Chapter 42

Why is your fiancé running after the school bus?” I asked, my head tilting to the side as I stared out the diner window. Declan sat across from me, his gaze following mine to where Raven ran down Main Street after the school bus. One hand held down her skirt while the other frantically waved it down.

“Hell if I know,” Declan muttered into his glass, a smile tugging the corner of his lips.

“And… now your mom is running down the street,” Cade commented with a laugh. Sure enough, Mom hurried down the street after them. The two women had the exact same enthusiasm, which was both impressive and fucking terrifying.

“What the fuck are they doing?” I demanded. I watched as Mom caught up with Raven while the bus stopped. There was laughing, a paper bag involved, and kisses blown to the bus as it drove away once more. “Was all that because some kid forgot their fucking lunch?”

“Looks like it,” Declan said.

“You’re going to have your hands full with those two when you have kids,” I told him.

“I’m aware.” He grinned. Smitten little fucker. Mom would lose her shit when they started popping out kids. Knowing how they fucking went at it, they’d have enough kids to start a football team.

“Weren’t we doing breakfast with them?” I grabbed the bowl of creamers and took my time dumping three Irish creams into it. Just watching Declan drink his coffee black had me cringing. Fucking caveman.

“You’ll get used to this.” Cade laughed. “It’s like this every time with them.”

The front door to the diner flew open, banging off the outside wall, bouncing right back, and almost taking Raven out with it. Declan covered his mouth, hiding a smile as she made a very loud apology to everyone and anyone. No one was fazed. I had a feeling Hurricane Raven was a regular occurrence everywhere she went.

“Oh, good Lord!” Raven let out an exasperated breath. She dropped into the seat next to Declan. “You’d think with how much kids eat that they’d remember to bring their food with them!”

“I think after a certain age kids just become ravenous scavengers,” I commented.

“They do!” She slammed her hands on the table. “Do you know how many times I’ve chased that boy—”

“Which boy?” Cade interjected.

“Any of them at this point,” she retorted, waving him off. “The point is! I have become the crazy mom who chases down the bus, and I don’t even have kids!”

“You have… what is it? Fourteen kids now?” Declan chuckled. “You’re a second mom to any of the kids at that care center.”

I cocked a brow. What care center?

“Oh.” She smiled happily. “I have fourteen kids. We should have fourteen more.”

Declan choked on his coffee while I snorted into mine and Cade laughed.

“We agreed on three!” Declan replied, his voice hoarse.

“Oh, it’s just a number,” Raven said.

“It’s a very important number!”

“Yeah, it’s just a number, Dec,” I teased, earning a glare from him. I wasn’t helping, but I wasn’t fucking trying either. I liked Hurricane Raven. I also liked helping Hurricane Raven do her thing.

“Where’d Mom go?” Declan asked, changing the conversation.

“She said she needed to run something past Nolan real quick. She’s going to lock up the care center for me, and then she’ll be here,” Raven replied. “She said we could order without her.”

“What care center?” I cut in. “You’ve mentioned it a few times.”

“Oh!” Her hands came together with excitement, and I knew I was in for a wild fucking ride just from the look on her face. “Okay, so! I’m rich.”

“Good God,” Cade scoffed. “Starting off strong.”

“Shush, you,” she chastised. “He needs all the facts. So, I’m rich—”

“You got yourself a sugar—ow!” I lurched in my seat when Declan’s steel-toed boot caught me in the fucking shin. Jesus fucking Christ that hurt. “What the fuck was that for?”

“Oops.” He smirked.

“Dick,” I growled.

“Language,” Mom said as she joined. I scowled. Oh, son of a fucking bitch. Of course, she’d fucking walk in now.

“Sorry,” I grumbled.

“Scooch, baby boy.” She made a small gesture with her hand for me to move over, and I did. The four of us crammed in the small booth with Cade taking up an extra chair at the end. It was all bumping elbows with minimal eating space and Declan’s boots were knocking into mine, but it was nice. “What were we talking about?”

“I’m rich,” Raven reiterated for the third time. “So, Michael came to me for some books while I was working. It turns out he was running an off-the-books operation—”

“You make it sound so sinister,” Cade interjected with a grin. “He sounds like a rogue secret agent the way you say it.”

“I like the way I say it!” She shot him a look, but it didn’t faze him. “Anyway, it turns out a lot of the kids at the school were getting dropped off early or picked up late because their parents had to work, but the school wasn’t letting them stay inside.”

“Why the fuck not?” I demanded.

“Language.”

“It’s a valid question! You can’t just let kids wait out in the rain or snow or cold,” I retorted.

“Exactly!” Raven replied. “They said it was a liability and made the kids wait outside. Anyway, it turns out Michael was taking care of these kids out of his own pocket. And a lot of the parents didn’t have the money to send the kids with food or whatnot.”

“At least half the kids are our kids,” Declan added. It took me a second to realize he meant they were pack kids.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I snapped. I could feel the weight of Mom’s glare without ever looking at her. “I’m allowed to be mad about that. No kid should go hungry, but we have a responsibility to them—as a family.”

Fuck. And I wasn’t here to help with that shit.

“I know, baby boy.” Mom patted my knee. “But that doesn’t mean you need to swear.”

“So, what are we doing here? What did you do?” I asked Raven.

