Ashton Grove Werewolves (Boxed Set, Vol. 2)

by Jessica Coulter Smith

  Harper looked at one dress after another, feeling a little overwhelmed. How was she supposed to make a decision? There were so many styles and fabrics, and did she want blush, white or ivory? She hadn’t realized there would be so many choices.

  “Have you found anything you like yet?” Chloe asked.

  “I’m not sure. They’re all so beautiful. How did you decide on one?”

  “Mine was easy. There weren’t too many choices for a pregnant woman. Well, not for one who was five months along anyway. Since you aren’t showing yet, you can have your pick of dresses.”

  “I think I just want something simple.” She flipped back through the rack and pulled out a white satin dress with a burgundy embroidered bodice and hem. It was strapless and flared out at the hips. “What about this?”

  Chloe smiled. “That’s really pretty.”

  “But?”

  “Are you sure you don’t want something more traditional?”

  Harper bit her lip. “Ramsey would probably like traditional, wouldn’t he?”

  “It’s not about what he wants.”

  “You know him pretty well though.”

  Chloe sighed. “I’m sure you know him just as well as I do, if not better.”

  “But you were together for a while.”

  “Yes, we were. And then he went to Denver and things fell apart. In the end, things turned out the way they were supposed to. I was meant to be with Michael, and not just because we have a child together. I really do love him.”

  Harper smiled. “So you found your happily-ever-after.”

  “Yes, I did. And if I’m not mistaken, you’ve found yours with Ramsey. He deserves to be happy. I’m really glad he found you.”

  Chloe selected a dress off the rack and showed it to her. “What about this one?”

  Harper looked at the lovely white confection. It was an off the shoulder design with a lace bodice and full skirt trimmed in lace. There was a think band of seed pearls around the waist.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said. “I’ll try both dresses on and see which one I like better.”

  Harper went into the dressing room and tried on the burgundy and white gown first, and while it looked nice on her, it wasn’t quite what she was looking for. Next she tried on the dress Chloe had picked out, and fell in love with it. It was absolutely perfect, and she knew Ramsey would love it just as much as she did.

  “Find one?” Chloe asked. “Or do we keep looking?”

  “No, I found one. The one you picked out was perfect,” Harper said as she stepped out of the dressing room. “It doesn’t even need to be altered.”

  Chloe smiled. “Great! Do you want to keep it at my house until the wedding?”

  “It wouldn’t be an imposition?”

  “Of course not! We’ll drop it by the house and then I’ll take you home.”

  Harper was surprised by Chloe’s generosity. She had thought things might be awkward between them, but surprisingly they’d gotten along very well. She could easily see herself being friends with Chloe. Well, if Ramsey was okay with it. She didn’t want to do anything that might make him feel uncomfortable.

  The dress nearly depleted Harper’s account, but it was worth it. She would just have to talk to Ramsey about paying for the rest of the wedding. As much as she hated to push the rest of it off on him, it couldn’t be avoided.

  On the car ride home, Chloe talked about her little boy and the joys of motherhood. Harper asked a ton of pregnancy questions and listened intently to her answers. Overall, it was a good bonding experience.

  ***

  Two days later, Ramsey sat across from Connor, drinking a cup of coffee. He wasn’t sure why the alpha had asked to meet with him. Did it pertain to his job as pack enforcer? Or was it something else?

  “I hear that you’ve been in contact with the El Paso pack and Denver pack,” Connor said.

  “Yeah. They called me the other day.”

  “As you know, with the demon war coming, we need to get our numbers up. While we’ve all enjoyed being part of a small pack, it keeps us at a disadvantage.”

  Ramsey took a sip of coffee. “Does that mean Finn, Vaughn, Levi and Deacon are all moving here?”

  “Yeah. And it seems you spoke to a few other people, too.”

  “Levi’s cousin, Alden, and Vaughn’s twin brother, William.”

  “They’re coming here, too,” Connor said. “This brings me to the reason for this visit. I’d like to expand on your job.”

