Going Rogue

Twenty-Three

JESS

My eyes stayed locked on the kitchen door. If I tilted my head just the right way, I could see the front door. Just a sliver of it. Drew had been gone a few hours too long for my liking. My anxiety weighed a ton, sitting on top of my chest, even though I knew he was with Cameron. No one was going to mess with him with an Alpha around, but Cameron didn't know the truth. He didn't know we needed to lay low. People were looking for us.

Bad news tended to knock on my door.

The uneasy feeling never stopped rolling around my stomach, making it difficult to focus. The first pancake I made on my own burned as black and bitter as my personality. Liam and I quietly looked at the smoke wafting off the pancake as the kind of mess that was so awful, neither of us even knew where to begin with fixing it.

"I'm trying out a new charcoal flavor," I said.

Grace snorted, sitting at the table.

"The first pancake is always bad," Liam sugarcoated my failure for me and patted my back, but I doubted this man made anything bad in his whole life. This included Mia and Emily.

I eyed the front door again as I tossed the scorched pancake into the trash. "Are you sure this is even a good idea? I mean, Dominic is gonna be pissed, right? Isn't he your second in command?"

Grace laughed again. "Dominic will be fine. He only works for us during the off season. I mean, we don't even pay that kid."

I froze, holding the pan in the air. "You don't pay him?"

"He doesn't need the money." She stared back at me like I'm a god damn mind reader and I'm supposed to understand the whole story from her face. She must have noticed my blatant look of confusion and dropped her magazine. She shook her head. "Jess, you're kidding me. Haven't you ever noticed the name on the Apple Orchard sign?"

"Grace," I glared back. "I've left the Inn like twice."

"It's the Flores Apple Orchards. Dominic is the heir to the Orchards that fund this whole town," She motioned to everything, waving her arms around like he owned the air too. "All he wants is free food, a little shit from me every now and then, and a place to flirt with Ryan. Dominic doesn't have to work."

I almost asked if he had so much money, why couldn't he afford sleeves, but bit my tongue and actually let this revelation sink in. "Why is this the weirdest fucking town in the world?" I asked Liam because Grace obviously wasn't seeing how ridiculous this was to me.

"You've only made it weirder, Jess," Liam said with love and a chuckle. We went back to whipping out more pancakes and I eventually got the hang of it, teetering towards the adding complicated topping stage. Liam started to explain how he finessed the waffles, when Drew's smell tickled my nose.

"I'll be right back!" I announced and tossed my apron to the side, rushing into the living room. Drew walked through the front door with the biggest smile on his face. His eyes shined the moment he saw me and ran into my arms. "Hey, welcome back-"

My mouth dropped as I forgot the words. Drew was dressed the way I remembered, before we went Rogue, before we had to survive on the scraps of life. Drew wore a dark sweater and a crisp collared shirt. Even his jeans fit and hugged all the necessary parts. I was tempted to turn him around and check out the merchandise. I might owe Cameron one.

"Jess! Jess!" He was practically bouncing up and down. I rested my hand on his neck, rubbing my thumb up and down his cheek. There was never a person as adorable as my Drew Burton. He started talking a mile a minute, gesturing with his hands. "We went to the bookstore and it's beautiful, Jess. Every time I thought it was the end, there was more books and the owner, Reiko is the best and it's really a testament to how much I love you because I came back."