by Eden Winters
“If Seth turns on the next full moon, he stands a good chance of being the Jack.”
“Well, good for him. I sure don’t want the responsibility.” Squirmy sensations twisted to life in Dustin’s gut. If he didn’t want to be leader, why did it bother him that the role might fall to Seth? He imagined Seth as a chicken, tossed into a pen of hungry foxes, then changed the image to wolves at Andy’s raised-brow assessment.
Andy rounded the desk, bending down to peer into Dustin’s eyes. “If Seth chooses Junior, he’ll become a puppet. You know it and I know it. Even if you don’t care for the guy, think of the passel, or the skulk. Consider Tiffany out front. If Junior takes over, she’ll be run off for being an outsider. Do you want to stand back while your friends, your patients, get tossed out like yesterday’s newspaper? Do you want to tell that sweet girl at the florist shop she has to leave ’cause she doesn’t have the virus?” Andy paused to take a deep breath. “And six months from now, you want to stand idly by while Junior sends your boy packing for not being a full blood, once he decides Seth’s outlived his usefulness?”
Dustin sank back into his chair. Ouch! Direct hit! “He wouldn’t! The passel would never allow it.”
“By then, the passel will be made up of only full bloods, and the casino Junior keeps bragging about building will bring in enough money that they’ll do whatever he says. He means to out every last one of you. Go public. And he plans to evict any other shifters besides possums. He has dreams of making full bloods some kind of protected species and turning the town into a reservation, selling the place to the government; that is, if he can get control of the McDaniel lands.”
“Where did you hear this?” Dustin didn’t think the skulk kept up with passel rumors.
“Let’s say I have my sources, and my reasons for wanting to stop his plans. What you and I had aside, you’re a damned fine man and one hell of a Jack. If you need to reach some kind of agreement, crawl on your hands and knees to Seth McDaniel and do it. But I’m begging you. I’m a married man with kits on the way. I want to raise them here, in a relatively safe environment. Right now, my family’s fate rests with you. And if you don’t care about any of those things, do it for Irene.”
And therein lay the problem. Dustin did care. He wanted nothing more than to drive out to Seth’s, beg him to stay, and help him enmesh himself in the fabric of Possum Kingdom. “After your cousin took over the skulk, you and I met in a bar. You bought me a beer, if I recall, and we wound up out back.”
Andy plunked down in a leather chair on the other side of the desk. “Guys hook up all the time. We lasted a little longer than most, and I certainly don’t have any regrets.” The sincerity in his eyes backed up the truth of Andy’s statement.
“Let me ask you something.” Dustin held Andy’s gaze, silently daring him to turn away. “Did you love me?”
“What?”
“You heard me. Did you love me?”
“Of course I did.”
“Others thought you were using me.”
Andy narrowed his eyes and fire flashed just beneath the surface. “If you’re looking for a reason to say ‘poor little me’ you won’t find it here. I never used you and I never will. When the skulk ousted Cousin Tate, I made a decision based on what I thought best for me, the skulk, and you. It nearly killed me to walk away, but I’m happy and want you to be too. And I will always, always have your back, no matter what.”
Dustin ended their staring contest first. “Thanks. I suppose I needed to hear you say that, because I’m seeing things from your point of view now. My actions affect not only me and Seth, but the passel. I want to make sure I’m pursuing him for the right reasons. But I’m kinda rusty at the whole dating thing, and I’m not one for grand gestures. Junior is capable of giving Seth everything he wants. I’m not. How can I compete?”
“Question. And answer honestly, don’t worry about hurting my feelings or nothing, but how do you feel about the guy?”
“I have no earthly idea. We were friends years ago, and the childhood friendship gets tangled up with how I feel now, as an adult. Throw in a healthy measure of respect for Irene and any of her kinfolk, and you grasp the problem, right?”
“No, I don’t. Let me narrow things down for you. Do you think about him a lot?”
Dustin nodded, running a hand over the back of his neck. “Pretty much nonstop.”
“About what? The sex?”
