by Jane Jamison
He tightened his hold on her. “Don’t worry about it. Just hang on to me. I’ll take care of you.”
Would she know what he really meant? That he, Tyler, and Evan would always take care of her? That they’d lay down their lives for their mate? Whenever she called, they’d come. But no, it was too soon to tell her. Not that he didn’t want to. As soon as he’d seen her, her long red hair flowing around her shoulders, her shapely, luscious body, and her blue eyes widening when she saw them, he’d wanted nothing more.
Stick to the plan.
Tyler danced with Miss Charlotte. For an older werewolf, Miss C could still move gracefully. “Emeline, anytime you get tired of foolin’ with those two lowlifes, you just let me know.”
The old girl’s attention was fixed on Tyler and Emeline. “Watch who you’re flirtin’ with, Roscoe.”
Emeline stiffened in Derek’s arms. His heart went out to both his mate and the pack’s matriarch. Roscoe had been one of Miss Charlotte’s mates. He and his brother, Earl, had drowned in a boating accident several decades earlier. Since that time, she’d never been seen with another man.
“It’s okay, sugar. Miss C, it’s Emeline, remember? She wouldn’t take your man.”
Emeline’s tears hung suspended on the brink of falling and tore at him. If he could’ve given up his own memory to make Miss Charlotte’s memory better, he would have. He’d do anything to keep Emeline from hurting.
“She’s talking about her ex-husband.” Emeline turned her head away from Tyler and Miss Charlotte.
“Mate. She’s talking about her ex-mate.”
“Yeah.” Wiping away a tear, she added, “I don’t understand what that means, but I’ve heard other people around town use the term.”
“It’s a local thing. Mate means the same thing as wife or husband.”
“That’s what I figured.”
When the music ended, she started to pull away, but he wasn’t ready to turn her loose. No matter how many dagger-like looks Evan shot his way. They were going to share her, but he knew his cousin well enough to know he’d interrupted his seduction of her.
“I’m not letting you go yet, sugar.”
Derek lifted his lips in a gesture that was half-smile and half-snarl. If there was one thing vampires did better than werewolves, it was seduction. Although Evan denied it—just like he denied that he could read minds—Derek was sure vampires were able to use mind control. Enough to catch a woman’s attention and hold it. He’d seen Evan do it more than once. Had he been trying it on Emeline? He wouldn’t have blamed his cousin. Still, it kind of felt like cheating since neither he nor Tyler had any special powers to sway her. Unless, of course, he counted his wild charm. He chuckled and reminded himself to tell Evan the same thing later.
“What’s so funny?”
He hadn’t meant to laugh, especially since Emeline was giving him a searching look. “Sorry. I was thinking of something else. Nothing to do with Miss Charlotte.”
“Boys, I think I’m feeling a little low.”
Tyler gripped Miss Charlotte, catching her as she stumbled. “Come on, Miss C. You just hold on to me, and I’ll set you down easy.”
Derek grasped Emeline’s hand, making sure she didn’t interfere. Tyler was more than strong enough to help the older woman. “She’s okay. Don’t worry.”
Still, Evan moved closer to help Tyler lower Miss C onto the couch. Derek’s brother and cousin knelt next to the woman, her small hands caught between their large ones.
“I need to get her to bed. She hasn’t had this much excitement in a long time.”
“Roscoe, where’s Earl?” Miss Charlotte’s confused gaze darted around the room then landed on Derek. “Oh, there you are. What have you boys been up to? Come on now. Let’s keep dancin’. I’m having a good old time.”
Derek squeezed Emeline’s hand, hoping to ease her worry. The concern in her eyes touched him, and he was pleased to know how much she cared for his friend and pack mate. Sometimes, however, the best thing to do was to go along with Miss C’s delusion. “I’m coming, honey.”
He squatted in front of the female alpha and put his hand on her knee. “We’ve had a good time tonight, haven’t we?”
