by Jane Jamison
Please pick up.
She almost fainted with relief when she finally heard Joe’s voice.
“Bonnie, is everything all right?”
“No. There’s”—what did she call their unseen attackers? —“a bunch of people…or werewolves, maybe even a pack…outside our RV. They’re banging on the walls and howling. Please, Joe, please help us.”
“Bonnie, do you have a gun?”
“No.” She hated guns and had never even shot one.
“Okay, then get a knife. Use it if you have to. Casey and I will be there as soon as we can.”
He clicked off, leaving her clutching the phone. What if they didn’t get here in time? What if their assailants overpowered them?
Another round of howls came along with more growling. The door shuddered under several loud bangs and footsteps pounded overhead.
She yanked open the kitchen drawer and found two long butcher knives. She handed one to Harry. “Use it if you have to.”
He nodded then drew closer as they stood in the middle of the RV. The din of the attacks on the RV grew louder.
“Come on out and play, Harreeeeey.”
“Honeeeey, baby. Don’t ’cha want to change? We know you want to. Run with us, Harreeeey.”
They’re werewolves, all right. But how did they know we were here?
She clutched the butcher knife in her hand and waited. Suddenly, the noise stopped. She looked at Harry who was just as dumbfounded as she was.
“Do you think—”
The lights went out, cutting off her sentence.
Bonnie pulled Harry with her, moving backward toward the bedroom. The only access to the bedroom was through the door and two small windows. She doubted that anyone other than a small child could get their body through the windows. Locking the door behind them, she huddled with her son on the bed.
They waited, side by side, as the darkness surrounded them. The moon gave a dim light through the curtains over the window, and for the first time in a long while, she wished for a full moon.
After the horrible racket, she never would’ve thought that silence could be even worse. She could hear their breathing and wondered if the werewolves with their sensitive hearing could pick up the sounds through the walls.
A loud racket that came from the front of the RV startled her, and she stood, putting her body in front of Harry. If anyone got into the bedroom, they’d have to go through her to get to her son.
More noise came, growing closer. She dragged in a ragged breath and held the knife high. When she heard the sound of someone trying to turn the doorknob, she swallowed and got ready to protect her son.
Chapter Seven
“Bonnie, open up. It’s Joe and Casey.”
Bonnie’s knees almost gave out as relief swamped through her. She flung the door wide. In an instant, she was hit with the strange overpowering attraction that always came whenever the Colter brothers were near. “Did you see them?”
Casey’s gaze fell on the knife she still clutched in her hand. He positioned his flashlight on it. “Yeah, we did. Or at least, the backside of them as they ran off. You’re safe now, so, um, could you lower that knife, please? You’re making me a bit jumpy.”
She hadn’t even realized that she was still holding it. Turning it around, she handed it to him. Her hand shook. “I’m so glad you came. I don’t know what I would’ve done.”
Joe pulled her into his arms, unmindful of the fact that Harry was watching. The light of his flashlight bounced against the wall. “It was a bunch of teenagers.”
She pulled away, knowing that Harry wouldn’t like her to stay in Joe’s arms. Yet if she’d had her way, she would’ve stayed in his arms forever. “Teenagers? Are you kidding me? That was a bunch of kids?”
“A bunch of werewolf kids.” Casey led the way back to the living room section of the RV. “That’s not the same as a group of human teens. They have all the assets of any werewolf, like strength, fangs, you name it.”
“Question is, why were they terrorizing you?”
It was all too evident by Joe’s lingering focus on Harry that he thought her son had something to do with their group’s appearance. “Harry, do you know anyone around here? Any other kids?”
“No. I haven’t met anyone.” Harry’s resentment darkened his face. “So that’s it? You think this was my fault? Shit, Mom, are you going to believe everything these guys say?”
“Hey, hold up.” Joe backed up, putting his hands up to ward off Harry’s anger. “I never accused you of anything. I was just wondering, is all.”
Casey moved to back his brother up. “He’s right, Harry. Thing is, we’ve never had any problems with werewolf teens going around and frightening people. A little while back there was a group of vampire teens, but we put an end to that.”
“You’re kidding me.” She felt her stomach flip over.
“Why do you find it so hard to believe in vampires when you know werewolves are real?” Casey waved off his question. “Never mind. That’s off the subject at hand. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t think we even have that many werewolf teens in town. Maybe in the surrounding area including Shatland, but again, I’ve never heard of a gang of them. Werewolves like to be part of a pack, but around here, we kind of consider everyone in Forever as part of our pack. We wouldn’t turn on one of our own.”
“One of your own? But Harry and I are new in town.” She hated to voice her concerns, but she had to. “Maybe this is your town’s way of telling us that we’re not wanted around here.”
“Good. Let’s go back to Dallas,” muttered Harry.
“Naw, they wouldn’t do that.” Joe peered out the window then brought his attention back to her. “If I know Miss Clara and Milly, I’m betting most of the town already knows we consider you our intended mate. You were accepted the second they knew.”
“Then who did this and why?” She’d never had anyone attack her before, but to have strangers do it made it seem even worse.