  “Expand on it how?”

  “I’d like to make you a recruiter. You did a nice job with the others. I’ve already contacted the pack in Dallas, one in New Orleans, and one in Oklahoma City. If we get any calls from them, I want you to handle it. They’ve already been told about the demons, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

  “You’re serious?” Ramsey asked. “You really want me to do this?”

  “You seem to be good at it. That’s six wolves joining us because of whatever you told them. I know Ashton Grove is small, but I already talked to Matt about housing. He has two vacant lots for sale.”

  “What good are lots without something to put on them?” Ramsey asked.

  “One lot is big enough for six duplexes, and the other can hold a small apartment building.”

  “How small?”

  “Sixteen units.”

  Ramsey took another swallow of coffee. “I take it your company would build them?”

  “Yes. Matt offered to donate the land and Cassie’s father said he would help Matt design the buildings. We just need the materials.”

  “Let me talk to Deacon and Levi. If you can guarantee them a duplex, they may chip in some money. As an engineer, Deacon has cash to spare.”

  “And Levi?” Connor asked.

  “He and his cousin come from money. Same goes for Vaughn and Will. They’re family owns a large ranch outside of El Paso.”

  “So we just might be able to make this work. I’m sure Matt and Cassie will help a little, like they usually do.”

  “Then I guess I have my marching orders.”

  Connor stopped him. “One more thing. Gabriel and I talked, and we’re going to pay you five hundred dollars for every recruit that moves here. Since this is going to cut into your free time, it only seems fair.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  “I know, but we want to. You’re doing us a favor by tackling this. It isn’t a small project.”

  Ramsey nodded. “All right. Give them my number and I’ll get started right away.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  When Ramsey got home, Harper was still out with Kiera. They were finalizing the plans for the wedding, which was only a week away. He smiled at the thought of making her his wife. Before Connor’s meeting, he had thought about taking her on a honeymoon. But if wolves were going to be calling at all hours, it would be best to wait.

  He was actually excited about his new job. It had been nice speaking to the other wolves about his pack, and he looked forward to doing it again. Granted, he’d already met Finn and Vaughn, and had known Levi and Deacon for years. But he’s spoken to Will, whom he’d never met before, and he hadn’t had any problems recruiting him. Maybe it was something he would be good at.

  He sat on the sofa and picked up the TV remote. After flipping through channels for several minutes, he gave up and turned it off. It amazed him that he had over two hundred channels and couldn’t find anything to watch.

  Realizing he hadn’t checked his email in a while, he pulled out his laptop and checked his messages. He had a short one from Deacon that he answered, and a lengthy one from Sabrina that he deleted without reading it. He answered a few other messages from friends and one from his cousin in his Phoenix. When he was finished, he put the laptop away and walked into the laundry room, thinking he would occupy his time by doing a load of clothes or two.

  Ever since Harper had moved in, he hadn’t had to wash a single load of clothes. Even now the hamper w
as empty and the clean clothes were put away. It was strange seeing the room so clean. He wandered back to the living room, feeling restless.

  Pulling out his phone, he called Hunter.

  “Hello,” Hunter answered.

  “It’s Ramsey.”

  Hunter laughed. “Yeah, I know. Caller ID, remember?”

  “Right. Listen, Harper is out with Kiera and I don’t know how long she’ll be gone. Did you want to get together and do something?”

  “Austin and Ben are going to Laguna. I was thinking about joining them.”

  “Mind if I tag along? I’m bored out of my mind right now.”

  “Not at all,” Hunter said. “I’ll see you there.”

  Ramsey hung up the phone and picked up his keys. But before he made it out the door, the doorbell rang. He was more than a little surprised when he answered the door.

  “What are you doing here?”

  Deacon smiled. “It’s good to see you, too.”

  “Sorry, you just surprised me. Come on in.” He stepped back.

  Deacon entered the house and Ramsey closed the door. He eyed the large duffle bag in his friend’s hand.

  “I take it you’re staying for a while,” Ramsey said.

