Tyler Read online

  When he was ready to face the world, even if it was late in the afternoon for him, he decided to go to the local bakery and find something that might tempt him. He’d been eating fast food for a while now, since Mr. Cartwright had passed, and he was hungry for some home cooking. Having a meal at his mom’s once a week wasn’t nearly enough for him and his taste buds.

  He was just looking over the menu when something occurred to him. Laying the menu down slowly, Tyler tried to think who he should talk to. When Addie touched his mind, her laughter had him peg her for the culprit right away.

  Yes, it was me. I heard that you were having a terrible time when you traveled because you didn’t understand the languages. I fixed it for you. He asked her how she’d done that. If I told you, then I’d have to murder you. And while I like you a great deal.... Nah, it wasn’t that hard. I just thought of the barrier that you were dealing with and touched you. In fact, I’ve given it to all the people in this family. Penny loves it, by the way.

  Yes, I’m sure she does, but she’s twelve. You might have told me. She asked him why she’d do something silly like that. Because, I don’t want to freak out in a foreign country.

  You are freaking out, Tyler. He took several deep breaths and let them out slowly. While I’m talking to you, there are a few things that I’d like to discuss. The woman in your house—do you know what she’s being accused of?

  Dad told me that they think she might have done it. Addie said that she hadn’t. I didn’t think so. Dad is a pretty good judge of character, and he didn’t believe it either. Why do you ask?

  The police are hounding her. Well, they’re looking for her to hound her. My boss is well aware of where she is, and he’s having me look into it. By the way, she’s not Dom’s mate. That leaves you, I guess. Tyler asked her why she’d think that. Don’t know for sure. But the others, they have this unbelievable need to protect her. Dad, your dad, said that’s a good sign. I think you might like her, even if she’s not.

  I’m a little deep in shit here to wonder if I have a mate or not. She told him that he was done, but wasting time. Are you always this annoying? I’ll have you know that this is the first time in a while that I feel like I’m on top of things. And while I do think that your gift is great, it was still a surprise to be able to read the menu here. Also, you’ll be thrilled to know that I’m Christmas shopping.

  He was the only one that hadn’t bought a single gift. If not for the others arranging to get their parents a family gift, he’d not have had that done either. The list was finished; he knew just what to get each person. It was the execution of the deal that he wasn’t up on.

  When Addie told him that her target was coming out, Tyler just let her go. He had better things to do, too, that didn’t involve asking his hitman sister-in-law who her target might be. She was a hitman for the CIA and the president. He stayed out of her way when she was working.

  At dinner time he was back at the house, having made a dent in his list. Owen had asked him to pick up the tea cups that were at the shop that Birdie had ordered long before her death, and he said that he would. While there, he found the perfect gift for his mom.

  The cup had the most beautiful design on it. Roses and violets were all around the outside, as well as the inside bottom. But what really sold him was the fact that it had her name on it, in the vines. The owner of the shop had been so happy to have Birdie’s cups picked up that he’d done that for free. Tyler was going to be able to pick it up before he left.

  Dinner was a variety of dishes that he wanted to try, and he thanked his cook there for thinking of him. After dinner, exhausted after all the walking he’d done and the lack of sleep he’d been having lately, Tyler went to bed almost as soon as the sun was down. Tomorrow he had one more place to shop, then he’d be heading home. To what he had no idea, but he was going to be ready for it.

  Chapter 2

  The new coat and boots were so nice that Jazzie found herself walking everywhere in the snow. Yesterday she’d taken Joey out, and he had loved every second of it. The lights were just being put up, and he squealed with delight whenever someone turned them on just for him. She so loved her little man.

  Looking for houses was a great deal harder than she thought it would be. Well, first of all, there was the fact that she had no money, no job, and she didn’t have anything to put in a house once she got one. Jazzie thought that living in Tyler’s home these last few days had spoiled her. It was a magnificent home, and Joey just loved it too.

