Chapter 20
***JACKSON***
After dropping his books onto the kitchen table with a loud thud, Jackson sank into a chair with a groan of frustration, wondering how much longer Abby was going to need to come to terms with the truth about what he was and what he could do.
He’d waited patiently for three days, endured the hours of class with her so close he could smell her unique scent, suffered through their time together in the dissection lab watching as she worked, her fascination and wonder at each new discovery only making him want her more.
“Tough day?” his mom asked, sliding a plate of cookies in front of him before sitting down. “I remember that look all too well. Something isn’t going your way.”
“More like nothing is going my way,” he said with a grunt of annoyance.
“The Kappas are running around terrorizing the campus and no one is doing anything about it, all my professors got the brilliant idea to give us big tests on the same day, and Abby’s decided the best way to handle everything between us is to pretend nothing happened and lose herself in her homework. ”
“Oh my, that is a lot to think about,” his mom said, then patted his hand. “But I don’t think it’s all quite as bad as you think it is.”
He looked over at his mom and rolled his eyes. “Mom, I’m not in the mood for one of your pep talks,” he said, then sighed. “I’m sorry, it’s just so frustrating. It wasn’t supposed to be like this, I didn’t ask for any of this to happen. It was just thrust upon me…”
“We can’t always choose when life will suddenly change, all we can do is try to make the best choices when that time comes.
I know it’s hard to hear right now when you’re hurting and frustrated, but things will work out,” she said.
“The Kappas will be caught eventually. Dean Proctor made that clear when your father and I went to see him today. Abby will figure out what she wants, and I have no doubt that she’ll make the right decision.
It’s only been three days since she found out about your gift, so don’t rush things.
Besides, maybe she has the right idea about studying.
If you’ve got a bunch of tests coming up, digging in and studying might be the best thing you can do right now.
Give yourself a break, son, and tackle one problem at a time. ”
He didn’t know how she did it, but his mother’s words instantly made him feel better.
“I guess you’re right,” he said. “Worrying about this right now is just going to drive me crazy, but the Kappas wouldn’t dare pull anything this soon after the stadium, and Abby isn’t going anywhere.
I just need to focus on school and put the rest to the back of my mind for a few days. ”
“See, that wasn’t so hard,” his mom said, smiling at him. “Now, how about some milk to go with those cookies?”
“A gallon of coffee might be more in order, I’m going to be up all-night studying,” he said, getting to his feet. “Thanks, Mom, I’m glad that you’re here.”
“Me too,” she said, kissing him on the cheek. “I’ll put on a fresh pot of coffee and bring it up when it’s finished.”
“Mom, you don’t have to wait on me, I’m a grown man now,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t need you to fuss over me.”
“Of course you don’t, I raised you to take care of yourself,” she said, patting him on the chest and then shoving him out of the way. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t spoil you a little bit. Now off you go, you’ve got a lot of studying to do.”
Across the street, hidden in the shrubs of the old empty house, Diego shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his attention completely focused on the front doors of the fraternity house.
He was desperate to find a way to mend his tarnished reputation.
Not only had he lost some respect, but his role as leader was also being eroded, and he knew it was the only way he’d be able to retain leadership of the fraternity.
There had already been talk that the elders might be considering removing him.
Losing the fight with Jackson had made everything worse.
Scowling when he saw a light go on in the attic of the house, he let himself imagine for a second what it would feel like to slowly choke the life out of the pretty little blonde, how much he would enjoy finally shutting her up.
He’d make Jackson watch, he decided, force him to witness the moment when the spark faded from her pretty eyes, then take his revenge on the other shifter before killing him as well.
The more he thought about the scene he would set, the more the idea began to seem possible.
An evil smile spread across his face, and the dragon inside him woke at the thought of his final triumph.
By the time his second in command slipped up beside him, he’d already begun working out the details of the plan, the need for vengeance finally overriding his better judgment.
“Diego, you shouldn’t be here, you have to let this go. You got your ass kicked, it happens to the best of us,” Paul said. “No one thinks any less of you, not really…”
“I didn’t get my ass kicked,” he snarled, grabbing Paul by the collar of his shirt and lifting him up into the air. “I better not hear you say that ever again.”
“Okay, okay, put me down,” Paul whined. “I hate it when you do that crap, Diego.”
He dropped Paul, watching as he crumpled to the ground, then shook his head. “Get up, you idiot,” he sneered at him. “And don’t make me remind you again that I’m in charge around here. I decide when we drop something and when we show the world that we won’t be pushed around.”
“Diego, what are you planning?” Paul asked, scrambling to his feet, his face full of apprehension. “The elders are already mad at us. They weren’t happy that we bombed the stadium. You should have told us they didn’t like the idea.”
He didn’t say anything for a second, letting the silence drag out, then took a step toward Paul.
“It’s not my job to discuss the decisions I make with the rest of you,” he growled.
But it is your job to follow my orders, unless you’d like to challenge my authority.
You know the process. Perhaps you’d like to start right now. ”
Paul began shaking his head before he’d even finished speaking, “No, no, that’s not what I meant…I just…some of the others…they just thought we should back off…” he stammered. “It wasn’t my idea. You know I always support you, I always will.”
“Good, then we’re going after Jackson and that little bitch,” Diego said, grinning at Paul as if he hadn’t just threatened to kill him. “And I’m going to need your help.”
***Abby***
Abby’s stomach let out a long rumbling growl, the words on the page began to blur just a bit, and she let out a sigh of resignation, unable to deny that it was time to take a break.
