by Chloe Lang
“I need the scissors.”
After muzzling one of Bayless’s dogs, Lyle turned to him. “You said what?”
“Seriously, I don’t understand what’s troubling you and Kaylyn. I just want the scissors.”
Chance smiled. “Jaris, you asked Kaylyn to hand you the scissors by her left leg, right?”
“Yes. Have you all gone crazy?”
“How did you know the scissors were by her left leg?”
“Because…I can…see. Yes, I can see. My God, I can see.” He turned to Kaylyn. “You’re so beautiful. You’re gorgeous. You’re the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. But I knew you were. I already gazed at you with my fingertips.”
Kaylyn wrapped her arms around him. “Jaris, I’m so happy. This is a miracle.”
“We needed a miracle.” Chance grinned. “We always knew there was a possibility of your sight returning.”
“Like winning the lottery. I guess when Bayless’s dog jumped me and I hit my head, it was all I needed to get my vision back.”
Chance laughed. “If I’d known that was all it would take, I would’ve hit you upside the head a long time ago.”
“I know you would’ve, buddy.”
“When I realized you were shooting at Lunceford, I thought you were pulling a Hail Mary, so I jumped Bayless. Little did I know your sight had returned.”
Kaylyn released him. “Okay. You can see. Tell me what I’m doing right now.” She stuck out her tongue.
“Is that an offer for a kiss, baby?”
Chapter Twenty
Sheriff Jason Wolfe had moved this morning’s meeting to Ethel O’Leary’s courtroom. Thankfully, the explosion yesterday at the courthouse had been in the parking lot, so the building had suffered no damage.
Jaris walked into the crowded room with Kaylyn and Chance. They’d kept his recovered vision secret. Kaylyn, being Kaylyn, wanted to make an announcement about it after today’s meeting. She wanted the whole town to celebrate the surprise together.
Currently, the only four people who knew he was no longer blind were Kaylyn, Lyle, Chance, and himself.
Jaris held Sugar’s lead and Chance held Annie’s. Dr. Strong had examined them and all the dogs, including Bayless’s, last night.
“Have a seat everyone.” Ethel stood behind her desk, wearing her robes.
Just like Jaris had imagined, the eighty-year-old was a regal-looking woman. Quite the lady.
“You see any open seats?” Chance asked.
He looked around the room and saw Nicole sitting with her two men, who he’d only seen once—right before Patti had shot him. Beside the trio were three empty seats.
Nicole had always been pretty back in Chicago, but here in Destiny between her husbands and wearing a simple dress, she looked radiant.
“Follow me,” he said, taking Kaylyn, the most beautiful woman in the room, by the hand. “These seats taken?”
“Hi Jaris,” Nicole said. “They are yours.”
He took a seat. “It’s nice to see you out of uniform for a change, Deputy. You look nice in that dress.”
She smiled back. “Thanks, Jaris.”
He grinned, knowing she hadn’t realized he could see.
Sheriff Jason Wolfe took the microphone. “Thank you all for being here. I know it’s been a hectic couple of days. You may have noticed that Judge O’Leary is in her robes. The reason is we got started early this morning getting our prisoners indicted.”
The crowd applauded. Even though everyone was exhausted, they were in a celebratory mood for winning the war on their town.
“The man who shot Kaylyn and his cronies are in custody as well as more than a dozen of Lunceford’s other men.”
“That’s right,” someone on the left side of the room shouted. “And Jaris Simmons killed the bastard. Kip Lunceford is dead.”
The crowd came to their feet, cheering. “Jaris. Jaris. Jaris.”
“Let’s bring the man of the hour up here,” Patrick O’Leary said. “We want to hear from him.”
Kaylyn squeezed his hand. “Go. They won’t take no for an answer.”
“Only if you and Chance come with me.”
“Okay.”
They went up to the front and stood by the sheriff, who was smiling broadly.
“Jaris, tell us what happened in the kennels.”
He recounted the events, leaving out the part about his sight returning. Kaylyn had wanted to be the one to tell that little detail.
