A Family Portrait Page 7

  Standing again, he buttoned her dress down to her knees and slid his palm under her elbow. They walked in silence to her door.

  “Sue’s leaving after lunch tomorrow?” he asked her.

  “Yeah, she’s going on a cruise next week,” Tracey told him. “She’s earned a break.”

  “I know you’ll want to visit with her as long as you can. If you’re up on Sunday morning, maybe we could have coffee?” She loved how he was trying to give her some space—but not too much.

  Her emotions were all over the place but she didn’t want to let him go. Yes, she was afraid, but she’d be stupid not to take a chance. Tavist Darke was a good man and he wanted her. If his patience could stand it, she’d try her best to reward him.

  “I’d like that, Tavist.” She put her arms around him and hugged him. “Bear with me Tavist, please?” She hoped he would know what she meant.

  “I’ll wait for you as long as it takes, Love,” he said.

  Leaning down, his lips caressed hers in an excruciating sweet kiss. She felt his fingers trail up her thigh and through the curls at the apex.

  “Good night, Tracey. Thank you for going with me tonight.” He pulled his hand away.

  She opened her door and slipped inside. As expected, Sue, the Inquisitor, was waiting for her.

  “Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly,” Sue laughed evilly as Tracey closed the door behind her.

  “I guess there’s no way I’m getting out of this, is there?” she asked in resignation.

  “Nope, no way at all,” Sue verified in a matter of fact tone.

  Tracey gusted a heavy sigh. “Okay,” she acquiesced. “Just let me change into my jammies. You can make some popcorn.”

  Chapter 7

  For the second day in a row, Jack noticed that the guards had migrated toward the sandwich wagon just before five in the evening. He also realized that the days were getting shorter.

  An idea began to form. If he could just wait a few more weeks, it would be full dark around five o’clock. This was a pretty large crew. He knew three or four men he could trust.

  The coveralls the men wore as prisoners were bright orange. They made it pretty obvious that the wearers were supposed to be locked up. Jack thought it might not be that hard to get them dirty and muddy.

  Being in prison hadn’t rehabilitated him although he made every effort to convince the parole board otherwise. Every single time he went before them, and it had been two times now, someone pulled out a deposition tape of his ex-wife, Tracey, and that sniveling brat, Ashley.

  The board met every four months and that wasn’t long enough to forget how pathetic and afraid the mother and daughter had looked. Jack wasn’t waiting for a group of people to set him free. He would take his own freedom.

  As an industrial mathematician, Jack was adept at analyzing a situation, finding many solutions to problems and ultimately choosing the best one. He’d take this puzzle to bed with him and before long he’d have it all worked out.

  That night, before lights out, Jack Aschtholdt wrote a little love note to his family.

  He knew they’d moved but he also knew that the good old USPS would find them.

  ———

  Tav stepped out onto his porch and transformed. As he leapt lightly to the grass, the wind shifted. He heard a small noise and his heart dropped to his toenails. Ashley.

  They stared at each other for long minutes, the little girl and the black wolf. Finally Ashley spoke.

  “Are you gonna eat me now?” she asked him, wide-eyed.

  He couldn’t help it. He began to laugh. He dropped to his stomach and covered his snout with both paws. After a minute, he rolled onto his back, still laughing. Soon, Ashley was laughing with him, scratching his ribs.

  “I guess that means you’re not hungry yet?” She was still giggling. He was struggling not to kick his foot in dog fashion—she’d found his itchy spot.

  “I can’t eat you as long as you keep scratching like that,” he laughed.

  “What if I get tired?” she asked. He rolled upright, sitting up.

  “I’ll just chew off a foot or something,” he chuckled. More seriously, he asked her, “You don’t really think I’d eat you or bite you or anything do you? I wouldn’t you know. I wouldn’t hit you either.”

  She looked up into the sky for a few seconds and then turned her eyes back to him.

  “Sometimes I forget that I can trust you but mostly I know.”

  Tav butted against her with his head and wrapped his front leg and paw around her in a hug. “I guess you have some questions about me being a wolf, huh?”

  Ashley made a sound of disgust. “I’m not a baby, Tav. You’re a werewolf.”

  He looked at her, incredulous. “I knew that. I’m just surprised…” he let that trail off.

