Something About Harry(78)

Her ears caught the sounds of Harry, Marty, Wanda, and Nina, voices raised in panic and anxiety, filtered through the door.

She just needed a second to process where she stood, and then she’d face the next hurdle. Just a second . . .

Snowflakes began to fall, dusting her nose and cheeks as tears welled in her eyes. She’d really done it this time. For all the times she’d been as close to perfect as she could get, mostly because her brother Sloan had been so out of control, and Keegan was always caught up in dealing with his antics, she’d made up for it on one fell swoop.

She’d trashed Harry’s life, and now it was in total upheaval. He couldn’t go home. He’d been taken from his children because someone had lured them away, and that was probably indirectly related to her, too. Worse, he didn’t want to even consider the idea he’d remain a werewolf. No offense, of course.

When she made snowballs, they turned into avalanches.

There’d be no babies, no strollers in the park, no midnight feedings, no scouring baby name websites.

There’d also be no Harry, and that hurt so hard she almost couldn’t breathe from the pain. Despite his wildly swinging moods, and his resentment toward what she’d done, she still liked him. His deep sense of honor, his love for his sister’s children, his work ethic were all things she admired in a man—in Harry.

He’d really stepped up to the plate for her today, leaving her not just grateful, but even more deeply enamored than she’d already been.

Which wasn’t good, considering she was going to end up clanging a cup against some cell bars, and he’d probably go on to accept his fate, find a rich supermodel werewolf who was five-ten and gorgeous, marry her, and live on her private island where Mimi and Fletcher would body surf and be homeschooled by the natives.

The voices behind her door rose, forcing her to wipe her eyes and set about confronting whatever was going on inside.

Mara closed her eyes one last time before reentering the madness that had become her life.

Taking a deep breath, she sent up a wish, I don’t care what happens to me. Put me in the clinker, leave me to rot in solitary, whatever, but please, please, please, keep Harry and the kids safe.





CHAPTER

15





“How could I have missed the fact that Jeff was absent from the lab?” Mara groaned into her hands. Harry was crammed into the driver’s side of her Smart Car, his large body filling the small space, navigating the back roads of Buffalo behind the Jeff Gordon of the paranormal world—aka Nina. The race to get to Jeff’s house was on.

Every nerve in her body screamed for relief from the tension she felt just thinking something had happened to Jeff. Who would use his phone to text Harry and summon him to the lab if it wasn’t Jeff?

“How were you supposed to know it had anything to do with this, Mara?”

In exasperation for her selfishness, coupled with yet another blunder on her part, she snapped. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Harry! He’s a coworker. He works closely with me in the lab, and I didn’t even realize he was out for almost a whole week? I’m as selfish as they come. Always too wrapped up in some chemical for a product we’re creating to pay attention to the people I respect and work with on a daily basis!”

“Baby-making juice can be distracting and taxing.” His smile glowed against the rush of oncoming headlights.

Mara turned her body to face him, angry he was making light of yet another aspect of her brainy paranormalness. “Being reminded is taxing.”

He gave her a look of apology. “I’m just trying to lighten things up a little.”

“Stop lightening at my expense. I wanted a baby. Is that a crime?”

Harry reached over and stroked her arm. “No. It’s amazing. What you did, aside from the trouble it seems to have cause with your family and this council, was amazing and brilliant. And it worked.”

She rolled her eyes. “We don’t know if it worked. You’re not craving formula and baby strollers, are you?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “In the beginning, I had a twinge of a craving for those pureed carrots in a jar. Who’s to say what the long run will bring?”

She couldn’t even giggle. Instead, she buried her face in her hands again.

“It’s not like you were wrapped up in you, Mara. You were wrapped up in me and the kids and Carl being taken.”

“And why am I wrapped up in you, Harry? Because I created you. That’s why!” She tugged on her seat belt, snapping it back into place.

Harry reached over, grabbing her hand and running his thumb over it in circular motions meant to soothe. “I’d like to think there are other reasons now.”