“More than the sex.” Though sex occupied many of his nightly thoughts. Dustin’s ears burned to be talking so bluntly about a new lover to his ex, but he couldn’t seem to stop himself. “I may hear a joke and want to share it. The other day I went for barbeque and wanted to call him to go with me. I even sat at the table we’d sat at the night I took him there.” He buried his head in his hands. “I’m such a sap.”
Andy wasn’t finished yet. “Picture him with Junior. Get it good in your mind. Him and Junior sitting at a table—your table—where the two of you sat.” The words took on a taunting note.
Dustin glanced up and idly lifted a pencil from his desk, flexing it between his fingers. “And?”
“Imagine him leaning over the table and laying a big, sticky smooch on the bastard.” The pencil snapped in half. “Now we’re getting somewhere.” Andy grinned. “You’re jealous. In this case, that’s a good thing.
“Now, imagine Seth is working on the house out there and falls off a ladder. He’s lying on the ground, grasping his leg and yelling.”
Dustin's jaw clicked shut, his teeth grinding together.
“Good. But maybe doctor instincts. Now, imagine Seth sitting alone at Irene’s, sad, staring at a picture of his parents.”
Recalling the previous night, Seth crying over Brenda’s journal, something in Dustin’s heart twanged. “Can you get to the point?”
“All these things might well be happening, and you reacted to every one. You care for the guy more than you’re willing to admit. Now, I’ll let you in on one more secret Junior hopes you don’t find out.”
“What secret?”
“Ms. Irene left most of the McDaniel spread to the Jack or Jill, not Seth. If Junior worms his way in, pretends to back Seth, only to issue a challenge later, no one will stand up to him. He’ll have the power, he’ll have the land, and he’ll have Seth. And he’ll use them for his own gain.”
What the fuck? Irene never mentioned any such clause in her will. “How’d you find this out?”
“The receptionist at the law office dates one of my foxes.”
Dustin’s mouth dropped open. “How many damned single foxes do you have?”
For the first time since he arrived, Andy smiled. “What can I say? Levi gets around. Now, you need to form a strategy. If you want Seth, you gotta stake your claim. And the sooner the better.”
“How can I do that when Junior’s willing to give him everything he wants?” Being a small town doctor wasn’t the most profitable field. Junior owned highly lucrative resort properties. How could Dustin hope to compete?
Andy gave Dustin’s hand a brief pat. “Give him what he needs.”
Dustin considered his friend’s advice. What did Seth need? He visualized Irene’s house, reminded of Seth’s comment about not being able to find a contractor. Calling up a patient on his computer screen, he told Andy, “I have an idea.”
“Mr. McDaniel? I’m told you need some work done.” Two trucks sat in Seth’s yard, loaded down with ladders, cables, scaffolds, and other equipment.
“You told me on the phone you didn’t have a free appointment until October.”
“Something opened up,” the man replied with a shrug. Doors opened on each truck, and men climbed out. “You need renovations or not?”
Seth pinched himself, figuring he must be asleep. He’d had a dream like this once, of hunky construction workers showing up at his place. His conscience gave him a resounding swat, hissing, Remember Dustin, you idiot! Amazing how much his conscience sounded like Monica Sims. “Don’t we n
eed to talk? Work up an estimate?”
A blindingly bright smile lit up the man’s dark face. “It’s already taken care of. Doc taught us boys the meaning of the barter system.”
Seth turned sideways to keep from knocking over an enormous flower arrangement. He loved flowers as much as the next guy, but enough was enough.
“The kitchen next,” he told Mari the maid, the latest worker to arrive spouting the virtues of bartering for Dr. Livingston’s services. The new microwave she’d brought with her definitely made cooking easier.
Junior had provided satellite and sent roses and chocolate, which Seth had taken to sending next door to the Johnsons. Dustin sent work crews. Irene’s house probably hadn’t looked this good in thirty years. While he appreciated the gestures, Seth wasn’t used to the attention.
