Red Clouds Dancing [The ShadowDance Club 6] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Avery Gale

  Grandmother told me that the power of love binds souls together before they are ever born, so I don’t know why I’m surprised—but I am—actually I’m totally blown away. There was something different about Layla now and he couldn’t identify what exactly it was, but it was there—niggling at the back of his mind.

  Chapter 21

  Clay had searched the entire corridor and had come up empty. When Collin had called from the parking lot, Clay had made his way out and they’d been on their way home in minutes. He hadn’t been surprised he couldn’t find the man but he had figured it was worth a shot. Mitch had stopped him as he’d left and cautioned him that Layla was in desperate need of reassurance and rest. What the fuck had that meant anyway. Christ, special ops guys talked in riddles. At least cowboys were usually just in-your-face-blunt most of the time. Sure it was a pain in the ass occasionally and oh hell yes it started fights regularly, but at least you didn’t have to unscramble the damned message.

  Relaying the message to Collin on the way home, Clay saw his brother was as confused as he’d been. Walking in the front door the first thing Clay noticed was Cash sitting with Layla fast asleep in his lap. When he approached he smiled down at how small she looked in his arms. “God, she is so beautiful—sometimes I have to remind myself that she’s real. Honestly, it’s like the three of us sent our wishes to heaven and they made her just for us.”

  When Cash asked where Lainy was, both he and Collin looked at each other and shrugged. “I didn’t see her at the hospital. Did you call her cell?”

  Just then the front door slammed and Lainy stormed past them muttering to herself about “lame assed brothers” and “leaving me stranded” and something about Noah Drummond and dinner. Before they could question her she disappeared down the hall and the door to her apartment slammed and the lock engaged with a loud click.

  “Holy shit. Were we supposed to bring her home? I didn’t even see her after we left here. Damn, Collin and I were never her favorite people to begin with, this sucks.” Clay stuck his hands in the pockets of his jacket and felt the small sack Bree had given him as he’d left the waiting room. “Oh, here, Bree gave this to me for Layla. She said something about Tori telling her our great news and to have Layla take these until she can make an appointment next week.” When both Cash and Collin looked up at him, he shrugged. “Hey, I’m just a cowboy. I didn’t ask any questions.” Then he grinned, placed his hand over his heart before reciting with great dramatic flair, “Mine is not to question why, mine is but to do or die.”

  “Christ, spare us.” Collin rolled his eyes and grabbed the small bag. “Probably more meds, but what’s the good news?” Opening the small bag to remove the contents he held the small bottle in his hand and stared at it before plopping down in the closest chair. “Holy shit.”

  Clay moved quickly to grab the small bottle and gulped. “Wow.”

  * * * *

  Layla had been sleeping so peacefully in Cash’s arms. He’d propped up both of her casts and pulled a throw around her and the steady beat of his heart had lulled her right back to sleep. But when a door slammed down the hall she’d started to surface but had decided she was just too comfy to give it up just yet.

  Then she’d heard Clay’s comments about the good news and the bottle and known she was busted. Damn small towns, she could see now that this was going to be a major pain in the ass. Neither Collin nor Clay had sounded happy to see what she was fairly certain were prenatal vitamins. Fracking fairy farts how was she going to get out of this one?

  She knew when Cash saw what Clay had set on the table because his heart skipped a beat…or three and the air whooshed out of his lungs. He immediately tightened his arms around her in a move that could have only been described as protective, and that gave her a glimmer of hope that she might not completely sink alone on this one. “Layla, love, I know you are awake because I swear I can hear you thinking. Care to enlighten us?”

  She thought about continuing to pretend she was sleeping, she really did. But in the end it seemed cowardly and probably would have only bought her a couple of minutes anyway. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and tried to slide off Cash’s lap. “No, love, stay right where you are.” She was worried they were going to be angry, or worse think she’d done this on purpose in an attempt to entrap them, but she hoped those fears weren’t written all over her face. “Let’s start with how long have you known, shall we?”

  Oh boy, he sounded pissed and she hadn’t ever seen him angry, at least not at her and that unsettled her even more. “Well, I didn’t actually know, well, not until Mitch said something before we all went to the hospital to see Jenna.” She was playing with the hem of her shirt, afraid to look up into their eyes. What if they didn’t want anything to do with her or the baby? What if she had to move again and start over? It had been a scary thought before she’d found out, but it was downright terrifying now. “I’m so sorry.”

  Cash pulled her back and looked at her as if she’d suddenly sprouted a second head. “What did you say?”

  “I said I’m sorry. I really didn’t do this on purpose, I swear.” She tried again to get off of his lap, because she needed distance. “Please, let me up. I really need to…um, well, I need to be able to see you all and, well—” She felt the tears spill over. “Damn, I hate crying, it makes me feel helpless and I hate that more than anything.”

  “And that distance you’re trying to establish, sweet sub, is exactly why Cash isn’t letting you off his lap. And if he does, Clay or I will be pulling your sweet ass onto ours.” Collin’s words surprised her and he must have read that in her eyes. “Did you really think we wouldn’t be absolutely over the moon about this?”

