With each page he signed, a little more weight lifted from my shoulders. Letting go of my responsibilities hurt less than I expected, which probably meant I was doing the right thing. While everyone else from our original group had moved on with their lives and taken up new professions to suit their new civilian lives or growing families, Nadir had always been there at the security firm. He had no children, no wife, no husband. More importantly, he deserved this.
“Now what?” he asked, sliding it all back over.
“You move into the big office and do great things. I have every confidence in you. And because I knew you’d accept, you’ll find that everyone has already been made aware of the change in leadership, our clients included. My final parting gift.”
On my way home, I stopped to pick up flowers for my ladies and fruit for Moonfeather. My attempt to sneak inside unnoticed, however, was foiled by the bird. The moment I opened the door, he flew over and screeched loud enough for the whole house to hear.
“Ian!”
“Daddy!”
Sophia barrelled around the corner first, but Leigh appeared a few steps behind her. Pleased with himself, Moonfeather fluffed up and preened.
“Are those flowers for Mommy?”
“Some of them. These right here are for you.” I passed her a bouquet filled with white daisies and pink rosebuds. The other, red roses paired with calla lilies, I offered to Leigh.
“They’re so pretty. I love them. Thank you, Daddy.”
“Yeah, I have to agree. These are beautiful.”
“Only the best for my favorite girls.” I grinned and leaned in, kissing Leigh’s cheek. “I even picked up a kiwi for our prince.”
Watching the way Sophia’s eyes lit up made my day. She rushed off with her flowers and the fruit. Moonfeather soared after her, leaving Leigh and me alone in the front entry.
“You’re home early.”
I raised one shoulder. “Even the sheriff can take an early day off, right? Didn’t have much going on, and I thought I’d surprise you.”
Leigh’s smile broadened. “Well, you halfway succeeded.”
“That bird is better than a guard dog.” What startled me was how easily he’d blended into our household when usually it took months for a bird to adapt to a family the way Moonfeather joined ours in perfect harmony. He barely bit, and if he did, the warning nips never broke the skin anymore.
“Which is why you have no complaints from me,” she said, laughing. “I should go make sure she isn’t making a mess in there.”
“All right. I’ll go get changed and meet you downstairs in a few minutes. Or…”
“Or?”
“You could join me upstairs while she gives him his treat and we can talk.”
Her smile dimmed slightly. “Are you going to berate me again about cleaning?”
“No, nothing to do with cleaning. It actually has to do with work.”
“Okay, yeah.” Her brows knit together. “You head up, and I’ll be right there.”
We split ways, her to check on our daughter and me up to our bedroom. By the time she joined me, I’d swapped my uniform for comfy sweatpants and a tee.
“Sorry, she needed help getting the milk poured. Now, what’s up with work? Something wrong?”
“No, nothing wrong.”
Her features tightened. “Are you going away again?”
And this was why things needed to change. Why it was past time to step back. I held out my hand and Leigh reluctantly stepped forward, her entire body stiff. Gently, I tipped her face upward.
“I’m not going anywhere right now, I promise.”
“Then what is going on?”
“I’ve decided to officially pass leadership of the security firm to Nadir.” Leigh’s eyes widened, but I pushed on before she could say anything. “I can’t promise I’ll step back from government business, and I wouldn’t be happy about quitting the sheriff’s department—”
“I wouldn’t want you to,” Leigh blurted out.
“Really?”
“I told you this before, silly, but I love knowing that this town—this county—is safer because of you. Plus, I see how Sophia looks at her daddy whenever you put on that uniform. It’s like you hung the moon and you’re the bravest, best man in this entire world.”
“I kind of am.”
“Not the most humble man, but definitely the bravest.”
I grinned. Leigh leaned forward and brushed her lips against mine, barely a kiss. “Then what was all this about me working too much?”
“You do work too much. If you’re not out in uniform, you’re driving across Texas to fight vampires. That’s kind of hot, but… there’s other operatives out there, Ian.”
