“Okey doke.”
I preheated the oven, slid the glass dish with the premade lasagna in, and set the timer, then went looking for Aspen. Grannie’s parlor looked like something out of the thirties, floral and over the top, and it was awesome, because it was all Gertrude Westwood. I don’t think she’d ever changed anything in this room from the time they built it. Aspen had a large photo album settled on her lap.
“Whatya got there?” I asked, flopping onto the antique settee against the wall.
She grinned and slid it to me. “I found it when I was going through the closet.”
“Are you allowed in the closet?”
She rolled her eyes. “If I wasn’t allowed in the closet, they would have locked it.”
“Aspen,” I said, in suspicion.
“Okay, if I wasn’t allowed in the closet, they shouldn’t have made a lock that was so easy to pick.”
I coughed on a giggle sliding the album back to her. “You scare me sometimes, you know that right?”
“Of course.” She pushed the book back. “But look. Grannie wrote a list and then put Grandad’s picture next to it.”
“What kind of list?”
“I think it’s a wish list. A man wish list.”
“What the heck is a man wish list?” I leaned in trying to read the faded lettering. “Two-inches taller, no more. Ah, green eyes—”
“No,” Aspen corrected. “Green eye.”
I wrinkled my nose. “She wanted a short man with one green eye?”
Aspen giggled. “Grandad does have only one green eye.”
“He’s not a Cyclops, Aspen.”
“No, but he has one green eye and one blue.”
“He does?”
Aspen nodded. “Yep.”
“I can’t believe I never noticed that before,” I said, and turned back to the list. “Look like Anthony Perkins.” I frowned. “The Psycho guy? Wasn’t he gay?”
“I don’t think they knew that back then.”
“But he’s so… I don’t know, emaciated looking.”
“He had the skinny nerd thing going on, though. Of course, not sure how you could find Norman Bates sexy, but Gran’s always been a little weird.”
“I think if I was her age, I’d have gone for 1950s Clint Eastwood.”
“Oh, yeah, he was hot.”
“Okay, what else?” I mused, and then giggled. “She wrote on here, Carnie.”
“What?” Aspen leaned in. “Ohmigod, it does say Carnie.”
“Like, as in carnival worker?”
“Andi, Grandad was a mechanic who fixed carnival rides.”
“Shut up! When?”
“A million years ago. I think it was when they first met.” She took the album back and flipped to the back page and blank pages of stationery fell out. “Oh, crap.”
I dropped to the floor to help her gather the pages. “This looks like the same paper she wrote the list on.”
“I think it is,” Aspen agreed, and then smiled up at me. “Do you think…?”
“That we should write a list of what we want in a man?” I sat back on the sofa. “On your Grannie’s special paper, no less?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Come on, Andi, it’ll be fun.”
“We have already invaded her privacy, Aspen. I don’t feel comfortable stealing from her, too.”
“It’s paper, honey, not the family jewels.” She grinned. “You could list all of Dalton Moore’s attributes and see if he comes to you.”
“Comes to me? Like in a vapor?” I joked.
“That would be so cool!”
My heart stuttered and feelings I’d stuffed deep inside long, long ago, slid into my mind briefly. “What brought that on?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I just thought of him.”
I shook my head. “Weird.”
“Yeah, it is.” She shrugged and pulled out her phone. “You know what? I’m going to call Gran.”
I groaned. “Don’t bug her, Aspen.”
It was like she never heard me as she dialed the number and put the phone on speaker. “Hello?”
“Hi Grannie, it’s Aspen and Andi.”
“Oh, hello, dears. Is there a problem with the house?”
“No, nothing like that. Um, Andi and I were in your parlor… and we found an old album. It had some pretty paper—”
“So you picked the lock on the closet, hmm?”
“Well…”
“Yes, she did,” I said, totally throwing Aspen under the bus.
“Traitor,” Aspen whispered.
Grannie chuckled. “Lovelies, I don’t care if you look in the closet and, should you like to use my stationery, you are welcome to it.”
“Thanks, Grams,” I said.
“Yes, thanks. And, um, sorry for invading your privacy.”
