It hadn’t been pleasant branding the Taoiseach over the wolf bites, or shooting a couple of bullets into a dead body, but short of looking like a lunatic or revealing the secret of the O’Faoláns, Jade had no idea what else to do.
The one thing Jade did know was that every time she got involved with Conall O’Faolán on any level, her life was turned upside down. She hated lying to Wilson and Dougie, and more than that, she realized she could lose her job and go to jail herself for falsifying a criminal report and tampering with evidence. Clearly she had the means and the opportunity, but what was her real motive in doing it? Was it truly some altruistic wish to help the wolves have decent lives by keeping their secret? Or was she doing it just to win favor with Conall? Now that he no longer was obliged to mate with Aoife for the sake of the clan, would he still have to find some other wolf with which to procreate? And what had Aoife meant when she told Conall “to follow his heart?”
On the drive home, Jade pondered Sunday dinner the next day with the Page family and Boomer. It would be an entirely normal event. Peggy would make her famous pot roast with carrots and potatoes; there would be a sensible green vegetable, piping hot yeast rolls, and some kind of sinful, homemade dessert. Harlan and Boomer would help her and Nicki clear the table and wash the good china by hand. And Wilson would get out the Irish crème liquor to go with their coffee, as they sat around the fireplace, talking about anything and everything except, she hoped, sheriff’s business. Given the fact that the wedding was only six weeks away, a good chunk of the conversation would probably surround that. Jade knew her surrogate family well, and Boomer was the kind of man who would fit right in: loving, stable, relaxed, and most of all, normal. Why didn’t she feel more excited about that? She couldn’t imagine Boomer ever needing her to put a couple of slugs into an already dead body, or to do donuts in the Bronco around someone’s frozen pasture.
As Jade rounded the corner and her little house came in sight, her heart caught in her throat. The lights were on, and a curl of smoke floated over the chimney. She remembered coming home the night after they rescued Nicolette, the night she had shared everything with Conall.
She paused before getting out of the Bronco, both of her hands gripping the steering wheel.
Tomorrow morning, would she wake to an empty bed again? Would he disappear for weeks on end, leaving her with nothing but the memory of how his lips and hands and cock made her feel? She wanted to be angry at him, she wanted to tell him she was not a toy that he could pick up or put down as he pleased, and she wanted him to know how much his loyalty to the clan had wounded her.
Sighing, she cut the engine and eased out from behind the wheel. How could she be mad at a man who had lost both his lover and child? And her own sense of duty, the one she had violated in covering for him and his, that made her relate to the burden of being responsible for the welfare of others.
As Jade opened the door to the house, soft Irish music was playing, and the aroma of something wonderful cooking on the stove filled the air. She closed her eyes as strong arms peeled her coat away, then encircled her from behind, and she relished the feel of his lips playing along her neck as she pressed back against his hardness. Tomorrow could wait—normal could wait—for tonight she had everything: means, motive, and opportunity.
THE END
Broken Wheel Wolves: Boxed Set (The Complete Collection, Books 1-6) (Werewolf Romance - Paranormal Romance) Page 16