Damn. She had me there. Rubbing the back of my neck, I glanced away. “It’s hard to turn someone down when they ask for me specifically.”
“I can’t blame them for wanting you. If I had a warlock uprising or whatever the hell you’re out there fixing on my doorstep, you’d be the first person I’d call.” She kissed me again, lingering this time and cupping her palm against my cheek. When she leaned back, those gorgeous, stormy gray eyes held my gaze. All I wanted was to spend the rest of my life looking into them. “I don’t mind sharing you, Sheriff MacArthur, but we’re going to need more of you for us.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yup. Like I said, I passed things over. Nadir signed the paperwork today, which means it’s official. I plan to act only in an advisory capacity when it comes to the team.”
For a moment, she stood there in stunned silence. Then she closed the last gap between us and threw her arms around my neck. “I’m sorry that I’ve been a bitch to you.”
“I wouldn’t call it being a bitch… a little grumpy, but definitely not a bitch. Yet.” I waited a beat before adding, “We were getting there for a moment.”
She laughed again and buried her face against my throat. Content to hold her, I squeezed her close and kissed her silken head. When she was ready, she stepped back, but slipped one hand into mine.
“I guess… I ruined my last pregnancy and did everything wrong. I’m so, so very fortunate that Sophia wasn’t damaged by my fuckups. I should have been stronger. I should have fessed up that I needed help the moment I discovered I was pregnant.” She dropped her chin. “I should have done so many things.”
“Baby, you had an addiction, and you fought it the best you could. You can’t keep beating yourself up over it. At some point, you’re going to have to let it go and accept you’re a different person now when it matters most.”
“I know I’m not that person, but I want…” She sucked in a breath and met my gaze. “I want to be pregnant again. I want to enjoy it without worrying each day about when the next meal will come or if it will come at all. I want to have you standing alongside me, as eager to touch my stomach when the baby kicks as I am to feel a little life moving inside me. All I got to experience before were the worst moments and the fears. I want the joys.”
The words came out of her in a rushed tumble, and tears glittered in her eyes. Even when I was a child raised by my grandparents, I never worried about whether my next meal would come.
“I want to enjoy it, Ian. It doesn’t matter if the baby is from my egg or someone else’s. I want to carry a baby and experience everything Dennis and I ruined. There was nothing magical about that pregnancy. It was struggle, stress, and fear. I’d fight for days to stay clean, and he’d dangle codeine in front of me the moment I started to sweat over it or feel a little pain. Now my knee, body, and willpower are strong. I can do this.”
“But the pregnancy isn’t happening.”
She nodded. “Maybe it never will happen. I can accept that now.”
Damn, I hated declining anything Leigh asked of me. And when she approached with rational, logical reasons, I didn’t stand a chance. “All right, Leigh. I’ll agree to a donor under two conditions.”
Her eyes lit with hope. “Yes?”
>
“Doctor Kline has to be completely, one hundred percent, on board with the idea. She’s still running tests on you, and a pregnancy may interfere. You will not try to sweet talk her around it.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“Good.”
“What else?”
“We take as long as I need to look at donor information. I won’t be rushed. If we’re going to use a donor, I at least want the woman to carry some of your physical traits. I know it’s a silly thing, but I—”
“Yes!”
One word loosened the knot in the center of my chest, and I knew without a doubt that Leigh and I could cross any obstacle we met.
14
Leigh
Ian shook me out of a pleasant dream at a quarter to seven on the morning of our eighth anniversary. I imagined smothering him with my pillow. “Happy anniversary, Leigh.”
Shrinking away from the sunbeams slanting across our bedroom, I pulled the sheets over my head and mumbled, “It’s way too early to be happy about anything, Ian. But happy anniversary.”
He laughed. “It’s always time for happiness. Especially on this particular day. Now come on. I need you to get dressed.”
