by Jane Jamison
“What? Why? I mean, you’re not the best salesperson, but you’re making a decent commission.” He pushed his glasses up his nose yet again. “Colby, don’t make any rash decisions. Not while your father’s passing is too new and painful. Take care of his estate and then come back to work. We can work this out.”
She hated letting him down, but she hated the idea of spending one more day doing work she didn’t like even more. Her life needed a revamping, and although the circumstances were tragic, she couldn’t let the opportunity to make major changes in her life pass. “I’m sorry, but I’m sure this is what I want. This is going to be my last day. My files have very specific notes. Trust me. It won’t take any time for Charlene to get up to speed with all my accounts. She can call me later if she has questions.”
Mr. Jenkins proved once again that he was a good man. “If you’re sure this is what you want.”
“It is.” She’d never been so sure of anything before.
“I understand. But if you change your mind, you give me a call.”
“Thanks. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but I won’t be calling you.”
Holding her head high and feeling better than she should after learning that her father had just died, she pivoted around and stalked back to her cubicle.
“Colby, snap out of it. You’re ruining our lives together.”
She did her best to ignore Rob as she grabbed an empty box and began placing what few personal items she had in it. In a short time, she had it filled and was ready to confront him. Everyone hung nearby, some keeping their voices low as they wished her good luck. Others, however, only watched.
“Damn it. You’re going to regret this.” Rob crossed his arms, his glare intense. “I won’t wait for you to come crawling back.”
“Please don’t.” She pushed by him for the last time. “Good-bye, everyone. Have a great life. I sure as hell intend to.” With her head held high, she marched toward the elevator.
* * * *
“I can’t believe you quit.”
Colby kept packing. Straightening up, she smiled at her best friend, Melly Chan. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I’ve gone crazy. What the hell do I know about running a ranch, right? But I don’t care, Melly. This is what I want to do.”
“You’re wrong.”
Melly, with her short black hair streaked purple, along with her multiple tattoos, didn’t look like anyone Colby would’ve called her best friend. Melly was outlandish, not only in her style of dress but in everything she did. On the other hand, Colby dressed conservatively, and the mere idea of getting a tatt made her nauseous.
“Uh-huh. Just admit it. You do think I’m crazy for quitting.”
Melly flounced on top of Colby’s bed. “Like I said, you’re wrong. I don’t think you’re crazy at all.”
“You don’t?”
“Nope. In fact, I want to come along with you.”
She dropped the pair of shoes into her suitcase. “What? Are you serious?”
“You bet your sweet ass I’m serious.” Melly’s oval face lit up. “We can be like Thelma and Louise. Except that we won’t drive over a cliff and die in the end.”
“Now you’re the one who sounds crazy. You can’t come with me. What about your job? What would your parents say?” Yet the idea of bringing Melly along seemed like a fun idea. She could use a partner in crime. Not to mention having her friend’s shoulder to cry on if things started going south.
“Oh, sure. Being a bartender is amazing. Who’d ever want to give that up? Besides, they have bars in Brimstone, Utah, don’t they? I can get a job almost anywhere. As long as I can stay with you on your ranch, I’ll be fine. I can stay with you, right?”
“Of course. But what about your parents?” Melly had conveniently ignored her question about her parents the first time she’d asked.
“What about them? If they don’t know I’m not going to medical school and-or marrying a doctor by now, then they haven’t been paying any attention. Besides, I’m the black sheep of my family, remember? They’re used to me disappointing them.”
“But I’m not coming back, and we’re talking about a ranch. You know, with large smelly animals. You don’t even like cats. This isn’t like going on vacation and staying in a swanky Vegas hotel.”
“First of all, a lot of people don’t like cats.” Melly grabbed a plush cat from Colby’s bed and tossed it at her. “Don’t you want me to come with you?”
“Of course I do. I could use a friend with me. I’m just trying to look out for you. You shouldn’t make a decision like this on the spur of the moment.”
Melly arched an eyebrow. “You mean, like you did?”
“Yeah, well. Still—”
“Still nothing. It’s decided.” Melly pushed off the bed. “I’ll head home and pack a few things.”
“Melly, wait. To be safe, don’t quit your job. Take a couple of days off, maybe a week. Just in case you change your mind.”
“Fine, if it’ll make you feel better.” Melly reversed direction and pulled her into a bear hug. “I’ll be back in a little while. We’ll open a bottle of tequila and toast to your dad, okay? And to your new life.”
“Sounds good.”
As soon as she heard her apartment door close behind her friend, it hit her. Up until the moment she was finally alone, she’d shoved the realization that her father was gone to the back of her mind.
He’s dead. He’s really dead.
Overcome, she sat on the edge of her bed. If she started crying, she wouldn’t stop. Yet she couldn’t hold back the tears.
Chapter Two
Darton Traverton pulled at the collar of his shirt. He hated wearing a suit, especially when the suit was several years old and was too short in the sleeves and tight across his back. But buying a new suit was out of the question. Why put money into clothes he wouldn’t wear but once every year or so?