“Hold on, Jaris Lee Simmons.” Nicole stood up and left her seat, running to him. She wrapped her arms around him, tears in her eyes.
“What’s the matter, Deputy?” the sheriff asked.
“He saw I was wearing a dress.”
The sheriff’s eyebrows shot up. “And? You ran down here crying for that?”
“Yes.” Nicole looked him in the eye. “You can see. Your sight is back, isn’t it?”
He smiled. “Yes. It is. Sure took you a while to figure it out, Deputy.”
Everyone in the courtroom roared with joy.
Nicole hugged him again and then Kaylyn. “I’m so happy for you.”
“I’m happy for all of us,” Kaylyn said.
Chance leaned over. “I guess Nicole ruined your surprise, sweetheart.”
“If anyone else had spilled the beans I would’ve been disappointed.” Kaylyn grabbed Nicole’s hands. “I know you have been carrying a ton of guilt, so I’m thrilled you were the one to let everyone know our good news. Besides, isn’t that what’s the most important thing? Jaris has his sight back.”
Chance slapped him on the back. “You lucky devil.”
Jaris had been so wrapped up in all the excitement, he hadn’t thought about how Chance would feel. His best friend was still blind.
I’ve got to talk to Chance.
* * * *
Chance finished his beer. “How about another?”
“I’m empty, too,” Jaris said. “I’ll get us a couple more.”
Kaylyn was in the bathroom getting ready for tonight’s final performance.
“Here you go.” Jaris placed a can in his hand. “You know, Chance, you’re a handsome motherfucker.”
He laughed. “So I’ve been told a million times. But thanks anyway.” The can was nice and cold. He popped the top, and took a swig. “God, that’s good.”
Jaris opened his can. “We deserve some beers, buddy.”
“Yes, we do. I still can’t believe Kaylyn was able to convince Dr. Strong and Sheriff Wolfe to not put down Bayless’s dogs. They were both concerned about the safety of the boys.”
“She can be convincing, as you and I both know.”
“I think we better take Dylan’s advice and get trained as Doms.”
Jaris chuckled. “Agreed. Plus, our girl has made it very clear she wants to experience that lifestyle. Truthfully, it has an appeal to me, too.”
“Same here. How long do you think it’ll take us to rehabilitate Bayless’s dogs?”
“Not sure, but with Lyle and Kaylyn working with them, I’m betting it won’t be long. We’re going to have to be very careful until then.”
Chance recalled how Bayless had provided them all the commands for his dogs, which were all Russian words, after some friendly persuasion. “I don’t speak Russian. And I don’t know anyone else that does. Do you?”
“Not a soul, but until Kaylyn is satisfied they are safe, we’ll need to keep them on short leashes.” Chance reached down and patted Annie. Kaylyn wasn’t about to ever place Bayless’s dogs with any of their clients. “They’re going to be permanent fixtures here, so I’m sure we’re going to get to know them very well.”
“They don’t know it, but they are very lucky dogs. If Lyle hadn’t shot them with tranquilizers, I think our dogs would’ve taken them down.”
“I agree. I still can’t believe Bayless’s confession about why he wanted Rex, Blue, King, and Rosie.”
“Fucking asshole had Lunceford’s men keep them in cages beca
use he thought he could retrain them to kill. Guess who’s in a cage now?”
“I’m glad we only have to delay giving our four to their new owners for a couple of weeks.”
“Me, too. Dr. Strong swears they will all be healed up and ready to go by then. I think the town should give our four dogs medals, Chance. And Sugar and Annie, too.”
“I agree. And you too, Jaris. Damn, buddy. You’re the hero of Destiny.”
“I’m not a hero.” Jaris’s tone was somber. “We all worked together to beat Lunceford. The real heroes are the two citizen deputies who lost their lives.”
“This town will never forget their sacrifice.”
“I don’t think any of us will forget.”
“What’s bothering you, Jaris? I can hear it in your voice.”
“I’m sorry, man, that you can’t get your sight back.”
