Sassy Ever After: Northern Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Sugar Shack Book 1)

by Élianne Adams

  Her whole body was deliciously sore. They’d made love again before going to sleep, and he’d woken her at dawn with his head between her legs and her climax only a breath away. The time since had been filled with sexy playtime. She stroked the swell of her breast through her T-shirt where his teeth had left a red mark only a couple of hours earlier. The man had a thing for biting, and she found it sexy as hell.

  Although the sex was off the charts, it wasn’t even her favorite part of their days. The man was sweet, funny, and amazing in every way. They talked about everything from world politics to their favorite books. She couldn’t say they agreed on everything, but he was as respectful of her opinions as she was of his. It—he—seemed to good to be true. Already, she dreaded leaving when the time came.

  Reaching for another box, she hesitated as the sound of his hammer on the front step stopped, then a few seconds later, it was replaced by the noise of an engine as a vehicle came into the drive. She had made plans for a late lunch with Bonnie, but she was meeting her in town, so whoever had come had to be there for Jaxon. Speaking of which, she’d have to get cleaned up soon if she was going to make it in time. Jaxon was going to drop her off, then get some work done for a few hours while she shopped.

  A second later, another engine hummed into the drive. This one, she recognized. It was a lot smoother and less noisy, but she’d know her old Acura anywhere.

  Dusting herself off as well as she could, she stepped out into the sun. Sure enough, there was her old car sitting next to Jaxon’s big truck. She couldn’t fail to notice that the body was in much greater shape, as well, with the paint gleaming in the sun.

  Emmet stood there with two others, deep in conversation with Jaxon. As soon as she came near, the conversation stopped, and all four of them looked at her.

  It would have been uncomfortable had it not been for Jaxon coming to her and pulling her into him, draping his arm around her shoulder. “You’ve met Emmet. This is Luca, and that’s Niko,” he said, pointing to each man that could have been a replica of the other.

  Maple reached over and shook each of their hands. “Nice to meet you. I’m Maple.”

  “The pleasure is ours,” the one he’d named Niko said as he wrapped her hand in his huge one. The other brother remained silent.

  “Thank you so much for bringing my car back, Emmet,” she said, turning her attention to him. “I can tell by the sound of the engine that she’s running a lot smoother. And the rust. It’s gone. I don’t know how you managed it in a few short days, but I appreciate it. How much do I owe you?”

  She tried to hide her trepidation. She couldn’t afford body work. Hell, she probably couldn’t afford the mechanical work, either, but she wouldn’t stiff the man.

  “Nothing at all. I got all the parts from the yard. If anything, I owe you for taking him out of my hair for a few days. It’s been a treat.” He cocked his head toward his brother.

  When she looked up at Jaxon, he just smiled.

  “Listen, we have to run, but something came up at work that I need to talk to you about before we go,” Emmet told Jaxon. “Was nice seeing you again, Maple.”

  “Same. Thanks again.” The three men headed toward their vehicle to wait for Jaxon. “I’m going to get ready for my lunch date with Bonnie.”

  Jaxon took her lips in an all-too-brief kiss. “Okay, I’ll be right in.”

  ***

  He watched Maple disappear into the cabin before going to his packmates. There had been no real need to make the trip to the cabin with her car. “What did you find?” he asked Niko, not bothering with pleasantries.

  “There are at least a half dozen shifters in town who don’t belong to the pack. They’ve not caused trouble or given anyone any grief, so there’s no reason for us to approach them,” Niko said.

  “They slashed her tires. One of them was here on her property, and attacked her. That’s reason enough,” he said, trying to rein in his anger.

  Emmet shook his head. “The one who vandalized her car, and came after her here hasn’t been in town.”

  “He’s been all over her property, though. His scent is everywhere. He’s staying far enough away that you can’t smell him,” Luca interjected.

  A loud growl rumbled in the back of his throat. The bastard was trying to get to Maple. “Increase the patrols in town. The minute one of them sneezes wrong, bring them in.” The last time they’d had rogues in town, it had ended in senseless bloodshed. He wouldn’t leave his pack or the humans they lived with unprotected.