“I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. I don’t want it to stop.” Miss Charlotte grinned, reminding him of photos he’d seen of her in her younger years. She’d been a knockout, a werewolf of incredible beauty. In her middle age, she’d been a valued and trusted pack member, leading the females of the pack and making sure the male alphas treated their mates with respect.
“Now, Miss Charlotte,” said Tyler. “I’m worn out. You’ve had your tea, right?”
The happiness in her eyes dimmed. “Yes. I think so.”
“Then it’s time for bed.” Derek, along with Tyler and Evan, eased her onto her feet. “You’ve still got the moves, sugar. Don’t let anyone tell you differently, you hear?”
Miss Charlotte’s good mood returned. “I sure do.” She blinked then squinted at him. “When did you show up, Derek Mitchell?”
At least she recognized who he was now. “A few minutes ago. You said you wanted us to help you get to your bed.”
“I did?”
“Yes, ma’am, you did.” Emeline took Evan’s place at her side. “It’s time to sleep.”
“Well, all right.” Miss Charlotte allowed Derek and Emeline to help her walk toward the hallway of the ranch-style home. “You boys better behave yourselves. I don’t want to hear that you pulled any funny stuff with my Emeline.”
“Don’t you worry none, Miss C.” Derek wrapped his arm around the old woman’s shoulders. “We only have the best of intentions. You have my word.” Of course, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t make a move on her later, if given half a chance. Still, she was their mate. It wasn’t as though they’d planned of taking her and not claiming her later.
By the time he and Emeline made it to Miss Charlotte’s bedroom, the old woman was starting to nod off. Emeline folded the bedcovers down.
“I need to get her housecoat off. Sit her on the bed, but don’t let her fall over asleep.”
“No problem.” He eased her onto the bed then sat next to her, keeping a firm hold on the almost-asleep senior.
Emeline pulled one arm out of the housecoat, revealing the underlying nightgown. Miss Charlotte’s head lolled against his shoulder as Emeline took her other arm out of the sleeve then laid the housecoat on a nearby chair.
“Help me get her under the covers.”
He did, taking his cue from her. She was so gentle, so kind with her touches and soft murmurs to “sleep tight.” If he hadn’t already learned so from what others had said about Emeline Newsom, he knew it now. She had a kind heart.
Emeline switched on a baby monitor that served as a monitoring system. She put her finger to her lips and whispered, “She’s out.”
They moved as quietly as they could down the hallway. When they turned the corner into the living room, he almost ran into Emeline’s back.
“Where are Tyler and Evan?”
“Come with me.” At last the time had come for what they’d really wanted to do. He took her hand and led her toward the kitchen door that led out into the backyard. She snatched up the baby monitor, taking it along with her.
Tyler and Evan had done a great job in the short time they’d had. They’d strung two strands of holiday lights from the clothesline to the house forming a vee across the yard. Between the two rows of lights, they’d spread out a large blanket. The picnic basket had been unloaded and food set out along with an opened wine bottle that Tyler lifted into the air.
“It’s about time. For a minute there, I was worried it was going to be just me and this ugly mug.”
In his usual quiet way, Evan didn’t react much. He merely lifted an eyebrow and gave a haughty look as though to say “you wish.”
“What’s going on?”
“Didn’t we tell you? It’s a picnic.” Derek studied her. If she turned
them down, they’d have no alternative but to leave. Or they could push the issue, which is what he’d choose to do. Not to force her by any means, but once an alpha showed his assertive side, the female usually went along. She didn’t know she was destined to be an alpha in their pack, but he bet she could sense how much they wanted her. Once she did, getting her to accept them for what they were would be a whole lot easier.
“I thought you were kidding.”
“Nope.” Tyler offered her a glass of wine. “We brought along champagne, too, if you’d rather drink that.”
She took the glass and studied the bubbly liquid. “Actually, I would. I haven’t had a glass of champagne in forever. Miss Charlotte doesn’t drink often, but when she does it’s—”
“Whiskey,” interjected Tyler. “Yeah, we know. The old girl really kicked her heels up when she was younger. She still has a taste for the harder stuff.”
