“You’re scared of me?” asked Jeffrey, some of the fight leaking out of his voice.
I went to push past him, my need to start my run and be done with the conversation and the vulnerability it brought out it in me too great to resist.
Jeffrey caught my hand in his and held it.
The same warmth I’d felt before returned, this time spreading up my arm.
“Dana, you don’t have to be scared of me,” he said, his voice soft. With how deep his voice normally was, I could only guess that took some work on his part to temper it. “Know that. Please.”
I got the sense please wasn’t a word he said often.
“I do.” I gave the slightest of nods and then pulled my hand from his. I was off the porch in record time, putting my earbuds in my ears and heading right for the path that led into the woods. I knew it looked like I was escaping the clutches of the big bad wolf. Since it wasn’t too far from the truth, I didn’t much care.
“I’m taking you to breakfast when you get back, Legs,” he shouted from the porch, just as I started the music, drowning out the rest of whatever he said.
I continued running full-out, secretly pleased I’d be seeing him again in a few hours.
Eight
Jeffrey
Jeffrey stood on the porch, near Marcy, watching as Dana ran off into the woods. Every ounce of him wanted to give chase. The wolf in him liked the idea of running after her.
The man kind of did too.
Marcy touched his arm lightly, jerking him from his primal urge to give chase. “Let her be right now. She needs a second to think.”
He’d only just met her two days prior, and in the span of forty-eight hours, she’d offered to read his tea leaves, his palm, his fortune, his tarot cards, all while blurting out that his aura was bright red, whatever the hell that meant. She was odd but seemed tender-hearted and harmless.
A bit touched in the head possibly, but sweet all the same. Poppy was pretty and apparently it was true—like attracted like, because Marcy was as well.
Then there was Dana.
She was smoking hot.
“You said it yourself. She doesn’t know the woods or the paths that go through it,” said Jeffrey, second-guessing running after her. It was more than easy to get lost in the woods that spanned for hundreds of acres. Even local non-shifters sometimes did. It didn’t help that a number of the paths simply stopped being paths the deeper you got. And to the untrained eye, and someone without heightened additional senses like those of a shifter or even a vampire, most of the deep wood areas looked alike. “I should follow her.”
Marcy sighed. “Yes and no. Yes, she may get a little turned around out there. After all, she’s a city girl whose idea of a run through the woods is running through Central Park. But if you go after her right this second, she’ll just get mad at you and add to that wall she keeps up around herself.”
He’d noticed Dana’s tough exterior and had butted up against that very wall more than once in the past forty-eight hours. He got the feeling if he kept doing so, it might become impossible to penetrate. He didn’t want that. In fact, that was right up there with him not wanting her to be afraid of him.
Against the wishes of his wolf, he nodded. “You’re right.”
Marcy patted his arm. “I think I saw some rocking chairs out in the garage. There’s a picture inside showing them out on the porch here. If you’re not too busy, I’d be eternally grateful if you could carry them out here. They’re kind of heavy and I keep meaning to ask Brett to do it but always forget.”
“Sure thing,” he said, remembering the exact rockers she was talking about.
Tuck and Ellie-Sue’s front porch was massive and, back in its heyday held six rockers and three small tables that sat between them. Strategically placed around the rockers and tables were potted flowers, plants, and even some veggies. Potted ferns hung from hooks along the other side of the porch, while flower baskets had hung on the side near the hose. It got more sun so that made sense.
“Thank you,” said Marcy, returning to watering plants.
Jeffrey headed off the porch and around the far side of the house to the driveway and then back to the garage. It had swing-open, old-style doors, and there was nothing automatic about them. The padlock had rust on it and wasn’t even locked, just hanging there loosely.
He opened the garage and found the rockers and small tables all sitting in a row to the right. He took a rocker in each hand and lifted them high. It didn’t matter that they’d been made by Tuck himself years ago and would be considered heavy for a human. To him, they weren’t much at all. In no time flat, he had them, as well as the tables, out on the porch where they used to sit. He then began to help Marcy arrange the plants accordingly.
