“The final divorce papers came and he wanted me to sign right away, which I was more than willing to do. Unfortunately, I miscalculated. I thought Maddox was asleep. He wasn’t.”

  “I heard that he’d cheated on her, and I just lost it. I couldn’t stop my fists or feet. I kicked and hit him until finally, I realized my mom was on the floor beside me. I’d knocked into her when I pulled my arm back to hit him.”

  Zephyr wanted to grab the pup by the neck and shake him, but I just froze and stared him down. Maddox held up his hands, sensing we were angry that he’d done that. “It was not on purpose, and I don’t remember doing it. But I did do it, so I’ve worked every day since then to make sure I don’t ever do something like that again.”

  Ava put her hand on my arm. “He had no idea.”

  “How did you keep the asshole from pressing charges?” I asked.

  “He did press charges at first,” Maddox said. “But things got delayed in the courts.”

  Ava nodded. “It took a year, but finally I got him to drop them. As soon as Maddox’s name was cleared in the courts, we left.”

  “How did you get him to let us leave, anyway?” Maddox asked. “You never told me.”

  Ava looked into my eyes. “Is Hailey still occupied?” she asked.

  I tuned into her bedroom and heard music going in earphones. “Yes, she’s still got the earphones on. I hear paper turning?”

  “She loves to read,” Ava murmured. “I gave him everything. I kept the last year of my wages and the furniture we had in the apartment, which, as fun as it was to shop for, wasn’t that much stuff. He got the house, our savings, everything. I even left all the jewelry he’d bought me over the years, which had a considerable value. Our jobs combined had netted us over a hundred thousand a year income. He got it all. But I’m free. And I have Hailey and he can never come near her again.”

  “Why wouldn’t he come near his daughter?”

  Ava’s face paled. “He signed his rights away in exchange for the savings account.”

  We will kill him.

  That stupid fucker. He’d sold his daughter for a few dollars.

  13

  Ava

  “Am I going to see my dad again?” Hailey asked me as she pushed her French fries around on her plate.

  I froze and stared at her. “What makes you ask that, sweetie?”

  She sighed and looked at the back door, where Maverick and Maddox had walked out a few minutes before. He’d come over after work all week. He and Madd disappeared into the woods. I didn’t mind his time with Maddox, for one because I wanted my son to have his father. But I encouraged it even more because when Maddox came back from his time in the woods with Maverick, he came back relaxed, calm, and rejuvenated. Like the old Madd.

  With my heart down at my toes, I hoped Hailey would change the subject. I’d told her we were moving out when I left Cade, and I’d told her we were moving into my Nana’s old house, but I’d never figured out a way to tell her that he’d signed his rights over. Why did I have to?

  Maddox was about the age Hailey was now when I told him about his father, but he seemed emotionally so much stronger than her. She was the most sensitive soul. What her father had done to her would crush her spirit.

  “Sweetheart, when I left your daddy, we made the choice together that it would be best if he didn’t see you anymore.” I couldn’t tell her what he’d done. It wasn’t a lie, not really. I did think it was best if she wasn’t around a man that would sign his rights to her away for a couple hundred thousand dollars.

  “I don’t have a daddy?” Hailey’s eyes turned into saucers and filled with tears. “Doesn’t he want me?”

  My heart shattered as she said the words, but Maverick and Maddox walked in just in time to hear her last question. Maverick looked between me and a now sobbing Hailey and rounded the kitchen island. He looked at me with questions in his eyes. I nodded, and he scooped her up into his arms and cradled her against his chest. “Sweet girl, of course he wants you. But he knows that the best thing for you is if you live separately from him. He knows you’re better off here with your mom.”

  That didn’t exactly explain things, but who could tell a little girl her father was the most useless piece of garbage in the world?

  Maddox put his arms around me. “He heard everything from outside the door.” And he already knew exactly what Cade had done thanks to our conversation a few days before—when I’d found out that I’d had a baby with a freaking dragon. Of course.