His phone rang. “Oh, hi, Junior. Yes, I got them. Sorry, nothing personal, but no, I don’t want to have dinner with you.” Seth hung up. Of all the nerve! It’d be one thing to have men chase him because they wanted him, but another thing entirely to be chased because of wealth and power.
At least Dustin didn’t constantly harass him, though Seth wouldn’t have minded the occasional phone call, and his bed seemed so empty at night. Maybe I should call him flashed through his mind when the phone rang again. He answered it without checking caller ID, a bit irritated at someone who wouldn’t take no for an answer. “Junior, I meant it. I do not want to go out with you.”
“Junior? Who’s Junior?”
Oh, fuck. “Michael?”
At one time Seth would have welcomed a call from Michael, would have crawled through broken glass for the chance to hear the man’s sweet tenor again. Those days were long gone. “Why are you calling?” He barely restrained himself from hanging up.
“What? You’re not excited to hear from me?”
“Shouldn’t you be on your honeymoon?” Seth’s teeth clenched tight.
A sigh wafted over the phone. “I need to talk to you.”
“The last time you told me that you announced your engagement. You’re a married man now. Don’t you owe it to your husband not to be calling former lovers?”
“I’d hoped we were still friends. Speaking of, didn’t you notice when I changed my profile from ‘engaged’ to ‘lost cause’?” Never had the normally confident Michael sounded so small and lost.
“I have better things to do with my time now than surf media sites.” Wait. What? Oh, wow. Seth hadn’t been on the “All About Me” site in weeks.
“Well, me and Luther broke up.”
“What? Last I saw you were selecting caterers. How long have you been married? Two weeks!”
“We called off the wedding.” Michael’s voice dropped to a murmur. “Oh, Seth, I screwed up. Can you ever forgive me?”
Seth barely bit off the “No!” poised on the tip of his tongue. Was that a sniffle? “Are you crying?”
“It’s such a mess! He lied to me! Lied!”
Seth wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know the details, but curiosity got the best of him. “About what?”
“He told me he wanted me back, that he’d seen the error of his ways and wanted to make a commitment. The moment I got to New York, he sang a different tune. Nothing’s changed; he hasn’t changed. When I pressed him to set a date, he came right out and said he’d no intention of marrying anyone, let alone me.”
Seth didn’t know what to say.
Michael choked sobs shouldn’t inspire so much sympathy. Not after the way they’d parted. “I’d really appreciate it if you’d meet with me face-to-face—just to talk.”
“Sorry, Michael, but I’m not even in Chicago.”
“I know. You mentioned on your profile that you were in Georgia.”
Oh shit.
“Optimist that I am, I checked out a local place called The Pitted Pig. Do you know it?”
The gummy worms Seth had eaten earlier must have animated, causing squirmy sensations deep in his belly. “The Pitted Pig? Where are you?”
“I’m in Possum Kingdom. Come and get me before the natives get restless.”
Seth staggered and nearly fell onto the settee. Were possums immune to nervous breakdowns?
The barbecue wasn’t nearly as tasty without Dustin’s company. Seth sat across the table from a man he might have loved once upon a time, but try as he might, he couldn’t find any trace of those feelings now in his heart. Head down, hands trembling, Michael brought feelings of pity, nothing more. “I’m sorry he hurt you,” Seth said. Please let Michael not read too much into the words. Any chance for them had come and gone, never to return.
“I have no idea why he even looked me up, told me he wanted me back.”
“Where are you staying now?”
“My things are still in New York. I didn’t know what to do. My family and friends kept asking for wedding details. I needed to get away for a while, so I came here.”
“Why here?” Seth hoped Michael didn’t want to get back together. The more time he spent with Dustin, the more he realized how little he’d shared with Michael. He pictured the night he’d cried over his mother’s journal, how he’d wanted Dustin to magically appear and hold him. And Dustin would have too. Michael? Michael would have been uncomfortable, made excuses, and left at the first opportunity.
“Because you were the only one who ever told me the truth.”
“What?”
