by Tl Reeve
Aurora didn’t blame them.
In another incident, a mated couple drank too much and were caught in their wolf forms doing the naughty in front of a church. The priest called the Sheriff’s Department, because fornicating on the lawn of God’s holy temple was a no-no in the Catholic religion, even if they were married. It turned out, they’d done it on purpose as a “fuck you,” to the church. Sometimes, Aurora didn’t understand people.
However, it did give her some perspective where Mackenzie was concerned. As wild as the full moon could make shifters, it could also temporarily knock them stupid. In her estimation, they had no control over themselves, and their animal instincts, good or bad, took over. Which also didn’t clear up why Mackenzie would come to her apartment in the middle of the night, in his wolf form, just to prowl around and get a couple of licks in. Nor did she understand why Logan, who was married/mated to Mackenzie’s niece, she later found out, would piss Mackenzie off.
What if it wasn’t Mac? Again, the thought had circled through her mind a dozen more times. It was plausible. She’d have thought if the wolf had been Mackenzie, he’d have smelled Logan and realized the other wolf wasn’t a threat to her. She groaned. None of it made any sense, and she was driving herself insane questioning it.
Aurora glanced at the new computer system Keeley had upgraded for the Sheriff’s Department and grabbed her headphones off the hook beside her. Before slipping them on, she hit the call button on her keyboard. “Apache County Sheriff’s Department, what’s your emergency?”
The door opened to the building and Mackenzie walked through. He carried a plastic container, and he appeared absolutely put-out being there. Still, as soon as he spotted her behind the bullet proof glass, his features softened. He headed straight for her. Aurora held up a finger as she took notes about a cat/dog hybrid thing digging through an older woman’s trash.
“Ma’am, could it be a raccoon?” Aurora asked, trying to keep her voice at an even keel.
“I don’t know. It’s fat, black and white and hisses when I tell it to shoo. I want your best deputy out here to get rid of it. My yard is a mess! It’s been going on for three days now.” The shrill sound of the woman’s voice made Aurora wince.
“I will send someone out to you shortly, ma’am,” Aurora said while pulling up the closest deputy. She grimaced when she saw the name.
“Be sure that you do, young lady.” The woman hung up with such force the clatter of the plastic receiver hitting the base startled Aurora.
Who knew old people still used regular telephones? Or, perhaps the woman broke her cell phone when she tried to hang it up. Aurora shook her head and rubbed her ear before hitting the dispatch mic. “Dispatch to Seventy-seven.”
“Seventy-seven, go ahead,” Nico Lopez said.
“Hey Nico, I have a disturbance at Juniper Plaza and Nickle Street. 12702 Nickle Street is the address. A cat/dog aka raccoon is digging into a homeowner’s trash, and she wants the vermin removed.”
“Are you yanking my chain, dispatch?”
Aurora smothered a laugh before answering. “I wish. She said the uninvited guest has been squatting there for three days and has littered her yard with garbage.”
“Jesus wept,” Nico grumbled. “I’m on it.”
“10-4, marking you on a call. Good luck. Hopefully, the raccoon won’t resist.” She took her finger off the button and laughed.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Mackenzie approaching once more. His gaze kept darting toward Kalkin’s office and down the hall to where the locker rooms and break room were located along with their investigators’ offices. She frowned. Was he looking for Hayden? She spilt her time between the Sheriff’s Department and Vigilante Security, mostly so she could hone her computer hacking and technology skills with her aunt. Today, though, she had the day off because her daughter Emmeline had a checkup appointment with Danielle. But, Mackenzie should have known that.
“Hey, Aurora,” Mackenzie said, his gaze wandering everywhere but on her. “I thought you might want cookies.”
He placed the tub on the counter. The red-lidded container definitely had cookies in it. “Uh, thanks.”
“No problem.” He tried to grin but missed the mark. His features twisted into that of a gleeful serial killer. “Charisma came over with Mikey, and the kids wanted to make them. Well, by the time they were done, we had over three dozen.”