  “Actually, I’ve moved here. Sort of. My things are being delivered to storage and my other suitcases are in my truck.”

  “So where are you staying?”

  “That’s the part I haven’t quite worked out yet. I thought you might let me crash here tonight.”

  Ramsey grinned. “I have a better idea. Take the garage apartment.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. Use it for as long as you need to. It will be quiet. I only use the garage for storage so you won’t have to worry about the noise of the cars.”

  Deacon shrugged. “It wouldn’t bother me.” He glanced at the keys in Ramsey’s hand. “It seems I’m detaining you though.”

  “I was going to meet some guys at Laguna Paradise, a local bar. You should come with me, get to know them a bit.”

  “Sure. Just let me put my stuff in the apartment and I’ll be ready to go.”

  “Come on. I’ll get the keys for you.”

  Deacon followed him to the kitchen, where he pulled two keys out of the drawer. Ramsey handed them over and motioned toward the side door.

  “You can go out that way. The apartment doesn’t have a laundry room, but you’re welcome to use the one here. And I don’t have cable set up out there either, but it shouldn’t be hard to do.”

  Deacon went to his truck and pulled out the rest of his stuck before locking the vehicle. “Don’t worry about it. I can call the cable company later. I need to buy a new TV first anyway. Jared bought mine when he found out I was leaving.”

  “There are times I miss the guys, but I’m not sorry I moved here.”

  “Speaking of moving,” Deacon said as he began to climb the stairs to the apartment, “you might get another phone call.”

  “From who?”

  “Rob. With all of us moving here, he decided it might be the right time for a change. Even with several of us leaving, the Denver pack is still full to bursting. At last count, we had over two hundred wolves.”

  “Well, Rob would be welcome. The more the merrier. Actually, as of today, I’m the pack recruiter as well as the enforcer.”

  Deacon shook his head. “Are they going to pile anything else on you? You have a new mate, and you’re going to be a father... They’re taking up all of your time.”

  “I don’t mind. I kind of enjoy recruiting.”

  “As long as it doesn’t bother you... Maybe I can give you a hand. The pack could use some women. You might try calling San Diego and Billings. Both have a large number of women in their packs, almost more women than men. I bet some of them would be happy to move to a new pack, especially one made up mostly of men.”

  “Thanks. I just might do that. With even more wolves coming in, we could definitely use some females in the pack. That’s the one thing that’s going to make Ashton Grove a hard sell. We have no eligible females here.”

  Deacon grinned. “Sabrina wants to come.”

  “She’s not welcome.” Ramsey frowned. “Remind me to speak to the alphas about her. We don’t need another Luna situation.”

  Deacon clapped him on the back. “What can I say? You’re irresistible.”

  Ramsey laughed. “Yeah, that’s it. I think I just attract crazy women.”

  Deacon sat his bags on the floor of the apartment and looked around. “Small but efficient. Thanks for letting me use it. Let me know how much rent I owe you.”

  Ramsey waved a hand. “You don’t owe me anything.”

  “I insist. You know I can afford it. Besides, I talked to that company in Spruce Hill and I start work in two weeks.”

  “Yeah, at a discounted salary I’m sure.” He sighed. “All right. I’ll think of something and let you know. But it still doesn’t feel right charging you.”

  “Come on, let’s go meet the guys.”

  Chapter Twenty

  The week flew by and before Harper knew it, her wedding day had arrived. Most brides probably felt a bit nervous, but she just felt excited and happy. It was just another way to tie her life to Ramsey’s, and she couldn’t think of anything she wanted more.

  The women of the pack had banded together to help her prepare for her wedding, except for Chloe, who was watching the children. Marin helped her into her dress and she stared at her reflection. The dress made her look truly beautiful. Next, Kiera helped her with her hair. She’d thought of pulling it up, but it was so long that it would have taken forever to style it. Instead they wove white roses through the curly tresses. And last, Aislinn applied a light layer of make-up, accenting her eyes and lips.