Derek was eager to get the show on the road. “Sit down, sugar.” Placing his hand on the small of her back, he urged her to take a seat on the blanket. Sitting on the ground wasn’t his idea of how to relax, but a picnic was a romantic activity so he was ready to put up with it.
She eased onto the blanket. Before Tyler could move beside her, Derek plopped down next to her.
“The moon looks nice tonight.” As soon as he’d said it, he felt like an idiot. Who talked like that, anyway? No alpha he knew. It didn’t help when Evan shot him one of his patented smirks.
But Emeline didn’t act as though he’d said anything stupid. Instead, she lifted her face to the heavens. “It does. The stars are really bright in Fate.”
For a moment, he couldn’t think of anything more to say. Her face had an ethereal glow. She was a mystical creature who’d come down from another planet to give them the gift of her presence. Surprised again at where his thoughts had taken him, he checked his brother and cousin and saw their awed expressions.
They’re thinking along the same lines.
And why shouldn’t they? They’d talked about finding one woman to share for as long as he could remember. Although they hadn’t grown up with Evan, they’d always kept in touch, often spending summers together as kids. Once they’d grown into teenagers, they’d begun talking about finding one woman to be their mate.
And now we’ve finally have.
“Do you have family around these parts, Em?”
“No. No family anywhere.” She took a sip.
“Not even siblings? Or cousins?”
“Not a one. I was an only child. Unfortunately, my parents passed away a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Derek caressed her back. Their own parents, two fathers and their mother, were in the best of health and living in Costa Rica, fulfilling a lifelong dream to travel the world.
“And yours?”
“Thankfully, our folks are still alive and doing well.”
“Yeah, they’re in Costa Rica and howling at the moon,” added Tyler.
“What does that mean? Is that like painting the town red?”
Funny how she tilted her head like a werewolf when she asked the question. Still, Derek could’ve punched Tyler. “Yeah. It’s a figure of speech.”
“Really? I’ve never heard it before.”
“It’s a local thing.” Tyler gave Derek a pointed look, trying to make up for what his mistake. “Anyway, how’d you end up in Fate?”
“I thought you knew. Didn’t you ask me that a few weeks ago?”
Damn it. If he left things to Tyler, he’d screw everything up. “You did. He has a rotten memory. You came from Denver to Fate because you wanted to live in a small town.” He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t resist. He was getting as bad as Tyler. Maybe curiosity killed the cat, but sometimes it could get wolves in trouble, too. “But why Georgia? There are a lot of small towns in Colorado.”
She kept avoiding his looks as though she were trying to hide from him. Or at least from his questions. “I wanted a real change. From the west to the south. From a large city to a small town. You can’t get much more of a change than that.”
A crackle over the baby monitor had everyone listening intently.
“She’s all right. I hear a lot of noises during the night. At first I didn’t know what they were—some I still don’t—but I’ve gotten used to them.”
He could’ve told her what the noises were. Miss Charlotte was growling in her sleep.
“Were you a caregiver before coming here?” Evan leaned closer, his dark eyes flashing.
He stared at her, and if he hadn’t known better, he would’ve worried. Still, he searched his cousin’s eyes for any telltale signs of red, a sure sign that his vampirism was rising to the surface.
Then he checked Tyler’s eyes. Not that he expected to see any amber there, but who knew how their inner wolves would react to their mate being so close and so vulnerable?
“I’m not really Miss Charlotte’s caregiver. Other than making sure she eats and has everything she needs, I don’t do anything medical with her. I’m more of a companion.”
She hadn’t answered the question. Had she sidestepped it on purpose? Or was he getting suspicious for no reason?
“Like I said before, you’re doing a great job.” He liked how she preened whenever he complimented her.
“You’re from Denver, right?” asked Evan.
“I just said as much.” She laughed then took a sip of her drink, her eyelids lowering to fan her lashes over her cheeks. “Yes. Denver.”