“I see.” She tilted her head. “Is Charisma still with the kids?”
He scowled. “Why wouldn’t she be? She’s probably got them elbow-deep in some concoction she’ll call dinner, as we speak.”
She stared at him for a moment a little weirded out but also grateful he’d dropped by. Mackenzie wasn’t model-hot like Kalkin or Caden. He didn’t have a flare to him like Jase. For all intents and purposes, Mackenzie was blue-collar hot. His hands were calloused from working in construction. His skin was darker than his brothers from spending way too much time out in the sun. And his black hair fell in waves to his shoulders, setting off his cobalt-colored eyes. She could tell his nose had been broken a few times and he enjoyed shaving. Of all the Raferty brothers, he’d been the one to shave every day. He also smelled like sandalwood and cedar, an interesting combination for sure.
Unfortunately, he was way out of her league. “Everything okay?”
“Sure, yeah. Everything is fine,” he replied as he continued to stand there.
“Abby behaving for you?”
Mackenzie nodded. “She’s a peach of a kid. Very polite, a bit different.”
Aurora snorted.
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” he hurried to add.
“Didn’t think you did,” she answered pointing to the box in his hands. “So, the cookies.”
“Oh...right, right. Uh, where should I leave them?” Mackenzie ran his tongue across his bottom lip, and all Aurora could think about was that damn wolf tongue of his licking her.
“He-re.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat. “’Scuse me. I can grab them through the drawer.” She pointed down to the big box below the window.
“Interesting,” he murmured, depositing the container into the hidden compartment. “So, do you like working here?”
“I mean, it’s better than asking people if they’d like paper or plastic while listening to their kid scream about wanting a candy bar.” Aurora slammed her hand over her mouth.
Mackenzie laughed. Or, at least she thought he did. The rough noise didn’t sound like any laugh she’d ever heard before. However, when she glanced up at him, his eyes were crinkled, and a true smile formed on his mouth as he continued to sound like a dying pterodactyl.
“I shouldn’t have said something so crass,” she said then held up her finger when Nico radioed her. “Go ahead seventy-seven.”
“Dispatch call animal control, we’ve got an invasion.”
“Of raccoon, or...” One could never be too careful, she realized.
“Yes, raccoon.” Nico sighed. “Area 51 is in Nevada, not Arizona. We don’t have aliens here.”
She closed her eyes and mentally kicked herself. “Sorry, right. Call animal control. How many are there, so I can relay the information?”
“A hundred by the all the hissing and spitting that came from inside the can.” Then he added, “Probably like four or five.”
“Got it,” she said.
“Also call Danielle. I need to stop by and see her. I’ve been scratched up.”
Aurora’s eyes went wide. “On it. Anything else?”
“Nope. I’ll be 10-2 until animal control arrives.”
“10-4.” Aurora flicked open the rolodex Loraine gave her and flipped through to the county animal control card.
She glanced up from her computer expecting Mackenzie to be gone, as she’d become busy with her work, yet, there he stood, waiting. She didn’t understand him. Since the moment she’d said hello to him, he’d been stand-offish, almost aloof. Now, since they’d had dinner together, h
e’d been creepy—not in an old guy standing on a corner cat-calling every woman he saw, more like he tried too hard to care. Not only that, but why her? He was sixty-six years old; for a man of his mature stature, he still had the looks of a forty-year old or maybe a bit younger. He could have any woman in Window Rock—hell, she’d have to be blind not to see how the other women look at the Raferty men. So, it begged the question, why did he stay? Why did he not remember what happened at the Halloween party? Why had he picked her to torment and torture?
Certainly, wasn’t for her sex appeal.