“Don’t worry about it, honey. If I didn’t want you to see something I wouldn’t keep it behind a flimsy locked door.”
Aspen waggled her eyebrows at me. “That’s what I told Andi.”
“Well, thank you, Andi, for being her conscience.”
“You’re welcome to find someone else to take the job, Grannie,” I said dramatically. “I’m exhausted.”
Her giggle tinkled through the phone. “I love you both. Now, I have to run.”
“’Bye,” we said in unison.
“I could rule the world if you didn’t get in my way, you know,” Aspen complained.
“Have at it, honey. I like the idea of a world ruled by you.”
“Liar.”
I grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen and faced Aspen. “Let’s grab some Coke and take this project out onto the deck.”
“I like that idea, lovie,” she said, mimicking Grannie’s voice.
Chuckling, we grabbed a couple of sodas, checked the time on the oven, and headed out to the deck.
As the sun set over the water, I jotted down my list of what I wanted in a man, the vision of a love lost long ago flashing in my mind. Dark hair, hazel eyes, the sweetest kisses I’d ever experienced. None of those attributes matched my current boyfriend, Jeremy, which should have concerned me much more than it did. But Dalton Moore was the only man on earth I would never be able to have, so the fact he invaded my dreams kind of pissed me off.
As the futility of such an exercise began to invade my heart (and the timer on the oven went off), I followed Aspen back into the house, and promptly threw my sheet of paper into the fire. I was far too jaded to believe in the hope of a pure and lasting love. The best I could hope for was Mr. Right Now, and that was Jeremy Roth. He was a good guy. I’d been with him for a couple of years now and I knew he’d take care of me. It was good enough and more than I could wish for.
CHAPTER ONE
Andi
Savannah, Georgia
Eight Years Later…
“ANDI, I NEED you,” Dr. Jackass number one bellowed down the hall.
I rolled my eyes at my fellow nurse hell mate, Laura, and handed her the chart I’d been attempting to update.
“Don’t kill him,” she whispered, although, it was more of a suggestion than a plea...we all wanted to kill Dr. Morgan. He was the biggest ass of them all.
“No promises,” I responded, and rushed down to trauma bed three.
My usual rotation was in labor and delivery, which meant I rarely worked emergency. But I needed the hours, so had picked up a couple nights a week in an attempt to get out from under the mess my ex-husband had left me. Jeremy had turned out to be the worst decision I’d ever made thus far, and I was paying for it… literally. He took all my money.
“How can I help you, doctor?” I asked, trying for pleasant and professional.
“You can help by being where I need you when I need you,” he snapped. “You nurses think you own this damn hospital. How about you do your job? That would be a stellar start.”
How about you stick your head in a wood chipper?
“I’ll be able
to do my job if you tell me what you need,” I said, this time pleasant was off the table.
“We’ve got a heart attack arriving in less than two minutes and I need this room prepped. Can you handle that or will it be too much for you?”
“Dr. Morgan, as much as it pains me to point this out, this room was prepped...by me, twenty minutes ago. If you feel as though something’s missing, I’ll be happy to rectify that.”
He glanced around the room, scowled, huffed, and then walked out without a word.
“You’re welcome,” I retorted to the empty room, and took a minute to try the deep breathing exercises my counselor had recommended. However, other than making me feel like I might hyperventilate, they did nothing to alleviate the desire to watch the good doctor trip down some stairs...or get hit by a bus. Maybe he and my ex could step in front of one of those big charter busses together. It would be a match made in heaven… or, more accurately… hell.
Once I calmed myself enough not to lace the doctor’s coffee with rat poison, I joined Laura back at the nurse’s desk. As I sat, an ambulance arrived with the critical heart attack patient, followed quickly by two others who’d been involved in a motor vehicle accident. To say my night went from bad to worse was an understatement.
* * *
Dalton
Edinburgh, Scotland
I groaned as I sat up and grabbed my gun. I’d been pulled out of a deep sleep (and rather disconcerting dream) by the pounding on the front door of the apartment I was living in temporarily. Donning a pair of shorts, I sidled out of the bedroom and down the hall. I heard the key in the lock and shook my head. Knowing it was more than likely my sister, I engaged the safety on my glock and pulled open the door. Samantha virtually fell inside, her long dark hair falling around her face.
