Light the Fire (Jackson's Hollow #1)

Chapter 58

Blake was sitting in a chair by a window, reading a book. He looked up in surprise, eyebrows furrowing for a moment as he probably tried to figure out who she was. After all, the last time he'd seen her was in the dark, half-lit by firelight, and, well, bloody.

Then his eyes widened. Ahh, the recognition.

"Oh shit." He dropped the book in his lap, and then it slid to the floor with a quiet thump as he stood up. "Hey, um.....I didn't think..."

Jo laughed and held out her tupperware. "Here's dinner."

He took the container from her hesitantly, eyeing her as if she might bite. Which would be valid if she was a werewolf. "You're the girl I.." he hesitated, his neck turning red as he eyed her bandaged shoulder. "I'm sorry about injuring you."

Jo shrugged, in turn eyeing him. She didn't see any obvious burns--werewolves really did heal quickly. That was a relief. "There was a lot going on that night. I think anyone might go a little crazy if they're getting burned by fire."

"Yeah," Blake muttered, eyeing her with a curious expression, as if surprised she wasn't angry at him. "That definitely threw me off," he mumbled. "But I really wasn't trying to hurt you or Ryker's sister." He tilted his head as he continued to study her. "Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen you around before."

Had Duncan not briefed his Beta? Or maybe Blake just hadn't made the connection--she certainly hadn't seen him around Duncan before, probably because he was keeping an eye on their pack whenever Duncan was away. "I'm new here," she said, smiling a little as she leaned against the wall and crossed her arms before nodding at the tupperware in his hands. "So you gonna eat your dinner or you like your spaghetti cold?"

Really, she just wanted to distract him from any more questions about her place in the pack.

Blake chuckled and sat down, opening the lid off the container. She thought she heard him mutter something about 'bossy,' but couldn't swear to it. Just as she was about to turn and head out, he spoke up.

"Hey, you wanna go out for coffee sometime?"

Jo raised an eyebrow at the smirk on his face just as a growl sounded outside the cabin. She huffed an annoyed breath, realizing what he was doing. This pack never knew when to quit.

Blake held up his hands defensively, the smirk turning into a more genuine smile. "Look, now I know why a human's involved in this pack. You're somebody's mate, aren't you?"

The guy was smart, she'd give him that. He was just lucky Ryker wasn't here. "Something like that," Jo said, rolling her eyes as she grabbed the door handle. "Bye, Blake."

"Hold on, wait," Blake said, "Can't you stay a little longer? I'm sort of bored..."

Jo tapped her fingers on the doorframe. "And you think I can entertain you?"

Blake grinned, but it wasn't inappropriate or teasing. At least not this time. "Not like that. But everyone else just wants to snarl at me."

"It's probably not a good idea for me to stay," Jo said, "But maybe I could talk to someone about bringing you something more interesting than that book."

"A TV would be cool," Blake said, "Or a tablet."

"I was thinking more like a deck of cards," Jo said, "Have a good night."

While Blake fussed about solitaire, Jo headed out into the living room. Lincoln and AJ were sitting there, both of them holding plates of spaghetti as they glared at the bedroom door, blue eyes narrowed. Jo raised her eyebrows. Now that they were sitting side by side, it was easy to tell them apart, no matter the fact that they were identical. Lincoln was scruffy and had an intense air about him while AJ was clean-shaven and exuded friendliness.