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We climbed into the truck, and West switched the heater on full blast.
“You don’t need to sweat for my benefit,” I said, lowering the intensity.
“You’re a guest in my truck. Keeping you comfortable is a show of respect.” The truck bumped over a couple mounds of snow as the tires found the road.
“You respect me? That’s new.”
“I’m wary of you, I fully admit that, but sometimes…” He trailed off.
“Sometimes what?”
He kept his gaze on the darkness ahead. “Sometimes you remind me of me.”
Interesting. “In what way?”
“You ever hear of Tony Robbins?”
“He’s the self-help guru.” Now I was really curious where this conversation was headed.
“I prefer life strategist. Anyway, Robbins identified six basic human needs—love and connection, significance, certainty, growth, variety, and contribution.”
“Needs for survival?”
“And a life well lived.” He cast me a sidelong glance. “Guess which one of those needs is my priority?”
It only took me a nanosecond to decide. “Contribution.”
“Yep, and what would you say is yours if you had to rank them in order of importance to you?”
“Certainty, I guess.”
He smirked. “That explains the fortress.”
“Okay, you’ve ranked your needs. How does that help you?”
“Our lives are the least stressful and the most meaningful when our day-to-day is in alignment with our basic needs. Contribution is my number one. I feed that need by acting as the alpha of the Arrowhead wolf pack and helping the community when necessary.”
“I’m not sure my life became less stressful when I bought the Castle. In fact, I’d say it’s far more stressful than it’s ever been.”
“No shit. You know why?”
“Because I make poor financial decisions?”
He turned onto the main artery that led into town. “Because you’re out of alignment, Clay. Your brain keepstrying to redirect you to your authentic self. I bet you dollars to donuts that contribution and connection are your top two needs, but you keep pushing them down in favor of something else. What I’d like to know is—why?”
This conversation was hitting too close to home. Between Kane’s sudden reappearance and West’s scrutiny, I was crawling out of my skin. My gaze landed on the local watering hole. Any port in a storm.
“Hey, West. Would you mind dropping me off?”
“What do you think I’m doing right now?”
“Not at my house. Here.”
His gaze skated to the dive bar. “Why doesn’t it surprise me that Sullivan drives women to drink?”
My whole body stiffened. “This has nothing to do with him.”
“What then? You think someone here might’ve spotted a lost dog in the woods?”
