Chapter Thirty-one
JESSE
It had been all Jesse could do to let Matt go to work that morning.
It gave him a new perspective on just how hard it must have been for Matt to have let him go.
He knew Matt had let him go because he cared, because he knew Jesse, but he hadn’t appreciated how difficult it must have been.
If he’d loved Jesse less, he’d have held onto him more.
But Matt had kissed him before leaving, and the promise of his return was in his eyes. So now, all Jesse had to do was fill the time until then.
He shuffled down the hallway—maybe he wasn’t feeling quite as spry as he’d let Matt believe—only to be nearly bowled over by Tristan racing out of the kitchen, a piece of toast in one hand and his backpack in the other.
“Sorry, Jesse! Gotta go—see you later!”
The front door banged behind him as Jesse made it to the kitchen, feeling as if he’d just been run over by a tornado.
Jason glanced up from the croissants he was taking out of the oven. “He’s the only person I know who gets excited about taking a math quiz.”
Dave was at the table, drinking something that smelled downright strange. “He’s young. He’ll learn,” he said.
Jesse wrinkled his nose at the scent from Dave’s mug. “What is that stuff?”
“Blackberry and pomegranate tea.”
Jesse stared at him. “You’re making that up.”
“Try it.” Dave pushed the mug across the table to him.
Deeply suspicious, Jesse picked it up and took a wary sip.
“Well?” Jason asked, putting a plate of croissants in front of Jesse.
“Didn’t spit it out, and that’s as good as it gets,” Jesse said, pushing the mug back and grabbing a croissant. “I suppose it’s—damn it, these are hot.”
Jason rolled his eyes as Jesse flapped his hand in front of his mouth, trying to ease his burning fingers. “And there I was, thinking you’d seen me just take them out of the oven. I’d better go—I’m due at the diner.”
Tristan and Jason were back at school and work respectively, while Christian and Dave were once again working the ranch. There were always two of them out on patrol at night. Matt said he’d have liked it to be more, but there weren’t enough of them.
Jason walked quietly down the hallway to the front door.
But not quite as quietly as he used to move.
What had happened had changed things. Jason had more confidence.
Tristan was no longer seen as just a kid.
And, for the first time, Karl had let others look after him, instead of being the one who always protected them.
It was only because he hadn’t had a choice, Jesse knew, but it hadn’t stopped the warmth he’d felt every time he’d seen another wolf with Karl, quietly keeping watch over him.
“I’m going to take over from Christian,” Dave said. “There’s different sorts of fruit tea in the pantry if you want to try any.”
“Don’t exactly want to push my limits that far,” Jesse said, eyeing the mug as if it might bite him. Dave was laughing as he went out the door.
Jesse’s croissants eventually cooled down enough to eat.
He only managed one and a half, because for some reason his appetite hadn’t come back since he’d woken from his days of healing sleep.
Don reckoned it was nothing to worry about, saying his body was resting after all its exertion.
“Because I have to tell you, Jesse, if not for your shifter-enhanced healing, I don’t know if you’d have made it. ”
“Nope, you really didn’t have to tell me that,” Jesse had informed him, surprising a laugh out of Don.
“He’s got a smart mouth, or thinks he has,” Matt had said apologetically, hooking his arm around Jesse’s neck. “Listen, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention to anyone Jesse’s coloring when he’s shifted.”
Jesse stilled suddenly. With all that had happened, he’d lost sight of that possibility.
“Sure,” Don said, easy and obliging. For him to be so casual about it, he must have no idea about Argents. Having only seen Jesse indoors, he probably thought Jesse simply had a particularly glossy coat. “Figure you’ll tell me why sometime if you want me to know.”
Matt nodded, his eyes on Don’s. “I will.”
Don took himself off to check on Karl, leaving Jesse and Matt alone.
“Do you think Cale’s still out there?” Jesse asked.
Matt had been quiet for a long time. “Part of me thinks his sort’s like a cockroach,” he’d confessed at last. “And if he is out there, he won’t easily give up on a prize like an Argent.
But the rest of me thinks his pack’s so damn rough and brutal that they’ll tear him apart for having been beaten. ”
That wouldn’t prevent them coming back for another try, with another leader.
But having seen how Matt had dealt with a wolf like Cale, who had been a real alpha, power and dominance and fight in every inch of his body, they probably wouldn’t dare.