Reverend McMichael droned on about “ashes to ashes” and a bunch of other stuff that went in one ear and out the other. Darton hadn’t paid much attention once the gravesite service had started. The reverend, a Talasium dragon, didn’t like people who didn’t pay attention. No doubt Darton would catch hell about it later.
Darton had liked Old Man Trayner but hadn’t known him very well. Yet it didn’t matter that they hadn’t been more than acquaintances. People in the small town of Brimstone came out to pay their respects when one of them passed. It was simply what a man did, even if the deceased wasn’t a dragon.
Jax Lambert, one of his best friends and co-owner of their Black Hills Ranch, elbowed him. He choked back a growl but had to admit Jax was right. He should pay more attention. Shooting Jax a look, he elbowed his other friend, Ed Rogers, who stood to his left, and scowled, acting as though he hadn’t zoned out, too. Ed muttered something like “fuck off” then smiled as the ladies from the church frowned their disapproval.
Darton hoped like hell he’d have a better turnout once his time was up. If his time ever arrived. As a weredragon, he was immortal until he found a mate. With no such mate on the horizon, thinking about death was a waste of time. His mother had told him often enough that true love was worth giving up an endless lifetime, but he wasn’t so sure. What woman could be so amazing that he’d want to shorten his weredragon’s eternal life span down to a human one?
Ed cleared his throat and shifted from one foot to the other. If the steady, think-it-through Talasium dragon was getting restless, then how’d they expect Darton to stand still for much longer? Darton’s hybrid nature gave him traits from both his mother’s Red Verian dragon’s lineage and his father’s Black Dradian heritage.
Red Verian dragons weren’t known for their evil and greedy natures like the Black Dradian dragons were, but they were quick to react. The combination of those traits had gotten him into trouble more times than he cared to remember.
As an Emeralian dragon, Jax had peacemaking tendencies bred into him. He was the one who’d jump into a
fight and attempt to broker a nonviolent agreement. He was also the one who did his best to keep Darton out of trouble.
Talasium dragons like Ed were the thinkers, the planners. Ed was the one who would look at all his options before he’d react. Once he’d made up his mind, he’d stick with it. Being a thinker, however, didn’t keep his friend from getting riled up. Where Darton would jump into a fight without first considering the consequences, Ed would try his best to access the possible damage and then make his choice.
They’d become friends after moving away from Vegas where the four ruling clans of dragons reigned. As luck would have it, they’d each chosen the small Utah town as their new home. Luck and the fact that Brimstone had a huge dragon population. Although most of the weredragons stayed within their own clan, friendships between clans were more acceptable there. Friendships that had, for them at least, started when the three of them had ended up in a bar fight.
He glanced at Jax and remembered how the Emeralian had done his best to convince the human that he hadn’t been messing with the guy’s girlfriend. It was a lie, of course. Jax had come on to the pretty blonde as fast as an unmanned freight train barreling down the tracks. If his friend had any real fault, it was his flirtatious nature. Ed had stood back for a while, but when the human’s buddies had started piling on Jax, he’d figured the fight was too one-sided.
Afterward, the humans had gotten thrown out of Burnin’ Hell Bar and he and his new friends had nursed their wounds over a bottle of cheap whiskey. Their wounds had healed on their own due to their dragon metabolisms while a bond had quickly formed between them.
“Let us bow our heads.” Reverend McMichael locked gazes with Darton.
Shit.
He dutifully lowered his gaze to the ground. He’d zoned out again, but what harm had it caused? The preacher man would definitely give him shit about it later, but seriously, how much talk could a man stand? He’d suggest to the reverend that he start shortening his sermons. Or was it called a eulogy at a graveside service?
Who the fuck cares?
Jax elbowed him again.
He let out a small whiff of smoke. Not enough to catch the attention of any of the humans in attendance, but his friend would notice. “Elbow me again and I’ll slam your face against a tree,” he whispered.
“Shut up and look.”
Again, he followed Jax’s direction. Two women dressed in black stood behind and to the left of the preacher. Black veils covered their faces, and their hair was pulled back into severe buns. He doubted they could’ve tried to appear more unattractive. Even the black dresses hanging on their bodies did nothing for their figures. They looked like little old ladies who had borrowed their fat friend’s clothes.
“So?”
“Look at them. Harder.”
“Why?”
“Just fucking do it,” ordered Jax.
He sighed, bored out of his mind, but took a better look. Had they been there all along? Granted, he and his friends had arrived late and hadn’t paid much attention to the other mourners, but why was he only now noticing the women?
If they put on different clothes, they might have decent bodies.
He squinted, trying to see past the mesh veils.
Okay, so maybe their faces aren’t half bad. One looks like she might have an Asian heritage.
The other had wavy blonde hair that curled around her slight shoulders. She was of average height and build. Her breasts, however, were ample enough to be interesting, even under the large-size dress.
“What are you getting at?” He stepped back as the rest of the mourners moved away in small groups. “Do you want to hit on them? Here? At a funeral?”
“Fuck no, man.” Yet Jax’s tone wasn’t convincing.
“Who are you guys talking about?” Ed didn’t try to act nonchalant but scanned around, searching for whatever had caught their attention.
“Them,” answered Jax.
