“Maybe it is,” Jade speculated, hiding her growing excitement. “Either way, it certainly bears investigating.”
“Halflings have different immune systems, you know that.” Rance sounded tired. “Though in the past, both Drakkor and halflings weren’t spared.” He eyed Jade. “Let’s see if we can catch Breena while she’s still here.”
“I’ll call my mother and see if Breena’s at the hospital.” Jade dug out her cell. Luckily, Amber answered almost immediately, relaying the news that Breena had left.
“We’re going to have to go back to Fae,” Rance said when she’d told him.
“Yes.” Jade knelt down and dropped a kiss on Libby’s cheek. “Are you sure you’ll be all right? Do you want me to send Amber by to check on you?”
“No.” Smiling, Libby waved away her concern. “I only need a little rest and I’ll be just like normal. I let you pamper me because I enjoy it.” The mischief in her smile had Jade smiling back.
“Come on.” Rance fairly vibrated with impatience.
“It’s going to be dark soon,” Libby pointed out. “It’d be a lot safer to wait until morning.”
“I’m going now,” Rance growled. “I know you said she’s not in danger, but I can’t rest until I see for my own eyes that she’s safe.”
“You can’t.” The certainty in Libby’s tone stopped him in his tracks. “Believe me. If you don’t want to endanger the child, you’ll wait until the Fae princess summons you. You’re going to need her help. Without it, you won’t stand a chance against Fae magic.”
* * *
After Jade and Rance took off, Libby sagged back in her chair and reached for her lap blanket to cover herself. While she’d spoken truth, she hadn’t told them everything. For all intents and purposes, Prince Cai had taken Jim and Eve prisoner, though they didn’t know it yet. They believed they were honored guests and wouldn’t find out unless they tried to leave. She’d heard Cai discussing Jim with his inner circle. He’d actually voiced the opinion that the human man wasn’t needed any longer. Which meant that unless Jade and Rance reached him soon, Jim’s life was in grave danger.
Plus, she’d sensed some kind of sickness inside the human man. What it might be, she wasn’t sure. But once he’d been rescued, she’d make sure he got to a doctor.
In all of this, Libby couldn’t escape the notion that she’d missed something. Fae magic had, according to Jade, saved Di and her friends as well as their unborn babies.
And Fae magic might have helped Eve recover from what had mostly been a fatal illness.
Was this because she was a halfling, or something else? Was it possible the Fae could cure the devastating plague that had killed off the majority of Drakkor women and made the affected men sterile?
One thing Libby’s long life and her voracious appetite for reading, especially history, had taught her was that the Fae did nothing for free. An old saying—magic always came with a price—certainly appeared to be true.
As excitement built in her, she reminded herself that all of this was only speculation, at least for now. She’d keep her eyes open and see what she could learn.
Who knew, but maybe, just maybe, a Drakkor named Libby who’d spent most of her life an outcast might figure out the solution to save her entire race.
* * *
Once they got in the car, Rance couldn’t contain his frustration. “I really want to go right now,” he said, trying not to clench his teeth.
“I understand.” Jade touched his shoulder. “But Libby sees things. You know that. If she says we need to wait, then we need to wait.”
“For how long?” The words burst from him. “Do you understand what it’s like, knowing Eve and Jim are that pompous prince’s prisoners?”
“I can only imagine. But we won’t do any good bursting in there unprepared. You felt the lure of their magic. Without an ally, without Breena’s help, we don’t stand a chance.”
Because most likely she was right; he finally nodded, hating the feeling of defeat.
They pulled up to Burnett House and parked. “Sit with me?” Jade asked. “You need to relax.”
As if he could. No, what he needed was something much more physical, more distracting. He met her gaze, challenging her to read his desire in his eyes.
Her face colored. “Come on. Let’s go sit on the porch for a while.”
He followed her without commenting. As she settled in her swing and patted the seat next to her, he exhaled.
“Take a deep breath,” she urged.
So he did. As she gently used her foot to send the swing moving, he felt some of the tension drain out of him, though desire still simmered in his blood.
A sense of peace stole over him, making him wonder if this porch swing had some magical properties of its own.
The entire house, in fact, but especially here, on the porch.
Jade’s front porch had begun to feel like home. He’d rarely seen a more beautiful place and sitting on the swing, gazing out at the road and all the vibrant colors of the autumn leaves, brought him a sense of peace he’d never believed he could feel at a time like this.
And with it, a dawning sense of confidence, of certainty. He—they—would rescue Eve. For the first time in forever, maybe, just maybe, things would actually be all right.
With Jade beside him, he felt like he could conquer anything, be anyone, and this worried the hell out of him. The turmoil inside him felt like the opposite of how he believed life should be.
And Jade continued to look at him as if she thought him some kind of hero. After everything, he didn’t really understand why.
He remembered the way her little sisters had warned him not to hurt her. Her mother, too.
Hurting Jade was the last thing he wanted to do.
