He had a point. “Well, no, that’s probably not a good idea,” I acquiesced.
“I’ll get you a hotel if you feel better about that.”
“I can pay for my own hotel.” It would hit my bottom line, but I could swing it. “Or I can sleep at the hospital for a few hours before shift.” Kind of against the rules, but other nurses had done it on occasion, and it wasn’t like I did it all the time… or ever.
“I thought you were off tomorrow.”
“I picked up an extra shift. I need the money,” I said. “And I might especially need it now if I have to get a hotel room.”
He dragged his hands down his face. “You’re not paying for a hotel, Andi. But I’d feel better if you were at my parents’ home. You’d have protection.”
I threw my hands in the air. “I don’t need protection!”
“Call Aspen and find out what time she’s expected home.”
“Bossy much?”
He smiled. “Sugar, just humor me, okay?”
I rolled my eyes as I dug my phone out of my purse and sent a text to Aspen. Dalton apparently had to make a call because when I raised my head, the phone was at his ear.
“Hey, Cole. Yeah, I am. Wired. Everywhere. Meetin’ him tomorrow at the house. Yeah?” He laughed. “Okay, man. You were all fired up about findin’ a wee Scottish lassie.”
I was so shocked by the perfect Scottish accent, I nearly laughed.
“Yeah, sure. They won’t care. No, my place is being rented. Bud, you work for him, I’m just his brother-in-law. Fight your own battles.”
My phone buzzed, and I glanced at the screen.
“I gotta go, but call me when you get in. Okay, ’bye,” he said. “What did she say?”
“Aspen isn’t planning on coming home,” I said. “She drank a little too much wine.”
Dalton nodded. “Right. Pack a bag.”
“Who was on the phone?”
“Cole. Ex-partner. Kade wants him here for a few weeks apparently.”
“And he doesn’t want to come?”
Dalton chuckled. “Long story, but it involves a woman, and she’s drama, so I’m good not knowing the full story.”
I bit my lip and my stomach churned.
“Sugar, this isn’t about you. You are not drama.”
“Says the man who wants me to get a hotel because there’s a dead cat on my porch.”
He smiled and closed the distance between us. “Okay, you have a point, but that’s what’s happening to you, Andi. This woman Cole’s dealin’ with is messin’ with him.”
I crossed my arms. “And how do you know I’m not messing with you?”
Dalton chuckled. “You killed your neighbor’s cat in order to mess with me?”
I forced down bile. “Yes… I did.”
“Sugar, you have never been able to handle people and animals being hurt.”
“How would you know that?”
“Oh, I don’t know, perhaps the game where a mother duck and her ducklings waddled onto the field and you rushed in without thought to herd them to safety?”
I groaned. “You saw that?”
“Yeah, Andi. You stopped the game.”
“Oh, right.”
“But regardless, I saw everything when it came to you.” He reached for my hand. “I was kinda into you.”
“You were not.”
He shook his head. “Don’t do that. I know how I felt. You don’t get to change that.”
I sighed. “Sorry.”
He slid his hand to my neck and kissed my forehead. “I really liked you, sugar. I don’t believe in regrets, but I am sorry I didn’t fight harder for you.”
“Dalton,” I whispered.
He kissed me again. This time slower and a lot more thorough. After breaking our connection, he dropped his forehead to mine. “I’m not stayin’ for a month.”
“You’re not?”
He raised his head and shook it. “We need more time.”
I gasped. “What?”
Stroking my cheek, he smiled. “We’re gonna make this work, sugar, and to do that right, we need time.”
“Can you just do that? Decide not to go back to Scotland?”
“Yeah. Cole runs the Scotland office, so I have more freedom than he does.”
“I can’t let you do that, Dalt. You can’t just upend your life for me.”
He frowned. “Why the hell not? I should have done it a long time ago.”
“Dalton,” I breathed out in frustration.