  “I watch TV and read books, you know. I know it’s not all exactly like they have in stories. But most kids know about witches, vampires, ghosts, and werewolves.” Was she thirty years old or eight? How old was this kid again?

  “You’re not scared?” he asked, still amazed.

  “Nah. Regular people are way scarier. Wolves and dogs don’t bite you without growling at you first. Even then, it’s never for no reason.”

  He opened his mouth to speak when he heard Jacob calling him. Lifting his head, he listened again. The little boy sounded upset and frightened.

  “Ashley, something’s wrong at your house. Run toward home, I’ll catch you in about one minute.” He would catch her in a matter of seconds. She didn’t need to see him naked.

  Ashley needed no second urging. She shot to her feet and sprinted into the woods toward her home. Transforming and pulling on his clothes in record time, Tav snatched her up and ran with her. Less than two minutes had passed when he emerged into Tracey’s backyard carrying Ashley.

  “Tav!” Jacob gasped, “Mom’s hurt! I called 911. She fell.” Tears were streaming down his worried little face.

  Hugging him quickly, Tav ran in and found Tracey on the floor in the kitchen. She was bleeding on the right side of her forehead. There was an overturned chair and he could see where she’d hit her head on the counter on the way down.

  He knew that Jacob had called to him right away so she’d been unconscious for less than five minutes. She still had a pulse and though her breathing was shallow, she was breathing.

  “Phone!” he shouted. “I need a telephone!”

  Both older kids seemed frozen with fear. Little Christopher toddled up and pulled the phone from the wall by its cord. He handed it to Tav. He kissed the little boy, taking the phone.

  First he dialed 911 again and made sure an ambulance was on the way. He dared not move Tracey as they impatiently awaited the ambulance. Hanging up on the dispatcher, he dialed another number that he knew by heart.

  *

  Lakon Montgomery was wrapping up rehearsal when the phone on his hip rang. It had an obnoxious clanging ring that couldn’t be confused with anything else except maybe an old-fashioned fire truck.

  “Lake, I need a family doctor to meet me at Union General Hospital,” the speaker, Tav, said without preamble.

  “Is it a Were?” Lakon asked. His pregnant wife, Mya, was looking at him, worried.

  “No, it’s Tracey,” Tav replied.

  Covering the mouthpiece, Lakon yelled, “Yancey, call a Livingston or Montgomery doctor to meet Tav at Union General!” Moving his hand away, he told Tav, “We’re not that far, I’ll meet you there.”

  “Bring Mya, I’ve got three kids with me—all under ten years old.” Tav sounded relieved to have back up.

  Lakon let out a low whistle. “Three huh? I’m on it, Underdog. We’re on our way.”

  Hanging up the phone, he turned to Mya. Myles, her twin brother, had walked up when he’d heard Lakon call out to his manager and cousin, Yancey Livingston.

  “What’s up with Tav?” Myles asked. He slipped an arm around his pregnant sister and gave her a little hug.

&nb
sp; “Tracey’s hurt. He’s got her three young kids with him. Want to tag along?” They were all close to Tav, but Lakon would have asked his brother-in-law anyway. He had fences to mend in his relationship with Myles.

  “Sure, why not?” Myles agreed.

  ———

  Tav was never so glad to see anybody in his entire life, as he was to see Lakon when he arrived. Well, he was damned glad to see Mya, too. The kids were scared to death.

  The doctor seemed a little put out to have been called south urgently to meet them.

  As always, the sea of chaos parted when Lakon arrived. Thankfully, that was only a few minutes after Tav, the kids, and the ambulance carrying Tracey had arrived. The doctor who’d met the ambulance dropped his eyes and his attitude the minute Lakon walked up.

  The first thing Lakon did was to grab Tav in a fraternal hug. “I’m here for you, brother,” he said. Tav saw the doctor’s eyes widen but the man kept them lowered and his thoughts to himself.

  Christopher calmed down immediately when Mya took him into her arms. She seated herself in the private waiting room that they’d been shown to. The doctor rushed back in to treat Tracey and Tav turned to introduce Ashley and Jacob to the newcomers.

  “This is Lakon and Mya Montgomery and Mya’s brother Myles. Myles Brooks-Montgomery.” Tav told the children. “The big guy here is Jacob and the squirt is Christopher. This beautiful young lady is Ashley.”

