by Thalia Eames
Ian shot a pointed glance at Garrett. Funny guy. He ought to keep his lips to himself. Garrett wondered how much Lennox would protest if he threw her funny friend out the window…without opening it.
“Hey, Ian. Have you ever heard of defenestration?”
“Garrett,” Lennox said.
He didn’t miss the cautioning note in her voice. He guessed she would mind if he defenestrated Ian straight through the windowpane and onto the back porch. Who knew?
Oblivious to having narrowly missed a set of broken bones, Ian walked halfway to the door. He stopped, looked at Garrett, and turned left. After disappearing into Lennox’s walk-in closet he reappeared with a yellow cardigan.
Suspicious, Garrett took a few more steps into the room.
Ian went back to Lennox’s bedside. “Lean forward a bit, Leni,” he said.
She did and he wrapped the cardigan around her shoulders. Afterward Ian pulled the sheet covering her lower half down. Garrett started across the room but didn’t reach in time to stop Chuckles from lifting Lennox into his arms. Ian whispered to her, “I know where you want to be. Come on, kitty.”
Mr. Chuckles shouldered past Garrett on his way out of the bedroom door. Lennox wrapped her arms around Chuckles’s neck. If not for the precious cargo Ian carried, he’d have gotten a lamp to the skull.
Lennox looked pretty this morning with her caramel curls piled high. Garrett rubbed his now fully grown-in beard. He thought about it for a second then followed her and Ian down the stairs. They’d had enough time alone already this morning.
The pair walked past the kitchen, through the sunroom, and, after Lennox opened the door, out onto the back porch. Garrett trailed closely behind.
Ian sat her down in the porch swing. She hugged him, murmuring thanks into his ear. The other man’s face lit up. Ian brushed the pad of his thumb over Lennox’s eyebrow and Garrett saw it clearly. This guy loved her. Garrett turned away. He walked to the banister and leaned over it.
Why did the realization piss him off? Lennox deserved someone who cherished her. Ian made a great match. Garrett had looked into it. Ian owned a lucrative vineyard, earned millions a year. He made her laugh. And he loved her. There wasn’t anything to object to. But Garrett didn’t like it. He just didn’t. No amount of talking to himself would change his mind.
Chuckles said his goodbyes and headed out through the house. Garrett kept quiet for a while, listening to Lennox breathe deep and sigh. He glanced over his shoulder. Contentment softened her features as she looked out at her yard.
The scent of peaches made the air taste good. June bugs buzzed. Sunlight lit his closest friend’s face and… Garrett took another sniff of the air. Anger exploded in his chest. He called it anger because jealousy wasn’t possible.
“Why haven’t you chosen a man yet, Elle?”
“What?” She glanced at him, but her gaze wandered back to the yard.
Garrett exhaled, hard. “Why haven’t you chosen a man yet? You’re sitting here hornier than a hound dog at a bitch convention. I can smell it. You need a man.”
Her eyes flashed. Slowly and deliberately she said, “What the hell are you talking about, Garrett? I don’t need shit.”
He crossed the porch and knelt in front of her. “Yes, you do. Get it together.”
Lennox grabbed him by the chin. If he didn’t know her, he’d swear she meant to strangle him. “My problem isn’t picking someone, Garrett. My problem is having that man pick me.”
He jerked free from her grasp. “You take a grudge too far, Elle.”
“What did you want me to do? Huh?” she said. “I couldn’t stay at school while my father was sick. I needed to come home.”
Garrett gripped the swing on either side of her. “You could have said something. Goodbye would’ve been a start. But leaving without a word? Unacceptable.”
“I tried to tell you.” She gritted out the words. “But when I went looking for reassurance from you, the person who I thought would be there for me no matter what…” She looked away.
“What?” He pulled the swing closer.
“When I came to tell you my father was ill and I had to leave school. When I came to you looking for a shoulder to lean on…” She focused on the yard as if it would disappear if she didn’t watch it. Her voice cracked. “I walked into your and Tina’s impromptu reception. You know, the one you had after your spur-of-the-moment courthouse wedding.” She covered her eyes with clenched fists. “You got married without a word to me. You blindsided me. How could you do that, Garrett?”
