Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

S edona

The day was insufferable.

My mind was frazzled.

My heart ached.

What could be a worse combination?

I was on my way to my daughter’s birthday party, my little girl being chauffeured by my best friend instead of her own mother. I was a horrible mom, but I’d wanted to head to the lab to start a few tests, a few I had to send off to a friend of mine back in Chicago who would keep quiet.

Or so I prayed.

I’d found some surprises for my baby girl downtown, happy with my purchases. I’d been headed to the party when I’d turned down the wrong street.

Passing the tarot card reading shop.

While I’d done my best to ignore the draw, I couldn’t seem to help myself. It was as if my willpower was gone now that I knew… That I assumed…

“No. You won’t go there. Not yet. Not until the evidence is in.”

Not only was I talking to myself as I sat in my car a block away from the tarot place, but I was acting as if the entire situation was one big crime scene. Well, in a way it was.

I hadn’t asked Jax what he’d done with the dead body or beast or whatever, but he’d made a couple of calls. Men had arrived.

I’d remained rooted to one spot the entire time in front of the fire while they’d been outside, trying to drink myself to oblivion. But I’d done nothing more than remain in a fog. Jax had left me alone, but we’d both been brimming with questions.

He’d shown me the room and I’d curled under the covers, only to have bloody images keep me awake all night. I hadn’t even paid any attention to how long it had been before he’d shifted back to his human form. Naked and glorious.

The cuts he’d received had concerned me, but they’d healed within a matter of minutes. Minutes. How was that possible?

I’d finally come up with a decent explanation.

I’d gone to sleep one night and woken up in an alternative world.

A day had gone by in one huge fog. Even Daphne had fawned over me, Marla showing up unannounced with some equipment that I hadn’t paid any attention to.

She was finishing a project and would be able to give me her full attention by tomorrow.

I wanted to scratch my eyes out.

Great reaction. Just great.

Before I lost my nerve, I climbed from my car. The feeling of being watched had remained with me and I glanced up and down the street. How could I see anyone with the busy early afternoon crowds?

I was wearing a little skirt and simple top, the heat the reason. Nothing felt comfortable on me any longer. There was no other reason that I was ready to claw my skin off. Everything continued tingling. That hadn’t stopped since leaving Jax.

“Get going,” I whispered to myself, taking a deep breath as I headed down the sidewalk at a fast clip. How I was going to get the girl to talk to me I wasn’t certain, but I would do it. I was determined.

Once close to the door, I took another deep breath and held my head high. However, the sign was off and the door locked. As so many people did, I jerked at the door handle and knocked. There was no one visible inside. Had I scared them off?

Frustrated, I turned around and huffed.

Barely five seconds later, the man I’d seen in the shop the day with Lucia rounded the corner of the building, walking quickly.

“Excuse me. Sir? Can I ask you a question?”

He didn’t stop right away until I repeated myself. When he turned around, a look that I couldn’t understand tore through his entire face.

“Hi. I was in your shop the other day talking with Lucia. I don’t know if you remember me. I just wanted to talk with her for two minutes. No more. Is that possible?”

The poor guy was almost frothing at the mouth, backing away as if I had the plague.

“Wait. Just a couple questions and I’ll leave.”

“No! You can’t see her. You can’t see my little girl.”

He was completely a wreck, anger and sadness driving him to act irrationally. His entire body was shaking and I was fearful he was going to have a stroke.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset her at all,” I told him.

He got in my face before I could back away, shaking his finger. “She’s dead. The wolves killed her. I told her not to talk to you!”

His voice was loud enough people all around us were gawking. I tried to think of something rational or comforting to say. “I’m so sorry.”

He started crying, bawling on the street. I wasn’t equipped for this.

“She was mauled to death in our home. In. Our. Home. I had to behead her to keep her from turning. Do you know what that did to me?”

Whew. A small crowd was forming. “It’s okay, folks. Nothing to see here.”

Her father wasn’t paying any attention. “You need to run before they get you too.”

As he walked away, I stood right where I was, the shock tearing through me.

What was I supposed to do now?

“What in God’s name is wrong with you?” Shelly’s voice held an air of demand. She wiped perspiration from her forehead as she continued staring at me.

I continued my task, dropping new bottles of water and fruit juice into the huge tub of ice. “Why do you keep asking me that?”