  He wasn’t walking yet, but he could crawl. Most of the floors were hardwood, and he didn’t have any trouble with his walker on them. And his bedroom, or at least where someone had set up a crib for him, had lots of sunshine, as well as the prettiest mobile that danced from the railing on the bed. The wolves, she knew, were all hand made.

  “Hello.” She looked up when she heard the voice of Quinn. She, of all the women, was the most intimidating for her. While Addie could and would cut someone to ribbons, Quinn had a quiet sort of scary about her. “I don’t know if anyone told you this or not, but we can read your mind.”

  “I’m sorry.” Her face burned with embarrassment. She started to turn away to go— well, she had no idea, but she wanted to crawl away. Quinn grabbed her hand and told her not to leave. “I don’t know where these thoughts come from sometimes. Like just the other day, I could have sworn that Mr. Winchester told me that he was a wolf.”

  “He is. All the Winchesters are wolves. Some of the wives too.” Jazzie looked around, to see if she was being made fun of. “I’d never do that to you, Jazzie. You’re a wonderful person. You do know that your uncle, he’s a snake, right?”

  “Yes. But wolves...they scare the crap out of me. That woman, my husband’s lover, she was a wolf. When they found them, in the accident, she was naked. Someone asked me if I knew if she’d been in that form when she was killed. How the fuck would I even begin to know that? I was in the hospital giving birth to his ten-pound son.” Her face heated again when Quinn laughed. “I can’t seem to control my mouth and thoughts, as I said.”

  “You were fucked over, by a man that was supposed to love you for all time. It’s understandable.” She looked down the street. “I was just going to go see my husband, then try and talk him into lunch. But you’ll be so much more fun, and you won’t chase me around the desk when we get back. Not that I try to get away all that hard. But it is fun.”

  “Do you guys all say what’s on your mind?” Quinn told her that it was better than the way that Kelley did it. “Yes, I’ve spoken to him a few times. The man can talk, can’t he? But I love Mrs. Winchester. She’s so calm and cool all the time, when I know that she can and will take you to task if she thinks you need it.”

  “Yes, her favorite thing to do to her boys, as she calls them, is to pop them in the back of the head. Kelley too. But she is the most loving and nicest woman that I’ve ever met.” They walked into the deli and she noticed that the rest of the women of the family were there too. She wondered if she was being ambushed when Mrs. Winchester stood up and welcomed her. Then Quinn explained. “I spoke to Tyler, and he said so long as one of us was with you, it would be all right if we took you out for some fun. And if we’re all together, then you’ll be extra safe.”

  “We want to help you.” Taking off her coat, Jazzie asked Mrs. Winchester what they were helping her with and why. “Oh, good. A right to the point woman. We know that you’ve been house hunting—that little man of yours, he needs a yard too—so we decided that if you’re not Tyler’s mate—when he returns, we’ll know for sure—we’ll help you get settled in a job.”

  “What?” Mrs. Winchester blushed prettily. “What do you mean, not Tyler’s mate? I am not.... I just got out of a shitty marriage, and while I wouldn’t wish his death on anyone, I don’t need a man in my life to complete me.”

  “Of course, you don’t. No one does, dear. But it’ll be a moot point to find you a nice home for the two of you if he’s already set up fo
r you.”

  Jazzie didn’t know what to say. She looked at Rayne when she cleared her throat.

  “I think you’re jumping the fence even before you get close enough to make that work. And I just realized I need to stop hanging around with Kelley so much. Anyway, what Sara is trying to tell you, in her blunt and overwhelming way, is that there are signs that mean you may well be his mate.” Jazzie asked her what they were. “We all need to protect you. And from what I’ve noticed lately, I think you can take care of yourself just fine. And Tyler, while one of the sweetest men I know, he needs someone like you in his life. To shake things up on a personal level. And he’ll take little Joey to his heart as much as the rest of us have.”

  “You’re jumping fences too, Rayne.” Jazzie looked at Clare when she spoke. “I think we’re going about this all wrong. We need to stop, regroup, and start over. And while we’re regrouping, I’m going to have our food brought to us.”

