Page 35 of Reject Him

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Eme wakes with the sun shining on her eyes. She peeks open an eye and glares at the beam declaring it morning. At least the storm has passed, she thinks to herself, though she hadn’t woken once during it.

An arm squeezes her waist, and she looks at it. Logan’s hugging her close to his chest, and he murmurs something in his sleep.

Instead of snuggling into him like she wants to, she gently removes his arm and quietly climbs off the bed. Once her feet hit the ground, she tiptoes out of his bedroom. She’d stay, but she has something she wants to do, something that occurred to her last night. Something that is her duty as soon-to-be alpha.

She closes the door behind her and crosses the hall to her bedroom. Quickly, she gets dressed for the day in a red long sleeve and dark skinny jeans complete with soft, mid-calf-high, black boots. When she’s done, she heads downstairs, following the scent of freshly ground coffee.

At the bottom of the stairs, she rounds the corner to the kitchen and finds Val there, busying herself with dishes. Eme sighs deeply as she slides into a stool. “That smells wonderful,” Eme begins.

“The bacon? Or the coffee?” Val turns to glance at her once; then she wipes her hands on a red and white striped dishtowel sandwiched between her red apron and the apron’s knot. She heads to the pan of sizzling bacon and stirs it around before attending to the eggs in a separate pan.

“Both.”

“Good, because I made enough to feed a small army.” She points her spatula to the plate resting beside the stove piled high with crispy bacon.

Eme frowns at the plate, wholly distracted by the amount of food, which is more than what she originally set out to do this morning. “Are we expecting company?”

Bringing a mug of coffee to Eme, Val says, “Your father will be attending breakfast as well as Wayne.”

“Great. Just great.” And here she thought she’d have a quiet breakfast. She was hoping to quickly eat and set about her task before Logan woke up. She didn’t want Logan to fuss over what she was going to do even if it’s a small matter. He’d want to help her, and she wants to do this alone.

Val laughs as she grabs a plate and fills it with a portion of bacon and eggs. She crosses the kitchen and slides the plate across the island. Eme mumbles her thanks as the front door opens.

“Speak of the devil,” Val whispers. “Or, at least, one of them.” She raises her voice to greet the person who walks through the door. “Lee, good morning!”

“Good morning, Val,” is his cheerful response.

Val points to the stove. “Bacon and eggs?”

“That would be great.” Lee pulls out a stool and sits next to Eme. He’s dressed for the day in a gray knit sweater and black slacks. Her father always did know how to dress nice. It makes her feel subpar when she stands next to him in her regular clothes, especially when she’s in her paint-stained clothes.

“Daughter,” he greets. “Did you sleep well?”

Val hands a plate to Lee as Eme leans in and whispers, “Why are you here, Daddy? What did you really come for?”

He blinks at her. Then he firms his lips. “My business is my own, Emeline.”

She huffs and sits up straight. Carefully, she dips her spoon into the eggs and takes a bite. “Fine,” she says around a mouthful. Surely, he can’t be here for Logan and Eme. He can conduct that business with a cellphone, and he sure as hell isn’t here for a visit. She had just left the pack less than a week ago.

“How’s Dillon?” She nearly spits his name but bites into a strip of bacon instead.

Lee sighs while he takes a mug of coffee from Val. “He’s no longer with us.”

Eme nearly chokes on her bacon. “He died?”

“No, no.” He waves a hand. “I demoted him as beta, and he left the pack.”

She looks her father square in the eyes. “What did you demote him for?”

Her father chuckles. “For obvious reasons, of course. He became obsessed with you. I had no choice. He was no longer doing his duties.”

“Where will he go?”

He munches on his bacon. “I no longer care. The city, perhaps. He’s no longer my problem nor yours. I’m hopeful that that was the last of him.”

“You and me both,” she mumbles under her breath. Dillon hasn’t tried calling since Logan told him off. She’s grateful for it but leery just the same. And now that her father demoted him, she’s even more leery.