Chapter 19
Darcy had a few bouts of tears as Ford drove her home.
To the farmhouse, not the apartment.
That realization, that home was where Ford was, had hit home for her when he came crashing into the cabin to save her.
She was still learning about soulmates and shifters, but one thing she knew for sure: she wanted to live with Ford. Go to sleep with him. Wake up with him.
She wanted everything.
Because he was everything.
When he walked with her into the farmhouse, the women all rushed to her, pulling her gently from his side and embracing her.
Then it wasn’t just her shedding tears, but all of them.
Nancy, the unofficial mom of the group.
Tris, the wolf.
Zara, the alpha female.
Tatum, the librarian.
And Fallon, the jaguar.
Ford left the farmhouse to go to the back of the pasture where they were burning the bodies.
Shifters never took chances that humans might find a body and discover the truth.
She hadn’t wanted anything to do with any of that.
As long as the threat to the herd and her sexy man were gone for good, that’s all she cared about.
“We’re so glad you’re safe,” Nancy said, wiping at tears on her cheeks. “We were so worried for you.”
“I’m glad to be back here,” Darcy said. She was still trembling from the ordeal, but being with the women made her feel better. They gave off all the good vibes she needed to put the horrors behind her.
Tris and Fallon pulled cinnamon rolls out of the oven and set them on the counter, and the group sat on stools and let her talk through what had happened.
It was so vivid in her mind.
Walking into the apartment and thinking Cruz might be there spoiling for an argument, but he hadn’t been.
She’d been reading his note on the fridge when she felt someone nearby.
She’d struggled, and things had gotten trashed in the process, but they’d knocked her out pretty damn fast. Waking up tied to a chair was something she hoped she never had to experience in her life again.
She shivered, thinking about how vulnerable she’d felt in the presence of those crazy stallions.
And all over a farm.
They’d tried to kill people because they liked the Little River Farm. How freaking nuts was that?
She ate two of the best cinnamon rolls she’d ever had in her life and talked to the women who had also been harmed by Colton and his merry band of assholes, sharing their experiences with the men who thought they could do what they wanted.
She’d never wished someone was dead before, but she was thankful they didn’t have to worry about that herd anymore.
“I suspect that security around here will get a little lighter,” Zara said.
“Now that our enemies are destroyed, Crew and the guys will probably go back to the security system monitoring and not have twenty-four-seven patrols.” The herd had borrowed shifters from the safari park to help, and had invested a lot of money into an upgraded system of motion detectors and cameras.
“I’ll be glad to get home myself,” Tris said. “I like the farm, but I love to sleep in my own bed.”
“I second that,” Nancy said. “The barn apartment is comfortable but not like our homes.”
“I’m sorry you had to stay there,” Darcy said.
“Don’t be,” Tris said. “We do what we have to do to be safe.”
“It’s a blessing to truly be safe,” Tatum said.
Then she smiled. “Did you know there’s a legend of a man named LaRoy who came into Little River a hundred years ago?
He set his sights on a huge farm that belonged to one of the original founding families.
First he tried to buy them out. Then he hired thugs to scare them.
And then he set fire to the main house and fields while they slept! ”
“What happened?” Darcy asked.
“The legend goes that LaRoy was watching the fires when the father and his oldest son caught him and dragged him into the fields that he’d set on fire. No one ever saw LaRoy again. But! People say that you can hear him screaming on moonless, windy nights, begging for his life.”
Darcy shivered.
Zara said, “What happened to the farm?”
“It was rebuilt and thrived for decades. Eventually it was portioned off to the children and their children, but the majority of it is now a wildlife refuge and can’t be built on.”
“That’s freaky,” Tris said. “Little River is full of legends.”
“I love to read about them,” Tatum said. “Grey said he’d take me to one of the haunted hotels in Cape May so I can experience the legends for myself. How fun! Anyone want to come with us?”
They all shook their heads and laughed.
“Oh, girl,” Fallon said, “you can do all that creepy stuff by yourself!”
“But do bring back some saltwater taffy,” Nancy said. “I especially love the orange creamsicle type.”
“I sure will,” Tatum said.
“I’ll stick with the non-haunted legends,” Zara said. “Like the one you told us about the fountain in town.”
As the conversation turned to a local legend about a benevolent wish-granting fountain, Darcy sat back and smiled.
Just hours earlier, she’d been the most scared she’d ever been in her life.
But now she was laughing and talking with people who had quickly become family.
She’d been through hell, but she was on the other side of it, smiling with her herd family and thankful for Ford and his tracking abilities and protective nature.
Plus…he was pretty easy on the peepers.
* * *
Darcy was nervous as she and Ford walked up the stairs to her apartment later that morning. She’d dropped her phone in the abduction, so she didn’t have a way to know if Cruz had been trying to reach her. Plus, she knew the apartment was a mess. If he was home, he’d be worried.
