Page 5 of Wolves’ Midlife Reunion (Shifter Nation: Enchanted Over Forty #3)

“Why can’t I go with you?” Sage protested.

“Honey, we talked about this.” Dex sat down on one of the chairs in the entryway of the Heywood packhouse so he could get on his daughter’s level. “The reunion is just for the people who went to school there.”

“But I want to see them,” Sage insisted. “My friend Ella said she got to go to her mom’s reunion.”

“Yes,” he said patiently, “and we talked about that. Ella’s mom’s reunion was a picnic at the park, and everyone was allowed to bring their families. This one isn’t like that.”

“But why?” she whined.

His heart ached. Dex knew Sage’s stubbornness on this matter was at least in part due to feeling needy. She missed her mother, and no matter how much Dex was there for her, he could never fully compensate for that loss.

“It’s kind of like school,” he reasoned. “When you go to class, you can’t bring anyone with you.”

“Oh.” She fiddled with the pink moonstone pendant he’d given her. “Okay. But I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too, baby.” He gave her a hug.

“And in the meantime, you get to play with Grandma!” a friendly voice said off to the left.

He looked up to see his mother walking into the entryway with her arms out.

Sage instantly ran into them. “Grandma! Grandma! Did you see what Daddy got me?” All her sadness forgotten, Sage held out the pendant.

“My goodness,” Joyce said, looking closely so that Sage would know she was truly paying attention. “That is gorgeous. Your daddy has good taste.”

Sage made a face. “He’s not gonna eat it, Grandma.”

Dex’s mother laughed. “Oh, darling, it’s just a phrase. I’ll explain it to you over dinner. I just saw Aunt Debbie pull up, so your cousins will be joining us soon. Go on in the kitchen and wash your hands.”

“Okay. Bye, Daddy!”

“Bye, honey.” When she’d gone through the swinging door to the kitchen, Dex turned to his mom. “Thanks for keeping an eye on her tonight.”

Joyce made a dismissive sound. “As if I could say no to that sweet little face! These grandkids keep me young. Before you go, though, your father wants to talk to you. He’s in the den.”

“Thanks.” Dex heard car doors slamming outside as he made his way down the hall.

He turned to the left and into the room that had been his father’s den for as long as he could remember.

It was a masculine space, with wood-paneled walls and leather upholstered furniture, but Dex knew his mother had some say in the final touches.

As their pack Luna, she had her finger in almost everything within the packhouse.

The curtains, the soft rug, and the art collection on one wall were probably all thanks to her.

His father was sitting at his desk, frowning at his computer.

His skin was tanned and leathery after so many years working on fishing boats.

Even as the Alpha of the pack, he’d always maintained a job outside the packhouse to help ensure there was plenty of money coming in to take care of everyone.

Dex tended to think of his father as having dark hair, but he realized now that it was almost entirely gray.

“Mom said you wanted to talk to me.” Dex plopped down in the comfy chair across from his father.

“They need to stop updating things all the time,” David grumbled. “As soon as I figure out where everything is, they change it.”

“Is that what you want help with?” Dex asked. He was no tech support expert, but he knew he could figure it out.

“No, no.” David turned away from the computer.

He got out of his chair and came around the desk to sit next to Dex, angling his chair a little so that they faced each other.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about the reunion tonight. There’s a good chance you might run into someone you haven’t seen in a long time. ”

Who had told him about Tina? Dex hadn’t even mentioned his run-in to Debbie. Could Sage have spilled the beans? It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to make a big deal out of this, and he wouldn’t let anyone else, either. “I’m not worried about it.”

“I know. You’re a grown man now, and the past is the past. If Chris Kelly wants to keep living in his youth, that’s his problem. It doesn’t mean he won’t make it a problem for you, though.”

Dex’s stomach turned into a lead ball and dropped. He’d gotten so wrapped up in thinking about Tina that he’d forgotten about Chris ‘Killer’ Kelly over the past few days. “Ugh. Yeah.”

“You’re well past the point of needing my advice, but the truth is that I’m not done giving it,” his father said with a smile. “I hope Chris has matured, but there’s a chance he hasn’t. If he tries to start anything with you, then just walk away from him.”

“No offense, but this is the kind of advice I give Sage about being on the playground,” Dex replied.