She didn’t have it. She hadn’t even had a boyfriend who lasted past the kissing stage, let alone the bump-uglies phase. Plus, when he found out her virgin status, he’d probably walk away, anyway. A mature man like him didn’t have time for an immature girl like her. Also, they would have to actually date for her to worry about the sex part and as of that moment, they were nowhere near dating. For all she knew, he hated her, but was doing his brothers a favor.
After she finished the call with animal control, she radioed Nico back and noticed the time. She could go on her fifteen minute break, which meant she could talk to Mackenzie, too. She glanced up from her computer, and this time, Mackenzie was gone. Guilt ate at her. He’d obviously come by to try to bridge the awkward divide between them, and she’d been too... No, he couldn’t expect her to not do her job while she was working. She couldn’t put everything down just to talk. On a break or lunch, sure. Before, no way.
She grabbed the container of cookies and opened them. There on top sat a note in Abby’s handwriting. Her heart melted. Her niece was everything to her, and she’d do anything to keep her safe. She shouldn’t be focusing on men or wolves or anything. Until she knew Abby was out of the woods with her sickness, she couldn’t date anyone. Besides, after everything her sister had been through, she didn’t even want to contemplate a relationship.
Nevertheless, as she sat there eating her cookie, she tried to come up with all the reasons why she should try. One; she wasn’t getting any younger. Two; it would be nice if there was someone she could talk to on a regular basis. Three; sex did sound like an interesting prospect and four, it would just be nice to have someone around who would hold her, so she could breakdown and cry when Abby was at her sickest.
Regrettably for her, Mackenzie Raferty didn’t come close to fulfilling her list.
Chapter Five
Like every other school morning, it had been hectic getting his two teenaged children up, fed and out the door in time for school. That morning he had also gotten Abby ready for school instead of Aurora picking her up. Thanks to some asshole who couldn’t be bothered to show up to work on time for the next shift, Aurora was stuck. After hearing the panic in Aurora’s voice when she called, he knew right then and there, he’d be having a conversation with Kalkin about his employees. Even after he’d assured her it wasn’t that big of a deal, she kept saying sorry and telling him she’d give him twenty extra bucks for gas or more food, whatever he needed.
It pissed him off.
Mackenzie didn’t understand why it was such a huge deal for her, as they’d planned for it in emergency situations. Aurora had made sure to keep an extra outfit or two at his house, and Abby always brought her school backpack with her, just in case. Packing an extra lunch had taken minimal effort on his part. Not only that, but Riley had stepped up and helped get the little girl ready. He smiled remembering the proud look of accomplishment on Riley’s face as she did two perfect Dutch braids in Abby’s hair.
Upside, they’d all made it to school with time to spare. Now, he enjoyed the moment of peace settling through the house. The scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the kitchen, while he continued to make a to-do list for the day. The first thing on his list was to strip the sheets from his bed and wash them yet again.
It was the third time in the past week he’d woken up from what he could only term as a wet dream thanks to some very erotic dreams he’d been having. His belly and the sheets on his bed had been covered in cum. Had it not been for his lightning-fast reflexes, covering the mess he’d made, Riley would have seen him in all his glory. Mackenzie was positive she left his bedroom completely oblivious to what she’d stumbled upon. Still, he was going to have to have another conversation with his daughter. Riley expected him to knock on her door before entering her bedroom, she’d need to follow the same rules with him. Especially now.
He’d also started to notice he got a raging hard-on anytime Aurora was in the vicinity of him. Which because he was watching Abby, was all the fucking time. It was making him grumpy, and a grumpy Raferty tended to snap like a bear being poked by a stick. Keeley had teased him the day before if he kept it up, she was going to start calling him Kalkin Jr.
He grabbed the coffee pot and filled his cup to the brim before taking a sip of the bitter liquid, while contemplating, not for the first time, about heading over to Danielle to see if maybe something was wrong with him again. Of course, he reminded himself daily it would only get worse, because he’d been certain he was going feral, however, for some reason, it didn’t feel right anymore to call it that. The only thing stopping him from going to Danielle to confess everything was his own pride, and a helluva case of embarrassment in discussing the problem, in detail, to his younger brother’s mate.