“Don’t be sorry for me. How can I miss something I’ve never had? But you, bro, you lost something extremely valuable but you never complained. Not one person I ever taught learned as fast as you. I’ve never experienced such determination before. Do you realize what this means to us and Kaylyn? Our training will be so much better as you have experienced blindness. Now that you can see, your help will be beyond measure. Plus, for me I can see so much more than ever before with you and Kaylyn explaining what things look like. Do you remember when she described the clouds looking like big puffy bales of cotton floating in the sky?”
“I do.”
“Well, I’m expecting you—a man who knows what it means to be blind—to join her in describing the world to me.” He put his arm around Jaris. “I love you, bro.”
“I love you too, buddy.”
“Our life with Kaylyn is perfect, and our future will be unbelievable.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Chance placed his satchel on the bed. He heard Jaris do the same with his.
“How was your first night of Dom class?” Kaylyn’s excited tone thrilled him.
He pulled her in close. “Good.”
“What did you learn?”
“Baby, why do you ask?” Jaris came up behind Kaylyn, pinning her between them.
Chance liked how in sync he and Jaris always were, especially when it came to Kaylyn, their woman.
“I don’t know. I thought maybe you could show me a few things tonight.”
“Sweetheart, we’ve got a lot to learn before then.”
“Well at least tell me what’s in those satchels. You got them at the club, didn’t you?”
“We did,” Jaris answered. “But what’s inside is something you are going to have to wait to find out. We want to surprise you.”
She giggled. “When we go to the club together?”
“Yes.”
“Can we go now? The club is open until four.”
He and Jaris laughed.
“Our girl is anxious, isn’t she, Chance?”
“Definitely. No, sweetheart. Not tonight.”
“Tomorrow then?”
Chance brought his fingers up to her gorgeous face. “Not tomorrow or the next day. We have much to learn. We talked to Mr. Gold.” Gold was the owner of the club and was the one training all the new Doms. In his and Jaris’s class there were three other men. “He is going to fast track us so that we can be certified as Doms by your birthday.”
She wrapped her delicate hands around his neck. “My birthday? That’s over two months away.”
“Actually, it’s exactly two months from today.” He kissed her, loving the taste of her lips. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, but I think two months is way too long.”
“Well, you’re going to have to learn to be patient because that’s how long it is going to be. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy some very hot vanilla sex tonight.”
“Yes, Sir. Please, Sir.”
“I love you, baby.” Jaris turned her around.
Chance heard him kiss her and smiled. His hesitation about this relationship was long gone. Now he couldn’t imagine not sharing Kaylyn with Jaris. This was meant to be. They were family.
“I love you, too, Master Jaris.”
“Listen to her, Chance. Answering you in sweet sub words. You know she’s just trying to push our buttons so she can get a peek into our satchels.”
“We know how to get her mind off of them, don’t we? Time to push her buttons.”
* * * *
Kaylyn vibrated with excitement as she slipped on the red leather mini Jaris and Chance had chosen for her for tonight’s induction into Phase Four. Jaris liked its color and Chance loved how it felt. It certainly didn’t leave much to the imagination.
They’d been taking classes for aspiring Doms, three nights a week. What normally took nearly a year for most had taken her guys only two months.
Two months. God, it seemed like a lifetime ago. A lot had changed in the past sixty days.
Lunceford had died, and the whole town had taken a giant communal sigh of relief.
The closing ceremonies of Dragon Week had gone off without any issues. All the psycho’s men, including Bayless, were either in prison or awaiting trial. At long last, peace had returned to Destiny. Last month’s big event had been the wedding of Phoebe Blue to the Wolfe Brothers, and though most attendees still carried their weapons, no one had to look over their shoulders for some gunman to jump out.
With help from the O’Learys and some legal maneuvering, she’d been able to acquire the rest of Bayless’s dogs, which totaled twenty-two. Unlike the four, who had been trained to kill, the rest were in various levels of training to be service dogs. Six of them were going to be placed next month with new clients.
She reached down and petted Winter, the white German shepherd who had been in the kennel the day Lunceford died. “How’s my sweet girl?”
