by Susan Hayes
“I’m sorry, were you speaking to me?” Jess asked.
“Holy shit, they really did pick you over me.” A tall, leggy woman with dark-brown hair was standing inside Jess’s personal space, and she was staring at the pendant with outright jealousy.
“If I had known Rory’s taste ran to sea cows, I’d have skipped a few workouts and had a few more hot fudge sundaes before making the trip down here,” the woman snarked and leaned in close enough that Jess could smell the almost toxic blend of booze and perfume that clung to the woman.
“Who the hell are you and what are you talking about?” Jess finally asked, sitting up straighter on her barstool.
“I’m Renee, the one Darius Frazier wanted for his son, Rory. I’m the one who was supposed to be wearing that.” Renee reached out and flicked a finger against the pearl that hung from the bottom of the intricate Celtic knot.
“Keep your hands to yourself,” Jess snarled as she swatted Renee’s hand away.
A malicious sneer twisted Renee’s features into something quite ugly as she eyed Jess. “The boys didn’t want me to keep my hands to myself. I got to touch them all over. They wanted to test out the goods before buying.”
Jess hopped off the stool and managed to land squarely on her high heels. “Sweetie, I wouldn’t be bragging about that. If they tried out the goods and then sent you packing, you clearly failed to meet their standards.” She moved into Renee’s space, staring daggers at the other woman. “I’m already having a very bad day, so do me a favor and take your skanky, scrawny ass off to some other part of this building, or better yet, some other part of the country.”
“Fat, short, and rude, too! The Frazier clan must be so pleased to have you joining them,” Renee taunted her, and Jess literally saw red. It was like a crimson filter dropped over her eyes and she went on the attack.
“I’m only rude when I’m accosted by lying, jealous bitches who don’t know how to lose graciously. Rory and Evan are mine. You had your shot and they decided they could do better, and now they have. Get over it and get out of my face before my men arrive and they toss you on your bony butt for giving me grief!”
Renee screeched and lunged for Jess, but before Jess could even lift a hand to defend herself Renee stopped dead in her tracks and then levitated up and backward. At least that’s how it looked until Jess realized that Tucker had grabbed a hold of her would-be assailant and was half carrying her toward the door as Renee pitched a fit.
“I see the boys are going to have to keep a close eye on you.” Torin stepped into Jess’s line of sight and shot her a rueful grin as he walked her back to her barstool and lifted her onto it with a strength that surprised her. “I let you out of my sight for five minutes and look what happened!”
“She started it,” Jess muttered and tossed back her hair, still too angry to think straight yet. “She got in my face, called me a sea cow and told me she’d had sex with my guys.”
Torin took his seat and sighed. “I warned Darius she wasn’t a good match for Rory and Evan, but he’s got a bit of an obsession about bloodlines and was blinded to the fact she’s a stone-cold bitch.”
Jess growled in distain. “He thought that was Rory’s type? Does he know his son at all?”
“You’re not the first to ask that question, odds are good you won’t be the last. Emma and I try to steer him the best we can, just as you and Evan will be there for Rory. Some days we do better than others.”
Byron walked over to them and shook his finger playfully at Jess. “Less than an hour in my bar and you’re starting trouble. I’m not sure if I should be giving you a warning or an award for telling off that nasty bit of trash the way you did.”
“The only award I want is that glass of ice water I asked for before the wicked witch of the west coast tried to drop a house on my head. Please, Byron?”
“My pleasure.” Byron winked at her and reached below the counter to pull out a glass of ice water complete with a twist of lime. “I made this for you, but by the time I got down to this end of the bar you were already tearing a strip off of Renee. I was about to come to your rescue, but Tucker beat me to it.” He gave Jess a sad puppy face. “Do I still get partial credit for good intentions?”
“Of course you do. Maybe next time you’ll get there first,” Jess told him and laughed.
“Next time? You’re already planning a next time?” Torin groaned and dropped his head into his hands in mock despair.