“Because you’re acting weird. Well, weirder than usual,” Camille piped in as she placed more chips into the bowl on the picnic table.

“I’m fine. I’m just… processing a few things,” I admitted, which wasn’t a lie. I’d told Jax that I needed space and he’d reluctantly given it to me. I’d barely slept and had a headache, but was trying to put on a pleasant face for my daughter’s birthday.

“You are acting weird. Maybe it’s the heat,” Mattie said. “But I brought wine so that should help.”

Trying to remember this was a celebration had been difficult, but with the girl having her fingers wrapped around four different white wine bottles, beads of water dripping from them, I couldn’t keep from laughing. “You are such a bad influence. What will the other mothers think if we’re drinking?”

“Do you really think I care?” She plopped the bottles on the table, pulling a wine opener from the bodice of her sundress.

I was unusually hot for this time of year. I was sweating like a dog. There was no perspiring like a dainty girl in high humidity.

“Bring on the plasticware,” Camille demanded.

“Hey, Johnny. Don’t pull her hair or I’ll pull yours,” Shelly yelled at her son.

The rest of us shook our heads. “Such a quiet woman,” I told her.

“Hey, my Johnny isn’t an angel like your Britney.”

Mattie snorted and yanked out the first cork. “You babysit her.” She winked at me.

Smiling, I turned my attention to the group of kids. They were jumping and hollering like five- and six-year-olds should be doing. “The party was a great idea.”

“Yeah,” Shelly agreed. “They’ll be exhausted by six tonight. I won’t have to fight the little brat to get him into bed. For a change.”

“I don’t think I ever want to become a mother. Between the two of you, y’all make it sound horrible.”

I grinned at Camille. “Use the word challenging. Not horrible. I love being a mother, but kids can make you age.” I started pouring some plastic glasses full of wine. I already had a sense that the two other mothers who’d remained behind were jealous.

Tough.

We didn’t like them.

But at least they’d brought presents.

“You haven’t aged a day, for God’s sake. You look like you’re twenty-one. I don’t know how you do it.” Mattie glared at me, making a face and sticking out her tongue.

“Love you too, babe.”

With cheap plastic tumblers in our hands, we lifted our glasses in our typical four musketeers’ toast.

“Who wants to do it this time?” Camille asked.

“Go for it, babe,” Mattie told her.

Camille wrinkled her nose. “To the three of us finding a hot man like the Mr. McHotness belonging to Sedona.”

“I’ll drink to that, but only to fuck him. How is he in the sack anyway?” Shelly adored teasing me.

I was blushing. It was obvious the girls had talked since Camille knew about Mattie’s nickname for him. “We’re just friends.”

All three laughed. “Honey, we know better.” Shelly took a gulp of her drink before her eyes grew as large as I’d seen them. “Johnny! You do not do that! Camille. Help me with the damn kids.”

Camille twisted her mouth, making her own funny face, and placed her cup down before trailing behind Shelly.

Mattie moved next to me, sighing heavily. “I don’t know which is worse, the kids or the parents.”

“The parents. Tenfold.” My thoughts drifted to Lucia’s father. I could not stomach or believe that he’d beheaded his own daughter. But I guessed there wasn’t a fate worse than turning into a flesh-eating monster.

“So, are you taking Britney home with you?” Her expression as she moved in front of me wasn’t chastising, but she was about ready to demand answers.

“Yes. I am.” I wasn’t certain how to keep Jax from interfering even though I’d been clear to him. He wasn’t the kind of man to take no for an answer. “I really appreciate you taking care of her.”

“No problem. However, where did you get those scratches on your arm?” She pointed to the ugly line of them that I’d almost forgotten about.

It would seem even if I was part wolf, I wasn’t capable of healing as fast as he could do. “I don’t know.”

“Bullshit. Hot sex?”

“Not a chance.”

“Come on, honey. You look pale and I can tell something is really bothering you.”

Trying to hide behind a plastic glass of clear white wine was ridiculous, but I did. “I’m just working on something that is disturbing.”

“That’s not it. I know you.”

“Actually, it is, but I can’t go into details.”

Mattie lifted a single eyebrow as she did when she was pissed. “You can’t confide into your best friend?”