  “It’s okay,” Maverick whispered. He sat at the kitchen table with Hailey looking tiny in his big arms. “You’ve got a mom and brother who love you very much. And didn’t Nana Carla come up last night to spend time with you?”

  His mother had showed up at my door last night with a casserole, which had been a godsend, because I’d planned on PB&Js for dinner. My new client was one that needed extreme handholding and I’d spent the day fixing his website for the fourth time. She’d shooed me out to go take a long bath, and when I came back downstairs, the kids were eating, and my kitchen was spotless. I eyeballed the living room after she left and couldn’t be sure she hadn’t put a box or two away as well.

  Not that I minded. I’d gone eighteen years without any help. Lord knew once Cade got his prize, he ceased providing any parenting help or doing anything around the house. I’d ended up hiring a cleaning lady since I couldn’t work full-time and do it all alone.

  He’d been shtupping her, too. She was how I finally figured it out. I came home from work sick in the middle of the day and was surprised to see Cade there, as well. Once I left him, the stories started pouring out. Well-meaning friends that hadn’t been sure if they should say anything. All our friends had known all those years. They weren’t really friends. A true friend would’ve told me.

  It had been a relief to get away from them when we left. I didn’t want to see any of their fake faces ever again.

  Hailey nodded in Maverick’s arms. “I like Nana Carla.”

  “I know we haven’t known you very long, but you’ve got an entire family up on the hill who want to be in your life. Would that be okay with you?” He looked at me as he asked her, giving the words extra weight. He wanted them to be my family, too.

  Watching him comfort my daughter, offering his family and protection to her, made my eyes fill with tears.

  His gaze bored into mine. “You’ll never be alone again.”

  Hailey burrowed her head into his chest and sniffled until she fell asleep. Maddox and I sat at the table in silence as Maverick succeeded in giving my daughter what she needed most. Family.

  “She’s out,” he whispered.

  “I’ve got her.” Maddox leaned over and Maverick carefully transferred Hailey into his arms. “I’ll lay her down then go do my homework.” He gave me a significant look. “I’m right upstairs if you need me.”

  I snorted. “Thanks, Dad.”

  He didn’t acknowledge my derision as he walked out. The sweet boy was letting me know if anything went south with Maverick, he had my back, no matter that it would be against his father.

  “Are you okay?” Maverick asked. I turned to face him across the kitchen table and considered how I wanted to answer his question. I could go deep or give him the brush-off. I decided to stick somewhere in the middle.

  “It’s been hard,” I admitted. “From day one.” Maybe that was a little deep, but it was honest. “But lately, especially. First the divorce, then Madd’s temper. Now having to explain all this mess to Hailey. It’s insane. What we need is a break. Some calm and rest.”

  He nodded. “I can understand that. Unfortunately, you’re not going to get it until Maddox goes through his shift.” He cleared his throat. “Do you still care about him?”

  “My ex-husband?” He couldn’t mean Maddox.

  He nodded.

  Oh, hell. Not even a little. “No. It was a long time ago. I’m just glad he’s gone. As hard as it is to break all this to Hailey, in the long run, we’re infinitely better off.”

  He nodded. “I agree. I’m glad you didn’t move here with that man.” He growled again, but I wasn’t sure he knew he was doing it.

  “You just growled.” I narrowed my eyes at him.

  His eyes widened. “You heard that?”

  I nodded.

  Maverick cocked his head. “Zephyr says he didn’t mean for you to hear.”

  “That was him?” I had no idea.

  “Yes, and when we’re mated, you’ll be able to hear him most of the time, I’m pretty sure.”

  He said what now? “When we’re mated?” Just exactly what did he think was going to happen between us?

  Maverick’s eyes turned gold and his body seemed to grow, but only a little. It made his presence fill the room. “I mean if we get closer.”

  He’d always been a terrible liar. “Uh-huh.”

  He changed the subject like a pro. “Can we have dinner? Just the two of us?”

