by Ashlyn Chase
“That’s where you’re wrong. Amber was telling me about Emerson College. It’s right down the street from the B and B. They have an exceptional arts program, especially when it comes to drama. With my credentials she thinks I’d be a shoo-in for a job there. And many Broadway shows come to Boston.”
Kristine’s eyes widened. “You’re really thinking about staying here?”
Amy shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s a possibility.”
“‘It’s a possibility…’” Kristine mocked.
“Don’t be fresh. What’s wrong with keeping our options open? I would have thought you’d like to be closer to Jayce.”
“And it’s just handy that you would be closer to Conlan and all his relatives.”
Amy grinned. “That part doesn’t suck.”
* * *
Jayce and his father waited in the hospital lounge for news of Sandra and the baby. Miguel was with her.
“I wanted you here so you could see what it takes to run this family,” Antonio Fierro said.
“I really don’t understand what the big deal is, Dad. Anyone could sit here and wait for news.”
Mr. Fierro straightened and stared at his son. “No, Jayce. Not just anyone. The head of the family needs to be responsive and available to any and all of our family members in times of crisis.”
Jayce leaned back and folded his arms. “What if I’m on the job? Am I supposed to just run off and deal with every family emergency that could possibly come up?”
Antonio scrubbed a hand over his face. “No. Having a wife can help with that…for the most part. If she works too, one of you should be able to respond at a moment’s notice.”
His father took a deep breath. “I wasn’t going to say this, not just yet anyway, but there are those in high places who know what we are. Promotions to nine-to-five positions can be arranged when necessary.”
“Are you shitting me?” Jayce asked.
“There are a number of things I need to teach you. Maybe you’ll understand a little better why it’s important that one of us knows all the particulars.”
“And why should only one of us be privy to this information?”
“Now you must be shitting me… The more people who know these things, the greater the chance of a slip of the tongue or eavesdroppers getting hold of sensitive information they shouldn’t have.”
“Does Miguel know?”
“No. At this point, there’s no reason for him to know anything about this. I’ve been thinking I could make you and Miguel co-heads. That presents a problem if disagreements come up. I’m still hoping that you will take over.”
Jayce saw an opportunity to possibly introduce the subject of Kristine fitting into his life. “Are you still stuck on the criteria for the leader of this precious family?”
Antonio rested his elbows on his knees, leaned forward, and clasped his hands. “You really don’t understand our importance, do you? If you are to take over as head of the family, you absolutely have to understand and accept the criteria—that you be married, living in our home in the South End, or somewhere nearby that can accommodate all of us at once. It’s been that way for as long as anyone can remember. Just letting Ryan move to Ireland with his fiancée was a huge departure from protocol.”
“So why did you do it?”
Antonio snorted. “Remember the big public funeral we had for him? Anyone who spotted him would think they were seeing a ghost. It was dicey, but because he was reincarnated as a child, I could make the excuse that he was no longer the eldest. That makes you the eldest now.”
“Lucky me,” Jayce said sardonically.
Antonio stood and began pacing across the room and back. “This is the reason I felt that you and Miguel would have to do this together. He’s much more serious and, pardon me for saying this, more levelheaded. He’s married and will someday have children—I hope.”
“He’s a little too serious, if you ask me.”
Antonio nodded. “That’s true. Having fun makes life worth living—not just an endless struggle. And the two of you together would balance each other out. But it would be so much better if I could trust you to meet the criteria. As you know, your mother refuses to leave Boston until all her sons are happily married. You’re making it seem like that will never happen.”
“Ah! That’s what all this pressure is about. You want to sit on a Caribbean beach sipping piña coladas. Well, never say never,” Jayce said.
Antonio swiveled and looked at his son. “Is there something you’re not telling me? Is it serious between you and the New York girl?”
Jayce didn’t know how to answer that. Kristine had told him she was going to return to New York. He didn’t know how to make this work. He had to stay in Boston. He understood that he was obligated to his family despite arguing with his father about it. She seemed to be adamant about staying in New York. Yet he didn’t want anyone else.
Jayce Fierro rose to his full six-foot height and folded his arms. “I was going to tell you at dinner—until everything happened with Sandra today. Kristine is in Boston. I’d like her to meet you and Ma, but I don’t know how open you would be to an out-of-towner. She’s important to me, Dad, but we haven’t worked everything out yet.”
“What are you saying?”
Jayce threw his hands in the air. “That’s just it. I don’t know what I’m saying.”
“Sounds like the usual.”
Jayce huffed. “Thanks a lot. What I mean is that if things depend upon some kind of semi-traditional marriage, I have to convince her to move to Boston. That won’t be easy. She loves New York. I have to rely on you to make her feel welcome. I don’t have to worry about Mom. Just bringing home a woman who’s marriage material will thrill her, I’m sure.”
Antonio chuckled. “You got that right. You’re also right about how badly I want to leave these crappy winters behind and sit on a beach in January, sipping cocktails. So I’d be pretty damn happy too.”
