Dinner was family style. The kids served themselves first and passed the dishes around the table.
Jeb coaxed Alex into conversation. Much like Rafe, Alex provided short answers with little elaboration, although Rafe’s tongue loosened a bit when Ronni asked about his twins.
Halfway through the meal, Ronni had eaten very little on her plate. “Excuse me.” She stood. “I need to put the dessert in the oven to warm.”
When she didn’t return, Bodie slipped away to find her.
She stood at the sink, her hands gripped on the edge of the counter and her gaze focused somewhere out the window.
“Hey, beautiful.” He eased behind her. “Are you daydreaming about me getting you all hot and bothered?”
She let out a soft but really long sigh. “No.”
“Liar,” Bodie whispered. “Don’t think I didn’t watch your sexy little strut to the kitchen. You know what it does to me. Are you angling for a repeat?”
“I did not strut.”
“I noticed you didn’t deny wanting a repeat.” Bodie dotted kisses down the side of her neck and she relaxed against him, which was the response he wanted to elicit. “What are you thinking about?” he asked.
“Every night before bedtime, I sit in the porch swing and think about how lucky we are to be here.” The catch in her voice caused his gut to flinch. “I don’t want to lose everything.”
“I won’t let that happen.” Bodie’s protective instinct surged with a healthy dose of testosterone.
“You barely know me.”
“I know you better than you think.” He turned her around, backed her against the sink and leaned into her. “I know you are incredibly kind. I know that you love your son more than anything. I don’t know what tragedies you’ve faced but you survived them without them callousing your gentle spirit.”
“Wow.” She cupped his cheek. “When did you learn all that?”
“When I kissed you.” He couldn’t very well explain that she had imprinted on him in the woods the night of the full moon. Since then, she was never far from his thoughts; he had a serious craving for her and lately had developed an undeniable impulse to soar high in the sky with her.
It didn’t matter that she didn’t have wings. There were other ways to fly with her.
Bodie had never experienced this impulse with any other woman. And he wasn’t going to let anyone snatch her away from him, especially that arrogant, egotistical wolf sitting at the table.
* * *
“We need to talk,” Jeb growled low against Ronni’s ear, “privately.” He gathered a cup of coffee and a dessert plate from the tray in her hands, continued past her and quietly exited through the back door onto the porch.
Oblivious, the kids turned washing the dishes into a game. There were as many soap bubbles on the kitchen floor as in the sink and their youthful laughter lightened what could’ve become a somber evening.
Clutching the serving tray, Ronni walked into the living room. Bodie and Rafe were in quiet conversation.
“Is Jeb in the kitchen with the kids?” Bodie’s fingers grazed her, accepting his dessert plate. The gentle warmth of his touches had given her boosts all through supper.
“On the porch.” Ronni smiled, though she knew it was weak. “He wants to talk to me alone.”
“Is that a good idea?” A slight rumble deepened Rafe’s voice.
“It’s either now, or he’ll catch me when I’m alone.”
“I’ll be watching,” Bodie assured her.
Ronni squeezed his shoulder, grateful for his kindness and strength.
“If you need me...” Rafe said. His intense gaze finished his sentence. From the moment he had tracked her down during his pursuit of his blood-kin, his support had been unfailing and unfaltering.
“I know.” She handed him an ice-cold glass of milk and a double portion of his favorite dessert, peach cobbler.
“One of Cassie’s?” Rafe’s eyes glazed.
“She brought it by this afternoon.” By far, Cassie was the best baker in town.
With Bodie and Rafe digging into dessert, Ronni slipped into the kitchen and put up the serving tray.
“I’ll be on the porch with Jeb for a few minutes,” Ronni announced to the kids. “Be careful not to slip on all the water y’all have managed to get on the floor. I expect it to be mopped up when I come back.”
Ronni walked outside, leaving behind a chorus of adolescent groans and giggles. The squeak from the porch swing fell silent.