Crew and the herd had formulated a lie for her to share with Cruz to protect them all, and while she hated lying, she knew it was a necessary thing to keep them all safe.
But it turned out Cruz wasn’t home.
“I want to pick up first in case he comes home,” she said. “And find my dang phone.”
Ford found it, and while the screen was cracked, it came back to life when she plugged it in. They made quick work of the broken lamp and upturned furniture, shutting and locking the bedroom window and righting the bed linens.
The front door creaked as it opened, and her heart jumped into her throat.
Ford looked out of the bedroom door and said, “It’s Cruz.”
“Darce?” her brother called.
“In the bedroom with Ford.”
“Good. I need to talk to you both.”
“Oh man,” she whispered.
After she and Ford had cleaned up, she’d started packing. And not just one bag for a few days, she wanted to take as much as they could, so they’d brought some plastic tubs and a few duffel bags borrowed from the guys.
She hadn’t told Cruz she wanted to move out fully.
“It’ll be all right,” Ford whispered as he moved from the doorway to her side, ever the protector.
Cruz stopped just inside the doorway. Instead of the scowl she was expecting, followed by another lecture, he looked sad.
“I wanted to catch you before you headed off for work,” he said.
“I’m not going in today,” she said, clearing her throat. “The farmhouse fire caused a lot of damage, and I wanted to help clean.”
He glanced at Ford. “Everyone is okay, though? At the farmhouse?”
“Yes,” Ford said.
“Good.” Cruz rubbed the back of his neck. “I stayed with Greg. He told me I was a jerk, and I was going to lose you if I didn’t pull my head out of you-know-where.”
“I always liked Greg,” Darcy quipped.
Cruz made a face. “He’s also a jerk, so he’d know one when he saw one.”
Ford gave Darcy’s upper arm a gentle squeeze. “I’m going to carry some things down to the truck and give you two some space.”
“Thanks,” she said.
When they were alone, she watched the play of emotions across her brother’s face.
“I’m sorry. For every damn thing I said and how I acted.
I’m sorry I was trying to take your choices from you, or make you live the way I think you should.
The truth is, I wasn’t just worried you were going to get your heart broken, I was scared you were going to leave me behind. ”
“You’re not losing me just because I found my soulmate. You’ll always be my brother and we’ll be close, I’ll make sure of it.” She crossed the room and hugged him tightly. “Ford doesn’t want to push you out of my life, he wants to be part of our family.”
“I’d like that.”
She walked back to the bed where she’d been packing her kitschy collection of salt and pepper shakers into a cardboard box. He joined her.
“I can’t believe you have so many of these.”
“They’re small and fun to collect,” she pointed out as she carefully wrapped a pair of small ceramic cardinals in socks to keep them from breaking.
“Oh, I remember this set,” he said, holding up a pair of elephants. “Grandma Cherry, right?”
“Yep. She loved elephants, said having them in the house was good luck.” Her mind flitted to the safari park and the elephant shifters she’d heard about, and smiled to herself. They must be really good luck.
They talked about her collection, sharing memories of happier times like the vacation to Hawaii when they were young, when her mom had started her love of salt and pepper shakers with a pair of hula dancer ones.
By the time Ford came back from loading things into the truck, they’d filled up a few more boxes and bags, and she felt like she had what she needed for a while to get settled.
“So tell me more about this farmhouse? You guys just live together like one big family?” Cruz asked. He set the box of salt and pepper shakers into the back of the truck and turned to face them.
“Pretty much,” Ford said. “We’ve been friends for a long time.
We share duties on the farm, and also work off-season for our friend Dexter’s construction company.
He and his son have homes a short distance from the farm.
We live in the farmhouse, though. We’ve all got suites and usually have dinner together. ”
“Sounds cool,” he said.
Darcy smiled at him and then smiled at Ford.
“So,” she said. “About the apartment. If you’d like to stay, I can sublet it to you. I already talked to the landlord and it’s a simple form we’d have to sign, which we can do anytime.”
“I’d definitely like to stay,” he said. “Thanks.”
“You bet.”
They stopped at the landlord’s and signed the paperwork, and then she hugged Cruz goodbye. He shook Ford’s hand. “Take good care of my sister.”
“I will. One of these nights when you’re not working the night shift, you can join us for dinner.”
“I’d love that.”
They parted ways, her brother going back to the apartment that was his now, and she and Ford heading to Little River and the farmhouse.
And the herd.
Her new, extended family.
“This was the best possible outcome,” she said. “I get you and I also get to keep my relationship with Cruz intact.”
“I’m happy for you, sweetheart.”
“So,” she said, leaning against his shoulder. “Tell me about this spectacular date you’re planning for us.”
“Spectacular? I better make sure I bring my A game,” he said with a laugh.
“You better,” she said. “Because I’ll bring mine later.”