Page 21 of 40 and Flirting (with Disaster) (Silver Foxes of Black Wolf’s Bluff #5)

Twenty-One

H ours later, the late summer night was lit by the faint glow left from the sunset and the flash of fireflies blinking in the evening air as Jamie and Iris approached the courthouse.

Seven wasn’t late for the summer, but they were well on their way to August, and soon kids would be going back to school.

Not long after that would be sweaters and falling leaves before Jamie began planning the holiday menus for the Carousel.

It was the time of year he loved best, though he was discovering with Iris in his life, any time of year was his favorite.

Crossing the lawn that carpeted the square that formed the center of town, Jamie noticed several couples following suit, approaching the building from various angles. In a town as small as Black Wolf’s Bluff, a town council meeting was the social highlight of the week. Few dared miss it.

Iris’s back was tense beneath the weight of his hand, and he rubbed up and down, hoping to ease her tension.

He knew the reason—Kirk—and would do anything in his power to make this easier.

But some battles weren’t his to fight. All he could do was stand back and provide Iris support when she looked to him for it.

And dealing with her ex was definitely one of those instances—especially since putting himself within speaking distance of the prick also put him at risk of ending up in jail for punching Kirk’s lights out.

He realized his grip had tightened on Iris’s neck when she groaned. Immediately he eased the pressure.

Iris chuckled. “That wasn’t a complaint if you didn’t catch that.”

He leaned down to nibble delicately, discreetly at the lobe of her ear. “I’m learning,” he murmured into her skin. “Still, I have to preserve the reputation of a certain female council member that I really just want to fuck.”

She shivered beneath his word, his breath, his touch. “Is that right?”

“The reputation part or the fucking part?”

“Both.” She shivered again as his breath skated across her neck.

“Absolutely.”

Iris’s laugh was strained, the sound tinted with disappointment as he raised his head away from her.

“Mom!”

The exhale that escaped Iris’s lips this time was more consternation than anything else. They both lifted their heads, watching as Krista marched toward them across the grass.

“Hey, hon,” Iris called, her tone decidedly neutral. “What are you doing here tonight? You don’t usually come to these meetings.”

“Your question really should be, what am I doing here tonight, in front of the whole town, on the grounds of the courthouse.”

It took a moment for Jamie to realize what Krista was intimating. He could practically hear Iris counting to ten in her head, but the implications got his protective instincts aroused. He was less inclined to be patient.

“Krista.” He hoped his acknowledgment of the young woman would draw her attention away from her mom. Considering the disdain in her eyes when she shifted her focus to him, he didn’t think he was going to be that lucky.

“Are you trying to ruin her reputation?” Krista asked.

Jamie felt the leash he held on his patience give way. “I thought I was doing a damn good job of exactly that.”

“Well you were wrong.”

“Krista, stop.” Iris frowned at her daughter, and Jamie felt like she was searching her daughter’s face, either for an answer to why she was acting this way, or a solution. “We weren’t doing anything wr—”

“You were kissing right here, out in front of everyone.”

“So?” A summer breeze blew Iris’s bangs into her eyes, and she pushed them back, shaking her head. “There’s nothing scandalous about kissing.”

“People will believe—”

Iris stiffened. “Believe what?”

Krista hesitated, then seemed to gather her courage. “They’ll believe you are…loose…just like Daddy said.”

Iris gasped, the sound holding a world of pain and disbelief.

Jamie stepped between her and Krista, blocking out her daughter, blocking out the world.

Iris latched on to his shirt with both fists, her devastated gaze rising to meet his, silently begging him to tell her Krista hadn’t said the words.

But she had. He knew she’d been aware of the statements Kirk had made around town, but to hear them parroted from her daughter…

He felt a tick start up in his jaw. Cupping Iris’s cheek, he held her stare.

“Would you excuse us for a moment?” He leaned in, brushed a kiss across her lips in what he hoped was reassurance.

“I’ll be right behind you, don’t worry.”

Iris opened her mouth, maybe to protest, maybe not, then closed it abruptly. “I’ll see you inside.” She barely brushed her glance over Krista as she passed.

Krista watched her mom go, protest in her eyes. “Mom!”

When she would’ve followed Iris, Jamie casually took her elbow, being certain to keep his grip open and easy. He had no intention of hurting the girl, but he was done with her hurting Iris.

“We need to talk.”

Krista whirled back to face him. “We have nothing to talk about. You don’t belong in our lives.”

“Not in yours, but when it comes to your mom, that’s where you’re wrong.

” He dropped his hand, narrowing his gaze on Krista’s pouting face.

“Your mother has accepted me into her life. I do belong there. I hope to belong there for a very long time. You, on the other hand, are running the risk of being pushed away if you keep this up.”

Anger twisted Krista’s mouth. “What do you know about it?”

“I know you’re causing her pain. If you’d open your eyes and really look, you’d see it too.”

Krista shook her head. “You don’t really know her. You met, what, a couple months ago? You don’t know our family.”

“I don’t know you because you won’t give me the chance,” Jamie corrected. “But I do know Iris, and I know her heart breaks a little bit more every time you do this. I also know I’ll do anything to stand between her and what’s hurting her. Right now, that’s you.”

