by Jones, AE
With the exception of his nephews, McHenry had spent most of his life on his own. Maybe it hadn’t been by choice at first, but the longer he was away from people, the more it made sense. People were messy and emotional—
Shouts came from outside, loud shouts. He really, really needed his home back, along with his sanity.
He needed peace. Which he wasn’t going to get anytime soon. Especially now Darcinda was back. What was it about her that got under his skin? He’d learned at his father’s knee to not trust faeries, but it was more than that.
She was exasperating and smart and stubborn and beautiful. Hells! That was not a thought that would bring him peace. It was a thought that would cause nothing but trouble.
And McHenry didn’t need any more trouble. Not when the demon king had tried to kill him, and now the invaders were setting up tents and food on his land, as if there was cause to celebrate.
Forget just going to his bedroom. At the rate things were going, he was going to crawl under his bed.
He trudged up the stairs and entered his room, shutting the door quietly before he approached his window to watch the swarming people below. Some deep breathing was in order, or he would end up slamming his fist through the wall, as Charlie had warned him.
The last thing he wanted to do was amuse Darcinda when she had to heal him.
He walked over to the nightstand and squatted down in front of it, running his fingers along the corner to push on the latch. The compartment he’d built into the stand opened, and he pulled out his grandfather’s leather-bound journal.
He sat in the easy chair and flipped open the book. Not that he really needed to look at the pages anymore. He had read the journal so many times, he basically had it memorized.
It started out as a wonderful recounting of his grandfather’s life—a life full of possibility—and ended with the twisted tale of a man betrayed. McHenry ran his fingers over the jagged edges where pages had been torn from the book. Words he would never be able to read, words that might have helped him understand what truly happened to his grandfather.
Yet that pain and betrayal had been passed down through the generations to him. And it threatened to rear its ugly head once again with this trial.
And he would do everything in his power to ensure it stopped with him and wouldn’t hurt anyone else.
Cheeky lasses are oh, so interestin’.
Chapter 15
An hour later, after the crowd of workers dispersed (thank the Fates), McHenry could finally face the team downstairs. Well, the team and Darcinda, that is. She just left yesterday, and already she was back to drive him crazy.
As he jogged down the stairs and recognized the feminine voices below, he realized Darcinda had brought along a tribe to help with her campaign.
He gaped at the females who met him at the bottom of the stairs. Besides Alex, Charlie’s nymph wife, Sheila, was here, along with the twins’ human mates, Julia and Olivia. Rounding out the group was Tim’s mate, Maeve, who was wolf and powerful witch melded into one.
If he thought having the team in his house was bad, it was nothing compared to having their mates surround him.
“How did you all get here?”
“We walked here like everyone else.” Sheila answered him like he was a dolt.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he grumbled.
“Don’t be silly, McHenry. Of course we should,” Olivia said.
Another female not intimidated by him. He truly had lost his touch. Time to send these females packing.
“Have you come to join the circus? I can’t move an inch without runnin’ into someone.”
Julia propped her hands on her hips. Now he was going to get an earful from the petite lawyer.
“You can stop your grumbling right now. We wouldn’t be anywhere else but here. You’ve helped all of us in the past, and we’re here for you. That’s what friends do, you stubborn mule.”
Maeve nodded. “What she said.”
McHenry looked at the group of females in front of him. He wasn’t the only stubborn one in this bunch. Just like Darcinda, they were stubborn and smart and powerful and beautiful…every last one of them. How in the hells had he earned their friendship?
“You’re not goin’ away, are you?”
Five pairs of eyes rolled at the same time. How was that even possible?
Alex patted him on the arm. “You’re stuck with us, so better get used to it.”
Sheila smiled. “We’re going to go make dinner and leave you alone for a little bit. You seem a little agitated right now.”
Agitated? The females walked single file toward the kitchen in the back of the house. McHenry headed into his living room and found Darcinda standing there with a sinful smirk.
He hooked his thumb toward the kitchen. “Is that your doin’?”
She chuckled. “Oh no. I couldn’t control them if I tried.”
“Well, why are you lurkin’ in here, then?”
“I don’t lurk, McHenry. I let my presence be known.”
He waved his hand in front of her. “Obviously.”
Well, then. A spark of fire flared in those green eyes of hers. He had said something she didn’t like. And he hadn’t even been trying.
“I don’t need you to tell me how to dress or how to look, McHenry.”
That was not what he meant. Was she kidding? But something about the expression on her face told him she was serious, and seriously upset. Someone had judged her in the past and found her lacking. The idiots.
“Female, you can dress any way you want. Hells, you could prance around naked for all I care.”
Damnation. Had he just said that out loud?
She gaped at him.
Heat rushed into his face. Fates, he was blushing like a lass.
And with that, the sinful smirk was back. Why did it hit him so low in the gut? He cleared his throat because…well, because he was stalling, that’s what. “I’m thinkin’ I’ll go find the team.”
“I’m thinkin’ that’s a good idea.”
He spun on his heel and barged out the door onto the porch, a low chuckle following him before he shut the door.