“You never lied to me and you were always there when I needed you. No matter what I’d done, you’d talk to me. My sister thinks the breakup with Luther is all my fault. She’d been looking forward to having a rich brother-in-law. My so-called friends either laugh and say it serves me right or don’t have time for me. But you—even though I hurt you, here you are.”
Time to clear the air once and for all. “I know you’re upset right now and grasping at straws, but what we had is over.”
Michael let out a sigh, staring out over the restaurant’s porch railing at the distant mountains. “I know that. I knew that a long time ago.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. You don’t see it, but you’ve built this wall to keep others out, and part of it’s my fault. Every time I hurt you, you built it higher.”
Seth snorted. “I didn’t do anything of the sort.”
Michael grimaced and nodded. “Every time we had an argument and I walked away, you let me go.”
“You had the right to do what you wanted. I couldn’t stop you.”
“Couldn’t or didn’t want to? I think you’re so used to people walking out of your life that you think that’s how things are supposed to be and you don’t try to change them. Just once, I’d have loved for you to come after me.”
“What?”
Michael cracked a faint grin. “I wanted you to chase me. Is that so bad?”
Actually, given Seth’s recent experience with Junior, yes. His thoughts turned to Dustin. Maybe he should break down, call and at least say hello. It’d be the friendly thing to do. Especially since three guys, who called each other “Jack”, were currently sawing, hammering, and possibly jackhammering in the kitchen, completing renovations at Dustin’s command.
Staring down at the table, Michael quietly confessed, “When I stood you up or you caught me in a lie, I wanted you to put me in my place. I need a firm hand, someone to keep me in line. When we first met, I told you about how Luther treated me, and you were pissed off. I think you even offered to fly to New York and give him a piece of your mind.” Michael gave Seth a dreamy sigh. “You were my knight in shining armor.” The smile fell. “The months went by, and you let me treat you however I wanted. So I did. I’m sorry now that I realize how badly I mistreated you. In my mind, if you didn’t like it, you’d tell me off. But you never did. I acted up to get your attention, like I would with Luther, yet when I ran away, you let me go. I’d come back, you’d let me. You should have slammed the door in my face, made me beg your forgiveness.” Michael stared down at his hands, watching a paper napkin turn to
bits of shredded fluff in his fingers.
While grateful Michael hadn’t delivered an “I want you back” speech, hearing their relationship from Michael’s point of view made him cringe. In Seth’s opinion, he shouldn’t have to keep someone in line. He wanted someone he could trust to treat him like they wanted to be treated, not play some kind of dominance games. Studying the man across from him, as humble as Seth had ever seen him, he didn’t feel anger at their breakup, he felt… thankful? Apparently, Luther’s appalling behavior was something Michael needed, but with permanence. “Actually, you and I never stood a chance, did we?”
“I suppose not, and I’m really sorry. You’re a great guy and—”
“You’d rather I be rich, older, powerful, and dominant?”
Michael paused before answering, still not meeting Seth’s eyes. “Yes.”
“You also want to be won over by hearts and flowers, don’t you?”
Michael gave him a hint of bashful smile. “Right again. See how well you know me?”
Seth’s phone vibrated, and he glanced down at the screen. Now would be a really good time for Dustin to call. Damn, a realtor. Seth ignored the caller.
“This really is good barbeque,” Michael commented. Seth sighed in relief at the change of subject.
“I like it.”
Michael inhaled deeply, then let his breath out slowly. “I love the clean air. I don’t see how you’ll be able to leave this behind to go back to Chicago.”
“It’ll be hard.” Very hard. Maybe impossible.
Seth’s phone rang again, Junior this time. He let the call go to voice mail. The man probably wanted to know how Seth liked the latest flowers. He’d fed them to the Johnsons’ goat.
Seth swallowed a bite of potato salad. “What are you going to do now?”
Michael shrugged. “I haven’t got a clue. I’m taking this week off to get my head together.” He reached across the table to lay his hand on Seth’s. “I appreciate you coming to talk with me. I’m sorry I wasn’t a better boyfriend, ’cause you deserve the best. There’s something else I need to say.”
