Wolf love, p.98
Wolf Love, page 98
“Do all her pies taste this amazing?” Jessica asked. If anything was going to take her mind off the fact that the man she loved was traveling to Arizona to shake down her monster of a husband and force him to sign divorce papers, this pie was it.
“Aye,” Emma said. “Apple, pumpkin, lemon meringue... you name it, Gran can make it better than anyone around. Her crust is magic or something.” Emma cut another sliver of the blueberry pie and plopped it onto her plate. “I’ll never fit in my wedding dress if I keep eating like this.”
Jessica refilled their glasses of milk. “When is the big day?”
“October eighth,” Emma said. “Invitations are ready to be mailed.” She pumped her fists in the air above her head.
“Can’t change your mind now,” Kylie said.
Emma tugged on the girl’s blonde ponytail. “I’m not changing my mind, lass.”
“Good.” Kylie beamed a smile up at Emma and this incredible longing built in Jessica’s chest.
What would having a child be like? She couldn’t wait to find out. She was a little concerned about her... condition being passed down, but Shawn had told her shifters could have perfectly normal children.
“Just don’t have seven of them, the seventh being born in December under a full moon. That’s how I got to be a werewolf,” Kylie said. At Jessica’s open mouth, the girl looked down at the rest of her pie. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to listen. I’m still trying to figure out being a werewolf.”
Emma squeezed the girl’s shoulder. “It’s okay, pixie. We all have a hard time not listening.”
“It is okay.” Jessica patted Kylie’s hand. “I’m not sure what being a raven shifter is all about yet either.”
“Have you always been one?” Kylie asked.
“Since I was sixteen,” Jessica said. “You obviously found your wolf side much sooner than I found my raven.”
Kylie nodded. “Yeah, it just happened.”
“It must be hard for you sometimes.” Jessica remembered how scared she had been when she’d first shifted. At least Kylie had the pack and adoptive parents who were werewolves. What Jessica would have done to have that support.
“That does make it easier,” Kylie said. “But it can get tough at school when I have to keep it together.” She gave a little shoulder shrug. “Except around Dylan. I can be myself around him.” At the mention of the boy, Kylie’s whole face brightened.
Could soul mates find each other at such a young age?
“Slow down.” Emma’s hands came up. “She can’t think about soul mates until she’s at least thirty.”
“Mom.” Kylie rolled her eyes. “You like Dylan. Remember?”
“I do. He’s a great kid, but you two are just friends until Kole and I say otherwise.” Emma looked over the child’s head at Jessica, a panicked look in her eyes.
Jessica smiled. “If you guys are soul mates, you can wait.”
Kylie nodded and pushed her pie around her plate. “Sometimes Dylan dreams about wolves.”
“He’s always been around them, hasn’t he? At the sanctuary?” Jessica finished her pie and waved Emma off when the woman wanted to give her a refill.
“Yeah,” Kylie said slowly, “but the dreams are about werewolves too. Some of them are about me.” She finished up her pie then washed it all down with her milk. “I’m going to be a flower girl in the wedding.”
“How wonderful.” Jessica clapped. “Do you have a dress? What does it look like?”
Emma slid her phone across the table. “This kid could be in the movies. Look how gorgeous she is.”
Smiling, Jessica picked up the phone and scrolled through pictures of Kylie in a purple dress that was fitted around the torso but flared out at the waist and billowed like a Disney princess gown. “Oh, my. Stunning, Kylie. Absolutely stunning. And you’ll curl all that lovely blonde hair, right?” Jessica got up and started fussing with Kylie’s hair, piling it atop her head and letting tendrils frame her face. “Something like this, maybe?”
“Aye, definitely,” Emma said, her eyes going a little misty. She waved her hand in front of her face. “Sorry. I get all...all...” She clasped her hands at her heart. “You know.”
“Here she goes,” Kylie mumbled.