He took my hands and cocked his head. “Look, I seriously have no ties to Scotland at the present time. I can focus on the dealerships, get my place back, and you and I can see where we lead. I’m in this, Andi, and I hope you are too, because I feel like we have a second chance.”
I swallowed as I processed his words. “I… I’ve been here before, Dalt.”
“No you haven’t. Here is real, sugar. Where you were before was shite.”
I giggled. “Shite?”
“Scottish word for shit.”
“I like it.” I sighed. “And you’re right. It was shite. But I don’t have a lot of faith that this won’t be either.”
“That’s okay. I have enough faith for the both of us.”
“I think there’s something seriously wrong with you.”
He dropped his head back and laughed. “You might be right, but we’ll figure that out together.”
“I’ve currently got nothing better to do, so…” I shrugged, “why not?”
“Tonight, you have a choice. I stay with you here or you come with me.”
“I have an early shift, Dalt, so I need to be close to the hospital.”
“I’ll stay here, then.” He smiled. “Tomorrow, I’ll have a couple buddies stop by and install some cameras and a security system.”
“You’ll need to check with Aspen on that one.”
“I will,” he promised. “Why don’t you get comfortable and I’ll call my mother so she doesn’t worry?”
“You’re a good guy, huh?”
“I try, sugar. Remember that.”
He kissed me once more, picked up the leftovers, and then left me to change.
* * *
Dalton
I headed downstairs, checking the doors and windows while I waited for my mother to pick up. I got her voicemail, so I left a quick message and then called my sister.
“Hey, Dalt. Hold on a second,” she whispered. “I just put Liam down.” I heard shuffling and then my sister giggled before she said, “Hey there, stranger. How are you?”
“Good, how are you?”
“Good now that the demon child is down,” she said. “Where are you?”
“At Andi’s.”
She sighed.
“Don’t, Samantha.”
“Fine,” she said. “What’s up?”
“I need you to grab a few things for me and drop them by,” I asked, cautiously.
“Are you serious? You want me to go over there? No. Not going to happen.”
I glanced back to make sure Andi wasn’t close, then lowered my voice. “Samantha, I’m gonna tell you somethin’ and then you and I are done with this conversation. Andi is the reason Jet was thrown in jail. She’s the one who testified at the first hearing.”
“Pepper testified at the first hearing.”
“No, she didn’t,” I hissed. “She didn’t need to, because Andi did. Jet had been hurting her long before Pepper and she’d kept a diary and had a nanny cam set up in her bedroom. I love you, Samantha, but if you ever repeat what I told you, you and I are going to have a problem. And if you ever treat Andi with anything but adoration, you and I are going to have another problem.”
My sister didn’t say anything for several seconds. “Does Pepper know it was Andi?”
“Yep.”
“Seriously?” she snapped.
“Yes. Andi requested we keep it secret. She didn’t want anyone to know what she’d been living with. The judge agreed, and
we had to sign a gag order.”
She sighed again. “Right, what do you need?”
I gave her a short list and then hung up.
* * *
Samantha
I headed upstairs, irritated with my brother, but this wasn’t a new emotion for me when it came to him.
Kade’s voice fluttered into my mind. I’ll deliver his clothing.
He was on Finn’s bedtime ritual tonight, so I could take a bath and relax, however, my brother’s call had kind of interrupted that.
I paused on the stairs. I don’t mind, honey.
I’ll do it.
I sighed. Kade was alpha male all the way… not to mention, Scottish and royalty, so he was a little extra bossy most of the time. Since I was exhausted, I decided I’d let him have this one. As I headed back into my parents’ bathroom to start to fill the jetted tub, my phone rang and I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not speaking to you,” I snapped.
“So you and Dalton have talked,” Pepper deduced.
“Yes, and I’m adding this to the list of everything else you’ve kept from me.”
“This one’s not my fault,” she snapped. “The judge made us sign a gag order.”
“I wouldn’t have told anyone.”