“I’m rich.” She shrugged, making Cade snort all over again.

“I got that part.”

“What I mean is, unlike other people in this town, I can do something about it. Michael was spending whatever he could out of pocket to take care of the kids, but he’s just a teacher. I offered up Nolan’s store for the kids to be picked up from and dropped off by the bus to give them somewhere warm to go. Now, I’ve bought out the storefront next to his. We put a door in the shop, so they can go back and forth between the care center and the bookstore if they want. Nolan lets them read whatever they want as long as it’s age-appropriate. I had to go through a bunch of legal shit with the state to become an actual center. I really don’t want to get sued. Not that I can’t afford it, but I just want the Baby Bird Care Center to be a place where parents can comfortably leave their kids and know they’re taken care of. So, now we have a whole center! We have food, activities, whatever. I teach art to a lot of the kids, and Nolan reads books. We split up helping with homework and whatnot. I’m hoping to incorporate music, but I need to find someone musical.”

“I teach guitar and singing,” I told her. “I also know how to play the piano if that helps.

“You teach?” Declan frowned. “Since when?”

“Good for you,” Mom chimed in, looking away from her conversation with Cade for all of five seconds. The look of pride on her face made the little kid in me happy.

“I started doing voice lessons a year and a half ago,” I said. “My only constant client is Violet. The girl can sing, but she can’t do it in front of people.”

“That’s sad,” Raven said. “But I’m totally going to use you.”

“Maybe don’t say it like that,” Declan muttered. I tossed him a grin. He was fucking lucky Mom was here. If she wasn’t, I would’ve added my own commentary just to poke at him with innuendos.

“Count me in,” I continued. “I have to find a job—”

“You have an interview with Sebastian Monroe Jr. next week,” Declan interrupted.

“I do?”

“Yeah.” He nodded slowly. Jesus fucking Christ. I didn’t need my big brother setting up my job interviews. “I let him know you were back in town and looking for a job—asked if he had anything for you. He said to come in next week either Monday or Wednesday. He’ll be there all day. If you can’t, just give him a call.”

“You didn’t have to do that. I could’ve done it.”

“Just say thank you and go to the interview,” he said, effectively ending the conversation. I still fucking hated it. Appreciated it but hated it. I could do these damn things on my own.

“Fine,” I muttered under my breath. Stupid shit fucking smiled.

“Oh, look at her hair!” Raven exclaimed in a complete squirrel moment. We all fucking looked—we had to. A woman I didn’t recognize weaved her way through the diner, but her hair drew attention her way with its shades of purple. Something sparked deep in my mind that I couldn’t quite grasp. Pale eyes caught me staring, and she offered a wide smile. I didn’t return the gesture, merely looking away as an uneasy feeling settled in my stomach. My wolf mirrored the sentiment, squirming uncomfortably against my control.

Did I know her?It felt like I knew her and not in a good way.

“Know her?” Cade asked, his gaze flicking in my direction.

“Don’t think so.” I shook my head. But fuck if I couldn’t get rid of that nagging feeling that I did somehow.

That feeling sat with me all through breakfast. I picked at my food and tuned out the conversation. That hair. Those eyes. There was something unpleasantly familiar about her. I couldn’t get her out of my fucking head—and I didn’t have a bad memory. So why the fuck couldn’t I place her?

“Excuse me.” We all looked up to see the woman with the purple hair standing, her fingers wrung together and a hesitant smile on her face. When she had our attention, she let out a nervous laugh. “Okay, I know it’s weird, but your tattoo… it’s gorgeous. Seriously, it’s the best floral sleeve I’ve ever seen, which I know! I’m weird! Staring at a tattoo from across the room, but what can I say? I just love it.”

“Thank you!” Raven beamed. “Here! Have a closer look.”

She scooted out of the booth and offered her arm to the woman. The tattoo in question was gorgeous—Bea’s work always was—but the secret it held was far more important than its pretty appearance. The pack insignias for the Byrnes, Ironwoods, Stones, and Bakers were hidden in that tattoo—something humans couldn’t see. So, why the fuck did it look like this woman could see right through the pretty facade? It didn’t sit right with me.

“Oh my gosh.” The woman’s smile couldn’t get any bigger as she ran her fingers over Raven’s tattoo. “Are you sure? This is weird, isn’t it?”

“Not at all. More people should compliment strangers,” she said. “The world would be happier.”

“Absolutely,” the woman agreed. The level of awe in her voice was unmistakable as she traced the twists and turns of every flower in the tattoo. Raven genuinely didn’t seem to mind. “It’s exquisite. Who did it?”

“Bea Stone of Stone Gallery. It’s in Colorado.”

“I just can’t get over it,” the woman said. Reluctantly, she let Raven go and shoved her hands in her back pockets. Her practiced smile didn’t reach her eyes. The look was damn near predatory. My stomach knotted, my wolf attempted to intimidate her, and I sat a little taller as my control was tested. I swore to fuck I knew this woman. “Well, thank you.”

“Anytime,” Raven replied. “If you ever make it out that way, tell Bea that Raven Woods sent you.”

“Raven Woods, that’s a pretty name. I’m Sadie. And I’ll definitely do that.”

Fuck me, I didn’t like how those words sounded.