by Bella Falls
“Good to hear,” my boyfriend said, leaning against the doorway.
Startled, my friends scrambled out of their seats. Blythe got up and fixed him a glass of sweet tea.
“Don’t mind us while we chew on the feet we have in our mouths,” she joked, her cheeks slightly reddened in embarrassment.
Mason accepted the drink from her. “I know what all the gossips in town are going to say about Charli. But the thing is, what everyone else thinks doesn’t matter.” He winked at me. “I trust her, and I think her going with Dash is a good idea.”
“Then I think the only thing we need to do is to wish you luck,” Lily said, placing her empty glass down on the table and coming over to me. She threw her arms around my neck for a quick hug. “Keep us up to date.”
Lavender followed her cousin’s lead. “I hope that whoever killed the young shifter is caught,” she said, squeezing me tight. “But I think having you there will help Dash deal with it better.”
She earned an extra-long embrace from me for her consistently sweet disposition and kind heart.
Blythe waited until both cousins left the room. “Don’t take any crap from the pack.”
Her response caught me off guard. “What are you talking about?”
“A friend of mine dated a shifter once. And she said that pack life operates outside the social norms of regular society.” My blunt friend didn’t pull her punches as she spoke. “Just be careful in your interactions with them. You might be a friend to their alpha, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be totally protected.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Wait a minute.” I paused, processing her warning. “Are you saying you have friends outside of Honeysuckle?”
My teasing eased a little of the tension in the room. Blythe chuckled and offered me a quick hug. Once my friends were gone, I turned my attention to my boyfriend.
“I appreciate what you said after what you overheard.” My stomach rumbled with a little anxiety and guilt despite his reassurances.
He crooked his finger to beckon me to him. Obeying, I closed the distance between us. Without hesitation, he wrapped me up in his arms and planted a long, lingering kiss on my lips. We both got caught up in the moment, our intimate embrace becoming more heated by the second.
Mason took the lead and slowed us down until he pecked me on my nose, forehead, and top of my head. “I meant what I said. I trust you completely because I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Before he could protest, I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him again since I wouldn’t get a chance to do it for however long I was away.
My feelings for my boyfriend got pushed to the side as darker emotions invaded my body. With regret, I brought our second kiss to an abrupt end.
“Dash must be here,” I said before I realized how creepy it might come off that I could sense the shifter’s presence through our connection.
Mason let go of me with a sigh. “I’ll be glad when you’re no longer tethered to him like that.”
“You’re not the only one.” Holding his hand, I pulled him behind me to the foyer where I’d left my bags.
Heavy footsteps up the porch stairs alerted us to the wolf shifter’s presence. Before he could knock, I opened the door for him.
“You ready?” He spied my stuff waiting to go. “I’ll take those out to the truck.”
“When did you get a truck?” I asked, confused.
He picked up my bags as if they weighed nothing. “I had Max take my motorcycle and head back to Rockville already. We’re borrowing his truck since I figured you wouldn’t want to ride a bike all the way there. Plus, I figured as a girl, you’d have a bunch of stuff to take with you.”
“It’s not that many things,” I defended.
“More than I could put on my bike. I’ll meet you outside.” He left Mason and me alone again.
The two of us went through my last-minute list of things to take to make sure I’d gotten everything. With trepidation, I picked up the thermos of sludge, debating whether or not to obey my grandmother and take it with me.
“It can’t hurt to have it with you,” Mason said.
“I don’t know. It’s pretty vile stuff,” I countered, scrunching up my nose.
He took it from my grip and carried it for me. “Yeah, but if you decided you wanted it and didn’t have it…”
“I’d regret it,” I finished. “Fine. But just because it’s going with me doesn’t mean I’m drinking any.”
Mason followed me outside. I found Peaches sunning herself on the floor of the porch. Crouching down, I gave her some kitty love to tide us both over until I came back.
We walked out to the road where the big black truck idled with Dash waiting inside for me. As soon as he saw us approach, he got out and came around to the passenger side.
He stuck out his hand to Mason. “I promise that I will take good care of her.”
“I know you will,” the detective accepted, shaking on it. “If you need any help on the warden side of things, call me.”
Dash’s eyes widened in surprise. “Thanks. I just might do that after I assess what happened.”
I waited for him to get into the driver’s side of the truck before giving Mason one last hug. With quick effort, I threw up a mental wall to keep any of Dash’s emotions from reaching me.
The detective kissed my forehead once more. “Be good. Stay safe. And do your best to stay out of trouble.”
“Pfft,” I replied, waving at him as I opened the passenger door. “Piece of cake.” Once I got settled inside, I rolled down the window and waved at him as Dash drove us away.
I regretted my last words as we trundled down the road towards the center of Honeysuckle, worried that my flippant answer might have just jinxed me.
The first hour of the ride was spent in tense silence. We drove down lots of two-lane back country roads until we hit the main highway that cut across the state. Normally, I’d have the radio on, singing tunes off-key to keep myself entertained on a long road trip. Since it wasn’t my car nor really my trip, I watched the scenery of small towns and country farms pass by until I couldn’t take the silence any longer.