Winter wagged her tail. She and the other three dogs Bayless had trained to attack had been fully rehabilitated. She, Chance, Jaris, and Lyle had worked with them nearly day and night.
She sighed, knowing there were only a few more weeks until Lyle would be leaving Destiny. It was going to be hard not having him around, but she was thrilled he was finally going to vet school. How long had she tried to convince him he was smart enough? It had taken another voice to get him to believe it.
Dr. Mark Strong, who had moved to Destiny less than a year ago after his graduation, had been a major factor in Lyle’s decision. Those two had bonded over the past two months and were as close as brothers. Lyle would be taking the other three Bayless dogs with him to Fort Collins.
She heard the door open, pulling her from her thoughts.
Wearing nothing but his biker boots, leather pants, and harness, Jaris walked into the bedroom with Sugar. He looked so unbelievably sexy. The ink on his left arm only enhanced his beauty. He’d designed the image for him and Chance, who sported the same tat on his left arm, to represent their commitment to her. She gazed at it, thrilled that they’d marked their bodies with the image of two wolves, one gray and one black, surrounding a winged angel.
It had taken some convincing, but they’d agreed to let her ink her body with the same image, though a smaller version of it on her right shoulder.
“You about ready, birthday girl?”
“Almost.” She’d moved to the Boys Ranch permanently to be with him and Chance. My men. With the help of Lucas, an architect and the sheriff’s brother, her guys’ bedrooms and the kitchen and one bath had been combined into a cute apartment by taking out just a few walls.
“Better hurry. Chance is threatening to leave without us.”
“Really? Who’s going to drive him?”
Jaris smiled. “He says that since I drove your car while I was still without sight, he thought he might give it a go.”
She recalled why Jaris had driven. She’d been injured. “That was different. That was an emergency.”
Jaris pulled her in close and kissed her lightly. “According to him, if you don’t hurry up, this will merit emergen
cy status.”
“Five minutes more. That’s all.”
“I’ll let him know.” Jaris walked back to the door, placing his hand on the knob. He turned around, fixing his stare on her. “But if you’re not out by then, there’s no telling what that crazy man will do. It’ll all be on you, Kaylyn.”
“Yes, Sir. I promise. Five minutes. I just want to make sure I look good for tonight. This is the first time we’ve been to Phase Four together. I want to make you proud.”
“Baby, you look incredible. Gorgeous. And besides, you can’t imagine how proud Chance and I are that you are ours.”
He didn’t wait for a response, but left, closing the door behind him.
She turned back to the mirror, gazing at her reflection. She’d put her hair up, as they’d instructed her to do for tonight’s fun. The black ribbon around her throat had been Chance’s idea. She loved how it looked around her neck.
What did Chance and Jaris have in store for her? She had a few guesses, but they were only guesses. Not knowing actually had her jittery and excited. She’d begged them for some lessons at home about what they’d learned during their Dom classes, but they’d refused, saying they wanted to wait until her birthday to unleash their new skills. So, they’d kept their lovemaking with her vanilla. Of course, they were masters already in the bedroom, giving her multiple orgasms night after night.
Last night, no sex. They’d told her they wanted her to get a good night’s sleep so she could fully enjoy her birthday. She’d drifted off in their arms, dreaming of the delights they had in store for her.
The door opened again.
With Annie by his side, Chance stood in the doorway, wearing leathers the same as Jaris. His muscles bulged. She couldn’t wait to be conquered tonight by her ebony god.
“Sweetheart, it is time to go.” Chance’s deep tone was firm.
“Yes, Sir. I’m ready.”
Barely able to contain herself on the drive to Phase Four, she knew she’d never been this excited about her birthday—ever.
The five of them—she, Chance and Annie, and Jaris and Sugar—got out of the car. Jaris, though his sight had returned, was never without his canine companion. Jaris opened the trunk and brought out the two satchels. She’d nearly died from curiosity about what they held. Tonight she was going to find out what was inside them. One Jaris kept and the other he handed to Chance.