  “So, are you ready?” Marin asked.

  Harper smiled. “More than ready. I can’t wait to marry Ramsey.”

  Aislinn hugged her. “Everything is happening just the way it’s supposed to – according to Eric anyway. You’re just what Ramsey needed, and now, thanks to his recruiting efforts, we’ll have ten new wolves joining us and three women. And I’m sure there will be even more.”

  “But that didn’t have anything to do with me.”

  “Yes, it did,” Aislinn said.

  “Before you, Ramsey was focused on Chloe and was on his way to being kicked out of the pack. So without you, he wouldn’t have stayed, wouldn’t have recruited for us, and we wouldn’t be growing,” Kiera said. “So yes, it has everything to do with you.”

  “You should be proud,” Marin said. “We didn’t think anyone would hold Ramsey’s attention again. You’re a special woman.”

  Harper shook her head. “I’m just me.”

  “Yes, and Ramsey thinks you’re wonderful.” Kiera smiled. “He loves you. That should tell you how special you are.”

  “He does, doesn’t he? And I love him,” Harper said with a smile.

  “Good. Because it’s time to go say your vows,” Aislinn said.

  Harper took a deep breath and walked through the door and down the stairs. Kiera and Gabriel had insisted on using their backyard for the wedding so the spare bedroom in the Victorian had been turned into Harper’s dressing room. As she reached the back door, she stopped and let the women go ahead of her. Finally, she stepped out into the enchanted evening. Twinkling fairy lights decorated the trees and shrubs. Lavender glass lanterns hung from posts around the yard. Lavender, white and pink roses were scattered throughout the yard and petals were strewn on the path from the door to her waiting groom. It was a magical night she wouldn’t soon forget.

  As she walked toward Ramsey, her eyes drank him in, taking in every detail. He looked dashing in his tux, like a fairytale prince. Her prince. And he was... her prince, her knight, her love. She could barely remember what her life was like before him, and she didn’t want to. It hadn’t taken long for him to become her everything.

  She stopped beside him and gripped her bouquet to keep from reach
ing out and touching him. The brush of her fingers against his cheek, the feel of her hand in his... anything, any kind of contact. She needed him as much as she needed her next breath. Sometimes it scared her.

  She was so lost in her thoughts she almost missed her cue.

  “I do,” she said softly. And she really did. She’d never meant two words more than those.

  As Ramsey said “I do,” her breath hitched in her throat. This was it. It was done. As the preacher pronounced them husband and wife, she moved closer to Ramsey. When he reached for her, she melted against him, more than ready for his kiss.

  His lips met hers and her breath froze in her lungs. It was like being kissed by him for the first time. His mouth moved over hers gently, coaxing her to kiss him back. Everything fell away except for her and Ramsey, and the incredible feelings she felt every time he kissed her. She leaned into him and gave herself up to the kiss, getting lost in the wonder of it. Until a throat cleared, bringing her back to reality. She stepped back and smiled up at her husband.

  Ramsey pulled her close again and wrapped an arm around her waist as the greeted their guests. She felt loved and protected, two things Ramsey excelled at. Nothing could have made her evening more wonderful.

  ***

  Ramsey lifted Harper into his arms and cuddled her close. The wedding celebration had lasted well into the night, and it was not after one in the morning. Harper had fallen asleep on the way home and he didn’t have the heart to wake her. He entered the house and carried her to the bedroom, laying her gently on the bed. Slipping her shoes of her feet, he gently massaged first one foot and then the other.

  Harper began to stir. “Ramsey?”

  “You were expecting someone else?”

  She gave him a sleepy smile. “You let me fall asleep.”

  “You need the rest more than a wedding night.”

  She shook her head. “I can rest any time, but I’ll only ever have one wedding night.”

  Ramsey helped her stand and began slowly unfastening her dress. He let the dress slide from her body and pool at her feet. He cupped her breasts through her white satin strapless bra and leaned down to kiss her. His lips caressed hers softly as he gathered her close. He loved her so much he ached with it.