He tried to figure out a way to warn her, to begin the process of getting her to become adjusted to the idea that he wouldn’t be around much longer. “I’m thinking after I find Eve, if she’s well enough, I’m going to take her with me on my next assignment. I’ll make sure it’s safe.”
She went still, then smiled. “I’m sure she’d love that. But do you think her father would be okay with you taking her gallivanting around the world?”
A bit confused, he shrugged. “Why wouldn’t he? He can come, too, if he wants.”
The instant hurt flashed in her emerald eyes, he knew his mistake. He’d assumed Jade knew how he felt about her. What he wasn’t sure of was if she felt the same way about him. He hoped she’d ask if she could come with him, too. He realized how much he’d truly enjoy showing her the world. Her delight in new experiences would make a road trip exciting in a way it hadn’t been for a long time.
But she didn’t ask. Instead, she simply nodded. “I see. That’s a great idea. I hope she’s well enough to travel.”
“She will be.” He didn’t bother to keep the fierceness from his tone. Magic would make it so.
“Do you, uh...” Now Jade took a sudden interest in her fingernails. “Do you ever plan to come by this way again?”
He thought of his resolve, his intention of maybe trying to nourish the embers that sizzled between them. But he’d promised not to hurt her and he wouldn’t. Making a promise he wasn’t even sure he wanted to keep would be wrong. All he could give her was the truth. The truth as he knew it right at this instant.
“There’s so much to see, so many places in this world I haven’t yet explored,” he told her. “Except for my home base in Houston, I don’t usually make a return trip.”
“You could make a new home base,” she said. Though she kept her face expressionless, he saw from the telltale tremble of her lower lip how much it cost her to say such a thing.
Longing seized him, raw and like a visceral punch in his gut.
“I might have to think about that,” he
said, his tone deliberately light.
Her barely perceptible nod tightened his chest. “I understand. You’ll think about it, and then you’ll move on. For you, it’s easier that way, right?”
Not sure how to answer, he swallowed. More than anything, he didn’t want to mess this up. But he couldn’t do this now, not yet, not until he knew his little girl was going to make it.
Now she met his eyes, the storm brewing in hers warning him he might not like her next words. “It’s not always... Sometimes you might consider...”
Though he knew what she was trying to say, he wasn’t sure he could handle her calling him a coward. If indeed that was her intention.
“I like life to be as uncomplicated as possible,” he began.
“Really?” she shot back. “That must be pretty hard to do while keeping a relationship going with a seriously ill five-year-old.”
And she had him there. The truth of what she hadn’t said struck him. When something mattered enough, he went back. He made himself present.
Could he do that for her? Did she even want him to?
Or would one of them end up being hurt? Again, the promise he’d made her sisters—hell, the promise he’d made himself—wouldn’t allow him to give her hope. Any kind, not even the smallest sliver, until all of this was over, and he knew for certain what he would be able to do. He knew what he wanted. Her. He’d do everything he could in his power to get there. But first, he had to take care of Eve.
Still, Jade gave no appearance of backing down. “I’ll be fine,” he said, his voice soft. “So will you.”
“But it doesn’t have to be like that,” she insisted, with that stubborn tilt of her chin he had come to recognize and now found beautiful. “Sometimes the worst thing is to walk away. It takes more courage to stay.”
He knew that. Damn, he knew that. If life had turned out differently, been simpler... But it hadn’t and it wasn’t and he refused to make any promises he couldn’t keep.
“I’m not your former fiancé,” he said. “So please don’t treat me like I am.”
The shock and pain in her eyes made him immediately regret what he’d said. “I’m sorry,” he told her. “I didn’t mean to...the way it came out. I just need you to understand.”
“Understand?” she managed. “Who told you about Ross?” she asked, her quiet voice unemotional.
He sighed. “Can we just forget I said that?”
“No.” Twin spots of color blazed high on her cheeks. “I want to know who told you.”
“They had the best of intentions.”
Before he’d even finished, she shook her head. “Those brats. When?”
“The second time I showed up at your house uninvited.”
One corner of her mouth curled into the beginning of a wry smile. “I wonder why they’d even consider doing such a thing.”
“I think they were warning me.”
“Warning you against what? Me?”
He had to smile at that. “Hurting you. They told me you’d been almost engaged once and something along the lines of if I hurt you I’d be answering to them.”
Now she laughed, the joy in the sound making him, absurdly, want to haul her up against him and kiss her senseless. He contained himself, barely.
There were women, he realized. And then there was Jade. She wasn’t just the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, but one of a kind. Her strong sense of loyalty to her family, her dedication and love for Libby...and he’d seen how her customers—and their pets—clearly adored her.
As he did. Most of the extremely beautiful women he’d met over the course of his career—models, actresses and singers—were superficial, self-absorbed twits. Not Jade. Her beauty ran deeper than her appearance. He’d never met such a kind and sincere woman, which might sound boring, if she didn’t have a body that made him think of sin.
Plus she had a way of looking at him as if she thought he stood ten feet tall. Around her, he felt like he did.
