Home For The Holidays (Dirt Track Dogs #6)

by P. Jameson

  Racing season is over, but the Dirt Track Dogs are ready to celebrate. Someone’s been naughty, and now the pack is expecting a new addition just in time for the holidays.

  Scarred up wolf shifter, Blister, has come a long ways since his days of sleeping in a tent in the woods. He’s made a real home with his mate, staked his claim on her bed and heart, and now he’s going to be a father. The idea isn’t easy to swallow. He has his doubts that he’s got what it takes to raise young, even if he desperately wants a family of his own. But his patient mate believes in him, and he refuses to let her down.

  When an estranged family member shows up, and puts the fun in dysfunctional, Blister and the pack will need all the Christmas cheer they can muster. But if they can all come together as a family, this is sure to be a holiday to remember.

  Home for the Holidays

  By P. Jameson

  Home for the Holidays

  Copyright © 2015 by P. Jameson

  First electronic publication: December 2015

  United States of America

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, redistributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any database, without prior written permission from the author, with the exception of brief quotations contained in critical reviews. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this work may be scanned, uploaded, or otherwise distributed via the internet or any other means, including electronic or print without the author’s written permission.

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  P. Jameson

  www.pjamesonauthorbooks.blogspot.com

  Other books by P. Jameson

  Ouachita Mountain Shifters

  A Mate’s Wish (Holiday Prequel)

  Deliciously Mated (Book 1)

  Ouachita Mated (Book 2)

  Merrily Mated (Book 3)

  Dirt Track Dogs

  Racing the Alpha (Book 1)

  Racing the Beast (Book 2)

  Racing Home (Book 3)

  Racing Hard (Book 4)

  Racing Destiny (Book 5)

  Home for the Holidays (Book 6)

  Ozark Mountain Shifters

  A Mate’s Denial (Book 1)

  A Mate’s Sacrifice (Book 2)

  A Mate’s Revenge (Book 3)

  A Mate’s Submission (Book 4)

  Sci-fi Fantasy Romance

  Starwalker (Amazon)

  Chapter One

  Blister slammed the accelerator to the floor, rounding the curve in the highway like it was nothing more than a dirt covered oval and his only purpose was to sling mud at other cars that dared to drive too close. As if the SUV he narrowly missed in the other lane didn’t carry a soccer mom and two kids rather than a suited up, helmeted and harnessed dirt track driver. He might’ve scared the shit out of her, but she was never in any danger. He was a damn good driver, on or off the track.

  Not giving two fucks about the patrolman that usually camped out just inside the town limits of Cedar Valley, he didn’t slow his truck until he’d reached the parking lot of Red Cap, the bar owned and ran by his mate.

  His angel, Annie.

  The text message he’d received from her minutes ago had sent a spike of fear straight through the middle of his chest.

  Get to Red Cap fast. It’s urgent.

  Concerned—and in the middle of dropping an engine block—he’d sent off a quick Are you okay?

  But there was no answer.

  It had taken half a minute to jump in his truck, still greasy from work, and race to her. Perhaps he was overreacting, but he wouldn’t take a chance with his Annie. Not when she… she…

  It was still so hard to think about. Hard to admit what he’d done to his angel. And while the guys thought it would be fine, Blister wasn’t convinced. They were even happy for him. They had too much faith in him sometimes. It was why he’d give his life for any one of them.

  And not just them. The other mates of the pack filled Annie’s head with sweet dreams about how this would all end. But he couldn’t help feeling like he’d made the biggest mistake of his life.

  It had started with the vomiting. His poor mate was hardly able to hold down a fucking saltine for three solid months. Sweet as she was, she assured him the sickness was a good sign, that it meant her body could support the baby he’d put in her. But he didn’t believe it for one minute.

  It’d taken time to convince him he hadn’t somehow poisoned her with his body.

  But then the sickness passed and her body began to change in the most wonderful ways. Her hips widened slightly to accommodate the new life inside her. Her already perfect breasts grew several sizes bigger. Her pretty face began to glow as if she was an actual angel and not just the angel of his heart. And to his surprise, there was another change. His mate was very needy, and what she needed was his body. A lot.

  He recalled the way she’d woke him up this morning, hand snaking across his abs to grip his cock.

  In their bed.

  He could finally do it. Sleep in an actual bed, like an actual man instead of a dog on the floor. It had taken him almost a whole year of falling asleep holding Annie’s hand while it hung from the bed to meet his on the floor. Or holding her until she dozed off, only to move to the carpet afterward. Every morning he expected to wake to see disappointment in her eyes. And every morning there was only her smiles.

  Because she was fucking fantastic. Understanding and kind. Patient. She was going to make the best mother. The best damn woman he knew. And she was all his. He had the mating mark to prove it.

  If anything happened to her…

  We won’t let anything hurt mate.

