Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

"I'm headed out. Denver is taking me to dinner and then a movie," Charlotte said, glancing at me and her dog, who was sitting next to me on the couch. "Can you take care of Minx if I don't make it back home tonight?"

"Sure," I said, happy to have a little bit of company even if it was a small Chihuahua dressed in the tiniest daisy-print dress. At least I wouldn't be wallowing alone. If anyone missed Jax more than me, it was Minx. The little creature had formed a freakish bond with him over the past months and had taken to standing by the door every evening, hoping that Jax would appear.

"Thanks." Charlotte bent down and kissed Minx on the head before sweeping her gaze over me. "Try to do something other than eat ice cream and watch Teen Wolf again, okay? It's getting a little pathetic."

" Teen Wolf is the perfect movie," I said, ignoring her jab about the ice cream. If I wanted to skip dinner for my favorite chocolate caramel swirl, that was my prerogative.

"If you say so. See ya later." She swept out of the house, leaving me and Minx staring at each other.

"Are you ready for treats, sweet girl?" I asked her.

Minx jumped off the couch and ran into the kitchen, waiting impatiently next to the treat drawer.

I laughed. "I was going to put my jammies on first, but this is what I get for mentioning the T word, right?" After nearly getting the tips of my fingers chomped off by Minx the monster, I let out a yelp and said, "That was rude, even for you, little girl."

Minx ignored my admonishment and ran into the other room. I let out a sigh, slipped into my bedroom to put on my pajamas, and then went for the freezer. Moments later, I was curled up on the couch with a pint of ice cream in one hand and the remote in the other. As I was digging my spoon into the chocolate caramel swirl, there was a knock on the door followed by someone walking in.

"Ty, is that you?" I asked, not bothering to look away from the television. Ty, the young man I thought of as a son, lived in my garage apartment with his partner, Kennedy.

"Surprise," a familiar woman's voice said cheerily.

I jerked and twisted around to see Trish, my former best friend and Ty's biological mother, striding toward me with a bouquet of sunflowers in her hand. "Trish, what are you doing here?"

She walked past me and right into the kitchen as if she owned the place. "Bringing you flowers. What does it look like?"

Her words were normal enough, but her voice had a high-pitched tone that told me she was nervous. As she should be. Trish and I had been as close as sisters once. Or at least I'd thought we were. But then she'd faked her death, leaving Ty and I grieving for her for years. While she done it under a misguided attempt to protect us from her psychotic ex, Ty and I were having trouble forgiving her for not trusting us.

While Trish and I were trying to work on our relationship, we were not at the point where just walking in unannounced was appreciated. Still, she'd brought me flowers, and I wasn't sure I wanted any sort of confrontation.

Trish brought the vase of flowers in from the kitchen and set them on the coffee table. "There. They really add cheer to the place, don't you think?"

Minx jumped toward her, growling.

Trish jerked back and glared at the dog. "What did I ever do to you?"

"She's just doing her job, Trish," I said, not bothering to hide my impatience. "Minx doesn't know you and she's just protecting me."

"Well, can you call her off? I can't sit if she's keeping me trapped on this side of the table."

"Minx, it's okay," I said. "Come here."

The little dog gave Trish one last growl and then eyed her as she slowly made her way back to my side. Without looking up, I asked, "How's Jax?"

Trish hesitated for a long moment before answering. "He's on his journey."

I jerked my head up, staring her down. "What kind of answer is that?"

"The only one I can give." Trish let out a long sigh and leaned against the frame of the wide opening that led to the kitchen. "Each wolf has a different journey. You'll hear from him when he's ready."

"So you're not even going to tell me if you've seen him?" I demanded.

"I've seen him," she finally conceded. "But not since he hooked up with a new pack?—"

"The Diablo pack," I said, cutting her off.

"How did you?—"

"I met Kai Gray this morning. He confirmed that he knows Jax."

"Yeah. Kai is an acquaintance of mine. I introduced them," she said.

I frowned at my friend. "But you haven't joined the Diablo pack yourself?"

She glanced away. "No. I'm not really pack material."

Not pack material was an understatement. She'd gone rogue, faked her own death, and hadn't trusted any of us when she'd been in danger from her ex. It was no surprise she wouldn't want to be tied to a pack. But if she hadn't joined them, what had she been up to the past six weeks? "Where have you been, Trish?"

She pressed her lips together into a flat line and shook her head.

It was my turn to let out a long sigh. "Can you at least tell me if Jax is safe with them?"

"Yes, of course," she said immediately. "Listen, I don't really have anything to share about Jax other than out of all the Alphas I've met, Kai's the only one I trust."

"Okay." I wasn't sure what else to say. She obviously wasn't going to give me anything on Jax, but I did appreciate her opinion on Kai. Even though I'd liked the Alpha, it was encouraging to know that wasn't just a good first impression.

Trish finally came and sat gingerly in the chair next to me. She bit down on her lower lip and then asked, "Have you seen Ty?"

"Today?"

"Today, yesterday… Any time this week?" Trish picked at her cuticles, clearly nervous.