“I just never thought I would have all this.” Emma gestured to Kylie with her open arms. “I’ve got this beautiful, intelligent, entertaining lass.” She leaned over and smacked a kiss to Kylie’s cheek. “I’ve got a nice home in a state I love near my Gran and a music career that’s finally, finally going somewhere.” She grinned at Jessica. “And yes, I see those Hendrake CDs in one of your boxes of stuff over there and that excites me to no end.” She picked up her phone again and swiped the screen. When she turned it to face Jessica, a picture of Kole, looking pretty damn hot in sunglasses and sitting astride a motorcycle made Jessica grin. “And I get to be this guy’s wife. I mean, what more could I want?”
“A puppy?” Kylie raised hopeful eyes.
“I don’t need a puppy,” Emma pinched the lass’s cheek. “I’ve got you.”
“Ha-ha.” Kylie stuck her tongue out at Emma. “Then I want a baby brother or sister.”
“Deal.”
Jessica loved watching Emma and Kylie interact. It fascinated her. And almost made her forget where Shawn was and what he was doing.
Almost.
“Can I call you Auntie Jessica?” Kylie asked. “I call Brandy and Nika aunties.”
“Absolutely.” Though Shawn would have to be successful in his quest with Brandon for it to be really true. “I’ve always wanted to be someone’s auntie.”
“Don’t have any brothers or sisters?” Emma asked.
Jessica shook her head. “No. My parents had me. Freaked when they found out what I was and they split up. Neither one of them wanted custody, but my mother finally accepted it. I stayed with her for two years, then left when I was eighteen. They’ve both passed away now.”
“I’m sorry that’s how things turned out for you,” Emma said. “Not all parents are awesome. This I know.” She reached for Jessica’s hand across the table.
The contact made Jessica feel like part of the pack even though she wasn’t a wolf.
“Doesn’t matter,” Kylie said. “This pack accepts everyone who needs accepting.” She popped off her seat, having finished her pie and milk. “Movie marathon next or nail painting?” She held up two bags she’d brought in with her, one in each hand. “I’ve got the first season of The Vampire Diaries in here, which Mom says I’m old enough to watch, and plenty of Midnight Dreary black nail polish in here so we can get all gothic.”
“I think I’m going to love being your auntie.” Jessica took their dishes to the sink. “Get the show going and we’ll polish as we watch.”
“Toes too!” Kylie kicked off her flip-flops and raced into the living room.
“It’s almost working,” Emma said as she wiped the kitchen table.
Jessica wrapped up the rest of the pie and put it in the refrigerator. “What is?”
“Taking your mind off what Shawn and Kole are doing.” Emma washed her hands at the sink then turned to face Jessica. “Those two have each other’s backs. They’ll be fine.”
“It’s who has Brandon’s back that I’m worried about. He doesn’t play fairly and his ranch hands are big.” She knew because on more than one occasion, some of those very ranch hands had held her while Brandon socked her in the stomach. She never could understand their blind allegiance to the douchebag because he didn’t treat them very nicely either.
“Oh, honey...” Emma pulled her into a hug. “How did you manage to survive?”
“Lots of ice and an artist’s eye for using makeup to cover bruises.”
Emma stepped back. “Well, you’re safe now and always. Shawn would do anything for you.”
“Clearly.” She huffed out a breath. “Even things I don’t want him to do.”
“How else were you going to get Brandon to sign those divorce papers? Did you have another plan? One that didn’t involve you having to see him again?” Emma put her hands on her hips. The black shorts she wore made her legs look extra long and the purple tank top that said Why yes, I do bite across the front created a more casual vampire look than what Hendrake usually sported. Though the band had toned down their sound with their new releases, they kept a touch of the Celtic vampire flavor and as an artist, Jessica loved the look.
Except when her new friend was saying things that were right and logical and took the steam out of Jessica’s griping. “Okay. I know. There wasn’t another good choice. All the choices stunk.”
“The one involving Shawn and Kole going to Arizona together stunk the least.” Emma led Jessica into the living room where Kylie had the DVD in and the bottles of nail polish lined up on the chest that served as a coffee table in front of the couch. “They’ll be home before we know it.”
“Until then,” Kylie said, bouncing on the cushion next to where Jessica had taken a seat, “we have a fun sleepover!”