“Ohmigod, Samantha, I signed a gag order. Signed it. Made a promise I’d never speak a word of it.”
I sighed. “Fine. Whatever.”
“Suck it,” Pepper retorted.
I forced myself not to smile because I was still mad. “I’ve kind of hated her forever. Not that I thought about her much over the years, but when all that crap went down with Jet… again… I remember thinking she could have stopped all of this—”
“She did stop it,” Pepper interjected.
“Well, I know that now!” I cried.
“I’m sorry, honey. If I could have told you, I would have. In fact, if I hadn’t been such a rule follower, I probably would have shared back then, but I was young and afraid they’d throw me in juvie if I squealed.”
I rolled my eyes. “They wouldn’t have thrown you in juvie.”
“How would I have known that?”
“You wouldn’t,” I admitted. “I’m sorry, Pep.”
“Me too.”
“But I am blaming the two of you for me holding a grudge for so long.”
“I think that’s fair.”
I dragged a bag from Dalton’s closet and dumped it on his bed. “What do you think about all of this Andi stuff?”
“I think it’s about damn time.”
“Really?”
“Really,” she said. “I highly doubt Dalton would have shared, but he’s always had a thing for her… like a real thing. He really liked her, Samantha, and she kind of disappeared on him.”
“He was a teenager.”
“So? They had a connection, even back then.”
“He followed his di—”
Samantha, Kade growled, his voice one of mirth.
“Penis,” I corrected. “He followed his penis back then.”
Pepper giggled. “Did Kade just censor you?”
“He so did. I need to block him.”
“Good luck with that,” she said.
I smiled. Pepper had briefly figured out how to block Connall from reading her thoughts, but he’d found his way through and now she could never hide anything from him. Lucky for us, Cauld Ane’s mated for life and it was a physical and spiritual connection, which meant if we were mad at our mate, it never lasted very long. “So explain this connection… and how you knew about it and I didn’t.”
“He asked her to Homecoming,” Pepper revealed.
“Shut up.”
“Right?”
“He didn’t take anyone,” I said, and shoved random items of Dalton’s clothing into the bag.
“I know. Something happened. He wouldn’t tell me. Even after we… you know… kind of broke up.”
Truth be told, Dalton and Pepper never really dated, but they were infatuated with each other for a little while… something else Pepper had kept from me.
Moving on. “Hmm,” I mused. “I think I need to force my big brother into a heart-to-heart.”
Pepper laughed… rather loudly.
“He’s afraid of me now,” I informed her.
“He’s always been afraid of you,” Pepper said. “But he still didn’t talk.”
I groaned. “I know. But I’m going to try.”
“Well, I hope it works out for you.”
“Me too.” I zipped up the bag and sat on the bed. “You good?”
“I’m great. I felt your irritation which is why I called.”
“Right.” I smiled. “Love you.”
“Love you, too. I’ll be waiting for updates on the Dalton/Andi saga.”
“I should probably write a book.”
Again, she started laughing.
“Why are you laughing, evil one?” I accused.
“English wasn’t really your jam, honey,” Pepper reminded me.
I rolled my eyes. “Right. Blood and guts has always been my thing.”
“Gross but true.”
“Okay, I’m going to get some stuff to Dalton.”
“Be nice,” she ordered.
“I’m always nice.”
“Nice, nice, not just Samantha nice.”
“Oh, fine,” I ground out.
She giggled again. “Talk to you tomorrow.”
“Okay, ’bye.”
I hung up and headed downstairs where Kade was sliding his cell phone into his pocket. “Connall,” he said in explanation.
I handed him Dalton’s bag. “Is everything okay?”
He grinned. “Yes. He was checking in.”
“What’s that like?”
“Having a brother who checks in?”
I nodded.
“It’s nice,” he admitted. “But if I was his sister, I doubt he’d check in as much.”
“Sexist.”
He grinned, leaning down to kiss me. “I won’t be long, love.”