“Supper was delicious,” Jeb said. Even in the dark, Ronni could see his eyes narrowed at her. “And the cobbler was excellent.”
“I can’t take credit for dessert.” Ronni sat on the swing but left a space wide enough for another person to sit between her and Jeb. “The Alphena-in-waiting brought it over.”
Silence followed the next few uneasy breaths.
Jeb began rocking the swing at a slow, leisurely pace. “When you invited me for a family dinner, I wasn’t expecting so many people.”
“I told you, I have a new life here. A new family, too.” Ronni meant Rafe but she knew Jeb would associate Bodie’s family in her reference as well.
When Jeb made no comment, Ronni stopped the swing and turned to face him. “I appreciate you keeping things civil tonight.” She hadn’t been sure he would.
“I can put on the same airs as everyone else.” There was an edge to his voice but no outright anger. “I get that your life has changed and Alex is growing into a fine man.”
“I want to keep it that way, Jeb.”
“Why do you assume that I would be a bad influence on him? I raised Zeke after Mom died.”
“After you killed her.”
“I did what I had to do to protect my brother.”
“No remorse,” Ronni said. “That’s why I don’t want you influencing Alex. There are alternative ways to handle disputes. Violence shouldn’t be your first choice or fifth or tenth.”
Jeb leaned forward, his forearms resting on his thighs, his fingers laced. “I don’t regret much, but I wish I’d never left Pine Ridge when Zeke was a kid. I could’ve made things better for him sooner, but I let him down. Then I did it again. When you tricked him into claiming you.”
“I didn’t trick him. Zeke loved me.”
“You didn’t love him.” Jeb looked sidelong at her.
“I did love Zeke, with every fiber of my being.” Maybe not at first, but his kind heart and easy smile and steadfastness won her heart over time. “It’s not my fault if you can’t accept the truth.”
Jeb humphed. “I let Zeke down again when I left Pine Ridge for good. I wanted him to be happy, but I couldn’t stand another man touching you. Not even him.” Jeb shook his head. “He still ended up dead. For what?”
“For me and Alex. He didn’t take sides when our Alpha began to lose power. Zeke just wanted to get us out before the fighting started. It was his idea to relocate to Walker’s Run. Rafe was the only family we had left.”
“There was me,” Jeb growled. “Zeke should have called me.”
“We thought you were dead.”
Jeb shot her a look that caused her stomach to tighten and roll.
“If Zeke knew you were alive and didn’t call you, it means he didn’t want you in our lives.” Ronni rubbed her hands over her arms trying to stop the heat from leaving her body. “He chose Rafe’s help over yours. This is where Zeke wanted us to be, and that is why I will not leave.” If she did, Zeke’s sacrifice would be in vain.
“You and Alex were his world.” Jeb’s brow furrowed over his squinted eyes and the air thickened with the weight of his grief. “I won’t fail him again.” He pushed to his feet. “I have to get back to Pine Ridge.” His unreadable gaze seemed to microscopically study her as if memorizing every line and curve of her body. “I’ll keep in to
uch.”
It’s over? Was he actually going to leave them alone?
He was inside the house before Ronni’s muscles unlocked. Unsteady legs carried her into the kitchen in time for her to witness Jeb giving Alex a hug before he left.
She followed him out the front door as he headed to his car. Bodie eased next to her, his arm slipping around her waist and drawing her close to him.
“Is it over?” he whispered in her ear.
“I’m not sure.” She gave Jeb a finger wave as he stared at them over the steering wheel. He finally gave a quick nod, then backed out of the driveway.
The air locked in her lungs finally audibly burst free. Maybe Jeb had changed in the years he’d been gone. The man she’d known would never have left quietly or empty-handed.
“What do you think?” Ronni turned to look at Rafe, standing slightly behind her.
“Supper was delicious, the company has been good and today has had enough worries.” Rafe shrugged. “He’ll do what’s in his nature. But so will we.”