“She’s never had a sleepover,” Emma said. “Can you tell?”
“Never had a sleepover, huh? Well, that means I need to break out my fancy nail kit then.”
“What fancy nail kit? What do you mean? Where is it?”
Kylie launched off the couch to follow Jessica as she went to some of the boxes she’d managed to bring in from the SUV earlier in the day. She rummaged around in a few and burrowed under canned goods, winter boots, a jumbled ball of colorful socks.
“Jeez, this is what happens when you pack in a hurry,” she mumbled as she weeded through a collection of wind chimes she’d had hanging in her Maine studio, paintbrushes, twinkle lights... “Oh! Here it is!” She held up a small, pink storage bin and jiggled the contents. “For a very, very brief time, when I first moved to Maine, I worked at a salon doing nail art. When my pottery business took off and I quit, the owner let me keep the nail kit. She was this beautiful French woman who wore high heels every day to work. Every day.”
“I’m too clumsy for high heels,” Kylie said, taking the storage bin from Jessica and returning to the living room.
“Me too.” Jessica sat next to the girl and popped the lid off the bin. “So if we want a true gothic look, we’ll need some Blood Red and Supernatural Purple nail polish.” She dug those out of the bin. “And the silver pen for some Celtic knotwork. What do you say, gals?”
“I say me first.” Emma waved her hands at Jessica as she slid to her knees in front of the chest.
Jessica moved to the other side of the chest as did Kylie.
“I want to see how you do it. Can you teach me?”
“What are aunties for?” Jessica handed the girl a small towel. “Spread this out on the chest. We don’t want to make it gothic. I don’t think Shawn will appreciate that.”
For the next hour and a half, the three of them beautified their finger and toe nails and watched The Vampire Diaries, pausing every now and again to wish they lived in Mystic Falls and to drool over Damon.
Jessica only checked her phone a few times—or a hundred—to see if Shawn had called. He hadn’t. Was that a good sign? Were he and Kole on their way back home already? Had Brandon signed the papers without a fuss? Maybe he wanted to be free of his legal ties to her too. Maybe he had a woman he wanted to marry.
Ugh. That thought made Jessica want to send out a warning to all women everywhere. Brandon Knight was not husband material. She wished someone had given her that warning when she’d met him.
On the other hand, perhaps not hearing from Shawn was a bad sign? Maybe Shawn and Kole were completely outnumbered by Brandon and his goon ranch hands.
Maybe Brandon had struck first.
She glanced over at Kylie who had fallen asleep between her and Emma. The child had her head in Emma’s lap and her feet—with elaborately-painted toenails—in Jessica’s.
In the darkened living room, Jessica couldn’t see if Emma was asleep too. Was she wondering if Kole was all right?
“Aye,” Emma said softly. “As much as I believe in him, I can’t help but worry too.” She fiddled with Kylie’s hair and the girl snuggled up closer to Emma. “I think they must be fine though. I feel as if the soul mate bond would tell us if something bad had happened, you know? Like Shawn had known something bad had happened to you back in Maine.”
That sounded logical to Jessica and she’d cling to it until Shawn came through the door of his cabin.
****
“Look we don’t want any trouble,” Shawn said, holding up his hands in what he hoped was a peaceful gesture, even though every muscle in his body wanted to leap at Brandon Knight. “We have some papers for you to sign.”
“What papers? I don’t know of any papers that need my signature.” Brandon squinted at Shawn then Kole as if he were trying to remember them.
“We haven’t met before,” Shawn said. “But we have a mutual acquaintance.”
“Do we now?” Brandon spit into the dirt then glanced at his lads who had formed a semi-circle behind them. “Who might that be?”
Shawn didn’t want to have to say her name to this asshole. He didn’t deserve to share air with her name, but Brandon would see it on the divorce papers anyway. “Jessica.”
Brandon’s casual, aloof demeanor completely dissipated. He pushed off the gate, his eyes darkening as he took a step closer. “You know where that whore is?”
Shawn growled and Kole clamped his hand onto his forearm, tugging him back.
“Aye, we know Jessica,” Kole said. “And from what we’ve seen, she’s the furthest thing from a whore.”