All Matt’s pack could do was stay alert and prepared, just in case.
Jesse swigged the last of his coffee, put his mug in the dishwasher—it had taken a hell of a lot of nagging from Jason to get him to remember to do that—and headed outside. He’d scarcely been out of the house since getting hurt, and he welcomed the morning sun and the summer breeze in his hair.
He wandered over toward the barn, hoping to see Missy’s foal, and paused at the sight of the big dark wolf lying out sunning himself. He glanced up the slope to the trees and could just make out Dave up there, keeping watch over him.
He thought about copying Karl’s example, because warm sun on his body sure would feel good right now, but he saw a familiar stocky figure standing at the corral. Christian was resting one booted foot on the lower rail as the black gelding fussed at him, wanting attention.
Jesse leaned against the rails a little farther down from Christian, copying his posture. Christian continued scratching the black behind the ears, not giving away by look or word that he knew Jesse was there.
“Seems like I know squat about scent markings,” Jesse said at last.
Christian grunted slightly.
“Maybe you could teach me? I aim to pull my weight now I’m a part of this pack.”
Christian still didn’t look at him, giving Jesse no indication of how his overture had been received.
He looked at Christian’s profile, seeing the set to his jaw that was so often full of tension, and he wondered how Dave coped with someone always wound so tight.
And then he remembered the way Christian’s voice had cracked when he’d tried to stop Dave fighting, tried to protect him.
He thought about how he felt about Matt.
“I didn’t know what the hell Dave was up to, when he was just trying to help,” he said. Still couldn’t bring himself to apologize, because that was showing weakness. This was as close as he could get. “Shouldn’t have swiped him.”
Christian paused in his attentions to the horse for just a second. “Maybe I could teach you,” he said, and carried on with the rubbing that was turning the big black to goo beneath his hands.
Jesse didn’t know what he’d expected after putting himself out there like that, but as he pushed off the rails and headed toward Karl, his chest felt lighter. It was probably just the sunshine, though he thought maybe he’d done something right.
He’d need to work out what being part of this pack meant for his future.
How he’d pay his way or earn his keep. The black gelding whinnied shrilly, and Jesse glanced across to see it was because Christian had left him and was on his way to the house.
Maybe he could look after the horses. Although, hadn’t Matt said Dave did that?
Well, he’d find a way to pull his weight, whatever it was.
He’d spent so long running, never believing he’d have a place like this. He’d never thought he wanted a place like this. But then he’d met Matt, and Jesse had stopped running.
He shifted and laid himself down, not so close Karl felt crowded but close enough to be sociable, wriggling at the sensation of sun-warmed grass against his sleek coat.
He couldn’t remember ever having felt safe enough to do this.
But Dave was keeping watch, Christian was close by, and Jesse could let go and snooze in the sunshine.
MATT
Matt called in at the hospital that afternoon. Hailey Thomas had months of physical therapy ahead of her, but the prognosis was good. That didn’t stop Matt’s guilt over what had happened.
He looked into her room and found her mom sitting by the bed.
Hailey didn’t remember anything of the accident, which wasn’t exactly hopeful for the ongoing investigation, but Matt thought it was a blessing.
He stayed and talked to her a while, admiring her cuddly toy pony and noticing just how many of the Get Well Soon cards featured horses.
“Hailey loves horses,” her mom told him.
“Really? Well, one of my mares has just had a foal,” he said. “He’s a cute little fellow, all long legs and knobbly knees. Maybe you’d like to come and see him sometime, if your mom and dad say it’s okay?”
Her eyes shone, and she grasped her toy pony a little tighter. “Yes, please,” she begged.
“That’s very kind of you, Sheriff,” her mom said. She sounded as if she thought the invitation was nothing more than him being polite.
“I mean it. Any time. You just let me know when you want to come. There’s no shortage of us at the ranch to help you get around until your legs have mended.”
Mrs. Thomas’s studied neutrality disappeared, her eyes filling with gratitude. Matt could only imagine what she must be going through—dealing with her own fear and sorrow over what had happened while also trying to keep her daughter entertained and upbeat, despite the fact she was stuck in bed.
“Thank you,” she said. “We’ll be sure to do that, won’t we, Hailey?”
Hailey nodded frantically.