I set the gun on the table. “Goddammit, Samantha, I could have shot you.”
“Sorry, Dalt.” She raised her head, her eyes red and wet with tears.
“Hey,” I said, pulling her into my arms. “What’s wrong? The kids okay? Kade?”
Samantha nodded against my chest and then glanced up at me. “Mom tried to call you a few times and I’ve been trying for ten minutes.”
Kade and Samantha Gunnach lived down the hall part of the year, and in their Inverness castle the rest of it. They owned the flat I stayed in whenever I was in Scotland, which seemed to be more and more of late. I owned a couple of car dealerships in my native home of Savannah, Georgia, but hadn’t been back in several months.
“My phone’s off.” I’d had approximately four hours of sleep over the last three days and had been determined to rest. So much for that plan. “What’s going on? Why’s mom trying to call?”
“Daddy’s had a heart attack. Kade’s getting the plane prepped, so pack and be ready to leave in half an hour, okay?”
“A heart attack? Is he okay?”
She bit her lip. “He’s alive and in surgery, but other than that… I have no idea. I just pray we’re not too late.”
“Hey.” I grabbed her hand. “He’s gonna be fine, sis. We’ll get there in time, you’ll do your Voodoo Cauld Ane shit on him and he’ll live another fifty years.”
“What if it doesn’t work?”
“It’ll work.”
“Thirty minutes,” Samantha said again, and I nodded.
She gave me one more hug and then headed back to her apartment, leaving me to pack my bag. As I shoved clothing into a duffel, I thought about my strange dream… a love lost long ago and marveled at the timing of this sudden trip back to Savannah. I wasn’t one to believe in “signs,” but this certainly gave me pause. I shook off my thoughts, mostly because I didn’t know exactly where she was, which would require calling in a few favors to find her. I wasn’t really interested in doing that, so it was a nonstarter.
Ten minutes later, I walked into Samantha’s apartment and my five-year-old nephew, Liam, ran to me, lifting his hands. “Uncle Dalton.”
I scooped him up with a grin. “Hey, buddy.”
“We’re going on a pwane.”
“I know. Are you excited?”
He nodded.
Samantha rushed into the room holding her almost three-year-old, Phineas, screaming his head off. “I know, baby. It’s early. You’re hungry.”
“Feed him,” I said, and set Liam down.
“Can you grab a banana from the kitchen, please?” she asked.
I nodded and found the last piece of fruit on the island. I peeled it and broke off a piece for Finn.
Kade arrived in the living room, dropping three bags on the floor. “Do we really need all of this?”
“Yes, Kade, we really need all of that,” she said. “Where’s Alasdair?”
“He’s picking up Mary and he’ll be here shortly.”
“Mary? Your nanny with the hot bod?” I asked.
“Dalton Andrew Moore, you will stay away from the nanny. She’s amazing and she’s ready to travel at a moment’s notice. You screw that up for me and I will kill you in the face.”
I grinned. “It might make her work harder.”
“How do you nanny harder?” Kade asked.
Samantha grabbed the banana and jabbed a finger into my chest.
“Ouch!” I cried. “What the he—”
“Watch your mouth,” she snapped, jabbing her finger in again.
Something no one other than a few close confidants knew was that my brother-in-law was not human. Kade was from an ancient Viking race that lived sometimes thousands of years and mated for life. When Samantha had been hired to work for Kade’s pharmaceutical company, they had discovered they were mates and had been together for a little over six years now.
My FBI partner, Cole, had been recruited to handle security issues only humans could safely deal with. The Cauld Ane were susceptible to temperatures over sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit and a rather plain, but deadly, flower called Red Fang. Cole had proved invaluable in situations the Cauld Ane couldn’t risk, and I had been attempting to assist with that, along with running my dealerships. It was becoming impossible to do it all, so I’d let my job at the FBI go and now had to decide if I was in with Cole, or staying in Savannah. It was a tough decision to make.
“And you go anywhere near Mary,” Samantha continued. “I will hurt you worse than you’ve ever been hurt...capisce? Plus, I won’t heal you.”