Jayce and Antonio noticed Miguel standing in the doorway and immediately rose.
“How is she? I mean they?” Antonio asked.
“Sandra’s okay. The baby is still hanging in there too.”
Both Antonio and Jayce let out their collective breaths in a whoosh.
Jayce wondered how long Miguel had been standing there and how much he had heard. “What happened? Do they know?”
“The doctor called it placental abruption. It’s when the placenta separates from the uterine wall.”
“I’m not familiar with it. Is it serious?” Jayce asked.
“It can be. It’s fairly rare, so I’m not surprised you’ve never heard of it.”
“I guess your mother and I were lucky,” Antonio said. “All seven of you gave her morning sickness, but that was about it. After the first trimester, everything went smoothly. So is there anything they can do?”
“Well, they can’t reattach the placenta, but they’re going to keep her here and monitor her for a while. She might be able to go home and stay on bed rest if everything is stable. They said there’s medication they can give to help the baby’s lungs develop in case she’s a preemie.”
Antonio’s brows lifted. “She?”
Miguel smiled. “It’s a girl.”
“I’ll be damned,” his father muttered. “The first girl in three generations.”
A boy would take over the family when the next generation was ready. Now that Jayce knew there were secrets involved, he had to know what they were. Was running the family a blessing or a curse? Would a daughter be allowed to do it?
* * *
Kristine had agreed to visit Jayce at his condo. She had to tell him she’d be leaving Boston the next day. He’d probably try to get her to stay and join the BFD. As much as she wanted to be with him, she didn’t want to leave her buddies who needed her—or be run out of her n
eighborhood.
She stepped up to the old brick building by the river. Jayce had said to enter by the side door, which he’d leave unlocked. Kristine tried the knob. It turned, so she figured she had the right place. She opened the door and was immediately looking at a staircase. She walked up one flight of stairs and tried the knob up there. That too was open, so she figured she had arrived at the right apartment.
Striding into a kitchen, Kristine was greeted with a shriek. A naked woman stood at the stove, stirring something in a frying pan.
They stared at each other wide-eyed. Was this Jayce’s idea of a joke? Or did Jayce have another girlfriend she didn’t know about?
Kristine recovered first. “Does Jayce Fierro live here?”
The woman let out a deep breath and quickly donned an apron. “Jayce lives downstairs. You must have just come in the wrong door.”
“Oh! I’m sorry. He said he’d leave the door unlocked, and I just figured whichever one opened was his.”
The woman chuckled. “Yeah, I told my boyfriend the same thing. I was surprised when you weren’t him.”
Kristine smiled, embarrassed. “Oops. It looks like you’re planning some kind of a nice surprise. I hope I didn’t ruin it.”
“Not at all. I’ll just turn the bacon down, and he’ll be here any minute.”
“Okay, I’ll be going now.” Kristine paused with her hand on the doorknob. She turned to the woman and said, “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to fry bacon in the nude?”
The woman laughed. “Yeah. It was an inside joke, but I guess the joke was on me.”
Kristine grinned and jogged down the stairs, passing a young man on his way up. She called over her shoulder, “Have fun.”
As soon as she reached the ground floor, Kristine tried the other door. This time she walked into an entrance with a few steps leading down. Jayce stood at the sliding-glass door, looking out at the river. He sauntered over and enveloped her in a warm hug.
“Did you have any trouble finding the place?” he asked.
Kristine laughed. “Oh, no. No trouble at all, unless you consider surprising your upstairs neighbor, who was expecting someone else, ‘trouble.’”
Jayce laughed. “I thought I heard a scream.”
Kristine ran her hands over his hard chest. “Well, I’m here now.”
“And I’m glad.” They shared a quick kiss followed by a long, tender one.
When they finally eased apart, she glanced around the place and noticed the apartment was orderly and clean with newish furniture. Nothing appeared too fussy or heavy, neither feminine nor masculine, but everything was attractive and modern. Sort of how she would have decorated the place had it been hers.
Come to think of it, she wouldn’t mind it being hers. “Nice place. I expected it to be a little messier, since you admitted to being a slob.”
He laughed. “You remember I said that, huh?”
“Yeah. I was almost afraid to come here. I didn’t know if I was going to find empty pizza boxes on the floor, dirty laundry strewn around, or what.”
“Yeah, well, I neaten up when I’m expecting company.”
Kristine gave him another peck on the lips and strolled over to the sliding-glass door. “Nice view.”
“Not as good as the view I have,” he said, staring at her short denim skirt from behind.
She couldn’t help smiling. A few boats floated by. “Do you have a boat out there?”
“Yeah. My brothers and I like to go fishing sometimes. You should come with us.”
Oh boy. She had the opening she needed but just hadn’t thought it would come up so quickly. “Yeah, about that. There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Dragons don’t like to fish?”
“It’s not that. I might go with you sometime, but it will be when I’m visiting from New York again.”
