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“I know that.” She frowned, and he refrained from telling her how adorable she looked. He respected the fierce deputy, but more, he really liked the vulnerable woman standing before him. So beautiful in all her personas.
“Well, okay,” she finally said, grudgingly. “But you don’t have to feed me.”
“I want to. If we were really dating, I’d take you out to dinner, the movies, dancing.”
“Dancing?”
“I’ve been known to two-step on occasion.”
She just stared.
“What?”
“Is there anything you can’t do?” she snapped.
He had no idea what he’d done to upset her. “Laura?”
“I, ah…”
To his shock, she looked panicked.
“Are you okay?”
“Fine, fine. I need to go. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
She lit out like her tail was on fire. Another mystery surrounding his fake future mate. In addition to the most pressing one of all…
What to wrap up for tomorrow?
He found his phone and dialed. “Ty, I need help. Shut up. I have no time for your feeble attempts at humor. Get Julia for me.” A pause. “Julia? So what should I give her tomorrow? The stuffed bear or the scarf?”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Laura stood in the back of the courtroom Thursday afternoon, aware of the many raptors gathered on the defendant’s side. Earl McKay sat with his attorneys, a pair of vultures she had never been able to stomach. And not literal vultures. The attorneys were both human and wolf, and they typically represented anything with a big payday.
Unfortunately for them, they’d gone up against Winter and Sons. Gerald didn’t play. He’d convinced the judge that Kyle had been innocent of all charges, and that Earl McKay was in fact guilty of assaulting a teenage girl.
Said girl and several of her eagle friends sat in the back on the opposite side of the courtroom. And with them, the bear alpha, Kyle’s parents, uncles, and a host of people currently feuding with the raptors, because shifters could do petty like no one’s business.
Because Cougar Falls was a special town full of special people, regular rules didn’t apply to the judicial process. Hearings and trials didn’t always have a lot of time between them. And since Judge Daniels wanted to wrap up everything before Christmas, she was on a mission to clear out her docket.
“Okay, people, settle.” The judge banged her gavel once more. “After reviewing the testimonies of all involves, it’s clear that Kyle Olsen is innocent. All charges are hereby dropped. We’ll reconvene tomorrow morning to get this started and over with the following week.”
Roberta and Glen McKay stood and complained, loudly, about the obvious show of injustice. A few of the eagles stood as well, growling about the raptors finally getting what they deserved. Laura exchanged a glance with her alpha, saw him roll his eyes, and knew he had no plan to let anything get out of hand on his side.
Which left her and the bailiff, a three-hundred-plus pound polar bear in human form. Leif looked a professional body builder but had the soul of a poet. He didn’t like anyone upsetting the judge. One stern look from him had everyone calmed down.
But Laura didn’t miss the threats aimed at Gerald.
He looked as if he couldn’t care less and winked her way. Totally unprofessional…yet it made her feel good anyway.
After nearly losing it at his place, it was all she could do to act normally around him.
A bad case of nerves had made her feel like an ugly troll next to Prince Charming, and she’d bolted before she admitted to having a huge crush on her fake mate. Boyfriend. Whatever. The truth was they were playing a game, and she needed to stop fantasizing that it all felt so real.
“…Laura?”
“Yes?” she said to Ty, who had just entered behind her. She turned to see Kyle leaving with his parents and her alpha.