  Narrowing my eyes at him, I tried to discern his intent, but then I reminded myself that except for the colossally stupid decision of disappearing, he’d never done anything to hurt me. Sure, he’d picked a few arguments before he’d left, but now I knew that was the stress of his pending shift.

  “My mom would love to keep Hailey, and Jury has been bugging me to see Maddox again.” He looked like Maddox, pleading for something I wasn’t sure he should have.

  I laughed and nodded, giving in just like I always did with Madd. “Tomorrow night at eight. I’ll send the kids up the hill and make dinner.”

  “You don’t have to cook,” he said with a face full of joy. He’d gotten his request. “I can bring something.”

  “I don’t mind.” I found myself looking forward to making a meal for Maverick. It had been so long, and we’d never gotten to progress to that point in our relationship where we could be domestic. I felt like a young girl again, playing house.

  I was also pretty sure that I’d just stepped straight into the dragon’s lair. Right where he wanted me—and I wasn’t sure that it’s not right where I wanted to be.

  14

  Maverick

  “Hey, Nana Carla.” Hailey’s excited voice drifted up the stairs a few seconds before the sounds of elephants raced upwards—Jury and Maddox headed to Jury’s room.

  I stuck my head out my door before they got too far away. “Hey, Maddox!”

  Maddox stopped on the landing. “Hi.” He hadn’t settled on what he wanted to call me. Dad still felt a bit awkward, but so was Maverick. He mostly stuck to not calling me anything.

  Jury whistled through his teeth. “Damn, you clean up nice. You should do it more often.”

  I rolled my eyes and looked down at myself. I’d tried to fix my hair more carefully and made sure my button-up shirt and jeans weren’t wrinkled. Otherwise, I was pretty much the same.

  Maddox stepped forward. “Are you two going anywhere tonight?” he asked.

  “I think just having dinner and trying to work through some of the tension around being separated for so long.” And I planned to tell her we were fated mates. I’d mentioned it a couple of times, but only vaguely, and I hadn’t explained.

  It was time to explain.

  Knowing the kind of conversation we’d be having made my stomach want to empty itself and get rid of all the food I’d eaten all week.

  I gave Jury a significant look. He nodded and bounded up the stairs to the third floor, where he’d pretty much taken over the entire floor as his domain. None of us minded, there were still several rooms untouched that we could claim if need be.

  Maddox looked down at his shoes.

  “How are you feeling?” I asked. “You okay with me and your mom trying to work through some things?”

  He’d have to come to terms with it soon, there was no escaping a fated mate. Us being so far apart was the only reason we’d been able to resist the call. That and she’d left before it had fully set in.

  Maddox looked me in the eye and grinned. “I’m a lot better. Our time meditating and talking about our history helps.” He looked over the banister at the empty foyer, thinking. “Like, it settles me.”

  “It’s not the time in the woods so much as it is being near your sire,” I explained. “If you moved in with me, it would help considerably until you get closer to your shift, then we’d have to actively work to calm you down. Which we will do.”

  “Will I have to move in with you?” He looked concerned at the thought.

  “Probably, but not for long. And your mom is just down the path. We’ll figure that out when the time comes. Heck, there’s enough room that everyone could stay here while you go through the roughest part.”

  He nodded. “Okay. At least it’s not for long.”

  Would living with me have been so bad? He’d come around the better he got to know me.

  “Yeah, I’m okay with you and mom getting to know each other.” He pushed at my shoulder. “Be good to her.”

  I grabbed his arms and squeezed, catching his direct gaze. “You need to know that I intend to pursue your mother. I lost her once and don’t plan to ever lose her again.”

  He searched my face and must’ve found my intent to be true because he nodded. “As long as you don’t abandon her again, I’m cool with it. The way she talked about you over the years made it clear that except for the whole disappearing act, she thought you hung the moon.” I released his arms and he shrugged. “I’m cool with it.”

  He turned and launched himself up the stairs after Jury, taking them two at a time. “Have fun,” I called.

