Wren and the Werebear by Aubrey Rose Read Free Book Online Page B

He stunk of pot.
    "Just a cup of coffee," Wren said. She would have gotten it herself, but the coffee machine was behind the counter.
    "What?" He held the headphones away from one ear to hear her.
    "Coffee."
    "Oh, yeah. One sec. Fresh batch." The teenage boy mumbled, the tip of his tongue sticking out one corner of his mouth as he moved to make a new pot of coffee. Wren sighed and waited as he made the coffee, his body swaying to the soundless music inside his headphones. He turned around with the fresh pot in one hand and pulled down his headphones around his neck.
    "To go?"
    "Excuse me?" Wren asked.
    "To go, or are you staying here?"
    "Uh, I'm staying here." Wren darted a glance outside.
    "Cool. Okay, then." He poured the coffee into a large ceramic mug and pushed it across the counter to her. "Just bring the cup back when you're done." He pulled the headphones back onto his ears and sat back down.
    "How much?"
    He had already closed his eyes, and Wren tapped him on the shoulder.
    "Yeah? What?"
    "How much for the coffee?"
    "Free coffee as long as you get gas with us. You're staying here, right?"
    "Right." Wren stood confused, holding the ceramic mug in her hands.
    "It's like, a welcome present. Welcome to Maugham. Come back and get gas with us. Cool?"
    "Cool," Wren echoed.
    "Cool. See you later," the teenager said, and slipped his headphones back on.
    Wren walked across the parking lot to the hotel, sipping the coffee. It was surprisingly good—rich and dark, with a nutty flavor, and it warmed her. The man at the hotel desk looked down at her motorcycle jacket and then at the mug she held in her hands.
    "Did Shawn give you that for free?" he asked gruffly.
    "Um. Yes," Wren said, shifting uncomfortably.
    "Good," the man said, equally gruffly. "Dumb kid forgets everything most days. Welcome to Maugham."
    "Thanks," Wren said. "Can I get a room?"
    "Nope," the man said.
    "What?"
    "Rooms're all taken," the man said. "We only got four rooms. Could get you in tomorrow night maybe."
    "I—well, I really need a room for tonight," Wren said, taken aback by his brusqueness.
    "You could camp up on the ridge," he said. "Talk to the ranger."
    "Ranger? What ranger?"
    "That ranger," the man said, pointing. "Dawson. Hey, Daws!"
    Wren turned to see who he was talking to.
    It was the topless man from the side of the road. He was still half-naked, his shirt hanging loosely over one shoulder, and Wren couldn't help but swallow hard as she took in his body from up close. In his late twenties, maybe early thirties, the corner of his eyes wrinkled from either age or years in the California sun. His chest was slightly scarred, she noticed, the white seams of skin running from one shoulder down across his abs. His exquisitely sculpted abs. She blinked.
    "Dawson Recke," he said, holding out one hand.
    "Pleasure to meet you," Wren said, shaking his hand. He leaned against the hotel counter, so easy and confident that she found herself attracted to his manner despite herself.
    "You know, Matt," the ranger said, "this lady drove right past me on the road and didn't even offer me a ride."
    Wren blushed fiercely.
    "That your motorcycle out near the gas station?" Matt asked.
    "Yes," Wren said. "Well, it's a rental."
    "I would've made such a good passenger," the ranger continued. "You wouldn't have hardly noticed I was there."
    "I wouldn't even let you in the back of my pickup after you been working the trails." Matt growled the words, but Wren could hear a hint of laughter in his voice. "Lucky she didn't just run you over with how much you stink."
    "Guess you're right," the ranger said, laughing.
    The keenness that Wren had seen in the man's eyes before was gone. He seemed like a dumb outdoorsman, nothing more. She wondered if she had been imagining his glance down at her license plate. Maybe there was nothing there. She was jumping at shadows.
    "Anyway, this little lady wants to camp up on the ridge."
    "Camping?" The ranger turned to look at her.
    "Here,