Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Twenty-five minutes later, Jax and I had left Minx behind and were walking along the shoreline. It was a gorgeous late October morning with plenty of sun shimmering off the deep blue of the ocean. There was still a bit of fog clinging to the tops of the rock outcroppings, and it was the type of morning that made me wish time would stand still.

"I missed this," I said as I leaned into Jax.

He placed his arm around my shoulders. "So did I."

The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was music to my ears. Had I come out here at all since Jax had left? Only once, maybe twice, and that had been something I'd done regularly even before Jax and I had gotten together. But without him, it had just made me too sad. I'd taken to walking around the neighborhood instead of the beach, which was one of the reasons I'd moved to Premonition Pointe almost a year ago. I'd forgotten just how much I loved feeling the sand between my toes.

"Jax? Marion?" a man called from behind us.

We both turned and to my surprise, Kai Gray was heading straight for us.

"Kai," Jax said, his brows pinched. "What are you doing out here? You weren't looking for me, were you?"

"No, no. Nothing like that," Kai said with an easy smile. "I was just out for a morning run when I spotted you both. Thought I'd say hi." He reached out and squeezed my hand briefly. "It's good to see you again, Marion."

Jax looked between us. "You know each other?"

"We met yesterday," I said, raising a hand in greeting at the Alpha.

"You've got a good woman here, Jax. I can see why you've had a hard time deciding whether you should be part of the pack," Kai said.

Jax grimaced. "About that. I won't be coming back." He pulled me in closer, tightening his arm around me. "My place is here with Marion."

Kai gave him a knowing nod. "I already knew that. I was just waiting for you to figure it out. You definitely aren't cut out for pack life. You're one of the independent ones."

"Yeah, well, I'm back where I belong," Jax said pulling me in closer as he tightened his hold on me even more.

"I can see that," Kai said, eyeing me. When he shifted his gaze back to Jax, he added, "You're welcome at the winery any time. I hope you know that."

"Thanks," Jax said. "I appreciate that."

It was strange watching the two men. They were being pleasant and polite with each other, but I got the impression there was something unsaid going on between them. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"Listen, Jax," Kai said. "I'm going to go ahead with those plans to build a barn. I'd really like to hire you and your crew if you have time."

"Sure, man. Let me talk to my foreman and figure out what's on the schedule. I'll call you later today and we'll work it out."

When Jax had taken off to figure out how to live with being a wolf, he'd left his right-hand man in charge, and I'd been checking in periodically just to make sure everything was going okay. Luckily, Jax didn't have anything to worry about. While there'd been a few hang-ups, for the most part, his business was still thriving.

"Perfect," Kai said. "That'd make my life a lot easier."

The two men shook hands, and then Kai pulled Jax in for a quick bro hug.

"Help! Help!" a young voice called, sounding frantic.

I turned and my breath caught when I spotted a little boy running into the ocean, chasing after his dog that seemed to be swept up in the surf. "No!" I forced out, breaking into a sprint toward the kid.

But before I could get to the water, both Kai and Jax sprinted past me. Jax reached the boy first and plucked him out of the water while the boy continued to scream for his dog. Kai dove into the water, disappearing under the waves, and when he reappeared, he popped up right next to the dog. In mere moments, Kai had the black dog in his arms and was walking out of the surf.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" a woman cried as she ran toward the boy, who couldn't have been more than nine years old.

Jax was crouched down, talking to the boy as he pointed at the woman who must have been his mother. But the boy shook his head, and instead of running to his mother, he darted over to Kai and fell to his knees as the dog ran into his arms.

"Cody!" The woman cried, sounding exasperated. "I told you to keep him on his leash."

The boy buried his head into the dog's neck and held on tightly as his mother shook her head.

I hurried over to Jax, reaching him at the same time as the mom.

The woman threw herself at Jax, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tightly. "You saved my boy," she cried. "I owe you my life."

Jax gently removed her from his body. "You don't owe me anything, ma'am. I just did what anyone would do."

"No. You're a hero." She grabbed him again and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Lacey! What the hell are you doing?" a man wearing a pair of ripped jeans and a white tank top barked at her.