Chapter 14
Day was just beginning to break and the sky was afire with red and orange streaks that matched the coming season. The buzz of the aircraft engine and whir of the propeller were as comforting as an old friend’s voice. Bodie hadn’t flown the Cessna, inherited from his father, in weeks and it felt good to get the airplane back into the air.
“No signs of disturbance from our vantage points.” Tristan’s voice crackled in Bodie’s headset.
“All’s quiet from my view, too.” Flying at night and without lights on the ground, it should have been nearly impossible to see anything, but with Bodie’s superior vision, he had no trouble. Unfortunately, there had been nothing to see. The plane’s noise likely warned the hunters and they had either left the area or were hunkered down and hiding.
“It was a long shot.” Tristan sounded as tired as Bodie felt. “I appreciate your help.”
“And I yours,” Bodie replied. “Offer still stands if you want to fly shotgun with me.”
“Thanks, but I prefer to keep my feet on the ground.”
Bodie made one more loop around the Co-op’s protected lands. Since he hadn’t seen any wolves in the sanctuary other than those with the security teams, he suspected Gavin had warned his pack not to run their beloved woods until the hunters were captured.
Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Bodie made the turn toward Maico’s small municipal airport. Every time he flew, he felt his father’s presence and heard his voice patiently coaching him through the take-off and landing.
The wheels touched down smoothly on the runway. “Thanks, Dad.”
He taxied to his assigned area, completed the postflight check and climbed out of the plane.
“Did you have a good flight, sir?” Dressed in dark blue coveralls and wearing a ball cap, a young woman, likely only a few years older than Alex, smiled at him.
“Everything was fine, Sarah,” Bodie answered the airport line technician. “But I didn’t locate what I needed.”
“Maybe next time.” She slipped past him to the pilot’s door he’d left open. “I’ll take care of her until you’re ready for her again.”
“I’m sure you will.” Bodie left as Sarah began her tasks of inspecting, refueling and hangaring the plane.
On the drive to the campground, Bodie couldn’t stop yawning. Wanting nothing more than a warm, soft bed, he’d have to settle for a small foldout couch.
Tomorrow he would spend the day house hunting with his family. The camper had been comfortable enough for one. His mother and Willow joining him sooner than expected had crimped the space and increased the bickering between his mother and daughter. They needed to find a real home, soon.
As he turned into the campground, a flutter rolled across his shoulders and his gut tightened at the sight of the black SUV stopped in front of his campsite. Bodie parked in his usual spot. Rather than waiting, he stalked toward Jeb, who was exiting the passenger side of the vehicle.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“Apparently you don’t like strangers around your family any more than I like them around mine.” An unveiled threat threaded through Jeb’s low, quiet voice.
“Ronni and Alex aren’t your family,” Bodie responded with equal menace. “You’ve been dead to them for years. Showing up now doesn’t change a damn thing. You’re nothing more than a poltergeist that needs to be exorcised.”
“It’ll take more than a priest and holy water to get rid of me.” Jeb’s humorless smile might’ve given a lesser man pause.
Bodie stepped closer. “I’ve taken Ronni and Alex under my wing. They don’t need you, they don’t want you.”
“I will claim what is mine!”
“Stay away from them,” Bodie rumbled in a low voice.
“Do you think you can stop me?” Jeb’s chilling laughter stirred something deep and primal within Bodie’s spirit. “You have no idea what I’m capable of doing.”
“I know exactly what you are.” Inwardly, a hot tremor shook Bodie though his stance remained rock solid.
The space between him and Jeb crackled with energy. A dark, dangerous entity slithered through Bodie’s mind. There was no other way to describe the ominous presence prowling in his consciousness.
Behind his eyes, a searing white-hot pain distorted his vision. Not only did he see Jeb standing before him, Bodie could see the pulse points throbbing at his throat and temples, even at inner wrists not covered by the sleeves rolled to his forearms. He also saw the predatory red glow of Jeb’s eyes and something akin to a heat signature radiating from the man’s body.