  She jerked her eyes from him to Clay then up to Cash. “Um, well, I didn’t know. Because we really hadn’t discussed anything permanent and we sure hadn’t discussed children.” Of course her stomach chose that particular moment to growl so loudly all three men looked at her stomach and laughed. “Oh dear, that’s kind of embarrassing. I seem to be hungry all the time and well, at least this explains why I’ve been so tired lately. I was afraid I was getting lazy, and damn if I don’t hate laze even more than crying…and you’re sure you aren’t mad? I don’t want any money from you, really. And I’ll let you spend all the time you want with the baby, well, if I don’t have to find another job. Do you think the Lamonts will let me stay working for them when they find out? I don’t want them to look bad in their community by employing me or anything. I know my mom always warned me that if I got ‘knocked up’ I wouldn’t be able to have a job because no one would want an unmarried pregnant woman waddling around. And I—”

  Cash had stopped her by placing his finger over her lips. “That’s enough. If I ever get my hands on your mother I’m not going to be responsible for my actions. And your marital status will not mean diddly-squat to Alex or Zach—and as I recall you have a lease to own contract anyway. Now, as for us not being happy about the baby, well, you couldn’t possibly be any more off the mark. The only thing that this changes is how quickly we propose, something that was already well in the works, I assure you. And we have indeed been dropping hints by the truck-load that we all want you forever, but I see we’ve been too subtle.” He finally smiled and she felt herself relax a bit as she absorbed his words. “Now, let’s get you something to eat because you, sweet mama, need to start taking better care of yourself.”

  He stood up with her still in his arms as if she didn’t weigh a thing and kissed her on the forehead before handing her over to Clay. They were nearly to the kitchen when there was a knock at the front door and as Collin turned that way, Ilaina came storming down the hall toward the door. She stopped in front of Collin and started tapping her beautiful nails against his chest as she spoke, “Some genius you are, big brother, hope Layla doesn’t ever send you to town with the baby, you’re liable to leave the poor child God only knows where. I seriously can’t believe you forgot me.” Layla watched as a look of sheer v
ulnerability and sadness passed over her stunning face before she was able to quickly mask it. “Because of you three ass hats, I have, I have to go to dinner with Noah Drummond. Do you know how difficult…oh balls…never mind.”

  Layla watched as Lainy walked away and marveled at how effortlessly she managed those four-inch stilettos. Layla had never been very graceful in heels, but it hadn’t mattered because she hadn’t ever had the money to buy pretty shoes anyway. It suddenly occurred to her that her baby was going to have Ilaina for an aunt. When she giggled, Clay looked down at her and raised an eyebrow in question. She shook her head before answering, “I was just thinking about how amazing it is that the baby is going to have the world-famous Ilaina for an aunt and then it occurred to me that he or she is going to have three daddies and that probably trumps a famous aunt. Mercy, are you sure you want to keep me, I think I’m sort of skating on the edge of sanity lately.”

  Clay looked at her and smiled. “Never even been in question, baby.”

  * * * *

  Ilaina opened the front door to find Noah smiling at her with a cat-that-swallowed-the-canary look, no, scratch that, it was more like a cat that had the canary cornered and planned to play with it before eating it. Joy, joy, she was walking right in to the lion’s den and would probably end up pulling its tail before all was said and done. What she didn’t understand was why this man unnerved her so. She’d dealt with men all over the world, met kings and sultans, so why did this man make her feel like an inept teenager? They had been friends at one time. But then one night of poor decisions had changed everything and they’d become oil and water, yet Noah just seemed to keep on mixing.

  “Cara, you look lovely. Are you ready for a fun dinner?” Noah’s voice had always reminded her of a smooth whiskey, sweet right before it burned you.

  “Look, Noah, you and I both know there is too much”—she took a deep breath and let it out before continuing—“history between us for this to ever work. How about we just agreed to be friends?” Truthfully, she didn’t think that would ever work either, but she still felt like she should extend the olive branch.

  “Let’s see how this goes, what do you say?” Escorting her to his truck, he opened the door and lifted her into her seat. When they’d made the way down the long drive, he didn’t turn into the parking lot of Red Clouds Dancing. When she looked at him in question, he just smiled. “Cara, I asked you to dinner, but I didn’t say where we’d be eating. And I have something to show you first.”

  They rode the rest of the way in silence and she was surprised when he stopped in front of what had been an old mill when they’d been kids. “Why are we here, Noah? Do you have permission for us to be here?”

  “I do.” Just as he started to open his door his phone rang, she saw him grimace when he looked at the screen, but he settled back in his seat and answered, “Alex, what can I do for you?”

  Ilaina was surprised to hear him speaking with a man she assumed was Alex Lamont. Noah Drummond was an enigma, that was for sure. What possible connection could there be between a photographer and men she knew still dealt with what her oldest brother called black ops. She finally decided to stop pretending she wasn’t listening when he took her hand and pulled it up to kiss the palm. “I am getting ready to have dinner with Ilaina, and then I’ll come up and we’ll talk. I’m not making any promises beyond that.”