"This man saved my son," she said, leaning against Jax and patting his chest.

There wasn't anything flirty about the woman's demeanor. It was clear she was just grateful and relieved, but the man grabbed her wrist and yanked her away from Jax. "You're making a fool of yourself, Lace. Throwing yourself at that man."

Lacey pushed at his chest with her free hand as angry fire blazed from her gaze. "I'm not, but even if I was, it's no business of yours. You made sure of that when you fucked my neighbor. Now go away. I already told you it was over. Find someone else to deal with your excessive drinking and inability to remain faithful for even two weeks."

"I already told you that was a mistake," he growled and tightened his hold on her wrist, making her wince.

"Hey," I said. "Let go of her wrist. You're hurting her."

"Stay out of it, Grandma," he growled.

"Grandma?" I parroted, offended. While I was certainly old enough to be a grandmother, I had never had anyone imply I looked like one. "That was uncalled for."

"Listen, buddy," Jax said evenly. "Why don't you just calm down? There's nothing to be upset about here."

"Mind your own fucking business." The man pushed Lacey in front of him, making her fall to her knees, and then he roughly pulled her back up by her forearm.

"Stop, John! That hurts," she cried as she tried to get to her feet but stumbled again.

"Mom!" the boy, Cody, called as he and the dog ran over to them. He stood in front of his mother, his face defiant as he glared at John. "Don't touch her."

I saw it coming, knew the man was about to strike the boy, and tried to lunge forward, intending to put myself between them. But Jax wrapped his arm around my middle, holding me back. "Let go!" I ordered but then fell silent as I watched Kai kick out and sweep the man off his feet.

John hit the beach with a thud, his face turning almost purple as pure rage radiated off him. He jumped back up and got in Kai's face. "You dumb son of a bitch. You're gonna pay for that."

Keeping his arm around me, Jax moved us so that we stood in front of Lacey and the boy, effectively shielding them from the altercation between Kai and John.

"We'll see about that," Kai said calmly and then ducked as John took a swing at him. The other man, outraged, went at Kai with both fists flying. With a deadly serious calm, Kai dodged each of his blows with precision. And then on John's last swipe, Kai tripped him again, sending the man face-first into the sand. Kai placed one foot on the man's back and pressed down right between his shoulder blades.

The other man forced out, "Can't. Breathe."

"That's too bad, isn't it? I'll tell you what. I'll let you up and let you walk away under your own steam if you commit to leaving this woman and her child alone." Kai lessened the pressure on the man's back just long enough for him to respond.

"And what if I don't?"

"Then this fight we're having is going to go very differently. And it won't be in your favor," Kai said coldly.

There wasn't any reason not to believe Kai. He'd handled John so perfectly, and it was easy to imagine a scenario where John got his ass handed to him so hard he'd likely need medical attention.

When John didn't respond, Kai increased the pressure on his back again.

John let out a groan, and in a halting voice, he said, "Fine. You win."

"I don't want to win," Kai practically growled. "I want you to keep your hands off this woman and her child. And while you're at it, don't ever bother them again. Got it?"

John's face had turned so red it was starting to look purple. Finally he nodded and gasped out, "Got. It."

Kai released the man, stepped back, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Good. You can go now."

Growling, John stood up and got right in Kai's face. His hands were clenched into fists, but he made no move to attack Kai again. "You can threaten me all you want, but in the end, you'll be the one wishing you'd never stepped foot in this town."

"We'll see," Kai said with a shrug, looking unbothered.

"Is there a problem here?" a voice called from behind us.

I spun and spotted two of Premonition Pointe's finest quickly making their way toward us, and I wondered who'd called them. My gaze drifted to Lacey, who'd moved away from us and was halfway up the beach. Cody was standing in front of her while she clutched his shoulder with one hand, and the other held the phone to her ear.

That explained it. I couldn't help but think this wasn't the first time Lacey had called the cops on her ex. The realization made me furious for her. No woman should ever have to endure such harassment.

"Everything's fine, officer," John said through clenched teeth. "Just a little misunderstanding."