  “What about your mate? She needs to be guarded,” Luca spoke up again, saying more words in the last few minutes than Jaxon had heard him utter in an entire week.

  “I’m staying here with her, but we’ll put a couple of wolves in the forest and set up patrols. If things escalate, we’ll add more.” The idea that a male had been lurking around made his wolf’s hackles rise. His need to shift to hunt rode him hard, but he held on.

  While he’d been talking, Niko had pulled a duffle bag from the truck and was stripping down to nothing, keeping the vehicle between him and the cabin as he did. “We’re taking the forest.” With a grunt of ascent, Luca followed suit.

  “Thank you, and so you know, Maple has a rifle, so be careful if you come close. I don’t know if she can actually shoot it or not, but I don’t want you finding out the hard way.” He didn’t tell them that he’d been on the business end of the gun twice already in his wolf form.

  Niko tossed the duffle bag into the back seat before shifting and joining his brother, who was already loping toward the trees.

  “You need me in town?” Jaxon asked Emmet once the other two were gone.

  “Nah, I’ve got it. I already have more men doing rounds. If I need you, I’ll call. Everything going okay here?” he asked as he looked toward the cabin.

  Jaxon ran his fingers through his hair. “She wants to go out to the old Sugar Shack and check things out there.” He left out the part where she wanted to sell the place and leave him for good. His brother didn’t need to know that. Besides, he had a plan. Sort of. He had to figure a few things out, starting with some phone calls this afternoon.

  Emmet’s eyebrows rose. “Not a good idea.”

  “I know. I’ve been stalling her, but I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to do it,” he admitted. She wasn’t a pushover, which was great since she’d be Alpha female, but it didn’t make it easy to convince her when she had her mind made up about things.

  “If you do end up taking her out there, let Niko and Luca know so they can back you up.” From anyone else, the barely veiled order would have rubbed him the wrong way, but Emmet wasn’t trying to shove any kind of agenda down his throat. He was being the same older brother he’d always been.

  “Sounds good. I’ll stop by the shop later to grab a ladder. The roof here needs some shingles,” he said as an afterthought as Emmet was getting into his truck.

  “See you then.” With that, Emmet backed out of the drive.

  Fifteen

  Maple’s little Acura hadn’t run so well—ever. She’d bought it used, and although she’d brought it in for regular tune-ups when she’d had the money, it had never hummed so smoothly. It was almost like driving a new car. She turned the radio on and glanced in the rearview mirror. Jaxon was right there, following her into town. When she caught his gaze in the mirror, she blew him a kiss, then giggled when he grinned at her.

  He stayed right behind her until they reached the intersection that would take her to the downtown area. He turned right, honking his horn at her before driving away.

  The lunch crowd had already dissipated by the time she got to the diner. She grabbed a booth by the window, taking the old place in. Bonnie wasn’t due for another ten minutes.

  The diner hadn’t changed a whole lot from what she could remember. The minty green faux leather benches were now a cotton candy pink, but the tables hadn’t changed. The chipped tabletops were still that same seafoam green they had been bac
k then, only now they had more chips and more stains covering the old Formica. The tops of the stools that lined the long counter had pale yellow bases. All in all, it gave the whole place an Easter egg feel. She couldn’t help but smile. It was butt ugly but felt so much like home that she couldn’t hate it.

  “What can I get you?” a petite waitress in her late fifties with her hair done up in an old beehive style asked.

  Maple didn’t even have to think about it. “Do you guys still make chocolate shakes here?”

  “You know it, honey,” the woman said with a southern lilt. “Still need the menu?”

  “Yes, please, but I’ll start with the shake.”

  The woman, who’s name tag said Maggie, smiled. “You got it, sugar.”

  By the time she’d swallowed her first sip of ice cream yumminess, Maple was convinced she’d died and gone to heaven. The shake was as good as she remembered. Maybe even better. She took another sip and moaned.