“Tell me she didn’t put you to work already this morning,” said Poppy as she stepped onto the front porch with a cup of tea in hand.
“Hey, buttercup,” said Marcy. “Or should I say sleepyhead.”
Poppy blushed. “Sorry. I don’t think I’ve slept that good in years. The kids and Dana are still out cold too. Must be all this fresh air.”
Jeffrey went to her and gave her a hug. “Morning. And Dana isn’t sleeping. She’s out for a run.”
Poppy leaned against the doorframe. “Sounds about right. She’d get up at a crazy hour back in New York, go for a run or hit the gym, get cleaned up for the day, do any errands that needed to be done, and still beat everyone into the office.”
“She was usually the last to leave the office too,” added Marcy.
“I can’t believe she gave it all up to come here,” said Poppy, sipping her tea. “Want me to make you some breakfast, Jeffrey?”
“Thanks, but I’ve got plans for breakfast,” he said, wanting to hear more about Dana.
She grinned. “How about I make you some tea then?”
His eyes widened. “Uh, no. Thank you though.”
She laughed. “Brett prefers coffee too.”
“You know your husband can’t work her fancy coffee press,” said Jeffrey. “But desperately wants a cup of coffee in the morning before work each day. You’re in the honeymoon phase still, so he’d never dream of telling you all of this and rocking the boat.”
She snorted. “Of course he can’t work the press. I told him to bring over anything he wanted from his house. So far, he’s brought over some toiletries, his uniform stuff, and a small duffle bag of workout clothing. That’s it.”
“Sounds like Brett,” said Jeffrey. “He’s what we like to call a minimalist.”
She eyed him. “Does he want to be here, in this house, or would he rather live at his?”
Jeffrey put his hand on her shoulder. “Poppy, he’s happy wherever you are. And you know he’s always had a thing for this place.”
She sighed. “It’s kind of crowded. I hadn’t realized how much so until I noticed how hard it is to have alone time with him.”
“How are the twins doing?” he asked.
“Good. They’re taking this all very well, considering. So well, in fact, that they’re still out cold. They won’t be up for hours yet. They’ll sleep through lunch if I let them,” she said. “To be young again and be able to hibernate at the drop of a dime.”
He smiled. “No judgment from me. I’d sleep past lunch if I could too. Damn adulting keeps getting in the way.”
“Doesn’t it always?” she countered with a wink. “I’m hoping I can convince Pepper and Tucker to go see Thomas, now that he’s in town for who knows how long. He wants to come over here to talk later today, but I’d rather he waits until Brett is home. It’s important Thomas see and understand who Brett is to me, and that he will forever be part of my life and our children’s lives.”
Jeffrey stiffened. “Not sure having Thomas over while Brett is here is a great idea. Why don’t we plan that talk when I can be at that meet-up too?”
She glanced up at him. “Because you’ll be able to control Brett’s wolf side if he gets upset with Thom
as?”
“You mean when he gets upset with your ex,” corrected Jeffrey. “You really want to take a chance and have his wolf get away from him?”
She touched her chin. “We’ll wait until you’re there too. Good thinking.”
“Does he know what Brett is?” asked Jeffrey, wondering just how much the ex knew.
She shook her head. “No. I’m not sure he fully understands what Marla was. How, exactly, do I explain that the woman he ended our marriage for wasn’t even human? That she was a cross between a witch and a succubus? And how do I tell him I’m mated to Brett, that Brett can turn into a wolf, and that I’m not only pregnant with Brett’s twins, but the children I have with Thomas are witches?”
Jeffrey thought harder on it and shrugged. “Maybe just go with you’ve moved on and suggest he do so as well. But, um, maybe you should screen who he dates for him. If not, he might end up dating the devil himself.”
