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Dropping my head against the pillow, I took in the morning light and stretched out. My toes curled into the blankets at the pleasant soreness invading my body.
My cell phone pinged with a message notification. Grabbing my phone, I found I had a text message from Ridge that he’d sent a few hours ago and another from Margo.
Ridge:Didn’t want to wake you. An emergency came up, I’ll explain later. Have a good day. I’ll be thinking about last night. ;)
Somersaults assaulted my belly at the reminder of last night. It was a great night, one I wanted to repeat soon. I couldn’t help smiling when he told me he had left and would explain himself later. He cared about me, respected me enough to do that.
Itching to text him back, I ended up not doing so. If he was dealing with an emergency, I didn’t want to distract him. He’d had the courtesy to tell me something had come up, so I could give him the courtesy of waiting to speak to him about it.
Margo:Want to do a little shopping with me today? I’m off and could use some retail therapy.
Worry infused me. Retail therapy seemed to be an issue for Margo. She would only be doing it if she was going through something.
I’d need to it with her, along with her past relationship with Phil Hill. Now would be the perfect time to get some answers and tell her she had a friend in me. Plus, girl time wasn’t something I currently had in droves, and I’d love to have that with Margo. She was too much fun not to go shopping with. Well, as long as she got it under control.
Me:Sounds great. I’ll shower and meet you in an hour.
An hour later, we were wandering around the town’s local boutique. Margo kept lifting clothes against me, never hesitating to say yay or nay.
“Have you looked at wedding dresses yet?” she asked, wrinkling her nose when a salmon-colored top clashed with my coloring. She put it back on the rack.
“No, we haven’t set a date yet. We’re not really in a rush.”
Margo let out a tittering laugh and stopped in her tracks. “You should definitely be in a rush. You need to hurry up and claim Mayor Blackwood while you’re at it because human engagements and weddings don’t hold much weight in the shifter world. Claiming does, however. You don’t want another bitch swooping in and having to fight her. It gets messy.”
Brushing off her words, I walked past her. I had no clue what claiming entailed, and I didn’t want her to see my ignorance. It was a vulnerability I hated to showcase, and Ridge had been the only one to witness that side of me. I only wanted him to answer my questions.
“Zander, for sure, doesn’t care about my engagement. He made that abundantly clear.” Just saying his name pissed me off.
“I’ve known Zander my whole life, and he’s always been sort of a punk. One time in grade school, he pulled a horrible prank on me by using wolfsbane to try to bring out my wolf so I’d have to shift in a class full of young human kids.”
Anger and revulsion flowed through my veins, and I had to choke down the tirade I wanted to unleash. What sick kid would do such a thing? No wonder he was the way he was now.
“Did you kick his teeth in like you should have? I’ll happily seek him out now and do it.”
Margo smiled, but I was being serious. That was no joke, and it sickened me that she’d had to suffer so severely for that jerk’s amusement.
She fidgeted before she spoke again. “Actually, Birch Clawson—he was three years ahead of me—got to Zander first. He was suspended for a few days for beating him up, though he always said it was worth it. I don’t think he even got in trouble with his parents for that one.”
Finally, a natural segue. “Aw, that’s sort of sweet.”
Margo laughed.
“So, does this mean I’m old enough now to hear about whatever happened between you and the sheriff?” I danced my eyebrows at her.
Margo swiftly turned her attention to an ugly-ass dress. “I’d rather not talk about Clawson at all right now.”
Her voice was a little stilted and had me concerned. Margo was always bubbly and ready for a good laugh, but now she was acting anything but.
I couldn’t stand this. I took the clothes from her and set them on a table, grabbed her hand, and yanked her out of the boutique. I guided us to a private street corner with a bench under a tree where we could sit and relax while I pried the answers I wanted out of her.
“Margo, I’m worried about you. You seemed to take Phil Hill’s death really hard, and then your mom told me she’s worried about your online shopping. Now you won’t talk about the sheriff.”
Leaning her head back, Margo made a face. “I never shop online.”
Pausing, I studied her face. She was telling the truth. Diana must’ve wanted to give me something nice to wear but knew I wouldn’t accept it. Shaking my head, I told myself I’d discuss that with Diana later. Right now, Margo deserved my full attention.
“Never mind the shopping. Margo, you can trust me. I want to know what you’re going through. I want to help in any way I can.”