“Dash, can I ask you something?” I ventured, risking a little conversation.
“Hmm,” he grunted.
Unsure how to interpret his answer, I pushed forward. “If it’s not breaking pack code or whatever, can you tell me what you found out about this Zach person?”
It took him a long minute to respond, and I wondered if I’d stepped my foot in it. I was about to tell him to never mind when he finally spoke.
“His name was Zachary Owens. He had been this scrawny little boy when I first left my home and came to Honeysuckle Hollow. You kind of know the tumult of leadership the pack went through.” He gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. “Anyway, the poor kid came of age during a bad time, and it really affected how he was growing up. Got himself in with a bad group of older friends. And definitely got himself into a bunch of trouble.”
I stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt out of concern he’d stop sharing. When he continued, I did my best to keep my eyes on the road in front of us rather than on him.
“By the time we got rid of my brother Kash, Zach’s parents were desperate to straighten him out and get him back on the right track, but it was a long road.” Dash paused for a second while he pressed on the gas to pass an eighteen-wheeler truck. “We finally got him to go to rehab after months of working on him.”
The word rehab echoed in my head. “How old was he?”
“He just turned eighteen,” he answered.
I swallowed hard. This kid had barely started his life and already he’d experienced so many challenges. And now, that young life was over.
“Do you know how he died?” I asked in a low voice.
Dash’s jaw tightened. “Not yet, but Max said they think he’d relapsed. I told him no way, that I was sure Zach was making good choices. Guess that makes me a fool of an alpha.”
Unable to hold myself back, I reached out to touch him and offer some form of comfort. Taking a chance on using our magical connection, I pushed feelings of sympathy and care at him.
He winced and cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind, I’d really rather not talk about it. At least, not until I get there and can process everything.” Turning on the radio, he nodded at it. “Feel free to pick whatever music you want.”
It stung that he wouldn’t accept even a small show of compassion, but in his circumstances, I could understand. Taking him up on his offer to keep the cab of the truck from being a tomb of desolation, I flipped through the stations until I found one with some classic rock on it.
I leaned my head back and closed my eyes for a second, letting the hum of the road underneath us and the gentle rocking of the truck relax me.
“Wake up, we’re almost there,” Dash demanded.
Blinking my eyes, I found the sun almost set in the sky. Mountains rose around us with tall trees stretching out for miles. We trundled down a two-lane road, and I tried to read the signs of the small businesses we passed.
We slowed down as we approached a paved driveway with two huge timber pillars on either side of it and a large painted wooden sign that hung across. Taking in the whole spectacle of the property, I got a little giddy. In order not to tick off the driver, I almost had to sit on my hands to keep myself from clapping with glee.
“Dash, since when do you live on a Christmas tree farm?”
Chapter Seven
We pulled up to the large log-cabin home sitting on the peak of a hill surrounded by row upon row of living Christmas trees. An older woman with gray hair wearing a red-and-black plaid flannel shirt, jeans, and muddy boots waved at us as Dash pulled up next to her and parked the truck.
“Wait for me,” he instructed as he opened his door. He hopped out and spoke to the woman.
Her bright smile remained on her lips as she leaned her head to see past his hulking body to take a gander at me. I raised my hand and wiggled my fingers in a weak wave. The two of them had a quick conversation I couldn’t hear, but the woman had no problem smacking Dash upside the back of his head. And he actually looked a little sheepish.
When he turned to make his way around the truck in my direction, she held him back and gave him a look that stopped him in his tracks. Whoever she was, I wanted to learn her tricks to get him to obey like that.
She maneuvered around the front of the truck until she got to my door and opened it. “My boy is always full of surprises.”
“Your boy?” I blurted, realizing I knew very little about Dash’s full life.
With a wave of her hand, she beckoned me out of my seat. “Well, might as well have been. His mama and I were best friends all our lives. I consider Dash and Davis family even if their blood don’t run through my veins. Doesn’t make them any less mine.”
Her statement earned a big grin from me. “My grandmother always says something similar since I was adopted.”
“She sounds like good people. Name’s Elodie Jones, but you can call me Aunt Ellie if you want.” She opened her arms wide for a hug.
Without hesitation, I took her up on her offer. “I’m Charli.”
Elodie pushed me away from her but gripped my arms. “Oh, ho. So, you’re the little witch that’s got my boy all tangled up.”
“Aunt Ellie,” Dash warned in his usual grumpy tone.
She waved him off and leaned into me, speaking loud enough to be heard. “He tries to be all scary and dominant, but he’s just one big teddy bear.”
I giggled and glanced over at my friend. He raised his eyes to the heavens as if he could get the gods to stop his aunt from talking. Anyone who could put Dash in his place like this deserved my absolute adoration.
“It is so nice to meet you.” I gave her another quick squeeze.
She patted me on my back. “You, too. I hope we have a good chance to get to know each other better since you’ve been a big topic of conversation ever since he came back from that small town you live in.”
“I’d love to hear what he’s told you,” I baited, hoping to get an insight into what Dash thought about Honeysuckle Hollow.