  Blister parked his truck and left it running as he bolted for the door of the bar. Red Cap typically stayed busy during the day since people around town loved Annie’s food just as much as beer. Maybe even more. But lunchtime was over so there were only a handful of cars in the parking lot.

  Swinging the door open, he stalled to a stop when he spotted his mate leaned against the counter absently rubbing her swollen belly and staring intently at a Christmas card. She was so engrossed she hadn’t even heard the bell on the door.

  He stalked forward, ignoring the eyes of the few patrons enjoying their meals. Pressing his hands flat on the bar to keep from scooping her up and carting her back to the kitchen so he could look her over and make sure she was alright, he rumbled out, “Angel? What is it?”

  She startled, dropping the glittery card to the floor with a little yelp. “Baby,” she hissed, her hand fluttering to her chest. “You scared the living daylights outta me! What are you doing here?”

  She bent to retrieve the card, holding her lower back and squatting at a weird angle.

  Blister frowned, feeling the web of scars on the left side of his face twist with the motion. She hadn’t even noticed he was in the room. He didn’t like that at all.

  Not. At. All.

  “I got your text.”

  Annie’s full lips turned down and her short blond ringlets swayed as she shook her head. “My text?” Then her eyes went big. “Ohhh! I sent that hours ago. But then I knew you were busy so thought I’d just wait to tell you when I got home.”

  The fuck?

  “I just got it five minutes ago,” he spoke low, trying to temper his frustration. “You said it was urgent. Get to Red Cap now, and then you didn’t answer when I asked if you were okay. I raced down here because… because…”

  Her brow furrowed as she likely felt the fear he’d experienced thr
ough their mating bond—the link that connected them, making two into one, and allowing them to know each other more intimately than a human pairing could.

  Annie’s small hand came up to gently caress his scarred up cheek. She always touched his flaw as if it was the most beautiful part of him. It was one of the things that broke him for her in the beginning, that she didn’t see him as damaged. She saw him as spectacular. As no one else did.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “You know that cell tower was down last week and all the phones have been wonky. It must’ve just now went through. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  His shuddered sigh left him feeling ragged. Adrenaline still pumped through his body and his wolf wanted to shift to dispel it.

  “Come here,” she said, sweetly. “Come to the back with me. Stephanie can take care of the customers.”

  She waited for him to work his way around the bar, and then he followed her through the swinging door, past the kitchen area to the supply room. Turning, she lifted up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips firmly to his.

  Mine. His wolf roared to life as the taste of his mate flooded his senses. Her belly kept her from getting closer, so he leaned down, taking her face between his palms to kiss her deeper. Tongue sweeping her sweet mouth, he let the fear go. His Annie was okay. The text had been a misunderstanding. She was safe and sound. Their growing young was safe.

  His world was still okay.

  The monsters of his past, the regret and loss, it wasn’t coming back to haunt him in his new life.

  He broke their kiss, pressing his forehead against hers. “I was so fucking worried,” he breathed. “All these changes with you, these risks we’ve taken, how are they worth it, Annie? If I lose you, I lose everything.”

  With his words, the sadness rolled off her in a wave that felt like a punch in the face. There’d been a lot of that lately. Making her sad, when he used to make her so happy. Saying the wrong thing when he used to never be afraid to tell her anything.

  For four years they’d been happy. Until he’d gotten her with young. Now there was so much worry and misunderstanding between them. He just wanted to make it all right again. Quit saying the wrong things. Quit making her eyes look like blue pools of sadness.

  “Blister…” She pulled away until they weren’t touching at all. Her hands went to her belly instead. “Don’t you think this is worth it? Having a young of our own to love and raise? A family of our own? And the risks aren’t great. Women were made to have babies. It’s kind of our thing. We can handle this stuff.”

  He stared at the round protrusion not trusting it at all. The young inside her was half wolf shifter. His mate was all human. Sure, Beast’s mate, Punk, was human and she’d had a healthy delivery, but that didn’t mean Annie would be as lucky.

  Blister had never been on Luck’s good list. What if that transferred to his mate?

  Barely more than a young himself, he lost his entire family in a wildfire that had spread up the mountain to his pack’s land. Everyone he loved, wiped out in the night while they slept. It was the cause of the burn scars to half his body and also the reason he hadn’t slept in a bed until Annie had coaxed him into one.

  Drake, a wolf from the other side of the mountain, had carried him down to the valley where the remaining survivors, Beast, Surge, and Diz, united to form a small pack. The Dirt Track Dogs. They were his family now. His brothers. Along with their mates and young, they were his family.

  But Annie… she was his air. His next heartbeat. The ache in his chest because it was so full of love for her. She was his world.

  He could never lose her and survive it.

  He looked away, running a hand through his hair. Didn’t she understand how much he loved her? Didn’t she feel the same way? Would she not be devastated if he was hurt in a race?

  He froze. Would she be?

  He’d never considered it before. Maybe there was just no way for a female like his Annie to feel this life-alteringly needy of another person. Maybe she didn’t love him the same now that there was a life growing inside her, needing her love too.