For him, the future had never been a source of worry, at least not until Violet had become ill and died, and then he’d nearly lost Eve. He’d taken solace in his freedom, comparing himself to the wind—here one day, and gone the next. He’d taken care to make sure he was always available for Eve and, to a lesser extent, her father, Jim. He never wanted Violet’s beloved daughter to ache with missing someone the way he had.
And he vowed never to miss any woman again. He wouldn’t risk that kind of agony. Once was enough.
Except Jade had somehow sneaked her way past his defenses. Her beauty intrigued him; her generosity of spirit captivated him.
His life would be much less beautiful without her in it. Lonely, even. He’d miss her once he’d left Forestwood.
Stunned, he froze. He’d also miss Libby, he told himself. And Sapphire and Pearl, Amber and Opal and the rest of the Burnett family.
He could definitely visit, right? Except since he’d lost Violet, he’d tried to make it a habit never to retrace his footsteps, other than the one exception he’d made for Eve. And he’d deliberately kept himself busy so he’d never been lonely since taking to the road. But now he felt the ghost of loneliness whistling around him like a specter, just waiting for him to strike out on his own.
Not many men were given a second chance. Many of his kind went their entire life without finding a mate, never mind two.
Torn, he swallowed hard. Eve had to come first. He needed to focus on his daughter until she got well. Then and only then, could he turn his attention to a relationship.
Jade would wait for him if he asked, he knew. But he never wanted to condemn such a vibrantly alive woman as Jade to a half-life, always waiting for Rance to brush through town on his way to somewhere else.
With a flush of heat, he realized that was exactly how he’d been living, halfway, always on the fringes of things, never jumping fully in.
Maybe the time had come to make more out of life. Maybe he should consider seizing what he and Jade had with both hands and holding on tightly, so tightly he’d never let go.
Again, he forced himself to stay on track. First, he needed to rescue Eve. Assess her condition and get her well. Then and only then would he allow himself to take a second look at what he’d be letting go if he went back to his former life.
“Are you all right?” she asked, her voice breaking into his thoughts. Once again, she’d pushed aside her own hurt and what should have been anger to care about him.
He wanted to kiss her so badly it hurt. How could it be possible that he could ever deserve a woman like her?
“I sure am,” he replied, standing up and holding out his hand for her to take. “Come here. Walk with me to the car. I want to tell you good-night and head on back to my motel so I can go to bed. It’s been a long day and we’ve got a lot to think about. We can talk again in the morning.”
She slipped her hand into his without a word, stunning him again with her generosity of spirit. Side by side, neither feeling the need to break the silence, they walked down the porch steps toward his rental car.
After he unlocked the driver’s door, he turned and cupped her face with both his hands. A hundred words he couldn’t say ran through his mind. Instead of speaking, he lowered his head and kissed her. She opened her mouth, giving him full rein to taste her sweetness. For a brief moment, he let himself drown in her and then he did one of the hardest things he’d ever done. He pulled away and smiled gently down at her. “See you in the morning.”
* * *
Jade stood in the driveway long after Rance’s taillights had disappeared in the darkness. Then, giving in to impulse, she turned and ran into the woods behind her house. As soon as she could no longer see the yellow lights from the kitchen, she stripped off her clothes, leaving her necklace on as she always did, dropped to the ground and initiated the c
hange.
She didn’t need to think, to worry. She needed to give vent to her savage anger, and the best way she could think of to do this was in her wolf form.
Because she rushed the shape-shifting, it hurt. She didn’t care; in fact, she reveled in the pain. As soon as she’d become fully lupine, she took off in a run, keeping low to the ground while her amazingly talented nose detected the presence of the small game she planned to hunt tonight.
Though she did her best, a couple of hours later Jade finally admitted defeat. She couldn’t outrun her pain.
Plodding back to the spot where she’d left her clothing, she shifted back, slower this time.
Her entire body aching as much as her heart, she dressed and hurried back home. She slipped inside the front door, praying she didn’t run into anyone. Her luck, at least in this, held, and when she reached her bedroom, she actually locked the door and kept the light off.
The last thing she wanted to do tonight was talk to anyone. She needed to be alone, to allow herself to wallow in the misery she couldn’t seem to shake. Maybe that way, she could act normally in the morning. As if her heart wasn’t breaking.
First thing after dawn, her cell phone rang. Libby. Calling to tell her the Fae princess was there and had asked to see both Jade and Rance. Which meant Jade needed to suck it up and call Rance.
Glancing at the clock—shortly after seven-thirty—she punched in his number. She kept her tone brisk, didn’t apologize for waking him up. Instead, she told him what had transpired and asked him to meet her out at Libby’s place in thirty minutes.
Then she rushed through her morning routine—a quick shower, not washing her hair, then brushing her teeth and applying some mascara before dressing.
Again she lucked out. In the kitchen, she managed to snag a cup of coffee in a travel mug and get to her car without encountering anyone.
At this hour, traffic seemed lighter. Forestwood didn’t exactly have a rush hour, but most people had to be at work at eight or nine, so there was a bit of traffic in the downtown area. This eased up as she left the outskirts behind her.
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