Brandon let out a short laugh, his lads smirking behind him. “Trust me. She’s a dirty little whore.”
“Call her a whore one more time and kiss your teeth goodbye.” Shawn’s voice was a grizzly rasp. Containing his primal instinct to rip this guy to shreds was getting harder by the second. He barely had control of his wolf.
“You think you can knock my teeth out before we put bullets in you?” Brandon shifted his gaze to Kole. “Both of you?”
Shawn released another low growl, but Kole took a slow step forward as if he were a wolf approaching prey.
“Look, we don’t need to get nasty here,” he said.
“You’re the ones showing up on my doorstep, starting trouble.” Brandon shrugged. “We were just working, same as any day.”
“This has already taken up too much valuable time.” Shawn’s jaw clenched so tight to keep his canines from lengthening. He held up the envelope. “These are divorce papers. Sign them, we’ll be on our way, and no one gets hurt today.”
Brandon motioned to the guy closest to him and that lad walked over to Kole and Shawn. He took the envelope and brought it back to Brandon.
“So the bitch thinks she can run off, hide from me all this time, and then send you two turds here to clean up her legal mess? Real classy.” Brandon slid the papers out and frowned at them.
“And a husband who hits his wife is real classy too,” Shawn said.
Brandon flicked his dark gaze up to meet Shawn’s. “Some women need disciplining.”
That was it. Shawn launched forward, vaguely aware of Kole shouting at him. He grabbed Brandon by the neck and knocked him into the gate like he was a ragdoll.
Brandon’s men were on him in a second, their rifles all pointed in his face.
“No one wants to go to jail today, does he?” Kole slid between two of Brandon’s men and looked down the barrels of several rifles.
Get out of here, Shawn thought. They could pull the trigger.
Exactly, Kole said. Then our soul mates are left without us. We can’t end up dead today.
“You’re sleeping with my whore, aren’t you?” Brandon stood toe-to-toe with Shawn, his heartbeat not even accelerating a little. Shouldn’t he be at least minimally concerned about the beating Shawn was so ready to give him? How ready were his lads to pull the trigger?
“Jessica. Is. Not. A. Whore,” Shawn said. “I want to marry her and I can’t do that if she’s still married to a prick like you.”
Brandon gave him a toothy grin. “No, you can’t, can you?” He wiggled the divorce papers still in his hand and shook his head. “I want to see her.”
“Not happening. Ever.” Shawn backed up a step, rifle noses poking him in the back. He folded his arms across his chest, mostly to hide his hands which were seconds away from sprouting claws. This lad was pushing all his buttons, and part of Shawn’s brain was calculating if he and Kole could take all six of these assholes successfully. The odds weren’t good, but he was getting closer to risking it.
Let’s keep cool heads here, brother, Kole said. Something tells me the laws don’t apply this far out from the nearest police station. What’s to stop these bastards from shooting us dead and burying the evidence?
Nothing, Shawn agreed. He didn’t like it, but Kole was right. They had to be the ones to take the high road because these assholes weren’t going to.
“If I can’t see her, I’m not signing these.” Brandon pushed the papers at Shawn who grabbed them before they fell to the dusty ground.
“Why would you still want to be tied to her?” Kole asked. “You haven’t seen her in years. You know she doesn’t want to have anything to do with you. Sign the papers, lad.”
“Jessica has chosen to move on with her life. She deserves that chance.” Shawn hoped Brandon Knight possessed a sliver of decency.
“She deserves a good, rough fuck, and a smack across that pretty face for misbehaving.”
The laughter that echoed from Brandon and his men made Shawn see red. He opened his mouth and let out a roar. He was done with this game. Raising his hand, his fingertips tingling with claws ready to burst out, he prepare to convince Brandon to sign those damn divorce papers, but a bright red flash beyond Brandon’s shoulder had everyone turning to see what had happened.
Lio strode toward them from up the path, energy crackling around him.
Two of Brandon’s men dropped their rifles, one ran away, and the last two swore as they backed up.
Brandon stood still, bold as ever.
