a shoebox. She was smaller than he was but still this was smaller than his living room.
“I don’t want to talk to you.” Jordan edged closer and she put her arms out to protect her China. He wouldn’t ruin the only thing she had left of her Grams.
“I’m not here to hurt your precious dishes Colette.” Jordan crossed his arms over his huge pectorals. His biceps were still massive and if he wanted to, he could crush her without any effort at all. “I want you to come home.” She shook her head. Why would he want that? He’d left her.
“I live here now, where I am productive.” She spat the words at him. That hurt. She could still cut him deeply when she wanted. Lettie was a pro when it came to tossing his words back at him.
“You can’t live in a damn grocery store.” Jordan sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Why would she want to live here instead of with him? This place was horrible.
“I live over one, there’s a difference.” She set her jaw. He just wanted this to be over, to have his mate back. He wanted to lay her down and love her in anyway she’d let him. This wasn’t going well because she was defensive and angry, already.