  The thought left him feeling like he was going to be sick. Because he needed her to love him. The baby inside her would be loved by many, but he only had Annie. And he wanted all of her love.

  He felt selfish for even thinking that way. He wanted her to love him more than their child? What kind of man was he becoming?

  “Blister?”

  He refused to look at her. How could he after thinking such awful thoughts about their young.

  Annie’s hand landed like a butterfly on his arm and he jerked away. “Don’t touch me,” he managed through a strangled throat.

  “What?” her voice cracked the air.

  He didn’t deserve her touch right now.

  “Just don’t, okay.”

  “Don’t touch you?” She confirmed angrily. “Since when do we say crap like that to each other?”

  Blister shook his head. “I need to go. I’ll see you at home.”

  “Are you kidding me with this? Blister, no. Talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  He stared up at her, knowing she could see the guilt and stupid fucking pain in his eyes but unable to shield it, and with no way to explain why he felt it. “I left the truck running.”

  Before he could do something more hurtful, he turned and walked out of the storage closet, out of the bar, stalking to his truck for escape.

  Chapter Two

  Annie scowled at the Christmas card once again, reading through the words her twin brother, Aaron, had written. After the drowning death of their parents, he’d decided to leave Cedar Valley. She realized now, it was his way of mourning. Running away instead of dealing. She recognized it because her mate was the same way.

  She sighed. Her sweet Blister. He was too hard on himself. Always had been. But when something bothered him, he retreated into himself instead of scraping all the junk out so it could be sorted. Usually with her though, he was a lot more revealing. She loved that he trusted her with his junk. They’d found a lot of treasures that way.

  Eyes narrowing, she read the card again but the words didn’t change.

  Aaron had been in the wind for so many years she had no real idea what his life had become. There was only ever his yearly Christmas card to help her guess. He never called. He never said much even in his writing. But she had to hope he was well, and maybe he’d found love, and was happy.

  Now, she had to wonder.

  Hey, sis. I’m coming home.

  Short and sweet. She should be excited to see him after almost ten years, but all his words did was baffle her.

  There was never a return address on his cards so she hadn’t been able to update him on her life. It was a source of pain for a while, knowing that he didn’t care how she was faring without him around to help run their family’s business. But Red Cap had done fine without him. She’d done fine without him. And she’d come to terms with the fact that her and her brother’s relationship was little more than a wisp in the wind.

  She didn’t hold on to pain the way Blister did. It just wasn’t her way. She didn’t hold grudges and she’d welcome Aaron home with open arms and a good finger-wagging. But… her mate came first, and their young. She wasn’t sure how he’d take her brother’s return. Especially since there was already something so troubling between them.

  Things had been rocky since he first scented her pregnancy eight months ago. They’d known she was fertile, and were usually careful around that time of the month. But this time, Blister’s wolf wouldn’t let him deny her a baby anymore. The other mates had young, and Annie would be lying if she said she didn’t have baby fever somethin’ fierce. But she understood Blister’s need to wait.

  His wolf however, did not.

  His eyes had been feral and riveted on her as he thrusted into her body.

  “Need to put my young in you, Annie. Need you swollen with my baby,” he’d gritted, his tone barely more than a growl. “Need
young to raise. Need you glowing and happy. Need to make you a mother. Fuck you so hard and good, and leave you with a piece of me.”

  Annie had reveled in his words. Even just the memory of that night sent shivers all over her body and a tell-tale wetness straight to her core.

  They’d made love over and over. Falling asleep and waking to do it again. It was pure bliss that came in second only to their first time together.

  But in the morning, Blister had been overcome with fear. The confident wolf from the night before was gone, and there was dread in his eyes instead. Things had only escalated from there.

  She caught little glimpses of the confident Blister now and then, and it was enough to reassure her they’d be okay. But now he was closing himself off, not allowing her to touch him. It was like they’d gone back to those frustrating days before they were mated, when he pushed her away only to want her nearer.

  Punk pushed through the back door of Red Cap. She was coming to take over the evening shift and Beast was filling in as bouncer—not that they needed enforcement often. But around the holidays sometimes the drinkers let loose a little too much.

  “Hey, Annie-bananie,” Punk called over as she tied on her apron. She was the toughest female Annie knew, and had the toughest mouth to prove it. But she’d mellowed out a touch since giving birth to Artie two years ago. And even before that, she’d always had a nickname for Annie.

  “Hey.”

  Punk frowned, mid-tie. “That doesn’t sound like my sweet-as-a-peecan-pie best friend. Your hi-how-are-ya is all off. What’s wrong?”

  Annie shrugged, but she might as well tell her. Nothing stayed secret for long when you were part of a pack like the Dirt Track Dogs. “It’s Blister,” she mumbled.

  Punk’s hands found a resting spot on her hips and she cocked her head, raising one pierced eyebrow in annoyance. “What’s the poor bastard done now?”