She still had so much to do before she could call it a night that she hated to waste even one second eating, but her brain wasn’t functioning like it should, a sure sign her blood sugar had dropped to a dangerous level.
It wasn’t just the time it would take to get something to eat, it was the risk that she might run into Jackson in the kitchen.
She already had to endure so many hours with him, a few more might be more than she could take.
Her resolve to keep some distance between them until she had time to process everything he’d told her was crumbling by the day, and she didn’t know how much longer she could hold out.
She didn’t want to give up all her hopes and dreams for him, couldn’t imagine abandoning everything she’d worked so hard for just to be with him, but he drew her to him like a magnet.
The warmth she felt around him was addictive, she craved it all the time.
Even worse, she couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to sleep with him, to feel his hard body pressed up against hers.
Cursing the path of her thoughts, she closed the book in front of her and got to her feet, hoping she could scrounge a meal out of the small kitchen in the apartment, sure that she couldn’t trust herself if she ran into Jackson.
She was standing in front of the open cabinets, hoping something besides canned soup would magically appear, when there was a knock on the door.
She froze, afraid it was Jackson. Reminding herself that she was fully capable of resisting the temptation he presented, she walked over to the door and threw it open, her mouth open to yell at him for interrupting her study time.
But it wasn’t Jackson. Instead, his mother was standing on the other side of the door. “Oh, Melissa, I thought…” she stammered, then saw the tray in the older woman’s hands. “That looks heavy. Let me take it.”
“Nonsense, I live on a farm, remember?” Melissa said. “I brought you some dinner. I figured that if you were anything like Jackson, I wouldn’t be able to drag you away from your books and notes.”
“I was just about to open a can of soup, but that smells much better,” she said, stepping back to let Melissa in. “Are you sure you don’t want me to take that?”
“No, dear, I’m fine. You just come over and sit down,” Melissa said, setting the tray on the table. “I’ll join you for a few minutes if that’s okay.”
“Oh, okay, honestly, I could use a little break,” she said, surprised to find herself at ease with the other woman. “I can’t believe all the professors scheduled tests on the same day; if I didn’t know better, I would think they did it on purpose.”
“Maybe they’re testing you,” Melissa said, taking the covers off the dishes on the tray. “I can’t take credit for the cooking. This was all Hattie.”
“It smells wonderful. I’m starving,” she said, picking up her fork. “Thank you for bringing it up to me, I didn’t want to…I mean…I wasn’t going to go down to the kitchen in case…”
“I understand and that’s why I brought you a tray,” Melissa said, her eyes full of understanding.
“Honestly, I don’t blame you for needing some time to think about things; I felt the same way when I realized I was falling in love with Timothy, and I already knew about shifters.
The idea that a man could control my life just didn’t sit well with me.
After all, I had hopes and dreams, I wanted to go to law school, make a difference in the world.
I was sure that falling in love and bonding with Timothy meant that I had to give up those dreams so I fought it and fought it hard.
It’s a miracle the man still wanted me when it was all over. ”
She was silent for a second, understanding what Jackson’s mom was trying to tell her, but not sure she was ready to make that leap. “Were you ever sorry that you gave up your dreams?” she finally asked. “I mean, do you ever look back and wish you’d made a different choice?”
“Oh, honey, I didn’t give up my dreams, I just shifted them around a little bit when I realized that my life wouldn’t be complete without Timothy,” Melissa said.
“Instead of going to the big city and following my plan to work for the underprivileged after I got my law degree and passed the bar, I married Timothy and opened up a small-town practice. I’ve never regretted that decision.
In fact, my life has been rewarding in a way that I never could have imagined.
Sometimes we have to be open to new plans, new dreams; if we’re not, we might lose out on something very special, something that only comes around once in a lifetime. ”
“You still got your degree and went to law school. Wasn’t that hard, I mean…
didn’t you miss him terribly?” she asked.
“Jackson said if we bond, we’ll both be miserable if we’re separated.
I don’t think we’ll get into the same medical school, and it would be a miracle if we got the same residency; we might be separated for years.
I don’t know if I can live with this…I don’t know… cold spot for that long…”
“Oh, Abby, it won’t be like that, I promise.
It won’t be easy, you will miss each other, but I think my son got a little carried away,” Melissa said, shaking her head.
“He can be a bit melodramatic at times, but don’t tell him I said that, he’d kill me.
I’m going to give you one more piece of advice before I leave you to think about everything we’ve talked about.
Listen to your heart, it knows what’s right for you even if your mind is confused.
Love doesn’t mean giving up your dreams, it just means sharing them with someone else. ”
Melissa got up and slipped out the door before she could say anything leaving a deep silence in her absence, but her words echoed in Abby’s brain as she finished her dinner.
As she chewed the last bite, it all slipped into place in her mind.
The fear and uncertainty slowly faded away, leaving only the warmth of the love and affection she felt for Jackson.
Grabbing her phone, she hit speed dial for Yvonne and waited impatiently as the phone rang.
It was time to take control of her future, time to grab what belonged to her and claim it for her own.
“Abby, hey, what’s up?” Yvonne answered. “I thought you’d be studying.”
“I was, I am, but I have a quick question,” she said. “Is your offer to borrow your parent’s cabin still open?”
“Sure, any time you want,” Yvonne said. “But I thought you didn’t want to go up there, I thought you said it was running away.”
“I did, but I’m not running away,” she said. “I’m just finishing something that Jackson and I started.”