Double Dare(231)

So I sat up suddenly, jolting to life, grabbing my jacket.

“Mom, gotta go,” I rushed, tongue tangled. “I have to see Jason and Brent, I have to tell them. Bye!”

And with that, I was out the door, galloping across the trailer park, heart in throat, feet pounding.

And my mom’s voice rang tinnily in my ears, fading with the distance.

“Tell them thank you for me, Katy. Tell them thank you for loving and caring for a daughter of mine.”

And as my legs pumped, tears pooled in my eyes, my heart expanding and then overflowing. Because I was running to my future, and there was no doubt what it was. Jason and Brent were my future, and I was desperate to find them and tell them, to bury myself in their arms, complete the circle that was us, to fall in love over and over again … as long as they would still have me.





CHAPTER THIRTEEN


Brent




She came tearing down the drive towards our trailer, brunette curls flying, face flushed before hurling herself into my arms.

“Brent,” she gasped, her face pressed against my jacket. “I’ve missed you.”

This was new. Katy’s never been affectionate in public, so this was different. I bent my head to her, holding her tight, and murmured into her curls.

“Come on, pretty baby,” I said, my voice low and rough. “Let’s go inside.”

And with my arm around her shoulders, we walked up the steps into our home. The trailer was the same as always, nothing had changed in the two weeks she’d been gone. Oh wait, Jason had installed new cabinets and damn, those babies gleamed and shone, classy and elegant in the small space.

“Where is he?” she panted, brown eyes wide, looking around. “Where’s Jason?”

The big man stepped from his room then, his form tall, broad, intimidating, looming in the doorway.

“Here,” was all he said, voice low.

Because the last two weeks have been hard on all of us, but especially Jason. I have the benefit of decades, I’ve been through the wringer emotionally with years of seasoning of years under my belt, so deep down, I wasn’t worried. Of course, there are no guarantees, but I had the distinct feeling that Katy would be back, that she’d find her way to us sooner or later.

But with Jason, it was different. The young alpha didn’t have the benefit of experience and had been heartbroken when she’d left, even if it was just a temporary pause like she promised. He’d thrown himself into work, disappearing into his shed, hammering this and that, the buzz of power tools going late into the night. And the good part was that we’d come out with these beautiful cabinets. The bad part was that the big man had been like a fucking bear these past two weeks, huge, dangerous, silent most of the time, growling when spoken to.

So to see the object of our love, our affection, our lust, suddenly materializing like out of a dream and looking better than ever was a jolt to the heart, a shot to the nervous system.

“What are you doing back?” he growled, eyes shuttered.

And Katy, bless her heart, stepped forward like an innocent doe right into the crosshairs of the big bad wolf.

“I love you, Jason Smith,” she said softly, taking a work-roughened hand into her small one, “and I want you to know it. I want you to know that I’ll never leave you again, either of you,” she said, turning to include me, “and I’m so sorry I left.”

But Jason wasn’t letting up so easily.

“Oh yeah?” he growled, yanking his hand away. “And what’s different?”

Katy colored, to her credit, but the girl stood firm, her expression determined.

“It’s me,” she said softly. “What’s changed is me. I know you think the time away was bullshit, but I had a breakthrough,” she said with a gentle smile. “I realized how much I loved and missed you, and how details can always be worked out later. What’s important is that we’re together, that we savor each other’s love and support one another.”

But Jason still wasn’t having it. He can be one mean motherfucker and wasn’t giving in that easily.

“Okay, so you had some Buddha moment and now see the light?” he asked scornfully. “What, you dropped some acid and rainbows and unicorns appeared?” he asked sarcastically. “Because maybe it’s not the same now, maybe we don’t want you.”

I shook my head, exasperated. This was so fucking juvenile, I had to step in. Jason and I had done nothing but pray for Katy’s return, I’d watched his suffering first-hand, how he’d thrown himself into work like a beast to take his mind off our girl. And there was no sense in going down this road to hurt Katy, to make her suffer too.