Krista stuttered. “You don’t— How could you—”

Jamie sighed. “Krista…look. You’re an adult.

You’ve been in relationships before. Just because your mom is older, just because she is a parent does not mean that Iris doesn’t deserve the exact same things in her life that you want in yours.

Acting like a spoiled little girl who isn’t getting the attention she wants doesn’t change that.

“She deserves to be happy. I hope I make her happy; she says I do. The only thing making her unhappy right now is your attitude.” He deliberately softened his voice.

“I know you’re afraid of losing her. Believe me, I have no desire to separate her from you or from Adam.

She loves you both, and she wants you in her life.

I would never stand in the way of that.”

“But you just said—”

He held up a hand. “I said you’re hurting her. And yes, if you hurt her, I’ll defend her. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Just get to know me. Give me a chance. Give your mother a chance to be happy. She deserves that most of all.”

For a moment he thought the anger in her eyes wavered, thought maybe he was getting through to her. But the emotion solidified once again even as tears dripped down her cheeks. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Just leave us alone!”

Before he could get out another word, Krista spun away from him, marching across the grass. She stumbled, righted herself, and continued on, but that single moment sparked concern in Jamie’s chest. Iris would never forgive him if something happened to her daughter. He would never forgive himself.

Not wanting to give her further reason for anger, he kept a discreet distance behind her but followed carefully to be certain Krista made it to her car safely.

The young woman hurried toward the southeast end of the square, the corner where the pub sat just off the main road.

Parking was limited on meeting nights, the few spaces diagonally situated around the square all full, with the areas lining each road that stuck out like spokes on a wagon wheel equally packed.

Krista must have parked in the lot on the opposite side of the Drunken Otter.

Streetlights illuminated the sidewalk as he followed Krista’s progress.

He lost sight of her as she rounded the corner of the pub, and he hurried to catch up.

When he reached the corner, he slowed, peered around the brick edge—and caught sight of Krista, several feet into the parking lot, a large figure looming in front of her.

Kirk.

Jamie cursed under his breath.

“What’s going on, baby girl? Why are you crying?”

Jamie wished the concern in Kirk’s voice sounded genuine, but he doubted too much. The man didn’t seem to give two licks about his family, so what was he doing now, here, with Krista? Maybe Jamie was wrong and the man really did care about his daughter more than himself.

Maybe.

Krista’s tears had turned into full-on weeping. “Mom…” She shook her head, choking on her sobs.

Kirk opened his arms, and Krista walked into them. Jamie straightened, prepared to walk away, until he heard the words…

“Your mother doesn’t deserve your tears.”

What the hell? What was Kirk saying?

“But she…” The rest of Krista’s words were muffled against Kirk’s chest, unable to reach Jamie where he stood.

Kirk patted Krista’s back, but there was something about the gleam in the man’s eye, evident even in the dusk, that didn’t reflect paternal concern. “Can’t you see, Krista? She’s just playing the whore with that man.”

Krista jerked backward out of her father’s arms. “What?”

Maybe sensing that he’d gone a step too far, Kirk sputtered. “Her focus should be on you, baby girl, not some rich guy trying to horn in on our family.”

“But…” Krista shook her head. “She’s not— Mom wouldn’t—” Tears thickened her words. “Mom’s not like that.”

Kirk rubbed his thumbs over his daughter’s cheeks. “She is like that. Why do you think I had to leave? Don’t you remember the Halloween costume? A saloon girl, of all things. Showing herself to every man that walked by.”

“It was just a dress,” Krista whispered.

Anger flashed in Kirk’s eyes, and Krista took another step back. “It wasn’t just a dress. You know that!”

Jamie tensed, ready to step in whether Krista would want him to or not.

“Mom’s not like that.” The words were firmer, more sure this time. “She’s a good mom.”

“She’s a terrible wife.” Kirk’s fists clenched at his sides, clear in the glow from the nearby streetlight. “Look what she did to our family.”

“What you did,” Krista said. “You wanted—”

So Krista did know about that. Before she could finish her sentence, Kirk interrupted with a harsh laugh. “Do you really believe that? Do you really believe I would even bring that up to my wife?” He slapped his chest. “Do I seem like that kind of guy, Krista?”

She hesitated, shook her head. “N-no,” she stuttered. “No, of course not.”

“No,” Kirk repeated. “I’m not. Whatever stories your mom spun up, they were likely to give her an excuse to go be with that guy.”

Jamie grimaced in disgust. Now he knew where Krista was getting fed all these ideas.

What she believed about him didn’t matter, but if she could believe these lies about her mom…

Disappointment weighed heavy on his chest, more so because he knew exactly what this would do to Iris, and he had to tell her.

He had no choice. He wouldn’t keep secrets.

One final look assured him that Krista was safe in the parking lot with her father.

He turned, leaving the two of them alone.

The whole way back to the courthouse, he wondered what he would say to Iris.

How could he explain what he’d seen, what he now knew: that it wasn’t just Krista she was fighting against. Kirk had his hand in this, and that was going to make the fight so much harder moving forward.