  She wasn’t sure exactly what was happening, but one thing was clear, he was not pleased with the turn of events. It wasn’t that she knew him that well anymore, but she’d learned to read people’s body language over the years and his was filled with stress that hadn’t been there before the call. “Cara, I’m sorry that we’ll have to skip the tour for now. I was so looking forward to sharing something with you, but that call was from a mutual friend of ours, Alex Lamont. And I promise you, I would not have cut this evening short for anything short of a major emergency.” He started his truck and as he drove, he finally said, “I can’t tell you everything about this, because it isn’t really my story to tell. But I want you to know, it involves a child who holds a special place in the hearts of Alex’s team. If there is a way for me to help, I must.”

  For the first time, she saw a glimpse of the man Noah Drummond had become, and she liked that man a lot. “You know, Noah, I think you and I will be good friends again after all. Thank you for allowing me to see a bit of who you are now.” She smiled at him and found herself looking forward to the dinner more than she would have ever imagined possible.

  Lainy thoroughly enjoyed her time with Noah. They’d driven to a small neighboring town and eaten at a quaint little steak house that featured gingham covered tables set out along a fast running mountain stream. Looking at the crystal clear water from the snow melt up the mountain, she smiled knowing just how cold that water would be despite the warm air surrounding them. They hadn’t gotten the snow that had been predicted and she was holding on to the hope that spring was just around the corner.

  She’d known why he had wanted to get out of their hometown, one of the downsides of returning home was having everyone in town wanting to stop and chat. When Noah had said, “I want you all to myself,” Lainy had known exactly what he was talking about.

  The only downside of spending time alone with Noah Drummond was that she was…well, alone with Noah Drummond. Sighing to herself she tried to shake off her growing sense of comfort and rapport with the one man who had always been able to undo her. Don’t let your guard down so easily again Lainy.

  Chapter 22

  Layla had tried hard to forget about the fact that her uncle still hadn’t been apprehended, but with three men hovering over her night and day it was impossible. It had been nearly four weeks since she had fractured her wrist and since it hadn’t been broken all the way through, Bree had let her remove the cast since she was now in a lace-up walking cast for her ankle and didn’t have to rely on the crutches. Being mobile had never felt so good. Mia Marshall was teaching her how to use the Glock 19 Cash had insisted she carry with her at all times. He and his brothers had all started asking her at odd times to prove that it was on her person or within her reach and if she didn’t have it she didn’t get to come that night. Personally she’d have rather had their threatened spankings, but they’d decided she’d like them too much.

  When she’d complained about that to Tori, her friend had actually laughed but then quickly agreed that denying her an orgasm really did fall under “cruel and unusual punishment” proving it paid to have a best friend that was a lawyer. She and Tori were sitting in a small downtown diner when they saw Kat walking by and tapped on the glass to get her attention. When Kat looked up, Layla and Tori both gasped at the tear-stained face that faced them. They were both out of the booth and making their way outside to pull their friend inside before poor Kat had realized what had happened.

  “Kat, what on earth is wrong? Do Alex and Zach know you are so upset?” Tori had pulled her into the booth beside her and was blotting Kat’s cold, tear-dampened cheeks dry with a hankie.

  Kat just stared straight ahead for long moments before shaking her head. “No, but I doubt they’d care. They have been pretty busy lately with some big, secret work project. All I know is that it involves Noah Drummond and a young girl…and that some woman keeps calling the house for them at all hours of the day and night and they drop anything and everything to take her calls.” Layla’s heart went out to Kat because it was so clear hers was breaking apart piece by piece. “Listen, forget I said anything okay? I’m fine, really and I should get home. Well, I guess I don’t need to, it’s not like I’m needed there since my husbands decided our children would be better off with a couple of live-in nannies. I guess I wasn’t doing things quite to suit them on that front either.” She looked at her hands for so long Layla wasn’t sure she was going to say more.

  Tori just kept her arm around Kat’s shoulders and waited. Layla tried to stay quiet, but it was killing her. “What aren’t you saying, Kat? I feel like there
is something really big that you aren’t mentioning.”

  Kat looked up at her with an expression that could only be described as haunted. “What if they have decided I’m not worth the effort? I mean, they have already replaced me as a mother and now they don’t even play with me anymore. I haven’t been to The Club in months…I haven’t had…well…let’s just say our personal contact has been pretty limited lately. When Jenna had little Daniel they talked to me and assured me things were fine and that they hadn’t been trying to avoid me, but nothing changed. That they were just really tied up with some big thing overseas, but I…I just don’t know…and I don’t know what to do to please them anymore.”

  It wasn’t until that moment that Layla glanced up and realized who was sitting behind her two friends. Sheriff Dylan Marshall had quietly gotten up and moved to the small counter to pay for his lunch and quickly made his way outside. Layla watched as he stalked to his truck already dialing his phone before his door closed. Deciding it was best to keep that particular piece of information to herself she saw him smile at her as he backed out of the stall. He’d obviously noticed she hadn’t spoken to her friends when he’d seen her watching him.

  Within seconds the phone in Kat’s purse started ringing. At first Layla thought Kat was ignoring the calls, but soon it became apparent that she was too distracted to notice the phone. “Kat, are you going to answer your phone?” Layla tried to ask quietly, but still the words seemed to startle her.