The faerie was using his brogue against him.
He should be angry, but instead, try as he might, he couldn’t suppress a smile. When was the last time he smiled?
The team, minus Charlie, stood across the courtyard in front of his workshop, watching him.
“You lose,” Jack said, holding out his hand.
Connor shook his head, pulled out his wallet, and slapped money into his twin brother’s hand.
McHenry came to a stop in front of them. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but he asked anyway. “What was the bet?”
Devin smiled. “Connor said you would come outside frowning and grousing about the women being here. Jack said they’d win you over.”
“Grousing?”
“Growling, grumbling, grumpy—they fit you, McHenry,” Connor said.
Had it been their mates or that frustrating faerie who won him over? A little bit of both. There was no fighting them.
“How did you doofuses end up with such amazing females?”
Tim grinned. “We thank the Fates every day.”
“Amen,” said Connor and Jack at the same time.
“Where is Charlie?” McHenry asked.
“His turn to guard.”
McHenry’s smile slipped away. He mustn’t forget why they were all here.
Silence ruled until Devin spoke up. “Where are Alex and the rest of the women?”
“They’re workin’ on dinner.”
“Please tell me Sheila is in charge,” the twins said together.
“I think so. Why?”
“Because she’s the best cook,” Tim said.
He shook his head at the men. “So you’ve ranked their cooking skills.”
Connor grinned. “Sheila’s at the top, even though she cooks vegetarian. Then my Olivia, followed by Maeve, and then Alex.”
“Which means Julia is on the bottom.”
“I love my wife more than anything,” Jack said. “But she can’t boil water.”
“Do your mates know about this ranking?”
All the men held up their hands as if to ward him off. “Nope. We aren’t stupid.”
McHenry chuckled. “So you ranked them like you did your own cookin’ skills.”
“We did?” Devin asked. “How come I didn’t know about this?”
Suddenly, the twins and Tim wouldn’t meet their team leader’s eyes. McHenry chuckled again.
Devin scowled at him. “What did I miss?”
“I think you might be in last place, which is why they didn’t tell you.”
“Well, hell.” He crossed his arms. “I know Charlie is the best cook, so how do the rest of you tools score?”
Connor smiled. “I’m next.”
“Then me,” Tim said.
Devin looked over at Jack. “Which makes you next. Welcome to the lower rungs of the ladder, my friend.”
Jack snorted. “At least I’m not on the bottom rung.”
Devin scowled at him.
It was time to defuse the situation. “Like I said before, I don’t know how your females put up with you.”
“Just wait, McHenry. You’ll act like an idiot one day, too, when you meet your mate,” Devin said.
“We just need to get him out of this Burrow so he actually meets someone,” Connor added.
Little did they know, that was never going to happen.
* * *
Darcinda smiled as McHenry practically ran out of the house. The growly demon had actually blushed—not something she would ever have expected. But then she wasn’t acting like herself either. He kept her off-kilter, and that was not something she allowed anyone to do to her. Not anymore.
She headed toward the kitchen, and her alarm bells started to ring. There was no sound coming from the back of the house. How was that possible?
She stepped into the room. Five women and a baby stared back at her. In silence. Each wearing a different expression. Maeve looked surprised, while Sheila smiled at her. Olivia and Julia were staring at her like she was a puzzle.
Alex wore her I’m-going-to-get-in-trouble expression. But when didn’t she? And JT was grinning from ear to ear.
“What?” Darcinda asked.
“You’re going to play innocent?” Alex countered.
“Still not following you.”
Julia put her hands on her hips and spoke in a booming voice with a slight brogue. “Female, you can prance around naked for all I care.”
“Except I think he does care,” Olivia said.
Which got them to snickering. The baby shook a big ring with plastic keys and giggled along with them.
She glared at them all. Sheila held up her hands. “We weren’t eavesdropping. But you know it’s hard to tune out McHenry.”
“I know. He’s infuriating, and he’s not happy I’m back. I don’t know why he’s so stubborn.”
“I think the faerie doth protest too much,” Julia murmured to the group.
Oh, Darcinda was so going to ignore that. “And that’s another thing. He can barely call me by my name. And when he calls me faerie, it’s like it’s a bad word.”
Or it used to be. Now? Now she didn’t know what to make of him. She gave herself a mental shake. She didn’t have time to worry about what was going on in his head right now.
She needed to worry about what was going on in the heads of the females standing in front of her. Especially Alex, because she had on her matchmaker’s face. No. No. No. A distraction was in order. Luckily, JT threw the key ring across the table.
Alex walked around the table and picked up the keys, placing them on the counter. “That’s it, buddy. We’re done with the keys for now.”
“I’m starving. What’s for dinner?” Darcinda asked.
“Veggie chili, cornbread, and salad,” Sheila said. “And stop changing the subject.”
“Yeah, we want to talk about the elephant in the room. Well, not so much an elephant as a grumbling Scottish demon,” Alex said.
“Don’t forget sexy,” Maeve chimed in, which had everyone turning toward her.