“Thanks, baby.”
“Lock up.”
I nodded and waited for him to climb into the rental before closing and locking the door and setting the alarm. Then I headed upstairs to the tub, grabbing the baby monitor on my way.
* * *
Dalton
After raiding Andi’s fridge (I found a beer which I swiftly opened), I poured Andi a glass of wine and flopped onto the sofa.
“You okay?” Andi asked, and I smiled up at her.
She’d piled her hair on top of her head and changed into a pair of pajamas that left far too much to the imagination. This sent my mind to places it probably shouldn’t go and I had to look away. Damn, she was cute. “Yeah, I’m good,” I said. “I poured you some wine just in case.”
“Thanks.” She sat beside me and grabbed her glass. “Do you want to watch a movie? I have to head to bed in about an hour, but we can start something.”
“Sure. I called Samantha and asked her to bring a few things over.”
“I’ll make myself scarce when she gets here.”
I reached over and took her hand, tugging her toward me, careful not to spill the wine, and wrapping my arm around her. “You won’t do that, Andi. She’s good.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothin’, sugar. We’re good.” I kissed her temple. “You want to pick a movie?”
“The Notebook?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
Andi giggled. “Nah, I’m just messin’ with you. What are you in the mood for?”
“As long as it’s not some chick flick, I’m good.”
“This is a problem for me, Dalt. If you’re not willing to watch a chick flick with me, we will never work.”
“Just tonight, baby, yeah? I promise, I’ll watch the Notebook with you another night.”
“Little known fact about me,” Andi rose to her feet, “I hate the Notebook. Aspen says I should have my girl card revoked.”
; I chuckled. “Yeah?”
“Apparently so.” She knelt in front of the television cabinet and opened one of the side doors. “Star Wars?”
“Which one?”
“The new one.”
“Sounds good,” I said.
“I’m gonna crash about an hour in,” Andi warned. “Just letting you know.”
I smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”
She had just slid the movie in when a knock at the door came and I rose to my feet. “Go hang in the kitchen for a bit, okay?”
Andi frowned, but did as I asked.
I answered the door… and found myself shoved against the wall by a very angry Scot. “You ever speak to yer sister like that again, you and I are going to have a conversation that may or may not end with you bloodied and battered.”
I shook my head. “So, what I’m hearin’ from you is that I’m gonna have to douse myself in Red Fang should I ever have to have an argument with Samantha. Am I right?”
Red Fang was a Cauld Ane’s kryptonite, so to speak… it wouldn’t kill them, but it would make them immobile.
“Let him go!” Andi bellowed, rushing toward them.
Kade released me immediately and frowned. “Yer a bloody pain in me arse, Dalton Moore,” Kade snapped, and then turned to Andi. “He was in no danger from me, lass. Neither are you.”
“His bark is far worse than his bite,” I said, and smiled at her as I held my hand out. “It’s okay, sugar.”
Andi sidled toward me, avoiding Kade, and I stepped slightly in front of her so she’d feel protected. “Thanks for bringing my stuff, Kade.”
My brother-in-law glared at me, then softened his expression, obviously for Andi’s benefit. “I’m sorry if I scared you, lass. We’ll talk another time, Dalton.”
“Can’t wait, brother,” I said, and waited for Kade to leave before closing and locking the door. “You okay?”
Andi nodded. “He’s kind of scary.”
“Is he?”
Her head bobbed up and down. “He’s big and gruff… and I don’t know. There’s just something there.”
I chuckled, pulling her against me. “He’s royalty, sugar. It’s in his nature.”
“He’s royalty? What kind of royalty?”
“He’s a king.”
“Ohmigod,” she breathed out.
“Seriously, sugar, it’s no big deal. He’s pissed at me right now because Samantha and I had a disagreement and Kade felt the need to defend his woman. It’s all good.”
Written on my Heart (The Oracles Book 1) Page 6