“What?”
“Get dressed, kiss Sophia goodbye, and come on.”
“Come on? Come on where?”
“We’re catching a flight out of Spring in two hours.” He glanced at the clock. “We’ll spend half of that in traffic at this rate due to construction on 45. I should have gotten you up an hour ago.”
I blinked at him. “What the hell are you talking about, you crazy bird man?”
He made an exasperated sound in his throat. “It’s our anniversary.”
“I know that, but—”
Ian pulled the covers off my body and plucked me from the bed so easily I flailed and gripped onto his shoulders. I realized he’d already dressed in a fine shirt and trousers, wearing a tie Sophia and I had given him two years ago for his birthday. When we bought it, I’d never expected him to wear the ugly thing, because it was both the most hideous and most patriotic piece of silk I’d ever seen, featuring the stars and stripes and a posing bald eagle.
My husband hustled me into the bathroom to brush my teeth then rushed me in and out of the shower. I wondered if he’d ever been a training instructor during his time in the Air Force. He knew how to use his voice like one.
“Grab a swimsuit. Dress and pack for three days of cool weather,” he said, dragging out my luggage.
I arched a brow and pulled out my heavy coat.
“Not freezing. Chilly.”
I exchanged the heavy coat for a fitted sweater dress with a mid-thigh hem and an asymmetrical neckline. With the right bra, my cleavage looked amazing. He flashed me a thumbs up then left the room, returning a few minutes later with Sophia on his hip, Moonfeather on his shoulder, and a canteen of coffee in one hand. He passed me the latter.
“Taylor is here for Sophia and Moonfeather. Julia volunteered to watch them, but we anticipated Moonfeather would give the triplets trouble.” Taylor and Jada were our only set of friends without small kids in their home.
“Bye, Mommy! Have fun with Daddy.” We hugged tight and traded kisses, but she made an exasperated sound when I leaned back. “You have to kiss Moonfeather goodbye.”
“Oh, sorry.” I kissed the side of his beak. He allowed it without biting my face off.
He and I progressed in leaps and bounds.
I tossed my makeup bag into the suitcase along with leggings, boots, a few comfortable sweaters, and a couple nice dresses with Ian’s input when he returned. He plucked my two-piece swimsuit out of the closet, and I glowered at him.
“What? You look hot in this.”
“My tummy stretch marks—”
“Nobody gives a damn about those but you. Wear the bikini.”
Half an hour later, we were heading southbound on I-45 toward Houston and I still clutched a coffee thermos between my hands.
We reached a private airport out in Spring that I hadn’t even known existed, and the people there greeted Ian like he was a friend. In a daze, I boarded a sweet looking jet with him and followed a chipper flight attendant to a cabin with six standard—but way larger than usual—airplane chairs.
On the other side of the spacious, gray-carpeted floor, a sofa with gorgeous decorative pillows waited for us, opposite a glossy entertainment stand with a widescreen television. I gaped.
“I’m Benny, and I’ll be your flight attendant today. You’ll have to remain seated and buckled in once our captain signals it’s time for takeoff, but afterward, you can move about the plane as desired,” our friendly attendant said, a big grin on his face. Benny didn’t look much older than me, early thirties at the latest, with a big mop of russet-brown hair and milk chocolate brown eyes.
I wanted to bottle his energy.
“Thank you.”
“It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. MacArthur. Your husband has said so many kind things about you that I began to think you were a mythological creature.”
“He has?”
“Oh, always, dear. I couldn’t wait to meet you when he requested our services.”
I stole a glance at Ian. He’d stepped into the cockpit. I prayed he wasn’t piloting the plane and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t take the co-pilot’s chair and a young woman boarded to take that seat.
“So, let’s have a look around the Silver Eagle while they discuss their technical babble.”