Derek frowned at his cousin. Had he caught the same hint of fear in her voice? As a vampire, Evan was more in tune with a human’s body language and the cadence of their voice than even werewolves were.
Evan’s eyebrow lifted just slightly.
He caught it, all right. And I would’ve sworn her accent had a Texas twang to it.
Damn it. There it was. As much as Derek wanted to believe her, there was something in her voice that made him wonder if she was lying.
* * * *
Could they tell she was lying? Emeline hated that she couldn’t tell them the truth. But she couldn’t. Not about where she’d come from or how she’d found Fate and had decided to stay. And definitely not about the real her. But that was the thing about lies. Telling one lie was hard, but with each new lie, it became easier.
No, that’s not right, either. It’s easy to tell the lie, but the gut-sickening aftereffect sticks with you.
“Tell me about yourselves, guys.”
“I would’ve thought you’d have heard about us by now.”
“Why’s that, Tyler?” A stab of alarm hit her, but she did her best to remain calm. Had people told them she’d been asking around about them? She’d thought she’d been careful, subtle.
“You get your hair done at Stacy’s, right?”
“Of course.” Where else would she go?
“Stacy tells everyone everything.”
She relaxed. His answer made sense. Anyone going into Stacy’s Hair Boutique and Gift Shop would get the same treatment. First, they’d be questioned by Stacy and every other woman in the place. Professional interrogators couldn’t do a better job of finding out information. She’d felt cornered, yet she’d held her own, giving them nothing of substance. Once they’d given up questioning her, the ladies had begun talking about other people, including the Mitchell brothers.
“Then you know all about us,” added Evan.
Know about Evan? Not really. The women had been uncharacteristically quiet about the Mitchells’ cousin. As though they weren’t sure what to say. But they’d had a lot to say about Tyler and Derek.
Handsome.
Sexy.
Good-hearted.
Strong.
Loyal.
Stand-up men.
Along with a slew of other adjectives she’d packed away for safekeeping. In fact, the women hadn’t said one bad thing about them. Which, as far as Emeline was concerned, didn’t happen often when women talked about any man.
/> “I guess I do, but I’d rather hear it from you.” It wasn’t only what a person said about themselves but how they said it. She’d learned that often enough, especially in the courtroom.
“There’s not much to tell. Derek and I were born and raised here. This is our home, and this is where we’ll die.”
She cringed. Talking about death had never set well with her. “So you’re not going to travel like your parents?”
“Nope. Our dads and our mom have the wanderlust. Not us.”
She didn’t want to get too nosy, but she had to ask. “So your folks are into the threesome thing?” A blush rushed into her neck. When had she started blushing?
“It’s okay. We know what you mean.” Derek filled her glass. “Besides, they are a threesome. And mates. Partners.”
“And they never wanted to get married? Or did two of them get legally married?”
“Nope to both. They weren’t into getting arrested for polygamy. Besides, no one in Fate cares about a piece of paper.” He met her gaze. “What matters is the commitment, not the ink.”
In the depths of his eyes, she saw something more than a man answering a question. Although she couldn’t have explained how she knew, she sensed what he’d said was as serious a statement as any man could make. In fact, if she was the kind of woman who got all wound up in the romance of a situation, she would’ve sworn he was making a silent commitment to her. She swallowed and thanked her lucky stars that she was too rational. At least, she thought she was.
“What about you, Evan? Were you born and raised in Fate, too?”
“No. My parents lived in North Carolina, where we had a ranch that was very much like our Glowing Moon Ranch.”
There was something different about Evan. Something that seemed a little more calculating. Yet not in a bad way. It was as though he took more time to come to a decision. As though he looked at every situation and every person from every angle first. Had she come up short with him? Or was he still deciding what to think of her?
“Why didn’t you stay there?” Drawing in a long, slow breath, she wondered how the air around her had suddenly thickened. Was it getting warmer? Or was it her?