Bodie’s fingertips began to sting. He fisted his hands at his sides. “Trust me when I say if you don’t leave them alone—” a timbre Bodie had never heard laced his own voice and horrifically satisfying visions of clawing out the man’s eyes and stringing out his entrails played in his mind “—you will regret it.”
Whatever was happening to him, Bodie had never experienced it before. He wasn’t the type of man who derived pleasure from violence. Insomuch as it was possible, he preferred a peaceful path.
“Who do you think you are, telling me to stay away from what belongs to me?” A snarl weighted Jeb’s haughty laugh.
“Who I am is a man not to be trifled with,” Bodie replied. “Go back to being dead, Jeb. At least to Ronni and Alex.”
“If I don’t?” The challenge was clear.
“I’ve already told you.”
“Right. I’ll regret it.” Jeb gave a cold, short laugh. “You’ve got balls, Gryffon. I’ll give you that, but you should focus on taking care of your own family.” His gaze lingered on the camper before sliding back to Bodie. “And let me handle mine.”
Jeb stepped backward a few paces before he turned and walked to his vehicle.
Stay away from my family, you son of a bitch. That includes Ronni and Alex.
As if he’d heard Bodie’s thoughts, Jeb shot him a hard look before getting into the SUV, which promptly sped away.
“Dad?” Willow leaned out of the camper door. “Are you just getting home?”
“Yes, chickadee.” Bodie mentally shook off the encounter with Jeb. Maybe his heightened sensory reaction was nothing more than lack of sleep. He moved toward the camper.
“You’re bleeding.” Willow went inside ahead of him. “Enisi, Dad cut his hands.”
“I’m fine,” Bodie said as his mother came out of the bedroom.
“Let me see.” She turned Bodie’s hands palms up to inspect the unusual puncture wounds his blunt, square nails had made. “What did this?”
“Some trash I tossed out.” More or less the truth.
His mother’s gaze lifted slowly to his face and the look she gave him sent a ripple of uneasiness down his back.
“What?”
“Willow
, get the first-aid kit,” Mary said without taking her eyes off Bodie.
“I can take care of these myself.” He broke free of his mother’s grasp to her exaggerated sigh. “Willow, finish your breakfast, then get ready for school.”
Without waiting for debate or protest, Bodie went into the bathroom and locked the door. Looking into the small mirror above the sink, he didn’t see any changes in his physical appearance other than the dark moons beneath his eyes from lack of sleep. Doubting that he’d snatch more than a couple of hours at a time until the poachers were caught, he turned on the hot water and soaped his hands. Gently, he cleaned and rinsed the shallow wounds.
Then Bodie shucked out of his clothes, turned on the hot water and stepped into the shower to rid himself of the chill from the strange reaction he had to Jeb. However, the heavy weight in the pit of his stomach would likely lurk there until he was satisfied Jeb was no longer a threat.
Chapter 15
“Over there!” Willow pointed to a large round table in the center of a crowded Taylor’s Roadhouse buzzing with country-rock music and the chatter of patrons.
Jeb was gone, the weekend was here and Bodie felt as if he’d lived a lifetime in a smattering of days. Tired, but glad to have some down time with family and friends, Bodie shrugged at the hostess and allowed his daughter to tug him to where Ronni was seated. Absolutely stunning, she cradled a copper-headed infant in her arms who seemed as captivated by her as Bodie was with watching them.
Mine!
A warm cozy feeling settled in his chest. Everything inside him sighed. Ronni was the one. Absolutely, he had no doubt that she was the reason he’d been drawn to this town.
Typically, he wasn’t the type to give credence to fate or destiny but he was fast becoming a believer, considering the irresistible pull he felt toward Ronni.
Captivated by the She-Wolf Page 12