“Not a good thing to do right now.”

“Did you break up with Jax?”

“No, I never was really with him, with him.”

She laughed. “You’ve spent time together and enjoyed it and that included more than one date. Right?”

“Yes, but it doesn’t make a relationship.”

“On what level? Come on, fess up.”

“I’m just taking a break. That’s all. He’s a little overwhelming and I need to keep working. It’s just me. You know how I am. Anyway, I might see him again, but I need to work through some things.”

The way Mattie was looking at me told me I was blabbering like some idiot. “You’re a terrible liar, but if you aren’t, I need to ask you a question.”

I was exasperated, more exhausted than I’d been in my entire life. And I was over these questions. “Sure.”

“Did he get the memo?”

“What are you talking about?”

She pointed her index finger, her ruby red painted nail forcing me to look in that direction. Not before seeing an evil grin on her face.

Walking into the park was Jax carrying the largest stuffed dog I’d ever seen in my life. From where I was standing, it reminded me of a wolf and I almost had yet another panic attack. He was a huge man, but with the dog in his arms, he was almost invisible.

Well, maybe to me, but not to my best friends. Suddenly, all three were there, chugging wine in between sighs and what had to be sexual moans.

I glanced from one to the other, finally coming up with my own nasty look. “Do you see something you like, girls?”

“I’d like to be that dog,” Camille whispered in a voice I’d never heard before. Sultry. That wasn’t her style.

“Me too,” Shelly mused.

“But we need to see all of him. I do mean all.” Mattie was on her game today, the girls giggling worse than the ones in high school.

“Very funny, girls,” I told them just as he placed the dog on the table of presents, which exposed the women to his incredible physique.

I’d been so used to his dark clothes and ivory linen pants that left nothing to the imagination about the heat and thickness between his legs that his look today forced me to look again. The emerald green shirt was a direct contrast to his gray eyes, but it worked and worked well. Even if the sun was in my eyes.

With the light breeze tickling his thick curls, he was heaven on a silver platter.

All three girls lifted their sunglasses at the same time to get a better look. I was almost ready to punch every one of them.

“Stop it,” I hissed.

He was taking long strides and only had eyes for me. He’d found me immediately from a hundred yards away.

“Whew. Would you feel that electricity in the air?” Camille said, pushing my arm with her elbow.

“Look at the goosebumps on her arms,” Shelly said, pointing toward me.

“The woman is in love, ladies. You can feel the extreme heat between them from here.” Mattie backed away before I could punch her.

I couldn’t save myself from them. Lowering my head and groaning was all I could do.

“He’s making a beeline for you,” Camille whispered.

I took a deep breath, his presence more commanding than ever.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” he said after making his final approach. As always, his deep and velvety rich voice had my heart pitter-pattering.

On any other day I would be swooning and pining away for his touch, but this wasn’t just another day.

This felt like D-day.

Maybe my thinking was a little melodramatic, but I couldn’t get over my thoughts.

There was such an awkwardness between us that the air felt thick with confusion and worry.

“Aren’t you going to officially introduce us to your friend ?” Shelly taunted.

I wanted to kill all of them. My entire body was on fire, the raw current eating at every blood cell. “Jackson Wolf, these are my friends, my soon to be ex friends Shelly, Camille, and you already met Mattie the other night.”

“How could I forget? Do you still have that photograph of me, Mattie?” He had a way of saying your name that left you with chills.

Mattie didn’t miss a beat. “I masturbate to it every night.”

Shelly and Camille laughed.

“More wine,” Shelly added.

“I apologize for my friend . She has no filters.” My face was on fire.

He offered one of his more impish grins, which caused an instant and very strong reaction that I hadn’t been prepared for.

Jealousy.

I was instantly jealous, hot in all the wrong places. I’d never had this kind of reaction before. Never. I hadn’t realized anyone had noticed until it suddenly got very quiet. All three women were staring at me.

“What?” I asked.

“Did you just growl?” Camille asked. “I swear you did.”

“I think I cleared my throat because of Mattie’s bad behavior.”

Of course, Jax seemed amused.

“I adore a forward woman who has no issues speaking her mind,” he said in a seductive way and I was certain the girls were going to start drooling. “However, if you don’t mind, can I have a couple minutes in private with Sedona?”

