Under an Alaskan Moon (Sample)

Chapter 14

Are you scared of spiders?

"Thanks Reggie!" Faye hollered as she headed to her car.

"Anytime, squirt."

"Don't call me that!" yelled Faye, laughing as Heidi screeched, "Don't call her that! It's rude!"

Faye set the large box of pizza Reggie had given her in the passenger seat of her car and climbed behind the wheel, hurrying to crank up the heater, watching as Reggie and Heidi got in their vehicle, still bickering like the old married couple they were.

Reggie and Heidi were as different as icecream and whiskey, yet they made it work so seamlessly at times. Faye knew their arguing was something they enjoyed.  Reggie was a big man, a hard seasoned biker, but Faye could see the loving look in his eyes whenever they landed on Heidi. She was his world.

Faye headed out, eager to see her own bearded mountain at home. It had been a long day. Her foot pressed down harder on the accelerator as she headed down the Glenn Highway, carefully threading through the traffic with practiced ease.

It was dark when she pulled into the garage attached to the back of the house. The place was quiet, the chickens even silent in their coop. Colin must have already put them up for the night. That or put the fear of death into them with his wolf-Shifter and predator appeal which, he explained, the chickens picked up on. Must be why she hadn't been gifted with any eggs the past couple of days. They were utterly terrified of him.

When she walked in the door, she glanced around warily not knowing exactly what to expect. A loud crash from the kitchen jerked her attention to the right and she hurriedly shed her outer-wear before calling out, "Colin? I'm home!"

When she walked into the kitchen, Faye tried hard to keep from laughing. The place was a wreck. And Colin was sexier than a man had a right to be, covered from head to toe in flour with something gooey crusted into his hair. Noodles stuck to the floor and the crestfallen look on his face only made the scene more comical. But for the sake of his manly dignity, Faye bit her lip and asked, "What's going on?"

She set the pizza box down on the coffee table and moved into the kitchen, her laughter changing to concern as she caught sight of the large burn across the back of Colin's hand and his forearm.

"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly, grasping his arm carefully.

He yanked it out of her grasp and shoved it behind his back, hiding from her, a chagrined look on his handsome face. "Sorry," he murmured, "I try to cook."

Faye cocked her head at him as he turned to glance helplessly around and whispered, "So different now."

Faye didn't know what that meant, so she chose to ignore it and tugged on the arm he had hidden, searching his gaze before his honey-colored hair fell over his eyes and hid them.

"Let me see," she insisted.

Reluctantly, he allowed her to see and Faye clicked her tongue disapprovingly, resembling one of her hens as she fussed, reaching up and tucking his hair behind his ear for him while she scolded him. His eyes lightened until they resembled liquid gold and Faye softly smiled.

After wrapping his burn with gauze and ointment and questioning his healing abilities, she made him sit on the small couch and fed him his first slice of pizza, while she quickly cleaned up the majority of the mess in the kitchen.