Elder: Reckless Desires (Norseton Wolves #6) by Holley Trent

else?”
    “Besides the Wi-Fi password?” Nixon asked. “Nah. Not sure how long I’m going to be here, anyway.”
    “Where are you going?” Panic gripped Esther by the throat, and didn’t let go until Nixon shrugged and said through a mouthful of boiled potatoes, “Maybe downtown.”
    Man’s gonna give me a heart attack already.
    “Family housing not good enough for you?” Ashley asked.
    “Nothin’ wrong with it,” Nixon said. “Just less maintenance with an apartment. And I’m sure Jim is a great guy to live with, but if he really is biding his time waiting for the young Miss Modesto to get a bit more seasoning, I’d just be in the way pretty soon. I can’t get too comfortable here.”
    Ashley narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t make any rash decisions.”
    “You’re warning me as if I make of habit of doing that.”
    “I don’t know if you do, but I figured you could use the reminder, anyway.”
    Ashley’s tone was unmistakably impertinent, and though Esther’s immediate instinct was to tell the woman to ease off for her own good, she remembered where she was. Esther wasn’t in a typical pack anymore. She was in Norseton, and in Norseton, the lady wolves had a tendency to run their mouths, and the men apparently didn’t mind too much.
    Nixon sputtered his lips and speared another piece of sausage with his fork. “I’ll behave—at least until I figure out who’s in charge around here. I don’t think any of y’all could say for sure, not even Adam.”
    “Whatever.” Ashley rolled her eyes and then strode to the front door. “I’ve gotta put this dude to bed. I’ll see you two in the morning.”
    “I’ll walk with you.” Esther started toward the door.
    Ashley shook her head and wagged a finger at her. “I’m just walking across the courtyard. The buddy system doesn’t apply for trips that short. Hang out here for a while. Maybe critique Nixon’s sorry bed-making skills or something.”
    Nixon snorted and, with his back turned to the door, didn’t see Ashley mouthing, “ Don’t. Say. Anything .”
    Esther furrowed her brow.
    Ashley pointed to her wedding band.
    Oh. Michael. A cold chill shot down Esther’s spine. Damn it.
    Ashley shook her head hard, pantomimed “I’ll call you,” and then stepped outside into the night.
    The screen door slammed against the frame, and Esther wrung her shirt hem some more and stared at the spot where Ashley had been standing.
    Not say anything?
    Esther should have been happy that Ashley hadn’t responded to Esther’s sloppy manslaughter confession with hostility. She should have been ecstatic that Ashley was on her side, but Esther was so used to the tables being turned on her without warning. Where she was from, betrayal was normal. Trusting was hard.
    Faith was hard.
    “Kids really did abandon you, huh?”
    Nixon’s voice pulled Esther out of her own head, and she pinned her focus back on his face.
    His friendly, smiling face.
    She scoffed quietly and shifted her weight. “I guess I’m happy they’re bonding with the people here. I’m used to having a small network of folks who I could trust them to be around, and they’ve always been pretty discriminating about who they let get close, too.”
    “Yeah, I guessed that about them. Especially with Seven. I think he’s got pretty good instincts, but most wolves do up until they stupidly try to tamp them down.”
    “How do you know his instincts are good?”
    “Spent a lot of hours beside your front door when you were conked out, honey.” He laughed and turned his plate ninety degrees clockwise.
    There was nothing left but green beans, which she hadn’t actually expected him to eat, but she always included a vegetable anyway on the off chance Darla would accidentally get some into her mouth.
    Nixon forked up some beans and swallowed them without a single grimace.
    Huh.
    She began to mentally compile a list: Things Nixon Will Eat .
    “He’s very inquisitive,” Nixon said.