He rose and paced the porch. “That’s what spur-of-the-moment means. We didn’t know we were going to get married. We just decided to one minute and did it the next.”
She dropped her fists, banging them on the swing. “But you always told me everything. You never did anything without me. And when I needed you to hold me you weren’t there. You were holding her instead.”
Garrett studied her. What did she want from him? He crouched in front of the swing and opened his mouth to tell her how wrong she was. She put a finger to his lips, cutting off his words before they started.
“Yes, Garrett, I carry a grudge. You never think about how someone else might feel. You always do whatever you want.”
Anger roiled in the pit of his stomach. Her words stung. “Was I supposed to put my life on hold because of your one-sided love?”
She gasped. He didn’t stop. “I loved Tina. Still love Tina. From that first moment our eyes met, I saw only her. I wasn’t going to ignore that for anyone. Not even to keep you from getting your feelings hurt. Did you expect me to?”
Lennox waved a hand between them. “No,” she said. “You have the right to chose your own life. But you didn’t bother to think about how finding out that way might hurt me. The same with Nox.”
Garrett tensed. She wanted to be careful with whatever she said next. Lennox didn’t see the danger sign flashing in his expression. “You’re keeping some part of his heritage from him. Is that for his benefit or for your ease?”
His growl made her go still. He whirled away. “You don’t know anything about that, Lennox. You’ve never been hunted or had to hide. You’ve never watched someone you love bleed out in your arms.” Garrett gripped the banister and felt the wood crack beneath his palms. “And you’re not a parent. Being a sudden godmother doesn’t qualify. So don’t judge me.”
When he looked at her the widening of her eyes told him amber flickered in his. He told himself to stop, to shut up and leave it alone. He didn’t want to hurt her. Not again. Lennox meant so much more to him than he knew how to say but, instead of telling her that, he bit into her with words. “You want to be pissed off because I chose my wife over you? Fine. But don’t question what I do to protect my son.”
When she spoke, Lennox’s voice took on a sharp edge. “Everyone dies. You’re not the only one who’s lost someone you love.” Her volume rose when her fire-filled eyes met his. “My father died in my arms, Garrett. He was so thin I could pick him up by myself and cradle him.” She pushed up out of her rocking chair. “The center of my universe wasted away and left me.” She stared at him. “You hurt?”
“Yeah,” he growled back. His claws slid out of his nail beds and he curled his fingers into fists. Sharp ticks of pain sliced his palms.
“Me too,” Lennox said, lowering her head.
A blast of the hurt she’d mentioned, along with rage and more guilt than he knew what to do with shot Garrett in the chest. Without another word, he leaped over the porch and into the yard. He needed to run, to rip off these clothes and be free. Be wolfen with the grass beneath his paws, scents thick in his nose, wind rough in his fur. Be wolf. Forget and own the woods.
His gray lupine body tore through his jeans as soon as he reached the cover of the trees. He hadn’t allowed his animal side to run in so long. Garrett faded and his wolf
roamed the woods for hours.
The smell of smoke brought him back to himself. He followed the burn on the breeze. Panic shot through his veins in shards of ice. Fast. Faster. Averdeen Manor burned. Everything he loved might burn too. His son. His Elle. Save them or die trying.
Garrett broke the back door down in human form. Sniffing the air, he separated smoke from scent. There. He bounded into the kitchen. His son whipped a box of baking soda over the fire consuming most of the wall. Nothing could be done. The blaze leapt, the heat nearly unbearable. Garrett grabbed Nox by the waist. Tucking his son under an arm, he ran to the front of the house.
Gran screamed his name. He nearly tossed Nox out the front door and ran toward the cracked sound of her voice. Smoke burned his throat and eyes. He pushed through and found the Averdeens on the stairs. Lennox leaned heavily on Gran. The older Averdeen’s frail body bowed with the weight. He leaped up to them, scooped them up in his arms, and jumped down a full flight of steps.
