Chapter 5: Autumn Stein, Private Investigator

“What is this woman going on about?” Autumn mumbles to herself. Did she hear her correctly? Blake’s mom was whispering, maybe she misheard her. “What’s a shifter wolf?” Autumn wonders to herself.

She backs away from the front of the porch and walks up to the door, making sure to drop her feet heavily upon the wooden steps. She hears a door open inside as she knocks and announces herself.

“It’s Autumn,” she calls as the door swings open in front of her.

There’s an elderly woman standing on the other side. Her blue eyes burn into Autumn while she smacks her wrinkled lips. Blake gently moves his mother out of the way and ushers Autumn inside.

“Autumn, this is my mother. She helps me with the sanctuary,” he says while still holding the woman’s shoulders.

“I’m pleased to meet you,” Autumn says, extending her hand as Blake had done to her.

The woman stands like an unwilling child before her, being held in place by Blake’s strong hands.

His mother’s lips tremble as she keeps her eyes locked on Autumn. “Lana,” she quietly hisses.

“Pardon?” Autumn asks, forcing a smile.

“My name is Lana,” Blake’s mother barks at her. “Don’t bother trying to remember it, you won’t be here long enough to use it,” she snaps before pulling herself free from her son’s grasp and hurrying off to another room.

Blake turns his eyes up toward the ceiling and lets out a sigh. “Please,” Blake says, motioning toward a door to the right of the entryway. “We can discuss things in here.”

As she walks into the room, Autumn’s blown away by all the books on the shelves lining the office. What she wouldn’t give to spend a day alone in this room. She’s always been a bookaholic, addicted to the smell and feel of fresh crisp pages against her skin.

Blake takes a seat behind a large wooden desk. “Please, have a seat,” he says while directing her to a chair across from him.

Autumn sits down but her eyes still wander around the space trying to pick out individual titles. She finally looks at Blake who’s watching her with a look of amusement on his face.

“Sorry,” Autumn says, her cheeks flushing red. “I’ve always been told I have a bit of a book addiction. Were you able to get a hold of my boss?” she asks, trying not to indicate she had overheard Blake’s earlier conversation with his mother.

He clears his voice and looks off across the room. “Uh, no, not yet.”

Autumn doesn’t let it show that she knows he’s lying. She wasn’t meant to hear them talking, and it would give the wrong impression to admit such a thing. Although, she thinks to herself, lying to me isn’t a great way to kick things off either.

“Strange,” she replies, not taking her eyes off Blake. “Nick has his phone on him at all times. I’ve called him at two in the morning and he answered. Maybe I should give him a call?” she bluffs.

“Don’t bother. I will contact him on Monday during normal business hours. You can stay in Connie’s trailer until then,” he says with a shake of his head. “I just ask that you not go near the pack until we get things settled. It’s taken years for them to trust Connie and I don’t need any kind of accidents.”

The way he’s talking sets Autumn on edge. He’s acting a little too compliant for a man that wanted her off the grounds only a couple of hours ago. The mystery deepens, she thinks.

“Have it your way, Mr. Winter. I will be starting my tests on Monday, per my job. The faster you cooperate with me, the sooner I will be out of your hair,” Autumn says calmly back to him, trying her best to match his energy.

“Blake, please,” he replies while leaning back in his chair and folding his arms across his chest.

His eyes pull her in and threaten to draw a flirtatious giggle out of her. She fights the temptation to drop her guard. Something tells her that Blake Winter can become more of an addiction than the books around the room. Autumn can’t sit in the same room with him any longer. She’s afraid her recent breakup with Dustin has left her vulnerable and seeking comfort.

Autumn stands up, causing a wrinkle of curiosity to crease Blake's forehead. “Well, Blake,” she says while turning around and walking toward the door. “I guess I should be going since we have nothing else to discuss. I need to go to town and get some food. Connie’s fridge is empty.”

Blake quickly stands up and makes his way around the desk. “Let me at least show you out,” he says, following her toward the front door.

