Authors: Lynnette Bernard
Jace and Jackson watched silently as Laurie peeled the apple just as she said her grandmother used to.
“When my grandmother finished peeling the apple, she would cut it into four pieces and cut out the core, and then she would hand two pieces to me and two pieces to my grandfather.”
Laurie did as she explained, handing two pieces to Jace and two pieces to Jackson. The men took the pieces from her without a word.
“One night while my grandmother and I sat on their front porch, she told me that cutting up that apple always calmed my grandfather down after a stressful day at his job. She got into the habit of doing it every night for him. It was also her way of spoiling him and letting him know just how much he meant to her. It was her way of showing him how much she loved him.”
Jace slowly brought a piece of apple to his mouth, biting it and chewing slowly. Laurie watched him with tears in her eyes as he chewed, his eyes clear as he watched her. She reached out and touched his arm gently. Turning to Jackson, she watched him do the same, and she reached out with her other hand to lightly touch his arm. The immediate feeling of peace and love that transmitted through them was louder and clearer than any words or any story could ever be.
Laurie could sense the echoes of pain that lingered inside both men’s heads. Standing, she faced Jace first, feeling that his hold on his human side was more fragile. Reaching up, she carded her fingers through his hair and began a slow massage of his scalp. Even though her intent was to help him relax and feel the tenderness that he needed to keep control of his humanity, it helped ease her own pain at being away from them for so long.
Jace closed his eyes and relaxed under the gentle caressing of her fingers against his temples and scalp. His breathing settled into a slow rhythm, and he found his center as Laurie’s hands led him to total and complete surrender. He looked up at her silently, unsure what to do or say, only knowing that her touch had calmed him in a way that he only was able to feel when he was with her.
Laurie looked at him and smiled, knowing he was relaxing. Leaning down, she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead before stepping back and releasing her hold on him. Turning, she stepped closer to Jackson and lifted her hands to sink her fingers through the softness of his curls. The moment she made contact with him and began to massage his temples and the sides of his head, she realized with sudden fear that Jackson’s hold on humanity was nearly as fragile as Jace’s. Her heart actually hurt as she acknowledged that their pain was because of her. They had nearly lost themselves to their wolves because of her. The delicate balance between their two natures was nearly destroyed. Because of her.
“I’m so sorry,” she told them, nearly unable to speak because of the emotions that were clogging her throat.
When she felt Jackson finally relax, she kissed his forehead tenderly, then lowered her hands and took a step back to face both men. There was no doubt in her mind what she needed to tell them both. She couldn’t hide anymore. She couldn’t let her fear stop her from being honest with them. They deserved the best in life. She only hoped she was the one who could give them what they needed.
“I’ve missed you,” she finally whispered, looking at both of them with tears in her eyes. “I love you.”
She barely got the words out when Jace bolted to his feet, sending the chair he had been sitting on flying across the room. He reached out and grabbed Laurie by the arms and pulled her into his embrace, crushing her to his chest. The noise behind them proved Jackson was a split second behind Jace’s instincts as his chair thudded against the wall and his arms encircled them both.
“Mate,” Jackson whispered against the back of her neck, breathing in her scent as if only it could give him what he needed to breathe.
“Where have you been?” Jace muttered against the top of her head. “We tried calling you but couldn’t get through.”
“Why did you leave without telling us what was wrong?” Jackson’s voice cracked as he finally gave way to the tears he had been holding back for three days.
“I told Vera to tell you I had a family emergency,” she protested against Jace’s chest. “I didn’t want to tell her what happened because I didn’t want her to know about my daughter.”
“You told Vera?” Jace pushed her away from his chest to look down at her with murderous intent.
“What about your daughter?” Jackson asked her, turning her to face him, concern evident in his face.
“My daughter was in a car accident,” Laurie explained quickly. “I had to get to the hospital. When I got there, Mia told me that her father ran her off the road.”
Both men’s immediate growls filled the kitchen.
“I know. I feel the same way.”
“Is Mia all right?” Jace asked, barely able to hold his anger in check.
Laurie nodded. “Yes, luckily. She’s going to be pretty sore for a while. She was pretty bruised up. But she pressed charges against Patrick, and he’s being held until bail can be raised.” Laurie hesitated, her fear making her chest hurt. “The kids and I decided to take you up on your offer for us to live here with you. If you still want us.” Laurie’s voice was quiet as she looked at both men. “I told the kids you would welcome them into your family.”
Jace pushed away from her in anger, sending Laurie’s heart to her stomach. She had been wrong. They didn’t want her or her kids.
“Three things, Laurie,” Jace began, trying very hard to keep his voice down. His anger flashed in his eyes, and Laurie could see the wolf within him fighting to get out. “One—your children are our children. I’ve told you that before. They will live here, and our pack will welcome them and protect them. Never question that. Two—we never got your message from Vera. Believe me, I will deal with her directly. But if you had opened your link to us immediately, we would have known what had happened and would have gone with you. You’re our mate, damn it! We belong with you. We’re here to help you and to share your life with you. That includes joys and problems. As a team, the three of us can face anything. But we can’t face a life without you in it.” His voice softened with the last sentence. “And three—if you ever,
ever,
leave us or close us out of your mind again, I will find you and turn you over my knee and paddle that sweet little ass of yours until you can’t sit down for a month! Am I clear?”