“I know that, but I also know how much that whole incident hurt you. You had a hard time dealing with it. As a parent, it was scary to watch you go through that. I don’t want you to have to go through it again.

Just remember that if Chris tries to start a fight, the consequences just aren’t worth it. ”

“Yeah,” Dex said quietly. “I know.”

“And I’m not above calling his dad,” David said, slapping his hands on his knees and standing up. “I don’t care if you boys are in your forties or not.”

Dex laughed at the idea. “That would be interesting, but hopefully it won’t come to that. I’m just going to make my appearance, shake a few hands, and reminisce about old times. I have a feeling Debbie is going to want to stay for a while, though, so we might be late getting back.”

“You two should just have the kids spend the night here,” his father reasoned. “They can have a slumber party, and then you and Debbie don’t have to worry about anything.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” Dex hesitated. He didn’t like being without Sage for a minute longer than he had to, but he also knew how hard it’d be on her if she’d already fallen asleep there and then had to go home and get in bed.

“Absolutely. I want the two of you to have a good time.”

When Dex made his way back out to the entryway and found Debbie, it seemed his parents were on the same page. “Mom insisted the kids spend the night,” she said. “Far be it from me to say no, if Mom and Dad want to torture themselves like that.”

Dex said one last goodbye before he walked out to Debbie’s car with her and got in the passenger seat. “It kind of sucks that Tom can’t come with you tonight.”

“When you’re married to a pilot, you get used to it,” she reasoned as she fired up the engine. “He could’ve arranged to be off and come to the reunion with me, but I told him I’d rather he be available for our vacation next month.”

“Right. The Wisconsin Dells. I forgot.”

“You’re welcome to join us.” Debbie backed out of the driveway. “You and Sage would have a great time.”

“Maybe. I’ll think about it.” He’d have to see if he could arrange enough time off work, and then, of course, he’d have to pull Sage out of school. There were too many decisions to make around that right now.

Debbie shifted the car back into drive, but she kept her foot on the brake as she looked at Dex. “What is it?”

He couldn’t hide anything from her if he tried.

When they were children, their minds were remarkably melded.

That had changed over the years, as they’d become adults and spent less of their time together, but they could still read each other easily.

“Dad was talking to me before we left about running into Chris. I’d given it a little thought when I got the invitation for the reunion, but now… ”

“What?” she urged, letting off the brake.

“I don’t know how to feel about the whole thing,” Dex admitted. “Part of me hopes that he doesn’t show up at all, or that if he does, he keeps to himself. I’ve really tried to put that whole incident behind me, and I don’t need it dragged out again.”

“And the other part?” Debbie asked. She glanced in the mirror to check her hair.

“The other part wants him to come right up to me so we can get it over with. Whether he wants to talk like a mature adult, or if he wants to try something, it’d be easier not to have to wonder.

” That, he realized as he said it, was the crux of the situation.

Sitting around waiting for something to happen—or potentially not happen—was the worst.

Debbie flicked her hand in the air. “Chris is a loser, and you shouldn’t waste your brain space thinking about him.”

“I wouldn’t have to, if you hadn’t insisted that I go to this reunion,” he pointed out.

“I couldn’t let you just skulk out of this.” She rolled to a stop, checked for traffic, and then hit the gas. “You would’ve made an excuse, and you wouldn’t have gone.”

“I would not.”

“Yes, you would,” Debbie insisted, “and don’t bother taking it as an insult. It’s not that you’re afraid to go, really, it’s that you’re afraid of what might happen if you don’t stay.”

That caught him off guard. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that ever since Marie’s been gone, you’ve hardly even given yourself an hour to figure out who you are on your own. You don’t go out to bars. You don’t go out with your friends. You just work and take care of Sage.”

“That’s what a dad is supposed to do,” he growled, turning to look out the window.

“He also deserves a night to put his feet up or have a little fun. Look, I’ll argue with you about your personal life another time. Right now, let’s concentrate on Chris.” Debbie zipped through traffic. “Even if he bothers showing up, even if he tries something, he’s still a loser.”

“How do you know that?”

“Some of us still keep in touch with the old crew,” she told him pointedly, risking a glance at him before she turned back to traffic.

“Apparently, Chris has been divorced a few times and in and out of jail. The only reason he keeps his job in construction is that he works for his uncle, who’s a contractor.

Anyone else would’ve tossed him to the curb. ”