  “Ashley,” he heard Myles whisper, inhaling deeply.

  Nervously, Jacob inched forward and shook Lakon and Myles’s hand. Quickly, he settled in beside Mya again. Ashley looked at Lakon and Myles and tugged at Tav. He leaned down so she could whisper in his ear.

  “Are they like you, Tav?” she asked, peeking out at the three adults. All of them had seated themselves so they wouldn’t seem as intimidating.

  “Mya’s like you,” Tav whispered back. “Lakon is like me. Myles is—Myles is kind of in the middle.”

  “They don’t hit, though, right? Even if Myles is in the middle, he won’t hit me, right?” Ashley obviously needed clarification.

  Tav heard Myles stand up and go into the little bathroom in the corner of the room and turn the water on. Since he’d been changed last year during treatments and transfusions used to eliminate his Hemophilia, Myles was equally werewolf and human.

  He was obviously upset that the little girl should need to worry about being hit, but Tav sensed there was more to it than that. He hadn’t missed the deep breaths Myles had been taking or the fact that he’d kept his distance. He hadn’t even shaken Tav’s hand yet.

  “No, Ashley, they don’t hit. Myles won’t hit you.” He reassured her.

  Shyly, Ashley slipped into the chair on the other side of Mya. While Mya soothed and comforted the kids, Tav drew Lakon over near the bathroom. Myles came out and shook his hand.

  “All right, Underdog?” Myles grinned, hugging the other man briefly.

  Myles and Tav were the same height at five feet and eleven inches. Lakon was six feet, two inches tall. The three of them found chairs so that they could equal out the height differences.

  “What’s up with the hitting?” Myles growled.

  “What’s up with the inhaling?” Tav growled back.

  “You first,” Lakon told Myles, “Then you.” He nodded at Tav.

  Myles glared at him and then shrugged. “That beautiful, tiny little child is my mate.”

  “What?” Tav shot to his feet snarling. Four sets of nervous human eyes fixed on him.

  “Sit down!” gritted Lakon to Tav in a low voice. Still talking quietly he asked his brother in law, “What the fuck do you mean, Myles?”

  “I enunciated clearly, Lake. She’s my mate.” To Tav he said, “I know she might as well be your kid, Tav. You don’t honestly think I’d do anything about it now, do you?”

  “Shit, man, I’m sorry,” Tav sighed. “It’s a shock, is all. Been a hell of a day.”

  “Me, too, baby brother,” Lakon put a hand on Myles’s shoulder and squeezed. After a pause, Myles nodded. “It’s going to be pure hell waiting for her to grow up,” Lakon sighed.

  “Yeah,” Myles agreed.

  All three knew that a werewolf didn’t choose his mate as much as she just was.

  Somehow one soul out in the world waited for him to find her. So often, a male thought he’d never find his mate. Some never did.

  It would be nothing short of torture for Myles to know that Ashley was out there growing up and he had to stay away. He could spend a little time with her now and then, but she’d date, get crushes, go to the prom and he would have to stand back and watch.

  The other fear was that something could happen to her. Tav could address that, at least.

  “Don’t worry, man, you know I’m going to keep her safe.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Myles took a deep breath and let it out. “So tell me about the hitting,” Myles insisted.

  “Maybe we should to out into the hall for this,” Tav said, knowing it was going to be even uglier that he’d thought.

  Lakon couldn’t stand the idea of anyone hurting kids, especially after a rogue Were had kidnapped his nephew and abused him. It didn’t help that that same Were had also attacked Mya and killed his unborn pup.

  Myles and Mya had been abused as kids, too, especially Mya. Now, finding out that Ashley was Myles’s mate just added to the drama. I can’t imagine what could make this worse—please, God, don’t tell me…

  “Tracey was badly abused by her ex. So were the pups. Especially Ashley. Bad enough that he’s in jail right now.” Tav braced himself.

  Lakon got up and went into the hall. Myles turned without a word and went back into the bathroom, turning the water on again. Tav could hear the low snarls of both men. He hoped nobody else could.

