Daisy felt badly, and she debated rushing in and telling her that everything was all right, but she decided not to. Someday, Ryker would be with his real mate, and his mother needed to learn to give him at least a little space.
The thought made her gloomy.
“Did I ruin everything?”
Harriet sounded so miserable that Daisy took pity on her.
“No, it didn’t change anything between us one way or the other,” she reassured her, truthfully. “It’s still early days for us, and we’re still just getting to know each other. Honestly, it’s okay. I should go to bed now, but we’ll get together sometime this week and you can teach me how to bake that apple pie.”
The next morning, Ryker offered to drive Daisy to school and pick her up. “I saw a story about a drive-by shooting in that neighborhood last night,” he said when she tried to argue. “Can you just humor me?”
She couldn’t help but feel touched. He’d cared enough to pay attention to what was going on in her neighborhood, and he was worried about her safety.
When they drove, it wasn’t awkward the way it had been the day before. They talked about Ryker’s mother’s crazy shenanigans and laughed all the way to school.
When they got there and parked, Daisy heard the sound of yelps and howls. She looked out the pickup truck window and saw two of her students, one in wolf form and one in coyote form, fighting on the playground. She ran over to separate them.
The two of them fell back, barking and yelping at each other, then shifted into human form. They were staring up at her, goggle-eyed.
Ha, she thought. Finally I’m getting some respect around here!
“Are you Ryker Harrison?” one of the kids demanded. Right, of course. They were totally awe-struck – by Ryker.
“Are you cruising to get your butt whipped?” Ryker growled. “Don’t pick on someone half your size.”
“Yes sir,” the boy said, his eyes huge.
Yes sir? Daisy thought with annoyance. The kids barely acknowledged her with a grunt when she talked to them.
“Shake hands and apologize,” Ryker said, and the boys quickly did.
“What were you guys fighting about?” Daisy asked.
“Is Ryker Harrison your boyfriend?” one of the little boys demanded eagerly.
“Answer the lady’s question,” Ryker rumbled.
“He tried to steal my lunch money,” the coyote complained.
“I don’t have any lunch of my own,” the wolf cub mumbled, staring at the ground.
“What are your names?”
“I’m Frankie, and he’s Paolo,” the wolf cub said.
“Ok, Frankie, so, what else could you do to get lunch money instead of stealing from Paolo?” Ryker demanded.
Frankie looked baffled. “Uh…steal it from someone else?”
Daisy stifled a laugh behind her hand, then forced herself to look at him sternly. “No stealing. What about working at Ryker’s stable this weekend to earn your lunch money?” she asked. “We could meet you here and pick you up.”
“Really?” Paolo cried eagerly.
“You can both come, but only if you don’t fight with each other again, all week,” Ryker said to them. “Get permission from your parents. I’ll pick you up in front of the school at eight a.m.”
“I hope that was okay,” Daisy said as he walked her up the front steps.
“Absolutely okay,” Ryker said. “I like that you care about these kids. You could have sent them straight to detention, but instead you came up with a solution for their problem.”
“Working with animals can have a wonderful effect on kids,” Daisy said. “I wish we could have animals at the rec center, actually. I looked into it, and it violates the local zoning laws.”
“I think I see a photographer,” Ryker said. “I should probably kiss you.” He leaned in and planted a lingering kiss on her lips until the kids in the playground started to whoop and holler.
Daisy looked around, slightly dazed. “Where’s the photographer?” she said, puzzled. “I don’t see any photographer.”
Ryker winked at her. “Oops, my bad – I guess it was my imagination,” he said. “I’ll be here at three to pick you up.” And he turned and sauntered back to his pickup truck.
Jasmine was waiting for her inside the front door. As Daisy walked up to her, she held up an amazing painted jacket, with a graffiti scene splashed across the back. It took Daisy a moment to realize it was her jacket that had gone missing yesterday.
“You said you wanted to buy some graffiti art,” Jasmine mumbled, staring at the ground as Daisy took the jacket and held it up admiringly.