“I don’t know.” Joe glanced at Casey. “But I do know one thing. We’re not letting you stay here alone any longer.”
“She’s not alone. I can take care of both of us.”
To her relief, Joe and Casey took Harry’s boast seriously. Casey nodded, reassuring and calming the young boy. “We know you’d do your dead level best, but from the amount of bodies we saw dashing into the darkness, you’re outnumbered. I’m not sure Joe and I could handle them by ourselves.”
“Which is why we want you to move into our house,” added Joe.
“You want me to move in with you?” At once, joy and alarm struck her, giving her a weird feeling that she found difficult to interpret. The thought of staying in the same place with them was thrilling, but at the same time, she had to wonder if she was jumping into something too fast.
“Mom, come on. We can’t move in with these two guys. It’s bad enough that you moved me to this stupid town.” Harry crossed his arms and glared at her. “We’re not doing this.”
Joe ignored Harry. “What do you say, Bonnie?”
“I don’t know.” She didn’t want to upset Harry more than he already was, but she would feel safer living with them.
“I tell you what,” Joe eased his back against the counter. “We’ll move the RV behind our house. That way, we’ll be right there should anything else happen. Plus, you can use our shower and cook in our kitchen. How’s that sound?”
“No.” Harry refused to back down.
“Honey,”—she reached for him but he jerked away from her—“it’s a good compromise. And while we’re parked behind their house, I can get hold of the guy that has the rental homes.”
“Do you mean Jackson Carr?” asked Joe.
“I think that’s the name Milly mentioned.”
“He’s the only one I know who has any rental homes.” Joe looked disappointed. “But give this arrangement a try first and see how you like it. You might not even need a rental home.”
She
covered the smile that rose to her lips. No need to make Harry any angrier. “Yeah, I think that’s best. Okay, then, I accept your offer.”
Harry whirled and stalked to the bedroom. He glared at them once, then slammed the door closed.
“That went well.”
She gawked at Casey. “Really? You think so?”
“No, but what do I know about kids?” He grinned. “How about you follow us back to the ranch? I’ll drive your car while you handle this boat.”
She reconsidered her decision for about a second. Although Harry was against it, she couldn’t shake the impression that she’d made the right choice. Not only for the short term, but maybe for the rest of her life. “Sounds like a good plan.”
* * * *
“Hey, Harry, Bonnie. How are you two this morning?” Joe was the first through the swinging door and into their small kitchen.
Bonnie had sensed Casey’s and Joe’s approach even before they’d come in. After moving the RV and her car behind their house last night, she’d begged off their offer of a nightcap and gone to bed. Harry had calmed down a little when she’d shown him that they weren’t moving into the men’s house. The rest of the night had been uneventful.
She’d awakened early, and finding the back door open like Casey had said it would be, she’d let herself into the kitchen. Throwing a loaf of bread next to the toaster, she’d asked Harry to start the toast and set the table while she cooked a large pan of scrambled eggs and another pan filled with bacon. She’d steered away from the two large steaks resting on the refrigerator’s top shelf. Barely cooked steak might be a mainstay for werewolves, but she couldn’t stomach eating steak, especially first thing in the morning.
Casey leaned on her shoulder and checked out her cooking. “That smells really good.”
“Thanks. Now sit down. It’s ready if you are.” She pushed him back, ignoring the slash of desire that hit her, and slanted her gaze at Harry. Casey caught her silent meaning and eased into a chair next to Joe.
Harry placed the plate of toast on the lazy Susan in the middle of the table along with butter and jam. Spooning everything onto two large platters, she added the bacon and the eggs to the rotating wheel.
“Enjoy, everyone.” She moved to fill three mugs with coffee. “Sugar or milk, guys?”
Both Casey and Joe shook their head. Harry grabbed a mug and held it out. “I’ll take mine black, too.”
She smiled and resisted the urge to ruffle his hair. “Not a chance. You can start drinking coffee with you’re older.”
“Aw, Mom.” He moved to take a chair farthest from the men.
She took the seat next to Joe. “I hope it’s the way you like it.”
Joe was already shoving a huge bite into his mouth. He chewed, then swallowed. “This is terrific. When we try and cook, everything comes out either burned or hard as rocks. Half the time, we eat at Milly’s.”
She liked that they enjoyed her cooking. Having only a teenage son to cook for wasn’t much fun. “I figured I could earn our keep this way.”
“You don’t have to earn anything. What’s ours is yours.” Casey closed his eyes and let out an appreciative moan. “This is heaven on earth. Bonnie, you’re going to spoil us.”
“Yeah, but don’t let that stop you,” added Joe. “Please. Spoil away.”
She ached to reach out and touch them. To slide her palms over their muscled arms. To drop her gaze below the table and see how they filled out the front of their jeans. But she was all too aware that Harry was watching her interact with them.
“One thing, Bonnie.”
“Yeah, Casey?”
“About your car?”
She knew what he was about to say since she’d been expecting it for a while. “Don’t tell me. It died last night.”
He seemed relieved. “Yeah. Dead as a doornail just as I pulled up to our home. I was hoping you wouldn’t think I did anything to it.”
