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“So how long have you been the preserve director?” He held eye contact with her as he took a sip of his fresh coffee, and she was struck by howbluehis eyes were, even bloodshot and tired.
“Almost a year.” Her smile felt tight and tense even to her, and she tried to relax. “My mom was the preserve director before me. I always expected to take over from her—went to college in Seattle to get a master’s in wildlife conservation, even—but I just didn’t expect it to beyet.” She laughed ruefully, rubbing at her forehead. “It’s been…a lot.”
“What happened?” There was a gentleness to his voice that caught her attention, made her notice the way he leaned in, his face open. “Is she…did she…?”
“Got married,” Haley said flatly, amused by the flash of surprise in his expression. “She met a guy while I was in college, brought him to my graduation with her, and that’s when she told me she was moving to Columbus, Ohio, with him.”
“Damn. That must have been a surprise.”
“You’re tellin’ me.” She shrugged. “Nobody else in town wanted to take over, and everybody figured I was going to do it anyway, so here I am.”
“Funny.” Leland chuckled, but Sally appeared at the table with plates of food, cutting off whatever he’d been about to say.
They got the plates arranged, silverware rolled out, and after Leland had spread butter on his pancakes and started cutting them into pieces, she prompted him.
“Funny?”
“Oh, just…” He popped a giant pancake triangle into his mouth, no syrup, and chewed it thoughtfully. “Sheriff told me nobody wanted the deputy job. You got yours because nobody else wanted it.” He shrugged. “Funny coincidence is all.”
Haley laughed, cutting into her steak, her mouth watering at the deep-red color inside.Perfect.“Well, when you go into town to do your paper work and orientation, you’ll find out why nobody wanted the deputy position. This place has areputation.”
“Oh yeah?” Leland grinned at her, seeming more relaxed by the moment, and she felt some of the stark loneliness of the past nine months ease away, like a weight lifting. “What, because of the werewolf thing?”
Haley nodded. “That, and by extension, the tourists. You really will have more work to do around the full moon.”
“That’s all right. Just promise me there’s no Bigfoot to contend with, and I’ll cope with the werewolves.” The glint of mischief in his eyes belied his dry tone, and Haley’s heart skipped a beat.Dang it, he’s cute.
“No Bigfoot thatIknow of,” she promised, holding up three fingers like a Girl Scout.
He laughed, breaking off a piece of bacon and stuffing it into his mouth. “Well, you’re the first person I’m calling if I find him.”
Was he flirting?Don’t I wish.
“That’s fair.” She shoved a bite of steak into her mouth and immediately lost her train of thought, salt and blood flooding across her tongue and soothing the constant itch of hunger at the back of her mind. She groaned, her eyes slipping closed, and let herself get lost in the taste for a moment. When she opened her eyes again, it was to see Leland watching her, one corner of his mouth pulled up in a crooked smile, and she blushed.
“Sorry,” she muttered, laughing, and covered her mouth as she swallowed. “I’m really hungry.”
“No apology necessary,” Leland assured her, and she wondered if she was imagining the extra rasp to his voice. She didn’t have much time to think about it, though, as her phone vibrated in her back pocket, buzzing loudly against the booth seat, the sound nearly making her jump out of her skin.
A glance at the screen showed that the call was coming from the clinic, and she put her fork down and sat back from the table a bit.
“Sorry,” she told Leland. “I need to take this.” She didn’t wait for his nod to accept the call. “Hey, what’s up?”
There was a clatter in the background, and then Karen said, “Haley, I’m so sorry. I know you just left, but I need you to stop back by. The sooner the better.”
Haley’s heart dropped into her stomach. “Of course. I’ll be there in just a minute.” She hung up and gave Leland an apologetic smile. “Sorry to run out on you. Do you need directions to your apartment, or do you know where you’re going?”
“I can figure it out,” he said, polite, giving her an easy smile. “Thanks, though.”
Sally appeared with a to-go box, confirming Haley’s suspicion that she was still eavesdropping, but Haley couldn’t bring herself to care. She packed up the steak and bacon, pushing the plate with the eggs on it over toward Leland.
“Here, as my apology for ditching you. Plus, they won’t reheat very well.”
“I won’t let ’em go to waste,” he promised, and she grabbed her box, headed to the register to pay.
“Put his bill with mine,” she told Sally quietly. “Welcome-to-town breakfast and all.”
“Uh-huh.” Sally grinned at her as she rang up both meals and waited for Haley to count out the cash for the total. “I’d like to eathimfor breakfast.”