His voice was pure alpha now. The chills at his power and his tender words of love filled Laurie’s heart near to bursting.
“In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t have a little ass,” Laurie teased, looking up at Jace with tears in her eyes. She turned and looked at Jackson, seeing his anger melt at her comment.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered sincerely. “I closed myself off from you because I didn’t want to hurt you with the threat from Patrick. I thought if I left, I could protect all of you. But then I got the phone call from the police telling me about my daughter’s accident, and I ran to her without thinking about anything but getting to her. I couldn’t use my phone in the hospital, and then I had all our numbers changed so Patrick couldn’t harass us anymore.” She looked up at both men, realizing, as she told them, how inadequate her explanation was. She had hurt them. “By the time we packed up and drove here I was afraid that you wouldn’t want us, so I kept myself closed off until I got here.” Her head lowered in defeat and shame. “I’m truly sorry.”
Both men looked at her silently then looked at each other, relief evident on their faces. When they felt the emotions that reached out from Laurie until they were surrounded by her love and her sorrow, they stepped toward her as one, taking her in their arms and holding her tightly.
“I think you have a perfect ass,” Jackson whispered against the side of her neck, biting down gently.
Laurie laughed, sniffing her tears indelicately. She could feel Jace’s chest move against her face as he chuckled, then gasped as he bit down on her shoulder with a little more force.
“We’re going to drag you up to our bedroom and claim you again,” he told her, his voice hoarse with want.
“Hold that thought,” Laurie told them, laughing as she pushed out of their arms and pulled her cell phone from her pocket.
Both men stepped back then sat down in two of the chairs that still stood next to the kitchen table. Jace reached out and tugged at Laurie to have her stand between his legs, pulling at her hips and drawing her toward him as she made her phone call. Leaning forward and pushing up her T-shirt, he kissed her belly gently, turning to Jackson and smiling.
“Mia, where are you?” Laurie spoke into the phone, touching and petting Jace’s head as he kissed her belly and leaned his cheek against her, hugging her tightly.
Jackson tugged her toward him, lifted her shirt and pulled down the waist of her jeans to place a tender kiss just below her belly button, whispering against her, then turning and winking at Jace. Laurie touched his head gently, running her fingers through his soft curls.
She giggled and looked down at both men. Taking the phone away from her ear, she laughed. “What are you guys doing?”
“Just welcoming our family home,” Jackson told her, his eyes sparkling as he looked up at her.
Laurie laughed and put the phone back to her ear. “What, honey?” she asked. “Okay. Good. Call me when you get here. I’ll meet you outside the lodge.”
She closed her phone and stepped out of her mates’ embraces. “The kids are still on the highway. We split up to make sure we weren’t being followed. I told them to drive around for a while when they left Denver so they would lose anyone who might be following them. They should be here in about two hours. Do you think you can get some people to help us unload the cars when they get here?”
Jace nodded and stood, grabbing Laurie and covering her mouth with his in one swift move, holding her against him as he tasted her, loving her with his mouth. When he pulled away and looked down at her, she was dazed and nearly limp in his arms.
“Love you, Mate,” he whispered, kissing her one last time before gently placing her in Jackson’s waiting arms. He turned and walked toward the main lodge to gather his men to be ready to help when the kids arrived.
Laurie smiled and looked up at Jackson. “Do you have a welcome home kiss for me, too, Jackson?” she asked quietly, looking up at him with eyes glazed with passion and filled with tears.
Jackson smiled down at her and leaned in to kiss her lips gently. “What I want to do is bury myself deep inside your sweet body until you scream my name,” he told her as he slowly licked her lips before claiming them once again.
Pulling back, he smiled down at her, obviously struggling to control himself. Laurie reached up and touched his cheek tenderly, smiling when he turned into her hand and nuzzled it before kissing her palm lightly and licking it.
“I would like that,” she whispered.
Jackson smiled and held her possessively against his chest, embracing her so tightly she could barely breathe. “Laurie, I love you with all that I am,” he whispered against the top of her head.
Laurie closed her eyes, finally feeling as if everything was as it should be. Her men’s words of love were sincere and wonderful to hear. But it was the feeling of love that they surrounded her with that made her finally accept that what they felt for her was deep and lasting. She looked at Jackson and smiled, loving the softness of his eyes as he looked down at her. She would never tire of looking at him. She took a cleansing breath, allowing her worry to show.
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Jackson asked, reaching up to gently touch her face.
“How’s Nikki?” she asked quietly, looking toward Jace as he returned to the kitchen and stood beside them.
“She’s good. Getting stronger every day. But she’s not happy about being unable to get in touch with you,” Jace said sternly, looking down at her, his eyes glowing briefly with anger.
“I’m sorry,” Laurie whispered, seeing the difficulty Jace was having at controlling his wolf. “I promise it won’t happen again.” She hesitated, reaching up to gently caress his face. “I need to soothe your wolf.”
Jace was momentarily shocked by her understanding that the wolf within him was pacing restlessly. “And how do you plan on doing that, Mate?” he asked, his voice hoarse with emotion.