Kayleigh was smiling to herself, pleased that she had seen Aisline looking so well. There would be so much for them to catch up on, but now that she was back, there was plenty of time for that. She was pleased that Kelton had knocked on her door that night and had brought her home. Home. That was where she belonged.
Her smile faltered slightly as she saw Kelton listening intently on the phone. Something was going on, something he clearly wasn’t happy about. Some things never changed. But, again with a happy thought, that was part of life when she was living at the academy. With Kelton being the head of the combat academy and also the head of the Sons of Satrina warriors, theirs was never a quiet life. At least they were never bored.
“Well, where the hell is he?” Kelton demanded down the phone. “Get out there and find him. Now. This can’t go on.” He slammed the phone down. It was just one thing after another. All he wanted to do was spend a little time with Kayleigh, learning to be with one another again and getting over their emotional hurdles, but it was just one problem after another that needed his attention, taking his time away from her.
“What’s wrong? Is there anything I can help with?”
“You need to rest.” He replied with a smile at her growing bump.
Kayleigh rolled her eyes. “Don’t be silly. Now I’m back and I’ve had plenty of time to rest, I’m ready to get back to it. I’m here to help you. You don’t need to do this all by yourself anymore.”
She’d already agreed to come down to his office and planned on staying with him as much as she could. She wanted to be close to him. Things were still a little awkward between them, which was totally understandable, but after their days of non-stop communication, things were getting better between them. She knew that the best way to feel comfortable around one another was to spend time around each other and try to get things back to normal. Which meant, getting back to work at the academy.
They had both loved their time alone, hiding up in their suite of rooms, getting to know one another again and going through all their thoughts and feelings. They’d laid everything bare, knowing that the only way forward was to be brutally honest with each other. It had done them a lot of good.
But, now that time was over. It was time to start getting things back to something that resembled normality. That meant getting back to work and finding out how things were going at the academy.
“We can’t find Trey.”
“Trey?” Kayleigh was shocked. Trey was a well behaved kid that had never caused them a moment’s problem since he had started at the academy. He was a star pupil and a promising warrior. “What happened?”
“This isn’t the first time he’s gone missing. We don’t know where he is or where he’s been going. It’s rather a concern for us.”
Kayleigh nodded. “And his friends don’t have any idea where he is?”
“That’s what’s strange. Dixon asked Jackson if he had heard anything or if Trey had said anything to him, but their just as clueless and concerned as we are.”
“I didn’t think Trey was a secretive person.”
“I didn’t think so, either. That’s what’s so strange.”
Kayleigh laid a tentative hand on his shoulder. They were getting closer again, but it was still going to take some time. “Well, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“You’re helping me just by being here.” Kelton said softly, putting his hand over hers. “Thank you.”
Kayleigh shook her head and moved to perch on the edge of the cluttered desk. “You need to stop thanking me for being here. We’re here. Together. This is what we need. Neither of us want to walk away from what we have. We both want this.”
He took her hand in his once again and opened his mouth to say something, but Kayleigh held up her other hand to stop him, laughing softly. “And you need to stop apologising all the time. I now understand what happened. We’ve both apologised for our role in this and we need to move on.”
Kelton brushed a lock of hair from her face tenderly. His hand froze when she gasped.
“What’s wrong?” The colour drained from his face in worry.
She smiled up at him. “Nothing. There’s nothing wrong. Here.” She took his hand and placed it on her swollen stomach.
Kelton’s eyes flew wide and he looked at her in absolute wonder. Kayleigh chuckled at his stunned expression. She’d felt the flutters several times, but she’d never felt the full on kick like she just had.
It was perfect. It was as if the child within her was reminding them that they had something to fight for. That they had a future to work for.
It was the perfect moment for them both.
Chapter Twenty
Ash virtually skipped back down to the training room. She was over the moon that Kayleigh was back and looking so well. And pregnant! It was almost like she was going to be an aunty.