She laughed until she teared up. “True. I thought about lying to him, but he spent so long lying to me in our marriage that I know what it feels like. I don’t think turnabout is fair play. He helped to create Pepper and Tucker. Without him, I wouldn’t have them. He has the right to know that magik is real and his children possess it. Besides, I don’t think he’s planning to leave Grimm Cove anytime soon, so he’s bound to catch on eventually. He may have been a crap husband, but he was a good father, and he’s a very smart man.”
“If you say so,” added Jeffrey. “After all, he let you slip through his fingers. Seems like a total dumbass if you ask me.”
She snorted.
He lifted his chin slightly. “Tuck and Ellie-Sue up and about?”
As a wolf-shifter, Jeffrey should have been more open-minded about spirits, but they weren’t something he’d encountered a lot. When he’d seen Tuck again, it had been jarring to say the least, and a comment the man had made while they’d been battling the succu-bitch had stuck with him.
Tuck had said the succu-witch couldn’t enthrall Jeffrey, Brett, or Travis, who had all been in the area during the attack, because they’d already met their mates. Jeffrey wanted to talk more with him about it at some point, but he didn’t want to make a fuss. Besides, he’d probably misheard him.
“I haven’t seen them since just after dinner last night. They mentioned they had some things to attend to and something about an old friend of Grandma’s they were going on a small trip with, and that was that.” She exhaled slowly. “It’s so weird having them back—if you know what I mean.”
Jeffrey laughed. “I’m sure it is. But I bet it’s nice too.”
“It is. Want me to make you some coffee? I can work Dana’s fancy coffee press,” said Poppy with a smile. “I’m who got it for her.”
“Thank you but I’m good.” He really wanted to know more about the woman who’d occupied his thoughts for the last two days, and Poppy was the perfect person to ask. “So Dana…sounds like she was a powerful attorney up in New York City.”
“She was the assistant district attorney,” returned Poppy. “That was a huge job. Something she’d worked all of her adult life for. And I’m pretty sure she’d have been top dog in a year or so if she’d stayed on.”
He hadn’t realized just how much she’d walked away from, and he wondered if she’d go back. It wasn’t as if Grimm Cove had anything that impressive to offer her. So far, all the town had done was reveal supernaturals were real and left her fighting off vampires and crazed succu-witches. Not really selling points. Certainly wasn’t something they’d be putting on the brochures or anything.
“Did she leave because of burnout?” he asked.
“I’m not exactly sure why she left,” said Poppy. “Part of me wonders if she did it because of her worry for me and for Marcy. She doesn’t like to admit how much she cares or how big her heart is, but she’s always been protective of us.”
“Yes, she has,” added Marcy. “And making sure we were safe here and okay was part of the reason she came. Another was Nonna Wilma.”
“Her grandmother?” asked Poppy. “I thought leaving Wilma alone up there would be one of the reasons she’d have stayed—or why she may go back.”
Jeffrey stiffened. “You think she’ll leave and go back to New York?”
“I honestly don’t know,” admitted Poppy. “After what happened the other night, I wouldn’t blame her. I didn’t know it would be like this here.”
“Sounds like you want to leave too,” said Jeffrey. He didn’t want to see Brett leave but knew he would if his mate wanted to go.
“No. I love it here. Warts and all.” She smiled. “Though I’ll admit certain aspects of it will take some getting used to. Like having my dead grandparents around.”
Marcy held the watering can to her as if hugging the thing. “Dana loves it here too. She doesn’t realize how much she loves it here yet, but she does. She and Tuck get along great. Similar personalities.”
“But Grimm Cove isn’t home to her,” said Poppy. “I was born here and spent my summers here until college. You were born here too, Marcy. But not Dana. What family she has left is up there. I’d try to talk Wilma into coming here to live but I’d need to find a way to explain the supernatural to her.”
“Or not,” said Marcy as she headed down the stairs and then in the direction of the hose.
Poppy simply shook her head at her friend then focused on Jeffrey. “You sure I can’t fix you something to eat?”
