“Come in the back. I’ll make a pot of coffee.”
“I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He grabbed the pot. “Here, let me do that. Looks like you’re still hurting from your spill.”
“I tripped in the enclosure this morning.”
“You’re getting accident prone, Karin. You need to take better care of yourself. Can I do anything for you?”
“Thanks, I can manage.” She looked contrite. “I should have called you. I want to thank you for getting the Mule running.”
“No need. I’m glad to do it.” He poured some coffee and handed her a mug before taking a seat by her desk. “We’ve been friends for a while. You know you can count on me when you need something.”
“I appreciate it, but next time call before surprising me like this.”
“I’ll remember that.” His frustration rose to a new height, and he tried to tamp down his anger. For sure, her lover didn’t have to make an appointment. Maybe it was time to bring things out in the open. “Like I said, we’ve been friends for a while, and I think it’s time to kick it up a notch. I’ve heard the best relationships start out as friendships.”
“Frank, I value your friendship more than you know,” she said.
“But?” he snapped.
“This is not a good time,” she said gently.
“Is there someone else?”
“You’ve got to be kidding. I hardly know anyone here.”
“I just feel like you’re holding back.” The lying bitch couldn’t even be straight with him. His hand clenched the mug until his knuckles turned white. He set it down before he broke it. She needed to be taught a lesson, but first he had to get Connor out of the way.
“There’s too much going on right now for me to concentrate on personal issues. I’m afraid I’d mess up a great friendship.”
“Hell, Karin, I’m a man, and I can’t wait forever. As soon as this business with the wolf is settled, I want to take some time for us,” he insisted. “Once your head is clear, you’ll realize we make a pretty good team.”
* * * *
If only she wanted the sheriff instead of Malcolm, her life would be so much easier. But she had no romantic feelings for Frank. He wasn’t the one who made her heart beat a mile a minute and her panties wet. Sure, he would treat her well and take care of her, but she didn’t want to be taken care of. She needed to keep some control, to be an equal partner in a relationship. A strong physical attraction and toe-curling sex didn’t hurt either.
She couldn’t put him off forever. It wasn’t fair to either of them. If he kept pursuing her, she would have to end their friendship. Losing her only friend would be rough, but encouraging him would be worse. Right now she couldn’t deal with this.
“I really need to get back to work.”
“One more thing.”
What now?
“I want to show you something.”
“Sounds ominous.”
He laid a folded copy of The Sentinel in front of her. A cartoon of a feral wolf man snarling at a cowering hiker took up most of the editorial page.
“My God.” She sucked air between her teeth. “How can they print garbage like this?”
“ The Sentinel has financial troubles just like everyone else. They’ll do anything to sell papers.”
“How do we counteract it?”
“We don’t.”
“So we do nothing?”
“More attention won’t help. It’ll just stir people up more. I just wanted you to know what you’re up against.”
“We can’t just let this go.”
“For now, it’s the best thing we can do. Just let it lie and go about your business. Before you know it, folks will find something else to be upset about.”
“I don’t know, Frank. I think—”
“Let me do the thinking on this one. Just keep an eye on the wolf. When the final autopsy report is out and the quarantine is over, things will go back to normal, and we can concentrate on personal matters.”
* * * *
Frank walked into his office and gave Glenn a dirty look. Their friendship didn’t give him the right to put
“I didn’t mean to frighten you.” He grabbed the pot. “Here, let me do that. Looks like you’re still hurting from your spill.”
“I tripped in the enclosure this morning.”
“You’re getting accident prone, Karin. You need to take better care of yourself. Can I do anything for you?”
“Thanks, I can manage.” She looked contrite. “I should have called you. I want to thank you for getting the Mule running.”
“No need. I’m glad to do it.” He poured some coffee and handed her a mug before taking a seat by her desk. “We’ve been friends for a while. You know you can count on me when you need something.”
“I appreciate it, but next time call before surprising me like this.”
“I’ll remember that.” His frustration rose to a new height, and he tried to tamp down his anger. For sure, her lover didn’t have to make an appointment. Maybe it was time to bring things out in the open. “Like I said, we’ve been friends for a while, and I think it’s time to kick it up a notch. I’ve heard the best relationships start out as friendships.”
“Frank, I value your friendship more than you know,” she said.
“But?” he snapped.
“This is not a good time,” she said gently.
“Is there someone else?”
“You’ve got to be kidding. I hardly know anyone here.”
“I just feel like you’re holding back.” The lying bitch couldn’t even be straight with him. His hand clenched the mug until his knuckles turned white. He set it down before he broke it. She needed to be taught a lesson, but first he had to get Connor out of the way.
“There’s too much going on right now for me to concentrate on personal issues. I’m afraid I’d mess up a great friendship.”
“Hell, Karin, I’m a man, and I can’t wait forever. As soon as this business with the wolf is settled, I want to take some time for us,” he insisted. “Once your head is clear, you’ll realize we make a pretty good team.”
* * * *
If only she wanted the sheriff instead of Malcolm, her life would be so much easier. But she had no romantic feelings for Frank. He wasn’t the one who made her heart beat a mile a minute and her panties wet. Sure, he would treat her well and take care of her, but she didn’t want to be taken care of. She needed to keep some control, to be an equal partner in a relationship. A strong physical attraction and toe-curling sex didn’t hurt either.
She couldn’t put him off forever. It wasn’t fair to either of them. If he kept pursuing her, she would have to end their friendship. Losing her only friend would be rough, but encouraging him would be worse. Right now she couldn’t deal with this.
“I really need to get back to work.”
“One more thing.”
What now?
“I want to show you something.”
“Sounds ominous.”
He laid a folded copy of The Sentinel in front of her. A cartoon of a feral wolf man snarling at a cowering hiker took up most of the editorial page.
“My God.” She sucked air between her teeth. “How can they print garbage like this?”
“ The Sentinel has financial troubles just like everyone else. They’ll do anything to sell papers.”
“How do we counteract it?”
“We don’t.”
“So we do nothing?”
“More attention won’t help. It’ll just stir people up more. I just wanted you to know what you’re up against.”
“We can’t just let this go.”
“For now, it’s the best thing we can do. Just let it lie and go about your business. Before you know it, folks will find something else to be upset about.”
“I don’t know, Frank. I think—”
“Let me do the thinking on this one. Just keep an eye on the wolf. When the final autopsy report is out and the quarantine is over, things will go back to normal, and we can concentrate on personal matters.”
* * * *
Frank walked into his office and gave Glenn a dirty look. Their friendship didn’t give him the right to put
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