Tymber Dalton - Triple Dog Dare

Liam dropped to his knees in front of the stone and placed one hand on the writing etched there. Closing his eyes, he silently wept.

Carla put her arm around Elain and hugged her. Elain didn’t know what to say to either of them. She barely knew what to think. So many things had happened, so many emotions, so much to process.

It would take a lot of time.

Unfortunately, she suspected they hadn’t heard the last of the Abernathys. Then there were the cockatrice to deal with.

And she was going to be an aunt, sort of, to both Lina’s twins and Mai’s baby.

That part, at least, filled her with some joy, even if of a melancholy kind. She’d spent the evening before researching Down’s syndrome and knew that it was possible Mai’s little girl might be born almost completely normal, with minimal medical problems.

She didn’t want to contemplate potential worst-case scenarios.

After a few minutes, Liam sat back on his heels, took a deep breath, and scrubbed his face with his hands. “Thank ye for bringing me here. I knew the second she died. I felt it in my soul. I knew she’d want me to move on, just like I’d have wanted her to had it been me. I made a vow to myself that until I could rightly say good-bye, I wouldn’t. And I didn’t. I had no desire to.”

Carla stepped forward and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. “She was a wonderful woman. I’m glad I got to have her in my life.”

He nodded. “I wish we’d had more time together.” He let out a harsh, barking laugh. “As old as we each were, we only had three years together.” He looked up at her. “That’s something, eh? The Goddess has a fine sense of humor, but I can’t rightly say I can see anything good in it.” He reached up and squeezed her hand. “Thank ye, Carla. Ye did good by her, and by Elain. I cannot ever begin to repay ye.”

He stood and hugged her.

Elain watched them.

Don’t hope. Do not get your hopes up!

After a moment, Liam extended an arm to Elain, welcoming her into their embrace. She willingly went, her eyes prickling with tears as she felt their loving arms around her.

He kissed the top of her head. “Yer mum would be so proud of ye,” he said to her. “I’ve no doubt ye’ll keep those men of yers in line. Ye’ve got a right fine temper, just like she did. That’s one of the things I loved about her. Spirited.”

Elain almost couldn’t force herself to say it. “Please,” she whispered, “tell me you’re not leaving.”

He hugged her even more tightly as his voice broke. “Never again. Not unless ye tell me to go. I’ll never leave ye again, I promise. Ain invited me to live with all of ye as long as I wanted.”

With tears streaking her face she looked at her mom. Carla nodded. “I’ll stay, too. If you want me to. As long as you want me to.”

Elain vigorously nodded.

They stopped for dinner on their way back to Arcadia. With the mood now lighter and Elain’s apprehension about either of her parents’ possible departures completely lifted, she was able to fully enjoy their company, as well as notice a genuine bond developing between Carla and Liam, even deeper than the friendship that had blossomed over the past couple of weeks.

“I do need to go back to Spokane to take care of a few things,” Carla said. “I need to pack my stuff and decide what to do with the house. I don’t want to sell it in this market, but I could rent it.”

“I’ll be happy to help ye, if ye’d like me to,” Liam offered.

Carla smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate that. I’d like that very much.”

“And if you wanted, you could live in my house in Venice,” Elain offered. “Um, both of you, if you wanted. Not that I don’t want you two in Arcadia,” she quickly added. “I just meant if you wanted, you know, privacy or…something.”

Carla nudged Liam. “I think that’s a hint.”

He laughed. “I’d have to agree.” He squeezed Elain’s hand. “Whatever will be, will be, sweetheart. Regardless, that’s something that can wait until after yer wedding.”

Elain winced. “Eloping is really looking good right now.”

Carla burst out laughing. “Wow. The princess bride wanting to elope? That really says something, doesn’t it? Life did get pretty crazy.”

Liam’s expression turned serious. “And likely to get crazier. I don’t want to worry either of ye, but honestly? We’d all be better off under the same roof. At least for a while.”

“Safety in numbers?” Elain asked.

He nodded. “Those crazy buggers killed my sisters-in-law. And one of the Lyalls’ cousins’ mates. All to try to locate me to find ye. I doubt the Clan Council can stop them simply with a won challenge. Rodolfo Abernathy’s pride’s on the line now. The man killed his own son and grandson for disappointing him.” He sipped his coffee. “I’d be surprised if he didn’t kill Paul as well before the day was over for losing to ye.”

Elain’s stomach turned. Okay, the guy was a creep, but kill him? “You really think he did?”

Liam shrugged. “Hard to say. Wouldn’t surprise me, let’s just say that.”

Carla shook her head, her expression grim. “Elain, I’m sorry I gave you a hassle about wanting to take karate when you were a kid. I’m so glad you did now.”

Elain managed a smile. “Me, too, Mom.”

Back in the car and on their way home to Arcadia, another question came to Elain. “Dad, do you think Mai’s baby is safe?” It still felt both odd and gave her a thrill to call him that.

Sitting in the backseat, she watched him glance at her in the rearview mirror. “Maybe not. Part of me says let the word get to Abernathy that she’s got Down’s syndrome so he’ll leave things be. Part of me thinks that if he finds out a child of his bloodline is imperfect, that he’s just batshit crazy enough to try to kill it. I sincerely doubt anything our Clan Council says would deter him.”

A wave of protective fury washed through Elain. “If I have children. What about that? Will he come after them?”

“Again, it’s hard to say. These are questions for Lacey and Lina. Or even things ye might see yerself when ye start having visions.”

“But do you think he’d try to kill or abduct any of my kids?”

“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s a fecking arsehole of the worst kind.”

Elain sat back, silent the rest of the way home. When they arrived, Ain, Brodey, and Cail stepped out onto the porch to greet them.

She hugged all of them. Ain made her look up at him. “What’s wrong, babe?”

“I want to take those fuckers out. Take the fight to them. Finish this so they quit fucking with our family.”

“Who?” Ain asked.

“The Abernathys,” she said.

The men exchanged a worried look. “Where’s this coming from? What happened?” Ain asked. She knew he was concerned since he didn’t even give her grief about the swearing.

“Have you heard anything about Paul Abernathy since the challenge?”

From the look on Ain’s face, she knew he had. “Tell me.”

He glanced at his brothers again before answering her. “That’s the problem. No one’s heard anything else about him. None of the doctors they might use, no one. It’s like he disappeared off the face of the planet.”

“Or like his grandfather killed him and buried him in the woods in Maine?”

Finally, Ain grimly nodded.

“And Abernathy won’t just give up that easy, will he?”

“Probably not. But we are not going to take a fight to them. There were plenty of Clan wars to last those of us who remember them for the rest of our lives. Defending ourselves is one thing. Unprovoked aggression is another.”