Amanda stared at Hannah. Dunc placed his plate, piled high with food, next to Amanda’s, and sat down.
“Mother.” Dunc leveled a stern gaze at her as she sat back and away from Amanda. “What are you talking about?” He gave her a suspicious look and glanced at Amanda’s red face.
“Nothing.” Amanda smiled and took another bite
Chapter 12
A manda spent the next couple of days avoiding Dunc. He called, and she told him that she had work to get done. She did, but everything seemed to be going so fast, and she needed to pull back. She also needed to finish a few projects so she could get paid and buy groceries. Her refrigerator was getting low on bread and cheese. She had spent the last bit in her account on taking Dunc out.
It had been worth it. Amanda smiled, looking at the painting that he had given her. It was hanging over the window in her studio that faced Dunc’s house. She loved that painting and everything he had put into it. She loved Dunc. Flaws and all, she loved that man. Amanda smiled, saving her current project and preparing to open another one. She would finalize it in the morning and then get paid.
Amanda knew she could ask Dew and Sallie for help, but they had an agreement. They would live with Amanda rent-free until they had enough in savings to buy a house. They had to listen to Amanda and learn how to manage their money and stay on a budget. She would cover their food too as long as they cooked for her. Amanda was good at sticking to a budget. The only reason she was having any financial problems was because of Joseph. She was trying to pay as much as possible every month to get rid of the debt.
Joseph’s appearance had hurt her ability to work. She was having problems concentrating because she had to remain vigilant. She kept the silver necklace in one pocket and the taser in the other at all times. She slept with the chain wrapped around her wrist at night and the taser under her pillow. She had also moved the sword Dunc had gifted her beneath her bed where she could get to it if she needed it. There were jingle bells scattered all over the underside of her bed. There were more around the base of the bed. If anyone tried to get to it first, someone would hear them. She put bells on her doors and scattered them around the room and on the floor in random places. She was prepared, and she wasn’t getting a lot of sleep.
Tomorrow she was going to invite Dunc over to spend the afternoon napping. She had a feeling he would be agreeable to it out in one of the hammocks in the backyard. She wanted to be near him. But the conversation with his mother had made her feel uncomfortable. She needed time to think about what she wanted.
Amanda still didn’t know.
***
Dunc sat at his desk, hard at work. His focus had drifted over the last few weeks, and he had slacked off. He wasn’t behind in any projects. He had a lot of wiggle room, but he was behind on the schedule he had set for himself. He could afford to lighten his workload, and he had begun doing that. Amanda was now in his plans, at least for the next week, and lack of sleep was taking its toll.
Love. Dunc looked out his window at Amanda’s studio. The blinds were drawn like they always were. Love messed up everything it touched. He had spent decades with this belief. It led to chaos all around him, and now he was in the middle of that chaos. And it was beginning to hurt him.
Fickle humans. Dunc sighed, returning to his work. Love. It was dangerous. It was going to get him killed. Amanda had no idea what she was doing to him. She was torturing him with her indecision. Her past could kill him. And what was he doing? He was pining for her right now.
Amanda was avoiding him, and he knew it. Had he been that bad? Dunc was missing those sweet kisses. They were the only ones he had ever had in his entire life, and he treasured each one. He longed to be near her, talking in person instead of the phone, but he was respectful. If she wanted distance, she could have it. She did not belong to him as much as he felt he belonged to her. That was her choice to make.
Dunc knew his mother had said something to her that had scared her away. That woman didn’t have any sense. She had to say what was on her mind, no matter how uncomfortable it made others. Dunc might take after her in that area when something needed to be said. But he had enough sense not to say things that would harm the fragile relationship he had with Amanda.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Dunc stared at the screen as the thoughts invaded. His only hope in life had been to find someday his match—someone who would immediately love him because they were meant to be. That’s how Lycan relationships were supposed to go.
There were times when Dunc had wondered if he was so unattractive that even that force couldn’t direct a woman to him. There were many Lycans and Scions around him that should have been compatible. There had to be a reason he was alone.
He had crushes in the past when he was much younger. Lycans could choose to have