Darton shifted, bringing out the more sensitive sight of his dragon. “I’m missing what you’re getting at.”
“What about them? Wait a sec. Is one of them Old Man Trayner’s daughter?” asked Ed.
“Yeah, I think so. Someone mentioned her staying at the ranch house last night. She’s the one standing closest to the preacher.”
Darton followed Jax as he led them away from the burial plot. They took their time but headed in the general direction of the women.
The two girls were greeted by others, delaying their progress toward the large sedan that was furnished by Shady Pines Funeral Home. The reverend was doing his best to keep people from holding them up, but he couldn’t stop the one woman from shaking everyone’s hand. She nodded, her head held high, obviously accepting condolences.
“Pay attention. She’s taking her veil off.”
Like three schoolboys eager to see the head cheerleader kick her way out to the football field, they waited, breath held as she took off the black hat and veil combination.
“Holy shit.”
Darton nodded, agreeing with Ed. “Fuck. She’s hot.”
“A-hem.”
He shrugged at the elder Mrs. Ratlin as she and her two disapproving friends ambled past them. “Sorry, ladies, but I call them as I see them. Is it a sin for a man to notice a pretty girl?”
“That’s Trayner’s daughter? How the hell did a guy as ugly as him produce a daughter like her?”
“His wife was pretty.” Jax added. “At least that’s what I’ve heard.”
Pretty didn’t go far enough in describing the woman. Her long, wavy blonde hair glinted under the sunlight. When she moved, the dress did, too, revealing what he’d hoped was true. She had a body, all right. When the breeze blew just right, it revealed a tight, little ass, too.
“I think my heart just stopped.” Ed placed his palm on his chest.
“Nah, man. It wasn’t your heart. It was your immortality.” Jax started to move faster toward her.
Darton followed, jumping his gaze from the blonde to her friend, who had also taken off her veil. Her friend was pretty, but she wasn’t half as hot as the blonde.
I’ve seen her before. But where?
Was he only imagining a memory of her? Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d already met her. Not in a carnal way but it had been enough of a meeting to remember her face. He’d seen her face in his dreams often enough, but for how long? When had he met her? And why hadn’t he claimed her back then?
He slammed to a stop. “Vegas.”
“What?” asked Jax.
“I know her from Vegas.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Ed gaped at him. “You met her and you didn’t bring her sweet ass home with you?”
“I didn’t have time.”
It wasn’t the whole truth. He’d talked to her in the casino while she was with a group of her friends, but since he’d been as close to getting wasted as a dragon could get, he’d thought he’d have more time with her. Had, in fact, let his ego get the better of him. Who would’ve thought she’d turn him down? He certainly hadn’t. Yet once he’d sobered up the next morning, he’d asked himself what self-respecting woman wouldn’t have turned him down cold? He’d flat-out asked her to sit on his face after a grand total of five minutes talking to her. For a moment, he’d seen how much she’d wanted to take him up on his suggestion.
The next thing he knew, she was gone and his face was thrust between the big boobs of Sally Hauserman, weredragoness-turned-hooker.
“How the hell did you let her get away?” Jax picked up his pace, getting closer to the women. “If I’d seen her, I never would’ve let her out of my sight.”
“He was probably drunk.”
Darton snarled at Ed. “I was in Vegas. What’d you think I was doing?”
“It doesn’t matter now. Lady Luck’s smiling on you again, and I’m not going to let you screw it up a second time.” Jax grabbed Darton by the arm, tugging him away from the beautiful woman.
“What the fuck?”
They weren’t following her any longer. “I should talk to her.”
“We can’t come onto her at her father’s funeral.”
He was right, of course, but that didn’t mean they should let her out of their sight.
“Mrs. Ratlin.”
Why was Jax talking to the older lady again? It about killed him, but he followed his friend, even as he kept his sights on the two women.
“Well, hello there, Jax. Are you three done ogling young girls?”
The older ladies of Brimstone, especially the dragonesses, loved Jax, even though they often acted as though they didn’t. And why shouldn’t they? He was the one who brown-nosed them, telling them how pretty and young they looked. “Not yet. Say, Mrs. Ratlin, could you tell me who they are?”
The seventy-plus-year-old dragoness squinted at the women who kept easing toward the sedan, obviously trying to get away. “Are you talking about those two? The new ones?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Darton gritted his teeth and pushed his fangs down. “Do you or do you not know who they are?” Damn it. Why hadn’t he asked her name in Vegas?
Jax, on the other hand, proved how patient he was once again. His friend shot him a look warning him to take it easy. Pushing any dragoness for an answer was never a good idea. But pushing an older lady dragon was an even worse idea. One that could wind up getting a man singed.
Mrs. Ratlin narrowed her eyes and leveled a disapproving scowl at him. “I wouldn’t go using that tone with me, boy.”
He didn’t have any choice. He had to play it her way. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“But you do know who they are, right?” Jax’s brilliant smile drew her focus back to him. “Is one of them Lawrence Trayner’s daughter?”
“The blonde is. The other’s a friend of hers.”
“What’s her name? I can’t remember.” Jax stuck his hands in his pockets and leaned on one leg, acting as though he had all the time in the world.