"Sure," I said with a nod. "I saw him yesterday. He and Kennedy stopped by for dinner."

Her voice was halting when she asked, "How is he?"

"He's… okay. Adjusting." I wasn't sure what I could tell her. Ty wasn't communicating much with his mother. He'd wanted space to sort through his jumbled emotions. But she was calling all the time, and now she'd just shown up out of the blue. I was certain that she hadn't bothered to ask him if it was okay to stop by. Needless to say, her persistence wasn't going to go over well. "He just needs time, Trish. He'll come around when he's ready."

She lifted her head and narrowed her eyes at me. "You're not encouraging him to ignore me, are you?"

Blood surged through my veins, and I wanted nothing more than to lash out at her. But I held back my snarky comments and tried for calm. "Of course not, Trish. Ty is his own man. He doesn't need me telling him how to feel. But I do have to say it hurts a little that you think I'd do that. I'm not here to come between you and Ty."

"You're not?" she challenged.

I ground my teeth together. "No. I'm not." I turned my attention to the melting ice cream, and with a sigh, I got up to put it back in the freezer. My dinner would have to wait.

"It sure seems like—" Trish started but cut herself off when the door opened.

"Marion?" Ty called. "I'm going out, do you need anything?"

"More ice cream. Mine melted." I walked back into the living room and spotted Ty staring at his mother, anger flashing like lightning in his dark eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Ty asked, his voice tight.

Trish stood and turned to face her son. "I came to talk to my son. You can't keep ignoring me forever."

"No? You did. You left me for five years and then suddenly you're here, trying to be a part of my life again? That's not how it works." Ty grabbed the door handle and started to walk back out.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

He paused. "I have plans."

"Are you going to meet Carson?"

I sucked in a sharp breath, knowing this was a sore subject for Ty. Carson was his older brother Trish had hid from him his entire life. In addition to Trish faking her own death, she'd kept Carson's entire existence a secret from Ty. It was no wonder Ty didn't trust his mother.

His voice was low and full of warning when he said, "That's none of your business."

I watched as Ty stalked out and then turned my attention to Trish. "I told you he just needs some time. Pushing isn't going to help."

She turned on me. "You don't need to tell me about my son. I'm the one who raised him for eighteen years. Not you. I know what he needs."

"You think so?" There was a time when I'd have agreed with her. But not anymore. Ty had been through so much since Trish had disappeared. And after the pain he'd suffered when she faked her death, she couldn't just expect him to welcome her back into his life with open arms. He might be a grown man, but he was also still just a kid trying to come to terms with the fact that his mother abandoned him, and the last thing he needed was her pushing him to do anything he wasn't ready to do.

"I know so." The venom in her tone made me take a long look at her. And what I saw was a woman with deep regret.

The door swung open again, and we both turned to find Kennedy, Ty's boyfriend, standing just inside the entrance. "What happened with Ty?"

I tilted my head toward Trish.

Kennedy's gaze landed on her, and realization flashed in his eyes. "Oh. I guess that explains it."

"Explains what?" Trish demanded.

"Why Ty took an inch of rubber off his tires trying to get the hell out of here," Kennedy explained. He glanced at me. "I'm taking Paris Francine on a walk. Do you want me to take Minx, too?"

I eyed the pup crashed out on the couch and shook my head. "I think she's tucked in for the night, but thanks for asking. I'm sure Charlotte appreciates it."

"Kennedy," Trish called out. "I need you to do something for me."

He frowned. "You need me to do something for you ?"

"I need my son to talk to me. So I need you to talk some sense into him. Do you understand?"

"Trish—" I started.

She whirled on me. "I wasn't talking to you, Marion. Butt out." She scowled at me and then hurried to Kennedy. "Please, I'm begging for your help here. I know Ty will listen to you."

Kennedy glanced at me and then cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Ms. Kirkwood, but I'm not comfortable getting in the middle of things between you and Ty. I think you're just going to have to wait until he's ready."

"You little—" she snarled.

"Hey, jackass! Step away from the kid," Celia demanded as she popped in out of nowhere. The ghost was standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at Trish.

"And if I don't?" Trish challenged.

"Oh, this is going to be good," I muttered as I walked over to Kennedy and put an arm around him.

Celia cocked her head to the side and raised a mocking eyebrow. "I'll haunt you every day from now until forever. Imagine me stalking you while you're in the shower, on a date, having a little personal time." She gave Trish a sinister smile. "Wouldn't that be fun?"

"You think so?" Trish asked, appearing unconvinced. "I think a little sage would send you back to wherever you came from."

Celia threw her head back and laughed. "You could try, but I'd just show up again. Hopefully right about the time you get some hunky man naked. I could be the peanut gallery."

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips.

Trish glared at me and then stalked out without saying another word.

"I guess that takes care of her," Celia said with an exaggerated hair flip.

"Thanks, Celia," Kennedy said, giving her a small smile.

"No thanks necessary, cutie," she quipped. "That was fun." She winked and then vanished again.

Kennedy shook his head slightly. "You know, it used to unsettle me when she'd just show up, but she's really grown on me."

I laughed. "Me, too, Kennedy. Me, too."