Jayce stuffed his hands in his pockets. “I guess you’re still planning to return despite everything that’s happened—”
“Yes. I am. We’ve barely started dating. I don’t think I should be ready to give up my independence just yet. I want to get a new place, and I need to get back to work.”
He ambled over to her, placed his hands on her upper arms, and said, “I was thinking this could be your place and you could get a job in the area. There’s an opening in the fire department, or you could go back to college, or whatever you want to do… As long as we’re together, I’d be happy.”
Back to college? Had he realized how badly she wished she’d finished? “Why do you think I want to go back to college?”
“Oh, I don’t know…maybe because you told me you were a college dropout in the first five minutes of meeting me.”
“You got me. I wanted to be a doctor, but with all the related expenses, I realized my mother and I would be bankrupt before I got my degree.”
Jayce smiled. “You’re already an EMT and smart as hell. I can see you as a doctor. Let me pay your room and board, and you can look for a school. There are some excellent colleges and med schools in Boston.”
Kristine smiled shyly. “That’s sweet of you. But don’t you think it’s too soon?”
Jayce shrugged. “It isn’t for me. I’d even do my best to keep my place neat and clean for you.”
Kristine giggled. “Well, that’s a plus. But I really miss New York. And it bugs me that I’m being run out of my home when it’s not my fault.”
Jayce let out a deep sigh. “I wish…” He let go of her and stepped away. “Never mind.”
“What?”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.” Then his expression changed. He focused on her with an intense stare. “No. It does matter. I love you, Kristine. I want to be with you. I thought you felt the same way about me. Don’t you?”
She wandered over to one of the chairs and sank down onto it. “I do. I mean, if you could only come with me back to New York—”
Jayce folded his arms. “You know I have family obligations here. Is your mother pressuring you to go back?”
“No. Not at all. In fact, she’s had a change of heart—”
“You mean because of finding relatives here? Or possibly more? I thought I saw something between her and Conlan—”
“You’re very perceptive. She hasn’t totally made up her mind yet, but she is considering staying here—at least for a while.”
“Why don’t you both stay a while? I know you think you’re safe in New York now, but—”
“Jayce, I’m a dragon. I’m safe wherever I am.”
“Then tell me, how did they get your mother? It’s not like she couldn’t also just open her mouth and melt whoever laid a hand on her.”
Kristine knew, but she wasn’t about to tell him. They’d shot her mother with a tranquilizer dart. She said she’d felt a sharp pain in the back of her shoulder before losing consciousness.
Jayce squatted next to her chair and took her hand. “Please. I know paranormals are perceived to be invulnerable, but we’re not. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Kristine was irritated with herself. She could see his side of the argument and even felt herself softening to him, but she really wanted to stand up for her own principles. Her own hopes and dreams and wishes. She had finally learned what her mother had been hiding from her all those years, but she hadn’t had time to process any of it.
She didn’t like how these so-called goons or mobsters acted like they were unstoppable. Weren’t they just human? The thought of her mother caving to them bothered her. Amy wasn’t like that. Were they controlling her simply by threatening her daughter? That bothered her too.
Part of her wanted to see the rest of the picture in this dangerous puzzle, but mostly she wanted these assholes out of their lives. Never able to threaten either her or her mother again.
Jayce rose and retu
rned to the sliding-glass door, which he opened, letting in a soft breeze. “It’s a beautiful evening. Would you like to go for a boat ride in the moonlight?”
Kristine sighed. She was at war with herself. It would be so easy just to slip into the comfort of Jayce, moonlit boat rides, and falling in love. But easy wasn’t always right. Those bastards were still living in luxury on Long Island—wreaking havoc on innocent lives. No wonder they thought they were unstoppable. Who was stopping them? If the police were dirty, there was no one.
She left her chair and stepped into his space, lightly caressing his pecs. “It would be so easy just to forget everything that’s happened, but I can’t. I love you, Jayce, and if you love me, you’ll wait until I’m ready to make the changes you want.”
“I love you so much I can’t see straight.”
He leaned in and pulled her close, delivering a long, deep kiss that had her tingling from the tips of her fingers to her toes. She did love him. He was easygoing, strong, and handsome—just looking at him made her weak in the knees. Plus he cared deeply and had never deserted her in her time of need. She doubted he ever would.
She cupped his cheek and stepped away. “One boat ride. But then I have to go back to the bed and breakfast. I can’t spend the night.”
He nodded, took her hand, and led her out onto the small patio. Then he locked the door behind them and ushered her to his boat. Kristine had never been much for boats, but his looked like a nice one.
Gabriella was painted on its stern. “The Gabriella?”
“My brothers and I named her after our mother.”
Nice. He helped her down the ladder, and she glanced around. She thought it was called a cabin cruiser because there was some kind of enclosed living space below. “Do you have a whole kitchen and dining area down there?”
A sly smile stole across his face. “All that and more. There are a couple of sleeping spaces too. One is under the hull, and the benches turn into a surprisingly comfortable bed.”