Chapter 7: Attraction
The rest of Autumn’s Saturday went off without a hitch. She made a frozen pizza, took a hot bath, and finished off her night with a good book.
Sunday felt like it would never end. Autumn had hoped Blake would stop by, but no such luck. The only eventful thing to happen was learning she had a neighbor in one of the other trailers. She was getting her last bag out of her car and saw him drive past in an old beat-up pickup truck. He was an older man, and the bed of the truck was filled with maintenance supplies.
It was difficult for Autumn to fall asleep Sunday night with thoughts of Dustin and Blake swimming around in her head.
It’s now Monday morning, and she still doesn’t know what she’s going to do about her love life. Autumn’s used to planning everything out. That’s one of the reasons she had started a wedding fund before Dustin even popped the question. She can’t help but wonder if she should just let life happen this time. After all, planning ahead hasn’t gotten her very far.
After a quick shower and breakfast, Autumn grabs a cup of coffee and heads out to her car. She’s just about to get into the driver's seat when she hears the old pick-up truck coming down the road.
“Getting kind of a late start, aren't we?” the old man says while coming to a stop behind her car.
Autumn looks at the time on her phone. “It’s eight in the morning. What time do things get moving around here?” she hollers back.
The old man smiles, giving his face a softer look in spite of his worn appearance. “I’m just giving you a hard time, miss. The name’s Roy, and I do the maintenance around here. Well, that and whatever else needs to be done.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Roy. My name’s Autumn. Do you know where I can find Blake this early in the morning?” Autumn asks, taking a sip of coffee.
Roy takes off his baseball hat and scratches his head. “Probably up by the welcome center. If he isn’t there, you can swing by the big house and ask his mother, she would know for sure.”
Autumn cringes at the thought of having to ask Blake’s mom where he is. The woman doesn’t appear to like her very much. “Thank you, Roy. I guess I’ll see you around,” Autumn replies as the truck sputters and backfires.
“That you will!” Roy replies while giving the vehicle a little gas and waving goodbye.
Autumn climbs into her own vehicle and heads toward the welcome center. She doesn’t quite make it that far. Blake comes hurrying out of his house and flags her down before she drives past. Autumn rolls down her window as Blake makes his way up to her car.
“Your boss called me this morning,” Blake says, sounding a little frustrated. “He said he’s been trying to reach you all weekend, but you haven’t returned his messages.”
“I don’t have service out here,” Autumn replies while holding up her phone.
“Didn’t I tell you there’s internet in every trailer? You can hook up to the WiFi if you need to,” Blake replies, running his hand through his hair.
Autumn pauses and admires how handsome he looks when he’s flustered. Sure, she feels bad for making him a messenger, but he never mentioned WiFi or the internet. “I didn’t know, sorry,” she replies with a frown.
Blake shakes his head. “It’s my fault, I should have told you. You can come in and use my office phone. Nick said your brother called him trying to get a hold of you. He said it was really important,” Blake explains before heading up to the porch to wait for her.
Autumn’s mind races. What if something happened to her parents after she and Brett talked last? She never checked her messages while she was in town on Saturday. She pulls off the road and parks before jumping out of the car and rushing into the house. Blake leads her into the office and closes the door as he leaves her alone.
Autumn punches in her brother’s number after looking it up in her cell phone contacts. The only number she has committed to memory is her parents' landline. It rings a few times before he answers.
“Are Mom and Dad okay?” she asks without letting Brett get a word in.
There is a pause on the other end of the call. “They’re fine, why?” Brett asks.
He sounds half asleep. Autumn knows he works some crazy hours, so part of her feels bad for waking him. This is why she never really calls him. His work hours are all over the place, so she usually just texts. “You called Nick and said it was an emergency,” she scoffs.
“I didn’t use the word emergency, I don’t think. I just said it was important you give me a call. I wanted to let you know that I sent someone to do a wellness check on your house, and it looks like Dustin isn’t there,” he explains in a slow sleepy tone.
Autumn tries to hide her frustration. Brett had already told her Dustin was out, but there’s no way he knows where she went. “I’m sure he doesn’t know where I am,” she replies.
There’s a rustle of blankets on the other end of the line while Brett moves around. “I was hoping you would give me his cell number so I can track him,” he says.
Autumn rattles off Dustin’s number before ending the call. She can’t imagine him making a trip up to Northern Michigan to hunt her down, but he had threatened to take her life the last time she saw him.
“Is everything okay?” Blake asks as she walks out of the study.
Autumn nods and forces a smile. “Sure, just some family stuff. Nothing so important it couldn’t wait.”
Blake wrinkles his brow while he studies her. It sends a shiver down Autumn’s spine as she tries to fight back lustful thoughts of him. Every time she gets around this man, she can’t help but think about running her fingers through his hair and removing his shirt.
“Well, since you’re up and moving I can show you around the sanctuary. You haven’t seen the pack yet, have you?” Blake asks while heading toward the door.
“No,” Autumn replies, snapping out of her daydream. “I would love that.”
Blake goes around the back of the house, leaving her on the front lawn. Autumn glances up at the house to see Lana up in one of the windows, watching her. She can feel the woman’s glare burning through her. She’s about to move around to her car when Blake pulls around with a gulf cart.
“It makes getting around a lot faster,” he explains, patting the seat beside him.
Autumn climbs in, if only to get away from Lana’s disapproving stare. They drive past the welcome center that houses the work office and restrooms. Blake also points out that there are vending machines inside if she should need a snack. There’s a walking path just behind the building that takes visitors back to the wolf pen.
Blake points the golf cart down an access road that’s made for vehicles. Autumn enjoys the ride through the wooded terrain. She lets out a light laugh as Blake drives a little too fast over the bumps, causing her to bump into him.
He smiles, causing her to melt beside him. “You may want to hold onto something, just so you don’t fall out,” he says while offering his arm to her.
Autumn hesitates for a moment before they hit another bump that sends her up off the seat. She grabs his bicep and holds on for dear life. Being so close causes a stir of butterflies in her stomach. She can feel his muscles beneath the fabric of his shirt, and he smells of pine and grass.
Before she knows what she’s doing, Autumn slides closer and rests her head on his arm. She takes in a deep breath and sighs. The cart comes to a stop outside a gate, and Blake turns it off. Autumn lets go of his arm and looks up at him.
As they lock eyes, she can no longer fight her desires. Autumn doesn’t take time to think things through as she tilts her head back and leans in toward Blake. He appears to take the hint as he bends down and kisses her.
A spark shoots up through Autumn’s womanhood as his lips make contact with her own. She kisses him long and hard as Blake moves his hand through her hair to rest it on the back of her neck. His lips are so soft, and Autumn groans as his kiss moves away from her mouth and down to her neck.
“Blake,” she whispers between gasps.
His response is more of a growl than a word, causing her to want more of him. The sound starts a pulsing between her legs, pushing her ache too close to the breaking point.
“Am I really doing this right now?” she thinks to herself.