The two cops glanced at each other and then eyed John and Kai. "We've had a complaint about harassment, Mr. Vincent. Want to explain why you broke the terms of your restraining order?"

"I didn't!" John insisted. "I was out for walk when I happened upon Cody and Lacey. This is public property, miles away from their house. How was I supposed to know they were here?"

"Ms. Riley says you laid hands on her. Are you saying that isn't true?" the cop asked.

John clamped his mouth shut and narrowed his eyes in Lacey's direction.

The cop let out a sigh and pulled out his cuffs. "I'm sorry, Mr. Vincent, but you're under arrest for violating the restraining order." He began to read the man his rights and then hauled him back up the beach.

"I'll need your statements," the remaining officer said to us.

"Of course, Officer"—I peered at his badge—"Stone." I answered his questions, explaining what I'd seen.

When Stone was satisfied, he turned to Jax and Kai. His demeanor instantly turned hostile. "Do you have anything to add to Ms. Matched's statement?"

Both Kai and Jax shook their heads.

"I figured that was the case." Stone sneered at Kai and added, "I don't know what made your kind move to Premonition Pointe, but if I were you, I'd seriously think about moving on."

"Why?" I asked before either of the men could say anything.

"His kind aren't welcome here," Stone said, nodding to Kai.

I had the distinct impression that Officer Stone had no idea that Jax was also Kai's kind , but I certainly wasn't going to correct him. "That's not very neighborly of you, Officer Stone," I said coldly. "A less charitable person might even call it bigoted."

He scowled at me before turning his attention back to Kai. "We're watching you, Alpha ." Then without another word, the officer took off after his partner.

"That was—" I started.

"To be expected," Kai said with a shrug. "It's not the first time the pack has received a less than friendly welcome to a town. I'm sure once they realize we aren't here to make trouble, they'll go back to pretending we don't exist."

"That's awfully charitable of you," I said, horrified by the way the officer had treated him. Just because he was a wolf didn't mean he was some sort of criminal. I made a mental note to mention the incident to Brix, the man Charlotte and I worked with at the Magical Task Force, just in case there was something more going on with the police department than just hateful bigotry.

"The alternative is to spend my entire life angry, and I'm just not willing to do that," Kai said.

I had to admire the man. If I were in his shoes, I probably would spend way too much time wishing boils on people who deserved it. And considering I was a witch, there was more than a zero percent chance that I could somehow make that happen without actually casting a spell. It had happened to Grace when she'd wished erectile dysfunction on her cheating ex. I had to hold back a chuckle as I remembered her telling me that story.

Jax clasped Kai on the shoulder and said, "I'll try to come by later this afternoon, and we can talk about that barn."

"Sounds good."

The pair engaged in another bro hug before Kai waved at me. "Talk to you soon, Marion."

"Absolutely," I called after him as he took off down the beach.

"That wasn't what I envisioned happening when I asked you to take a walk on the beach with me," Jax said.

I leaned into him and clasped my fingers around his. "You were great, though, running into the water to help that boy."

"I did what anyone would do," he said with a shrug.

I knew better. While there certainly were people who would drop everything help someone in need, I'd also seen far too many other people who either didn't want to get involved or who ended up freezing when faced with a challenging situation. If there was a choice, Jax would always be the hero.

"Did I tell you how glad I am you're back?" I asked him.

Jax's lips twitched into a small smile before he leaned down and gave me a sweet kiss. "I'm glad I'm back, too."

"I'd give you a hug right now, but those wet clothes don't look very appealing. How about we go home and get you out of those?" I asked, letting my gaze roam up and down his body.

"You don't have to ask me twice." Jax grabbed my hand, and we took off toward the trail that led to the street parking.

Just as we emerged onto the sidewalk, I spotted Autumn standing by a black Mercedes and staring at a red truck that was parked halfway up the street. "Autumn?"

She startled and pressed a hand to her chest. "Goodness. I didn't see you there."

"That's because you were too busy staring at that sexy red truck."

"It's not the truck I was staring at," she said, her cheeks flushing pink. "It was the guy that got in it. Man, he's hot. In fact, I haven't stopped thinking about him since I met him in your office."

