Her eyes twinkled, and she nodded solemnly. “I think that would be wise, Jack.”
In retrospect it was hard to understand how he’d never noticed Hazel’s crush before this. Her cheeks flushed again at the mere mention of Oliver’s name, and she dropped into her chair with a little annoyed noise. “You told him,” she accused Ginny. “That’s not very nice.”
She snorted. “He couldn’t figure why none of his and Lottie’s machinations could persuade you to f**k some nice little boy in town. Trust me, I did you a favor.”
The color in Hazel’s cheeks deepened and she scowled. “Who says I haven’t f**ked some nice little boy in town?”
Jack froze, his gaze darting back to Ginny as his eyebrows climbed high enough he imagined they were about to collide with his hairline.
But Ginny ignored his stunned look as she passed Hazel a mug. “I’m not talking about some human you’re amusing yourself with, though I’d wager a year’s profits there haven’t been any of those, either.”
“There are some,” she retorted, but Jack could smell the lie. She knew it, too. She wrapped her fingers around the mug and sank lower in the chair. “There was one. I still don’t see what makes humans so different.”
There were plenty of reasons ha**ng s*x with a human was nothing like sex with another werewolf, but Jack wasn’t sure he was up to listening to a recitation of them over breakfast. “This sounds like the sort of thing you ladies can talk about without me.”
“We’ll save it for later,” Ginny offered. “Eat and get out to Ollie’s. Roy should be here any minute.”
Twenty minutes ago he never would have believed he’d be anxious to escape Ginny’s house, but there were some things even an alpha retreated gracefully from. Frank discussions about sex with twenty-year-old near-virginal werewolves were somewhere near the top of that list.
But he couldn’t help the fleeting thought that came to him as he saddled up his horse. If Ginny were my mate, I’d never have to worry about this shit again.
Chapter Four
Ginny listened to Jack’s horse follow the trail south toward Ollie’s spread and turned a sharp eye on Hazel. “Go ahead. I know it’s killing you.”
“Well, it was before you decided to bring up my sexual history in front of the damned alpha.” Hazel stabbed at her omelet with her fork but didn’t take a bite. “Just because you apparently like discussing sex with him doesn’t mean the rest of us want to.”
“You think you’re mortified now?” Ginny sat down in the chair Jack had vacated, her hands wrapped around her own mug. “If you wait too long to mate, take a wild guess who’ll have to be in your bed instead of mine.”
All the blood drained from Hazel’s face as her gaze darted toward the door. “That’s stupid. Why would he -- there’s no reason for that. He doesn’t have to do anything.”
“He’s the alpha, Hazel. It’s his job.” She stared down at the dark brew in her mug and tried to contain her irrational jealousy. “If you can’t find a suitable mate before your heat cycle peaks, then it’s the alpha’s responsibility to bed you.”
Hazel scoffed. “He wouldn’t have to. One of the boys in town could just take care of it, if it came to that. Besides, with the way Jack was looking at you, I really doubt sleeping with me is anywhere on his to-do list.”
“I didn’t say he’d want to, Hazel. I said he’d do it.” She obviously wasn’t understanding Ginny’s point. “The boys in town are going to circle more and more, honey, the closer you get. By the time the situation turns dire, they’ll have torn each other up over you. Jack can’t let that happen.”
“Oh.” She looked a little queasy at that. “So… I just have to pick one, I guess.”
Ginny reached across the table and squeezed Hazel’s hand. “You have to get right with the fact that Oliver Russell isn’t gonna do it, sweetie. He hasn’t taken a mate, even a temporary one, since his wife died.”
“I don’t want any other wolf,” Hazel whispered, her fingers tightening. “I try, Ginny. I keep trying, but she won’t have anything to do with them. And I know Ollie’s not interested, so I just figured… I figured if she got desperate enough she wouldn’t care anymore, and at least it’d be over with.”
Ginny’s own first mating had been unremarkable and something of a relief. Then again, she hadn’t been in love with a man she couldn’t have. “I’m sorry. The whole thing just sucks, and I don’t know what to tell you.”
Oddly enough, Hazel managed a smile. “Hey, you told me what I needed to know. Lottie’s been talking circles around me for a month now, but she never got around to the indelicate stuff.”
Ginny finished her coffee. “One good thing about it is that mating doesn’t have to be a commitment. Sometimes, the wolves inside us just need it.” She felt her cheeks heat. “I mean, why do you think Jack spent the night here?”