Grinning as she walked into the training room, Master Warrior Dixon nodded over at her, knowing that she had received the news. At first, she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to tell anyone, but she knew she couldn’t keep the news to herself. Running over to Caleb, she knew that he would keep it to himself.
“Really? She’s back?”
“Yeah! I just saw her.”
“I bet Kelton’s relieved.”
“You could say that.” Ash laughed, remembering the look of adoration on his face.
“How is she? Is she okay?”
Aisline pulled him closer, even though there was no one else near them, she didn’t want to risk the news getting out before Kayleigh and Kelton could announce it themselves. “She’s better than okay, she’s pregnant!”
Caleb looked taken aback. “Is it Kelton’s?”
She laughed, unable to believe that he asked such a stupid question. “Of course it is. I’d say that she was pregnant before she left by the size of her.”
“Well, hopefully, now that he’s got Kayleigh back, Kelton might be in a better mood and ease up on the rest of us a bit.” Caleb said.
“Enough talking in the back!” Master Warrior Dixon bellowed from across the room.
Ash and Caleb grinned at one another and he got into his stance, ready for some light sparring with Aisline. The rest of the guys were already sweating and she had a lot of catching up to do.
Rhian slowly got up from where she was sitting and sidled over to where Denver was taking a drink of water.
“So, who is this Kayleigh person that I keep hearing about?” she asked him, smiling slyly, knowing that if anyone would willingly dish the dirt, it was going to be Denver.
“Kayleigh? That’s Kelton’s woman.”
“Kelton’s woman? What are you? A caveman?” she laughed.
“Girlfriend. Whatever. You know what I mean.”
Rhian nodded. “So, where’s she been then?”
“We don’t know.” Denver shrugged. “She just up and disappeared one day. That’s why Kelton’s been in a foul mood ever since.”
“Well, he’s sure to be in a better mood now that she’s back.”
“Kayleigh back? Really? Where did you hear that?” Denver narrowed his eyes at her. There was something about Rhian that he didn’t trust, but she was a fine piece of ass and wasn’t as sassy as that bitch Aisline.
“Apparently, Aisline has just been to see her. What’s up with that?” Rhian prodded, needing more information. Even though she hadn’t known the name before tonight, it was pretty damn clear that Kayleigh was the woman that had been with the warrior the night that they arrived at the academy. Her being back would sure put a dent in her mother’s plans, and she wouldn’t have that.
“Kayleigh’s her mentor. Helping her out if she needs it and stuff, I guess.”
“So, what’s Kayleigh’s story?”
“Why do you ask? Why are you so interested in Kayleigh?” Denver studied her face. She was a damn beautiful girl, but there was a harshness to her features. He didn’t care. She was still hot and seemed like just his kind of girl.
<
br /> “Well, seeing as she’s dating my father, I thought I’d better find something out about her.” Rhian threw out there, as casually as she could. It was already apparent to her that Denver was a major gossip and throwing him this little titbit would ensure that the news would travel around the academy fast.
Up until that point, she hadn’t been bothered if anyone knew that she was Master Warrior Kelton’s daughter. He was no father to her and she didn’t plan on having anything to do with him. But, the rest of the world didn’t need to know that. This Kayleigh woman obviously wasn’t too happy about the fact that he already had two daughters and that was probably the main reason as to why she had run off. Perhaps if everyone knew about it and was talking about it, she wouldn’t be so inclined to stay either? It was worth a try.
“Kelton’s seeing your father? I don’t understand. You just said Kayleigh’s back. Is he seeing them both?” Denver looked shocked and confused.
“Don’t be so stupid.”
“Stop talking in riddles then.”
“I’m not. I said that she is dating my father. Kelton is my father.”
Stunned silence greeted her. “Master Warrior Kelton is your father.”
“That’s what I said.”
“How the hell did that happen?”
Rhian rolled her eyes. “Well, my mother met my father, had sex with him and I was conceived.”