Like all Rafertys, he had been a highly sexual shifter. Or at least he had been up until the day Raymond shot him. In his earlier years before everything went to shit and before Royce was born, getting a willing female to have sex with him wasn’t something he had to work particularly hard at. He did it often, with a lot of different women.
He had been a bitter old man for too many years to count when his dick first hadn’t worked. About five years in, he gave up on worrying about it. Sex was no longer an essential in his life. He’d gotten used to going without. Now it was like being a randy teenager, and he was again hyperaware of his dick seemingly having a mind all on its own.
As he sat down at the kitchen table, the back door flew open, and Kalkin stepped into the house. His arrival didn’t surprise Mackenzie since he’d reached out to him and asked his younger sibling over. He had to have a plan in place just in case.
“Got any for me?” Kalkin gestured to the cup in Mackenzie’s hand.
“Yeah, mugs are kept in the cabinet over the coffee pot,” Mackenzie replied pointing to the cupboard over the coffee pot. He glanced down at his list and took another drink from his mug before adding apples to his grocery list.
After Kalkin filled his cup, he joined him at the table. “Heard you stopped by the station last night for a visit.”
His brother didn’t pussy foot around, so hearing the hesitation in Kalkin’s voice, set Mackenzie on edge. “You got something to say, Kal, just say it. I got no patience for any of your stupid-ass games this mornin’.”
Kalkin shifted forward, his ice-blue gaze studying him intently. Mackenzie resisted the urge to adjust his position, instead choosing to stare back at his sibling over the rim of his cup. Although he’d asked Kalkin to stop by, the other man was up to something and chances where it wouldn’t bode well for whoever stepped in Kalkin’s way. His brother could be a sneaky son of a bitch on a good day, and some would say an evil genius on a bad day. Only a handful of people weren’t intimidated by the powerful Alpha, who sat with an amused look on his features while drinking out of a mug with the inscription: Leave a little sparkle wherever you go, and had a rainbow-colored unicorn dancing on a pole.
Kalkin didn’t scare Mackenzie or his wolf. He respected the man because he was his Alpha, but it ended there. Of course, it might have to do with the fact Mackenzie had wiped the other man’s ass and nose too many times to count when Kalkin was a baby.
“You asked me to stop by,” Kalkin reminded him.
Mackenzie gave a weary sigh, regretting his decision. “Because I had something important to discuss with you, not for you to critique my visit to the station. Just say what you gotta say about it, so we c
an move on. I got shit to do today.”
Kalkin snorted, then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Fuckin’ cookies? You brought her cookies? Smooth move, Mac.”
Mackenzie shrugged. “What did you want me to bring her?”
Kalkin snorted. “Bro…sorry to tell you, you got zero game when it comes to women. Are you even a Raferty?”
Mackenzie cocked a brow. Their parents had been total failures at having and raising their kids, but they’d never strayed from each other and all the siblings shared the same blood. “Fuck off.” Mackenzie’s lip curled. “I’m not looking to get involved with another woman.”
Kalkin smirked. “Clue in, big brother, you’re are involved. You take care of her kid.”
“And who do I have to thank for that?”
“Keeley,” Kalkin said, and it didn’t surprise Mackenzie his brother threw his mate under the bus without hesitation.
Mackenzie shook his head. “From what I was told, it was you.”
“Whoever told you such nonsense, is a damn liar,” Kalkin growled.
Mackenzie chuckled. “I’ll make sure the next time I see your mate; I’ll tell her you called her that.”
“Fucker,” Kalkin mumbled. “You do, and she’ll have my ass sleeping on the couch.”
“Whatever. I doubt Keeley would ever put your ass out of her bed,” Mackenzie stated.
Kalkin flashed him a wicked grin, and his gaze filled with amusement. “Ain’t that the truth? My little mate can’t go a night without me—”