“Of course not. In fact, I’m surprised it lasted this long.” She’d have to figure out another means of transportation.
“Feel free to use the pickup anytime you like.”
She smiled her thanks at Joe then at Casey and wished she could’ve shown them her thanks in a more physical way.
Damn, girl. Get a grip on your libido.
“Hey, Harry, how’d you like to check out the herd with us?” Casey slathered butter on his toast.
Bonnie held her breath. Harry had often said he’d like to ride a horse, but would his turbulent attitude keep him from making good on this chance?
Harry checked with her, and she tried not to nod too vigorously. He glanced at them, ignoring her. “Yeah, sure. I guess it’d be okay.”
Even someone with faulty hearing could’ve heard the excitement in his voice, no matter how hard he tried to keep it from leaking out. She could see that Casey caught it, but handled it in stride. “Great. We could use the help.”
She bit her lower lip to keep from smiling at the way Harry pretended not to care. He put butter on his own toast, much the same way that Casey had.
“What would I have to do?” He took a couple of huge bites before asking more. “Would I get to… I mean, would I have to ride a horse?”
He sounds like my little boy again. If only I could bottle and save this moment…
Joe shot her a quick smile, then doused it out when Harry glanced his way. Joe hurried to scoop more eggs onto his plate. “Yeah, riding’s a part of it. Have you ever ridden before?”
Harry’s worried expression tore at her heart. Surely they wouldn’t tell him he couldn’t go. Not after offering to take him along.
“No.”
“Eh, don’t worry about it. We’ll give you a good horse.” Casey leaned across the table. “Don’t go telling any of your city friends, but the horse does most of the work. A so-so rider with a good horse is better than a great rider on a bad horse. But we wouldn’t want other folks to know how easy we’ve got it. Better to let them think we’re rough and tough like the cowboys in the movies.”
Did she really see the corners of Harry’s mouth quirk up? Or was that her hopeful imagination?
“Okay, then. If you’re ready, cowboy, let’s get going. Daylight’s burning.” Joe scooted his chair back, causing a horrible scraping sound against the hardwood floor. “Besides, maybe once we get out of the way, your mom will eat something.”
She glanced down at the food on her plate and realized he was right. She’d been too intent on watching their interaction with her son to think about eating.
Casey and Harry stood and followed Joe out the back way. She hurried to the window and watched the three of them saunter toward the red barn that sat several yards away from the house.
Damn, but they look good together.
What would it be like if her son had not one, but two great men to help him through life as a werewolf? She already liked what she’d seen of Forever, and the people seemed friendly enough. At least once they’d heard that she was the Colter men’s intended mate.
Holy crap. Mate. Am I really their mate?
She let out a shaky breath and found that she liked the idea more than she would’ve thought. To have two men love her for the rest of her life and be surrogate fathers to her son? What more could she ask for?
A few minutes later, Casey led a horse out of the barn then Joe and Harry followed. Her son led a bay horse that, all of a sudden, seemed way too large for her son to ride.
What if he falls off? What if the horse bites him? Or kicks him? Horses do that, don’t they?
She lifted her hand, then stopped. If she made a fuss or refused to let him go riding, he’d never forgive her. It was the same thing as his riding in the back of the pickup. She had to trust that the men knew what they were doing.
Her son raised his hand and waved at her, then kicked his horse enough to get it to ride side by side with Casey’s and Joe’s. The three of them disappeared around the corner of the barn.
He waved to me.
/> She thought her heart would explode with all the joy filling it. If she’d ever doubted the decision to bring him to Forever, she no longer did.
* * * *
Joe had never given much thought to being a father. He’d always assumed that once they found their mate that she’d give them children. That his mate already had a child had thrown him, but he could handle it. Getting an instant teenage son wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to a man.
He leaned back in the saddle and laughed as Harry pulled on his horse’s reins and urged it to wrangle the lone calf back to the herd. Harry had surprised him when he’d said yes to riding with them, and he’d surprised him even more when Harry had turned out to be a natural rider.
Horses were usually skittish around werewolves, but they’d had their horses a long time and had trained them to accept their scent. Harry’s horse, Sugar Foot, named that because of the circle of white fur topping all four of his hooves, was one of their easier rides. Sugar Foot did most of the work for Harry and anticipated his moves, cutting off the calf and forcing it back to the herd. Joe figured Harry would think he’d done the job, but that was okay. The kid needed a little confidence building.
“He’s not doing so bad out there.” Casey leaned back in his saddle and rested one wrist on top of the other on the saddle horn.
“Nope. Not bad at all.”
“Course Sugar Foot’s handling most of it.”
“Yeah, but let’s not tell Harry that.”
Casey gave a quick nod. “Nope. No need to burst his bubble.”
“So how do you think it’s going?” Joe knew Casey would understand that he was talking about Bonnie and not only Harry. Or that he meant both.
“It’s going okay, I guess. Harry’s acting better today.”
“He is. Not so much like a spoiled brat.” Joe cleared his throat. “Let’s hope it lasts.”
Casey laughed. “I wouldn’t count on that. He’s a teen werewolf. Don’t you remember what we were like at that age?”