Autumn doesn’t dare turn around. He’s too close to her now and she can feel an almost uncontrollable desire growing inside her. She can’t help but wonder what’s gotten into her. The man’s scent practically has her wanting to rip his clothes off and have a little rebound fun.

“I remember where the door is,” she quickly responds, stepping out into the fresh air and hurrying to her car.

She jumps behind the wheel and takes a deep breath. The extreme heat that had grown inside her finally starts to drop back to normal after a few seconds. “What the heck was that?” she says out loud while studying Blake’s figure in the door frame. Autumn starts the car and backs out onto the dirt road that will take her to the welcome center.

Autumn remembers a small town about fifteen minutes down the road. She turns out from the sanctuary onto a paved road. Autumn can’t figure out what happened back there in Blake’s office. One minute she was fine and the next all she could think about was what Blake would look like naked across his desk.

The momentary lapse of judgment and control makes her shiver. Maybe her breakup was hitting her harder than she thought it would. Autumn slows down as she turns onto the main street of the local town. There are a few people walking around on the sidewalks, but it’s not nearly as busy as in Chicago.

After pulling into a parking spot in front of what looks like a grocery store, she climbs out of her car and looks around. No parking meters, or car garages, she sure is far from home. She grabs her bag as her phone sounds off an alert. Autumn jumps at the sound.

She is relieved to find she at least gets service in town. Autumn slides her phone out and checks her texts. Her brother had been messaging her, so she shoots him a text real quick. He had just been updating her and asking how the new job is. The interaction is strange. Autumn loves her little brother, but he had never paid this much attention to her.

She checks her missed calls and finds two from her parents, one from her sister, and one from an unknown number. Autumn makes a mental note to check her voicemail before leaving town. Right now, she just wants to get some food. The sooner she finishes, the quicker she can head back to the sanctuary for a night of relaxation and mystery solving.

She walks past a couple of clothing storefronts and comes to the corner building. The sign reads Jimmy’s Convenience Store in bright yellow letters. Well, Jimmy boy, let’s see how convenient you really are, Autumn thinks while smiling to herself. She walks through the automatic door and a loud chime announces her entrance.

The older man behind the counter glances up from the book he’s reading long enough to acknowledge Autumn with a nod. The place is small, but she can see a food section toward the back. Autumn grabs a cart and hurries toward the sign.

Twenty minutes of walking around are all it takes for her to see what the store has for food. There are maybe seven shelves dedicated to food and a cooler section for frozen and refrigerated goods. It’s not the biggest food haul she’s ever made, but she has enough food to last about a week.

The guy behind the counter puts down his book and smiles at her as she approaches. His hair is thin and gray and his skin has creased with time, but his eyes still hold a youthful sparkle.

“Looks like you’re new in town,” he says as she starts to load her goods on the counter.

Autumn wonders if it’s that obvious she’s an out of towner. “What gave it away?” she asks kindly with an inward cringe. She had heard that small town people like to spend time chatting at the checkout, gas pumps, and restaurants. They don’t really do that in the big city, so her social skills are going to be put to the test for sure.

The guy behind the counter nods, as if rubbing it in that he knew all along she wasn’t from the small town. “Most folks do their food shopping up the road some at Pete’s Grocery. He has a larger selection of food, you see?”

Autumn would think this man would be happy to have her money if people usually go to his rival’s store. “I’ll remember that next time,” she says while digging out her bank card.

The overly friendly cashier grabbed a few of her bags and walks her to the car. After thanking him, Autumn pulls out a ten-dollar bill to tip him. The man politely declines by stating it was his pleasure.

“Okay, so maybe Jimmy’s will be my regular shop,” Autumn says under her breath while waving to the cashier. The man hadn’t had to walk her out and help with her bags, after all, it wasn’t his fault she parked so far down the street. But he had done so without asking, and that gesture has earned him her return business.

She backs out of her parking spot only to pull right back in as her phone starts to ring. Autumn throws the car in park and answers her little brother’s call.

“What’s up, Brett?” she asks. Autumn’s actually glad he called, or she would have forgotten to check her messages.

The voice on the other end sounds stressed and anxious. “I’m sorry, sis, Dustin’s out,” Brett whispers.