On top of the spacious entertainment floor, the jet had a private bedroom and a bathroom equipped with a walk-in shower. I stared at it. Every surface gleamed. The toilet didn’t reek of the raw sewage stench I associated with commercial craft. Sometime later, Benny took me to the front again where Ian bashfully introduced me to the pilots.
“I’m Susan. Pleased to be flying for you today, ma’am.”
The older man shook my hand. A big smile crinkled his golden-brown eyes, then I noticed the resemblance between him and Benny. And Susan. They all had the same shiny red hair. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mrs. MacArthur. About time he brought you aboard. I’m Captain James Cross, but you can just call me James, ma’am.”
“No, ma’am, please. Just Leigh.”
His smile widened. “Leigh, it is. We’ll have authorization to take off in a few minutes, so I’d like you both to have a seat and get comfortable for now. Benny will let you know when it’s all right to unfasten your seat belts.”
“Sounds great.”
Once I took a seat, I marveled over the floor space.
“At this moment, I’d like to ask you and Mr. MacArthur to please place your cellular devices in airplane mode,” Benny said. And then the entire spiel about the emergency exits began.
Fifteen minutes into our flight, Benny served me a glass of my favorite bubbly moscato and said we were free to move around.
Ian unfastened my seat belt and gestured for me to follow him to the sofa, but I hung back, afraid I’d spill this fine wine on the fabric. Every inch of the interior looked expensive, so I imagined we were flying on some acquaintance’s private jet. He knew so many important people.
Two years ago, when Ian introduced me to a wealthy dragon, I’d learned to never underestimate his connections.
“Come on, Leigh. Have a seat with me. I have an early copy of The Hollendale Murders here.”
“That’s not in theaters yet!”
His cocky grin made me want to punch him. And kiss him. I couldn’t decide which. “Special favor.”
“You don’t even like horror.”
Ian started the movie. Without previews to slow us down, the flick opened to a bloodbath of epic proportions. My husband stared. “I may not like horror, but I love you.” A moment passed before he blinked at the screen and muttered, “goddamn, I love you a lot.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek and debated how much I wanted to see the movie versus sparing my husband ninety grisly minutes of death. �
�You don’t have to watch this—”
“I called in a favor to get you an advanced viewing. We’re watching it.”
Gingerly, I settled in the spot beside him and set my moscato in the beverage holder. Benny wheeled in a cart with several covered dishes. He uncovered the first, revealing an amazing rack of lamb chops. A mouthwatering aroma wafted from the marinated meat.
“How large a portion would you like, Mrs. MacArthur?”
“Leigh, please, Benny. Just call me Leigh.”
“Leigh, then. So how much would you like?”
“I don’t know if we should be eating on this jet… everything is so expensive.”
A big grin spread across Benny’s face. “Is that right?”
Ian laughed too. “You may as well divide that rack down the middle, Benny. I’m starving, and Leigh hasn’t had a bite to eat either.”
“I can’t eat half a rack of lamb, Ian.”
“I’ll finish whatever’s left on your plate.”
Benny sliced down each chop then served them alongside roasted, parmesan-encrusted zucchini slices and garlic asparagus. Every bite melted in my mouth, and the meat was so tender I sighed and leaned against my husband’s shoulder. Before I knew what was happening, I’d eaten all of my share but one chop. I fed that bite by bite to Ian.
I’d really missed moments like this between us. Even with the gory movie playing in front of us and idiotic townspeople pointing the finger at everyone but the supernatural force ripping through their quaint town, our flight was somehow the closest we’d been in months.
Benny arrived again to take away our plates. He topped off my wine. “Will there be anything else?”
Ian glanced at me. “Dessert?”
I shook my head. “No, that’s all for now. Thank you.”
“If you need anything, please feel free to ring the bell. I’ll be in the cockpit with Dad.” Benny moved ahead into the next compartment and shut the door behind him, granting us absolute privacy.
Ha! I knew it.
“I’m going to feel awful if I spill this wine on the sofa.”
A Man of Many Talons Page 12