He patted his nonexistent gut. “I promise. I’m well fed.”
“Yes, but you forget that I now live with your best friend. He eats like he might never see food again,” she said, her eyes widening. “I don’t know where he puts it all.”
“Shifters burn a lot of calories even sitting still.”
“I need that diet plan,” she said.
She didn’t. She looked great. Healthier than when they had been teens, all of them having been nothing more than arms and legs. She’d filled out nicely, not that he’d ever admit as much to Brett. He liked his teeth still located in his head. “So, about Dana?”
Poppy narrowed her gaze on him. “You like her, don’t you?”
He shrugged, trying to play it cool. “She’s all right.”
The look on Poppy’s face said she wasn’t buying what he was selling. “Just all right?”
With a slight grin, he glanced at the floorboards of the porch. “Better than all right.”
“I see.” She licked her lips. “So Brett was telling me the truth when he said you’ve asked her out more than once in the last two days?”
Nervous, Jeffrey ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I did.”
“And her response was…?”
He gave her a knowing look. “Guess.”
Marcy finished filling the watering jug and headed their way again. “She didn’t tell him to eat crap and drop dead—but you know, in Dana’s words. Not my cleaner version.”
Poppy’s smile widened. “Good.”
“Uh, she’s told me no every single time I’ve asked her out,” said Jeffrey, not following.
“But she hasn’t told you to go pleasure yourself, or what Marcy said?”
He looked between the women. “Do the two of you moonlight as preschool teachers? It’s like you’re scared of saying a bad word.”
“Oh, I’ve dropped my fair share,” said Poppy. “Now, answer my question.”
He thought about each time Dana had turned him down. “No. I haven’t been directed to do either of those things—yet. I’m sure it’s coming.”
“Don’t count on it,” said Marcy.
Poppy sipped her tea and stared at him for the longest time before motioning to the rocking chairs. “That your doing?”
He nodded.
“Have a seat,” she said, going to one and sitting down.
Jeffrey sat in the rocker closest to hers. He leaned forward in it, his elbows going to just above his knees. “Are you trying to tell me it’s a good thing Dana has turned me down?”
“Yes,” they responded in unison.
“I’m so lost.” And he was.
Poppy winked. “Jeffrey, had Dana told you yes right away, it would have meant she just wanted to sleep with you and be done with you.”
While that was something he’d normally jump at the chance to have—seeing as how it was his usual modus operandi—the idea of only having one night with her didn’t sit right with him. As he thought harder on it, he tensed. “That something she does a lot?”
“I’m guessing no more or less than you do,” she returned, sipping her tea as she stared at him above the lip of her cup. “Or are you forgetting your best friend is my mate? Think he hasn’t mentioned how you are with women? You’d already showed many shades of that behavior back when we were teens. It didn’t surprise me in the least to hear you’d gotten worse.”
“You sound like my momma.”
She snorted. “Good. I’ve always liked her.”
Jeffrey swallowed hard, suddenly embarrassed by his bed-hopping ways. “This, with Dana, is different.”
“I know,” she said.
“How?” he asked.
She licked her lips. “Because you’re here at sunrise, doing manual labor and trying to pry as much information as you can out of me about one of my best friends. Plus, you keep asking her out despite being shot down more than once.”
“Maybe I just like the thrill of the chase,” he countered, wanting to save face.
Marcy came close and began watering the plant nearest him. “It’s cute that you’d think we’d believe that’s all it is. Men are adorable. Simple. But adorable creatures.”
He groaned.
The women laughed.
“I should be going now,” he said, wanting to be out of their line of fire. He’d come back in a bit to grab Dana for breakfast.
“So soon?” asked Poppy. “However will you be able to give my husband a full report on me if you don’t stay longer?”
He froze.
She laughed. “Did Brett send you in his stead because he knows I’m tired of him checking in on me nonstop?”
Hexing with a Chance of Tornadoes: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Romance Novel (Grimm Cove Book 2) Page 8