  Bonnie came bouncing in a few minutes later with a huge smile on her face. “Hey Maple, I see you already got your favorite. Have you ordered some food yet?”

  “Nope, but I couldn’t wait for this.” She grinned at her old friend—the shake had been the highlight of her Sunday afternoons for years.

  “Hey Maggie. How’s Frank? Still taking it easy after his surgery?” Bonnie asked the other woman when she reached their table.

  “Like I could keep him quiet. The old coot thinks he’s still in his twenties.”

  Bonnie laughed. “Sounds about right.”

  “You want the usual, honey?”

  Bonnie handed the unopened menu to the waitress. “You know me too well. Say, have you met Maple Hudson?”

  Maggie’s eyes rounded, then widened some more when she took a deep breath through her nose. “I can’t say that I have. It’s a pleasure, Maple. Good to finally have you here,” the woman said oddly.

  “Thanks, it’s good to be here.”

  “What can I get you?” Maggie asked, reminding Maple that she had yet to say what she wanted.

  She placed her order for a cheeseburger and handed her menu over, smiling at the woman who seemed to call everyone by the same sweet name.

  “Coming right up.”

  “So, tell me. What have you been up to all these years?” Bonnie asked her. “Have you married? Kids?”

  Maple took another sip of her drink, barely keeping from closing her eyes in chocolate ecstasy. “I went to school and became an accountant. I work for a firm called Harper, Marrick, and Clark in New York. Never married. No kids. How about you?”

  Bonnie waved her left hand in front of her, showing an empty ring finger. “I’m not married, but not for lack of trying. My mate needs convincing, it seems. As for work, you already know that I’m at the library. I became head librarian a few years back when Mrs. Wentworth retired, so I get to do all the reading I want, and no one can complain about it, or shush me, either.”

  She grinned. Bonnie had always had her nose stuck in a book when they’d been kids.

  In no time, their food had arrived, and they continued talking as they ate. Conversation flowed as though the years between them hadn’t happened. By the time they finished eating, they were giggling like the girls they’d once been.

  “I have to get going. My bladder is about to explode, though. I’ll be right back,” Bonnie announced more than an hour and a half after they’d arrived.

  Maple wished she could take another sip of what was left of her now mostly melted shake, but she was stuffed. She’d have to be sure to come back for another before she left town again.

  The chime above the door rang, and two burly men walked in. “What can I get you boys?” Neither of them smiled when Maggie greeted them at the counter.

  “Coffee. Black,” the first one said as the other scanned the room.

  The second man’s gaze stopped on her, and Maple’s heart knocked against her ribs. Cruel, cold eyes stared at her as his lips turned up in a wicked grin. Without tearing his eyes away, he thumped his buddy on the shoulder. “Look what we have here,” he said as he scrubbed his hand over his stubbled chin. His dark, greasy hair stuck out to the side as though he couldn’t be bothered combing it.

  Recognition brightened the other man’s eyes as he looked at her. “Well, our day just got a whole lot better,” the first man, shorter than the other, said as they started toward her, ignoring the cups of coffee Maggie had placed on the counter for them.

  “You leave that girl alone and get out of my diner,” Maggie said, coming to stand between her and the two men, her voice hard and cold.

  What the hell was the woman doing? Those men could snap her in two if they had the mind to do it.

  “Step aside, lady. This has nothing to do with you.” The taller of the two grabbed Maggie by the shoulders and lifted her clear off the ground with a grip that was sure to leave bruises, depositing her none too gently out of his way.

  “Hey,” Maple screamed at them and stood from her seat, toppling her shake and sending the chocolate treat spilling down her front. In the second it took for her to reach them, Maggie had righted herself and was rounding on them again. Bonnie came out of nowhere, her face contorted in fury.

  “Get the hell out of here before I lose my shit,” she screamed at them, holding her hands up as though she’d karate chop them or something. Had the situation not been so volatile, Maple would have laughed.