They escaped into the sunlight. Garrett breathed for the first time since he’d smelled smoke. He hugged Nox, Lennox, and Gran close. He didn’t know how many kisses he rained down on them. He didn’t care. All those who belonged to him were safe.
Gran wailed. Lennox crumpled against him. Garrett tightened his grip. He had everything that mattered in the circle of his arms. They’d be okay but Averdeen Manor burned.
Chapter Seven
Sirens blared through the trees. The slicing sound pushed Garrett to move. He lowered the two women to the ground. They couldn’t stand on their own, and he hated to let them go, but he didn’t have a choice. He’d be hard pressed to explain why he’d gotten naked while the house burned.
He jogged to his car with Nox shadowing him. His fingers swept over a hidden button and the trunk glided open. Nox had left the car unlocked and unarmed when he’d come out to get his backpack. No surprise there. Garrett’s Tumi weekender bag rested on top of their other luggage. With a quick unzip Garrett found a pair of bespoke, custom-tailored, navy jeans and a cinnamon-hued long-sleeve tee. He put them on without underwear. He didn’t have time.
Neither Lennox nor Gran had moved as Garrett returned to them. Nox brushed his side and Garrett threw an arm over his son’s shoulders. Nox only stuck to him when he’d done something wrong. Or when something nagged at him. Garrett suspected both states of mind were true. “Go sit with them.” He hugged his son before nudging him toward the women.
“The family photo album,” Lennox said as though the thought had suddenly broken through her shock.
“It’s in the orchard gazebo,” Gran said. “I was out there reminiscing earlier.”
They sat in silence, their gazes on the blaze. It had consumed one side of the house, eating into what remained in a charred, smoke-fueled fury. The blaze did strange things to the light. Orange-gold stained the yard in an eerie wash of color. Although the smoke blew to the west, the air—heavy and dry—clung to his mouth and nose. It greedily sucked all moisture into an arid haze. And ash began to fall, dusting the ground.
Misery. No other word for it. Anger, along with the frustration of being rendered impotent by a disaster not even his money could avert, sent Garrett to his car again. After retrieving his backup phone he began giving orders to his staff via text message. The emergency code, 9-1-1-9, he punched in at the start of each text commanded them to move fast or else.
“Your grandfather’s war medals,” Gran said softly. Her trembling hand grasped Lennox’s limp one.
“Oh, Gran.” Lennox slid a little closer to her grandmother.
Dillon Reardon came running through the trees. Relief stopped him in his tracks at the sight of the two Averdeens sitting safely on the front yard. “Thank you,” he mouthed. Garrett waved him off. He didn’t want to be thanked for taking care of his own. A man did that automatically. At least a man should.
Garrett’s mind rewound to his earlier argument with Lennox. She’d said he hadn’t been there when she’d needed him. When her father had gotten sick he hadn’t looked after her. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.
Gran cried out. The anguished sound punched Garrett in the guts. “All your trophies from high school and college,” Gran said. Collapsing to one side, she laid her head on Lennox’s shoulder.
“My kitchen,” Lennox said, slumping. “And your gorgeous vintage clothes. And my…my, my…”
“Oh, your shoe collection. Your beautiful shoes and boots and sandals gone. Leni, I’m so sorry.”
Lennox bowed her head. “I can’t think about that right now. There’s so much gone. Like—”
“Mina Averdeen’s photographs,” they said in unison, squeezing each other. Every moment made them remember something else they’d never see again. The flames rendered a continuous trail of lost keepsakes and treasures into the smoke of memories, never again to be touched or shown to future generations.
“Those horrible paintings Great, Great Aunt Auggie bought in Paris,” Lennox said. Gran laughed in a shadow of her normal glee. “Leave it to old Augusta Averdeen to go to Paris and still come home with shitty art.”
Their shoulders shook as they leaned heavily on one another. Dillon came over and stood watch over them at Garrett’s side.
“Oh,” Gran shouted, covering her mouth with trembling fingers. “Oh no, no, no.”
Lennox hugged her grandmother. “What is it?” But Gran couldn’t get the words out.
