The next morning Harley went out to find a job.

When she was in high school and still living with her Aunt Tracy and Uncle Eric, her job at Oodles of Poodles, a dog grooming place, was the only sunshine in her life.

Her coworkers-though most a bit older-were funny and encouraging in the best way. For once in her life she truly enjoyed working and making an effort to be a part of a team. The paychecks helped a lot too. Aunt Tracy and Uncle Eric didn't believe in allowances of any sort, so most of her money went toward new clothes and food.

She didn't mind. It made her feel self-sufficient and responsible. She had slowly become proud of her ability to thrive on her own.

Now it was time to get back to it. So she set her alarm for nine in the morning and suffered through a shower to wake herself up.

Her two small suitcases were never unpacked and she rooted carefully through them to find the small, knee length black skirt. The only skirt she owned, actually.

She paired it with a simple long sleeved maroon shirt and slipped on her flats. Hopefully that would be enough to provide a good first impression.

Jamie was downstairs in the kitchen looking like a perfect advertisement for some preppy and chic store. It made Harley wince at her own outfit. Even with the nice skirt and a brush of mascara there was no hiding her frizzy brown hair. She'd never quite reach the kind of natural beauty Jamie had, but she'd instead spent her life convincing herself that inner beauty could be so much stronger.

She clutched that idea as tight as she could to her chest and didn't let go. Especially when she noticed the other form in the kitchen.

He stood near the coffee pot wrapped in the rising warm sunlight streaming through the kitchen window.

Cameron was beautiful. But this being sipping from a chipped coffee mug had so much more.

Clad in a dark pair of jeans and tight black long sleeve t-shirt, Will Grey looked every piece of muscular perfection that could only come from rigorous exercise. His body reinforced the image of pack hunter.

Damn. Why couldn't he have been ugly little Willie?

When she stepped into the kitchen both Jamie and Will's eyes flicked to her and then away. Then Will tensed and flipped his gaze back to her, giving her another inspection.

His coffee cup lowered, almost as if he wasn't aware of it. "Harley?" He asked, shocked. "Harley Pierce?"

Although her world tilted and her heart kicked up in her chest, she forced her body to stay relaxed, as if he didn't have a momentous effect on her.

"Hey." Hey? That was her opening line? She internally smacked her own forehead. What was the matter with her?

Will looked amused at her response. He set his coffee down on the counter and stepped forward, arms open for a hug. She accepted it somewhat awkwardly. Were they on that familiar of a level?

"I heard you were back in town." He said, his chest vibrating under her ear. The smell coming softly off his shirt made Harley weak in the knees. She pulled out of the hug and put a sufficient amount of space between them.

From the side, Jamie snorted.

"How've you been?" Harley asked politely. It was hard to speak past the bundle of nerves in her stomach. She moved about the kitchen to put together some cereal. It would give her something to do other than stare at Will like a ninny.

"Getting by." Will's voice sounded more like a rumble than anything else. She didn't need to look at him to hear the unspoken question.

"Yeah." Harley said. It came out soft. Filled with emotion.

"Will, what are you doing today?" Jamie asked. She leaned delicately against the granite-topped island in the middle of the kitchen. Harley would've thought she'd forgotten she was there, except Jamie moved out of the way when she took her bowl of cereal to the table.

Will placed his now empty mug in the sink. "I've got a few details to go over with Alpha Mark. Then I need to drop by my parent's place."

"Can I come with?" Jamie fluttered her eyelids. She probably meant for it to be cute, when really it made Harley think something was in her eye.

Harley swallowed past a mouthful of Reese's Puffs. "You don't live with your parents?"

As soon as the question came out she wanted to take it back. The man was twenty-four or twenty-five. The probability of him still living with his parents had to be small, if not impossible.

Instead of making fun of her though, Will looked at her, bemused. "Not for three years."

"Oh." Harley, you dumbass.

She finished up the remainder of her cereal in silence. Then when she was done, she got back up to put her bowl in the sink. Jamie and Will had conversed about random things, but when Harley got up, Will got up too.

"Where're you headed?" He asked her.

"Headed?" How did he know she was going somewhere?

He pointed down at her feet. "You have your shoes on." He tilted his head. "And if I remember correctly, you never were one to get up early."