Mattie winked, which I know he noticed. “Come on, girls. Let’s go feed the brats a snack.”

He watched them leave, chuckling from Mattie’s comments. “You have very good friends.”

“Moving here was so lonely. The only person I knew was Britney’s aunt and she hates me.”

“Why?”

“Sister of my ex. Somehow, I ran into Mattie at a grocery store and we got to talking in the produce section gawking at what she considered a hot produce manager. She introduced me to her friends over too many bottles of wine and the four of us have been fast friends ever since. They’ve kept me sane if for no other reason than plying me with alcohol and carting me around to the best thrift shops in the city.”

There were times I hated when he stared at me intently saying nothing. Today was one of them.

“Thank you for Britney’s gift, but what are you doing here? I thought I made it pretty clear I needed some time.”

I sensed all over again he wasn’t the kind of man to let anything go easily. If ever.

“I’m not here for an ulterior motive other than I wanted to see you. I remembered it was Britney’s birthday and also wanted to bring her a gift. I found out I pretty much suck at purchasing anything for a young girl. I hope she doesn’t hate the stuffed dog.”

“I’m sure she’ll love and treasure it. How did you find me?”

“Do you really need to ask?”

Now I was the one pointing a finger. “Don’t do that.”

“What exactly am I doing, Sedona?”

“And stop saying my name as if I’m constantly in the doghouse.” I rolled my eyes after making the comment. “Bad choice of words. As if I’m a very bad girl. You’re still patronizing me, acting as if I should know you can fully read my mind.”

“Not always. You’re very difficult to read when you don’t want anyone to know what you’re thinking.”

“Like now?” I had one arm folded, still holding onto the wine as a prop. But I could tell all five other adults were watching our interaction as if they were enjoying their favorite reality television show.

“I gather you’re calling me an asshole and a jerk in your mind.”

“Well, you are spot on today.” I turned my head, disgusted with myself. “That wasn’t fair nor was it nice. I’m just a bit frazzled.”

“Still very much understandable.”

“I need to be very careful around my daughter. She’s been through a lot. She’s a tough cookie, but I want her life to seem very normal. And I don’t want her to get the wrong idea about every man I date.”

My little girl had impeccable timing. I’d been so absorbed in acting like a bratty child in pushing Jax away, I hadn’t noticed she was now standing right in front of us.

“Mama. Is that your boyfriend? If so, he’s a hunk.”

Her very adult words shouldn’t surprise me.

Jax grinned and I was surprised when we both said the same word at the same time.

“Mattie.”

“Thank you very much,” Jax said as he crouched down to her size. “Are you Miss Britney?”

“My mama calls me a princess.”

“Well, Princess Britney, I’m Jax, your lowly servant.” He held out his hand for her to shake, which she did with her mother’s usual flair.

When she pulled her hand away, I was thoroughly shocked when she placed her tiny hand on his rugged cheek. She’d never done anything like that before.

Jax didn’t move, allowing her to take her time. When she backed away, she lifted her head toward me as if she truly was a princess.

“Mama. He’s a keeper. Can he come home with us for pizza tonight? Pwease?”

“I would love to join you. But only if your mother approves.”

I scowled at him as he stood, his grin entirely too mischievous. How was I supposed to say no at this point?

“Of course he can. I think Jax might have brought you a new furry friend. Maybe one day he can be real.” I pointed to the table of presents and she squealed, racing toward the dog as if he was real. I watched in silence and love as she pulled the heavy stuffed animal from the table with ease, wrapping her little arms around the dog’s neck.

Her squeals made me smile.

“I’m glad she likes it,” he said.

“Nicely played, Mr. McHotness,” Camille told him as she grabbed another bottle of wine from the table, flipping her hair as she walked away.

Jax was a formidable man and one who refused to take no for an answer. Right now, I didn’t want to push or shove him away. I didn’t feel the need to say no, even if he’d bargained his way into an invitation.

Even though a small part of my brain still told me this wasn’t a good idea, I made the ultimate decision not to listen to common sense or some crazy thought about not needing him in my life. The truth was we were connected. Whether by fate, chemistry, or some crazy curse, there was no denying it.

For likely all the wrong reasons, I couldn’t wait to spend a very normal night in my little world with the man I was falling hard for.