Denver flushed. “I didn’t mean that. I just can’t believe it.”
“Well, believe it. It’s true.”
She could see the cogs starting to turn in Denver’s brain and couldn’t help but smile to herself. Sure, he was a shit-stirring little moron, but he could be good for something. He’d offered to help her with her plans of destruction before, maybe she should have taken him up on it? After all, they say that two heads are always better than one.
“Did you know? About him being your dad and all?” Denver whispered, making sure that no one overheard. That was fine by her. He could play it as secretive as he wanted. She knew that he would run off telling his friends as soon as her back was turned, and they’d tell their friends, and they’d pass it on to their friends and so on and so forth.
“Before I came to the academy? No. I didn’t even know that he existed.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder and smiled as she saw Denver watching her every move. “And, just for the record, a dad is someone that actually raises you. A father is someone who donates his sperm.”
Denver laughed. “I never thought I’d ever hear someone calling Master Warrior Kelton a sperm donor.”
“What’s going on over here?” Master Warrior Dixon stormed over. He didn’t cut Rhian any slack at all and would have preferred that if she chose not to train, that she not be in the room at all. It was distracting to the other trainees.
“Nothing at all.” She smiled at him winningly.
Dixon didn’t fall for her shit. “If it’s nothing, you’ll leave Denver to his training.”
“Certainly. I wouldn’t want to stop him from becoming a big, strapping warrior like you, would I now?” She let her eyes roam over his sweat covered body.
“Pack it in and sit the hell down.” The last thing he needed was an underage girl making eyes at him. He was going to have to have a word with Kelton when things calmed down with Kayleigh.
When they saw that Warrior Dixon was engaged elsewhere, Ash whispered to Caleb, “Where’s Jackson?”
Caleb paused for a moment, long enough for her to take advantage and get in a crafty jab to his stomach. “Ooof!” Ash laughed before standing back and waiting for him to catch his breath.
“Light sparring, my ass!” he laughed as he rubbed his stomach dramatically. Remembering what she’d asked him, his eyes flicked over to the other side of the room.
Ash followed his gaze and narrowed her eyes. Jackson was standing over with Rhian. She was all flirty around him, light touches on his arm and flicks of her long blonde hair. Ash had to shake her head at the girl’s obviousness when Rhian fluttered her eyelashes. In her opinion, Rhian looked ridiculous.
“Don’t even worry about it. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
“I’m not worrying about it.” Ash seethed silently. She wasn’t actually lying. She wasn’t worried about it. She was fuming mad.
It was really getting ridiculously. Couldn’t Jackson see what she was doing? Was he blind to it? Lapping up the compliments like a typical man?
And who the hell did Rhian think she was? What was her problem? She knew that Aisline and Jackson were together, so why couldn’t she keep her filthy paws to herself?
All those quiet days of trying to collect her thoughts were a complete waste of time. Seeing Jackson and Rhian standing together like that made her see red.
“Look, Ash. It’s pretty damn obvious that Jackson isn’t interested in her in that way. He’s probably just being nice, that’s all.” Caleb tried to reassure her.
“That’s not the point. Look at them.”
Ash turned and took her frustrations out on Caleb. It was lucky that he was an honourable guy. Most people wouldn’t have been able to take that off of her and would have retaliated. Not Caleb. He simply worked at blocking her blows and helping her to work out her frustrations.
They went hell for leather for the entire session and were both fully exhausted when Master Warrior Dixon called time. Ash turned and looked at him apologetically, but Caleb shocked her by laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“That’s the most fun I’ve had training since I started here.”
Ash elbowed him in the ribs, but he’d managed to lighten her spirits. On their way out, Master Warrior Dixon pulled them both aside and congratulated them on their style and coordination, noticing their increase in speed and power. That just got Caleb laughing even harder and he had to walk away.
