Ollie Vance - Book Two: Ashes and Smoke

Chapter Three

The next morning, I was already dressed and heading to my truck when Jack arrived.

He looked exhausted but his face lit up when he saw me.

I felt a pang of guilt.

“Hey,” he said as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me on the cheek. “I’m so glad to see you’re okay. You are okay, aren’t you?”

I nodded and smiled weakly. “Yes, I’m fine. How was your pack meeting?”

He shrugged. “Not as productive as I’d hoped. There’s been too many otherworldly creatures trickling through the portal. It’s not unexpected but it makes it harder to figure out who’s here for what. Don’t worry about it though. We’re on it.”

He finally focused his gaze on me and studied me for a moment. 

“You look like you have something on your mind,” he finally said, concern drawing his brows together. “What’s going on?”

I didn’t plan on talking to Jack about our situation after he just came off of a long graveyard shift but it had to come out and I don’t think he’d appreciate me delaying the inevitable.

I gestured to the house. “Come on. I’ll make you breakfast. You must be starving.”

After I put down a plate of waffles, bacon and eggs in front of him, I sat down and fidgeted with the edge of the placemat in front of me.

He speared a strip of bacon and eyed me as he gobbled it up. “Ollie. Talk. You obviously look like you want to.”

I gave him a pained smile. “Jack. You’re a great guy. You’re an awesome guy. I always have a good time with you.”

His brows rose meaningfully. “Fattening me up for the slaughter, aren’t you?”

My cheeks flamed. “You’re going to hate me and I totally understand but I don’t think I can do this. I wanted it to work, believe me, but I’m not sure this is what I’m looking for with you.”

He sighed and put his fork down. “I don’t hate you, Ollie. I do care about you a great deal and it stings a lot but I’ll admit I didn’t think there was any real hope. I’m glad you gave us a chance but if this isn’t what you want, I’m not going to force you into it.”

My chin quivered as I held back tears. “I really don’t deserve you, Jack. I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” he assured me, smiling a little. Then he furrowed his brows thoughtfully. “Is this because of Tristan?”

I bit my lip. “No. Yes. Does it matter?”

“Well, I can understand if you don’t feel that way about me but I’m not crazy about the idea that you have your heart pinned on someone like Tristan,” he said slowly as if picking his words. “I’m just not sure that you can trust him with it.”

“And you’re most likely right,” I said with a little sniffle. “That’s why I’ve stayed away and will continue to do so. You can say it’s been a real eye-opener for me.”

He raised a brow curiously. “Is there anyone else?”

Devon’s face flashed in my mind. “I’m not really sure at this point. I think I’m going to take my time with this.”

Jack grinned. “Well, I’m sure going to miss your cooking.”

I laughed and swatted his arm playfully. “Don’t be silly. I’m still your friend. You haven’t quite escaped the task of testing my recipes.”

That went surprisingly better than I expected.

We talked while he finished breakfast and we went for a walk by the lake.