  Time to clear it with the pipsqueak. I found her in the kitchen, measuring out flour. “Hey, Maverick,” she exclaimed when she saw me walk in. As she grinned at me, her arm moved, and flour went all over the island counter. “Oops,” she said as she looked at it. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m sorry.”

  “Hey, that’s nothing a damp towel won’t clean right up. You think I haven’t spilled flour in this kitchen before?”

  My mother swooped in and wrapped an arm around Hailey. “Don’t fret.”

  Hailey brightened up as her Nana Carla handed her a bag of chocolate chips. “Maverick, you look nice, but did you remember to get flowers? You can’t go on a date without flowers.”

  Mom raised her eyebrows at me. “She’s right, you know.”

  Clapping my hand on my forehead, I exaggerated my response to make the silly girl giggle. “What was I thinking? Do you think I have time to run to town and grab some?”

  Hailey nodded her head. “Dinner wasn’t near ready when I left. I know ‘cause I asked for some.”

  “Oh, good. What are her favorite flowers?”

  The little imp scrunched her nose up. “Purple ones.”

  I saluted her and reached for my jacket, hanging by the back door. “Purple it is. Any other advice?”

  “She doesn’t like it when you run, so don’t be hyper.” She put her hands on her hips. “And no funny business. Don’t be trying to steal her sugars.”

  I burst out laughing at her description of kissing. “I’ll let her steal mine if she wants to. How does that sound?”

  Mom shoved at my shoulder. “You leave me and Hailey to our cake and go get your sugars stolen.”

  I called goodbye and walked to the cruiser, the only vehicle I drove. I had an old truck parked in the barn on the other side of the house. That reminded me, I needed to start it up and drive it. I forgot too often, and the tires might have dry rotted.

  As I pulled down the driveway toward the road, an idea popped into my head. I could let Maddox use the truck. I’d noticed only one vehicle, and he was old enough to want to be able to get around town without having to borrow his mom’s. I didn’t need it.

  With a grin on my face, I pulled into the flower shop on Main Street. They were about to close, but the owner held the door open. “You’re cutting it close,” she said.

  Everyone knew me in town. I made sure their businesses were safe and kept the town fairly free of riffraff. What they didn’t know was that half of my job was to keep the town free of other shifters that might cause problems. If any came through town, I made sure they knew that this county belonged to my clan. They could stay quietly and cause no trouble, or they could move on. Most of them moved on, but we had a wolf pack that we lived comfortably beside.

  “I need purple flowers,” I told the florist. “For a date.”

  “Over here.” She pointed to a cold case with premade bouquets in it. “There’s a bouquet with some lovely asters in it.”

  I didn’t have the first clue what an aster was, but there was one vase with purple flowers in it, so I grabbed it. The tag said $35, which seemed high for a vase of flowers, but whatever. I pressed two twenties in her hand and nodded my head. “Thanks for staying open.”

  “You have fun on your date,” she called out the door before she shut and locked it.

  I hadn’t told her I was going on a date. Were they already gossiping about Ava and me? Or had I mentioned it? I couldn’t remember.

  You told her. Calm down. Don’t be so nervous.

  Ignoring Zephyr, I kind of hoped they’d been gossiping. Rumors often had a foundation of truth, so if we were rumored to be rekindling our relationship, maybe it would come true.

  Why was I doubting that it would? We were fated. She wouldn’t feel the pull as strongly as I did, but eventually, she wouldn’t be able to resist. We’d been made for each other, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

  I settled the vase in the passenger seat while I put on my belt and situated myself in the car. Then, I drove one-handed with the other hand on the vase to keep it from falling over. I should’ve waited long enough to get one of those holders.

  Mate.

  Zephyr reminded me why I’d hurried. I wanted to get to Ava as quickly as possible.

  It only took minutes to get from Main Street to our road, and within a half-hour of leaving my house, I parked my car in front of her cabin.

  The evening chill had set in as the sun went down. Now almost fully dark, I peered through the windshield at the cabin, bright like she’d turned on the light in every room.

 

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