Page 10

Under his gaze, I felt like I was twenty again.

A crazy part of me longed to rush forward, wrap my arms around his neck, and soothe the hurt expression on his face with a kiss.

God, I wanted to feel his lips on mine again.

But I wasn’t that na?ve girl anymore, and he wasn’t the same young man.

This couldn’t be fixed so simply. Not anymore.

Sighing, Stephan turned away and strode out the front door. He slammed the door behind him, and I didn’t bother calling after him.

Hawk came in a minute later. “Yeah, I thought I heard the door.”

“He stormed out.” I moved into the kitchen, like I could capture the lingering remnants of his presence. I didn’t have enhanced senses like dragons did, though. Instead, I emptied out his abandoned beer and left the bottle in the sink.

“He’s been known to do that,” Hawk said. “He needs some time to process. This is kind of a huge bomb to drop.”

“I know.”

“He’ll reach out to you soon. Here, let me give you my number so we can keep in touch.” Hawk joined me in the kitchen, then tapped his number into my phone and handed it back.

“I never wanted to keep Dylan a secret,” I said. “I never knew?—”

“I know.”

Mia stepped back inside with Bella on her hip.

Dylan followed her, his attention still on Zoey as she yapped and jumped around him.

“Sorry,” Mia said. She pointed at her ears.

“Didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but can’t turn the shit off.

” She narrowed her eyes at Hawk. “I told you Blakely was trouble. That bed-jumper has always been no good.”

I laughed at the vitriol in Mia’s voice. “Seriously? She’s caused problems before?”

“Something like that,” Hawk muttered.

Mia stepped closer, and Hawk put his hands over Bella’s ears.

“That woman has fucked most of the dragons in this clan,” Mia muttered.

Even with her voice lowered to keep Dylan from hearing, it was obvious she was pissed.

“And she’s delusional. She was always talking about how Ace would choose her one day, even though Ace barely put up with her. ”

“You done?” Hawk asked.

“With that part, yes,” Mia said.

Hawk removed his hands from Bella’s ears. The girl blinked up at her mom, then tugged at her ear. Mia chuckled. They were cute together—and Bella really looked like Dylan’s sister.

“It’s a shame it happened this way,” Mia continued, “but now we all have a chance to fix things, right?”

I wasn’t so sure about that. “I’m just glad Stephan is going to help Dylan with his shift.” I glanced into the living room, where Dylan was wrestling with the puppy.

“Well, I’m glad Bella has a big cousin to look out for her,” Mia said. “God knows I’m not having any more kids.” She elbowed Hawk. “You better be happy with a daughter and a nephew.”

Hawk rolled his eyes. “Babe, you know I’m happy with whatever you want.”

“Good answer.” Mia winked at me.

“Thank you,” I said to both of them. “Really. This is… This is a lot. And you’ve both been really kind to me.”

“Of course we have,” Mia said. “You’re family.”

I closed my eyes and turned my face away to hide my tears. This was too much—the combination of Hawk and Mia being so warm to me, and Stephan being so cold. I didn’t know how to feel. I hardly knew what was real. Hawk squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.

“Mom?” Dylan asked. I looked at him sitting on the floor with Zoey on his lap. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Dyl, I’m fine.” I cleared my throat. “It’s getting late, you ready to head home?”

“Can Zoey come too?”

I laughed and shook my head. “No way, kid, but you’ll see her again soon.”

We left Hawk’s house after sunset. He’d set us up with one of the clan vehicles and a promise to get the rental fixed and back to us in a day or so. I pulled the sedan out of the gravel driveway and onto the narrow road that would take us back to Mom’s house.

Overhead, a silhouette crossed over the full moon.

Two immense, wide wings. A long, graceful neck. Svelte, strong body. Long tail. It was a sight I hadn’t seen in ten years. Even in silhouette, Stephan’s dragon was gorgeous.

“Whoa,” Dylan whispered. He rubbed his chest absentmindedly. Even from this distance, it was obvious Stephan’s dragon was a lot larger than Suri’s, the only other dragon Dylan had met.

Mom wasn’t home when we got back, and I was more relieved about that than annoyed.

Whatever she was doing, she’d probably come home late and drunk.

I wasn’t interested in dealing with her right now.

Thank God, we’d gotten takeout earlier, because I hadn’t managed to buy us all the groceries.

Dylan polished off the leftovers of my pizza, then I shooed him upstairs so we could both get ready for bed.

I timed his tooth-brushing as always and helped him change into his pajamas.

After he crawled into the single bed, I pulled the same old quilt I remembered from my childhood up over him.

I lay down next to him, and he cuddled close to me.

Dylan always had a little trouble falling asleep in unfamiliar locations.

He was getting so big and tall—but he was still my baby.