I raised my hands and stepped away from her iron finger. Ever since she’d been converted to Cauld Ane, she had superhuman strength. “I won’t go anywhere near Mary.”
“Don’t talk to her, don’t even look at her.”
“Kade, man, help a brother out?”
Kade shook his head. “I’m with Sam, Dalton. Sorry. You’ve got a reputation and we need a dependable nanny.”
Before I could protest, a knock at the door brought Alasdair and Mary. Samantha wagged her finger at me once more and then greeted the nanny.
I sighed, albeit internally. Mary might be gorgeous, but my sister was right. I couldn’t get involved with anyone at the moment, and to lead Mary on might be fun, but it could be detrimental for my nephews.
My phone buzzed and I pulled it out of my pocket. “Hey, Mama, how’s Dad?”
Samantha grabbed my arm and I held the phone between both of our ears.
“He’s still in surgery. It’s not good.”
I sighed. My mom sounded tired and worried. “We’ll be there in less than seven hours, Mama. Okay?”
“Okay, honey.”
“Did you call Aunt Beth?” Samantha asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“It’s early here. You know she’s not an early riser.”
Samantha sighed. “Mom, she’d want to be there.”
“I’ll call her,” I offered.
“Oh, honey, that would be amazing. I should go. I need to ask the nurse if there are any updates.”
“Love you,” Samantha and I said at the same time.
“Love you both. See you soon.”
>
“I’ll call Beth on the way to the airstrip,” I said, and helped Alasdair and Kade load the bags into the car. We took off for Savannah less than an hour later, hopeful our father would still be alive when we got there.
* * *
Andi
“Mrs. Moore?” I called as I stood at the threshold of the waiting room.
“I’m Melanie Moore.” A beautiful, older woman stood and rushed toward me with another woman in tow. Recognition flitted through my mind and my heart raced.
“The doctor wanted me to give you an update.” I tried for a bolstering smile. “Surgery’s going really well, but it will be a few more hours.”
She sniffed back tears. “Will… will he be okay?”
I couldn’t answer her question because I didn’t know. But luckily, the other woman spoke before I had to.
“Of course he is.” She smiled at me. “I’m Beth. Melanie’s sister.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said. “My name’s Andi, so if you need anything, I’m typically over at the nurse’s station, but if I’m not, someone will find me.”
“Thanks honey,” Beth said, and led Melanie back to the chairs.
I headed back to the nurse’s desk where Laura was standing arguing with her doctor boyfriend, Mark Long... Jackass Doctor number two.
“Hey guys,” I said, and stifled a chuckle when they jumped away like errant teens.
“Hey, Andi.” Laura scowled at Mark. “We were just discussing a patient.”
“None of my business.” Picking up a chart, I prepared for a long night, but before I got too involved with the busy work of the ER, my gaze was drawn to the people walking towards me.
Holy crap on a stick, Dalton Moore was walking toward me with his sister, Samantha, and some unbearably gorgeous man who had an arm around her waist. When I saw Mrs. Moore, I didn’t really entertain the thought that Dalton would come, but it made sense. They were a tight-knit family. Mrs. Moore had been at every football game...as had I… until, well, until my brother was kicked out of school. Mrs. Moore and I had never officially met, and she was usually wrapped up in scarves and heavy coats, but Dalton had her eyes, and they were hardly forgettable.
As Dalton drew closer, my breath left my body and I swallowed. For the first time in a very long time, I was rendered floaty by a man. In fact, the only other time I’d been mute had been when I’d met Dalton at a football game in high school. I was a freshman; he was a junior and the quarterback of the undefeated Raiders at Savannah Christian High School. There’d been a moment...a short moment my sophomore year, but a significant moment all the same, where I actually believed he was interested in me. But it wasn’t meant to be. That had been a long time ago, but he still made my legs feel like jelly. I’d often fantasized about what it would have been like if I’d married him (or someone like him) instead of Jeremy Roth. Good Lord, anyone would have been better than Jeremy. I stared back at my notes and tried to look busy.
Redeeming the Biker's Past (Dogs of Fire: Savannah Chapter Book 3) Page 18