"Kai Gray?" I asked, amused.

"Yes." She fanned herself with her hand. "He's just so damned good-looking."

Jax cleared his throat, and I got the impression he was trying to cover a laugh.

I squeezed his hand and turned my attention back to Autumn. "You like Kai?"

"Well, I don't know him, really, but I like what I see." She glanced back up the hill in the direction where the red truck had disappeared.

"How do you feel about dating shifters?" I hedged. She'd mentioned yesterday that she didn't think she was ready to date someone who howled at the moon, but I was pretty sure that'd been a joke.

"Shifters?" she asked and slid her gaze to Jax. She'd learned he was a shifter when they'd met briefly at my office. It was obvious she approved of what she saw. "I hadn't really thought seriously about it before, but if you're thinking of setting me up with Kai, then yes. I'm in. You only live once, right?"

I laughed. "Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. I'll be in touch with details soon, okay?"

"Sounds perfect." She grinned at me and then at Jax before she took off down the trail.

"What was that about?" Jax asked as we made our way up the hill toward my small house.

"I guess I haven't had a chance to tell you yet, but the reason I met Kai yesterday is because he came into the office. He hired me to find him a match. Someone he can be partners with who is outside of the pack dynamic."

"Really?" Jax seemed surprised, but then after a couple seconds, he nodded. "Yeah. That makes some sense."

"How?" I asked, curious about the alpha.

"I'd heard that Kai used to have a mate, but she went rogue when he wouldn't cave to her whims. Apparently, she had expensive tastes and got angry when Kai wouldn't commit to buying them a fancy place in Jackson Hole. According to the rumors, she really did him dirty after she realized he was never going to live the lifestyle she craved. In the end, she left him and the pack for another wolf who was known for running black market businesses, which led to money laundering and everything that goes along with living that sort of life. It caused a lot of problems with Kai's pack when she opened up credit lines using the pack's LLC information and maxed them out, leaving the pack with an outrageous amount of debt. It took Kai a couple of years to clear the credit reports."

"That's awful," I said, devastated for Kai. How could someone who supposedly loved you do something like that?

"It was. Ever since then, Kai hasn't really dated. At least according to the pack members I talked to. I don't blame him for wanting to date outside of the pack. After all that, I'd want to date someone who clearly was there for me, not just the power that comes with being part of team Alpha."

"Same. Luckily, he won't have to worry about that with Autumn. She's a laid back, self-made woman who isn't looking for anyone to take care of her. She wants a partner, not a sugar daddy."

Jax stared at me. "Sugar daddy?"

"You know, a man who lavishes gifts and money on a woman with the expectation that she show him some affection."

"I know what it is," Jax said with a laugh. "I just didn't think the term applied to fifty-something-year-old-women."

I cracked up at that, knowing he had a point. But I still lightly swatted his arm. "Don't be ageist."

"Yes, ma'am." He mimed tipping his hat at me. In the next moment he sobered. "Seriously though, I hope Autumn works out for him. Or someone equally as grounded. Kai deserves a partner who can be his support system. Because right now, he's the backbone of that pack. Without him, they'd be an unruly bunch."

"Really?"

Jax nodded. "Kai keeps them in line. If he dates someone outside of the pack, he won't have to worry about the power dynamics. It's a solid plan. I hope it works out for him."

"From your lips to the goddess's ears," I said. "I have a lot riding on this, too. Autumn is my marketing plan to get my business back on its feet. If they don't work out, that's going to blow up in my face."

"Are you sure they'd be a good fit?" Jax asked.

"I'm not just sure, I know. Their auras are a perfect match," I said.

"Then you have nothing to worry about. When was the last time your aura-reading ability was off?"

"Ha! About thirty years ago when I decided we weren't compatible," I said with a hollow laugh. "Remember that?"

He gave me a sympathetic frown. "I remember all too well. But I think things turned out the way they were supposed to. If we'd stayed together back then, I think the chances of us crashing and burning were high. But now? Now I know exactly who and what I want, and nothing's going to take me away from you again."

"Promise?" I demanded.

He paused and kissed me softly before whispering, "Promise."