  ———

  The doctor hesitantly made his way back into the waiting room an hour later. On some level, Tav could appreciate the poor man’s predicament. He’d found himself called in to treat a patient at the behest of his pack’s co-Alpha.

  Just when he thought he knew what he was about, he was surrounded by three Alphas, two of whom were Montgomery Alphas—well really all three were Montgomerys, weren’t they? Add to that, their reputation was definitely “take no prisoners”.

  The only thing the pack knew was that the last time Lakon, Myles, and Tav had been together, three Weres had died. The only Were that hadn’t died was in a Montgomery family jail. He was only too quick to warn any who would listen of the dangers of crossing a Montgomery Alpha.

  “Mr. Darke?” the doctor squeaked. “We should go out in the hall, sir.”

  Tav had been carrying a fussy Christopher in his arms and he put him down on a folded sheet on the floor when the doctor walked in. Mya was sitting next to Jacob, trying to get him to color with her. Ashley had been sitting, chatting with Myles when the doctor came in.

  “Myles?” he heard her whisper.

  “Yes, Ashley?” Myles lowered his head to hers.

  “You tell me what the doctor says, okay?” When he didn’t answer, she gave him a narrow look. “I know you can hear as good as Tav.”

  Myles looked at Tav who arched a brow and shrugged. If Ashley was truly Myles’s mate, she had every right to ask this of him. It was up to him to decide how to proceed.

  Tav trusted Myles’s judgment. The younger man would be a fool not to take this opportunity to earn Ashley’s trust.

  “If you want me to do that, Ashley, I will. I want you to know that I’ll always be honest with you. Do you trust me?” Myles was no fool.

  “I want to trust you, Myles. Can I?”

  Lakon followed Tav into the hallway.

  “Mr. Darke, your mate is suffering from a severe concussion,” the doctor said nervously.

  “What, exactly, does that mean, Dr. … I’m sorry, but I didn’t get your name.”

  “Russell Montgomery, sir, I’ve called in Dr. Yvonne Livingston a family neurologist from Atlanta, she’ll consult on t
his. Sir, we’ll have to monitor her closely—of course. If we can keep the swelling down…” The doctor took a deep breath. “Honestly, we’ll know more in a few hours.” The doctor turned and left.

  “Looks like we’re gonna be here a while, Underdog.” Lakon put his arm around Tav in a show of support. “Let me take Jacob and we’ll go get something to eat. I’m sure that’s what’s wrong with the little guy, too.”

  “Yeah,” he breathed. “I’m sure you’re right, Lake. If Jacob wants to go, that’s fine.”

  Tav was fighting panic. He’d take all the help he could get. Memories of losing his wife, Kylie, and their young son, Tate, were rushing back and he could barely hold back his fear.

  When Tav wandered into the waiting room again, he saw Myles walk out with Lakon and Jacob. Ashley ran up to him and hugged him.

  “Tav? Myles says Mama’s got a ‘cussion! He says they’re trying to help her and we have to wait. We don’t know if she’s going to be okay, do we?” Her dark brown eyes were moist and she trembled with the effort of being strong.

  “No, sweetheart, we really don’t. We have to hope and pray and stick together.”

  “Okay, Tav. Promise you’ll stay with us?”

  Tav lifted Ashley into his arms and hugged her tightly. “Nobody could make me leave you Ashley. I love you guys and I’m not going anywhere.”

  She hugged him back equally as tightly. Setting her sneaker-clad feet back on the floor, he lowered himself into a nearby chair. Ashley sat down beside him.

  “I like Myles, Tav,” she whispered to him after a minute. “He makes me feel safe.”

  “I’m glad, Ashley. I know he likes you, too. You’ll always be safe with him. Myles won’t ever let anyone hurt you.” He looked over her head and made eye contact with Myles who’d returned carrying his saxophone case.

  Myles nodded a “thank-you” to Tav. “Hey, little Princess,” he turned to her. “Want to hear some pretty music?”

  Tav leaned back, closing his eyes as he listened to Myles play his saxophone. The hours passed with agonizing sluggishness. They ate the food that Lakon brought back which seemed to settle Christopher down considerably.

  Mya and Lakon were singing the closing words to “Muskrat Love” when Dr. Yvonne Livingston poked her head in the door. Christopher had fallen asleep and Jacob was giving up the fight to stay awake.