“Fine. I’ll start talking, and you tell me when to stop,” I said and sucked in a deep breath.
“I really would rather you didn’t,” she said.
I shrugged. “Too bad. I’ve already committed myself to story time.”
“Oh God,” She groaned and walked away from me, heading down an aisle of shelves, reorganizing the items as she slowly moved along.
While following her through the store, I said, “I belong to the Bear Creek Clan. I grew up there as a boy and had my first shift surrounded by my clan mates.”
“Why is that important?” she asked, looking at me.
“Whish part?” I asked.
“Your first shift,” she said.
I shrugged. “You don’t know a whole lot about me so I figured the more information I could give you in my little digested version of my biography, the better you would know me. Plus, you would have little argument to not let me take you to the hospital.”
“It doesn’t work like that, Guy,” she said, sounding tired.
I ignored her comment and continued. “I’m a black bear, in case you didn’t already figure that out, and I live in Denver.”
Cadence sighed. “You’ve already told me about Denver, and yes, I did figure you are a black bear sense Ezra is a one and he’s your cousin.”
“Well, did you know then that, for work, I build houses through a construction company?”
She sighed and brushed some hair from her face. “No. But it makes sense since you helped to build the cabin.”
I nodded with a smile. “Yes. It does. Anyway, my best friend’s name is Weylan, and his mate’s name is Gemma, who is Cassidy’s best friend. Together, they have a son named, Hastiin. He’s my God son.”
“That’s sweet,” she said, continuing down the aisle. “Unique name.”
“It’s Navajo,” I said. “He was named after Weylan’s mentor.”
She nodded, continuing through the store doing the same pointless thing.
“I also have a small house in the suburbs,” I added.
“Please tell me you have a point to all of this,” she said, sounding resigned. “It sounds like a lot of not so useful information to give to someone you want to get to know.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” I said. “But I did have a point.”
“And that would be?” she asked, not sounding all that interested.
“I would leave all of it behind if you asked me to,” I said, studying her for a reaction.
She set her gaze on me and let out a shuddering breath. “What do you want from me, Guy?”
“I want to understand what’s going on with you and why Luke is worried,” I said. “I would also love to know why you’ve avoided me for the past month, but I’d be happier if you got well first.”
She rolled her eyes and under her breath, she said, “Fucking Luke.”
“Hey now,” I started, standing a few feet from her. “He loves you very deeply. You can’t blame him for being worried. Besides, if he could see the condition you are in, we wouldn’t be standing here talking about him.”
“All that is wrong with me is a long-lasting stomach bug,” she insisted, leveling her gaze on me. “That’s all.”
I shook my head, pressing my lips firmly together. “You are wrong. What is going on with you is a lot more than a stomach bug. I know it. And I’m pretty certain you know that too. And fine, if you really don’t want to go to the hospital, you don’t have to, Cadence, but dammit, you do have to be checked out.”
She sucked in a deep breath. “I don’t want to…”