“What? You don’t think he’s sexy? He’s got that whole outdoor, lumberjack vibe. And he’s sweet, too. Like a teddy bear.”
Darcinda laughed, but stopped when she realized no one was laughing with her. “You have got to be kidding me.”
Julia poured a glass of wine and handed it to her. “He’s all bark and no bite.”
“He almost died helping me and Connor,” Olivia said.
Julia nodded. “And he threw those enforcer wolves off his land when they came for Jack.”
“And he helped me too,” Maeve said.
Darcinda took a sip of wine to gather her thoughts before responding. “I know he’s a good male. But he doesn’t like me. All we do is fight.”
Another round of snickering.
“You didn’t know Devin and me until after we got married, but we fought like cats and dogs when we first met.” Alex held up her hand. “Who else wanted to strangle their mate at first?”
Sheila, Olivia, and Julia held up their hands as well. They all looked at Maeve.
“I didn’t want to strangle Tim.”
“Even when he left you because he thought you were better off without him?”
Maeve frowned before her hand popped up in the air.
“Right,” Alex said before turning back to Darcinda. “My point is, there’s a fine line between love and hate.”
Another gulp of wine. “I agree. But that’s not what’s going on with me and McHenry. He has enough to worry about right now, what with almost dying and the upcoming trial. You can try and set him up with someone else later, Alex.”
Alex watched her a little too long for comfort before Sheila interrupted their staredown.
“Let’s get the food finished before the guys crowd in here.”
“Otherwise they’ll try to take over,” Olivia said.
“I’m fine with them cooking,” Julia said.
Alex snorted before answering. “Because you can’t cook. I’m surprised you didn’t starve to death before you married Jack.”
JT giggled and rattled his key ring.
Alex looked down at him in surprise. “Hey, you little con artist, who did you bat your baby blues at to get them to give you back the ring?”
No one confessed. But the good news was, the spotlight was no longer on Darcinda, and relief set in. The last thing she needed was Alex trying to matchmake her and McHenry. The idea was silly.
He was bossy and loud, grumpy and antisocial. Yet he had taken in his nephews and raised them as his own, and he had helped Julia, Olivia, and Maeve.
So he was a study in opposites. And, as much as she hated to admit it, sexy.
And she was off-kilter again. Staying far, far away from that demon was the only way to find solid ground again.
Nothin’ worse than a bunch of paranormal pomp and circumstance.
Chapter 16
Had he actually believed it couldn’t get any worse? Yesterday his home was invaded, but it was nothing compared to the arrival of the conquerors going on now. He was surprised they weren’t planting their royal flags in his soil.
McHenry stood next to the field and watched the paranormal procession. The headache he woke up with this morning worsened as each supernatural leader arrived.
Sheila, Alex, and her grandmother, Lorinda, greeted each leader and made sure they didn’t need anything. McHenry huffed at the pomp and circumstance.
He didn’t know any of the leaders by sight, but he had no need to worry since Julia, Olivia, and Maeve stood beside him pointing out everyone.
Maeve waved at a tall blond man who winked back at her. “That’s my brother, Sullivan, the West Coast pack leader.”
So this was the twins’ older brother. “And the big wolf behind him?”
�
�Nathan, his head of security. He doesn’t let Sullivan go anywhere alone.”
“He’s the right wolf for the job, then. And a good mate too.”
Maeve turned to him. “How did you know?”
“I’m not psychic. The twins told me how happy Sullivan is now he’s with Nathan. Who’s the grumpy one Sullivan is talking to?”
“That’s the gargoyle leader, Clemens. He’s not the friendliest,” Olivia said.
A trio of females talked to each other at the side of the field.
“Who are they?”
Maeve wrinkled up her nose. “Coven leaders. The witches always travel in threes. It’s a power thing.”
He nodded.
A man walked up to Sheila and embraced her.
“I take it that’s Sheila’s father, the woodland nymph leader?”
“Yes,” Julia said. “And the tall brunette next to him is Cassandra, the sea nymph leader.”
“I thought they were enemies.”
“They were, but ever since Sheila and Charlie got together, the clans have been working to iron out their differences.”
“Obviously. Is it just me, or are they attracted to each other?” McHenry said.
Julia smiled. “For a hermit, you’re pretty observant. I would say a definite yes in the attraction department. Although I don’t know whether Sheila has noticed it yet.”
Maeve smiled. “We should sic Alex on them. Let her work on it.”
McHenry chuckled despite his headache. Alex was always sticking her nose into things, especially in the romance arena.
Before he could respond, a tall, dark-haired male stalked across the field with two guards trailing him.
“That must be Matthew Cole, the elf king.”
“Yes. You’ve met him before?” Julia asked.
“No. But Devin looks just like him, so he has to be his father.”
“Thomas looked like him as well,” Julia said, before looking down.
“What’s wrong?” McHenry asked.
“Nothing. He was my father-in-law, but I don’t know what to say to him anymore.”
McHenry wanted to growl. “Julia, it is not your fault Thomas was killed. Those bastard supremacists killed him. Don’t forget that.”