“My best friend is coming to town next month, and she is a total trouble-magnet. I might as well prepare these kind gentlemen in advance, don’t you think?”
“Your friend is the trouble-magnet?” Byron gave her a knowing look. “And what was that a few minutes ago?”
“That was…an anomaly.” Jess grinned. “I’m very sweet, ask anyone.”
Torin and Byron both rolled their eyes. “Is this what I have to look forward to when we find our mate, Torin?” Byron asked.
“Afraid so, pup. The benefits are worth it, though.”
“You might want to remind Rory and Evan about that benefits thing.” Byron stared at something beyond where Jess as seated and she knew without looking around that her men had arrived at the bar. She could feel them, a comforting presence that wrapped around her like a warm blanket.
“You called them,” Jess said to Torin, not even bothering to make it into a question.
“They needed to know you were all right.”
“I know. I’m glad you did.” Jess gave Torin a smile, winked at Byron, and then spun around on her stool for the second time that night, nearly making herself dizzy yet again. She wound up nose to chest with Rory, who had her up off the stool and in his arms before she could say a single word.
“Don’t you ever take off like that again, baby!” Rory crushed her to him so tightly all Jess could do was make a strangled squawking noise as he buried his face into her hair.
“Are you all right? When we realized you were gone, we nearly lost our minds.” Rory squeezed her even harder and Jess could have sworn she heard her ribs creaking. “Jess? Why aren’t you answering me? Are you still mad?”
“Bro, I think you hugged the stuffing out of her, along with all the air in her lungs.” Evan stepped in close and stroked the back of Jess’s head. “Hey, sweetheart. I’m so sorry we screwed that up. What say we get you out of here and we’ll go somewhere to talk?”
Jess managed to turn her head and nod slightly, and then Rory was easing up his grip and she sucked in a long breath.
“I’m sorry, too,” Rory said, his breath hot on her ear as he leaned down so she could hear him.
Jess got her breath back and wriggled herself out of Rory’s arms so she could step back and look at them properly. “You should both be very damned sorry! You knew there was something about me and you didn’t say anything! And then you started yelling, and Evan was cheering, and your father is just…just…loud! And you were both so busy being a family that you forgot I was even there.”
Both men opened their mouths to argue and Jess held up a finger. “Don’t you dare try to deny it. How long was it before you realized I was gone?”
Evan looked utterly sheepish. “It took Emma and me a few minutes to get Darius and Rory calmed down, but right after that we went looking for you.”
Rory growled low in his throat and glared at Torin. “The minute we realized Torin’s truck was gone, we knew he’d absconded with you. Neither of you were answering your phones, though, so we had no idea where you’d gone.”
“Torin was the only one smart enough to realize I needed to get out of the house and away from everything long enough to deal with the bombshells that were dropped on me tonight.” Jess looked from Rory to Evan and back again. “For two men who promised to take care of me, you both really fucking sucked at it tonight.”
“We fucking sucked?” Evan repeated her wording and then narrowed his gaze as he leaned and took a closer look at Jess. “Torin, how much did you give our girl to drink exac
tly?”
“I didn’t give her anything. She charmed Byron and Tucker into three shots of tequila, on the house.”
“Three?” Rory choked and wrapped an arm around Jess’s shoulders. “You haven’t been here more than thirty minutes!”
“I’m going to kill Byron,” Evan muttered.
“Byron was sweet, and Tucker tossed Renee out on her scrawny butt before she could claw my eyes out, so you are not going to say a bad thing about either of them!” Jess declared.
“Son of a bitch! Renee’s still in town? You met her?” Rory was almost howling with frustration now and Jess suddenly found everything incredibly funny. That’s the third shot of tequila kicking in.
“Met her, called her a skanky bitch and got her thrown out. Now, can we please go home? I’m not done being mad at you, and it’s too loud in here.”
“That’s the best idea I’ve heard since we got here.” Evan scooped her into his arms and Rory started clearing a path toward the doors. Jess just leaned back and waved good-bye to an amused-looking Torin. Behind him Byron waved back, and Jess started giggling again.
