A well-maintained rose bed lined one side of the driveway, and rather than a lawn in the front yard like the rest of the homes on the block, hers was filled with meandering pathways and plants. He’d wager there were a lot of herbs among the flowers, given the herbal oils she made for Olivia.
A vague sense of unease settled over him as he exited the car. He must be more nervous about meeting her mother than he’d thought. What would she think of him? Would she accept him and who he was or would she assume he was a barbarian like many here believed, and unworthy of her daughter?
In the weeks apart from Olivia, he had learned one very important thing—that he was crazy in love with her. No one else in either world could compare to her.
Distance has a way of clarifying what you can’t see when something is right in front of you. He’d been antsy and on edge the whole time he’d been gone. A depressing gray cloud hovered over him in Cascadia, but this time it wasn’t because of his family. It was because he’d been a world away from Olivia. He’d found it harder than normal to concentrate. He couldn’t think straight. Couldn’t get her out of his head. But now that they were together, things just felt…right. He might not have recognized it before he left, but he sure as hell did now.
Olivia had accepted him unconditionally, with all his faults and imperfections. The fact that she respected and believed in him caused all sorts of things to shift deep inside him. Long-held beliefs. Doubts. Fears. Insecurities. Maybe she was right. Maybe he wasn’t as stupid as he thought he was, his stepfather be damned. Maybe he did just learn things differently.
Different was good, she’d said. Who wanted to be ordinary when you could be extraordinary? He wasn’t sure he’d ever think of himself as extraordinary, but he sure as hell loved that she thought he was.
Dark and Deadly: Eight Bad Boys of Paranormal Romance by Jennifer Ashley, Alyssa Day, Felicity Heaton, Erin Kellison, Laurie London, Erin Quinn, Bonnie Vanak and Caris Roane
CHAPTER 24
Olivia stood at the foot of the driveway and looked up at her mother’s house. Asher joined her, holding the bouquet of fresh flowers they’d bought at a farmer’s stand on the Mountain Loop Highway.
“That’s weird,” she said, frowning.
“What is?”
“She usually leaves the garage door open when she knows I’m coming. I can’t remember the last time I used the front door.” She grabbed his hand and they walked up the driveway past her mother’s prize rose bushes.#p#分页标题#e#
“You did say that you’re usually late,” he said. “Maybe she hasn’t opened it yet because she thinks you won’t be here for a while.”
Asher held the screen door open. She grabbed the handle. It was locked. What was going on?
“Are you sure she’s expecting us tonight?” he asked. “Maybe she thinks we’re coming tomorrow and she’s gone.”
“No, I specifically told her we were coming tonight,” Olivia said adamantly. “We just talked this morning. It’s not like her to forget. She’s always harping on me that I don’t call or visit enough. When she found out we were coming, I’m sure she spent all day in the kitchen cooking.”
She reached for the doorbell, but Asher stopped her.
“Let’s…uh, walk around back. Maybe she’s not even home.”
Her eyes widened. “Do you think something could’ve happened to her?”
“I’m not saying that. I just think it’s best not to announce to anyone inside that someone’s at the door. Just in case. I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
“You’re right.” She strode to the garage, looked in the window, and her body went numb. “The car’s there. She’s got to be here.”
Pulling out a long blade, he made a quick survey of their surroundings.
“Tell me the layout of the house,” he whispered. She gave him a quick rundown. He thrust the keys into her hand. “Go wait in the car. If you see anything suspicious, I want you to get the fuck out of here.”
“Ash, my mom’s in there. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Olivia, go.”
“No. She’s…she’s all I’ve got. When they came for my brother and things began to turn ugly, my mother wouldn’t let me get involved. At first she sent me to my room, away from what was going on. And then later, she kept me inside and refused to let me see if I could help my father.”
“They’d have fucking taken you, too.” He huffed out a breath, then nodded curtly, as if he understood how she must’ve felt. “Stay behind me and do exactly as I say. If I tell you to hit the ground, I expect that by the time I turn around, you’ll be down there already. This is Rule Number One for real.”