Ash grinned to herself as she thought that the Master Warrior probably wouldn’t have been quite so impressed if he had known that she was picturing smashing Rhian’s face the entire session.
As they walked out of the training room, Jackson caught up with Ash. She’d seemed a little distant lately and he had been worried about her, but hadn’t had the chance to speak to her. It was almost as if she were avoiding him.
“Hey.” He said to get her attention.
Ash glanced over at him and gave him a half-hearted smile. “Hey.”
Jackson kept pace with her. “So, I hear that Kayleigh’s back.”
“I knew it wouldn’t take long for that to get around.” That was another thing she had found out since starting at the academy. Boys were even worse gossips than girls were. Sure, girls could be bitchy, but the boys were all up on the gossip, that’s for sure.
“And I heard she’s pregnant.”
“Yeah.”
“That’s exciting news.”
“Yeah.”
Jackson walked alongside her for a moment, not knowing what to say to her. This was more awkward than he had imagined. She wasn’t giving him an inch.
“What’s going on with you, Ash?” he asked, trying to pull on her arm to get her to stop walking.
“What’s going on with you and Rhian?” she threw back at him.
Jackson’s steps faltered. “What?”
“You heard me. What’s going on with you two?” Her voice sounded as cold as ice and it sent a shiver up his spine.
“Nothing’s going on. Why would you even ask that?”
“You seem very close.” Try as she might, Ash couldn’t keep the bitchy tone out of her voice.
Jackson frowned. He had only spoken to Rhian a handful of times as far as he could remember. He had no idea what the problem was or where Ash was going with this.
“Ash. You need to stop.” He grabbed her hand before she could turn away from him. “What’s going on?”
She swung around, ripping her hand from his. “I’ve seen you together. I’ve seen her flirting with you.”
Jackson rose his eyebrows. He wasn’t blind and he wasn
’t stupid. He knew that Rhian had been flirting with him, she had made it obvious enough. But, he didn’t think anything of it. He had no interest in Rhian and she knew full well that he was with Aisline. “So, you saw me flirting back with her, right?”
Ash looked a little embarrassed. “Well, not, but.”
“But, what? You know why she’s trying to annoy you and get a rise out of you? She’s lonely, Ash. She hasn’t got any friends here and she’s not that close to her sister. The more she can annoy you, the more attention she gets and the less lonely she feels.”
“It sounds like you’ve been talking a lot about this.”
It was Jackson’s turn to roll his eyes at her. “I felt sorry for her.”
“She had her hands all over you!”
“When?”
“When Kelton gave us the day…” Oh crap. She hadn’t meant to say that.
Jackson narrowed his eyes. “You mean, when Kelton gave us the day off? The day off we were supposed to spend together? You’re kidding me, right?”
Aisline wanted the ground to swallow her up. That was the last thing she wanted to say and now that it was out there, there was no taking it back. He knew that she’d been hiding from him and she must look jealous, just what she didn’t want. After all those days of thinking, she’d thought she’d managed to calm down, but obviously she hadn’t.
“No, I’m not kidding. I saw you with her.” Ash straightened her spine, thinking that now that she’d started it, she might as well finish it and get it all out in the open.
“I spoke to her. Yes. So what?”
“Jackson! You were with her! I saw you! I saw you hugging her! She had her hands all over you!” She knew that the accusation sounded ridiculous even to her own ears, but the words spewed forth.
Jackson frowned. “Grow up, Ash. She was having a hard time. She was upset. What did you expect me to do? Turn her away? Just leave her by herself, in tears? I’m not that heartless.”
Ash could have stamped her feet, she was feeling that frustrated at his lack of intelligence where Rhian was concerned. “She’s playing you, Jackson. She’s using you to get to me. You should have seen the smug grin on her face when she saw me watching you.” Ash planted a hand on her hip, the annoyance showing clearly on her face.
Changing Fates: A Sons of Satrina Novel (The Sons of Satrina Book 3) Page 23