“Don’t you dare wave at Byron, sweetheart. As it is I’m going to have to kick his ass later for flirting with you and giving you free drinks,” Evan told her in the gruffest voice she’d ever heard him use.
“Oh, don’t worry about him. He knows who I belong to.” Jess tapped her pendant. “And he told Tucker, and someone told that bitch Renee, and when we get out of here you’re going to have to explain how you forgot to mention anything about Darius wanting you two to join up with that witch!”
Evan just groaned. “Believe me, sweetheart, that was never going to happen.”
“Damn straight,” Jess muttered as they walked outside into the cold and much quieter night. “You’re both mine, and I’m keeping you.”
Chapter 18
As the truck rolled to a stop outside Jess’s cabin she lifted her head from Rory’s shoulder. Rory hugged her again. He hadn’t let go of her from the moment Evan had passed her into Rory’s waiting arms. Not that she ever wanted to go through that kind of day again, but one thing that had come out of it was a strong affirmation that she, Rory, and Evan were destined to be together.
Evan snickered as he opened the driver-side door and let himself out. “I’ll give you a hand out, Jess. That tequila’s made you a little unsteady.”
“I’m not unsteady,” Jess argued.
Rory opened their door and held onto her as Evan made his way around and helped her to the ground.
“You’re right. You’re not unsteady. You’re tipsy.” Evan’s arms came around her and she snuggled into him, letting his familiar scent work its strange magic. “But that’ll pass soon enough. I’m going to make you some dinner and maybe Rory will give you a foot rub.”
“Sounds good to me.” Jess’s words were muffled against Evan’s chest, but she was too comfortable to move.
Rory came up behind her, his hands on her shoulders and his breath warming the back of her neck. “Give Ev the keys and we’ll get you inside.”
Jess fished her house key out of her purse and handed it over to Evan, and with a light kiss to her cheek he was gone.
Rory turned her around gently and drew her into his arms. He bent his head and brushed a tender kiss to her lips, letting his mouth linger over hers. “I love you. I’m sorry things didn’t go the way we planned today, and you have my word that no matter what, from now on nothing is going to distract me being there when you need me.”
“I’m going to need both of you to get through this. I have a lot of questions, but first I want to get changed and relax. It’s been a spectacularly insane evening.”
Rory lifted her into his arms and carried her inside, straight through the living room and down the hall to her bedroom. He put her down by the bed and immediately set to work undressing her, swatting her hands out of the way every time she tried to help.
Once she was dressed again Rory got her to sit down at the edge of the bed and eased a pair of thick socks onto her feet before he curved his arms around her waist and lowered his head to her lap. Stunned to silence by the gesture, Jess sat there and stroked Rory’s hair, removing the fastening so she could run her fingers through its entire length. After a few minutes Evan’s blond head popped into the room, but when he saw what was going on he swallowed whatever smart comment he was about to make and blew Jess a kiss before heading back to the kitchen.
When Rory finally spoke, his voice was husky. “There was a moment, right after we realized you’d left, when I thought maybe you’d changed your mind about us. It nearly killed me to even think about.” He lifted his head to look into Jess’s eyes and she was overwhelmed by the force of the emotion burning in his gaze. “I never want to feel that way again. So when you’re ready, and when all your questions have been answered, I want us to be bonded completely.”
Jess nodded. “I want that, too. I’m not even sure exactly what it entails, but I want it. I want forever with you and Evan.”
“We’ll talk about that later tonight.” He swept her hair back from her face smiled. “Right after we sober you up.”
“I think I’m more or less sober now.”
“After three shots of hard liquor on an empty stomach, I doubt it. Let’s get some food into you, and then I know you’ll be fine.” Rory stood up and reached his hand out for her, helping her to her feet.
They headed back to the living room, hand in hand, and Jess’s stomach growled as she caught wind of something delicious wafting out of the kitchen area.
“You’re making me breakfast for dinner?” she asked, beaming. “You’re making me chocolate chip pancakes! They’re my favorite!”