  Jazzie thought about running. Where to, she had no idea, but she had a feeling that it wouldn’t matter a whit with these women. When they had something to tell you, they’d tell you. Playing with the glass in front of her, she decided that she had to tell them what sort of life she’d had with Joey’s dad. Maybe, hopefully, that would make them back off. But for some reason, she didn’t think that would work either.

  “Ryan Scott wasn’t a very good man. He wasn’t kind, loving, nor was he, as I found out later, safe to be around. I knew the first part when I married him—but he was, or so I thought, settled. His life was on an even keel. I had a good job working at a private school, teaching over-privileged children—much like I did this time—and not enjoying my job. Then I found out that I was going to have Joey.” Sara asked her if her husband had been happy. “At first, Ryan loved the idea of being a dad. He even started treating me a little better. Not that he beat me, not then, but he would make me have a seat and he’d massage my feet. Not a big deal to most, but I was on my feet all day and it was heaven.” She sat there for several minutes and thought about Ryan.

  “When did he change? When you started showing, I’m betting.” Jazzie told Clare that it was after the first ultrasound. “Go on, honey, tell us what happened.”

  “We got home, and I knew that he was upset. We had been told it was a boy, but he was going to be large. Mom told me that I’d been a big baby, so I wasn’t surprised. Joey ended up weighing just under ten and a half pounds. But as soon as I asked him, for what seemed like the hundredth time, what was wrong, he hit me.” No one said a word and she didn’t look at them. “I’m not the type of person to give a second chance to something like that, so I packed up my things while he was cooling off, as he told me, and I left. I moved in with my mom and sister. He came there to tell me he was sorry.”

  “I’m guessing that you didn’t take him back.” She told Quinn that her mom and sister had convinced her that she should. For Joey. It was stressful knowing about a big baby. “What a crock of shit.”

  “Yes, well, that’s what I said when as soon as I got home, he beat the shit out of me. Enough so that I had to stay in the hospital for a week. After that, my sister and mom said that they were going to hire someone to take him out.” She glanced at Addie and wondered if Ash had contacted her.

  “Nah, too expensive. But go on. How did you get around him being an ass to you a second time?” Jazzie laughed. These women were wonderful. She wished that she was more like them. “You are. I know that I’m being rude by reading your mind, but I’m worried for you. Tell us what happened so I can not go and dig him up and murder him all over again.”

  “I kicked him out. Or my family and I did. When I filed for divorce, my attorney told me that I should wait until the baby was born. I was on his insurance, you see. So I did, keeping away from Ryan as best I could and trying my best not to lose my baby.” Mrs. Winchester asked her how many more times she took him back. “Never. I just wasn’t going to go through what my sister did, as well as my mom, with their husbands. Ash was married twice, both times to guys who thought their fists trumped her telling them no. I wasn’t going to be a statistic. Ryan would find me at times, beat me up, then blame it all on me. It wasn’t until later, after he was dead, that I found out that his mother was an abusive bitch as well. And that she’d killed Ryan’s father.”

  “The day that you had Joey, Ryan was in an accident that killed both him and his lover when they were on their way to see the baby.” Jazzie told her not quite. “I don’t understand. He is dead, right?”

  “Yes, he is now. But he was on life support for about a month. No brainwaves, nor did he have the ability to breathe on his own. Had I divorced him when I wanted, then I would have had no say over him being let go. As it was, I’ve been fighting his mom for my ‘killing her baby boy.’” Addie smiled. “No. Whatever you’re thinking, just get it out of your head right now. But, just so we’re ready if it should come to it, she takes my son, for any reason, you have my permission to do whatever it takes—and I do mean whatever—to get him back to me.”

  “Deal.”

  Shivering when she thought of Addie taking care of her mother-in-law, Jazzie knew that if necessary, she’d kill her. No one was touching her child. No one.