“Uh, because he’s been dumb for you for years and you finally let him?”
She ignored the flash of pleasure the words brought. “Because he was feeling protective and I was feeling… lonely. That’s all.”
Hazel laughed. “Uh-huh. Sure. You keep telling yourself that while we’re being escorted to Lottie’s.”
Ginny rose and began clearing the table. “We’re being escorted to the saloon because Dawson and his cronies have been at it again. They cut my south fence yesterday.”
“Shit. Do you need some help fixing it?”
“I’ll get around to it. The more pressing problem is what bit of harassment those bastards are planning next.”
Hazel seemed unconcerned. “Probably nothing, once the alpha’s done with them. If he even leaves enough of them to make plans.”
His anger the night before notwithstanding, Jack had seemed calm enough that morning. “Hopefully it won’t come to that.”
“He’s the alpha, Ginny. And he isn’t a big fan of people who put his pack in danger. Especially the women.”
“Mm-hmm.” She flashed Hazel an amused look. “Except I’m not part of his pack.”
Hazel tilted her head to the side, her gaze dropping to Ginny’s neck. “Yeah. You keep telling yourself that, Gin. I’m going to go pull weeds for a while. Calvin’s been driving me crazy for the last few days, so I don’t feel like going back to town yet.”
“Ollie will probably be here before too long,” Ginny warned. “Though you could always ask him to take care of your persistent little suitor.”
“No.” Hazel jumped to her feet and shoved her chair back under the table with enough haste to show her agitation. “And don’t you say anything to him about it, either. If I have to convince myself to go pick one of those men, the last thing I need is Oliver crashing around playing hero and scaring them all off.”
Ginny kept her tone breezy. “Hey, protective instincts put Jack in my bed last night. Who’s to say it couldn’t work for you and Ollie, too?”
“Oh, Jesus, Ginny. Quit kidding yourself.” Hazel stopped at the door to the hallway and turned around to give Ginny a serious look, one at odds with the girl’s usual carefree demeanor. “Everyone in this town knows he’s been waiting for you forever. He’s in your bed because he’s half in love with you, and if you haven’t got that figured out, then do him a damn favor and kick him back out.”
She disappeared down the hall, leaving Ginny staring down into the sink. If Hazel was right, then Jack would never understand that, her fondness for him aside, the last twelve hours hadn’t changed her mind. She still couldn’t be his -- or anyone’s -- mate. It wasn’t in her nature, and trying would only leave him disappointed and her…
Heartbroken. Ginny ruthlessly shoved the thought away. Nothing had changed. Nothing.
Now she just had to make Jack understand that.
* * *
In spite of the early hour, Jack knew Oliver would be done with most of his chores by the time he reached the nondescript two-story farmhouse the man called home. A yearling calf grazed near the front porch, and half a dozen chickens pecked at dried corn strewn near the henhouse.
He found Oliver in front of the recently painted barn. “Morning, Oliver.”
The man tipped back his hat with his thumb. “‘Morning, Jack.”
“I know you’re probably busy, but I need your help. Dawson and his group have been giving Ginny grief again, and I mean to put a stop to it today.”
Oliver kept rubbing neatsfoot oil into the saddle in front of him, and Jack almost missed the quick flare of the man’s nostrils. “Want me to ride shotgun or keep an eye on Ginny?”
“Ginny needs help rounding up her stock. And Hazel’s over there with her now, which’ll complicate issues if someone slips past me to cause trouble.”
“Cut the fence again, huh?” Oliver shook his head and wiped his hands on a rag. “They ain’t got nothing better to do, I guess.”
“Well, they will when I’m done with them.” Jack’s horse shifted nervously, and he realized his tension was beginning to spill outward. Might as well get this over with. “I’ve got something else to ask you. It’s intrusive as hell, but I can’t afford to be delicate about it.”
Oliver arched an eyebrow and waited.
Any attempt at phrasing it tactfully would be wasted on Oliver, so Jack didn’t bother. “Hazel’s going through her first mating soon, and the young men in town are getting ready to tear each other up because she hasn’t picked one of them yet. I’m told it’s because she’s harboring some pretty serious feelings for you.”
“That so?” Oliver glanced around the yard and tugged off his hat. “And you want me to take her on?”