“See, I told you it was important to know this stuff,” Evan told Rory. “I’ve got bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, and pancakes.”
Jess let go of Rory’s hand and went to hug Evan. “I love you both, but right now I’m afraid Evan is my favorite. Sorry, Rory.”
“Oh sure, thrown over for pancakes.” Rory threw up his hands in mock surrender. “I see how this is going to be. You just stick with breakfast boy over there then, J.J. Clearly you don’t need one of my foot massages.”
“That’s not fair!” Jess laughed and kissed Evan on the cheek. “Syrup’s in the cupboard, sexy. Thank you so much, this will be perfect.”
Then she followed Rory over to the couch and flopped down, lifting her sock-covered feet into his lap the moment he sat down. “Yes, please.”
“Fickle creature,” Rory teased and tugged her socks off.
Jess let her eyes close and groaned in encouragement as he started working the sore spots on her arches with strong fingers. She could hear Evan puttering around in the kitchen, and as normalcy returned to her world it was easy to let go of the worst parts of her day and just hang on to the good things. Jess let her thoughts drift where they may, and she found herself remembering some of the stories her mother had told her about selkies as a little girl. That’s when it hit her.
“The box!” Jess yelled and sat up, startling Rory. “I completely forgot about the box. How could I be so stupid?” She scrambled up off the couch and stood up, looking around the room until she spotted the heavy wood and metal box her mother had asked Jess to bring to Tofino with her. Without explaining herself, she bolted across the living room and tossed aside the various papers and assorted junk she’d managed to pile on top of it in the short period of time she’d been in residence.
The moment she had unearthed it Jess hauled it out of the corner, only to realize Rory and Evan were crouched beside her and were helping her manhandle the bulky container out into the middle of the living room floor.
“What the hell is in this thing, bricks?” Evan grunted and then stiffened as he took a closer look. “Holy shit. Rory, is this what I think it is?” He rapped a knuckle on one of the bands of metal that crisscrossed the entire surface of the box.
“Iron,” Rory confirmed as she touched another one of the ban
ds. “The whole thing is wrapped in iron.”
The two men exchanged knowing looks then looked at Jess with pity in their eyes. “So what’s the big deal about iron?” she asked as she worked to undo the ancient latches.
“It’s got magic dampening properties,” Rory told her.
“Did you just say magic? As in abracadabra and hocus pocus, magic?” Jess demanded as she managed to wrench the second latch open and lifted the lid.
“What did you think selkies were, sweetheart? A human-seal hybrid? An alien DNA experiment gone awry? We are magical creatures, and iron is one of the few things that messes with our mojo.”
Evan and Rory stared into the box, and Jess heard them both sigh sadly as they looked at the contents.
“This must have been your mother’s pelt.” Rory started to reach out to touch it but then withdrew his hand. “She locked it away in an iron box so she could never change forms.”
“What the hell happened to her that she’d do that to herself?” Evan asked in a voice thick with emotion.
“I don’t understand,” Jess whispered as she very carefully touched the dried and brittle fur. “You both sound almost horrified at the idea she did this.”
“Until you’ve experienced it for yourself, you won’t understand completely. But what your mother did to herself would be a bit like cutting out a part of her soul on purpose,” Evan explained and she felt both of them rest a hand on her back as she leaned closer and lifted the pelt up out of the box. It weighed almost nothing despite its size, and Jess realized it was completely dried out. It was pale silver and marked with darker rings of gray and Jess laid it gently on the floor in front of them. If they could have spread it out, it would have been large enough to cover a human being.
“It’s beautiful,” she said and stroked the fur very carefully with her fingers.
“Jess, look.” Rory lifted a hand and pointed into the box. “That’s got to be yours.”
Lying at the bottom of the box was a second pelt, almost identical to her mother’s in color and markings. Jess held her breath as she reached in and gingerly lifted it out, cradling silver fur in her hands. It was soft and pliant to the touch, and an undeniable sense of rightness flowed through her as she held onto it.