Free PacksBrokenHeart by Gwen Campbell Page B

table almost before he had his butt in the chair. “Just a coffee, thanks. Anything for you?” he asked Owen.
    “I’m good, thanks.”
    Frannie flashed them a smile—Tom more than Owen—that made her already pretty face light up even more. Her cute little backside twitched as she walked away.
    “I talked to Cory today,” Tom said and shrugged out of his jacket. “I know you approached him honorably about joining. Figured you for ex-military when I saw you.”
    Owen noticed Tom was talking a bit louder than necessary. Since everybody in the bar was a were, they’d have no trouble eavesdropping if they wanted to. And from the looks of things, just about everybody in the place wanted to. Owen figured the cop was announcing the new guy was vetted and okay.
    Tom continued, “Cory says you’re going to check out some different jobs before you settle on one. That’s great. My brother-in-law? He just kind of fell into HVAC. He got mated real young so they needed the money. But I think if he had the choice he’d love an opportunity to hunt around for a job he really loved.” He lowered his voice. “I wanted to thank you for driving Piper into town today. The woman’s a pure menace behind the wheel.”
    “Does she drive too fast?”
    “Just the opposite. She’s the most nervous driver I’ve ever come across. Took her three tries to get her license and the only reason the examiner finally passed her was she’s the Alpha’s mate. He got scared Cory was taking it personally. Thanks, Frannie.” He leaned back and gave the pretty waitress an appreciative, lingering look as she set a cup of coffee in front of him.
    “Already sweetened just the way you like it, darlin’.” She touched Tom’s arm, gazed down at him from beneath eyelids heavy with sexual promise then went back to work. It was no wonder the ladies kept glancing their way. Tom scented like a powerful were, had a steady job and, as far as Owen could tell, was a good-looking guy. He had black hair and the kind of pale, almost icy blue eyes he sometimes saw on models on TV. If Tom had a sister, she’d be a babe.
    Owen waited until Tom’s attention swung away from the waitress’ retreating ass before picking up their conversation. “What about you?” he asked.
    “Me? I wanted to be a cop for as long as I can remember.” Tom’s expression darkened. “You know we lost our sheriff recently. Murdered. Damn waste. Every time I walk into the station I feel it like I did when I first heard Ed had been killed. Ah hell,” he added with a self-conscious shake of his head. “Last thing you need is some guy getting sloppy when you’re out on the town for a little R and R.” He drank about half his coffee in one go.
    Owen wondered what kind of shape the guy’s gullet was in to handle something that hot. “Do you want another? Or something to eat?” he asked.
    “No, thanks. Some other time though. There’s a frozen dinner waiting on me at home and my shift starts real early these days.”
    “Frozen? Don’t tell me your mate cooks as bad as I do.”
    “No mate.” Tom shook his head ruefully. “Not yet anyway.”
    They fell silent as two pretty females strolled past their table. Their eyes tracked them with hot deliberation.
    “Never say die, buddy,” Tom said then downed the rest of his coffee. He put his coat back on and picked up his hat.
    “Amen to that,” Owen seconded and nodded when Tom stepped away and headed for the door.
    After that Owen picked up his beer and wandered over to the pool tables. He stood out of the way and watched a game in progress. One of the players was ex-Navy. He and his two buddies spent the next couple of hours with Owen, shooting the breeze, checking out the ladies and playing pool. Owen liked them. He liked how easy it was to fall in with these weres, although when the younger guys preened for the ladies Owen stayed out of it. He didn’t want them to perceive him as competition and he had no intention of