  The men had no such qualms, laughing at the three of them as the bigger of the two made a grab for her with his meaty hand, but Maple dodged it. She hadn’t noticed the diner had emptied while she and Bonnie had eaten.

  “We don’t want any trouble. Just leave us alone, and we’ll forget calling the cops,” she said as she edged her way to the left, keeping a table between them but taking their attention away from the other two women.

  “Get the Alpha bitch,” the shorter of the two men said moments before the door chimed and several men Maple didn’t recognize waltzed in.

  “How about you ladies head on out of here for a bit?” one of the men said, keeping his eyes on the two who had been harassing them. “You, too, Maggie.”

  Maggie made a growling kind of noise, but then ushered her and Bonnie out the door.

  “Should we call the cops?” Maple asked, her knees shaking as they hurried a short distance down the sidewalk.

  “Honey, in this town, those guys are the cops. It’ll be fine. Don’t you worry,” Maggie said as a loud crashing sound, followed by what sounded like a howl, came from the diner. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”

  “I haven’t paid for my meal,” Maple protested as the woman ushered her to her car.

  “I’ll make you pay double next time.”

  Bonnie was right there with them. “She’s right. Go on home. You have chocolate all over your shirt, and you know that’s gonna stain.”

  Maple couldn’t care less about her clothing. She glanced back toward the diner. “You’re certain they’ll be okay in there?”

  “They’ll be fine. In fact, I’d be surprised if they weren’t subdued and getting them ready to take them away as we speak,” Maggie assured her as she patted her tall hairdo as if making sure not a hair had fallen out of place—which it hadn’t.

  With the sticky mess all over the front of her, Maple couldn’t very well get the shopping done she’d wanted. She’d have to come back into town another day. “Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you later, Bonnie. It was nice meeting you, Maggie,” she said as she fired her softly purring engine.

  “We’ll catch up soon,” Bonnie offered as she closed the door. Both women backed away, giving her the room she needed to pull out.

  It wasn’t until she was leaving town that she thought to call Jaxon, and by then, it was too late. He’d made her promise to let him know when she was ready to head back to the cabin. Rather than risk an accident by calling while driving, she’d use her landline at the house to call and let him know she was there. He wouldn’t be expecting he
r to be done so early, and she didn’t want to disturb him if he was still working. That was the excuse she told herself, anyway. The truth was, she was still a little shaky over the incident at the diner and needed a few minutes to decompress.

  When she got to the cabin, she went straight for the phone. If he got wind of what had happened at the diner, he’d worry for nothing. It had taken a few minutes for her nerves to settle, but she was fine. No one had been hurt, and the men were in custody. At least, that’s what Bonnie and Maggie had led her to believe.

  She picked up the receiver, and her heart sank. She depressed the cradle a few times in rapid succession, hoping for a dial tone, but nope. Nothing. Damn.

  Sixteen

  Maple glanced at the clock as she stripped her shirt off, heading for the laundry room to soak it. Maybe the chocolate shake wouldn’t stain, but she wasn’t going to hold her breath on that one.

  She thought about sorting more boxes while she waited for Jaxon, but the only room she had left to go through was her grandma’s, and she wasn’t ready to do that yet. And she sure didn’t feel like going back into town. Besides, with her luck, she’d get there and end up coming straight back. Why waste the gas money?

  The Sugar Shack wasn’t as far—only a few minute’s drive. She could go out there and see what the outside of the building looked like. She wasn’t stupid—she wouldn’t go inside if it didn’t look sturdy enough—but she’d have to set eyes on the place sooner or later. Having made up her mind, she pulled on a clean shirt and tore a page from her notepad, scribbling a quick message in case Jaxon got there before she came back.

  With the rifle in the backseat of the car and the notepad sitting on the seat next to her, Maple drove deeper into the forest. The narrow, winding road was more of an overgrown path these days, but her little car navigated it with relative ease. She wouldn’t go barrelling down it at top speed, but going slow, she was managing okay.