“Thank you.”
“No sense in thanking me, Myka. You always bring me beautiful produce. If anything, I should be thanking you. Everyone loves it when I get a load of your stuff in.” Mr. Lee smiled warmly. “Patrick, why don’t you go and pick something for yourself from the candy aisle?”
Patrick’s eyes lit up. “Can I, Myka?”
“One thing.” She lifted one finger to stress the term one clearly. “Hurry, because we need to be getting over to Doc Wheeler’s.”
They watched as Patrick scurried off.
“He sick?” Mr. Lee asked.
“He had a fever last night, but it’s gone now. I’m taking him in as a precautionary measure.” Myka smiled and motioned for Galen, who had been waiting by the door.
“This is Galen, Mr. Lee. He’s been helping me out at the farm.”
“Nice to meet you.” Galen shook Mr. Lee’s offered hand.
“I’m glad you found someone else, Myka. I know it’s been hard for you.”
“I’ve managed.” Her cheeks heated.
“I know you’ve managed. You are a hard worker, determined as hell, but you needed some time off. All you ever do is work. Now you can spend some more time with Patrick. I know you’ve been wanting to be able to do that. Maybe you can work some time in there for yourself as well.” Mr. Lee grinned.
“Maybe.” She laughed.
“You should go buy that dress you’ve been eyeing at Susie’s across the street,” Mr. Lee said.
“You know as well as I do that there is nowhere for me to wear a dress like that around here. It would be a waste of money.”
“Not if it makes you feel good. You deserve something for yourself once in a while.”
Myka didn’t miss the way Galen was watching her, or the frown he was sporting.
“I’ve got to get Patrick to Doc’s. Patrick!” she called.
“Right here.” Patrick walked over beside her with a huge lollipop in one hand.
“What do you tell Mr. Lee?”
“Thank you, Mr. Lee,” Patrick said.
“You are more than welcome. I’ll see you all later. It was nice meeting you, Galen. You take care of our girl.”
“I’ll do my best,” Galen said in a low voice as they all made their way out of the store.
“Doc is just a block that way.” She pointed to the left. “We can leave the truck here. If you still want to pick up some jeans and shirts, Susie’s has men’s clothing as well.” She pointed across the street.
Galen reached down and ruffled Patrick’s hair.
“Meet back at the truck?”
“Sounds good. Maybe we can get some lunch before heading back. There’s a small diner up the road.”
“I love eating at Polly’s. The food there is awesome!” Patrick practically jumped up and down.
“I guess that’s settled then.” Myka laughed.
“I’ll see you two in a bit.” Galen nodded.
Myka watched him jog across the street before she turned and started toward Doc’s with Patrick. The man was sexy, but he wasn’t an ass about it. She’d met some good-looking guys in her time. Most seemed to know it, and it had shown in their inflated egos. She didn’t like egotistical men. It was a big turnoff. If Galen knew he was good-looking—and he’d have to be blind not to—she’d never seen him use it to his advantage. She liked that about him. Hell, there wasn’t much she didn’t like about him.
As she walked with Patrick to Doc’s, she remembered the dream she had last night. It had seemed so real. Galen had set her on fire with his kisses, with his hands, but he had refused to make love to her. He hadn’t wanted her to regret it. Even in her dream he’d all but told her he was going to leave. But in the dream, he’d promised to come back.
You’ve got to stop it. No matter how many reasons there were pointing to why she shouldn’t have feelings for Galen, she simply couldn’t stop herself from liking him. Liking? She was sure that a simple nudge could turn her feelings for him into much more than like. Maybe that nudge has already happened.
She had to focus. She couldn’t afford to get involved with Galen because if she did, she wasn’t the only one who’d get hurt. She glanced down at Patrick, who was happily licking the lollipop, which was considerably smaller than a few minutes ago. Why couldn’t Galen stay? Patrick needed a man in his life. She needed a man in her life. A plan started to form in her head. Maybe if she showed Galen how good life could be with her and Patrick here in Loring, he’d be too happy to leave.
She sighed. She was an adult, for goodness’ sake. She was well aware that changing Galen’s mind wouldn’t be that easy. But why? She was growing suspicious of him. While he was kind, generous, and honest with her, there was always an edge about him. As if he was constantly looking over his shoulder expecting something to happen. Or maybe someone? Was he in some kind of trouble?
Stop it. Galen is a good man. He’s given no reason to assume the worst about him. Deep down she didn’t believe he’d done anything wrong. She was searching for a reason he couldn’t stay, a bigger reason than he didn’t want to, because then it wouldn’t feel like she wasn’t enough for him. She shook her head.
“What’s wrong?” Patrick asked in between licks.
“Nothing, baby.” She patted him on the back. “Nothing at all.”
Chapter Seven
Galen left the store carrying his packages. He was nearly out of cash, and needed to find a way to get more without tipping off his pursuers. He had plenty of money. He’d been around a long time, had accumulated substantial wealth, but he had to be extra careful about accessing any of it since the manhunt on him had started. They would have done their research on him. He was sure if he dipped into any of his accounts, they’d be tipped off immediately. He didn’t need money to survive, but he wanted to make sure Myka was taken care of before he left. If anything happened to him before he could resolve the predicament he was in and get back to her, he wanted to make sure she never had to worry about money again.
He’d get it done. There were a few people who owed him favors, and he’d make sure Myka and Patrick were looked after before he disappeared.
He spotted Myka and Patrick talking to an older woman with graying hair beside the truck. Myka was smiling that smile that made him warm inside, made him feel good, made all in the world seem right—even when it wasn’t.
Thus far, he hadn’t scented any lycans in the area, and for the time being, he was at ease. But as he proceeded to the truck, he doubted that feeling would last long.
“My great-grandson is coming to visit tomorrow for a few days. I thought it would be wonderful if Patrick could come stay with us for a couple nights. Leroy would love the company. We have a great time during his visits, but there is only so much to do in this small town. I know he would enjoy having someone his own age to play with. He and Patrick are only separated by three months.”
“Oh, can I? Can I, please?” Patrick hopped up and down in front of Myka.
Galen put the packages in the truck, then went around and stood beside them. Myka immediately turned a bright smile on him, and his insides turned to mush.
“This is Galen. He’s been helping me out at my place,” Myka said to the woman. “Galen, this is Betty Case. She’s a retired psychiatrist. She makes special visits to see Patrick.”
Betty smiled warmly at him, the crinkles around her eyes telling him she smiled often. He hadn’t missed Myka’s hint about Betty helping Patrick either. He assumed she was helping him cope with his father’s death and the circumstances arising from it.
“Pleasure to meet you, Betty,” Galen said.
“I was trying to convince Myka to let me have Patrick for a couple days while my great-grandson visits.”