I knew he wouldn’t want to cuddle with me forever, so I enjoyed the snuggles while I still got them.

After a few minutes of silence, he finally asked the question I knew he would.

The question he already knew the answer to.

“Mom, was that man my dad?”

I stroked his soft blond hair. “Yeah. That’s him.”

“We look a lot alike. Even more than me and Uncle Hawk.”

I chuckled. That was an understatement. “Yeah. You really do.”

Dylan was quiet for a moment. There was so much to tell him, but I had no idea where to begin. I decided to let him ask his burning questions first.

“Why didn’t he like me?”

My heart broke right in two.

“Hey. Dyl.” I turned over so I was facing him, and we were both on our sides like a pair of parentheses. “Look at me.”

Dylan blinked his hazel eyes open. They were red-rimmed, like he was near tears.

“Listen to me,” I said. “Your dad is going to love you. He was just surprised, okay? And that’s my fault, not yours. Once he’s gotten his head on straight, we’ll all get to know each other, okay?”

“D’you promise?”

“Of course.” I pinched his cheek. “How could he not love you?”

“Good.” Dylan snuggled closer to me. “I’m going to be a big dragon like my dad, right?”

“That’s right.” I ran my hand soothingly up and down his back. “You will. I know it.”

Soon, Dylan was drifting into dreamland. God, I hoped I hadn’t set him up for even more heartache in the future. There was no way I could know if what I said was true—if Stephan would really step up and be the father Dylan needed.

But my heart told me he would be. Stephan wouldn’t turn his back on his kid. No matter what bad choices had led him to be locked up, he wasn’t the type to abandon his own blood. Even if he wanted to, I doubted Hawk and Mia would let him.

I could only hope I was right.

Once Dylan was snoring, I eased out of his bed and turned off the light before going back downstairs. I wasn’t going to be able to sleep for some time, so I poured myself a glass of wine, then settled on the couch and pulled out my phone.

Cassidy answered on the first ring. “Harley? How are you? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s okay,” I said. “Jeez, it’s nice to hear a friendly voice.”

“That bad? How’s your Mom doing?”

“God knows. She left for a date about two minutes after we got here.”

Cassidy snorted. “Sounds like the Mama Liz I remember.”

“Unfortunately so.”

“So, what’s the update? Have you run into Ace yet?”

“A little more than that.” I took a sip of wine, then told Cassidy everything. The rental car dying, Hawk being the tow-truck driver, seeing Ace at Hawk’s house, and discovering that everything Blakely had told me had been a lie.

Cassidy was silent for a long moment, then let out a long, low whistle. “Jesus.”

“I know.”

“You need me to come to Lakeview and beat the crap out of that bitch Blakely?”

“I might do it myself,” I said. “I think I’m still in shock.”

Cassidy sighed. “I would be, too. How are you feeling? Really?”

“It’s a lot to take in,” I said. “I’m… I’m upset, really.

And I’m pissed. I’m pissed at Blakely for making me believe a lie for so long.

I’m pissed at Stephan for getting so tangled up in crime that he went to prison.

And, honestly, I’m just really hurt. For Dylan.

Because he’s missed all this time with his dad.

If I had known he was in prison… Would I have taken Dylan to visit?

I don’t know. But it hurts that I never had a choice. ”

“It’s not just Dylan,” Cassidy said. “Blakely’s lies took away your choice, too. You missed out on years of being with your person. Even if he was locked up, you at least could’ve talked some.”

I was silent for a long moment. Would I have even wanted to talk to him? Would we have built some kind of relationship while he was behind bars?

It didn’t matter. There was no point wondering about what-ifs.

But… He was my person. He had been. Once.

“I didn’t really think much of it when he said I was his fated mate,” I admitted to Cassidy. “He never explained it. But today he said he couldn’t claim anyone until he rejected me—whatever that means. If I had known that, I would’ve known she was lying.”

“No use beating yourself up over that,” Cassidy said. “You know dragons play their cards close to their chests. They hardly tell us humans anything. So, what now? Did he reject you?”

“No.”

“Didn’t think he would.”

“He met Dylan, and we had that big talk, then he left. Thankfully, he agreed to help Dylan with his shift. That’s what’s most important. Whatever happens between us… I don’t know, Cass. I don’t think I know what I want.”

She hummed. “That makes sense. Take it one day at a time, girl. I’m here for you whenever, okay? And I was serious about coming up there if you need me.”

“Thanks, Cass, really. It means a lot. I don’t think I’d be able to handle all this without you.”

“Yes, you would. You’re a tough bitch. But I’m glad I can help.”

I laughed and ended the phone call in better spirits than I’d started it. It was a lot, but Cassidy was right. I could do this. One day at a time.