She didn't know which surprised her more-the fact that Will remembered her sleeping habits, or his observations. "Is nine o'clock early?" She asked openly.

Will chuckled once. "For you? Yes. We used to have to drag you out of bed by your feet for school."

We. All her muscles locked. "Yeah, well..." She shook off the old memories. "I have to go into town."

He gave a small smile and snatched up a set of keys on the counter. "Perfect. Give me five minutes and I'll give you a ride."

Did she want a ride from him? Being locked in a car with him might be dangerous. She thought about it. It couldn't hurt and it was better than taking the bus. "Uh, thanks."

Will moved into action, heading toward the hallway and out of the kitchen. "Meet me out front."

"Will!" Jamie called out after him. When he didn't stop for her, she rolled her eyes. "Great. Thanks, genius."

And then with a bit of wind and perfume she left too.

Guess that meant she would wait out front.

~

Will the rogue killer drove a silver Ford. The ride into town from the pack house would take at least ten minutes of driving through woods and curves. Harley settled into the comfy front seat and buckled her seatbelt. "You live in town then?"

He put a hand on the shoulder of her seat to look behind the car, reversing backwards. "Yeah. It was cheap at the time and I was desperate so..." He shrugged, flipping the car into drive. "I wouldn't mind a cool place in the forest like the pack house though."

"Why were you so desperate to move?" She remembered Will being a very laid-back, go with the flow kid. Desperate and rushed didn't seem like him. Although maybe he changed. God knows she did.

Pulling onto the main road, Will tapped his fingertips against the steering wheel. After a moment he said. "My parents." As if that perfectly answered the question.

It seemed like an answer he didn't want her to push. She got that.

"Is it a rental?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if you like the pack house more, why not move in?"

Will peered through the windshield, squinting against the sun rising further along the horizon. "I travel a lot with most of the pack. It can get tiring."

"Privacy is important." She followed his line of thought.

"Exactly."

Kensington did not have a big population, but it didn't slack either. As such, the town had a decent amount of shops, restaurants, and a total of two pharmacies. The town would never draw in a lot of people like the cities, yet it wasn't so small that everyone knew everyone.

The town slid right under the radar. Which made it the perfect spot for shifters.

Will's Ford maneuvered onto the road leading to the highlight of the town: the shopping plaza. It stood right next to the barely averaged sized outlet mall and always contained more cars than any other area.

"You can drop me off at the mall." Harley told him. "Thanks Will, I really appreciate it."

"No problem." He turned at the next intersection. "I'd rather drive you than see you taking the bus."

Something about his words itched at her and she turned from the window to peer over at him with a frown. "What's wrong with the bus?"

"Nothing." Will assured. "I just worry."

Worry? About her? He barely knew her. "I can protect myself."

"I'm sure you can." He used one hand to push up his sleeves. Don't look at his nicely sculpted forearms. Don't look at his nicely sculpted forearms. "Just trying to make sure you don't have to."

The car slowed to a stop and idled next to the sidewalk in front of the mall's favorite retail store. People walked in and out, strolling with a purpose. In the distance a horn honked. For nine thirty in the morning, this place was pretty active.

"You're not my keeper, Will."

He shook his head with a frown. "Of course. What was I thinking?" A smile grew quickly on his face. He put the car into park. "Seriously Harley, how have you been?"

"Okay." She said honestly, "I've been...okay."

His smile gentled. "I hope it'll get better."

She had to get out of this car before the man began an interrogation. Or a reminiscing session. The door handle opened smoothly under her grip. "Me too." She said and stepped out. "Thanks for the ride, Will."

He spoke again before she could shut the door. "Do you need a ride back?"

"I'll figure something out. Thanks."

"Harley." His face got serious. "Do you need a ride back?"

She'd opened her mouth to say no, but he leaned over the middle console to see her better. "I'm not going to let you take the bus."

"I'll figure something out." She repeated, this time with a slightly tight jaw. "Thanks."

Then she shut the door before he could say anything else. If she was going to find a job and make a good impression it would have to be without thoughts of Will plaguing her mind.

Already her past and future were colliding and she wasn't sure she liked the feelings that came from it.