  The rest of the meal was spent talking about the upcoming holidays. Thanksgiving was the day after tomorrow, and Tyler was expected home that weekend. They were holding off until Tyler was home on Saturday. Jazzie had to make plans to live elsewhere if this man wanted her out. Her uncle said that she and Joey could live with him in the cook’s cottage. She wasn’t entirely sure why she wasn’t put there in the first place.

  On her way home, she thought about what sort of gift to get Joey. He’d not care so long as there were pretty lights and paper to tear up. Being just a little over one, he was easy to please. But, really, she wanted it to be special for him. And now that she was unemployed, she had no idea where her next meal was coming from.

  Her and Uncle Lloyd ate a nice quiet dinner in the kitchen. Well, as quiet as it could be with Joey in the room. He was getting better at eating from a spoon, but he was also having likes and dislikes when it came to food. Uncle Lloyd put a small plate of cooked and cooled carrot pieces in front of him.

  “The doctor said nothing like that until he has more teeth.” Uncle Lloyd just snorted at her, and they both watched as a little finger smashed a slice of carrot then put it to his mouth. “I think he likes it.”

  “Well, of course he does. Anything is better than that nasty stuff you’re giving him. My goodness, child. Have you tasted that stuff? It’s like tasteless cardboard.” She laughed with him and asked him how many pieces of cardboard he had eaten. “You’d be surprised what I will nibble on when I’m my other self.”

  “I’m broke, Uncle Lloyd.” He patted her hand and told her that he knew. “I don’t know what to do about this whole school thing. The insurance on the house is waiting to see if I did it or not before they pay out. And that attorney that you hired, he said that could drag out for months.”

  “I didn’t hire him, Mr. Tyler did.” He got up and started loading up the dishes. “And before you say that he shouldn’t have done that, you know that he’s a good man and a good friend to me. He did it for you through me.”

  “I owe this man so much. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to repay him.” He sat down with her and asked her what she wanted to do. “I have no idea. I had lunch with the other Winchesters today. They have it in their head that I could be his mate. I don’t want a mate, Uncle Lloyd. Ryan was more than enough for one woman.”

  “You didn’t tell them the whole story, did you, love?” She shook her head and looked away. “You should. It will go a long way in making you feel better. And, as I keep telling you, you did not do a thing to him. This was completely on him. And that woman. What about Ryan’s mom? She still trying to contact you?”

  “I don’t know. My phone is off. Actually, it’s lost. I think it was in the building.” She shivered, thinking of what might have
happened should she have not dropped that thing. “You know what? No one has ever asked me who gave me that gift—not even the police. I don’t think they want to know it was one of the students or their families. They want to pin this on me.”

  “You’ll see. It’ll all work out.” She told him she hoped so. “It will. And if you just happen to be Tyler’s mate, I can tell you right now, you will be the most loved and luckiest woman alive. I promise you, he is nothing at all like any other man you’ve known.”

  She had no idea if she even wanted anyone in her life. Raising Joey was enough. Jazzie sat in the living room, reading a book until eleven, then went up to bed. Tomorrow she was going to see about picking up some work. Maybe she could tutor a couple of kids or something. It was worth a try.

  ~*~

  Tyler was exhausted. But he was home, and that made his entire body feel better. Even his wolf was happy to be there. As he made his way up to his bed, he was down the hall when he heard the baby fussing. Moving to the sound, which happened to be in his room, he picked the baby up just as he was ready to cry.

  “Well, hello there. My goodness, you’re a handsome little man.” He noticed the monitor and smiled. “I’m betting right now your momma is wondering who has her baby and what his plans are for him. Aren’t you, Jazzie?”

  He turned to look at the woman and nearly dropped the baby. She was beautifully tosseled, her man’s shirt was his, and he could see the outline of her breasts and legs beneath it. When she asked him what he was doing, more than likely more than once, he laid Joey, he thought his name was, on the changing table and pulled his sleeper off.

  “I can do that.” She was close enough that he could smell her now. Not that he needed her to be close to know that she was his. The baby had told him that as soon as he picked him up. She’d been holding him, and her scent was all over him. “Let me do that.”