“Well, come on inside,” Elodie invited. “We’ll get you both fed and then settled into your cabins.”
I looked over at the big house in front of us. “We’re not staying here?”
Dash jumped in. “We’ll be staying in some of the guest cabins on the ridge over yonder. After we eat, I’ll take you over there.”
I fell in step behind the two of them, eavesdropping their easy banter with each other. The more Aunt Ellie gave Dash a hard time, the more I fell in instant love with her. She even cajoled him into setting the table, refusing to allow me to lift a finger since I was an honored guest. I took the time to take in the decor of the cabin, admiring the different style as well as the incredible mountain vista from the large windows in the living room.
The mantel over the roaring fireplace was covered in framed photos from all different eras of life. I found one with two young women embracing each other and laughing. Something about the girl on the right intrigued me, and I swiped the photo from the shelf to take a closer look.
“That’s my mama,” Dash said from behind me.
I was glad I had a good grip on the photo since he’d startled me. Pointing at the woman who had caught my attention, I waited for his confirmation. “She’s truly beautiful.”
His eyes softened. “She was, especially when she smiled. That picture was taken a year before she was promised to my father, so life hadn’t beaten the joy out of her yet.”
I offered him the frame, and he took it from me with great care. His thumb stroked over the image of his mother. “I wish I could have made her smile more often.”
“I’m sure you did, Dash,” I reassured him. “She just had a harder life than she’d anticipated. But I’ll bet you were one of the best things about it.”
He shook his head and put the photo back. “And yet, she didn’t live long enough for me to fix things. For her to see how things have changed for the better.”
Not wanting him to delve any deeper into his regrets, I pointed at the mantel. “Is there a picture of you as a kid?”
My ploy to distract him worked, and he perused all of the photos. “Ah, this one right here.” With careful fingers, he plucked one from behind a line of others. “This is Kash on the left, me in the middle, and Davis is the smaller fool making the silly face.”
I took the frame from him and stared at a boy teetering on the cusp of becoming a young man. His sideways grin would have helped me identify him to begin with, but this kid held none of the burdens and worries that the older version carried on his shoulders like big old boulders.
“Where was this taken?” I asked.
Dash moved closer so he could look over my shoulder. “I think that’s at this touristy place called Mystery Hill over in Newcomb County a couple towns over. Aunt Ellie drove this big station wagon, and she piled us into it and drove us over for the day. If I remember correctly, we did some gem mining, some splashing around in the falls nearby, and then went through their little museum that documented why they call it Mystery Hill.”
I tilted my head. “Why was it called that?”
“I think there was something about gravity that was supposed to be different there. Like if you rolled a ball, it went uphill instead of going down. Same with water,” he explained, his eyes still trained on the carefree kids in the picture.
I noticed something a little odd. “It looks like there’s someone else in the picture. There are you and your brothers, but there’s another set of legs there.”
A genuine chuckle reverberated out of Dash. “That’s because Aunt Ellie’s daughter Cameron used to be so shy that she always hid behind us. I swear, I’ll bet Elodie doesn’t have one picture of her until she was much older. Cam used to be a shrinking violet, but she’s grown up to be a great big pain in my—”
“Nice
to hear you talking so glowingly about me, boss.” A woman about my age entered the place. She walked over to Elodie in the kitchen and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before she bounded over to join Dash and me in front of the fireplace.
“Oh yeah, Mystery Hill. The day Mom and I liberated you three and your mother from your father’s home.” She leaned in close to Dash until her firm body squished against his.
A little bit of jealousy rose from my belly into my chest and snaked around my heart. By the time I could identify the emotion, I shook my head in dismissal. However, Dash raised an eyebrow at me, clearly aware of how I’d felt even for a brief moment.
“You liberated them?” I asked, focusing on the picture again instead of the heat flaming my cheeks.
Cameron looked up at me. “How much do you know about Dash’s home life growing up?”
I shrugged. “Not much other than his father wasn’t very nice.”
“Hoo boy, now, isn’t that the understatement of the century,” she whooped. “His father was an absolute beast who terrorized his family and ran the pack with an iron fist.”
“Cam,” Dash warned.
“It’s a wonder this one turned out even seminormal.” She jutted her thumb at her close companion. “And thank goodness he did. If it weren’t for him, the Red Ridge pack would have gone to the dogs. Or been taken over by another pack. We owe our lives to Dash.”
“No, you don’t. And quit trying to make me sound like a hero. I hate it when you do that.” He snatched the photo from Cameron’s hands. “Come on, I’ll bet your mom has dinner almost ready to serve.”
I followed Cameron towards the dinner table but turned in time to see Dash put the picture back in its place. He stood in front of the mantel for an extra second, and I could sense his longing and regret swirling inside of him.
“Y’all come on and choose a seat. We should chow down before the food gets cold,” Elodie commanded.
I helped her carry out some of the dishes and set them on the table. Cameron took the seat next to her mother’s place at the end of the table. I sat across from her, and Dash eventually joined us, taking the other big chair across from our host. We passed plates around to get them loaded up with all of the steaming home cooking.