The fire truck finally rambled into the yard. He and Dillon went into action. Garrett took hold of Lennox and Nox while Dillon helped Gran over to the car. Without speaking the two of them worked together to get the women and child settled into Garrett’s custom built Tesla roadster four-seater. He couldn’t say why but he felt better once he closed the door with them safely ensconced inside his one of a kind vehicle. As though only he could protect them.
The firemen shouted to ask if anyone remained in the house. He told them no and they went to work. The main issue was to keep the flames from spreading to the trees. Nobody could save the house at this point. Damage control. That was all anyone could do.
A few hours later, Garrett replayed everything over as they rode to the farm he owned at the edge of town. If he allowed himself to think about it, he’d say he bought the land so he’d have a toehold in Lennox’s world. Funny how he’d never actually stepped foot inside her town before Nox had forced his hand.
His driver had arrived from the filming location faster than expected. Apparently he’d gotten a speeding ticket along the way. There’d be a thank-you bonus in his paycheck that week.
Garrett studied Lennox as she stared out the window. Nox watched her too but hid his glances, his eyes darting furtively to Lennox’s face and away. Garrett hadn’t had a chance to question him yet, but his gut told him Nox started the fire. Damn, he hoped he had it wrong. Deep down he knew he didn’t.
For her part, Lennox remained still. Her stiff body and blank expression reminded him of a mannequin. Only the slump of her shoulders gave him any clue to her fragile state of mind.
Dr. Reardon, or Dillon, sat beside Lennox. The man had helped enough that Garrett could call him a friend. Regardless of where their pack allegiances or lack of lay, Garrett knew he could trust Dillon. Gran certainly did. She’d fallen asleep curled up against the man’s side.
Gran’s eyelashes fluttered as the car pulled into the long winding driveway leading to the house. She mouthed something but didn’t wake up. They rode down the gravel drive. A rustic wooden fence lined the property and framed the path.
Garrett had a caretaker who looked after the upkeep of the place, but today he’d called in the troops. Members of his staff arrived hours ago to prep the house. More would come tomorrow, staffing the place until it ran as smoothly as a luxury hotel. Gran and Lennox needed a safe place to lay their heads. He considered it his duty to supply one.
They rolled to a stop in front of
the sprawling ranch style house. The clean lines of the architecture hinted this wasn’t an ordinary farm, but the warm wood tones made it homey and inviting.
Twitching with caginess, Nox jumped out of the car. His feet crunched gravel as the double doors of the front entrance swung open and golden light spilled out over the walkway. Garrett’s assistant, Cash Warren, walked out to greet them. The former stuntman’s limp barely showed, causing only the slightest hitch in his stride. He’d had a good day injury wise.
Garrett nodded to Cash who returned the nod in affirmation every task assigned to him had been accomplished. Dinner stood at the ready. Rooms decorated in the shades and styles he knew Lennox and Gran liked best were prepped for their stay, and everyone who loved them knew where to find them. Dillon had already examined Lennox, Gran, and Nox to make sure they were all right, but both he and Garrett agreed they should stop by the hospital as well. They’d done that. Minor smoke inhalation. Nothing major. Garrett could put everyone to bed without worry.
While Dillon helped Gran out of the other side of the black sedan, Garrett reached in and lifted Lennox into his arms. She didn’t fight him. He wished she would. Then he’d know she’d be okay.
Garrett caught Cash’s eye and nodded toward Nox.
“Nox,” Cash said, “help me and the driver empty out your dad’s Tesla. I forgot to do that when I picked it up earlier. All right?” Nox moved to the trunk at Cash’s side and Garrett led Dillon inside.
Thankfully he’d built the house on one level. There weren’t any stairs for Gran to maneuver. They got her settled into her room quickly and one of the staff volunteered to help her get cleaned up.
When he turned to leave the room Lennox stirred from her stiff position against his chest. “Put me down, Garrett,” she whispered. “I’ll help my gran.” Reluctantly he let her go. She slid down his body and walked over to her grandmother. The sudden hug the two Averdeens wrapped each other in nearly broke his heart. Dillon grunted. He must’ve felt the emotion of their sadness as well. Garrett motioned for him to leave and, watching them for as long as he could, he closed the door.